ã€ŠPicking up Girls With My Systemã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Arthur lost both parents when he was a kid. That changed his life for the worse, and he always dreamt about a ce where he could be happy again. It was hard to be alone in the world.

    Reading was one of the things he enjoyed the most. It was a way for his mind to travel, wander, and get to know different realities than his own.

    One day, after finishing his daily reading session and going to bed, something extraordinary happened. Arthur closed his eyes, and everything around him was dark. A strange force was pulling his body towards a speck of light in the distance. Arthur was afraid that maybe he was dying in his sleep, as it looked a lot like how people described their near death experiences.

    But, he still followed it nheless. Arthur had nothing attaching him to the world. Whatever the light brought was worth it for him. As he got closer to it, Arthur could hear some voices. Everything felt so real, unlike the dreams he used to have.

    Arthur saw through the light. It was a hole that led to another ce, like a portal. When he saw that, all of the stories he read came to mind. Maybe he also would be someone transported to another world through mysterious means.

    The force got stronger as Arthur got closer to the portal. Once he was close enough, it became unbearable for him to withstand. Arthur flew through the portal, arriving at a new world.

    ~~~~

    Arthur had no idea what this new world would bring him, but one thing he knew, his arrival could not be better. Hended on two mountain peaks, soft, warm, and with a smell that would drive any man insane.

    At first, he could not understand where he was due to the impact of thending. But once he did, Arthur grabbed the opportunity to stay there as long as possible.

    ¡°Jane, what is the meaning of this?¡± a woman said.

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know, teacher,¡± Jane said with red cheeks. She was the one beneath Arthur.

    ¡°I tried my best to use the familiar spell to summon one. Maybe this is the familiar?¡± Jane said.

    Marget, the president of Frostpeak Magic Academy, could not understand what had happened. All familiars came from the dream world, and only beasts survived in that ce. A human could not live there, and in fact, no human managed to enter there in the first ce.

    .

    ¡°But this is impossible,¡± Marget said.

    ¡°Jane, look if you two have the bonding mark.¡±

    Arthur listened to everything carefully, trying to gasp more about the situation he was in.

    ¡°This world has magic. Probably it¡¯s like a medieval world. I¡¯m inside an academy that teaches magic, and someone summoned me as a familiar. Humans are not familiars, so maybe I¡¯m special?¡± Arthur thought.

    The thought of it made his body shiver in excitement. A new world meant new possibilities to be happy. And, for what he understood, he and that good-lookingdy were bound, which was something he would enjoy.

    Jane had a perfect body, and her hair color was something unique. Purple. She wore a school uniform, a basic shirt, and a skirt. But Jane also had a long cape, which reminded Arthur of the wizards he read about in books.

    Arthur was not that far from her based on looks. He was a bit skinny, but tall, around 1,86m. His hair was pitch ck, and his eyes of the same color.

    ¡°Hello. Can you understand me?¡± Jane said.

    Arthur finally realized that they were not speaking English but apletely differentnguage. And he could somehow understand everything clearly.

    ¡°I can, yes,¡± Arthur said.

    The president and all the other students watching the scene had surprised looks. A human couldn¡¯t appear from the dream world, and it was a human capable of understanding them.

    Jane was also surprised, and she said, ¡°do you see this mark? Could you see if you have one too?¡±

    It was a mark made of runes. Arthur scanned his own body to see if he had something simr to that, and he did. He had it in his hand.

    ¡°Do you see this, Marget?¡± Jane said.

    ¡°Of course. It seems that you two are indeed master and familiar. But, we still have to study how a human came from the dream world. So, the semester will continue, and we will watch this familiar closely,¡± Marget said as she left.

    All of the students also left to do their things. But, before leaving, they all gazed strangely at Arthur.

    ¡°Could you please get up?¡± Jane said.

    Arthur, who was in the middle of two mountain peaks, said, ¡°oh, right. Sorry.¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°This ce is called Frostpeak Magic Academy. It is a ce that teaches magic, and only women are epted here. We all live in The Kingdom of Doressea. It is one of the Four Kingdoms.¡± Jane exined everything as she showed Arthur the academy.

    The ce was huge and had many students. It had ssrooms, towers, libraries, and a ce to nt magic herbs. It even had a forest of its own in the academy limits. It was bigger than the schools Arthur had in his old world.

    Arthur saw how other students passed by with their familiars. Most of them were monsters Arthur had never seen. They were ugly, and it seemed that all of them were also dumb.

    ¡°All wizards always have their familiars at their side? Does this mean I¡¯ll be able to attend ss with you?¡± Arthur said.

    It all felt like a dream, and he could not believe that his luck had been this good.

    Jane was taken aback by this sudden question, and she said, ¡°I guess. But I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ll be able to learn magic. Not all humans have the talent to do so.¡±

    The thought of having zero talent for magic crossed Arthur¡¯s mind. That would be the worst thing to happen. This world was different due to magic. How could he not learn it?

    Frostpeak Magic Academy was so big that Jane did not have the time to show all of it. They explored some ces, and she showed Arthur where they would be sleeping. The academy had three buildings where students slept. Why three? The academy¡¯s course had three years, and these buildings separated the students ording to their years.

    Jane, for example, was a rookie. She had a great talent for magic, but she still was starting her journey.

    The dormitory was somewhat crowded. It was not night yet, but the sses for the day had finished, and some students did not like to go out. Jane¡¯s room was on the sixth floor, and as they did not have an elevator, Arthur had to use the stairs.

    ~~~~

    ¡°I know it is not the most luxurious, but it¡¯s a good ce,¡± Jane said. Maybe it was not luxurious by Jane¡¯s standards, but Arthur thought that the ce was almost like a pce. It was impossible topare that ce to his tiny old apartment.

    The room had a king-sized bed, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The kitchen did not get Arthur¡¯s attention, as it only had some balconies. The bathroom, on the other hand, had a hot tub.

    ¡°There¡¯s only one bed. I¡¯ll talk to the president to provide us with another one. Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Jane said.

    ¡°I¡¯m not worried. Only one bed would be the best¡­¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Yeah, I know, but we,¡± Jane stopped talking, ¡°what did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. What did you hear?¡±

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll talk to Marget about this. You can stay here or wander around if you want.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Stay safe, Jane.¡±

    ¡°Bye,¡±

    She left to take care of the bed problem. Arthur thought about exploring more of the area, but something else stopped his tracks.

    [Name: Arthur Willians(RANK F)

    [Level: 1]

    [Health: 100/100

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    Strength: 2

    Agility: 1

    Vigor: 3

    Wisdom: 3

    Charm: 6

    ¡°This is like an RPG. But where are my experience points? How can I level up? And why I don¡¯t have mana? Doesn¡¯t that mean I can use magic?¡±

    After that, another notification popped up in front of his eyes.

    [Unique Skills]

    [Dream Realm Absorption]: You¡¯re a remnant from the mythical Dream Realm. You can¡¯t regenerate mana outside the Dream Realm, but you can absorb mana.]

    [Dream Realm Bestial Evolution]: All of the Dream Realm beasts evolve through generations. It¡¯s how they grow stronger. You can earn experience points by having sex with others. Don¡¯t worry, you can¡¯t have babies with humans.]

    Arthur stayed frozen for some time. This system was too good to be true. He knew that this world was magical, and he had a skill that could absorb mana. Doesn¡¯t that mean spells are useless against him?

    And, if that was not good enough, he could be strong by having sex. Frostpeak Magic Academy was a ce only women entered. It was the perfect ce for him to level up.

    ¡°This is a heavenly ce for me. I¡¯m already good-looking, and now I¡¯ll also get strong enough to face anyone,¡± Arthur thought.

    Arthur got out of his room with another n in mind. He had to conquer all of the beauties inside the academy.

    ¡°Maybe I can find the first one tonight?¡±

 Chapter 2

    The hot topic inside Frostpeak Magic Academy was Arthur. It was the first time a human came out from the Dream Realm. Marget, the president, kept that secret, as they did not fully understand the situation.

    Only women frequented the academy, so when a good-looking man, like Arthur, showed up, all of the girls wanted to know him.

    The sun was setting, but the academy was still bright due to the magicmps. Some students liked to hang out after ss, so Arthur saw groups of people walking everywhere. No one could leave the academy without permission. But the ce was so big that it was like a small-sized city. The students could find ces to eat and have fun within the academy¡¯s limits. Arthur had no idea where to go, but that changed when a group of two people passed by him.

    ¡°Wait,¡± a student said, moving her hand close to her chest.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the person who came from the Dream Realm? It is a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Annen, and this is my friend Evel,¡± she pointed at the girl next to her. Both of them were hot. Arthur wondered if being good-looking was a prerequisite to studying in that ce.

    ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Arthur, by the way,¡± Arthur grabbed Annen¡¯s hand and kissed it. He had no idea if that was inappropriate in that world, but he did it anyway. And, to his surprise, Annen let out a quiet moan.

    ¡°My friend and I are going to a ce to eat. Almost no one goes there, but the food is delicious,¡± Annen said.

    ¡°That would be lovely, but,¡± Annen stopped Arthur.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay for you, don¡¯t worry,¡± Annen said.

    ~~~~

    Things were working out for Arthur. He was hungry, and he found someone to pay for his food. He wanted to have sex for pleasure and to get stronger. He found some candidates too.

    They walked for quite some time to get to the ce. Arthur chatted along the way, and both girls loved his presence. He was not only good-looking but also a nice person. Arthur also had the charm attribute with his system, and he was sure that it helped with seduction.

    The ce they chose was a small restaurant near the forest area of the academy. Annen said the restaurant had few visitors, and Arthur knew why. It was far from the main parts of the academy, and it was almost inside the forest itself. The restaurant looked like a ce where people would go to find peace.

    .

    ¡°Wee to Wizard and Rose. Feel free to choose any seat,¡± a woman said. It was the same thing she said to all clients.

    But, as soon as she saw a man entering her restaurant, she did not know how to react. No man was allowed to enter the academy. So, for a man to be there, he must be important. Maybe the man was a prince that passed by to check how the academy was doing. No way the restaurant¡¯s owner would think that a human came out from the Dream Realm.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± the woman said.

    Arthur, Annen, and Evel looked at her.

    ¡°There¡¯s a private table on the second floor. No one will bother you there.¡±

    The restaurant¡¯s owner read their minds offering what they wanted.

    ¡°Really? Will it be more expensive? I did not bring much money today,¡± Annen said.

    ¡°No, of course not. As you are esteemed guests, you can eat for free tonight.¡±

    Arthur had no idea what passed through the owner¡¯s mind, but he epted it. Not every day one had the chance to eat in a VIP area for free. They got upstairs to a luxury area. The table was twice the size of the normal ones on the first floor. It also had a window with a breathtaking view from the forest.

    The foods were somewhat simr to what Arthur ate. He ordered a soup and a lot of meat.

    ¡°What should I drink?¡± Arthur said.

    Annen, who took off some of her clothes, iming that the ce was too hot, gave him some suggestions.

    ¡°It is alreadyte, so the wine should be the best option,¡± Annen said.

    Arthur found that wine was indeed the best option. He ordered it.

    ~~~~

    The restaurant was fast with the preparation, and everything they ordered came in less than ten minutes. It was only the three of them on the second floor.

    ¡°So, how is your food?¡± Annen said.

    Arthur was so hungry that the food did not stand a chance. He ate everything like there was no tomorrow.

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious. I¡¯m d you showed me this ce,¡± Arthur said.

    Annen drank a ss of wine and looked at him seductively.

    ¡°Right? I think this is one of the best restaurants, yet few people know about it,¡± Annen said.

    They all ate and drank wine. The atmosphere got hotter, and some thoughts crossed Arthur¡¯s mind. He gazed at both of them, and it was nearly impossible to resist Annen.

    The most curious part was that thedies were throwing themselves at him, and the only exnation he had was that his System was helping. It was the truth. One of the first skills the system gave him was a charming aura, which made getting girls an easy task.

    She was wearing a tight outfit. Both of them were. Arthur noticed how her nipples were hard, and as both of them had white shirts, it was almost as if they were naked in front of him.

    Annen dropped some of her wine in her clothing, and it did not look like an ident.

    ¡°Oh, look how messy I am,¡± Annen said.

    ¡°Evel, can you help me here?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Evel said.

    Arthur watched as she took off Annen¡¯s clothes. Two big boobs bounced in front of him, and Evel licked some of the wine from Annen¡¯s nipples.

    That was the end of the line for him. Arthur got up and closed the curtains. He took off his shirt, showing the body he got after working out for a long time. Annen and Evel were wet just by looking at him. They got up, and both of them kissed him.

    Tongues intertwined, and before Arthur noticed, Evel had already taken off his pants. It was a good thing that the room had a couch. Arthur sat there, and Evel got to her knees. Annen went to the top of the couch, and Arthur¡¯s face was between both of her legs.

    ¡°Ahhhh,¡± Annen moaned as Arthur used his tongue on her pussy. Evel was beneath them, using her mouth to suck his dick. It was a moment Arthur could never forget.

    The room had good acoustics, and no one on the first floor heard what was happening.

    ¡°Ahhhh. You are skilled with your tongue, aren¡¯t you?¡± Annen said. She had a few orgasms in a row, but Evel also wanted that.

    ¡°Arthur, please, can you suck my pussy too?¡±

    ¡°Of course,e here. Annen now is your time to suck my dick,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, master. I¡¯ll suck your dick like no other.¡±

    Annen and Evel exchanged ces. It was now time for Evel to moan and orgasm hard with Arthur¡¯s tongue.

    ¡°Ahhhhh.¡± They kept that position for some time, but soon Arthur could no longer resist.

    ¡°I need to fuck you,¡± Arthur said. He grabbed Evel and put her on top of Annen. Both of them were in the doggy style position. Arthur made turns while fucking them. His dick went in Evel and then inside Annen.

    ¡°Yes, make us your bitch,¡± Annen said.

    They had multiple orgasms, and then it was time for Arthur to relieve himself. He put both of them on their knees and made them share his cum.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Arthur, this was so good. When can we do this again?¡± Annen said.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see. If you have any friends that would want to fuck, please introduce them to me.¡±

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll do it for sure.¡±

    They left the restaurant after that. Some other students were eating on the first floor and gazed at them. Everyone had strange thoughts inside their minds and fantasized about what happened up there.

    Arthur parted ways with Annen and Evel. On his way back to the dorm, he checked his status.

    [Name: Arthur Willians(RANK F)

    [Level: 2]

    [Health: 120/120]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 2]

    [Agility: 1]

    [Vigor: 3]

    [Wisdom: 3]

    [Charm: 6]

    [Free points: 3]

    ¡°Three points? I thought I would get at least five. Well, this is good enough. I can¡¯tin about getting stronger by having sex, right?¡± Arthur thought.

    He guessed that his rank would eventually increase, and he would get stronger by doing so. The system said that he was ranked F at the moment, and that was shitty.

    Arthur had no idea where to use his free points. He still needed to figure out what path to choose. He could absorb mana, so maybe fighting melee was his best option? It was something he would figure out along the way.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go to ss tomorrow morning anyway. So I¡¯ll see if there¡¯s any subject in particr that grabs my attention.¡±

    In the end, he did not use his free points yet. They would not vanish, so it was not a big deal.

    When he got back to the dorm, Jane was already waiting for him, and their room had another bed.

    ¡°Where were you?¡± Jane said.

 Chapter 3

    Jane had taken care of the bed problem, and when she returned to her room, it was empty. She told Arthur to get out and explore if he wished to do so, but she never expected him to do that. He did not know anything about the academy, and it was alreadyte at night.

    ¡°Where were you?¡± Jane said.

    Arthur would not tell her what happened, so he gave her only a part of the truth.

    ¡°I needed food, so I went to a restaurant,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Hm, but why did it take you so long?¡± Jane felt that something was amiss, but she could not figure out what.

    ¡°You know that I don¡¯t have money, so I went to different ces begging for food, and eventually, someone gave me.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Jane got closer and grabbed both of Arthur¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me? Money is not a problem for us, okay? I¡¯ll give you all the money you need to buy food.¡±

    .

    Arthur could feel that she was telling the truth. Maybe being her familiar had more behind than what the eyes could see. Putting that aside, Arthur saw the newly acquired bed. It was the same as the other bed in the room, and Arthur felt d that he got the same treatment as the students.

    The soft bed was something he could not resist. So Arthur decided toy there and sleep. Arthur used some of his energy with Annen and Evel, so it was time to recharge for tomorrow.

    ¡°I can watch the ss with you, right?¡± Arthur said as hey under the nket.

    ¡°Of course. Good night,ehhhh,¡± Jane remembered that she never asked his name.

    ¡°We talked for an entire day, and you did not remember to ask my name?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Don¡¯tugh, okay? Youing from the Dream Realm scared the shit out of me. The summoning of a familiar is the first step for a wizard, and I thought I messed it up.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m Arthur.¡±

    The beds were close, so Arthur performed the same move again. He grabbed Jane¡¯s hand and kissed it.

    ¡°Good night, Jane.¡±

    Jane quickly hid using her nkets and said, ¡°good night, Arthur.¡±

    All of the room¡¯s lights went out, and Arthur finally got the chance to rest.

    ~~~~

    The sun shone brightly. It was a new day and one that made Arthur excited. Jane had sses to attend, and all familiars followed their wizards. He wanted to see if he could learn magic or see if there was another subject that got his attention.

    ¡°Fighting melee would be nice. I¡¯m guessing that I need to be close to absorb the mana from others,¡± Arthur thought.

    They got up early in the morning, and Jane showed him the way to the ss. Just like in the dorms, the sses were separated based on the year of the student. Jane went to a building where all of the first-year students went.

    The ssroom had many chairs for students to sit, and most familiars were small, so they all had a ce to stay. But Arthur was a human, so Jane had to put a chair beside her for him to sit. Everyone gazed at them when they entered the ssroom. There wasn¡¯t a single student within the academy that did not know about Arthur¡¯s existence. And it was a fact that, in the future, everyone would know about the first human from the Dream Realm.

    There wasn¡¯t a schedule in the academy. All sses were random. It was a tactic to prepare all students for whatever problem they faced.

    All of the students inside the ssroom chatted happily before the professor arrived, but once it did, everyone was silent.

    A red-haired woman entered the ssroom. She had a sword attached behind her back and wore an outfit that looked more like armor.

    ¡°This woman is gorgeous and also imposing. She looks more like a valkyrie than a wizard,¡± Arthur thought.

    Based on how the students reacted when she entered the ssroom, Arthur knew that she was a rigorous teacher. Perhaps all of the teachers were like that, but that was something Arthur could not confirm.

    She stopped and sat behind her desk. Once she noticed Arthur¡¯s presence, she knew he was the one from the Dream Realm.

    ¡°You must be the one from the Dream Realm, am I right?¡± she rested her chin on her hands and said, ¡°I¡¯m Wisa. I¡¯m in charge of thebat sses within the academy.¡±

    Wisa had the looks of abat teacher, and she was indeed the one in charge of it.

    ¡°All right, ss. Seeing that all of you now have your familiars, today we will have a test to see your coordination,¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll face each other in a match. You can use everything in the fight as long as it is not lethal. And you have to use your familiar to fight. So it will be a two versus two in the end.¡±

    Arthur was excited about that. It was a golden opportunity to test his body limits, and also see if being level 2 was good or not. All of the other familiars did not look strong, and all of the students were rookies. So, Arthur guessed that both he and Jane had the advantage.

    Wisa guided them to the courtyard. The fights would happen in an arena built outside of the building. Arthur still did not know what weapon to use, so she asked Wisa.

    ¡°You can choose any type,¡± Wisa said.

    She gave him a few basic weapons to choose from. A sword, a greatsword, a spear, a mace, and a bow.

    Arthur liked all of the weapons, so he wasn¡¯t sure what to choose. But then, he gave up trying.

    ¡°Why choose if I can master all of the weapons? Let¡¯s start with the basic, a sword,¡± Arthur thought.

    The weapons Wisa gave him were not particrly good, but it was a start. Arthur grabbed the sword and stayed close to Jane, waiting for his time to fight. And of course, they would be the first ones to fight.

    ¡°Jane,e here. You¡¯ll be facing Lene,¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°Are you ready, Arthur?¡± Jane was worried that Arthur had zero fighting skills.

    ¡°Always,¡± Arthur said.

 Chapter 4

    Lene wore the same outfits as the other students. It was their uniform, after all. A type of lizard stood by her side. It had three eyes, scales, and spikes at its back. Arthur thought it looked like a mutated dinosaur.

    It was not that big, but its ws could surely deal damage. Arthur had no clue if that familiar was weak or strong. So, he decided to be careful and test the waters before going all out.

    ¡°All right, are you ready?¡± Wisa stood in the middle of the arena. She gave both Jane and Lene time to prepare themselves for the fight.

    They both nodded in response, and Wisa started the fight. Both wizards carried a type of book. Arthur guessed that it was a tome used to cast spells, and he was right.

    Jane waved her hands, drawing magical symbols in thin air. Her tome opened, and the words on it flew towards the symbols. Sparks of lightning appeared, and everyone watching the fight got excited. Jane had a mana core of the lightning attribute. It was one of the rarest, and only a few people were born with it. That was the reason Jane had better treatment inside the academy.

    Lene could not stay still and let Jane attack her. She also cast a spell of her own. But differently from Jane, Lene was more versatile in fire spells. It was a one versus one at first, but Lene knew that her attack was weaker than Jane¡¯s, so shemanded her familiar to attack together to improve the strength of the attack.

    Arthur watched everything unfold, and he also was excited to see both spells. It was indeed magical. But, when he noticed Lene¡¯s familiar trying an attack too, he knew that it was time for him to help Jane.

    The lizard-type creature opened up its mouth and breathed fire. Lene¡¯s spell was also a fireball, so they merged, resulting in a powerful attack.

    It collided with the lightning, creating a beautiful yet deadly scene. Arthur knew that Wisa, the teacher, would not let anyone get hurt, but if Jane lost, she would lose her reputation. And people could make fun of him as well for not helping her.

    So, Arthur got in front of Jane, wielding his sword.

    .

    ¡°Arthur, what are you doing? You can¡¯t defend this spell. It can kill you,¡± Jane said. When she saw Arthur getting in front of the spell, a strange yet warm sensation filled her heart.

    Jane summoned him to that world, so she couldn¡¯t let him die like that.

    Arthur, on the other hand, was more excited to test out his absorption skill.

    ¡°Jane, don¡¯t worry. I am a human from the Dream Realm, so I cant be simple, right?¡± Arthur knew that no matter what he said, Jane would still be worried about his safety.

    But, it was the only way to make sure she would not lose her reputation for having a weak familiar by her side.

    The sea of mes engulfed the lightning, and it got closer to Jane. Arthur used his sword to block the mes and tried his best to think of the skill he wanted to use.

    All of the students that were watching, and also Wisa, the teacher, thought that Arthur was insane to try something like that. Wisa was already moving to stop the mes if things went bad, but then, the extraordinary happened.

    Instead of the mes engulfing Arthur, it was the contrary. The sea of mes got sucked, going directly at Arthur¡¯s sword. The sword was zing, and Arthur could feel all the mana around him.

    Arthur knew that he could absorb all of the spells to his body, and make use of all of the mana. But that would not help in that situation, as he had no other spells to make use of the absorbed mana. And, he also did not want to showcase all of his abilities yet.

    The spell got contained inside Arthur¡¯s sword, and he tossed it towards Wisa. Everyone watching could not believe what was happening. Arthur not only parried the spell using a shitty sword, but he also tossed the spell toward the teacher.

    Wisa was surprised at the sudden events, but she knew the reasons behind them. Arthur could not toss it in any other direction, as the spell could hurt other students, or burn all of the green inside the academy. Wisa was the best option to stop the spell.

    Arthur also wanted to see if Wisa was strong. When the mes got near her, all she had to do was wave her hand, freezing the mes.

    ¡°What? Did she cast a spell that quickly?¡± Arthur thought. He did not see her drawing symbols or even using the tome. The mes got frozen in a matter of seconds.

    But, things did not end there. Arthur always had a n behind his actions. He stored a small particle of the spell inside his body and tossed it toward Lene. It was so small that no one could see it with naked eyes.

    The particle got closer and closer, and eventually, it hit Lene. Arthur aimed for the chest area, and the spell was so weak that Lene did not get hurt. But, that was not the n in the first ce. A piece of her outfit burnt, showing a perfect rounded boob.

    ¡°Ahhhh,¡± Lene yelled. She quickly understood what happened, and hid her right boob using her hands. But, Arthur saw it for a split second.

    No one suspected that Arthur was behind all of that. The spell lost control after colliding with Jane¡¯s spell, so it was not strange for a part of it to hit Lene.

    ¡°Just wait, Lene. You¡¯ll not be able to resist my charm. No one can,¡± Arthur thought.

    ~~~~

    Lene left the arena to change clothes, and Wisa told her that she did not need to return and that resting was the best thing she could do.

    Everyone could not understand how Arthur blocked the spell. Wisa gave him a normal sword, but she suspected that Arthur could somehow enchant the weapons.

    Anyway, Arthur and Jane won the match, passing the test. They stayed there to watch all of the other fights.

    ¡°Ahh, how beautiful it is to watch these hot women fight. Look at these boobs bouncing around. This is a paradise,¡± Arthur thought as he watched these beautiful scenes. Deep down, he wished that another student got her clothes burnt.

    Jane, who was sitting beside Arthur, asked what he did back there.

    ¡°How did you block that spell? It was awesome,¡± Jane said.

    ¡°I told you I¡¯m not simple.¡±

    ¡°Tell me, tell me.¡± Jane was curious, but Arthur thought that it was not the time to tell her about his powers.

    Arthur leaned closer to her, and a sweet perfume entered his nostrils. It reminded him of flowers. Arthur¡¯s blood pressure rose, and he could barely resist the temptation.

    Close to her ear, Arthur whispered, ¡°it¡¯s a secret.¡±

    Jane stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°how boring.¡±

    The fightsst for an hour, and when they all finished, Wisa came to talk with Arthur. She wanted to speak with him alone, so Jane gave them space to talk.

    ¡°Pretty good what you did back there,¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°I was only doing what I should.¡±

    ¡°Right. So, Arthur, I have an offer for you,¡±

    ¡°I saw that even though you blocked the spell, your knowledge in sword fighting iscking. Would you be interested to have private sses with me?¡± Wisa said.

    Arthur had no reasons to refuse that. He indeed wanted to learn how to use weapons, and there was also the fact that Wisa was, well, hot. She had soft red hair, and her body was something out of this world. Wisa practiced a lot of martial arts, different from the other wizards, so her body was more in shape. And, she was more mature. That alone would drive any man crazy.

    ¡°Will I have to pay? Money is not my strong point,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Not at all. If you promise me that you¡¯ll work hard. I don¡¯t toleratezy students,¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°I promise.¡±

    ¡°All right. Our private sses will start three days from now. Don¡¯t need to look out for me, I¡¯lle to you.¡± With that, Wisa left. She had to teach many people and not only Jane¡¯s ss.

    When Arthur returned, Jane did not ask what had happened. She knew that he would tell her at the right time.

    ¡°Well, I have to meet Marget. She is my private teacher. See youter, Arthur, bye,¡± Jane said.

    ¡°See ya!¡±

    Arthur¡¯s stomach grunted, and before he could think of a ce to eat, Annen passed by him. She was wearing a more seductive outfit than before, and some other girls followed her.

    ¡°Hey, Arthur. Want to go out for lunch? I brought some friends you may want to meet,¡± Annen said with a strange smile.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Arthur was ready for another round of training.

 Chapter 5

    They went to the same restaurant asst time. The owner of it did not give them free food, but at least she gave a discount. Annen said she would pay for Arthur¡¯s food, and he agreed.

    ¡°I brought three more friends, as you asked,¡± Annen said as they came up the stairs.

    ¡°Can we trust them?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Of course. These girls are from my group.¡±

    Arthur did not want the entire school to know about his thing. Who knows what the president would do if she discovered it. Frostpeak was a paradise, and Arthur would like to stay there.

    These three girls did not talk much. They kept quiet the entire way, and when they entered the restaurant¡¯s second floor, they attacked. One of them pushed Arthur towards the couch. The other two used their hands to lock Arthur in ce.

    They took off his clothes, and before Arthur could mutter a word, one of them said, ¡°don¡¯t say a word, master. We will take care of you now.¡±

    The three girls take turns sucking Arthur. Two sucked the dick, and the other worked on his balls. And to make things even better, Annen and Evel came to help.

    ¡°Master, suck my pussy,¡± Evel said.

    This time, Arthur did not need to move a muscle. Evel came running to get her pussy sucked. She had it yesterday and was already missing it.

    Annen joined the other three girls, but instead of only sucking, she also used her two big boobs, rubbing Arthur¡¯s cock between them.

    ¡°Ahhh,¡± Arthur said. He was enjoying the moment.

    The positionsts for a couple of minutes. Evel moaned as her pussy got sucked, and the others yed with Arthur¡¯s dick.

    ¡°All right. Who¡¯s pussy wants to taste my cock first?¡± Arthur said.

    .

    ¡°Me,¡± all of them said.

    Annen, who did not talk much, stepped up and said, ¡°I brought all of you here, and I¡¯m the leader of our group. So, I¡¯ll get the dick first, do you girls understand?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry girls,¡± Evel smiled, and said, ¡°Arthur has enough energy to fuck us for days.¡±

    Annen took the lead, mounting on Arthur. She moved her hips wildly, swallowing Arthur¡¯s dick with her pussy.

    ¡°Ahhhhh,¡± Annen moaned. The other girls watched everything, and all of their pussies were wet, dreaming about Arthur¡¯s dick inside them.

    Arthur fucked all of them until they could not move anymore. He moved his hips, thrusting his dick inside of them. The room was starting to get filled with some liquids, so Arthur ordered them to lick the floor.

    ¡°Look how much liquid from your pussies is on the ground. Lick that while I¡¯m fucking here. I¡¯ll fuck more the one who licks the most.¡±

    All of the girls smiled and started to work.

    ~~~~

    After they finished, all of them could barely walk. Arthur and the girls parted ways after leaving the restaurant. He did not ask the names of the three girls Annen brought along. They kept quiet and wanted to fuck only, so Arthur fulfilled her wishes.

    Arthur checked his level and was happy to see that fucking was surely a form of training.

    [Name: Arthur Willians(RANK F)

    [Level: 4]

    [Health: 160/160]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 2]

    [Agility: 1]

    [Vigor: 3]

    [Wisdom: 3]

    [Charm: 6]

    [Free points: 9]

    ¡°I gained two levels. That¡¯s huge. I have nine free points in total, hm,¡± Arthur thought. At the moment, he was inclined to take the melee path. Wisa told him she would teach him, so that was a reason to get more points into the stats that helped him fight with weapons.

    Arthur also did not know a single spell, so wisdom would prove to be useless to him. So, he invested his points into strength, agility, and vigor. Arthur wanted all of these three statuses at five.

    [Name: Arthur Willians(RANK F)

    [Level: 4]

    [Health: 180/180]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 5]

    [Agility: 5]

    [Vigor: 5]

    [Wisdom: 3]

    [Charm: 6]

    [Free points: 0]

    After he spent all of his points, Arthur could sense that his body was different. He used few points, yet it already made a difference.

    Anyway, after what happened, Arthur returned to his dorm. Jane was anxiously waiting for him.

    ¡°Arthur, finally,¡± Jane said. She got up from the bed as soon as Arthur entered the room.

    ¡°Did something happen?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Marget is calling us in her office, so let¡¯s go.¡±

    Marget was the president. There was no way Arthur or Jane would keep her waiting. They left as quickly as possible, aiming for the main building.

    They passed by a lot of students and they always gazed at Arthur. He was the hot topic of the academy, and that would surelyst a long time.

    The main building of the academy was huge. It was where a lot of ssrooms were. Marget¡¯s office was on thest floor, so Arthur and Jane had to walk a lot to get there.

    Jane knocked, and a voice said, e in.¡±

    Marget was behind a desk, gazing at the door. She told them to sit, and they did.

    ¡°You must be wondering why I called you here today. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯re both nervous,¡± Margetughed.

    ¡°I called you here because we have a mission. You see, Arthur is the first known human from the Dream Realm. There are a lot of people who would want to get their hands on him and harm him,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not one of these people. Jane is like family to me, and you are her familiar. I¡¯ll protect you no matter what,¡±

    ¡°This academy is no longer safe. You must know that when you came out, a lot of students saw you,¡± Marget said that looking directly at Arthur.

    ¡°Students cannot leave the academy as of now, but they will be able to in about four months. The information about you will leak when that happens. I¡¯m sure of it,¡±

    ¡°We have four months to prepare to leave this ce.¡±

    Arthur and Jane listened to everything, and could not mutter a word. She was right. Arthur knew that. No human came out from the Dream Realm, so he was fated to face danger. He felt d that he got summoned inside that academy. That fact got him four months to prepare before leaving.

    ¡°We cannot stay in this country. I¡¯lle up with a n. You two only need to get stronger and prepare to leave in four months. And, there¡¯s also another bad news,¡±

    ¡°A tournament will be held two months from now. First, we will do an inner tournament with all of the first years students, and the winner of it will be fighting outside of the academy. You two can see where I¡¯m going, right? Marget said.

    It was bad. Jane had to win the tournament. If another student does that and leaks Arthur¡¯s existence, the n would be doomed.

    ¡°Jane, we will be having more private sses,¡± Marget said.

    ~~~~

    They left the office with a bad taste in their mouths. If it was not bad enough that they had to leave in four months. Things gotplicated, and both he and Jane needed to get stronger.

    ¡°Can we do this?¡± Jane said. She was not confident in winning against all first-year students. Some of them were stronger, and she only had two months to prepare.

    ¡°Why are you doubting yourself? Aren¡¯t you the prettiest girl around here with a rare mana core? Cast thunder on them, and wipe their asses,¡± Arthur said.

    Jane smiled after hearing that, and her spirits lifted, ¡°you are right. Thank you, Arthur.¡±

    Things got a lot moreplicated. Arthur thought he could stay inside the academy for at least a year, and get tons of levels, but that was not the case anymore. He wanted to get stronger and have fun fucking some hot girls, but if he stayed there, his life could be in danger.

    If he died, it was over. So, he had to prepare. Marget said she would take care of the n, and this sort of thing, so Arthur could focus on getting stronger, and help Jane win the tournament.

    ¡°Well, at least this will allow me to explore the world, and find more hot girls,¡± Arthur thought.

    The two of them got back to the dorm. Jane still had some sses to attend during the afternoon, but Arthur was free to do whatever he wanted. There was still time for Wisa to start teaching him how to use a sword, but maybe he could start the training alone.

    So, Arthur left the dorm, going directly towards the woods. He wanted not only to start his sword practice but also to learn how to survive. This would help him a lot once they left the academy.

    The woods were somewhat far from the main building. Arthur walked, enduring the hot sunlight that made his body sweat. Once he got deeper into the woods, a water sound entered his ears.

    Arthur followed the sound. He wanted to take a shower after sweating so much. But what he found was even better.

    A waterfall with a naked girl on it. She was not only taking a shower, but also ying with her pussy, and moaning gently.

 Chapter 6

    It was not right to spy on others, but Arthur couldn¡¯t help it. The scene he witnessed was something beyond his limits of enduring.

    Arthur had no idea who that girl was as Frostpeak had many students. He couldn¡¯t know everyone. But she had one thing inmon with all of the others. She was hot.

    The girl had long blue hair and soft skin that most girls would envy. Not only that, but her waist was small and her boobs perfect. And she was ying with her pussy to spice up the scene.

    She moaned, not caring if others would listen to it. Well, no students went to that part of the academy. It was deep into the woods, and most people preferred the civilization.

    Arthur hid behind a bush and pondered what his next moves would be. If he showed up out of nowhere to talk to her, she would be embarrassed and think he was spying on her. But there was one way around it.

    Theke she was bathing in was considerably big. It had a waterfall attached to it, making everything prettier. Arthur had the brilliant idea of bath himself as well. Arthur took out his clothes, showing his thin but well-toned body. He entered theke and felt the refreshing water touching his body.

    It took some time for the girl to notice Arthur. Once she did, she stopped ying with her pussy, and started to focus on him. For her, it looked like Arthur had not seen her yet. He was bathing and not looking at a hot girl like herself. The only exnation was that Arthur had not seen her, and after deducting that, the girl sighed in relief.

    But the truth? Arthur had tremendous willpower and was only ying like a fool. Meanwhile, the girl was so dazed by what happened that she did not realize the fact Arthur was a man.

    She almost screamed once she noticed that. The only man that could be inside the academy was the one from the rumors.

    ¡°I can finally meet him, aah,¡± she thought.

    Arthur looked at a distance and saw a girl swimming in his direction. She was smiling, and he could not understand the reason behind it. Everything was strange. There was also the fact that the girl did not get embarrassed and was swimming towards him, naked.

    ¡°Helloooo!¡± she yelled.

    .

    ¡°I¡¯m Lilia, a big admirer of yours.¡±

    ¡°Admirer of what? Of how good-looking I am?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°That too.¡±

    Lilia got near him after swimming for some time. Both of them had no clothes on, creating a sexy atmosphere.

    ¡°Are you Arthur? Everyone talks about you, yet this is the first time I have seen you,¡± Lilia said.

    ¡°Yes, I am, and this is also the first time I see you. I would never forget a gorgeous woman like you.¡±

    Lilia¡¯s cheeks turned red, and she could barely resist Arthur.

    ¡°I spent most of my time in the woods. That is why you never saw me.¡±

    ¡°Really? But you still need to attend ss, right?¡±

    ¡°I do, but I¡¯m from the second year,¡± Lilia said.

    That exined a lot. Lilia was a second-year student and went to a different part of the academy to study. That was the reason why Arthur never saw her.

    But she was doing what spending most of her time in the woods? Arthur wished to know.

    ¡°Second year? You are strong!¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that, but yes, I know things,¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to show you?¡± Lilia said.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    Arthur expected a magic trick or spell but got something better. Lilia¡¯s hand searched for a dick beneath the water, and once she did find it, she rubbed it gently.

    Lilia got even closer, and her perfect boobs touched Arthur¡¯s chest. It was soft and made Arthur¡¯s dick even harder. She kissed him and started to rub the dick harder.

    Arthur was no fool, and he used his free hands to y with her pussy. While she rubbed his dick, he was fingering her pussy. Both of them moaned and got lost in pleasure.

    ¡°Ahhhh.¡±

    ¡°Come if you want to fuck me,¡± Lilia said.

    It was difficult to have proper sex inside ake, so they went out of it. The surroundings had many bushes, so Arthur and Lilia fucked behind one.

    Arthur¡¯s dick went in and out of her pussy. He got blessed at birth, so his ¡®hidden weapon¡¯ was more like a spear. Lilia tried with him many positions. Doggystyle, cowgirl, and some Arthur did not know the name.

    ¡°I¡¯m almost cumming.¡±

    ¡°Please, I want it,¡± Lilia said.

    She got to her knees and used her boobs to rub Arthur¡¯s dick. Lilia used her mouth as well to suck it. The soft sensation of two big boobs rubbing his dick was something Arthur could not resist.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡±

    A load of cum directly inside Lilia¡¯s mouth. She smiled and did not let a single drop fall.

    ~~~~

    Lilia was lying on the ground after what happened. It was not the first time she fucked, but it was the first time someone fucked her that hard. She lost the count of how many times she orgasmed, and Arthur¡¯s dick size was something she thought was impossible.

    ¡°I want to fuck like this more often. If you promise to fuck me at least once a week, I can call you master,¡± Lilia said.

    ¡°Once a week? I can fuck you again right now.¡±

    Arthur¡¯s dick was hard again, and he was thirsty for more.

    ¡°Right now?¡± Lilia had her eyes wide open. She had never seen a man with that much energy.

    ¡°Please, master, fuck me again. Fuck me as many as you want.¡± Lilia wanted to try something different.

    ¡°Master, make my asshole your deposit of cum,¡± Lilia said.

    She waved her hands and cast a water-type spell, lubricating Arthur¡¯s dick, and her asshole. It all happened out of a sudden.

    ¡°Damn. I¡¯lle here every day,¡± Arthur thought.

    Lilia took care of everything, and Arthur had only one thing to do, thrust his dick into her asshole. So, he did. The spell she cast was effective as Lilia did not scream in pain when her asshole got destroyed. Seeing that, Arthur fuck her even harder.

    She faced the ground, and her ass was aiming at the sky. Arthur¡¯s dick did not stop moving. Lilia squirted many times and had only one thought in mind.

    ¡°I love anal sex. I¡¯ll give my ass to you every day. Please make me your bitch,¡± Lilia said.

    Arthur still could not figure out how he got so many hot girls to fuck him. He was good-looking, of course, but he must have something else. The only thing that came to mind was his strange system and how his Dream Realm abilities work.

    As Lilia wished, Arthur fucked her non-stop. He cummed three times inside her asshole, and that was proof that his system turned him into a sex specialist.

    Lilia was on the ground, and she was so tired that she couldn¡¯t move.

    ¡°Did you like it?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I loved it, master. But ill need some time to recover my energies,¡± Lilia said.

    ¡°It is okay. You did well today. But Lilia, I have some things to do, so we will see again soon, okay?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Of course, master.¡±

    ~~~~

    The reason for going into the woods was to train. Arthur meeting Lilia was something he had not predicted. He walked deeper and deeper into the woods as he looked for a nice spot to start his training.

    Arthur found some chopped trees that he could use as dummies. These chopped trees could break his sword, but he was not worried. The academy gave him as many basic swords as he wanted.

    Wisa did not start to train him yet. Arthur had no idea how to enter into a sword stance. He had only seen people fight using swords in the movies he watched back in his world. But he swang his sword nheless.

    Arthur could not train properly without knowing the basics, but he still could adapt to the rapid growth in strength. Every single point he used to upgrade his attributes changed a lot. He was improving quickly.

    And he also wanted to improve his survival skills. Arthur already knew that most mages did not know how to survive in the wilderness. They were like spoiled kids. Now that he needed to leave the academy, it was best if he learned these things. After all, Arthur did not want to die in this magical world.

    With a few stones, blocks of wood, and fuel, Arthur built an improvised campfire. But, there was a problem. He did not know how to start a fire using friction, like the shows he used to watch.

    ¡°Now is the time that I stay here for hours trying to start a fire. I need to learn how to cast a fireball¡­¡±

 Chapter 7

    Starting up fire was not as simple as Arthur thought. Sure it would be a lot easier if he had the means to cast a fireball, but that was not within his reach for the time being.

    The sun was setting, and the nightly creatures went out chasing prey. Arthur spent hours trying the friction method to create fire. He aplished that a few moments before nightfall.

    Another thing he wished to master was hunting. Arthur was not entirely clueless about it, as he went to some summer camps back in his world. But the problem was that few animals lived in the academy¡¯s woods. And, as far as Arthur knew, no one could hunt there.

    The only thing Arthur could think of was to train outside the academy. He wasn¡¯t sure if Marget would allow him to leave, but he would ask her regardless.

    ¡°At least I managed to start a fire. Other things will have to wait,¡± thought Arthur. He left the woods after that, going directly to his dorm. ording to his calctions, Wisa would start their training tomorrow, and that thought made him excited.

    He also forgot to check how much experience he got after having sex with Lilia, so he did that on his way back to the dorm.

    [Name: Arthur Willians(RANK F)

    [Level: 6]

    [Health: 220/220]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    .

    [Strength: 5]

    [Agility: 5]

    [Vigor: 5]

    [Wisdom: 3]

    [Charm: 6]

    [Free points: 6]

    ¡°I got two levels? Damn. I guess fucking seniors have an advantage after all,¡± Arthur thought.

    He was starting to think that fucking stronger people gave him more experience than usual. Arthur thought that preying on his seniors more often would only benefit him.

    After getting two levels, Arthur also got six free points to use. He opted to utilize themter, as usual. These points were precious as he had no idea if he could reroll them.

    It took him some time to get to the dorm. Surprisingly, Jane was already deeply asleep. Arthur noticed how her face looked tired and worried. She probably spent the day training with Marget, which made her tired. That would exin why she was sleeping so early in the evening.

    ¡°But what can I do now? There is no one to talk to, and the ss only starts tomorrow,¡± thought Arthur.

    He was not tired yet, but there was nothing else to do at that point. Picking up some books from the library would make his night more pleasant, but he had not done it due toziness. That had been a mistake.

    Arthury on his bed, staring at the roof. Millions of things crossed his mind, and he tried his best to maintain focus on what he had to do. There was a tournament he had to win.

    Sleep took some time toe, and Arthur could only wait. The funny thing was that when he finally managed to sleep, he snored so loudly that Jane woke up.

    ~~~~

    The sun returned, and birds sang with it. It was early in the morning.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake. Here, I made breakfast for us,¡± Jane said. She got up earlier to prepare food for them.

    ¡°Finally awake? Sorry that I did not sleep in the afternoon like you.¡±

    ¡°Make fun now. Marget pushed me hard in training, and I¡¯m sure Wisa will do the same with you.¡±

    ¡°She can try. Resistance is one of my best traits,¡± Arthur said.

    Jane prepared some eggs for them. It was funny that some of the foods in that world were so simr. The taste of it was the same.

    After they ate, Jane and Arthur went to the ssroom. There were some new subjects, not only for Arthur but for everyone in the ss.

    A woman entered the ssroom. She had green hair and wore sses. She was different from all of the women Arthur had seen so far.

    The ss went silent, waiting for her to speak. Marget, the academy¡¯s president, punished whoever messed up inside the ssroom. So, none of them wanted to enrage the teacher on her first day.

    ¡°Hello, everyone,¡± she said, dropping her bag filled with things above the desk.

    ¡°I¡¯m Myria. I teach Alchemy here in the academy. None of you heard of it because it is not a subject for first-year students. I have no idea why Marget asked me to teach it, but there is nothing we can do about it,¡± Myria said.

    ¡°Alchemy!¡± Arthur thought. That piqued his interest instantly. If it was simr to the idea he had in mind, then that was a subject he wished to master. Brewing potions seemed fun.

    ¡°Anyone of you heard about Alchemy?¡± Myria said. She waited only for a fraction of a second before talking again. It wasmon sense that they would not know anything about it.

    ¡°I suspected much. So, let me exin the basics,¡± Myria got up and wrote on the board, ¡®The basics of Alchemy.¡¯

    ¡°Alchemy is the art of brewing potions. Not only that, but it is also a meticulous study of all nts in our world,¡±

    ¡°Some nts helped our ancestors with a bellyache or othermon issues,¡±

    ¡°But we, mages, went far in this field of study and researched about the nts that mutated due to magic,¡±

    ¡°Almost all raw nts harm our body. We, alchemists, experiment with the bestbination of nts to do the opposite and strengthen our body in some aspect,¡±

    ¡°Take Aglovil, per example. It is amon magical herb in our region, and if you eat it raw, it will harm your body. Some people experience pain, while others puke. But, if you mix it with Gekunut, boiling at the right temperature, this potion can improve your mana core and make you absorb mana easily for some time,¡± Myria said.

    Everyone listened carefully to it, and all of them were impressed. The effects of these potions could help them in many aspects. But all of the students also knew that creating these potions was not something simple.

    ¡°This is awesome. Now I want to learn how to fight using a sword and potions. I¡¯ll look exactly like a fictional character from my world,¡± Arthur thought.

    Before Myria said these things, Arthur had a rough idea about how Alchemy worked. But maybe it could be different in this world, so he kept quiet when she asked if they knew about it. In the end, it was the same.

    Now, that was a subject that grabbed his attention. The system he had improved his body by putting points in his attributes, like a game. If Arthur managed to drink potions on top of that, then he would turn into a killing machine.

    ¡°Now,¡± Myria picked up a pile of books from her bag and said, ¡°all of youe here and grab one.¡±

    All students got up from their seats and grabbed a book. Arthur did the same. The book had the title ¡®Alchemy for Beginners: Basics Recipes.¡¯

    Myria took out some tools from her bag and gave them to each student. It was a cauldron.

    ¡°Open at page 12,¡± Myria said.

    The book was thick, and page 12 was only the beginning of it. Each page had a different recipe, and the one from page 12 was ¡®sk of the Spirit.¡¯

    ¡°This is a recipe for a potion that enhances the speed of your meditation, allowing you to absorb more mana from the atmosphere. Remember the example I gave a few moments ago? This potion has the same principle, but it actually uses other ingredients,¡±

    ¡°Alchemy is a new andplicated subject. The samebination of herbs can have multiple effects, and adding only oneponent can change the effect,¡± Myria said.

    The sk of the Spirit had the same effect as the example potion, but the book said that one needed Nere Leaf and Ridamon to brew it. Arthur had no idea what these ingredients were. It was a good thing that the book had images of it, as well as some of its effects. It also had a step-by-step of how to prepare the potion.

    Arthur read the entire page and frowned. It was moreplicated than he thought it would be. One needed the exact amount of each ingredient. The temperature was another problem. If it was too high, then the potion would fail. If it was too low, then the potion would fail. It was not an easy process, and Arthur understood why it was a subject only for older students. Alchemy required deep control. Most of these first-year students could barely control their own mana.

    But none of that discouraged Arthur. The fact that it was a new field in this world, and that it had room for a lot of discoveries made him excited. He wanted to be the master of it, and the first step toward this goal was to produce this sk of the Spirit in his first ss.

    ¡°I need to impress Myria. Not only because Alchemy is fun, but also because I want to fuck her too,¡± Arthur thought.

 Chapter 8

    All students read the instructions, and none of them were willing to start brewing the potion. It was a fact that the first that started would catch everyone¡¯s attention.

    Myria not only gave them the cauldron but some other tools like a knife to cut the ingredients. With that came a problem. The only way to heat the cauldron was using mana. Even if one was not a fire mage, they could still cast smaller mes, and these were what they used for Alchemy. But how could Arthur do it? He was incapable of regenerating mana outside of the Dream Realm. Even though casting a simple me was easy, it was still something Arthur could not do.

    No one knew the fact that he could not regenerate mana. Others beastly familiars also came from the Dream Realm, and they could use their mana how they wished. Arthur still has no idea why he had these restrictions.

    But, when everything seemed lost, a savior. Arthur was starting to think that he was lucky.

    ¡°Excuse me, Myria,¡± Wisa said. She showed up at the ssroom door, and no one could figure out why.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Myria said.

    ¡°Can I borrow one of your students? It will not take long.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Why not?¡±

    .

    Wisa pointed at Arthur and then waved her hand, stating that he should follow her. It was not as if he could change the oue by staying inside that room, so he left.

    She was waiting for him in the corridor with something special in her hands, a sword. It was still on the sheath, but anyone could guess it was a sword. Speaking of the sheath, it was well-adorned with fments made of pure gold. It did look precious, and the thought of having that sword made Arthur uneasy.

    ¡°Here, take this,¡± Wisa said, handing the sword to him.

    ¡°But why? It is not as if I¡¯m a prestigious student in the academy or anything like that. I can¡¯t ept this,¡± Arthur said. He was being serious about it. Arthur was not the type of person to get things without deserving them.

    ¡°Take it. I would give it to you if you impressed me in our training. And for some reason, Marget asked me to give it to your earlier, so there is nothing I can¡¯t do to change that,¡±

    ¡°But know that you must work hard in our training, or I¡¯ll personally punish you,¡± Wisa said.

    Arthur could only ept the gift in the end. When he got his hands on the sword, he felt something strange. It was a feeling he had felt before but couldn¡¯t tell what it was.

    ¡°This sword is enchanted with fire. I used it in my adventurer days.¡± Wisa seemed to get lost in thoughts as she said that.

    ¡°Anyway, this sword has a finite amount of mana. But don¡¯t worry, it absorbs the atmosphere mana. So even if you use all of the sword¡¯s enchantment, it will still restore after some time.¡± Wisa left after she exined why the sword was so special.

    But Arthur stayed in the corridor for some time, thinking about how lucky he was.

    ¡°Universe is truly helping me out here.¡± Smiling, he returned to the ssroom.

    Their chatting had notsted long, and the students had yet to start brewing the potion. Everyone nced at the sword attached to Arthur¡¯s back, but no one said a word. Wisa was a harsh teacher, and for her to be giving a student a present, something was up.

    Arthur sat there and pondered if he should be the first one to try. He did not care about being the first to start or finish. The only thing that mattered, in the end, was the finished product.

    The book stated that the Nere Leaf had to go first inside the cauldron. Another thing was that Arthur needed to cut it into pieces, and all of them had to have the same size.

    ¡°The Nere Leaf absorbs mana through its roots, and all of it goes to the leaves,¡±

    ¡°So why can¡¯t we cut out the root? It is not as if we will nt this again. And I¡¯m sure that this root has a lot of impurities. The book said that only the leaves mattered anyway,¡± thought Arthur.

    When Myria said that the Alchemy field was new and there was room for improvements, Arthur instantly wanted to deviate from the usual path. Doing the same things over and over again would grant the same result. Back in Arthur¡¯s world, all inventions came from brilliant minds who did things others did not.

    Without caring about what others would think, Arthur, cut the root of the Nere Leaf. Everyone watched his moves closely, and no one could understand what he was doing. The rest of the students decided to start their brewing process as they could not stand still forever.

    Myria was the only one that kept watching Arthur. She was sure that his brewing would fail. The book never said to cut the roots of the Nere Leaf, and all alchemists followed the recipes in a precise manner.

    ~~~~

    Arthur used the knife to cut the Nere Leaf into pieces. He then filled the cauldron with water and put all of the Nere Leaf inside. The next step was to concentrate the mana and heat it. Arthur grabbed his newly acquired sword and started to drain the mana from it. He did not know if that would work, but it did. Not only did he have mana, but it was also mana of the fire type and a pure one.

    A small me formed beneath the cauldron, and Myria was surprised to see it. It had better quality than most mes from other students.

    Arthur controlled the me to keep a steady temperature throughout the process. The book said the best temperature for each stage, and Arthur did not want to change that. He needed a lot of knowledge in the field to change these sorts of aspects. Trying to cut the root from one ingredient was already bold enough.

    It was a difficult task to keep track of the me¡¯s temperature. But somehow, the fire felt like a part of Arthur, and he knew how to control it without putting much effort.

    After Arthur burnt all of the Nere Leaf impurities, it was time to add the Ridamon. While the Nere Leaf had a greenish aspect, the Ridamon was ck and looked like a dead nt. It had some holes in it, and it was as if it had not seen water in ages. Arthur knew that everything was correct with the nt. These were its characteristics that most people would confuse with a dead nt.

    There were not many things to do with the Ridamon, only to throw it inside the cauldron and heat it. Arthur did that, mixing it up with the Nere Leaf.

    Now, thest part of the process was also the hardest one. To purify the Ridamon, one needed a slightly hotter temperature than the Nere Leaf, but if it was too high then the Nere Leaf would die, turning everything into a failed potion.

    It demanded a high level of control, and most students, especially the first-year ones, could not do it. That was the reason Alchemy was a subject for more advanced mages.

    But, that was only a problem for others. The me was already a part of Arthur, and he could control its temperature as easily as walking. Sweat dripped from Arthur¡¯s forehead as he increased the temperature of his me. He made sure to keep track of it to not burn the Nere Leaf, and slowly he was starting to mix the two ingredients.

    Myria thought Arthur would not seed, as she never heard of anyone who managed to brew a potion on their first try. But, just like she got surprised after hearing she would have to teach Alchemy to new students, she was surprised once again.

    After the process concluded, a sweaty fragrance traveled throughout the ssroom. That was not an indicator that the potion had been a sess, but it was surely better than the smell of burnt herbsing from the other cauldrons.

    ¡°Let me see this,¡± Myria got up from her desk and rushed toward the cauldron. Most alchemists had to taste their potions to see if it was beneficial or not, so Myria developed a huge resistance to harmful substances. She was the only one that could taste the potion and not suffer from side effects if it was a failure.

    Myria used a spoon to get a sip from the cauldron. When she did that, everyone in the ss watched, waiting for the oue. Myria started to breathe heavier, and her blouse button opened, giving Arthur a taste of how her boobs looked.

    He had done what no one managed to do it before. Myria grabbed both of his shoulders, getting close to him. Her boobs rubbed on his chest, and she looked at him in ecstasy.

    ¡°Would you ept me as your teacher?¡±

    Arthur got surprised by that. But of course, he would say yes. Not only did he wish to learn more about alchemy, but Myria was a good-looking woman.

    He said yes, fantasizing about a threesome of him, Myria, and Wisa.

    ¡°I ept!¡±

 Chapter 9

    The ss had been a sess for Arthur. Not only did he impress Myria, but he also got six sks of potion using the cauldron content. It was a potion that helped increase the speed of how much one could absorb mana. Arthur could not regenerate mana, so for him, it was useless. But for Jane, who had a tournament to win was a blessing.

    Myria took one sk of it for study. Arthur was okay with that, as she had been the one who gave all of the ingredients anyway.

    ¡°Here, take it,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t ept it,¡± Jane said.

    ¡°Please? I made the potions, so it is fair that I decide what to do with them,¡±

    ¡°You need them more than me. Please, Jane?¡± Arthur said.

    Jane did not want to ept that as a gift. Potions were expensive items, and if Arthur wanted to get some money for himself, then selling these sks would do just that.

    But, after many tries, Jane decided to ept it. Arthur was shoving the potions in her throat anyway.

    The ss ended, and Myria did not get into the details about being Arthur¡¯s teacher. Maybe she wanted to study the final product before doing something like that, so Arthur could only wait.

    All students sighed in relief after the ss ended. They could now rest and do fun things. As for Arthur, he still had to face Wisa¡¯s training, which would surely be difficult. But that was a price he had to pay if he wanted to get stronger.

    Wisa¡¯s ss was over, and she and Arthur met in the hallway. Wisa, being a teacher at the academy, was very busy with various tasks. Therefore, she didn¡¯t want to waste time and soon asked Arthur to follow her to the training ce.

    .

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know when we¡¯re there,¡± Wisa said and then looked at himughing, ¡°don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you. At least not now.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t veryforting to Arthur, but there was nothing he could do, so he just epted the jokesing from Wisa. Whether or not that was a joke, Arthur would soon find out.

    They walked past much of the academy. Virtually all the students had curious looks when they saw Wisa walking side by side with a student. And it was not a regr student but the only man inside Frostpeak Academy.

    ¡°What are they going to do?¡± a student said in a sexual tone.

    ¡°Are you thinking nonsense? If Wisa finds out about this, you¡¯re screwed.¡±

    Wisa only needed to look in their direction for the students to shut up. They didn¡¯t want to spoil their time at the academy by spreading gossip. Wisa was a harsh teacher, and if she wanted to, she could make any student¡¯s life hell.

    ~~~~

    The training location that Wisa chose was inside the forest. Arthur found that amusing as he had gone into the woods to try to practice swordsmanship. And in the end, that idea didn¡¯t work out very well.

    They arrived in an open part of the forest, which provided the necessary space for training.

    Wisa looked seriously at Arthur, who was visibly nervous.

    ¡°Do you have any idea how to use a sword?¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never used a sword before,¡± Arthur said.

    The scene looked funny as Arthur said it with such pride as if he was beating his chest and telling the whole world that he was horrible with a sword.

    ¡°Teaching you is going to be more trouble than I thought. Well, do you remember the promise you made?¡± Wisa said.

    Arthur knew the thing she was referring to, and so he said, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll do my best not to dishonor your name. You can be sure I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    Wisa liked those words. But in the end, what mattered were the actions. Anyone can talk and talk, but not all people show it.

    ¡°Good. So, please analyze my movements well, and try to replicate them,¡± said Wisa.

    Since there weren¡¯t many tools to aid in training, Wisa used a log as a makeshift training dummy. Shortly after that, she entered a stance with the sword point facing backward.

    ¡°This stance is called the back right. I think it¡¯s the easiest stance for a beginner like you to learn. Now pay close attention,¡± Wisa said.

    What she showed was a string of attacks. First, a shes from the right, then the left, and finishes with a piercing blow. It appeared to be a standard sequence of attacks, and Arthur thought it would be easy to replicate. Well, he was wrong.

    ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn,¡± Wisa said.

    Arthur went to the front of the training dummy and tried to do the same moves that Wisa had just done. And it was a disaster. Arthur couldn¡¯t stay in the right form, and his attacks seemed to have no impact.

    Wisa went up to him and showed him all the things he was doing wrong. First, he was barely bending his knees, which considerably lessened the power of impact. And on top of that, he wasn¡¯t using the strength of his legs.

    Arthur paid close attention to what she said, and by the end of the training session, he was able to at least stay in the correct stance.

    His attacks still seemed to do little damage, but Wisa told him that it would still take some time to improve. And with that, the ss ended.

    Wisa promised that she would give Arthur two lessons a week. This was already a huge help that many people would kill for. Arthur knew that Wisa had several sses within the academy that she needed to teach, so hermitment to two sses a week was already impressive.

    Arthur was walking alone through the forest when Lilia appeared out of nowhere giving him a scare.

    ¡°You got scared, did you?¡± Lilia said,ughing at Arthur¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°But of course. We¡¯re in the middle of nowhere. And what the hell are you doing here?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I live here. Well it¡¯s a long story but I don¡¯t live in the dorms anymore but in a cabin here in the middle of the woods. Want to go check it out? It¡¯s not that far from here, I promise.¡±

    ¡°Sure, why not?¡±

    ~~~~

    Why Lilia lived in the middle of the forest was unknown to Arthur, but that didn¡¯t make him afraid. It was obvious that if Lilia had done something terrible, she would have been kicked out of the academy.

    ¡°How long have you lived here?¡±

    ¡°Since freshman year here at the academy. I moved here halfway throughst year,¡± Lilia said.

    ¡°Plenty of time. Aren¡¯t you afraid to be alone here?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m a powerful mage, remember?¡± Lilia smiled.

    Sometimes Arthur seemed to forget that this world was different from where he came from. Here being alone in a forest was not a problem for those who were strong.

    ¡°Ta-da. We¡¯re here.¡±

    Lilia¡¯s house was a small house made of wood. It had some rare windows, and Arthur could notice several books and even a cauldron inside the house. What stood out the most was the huge garden outside with many beautiful flowers, many that Arthur had never seen in his life.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little simple, but it¡¯s a quiet ce. It¡¯s great to live away from that messy dorm room,¡± Lilia said.

    ¡°I agree with you on that part. That dorm is noisy.¡±

    ¡°Well,e take a look inside,¡± Lilia said.

    The interior of the cabin was exactly as Arthur had imagined it would be. Simple wooden furniture, and many books rted to magic. Seeing a cauldron inside the house, Arthur couldn¡¯t help but ask if Lilia liked alchemy, and discovered that in fact, it was one of his favorite subjects.

    ¡°I hear you impressed our teacher Myria on your first day of school. I remember on my first day I could barely name the ingredients, let alone make a potion,¡± Lilia said.

    Now that Arthur thought about it, Lilia, who was in her second year, was just starting to learn alchemy. In that regard, maybe they weren¡¯t very far from each other.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a big deal. I think it was just luck,¡± Arthur said.

    Of course, Lilia doesn¡¯t fall for this lucky bullshit. No luck in the world made anyone create a potion in her first ss.

    ¡°Well, Arthur. I was wondering if you could help me create a potion? I can repay you in many ways,¡± Lilia said.

    Arthur knew what ways were going through Lilia¡¯s mind, and of course, he agreed to help her. Though he had no idea how a rookie like him could help.

    ¡°I want to create the same potion you made today. I¡¯ve already got the ingredients for a try. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m always ready, Lilia.¡±

    Arthur wanted to practice anyway, so that was an opportunity he could not miss.

 Chapter 10

    Arthur pointed to the root and said, ¡°Cut it. It will make your potion purer.¡±

    ¡°Really? I thought we should faithfully follow the recipe,¡± Lilia said.

    ¡°Most of the time, yes, we should, but some adjustments are always wee,¡± said Arthur.

    The rest of the recipe remained the same. Arthur hadn¡¯t found any other changes that worked, and he wouldn¡¯t try anything new with Lilia. They finished it in no time, but it was clear that Lilia spent quite some energy brewing the potion. Well, she still had the energy for other things with Arthur.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    ¡°Deeper!¡±

    .

    Lilia felt Arthur¡¯s penis going in and out nonstop. The pleasure was enormous, and her legs were shaking with each orgasm. It was something she had never felt before. It was as if Arthur outdid himself every time they fucked.

    ¡°Please fuck me. I¡¯m your little bitch, master!¡± said Lilia as she squirted.

    That moment brought a sense of pleasure to both of them. Arthur was sure that helping her make the potion was the right choice.

    All of Lilia¡¯s holes suffered the same fate. Not that she everined about it. She loved doing anal.

    The sex was perfect, but what came after it disappointed Arthur.

    The number of experience points he got after they fucked was low. It seemed the system didn¡¯t allow Arthur to fuck the same person multiple times to guarantee unlimited experience points.

    After each fuck, the amount of experience decreased.

    ¡°For me, this isn¡¯t a problem. It only means I need to explore new pussy, which is perfect,¡± thought Arthur.

    Lilia knew nothing of what was going on inside Arthur¡¯s mind. The only thing she worried about was getting fucked over and over by her master. She was lying in the middle of the cabin, almost unconscious. But the smile on her face was evident.

    Arthur left that cabin in the woods and returned to his dorm. He didn¡¯t have any more sses to attend. The truth is, staying inside the academy was starting to bore him. Not that being stuck in a ce full of hot girls was boring. But it was a fact that Arthur wanted to explore this gigantic world and delve into unexplored caves. It was a pity that the tournament would only take ce in 2 months.

    Well, Arthur was optimistic that time would pass quickly. On her way to the dorm, Myria appeared, suddenly, with a vial in her hand. Arthur was impressed by her quickness of analysis and was even happier to learn that she was returning a dose of the potion he had made.

    ¡°Here, take it. I¡¯ve already studied theposition of this potion, and I must admit you impressed me, boy,¡± Myria said.

    ¡°Thanks, Myria. But enlighten me on how I impressed you,¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°Well, first, you made a tough potion in your first ss, which is extraordinary. But it wasn¡¯t just that. It also has incredible purity, and I daresay this may have been due to your modification in the recipe.

    ¡°I feel amazing when you talk like that. Well, what about that idea of being my teacher?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what I came to discuss. I see great potential in you, and I believe you can be one of the greatest alchemists in the world. Would you agree to be my student?¡±

    Arthur didn¡¯t have to think long to ept that proposal. Alchemy was already something he was very interested in, and well, Myria was a hot woman. He knew it would be hard to fuck her, but it was something he¡¯d promised himself to achieve.

    ¡°Of course I do,¡± said Arthur.

    Myria seemed to know that he would ept, as soon after that, she took several books out of her bag, handing them to Arthur.

    ¡°These are books with various potion forms and information on various types of magical herbs. Some of them you can even find deep in the forest here at the academy,¡±

    ¡°And this will be your first test. You will need to find out which form uses the magic herbs here in the forest and then make the potion,¡±

    ¡°You have two weeks toplete. Bye!¡± Myria said. She walked away, giving no chance for questioning.

    That test didn¡¯t look easy. The books Arthur received were thick, and they certainly had many potion forms. How he would find the right one was still a mystery, but he wasn¡¯t the type of person to give up easily.

    The rest of the way to the dorm was smooth. Nothing unordinary happened, just a few curious nces from the students walking around the academy. Arthur was already used to those looks, so he wasn¡¯t bothered anymore.

    As soon as Arthur walked into his room, Jane wasn¡¯t there. He¡¯d already imagined that Jane was undergoing rigorous training, but this seemed extreme. Arthur could barely see her during the day, and she only appeared at night to sleep like a rock. Marget seemed to bemitted to making her win the tournament. Not just to gain prestige for her student but also to protect Arthur from being discovered.

    Arthur took advantage of the fact that the dorm was still silent to check the books Myria had given him. All the books, without exception, had a lot of information. All magical herbs were detailed, with pictures and descriptions of their known uses.

    Arthur soon realized that many of the herbs looked simr. He needed to take his time and study these books slowly. However, something happened that distracted him from his reading. A person he didn¡¯t know knocked on his bedroom door. Arthur noticed the worried face and soon asked what had happened.

    ¡°You¡¯re Arthur, right? Marget is urgently calling you to her office,¡± the woman said.

    ¡°May I know what this is about?¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but even I don¡¯t know about it,¡± the woman said.

    Arthur didn¡¯t have a good feeling about that. He hoped his identity hadn¡¯t been exposed. If that happened, well, it would be a disaster for him.

    ~~~~

    Marget¡¯s office wasn¡¯t far from the dorms. It was located inside the main building of the academy. Arthur had entered that office before and only received terrible newsst time.

    ¡°Come in,¡± Marget said as soon as Arthur knocked on the door.

 Chapter 11

    The atmosphere was tense. Based on that, Arthur knew that the things Marget wanted to talk about weren¡¯t good.

    He sat on the chair, gazing directly at Marget. Arthur could see how worried she looked, and it only increased his anxiety.

    Marget¡¯s fingers tapped on the table. Both of them stood there without talking for some time.

    ¡°We need to rescue Jane,¡± Marget said.

    Arthur thought he had heard it wrong, but Marget kept her serious face, so it must be true.

    He got up from his chair and said, ¡°how? Weren¡¯t you supposed to protect her?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. Sit.¡±

    There was no way Arthur would disobey her, so he did what she said. And he also wanted to know what happened, so ming her beforehand was stupid.

    ¡°Things are not as simple as you think, Arthur,¡±

    ¡°Do you know Jane¡¯s true identity?¡± Marget said.

    It was a weird question, yet Arthur had no answer. The only thing he knew about Jane was that she had a rare type of mana core and was a student of Frostpeak Academy.

    .

    ¡°Never urred to you why Jane is my apprentice? I mean, I¡¯m far superior to all of the teachers here. That¡¯s why I¡¯m the president of this academy.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because she¡¯s talented?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°No, there¡¯s much more behind it.¡±

    With that, Marget started to exin what happened with Jane. And Arthur, of course, paid attention to all details.

    ¡°Jane is not only talented, but she¡¯s also part of the Royal Family,¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s strife going on with the Royal Family, and they called her back to the pce,¡±

    ¡°But the real problem was that she fled the pce beforeing here. The king wouldn¡¯t allow her to learn magic, and she wanted that badly. And based on what she told me, her father is not the same anymore,¡± Marget said.

    ¡°Wait a second. So you are telling me that Jane is a princess?¡± Arthur never even thought about that possibility.

    ¡°Yes. Anyway, the real problem lies with the king, Arthur. Jane said to me that he¡¯s different from when she was little as if he had turned into someone else. And not only her, but some influent people in the kingdom started to notice that too,¡±

    ¡°We need to rescue Jane from the pce, or she will never leave that ce again.¡±

    Things gotplicated once again. Jane is not only a princess but a princess on the run. Now that her father has her again, she will never leave the pce. And something was up with the king. Arthur had a bad feeling about that.

    ¡°But how are we going to do that?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Not we, but you. I pulled up some strings, and you¡¯re now a new chef for the Royal Family,¡±

    ¡°You¡¯lle up with a n to rescue her. The Royal Family will throw a feast next month, and it will be the perfect time to flee with her,¡± Marget said.

    ¡°But the royal pce is probably filled with strong people. How can I escape with her without getting us killed?¡±

    ¡°You killed, right? There¡¯s no way they would kill their princess. Anyway, you are not alone. The day the feast will happen, Myria and Wisa will be there to help you,¡± Marget said.

    Arthur sighed in relief after hearing that both of his teachers would be helping him with the n. But still, they would only help him with the escape. Arthur still needed an escaping n and not to expose his identity.

    ¡°You will be leaving tomorrow. Prepare your things and be ready by the morning,¡± said Marget.

    ~~~~

    Arthur left the office without knowing what to do. It would be a dangerous mission, but he couldn¡¯t let Jane rot inside the pce. Marget also told him that if he managed to get some information about why the king had changed, he would get an extra reward.

    Marget gave him his chef uniform and a book containing cooking recipes. The hardest part would be pretending to be a chef. Arthur knew how to cook back in his world, but now things were entirely different. He hoped that the recipes at least had some things inmon.

    On his way back to his dorm, Wisa passed by.

    ¡°Hello, my hardworking disciple. Marget talked to you about our little problem?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she did. How am I supposed to cook?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find a way to do that. Anyway, take this. It is an old sheath for your sword. If you arrive at the royal pce carrying a precious weapon, they will think you¡¯re suspicious, and that¡¯s not what we want,¡± Wisa said.

    The sheath was entirely different from the one Arthur had. It did not have any details on it, and by looking at the sheath, people would assume Arthur had a worthless iron sword.

    A chef appearing with a sword felt strange for Arthur, but Wisa assured him that most people walked around carrying swords. And he would get a room inside the pce, so Arthur could store his sword there if people found it odd.

    ¡°Thanks, Wisa.¡± Arthur bowed in respect to his teacher, and they both parted ways.

    Arthur returned to his dorm and realized that he did not have many things to pack for the journey. Only a few pairs of clothes and some books. He packed everything inside an improvised backpack. It looked like a potato sack, to be honest.

    There wasn¡¯t much he could do before the journey, so hey on his bed and read a book about recipes. The one Marget gave him. The way people cooked in this world was the same, and only the ingredients were somewhat different. Arthur was much more confident after reading that.

    ~~~~

    Night came, and for the first time since Arthur got to this world, he had to sleep alone. Jane was not there with her tired face after a day filled with practice. Maybe because he was her familiar, but a feeling of protection rose within. Arthur had to rescue her.

    Arthur¡¯s night of sleep went badly. He was too anxious, rolling side-to-side on his bed, thinking about the next day.

    Early in the morning, a man came knocking on his door. It was the first time Arthur saw another man inside Frostpeak. The man was the one who would drive him to the pce. He appeared early, so no other students saw someone leaving the academy. It was a secret mission, after all.

    ¡°You are the one Marget talked about, right? Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Arthur grabbed the things he packed the night before and left with the man. They would travel to the pce by carriage, and Arthur wondered if that would take a long time.

    ¡°The pce is not that far from here. But it will still take us three days to get there,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Samuel, by the way,¡± the man said.

    ¡°I¡¯m Arthur. Guess we will talk a lot. There isn¡¯t much to do inside this carriage,¡± Arthur said.

    ~~~~

    For the first time, Arthur left the academy. A carriage was not asfy as a ne, but Arthur felt happy to be able to explore this vast world. And it was a beautiful world.

    There was green everywhere, and Arthur saw more animals than he had in his entire life. It was as if humans hadn¡¯t destroyed the world yet.

    Arthur saw many marvelousndscapes, and that made the trip more satisfying. He also took the chance to read a lot. It took them three days to get to the pce, and that was enough for Arthur to read the entire cooking recipe book. He also read a few pages of the books Myria gave him.

    They made a few stops to buy food. Marget gave Arthur money before they left, and it was more than enough to buy a lot of good food. When they were a day from arriving at the pce, they decided to stop at an inn on the road. Arthur slept inside the carriage, but Samuel drove two days straight without sleeping. He needed to recover some energy before getting back to the road.

    Arthur loved the idea. Sleeping inside the carriage was in no way good, as it went up and down due to the bad road. It was not the most luxurious of inns, but it was far better than the carriage.

    The price of the rooms was cheap, so Arthur rented two for them. It was a basic room with only a bed and a few pieces of furniture.

    Arthur prepared himself to sleep, but suddenly someone knocked at his door, angrily.

    ¡°I did not offend anyone. Why is someone almost knocking on my door?¡± Arthur thought.

    He opened the door and saw three muscr men angrily staring at him. They all had weapons, and it was clear that they weren¡¯t good people.

    ¡°You rented thest two rooms of this shitty inn. We need this room. Step out, or else you will have to deal with us,¡± the man said.

    Theyughed when they saw how skinny Arthur lookedpared to them.

    ¡°You want to fight with only three of you? That¡¯s a joke, right?¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    They all unsheathed their weapons and wanted to rip Arthur into pieces.

 Chapter 12

    It was supposed to be a night of rest. But no, Arthur couldn¡¯t get that. Three random guys smashed his door, begging for a room.

    They tried to encircle Arthur, but he did not allow that. Arthur ran toward one of them, wielding the sword Wisa gave him. The man was surprised to see how fast Arthur was and tried to block the uing attack, only leading to his weapon breaking.

    ¡°How?¡±

    The man could not believe that his weapon had broken. He looked up to stare at Arthur, but the only thing within his line of sight was Arthur¡¯s foot aiming directly at his head.

    Arthur jumped, twisted his body, and sent a kick to the man¡¯s face. It was so powerful that most of the man¡¯s teeth fell, and he flew into the inn¡¯s hall.

    The other two were only watching, as they did not think their friend needed help to deal with a kid. But the events turned out to be entirely different from what they expected. And that scared them. They knew they were all the same when it came to power, which meant they would have the same fate.

    ¡°Hey, can we talk? I know we started on the wrong foot, but there¡¯s still time to fix things. Look, we will sleep outside with the horses. You don¡¯t need to worry about us, okay?¡± the man that seemed like the leader said.

    ¡°What did you say, boss? Sleep with the horses?¡±

    The man¡¯s boss stared at him with a vicious gaze, and then he said, ¡°yes, that¡¯s right. We will sleep with the horses, hehe.¡±

    .

    Arthur wondered how he should deal with them, but it seemed they spoke the truth about sleeping outside. They left after saying that, grabbing their friend, who was unconscious in the hall, not giving Arthur a chance to beat the rest of them.

    ¡°What is this noise?¡± Samuel said. He opened up his door after hearing that much noise. He was tired and would kill anyone who disrupted his sleeping.

    Arthur looked at him and shrugged his shoulders, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I also came to check, and there¡¯s no one here. How strange.¡± With that, he returned to his room.

    There wasn¡¯t much to do in that inn. Arthur was tired but not to the point of falling asleep yet. Samuel was responsible for driving the carriage, and he did not sleep a single minute during their trip. But Arthur did, even though it wasn¡¯t the best.

    He was still worried about bing a chef inside the pce. Arthur read the cooking recipe book over and over again. The problem was that he couldn¡¯t practice what he read. There was no time for it. They would arrive at the pce the next day. What if he screwed up the first time he cooked, and that caused Jane to suffer? Arthur couldn¡¯t get those things outside his mind.

    After a session of reading, he grabbed some food from the inn. All he needed to do was go downstairs and order it. It wasn¡¯t as fancy as the foods he had inside the academy, but still, they were good. And he was hungry, so anything for him would be good.

    ¡°Now I think it¡¯s time to sleep. I read this recipe book multiple times. There¡¯s no way reading it more will help me. It is getting me more nervous,¡± Arthur thought as he grabbed a few nkets to warm his body.

    It was time to sleep, and he did just that.

    Meanwhile, inside the stables, two men talked to each other.

    ¡°We should revenge our friend for what that kid did. Look, our friend now looks like an elderly without teeth. Gross.¡±

    ¡°Revenge? Didn¡¯t you see how strong that kid was? And he¡¯s not even alone. The inn¡¯s owner said two people rented thest rooms, and they are probably together. If the kid can beat us, imagine what the other can do? Just leave it be. We have more important things to do,¡± the boss said.

    ¡°More important things? Like what? Sleep with the horse shit? Damn it.¡±

    ¡°You need to think brightly. Look, at least we still have our teeth.¡±

    ¡°You do have a point.¡±

    ~~~~

    Morning came with the sun zing in the sky. Arthur and Samuel grabbed some food from the inn¡¯s owner and left. They still had a day worth of travel to get to the pce. Arthur switched his clothing to the ones Marget gave him. It was ordinary white chef clothing with a hat that improved the chef vibe. It looked cool. At least Arthur thought so.

    The royal pce was within the capital of the kingdom, Embercoast. It was a gigantic city, protected by a tall stone wall that had magical formations to ensure the safety of all citizens. It was a livid city and a ce of opportunities.

    Arthur waited in a queue to enter the capital. The guards checked if the carriages had illegal goodies or if someone was a wanted man. They couldn¡¯t allow a dangerous person to enter and threaten the citizens and the royal family.

    When it was Arthur¡¯s turn, it all went smoothly. They did not have anything illegal inside the carriage, so they entered the city without problems.

    ¡°I¡¯ll lead you to the pce, and then we will part ways. My mission here in the capital is different from yours,¡± Samuel said.

    Arthur knew from the start that he would have to deal with this alone, so that did not surprise him.

    The capital¡¯s streets had many people. They all talked happily with each other. Another thing Arthur noticed was the immense amount of stands that sold many different items. Food, unenchanted weapons, enchanted weapons, books, magic books, potions, and other things.

    ¡°I barely have money. Will the royal family pay me to cook in the pce? I hope so. This ce has so much good stuff that I want,¡± thought Arthur.

    Embercoast was immense, and it took some time before they got to the pce. But when they did, Arthur could not keep his mouth closed.

    The royal pce was majestic. It also had walls to ensure the royal family¡¯s safety. But these walls were not crude and were made with top-tier materials. Many guards patrolled the area, looking for anyone suspicious near the pce.

    But what made Arthur lose breath was the inside of it. The pce had a beautiful garden filled with flowers that Arthur had never seen. It had many buildings inside the walls, and all of them were made of something simr to marble, as it was white and shiny.

    All buildings had golden details carved on them, and Arthur was sure that it was presumably all gold.

    ¡°Who are you, and what brings you to the pce?¡± the guard said in a threatening voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m Arthur, the new chef. Here, take a look,¡± Arthur said, handing them a paper. Samuel gave that paper to him before they reached the pce and said that it was proof that he was indeed a chef hired by the royal family.

    The guard read the paper and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the inconvenience. Come in. I¡¯m sure the trip was tiring for you.¡±

    Sess. The first step of getting inside the pce was a sess. When Arthur entered, all of the servants looked at him. Arthur gazed back, only to notice that almost all servants were women, and they were as beautiful as the one¡¯s inside the Frostpeak academy.

    ¡°No way. My luck in this world is without precedence,¡± thought Arthur as he smiled.

    The guard showed Arthur his room and the kitchen. He loved the fact that he got a room for himself, and it was a fancy room nheless.

    ¡°You can rest for now. The royal family is busy with other things, so there¡¯s no need for you to cook today,¡± the guard said as he left.

    Arthur needed a proper rest anyway, so that was the best thing that could happen to him. He unpacked his belongings and stored them inside his new room. As he was doing that, someone knocked on his door. Arthur had no idea who it was. He barely got inside the pce. Maybe the guard forgot to say something and returned?

    But when he opened up the door, a beautifuldy was waiting for him. She wore simr clothing to his own, indicating that she was also a chef inside the pce. But it was clear that she opened up her clothing on purpose, trying to entice Arthur with her two mountain peaks.

    ¡°Hi. Ahh, you are the new chef, right? I¡¯m Hily, nice to meet you,¡± she said.

    Hily was, without a doubt, gorgeous. She not only had a perfect body, with two rounded big boobs and an ass, but her skin was wless, and the shape of her face was nearly perfect. Something inside Arthur was making him anxious. He wanted her.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe in? That way we can talk better,¡± Arthur said.

 Chapter 13

    Arthur and Hily sat on the bed. She was excited to see a new face roaming around the pce and wanted to know more about the mysterious person.

    ¡°I¡¯m Arthur, a newly hired chef. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Hily,¡± Arthur said as he grabbed her hand and kissed it.

    ¡°It¡¯s so good to get to know you. I was tired of the same people in the kitchen,¡± Hilly said.

    Arthur¡¯s move of kissing her hand was unexpected for her, and Hily¡¯s cheeks got red in response.

    ¡°I know that feeling. Anyway, can you tell me a bit of the routine here? It is the first time I¡¯m working with the royal family. Maybe they have peculiar tastes,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the same as always. We make breakfast early in the morning, but we don¡¯t set up a table or anything like that. For some reason, the royal family likes to eat the breakfast in their beds, so we have to deliver to them,¡±

    ¡°But for lunch, though, we set up a beautiful table for them, so it¡¯s more work, but nothing crazy,¡±

    ¡°We are only responsible for cleaning the kitchen,¡± said Hily.

    Arthur guessed how it would work, and it was indeed that. The best part was that only the kitchen needed to be clean, so he would have plenty of free time to explore the pce and form a n to save Jane.

    ¡°I see. Well, thank you for sharing what you know with me. But sadly, I¡¯m tired due to the trip, so I need some time to rest,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Hily got up from the bed and was on her way out when she turned around and said, ¡°would you like a massage? I¡¯m pretty good.¡±

    A smile formed on Arthur¡¯s lips, and he epted the massage. Why wouldn¡¯t he?

    ~~~~

    Arthur took his shirt off, showing his now-toned body. He was still small, but now he had a more defined body. All of his running around, fucking, and practicing sword did something after all.

    .

    Hily stared at his body for some time. She did not even try to pretend she was not. It was as bright as the sky, but Arthur did not say a thing about it. He only waited on the bed with his belly facing down. It had been a long time since he got a massage, so he would surely enjoy the moment.

    ¡°Now rx, and let me do the rest,¡± Hily said.

    She used her hands, touching all parts of Arthur¡¯s body, and exerting force on it. Not too much strength to cause pain, but the right amount to give Arthur the rxation he needed.

    All of Arthur¡¯s muscles were not in their best shape. They were tired and needed time to loosen up. He was enjoying the moment when he felt something different on his back.

    Hily got a little too close, and her boobs rubbed on his back. She got closer to his ear and said, ¡°do you want a massage somewhere else?¡±

    Arthur knew what she was talking about, but he thought he would need more time to conquer her.

    ¡°What do I have that all of these women throw themselves at?¡± thought Arthur.

    Hily was not waiting for his answer as her right hand went straight at Arthur¡¯s dick. She rubbed it gently while looking at Arthur with a sexy look.

    ¡°This is what you wanted, right? Since the first time you looked at me, you wanted to fuck me, right?¡± Hily said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do anything I want with your dick, and you have no saying on this. I¡¯lle here, in your room, and fuck with you until you¡¯re unable to move. Do you understand me?¡±

    Arthur enjoyed the hand rubbing his dick, but he could not believe what he heard. Hily was trying to get control of the situation, not that Arthur did not want her toe and fuck him every day, but he wanted to be the one dictating things.

    He got up, grabbed her by the hair, and said, ¡°suck it.¡± Arthur moved her head, and Hily did not fight back and showed him that she knew how to suck a dick.

    Arthur pushed her head, and she almost choked with his dick in a deepthroat. He looked at her face as she rolled her eyes in pleasure.

    ¡°Let me tell you something, Hily. You¡¯lle here, every day, to fuck me. Not because I¡¯ll do anything you want, but because you¡¯ll not be able to get enough of my dick. So prepare this little pussy of yours because I have no mercy,¡± Arthur said.

    It was time for Arthur to show her his vitality. He grabbed her in a full nelson and started pounding her. Hily had never seen a dick as big as the one Arthur had, and he fucked her without stopping a second. In and out, Arthur¡¯s dick rubbed inside her pussy, and Hily moaned like a madwoman.

    ¡°This is too good. Please don¡¯t stop,¡± Hily said.

    ¡°You bet I¡¯m not stopping. Hily, you don¡¯t know the beast you¡¯re messing with,¡± Arthur said.

    His dick was so good that Hily squirted all over his room. Arthur made a mental note to make Hily lick all of it. They did many positions, and Hily was constantly tossed around. It was funny how she said she would take over the situation but was the opposite.

    The pleasure was immense, and Hily orgasmed so hard she thought she would pass out. She could not understand how Arthur could fuck her like a savage beast. Hily was sure that there was no way another man could have the same skill as Arthur.

    ¡°Please, cum in my throat,¡± Hilly said.

    They fucked for two hours straight. Hily could barely move, but she still made an effort to open her mouth with her tongue out as she rubbed Arthur¡¯s dick, waiting for the cum.

    ¡°Ahhh,¡± Arthur moaned.

    A huge load of cum went directly inside of her mouth, and she gulped all of it. Arthur was lost in pleasure, but then someone knocked on his door.

    ¡°Wait, what? Who wants to talk with me?¡±

    ¡°Can you move?¡± Arthur said. Hily did not even respond.

    ¡°Damn it. Come here.¡±

    Arthur grabbed Hily and hid her beneath his bed. It was not the best hiding spot, but he did not have any other ce, at least not in his room. After he got that of the way, he went to the door and answered it.

    It was a man, one he had never seen before. The anger in the man¡¯s face was evident, and he looked like that sort of person who despised others.

    ¡°You¡¯re the new chef, right? I¡¯m Edmur, the prince. Someone said to me that Hily was walking near this area. Did you see her?¡± Edmur said.

    The prince finally showed up. Arthur had no idea which prince was that the older one or the younger, but still, it was a prince. Arthur did not have a favorable opinion of the king, and neither of anyone in the royal family.

    ¡°Hily? Yes, she came here to speak to me about some of the kitchen procedures. But she left two hours ago. Did something happen?¡±

    ¡°It is not of your concern, peasant,¡± Edmur said and left.

    Arthur was pissed by the way that Edmur talked. When he called him peasant, Arthur wanted to punch him right in the face. But it was not the right time. But, even though that conversation made him angry, it still gave him key information.

    ¡°So the prince is in love with Hily, who is only a servant in the kitchen. Damn, this is getting good,¡± thought Arthur.

    That opened up a realm of possibilities for Arthur. The first thing he thought was how would the prince feel that Hily did not correspond to his love, and actually fucked with him not too long ago.

    ¡°Imagine if I can fuck the queen in front of the king? This is giving me goosebumps, I need to pull that off,¡± Arthur thought.

    Another thing Arthur did was to check his level. He remembered that he never used the points he had, and now he leveled up once again.

    [Name: Arthur Willians(RANK F)

    [Level: 7]

    [Health: 240/240]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 5]

    [Agility: 5]

    [Vigor: 5]

    [Wisdom: 3]

    [Charm: 6]

    [Free points: 9]

    Arthur decided to spend his points on charm, and strength. He wanted to level up both of them to 10.

    [Name: Arthur Willians(RANK F)

    [Level: 7]

    [Health: 240/240]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 10]

    [Agility: 5]

    [Vigor: 5]

    [Wisdom: 3]

    [Charm: 10]

    [Free points: 0]

    With that, not only did he get stronger, but he also got to know a little more about how his system worked. After both of his attributes went to 10, two messages popped up in front of him.

    [Ding]

    [Strength is now at 10. Unlocking a new ability]

    [Ding]

    [Charm is now at 10. Unlocking a new ability]

 Chapter 14

    New things unraveled for Arthur. Each time any of his attributes increased, he got stronger. That fact did not need much thinking to realize. But now Arthur discovered that there were some thresholds to unlock new powers. When his strength and charm reached 10, two new abilities popped up. Arthur was on his journey to the top, and all abilities came in handy, even though he was sure these low-leveled ones wouldn¡¯t be too strong.

    [Bestial Strength(Rank 1)]: You are on your way to unlocking your bloodline. The bestial blood pumps inside your veins, doubling the strength of your body.]

    [Charming Aura(Rank 1)]: Beasts from the Dream Realm exhale a unique aura capable of drawing the purest heart. You can charm others more easily.]

    Both abilities were generic, but they were good nheless. Doubling the strength was overpowered, at least Arthur thought it was. He was happy with what he got. It was the first time the system gave him new skills. The only ones he had were the ones he got when he first arrived in that world.

    But one thing made him curious. The skill said he was on his way to unlocking his bloodline.

    ¡°Bloodline? Doesn¡¯t this mean I¡¯m not entirely human in the first ce? What if I¡¯m a monster with sealed powers?¡± thought Arthur.

    These were things he couldn¡¯t find the answers to yet, so Arthur returned to what he could do, and that was to sleep. The journey had been tiring, and Arthur¡¯s true mission would start the next day, so he needed a proper sleep.

    Hily left without speaking much. Maybe she heard that it was the prince and got scared.

    .

    Arthur finally got a soft bed with warm nkets. He slept like a baby, and nothing could wake him up.

    ~~~~

    The sun had yet to rise, and all people inside the pce weren¡¯t up yet. Arthur was so tired that he slept without eating, and his body could not endure it anymore, so he woke up in the middle of the night.

    ¡°Raaaaaawrrr!¡±

    ¡°My stomach is so noisy. I¡¯m afraid it will wake everyone, damn it.¡±

    Arthur left his room, trying to make as little noise as possible. He even changed his clothing to a more stealthy one. The chef¡¯s clothing was as white as marble, and anyone would notice him.

    The pce was pitch-ck, and Arthur could not see much. At least not until his eyes got used to the darkness.

    Everything was quiet and devoided of life. During the nighttime, no guards were allowed to stay inside the pce. The royal family did not want their sleep disturbed by a patrolling guard. But that did not mean the ce was unprotected. Many guards patrolled around it, and no one could get near the pce.

    Arthur nned to get to the kitchen and prepare a meal for himself. The kitchen was far away from the bedrooms, and no one would get pissed by him making noises during the night. He walked in the pce halls, spying at every corner, and looking back at every second. The atmosphere was somewhat strange and daunting.

    The kitchen was close, but when Arthur turned to the right, he was two shadows in the distance. He quickly got back before they noticed him. Arthur leaned against the wall, spying on what was happening in that hallway. It was impossible to hear what they were saying, but it couldn¡¯t be good.

    ¡°They are both wearing hooded cloaks and meeting in the middle of the night. I hope they are not assassins or something,¡± thought Arthur.

    Arthur was disguised inside the pce to rescue Jane. But now, two more mysterious people showed up. He hoped they wouldn¡¯t mess up his n.

    These mysterious figures chatted for a while, and then they left, clearing up the path for Arthur to reach the kitchen. He still waited for some time before going there, afraid that they would be nearby.

    ¡°I need to figure out what is happening inside this ce,¡± Arthur thought as he pushed the door, entering the pce¡¯s kitchen. The ce was empty, as he expected it. The first thing Arthur did was to look for a candle. He found one inside a drawer and used a te as the candle¡¯s base.

    Only a fool would walk in the middle of the night without a weapon. Arthur came along with his sword attached to his back, so liting up the candle was no big deal. He touched his finger on the sheath, absorbing a small amount of mana, then he used it to create a small me.

    ¡°This is way better. Now, where are the ingredients?¡±

    It was no longer pitch-ck, but Arthur still had no idea where most things were. He scanned the entire kitchen looking for utensils and ingredients. All of these things were inside a smaller room attached to the kitchen. It was a type of storage room containing all of the food.

    The world did not have electricity, but it does not mean they couldn¡¯t store foods using magic. The storage room had a magic seal on it, and that seal made sure no food would spoil.

    Arthur already knew that the morning breakfast he would need to prepare was fried eggs with a slice of meat. The good news was that people in that world ate chicken eggs. Arthur was worried that they ate eggs from horrendous beasts. But the meat was a different story. He had no idea what type of meat that was, but surely it would taste good, right?

    Anyway, Arthur decided to make himself the same breakfast the royal family would have. It was a good thing to practice, and it was not as if fried eggs and meat were untasty, at least not for Arthur.

    The way they cooked in that world was by using a bonfire with a cooking pot above it. It was rustic, and there was no stove in that world. But it was still doable.

    Arthur picked up a pan and a small amount of oil. He had no idea what type of oil it was, but it was the only one he found. He used his fire magic to lit up the bonfire and then put the slice of meat on it. Arthur took his time to put some condiments on it to make it tastier. In that world people weren¡¯t sure about what spices to put, so Arthur had an advantage in that regard.

    He did the same thing with the eggs and fried them. These were fast to make, so he made them after the meat, or else they would turn cold.

    It was now time to taste it. Arthur cut a piece of the meat and shoved it inside his mouth.

    ¡°Whoaa, this is good. I honestly don¡¯t want to know what type of meat this is, or else it may ruin my experience,¡± Arthur thought.

    The eggs were something he did back in his world, so he was more skilled with that. They were awesome, and Arthur was sure no one from this world could make a better-fried egg.

    After eating that marvelous te, Arthur cleaned up all of the evidence that showed he went there. It would not look good for a newly hired chef to be wandering around in the middle of the night.

    ~~~~

    He returned to his room, and this time, there was no shadowy figure in the halls. There was no way he would return to sleep, so he decided to practice some sword moves inside his room. It was not the best ce to do so, but it was the only one he had.

    Wisa taught him the basics, and the basics were the most important. One needed to master the foundation before attempting to learn moreplex stuff. Rushing his way through it was not a good idea. Perhaps that was the reason why Wisa only taught him the basics? That way, Arthur had nothing else to practice.

    Sweaty dropped from Arthur¡¯s forehead, and time flew as he practiced his moves. The royal family had yet to wake up, but the servants were already starting their daily tasks. Some took care of the garden, some cleaned up the halls. The others that worked in the kitchen were still asleep, so that means Arthur still had some free time to bathe himself.

    There was no shower, but the pce had a gigantic area with bathing pools. All servants could bath there. The royal family had a separate space for them to bathe far away from the servants, of course.

    Arthur stored his sword and went to the bathing pool, carrying his chef¡¯s clothing. He would bathe and change right after.

    No one knew him, but all servants nced at him when he passed through them. The bathing pools were outside, close to the garden. It was a huge building with all of the pools inside.

    Arthur did not know much about the pce, so by mistake, he went the wrong way, entering the bathing pool for women only.

    Three girls were bathing, and one of them was Hily.

 Chapter 15

    ¡°Ahhh. What are you doing here?¡± one of the women yelled.

    They were surprised to see a man brave enough to enter there. When Hily saw who it was, she talked to the others, trying to protect Arthur.

    ¡°Calm down, girls. He¡¯s Arthur, the newly hired chef. He doesn¡¯t know the pce well, so that¡¯s why he¡¯s here, right, Arthur?¡± Hily gazed at him and frowned her eyebrows so that Arthur understood what she meant.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Sorry, I¡¯ll be leaving,¡± Arthur said as he turned around to leave. But the girls who did not know him saw how handsome he was, which nted a seed at the back of their heads.

    ¡°Wait for a second,¡± one of the girls said.

    ¡°It is early, and no one besides uses here to bath. You can bathe with us if you want. You¡¯re new around here, so there are things you don¡¯t know yet. Maybe we can help with that,¡± she said.

    Arthur did not see thating. Maybe his newly acquired charming skill was helping out, or perhaps he was just too handsome for them to resist.

    ¡°All right. But what if someone walks in?¡± Arthur said while taking off his clothes.

    ¡°If that happens, then we will protect you, saying that we¡¯re the ones who called you. Sounds fair?¡±

    .

    It wasn¡¯t a bad deal if the girls kept their promise. Arthur wanted some fun, of course, but risking his identity was something he could not do.

    The three of them gazed at Arthur¡¯s body like a predator gazing at its prey. ¡°I¡¯m Carly, and this is Aimee,¡± Carly said, pointing at Aimee.

    ¡°Nice to meet you two,¡± Arthur said.

    They were all naked inside the pool, and anything could happen in that ce. Carly and Aimee were pretty, and Hily was someone Arthur knew very well.

    ¡°So, what do you do here? Are we partners in the kitchen?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. We suck at cooking. Taking care of the garden is what we do,¡± Aimee said.

    ¡°We met Hily when she suddenly started toe here early to bathe,¡± Carly said.

    They talked for some time, but the atmosphere was getting stranger by the second. These girls wanted more than just chatting about their lives, and so did Arthur. They got closer, and it did not take long for Arthur to feel something down there.

    He was expecting Hily to be the first to move, but it was Aimee. She stealthily rubbed his dick with her hands. Maybe Carly was thinking the same thing, or perhaps they nned to do that in the first ce, but Carly also moved her hand to the same spot. Both girls gazed at each other, smiling. While one rubbed Arthur¡¯s dick, the other massaged his balls.

    Hily seemed to notice that something strange was happening. She knew her friends were desperate for a dick, but she had no idea they would attack right there, in the pool. What if someone appeared out of the blue and saw what was happening? That could cause problems for all of them.

    Since Carly and Aimee did not want to wait, Hily did the same. No way she would stand still and only watch as they had fun. She needed to feel Arthur¡¯s dick again.

    She got closer and said, ¡°here, Arthur. Take my boobs, and do as you please.¡± Hily shoved her boobs in Arthur¡¯s face. They were huge and soft. Arthur sucked her nipples and used his hands to move those soft boobs.

    ¡°Ahh-ahh!¡± Hily moaned. Something down there was crazing for a dick, but Arthur only had one, and they were many holes to fill.

    ¡°There¡¯s a back room where no one goes,¡± Carly said. They dragged Arthur to another room. There was no problem in doing that inside the pool, but someone could appear at any moment. And these girls did not want a quick fuck. They wanted Arthur to destroy them.

    This other room was something only Hily, Carly, and Aimee knew. They discovered it by ident when exploring this ce. To enter the room, one had to pull a candle then a hidden door would open.

    Arthur wasn¡¯t dumb and was well aware of everything happening around him. When he saw that secret passage, millions of thoughts crossed his mind.

    ¡°What is this ce? There¡¯s a hidden passage to enter here, but everything around looks normal?¡± thought Arthur. It was a secret room, yet there were only a few dusty boxes inside.

    Anyway, Arthur decided to explore more of it at another time, preferably at night. He had three girls to fuck, and wouldn¡¯t let that opportunity pass.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take turns,¡± Carly said. Arthury on a box, and the girls took turns feeling his dick.

    Three pussies for one dick. Arthur was happy that his endurance was out of this world. At each second, a different pussy to taste.

    ¡°Ahhh, damn it,¡± Carly said as she grabbed Arthur¡¯s dick with her hand to put it inside her pussy.

    ¡°You have a huge dick, sir. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it,¡± Aimee said.

    ¡°Girls, I¡¯ll let you two taste his dick. I had it yesterday,¡± Hily said. She did not want to wait to get fuck, so she decided to let Arthur suck her pussy while her friends tasted the dick. She had one thing in mind, and that was to wait for Arthur to destroy them. Hily knew that Arthur had a lot of energy. So all she needed to do was wait for them to get tired.

    Carly had her pussy swallowing Arthur¡¯s dick. Aimee was down there, sucking his balls like they were candy. And then there was Hily, who got her pussy sucked.

    It was a hot scene. Carly and Aimee switched ces from time to time, and all of them had plenty of orgasms inside that hidden room.

    ¡°Ahhh, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m your little bitch, destroy all of my holes, please!¡± Carly said.

    ¡°I¡¯m also your little bitch. Please, do the same with m¨CAhhh!¡± Aimee said.

    Arthur had plenty of energy to fuck them, so he did. Eventually, none of them could take it anymore and passed out with a smile. Hily begged Arthur to fill her asshole with his cum, and he did exactly that.

    ~~~~

    Arthur changed his clothes to the chef¡¯s ones. After all of that fun, it was time to work. He returned to his room to grab his sword, then went directly to the kitchen. As he had explored the pce during the night, finding the kitchen was no big deal.

    When he opened the door, some people were already in there. The pce did not have many people working in the kitchen, and the ce was huge, so Arthur managed to find a spot for him without anyone bothering him.

    No one came to talk with him. Arthur noticed how everyone in the kitchen minded their own business, and there was not a lot of chit-chat going on. That was good, as Arthur did not like others annoying him. But that also made his actual job there more difficult. How would he obtain information if no one there muttered a word? The only one he had contact with was Hily, but Arthur did not know if she had valuable information or if she would help him.

    These were things out of his control, so he did what he could, and that was to make breakfast. The process to fried the meat and the eggs were the same he didst night. He even added the same spices.

    After cooking, it was time to deliver them to the royal family. Each chef was responsible for one person, and Arthur was responsible for one of the princesses. He had no idea if it was Jane or another one.

    Arthur went to a different part of the pce, one he had never seen. It was where the royal family lived. The others chefs helped him with directions, and soon Arthur was standing in front of the princess¡¯s room. He knocked and waited for a response.

    ¡°Who is it? The chef? If so, thene in,¡± she said.

    When Arthur heard the voice, he was sure that it wasn¡¯t Jane. Arthur pushed the door and entered the room.

    The princess¡¯s room was far different than his own. He knew it would be bigger, but not to that extent. While his room only had a bed and a few pieces of furniture, the princess¡¯s room had everything.

    A bathroom with a hot tub. A balcony with a breath-taking view. It also had a big shelve filled with books bigger than those from libraries.

    ¡°Is it your first time here? You must be that newly hired chef my family talked about,¡± the princess said. She was lying on her bed andughed at how astonished was Arthur.

    Arthur woke up from his daydream and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, princess. I was lost by how beautiful your ro-!¡±

    When Arthur gazed at the princess, he was lost once again. She was beyond perfect. He wanted her.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m Eleonora,¡± Eleonora said, smiling.

 Chapter 16

    Eleonora was lying on her bedfortably. She wore the typical rich sleeping clothes without showing too much of her body. Every day people came bringing her breakfast. She wasn¡¯t a fool to be unproperly dressed.

    One thing stood out about her. She did not have purple hair like Jane. Based on what Arthur discovered by talking with Marget, the royal family had three princesses. Jane and two more Arthur did not know yet. Eleonora was one of them, but he did not know if she was the youngest or the oldest.

    But the thing was, the queen had purple hair, and that¡¯s why her children also had. But Eleonora didn¡¯t. Her hair was silver like the moon. Not even her eyes were of the same color as the rest of her family.

    Something was strange, but Arthur couldn¡¯t figure it out. There was no way the royal family would adopt some random girl to act as the princess. The king had two daughters. Why adopt a third?

    ¡°Are you going to stand there?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, princess.¡±

    Arthur was lost in thoughts and forgot where he was. After regaining his senses, he gave her breakfast. Fried eggs with a slice of meat. It wasn¡¯t a breakfast fit for a princess, but Arthur was only following orders.

    Eleonora gave it a taste and was surprised by how good it was.

    ¡°This is delicious. Where did you learn to cook like this? You¡¯re new here, yet you impressed me more than the rest of the servants.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking. I¡¯m just a mere chef. The only reason I know how to make delicious foods is that I¡¯ve practiced since I was little. There¡¯s no talent involved.¡±

    ¡°Hard work is also a talent if you think about it.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right.¡±

    .

    Arthur was impressed by what Eleonora said. It was cliche, yet it did make sense. Most people near her age only spoke nonsense and weren¡¯t wise by any means.

    Well, she did have a different education from most people. She was a princess, after all.

    ¡°You know, I¡¯m talented in something, yet I can¡¯t practice it. Anyway, this isn¡¯t the time for us to talk about it. Maybe we can hang out in the future? You seem like a nice person.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave, princess,¡± Arthur said, bowing.

    He left her room and wondered what he should do next. There were things he needed to train, but there was also a n he needed to form. That mysterious room the girls showed him, inside the pools, was a ce he wanted to explore.

    ¡°In all stories, these noble families have secret passages to escape if things go wrong. There¡¯s no way the royal family doesn¡¯t have one as well. I need to find it and then find Jane,¡± thought Arthur.

    Things weren¡¯t going so well for him. Time was ticking, and he hadn¡¯t found Jane yet. But, like all things in life, it could get worse.

    ¡°Stop right there!¡±

    Tons of guards showed up. They had swords, spears, and bows. A few of them were mages preparing to cast spells at Arthur. He couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. Did they find him in one day? It was impossible.

    ¡°Come with us.¡±

    The captain of the guards said. Eleonora was still in her room, but themotion was too much, so she left to see what was happening.

    ¡°What is all of this?¡±

    All of the guards bowed in the presence of the princess. The only one who spoke was the captain, and it was something that shocked both the princess and Arthur.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry to say this. But the prince Jonan died.¡±

    ¡°Wait. What? Impossible!¡±

    Eleonora could not believe what was happening. Jonan was the oldest prince, and he was a good person. He didn¡¯t deserve this.

    ¡°But what happened? Was it an ident?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t, my princess. It is clear that someone murdered him, and we are now locking up all people that look suspicious.¡±

    Arthur could not believe it. Last night he saw two hooded figures talking in the hall, but he thought they were only speaking about secret things. But they were plotting a murder? And not only a murder, but killing the fucking prince.

    It was a bad thing. Not that Arthur cared about the prince dying or not. He did not even know the guy. But it was a fact that he was the only new person that showed up recently in the pce. That fact made him the primary suspect.

    ¡°Did these fuckers use my arrival to plot murder and throw all of the guilty to me? These fuckers are doomed.¡± Arthur was pissed.

    If Arthur turned out to be responsible, he would die or stay locked in a cell for the rest of his life. Killing someone was a serious matter, but killing the prince? Only crazy people would do that.

    Arthur had to think of a way to prove his innocence. But at that moment, there was none. If he said that he saw two hooded figures in the middle of the night, that would only make him more suspicious. They would only have one thing in mind after hearing it. What were you doing in the middle of the night?

    It was a big problem. The guards scouted him to an underground area filled with cells. All servants gazed at Arthur when he passed, and even Hily was surprised to see him getting caught. She did not believe Arthur killed the prince, but she couldn¡¯t deny that he was suspicious.

    ¡°Move. You¡¯ll be staying in this cell for the time being. If you are indeed the murderer, then expect to stay the rest of your days rotting in this ce.¡±

    The captain threw Arthur into a cell and left.

    ¡°Finally, someone to keep mepany, hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Arthur turned around only to see another man inside that cell. It was an old man. He had a long beard, and his hair was a mess. Not only that, but all of his clothing was ragged, and he smelled like shit.

    ¡°Now tell me, what did you do? They only send the worst to this ce.¡±

    That man was scary. He looked like a madman, and who knows how long he was down there. There was a high chance that he was insane.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me? Fine, I¡¯ll speak first. My son was messing with some dark stuff. I couldn¡¯t let him do that to himself, but he wouldn¡¯t listen to me. So, I killed him before he killed all of us.¡±

    Arthur was even more scared. That man killed his son. He did say his son was messing with some dark stuff, but even then, killing his son was crazy.

    ¡°Who was your son? Maybe I heard something about it before.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha! I¡¯m d you asked. My son was actually the king. How crazy is that?¡± the old manughed like a maniac.

    ¡°Wait, what the fuck?¡±

    The king had been ruling for more than twenty years. This madman killed the previous king?

    ¡°What was the name of your son? And how did he look?¡±

    ¡°Oh, let me see. It happened a long time ago,¡±

    ¡°His name was Barion. You probably never heard about him. Now that I think of it, my granddaughter, Jane should be grown up now. How time flies¡­¡±

    ¡°What the fuck? Don¡¯t tell me your granddaughter Jane has purple hair, haha,¡± Arthur nervouslyughed.

    ¡°Hold up, youngster. Do you know my granddaughter?¡±

    ¡°No way, old man. Let me ask you another thing. Do you have a grandson as well? Like, someone called Jonan?¡±

    ¡°Jonan? Right, I do. He was seven when I got locked up in here. Such a talented youth. He¡¯s surely climbed high by now.¡±

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Arthur sat on the ground helplessly.

    ¡°Grandpa, what I¡¯m about to tell you may shock you.¡±

    ¡°Shock me? You can try, young man. I¡¯ve lived long enough, and nothing in this world can shock me.¡±

    ¡°I know your granddaughter Jane. I¡¯ve met her inside a magic academy.¡±

    ¡°Do you know Jane? And she learned magic? I¡¯ve always known she was talented, so this isn¡¯t shocking for me. Is that all, young man?¡±

    ¡°Well, Barion, your son, is still alive.¡±

    The once calm old man got up from the corner of the cell, carrying a murderer¡¯s intent.

    ¡°Are you lying to me, young man? This is impossible. My son got possessed by a demon. He was stupid, he made a fucking pact with a demon. But I sliced him in half, and made sure he was dead before he killed all of our family.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m speaking the truth to you, I promise. But there¡¯s something wrong with him. Remember that I said I knew Jane? Well, she said to me that her father is acting strangetely like he is someone else.¡±

    ¡°What? Are telling the truth? If that¡¯s the case then we are in big trouble.

    ¡°I¡¯m. And there¡¯s another thing¡­¡±

    ¡°You asked me why they locked me in here? Well, they think I killed Jonan, your grandson.¡±

    The old man looked as if he wanted to strangle Arthur, right there, inside that cell.

 Chapter 17

    ¡°Did you?¡±

    He got closer to Arthur and wanted to kill him. One thing was the king dying, who made a pact with a demon and was a threat to everyone. But Jonan? Jonan was a good and talented man.

    ¡°No, of course not. Let me exin everything to you, okay?¡±

    With that, Arthur exined everything that happened, or else he would be in trouble.

    ¡°So you met my granddaughter at this magic academy, then our family showed up and kidnapped her? And now you¡¯re here trying to rescue her, and someone killed Jonan?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, sir. I know it¡¯s strange for me to show up at the pce, and someone magically dies. But I promise you everything I said was the truth.¡±

    ¡°I know, kid.¡±

    ¡°Yes, this is a misunderstanding and- wait. Do you believe in me?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Your heart did not race, and there are no other symptoms of a lier. And the story you told me makes sense, and I didn¡¯t see any w in it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for believing in me, grandpa!¡±

    For a moment, Arthur thought that man would kill him. He was happy that everything worked out in the end.

    .

    ¡°Nefion, that¡¯s my name. Or you can call me grandpa. I don¡¯t care much. But Arthur, if the things you told me are true, then we are in big trouble.¡±

    ¡°How big of a problem?¡±

    ¡°Uh, let me see. It could potentially destroy the entire kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Damn it. But how can we do something about it? We are trapped here, and if we get out, everyone thinks we are traitors.¡±

    Nefionughed and said, ¡°kid, this grandpa here can escape any time he wants.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°After what happened, there wasn¡¯t much for me to fight for, so I stayed here. I didn¡¯t want my family to look at me as a traitor. They told all of the kids that I died in battle. Imagine if they lie to Jane and make her think I¡¯m a murderer,¡±

    ¡°But things are different now. If that demon has my son¡¯s body all of this time, and now suddenly Jonan is dead, then he¡¯s starting to act after all those years.¡±

    Nefion exined to Arthur what had happened a long time ago. Barion wanted power and went into dark means to obtain it. He made a pact with a demon. Barion got the power he wanted, but he was getting insane as days passed and became a threat to the royal family and the kingdom. Nefion was the only one who knew about what his son did and was the only one strong enough to put an end to it. He saved his family from the hands of a demon. The kingdom did not get destroyed because of him. And in return, they locked him there, forever.

    It was a sad story. Arthur also got wrongly locked down there, and it sucked. Nefion was down there for many years, and Arthur could only imagine how that must feel.

    ¡°Kid, we must kill this demon again, but for good now. And figure out who these hooded people were, and find out if they have something to do with the king.¡±

    ¡°It is finally time for my family to know me.¡±

    ~~~~

    They did not leave immediately. Nefion was confident in investigating what happened stealthy, without anyone noticing him. But for Arthur was a different story. He wasn¡¯t skilled in that sort of thing.

    ¡°Look, kid. We don¡¯t have much time. Even if you are a genius, there is no way you¡¯ll learn what I want you to in a couple of days. But there¡¯s another method, a painful one.¡±

    ¡°Bring it on.¡±

    Arthur did not get angry after Nefion said that. He knew that even with talent, it took time to learn stuff. But time was not on their side, and Nefion opted for a more dangerous route.

    What Nefion wanted to do was to imnt the knowledge directly inside Arthur¡¯s mind. It was something Arthur had not seen before. Marget, who was someone strong, couldn¡¯t do that. Nefion was on apletely different level. And to think that he stayed down there without proper training for years.

    ¡°This will hurt a lot, kid. I¡¯m not lying to you when I say it might kill you. Will you do it regardless?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡±

    Nefion pointed his finger into his head, and a fment of light attached to his finger. It was the knowledge he wanted to pass on to Arthur.

    ¡°This is all of my stealth techniques. I don¡¯t have that many, but all of them are extraordinary. It is the best I can give you. I have a lot more to teach and pass on to you, but you¡¯re still weak,¡±

    ¡°Now, stand still, and endure.¡±

    When that small fment of light touched Arthur¡¯s head, everything stopped. Time froze for him, and intense pain followed right after. It was a type of pain he had never felt before.

    ¡°AAAAGHHRR!¡±

    Arthur¡¯s head was almost exploding, and he fell, rolling on the ground with his hands on his head. He wanted that to stop. The pain needed to go away. But how could he do that? The only way was to integrate the knowledge he got from Nefion.

    It was not an easy task. Arthur was still weakpared to most of the people in that world. But, he had one thing that could help him. Most mages are used to absorbing small amounts of mana over time. Arthur was the opposite. When he absorbed something, it was the entirety of a spell. No other mage could do that without dying. No one knew how that felt. But he did.

    Arthur tried his best to remember how it felt when he absorbed that spell in Wisa¡¯s ss. After many tries, he eventually found what he was looking for.

    Concentrating on that feeling, the pain diminished. It was still bad, but it was doable. Nefion watched everything and was surprised to see Arthur oveing the pain so fast.

    ¡°This kid is a genius. Maybe it is time for me to get an apprentice again after centuries? Hmm.¡±

    It took Arthur some time to ovee the pain, but he did it. Hey on the floor covered in sweat. For a brief moment, he thought that would kill him. Nefion wasn¡¯t lying when he said it would hurt.

    Arthur returned to his senses and was expecting a system notification telling him that he had new skills, but it did not. He couldn¡¯t understand at first, but with some thought, he understood.

    The system he had was a special one. It belonged to Dream Realm beasts, and it only showed the abilities of the system itself. Nefion taught him a normal ability that had nothing to do with his system. Arthur still knew how to use the skill, as the knowledge of it was inside his head, but it required more concentration on his part.

    ¡°This is how people learn things anyway. My system¡¯s abilities are like innate ones. I don¡¯t need to train to use them. They are a part of me. But if I want to learn other things, I need to do it like everyone else.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, kid. You impressed me. Now, let¡¯s leave this ce.¡±

    ~~~~

    When Nefion said he could leave that ce anytime he wanted, he meant it. With a wave of his palm, the lock on the cell turned into dust. Arthur was afraid that the guards woulde there bringing food and then discover they weren¡¯t there.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They will wait three days before giving you any food. We have three days to end this shit that is happening here.¡±

    They did not take the normal way to leave the underground area. Guards were probably at the stairs waiting for them. Arthur was still new to the stealth skills, so Nefion did not want to risk it. But, dly, there was a secret passage that led to multiple underground tunnels.

    ¡°There¡¯s a tunnel in here that goes directly to a secret room where he stored weapons. At least they did.¡±

    Nefion led the way, and Arthur followed closely behind. It was a bit dark, but Nefion seemed to know where he was going, so all Arthur needed to do was follow him.

    After some time walking, they arrived at the end of the tunnel. There was a door, and when they opened it, Arthur noticed that the room was somewhat familiar.

    ¡°No way. Grandpa, we are in trouble.¡±

    ¡°Trouble? What do you mean? There¡¯s an enemy in here?¡±

    ¡°No, but the thing is, this isn¡¯t a ce where they store weapons anymore. This is a secret room inside a building where people bath, and this is the female bathroom.¡±

    ¡°What? Hahahahaha!¡± Nefionughed.

    ¡°Grandson, you have a lot to learn. This is no problem for us, but a blessing. This is the best way to practice our stealth skills. Let¡¯s go kid, there are boobies for us to see.¡±

    ¡°This old man is worse than me. Damn it!¡±

 Chapter 18

    A young man hid behind a wall, peeking at two lovely women. He was not alone. An older man stood next to him, and it seemed he was the most excited of the two.

    ¡°Look, kid. It is a scene of beauty.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you have a wife or something?¡±

    ¡°I did, but she died a looooong time ago. It is not a sin to move forward in life.¡±

    ¡°But why does it feel wrong to spy on others?¡±

    ¡°It is not our fault. We couldn¡¯t choose where the tunnel would lead. But we should be thankful that it led us here. I mean, thankful that we escaped, hmm.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡±

    No matter how Arthur looked, Nefion seemed a little crazy. It was understandable as he stayed in a cell for many years.

    They both spied for a while. There wasn¡¯t much to see, only some pair of boobs. Nefion hadn¡¯t seen those in a long time, so he was excited.

    ¡°Brat, look. I¡¯ll show you two techniques we will use to get out of here. Watch and learn.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me. Do these techniques use mana?¡±

    .

    Arthur wanted to know because he wasn¡¯t carrying his sword anymore. They took it from him and stored it inside his room.

    ¡°Mana? Yes, they do. It is only a tiny amount but yes. But why are you asking this? Don¡¯t tell me you also dislike mages as I do?¡±

    ¡°Brat, you should be my grandson. These mages think they own the world, roaming around wielding their shiny wands and reading boring books. Look, the correct way is to train your body, wielding a real weapon, and use some magic, because why not?¡±

    ¡°Use some magic? Didn¡¯t you say you hate mages?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I mostly use spells that enhance my body or my sword. I¡¯m not a mage. I see myself as a magic swordsman.¡±

    Nefion had almost the same thought as Arthur. But the difference was that Arthur did not use magic because he did not know any spells or did not have the mana to cast them.

    ¡°Now, watch as I demonstrate the techniques.¡±

    Arthur needed mana, so he tried his best to touch Nefion¡¯s back and absorb some mana from him. It was only a tiny amount of mana, and he was almost sure Nefion wouldn¡¯t discover it.

    The moment Arthur¡¯s hand touched Nefion¡¯s back, he frowned.

    ¡°Huh? Does this kid have the power to absorb mana from others? Well, this is new. The only one I knew that could do this was cidusax. cidusax? No, he can¡¯t be alive. Humans killed all of us a long time ago.¡±

    Nefion felt the moment Arthur did that, but he did not mutter a word. He was lost in thoughts and only woke up after Arthur said something.

    ¡°Hello? Did you finally go crazy? It took you long enough.¡±

    ¡°Huh, what? Shut up, brat. I¡¯m the sanest old man you¡¯ll ever encounter.¡±

    Arthur closely watched as Nefion showed two techniques. The first consisted in focusing the mana into one¡¯s feet, increasing the speed by a tremendous amount. Not only that, but it also made all footsteps silent, as if he was a trained assassin. It was as if Nefion vanished and appeared some distance away. He hid behind a small crate where people put the dirty clothing. It was small and impossible that no one would notice that madman. But then, Nefion showed the second technique. He touched his fingers to the shadow the crate was creating, and suddenly he vanished. Nefion merged with the shadow.

    ¡°Damn, this is cool. That madman imnted these techniques inside my mind. It is as if I had trained to use these techniques for a long time. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem for me to use them, right?¡± thought Arthur.

    These techniques did not have a name. That was strange, considering that all spells or techniques had a name. Was the creator of thesezy to not think of one, or did Nefion hide their name? Arthur had no answer, so he followed what Nefion did and tried to perform the same skills.

    The first one was easy. Arthur focused the mana on his feet and dashed towards the same crate. It was not as fast as Nefion due to him having a weaker body, and being a newbie in using the technique, but he managed to do it.

    Now, to merge with the shadow was a bit harder. The shadow was another property of mana, just like mages had an affinity with fire. Arthur had zero experience with that. He touched the shadow just like Nefion did and concentrated using the chant he had inside his mind. It did not work at first. And it did not work the second time.

    The girls who were taking a bathe slowly got up from the pool, and if Arthur did not manage to do the spell, they would see him. Nefion was inside the shadow watching everything, and in the end, he had to help him.

    Nefion extended his arm and dragged Arthur to the shadow.

    ¡°What? Did I do it? Look, I¡¯m so awesome. It was the first time, and yet I did it, hahaha.¡±

    ¡°Sure, kid.¡±

    ¡°But what is this ce?¡±

    Everything around them was dark, but they could still vaguely see the world. It was as if they were behind a dark curtain.

    ¡°This is what I call the shadow world. People can¡¯t see us here if we stay in the shadows.¡±

    ¡°Damn. How did you discover this thing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m old and awesome. Anyway, we can only travel from shadow to shadow. But using the other technique I showed you, this isn¡¯t a problem. We can just vanish and go to the next shadow, without leaving this world at all.¡±

    Arthur was astonished. This technique was beyond overpowered. The other spells he saw were cool and strong, but this? With this, he could go anywhere without people realizing it.

    ¡°But it is not all sunshine and rainbows. We can only use it during the daytime, and if we stay here for too long, it will damage us, and kill us.¡±

    ¡°But why can¡¯t we use it during the night? Everything should be a shadow, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that is correct. But other creatures roam around this world during nighttime. Like, real strong creatures. You canpare them to the Gods or Dragons of this world.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? The same power as Gods and Dragons? And do these truly exist?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, kid. Dragons are few nowadays, and the Gods stopped bestowing miracles to humanity a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, where should we go?¡±

    All of that talking made Arthur realize how small he was in that world. But the strangest part was Nefion, who seemed to have a lot of knowledge about these things. Well, he was old after all, and Arthur was only a kid.

    ¡°Remember I said I was working as a chef here? They gave me a room, we can go there. But I don¡¯t know if the guards are investigating my room, so it could be risky.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± Nefion had his hand on his chin and was in deep thought.

    ¡°I have a secret room beneath the pce. No one knows about it, not even the king. We can go there to rest and n what we should do next.¡±

    ¡°Okay, lead the way.¡±

    ~~~~

    Why does Nefion have a secret room? No one knows, but Arthur was d he did. That fact saved their lives. They continued jumping from one shadow to the other and eventually entered the pce. Inside it, they could walk freely as most of the ce was covered with shadows.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no creatures will show up. I already test it a long time ago. If we use this technique indoors during the day, nothing happens. Only during the night. I assume these creatures have something do to with the moon or whatever.¡±

    Even if they couldn¡¯t use it during the night, it was still an awesome skill. It was a fact that during the day the pce had many guards roaming around, and it was harder to walk stealthily during the day than it was during the night.

    They walked for some time and reached the area where the royal family stayed. Nefion went inside the library, and it was empty. Everyone was upied trying to investigate the murder scene and find out who killed Jonan.

    ¡°Why are we here?¡±

    ¡°I always loved to read, so I made the secret passage to my room inside this library. That way, I had easy ess to all of the books.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t you making fun of the mages with their books?¡±

    ¡°I was only making fun of the books that taught useless spells, okay? The other ones are okay.¡±

    Nefion led both of them to a dark corner of the library. He pulled a random book, and then a pathway opened.

    ¡°But grandpa, what if someone identally pulled this book, and discovers your hidden room?¡±

    ¡°Brat, you have so much to learn. Look, first of all, almost no one in this ce wille here to read. This library is only used by the royal family, and most of them don¡¯t read at all. And if you paid any attention, you can read the title of this book, which says, ¡± The Summer Prince.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no one would read that book. You¡¯re so wise, old man.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. Now, follow me.¡±

 Chapter 19

    Nefion was part of the royal family. Arthur expected a luxurious room, but what he saw was worse than most inns.

    ¡°What is this ce? Did you see that? It¡¯s a rat, a rat,¡± Arthur pointed to a rat who ran after seeing them.

    ¡°Kid, I hadn¡¯t been in here in years. Did you think this would be clean? It wasn¡¯t clean when I lived here, HAHAHA!¡±

    The room had only the basics. It did not have a bathroom, but Nefion assured him he never pooped inside his room. But the ce was dirty and dusty. It was a secret room, so there were no windows, and no one knew about it.

    It was all dark, so Nefion waved his hand and created a ball of light. It was a basic spell from the light element.

    ¡°Wow. You sure know a lot of spells, grandpa. And you hate mages. Imagine if it was the contrary.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, brat. Perhaps you want this ce dark so the rats can crawl on us?¡±

    ¡°You know what? Congrattions on creating that ball of light. You¡¯re awesome,¡± Arthur pped.

    They sat on two dusty wooden chairs, facing each other. They had three days to figure out who killed Jonan so Arthur wouldn¡¯t take the me. And they also had to uncover what the hell was happening with the king. It was no easy task, so losing time was out of the question.

    ¡°Okay, first of all. Jonan¡¯s killer lives inside the pce or is someone who can get in without asking permission,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m assuming this is the first case. As you said, you are the only one that came recently to the pce. It has to be someone who lives here, but who?¡±

    The worst part was that both of them did not know anyone. Arthur recently showed up, so he only knew a few people from the kitchen. And Nefion, well, he was locked for many years.

    ¡°Maybe we can bring someone to help us?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure, brat? Who in their sane mind would believe in us?¡±

    .

    ~~~~

    ¡°I believe in you, Arthur. I knew you wouldn¡¯t do that. They med you because you recently came to this ce. But don¡¯t worry, we will find the culprit.¡±

    Hily was the person they went for help. Arthur trusted her after everything that happened.

    ¡°I told you she would believe in us. Now, what treasure will you give me?¡±

    Nefion pretended he would give something to him and said, ¡°I¡¯m saving your ass. Doesn¡¯t that count?¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m trying to save your granddaughter. Doesn¡¯t that count?¡±

    ¡°Damn, brat. You¡¯re clever for your age. Fine, after all this mess is over, I¡¯ll give you something. Not because I like you, but because you look like a beggar.¡±

    ¡°YOU! For a moment, I thought you¡¯re getting better, but you¡¯re still a madman, a MADMAN.¡±

    Hily stood there, watching everything, and could only think of one thing.

    ¡°Ah, they look like family.¡±

    After the argument was over, it was time to think about possible suspects. It was not an easy task. Jonan was the prince, so he had many servants that did most of his daily things. He also interacted with people, and anyone could try to harm him.

    Hily tried her best toe up with a list of suspects, but she wasn¡¯t someone who interacted a lot with Jonan, so it was hard to know everything.

    ¡°What about the other prince?¡±

    ¡°What about him?¡± Hily couldn¡¯t see how the other prince would try to harm his brother.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, the king is getting older and will soon give the throne to his son. Jonan was the oldest, but in the case of his death, the other prince would take over.¡±

    Arthur and Hily listened to Nefion¡¯s words and went into deep thought. Arthur could see that happening, as it was not umon in these royal families. Hily also thought it made sense, but the other prince always treated other people nicely.

    ¡°But what if the other prince is not the prince anymore?¡± Arthur said.

    Hily frowned her eyebrows, without knowing what it meant, but Nefion understood.

    ¡°You¡¯re smart, kid. But doesn¡¯t this mean that the creature is ruining the family?¡±

    Barion was a lost cause. Jonan died, and perhaps the other prince was also corrupted by the demon. It was a blow the royal family wouldn¡¯t recover.

    ¡°Hily, is the prince inside the pce?¡±

    ¡°Hily?¡±

    ¡°Hily!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. Everything here is so crazy that I was away for a second. What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Is the prince inside the pce?¡±

    ¡°No. I heard he¡¯s doing some business in the city and will be back by tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Okay, this will give us time to prepare.¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur headed back to his room to grab his things. Guards were no longer inside, so he got everything with ease. Of course, it was only due to the shadow technique Nefion taught him.

    Speaking of Nefion, he was on his task of finding where Jane was locked.

    ¡°Arthur, you understand that we need to kill the king and the prince if he¡¯s working with a demon.¡±

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°But you know that we might be able to clear your name and find whoever killed Jonan, but you¡¯ll still be a wanted man after killing the king. We will not be able to live in this kingdom anymore.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°You know, and yet you¡¯ll participate in this?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Good, good.¡±

    Nefion was pleased after hearing that. But Arthur had a different reason for helping. First, he would need to flee this kingdom in about two months, so what did it change to do it before? Even if he only rescued Jane, and not killed the king, he would still be a wanted man for ¡®kidnapping the princess.¡¯

    So, why not help Nefion kill the king, who was a demon that could ruin the entire kingdom? No one would recognize their deeds, but that did not matter. They would be long gone anyway.

    ¡°But Nefion. Our initial n was to flee with Jane during the feast the royal family will host in about a month. Wisa, who is a teacher back in our academy, would show up and help me.¡±

    ¡°Huh, can you exin to me where this academy is? I¡¯ll go there and talk with the president to exin everything.¡±

    ¡°What? It took us days using a carriage to get here. How would you arrive there in a day?¡±

    ¡°Huh? In a day? Kid, I¡¯ll be back in three hours, or less. Three days, damn. Are people so weak nowadays?¡±

    What Nefion said was crazy, but somehow Arthur believed in him. He told Nefion how to get to the academy, and also told him some secrets that only Marget would know to make sure they trusted Nefion. With that, Nefion left in a hurry.

    Before leaving, he asked Arthur to stay inside their hidden room and practice the new skills he taught him. These would be crucial after the n when they had to flee.

    Arthur practiced the same thing, over and over again. Meanwhile, a madman was running towards Frostpeak Magic Academy.

    Nefion was so fast that no one could even see him. In one hour and a half, he was in front of the academy. The ce had manyyers of protection, including magic arrays that even Marget would not be able to pass through.

    ¡°The brat told me they had magic arrays. What is this shit?¡± Nefion passed through it as if it was paper.

    Inside Marget¡¯s office, someone rushed in, screaming.

    ¡°President, president. We have a problem. All of the magic arrays are broken. It has to be an army trying to destroy us.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Marget got up from her chair, preparing herself to battle against an army of people. But then, an old man showed up in front of her office.

    ¡°Hello, Marget. We need to talk. It is urgent.¡±

    The person who came to warn Marget about the invasion was scared but couldn¡¯t let someone hurt the president.

    ¡°Who do you think you are to show up here?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry youngdy. But I need to talk with Marget alone. Could you leave, please? And don¡¯t forget to lock the doors.¡±

    ¡°How dare you?¡±

    The woman grabbed her magic book and started to draw magic symbols mid-air. Wind gathered above the magic symbols, creating a small hurricane. Nefion watched all of that, and he was not impressed at all.

    ¡°Kids these days¡­¡±

    Nefion vanished and appeared behind the woman who was casting the spell. He pped her neck with his right hand, and the woman was knocked out in a second.

    Marget watched everything unfold, and she was scared. She could not follow the movements of that old man. He was way stronger than anyone she had ever seen.

    ¡°Now, please. Arthur sent me, and we have a lot to discuss. Things gotplicated, and he may have to kill the king and flee the kingdom tomorrow.¡±

    Marget was silent for a moment, and then she screamed.

    ¡°WHAT?¡±

 Chapter 20

    20 nning a Murder, and Doing It

    While Nefion caused amotion showcasing his power, Arthur was in a peaceful state of mind as he practiced his skills. He shed using his enchanted sword. And he also tried his best to get used to the techniques Nefion taught him.

    Hily watched everything from the sides with a mesmerizing face. She was only a servant, powerless. But she wanted things to change. Hily dreamed of the day she could protect herself. Maybe a day where she would have simr powers as Arthur.

    Arthur had no idea, but Hily wanted to flee with him after the mess. She hated being stuck inside the pce and working to the bones. There was a gigantic and beautiful world for her to explore.

    "Hey, Arthur," Hily said.

    Arthur practiced his sword moves, and sweat dripped from his forehead. One sh, then another. The most important part was how one uses its feet to draw power to all of the attacks. Wisa said that to him, so Arthur was starting to understand.

    "Hey." Arthur needed some rest, and Hily wanted to talk, so it was a perfect time. He sat beside her as he drank a mug of water.

    "I want toe with you."

    "What?"

    "Before saying no, hear me out."

    Arthur stopped and listened to her carefully.

    "Let''s assume our n goes well. The other from the royal family will be wondering how that happened. They will investigate, and I''m sure they will find out I helped you."

    "I''ll be dead, Arthur. I don''t want to die before getting to know the world. All of my days are monotonous inside this damned ce. You showing up shook things, and it was the best thing that happened to me in a while. Please, consider taking me in?"

    Arthur gazed at her and pondered. Hily''s words were not pointless, and Arthur knew the royal family would find her in a matter of days. But if she went if him, dangers would still be at every corner. Hily wasn''t strong enough to help in battle, so what should Arthur do?

    The first thing that came to his mind was to train her. But he was not proficient enough. Arthur needed to improve his strength.

    Before Arthur could answer, Nefion appeared out of a sudden.

    "Damn, you returned? How long has it been? one and a half hours? You know how to fly and did not tell us?"

    Not only that, but two of the academy''s teachers quit and said they would go with them. Wisa, and 16:26

    Myria. Nefion brought the two of them with him.

    "Brat, I went using these two bad boys," Nefion pped both of his legs.

    "It is a shame kids nowadays had no resistance."

    "Anyway, you two, listen. I talked with that Marget, and we came up with a n. Listen carefully."

    ~~~~

    Marget could not help them directly as fleeing with them. She had a ce to run and a lot of students to teach. But that did not mean she couldn''t help her disciple, Jane.

    There was a port near the pce. It would take them one day at maximum to get there. Marget gave Nefion money to get themselves a ship and use it to flee to the open sea.

    Not only that, but two of the academy''s teachers quit and said they would go with them. Wisa, and Myria. Nefion brought the two of them with him.

    "What? My teachers are the best. Where are they, anyway?"

    "They went to the port to get us a ship and prepare everything once we get there. Kid, you''ll flee with Jane, Wisa, Myria, and," Nefion got interrupted by Hily.

    "And me, I''ll go too."

    "You? Hm. Come here."

    Hily was startled, but she still went toward Nefion. He grabbed her arm, and within a second, he said something spectacr.

    "You have a talent for magic, kid. You have a small mana core of the ice attribute, and if you work hard, you can be a powerful mage."

    Hily''s knees got weaker, and she fell. Tears streamed down her face, and she was happy. She could learn magic and be strong enough to explore the vast world. She could go with Arthur.

    "Oh, and Arthur, I was so focused on the teachers that I forgot something. Someone called Lilia also came. That''s right. This old man carried three beauties with his strong arms."

    "Lilia also came? That''s good news. But Nefion, will youe with us?"

    "I can''t, kid. I''ll try my best to buy time for all of you. But don''t worry, there is no way they can catch me, so I''ll be fine."

    "Now, how should we attract them?" Nefion said.

    "I may have a n."

    Both Nefion and Hily went silent, waiting for Arthur to talk. But maybe he was waiting for some reply.

    "Spill it out, kid."

    "Okay, okay. Most people inside this pce don''t even know about your existence."

    "Correct. In recent years no guard even saw me. I always stood in the shadows and ate once they left."

    "So, let''s say someone goes down the cell to check if I escaped and saw no one. The guard wouldn''t know you also escaped."

    "Hm, I see where you are going, but please, continue."

    "Hily can go to the guards and say I seek her out for help after leaving the cell. They will check the cell and will not see me there. They will also check my room and see most of my things gone. Once they catch me, it is your time to act, Nefion."

    "Wait. You''ll let the royal family get you?"

    "Of course. You see, I was being locked up because I''m a suspect. If I ran, they will mark me as the killer. So the guards will not throw me inside the cell again but in front of the king,"

    "No way only the king will be there, but also all of the royal family. You''ll have a chance to kill all the people corrupted by the demon."

    "That''s... You impressed me, kid. My old brain wouldn''t ever go that far in thinking."

    "But Nefion, did you find Jane?" Arthur said.

    "Oh, I did. Jane is inside the west tower. Look," Nefion went to the wall of his secret room and pushed another book.

    "There''s a secret tunnel here that leads us outside, behind the pce. It is in the direction of the port, and we can have the upper hand. You, Hily, and Jane will flee using this ce."

    "All right, let''s go."

    ~~~~

    Hily walked through the hallway and spotted the chief of the guards. She decided to talk with him about Arthur.

    "Excuse me, Sir captain. I have something to tell you."

    "Oh, hello, Hily. Sure, what is it?"

    ~~~~

    "Captain, he''s not here in the cell. Hily is right, shall we prepare to catch him?"

    "Yes, prepare all of our forces."

    Hilly told them Arthur sought her out for help, and she hid him in the kitchen. But she wouldn''t betray the pce, so she told them where he was hiding.

    The guards busted the kitchen door open and ran directly at another door that led to the storage room.

    "Arthur, surrender. We know you''re in here, behind these crates. Surrender now!"

    "All right, all right. I''m here!" Arthur had his hands up, and he surrendered.

    Arthur was right. They did not send him to the cell but to the throne room. The royal family was already there, waiting for Arthur. It was time to judge all of his actions and grant him a merciful death.

    He had chains around his feet and hands. The guards shouted ''move'' and pushed him to the throne room. It was a tense atmosphere with all of these looks on him.

    "So, you''re Arthur?" Barion said.

    "Yes."

    "You know why you are here?"

    "Honestly, no."

    Barion tapped his fingers, examining Arthur.

    "You did not kill my son, Jonan?"

    "I didn''t."

    "Bullshit! He died right after you showed up in this pce. We locked you, and yet you ran. If you are so innocent as you say, why would you run?"

    "I ran so you guys would bring me here, and I could see Eleonora''s face once again. Ahh, she is so pretty. Are you sure she is truly your daughter? I mean, your face looks like my ass."

    Barion got up from his throne and yelled.

    "WHAT DID YOU SAY? You are a braved, toe here and say this to me. You know what, forget about the merciful death. I''ll torture you now, and you''ll regret your words."

    Everyone inside the room was shocked. Arthur was not afraid of dying to be able to say these things to the king. Eleonora watched everything and could not understand why Arthur was doing it. She thought he was innocent.

    Nefion hid in the shadows while that happened, scanning both the king and the other prince. It was true, both of them had demonic energy within, and just the fact Barion was alive and well after Nefion killed him proved that something was up.

    "Damn, this brat is good with words, HAHAHA. Don''t worry, brat, they will not torture you while I''m here."

    Barion had enough, and he ordered the guards to get Arthur and throw him in the cell and torture him. But as soon as the guards got closer to Arthur, all of them got cut in half, like tomatoes.

    Blood spurted everywhere. The floor was filled with organs of those guards who got cut in half. Everyone had their hands on their mouths, afraid of what could happen to them.

    Nefion next move was to kill the prince, so he did. It was a sh no one could see, and in the next second, the prince was cut into 28 pieces.

    "It''s been a long time, son. Or should I say, demon?"

    Nefion appeared, facing the king. His sword was painted with blood, but there was still someone he had to kill.

    We are almost reaching 600 collections. That is HUGEEE. Thank you!

    More chaptersing up soon, as I know you''re hungry to get to know what will happen next.

    Thank you again for all the support!!!

    100 power stones= 1 Extra Chapter

    200 power stones= Another Extra Chapter And so on!

 Chapter 21

    ¡°Nefion? What are you doing here? How did you recover your powers?¡±

    Barion could not believe it when he saw Nefion. They fought a long, long time ago. Nefion lost its powers after the battle, but somehow Barion lived. Well, it was no longer the corrupted Barion but the demon itself who possessed his body.

    ¡°Did you think a demon like you could win against someone like me? What a joke. You are trash, and you¡¯ll not leave this ce alive.

    ¡°If I¡¯m trash, how did your son lose his body to me? He is even trashier.¡±

    ¡°I know demons are stupid, but this much? Barion wasn¡¯t even my real son.¡±

    Arthur gazed at the pile of corpses around him and the discussion between Barion and Nefion. He was surprised to get to know that. But it was funny that most of the royal family did not know about Nefion¡¯s existence. All of the princes and princesses were kids when he was around. Guards and servants changed now and then, so no one knew about him.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯ll still lose again, Nefion. What made you think you could win against me this time?¡± Barion was not afraid. He won thest time they fought, and he was growing his power over the past years.

    ¡°Hahaha. You¡¯ll see.¡±

    Nefion dashed toward Barion, wielding his mighty sword. Everyone else inside the room left, afraid to get hurt in thebat. Only the guards stood behind to ¡®protect¡¯ the king, but they all died as soon as they got closer to Nefion.

    Once both swords met, a wave of impact swiped across the room. Arthur, who stood far from the fight, retreated a few steps due to the sh of swords.

    They were on a different level of power. It was a fight Arthur could not help in any way. But he still could help by protecting Jane once they fled.

    .

    Barion smirked when they shed their swords, sure that he would get the upper hand. But that was not the case. He got sent flying with the impact, like a ragdoll.

    ¡°This is impossible. We were equal thest time, but now I¡¯m stronger, and you starved inside the cell for years.¡±

    ¡°What makes you think I was in my best shape at the time? Just die already.¡±

    Nefion did not want to stop and give Barion a chance to escape. He exerted so much strength in his legs that the floor copsed. It was a speed out of this world, and even Barion, who was strong, could not see him.

    Another sh, but this time, it was so fast that Barion could not defend, resulting in him losing his left arm. Blood came like a waterfall, painting the throne room red.

    The incredulous look on Barion¡¯s face was hrious. He acted mighty as if he had won the fight, but now, he was like a puppy. Nefion was not joking when he said he would kill the king.

    ¡°How can a human be as strong as a demon? It is a dream. It has to be.¡±

    They kept shing, but Barion was losing after each exchange. First, he lost his arm, then his leg. At that stage, he couldn¡¯t fight.

    ¡°You made me do this. NEFION, YOU¡¯RE A FUCKING BASTARD.¡±

    Barion dropped his sword and yelled, ¡°Demonic Transformation.¡¯

    All the blood near him got sucked into his body, healing his wounds and regrowing his lost limbs. Nefion watched everything with a calm gaze. He thought it was a useless attempt. All he had to do was cut Barion into pieces again, and again, and again.

    But the Demonic Transformation was a technique with more uses than just healing. Barion changed from his weak human appearance into one of a demon. All of his body had a ck substance covering it, and both of his eyes turned red. Not only that, but ws grew in the ce of nails, and two wings opened at his back. Two horns appeared above his head, creating a scene of extreme horror.

    It was not over. The skin of all bodies inside the throne room ripped and flew toward Barion. An armor of flesh formed around the ck substance.

    ¡°What the hell? Disgusting. Grandpa Nefion, please kill this bastard.¡±

    Arthur called Nefion grandpa more of a joke and respect towards him. But Barion did not know that and thought maybe Arthur was his real grandson. So, instead of fighting against Nefion using his new form, he went in Arthur¡¯s direction.

    Nefion was not expecting it and had to use other means to stop Barion.

    ¡°You¡¯re dead, kid.¡±

    The demonic ck w was getting closer to Arthur, and he was incapable of dodging it. Amidst that, Nefion¡¯s eyes shone blue, and a translucent dragon form appeared behind him.

    Roaring, Nefion flew in front of Arthur, blocking the w. Everything happened so fast Arthur could not understand any of it.

    ¡°You, you¨C¡± Before Barion could even finish, Nefion cut him into pieces, ending his life.

    ¡°Are you okay, kid?¡±

    ¡°I am, but what exactly happened?¡± Arthur had many questions, but it was not the time to be asking them.

    ¡°We need to find Jane. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ~~~~

    The pce was a mess. People ran around, scared of what happened. They thought a madman showed up and tried to kill the king. But with all of the guards inside the throne room, there was no way the king died.

    Once the reinforcements entered the throne room, they saw Barion, cut into pieces. He was no longer in his demonic form, so all they saw was a human, dead.

    ¡°FIND THE CHEF, AND KILL HIM,¡± they yelled.

    There weren¡¯t only regr guards looking for them but also powerful mages. Everyone that was inside the room when the fight broke up died, so no one knew that the one who killed everyone was not Arthur but Nefion.

    The west tower was not far, and with Nefion speed, he carried Arthur throughout the pce without anyone noticing them. It was crazy how much stronger he was inparison to the rest.

    It was a big tower made of marble. The surroundings of it had many magical barriers as protection, but none mattered when facing Nefion. He destroyed every single one of them, and they climbed the tower, going straight to the room Jane was being locked.

    Arthur¡¯s heart raced, and he busted the door wide open. Jane was startled. She was watching the birds fly through her balcony, and once she turned around, Arthur was running at her.

    ¡°ARTHUR!¡± tears streamed down her face, and they hugged. Nefion knew they did not have much time, but he would not spoil their reunion by rushing them.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here to save you. There is so much we need to talk about. To start, this crazy old man right there, he is your grandfather who was locked.¡±

    Nefion waved. He was not part of the royal family by blood, but he still cared deeply for Jane and considered her to be his granddaughter.

    ¡°Wait?¡± Jane rushed and also hugged Nefion.

    ¡°I always asked dad where my grandfather was, and he always came up with an excuse. Ah, it is so nice to see you.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of your dad, there is something hard for you to hear.¡±

    Nefion exined everything to her, as he was the best of them with words.

    ~~~~

    Jane hated her father, but she still saw her as her father. It was hard for her, and she did not release Arthur¡¯s hand up until Nefion¡¯s room. She got to know from Nefion that her real father died a long time ago, and all that was left was his appearance. It exined why her father treated everyone badly.

    Hily was waiting inside the room with all the supplies they would need for their trip.

    ¡°Finally. I was starting to get worried,¡± Hily got up from the chair, relieved that they were alive and well.

    ¡°Hily, this is Jane. Jane, this is Hily. We don¡¯t have much time, so we can chat on our way out of here,¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°Brat, this is the time we will part ways.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get you time so you can escape.¡±

    ¡°But Nefion.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, kid. You saw how strong I am. There is no way they will kill me,¡±

    ¡°Protect all of the people that mattered to you. Don¡¯t make the same mistake as me,¡±

    ¡°And kid, hear me out.¡±

    Nefion was saying goodbye to all of them, but there was a special thing he needed to say directly to Arthur.

    ¡°It will happen soon, orter, but your true nature will show up. Don¡¯t hide from it, and please, feel prideful. You¡¯ll be one of the few remaining, and when I get the chance, I¡¯lle looking for you. Bye!¡±

    Nefion vanished, leaving Arthur confused about what his words meant. But as their time was running short, they entered the secret tunnel, leaving the pce, going directly to the port.

 Chapter 22

    ¡°This ce is so dark. Arthur, can¡¯t you lit these torches or something?¡± Hily said.

    The secret tunnel Nefion showed them was pitch-ck. It had torches attached to the wall, so Arthur grabbed three of them and lit them using his fire sword.

    ¡°Sooo much better. Now I can see if any bugs are crawling on me.¡±

    While Hily was excited to leave the pce, Jane was still shocked by everything that had happened. It would take her some time to recover, and Arthur would stay by her side to help her.

    ¡°When does this end? We¡¯ve been walking for at least ten minutes, and it does not seem like it is near the end.¡±

    Hily had way less resistance than the rest of the group. That¡¯s why she wasining.

    ¡°We will be out soon, don¡¯t worry. And it is a good thing the tunnel is big. We can get more distance from the pce,¡± said Arthur.

    The only thing they had to do was walk. Nefion was fighting against thousands to make sure they left the pce. If he heard theseints, he would get angry.

    ¡°So how long until the port? Anyone knows for sure?¡±

    Jane, quiet the entire way, said something to help them atst.

    ¡°It will take us two days by foot. I don¡¯t think we can get a carriage, because it is only forest until the port. And we can¡¯t steal the carriage of other merchants.¡±

    .

    ¡°Hm, it is not that far. Don¡¯t worry. We can camp in the woods and then continue the next day. They are behind us for a lot.¡±

    As they were speaking, light shone in their eyes. It was proof the way out was near, which relieved the trio. Walking inside a dark and narrow tunnel was not somethingfortable to any of them.

    ~~~~

    The fresh air, alongside a sweet breeze, touched their faces. Arthur saw countless trees, bushes, and birds flying above his head.

    Unfortunately, he did not have the time to appreciate the view. The port was their destination, and they couldn¡¯t stop moving as someone was trying to get them.

    ¡°We should not use the road. It will be the first ce they will be looking. And, if a merchant passes by us and goes to the pce, he¡¯ll remember where he saw us, and you know the rest,¡±

    ¡°The best ce for us is to walk inside the forest, but not too far. It should be an ideal distance so we can still see the road.¡±

    Both Jane and Hily had zero experience in that field, so they let Arthur lead the way. Moving using the way Arthur said would slow them down, but it was the safest option.

    The people from the pce would not be chasing them on foot. If they used the road blindly, they would be doomed.

    It was a good thing the forest wasn¡¯t that dense. It was still harder to navigate on it whenpared to the road, but it wasn¡¯t impossible.

    Arthur led the way, opening the path for Jane and Hily. He had to scout possible enemies and cut some branches to avoid scratches.

    Now and then, a bug would show up, making Jane and Hily scream.

    ¡°Ahhhh, get it out of me. Please, Arthur, cut it using your sword.¡±

    ¡°How am I supposed to cut a tiny bug using a sword? I can but expect to lose an arm along with it.¡±

    ¡°Noo. I still want my arm, damn it. Cast a fire and burn this thing.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see how burning you will be better than cutting it with a sword¡­¡±

    ~~~~

    For the first few hours, nothing out of the ordinary happened. But as the sun set, Arthur heard a scream from deeper in the woods. It appeared someone was in danger. They had to camp for the night, so checking it would not affect them much.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go check it. Prepare to fight,¡± said Arthur.

    They turned right, walking deeper inside the woods. It was a more dense part, and without the sun, it was hard to see anything. But following the screams was something they could do, and they reached the source in no time.

    It was a man and a woman fighting against three wolves. Not amon type of wolves, but a ferocious type changed by the mana in the atmosphere. It was a low-tier magical beast.

    The man was fighting fiercely against the beats using a spear, while the woman was behind it casting divine spells. But even though their coordination while fighting was amazing, fighting three magical beasts was not an easy feat.

    ¡°Look, brother. Someone else is here. Will they help us?¡±

    ¡°Hey, you three. Please, help us.¡±

    Neither Arthur, Hily nor Jane dressed like mercenaries or thieves. That is why the man and the woman did not see them as bad people.

    They exchanged gazes, and Arthur yelled, ¡°We will help you. Hold on.¡± Hily stayed behind as she had no way of helping in the fight. The only thing she could do was hope all of them would be okay.

    Arthur rushed, wielding the sword Wisa gave him. mes erupted from the sword, and the temperature of the surrounding area rose. Jane lost all of her magical weapons when Barion locked her, so she had to cast spells without the help of a conductor. Without a magical book or wand, the spell would be weaker. But that did not mean it wouldn¡¯t cause extreme damage, even more, the rare lightning spells from Jane.

    She drew magical symbols using her index finger, and within three seconds, bolts of lightning attacked one of the wolves. The magical beast could not withstand the impact and was sent flying, hitting on a nearby tree.

    Arthur was going toward the other wolf. But while the other got shot in the distance without being able to retaliate, this one was in meleebat, which was their expertise.

    The wolf leaped toward Arthur, trying to bite him using his sharp teeth. It was a scary attack, given the fact the wolf had three times Arthur¡¯s size. But Arthur wouldn¡¯t back down from it. He focused on the enemy, trying to spot any weaknesses he could use. Arthur found one.

    The wolf could not dodge while in midair, so Arthur chose of letting it bite his shoulder in exchange for a fatal blow. He ducked in, and the wolf¡¯s teeth pierced through his right shoulder. It hurt a lot, and Arthur wanted to scream right there.

    Biting his lips to maintain the focus, Arthur could see that the wolf was above him with his jaw clenched on his shoulder. He focused all of his strength on that attack as he shed his ming sword, cutting the wolf in half.

    It was instant death. Arthur then tossed the part that was biting his shoulder.

    Everyone watched the scene with their mouths open. It happened so fast, yet Arthur was so decisive in it. For a moment, Jane got worried that something bad would happen to Arthur.

    With two wolves dead, the other one that was staring at them got scared and ran away.

    Arthur¡¯s shoulder was bleeding heavily after the fight, and the pain was almost unbearable. He could die of blood loss if nothing was done. But then, the woman they just saved, came to his rescue.

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m a practician of the Divine arts. Please, let me heal you.¡±

    She did not do the same movements as the mages did. There was no symbol drawn in the air or anything like that. The woman came closer to Arthur and started to recite a prayer. A light shone from her hands. She covered the wounded shoulder, and it slowly healed. The most urgent thing was to close the wound, and she managed to do that in a minute.

    ¡°This is incredible. Thank you.¡± Arthur was grateful for her to heal his wounds.

    ¡°I¡¯m Arthur. The purple-haired woman is Jane, and the ck-haired is Hily. Nice to meet you two.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Aria, and he¡¯s Cedric, my brother.¡±

    Aria pointed at her brother, who waved in return and said, ¡°Hello, nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°How did you guys end up in this situation?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it is a long story.¡±

    ¡°Let us step up camp and use this wolf meat for good use.¡±

    Arthur and Cedric set up the camp for them. They built a campfire, and they had two tents nearby.

    All of them were hungry, so it would be a shame to leave these wolves to rot. So, Hily and Arthur cleaned them. They were magical beasts, and most of them tasted good.

    Piercing the sticks through the wolf meat and cooking it in the campfire with the moonlight bathing all of them. For a moment, Arthur forgot someone was trying to kill him.

    ¡°So, where are you guys heading?¡± Arthur bit and chewed arge piece of meat as he asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re trying to reach the port nearby. Do you know it?¡±

    Arthur, Hily, and Jane exchanged nces.

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±

    Perhaps Arthur found some new members for their party. But first, they had to know each other better.

 Chapter 23

    Aria and Cedric lived in a vige far from where they were. They barely had any money to buy anything. Then their home suffered a tragic ident, and all of their family died.

    Without nowhere to go, they decided to sail to the sea and find a new home. That is the reason why they were going toward the port. But without money, there was no way of getting a ship, so Arthur felt pity and wanted to help them.

    ¡°It is fate, my new friends. We are also trying to sail and find a new ce to call home. Want to join our crew?¡± Arthur said.

    They did not know what to say. A stranger not only saved them but was also inviting them to a crew.

    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll not let you down or slow you. You can count on my healing skills and Cedric¡¯s spear.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡±

    They talked for a while to get to know each other better. And also to enjoy the delicious wolf meat Hily made for them. But all of them were tired, especially Aria and Cedric, who traveled a long way to get there. So, it was time to sleep.

    There were only two tents, which meant Arthur would sleep alongside Jane and Hily. It would certainly be a good night of sleep.

    Even though it was only one tent for three people, it still had enough space for everyone. But sleeping outdoors was far different. It was colder, and the fear of something attacking during the night was high. So, in the end, Arthur, Hily, and Jane slept close to each other.

    ¡°Ahhh-¡± Hily said as a hand touched her boobs. Arthur would not lose the chance to touch these mountains again.

    ¡°What are you doing, Arthur? Jane is sleeping next to us,¡± whispered Hily, afraid Jane would wake up.

    Arthur got closer and whispered, ¡°If we do it quietly, she will not wake up.¡±

    .

    Hily pondered the idea, and as she remembered the good time spent with Arthur, she epted.

    ¡°Okay. Do it slowly, please. We can have hardcore sex inside the ship.¡±

    Arthur put his pants down and pierced his dick in Hily¡¯s wet pussy. It went in slowly, but that did not stop Hily from moaning softly. She rolled her eyes in pleasure, and her legs shook after each orgasm.

    ¡°Ahhh, Arthur.¡±

    They fucked for a long time, and yet no one woke up.

    ~~~~

    ¡°It is so nice to see the sun again.¡±

    After a good night¡¯s sleep, especially for Arthur, all of the crew returned to their goal. Aria and Cedric did not know people were chasing Arthur, so they couldn¡¯t fully understand why the hurry.

    But being part of a crew and sailing the sea made them want to move forward at full speed.

    They destroyed the campfire and dismounted the tents. Hily brought a few fruits with her and shared them with everyone. It was not the best breakfast, but it was what they could get.

    ¡°How long until the port?¡± asked Aria.

    ¡°Hum, at least eight hours. So not much.¡±

    Arthur counted on Wisa and Myria to get a ship for them. They could not dy their departure after killing the KING of the kingdom. It was the most severe crime one could do. Arthur did not want to die before exploring this new world.

    They walked non-stop until a small city entered their sight. It was Rento.

    Rento was a well-known city in the kingdom, even with its small size. Why? Rento had the biggest port in the kingdom and was close to the royal pce and the capital. It was the best ce for merchants to ship goods.

    A few guards searched everyone that wished to enter the city. Arthur was afraid they would somehow recognize them, but no. They went in without problems.

    ¡°Come in. Enjoy your time in Rento.¡±

    The streets of Rento had few people but lots of carriages. Ships came every day bringing goods, and these same goods were moved using carriages to whatever their destination was.

    ¡°Move out of the day. Richards from the Lockheart family is passing,¡± someone yelled from the carriage, and everyone opened up the path for it to pass.

    It was amon urrence for people to strike fear using their family names. Arthur did not think it was wrong. He would do the same if he was from a prestigious family.

    Arthur had no idea where Wisa or Myria was. His best bet was to check at the nearby inn, and see if anyone matching their description passed.

    They walked inside the only inn the city had. It was big and had many rooms. Maybe that was the reason Rento had only one inn. This ce was so big it could fit a lot of travelers.

    Arthur went in and checked with the bartender to see if he could give him any information. He was expecting to pay at least some coins for it, but the bartender shared what he knew for free.

    ¡°Oh, yes. These threedies stayed herest night. If I remember correctly, they went to the port a few hours ago.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thank you!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±

    ~~~~

    The port was not far, so it took them a few minutes to get there. It had many ships of all sizes. Almost all of them had a g above, indicating from which family they belonged. It was their way of striking fear in those who wished to rob.

    Arthur looked for a ship without a g, as one of these would presumably be from Wisa. After checking a few of those, they finally arrived at the right one.

    Inside the ship, Wisa, Myria, and Lilia were moving the supplies and the things necessary for their departure. Lilia was the first one to spot Arthur, and she ran in his direction, hugging him.

    ¡°Ahh, I was so worried about you. That old man told us about the crazy thing you two were going to do. Ahh, you only make your big sis worry.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the first thing you say to me? Ah, you don¡¯t know how much trouble we¡¯ve been through. I need the care only big sis can perform.¡±

    ¡°You little devil.¡±

    Lilia knew Jane from sight, but it was only that. She took the chance to talk more with the others, and also to know the two new members that were going with them.

    With all of the talking, Wisa, and Myria left the insides of the ship and met with the rest of them.

    ¡°If it is not my student. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t die, and the sword I gave you it¡¯s still in one piece. That¡¯s a miracle.¡±

    ¡°My alchemy prodigy returned. Is it true the crazy n Nefion told us? Boy, did you drink a poison that messed up with your brain or something?¡±

    ¡°Hi to you too. Look, everyone,¡± Arthur pointed at Aria and said, ¡°She¡¯s Aria, and she knows how to use Divine Arts or something like that. And the other one is Cedric, he wields a spear, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°Hey, big bro. Don¡¯t talk like that. You only saved me once, all right?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because he had been in only one fight so far.¡±

    Cedric did not know how to reply.

    ¡°You do have a point, damn it,¡± Cedric said.

    They chatted for a while once again. Wisa, Myria, and Lilia wanted to know more about the new people to make sure they were trustworthy. And, they did not see anything wrong with them.

    On the contrary, they wanted to help them by teaching them. But that was only after they escaped the mess created by Arthur.

    Aria and Cedric were shocked once they discovered Arthur helped someone kill the king. For a moment they thought he was a bad man. But after listening to the story, and Jane¡¯s testimony, they believed he was innocent.

    ¡°But this is more troublesome than I thought. If demons are returning, then humanity could be in danger again,¡± said Wisa.

    She was the most knowledgeable of all of them, so she knew how dangerous the demons could be. Humanity once fought a war against them, and almost got wiped out.

    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s finish what we started here. We need to leave this ce immediately.¡±

    Now they had more people to help pack the supplies, cutting the time in half. But still, it was a lot of work to do. Sailing required tons of supplies for the crew, or they could starve in the open sea.

    They moved lots of food crates. All of them had a magical symbol on them to make sure the food wouldn¡¯t rot.

    With sweat covering all of their bodies, they finally finished packing up their supplies. The n was to rest for a while before leaving, but some screamsing from the city made them rush their departure.

    ¡°DID YOU SEE THIS YOUNG MAN?¡± A man dressed in royal armor asked one of the people in Rento.

    Trembling in fear, the man said, ¡°I did. I saw him going towards the port. Please, don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    ¡°Damn it. We are in trouble. Let¡¯s go, NOW!¡±

 Chapter 24

    The guards from the royal family finally showed up. They were in high number, wearing te armor with all kinds of weapons attached to their backs. It was like a small armying to get Arthur.

    ¡°We need to get out of here. Move, move!¡± Wisa screamed as she took the wheel.

    Arthur quickly cut the ropes that held the ship to the port. Wisa knew how to drive that thing, so the rest of them focused on the sails. They weren¡¯t the best sailors, but there wasn¡¯t an option.

    ¡°Look, a ship is leaving the port. Stop it!¡± yelled the guards from inside the city.

    The only ship leaving in that period was Arthur¡¯s. It was the most suspect, and they were almost sure he was inside of it. So, they quickly ran towards it, pushing any civilian aside to open the path.

    But, it was toote. Even running as fast as possible, the ship was already entering the open sea.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let this happen. Listen up. Each officer will form a team and confiscate a ship for us to use. We will chase them until this world ends.¡±

    There was no time to lose, or else Arthur could escape their grasp. After the pce scandal, the guards would do anything it took to get Arthur. He was a wanted man that had to pay with his life.

    Arthur was relieved for a moment once they marched into the sea. But as he looked back, he saw the guards entering inside other ships and chasing them.

    ¡°Damn it. These bastards sure want to get me.¡±

    ¡°Of course, dumbass. You just killed the king.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s that.¡±

    Six ships were chasing after them. For the guards to be able to fill six ships proved how many forces they sent to catch Arthur. It was no joke.

    .

    But, as Arthur left first from the port, it bought him some distance. A distance that was hard to ovee without other means.

    They chased each other until the city was no longer visible, and then, the mages from the royal family decided to act. The mages cast spells to improve the ship¡¯s speed, and with that, they got closer and closer to Arthur.

    He couldn¡¯t do anything to stop it. The enemy had more mages, so it was impossible to contest using the same means.

    ¡°Damn it. The mages are casting wind spells behind their ships to get faster. What should we do?¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t know. We have to sink the enemy ships,¡± Myria yelled from the other part of the ship.

    ¡°How are we supposed to do that?¡±

    Arthur couldn¡¯t figure out how he could sink the enemy ships. Wisa, who was driving the ship, said, ¡°Arthur,e here and take the wheel. I¡¯ll sink these bastards.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Sink all of the ships, my favorite teacher.¡±

    As they went straight, and the weather was nice, Arthur managed to drive the ship without problems. Wisa was a mage with fire as her main attribute. And the fire was the best to sink ships.

    She left the wheel and faced the direction of their enemies. The first ship to sink was the closest to them, so she did. Wisa was not using the sword this time but focusing all her attention on the drawing of magical symbols.

    Strange runic words painted in red formed in mid-air. Wisa was not like the other students who were starting on their magical journey. She was an adept mage and her spells were on a different level.

    It took her thirty seconds to prepare the spell. Arthur saw Wisa fight once, and she did it in an instant.

    ¡°The spell she¡¯s casting is powerful. Can it sink a ship?¡±

    Well, Arthur soon found out that it couldn¡¯t only sink a ship, but four of them.

    The small symbols she drew formed four big circles in the sky. A huge amount of mana in each one of them, and loud noises came from each one of the circles.

    Then, four giant meteors flew from the circles, each one aiming at a different ship.

    ¡°Damn it, what is this. Who¡¯s with Arthur to be able to cast such a powerful spell?¡± one of the mages from the royal family said.

    They couldn¡¯t contest such a powerful spell. The only thing they could do was to wait until it hit the ships. The meteors flew slowly, and as they got closer to the ship, it was possible to see the meteors¡¯ true size.

    Huge, they were huge. The meteors were bigger than the ships themselves.

    A loud sound. The ships were no more after facing the meteors. It sank, and everyone inside of it did too.

    ¡°Wow. When did you be so strong, Wisa?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been, idiot.¡±

    Wisa sat after casting the spell. It took her a lot of mana to do so. She needed some time to rest before fighting again. But, Wisa managed to sink four ships at once. Now, only two were chasing them, and the rest of the group would have to find a way to destroy them.

    ¡°Myria, seeing you¡¯re also a teacher, can you destroy thest two ships for us?¡± said Arthur in a mocking tone.

    ¡°It is not like that, brat. I¡¯m an alchemist, not abat mage like Wisa.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure. That¡¯s the reason.¡±

    ~~~~

    The other two ships slowed down after witnessing Wisa¡¯s attack but never left. They did not have mages capable enough to destroy Arthur¡¯s ship, so all they could do was watch.

    But, the peaceful time wouldn¡¯tst long. A white-bearded man showed up flying above the sea. Once Wisa saw it, she was terrified.

    ¡°Damn it. Why are we so unlucky?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Arthur could not understand what made her think that way. Their enemies were far, and couldn¡¯t do anything to them in a short time.

    ¡°The bastard that showed up flying just now. He¡¯s strong, like, STRONG. You saw how strong I am, right? To be able to fly one has to be at least three tiers above me. That man is one of the strongest in the kingdom.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    Arthur did not know any of that. How would they face someone like that? They could only pray for a miracle to happen.

    Meanwhile, inside the enemy ship, a white-bearded man was angry.

    ¡°How you idiots lost four ships? Damn it. I was angry already for leaving myfy home to chase some lowly criminal, and now this? Damn, you are pathetic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. We got caught in a meteor spell and lost four of our ships. It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    ¡°A meteor spell? Hmm, that is interesting. Anyway, let¡¯s finish this. I need to go back and rest my old body.¡±

    The man drew some magical symbols, just like Wisa. They were almost the same.

    After two whole minutes, a gigantic circle formed above the sky. Wisa recognized what it was, and epted her fate.

    ¡°We are all dead. That man is casting a meteor at us, at least two tiers stronger than mine. We can¡¯t survive this.¡±

    Aria, Hily, and even Jane had tears streaming down their faces. They were too young to die. The world had so many things for them to explore, and now everything would end, just like that?

    Arthur felt the same way, but he had a crazy n in mind. Their death was almost certain, so screw the reason.

    He would do anything to give them a slight chance of survival.

    ¡°Wisa. Can you throw me with enough force to reach the meteor?¡±

    ¡°What? It is suicide. Are you trying to die before us?¡± Wisa could not understand what Arthur wanted to do.

    Well, Arthur himself had no idea if it would work. But it was better than waiting for death.

    ¡°All right, I can do it.¡± Wisa agreed to it in the end.

    They all stared at the sky, and a gigantic meteor formed. It was impossible to dodge it. Wisa stared at Arthur seriously, and then she grabbed him.

    Wisa exerted all of her strength to throw Arthur directly at the meteor. The man who cast it saw that andughed.

    ¡°What is this? Are they trying to kill themselves? In the face of death, humans always try futile attempts to survive.¡±

    Arthur flew like a cannonball. He had a crazy n in mind, and he hoped it worked.

    ¡°Come on, system. Please, show me how overpowered you¡¯re. I¡¯m counting on it.¡±

    As he was getting closer to the meteor, his clothes started to burn, and his skin hurt like hell. The temperature was too high for normal humans to survive.

    ¡°LET¡¯S FUCKING GO, BABY.¡±

    When facing death, Arthur turned out to be a crazy man, just like Nefion.

    Arthur came in touch with the meteor. The skin of his hands wanted to melt, but they didn¡¯t. He tried his best to focus on his absorption spell, and absorb the meteor. Yes, that was his n.

    He didn¡¯t have any clothing anymore, and the pain was almost taking his consciousness away. But somehow, it worked.

    The huge meteor started to shrink, and enter Arthur¡¯s body. He was almost dying due to the pain, but it worked.

    ¡°Arthur is crazy. To think he would try this, hahaha!¡± Wisa could not hold herugh.

    Arthur absorb the meteor, which shocked everyone present, especially the man who cast it. But, that wasn¡¯t the end. As Arthur was falling down, he threw the spell he absorbed toward his enemies.

    A huge circle formed above the sky near Arthur, and a meteor formed, shooting directly towards the two ships.

    ¡°Eat this, mother fucker!¡±

 Chapter 25

    The man stared nkly at the sky. He could not understand how his spell got reflected out of a sudden. It was a meteor. How could someone even do that?

    A gigantic ming rock went directly at them. There wasn¡¯t much any of the others could do to stop it. The only one with a chance was the white-bearded man.

    He did not have much time before it hit him. The man drew a few blue-colored symbols in an attempt to cast a magic barrier. But without time to properly strengthen the spell, it would not hold the meteor.

    ¡°Damn it. Should I fly and leave? No, there¡¯s not enough time.¡±

    It was impossible to flee using his flight spell. The meteor was big enough to cover arge radius. With his speed, it was impossible to escape.

    With that in mind, the man tried his best to create the best magical barrier he could. The other mages helped him by creating weaker barriers to help in ayered defense.

    But it was not enough. The meteor came crashing, destroying all of the barriers as if they were paper.

    It hit the ship, destroying everything and killing almost everyone instantly.

    ¡°He¨C HE DID IT!¡±

    No one could believe what Arthur had just done. Wisa saw him falling from the sky and quickly jumped to catch him. In the crew¡¯s eyes, Arthur was a savior.

    They knew their survivor only happened because of him. Everyone was grateful for what he did.

    Wisa let him go and gave him a cloak to cover his body. Some parts showed after his clothing burned. No one could believe Arthur did that. They had many questions to ask, but seeing how tired Arthur looked, they did not. It was not the time to bother him with curiosity.

    Both enemy ships got destroyed. Everyone died except one person, the white-bearded man.

    He barely survived the impact. All his clothing was ragged, and he also had burning marks all over his body. It would not take long before he died, but he still wanted to do one thing.

    ¡°Bastard. You can absorb spells, but if it¡¯s fast enough, will you be able to?¡±

    .

    The man was on the brink of death and tried hisst move. He did not only use mana, but his vital essence to cast a spell.

    He got up from the piece of wood and drew symbols made of blood in the air. Then, a bloody bow formed, and he grabbed it.

    ¡°Mystic Life and Death Bow. Die with me, bastard!¡±

    The bow shot a mystical arrow. It was fast. The Mystic Life and Death Bow was a high-tier spell that used the caster¡¯s life to cast it. Usually, the mage wouldn¡¯t die after using it, but the man was almost dead after the meteor attack.

    Arthur was happily chatting with the rest of his group, unaware that a deadly arrow was going directly at him. No one could sense it, not even Wisa. It was a spell far beyond her level of power.

    ¡°So, where should we head next? There are a lot of ces for us to go.¡±

    Arthur asked them with a bright smile, but then something hit him. It was a red-colored arrow, and it stroke directly at his heart.

    His health points dropped from 240 to 230.

    220¡­

    210¡­

    In a few seconds, he would be dead. And Arthur was no longer inside the ship. The impact of the arrow sent him flying into the sea.

    ¡°What? ARTHURRR!¡± Each one of them yelled in despair. Arthur was happy seconds ago, and now he was gone.

    Wisa jumped after him, but the arrow¡¯s impact was so strong it sunk him deep in the sea. She swam and tried her best to look where Arthur was, but it did not happen. Wisa couldn¡¯t find him.

    She returned to the ship with teary eyes and said, ¡°he¡¯s gone¡­¡±

    They all went to their knees and cried.

    Jane did not tell them, but she felt when their link broke. Arthur was her familiar, after all. It meant he was no longer with them.

    ~~~~

    Arthur¡¯s health points dropped to zero. He was dead. Arthur¡¯s body sunk deep into the sea, and he lost consciousness. The dream of exploring this new vast world was over. There were many things he wanted to do.

    Then, something extraordinary happened. Arthur¡¯s wounds started to heal, and a message appeared.

    [Ding]

    [Unlocking Hidden Bloodline]

    [Changing Race from Human(F Rank) to Dragon(??? Rank)]

    Arthur had no idea all of this was happening. An eggshell formed around his body, sealing it for any predator who tried to harm him. He hit the bottom of the sea, where heid and rested.

    All of his body was changing. It got stronger, and faster, and all of his senses heightened. Arthur did not turn into a full dragon yet, but his body was no longer human. He was beyond it.

    The liquid inside the eggshell was responsible for healing his wounds and changing his body. The sea moved the eggshell along with the waves, and Arthur traveled without knowing it.

    ~~~~

    Six months passed. Arthur had yet to wake up.

    A small ship from the ind of Lhendora sailed the sea. Only a few people were inside of it. These men were responsible for getting fish for their people.

    They threw a, catching many different types of fish. But amongst these fishes, a strange eggid. It was of dark color and had mysterious patterns around it.

    ¡°Look, Dad,¡± a kid yelled. The boy had no more than nine years old. He was fascinated by the strange creature egg they caught. It was big, and certainly, a rare creature would hatch from it.

    ¡°Oh, my. It¡¯s a beast egg. Should we throw it back into the sea?¡±

    ¡°No, please, Dad. Let me keep it?¡± the kid begged his Dad, and in the end, he got what he wanted.

    ¡°All right, but you¡¯ll take care of it.¡±

    ¡°Yeeeeyy!¡±

    After they got enough fish, it was time to return to the ind of Lhendora. The kid stayed close to the egg the entire time and even tried to talk with it.

    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Rauk. I- I hope we can be friends in the future!¡± Rauk hugged the egg in an attempt to keep it warm.

    The ind was a bit far, and it would take them two days to get there. On the way, Rauk talked with Arthur about many things in his life. Including the fact that he wanted to be a warrior and earn money to help his family. It was not easy to live on the ind of Lhendora. They had to fight every day for their survival. Rauk¡¯s Dad had an important job inside the ind. He was the one who brought fish for them to eat. He and his men went to the sea every week to supply the ind with food.

    ~~~~

    ¡°You¡¯re finally back, my dear,¡± Rauk¡¯s mother was waiting for her family to return. She was called Kayara.

    Ior, her husband, hugged her as soon as he saw her.

    ¡°Oh, my love. I¡¯ve missed you so much. Rauk is okay. And in his first timeing with us, we got a good fortune. We got tons of fish, and even a mysterious beast egg.¡±

    ¡°Really? I knew my boy was lucky. Come here, Rauk,¡± said Kayara.

    Rauk hugged her as well and asked for help to bring his beast egg to their house.

    It was heavy, and there was no chance a kid like him could carry it. Ior and his men used an improvised stretcher to move the egg to Ior¡¯s house. The ind was big, but only a portion of it had houses, so Ior¡¯s house was not far from where his ship anchored.

    Everyone on the ind saw the mysterious egg and got curious about what could possibly hatch from it. They had never seen anything like it before. Maybe Lhendora would finally get a beastly protector.

    After passing through many houses, they finally reached their destination. Ior¡¯s house was not big, but it was the ce he could call home. The house was made fully off the wood they got from the ind and had decorations made of flowers and other nts.

    Rauk asked them to put the egg inside his room, and so they did. Inside a small room with only a bed and a desk, stood a mysterious ck egg.

    ~~~~

    Days passed since Arthur was inside that house. Rauk made sure to wrap some things around the egg to keep it warm and talk to it every day.

    Then, Arthur finally woke up. The moment he woke up, his head ached and the memories of what happened returned to him. Even the things that happened while he was unconscious inside the egg.

    Arthur could not move yet, but he could still inspect his system tab, and that made him shocked.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 20]

    [Health: 2320/2320]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 60]

    [Agility: 30]

    [Vigor: 30]

    [Wisdom: 30]

    [Charm: 40]

    [Free points: 0]

    ¡°Damn, I¡¯m overpowered now, huh.¡±

    ¡°But, wait. What are those skills?¡±

    [Draconic Void Step: An art created by the Dragon Neldror. Allows the user to step inside the shadowy part of the Dream Realm.]

    [Draconic Burst: A skill that focuses the mana entirely on the dragon¡¯s legs, increasing its speed by arge amount.]

    ¡°Aren¡¯t these the techniq

 Chapter 26

    The crazy Nefion taught him skillsing from a dragon. Was he a dragon? Or did he learn it using other methods? Arthur couldn¡¯t find the answers to that question, just like he couldn¡¯t move inside the eggshell.

    All kinds of information started to pop up for him. Most of these were about the new skills acquired after unlocking his bloodline.

    [cidusax Devouring(Legendary): It allows you to devour anything on your path to improve your body. Depending on what you eat, you¡¯ll get different bonuses.]

    [Cost: 0 mana.]

    Arthur lost the previous ability that allowed him to absorb mana. His new skill, cidusax Devouring, worked the same way, but it could devour anything, not just mana. It was like an upgraded version of his old ability.

    But the next thing he read shocked him. It was the primary skill from his bloodline and the most powerful.

    [Draconic Transformation(Legendary): It allows you to tap into your true self.]

    [Level 1-50: Some dragon aspects, doubling all of your stats and granting you unique skills while in dragon form.]

    [Level 51-99: Half-dragon appearance. It triples your stats and adds other unique skills during your dragon form.]

    [Level 100-???: You can turn into your true form, and return to your past glory, cidusax.]

    [It multiplies your stats by ten times and adds tons of new skills you can use while in your dragon form. You¡¯ll need to devour worlds to improve after getting into this stage.]

    .

    [Cost: It does not cost mana, but after the transformation ends, you¡¯ll enter a weakened state(only for the first two forms.)]

    [Duration: As long as your body endures.]

    ¡°Damn. It is my triumph card, and I¡¯ll need to be careful while using it. If I¡¯m not mistaken, humans killed almost all dragons in the past. Using this skill meant no one can survive to tell tales.¡±

    When Arthur thought it was over, yet another notification popped up for him.

    [Ding]

    [New Skill Unlocked]

    [The Eyes of Truth(Legendary): You can see the level of any creature in this world, up to fifty levels higher than you.]

    [This skill is passive, but you can activate it once three days to get all the information about your enemy. Such as their attributes, skills, and more.]

    Arthur was sure that no one else in this world could see their stats. It was like a piece of invisible information for all of them. But that did not mean Arthur could not see it using The Eyes of Truth. It was a life-saving skill that would surely avoid fights against powerful enemies.

    [Ding]

    [New Skill Unlocked]

    [Dragon Senses(Legendary): There¡¯s no need to exin it to you. You have the senses of a dragon.]

    ¡°Huh? Did my system make fun of me? What the hell is this?¡± thought Arthur as he angrily read the skill¡¯s description.

    ~~~~

    The next three days had been a pain in the ass for Arthur. He could sense everything outside but couldn¡¯t move. It was as if he was back when he was a baby, not that he knew how it felt anyway.

    But, after these three days, he could move. First, it was only his fingers, but eventually, it was all of his body. Arthur waited for everyone to leave the house, so he could break the eggshell without anyone seeing it.

    Ior and Rauk went fishing, just like always. Kayara also left the house, which turned out to be favorable for Arthur.

    The sound of an egg breaking echoed, followed by a strange liquid that wet the floor of Rauk¡¯s room, giving a nasty smell.

    It was an unknown ce for Arthur, but with his heightened senses, it was easy to scan it. The first thing he did was to make sure no one was inside the house. Once he checked that, he went to Ior¡¯s room, looking for some clothes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for stealing this. I¡¯ll repay everyone¡¯s kindness for taking care of me. Not now, because I¡¯m poor, but I¡¯ll.¡±

    Arthur grabbed some clothes made of unknown fabric. They were simple clothing, but it was better than being naked. And Arthur was never fond of these luxurious clothes anyway.

    ¡°It does not matter. It is all destroyed after the battle, so why spend my precious money on useless things?¡±

    Before he left the house, Arthur thought of a problem. The ind was enormous, but the people lived near the shore. It was a small vige, so everyone knew each other. There was no way a new face like Arthur¡¯s would pass by unnoticed.

    ¡°I have no idea if I¡¯m far from the kingdom or if they are still looking for me. I should quietly move until I learn more about the situation.¡±

    Arthur was strong now. But he wasn¡¯t dumb to think he was unbeatable. Humans killed dragons before, and these dragons surely were stronger than Arthur.

    Before leaving the house, Arthur wrote a letter for Rauk, the kid. He was quite attached to the beast egg and took care of him while he was in there. It seemed Arthur¡¯s learning capability improved a lot. He learned theirnguage while stuck inside the eggshell, which was an impressive feat.

    ¡°Dear Rauk. I¡¯m sorry about the mess inside your room. It wasn¡¯t my fault. I¡¯m no beast, but a man called Arthur. The eggshell was my secret magic which healed my body.

    I don¡¯t know if we will meet again, but if we do, I promise to teach you how to be a warrior, just like you dream of bing one.

    Please, don¡¯t share this letter with anyone, and take care of your family.¡±

    ¡°This should be okay.¡±

    Arthur was not worried about Rauk leaking this information. Firstly because it contained only his name, which wasmon. Secondly, he was certain Rauk would keep the letter hidden. He was a good kid, after all.

    With that, he left the house. He nned to enter deeper inside the ind, far from the vige, and n out his escape.

    Once he left the house, Arthur was stunned after witnessing his new dragon senses. He could hear everything around him and could see away further than before. Arthur¡¯s body also changed drastically, and he was faster and more agile.

    He wanted to use the skills Nefion taught him, but these required a small amount of mana, which he didn¡¯t have. So, he tried to use his new devouring skill, which turned out to be more overpowered than he thought.

    All mages regenerate mana by getting it from the atmosphere. It was as if they borrowed it to use, and their mana core served as a ce to store the mana for longer periods. Arthur, on the other hand, could directly devour the mana from the atmosphere.

    Arthur opened up his mouth, and his teeth grewrger. He bit the air, devouring the mana. He could now get mana almost the same way as mages, but that destroyed the mana from the atmosphere.

    ¡°I should not go around devouring the atmosphere mana. I do think if I do this enough, then the ce will no longer have mana and will turn into a deste area,¡± thought Arthur.

    Now, with his newly acquired mana, Arthur focused on his legs and vanished using his Draconic Burst. He was so fast no one could see him leave the house. In seconds, Arthur was inside the ind¡¯s forest, away from the vige.

    ~~~~

    The forest had types of trees Arthur had never seen, and unknown species of animals. It was proof that he was far from the kingdom he used to live in.

    Arthur walked deep inside the forest, moving the branches with his hands to avoid scratches. He searched tirelessly for a temporary home. The only thing on his mind was finding a cave somehow. That would be perfect. He would call it a dragon¡¯sir.

    And luckily, after walking for thirty minutes, Arthur found exactly what he was looking for.

    A small mountain. Grasses grow around it, making the ce somewhat hidden.

    There was a hole in the mountain, which would be the cave where Arthur would live for a while.

    In front of this small mountain was a crystal clearke. It was a perfect ce to live.

    ¡°Well, it would be better to live in a house and not a cave, but at the moment, I can¡¯t choose much.¡±

    With quick steps, Arthur headed towards the cave. He was pretty sure other creatures might be sheltering there, but in his mind, there was no way these creatures could win a fight against a dragon.

    Arthur¡¯s draconic eyes allowed him to see in the dark, so scanning the cave for hostile creatures was easy. He looked and looked but couldn¡¯t find anything out of the ordinary. It looked like a great cave, and it was strange that no animals lived there.

    The cave was bigger than he had expected, and after going deeper, Arthur noticed a mysterious door.

    He walked towards the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

    It was at that moment that he heard voicesing from outside the cave.

    ¡°Is the ritualplete? I can¡¯t wait to sacrifice this shit vige.¡±

 Chapter 27

    The sound of voices going in Arthur¡¯s direction surprised him. He walked quite the distance to find that cave, yet people were near him. Was he followed? Or did these people have something to do with the mysterious door Arthur just found?

    One of them said something about killing the people of the vige. Arthur would not let such an act happen, especially to Rauk, who rescued him from the deep sea.

    But before doing anything, one needed information. The best thing for Arthur to do wasy low and observe these people who showed up inside the cave.

    There weren¡¯t many ces to hide inside the cave. It was mostly t, with only a few rocks that weren¡¯t big enough to cover a human-sized body. So, without having many options, Arthur decided to jump and hide in the ceiling.

    The cave was pitch-ck, which meant that even if these people looked up, they wouldn¡¯t be able to see Arthur hanging on the ceiling.

    With his strength, Arthur jumped, piercing his hands in the ceiling to stay there without falling.

    ¡°Is everyone inside the room already? Why are we alwayste?¡±

    ¡°We arete because of you, bastard!¡±

    One man and one woman got closer to the mysterious door. Arthur watched everything clearly with his night vision. They inserted a magical key in the door and opened it.

    ¡°Huh. I can¡¯t listen to anything that is happening in there. Is it because of magic? It should be,¡± thought Arthur.

    There weren¡¯t meeting in that ce to do good stuff. The two who passed through the door wore ck-hooded cloaking and had masks covering their faces. Arthur saw them as necromancers, and they said something about attacking the vige, so maybe there were evil necromancers.

    As there wasn¡¯t much Arthur could do, he stayed in the ceiling, waiting for these people toe out.

    .

    After waiting at least an hour, people started to leave the ce. At least fifteen masked people walked out of the door. Arthur gazed at them from the ceiling and noticed how each one of them had a number above their head.

    ¡°Oh, these numbers are presumably their levels? But how the system calctes these numbers is still a mystery to me. Hm. The strongest is level 15, which is weaker than me.¡±

    Only one of these people had the number fifteen above their head. The rest had an average level of 10, and the two people Arthur saw entering the room a while ago were the lowest, level 8.

    Speaking of these two, they stayed behind, watching the cave as if they were guards. Arthur heard the person who supposedly was the chief of this group say it was their punishment for arrivingte at the reunion.

    ¡°Ah, we will have to stay here until tomorrow. Damn it. It is all your fault.¡±

    ¡°My fault? Don¡¯t tell me you weren¡¯t curious about the mysterious egg? I finally obtained a clue about it.¡±

    ¡°Really? What is it? Tell me.¡±

    ¡°I heard a family from the vige brought it when they returned with the fish. I believe someone called Ior found the egg.¡±

    ¡°Hm. I don¡¯t remember who it is by name, but we can surely find him.¡±

    Arthur was still in the same spot, so he listened to everything. He already nned to attack these two to get information, and now he was sure of it. Ior, Rauk, Kayara, they were a good family. Arthur would not let anything happen to them.

    But why were they looking for him? Did they think it was an egg from a mysterious beast they wished to tame? It could be that, but it was a pity Arthur would end their lives.

    After making sure the others left, Arthur jumped from the ceiling, aiming for the neck of these two.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    Arthur dashed towards them at a frightening speed. They could only see a shadowy figure going straight at them. They tried to cast a spell, but Arthur¡¯s hands choked their necks with tremendous force.

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    The new skill which allowed Arthur to devour things showed its mighty. The mana inside the body of these two started to vanish at a rapid pace. Their mana core was weak, so they had a small amount of mana in the first ce.

    ¡°Wh- Who are you?¡±

    One of them tried to speak, but it was almost impossible with Arthur grabbing their necks.

    With cold eyes, Arthur said, ¡°I¡¯m the one asking questions here. You¡¯ll speak when I allow you to, or you¡¯ll die miserably.¡±

    ¡°Who are you? And what is it happening behind this door?¡±

    They stood quiet and did not mutter a word.

    ¡°Answer me!¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°Hahaha! You can try as much as you want, but there is no way we will tell you anything. Our master will kill us if we do,¡± the masked man said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it, do you?¡± Arthur waved his head sideways.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Let me exin to you, shall we? First, I¡¯ll not kill you quickly if that¡¯s what you think will happen,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get the key you have right there in your pocket and enter inside the room,¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll rip off all of your nails, one by one. It will hurt, of course, but that¡¯s not even the fun part. The best part is when I can break each one of your 206 bones, and as you scream in agony, I¡¯ll rip off both of your friend¡¯s eyes and make you swallow them,¡±

    ¡°And you want to know something more fun? I¡¯m good at healing, so we can have this routine for as long as we want. Isn¡¯t that lovely?¡±

    The man tried to act tough before, but after hearing what Arthur said, a yellow liquid dripped from his pants.

    Arthur did not know how to heal so he could torture them again, but it was not as if they knew it. He managed to say those things to them with a poker face.

    ¡°But I¡¯ll be honest with you two. You two are already dead. But if you tell me what I want to know, I promise to kill you quickly.¡±

    ¡°A¨C all right, all right. We are called The Doom Order, which is an order that focuses on bringing back the demons to this world. I don¡¯t know details,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only a low-ranked member. But I can tell you this. The Doom Order is huge, and there are branches everywhere. On this ind, for example, we are only but a small branch.¡±

    ¡°What are you nning to do on this ind?¡±

    ¡°We came here after discovering the trace of demonic energy. We n on killing everyone in the vige as a sacrifice to awaken a demon.¡±

    ¡°But why would you do that in the first ce?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we? Humankind ruled for too long, and it is time for a change. Some high-ranked members inside our order summoned demons who turned them into demons too,¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s our goal. To be demons and end humankind.¡±

    ¡°How often do you meet in this ce? And when will the sacrifice happen?¡±

    ¡°We meet every week, same day, same hour. And I don¡¯t know when the sacrifice will happen.¡±

    ¡°All right. Thank you.¡±

    Arthur got everything he could from these people, so he broke both of their necks. They died in an instant. But he couldn¡¯t be sure if everything they said was the truth. So, Arthur had the brilliant idea of stealing their clothes and participating in the next reunion. They all wore masks, so it should be easy to get inside.

    He stole the clothing from the man, alongside the magical key to enter.

    ¡°Where should I hide these bodies? Hm, what if I devour them? Why am I thinking about this in the first ce?¡±

    Since Arthur got his bloodline, something changed inside of him. He was not scared anymore, and he could kill people without remorse. Now, Arthur had a feeling deep down in his soul begging for him to devour these two.

    ¡°Damn it, screw it. I¡¯m a fucking dragon, so it is okay for me to devour things.¡±

    Arthur used his devouring skill. His mouth grew as if it belonged to a dragon. His teeth also, and just by looking at them, one could sense their sharpness. A suction force attracted both bodies, and Arthur ate them as if they were nothing. It was as if his stomach had another dimension and could store anything inside.

    After that, a notification popped in front of his eyes.

    [Level 8 Human Devoured]

    [All stats +5 for three days]

    [New Spell Learned, Conjure Skeleton]

    [Level 8 Human Devoured]

    [There¡¯s already a bonus added, it does not stack]

    [New Spell Learned, Corrosive Shot]

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome. Bonus stats ording to the enemy level and a random skill from them.¡±

    Arthur was delighted. He could learn any spell no matter what the element was. He was no longer bound to these things, as humans are.

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s wait for the next reunion and kill these bastards.¡±

 Chapter 28

    Chapter 28

    The next reunion would happen next week. Arthur did not enter the mysterious room to explore. He was afraid it could somehow alert the other members of the order. It wasmon for people to use magical formations to protect the inside of ces against trespassers.

    So, the only thing left for him was to find another ce to stay. With that in mind, he left the cave. The moon shone in the sky, and the darkness did not mean much for Arthur.

    He wanted to find another cave, one without a demonic cult.

    ¡°The stars and the moon are so beautiful. I wonder how are Jane and the others doing,¡± thought Arthur as he jumped from one tree to another. The n he had in mind was to get a ship and somehow leave the ind to look for his friends. But now, there was a demonic cult he had to stop, or else an entire vige would be dead.

    ¡°What is this ce?¡±

    Arthur was deep inside the forest and found an oddke. What got his attention was the strange particles that shone above the water. There were white, and the moonlight was making them shine. It was beautiful, magical, and unique.

    But as Arthur got closer to thiske, a sense of danger rose inside of him. Maybe it was his draconic senses ying a trick on him, or perhaps theke had something out of the ordinary.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s only one way to find out.¡±

    Without taking his clothes off, Arthur jumped inside theke. The water was colder than he expected it to be. He swam, looking for something strange, but everything seemed normal.

    ¡°I¡¯m losing my precious time here. At least I got to shower,¡± thought Arthur.

    It was then that he noticed something peculiar. Deep down in theke, a strange light flickered. Everything else was dark, but in that particr area, there was light.

    Arthur went towards it, and he understood from where the light wasing.

    ¡°There¡¯s a cave in here. What the hell!¡±

    ~~~~

    .

    It was a hidden cave at the bottom of theke. Arthur had no idea how the cave existed, but it did. He entered on it, and what came next startled him.

    Aboratory. Well, it did not have any technology as the world Arthur came from did, but it was a ce where a mage did experiences. There were books scattered everywhere and test tubes with unknown liquids.

    The ce had tables, beds, and study areas. Arthur walked towards one of these tables and grabbed a piece of paper above it.

    ¡°Experimentation on Mutated Beasts.¡±

    ¡°After years of research, I¡¯m finally doing it. I managed to mutate beasts using the blood of other beasts. My first subject is a rat. I¡¯ve injected it with Sky Snake blood mixed with other secret ingredients, and the rat now has parts of the Sky Snake beasts after one week.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What the hell is this? Is this Dr. Frankstein?¡±

    There were more papers with simr statements as this one. It was all messy, and it was clear the mage who worked inside that cave was long gone.

    Arthur kept exploring the cave and found a corridor with many cells. All were locked and empty, except for one cell. The door of this cell was in the middle of the hall,pletely broken.

    It was as if something had escaped from inside that cell. Arthur was afraid and advanced with slow steps towards the ce. In a sh, Arthur saw nothing inside that cell, but the smell emanating from it was horrible.

    ¡°Hm, maybe the creature that escaped caused the death of the mage who lived in thisb.¡±

    There were more things beyond the corridor, so Arthur kept going. The sound of small stones echoed throughout the cave. Even with light steps, the noise was still inevitable. Arthur was afraid that the creature might still be around.

    He walked down the same corridor the cells were in and came to an open area. Within this open area was a garden with several unknown nts.

    ¡°How are these nts alive? Everything else inside this ce seems to be falling apart,¡± thought Arthur as he approached those nts.

    At that moment, a creature came flying from the cave¡¯s ceiling andnded right in front of Arthur.

    A loud boom rippled through the entire area where Arthur was. A gigantic creature was looking at him. Its eyes were red as mes, and its majestic wings caused envy to anyone who saw them.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    Arthur knew very little about magical beasts, but he knew that beast was terrifying. The creature had blue fur covering its entire body. It walked using all four legs, and each leg had sharp ws capable of tearing anyone apart.

    The number 48 was above the creature¡¯s head. Arthur knew he had almost zero chance of winning against that creature. It had more than double his current level.

    ¡°Damn it. Will I die like this?¡±

    The creature opened its mouth, and a bolt of thunder came flying directly at Arthur. Unprepared, he dodged sideways, almost tripping. It did not stop there. One, two, three, countless bolts of thunder flew towards Arthur.

    He continued to dodge all of them. Arthur started to get the hang of it, and it became easier for him to avoid these bolts. But, things were not as easy as he wished to be. The creature had enough of trying to hit the bolts and opted for more corporalbat. It flew in Arthur¡¯s direction at an astonishing speed. He couldn¡¯t dodge in time and was sent flying by the creature¡¯s w attack.

    Arthur mmed on the cave¡¯s walls, and blood dripped from a wound on his chest.

    ¡°This hurts, damn it. I lost 400 health in one attack. I need to go all-in with everything I have.¡±

    ¡°Draconic Transformation!¡±

    ¡°Agggghrr!¡±

    Arthur¡¯s eyes became simr to those of snakes. The sclera was no longer white but ck, and the rest of his eyes were crimson red. Small scales appeared all over his body, and his nails turned into ck ws.

    A small tail grew behind him, and most of his clothes were torn apart as he got bigger. It was the first stage of his Draconic Transformation, so he was far from turning into a real dragon.

    Not only did his appearance change, but also his attributes. All of them doubled, which was INSANE.

    He quickly checked his system tab and was surprised to see his stats.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 20]

    [Health: 1920/3220]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 120]

    [Agility: 60]

    [Vigor: 60]

    [Wisdom: 60]

    [Charm: 80]

    ¡°Hahaha. Let¡¯s go now, bitch!¡±

    Some different dragon attacks came into Arthur¡¯s mind when he transformed. These were attacks he knew from instinct.

    He rushed toward the mysterious creature and jumped to get closer to its head. Arthur then twisted his body and kicked the beast¡¯s jaw. Surpringisly, it fell after the impact.

    ¡°Now you¡¯re the one bleeding!¡±

    Speaking of bleeding, the once deep wound on Arthur¡¯s chest was now healing at a fast pace. One of the perks of turning into a dragon.

    Before the beast could even get up, Arthur opened his mouth and roared. It was one of the skills he could use while in dragon form, which caused terror in everyone who heard it.

    The beast started to shake, and something beyond reasoning happened. The creature spoke in anguage humans couldn¡¯t understand, but Arthur could.

    ¡°A¨C a dragon? Please, don¡¯t kill me.¡±

    Arthur stopped all of his attacks and tried to have a chat with the beast. It was said that dragons were the rulers of the Dream Realm, where the beasts came from. It was no surprise to see this creature tremble in fear after witnessing what Arthur could do.

    ¡°Who are you? And why the hell are you inside this ce?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only a humble beast. I was in a deep slumber before you arrived and suddenly woke to your presence,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve killed the mage who did experiments with beasts, but before dying, he injected something on me which made me sleep for who knows long.¡±

    ¡°How do you know the humannguage?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m talking the way all beasts do, my lord.¡±

    Arthur could understand everything and could speak normally with the beast. He thought they were talking in humannguage, but no, they weren¡¯t.

    ¡°I¡¯m speaking in a differentnguage even though in my mind everything is normal? This reminds me of a book about a wizard who talked with snakes,¡± thought Arthur.

    ¡°And why do you call me Lord? Also, do you have a name?¡±

    ¡°I call you Lord because you¡¯re a dragon. We, lowly creatures, can¡¯tpare to your greatness. And no, I have no name.¡±

    ¡°Hm, I see. But I can¡¯t leave you to roam free and kill other humans. What should we do?¡±

    ¡°Maybe a blood contract so I need to obey everything you say? I don¡¯t want to die, and following a mighty dragon doesn¡¯t seem bad.¡±

    ¡°All right. But before we do this, can I ride you and fly?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s obvious, that¡¯s why I have wings.¡±

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s make this blood contract.¡±

    There was no chance Arthur would let go of the opportunity to fly.

 Chapter 29

    A blood contract was something rare to happen. It was hard to subjugate beasts. They preferred to die over bing a human¡¯s pet. Arthur being a dragon made the difference in that situation.

    The beast used its ws to draw a circle with strange patterns and painted it using its blood.

    ¡°Come, we need your blood now, then do an oath, and that¡¯s it.¡±

    Arthur walked toward the circle and cut his arm using his draconic ws. Blood dripped directly at the mysterious symbol, which started to shine afterward.

    Arthur looked at the beast with his fierce draconic eyes.

    ¡°If you¡¯re trying to trick me, you¡¯re dead. I¡¯ll recover my powers and destroy this fucking world so no one like you can survive. Did you understand?¡±

    ¡°I do, I do. Calm down, my dragon lord. I wouldn¡¯t do something this stupid.¡±

    ¡°Now, I¡¯ll do the oath, don¡¯t say anything.¡±

    The beast had onest part before everything was over, the oath.

    ¡°Here and now, I acknowledge this mighty dragon as my master,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll obey everything he says,¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯ll die painfully if I ever betray him or help others to do so,¡±

    ¡°This blood contract only ends when both parties die.¡±

    ¡°Done, that¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°Just this? How do I know it worked?¡±

    Now that the contract ended, Arthur and his beast could talk mentally, and that¡¯s what the beast did.

    ¡°What¡¯s up, my MD. We can talk telepathically now.¡±

    .

    ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s cool. But what is up with the MD thing?¡±

    ¡°Boss, MD stands for Mighty Dragon. Awesome, right?¡±

    The beast puffed out the chest, waiting for Arthur to acknowledge his nickname creation skills.

    ¡°Yeah, I liked it. Anyway, we need toe up with a name for you,¡±

    ¡°Any ideas?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, lord. You should be the one giving me a name.¡±

    ¡°Hm, let me see.¡±

    Arthur scanned the beast, and the first thing that came to his mind after seeing its blue fur was Sully.

    ¡°Your name will be Sully. Did you like it?¡±

    ¡°Sully? Hmm. I¡¯ve never heard anything like it, but it sounds cool. What does it mean?¡±

    ¡°It means you¡¯re the strongest beast that has blue fur.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, baby.¡±

    Sully started to fly all over the cave after getting a name, like a baby. While Sully was doing that, Arthur looked around for more things inside the cave.

    The strange nts caught his attention, and he decided to ask his beastlypanion.

    ¡°Hey, Sully. Do you know what these nts are?¡±

    ¡°Nop, I¡¯ve never seen them before. I remember the crazy mage took care of those, so I guess they are valuable. Who knows.¡±

    Arthur returned from where he came from and looked for a bag in the middle of the mage¡¯s belongings. It had one. It was a magical one with a spacial-magic engraving on it.

    ¡°This is rare and expensive. I¡¯m d I found it here.¡±

    After finding what he was looking for, Arthur returned to where the mysterious nts were. He cut them using his ws and stored them inside his spacial bag.

    Arthur got up after getting the nts, and he could feel his body weaker. The Draconic Transformation ended right after, and a message appeared in front of his eyes.

    [Weakened State]

    [-25 All Stats]

    [Duration 2 Days]

    ¡°Damn, -25 stats is harsh. At least it onlysts two days. There¡¯s yet time before the next reunion from that demonic cult, so everything should be fine. And I have Sully now. He can kill all of them for me if there¡¯s no other way.¡±

    Arthur sat for some time to recover and waited for Sully to stop doing what he was doing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, lord. I got too hyped about being able to move freely.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, but we need to move now.¡±

    ¡°Hey, boss. Do you want to see the other skill I can do after the blood contract?¡±

    ¡°Sure, show me.¡±

    Sully was a gigantic beast, but suddenly, he turned into a smaller version of his that could fit inside Arthur¡¯s pockets.

    ¡°This will help us a lot. But doesn¡¯t it mean you cane with me whatever I go?¡±

    ¡°It does, yeah. Why?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, hehe.¡± Arthur scratched the back of his head with one thought in mind.

    ¡°I¡¯ll not have a moment of peace¡­¡±

    ~~~~

    There wasn¡¯t much inside that cave, so Arthur left after getting his nts. That cave was not giving a good feeling, especially for Sully. They left the cave, looking for somewhere else to stay.

    On their way, Arthur told Sully about what happened and how he ended up on that ind.

    ¡°They killed you, which only ignited your bloodline. Then you discovered you were a fucking dragon, woke up after who knows how long, and is now on this ind?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Oh, you forgot about the demonic cult, which has branches all over the world, and it is trying to end it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, about these fuckers. When can we kill them?¡±

    ¡°Next week. I¡¯ll infiltrate inside the meeting, and we will kill everyone.¡±

    ¡°Lovely!¡±

    After walking for some time, they finally found a cave to stay hidden for the time being. Arthur checked, and it was empty. It was not a big cave, but it could fit both of them perfectly.

    Arthur was tired after everything, so he sat on the ground and asked Sully to bring food for them.

    ¡°Hunt something for us to eat, please.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, lord.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t much for Arthur to do, so he decided to take a nap. His body was tired and weakened after the Draconic Transformation.

    Arthur lost everything when he fell on the sea, so there weren¡¯t any books he could read to pass the time.

    Arthur was alone, and thinking to himself, Arthur realized how hard it would be to find Jane and the others. They could be anywhere. It was even more difficult to find them here, amid so many inds than on the maind.

    He slowly entered a deep sleep, dreaming about the moment he would find his friends.

    ~~~~

    Something was hitting Arthur on the leg gently. He was in a deep sleep, and it took him some time to finally awake.

    ¡°Damn, I thought you died. You sleep like a rock.¡±

    ¡°Sully? What happened?¡±

    ¡°I went to get us some food? Did you hit your head, lord?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right.¡±

    Arthur was in that moment where one couldn¡¯t realize what is real and what is a dream. It took him a few seconds to return to reality, and he was happy to have Sully get food for both of them.

    ¡°Thank¡¯s for the food. Just wait here. I¡¯ll build us a campfire to cook it.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay!¡± Sully jumped in joy. He never ate cooked food. Beasts usually ate it raw but had always been curious to taste cooked food. It smelled better, so he knew it was better.

    Arthur returned with a few logs and stones. He built a circle of stones, tossed the logs in the middle of it, and asked Sully to lit it up using his thunder magic.

    A small bolt of lightning stroked the wood, and it lit perfectly. Arthur tossed some moss as well to keep it going.

    The meat Sully brought was from a medium-sized beast that looked like an alligator. Arthur couldn¡¯t cut it without his ws or his weapons, so he had to ask Sully again.

    He cut the meat into smaller pieces for Arthur to cook using a stick. Arthur pierced the branches through the meat and started to cook. It took them about one hour to cook everything, but it was worth it.

    ¡°This is so good. Why do I always eat uncooked meat? Maybe that¡¯s the difference between us, lowly beasts, and you, my lord.¡±

    ¡°You see. You¡¯re following me for less than a day and already learned something. I¡¯m awesome, amazing, badass, breath-taking, right?¡±

    ¡°Agreed, lord¡±

    ¡°You can stop with this lord thing. Just call me Arthur.¡±

    ¡°Arthur? That¡¯s not a dragonlike name.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I tend to keep my dragon name hidden, but it is cidusax if you want to know.¡±

    ¡°P-cidusax?¡±

    ¡°Wait, do you know it?¡±

    Arthur was surprised to see that Sully knew about his name. He did not know yet how he ended up being a dragon. Maybe he lost his memories?

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know it? cidusax is known to be the strongest dragon. He ruled both the Dream Realm and this world.¡±

    ¡°And what happened to him?¡±

    ¡°No one knows. Truth be told, no one knows what happened to the dragons. The story that goes around is that humans hunted all dragons and killed them. But Arthur, I¡¯m a beast, so I know there was no way humans could win against the dragons. Zero, none, null.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s, strange to say the least.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Arthur. We will find out more about this. And as you¡¯re cidusax, maybe your memories wille back eventually? Who knows.¡±

    As they were eating and chatting, something happened.

    Arthur heard something running inside his cave,ing from the entrance.

 Chapter 30

    The sound of someone running echoed throughout the cave, and Arthur and Sully did not move an inch. Hiding was not needed when you had the strength to back up. Now with Sully by his side, there was no chance Arthur would be in danger, at least not on that ind.

    ¡°What could it be, Arthur? Should we prepare for a fight?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s no need to go seriously against such weak people.¡±

    Sully did not get why Arthur had such confidence. Of course, Arthur was a dragon, but he was not at his peak power. But what Sully did not know was that Arthur could see the level of others.

    It was a man running towards them. He wore simple clothing, just like everyone else on the ind.

    There was a number above his head, 8. It was above-average inparison to the rest of the ind.

    ¡°Huh? Is someone there? Please, help me!¡±

    The mysterious man saw the campfire as he got closer to where Arthur was. He screamed for help. Arthur looked behind him and saw four masked people chasing him.

    It was the demonic cult who nned to murder everyone. Just by looking at that, Arthur knew who the enemy was. All of them had low levels. That is how Arthur knew it should not pose a threat to them.

    ¡°Please, help me. These lunatics are chasing me. I¡¯ll be dead, dead!!!¡±

    Arthur gazed at the mysterious man and found nothing suspicious about him.

    .

    ¡°Stay behind me. I¡¯ll not lose,¡± said Arthur as he calmly stared at the uing enemies. Sully turned into his smaller version and entered Arthur¡¯s pockets. It was not a fight that needed his help, and Arthur wanted to take care of them alone.

    The four masked people saw the campfire but continued further without caring. In their minds, this ind couldn¡¯t have someone strong enough to fight them, at least not in this random cave.

    ¡°You can¡¯t run or hide from us,¡± one of the masked people screamed wildly.

    They soon got closer to the campfire and saw another man standing there. It was Arthur. He crossed both arms and gazed at the four mysterious people with visible disdain.

    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡±

    Arthur was not in the mood to waste time. He finally found a ce to rest, and these people came ruining his ns.

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who should say that. You¡¯re in my cave, so I suggest you all leave quietly before heads roll.¡±

    They exchanged nces after hearing that and couldn¡¯t hold theirughter.

    ¡°Hahaha! Did you hear that? Did you lose your mind, piece of shit?¡±

    ¡°Piece of shit? I¡¯m sorry. You¡¯re confusing me with your father. The lights in this ce are non-existent, so it¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°Were you trying to insult me? My father was a piece of shit too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can see the resemnce.¡±

    ¡°Bastard!¡±

    The man was red in anger and could not hear another word from Arthur. He took out his magical book and started to move his fingers to draw the symbols.

    ¡°Why are you attacking alone? We don¡¯t know if this man is strong!¡±

    Arthur was close to the campfire, but in an instant, he vanished and appeared in front of the man. The man had his eyes open, but before he could do anything else, he was dead. All it took was one p for his head to fly toward the cave¡¯s wall.

    The cave was red as the blood spurted from the man¡¯s corpse. No one expected Arthur to be so ruthless. The man who ran away from the demonic cult started to think if he sought shelter in the right ce.

    Arthur was not looking to stop after killing one of them. The three remaining cult members seemed to realize that, and each one of them started to cast their spells.

    It was a futile attempt. One of the cult members managed to cast a spell before Arthur could reach them, creating vines that locked both of Arthur¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Hahaha! There is no escape now!¡± the man rejoiced after seeing his spell seed, but what came next shocked him more than the death of his friend.

    The vines he was so proud of vanished after Arthur devoured them. None of them had ever seen something like that before. Who would be crazy and capable enough to eat a spell? Arthur was one of his kind, that¡¯s for sure.

    ¡°How d-!¡± before the man could finish, another head was rolling on the ground. Just like that, two of them died. It took Arthur less than fifteen seconds to kill two of them. And he was still in his weakened state.

    The remaining two hesitated after seeing how strong their enemy was. If they tried to fight against it, their fates would be the same as the other two. But they also knew Arthur would kill them anyway, so there wasn¡¯t a good option.

    With that in mind, they continued to cast their spells. A fireball came flying in Arthur¡¯s direction. It was faster than he expected it. It hit his chest, burning his skin.

    ¡°It hit, hahaha, we can win.¡± They were happy the spell hit, but when they gazed at Arthur, it was evident the spell did not do as much damage as they thought it would.

    ¡°Now, you only made me angrier. Good job trashes!¡±

    Arthur wasn¡¯t in a hurry to end those idiots¡¯ lives. He walked toward them, which increased the terror they felt in their souls. Nothing was scarier than a predator stalking its prey slowly.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill us. We know we¡¯re not good people, but please-!¡± before they could even finish, Arthur tucked his arms inside their chests, ripping out their hearts.

    All those deaths were cruel, and the young man, who was running away from the demonic cult members, was wondering if he would be next.

    Arthur noticed the young man¡¯s scared look and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They died because they¡¯re evil people. You¡¯re not, right? So there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±

    The young man seemed to calm down slightly after noticing that Arthur returned to sit around the fire without worrying about his presence.

    ¡°Well, thank you, sir. I¡¯m Ka. Nice to meet you!¡± Kai said, bending his body slightly.

    ¡°You can call me Arthur.¡± Arthur crossed his arms and said, ¡°So Kai, what brings you to my humble cave? Why were those people chasing you?¡±

    Kai sat around the campfire and scratched his head embarrassingly, ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t even know. I was hunting through the woods when they showed up and started following me like psychopaths. I couldn¡¯t fight them alone, so I ended up running away and found this cave,¡±

    ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t expect to have anyone here, and I had already epted my death. But then you showed up and saved my life. Thank you so much for that!¡± Kai bowed once again.

    Arthur liked the way Kai behaved. He was not arrogant and was sincere when saying he was grateful for being saved.

    ¡°Hm, I see,¡± Arthur pondered for a while before asking more things.

    ¡°You look young. Where are your parents?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Kai looked down. The sadness was evident on his face, and he said in a low tone, ¡°They died a few years ago. Everything on this ind makes me remember them. It is hard. I¡¯m trying to get stronger. That¡¯s why I hunt. It is the only training one can do in this ce,¡±

    ¡°I was also hoping to buy a ship some

 Chapter 31

    The danger passed. Arthur and Kai sat near the campfire to warm themselves and to talk. Arthur exined to him who these people were, and it shocked Kai greatly.

    ¡°They n on attacking the vige? We can¡¯t let this happen, Arthur!¡±

    ¡°I know. It won¡¯t happen. These people have a secret meeting spot and I¡¯ll infiltrate in it.¡±

    Kai sighed in relieve, ¡°Good, good. Will you need my help?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. If things go on the opposite side, Sully¡¯s here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I forgot about that. You have a huge, strong as hell beast.¡±

    ¡°That I tamed, which means I¡¯m stronger.¡±

    ¡°You have a point.¡±

    They talked for a while, but Arthur was too tired to keep going. He needed to rest, and Kai let him. The so-called secret reunion would happen in a few days, so Arthur had enough time to recover his strength before breaking in.

    The days passed swiftly. Arthur did not have many things to teach his disciple, Kai, but there was one thing he was an expert, and that was surviving in the wilderness.

    ¡°The priority should be water, and you should always boil it before drinking.¡±

    .

    ¡°Hm, I see. Where can I search for water?¡±

    ¡°Look for rivers, and if there isn¡¯t any, you could try to get water from the root of nts. I don¡¯t mess with unknown nts. You never know.¡±Arthur said.

    He taught Kai how to look for water, make fire, and find shelter. Kai hunted a lot in these woods, but he never stayed over one day. He went, hunt, and returned to the vige.

    These informations, although beginner ones, proved to help a lot Kai. The hardest part for him was to learn how to make a proper fire. Arthur knew how to do it, but preferred to use magic to light up, making things easier. Kai did not have that luxury, at least not yet.

    The process of friction fire was tedious, but Kai persevered, and learn it. Their routineprised that until the day finally came. The day which Arthur would infiltrate inside the secret meeting of the Demonic Cult.

    ¡°Kai, go back to your home. It is safer there, and you should start packing your stuff for us to leave in a few days. Pack only the essential, as we will not use a ship but Sully¡¯s back.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. Shouldn¡¯t we tell the vigers about this?¡±

    ¡°No. It will only make them panic.¡±

    They parted ways. Arthur had a stony gaze as he changed his clothing to the ones these cultists used.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do against me.¡±

    ~~~~

    All members of the Demonic Cult met in the same cave as before. Each one of them had the same clothes, but a few had different masks. It was their way of identifying who had the higher ranks.

    Amidst all these people, there was one who shouldn¡¯t be there. He wore a mask, the same as the low-ranked members, so no one paid attention to him. It was Arthur, who began his n of killing all members of this Demonic Cult.

    ¡°The Doom Order my ass. There are humans chasing me already, now demons? Dream on, bitches,¡± thought Arthur.

    He scanned everyone to see if there was someone with a high level, but it was the same as before. It should be easy for Arthur to deal with them, as he was back at his full power, and not in the same weakened state as previously.

    Everyone whispered to each other, but it all stopped when the leader came. It was the person with the highest level among all of them, level 15.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for beingte, but we encountered some problems.¡±

    The leader went to the locked door, opened it, and waved, calling everyone inside. These problems he was referring to could only be the members Arthur killed, so he prepared himself to fight as soon as he entered inside the room.

    ¡°It appears some of our members are missing. The only possibility should be that they are,¡± the leader stopped for a while, ¡°dead.¡±

    It was a shock for them. They knew it this forsaken ind should not have someone strong enough to deal with them. So who could it be? Was a traitor among them?

    ¡°If there¡¯s a traitor among us, we can¡¯t do anything. It is a rule that no one inside The Doom Order shows their actual face. Which means we can¡¯t know if there¡¯s someone new in our order,¡±

    ¡°The only thing we can do is continue with the n. Our members who have gone missing were probably alone, so we should stick together, making sure there¡¯s no way this will happen again.¡±

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s start our reunion.¡±

    ~~~~

    The only ones who spoke in the reunion were the high-ranking members. Everyone else stayed still and listened to theirmand. Arthur waited for the reunion to be at the end to make his move.

    ¡°Sully, I¡¯ve unlocked the door. Come!¡±

    Arthur stealthily unlocked the door so Sully could enter inside their meeting ce. Arthur was strong, but it was dangerous to fight alone against that many people. He did not know about the high-ranking members¡¯ level of power. Sure, he could see their level, but level itself was not a precise way to measure strength, and he knew that.

    The n was to Sully attack first only to create a distraction, and let the rest to Arthur. Sully alone was enough to kill all the cultists, but Arthur wanted some fun for himself. In the end, Sully was all but a distraction, and would not take part in the fight directly. Only if things got bad.

    ¡°Hey, leader!¡± Arthur said.

    It surprised all the others. A low-ranking member talking without permission never happened before.

    The leader said, ¡°Who gave you permission to talk? Are you seeking death?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have some clues about the missing members.¡±

    ¡°You do? Spill it out.¡±

    ¡°So, I was walking through the woods as usual, but then I saw a few douchebags wearing pathetic masks. Iughed, like a lot, and that made them try to kill me. I thought I was in trouble, but it turned out they were trash. Hm, if I remember correctly, I beheaded a few, but I¡¯m not sure how many.¡±

    The room was silent. It took them some time to realize that Arthur was saying, and when they did, all of them grabbed their magical books.

    ¡°Everyone, kill him!¡±

    It was easier saying than doing it. Arthur was near a few other low-ranked members, which served well as a meat shield. Different spells went flying towards Arthur, but none of them hit him.

    He swiftly dodged most of the spells, and the ones he couldn¡¯t, he grabbed a cultist to act as a shield. Arthur¡¯s body was beyond ordinary, and these mages could not lock their eyes on him at all. He was strong, like a beast in human form.

    ¡°Who the fuck is this? How can he run so fast?¡± one cultist said.

    As they everyone focused on Arthur, no one paid attention to their surroundings. They wanted to kill him. That was all that mattered.

    The once locked door went flying across the cave. It was Sully who heard themotion inside and took part. Arthur thought he coulde earlier to do a distraction, but he waste. It didn¡¯t matter, though. Most cultists were dead, and it tainted the cave red.

    Some had missing limbs, others their heads or heart. The low-ranked members did notst long before perishing to Arthur¡¯s hands, but the high-ranked members did.

    They gathered themselves at the opposite side of the cave, away from Arthur and Sully. The situation looked critical for them, but they still had something up their sleeve.

    The leader drew a circle on the ground using his blood. The other three high-ranked members recited a chant in anguage unknown to Arthur.

    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re dead now, kid. With these bodies, we can summon the demon.¡±

    As the leader said that, a portal opened up above the circle he had just drawn. Two hands grabbed both edges of the portal. Arthur saw the ws and the ck substance all over the limbs of the creature. It was a demon, just like the one Arthur saw inside the pce.

    The demon got out of the portal. First the hands, then the head, and finally its entire body. It looked simr to the one Arthur saw at the pce, but it was smaller and less muscr. Which could mean it was weaker than Barion.

    Arthur hoped so, as he was far behind the level of power of that crazy old man. He gazed at the demon and saw it was level 35. It was strong, and Arthur was unsure if he could win against it.

    ¡°Oh, mighty demon. You havee to our rescue. We are so gl-¡± before the leader could finish, the demon cut his body in half.

    In a fierce voice, the demon said, ¡°Useless. Almost all members died to one person, pathetic.¡±

 Chapter 32

    The other high-ranking members shared the same fate. This demon wasn¡¯t fooling around, and killed them mercilessly. It tore them apart, and after it was done, it gazed directly at Arthur.

    ¡°I can sense you¡¯re stronger than the rest of these fools, but it will not be enough to stop me.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± said Arthur.

    He dashed towards the demon at full speed. Arthur threw a right punch, aiming at the demon¡¯s cheek. The demon blocked using his left arm, but Arthur did not stop there. He twisted his body from right to left, and send a right kick into the demon¡¯s ribs.

    Itnded, but the demon retreated only one step because of the impact.

    ¡°Good. Now it is my turn.¡±

    The demon ran forward. He had enormous ws on his hands, so these were the weapons he wanted to use against Arthur. The first w attack came aiming at the head, and Arthur avoided it by bending his knees.

    Now, for the rest of the attacks, it was a different story. It was not only one w attack, but a barricade of attacks. Punch, kick, w attack, and the demon even tried to bite Arthur.

    He dodged a few, but in the end, Arthur was all bruised up. It was all but superficial wounds, so he would ovee these easily with his regeneration. The problem was that the demon was only ying with him. He couldn¡¯t win against this demon, at least not usingmon ways.

    Arthur did not want to enter a weakened state once again, but that was better than dying. He still had Sully around to help him, but it was a fight he wanted to win alone.

    ¡°Draconic Transformation!¡±

    .

    With ws, scales, and new abilities, Arthur was ready to take on this demon. He roared, disorienting the demon for a second, which helped him to pierce his ws through the demon¡¯s chest, and send him flying with a kill afterwards.

    The demon, who was now on the opposite side, had a shocked face after realizing what had happened. It was old enough to know how a dragon looked like.

    ¡°This, this is impossible. A dragon shouldn¡¯t be here. They dealt with your kind a long time ago. Who- who are you?¡±

    Arthur never thought the once terrifying demon would turn like this. He opened up his mouth and used his dragon breath towards the demon. A fire breath went straight at the demon. The demon wasn¡¯t in his right state of mind. It took him a few seconds to respond to the attack, and that caused him a lot of damage.

    The demon had burns all over his body, which was already bleeding from the w attack Arthur had performed some time ago. He was a mess, but Arthur could not hold but to question him about something.

    ¡°Who dealt with my kind? Speak!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t talk about them. They have eyes everywhere, and they will kill all of us.¡±

    Arthur tried a few more questions, but the demon did not answer any of them. He only repeated the same thing, talking about they who had eyes everywhere and would kill both of them.

    ¡°Well, then fucked it.¡±

    Arthur vanished, appearing right in front of the demon. He looked despicable, and it seemed he had given up to fight. Arthur thought that, but turns out he had fallen into a trap.

    The demon attacked out of a sudden, and its ws pierced through Arthur¡¯s chest. Blood spurted like a waterfall, and the pain was too much for Arthur to bear.

    ¡°Bastard! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± said Arthur.

    A punch came flying at his face, and he fell. Sully walked in to help his master, but the demon had already fled. The demon had too many wounds to keep fighting, and when he saw Sully stepping in, he knew the best decision was to run.

    Arthur would not let the demon flee like that. He got up and said, ¡°Sully, let¡¯s go find this bastard.¡± He hoped on Sully¡¯s back, and Sully flew to chase it.

    ¡°Haha, I should be fine. The kid wouldn¡¯t chase me, right?¡± The demon said.

    But when he looked up at the sky, he saw a man riding a huge blue beast. They were looking for him, and both Arthur and Sully had good eyesight. The demon was also a ck and red dot, which wasn¡¯t hard to spot.

    The demon was only confident in his escape because he thought Arthur would stay in the ground after getting a fierce wound like that, but it was not the case.

    ¡°Sully, you know what to do!¡±

    Sully locked his aim at the demon and opened up his mouth. A big bolt of lightning formed inside his mouth, and went directly at the demon. The attack was fast, and even faster for the demon who did not know Sully could shoot lightning.

    The bolt of lightning hit the demon. It burned all of his body out, and he could not keep running. Arthur and Sullynded near his body.

    ¡°It seems this is the end for you.¡±

    ¡°It seems like it, but your end will be near too, hahaha.¡±

    He tried again a sneak attack on Arthur using his ws, but this time Arthur saw iting, and beheaded him using his own ws.

    After that, Arthur sat on the ground. He was getting weaker because of the wounds he had.

    ¡°Sully, bring me back to the cave.¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur ripped the cultist¡¯s clothing he wore and crafted an improvised bandage. It was not the best, but it would help him not to bleed out. He was not panicking because he saw on his system screen that he still had quite a few health points, and with his regeneration, it wouldn¡¯t take long for it to be full again.

    The best thing he could do was wait and recover, so he did exactly that.

    Kai showed up the next day, afraid that things went wrong with the demonic cult. He had all of his things packed up, prepared to leave.

    ¡°Arthur, are you okay? What happened to you?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much, really. You should see the other guy.¡±

    ¡°I thought you said these cultists would not pose a threat to you.¡±

    ¡°They did not pose a threat, but it turns out they summoned a demon during the fight, and I had to kill that motherfucker.¡±

    ¡°Really? You won against tons of cultists and a demon? You¡¯re awesome, teacher. Anyway, want some help?¡± Kai said.

    ¡°Actually, I do. Go out with Sully to hunt and please cook the food for us.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Just stay here and recover.¡±

    ~~~~

    Sully and Kai got back with a few beasts for them to eat. Kai did what Arthur taught him and kept the fire going to cook all the meat. They ate and chatted about their departure.

    ¡°Where will we go next?¡± Kai asked. He was excited about leaving the ind for the first time.

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know. There are some friends that I need to find, but it shouldn¡¯t be that easy.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, Kai. Do you have any ideas on how to find someone?¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know if you know, but pirates are a huge thing on these inds. There are many, many inds scattered across the sea. Visiting each one of them until you find your friends will be impossible, but we still have something we could do.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Like I said, pirates are a huge thing on these inds. If your crew and ship are outstanding, and you somehow stand out from the rest of the pirates, people will know you throughout the inds. You could use that as a way for your friends toe find you. Maybe naming your pirate ship of something they all know, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°The Frostpeak!¡±

    ¡°What? Frostpeak? What is that?¡±

    ¡°Our ship, boy. Haha!¡±

    Who would know that Kai woulde up with such a good idea? Arthur knew little about the ce he was. He never heard of pirates in this ce, for example. It felt good to have a goal to aim for.

    Leave this forsaken ind, earn money, find a good ship, and a perfect crew. Then, shake the seas using the Frostpeak name so Jane and the others could find him.

    ¡°They will certainly get curious when hearing about a ship called Frostpeak. They will search for me, and know I¡¯m alive and kicking.¡±

    Two days passed in a blink of an eye. Arthur took his time to recover, both from his injuries and from the burden of using his Draconic Transformation. Sully and Kai helped him a lot these days, and it was time for them to leave.

    They both hopped onto Sully¡¯s back and left the ind. Kai told him about the general direction to another ind not that far from there. An ind big enough for them to find opportunities to earn money, their first goal.

    ¡°The sea will fear the Frostpeak ship!¡± thought Arthur as he looked at the sea from the sky.

 Chapter 33

    ¡°What¡¯s the city name, anyway? I forgot already!¡±

    ¡°It is Cr. Cr is one of the biggest cities, which means we can find some ways to earn money there. At least I hope so.¡±

    Arthur and Kai had been flying for one day and a half. Their destination? Cr. The first step to have a ship with a strong crew was money. Kai said Cr was one of the biggest cities he knew, so it should contain ways for them to earn the money.

    They rode on Sully¡¯s back all the way to Cr. Sully could fly above the clouds, so none of the ships sailing beneath them saw a thing.

    Kai, who sat behind Arthur, suddenly pointed forward and down.

    ¡°Look, we arrived!¡±

    As Arthur followed Kai¡¯s finger, he saw Cr. It was arge city, yet different from the rest Arthur had seen. It had a few tall buildings, most were houses. The only tall buildings were the important ones.

    Cr felt like arge city from the countryside. Well, they were on an ind, so the things they could build and do were limited. It was surprising enough they built this incredible city.

    The first problem was how tond without them noticing Sully. Barely no one could tame beasts, especially not beasts as strong as Sully. They were just arriving in the city, so it was the best if they stayed low, and caused little troubles.

    ¡°All right. First, we need tond. We will go around the ind andnd outside Cr. Everyone is fine with that?¡±

    ¡°Everyone? As if there¡¯s many people here¡­ but I¡¯m fine with it!¡± said Kai.

    Cr was arge city, but it did not take the entire ind. There was still a lot of wildernd near Cr, and that¡¯s where Arthur wanted tond.

    .

    ~~~~

    The water beneath them was crystal clear, and all the vivid forest made an unforgettable scenery. Flying all the way until Cr had been fun and beautiful at the same time.

    Sully circled high in the sky and looked down for an open area in the green forest. He found one, and as he did, it was time to dive. Sully shot down like an arrow, and within seconds, hended.

    Arthur was still somewhat afraid others could have seen it, so he asked Sully to turn into his minor form and hide inside his pockets. After that, Arthur scanned the surroundings to see what direction lead to Cr. With the right direction in mind, they walked fast towards the city.

    The forest was not dense, as not that far from Cr. After walking for fifteen minutes with little troubles, they entered the city. Now, they had to earn money, and what was the best ce to get information? The inn.

    They stopped at a small shop to buy new clothing. The ones they had weren¡¯tmon in Cr, and wearing them could be troublesome. Arthur bought a silk clothing that had some parts of leather, like a smallpact armor. It looked exactly like the clothing the pirates Arthur knew wore. Both he and Kai had simr clothing, and a ck-hooded cloak as well to stay hidden.

    After leaving the shop, Arthur said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kai, for using some of your saved money. I promise we will get it back.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss. You saved my life, so this is nothing.¡±

    They headed towards the inn afterwards. Cr¡¯s streets had many people, as it was a central outpost for almost all pirates. Trading between pirates usually happened inrge cities, like Cr.

    Another thing Arthur noticed were the stalls. People sold not only food but all kinds of strange items in the streets of Cr.

    ¡°I should be careful around here. This ce smells like scam.¡± thought Arthur, and he was right.

    It wasmon for people to sell mysterious things, saying they were magical, when in reality it was all bullshit. After they walked for some time, and avoided the people trying to sell things to them, they finally arrived at the inn.

    This inn was not the biggest or luxurious in Cr, but it was a pleasant inn, all built with fine wood, wood that was presumably from the nearby forest. Once inside, Arthur noticed there were lots of people drinking beer and talking to each other.

    Some people inside gazed at Arthur and Kai as soon as they stepped through the door, but returned to what they were doing right after. People came and go of that inn a lot, and two people wearing ck hoods weremon around Cr.

    Arthur chose the table farthest from everyone. It was at the corner of the inn. A good-lookingdy went to check on them as soon as they sat.

    ¡°Hello, would you like something to eat or drink?¡±

    ¡°Both, please. We don¡¯t know the menu, so choose for us, sweetie.¡±

    The woman¡¯s cheeks turned red, and she said timidly, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    Now that no one was around, Kai could not help but to task.

    ¡°Boss, we are here to get information, right? How will we listen to their conversation this far?¡±

    ¡°Rx, I have good ears.¡±

    Arthur was not worried, as he had acute senses. He was a dragon, so how couldn¡¯t he listen to a conversation a few meters away?

    While the waitress did not return with their food, Arthur listened to the conversations inside the inn and found some interesting information.

    ¡°Did you hear? Captain ridge is hiring people for a treasure hunt.¡±

    ¡°Captain ridge? As ridge the White Beard? Haha, now this is interesting.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Rumor said he found an ind that has some strange buildings, possibly with treasures, but he couldn¡¯t get inside without the help of powerful people, as the ce has lots of magical beasts.¡±

    ¡°But how did he find this ind? Do you know it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but some say one of his crew members had a map his father gave him, and that¡¯s how he found it.¡±

    Arthur focused all of his attention to listen to the conversations that he did not see the waitress in front of him carrying tes of food and two beers.

    ¡°Sir? Sir?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. Thank you!¡± Arthur said. He tossed her a coin, and she left with a bright smile.

    The te she chose was meat, something that looked like rice, and some vegetables. It was tasty, as both Arthur and Kai ate like starved beasts.

    ¡°So, did you find something? Kai said.

    Arthur was eating non-stop, but he mutter a few words Kai could understand.

    ¡°I did, we will go out in a treasure hunting.¡±

    ¡°Wait? Really? That¡¯s awesome!¡±

    They kept eating until an older man walked into the inn. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the old-man with scared looks.

    It was Captain ridge, the one they just talked about. He wore a simple pirate clothing, but what stood out was his huge cloak made of beast fur. It was white, and a proof of strength.

    ridge looked around, seeking a table for himself. He did not want to get near these other people because usually they came to him asking favors, and he hated those types of people.

    He looked at the corner and saw two young men sitting at a table. ridge saw how all the other tables around that one were empty, so he chose one. The same waitress went to take his order, but she was visibly way tense than she was with Arthur. The people seemed to respect and fear Captain ridge.

    Arthur did not see him as a threat. ridge had the number 25 above his head. It was only five levels higher than Arthur, but he was probably way weaker.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go talk with him about the treasure hunt. He¡¯s the one hiring people.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°What? That scary guy right next to us?¡± Kai stopped for a while as he remembered his boss was even scarier. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s not that scary, actually.¡±

    Arthur got up from his table and walked in ridge¡¯s direction. Everyone gazed at them, and they whispered among themselves.

    ¡°Who is the youth? Is he not afraid of death?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe he is from ridge¡¯s family? That could exin why he had the guts to go there talk with him.¡±

    Arthur listened to everything on his way to the table.

    ¡°Why am I going there? Because I¡¯m not a coward like you.¡± he thought.

    Once he was in front of ridge, who barely looked at him, Arthur tried to get his attention.

    ¡°Excuse me? Hello?¡± Arthur waved, but ridge was acting like there was no one there. He was ignoring Arthur.

    ¡°Are you hiring people for the treasure hunt?¡±

    ridge¡¯s eyebrows moved after hearing those words, but he still kept ignoring Arthur.

    ¡°All right, old man. I heard you are hiring powerful people for this shit treasure hunt. But now you¡¯re ignoring me because you think I¡¯m too weak? I mean, you¡¯re the weak here for not seeing my greatness.¡±

    ridge was visibly angry after hearing what Arthur said, but as he was about to say something, Arthur stopped him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense, please. Let¡¯s fight, you and me. After I beat you up, then I can go on the treasure hunt, right? Or you could hand me your crew and I can be the temporary captain. You¡¯re too old, anyway!¡±

    Everyone went silent after hearing that. They never thought that youth would say something like that to Captain ridge.

    ridge mmed the table and said, ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Arthur thought about some words to make him angrier, but before he could do that, ridge got up and sent a punch right into his face. Arthur did not see thating, but his body was unmatched. He grabbed the punch with one hand, smirked, and said, ¡°is this all you got?¡±

 Chapter 34

    The people inside the inn never thought they would see that. A random youth going toe to toe against the famous Captain ridge. If they weren¡¯t present and heard such a rumor, they would think it was only but a fairy tale.

    ¡°Impressive, kid.¡±

    He did not think Arthur would defend his punch, but ridge prepared another one right after. ridge vanished from his chair and appeared behind Arthur, sending yet another punch.

    Everything happened so fast no one else inside the inn saw a thing, but Arthur was well aware of ridge¡¯s every move. Just as the punch would hit the back of Arthur¡¯s head, he vanished.

    Arthur was the one behind ridge now, but instead of a punch, he used his leg to kick ridge¡¯s leg, making him stumble.

    Some people present wanted tough at the scene. The mighty Captain ridge hit his face on the ground. No one had the guts to do that, though.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡±

    ridge could not believe what had happened. He got up and stared at Arthur. Contrary to all thoughts, it did not piss him. The treasure hunt needed powerful people, and the rest did not matter.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be d to have you on my crew, even if it¡¯s temporary. We will leave tomorrow, so prepare yourself. Meet me at the port at dawn.¡±

    He left after saying those words. Arthur returned to his table and sat as if nothing had happened. No one else inside the inn came to talk with him. They were too scared and could only stare at the distance.

    .

    Arthur would look at them from time to time, and they instantly avoided his gaze. It was not worth to piss off someone strong and end up dead.

    ¡°Boss, that was awesome. I knew you would win.¡± Kai said.

    Kai said that, but he barely saw the fight. It was too fast for him, and that only increased his desire to grow stronger. He had a powerful master, so all he had to do was work hard, and pray luck stays on his side.

    The crew of the treasure hunt would leave the next morning. Arthur would have barely any time to prepare. Hell, he did not even know where that ind was, so how could hee up with a n, anyway?

    There was still one thing he could do, and it was a thing he missed.

    ¡°You stay here in the room and rest. I¡¯ll look around for more clues, all right? Sully will be here too, so everything should be okay.¡±

    Arthur rented a room in the inn for them to stay the night, but he left to do other really important things.

    ¡°Wee, honey!¡± a hot-looking woman said. She wore tight clothing, showing off her big boobs.

    The ce Arthur went to was a strip club. It was impossible for him to get any decent information within a day, so he might just have fun before the trip.

    ¡°The fee is one silver coin.¡±

    Arthur tossed the coin and entered inside without wasting time. The ce was not as empty as he had thought. It was afternoon and people were already there to have fun.

    Naked women dancing, lots of tables to sit and watch, and of course, beer and some substances Arthur did not know about. It looked exactly as Arthur had pictured it.

    A woman passed by Arthur and said, ¡°Do you want some fun?¡± She grabbed his arm and led him to a separate room with just the two of them. The woman thought a youth like Arthur would be an easy prey on the bed, but she was mistaken.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡±

    She had never fucked like that. Arthur made her feel things she never did, and that was only the beginning. Her perfect body moved, twerking on Arthur¡¯s dick. The cowgirl position, one that Arthur loved.

    He grabbed her rounded big boobs and squeezed them. Arthur¡¯s dick went in and out with ease, as the pussy was really wet. They kept going until one of them had lost all of its stamina, and it wasn¡¯t Arthur.

    The stamina he had before was already impressive, but now that he was a dragon? He could keep going all day, and that was what he did. After giving pleasure to one girl, he would call the next, and the next, and the next¡­

    ~~~~

    A bright full moon in the sky gave light to the dark streets of Cr. After fucking for hours, it was time to get back to the inn room. Arthur walked leisurely, looking at the moon and the stars. On the way, he wondered if he should tell Kai the truth about what he was doing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. This is only for adults, that¡¯s right. What would Kai think of his master if he got to know that?¡± thought Arthur.

    The inn was more crowded at night than it was at lunch. Differently from the lunch time were people only drank a few beers, now at night everyone was drunk.

    Some people who were inside gazed at Arthur as soon as he walked in. Rumors about him spread quickly through Cr, and people got to know him.

    Arthur noticed these gazes, but he did not pay attention. He walked upstairs to his room. Kai sat at the table with two bowls of soup.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Kai heard the door opening, and got scared for a second, but it was only Arthur.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you boss. Sit, I bought us dinner already.¡±

    ¡°A soup? Nice, I love that.¡±

    ¡°So, how did it go? Did you find any news?¡±

    ¡°Sadly, no. But don¡¯t think too much of it. ridge will probably give us the information we need tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± Kai said.

    Arthur was feeling guilt of lying to him, but it was for the best. They chatted and ate the soup untilte at night. The room had two small beds, so Arthur and Kai did not have to sleep together.

    Sully slept beside Arthur. He was on his tiny form, and he had left the room a few hours ago to hunt for something to eat. So, he was okay.

    ~~~~

    Morning came, and Arthur and Kai had to leave to meet with ridge. It would be a dangerous ce for Kai, but the safest ce for him was besides Arthur and Sully.

    He did not know if ridge would allow him to bring another person, but if he did not, then Arthur would just beat his ass again until he says yes.

    They had packed up all of their stuff, which was almost nothing, the prior night. So, after stopping to get a quick bite downstairs in the inn, they left towards the port of Cr.

    The port of Cr was not far. It took them 10 minutes of walking to get there. Lots of ships were there, but it was easy to find ridge. He stood in front of a ship, and at least other twenty people gathered there. These were probably the people who would ride along on the treasure hunt.

    Arthur scanned each one of them, and saw that they varied between level 15-23. It was not high, but it was not low either. All of them used different weapons and presumably had distinct elements and spells.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± ridge said. He quickly noticed Arthur¡¯s arrival, as Arthur had been the only person he hired that was stronger than him.

    ¡°Hey, how is it going, old man? Also, how much will you pay me for my service? You exined little.¡±

    ¡°Right. Now that everyone is here, then I¡¯ll say to you all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay each one of you 2 gold coins for the trouble of going with me. You¡¯ll be all facing danger in there, so it is fair for you to get some sort of payment,¡±

    ¡°But, as you can see, 2 gold coins are not an enormous sum. For that reason, we all agreed that whoever finds treasures in there can keep them. Whoever gets their hands first in the treasure haves it.¡±

    The people who were there for the treasure hunt eximed in ecstasy. It was on good terms, but Arthur thought otherwise.

    ¡°This thing will turn into a battle royale for the treasures. Now not only beasts there but also greed humans trying to get their hands on the treasures. I¡¯ll not allow it. All treasures belong to the dragon right here, hehe he.¡±

    After they spoke more about how the mission would happen, all of them hoped inside the ship. Kai went along, and ridge did not say a thing, but he only paid 2 gold coins for Arthur, who would help in there, and not to Kai.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my disciple. I¡¯ll buy you good stuff with this money, just like we did with yours.¡±

    Sully hid inside Arthur¡¯s pockets, and no one inside the ship noticed his presence. ridge cut the ropes who tied up the ship to the port, and they left.

    A dangerous ind with many treasures waited them.

 Chapter 35

    Chapter 35

    The waves hit the ship¡¯s hull, making dance alongside the waves. It¡¯s been three days since they left for the treasure hunt. Captain ridge said it would take them at least a week to get to the ind, but at least they got themselves a ce to stay.

    Captain ridge gave each one of the hired people a private room. It was small, and could only fit one person, which turned out to be a problem for Arthur.

    Arthur was inside his tiny room, which had only a wooden bed and a small desk that could barely fit one person. He was sitting on the chair while Kai was lying on the bed, looking at the roof.

    ¡°Sailing makes me sick. Why is this ship moving so much?¡± Kai said.

    ¡°It is only normal to be this way. Anyway, about the ind we¡¯re heading, have you ever heard anything about it?¡±

    ¡°Never. It is as mysterious as it sounds.¡± Kai stopped mid-sentence, grabbing a bucket nearby¡­

    Some people did not go well with traveling using ships, and it seemed Kai was one of these people. He would get used to it after some time. Arthur hoped so.

    The only problem was that this trip was boring. With little to no things to do, they could only stand still and wait. Hell, Arthur even prayed for something to happen on the way to the ind, but it never happened. After 7 days of nothing, they finally arrived at the ind.

    ~~~~

    One, two, three¡­ eventually everyone left the ship, and stepped onto the ind. It was just like another ind, with sand, trees, bushes so high it was impossible to see a thing, and animals making many sounds.

    There was a difference, though. The ind had a distinct feeling to it, and everyone in there sensed as if someone was watching. Arthur did not like the feeling, but he needed the treasures to turn them into precious money.

    .

    ¡°All right, everyone. We arrived at the ind. The ship will stay here, but we must not use the supplies of food. We have to go back after the treasure hunt, so if the foods runs out, it is over.¡±

    ¡°Each one of you will have to find your own food and water. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± ridge said, and he did not stop there.

    ¡°Now, we will set camp here, and each one of you can go out into groups to explore and map the ind of potential danger.¡±

    Arthur listened carefully to ridge¡¯s words and understood what was happening. ridge had the map to the ind, but he did not have the exact location of where the treasures were. That¡¯s why he asked them to go out into groups and explore.

    ¡°Hey, old man. Can I talk to you for a second?¡± Arthur called out ridge, and they left to speak in a private.

    ¡°What¡¯s up, kid? What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Can I explore with only my friend Kai? I don¡¯t want to team up with people I don¡¯t know, at least not until I get to know them better.¡±

    With his hand on his chin, ridge thought for a while before giving Arthur an answer.

    ¡°All right, but be careful. This ce is dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Arthur smiled, and left.

    He was not worried about going venturing alone. Kai was not of much help yet, but there was still Sully, who hid in his pocket, which could help him. Speaking of Sully, he talked with Arthur telepathically, reinforcing what ridge stated.

    ¡°Lord, this ind indeed has a lot of beasts. I can sense them from afar.¡±

    ¡°Are they strong, Sully?¡±

    ¡°Hm, it¡¯s hard to say. All the beasts here on the surface are weaker than us, so we should be fine. The real problem is beneath the ground.¡±

    ¡°Beneath the ground? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I can vaguely sense there are powerful beasts lurking beneath us. You don¡¯t know where the treasures are, right? If I would give a guess, they are probably down there and these beasts are protecting them.¡±

    Sully had a point. These treasures were difficult to find or else someone else would have by now. Arthur had a guess that there was some sort of building hidden inside the ind, and he had to be the one finding it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Kai.¡± said Arthur.

    ~~~~

    The ind had a dense vegetation, despite that, someone opened a path before. Arthur and Kai walked through this muddy road, paying attention to all details or else a beast could jump from the bushes and attack them.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Kai pointed at a bush who had just moved. He was afraid a beast would pounce out of it, but in the end, a small rabbit came out.

    ¡°Calm down, Kai. I will feel whatever a beast is nearby, and we should be okay.¡±

    They continued forward for some time, before the inevitable happened. An enormous centipede came from beneath them. It was impossible for Kai to dodge on time, so Arthur grabbed him and dodged the uing attack.

    The centipede stared at them fiercely. It had 10 meters, which was scary. All the legs moving sent a bad feeling to all of them.

    ¡°Damn, this is disgusting.¡±

    ¡°Lord, can I kill this thing?¡±

    Sully wanted to hunt something, as he had spent too much time inside Arthur¡¯s pockets. So Arthur agreed to it.

    When Sully turned into his actual form, that of a winged-beast, the centipede instantly tried to flee. Magical beasts had keen senses, so the centipede knew it had no chance of winning against Sully.

    It was a pity it could not run in time. Before the centipede dug a hole to hide, a bolt of thunder stroke it, making it stop in ce. Within that split second, Sully flew towards it, and cut the centipede in half.

    The fight ended quickly, but Arthur already knew that. Kai was not familiar with the level of power Sully had, so it surprised him.

    ¡°Damn, Sully!¡± Kai pped, and even though Sully couldn¡¯t understand what it meant, he was happy.

    ¡°Lord, it is a good kid you found to teach.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but there¡¯s a lot for him to learn.¡±

    ¡°Hello? Why are both of you staring at me as if you¡¯re talking about me? Ha, what am I saying? It is impossible to talk with beasts, hahaha.¡± Kai said.

    It was a funny scene to see him that shy, and Arthur had to do his best to hold theughter. They were indeed doing the ¡®impossible¡¯ and talking to each other, man to beast.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s keep moving.¡±

    The rest of their exploration had been peaceful after Sully showcasing his dominance to the other beasts around the area. ridge asked them to look around and map out the ind of dangers, and presumably find clues about the treasures.

    He also asked them to return at night to their camp near the shore. Arthur was not fond of that idea. There was no way he would trust these other people ridge hired, and there was no way he would lose his precious time going back to the camp every night.

    ¡°I¡¯ll sleep here in the wilderness. Are you okay with that? Kai?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Whatever the boss says, hehe he.¡±

    With that in mind, Arthur and Sully worked together to cut some trees and grab some leaves for the roof. They built together an improvised shelter within an hour. It was way easier to do that in two, and using their power.

    As for the food, Arthur hunt a few small beasts, and cooked them using a campfire.

    It was not thefiest ce, and they would have to sleep on the ground, but it was okay. Sully remained in his actual form to cover Arthur and Kai with his fur, so no one would suffer from the chilly night.

    They slept, and would continue the search the next day.

    ~~~~

    While this was happening, on the other side of the ind, a mysterious dark ship anchored. The people who left the ship wore strange tunics and masks. They gave a dark feeling, and no one who saw them would say they looked friendly.

    ¡°We are here, finally. These treasures will belong to us, hahaha!¡± The person who seemed to be the leader spoke after leaving the ship.

    Everyone else kept silent and built their camp for the night.

    Arthur did not know, but soon enough, he would meet up once again with the people he wished to see no more. The Doom Order was looking for the same treasures as him, and that could only end with death.

    ~~~~

    Kai, Arthur, and Sully were sleepingfortably until something happened.

    Arthur woke up and could hear a voice inside his head. The strange voice talked in anguage unknown to him, but it was as if it was calling him.

    ¡°What is this? Should I go check it out?¡±

    He was not a fan of leaving alone during the night, but with his night vision, everything should be fine, right?

 Chapter 36

    A voice called Arthur during the night. He did not know what it was, but made him curious. If he was still the old weak Arthur, then surely he wouldn¡¯t go out alone in a dangerous ce like that ind.

    The thing is, he¡¯s not weak anymore. Arthur is a mighty dragon, and there was no waymon magical beasts would scare him. With that in mind, he stealthily left their improvised shelter and followed the mysterious voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± thought Arthur. Kai and Sully were in deep sleep, tired of the 7 day trip, especially Kai, who was not a fan of ships, so they did not sense Arthur¡¯s departure.

    The forest was so dense it almost had no lights. Even the moonlight couldn¡¯t touch it. Only crazy people would go out alone during the night, and people with night-vision, like Arthur.

    He walked through the woods carefully to not draw too much attention, or the beasts that hunt during the night would get to him.

    It was as if someone was right in front of him saying something, but there was no one. He kept following the strange voice until he arrived at a ce with multiple rocks. These rocks had different shapes and sizes, and looked like they were part of the environment and not man-made.

    The voice lead Arthur to one of these huge rocks, and then it stopped. He could no longer hear this strange voice, but he was sure it had to be something.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s move this rock, then.¡±

    Arthur got closer to the rock. He bent his knees and grabbed the rock. All the strength from his body came to use, yet the rock stood still.

    ¡°I can¡¯t lift this shit. Fuck. Let¡¯s pushed it.¡±

    He returned to his normal position, and instead of trying to grab it from beneath, he put his hands at eyes height and tried to push the rock. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his legs went numb after pushing too hard, but he did it.

    The huge rock moved, and Arthur had his mouth open after seeing what was beneath it. A staircase leading to an underground area. It was presumably the ce where the good stuff was, and that voice was the one who led him there.

    .

    ¡°Is it a trap? I don¡¯t know, but we must enter either way.¡± He thought for some time and headed back to his improvised shelter. On his way back, Arthur carved the trees to remember the path the next morning. It was almost a straight line, so there was no way he would get lost, but he marked just in case.

    When Arthur returned, he saw both Sully and Kai were still asleep. Well, Sully noticed Arthur¡¯s arrival, and asked him what happened.

    ¡°Lord, why are you up thiste?¡±

    ¡°You will not believe me.¡±

    ¡°Try me.¡±

    ¡°I woke up in the middle of the night with a mysterious voice inside my head. I couldn¡¯t understand a single thing it said, but I followed the voice. And by doing that, I found the ce where the treasures are.¡±

    ¡°What? Hm, maybe you ate a mushroom around here? I should warn Kai to be careful.¡± Sully fell asleep again¡­

    Arthur also tried to sleep, but the anxiety of exploring that ce made him unable to do so, at least not before staring at the roof for two hours.

    ~~~~

    Morning came, and they were up. A new day of exploration would not start, because Arthur already knew the way.

    ¡°Wait, you were serious? I found it was a joke or the effect of mushrooms.¡±

    ¡°Do you think a mushroom would cause hallucinations to me? A dragon?¡±

    ¡°Now that I think about it¡­¡±

    Kai found the voice strange, and could only think it was a trap. Arthur had also thought about that, but it was worth the shot. Rewards only came at a high risk. The ce could not be ordinary, or else it wouldn¡¯t be beneath a rock almost impossible to move.

    ¡°Lead the way, boss.¡± Kai said.

    Arthur took the lead and returned to the ce he had been the night before. It went smoothly, and no beast attacked them on their way. In fact, Sully and Arthur sensed that there were no beasts around.

    It looked like this strange area filled with rocks was a dangerous or prohibited ce. Perhaps it was the territory of another powerful beast? Who knows?

    ¡°Look, this is the rock, and that¡¯s the staircase.¡± Arthur said as he pointed to the huge rock he pushed. Kai went near it and tried to push it, too.

    ¡°Damn. How did you even move this thing?¡±

    ¡°Workout my disciple, workout.¡± He flexed his biceps to show off, but no one understood what he was doing.

    They stared at the staircase for a while, thinking if it was a good idea to go down, and in the end, they did. Arthur went in front, followed by Kai. Sully could not fit in the staircase, so he returned to Arthur¡¯s pockets.

    It was a narrow staircase, and they had to walk in line. A single misstep could make all of them to fall, so they descended slowly to prevent that. Both the stairs and the walls surrounding them were of rock. The walls had moss hanging on it, and a few holes from time to time. It was a proof that the ce was old.

    The staircase lead to another corridor, but this one was wayrger, and could fit all of them. Everything was pitch-ck. It was not a problem for Sully and Arthur, but Kai could see nothing.

    Arthur saw torches hanging on the walls. They were old, and it was strange the wood was still around after who knows how long. He grabbed it and asked Sully to shoot a small bolt of lighting, to light up the torch. It worked, and now Kai could see as well.

    ¡°Thank god. How did you find this torch, anyway? Maybe you can see in the dark? Haha, that¡¯s impossible, right?¡± Kai said.

    After that problem vanished, they continued forward to explore more. The corridor was not long, and they quickly arrived in an open room.

    This room was far different from the corridor. It had some statues for decoration, as well as some furniture. There was also a strange symbol on the ground, as well as two pirs.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    It was the only room. There was no way they could move forward after that. Arthur quickly understood this room had some sort of secret they needed to solve in order to keep going.

    ¡°Typical dungeon. Now we have to solve this mystery to continue.¡± thought Arthur.

    Behind these two pirs, there was a wall. Just by looking at it, Arthur could sense it was a hidden passage. The pirs and also the mysterious symbol in front of it gave it away.

    The only problem was, how would they activate the hidden passage? Arthur knew they would stay there for a while, so he grabbed more torches and lit them all up to light the ce properly.

    ¡°Hm, where should we start?¡±

    ~~~~

    ridge and his men were searching the woods during the day, but could find nothing out of the ordinary. There were already some casualties, and two of the people he hired died to the beasts.

    Differently from ridge, who couldn¡¯t find a thing, the people with masks and tunics reached the rocky area Arthur found. The leader scanned the ce and noticed the huge rock who was not in the ce it should be.

    ¡°Our information was correct. The demon told us the ce would be beneath this area, but why is the entrance not hidden? Did someone find it before us? This is impossible.¡±

    Another high-ranking member who was with the leader said, ¡°It looks like it. We need to look.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we do. The entrance is too narrow and the low-ranking members will only slow us. Gather only the strongest, and tell the low-ranking members to hide the entrance after we go in.¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± The high-ranked member bowed and left.

    ¡°Who could it be?¡± thought the leader, who was still in a daze.

    ~~~~

    ¡°It must have something to do with these statues. What do you think, Kai?¡±

    Arthur was looking for ways to unlock the hidden passage, and the only thing he could think of was these strange statues.

    ¡°I mean, it has to be. It wouldn¡¯t make sense to open a hidden passage by moving this old rusty table or chairs.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, wait.¡± Arthur noticed how the symbol in front of the pirs had squares with simr sizes of the statues¡¯ bases. It couldn¡¯t be a coincidence, and it was actually quite obvious.

    ¡°And here I was thinking this was a clever puzzle. What a shame!¡±

    Arthur pushed the different statues into the squares around the symbol. Each one of them fit perfectly, and once all of them were in ce, the room trembled.

    The wall behind both pirs opened, showcasing a new corridor. But it was not all sunshines and rainbow. As the room trembled, the roof came down to crush them. It had spikes as well, and would kill them instantly.

    ¡°Fuck, run!¡± Arthur yelled. He grabbed Kai, who wouldn¡¯t make it by himself, and ran towards the door that had just opened.

    It was getting closer and closer, but they reached it just in time.

    ¡°That was close, damn.¡± Arthurid on the ground, and Kai was near him.

    It was a trap that activated after they unlocked the hidden passage. The roof, who just had gone down, went up, and then down again.

    ¡°At least this will slow the treasure hunt party once they find this ce. Let¡¯s keep moving!¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°What just happened?¡± The leader of The Doom Order heard the noisesing from down there and felt the ground tremble.

    ¡°We have to go down there to look. I think whoever found this ce is getting near the treasures. We can¡¯t let this happen.¡±

    A party of 6 high-ranked members and the leader went down to explore the ce.

 Chapter 37

    The corridor after the trap looked the same as the other one. It was slightly wider, but that was the only difference. Now, what Arthur saw after walking through the corridor for five minutes was incredible.

    A huge open area that looked like a gigantic cave. It had tons of destroyed buildings and streets as well. A huge underground city made by humans, but now belonged to the beasts.

    Screams and roars of beasts echoed throughout the underground city, and the strange voice talked inside Arthur¡¯s mind once again. He couldn¡¯t understand it, and now it seemed it was not guiding him, and was only making him angrier.

    ¡°Where should we start? There are a lot of ruins in this ce.¡±

    It was hard for Arthur to think straight with this voice messing up his head. He asked Kai for an opinion of which direction they should take.

    ¡°We should make our way over there.¡± Kai pointed at a ce, and when Arthur saw where he was gazing, he smiled. It was a sort of pce, presumably from whoever ruled this city. Differently from the rest of the buildings, this pce was not falling apart.

    With a goal in mind, they went their way. There was a stair which led down towards the city. They used it and soon were in the middle of a ruined street.

    The street had holes in it, and nts grew all over the ce, and it was the same with the surrounding houses. Arthur did not know why, but he felt a familiar presence inside this underground city. Perhaps it had something to do with the voice inside his head?¡±

    ¡°Watch out!¡±

    Arthur saw, from the corner of his eye, a beast pouncing directly in Kai¡¯s direction. It was going after the weakest of the group. He gathered all the strength he could on both legs and dashed in Kai¡¯s direction. They were close to each other, but Arthur did not want to risk being sloppy and have something happen to his disciple.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Kai said.

    The beast¡¯s mouth was near Kai¡¯s head, and for a moment, he felt his death, but then a punch came flying. It was Arthur who arrived at the right time.

    .

    The punch was so powerful that the creature¡¯s cheek distorted, and it flew, hitting a house nearby, destroying whatever was left of it. Arthur would not let the beast have another chance.

    He ran towards it and made use of the opportunity. The beast was still recovering from the punch, and was on the ground. It roared as soon as Arthur got near, and tried to bite him even though it was on the ground.

    Arthur grabbed both parts of the beast¡¯s mouth and used his strength to tear it apart, splitting the beast¡¯s head in two. Blood spurted everywhere, and brain parts were all around Arthur, and also in his clothing.

    It was gross, but that was what it took to survive in that world, and in that dangerous ce.

    ¡°Are you okay, Kai?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Thank you, again.¡±

    ¡°It is nothing. Let¡¯s keep moving. It is not a wise decision to stay too much in one ce.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°How will we pass through this?¡± the man said.

    He was one of 6 high-ranking members of the order who went down to explore the ce. After walking down for some time, they arrived at the open room, where Arthurpleted the puzzle.

    There was only one problem, though, and that was the roof who went up and down non-stop.

    ¡°It has an interval of 5 seconds, which means we have to cross this entire room in 5 seconds, or we die.¡± the leader said.

    ¡°That¡¯s hard. What should we do?¡±

    ¡°I have an idea. Six of us use spells to slow down the roof, and one passes to the other side using all means possible. Then, the person on the other side helps the rest of us, so it will always have six people slowing down the roof, and one passing.¡± The leader said.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Who wants to go first?¡±

    It was a good idea, but no one wanted to go first¡­

    ~~~~

    ¡°Did you hear that? It came in this direction!¡± ridge said.

    The noises down there made their way up to the surface, and ridge¡¯s group heard it as they were looking for clues about the ce. After gathering everyone, they ventured to where the noise came and found the rocks.

    It was not open as before. The low-ranked members from the order hid its location, and they also hid behind bushes to attack whoever came looking for the ce.

    Truth be told, they did not expect anyone toe, as whoever was exploring the ce was already down there. ridge proved them otherwise.

    A sh between ridge¡¯s group and order members happened in the area. Casualties from both sides, but ridge came on top in the end.

    ¡°Where is the entrance? Tell me!¡± ridge yelled to one of the order members.

    It took him some time to get the answers he wanted, but in the end, one of them told where the ce was.

    ¡°All right everyone, let¡¯s work together to move this rock. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The group now only had 8 people, but it was enough to move the rock and descend into the underground.

    ~~~~

    That first beast attack was surely not thest. All kinds of beasts tried to ovee Arthur as they made their way up to the pce. Most of them did not have a level higher than 20, which was nothing in Arthur¡¯s eyes. He killed creatures that looked like panthers, imps, more centipedes, and it even had a beast simr to Sully.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who this is. Kill the fake me!¡± yelled Sully inside Arthur¡¯s mind.

    They had to traverse throughout the entire underground city to reach the pce, and with all the attacks from beasts, it was not as easy as it sounded.

    The good part was that most beasts were weak, so after an hour, Arthur reached the pce.

    It was higher than the rest of the city, and they had to climb the stairs once again.

    The pce was even bigger than the one Arthur worked as a chef. It had immense columns made of an unknown ck material, like an obsidian. The style reminded Arthur of the constructions in Greek, like the temples. The difference was it was way bigger and presumably had many rooms.

    Once they were up and staring at the pce¡¯s entrance, Arthur had a feeling someone was watching, and as he gazed backwards, he saw The Doom Order arriving in the underground city.

    ¡°No way. Why are these bastards here? Fuck. Is ridge one of them or what?¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Kai also looked, but he couldn¡¯t see anyone. He did not have the eyes of a dragon, that is.

    ¡°The Doom Order.¡±

    ¡°What? The crazy people that wanted to destroy my vige?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we have to enter the pce. Now that we killed a lot of beasts, it will be easier for them to get here.¡±

    There was only one option, and that was to enter the pce. The pce¡¯s door was enormous. It had 8 meters wide and 15 meters tall. Why had they built the entrance this big? Just to show off?

    They passed through the door and saw what was inside. A perfectly decorated pce. It even had magical lights that never ran off,pletely different from the rest of the underground city.

    The halls were tall and gave off a different vibe. It was not like the ustrophobic corridors they went through to get there.

    ¡°This is so preserved, as if someone lives in here. No one is living here, right?¡± Kai said.

    Arthur was ready to answer him, but then the mysterious voice echoed inside his mind again, but this time, he could understand it.

    ¡°Who dares to trespass inside my domain? Who do you think you are? Go back before I end your lives!¡±

    The voice was hoarse and spoke in humannguage. Arthur thought he had been the only one hearing it, but Sully and Kai also did.

    ¡°Did you hear that? Arthur? Is that the voice you heard before?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It sounds the same, but now we can understand it.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying to me you followed this creepy ass voice, in the middle of the night, alone?¡±

    ¡°When you put it like that¡­¡±

    They couldn¡¯t go back after everything they went through, so Arthur continued forward. The voice continued to treat them, but did nothing, as if it couldn¡¯t and was only spitting nonsense.

    ¡°You see? It is only trying to scare us. There is nothing in here-¡±

    Arthur looked down and saw the tip of a knife in his stomach. It was painful and bloody. Something attacked him from behind, and he had not seen a glimpse.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    The attack wouldn¡¯t kill him, of course, but what if more attacks came, and are just like this one that he couldn¡¯t see what attacked him?

 Chapter 38

    Their way through the underground city had been easy, and Arthur was already thinking something was wrong. The moment an invisible monster attacked him, he knew it had started.

    ¡°Fuck!¡±

    Without looking back, Arthurunched an elbow to whatever was behind him. There was nothing behind him.

    ¡°Did you see anything?¡± said Arthur.

    He hoped that Sully or Kai had seen something, but it was useless. Whatever attacked him waspletely invisible. How could such overpowered skill exist? It had to have a weakness for them to exploit.

    ¡°What can I do? What can I do? Maybe?¡±

    Arthur noticed that the enemy had pulled out the knife after stabbing him, and the knife turned invisible as well, but only after a second or so, which meant there was a dy he could exploit.

    The senses Arthur had as a dragon came to use as he closed both of his eyes. He focused everything on his hearing and his sixth sense. It did not attack him at first, but after Arthur waited for 5 minutes, it came.

    ¡°From the front? No, I sense nothing suspicious. Behind? No, it shouldn¡¯t attack the same ce twice. A diagonal attack? That¡¯s it.¡±

    Arthur knew it was impossible to upfront block the attack, even with his senses, but when he felt the attack was close, he did something else instead. He pierced the stabbed wound with his hand and threw blood toward the directions he assumed the attack woulde.

    When he looked back, he noticed for a split second the blood stayed in thin air, so he knew it had hit something. Without time to lose, Arthur¡¯s nails turned into ws, and he pierced whatever it was.

    Green blood spurted everywhere, and a small creature fell. The monster who gave Arthur that much problem was a freaking goblin.

    ¡°A goblin? Aren¡¯t these supposed to be weak? How this thing can turn invisible?¡±

    .

    He saw the level of this goblin, 14. It was weak, and the only troublesome ability was this invisible thing. Arthur could not understand how this goblin learned this thing?

    ¡°Lord, I can sense something familiar inside this goblin, as if he is a mutated creature.¡± Sully said.

    ¡°Really? Like what the mage who locked you did in that cave?¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°But why are they here, of all ces?¡±

    The mage who locked Sully seemed like a madman to Arthur and he thought those experiments had led to nothing, but now wasn¡¯t the case. Was that mage part of a group who were trying to mutate beasts? But for what reason?

    Arthur had no answers for any of those questions, and it wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about it. More invisible goblins coulde to attack them, and there was also The Doom Order who weren¡¯t exactly friendly.

    They kept moving throughout the pce¡¯s halls. At first, Kai could not help but to worry about Arthur¡¯s wound, but it healed in less than 10 minutes.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Look at these dead beasts. Whoever is inside this underground city is not weak.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but we are in 7 here, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    The leader pointed at the pce and said, ¡°That ce is probably their destination. This is where the treasures are supposed to be, so let¡¯s not waste time.¡±

    It was a fact that The Doom Order knew more about this ce than everyone else. They knew how to enter it, and also knew where the treasures were. ridge, the person who invited Arthur to go with him, only knew about the ind¡¯s location.

    Speaking of ridge, he also had a hard time oveing the trap.

    ¡°5 seconds? Fuck, it is too short!¡±

    ¡°It is doable if we work together. Anyone have any suggestions?¡±

    Some of them had some ideas, and ridge listened to each one of them.

    ~~~~

    The underground city was not a ce for the weak. Arthur and Sully had to fight all kinds of magical beasts and mutated beasts along the way, and the pce seemed to not have an end.

    Kai was not happy with all things were going. He felt useless for not helping them and promised himself he would work hard after they left to not be a burden anymore.

    As they proceeded further inside the pce, the mysterious voice kept screaming inside their heads.

    ¡°Despicable humans, leave now. This isn¡¯t a ce for you!¡±

    They did not know who or what it was, but leaving after reaching so far would be just dumb.

    Footsteps echoed through the halls, and the mysterious voice seemed to get more and more restless, as if Arthur was getting somewhere he shouldn¡¯t. Kai couldn¡¯t stop scratching his body, visibly anxious about what might happen.

    Arthur walked up to him, tapped him on the shoulder, and said, ¡°Rx, Kai. Did you see how we killed every enemy in our path? Whoever owns that voice will meet the same fate.¡±

    That calmed him down a bit, and they kept walking, heading towards the voice.

    Soon, something they had never seen before was right in front of their eyes. A door, but not just any door. It was of an unknown material, and even after Arthur used all of his strength, he couldn¡¯t move it.

    Arthur, being very close to the door, could notice a strange mechanism. It looked like a trumpet, and he couldn¡¯t understand its function, but Arthur was sure that was what would open the door.

    Luckily for them, the mysterious voice that had bothered them throughout their exploration of the pce spoke more than it should have.

    ¡°I told you humans can¡¯t enter here, hahaha. This ce belongs to the superior race.¡±

    ¡°Lucky me, I¡¯m not human anymore.¡± thought Arthur.

    With that thought in mind, Arthur activated his Draconic Transformation, causing his body to change.

    Kai had never seen it before. Arthur was still hiding some things from him.

    Now transformed, Arthur went to the trumpet at the door, and used the ability he had in his draconic form, Dragon¡¯s Breath.

    Arthur¡¯s mouth grew in size, and then a scorching fire shot out of it, right into that trumpet.

    The door moved after that, and in less than 1 minute, it was wide open.

    What was on the other side was a room filled with gold, and a creature was lying in the middle of the room, and it seemed it couldn¡¯t move.

    ¡°That is impossible. The door can only be opened by me, a Wyvern, descendant of the majestic dragons. How is that possible?¡±

    As soon as the Wyvern looked at Arthur, he understood what was happening.

    ¡°It¡¯s not possible. A dragon? No, it can¡¯t be. They all died a long time ago. What kind of magic are you using?¡±

    Of all things behind that door, a Wyvern. Arthur had never expected that, and as he scanned the Wyvern more and more, he could not understand how it ended that way.

    The Wyvern was malnourished, paralyzed, and both of its eyes were life-less. The once majestic scales were not colorless and were already falling into pieces.

    ¡°What the hell happened to you? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be strong?¡±

    ¡°I-I, you don¡¯t understand. You couldn¡¯t win against them, so what could us Wyverns do?¡±

    ¡°They killed all of you thousands of years ago, and now they are hunting us Wyverns too, afraid that someday we can be dragons again.¡±

    ¡°We tried so hard, but it is impossible to win against them.¡±

    ¡°Against who? Humans?¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°Humans? What a joke. They might look like humans, but are far beyond their power. Do you really think humans could wipe us? Wipe the dragons?¡±

    Arthur was curious about what the wyvern was talking about. It was clear he was not in his right mind anymore and was on the brink of death.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know who they are. Maybe there¡¯s information about them in the long lost Sky City, but no one knows where this ce is anymore.¡±

    ¡°Oh, mighty dragon. If you survived, then we may still return to our past glory. I¡¯m almost dying, and the only thing that kept me going was the hope of someday finding someone worthy of my help.¡±

    ¡°You can keep all the treasures inside this room. But the most precious gift I can¡¯t give to you, but I can give it to your friends.¡±

    The money problem was solved, but what was this precious gift the wyvern talked about?

    ¡°What gift?¡±

    ¡°My blood. It is notparable to yours, but it is still something anyone would kill for. I can tell that even if you tried to give your blood to your friends, they would both die, incapable of enduring it,¡±

    ¡°So what do you say?¡±

    He looked at Kai, and saw the sparkles in his eyes, and his desire for power.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it. Anything to get stronger.¡±

    Kai gazed at Arthur and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know who these people are, but if they killed your kind, Arthur, I¡¯ll help you against them!¡±

    ¡°I can also give my blood to your beast friend. In a few years they might turn into wyverns too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it, lord.¡±

    Sully knew it was a chance he couldn¡¯t miss. As both of them epted, and the wyvern was ready to pass on his bloodline, someone else entered the room.

    ¡°These bastards, damn it.¡±

 Chapter 39

    Seven masked people with levels above 20. The leader was the highest, and he was level 27. Arthur had dealt with them before, but it was only a small branch of The Doom Order. Based on what he knew, these bastards were all over the ce.

    ¡°Well, well, well. Look what we have here.¡± said the leader.

    ¡°I was expecting more people, but only two? How did you survive up to this point?¡±

    Things gotplicated for Arthur. He wasn¡¯t that confident in fighting against all of them alone, and the wyvern didn¡¯t look like he could help him in directbat.

    ¡°I need to give you my bloodline before I die for good. It has to be now. There¡¯s a secret room behind me for the two to absorb the bloodline peacefully, but someone will have to fight these guys.¡±

    Kai and Sully weren¡¯t happy about leaving Arthur to fight alone.

    ¡°Just go. This is an opportunity you can¡¯t miss. I¡¯ll deal with these bastards.¡± With teary eyes, they left Arthur.

    ¡°Look at all these treasures. We will be rich, hahaha.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s hope the dagger is here,¡± the leader pointed at Arthur and continued, ¡°but remember, we have to kill him first.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem. He¡¯s just one against seven, after all.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him. He reached this far, alone. Could you do that?¡±

    .

    The man was embarrassed after hearing the leader¡¯s question. He wasn¡¯t confident of getting there alone, so the leader was basically saying the mysterious youth was stronger than him.

    With gritted teeth, the man said, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Kai and Sully were now inside a mysterious room. The wyvern gave them his bloodline and was almost dead. Its body was now translucid, and the only thing binding him to the world was these two who carried his bloodline. He would use all of his strength left to make sure they survive.

    Arthur stared at the masked people and promptly used his Draconic Transformation once again. Before, he had only used it to gain ess to his breath, and after that, he returned to normal. That way, he did not receive any penalty.

    ¡°What the hell is that? He isn¡¯t a human?¡±

    ¡°He should be. Only a few high grade beasts can turn into human form, and there¡¯s no way he is one of them. If he is, then we are all dead.¡±

    The leader gave them a hand sign, and all of them entered a type ofbat formation. They weren¡¯t nning on giving Arthur a chance to win. The leader was in the middle, with three of them in front and three behind him.

    Arthur had no one with him to even try a formation. He was the one-man army, and that would have to do the trick.

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s give those fuckers a nightmare.¡±

    A shadowy figure went directly at them. The snake-like eyes in the dark made them ufortable, so theyunched a few spells, trying to stop Arthur. A fireball, a corrosive green liquid, and even a dark-w flew in his direction.

    Arthur thought little of these, and all it took for the spells to vanish was him opening his mouth and devouring them. In an instant, all the spells were gone, and they actually boosted Arthur¡¯s strength, but only a small amount.

    [+2 to all Stats for 30 minutes]

    It was not a game changing bonus, but Arthur¡¯s intent was to make the spells vanish, and so he did. The three masked people who were in front, and handled the spells, could not believe what they saw. Their spells got devoured, which was something not even beasts could do.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    Before they could cast a second round of spells, Arthur was already in front of them. He knew he couldn¡¯t kill the three of them, as the others would surely cast their own spells to stop him, but what he could do was to aim for the weakest and try to at least kill one.

    Guess what? It worked. Before the masked people realized, he was already dead. Arthur grabbed his neck and used all of his strength to break the neck of said victim. He was dead in an instant.

    All the others gave a step back without realizing it. Arthur looked like a blood starved beast, and they lost one in their first exchange.

    ¡°Everyone, attack!¡±

    A barricade of spells flew into Arthur¡¯s direction, and he had no other choice but to run. Even with his devour ability, it was impossible to devour so many spells at the same time. But where could he hide? The only thing present in the room were the treasures, but these were behind the wyvern, so he couldn¡¯t hide there.

    ¡°Fuck. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s night-time or daytime outside. Nefion warned me to not use this technique during the night-time, but there isn¡¯t another option.¡±

    As the spells were almost hitting Arthur, he vanished. Not even a single trace of him remained, and no one from The Doom Order could understand what happened.

    It was the same room, but it was dark, as if a veil was blocking it. Everything else seemed destroyed, and Arthur could vaguely see the cultists. But it was different now. When he used this technique with Nefion, when he was still a human, time passed equal no matter if he was inside that ce or not.

    Now, everything in the real world had stopped, and it was as if Arthur could stop the time.

    ¡°Damn. What is this? The description of this technique says it opens a passage to a part of the Dream Realm. Does this means time flows differently in all the Dream Realm? Or only in this part?¡±

    Arthur felt it was too overpowered. The fight he was afraid of losing was now a piece of cake. Well, he thought that was the case.

    ~~~~

    Inside a strange and dark room, a few mysterious people talked to each other.

    ¡°Did you hear the rumors?¡±

    ¡°What rumors?¡±

    ¡°Someone like us appeared.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit. We locked everything.¡±

    ¡°I agree with him. These are only rumours!¡±

    It was at that moment something strange happened. They felt as if someone invaded their domain, but that couldn¡¯t be possible.

    ¡°Did you guys feel that? Let¡¯s check it out!¡±

    All the 8 people in the room vanished in an instant.

    ~~~~

    Arthur was still in the same spot and felt as if someone was watching him.

    ¡°Nefion wouldn¡¯t lie about this. I¡¯ll use this chance to kill the leader, and nothing more.¡±

    He went to where the leader was and stood behind him. Arthur returned to the real world, and before anyone could do anything, he used his sharp ws to rip off the leader¡¯s head. The man was dead in an instant, and no one could understand what had happened.

    ¡°Leader!!!¡±

    They yelled and cast more spells, trying to end Arthur¡¯s life. He was not in a suitable position, as he was in the middle of everyone, so what Arthur needed to do was to leave that ce immediately.

    He jumped back, and as he did that, Arthur also used his dragon¡¯s breath, sending a scorching fire towards all his enemies.

    ¡°Watch out, everyone!¡± They yelled and tried to avoid the uing attack, but it was impossible. The fire breath came fast, and even with the magical shields they cast to protect themselves, most of them still got burnt.

    Arthur was now far from these masked people, close to the door he opened a while ago. The Draconic Transformation made him tired at a rapid pace, so he needed to end the fight as quick as possible.

    It was at that moment a person Arthur knew appeared right in front of the room. ridge, alongside three more people, presumably the only ones that survived until that point.

    ¡°You? How are you here?¡±

    It surprised ridge to see Arthur there. He hadn¡¯t heard about him since the first time everyone got out to explore the ind.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t much time to exin. You see these bastards there? They are part of a demonic cult called The Doom Order, and they are here to steal all the treasures. Could you help me while I recover?¡±

    He did not trust Arthurpletely, but it was a fact these masked people were there to steal all the treasures. ridge and his group fought against them before entering the underground area.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll help you, for now. But after this you¡¯ll have to exin to me everything in details, or I¡¯ll have no choice but to kill you!¡±

    Arthur¡¯s legs got weaker, and he fell. Something was wrong, and it was not because of the usage of the transformation. It happened right after he used the Void Step to avoid the spells.

    ¡°Nefion told me it was dangerous to use it during the night. Maybe that¡¯s what happened? Fuck!¡± thought Arthur.

    He went to the corner of the room and rested as ridge and his men fought against the Doom Order.

 Chapter 40

    Arthur rested on the corner without knowing what was happening with him. It was not because of the transformation, but something else.

    ¡°The only thing out of the ordinary I did was use the Void Step. It has to be it.¡± thought Arthur.

    Nefion warned him about the usage of such a technique. Perhaps he also suffered from something simr, but there was no way Arthur could ask him.

    ridge and the Doom Order were fighting, and no one knew who the winner would be. The Doom Order was at advantage, but ridge and his group were mysterious, and maybe had some cards upon their sleeves.

    ¡°Can you hear me?¡±

    A hoarse voice talked inside Arthur¡¯s mind. It was the wyvern. Arthur nodded in response, as he had no way of talking with him.

    ¡°Good, good. They are absorbing the bloodline, and I think both of them will be okay. The room they are in has a passage to the outside, so you can go there with them and leave this ce.¡±

    ¡°I can feel that you¡¯re weak right now, and if I¡¯m not mistaken, this is a type of curse. Don¡¯t worry though, your dragon physique will expunge this in less than a week, but in the meantime, you can¡¯t enter any fight.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll let the door to the room open for you, but after entering it, I¡¯ll lock it for good. So, if you want any treasures, this is the time.¡±

    Arthur listened to everything carefully and went with the wyvern¡¯s n. It was a good thing he would recover from this illness eventually, but he was in a weakened state now, and that was deadly, considering there were enemies everywhere around him.

    A long time ago, when he found Sully, Arthur also found a magical backpack that could store a lot of things inside. He always had been using it, but he barely had anything to bring along so it didn¡¯t matter.

    .

    ¡°The nts I got from where Sully was are still inside. I almost forgot them, damn!¡±

    ¡°Now, what should I choose? It has to be fast.¡±

    Their goal of going there was to get money to start a crew, and not to get powerfulbat treasures. The room had a lot of stuff, but it was impossible to tell if it was a treasure good for battle or only gold. So Arthur could only grab whatever was in his way and throw it inside the backpack.

    Arthur had his hands full with gold coins, and candlesticks, golden tes, forks, all kinds of misceneous items. He also got a few daggers, a bow, a spear, and an enormous obsidian sword which was bigger than him.

    ridge had to focus on the fight and couldn¡¯t go there to make Arthur stop.

    ¡°Damn it, kid. Are you getting everything?¡±

    The Doom Order also didn¡¯t like what Arthur was doing, and stopped their fight and kill Arthur first.

    ¡°Well, it is time to go now.¡± thought Arthur.

    ¡°Hey, old man. You lost to me in that inn and now here. What a loser, hahaha!¡±

    Arthur ran to the door the wyvern talked about. It was not far, and even in his weakened state, he could still run fast. A few spells tried to catch up to him, but none of them could. Arthur locked the door behind him, and no longer could see the face of those bastards.

    ~~~~

    It was a room like any other in the pce. Kai was on the ground with his eyes closed. Arthur saw his face of struggle, and after half an hour, Kai got better and better, until finally waking up.

    Kai waspletely different. His hair had lost its color, and was white, just like the wyvern¡¯s scales. Kai¡¯s skin also looked more vivid, and his body more in shape.

    ¡°Ah, I feel like new. Arthur? Did you kill these bastards already?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, no. I killed a few of them but ended up cursed. We need to leave now.¡±

    When Arthur looked at the ground, he saw an egg. It was Sully. Sully was a beast before getting this bloodline, so for the change to ur and make him change into a wyvern, he had to hatch again, and grow up.

    He got closer to the egg and grabbed it, putting it inside his magical backpack. Arthur took off a few of his clothing to keep the egg warm.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then. Ahhh, I can¡¯t wait to start our training!¡±

    Kai was not level 8 anymore but 12. It was not the level that mattered, though. Arthur knew Kai now had a body that humans couldn¡¯t even dream of achieving.

    There was a staircase that led directly to the surface. It was enormous, and would take them at least an hour to leave, but it was the fastest way. Before leaving, Arthur thanked the wyvern, who now could rest in peace¡­

    ~~~~

    ¡°Look, Arthur, light. We are almost there!¡± said Kai.

    It was a lie. When looking from afar, it seemed they were close to the exit, but it was not the case. They went up, up, and up. Their legs were sore after climbing that stair for so long. But, as the universe felt pity for them, Arthur and Kai reached the surface.

    The first thing both of them did was to lie on the ground for some time to get their legs a few moments of rest.

    ¡°Kai, we can¡¯t use Sully for now to leave this ind flying, so we need to get ridge¡¯s ship and leave.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s move. We can rest more inside the ship and far from this ce.¡±

    Finding ridge¡¯s ship wasn¡¯t a hard. All they had to do was return to the shore, and it should be there. So they did just that, and the ship was there as it should be.

    It was not impossible to sail a ship with only two people, but it made everything harder and tiring. Arthur and Kai jumped inside the ship, and cut the ropes that were tied around the trees.

    As they were leaving with the ship, an earthquake happened on the ind. The underground city copsed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, ridge. You weren¡¯t that bad, but this was the only way for us to survive¡­¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°An ind, look, Arthur!¡± Kai jumped in joy.

    After both of them left that ind, it became clear none of them knew how to sail. Not sail itself, that they could somewhat do, but find the right direction was the hardest thing both of them encountered in their lives.

    ¡°An ind? Hahaha, finally. We were almost out of supplies.¡± said Arthur.

    They did not know what ind that was, but it was their only option. Kai had told Arthur during their trip that some inds don¡¯t have people living in them, or that the people in said ind are not friendly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope this ind is not a living hell.¡±

    The ind they went on was tiny. One could travel from one side to the other in thirty minutes. And it was not empty. There were some houses scattered around the ind, but nothingpared to a city. In fact, it was hard to call it a vige.

    Arthur tied up the ship to some trees to keep it there and then left with Kai. No one came to see who they were, or what they were doing on the ind. Everyone only gazed at them from afar, hiding behind trees or inside their houses.

    ¡°They don¡¯t seem to like us, Kai.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it is understandable.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s try our best to get some food around here, and leave as soon as possible to go somewhere else. Maybe someone on this ind can at least give us directions.¡±

    They ventured inside the ind, which looked simr to almost all others, with trees, bushes and various types of animals. It would be hard to find enough food for them to leave, at least not in a short period.

    ¡°All boxes inside our ship have magical runes so the food doesn¡¯t spoil, right? The only thing I can think of is for us to fish and fill these boxes with it.¡± Kai said.

    ¡°Good idea. We can fish from our ship, so there¡¯s no need to find a ce to sleep. But we still need two fishing rods and bait.¡±

    Before they could do anything, Arthur felt a horrible pain all over his body, and he fell. Kai couldn¡¯t understand what had happened.

    Arthur rolled on the ground, and his eyes turned white. Some images appeared like dormant memories.

    ¡°I¡¯m the Lord of Dragons!¡±

    ¡°You cannot win against me!¡±

    It was Arthur, but in his dragon form. He was huge and had ck scales that looked like the void itself. Arthur faced 8 mysterious people he had never seen, but these were powerful people. Almost all dragons died in their hands, and Arthur was one of thest.

    ¡°It is over, cidusax. Hand us the key!¡±

    ¡°Never, you bastards. Fight me if you¡¯re brave enough!¡±

    Then Arthur woke up, clueless about what happened.

 Chapter 41

    ¡°Arthur? Arthur?¡±

    Kai grabbed both of Arthur¡¯s arms and moved him like a madman to see if he answered, but Arthur stood there motionless. It happened out of a sudden, and Kai did not know how to act in such a situation.

    Arthur woke up after a few minutes, and it took him some time to figure out what had happened.

    ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, to be honest. Visions? Memories? Who knows? Let¡¯s get back to what we need to do.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    It was not a good thing to keep asking Arthur about that, so Kai let it go and focused on the task in hand, and that was to find a fishing rod and bait.

    They needed food to leave the ind and get to the next big ind, where Arthur nned on hiring a crew and change his ship. Fish was the easiest food to get, and that¡¯s what they aimed for.

    A sturdy stick, vines, and a stone to make the hook. It was all it took to make them fish rods, and Arthur had to do the worst part.

    ¡°Seriously? I have to use my ws to shape this stone into a hook? This is no fun at all.¡±

    ¡°Someone has to do it¡­¡±

    .

    In no time, two fishing rods were in their hands. The baits? Worms, and it was Kai who had to get them. After getting a bag filled with them, they both got back to the ship, who looked the same as when they left.

    ¡°We still need water, so I¡¯ll get that while you fish.¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°Right, I almost forgot about that. Good job!¡± Kai gave a thumbs up and fished.

    Arthur grabbed a few barrels made of wood and left the ship. He nned on filling them with drinkable water.

    For people to be living on that ind, it had to have some kind of water source, or else everyone there would die. Arthur found one after looking for a few minutes. A crystal clear river which cut through half of the ind.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡±

    Arthur had six barrels. Each one of these barrels had a magical rune carved into it. It was a rune created to purify water instantly, and also keep it at a pleasant temperature. He filled all the barrels without a problem, and then left.

    A head came out of the water right after he left and stared in his direction. It was a person, but this person had fishlike features.

    ¡°I¡¯m back! How¡¯s the fishing going?¡±

    The water barrels went to the same ce they were before, and Arthur got a fishing rod as well to help Kai.

    ¡°It¡¯s good. Look at how many we¡¯ve got.¡± Kai showed the box, and it had at least 20 fish in it. It was a good amount, considering he started not too long ago.

    ¡°Nice. Everything is going in the right direction. The only problem is how we get information to reach a decent ind from here?¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, a map, maybe? Haha.¡±

    A map. Arthur wanted to punch himself so hard. They stole ridge¡¯s ship but never explored the insides of it. ridge absolutely had a map and other tools to help with his navigation, like apass.

    Arthur left the fishing and went to the captain¡¯s room. It was a mess, with many things scattered everywhere. ridge was not the type of person to organize his stuff, it seemed.

    After a long and arduous search, Arthur found what he was looking for. A map and apass.

    The map was not fullyplete. It was understandable as there were a lot of ces they did not explore, so how could there be a map to it? But the important thing was that the ind they were currently on was on the map.

    ¡°Hm, so if we go in this direction, we can reach a big city in about 5 days. It is not as far as I thought. Perhaps we can leave tomorrow?¡±

    Arthur returned and gave the good news to Kai, who jumped in joy. The city was not that far, so there was no need for them to get tons of food. But they still needed some, so both Arthur and Kai prepared the things for the trip, and left the small ind the next day.

    ~~~~

    Now, with apass, it was easy to go in the right direction, and not only go around guessing. Arthur and Kai sailed towards Athegas, one of the most known cities for pirates.

    During five days, all they did was eat fish, and talk about nonsense. It was not a pleasant trip, and as they got closer to Athegas, they had to worry about other ships trying to steal from them.

    Arthur did not know if it was his luck, or perhaps people did not attack others near Athegas, but it everything went well, and no one attacked them.

    ¡°That¡¯s a relief, because we have such a scary crew to defend the ship.¡± Arthur looked around and saw the empty deck¡­

    ¡°Look, that¡¯s the ind, and that¡¯s the c- damn. This city is enormous!¡± said Kai as he pointed toward the ind.

    It differedpletely from all the other cities Arthur saw on these inds. It looked immense, with tall buildings, walls, towers. There weren¡¯t many buildings made of wood in the city. Most were more well-designed and stone-made.

    There was a constant stream of ships getting in and out of Athegas. It showed themerce was vivid, and it was a good ce to spend money and buy things you couldn¡¯t find in other ces.

    Arthur went to the port area and left his ship there. There were some people responsible for taking care of the ships, and you did not even have to pay them, as the rulers of Athegas did.

    A group of guards waited at the port¡¯s entrance. It was the ce where they checked if you had anything illegal, or were a criminal on the run. Everything was fine with both Arthur and Kai, so they went in without problems.

    ¡°Look at this ce.¡±

    They crowded the streets of Athegas had all kinds of people, but mostly pirates. As always, the first thing they had to do was find a ce to stay, and that was easy considering the tons of inns Athegas had at its disposal.

    Arthur chose one, and the next thing he needed to do was start his announcement. They needed a crew, and Athegas was the best ce to build one.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go in the pirates¡¯ guild to register our ship, and me and you as leader and vice-leader. I heard they can also promote your recruiting announcement, so that¡¯s good.¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go search for a ce to change our ship and stuff. And also a ce to buy us new clothes.¡±

    Arthur gave Kai some gold coins, and they parted ways.

    The pirates¡¯ guild was the most famous guild in these areas. It worked just like the mercenaries guild back on thend. Anyone who had a crew or wanted to get one had to register in this guild. It was how they could get tasks, andpleting them would grant them mary rewards and also fame.

    ¡°Wee to the pirates¡¯ guild. How can I help you?¡±

    ¡°I want to register a ship and crew. I¡¯m still building the crew, so maybe you can also announce we are hiring?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Fill this form, and you¡¯re good to go.¡±

    The form asked a few informations, but nothing personal that would harm Arthur. The most important part of the form was the name. Arthur went with Frostpeak to draw attention from his friends, and make it easier for him to find them.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the form.¡±

    ¡°Okay, and about the announcement. We can help with that. You cane here in three days, as we will announce today.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Arthur got himself a silver badge. The lowest badge from the guild was bronze, and that was what most newly registered pirates got. Arthur had a different one just because of his strength.

    He left and returned to the inn, just to find Kai with a new set of clothes for him. It looked like the standard pirate clothes, but there was also an expensive cloak, which made them look more important.

    ¡°Damn, Kai. With your white hair, you¡¯re looking like a vampire.¡±

    ¡°A vampire? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a monster.¡±

    ¡°Wow, thank you. Here I was thinking it was a good thing.¡±

    ¡°Did you find someone willing to customize our ship?¡±

    ¡°Not only that, but they are doing it as we speak. They said it will take them three to four days.¡±

    ¡°Good job. I knew I could count on you.¡±

    Arthur was tired after sailing for so long, but there was still a ce he wanted to explore in Athegas.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I leveled up. Tonight Athegas will know my wraith. Athegas night-club, prepare because I¡¯ming.¡±

 Chapter 42

    Chapter 42

    The nightclub of Athegas. Arthur was going there for some fun, and perhaps finally level up. It had been some crazy days that didn¡¯t let him do what he wanted.

    Inside of this nightclub, there were a lot of women dancing without their clothes on. All of them were gorgeous, and Arthur got a drink to enjoy the view.

    After which, he went to a more private room with a few girls. Difficult times required some fucking from time to time.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡±

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    The girls moaned as Arthur did things they never thought it was possible. It seemed people in that world weren¡¯t that good at sex. Anyway, Arthur fucked them until he finally leveled up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll use these free pointster. It¡¯s only one level, after all.¡±

    As he was thinking if he should fuck more, someone showed up out of a sudden, and was talking with him.

    ¡°Excuse me? Aren¡¯t you a pirate?¡±

    Arthur looked up at the person, scanning him. It looked like an ordinary youth with ck-hair just like most people around that area.

    ¡°Yes, I am. Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°My family is in danger. Could you help me? Please?¡±

    When the youth said that, Arthur knew exactly what it was, a scam. The youth would probably try to steal him or ask for money. Not wanting to lose time, Arthur tossed a few silver coins to the youth.

    .

    ¡°Take it. If you try to steal me in the future, don¡¯t expect me to be this merciful.¡±

    It shocked the youth to see his n failing this easily.

    ¡°How did you know? You look a little older than me. You shouldn¡¯t be that smart.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m a thousand year dragon in disguise. Who knows?¡±

    ¡°Ha, nice one. I¡¯m sorry. These are not simple times for some of us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Be careful out there.¡±

    With that, the youth left. Arthur felt the encounter was rather strange, but maybe it was a normal urrence for those who live in Athegas.

    ~~~~

    The days passed, and it was time for the test to enter Arthur¡¯s crew. The pirates¡¯ guild did an amazing job of spreading the word around the city.

    Arthur walked in inside the pirates¡¯ guild, and whispering started the moment he did so.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Captain Arthur? He¡¯s so young.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let his age fool you. Anyone with a decent strength can tell just by looking that Captain Arthur is not simple.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. I wish I could enter the test for his crew. Ahh, these new crews have such adventures.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know the feeling.¡±

    ¡°Sir, please.¡± The woman behind the counter asked Arthur to follow her to the room where the test would be.

    Arthur walked for a few moments until he arrived at an enormous room with a ring in the middle, presumably for the fights. There were benches for everyone to sit, and a throne in the middle, facing the ring, for Arthur.

    Many people were waiting for Arthur. These were all the people who wished to take part in the test to enter the crew.

    Young people, old people, man, woman. All kinds of people were there, eagerly waiting for Arthur to show up.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Why do so many people want to join my crew?¡± Arthur gazed at the woman who led him to that room, hoping for an answer.

    ¡°It is normal. A new crew is rare these days, and most people don¡¯t have the chance to enter the most famous ones. So, you can say this is a gold opportunity for most people.¡± The woman said with a bright smile, and Arthur understood everything.

    ¡°They are thinking just because it is a new crew, they will have an easier time getting in. Haha, dream on.¡± thought Arthur, as he smiled wickedly.

    With steady steps, Arthur made his way to the throne that was near the ring. He sat and gazed at all the people who wished to join the crew. Most weren¡¯t that high level, but it was a good start.

    ¡°Everyone is here today for the test. I¡¯ll not make you lose time. I¡¯ll call two of you randomly each time, and you¡¯ll fight. The winner goes to the winners block, where I¡¯ll be doing the test myself. Understood?¡±

    They moved their heads in response. Everyone already expected the test to be about fighting. No one could turn into a pirate without strength, and Arthur couldn¡¯t conquer the ocean with weak people.

    ¡°All right. You, and you!¡±

    Arthur pointed to two random people. Most were of simr level, so there wasn¡¯t a problem of it being unfair. The two chosen stepped inside the ring and prepared themselves to fight.

    Before the fight started, someone walked in out of a sudden. It was Kai who slept too much and waste for the test.

    ¡°Sorry, boss!¡±

    Kai was the vice-leader of the ship, so he needed to watch everything and give his thoughts to Arthur. Anyway, now that he arrived and sat near Arthur, the fights began.

    ~~~~

    After two hours of fighting, 12 participants passed to the second test. Out of these 12, Arthur was interested in only 3.

    ¡°All right. All of you were waiting for another test to join my crew. That¡¯s all bullshit. We are here for two hours already and I have more things to do. You are all now part of the Frostpeak crew. Wee!¡±

    ¡°Here, a new set of clothing to each one of you, and 1 gold coin. Prepare yourselves because we will leave in two days.¡±

    ¡°Our ship is still in maintenance, but I expect all of you to meet me in the port in two days, at dawn. Understood?¡±

    All of them nodded in response. They had smiles all over, and couldn¡¯t believe they finally entered a pirate crew. It was like a dream, and now they would have the chance to explore the oceans and make a fortune for themselves.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Everything went well, right?¡± asked Kai as he and Arthur walked through the streets of Athegas, returning to their room.

    ¡°Yeah, it did. Tomorrow we should look for a decent task in the pirates¡¯ guild for us. We need to make a lot of money and be famous.¡±

    ¡°To find your friends? Man, I¡¯m so excited to meet them. Are they all strong like you?¡±

    ¡°They are strong, but I¡¯m the strongest.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±

    The afternoon sun shone brightly at the sky, and the people who were at the street passed by, taking off their jackets. A blue sky in the city of Athegas was not a rare asion, but it was the first time Arthur could stop and appreciate it.

    Kai left, stating he wanted to see how the ship was going. Arthur let him take care of that, saying nothing. It was like a test to see if he was ready to be the vice-leader.

    ¡°You piece of shit! I told you to give me 1 gold coin by the end of the week. What¡¯s this shit?¡± Someone yelled from an alley, and Arthur heard everything as he passed by.

    He wouldn¡¯t mingle in the business of others, but the person who was being threatened was someone he knew.

    ¡°The youth from the nightclub!¡±

    Arthur went to the dark alley, as stealthily as he could, to avoid being noticed. The youth was all beaten up, and three older man were around him. These older men looked like thugs, and were demanding money from the youth.

    ¡°It seems he has no choice but to steal. Damn it. How unfair¡­¡±

    They punched, kicked, and said disgusting words to the youth. All of that for money. It was cruel, and Arthur couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    ¡°Hey, you three pieces of shit. How about fighting against me?¡±

    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± the leader of the thugs looked at the youth and said, ¡°did you bring back up? Hahaha, it is worthless.¡±

    ¡°Stab him!¡± The leader yelled, and the two men ran in Arthur¡¯s direction, wielding rusty knives.

    The one at the front thought he could stab Arthur easily, but got his hand grabbed and squeezed, almost turning the bones into dust.

    ¡°Ahhhhh! Fuck, my hand!¡±

    Before the man could do anything else, Arthur pped him, making him faint. The other one, who was slightly behind, saw everything, and thought for a moment if he should go in. That hesitation cost him, as Arthur was now the one going towards him, breaking both of his arms and knocking him out.

    The leader saw everything and his legs trembled at how strong Arthur was. He knew he would be the next, so he grabbed the youth and pointed a knife at him.

    ¡°Try anything against me and this youth dies! I¡¯m war-¡± before he could finish the sentence, Arthur had thrown up the rusty knife from the man, and it stabbed the leader¡¯s throat. He was dead.

    ¡°It is you. Thank you for saving me!¡± The youth fell and cried.

    ¡°Hey, kid. Ever dreamed of bing a pirate?¡±

 Chapter 43

    <h2 style="font-size: 22.4px;">43 The Ind of Death

    </h2>

    The youth couldn''t believe Arthur offered that. Only a few could be pirates one day, and he was sure he wasn''t one of these people.

    "Are you serious? I''m not that good at fighting."

    "I''m serious. What do you say? I''m Captain Arthur from the Frostpeak crew." Arthur said it proudly.

    "Whoa! That''s some cool names. You saved my life, so I owe you. I promise to work hard for the crew."

    "That''s the spirit. What''s your name, anyway?"

    "I''m Joshua, Captain Arthur."

    "It is a pleasure to meet you." Arthur smiled and shook hands with Joshua.

    With that, the Frostpeak crew got a new member. The reason for Arthur recruiting Joshua was not only because he saved him, and looked like someone who need help. No, there was more to it. Arthur scanned Joshua and knew he could be someone great in the stealth art. Joshua was a thief, after all.

    "Come on," Arthur waved for Joshua to follow him, "we will go to our inn room. The vice-captain will be there and he can exin a lot to you."

    "Okay!" Joshua couldn''t hold his happiness, even more after Arthur tossed him a new pair of clothes and said it was a gift for entering the crew.

    After that encounter, the days passed peacefully. Arthur and Kai waited for their ship toe out of the maintenance. It was a ship from ridge, so it was a must. They changed a little to look more authentic to their crew.

    ? Everyone from the Frostpeak crew, including Joshua, were at dawn in the port, amazed by their new ship.

    It was an enormous wooden ship. Most parts of it were enhanced with magic, and sturdier than most materials out there. The thing that got the attention was the gigantic statue of a dragon at the ship''s edge.

    Kai was the one who had the idea of putting that type of statue there. There were a lot of options, but he couldn''t find another one that fit more in their style than the dragon.

    "What do you guys think?"

    "Extraordinary!"

    "The most beautiful thing I have ever seen!"

    "Is this even a ship? It looks like a vehicle from the Gods!"

    All the crew members were happy with their new ship, and they all went inside to see the interior. Arthur did the same, but couldn''t stay there for too long.

    "Hey, Kai. Take care of them while I''m off. I''ll get us our first mission!"

    "Really? Woooohoo!" Kai yelled, and all the others did the same even without knowing what the reason behind it was...

    Arthur thought if he had formed a crew of madmen...

    ~~~~

    The pirates'' guild mission board had many tasks, ranging from various types of difficulties. Arthur was of silver rank, so there were a lot of tasks he could ept.

    "Hmm, which one should I pick?" he read most tasks, and a few caught his attention.

    "Let''s go with this one."

    It was a task about investigating a vige on an ind a little far from Athegas. Arthur chose that one because it had the hardest difficult, which meant more rewards. He also got that one because it looked a lot like stuff the Doom Order would do, and he wanted to wipe those bastards.

    With that, Arthur returned to the ship and showed his crew the task he got. All of them liked it. To be fair, all of them wanted to go out on their first adventure, so any task Arthur showed up with would be awesome to them.

    "We can leave now if everyone is willing." said Arthur, looking to all crew members. Kai had already stocked the food for them the day before, so they could indeed leave at that moment. It was still early in the morning, so it was, in fact, the best time to leave.

    "Fuck, let''s do it." They yelled in excitement.

    "Let''s move then!"

    ~~~~

    Even though it was their first mission, all of them knew how to sail, and Arthur could now stay in his captain''s cabin without having to worry about these things.

    Their destination was a ce called The Ind of Death. People disappeared from this ind, and trees lost life, looking like a lifeless ind. Most of the people who lived there left after these strange events.

    Arthur''s task was to investigate and see what caused that to the ind, and capture whoever was behind it. He was sure the Doom Order had something to do with it.

    A few knocks on the door. Someone was knocking at the captain''s cabin.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "Come in." said Arthur as he stopped looking at the map and focused on whoever wasing.

    It was a beautiful red-haired woman. She wore the same pirate most people were wearing, but it gave her a unique sexy feeling.

    "Ha! What brings you here?"

    "I- I just wanted to see if you needed anything..." Ha had her hands behind her back, and the red-color in her cheeks was clear to anyone who looked at her.

    It happened so out of a sudden that it shocked Arthur, too.

    "I''m doing all right, thank you." said Arthur.

    "Oh, okay..." Ha looked down after hearing that.

    "You know what? I bought a brewing kit before leaving and wanted to test out some potions. Would you like to help me?"

    "Really?" Ha jumped and smiled.

    It wasn''t Arthur who bought the brewing kit, but Kai.

    "Well, I asked him so I''m not lying." thought Arthur.

    Arthur could barely remember thest time he brew a potion. It felt like ages ago. As he was out of practice, he brewed a few easy healing potions. They would probably use it in the task toe.

    "Ha, cut this into pieces for me." He gave her a Drowsy Bush, amon ingredient used in healing potions. It was one of the cheapest, so that''s why Arthur bought it.

    Arthur controlled the heat while Ha cut that into pieces. Now that he had a proper brewing kit, he didn''t actually need to use his mana to create a me. There was a mana crystal embedded in the brewing kit, and that acted just the same.

    There was only one more ingredient for the basic healing potion, and that was Serpent''s Feather. It was alsomon, but it cost a little more than the Drowsy Bush, but not that much more.

    He tossed everything inside the cauldron, and in 5 minutes, the liquid was ready. It was dark-red and smelled like flowers. Arthur grabbed his empty sks and filled each one of them with the liquid.

    "Thank you Ha, for your help."

    "It- it was nothing. I had fun." Ha smiled.

    Right after Arthur finished filling the sks, Kai rushed in inside the cabin.

    "Captain, there is a shiping in our direction, and it doesn''t seem friendly."

    "Is that so?"

    It was a normal urrence for pirates to attack each other. Arthur knew it would happen. Usually what made others think if they should try something or not was the fame of the crew or ship. Arthur was unknown to most people, so there was nothing that stopped them.

    The ship was smaller than Arthur''s ship, and with his outstanding dragon vision, he saw from afar the captain of said ship, and he had a bronze te on his chest.

    "A mere bronze pirate wants to take on me? Ha, that''s funny."

    "Everyone, get ready." Arthur yelled, and his crew got their weapons and prepare for a fight. Ha, who was next to Arthur, sped to her magical scepter.

    The unknown ship didn''t throw spells, which was weird considering the spells were like the ship''s cannons. Perhaps it was a crew without a single mage? No, that couldn''t be the case. Even the worst crew had one.

    It got closer and stopped a few meters from Arthur''s ship. The captain was the only one who stepped forward to talk, as everyone else from the crew stood still.

    "Hello there. I''m Captain Jack. What brings you to these parts?"

    This Captain Jack was young, really young. It was rare for someone that young to be captain of a ship. Arthur was the exception because he was just too strong whenpared to normal people.

    "We are currently on our way to a task. It would be the best if there isn''t any problems in the way, as I hate wasting time." Arthur said and let his silver badge exposed.

    "A silver badge pirate around here, that''s rare. All right. Captain Jack will not mingle in your business because I''m a nice guy. It is a pleas-"

    Before Captain Jack could finish, an unknown sea monster attacked his ship, making it moved because of the impact.

    "A sea beast is attacking. Hey, I know we aren''t friends yet, but could you help Captain Jack? Pleaseee!!!"

    Arthur looked at his crew, and in the end, helped the stranger.

    "All right. But you owe me a favor."

 Chapter 44

    The attack was sudden, and Captain Jack wasn¡¯t sure he could win against that beast. Many powerful ones roamed around the oceans, and sometimes an attack of such beast means death.

    It was a good thing he met Arthur, who would help him deal with it for a favor. A favor? What could Captain Jack possibly do that Arthur couldn¡¯t? That¡¯s what he had in mind when he epted such an offer.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Frostpeak. This is our first test together! Kill the beast!¡± yelled Arthur, to improve everyone¡¯s morale.

    A tremendous ssh of water, and a gigantic beast came out of the water. It had at least 20 tentacles and was half the size of Jack¡¯s ship. It was like a huge octopus with a scary face and teeth.

    Arthur ordered the members of his crew to chant their spells and aim at the beast. He did not know how he would attack such a beast in meleebat. The only part he could think of attacking was the tentacles. So, that¡¯s what he did.

    With a skillful jump, Arthur got inside Jack¡¯s ship. Everyone who was inside was surprised. Both ships were a little farther from each other and Arthur did that anyway, which only proved he wasn¡¯t simple.

    One tentacle was aimed at an important part of the ship. Arthur saw that and intervened. The huge tentacle came, and Arthur grabbed it with his bare hands. He did not stop there, and used all of his strength to throw the beast up in the sky, and it fell into the ocean again.

    ¡°Whoa! That¡¯s fucking impressive.¡± said Jack with his mouth wide open.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down. He¡¯sing back!¡± that sentence from Arthur made everyone wake up from their daydreams and realize the beast was still alive and well.

    The huge octopus emerged from the water again, and this time it was even angrier. It had some fear of Arthur, who did something extraordinary.

    .

    It was that the spells Arthur¡¯s crew cast before arrived. Many, but most of them were acid shots. Acid shots were good against these types of beasts, as water and fire spells were mostly useless. At least these low-level types of spells.

    All spells hit the target, and the octopus roared in pain. Arthur noticed how a few parts of its body were melting. A proof that it was weak to the acid shots.

    ¡°Keep throwing acid shots. It seems it¡¯s effective!¡±

    Jack¡¯s crew did not move yet, and only watched the situation unfold. But after hearing that, Jack yelled, asking for them to help to cast acid shots as well. It was an elementary spell, so almost all mages knew that.

    ¡°Attack! Our friend here is looking at us and thinking we arezy. We are notzy!¡± Jack yelled.

    A quick nce from Arthur made Jack ashamed, as he thought he and his crew were useless in that fight.

    The beast tried to attack multiple times, but it seemed it could only attack using its tentacles, or perhaps try to bite. It did not know any spell or special attack that could cause them trouble.

    For that reason, the barricade of acid shots were too much for the beast to handle, and it returned to the ocean, hurt.

    ¡°Woo-hoo. We did it!¡± Jack screamed in joy after winning his first battle with his crew.

    ¡°Good job!¡± said Arthur.

    ~~~~

    ¡°So what are you doing around here, Jack?¡± Arthur asked. He and Jack came to the captain¡¯s cabin of Jack¡¯s ship to have a little talk.

    ¡°We¡¯re also a new crew, and got a task not that far from here. But we met you, and I tried my best to act strong.¡± Jack scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

    He and his crew were on their way to their first task when he saw Arthur sailing in his direction. He couldn¡¯t change the route or it would only seem like he was weak and afraid, so he stood up and confront Arthur. It was a good thing Arthur wasn¡¯t one of these madmen who killed for nothing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. We are brothers in battle now, right? If you ever need something, you can alwayse and ask Frostpeak crew for help, or me.¡± Arthur got up from the chair and gave his hand for Jack to shake.

    They did shook hands, and Jack couldn¡¯t hold his smile. ¡°You can always ask Captain Jack or my crew for anything too!¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°How was it?¡± Kai was the first one to ask. He was curious about what both captains were talking about.

    ¡°He¡¯s a good guy. I told him he could count on me or my crew for help, and he said the same for him and his crew.¡±

    ¡°Well, well. It seems we got our first ocean friend.¡± everyone of the crewughed.

    The fight against the beast was over. Arthur got nothing of value from the beast, but he got a new friend, which was priceless.

    It was time for them to get back on track and go towards the Ind of Death, which wasn¡¯t that far from the ce they were.

    Arthur returned to his daily routine of brewing a few potions, talking to his crew to get to know them better, and sleeping. After he turned into a dragon, he was sleeping a lot.

    After three more days, they finally reached the Ind of Death.

    From afar, one could already tell it wasn¡¯t a normal ind, as most of the vegetation was dead, as if a gue had passed on the ind.

    There was a vige right on the shore, and it was empty. The houses weren¡¯t destroyed or anything, but no one lived there. It was as if everyone had vanished in one night.

    They stopped their ship and went out to explore their surroundings.

    ¡°What the hell happened here?¡± asked Kai as he moved his head from right to left, scanning the now ghost vige.

    No one had an answer for that question, because that was what they were there to discover.

    ¡°All right, everyone, split up in groups of two or three. Me and Kai will go together. If anything happens, scream and the others around will help you.¡± said Arthur. Everyone nodded their heads and thought it was a reasonable action. They had to investigate anyway, and it was hard to do that when everyone was together.

    Arthur and Kai entered one house. It was a woody house, simple with only a few pieces of furniture. But everything looked in order, and you could still see the clothing and other objects inside the house.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this feel like whoever lived inside this house vanished out of a sudden? Look at these belongings who are still here as if nothing happened.¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°Yeah, it feels that way.¡± Kai agreed with that line of thought.

    They saw nothing out of the ordinary in that house, so they went to the next, and the next, and the next.

    Each one house they went, it was all the same. All the belongings were still inside the houses, as if everyone had just disappeared in seconds. There was nothing new until Arthur and Kai went to the biggest house in the vige, the chief¡¯s house.

    All viges had a chief, and it was easy to spot where they lived because usually it was the biggest and prettiest house. The one Arthur and Kai were going inside, for example, wasn¡¯t woody but of rock. And it also got a second floor. Completely different from the rest of the vige.

    Once inside, it didn¡¯t look like the other houses. Not because it had a lot more furniture and space, but because the belongings weren¡¯t there, as if whoever lived there vanished. Someone packed their stuff and left.

    ¡°Let¡¯s split and explore.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    They both kept their guards up and explored everything in that house.

    Arthur looked inside the bedrooms, the bathroom, kitchen, but found nothing, until he got into a library.

    It was all dusty, but it had many bookshelves filled with books. Arthur saw a few footprints on the floor that lead directly into one shelf. He already guessed what it was. A secret passage.

    With one pull, Arthur grabbed the books of said bookshelf, and a passage opened on the wall.

    He went down some stairs and was inside a ce that looked like a basement. It had more books in there, but once Arthur grabbed one of these to look, he gasped his mouth after discovering what these books were about.

    ¡°Rituals and demonic stuff. Damn it. Is it that fucking Doom Order again?¡±

    There was even a strange circle on the floor, which looked like a ce where they did rituals. It was at that moment that Arthur felt as if someone was watching him, and a mysterious voice made all of his hairs stood up.

    It was supposed to be a ghost down. That was the first thought inside Arthur¡¯s mind, and he quickly entered abat stance.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

 Chapter 45

    Arthur turned around just to see someone he never saw before standing behind him. At first, he thought it was an enemy, possibly from the Doom Order, but it seemed it wasn¡¯t the case.

    ¡°Are you here to help me? Please!¡± she begged for Arthur¡¯s help.

    The person who was there in the basement was a good-looking woman, but all the dirty hid some of her beauty. She looked like a mess.

    ¡°Are you okay? What happened?¡± said Arthur, trying to understand more about the situation.

    ¡°It¡¯s all master¡¯s fault. He wanted power and did this, all of this!¡± she got on her knees and cried.

    ¡°Master? Are you talking about the chief of this vige?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that bastard. He offered the entire vige as a sacrifice to get power. Some masked people came a few weeks ago and convinced him of this bullshit.¡±

    .

    The Doom Order convinced the chief of that vige to use everyone as a sacrifice, presumably to summon a demon, as that was what they did every time.

    ¡°I¡¯m Arthur, and I promise I won¡¯t hurt you. What¡¯s your name?¡± Arthur said softly and got a little closer to the girl.

    ¡°I- I¡¯m Dara. I used to work as a servant of the chief before everything happened. Now, I have nowhere to go¡­¡±

    Dara had nowhere to go after all that crazy shit happened. She wasn¡¯t particrly strong. At least her level didn¡¯t show that, but Arthur couldn¡¯t let her in that ce.

    ¡°I¡¯m a captain of a crew. I can see you¡¯re not good at fighting, but I can hire you to be my assistant. Take care of meetings, money, and these kinds of stuff. What do you say? You can meet the rest of the crew and see if they are to your liking. If not, then I can just give you a ride to some city nearby.¡±

    It was an excellent offer, and Dara epted it. Arthur was not forcing her to be his assistant, and even offered her a ride if she declined it.

    The Doom Order did the same thing they tried back on the ind Arthur was staying, but this time it worked. What was the reason behind summoning these demons? It shouldn¡¯t be a thing for humans to do.

    ¡°There are a lot of ways to get power. Why go into the dark side? Is it that much easier?¡± thought Arthur.

    Kai showed up right after, surprised to see someone else inside the house.

    ¡°This is my vice-captain, Kai. He will get you new clothes and food.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. Come. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Both Dara and Kai left, leaving Arthur alone in that dusty basement.

    The task was to uncover what happened on that ind, and Arthur did just that. He was almost certain the summoned demon was not around anymore, and everyone from the Doom Order had already left as well. There was only one thing to do, and that was to get everything rted to the Doom Order as proof, and see if he could get the help of someone to hunt these crazy people before it¡¯s toote.

    Arthur grabbed these books and tossed them inside his magical backpack. It should be enough, but he still wanted to find more before leaving.

    What else the Doom Order could hide? All of its members used masks to hide their identity. But what about the chief of that vige? After doing what he did, he surely was now a member of the order, and it was someone Dara knew well.

    ¡°Maybe Dara can help me track this man? That¡¯s my only bet.¡± thought Arthur.

    After getting everything he could from that basement, he left to meet the rest of his crew and talk about what he discovered it.

    Dara was already outside chatting with everyone, especially with Ha. It was easier for her to talk with other girls, and there were a few of them in Arthur¡¯s crew.

    ¡°She will get along with Jane and the others. How long it will take until I find them?¡± Arthur thought.

    Everyone was together now, and he exined everything, and asked if Dara could help him track the vige¡¯s chief.

    ¡°I could try, I guess.¡± Dara stopped for a moment to recollect all of her thoughts, and talked about everything she knew about the man.

    ¡°His name is Runo. He seemed like a nice guy before. I don¡¯t know what these people promised him to change him so drastically. Anyway, he has a son, and I¡¯m not sure if his son is dead or is helping him. Even though he lived here, he told me once he had family on an ind called Liset, which is far from here.¡±

    Arthur listened to everything carefully and went after that guy. Their task had no time limit, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem if they delivered the books as proof after finding Runo.

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s find that man, and -¡± before Arthur could finish, an earthquake erupted throughout the ind. It happened out of a sudden, and no one knew the reason behind it.

    ¡°Watch out everyone. It could be a beast, or someone!¡± yelled Arthur.

    When everyone looked up, they couldn¡¯t believe it. Five pirs erupted from the ground, and a building that looked like a temple came out of the ground onto the surface, destroying everything in its path. That caused the earthquake.

    They all stood still and waited for the temple to fully emerge. It was huge, simr to that pce in the underground city. No one said a word, and some even forgot to breathe.

    ¡°What the hell is that? Should we look?¡± Kai asked.

    Exploring that ce was not in Arthur¡¯s n, but he couldn¡¯t leave without taking at least a look in that strange building. He took only a few members with him.

    Arthur and Kai brought Joshua and Ha along. Joshua was that guy Arthur helped in the alley, and Ha, the girl that helped him with the potions.

    ¡°Joshua, I¡¯m counting on you. This ce smells like it¡¯s infested with traps, and I hope you¡¯re good at spotting those.¡± said Arthur as they walked in the strange building direction.

    ¡°Yeah. Different from the other beggars, I¡¯ve never stepped in a mouse trap before, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Joshua said that in a way that looked like he was being serious.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Arthur thought if getting Joshua into his crew had been a good idea.

 Chapter 46

    The mysterious building was in the middle of the ind, which wasn¡¯t big. Arthur and his friends got there in a few minutes.

    It was a lifeless ce. All the surrounding trees were dead, just like most of the ind. There were no beasts roaming around. It looked like a desert ce.

    Even with all of that, Arthur knew he couldn¡¯t let his guard down in a ce like that one. Many people died just like that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down. We never know what¡¯s in the shadows.¡± Arthur reminded everyone as they walked inside the temple.

    There was nothing in the first part of the temple. It was just an open area with a few pieces of furniture, but that was all. The only thing that ce had was dirt, which was understandable given the fact the temple just emerged from the ground.

    Arthur kept going, keeping his guard up and look for anything out of the ordinary. Eventually, they all reached a wall with a lot of paintings on it.

    Not only that, but there were some things written on that wall. Things no one could understand, except Arthur.

    ¡°This is written in the dragon¡¯s tongue. What the hell?¡±

    .

    Arthur had never studied thenguage spoken by dragons, but he somehow learned it after turning into one. Some pictures were next to those words, which seemed to work together to tell a story.

    ¡°The story of the dragons, that¡¯s incredible.¡± said Arthur.

    ¡°You know how to read that? That¡¯s impressive. Where did you learn it?¡± Ha and Joshua were curious, and only Kai knew the truth about Arthur.

    He got closer to the wall, and went to the beginning of it, to read all the story.

    ¡°The dragons were the first creatures to rule,¡±

    ¡°They ruled the dream realm before the humans even existed, and all the other beasts had to obey them,¡±

    ¡°Their leader, cidusax, was the wisest, and the strongest,¡±

    Arthur paused at that, because, well, he was cidusax. It was a thing he did not understand yet because he had no memories of living a thousand years as a dragon, at least not until that point.

    ¡°Their downfall came when the Gods came,¡±

    ¡°They fought for countless years, and in the end, almost all dragons got wipe out.¡±

    He read all the story aloud, and everyone had their mouth¡¯s wide open. It was known that humans were the ones that killed the dragons, but it wasn¡¯t the case.

    The story on that wall stated that the ¡®Gods¡¯ came and wipe almost all dragons. But who were they? Are they truly gods or just humans with immense strength?

    Arthur had no answer for that, and felt he had learned nothing extraordinary, until he read thest part that talked about the Sky City.

    ¡°Sky City. That¡¯s the ce the wyvern told me to go to get more information!¡± thought Arthur.

    It said that only one of its kind could find where the Sky City was, and it said that the Sky City never stays in the same ce.

    ¡°So it¡¯s basically a floating city that moves around in the sky, and you can only enter it if you¡¯re a dragon? Damn, it will be hard to find this thing.¡±

    Everyone wanted to learn more about the story of the dragons, just like Arthur.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s explore this ce more and see if there¡¯s other interesting things.¡± said Arthur.

    They all kept walking, and it was hard to see the more they went inside that ce. For Arthur and Kai, who could see in the dark, it was no problem. The two of them led the way, eventually reaching an enormous door.

    There was no mechanism to open, and all of them tried everything to move that damn door, but nothing happened. Until Arthur got an idea.

    Everything inside that ce talked about dragons, and how you could only enter the Sky City if you were a dragon, so he wondered if that was also the case for that door.

    Arthur used his ws to cut his hand and dripped blood on the door. Nothing happened at first, but once all the blood was all over the door, it shone in a reddish color, and opened.

    ¡°It worked. How?¡± Everyone thought the door could be opened with any type of blood, obviously. Only Kai knew Arthur was a dragon, just like the ones they read about.

    They walked in inside that mysterious room. It had only a few things inside, and almost all of it was old and dusty. The only thing that got their attention was the gold coins lying around the corner, so Arthur ordered Kai to get those and count everything inside the ship.

    Arthur had another thing in mind. Since the moment he stepped inside that room, it was as if something was calling him. He looked around to see what caused that feeling, and reached the corner of the room, where a few dusty items stood.

    It was a two-handed sword with dust all over it. The material of it was ck, and when Arthur tried to move it, it was almost impossible.

    ¡°Damn it. This thing weighs a ton!¡± Arthur couldn¡¯t believe it.

    He was not weak, and even using all of his strength, he could barely lift that weapon. The moment he wielded it, it felt like a part of him, as if it was a weapon he used a long time ago.

    ¡°Even though I can¡¯t use it properly, I¡¯ll keep it.¡±

    Alongside that rusty sword, there was a book. Arthur took all the dust from the book using his hand and opened it.

    All of its contents were written in the dragon¡¯s tongue, and the more Arthur read, the more excited he became. It was a book written by an actual dragon, and it contained a few techniques and methods of training they used.

    ¡°This is too good to be true!¡± thought Arthur.

    Arthur grabbed these two things, tossed inside his magical backpack, and looked at the others. As he turned, the room they were in shook, as if another earthquake was on its way.

    ¡°Fuck. Everyone, RUN!¡±

 Chapter 47

    ¡°Move, move!¡± yelled Arthur. Perhaps that ce was linked to the sword or the book, so that was the reason everything was crumbling.

    There was no time to think about these things, and the only thing inside everyone¡¯s mind was to get the hell out of there. Kai got all the gold coins before that, so it was okay.

    They ran through the same way they used to get there, and now everyone knew there was no danger inside, so Arthur and his friends ran like crazy.

    A few pieces of the roof fell, and Arthur had to sidestep a few times to avoid getting hit by those. He even had to grab Joshua, who was running slow, so he wouldn¡¯t get hit.

    ¡°Thank you. You saved my life again!¡± Joshua said with a look of admiration.

    The situation looked critical a few times, making everyone think if they would get out with their lives, but in the end, nothing bad happened. All of them got out of that temple alive, and the ce turned into dust a few momentster.

    ¡°That was close. Imagine dying because of a crumbling building.¡± said Kai.

    .

    ¡°A miserable way of dying, that¡¯s for sure. Anyway, let¡¯s head back and count all the gold coins we got!¡± Arthur said, and all of them nodded in response.

    The ship was nearby, and the rest of the crew was waiting there with anxious looks. They heard the noise, and saw the temple turning into dust, so it was normal to get worried.

    ¡°You¡¯re okay, that¡¯s a relief.¡± said one member from the crew.

    ¡°Not only okay, but richer!¡± Kai tossed all the gold coins inside an empty barrel of the ship, and asked, ¡°who will help me count this?¡±

    They all looked, but no one answered it. And, against all odds, Dara, who Arthur was trying to hire to do just that, asked if she could be the one helping.

    ¡°Can I help? Captain Arthur hired me to do that, anyway.¡± Dara said.

    ¡°Wait. Doesn¡¯t that mean you epted my offer?¡± Arthur smiled at her, and she smiled back. Ha, who was beside Arthur, also looked happy to see Dara joining their crew. It seemed these two girls became friends already.

    From one barrel to another, Kai and Dara counted all the gold coins they got, and it amounted to a whooping 10 thousand coins. It was a lot of money, and Arthur still had tons of treasures inside his backpack, so Frostpeak¡¯s crew was far from being poor.

    Arthur said to everyone he would distribute a few bonuses to everyone after their task was done. They all worked hard, and Arthur wanted to give them a proper sry. A well-paid crew was a happy crew.

    Their next step now was to find Runo, and get information about the Doom Order from him. Dara told Arthur he could be on the ind of Liset, as he had family there. He did not know where Liset was, and had to get the help of a few members of his crew, and a map to find it.

    ¡°It will take us a week to get there, damn. After this task is done, we need to get a good time onnd, because of this sailing is killing me.¡±

    ¡°I agree with the captain.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    There was nothing they could do on that ind anymore, so they could only leave and go towards that man. Arthur traced their routing using the map and apass, and they went sailing in Liset¡¯s direction.

    ~~~~

    After 7 days of constant sailing, Arthur finally arrived at Liset. It was not as big as Athegas, but it was still a big city, not like those viges they usually saw.

    Just like any other city, the guards inspected everyone who walked in, and now that Arthur was a captain, the guards usually were more loose and did not bother him that much.

    ¡°Captain Arthur, all right. You and your crew can go in. Enjoy your time in Liset.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, officer.¡±

    Many people walked around the streets, yelling and selling their goods and services. It was just like any other city. Arthur thought it would be hard to find Runos with that many people, but it turned out not that hard at all.

    ¡°Do you know about someone named Runos?¡± Arthur asked to a thug he found in a dark alley. He beat up the shit out of him, and in the end, got the information he needed.

    ¡°Look, man. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the same person, but there is a Rufos organizing an illegal fighting tournament. Maybe it is the same person you¡¯re after, but please, don¡¯t kill me!¡± the thug begged for his life, and Arthur let him go.

    Based on the rumors, Runos was doing an illegal fighting tournament in the underground area of the city. That was a golden opportunity for Arthur. He could find the man he was looking for, use the tournament to train and even get money out of it.

    Arthur gathered his crew and exined everything. In the end, they decided to only send Arthur as a fighter, and Kai would act as backup. In fact, Kai would bet in all Arthur¡¯s fight to get some money for the crew.

    ¡°You can use these gold coins we just got and bet on me. We will multiply this, hehe he!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s brilliant, captain. You¡¯re such a wise person!¡± Kaiughed together.

    Not that difficult to take part in those illegal fights. Arthur beat up a few thugs, got the information he needed, and went to the ce.

    All he had to do was to fill out a form with the name he would use when fighting, and that¡¯s it. Arthur was not stupid, so he bought a mask so no one could recognize him.

    ¡°All right. You cane back at night for the fights.¡± The man who was watching the door said to Arthur after he gave him the form with his information.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to beat some people up!¡±

 Chapter 48

    The Frostpeak crew was free to do whatever they wanted. Arthur only asked for Kai to cover up Dara for the time being, as Runo could recognize her, and that would ruin their operation. Dara had no problems with that, so everything was good.

    Arthur spent most of the day resting, eating, and trying to gather as much information about the illegal fights as he could. There was almost nothing, but Arthur was sure they were a lot of rich people betting on these fights.

    When the sun set and the moon took over the sky, Arthur dropped everything he was doing and went to the ce where the fights would happen. He wore the same clothing underneath. The only addition was a ck-cloak with a hood and a mask.

    ¡°Death w? Let me see here.¡±

    The guard had the names on the formries they had to fill, so he just looked up, and after 1 minute, he saw Arthur¡¯s name was on the list. Arthur was using the name Death w for these illegal fights.

    ¡°All right. You can enter. Wait inside the fighter¡¯s area.¡±

    Arthur only nodded and entered. Behind the door the guard was protecting, there was a tiny hall that lead to an open area. In this open area, there were a lot offy chairs for the people to sit and watch, and some girls offered food and drinks to these rich people.

    .

    The ring stood in the middle, and it was lower than the rest of the tform to make it easier for the people to watch the fight, and harder if any fighter tried to escape.

    ¡°You¡¯re a new fighter? Follow me, please.¡± A girl said, and Arthur did what she was told.

    She led him to an adjunct room where all the fighters waited for their fights. It had some food you could get and a bathroom.

    ¡°Nicer than I thought it would be.¡± thought Arthur.

    ¡°Fresh blood? Ha, if you end up fighting with me I¡¯ll end you.¡± some random guy said to Arthur. He just ignored it. Fighting was prohibited in that area, so he couldn¡¯t beat that guy even if he wanted to.

    Arthur grabbed the food as it was free and waited in the corner until something happened. After what seemed like an eternity, the same girl that showed him the room returned with a paper in hands.

    ¡°The next fight will be Death w against Stab. Follow me, please.¡± She said, turned around, and left.

    It turned out the ¡®Stab¡¯ person was the one that talked shit to Arthur a few moments ago.

    ¡°It is you? My luck is out of this world.¡± Stab went first and gave Arthur a vicious gaze.

    Little did he know Arthur was someone beyond his league of power¡­

    ~~~~

    A man stood above the ring, and used some type of magic to make his voice louder, so everyone inside the arena could hear.

    ¡°And now, a new fighter goes up against someone you are all familiar with¡­ Stab!¡±

    ¡°Whoa, it is Stab. The new fighter is doomed.¡±

    ¡°I know, right? My money is all on Stab.¡±

    The people in the area chatted, and almost everyone bet their money on Stab, which was a known fighter in the arena. Whoever, there was someone in the corner who did not think like that.

    ¡°I¡¯ll bet everything on, captain. There¡¯s no way he loses to someone called Stab.¡± Kai said as he put all the money they got from the temple into Arthur¡¯s victory.

    ¡°All right. Now, Death w vs Stab, START!¡±

    Arthur was on one side of the ring, and Stab on the other. He scanned his opponent and saw the level 15 above its head. In his opinion, it would be an easy fight for him.

    Stab also did not move instantly after the fight started. He had a bad feeling inside, but thought it couldn¡¯t possibly being from this new fighter, right? He was someone who won lots of fights, and there was no way an experienced fighter like him would lose to a new fighter.

    The nickname he got was because he used mainly knives to kill his opponents, like an assassin. So, with a sharp knife in hands, he dashed in Arthur¡¯s direction.

    He wasn¡¯t slow by any means, but for Arthur? Stab moved like a slug. In a straight line, he ran, and tried to stab his knife in Arthur¡¯s guts. Using his ws, Arthur blocked the attack as if it was nothing, and stared at Stab with cold eyes.

    ¡°I was only testing the waters. You¡¯ll see.¡± Stab gritted his teeth and continued with a barrage of attacks.

    Nothing seemed to work. He stabbed in all parts of Arthur¡¯s body, and even used a few faints here and there, and it didn¡¯t work. All tricks were useless when facing true strength.

    Arthur wasn¡¯t worried, until Stab stopped his attacks, stepped back, and turned invisible, just like the goblins Arthur fought in the underground city.

    ¡°Oh, no. Not this shit again.¡± Arthur hated these people that could turn invisible. It was a pain in the ass.

    The only thing he could do was to wait for Stab to make his first move and then attack him. It didn¡¯t take long for it to happen, as Stab was not paying the respect he should to Arthur.

    It was the same type of attack he tried before, but now aiming for Arthur¡¯s back. Arthur saw everything clearly the moment Stab turned his invisibility off, but did not move.

    Arthur let the knife stab on his back, making a hole in it. Stabughed like a maniac.

    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re dead. I won, I wo-¡± before he could finish his sentence, Arthur turned around and pierced his ws in Stab¡¯s throat.

    Blood spurted from the wound like a stream, and Stab couldn¡¯t talk anymore, as his vocal cords were all in pieces. Everyone couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that new fighter? DAMN!¡±

 Chapter 49

    Against all odds, Arthur won the fight. Those people who bet their money on Stab weren¡¯t happy, but the people that ran the arena were.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to us. As long as they bet their money, we get our cut.¡± a man said inside a private room above the arena.

    The man was someone Arthur was familiar with. It was Runo. He was the person behind these illegal fights.

    ¡°The winner is DEATH CLAW!!!¡± the announcer emphasized the ¡®Death w¡¯ name for people to know it.

    Arthur had a deep wound after the fight, but it was healing at a rapid pace, visible to the naked eye. The regeneration power he had as a dragon was no joke.

    He returned to the same waiting room, and all the other fighters gazed at him. Some with fear, others with curiosity. Stab was a well-known fighter, and he was now dead.

    ¡°Here, your rewards.¡± the same person who lead them to the fight gave Arthur his rewards. It was not an extraordinary amount, only 50 gold coins, but he was not there for the money.

    .

    No, Arthur had to make a name for himself in this illegal arena. Runo, the person he was after and also the organizer, would eventually call him for a talk in his office when Arthur got famous enough. And when that happened, then Arthur would strike.

    The number of fights one could do in one night was not unlimited. A fighter could only fight 3 times per night. Arthur nned on doing 2 more fights, and theneback tomorrow and do the same.

    ¡°These illegal fights happen every night, and I don¡¯t see Runo fleeing so soon. I have time to build up my fame in this arena, but it would be the best if I fought 3 times per night just to be quicker.¡± thought Arthur.

    The woman responsible was still in the room. Arthur went near her and said he wanted to fight 2 more times that night, and that shocked her. It was notmon for fighters to fight 3 times per night, as they usually ended up hurt after the first fight.

    She saw how Stab pierced his knife in Arthur, so she couldn¡¯t understand the reason behind such actions, but she still did what he told her, and questioned nothing.

    ~~~~

    A few more fights happened in that night before it was Arthur¡¯s turn again. They knew he had just fought, so they wouldn¡¯t send him to a fight right after. Arthur got a time to heal, and with his regeneration, it was more than enough.

    ¡°Death w vs The Illusionist!¡± said the woman responsible for calling the fights.

    This illusionist guy wore a robe and had a staff in hands. He was a mage, and based on the nickname he got, he probably used illusions.

    ¡°First a guy that turns invisible, now someone that cast illusions? My day keeps getting better.¡± thought Arthur as he followed thedy and headed back to the arena he went earlier.

    The same guy from before announced the fight using magic. There was a difference this time, though. More and more people were betting in Arthur after his fight earlier that night.

    ¡°I believe in Death w. Look, even though he got stabbed, he looks fine. This man is not simple at all.¡±

    ¡°Whoa, I haven¡¯t realized that. My money is on him, too.¡±

    More and more people bet their money on Arthur. Of course, most people still bet their money on The Illusionist, as it was a well-known fighter, just like Stab was. But it was still an indicator that Arthur was getting more famous after each fight.

    ¡°Are you both ready?¡± the announcer looked at both fighters, and they nodded.

    ¡°Start!¡±

    This time, the person of Arthur was going against wasn¡¯t simple. The Illusionist was level 20, and right after the announcer said the fight started, he was already casting spells towards Arthur.

    Most spells the man used had a pinkish color. Some spells were also red, which was weird. Arthur did not have that much information about illusion type magic, as the Frostpeak Academy had not taught him anything about that.

    In a normal fight, Arthur would just devour these spells and attack his enemy. But his devouring skill should be kept a secret for now, and with these rich people watching, he couldn¡¯t do that.

    The only thing left for him was to sidestep and dodge these spells the best way he could. They weren¡¯t particrly fast, so it was not a problem for Arthur. Well, not at the start.

    More and more spells came into his way, and it was getting to a point that it was impossible for him to dodge all of them. Even after using all of his speed and agility, one spell hit him.

    Arthur thought it would cause him some pain, and that¡¯s it. It differed significantly from what he thought. The moment the spell hit him, he was no longer in the arena, but back at the Frostpeak Academy.

    ¡°What the hell? Did the guy teleported me? No, that can¡¯t be right.¡±

    Knowing the name of his opponent, and seeing what happened, Arthur was sure it was an illusion. But what type of illusion could that be? Would it hurt him in the real life as well?

    ¡°Arthur, you¡¯re here. Wisa is searching for you. She¡¯s pissed.¡± Jane appeared out of a sudden and said that to him.

    ¡°Jane?¡± Arthur froze for a second.

    ¡°Yeah? I just saw you moments ago. Are you missing me already? Haha,¡± Jane giggled and asked him to follow her.

    Everything felt so real. All the people Arthur was searching for in the real life were there, and for him there was no reason to leave.

    ¡°Maybe everything that happened was a dream, and this is where I belong.¡± he thought.

    Arthur was all smiles as he followed her, forgetting for a moment that he was still inside an illusion¡­

 Chapter 50

    Jane led the way, and Arthur followed closely behind. Everything inside Frostpeak Academy looked the same. The buildings, the people, their personalities. It all felt so real.

    Wisa waited for the two of them, and she looked angry.

    ¡°You¡¯rete for our first ss. Really? Where were you anyway?¡± she kicked the ground with her feet, which only made her boobs bounce.

    ¡°I slept too much. I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Arthur, scratching the back of his head, ashamed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let this time pass, but don¡¯t you dare to do that again. Understood?¡±

    Arthur nodded, and grabbed the wooden sword Wisa tossed him. It was their first private ss, and Jane stood by the side watching everything.

    ¡°Show me what you got!¡±

    What did Arthur get? Basically nothing. He was a newbie, and that was clear for anyone who saw.

    .

    It was a strange feeling to have a weaker body. Inside the Frostpeak Academy, Arthur was still a human.

    He trained with Wisa for an hour, and lost miserably every time, just like he remembered it. Jane giggled from time to time and enjoyed her time watching Arthur lose to Wisa.

    ¡°Don¡¯t youugh!¡± Arthur said, trying to look angry, but he couldn¡¯t do that with her.

    ¡°Come on. You should take a shower to get rid of the sweat. I¡¯ll buy us something to eat.¡± Jane left, looking for a ce to buy food for them.

    Arthur did the same and went to the room he used to live. It looked the same, every tiny detail. He showered and changed clothes to look decent.

    Jane arrived soon after he was done, bringing two spicy soups. It wasn¡¯t Arthur¡¯s favorite food, but seeing how hungry he was, that was gold.

    They ate and talked about everything. It was something Arthur missed dearly.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to find her again¡­ Wait, right? This isn¡¯t real!¡± Arthur got up from his bed after realizing that.

    The surrounding details made him confused, and for a moment he forgot it wasn¡¯t real. It was an illusion created by his opponent.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Arthur?¡± Jane asked with a worried face. Arthur ignored her and thought about ways to leave that illusion.

    He thought about killing everyone, but that wasn¡¯t an easy to thing to do. Jane was his friend. He couldn¡¯t do that to her.

    ¡°I should just kill myself then.¡±

    Arthur still had the sword Wisa gave him as a present back then, so he took off the sword from the sheathe and stabbed on his heart.

    ¡°Noooo! What are you doing?¡± Jane ran towards him, scared.

    The illusion that man created was sure real. The reactions were on point. After Arthur bled out to death, he was back in the arena, and The Illusionist was right in front of him.

    Even though everything inside that illusion felt real, and took a long time, it actually happened in seconds. The Illusionist had a hidden dagger behind his back, hidden in his robe, ready to use it to kill Arthur.

    Arthur did not even blink, and his opponent thought he was still under the effect of that illusion. It was the best opportunity for the fight.

    The Illusionist got closer and closer. When he was about 3 feet away, Arthur exerted all the strength he could on his leg and dashed in his direction.

    It was like a bullet. In less than 1 second, Arthur was already in front of him, and had his sharp ck ws inside The Illusionist¡¯s chest.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± He couldn¡¯t believe it. No one had ever escaped his illusion that fast. And every time he noticed when they did. His opponents would usually blink a few times and looked around to see if they were back to the reality.

    Arthur? He didn¡¯t do any of that, and it took The Illusionist by surprise.

    Just like that, he was dead, and Arthur won another fight.

    ¡°He got out of the illusion? This man is incredible.¡±

    ¡°Did you see how fast he was? That¡¯s inhuman speed as well.¡±

    Everyone watching the fight screamed, especially those that had their money on Arthur. It was an amazing feeling to watch such incredible fight, but it was even more incredible to earn money doing so.

    ¡°The winner is Death w!!!¡± yelled the announcer.

    Different from the first time, this time Arthur had suffered no injuries. The only injury was mental, as he had believed for a moment that he was not inside an illusion.

    ¡°At least that man made me remember how much I want to find my friends.¡± Arthur thought as he left the arena.

    Back in the room where all the fighters were, they all gazed at the hall to see who wasing back from the fight. It was impossible to see or hear anything in there, so the winner was a mystery to them until thest moment.

    Everyone did not even dream of The Illusionist losing. Those illusions spells were hard to deal with, and they had seen many strong opponents die because of them.

    But it was Arthur, the one who returned. Everyone had shock stamped on their faces, and now they were sure Death w was not someone simple.

    The samedy got back and gave him 100 gold coins. Fighting consecutive fights in one day granted more money, which was nice.

    Just like before, it would take some time for them to call Arthur to fight again. He waited inside the room and rest.

    Arthur sat in the corner, and when he gazed at the hall, he saw someoneing.

    ¡°Death w, pleasee with me.¡± the man said.

    It was strange. He had just fought, so what was that about? With no choice, he followed the man through the hall.

    On his way, he got to know what was happening. It was Runo, calling him in his office to have a talk.

    ¡°It happened quicker than I expected it. I just hope he doesn¡¯t have many bodyguards, or else there¡¯s no way I can get him now.¡± Arthur thought.

 Chapter 51

    The man guided Arthur through the hall. Runo¡¯s office was at the higher part, so they had to go up a staircase to get there.

    They went up the stairs and reached a locked door with guards in front of it. Arthur scanned these guards and saw that they were all level 40 plus.

    Arthur got to meet Runo earlier than he thought, but with these types of guards around, kidnapping him would be impossible for now.

    ¡°Be respectful once inside. You can enter,¡± the man that led the way said that, and left.

    The guards in front of the door all gazed fiercely at Arthur, sending him a message to not try anything stupid with Runo.

    He got in, and the first thing he saw was a man staring at him from behind a desk.

    Runo was someone with short ck hair and had clear signs of being in his thirties. He wore a fine clothing, another sign of his wealth.

    The room only had his desk with a few papers above it, and an enormous window where Runo watched the fights. There was afy chair made of fine materials as well, presumably where he sat to watch the people killing each other down there.

    .

    ¡°Hello, Death w. Please, sit!¡±

    Arthur saw nothing strange with Runo or the room, so he sat in a chair, facing Runo.

    ¡°I saw both of your fights, and I¡¯m impressed. I have an offer for you. Would you like to hear?¡± said Runo with his arms crossed.

    ¡°Sure, why not?¡± Arthur did not know what Runo had in mind. An offer? What would he think if he knew Arthur was there nning on kidnapping him?

    ¡°There¡¯s a tournamenting up next month. I want you to take part in it.¡±

    ¡°These illegal fights happen not only on this ind, but in many others. We are gathering our brightest fighters to take part in an actual tournament held in a major city.¡±

    Arthur did not feel like participating in that thing. What could this tournament possibly get him? Money? There were other ways to get that, and they would usually be a lot of easier than taking part in this tournament.

    ¡°What do I get fighting in this tournament? And what happens if I refuse it?¡± asked Arthur.

    ¡°Well, besides money, I heard some prettydies from another kingdom will be there watching.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Arthur¡¯s heart raced. The only people he knew that could be from another kingdom were his friends. If that was the case, then he had to take part in that tournament.

    It was only a guess, but there was no way Arthur would let that pass.

    ¡°And there are some rumors roaming around saying that one god will finally appear again, but that¡¯s something I¡¯m doubting.¡±

    ¡°What? Really?¡±

    Runo was saying some extraordinary things. That made Arthur want to take part in protecting his friends. He knew Runo was a bad person, and the only way to protect the people he cared about was going there in person.

    ¡°Yes. The tournament will happen in a month, but there¡¯s the 15 days of trip that we need to consider, so we have 15 days before leaving. What do you say? Are you interested?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±

    ¡°Good. You don¡¯t have to fight anymore, just focus on resting until the tournament. I still have to gather a few more fighters in these 15 days, but that¡¯s not something you need to worry about.¡±

    ¡°You can leave now.¡±

    Arthur got up from his chair and left not only the office, but the building. He returned to the inn where all of his crew were staying.

    ~~~~

    Inside a spacious room, Arthur told them what had happened.

    ¡°What? Really? You can¡¯t go there alone.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. That¡¯s why we need to know where this tournament will take ce, and you guys should go there as well.¡± said Arthur.

    Kai and everyone else nodded. Arthur was their captain, so it was their duty to protect him, always.

    They were all gathered in Arthur¡¯s room to talk about that, but after it was over, they all headed back to their own rooms.

    Arthur had 15 days to prepare for that tournament. What could he do? Well, he just got a mysterious book that had lots of dragons skills. It would be a waste if he didn¡¯t learn those, right?

    Alone inside the room, Arthur opened up the old book and started to carefully read it.

    There were not only techniques inside that book but also training methods and some stories about the dragons¡¯ era. It was like a diary from a dragon.

    ¡°The first thing you should know before studying this is what your element is. Each dragon has its own element, like fire, water, thunder, and all kinds. Usually your father already told you this, but who knows, maybe in the future there will be some lost dragons, even though I doubt it.¡±

    ¡°My master, per example, is of the shadow element. But our king, and the strongest of us, cidusax, can train in all elements. He¡¯s way above our league.¡±

    The book talked about some major dragon figures, and then about a method used to get to know your element. Arthur didn¡¯t try it, as he didn¡¯t have any of the ingredients.

    The book said cidusax could train in all elements, and he was cidusax, so he already had his answer.

    ¡°Even though I can train in all elements, it would be the best if I start with the basics. Like, first train some water techniques before trying the ice techniques, as these are linked.¡± thought Arthur.

    It was a good thing the book was divided into elements, making it easier for those who are reading it.

    The amount of details on each page, with the words and the figures. Arthur thought the book looked better than those the humans wrote, and that one was probably more than a thousand years old.

    Fire was the first element of his choosing.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start my training, and finally find my friends again!¡±

 Chapter 52

    Arthur was no longer inside his room, but outside of the city in a woody area. The reason? He needed privacy to start his training.

    It was early in the morning, as he had slept all night after those tiring fights. There were still 2 weeks before leaving, but Arthur did not want to lose his precious time.

    The first element he wished to master was fire. He already had his Fire Breath during his dragon form, so you could say he wasn¡¯t aplete beginner.

    ¡°You need to start with the basics. First, follow this chant mentally and try your best to absorb the sunlight. These rays will make everything else you learn about fire more effective.¡±

    Arthur read the first page about the fire element in that book. It said he needed to master a sort of meditation, but unlike mages who meditate to gather mana from the air, Arthur had to absorb sun rays.

    What was the use behind it? Well, the book said these would integrate with the body of a dragon, and make him more prone to learn that element. Arthur did not know where to start.

    He sat with his legs crossed and thought about the chant he just learned. It was all in the dragon¡¯s tongue, so it felt a little weird to think about it, but Arthur tried.

    At first, nothing happened. The warm sun¡¯s rays touched his body, but it was just the regr way of taking a sunbath. There was nothing special about it, or magical.

    .

    It stayed like that for at least an hour. Arthur kept thinking about the chant in his mind, but it did not work. Well, until it finally did.

    The warmth of the sun was no longer only on his skin, but within. It was a clear sign the skill was working. After that first wave of energy got inside his body, more and more did the same.

    A feeling Arthur had never felt before. This strange energying from the sun changed his body, and a notification popped right in front of his eyes.

    [Ding]

    [New Skill Learned]

    [Dragon¡¯s Fire Body]

    [Dragon¡¯s Fire Body (Max Rank): Increasing the absorption level of this skill will make you learn fire rted spells faster. It will also increase the power of your fire spells, and your fire resistance.]

    [Absorption level: 0,3% of 100%.]

    It had been a long time since Arthur got that notification from the system, so it felt good. He was all smiles until he saw how little progress he had with the skill. An astonishing 0,3%.

    ¡°Everyone knows this type of skill only gets harder the more you progress. I want to cry¡­¡± Arthur thought.

    The book said some things about milestones. It said the user would feel something different when he reached the first milestone, and when that happen, it was possible to start in more advanced skills, but never forgetting the basics, which was the Dragon¡¯s Fire Body.

    During the first week, all Arthur did was to train that skill. He would wake up, eat, and absorb the sunlight until night. At night he would eat again, and talk with his crew about the ns and what was the best course of action.

    After an arduous week, his progress bar finally reached the threshold of 1%, and when that happened, he felt the strange feeling the book said he would.

    The very next day, Arthur would train his new dragon fire spells, that if he survived the night.

    Arthur was on his way back to his room, all smiles, after finally seeding. It was night already, and he was passing through an area without many city guards patrolling.

    At that moment, four masked guys tried to kidnap him. With a quick nce, Arthur could tell they were all level 35, and being four of them, it was too much for him at that point.

    ¡°I should just save my strength until a better opportunity of escapinges. There¡¯s no point.¡± He thought.

    The attackers appeared out of a sudden and put a hood on his head. It certainly had a toxic substance, as Arthur went to sleep a few moments after.

    ~~~~

    Arthur woke up inside a dark room, and he was not alone. Others were tied up to chairs near him, and these were people he had never seen before.

    The walls were made of stone, and the door that locked them inside was of pure steel. Arthur was not optimistic about breaking his way out. What he could do, though, was to break out free from the ropes that tied his wrists.

    The others also woke up, and each one of them used their own way to break free from the ropes.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    None of them knew each other, but after they talked more, they got to know that all of them were fighters of the same arena.

    ¡°How did they know about our identities?¡±

    ¡°Well, I was kidnapped after I left the arena.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, me too.¡±

    It turned out all of them were kidnapped as they were inside the arena, or after leaving. So the attackers knew who they were, and that¡¯s it. But Arthur? He did not use his fighting outfit in a week, and he was just strolling around the streets when they got to him.

    That could only mean one thing. He had been followed the day he talked with Runo, and did not notice.

    ¡°Damn it. I hope whoever followed me did not see too much. I need to be more careful from now on.¡±

    After 10 minutes of waiting, someone opened the door of the cell. It was Runo, and he quickly apologized for doing that.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to you all. I had to do this. Remember, all of you will take part in a legal tournament, so it is a must that all of you know each other well.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just invite us to a talk?¡± one of them said.

    Runo thought for a while, and could not find an answer.

    ¡°Well, this was quicker. Anyway, follow me.¡±

 Chapter 53

    All of them followed Runo to another room. They all expected him to put them to fight against each other, trying to scope their strength.

    He did not. The room Runo led them to had a table filled with food, like a fancy dinner.

    ¡°You can eat and chat to get to know each other better. If you want that, of course. Or you can just eat and leave, or just leave. I don¡¯t care.¡±

    Runo said that and left the room, leaving 6 people inside. Arthur was one of these people.

    They could not understand the reason behind what Runo did, but why not eat and chat? All of them wererades in the fighting career, after all.

    The first one to take the lead was a bulky, tall man. He had huge muscles all over his body, and a two-handed weapon attached to his back.

    ¡°If anyone wants to know, I¡¯m Phil. Nice to meet you all.¡± Phil said. He ate like a starved best, grabbing the chicken legs and destroying them.

    Arthur did not want to be the first to eat, as it could be poisoned or something like that. After seeing everything was okay with the food, he also ate.

    ¡°Yo, Phil. I¡¯m Arthur, nice to meet you.¡±

    .

    Phil looked at Arthur from toe to head, and said, ¡± You look strong. Let¡¯s do an arm fight.¡±

    An arm fight. That was something Arthur did not do in a long, long time. What could go wrong?

    Both men stop their eating and positioned themselves on the table. After the count of 3, they started.

    Phil was confident he would easily win against Arthur, but that wasn¡¯t the case. They both used their strength, and for a moment, no one could get the upper hand.

    It surprised Arthur. He was using all of his strength, and yet Phil was his equal.

    ¡°A draw?¡± Phil said, incredulously.

    He gazed at Arthur, and everyone else inside the room thought a fight would ur, but it was the opposite.

    Philughed, hugged Arthur, and said, ¡°You¡¯re strong. You and me, we are best friends now. Hahaha,e, let¡¯s eat and drink.¡±

    The appearance Phil had was of a strong and angry man, but it was the exact opposite. Arthur felt he was a reliable person, so he went along with the flow.

    They both drank the beers that were above the table and ate like there was no tomorrow. The others that were watching took part, and soon everyone was talking with each other.

    There were two women in the group, Emma and Cheryl. The only thing Arthur got to know about them was that both of them were mages.

    One of the remaining men had a bow behind his back, and the other a sword and shield. They both probably used magic as well, alongside their weapons.

    Even though all took part in illegal fights, none of them seemed like bad people. Maybe they had to fight to get the money to survive. Maybe it was their only option. Arthur had no right to judge them, that is.

    After a night of socializing, Arthur left. It turned out they were inside one room in the arena they fought. They all said goodbye to each other and left.

    In a week, all of them would leave for the tournament.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Where were you? Your training took a lot longer than I expected.¡±

    Kai was waiting for him on the first floor of the inn. Arthur would always go out to train, and everyone knew that, but he never took so long to get back.

    ¡°I was kidnapped by Runo to meet with the others that will take part in the tournament.¡±

    ¡°What? Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. My stomach isn¡¯t feeling that good.¡± Arthur said. He put his hand on his belly, and Kai was worried that he got stabbed, or worse.

    Kai rushed to check if Arthur was okay, and the only thing wrong was the immense belly he now had.

    ¡°I ended up eating too much. Is it bad?¡±

    ¡°What your child¡¯s name will be?¡±

    ¡°Oh, fuck you.¡±

    Arthur pushed Kai lightly after that joke. He wanted to go upstairs and sleep to recover from eating that much, but Kai said something that worried him.

    ¡°Did you see Ha? She¡¯s never thiste.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? She¡¯s not here?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. Go upstairs and gather a few people to go search for her. Only a few please, or else the guards wille, causing troubles.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Lead them, Kai. I¡¯ll go out now.¡±

    Arthur wanted to go searching by himself with no one on his way. He still did not know if Ha was indeed in danger, but after seeing how he could get kidnapped, why couldn¡¯t she as well?

    There was no time to waste, so he ran through the streets wearing a ck-hooded cloak to search for her.

    One thing his dragon senses could do was to pick up a scent and follow it. Ha had been around for a long time, so he had her scent.

    Arthur kept following Ha¡¯s scent, and eventually it lead outside of the city. When that happened, he was sure it was not a good sign.

    ¡°This day keeps getting stranger, damn it.¡± he thought.

    Outside of the city, there were only trees, bushes, and wild animals. The houses were few and rare, which would make the searching easier.

    A bad feeling arose within Arthur, and he hoped that nothing bad had happened to Ha.

    He kept going through the woods until the scent led him to a wood cabin. It was not a smart decision to rush in, so he stayed behind a bush and tried to peek inside the house.

    A few men he had never seen walked outside of the cabin, and when they opened the door, Arthur got a glimpse of Ha all tied up in a chair.

    It was not a sight to behold, but at least Arthur knew she was alive.

    ¡°You¡¯re all dead, you fuckers!¡±

 Chapter 54

    The best decision would be to wait for Kai and the others toe. Why though? Ha was in danger, and if something happened because of Arthur¡¯stenesses, he would never forgive himself.

    Arthur took a few moments to seize up the situation. Most of the people there weren¡¯t particrly strong, only level 20.

    It was a good sign, a sign that gave Arthur the confidence he needed to rescue his friend Ha.

    ¡°Sadly, its night time, or else I could use my Void Step to get there easily.¡± Arthur thought.

    After a few minutes of just watching, he deduced there were only about 4 people in there, all of them with the level of 20.

    Some people would find hard to go up against that squad, but Arthur did not feel a threat at all. With his superior body, he could get to them before they could even react.

    The first victim was one guy who went outside to pee. He was near a bush, somewhat far from the cabin. Maybe the man did not want anyone near him when peeing.

    Arthur sneaked up behind him and punched the man in the head, knocking him out.

    ¡°I¡¯ll not go out killing people without knowing the situation properly.¡±

    There were 3 more to go. Arthur hid the men he just knocked out inside a bush, and continued towards the house.

    ¡°Why is he taking so long?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know him? Almost every time he says he¡¯s going to pee, it is actually him shitting himself in these bushes. Be careful to not step on those, hahaha.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    .

    ¡°And why did we kidnap her? I still don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°You may not believe it, but she¡¯s an elf. An ELF.¡±

    ¡°Elf? Weren¡¯t these supposed to be only stories?¡±

    ¡°I thought too, as well. Anyway, we must wait for our boss to return.¡±

    Arthur listened to everything through the walls, and it shocked him. Ha was an elf? If that was true, then it was only normal for these people to kidnap her.

    Elfs were rare and considered a legend. They could be sold for an extraordinary price.

    ¡°There¡¯s only two of them. Their boss is out. This is the best opportunity.¡± thought Arthur.

    He activated his draconic transformation and aimed for the man closest to Ha. The man only saw a shadow getting closer, and before he knew it, he was out cold.

    Arthur used his ws to cut the ropes around Ha, and turned around to face the other man, who was already chanting a spell.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what are you, but you¡¯re stupid, hahaha. Instead of going after me, you lost time cutting the ropes of thatdy. You¡¯re dead now.¡±

    Magic symbols appeared in the air, and a massive ice spike came directly at Arthur. It was fast, and presumably the strongest spell the man could cast.

    It was a waste. All Arthur needed to do was open his mouth and devour the spell, as it was just a piece of meat.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡±

    The man could not believe what he was seeing. Arthur spit the spell right after, and it pierced the man, killing him in an instant.

    ¡°Captain? What was that? When did you be so strong?¡±

    ¡°I always have been. Are you okay, Ha?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. These bastards kidnapped me.¡±

    Ha went near the man who got knocked out by Arthur and kicked him lightly to release her anger.

    ¡°Should we grab this man to interrogate him?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it is necessary. I heard their talking.¡±

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s go then.¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur returned with Ha. Kai was still looking for her, so they had to find him to tell everything was okay. It took some time, but nothing extraordinary.

    They were all together in the inn now.

    ¡°No one leaves alone anymore. At least 2 people need to go out together, especially with Ha.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Okay, captain. Did you find out more about the kidnappers?¡±

    ¡°Some random guys trying to kidnap people to sell. Scumbags.¡±

    Arthur talked to the guards and said he saw some strange activity in that area. The kidnappers who were still alive were probably in jail.

    After that situation was settled, Arthur went to his bed to rest. Before that, he asked if everything was okay with Ha, and she was still scared about getting kidnapped again.

    ¡°Captain, can I- can I sleep with you? I don¡¯t want to be alone inside a room.¡± Ha said.

    ¡°Of course. Come.¡±

    The bed was king-size, so Arthur slept on one side, and Ha on the other. Arthur would not try to get romantic with her in such an unpleasant situation. He just slept and tried his best to keep his focus if anything happened during the night.

    ~~~~

    When Arthur woke up, Ha had already left the room. He went to ask if anyone saw her, and if she was okay. She was.

    ¡°She probably left early, so no one could see her.¡±

    There was no need for him to be concerned anymore. Ha was fine, and whoever did that to her wouldn¡¯t seed again.

    Before leaving the inn, Arthur went downstairs to grab something to eat. The restaurant on the inn¡¯s first floor worked 24 hours a day, so it was incredible.

    Arthur ate and then left to start his training. The sun was shining on the sky, and it was a hot day, which was awesome, as Arthur wanted to try out a new fire skill.

    The best ce to train was outside, away from the city, far from the curious eyes of others. Some people on the streets recognized Arthur and waved at him. These were all the people who got up early to work, and as Arthur did the same, they felt he was friendly.

    Of course, Arthur would not go to work but to his training, although no one knew that.

    Between bushes and trees stood a youth who read an old and dusty book.

    ¡°All right. The first and most basic skill dragons used. Fire w.¡±

    The name spoke for itself. It was a skill that fired up the ws of a dragon. It wasn¡¯t the most extraordinary skill, but it surely was powerful.

    Arthur knew well everyone should start with the basics, and then move up to moreplicated skills. There was no way he would simply skip everything and learn how to cast a meteor. That was just stupidity.

    And his sharp ws had taken off the lives of many by that point. Now imagine if they be zing ws.

    The idea of the skill was to use the sunlight to power it up. Arthur had the choice of using the sunlight from the sun itself, or the sunlight he stored inside his body these past days.

    Arthur was basically a sr panel. His first thought was that it was an easy skill to do, and that he would do it instantly.

    Well, that wasn¡¯t the case. Arthur spent the entire morning trying to gather that energy in his ws, and when it was near lunchtime, he finally did it.

    The ck sharp ws now had a scorching fire around it. It was hot, but Arthur did not feel a thing. He shed his ws a few times, and the power behind each strike was clear.

    There was no way he could test the skill in the ce he was. A forest. One sh could send all the trees on fire. It would be stupid and mean.

    Arthur walked through the ind until he was near the shore. There, he found a ce with many rocks near the beach. These rocks were huge, and Arthur thought they were ideal for his testing.

    He went near one of these rocks, fired up his ws, and shed it. Before, that attack would probably break a few pieces of that huge rock, but now? As soon as Arthur¡¯s w hit the stone, it melted in a few instants.

    ¡°What the fuck? This is stronger than I thought it would be.¡±

    A system notification popped up after he used the skill for the first time.

    [Ding]

    [New Skill Learned]

    [Dragon¡¯s Fire w (Max Rank, Level 1): A skill created by the dragons, and for the dragons. It sets the ws in mes, increasing its power, and adding the fire element to each attack.]

    The skill was also of max rank, just like all the dragon skills. But that one was still at level 1. Arthur already knew that to level up, one just needed to use the skill lots of times.

    Eventually, it would level up. Arthur wasn¡¯t that concerned about it, as he was more focused on learning more skills before the tournament.

    There was one skill in the book that caught his attention, but he knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy to learn.

    ¡°Dragon Fire Wings. I want it, now.¡±

    Arthur left the shore, but little did he know that someone was lurking, and watched all of his moves.

    ¡°I knew that feeling back in the dream realm was strange. Who¡¯s this guy?¡±

    A ck-cloaked figure vanished from behind a tree.

 Chapter 55 New Clues

    Chapter 55 New Clues

    The next days Arthur spent training during the day, and fucking girls in the night-club at night. He

    wanted to get as strong as possible for the uing tournament.

    "Damn, these fire wings look awesome." Arthur said.

    Two fire wings stood behind his back, pping around, and making him able to fly. He still could not

    use these wings for transportation, but to use them in a fight was fine.

    It made him faster, which also meant stronger attacks as well. Mages would not hit him using their

    spells.

    Anyway, after a hard day of training, and thest day before leaving, Arthur went to the night-club

    for a good night.

    The girls there seemed to know him, and some even offered themselves for the night.

    "Can we go to the private room tonight, captain?" a woman said.

    "You wentst time. We also want our turn."

    There were other men inside the club, and they could not understand the fixation on Arthur. Some

    girls waited for him toe all week.

    "Don''t worry, there''s room for you all. Come."

    After he said that, the girls were all smiles. They made a straight line and followed to the private

    room. A fun night, where they fucked for hours, and everyone went home satisfied.

    "Ahhhh, please keep going."

    "Me now, me. I want the dick."

    It was like a war for Arthur''s body, but he endured it, and fought against all the girls on the bed,

    obviously.

    "Come back anytime, captain. We will be waiting."

    Arthur left and went back to his room. The inn was quiet as a desert, as everyone else was already

    sleepingfortably on their beds.

    With a few steps, Arthur got inside his room, took a quick shower, grabbed his nkets, and

    wrapped himself. A good night of sleep after so much training.

    ~~~~

    The next day would be chaotic. Arthur woke early in the morning to have enough time to do his

    things. He went downstairs and ate his breakfast.

    Reno would wait for all of them at the port where their ship would leave. Arthur said goodbyes to

    everyone on the crew.

    "The tournament is on Ashew, all right? It is a city somewhat far from here. You can rest today and

    prepare your things, and go tomorrow." Arthur said.

    Kai listened to everything carefully to not mess things up. They nned on following Arthur to the

    city where the tournament was happening. If anything went wrong, his crew was there to help him.

    The thing is, they could not leave on the same day, because it was too obvious.

    "Be careful out there, captain."

    "I will. You too, Kai. After all of this is over, we will officially start our training, I promise you."

    Arthur said goodbye to all the crew members and left. He went directly to the port where Runo

    awaited him. The others were already there, and the only one left was Arthur.

    "You''re finally here. Let''s go, we cannot lose much time."

    The ship looked like any other ship, so Arthur saw no problems on it and hopped inside. Phil also did

    the same and chatted with Arthur.

    "What''s up?"

    "Hey, Phil. Long time no see."

    Phil got closer to Arthur, and whispered in his ears, "Actually, I saw you yesterday, my brother.

    Leaving a night-club. Hehehe, you''re a real man that I can tell."

    "Shh, don''t say it aloud or people may think wrong things about me. I work there serving drinks."

    "Surely that''s what you do." Phil said, with a clear smirk on his face.

    Arthur saw his face andughed. Phil was a funny guy, and it was nice to have him around to make

    things more casual.

    The journey would take a long time, and there weren''t many things one could do inside the ship.

    Arthur brought a few books to pass the time. He was sure he made the right choice after the 5th day

    of traveling.

    "So boring¡­"

    For 14 days, all Arthur did was read, eat, and sleep. Well, Phil hade to his room a few times, and

    they drank beers and talked about lots of things.

    It was a good way to change the routine from time to time, and if Phil wasn''t there, it would surely

    be a lot more boring.

    The happiness Arthur felt the day Ashew City was in their sight was indescribable. He could not

    endure more time inside a ship.

    like that.

    But now there were even more people to watch the tournament. The port was packed up with ships,

    "Whoa, are you seeing all these people?"

    First, Ashew was an immense city. In Arthur''s mind, that ce looked like the capital, or something

    like that.

    But now there were even more people to watch the tournament. The port was packed up with ships,

    and the streets could barely fit all these people walking around, and that is with the tournament yet

    to start.

    "We will stay in a ce where only the fighters can go. All the other inns are full, anyway." Runo said.

    No one hadints about that, and they all followed him through the streets.

    The first challenge was to walk without bumping into people. Arthur was sure he did that lots of

    times.

    "This is where we will stay? It''s huge!" Cheryl said.

    Runo guided them to the hotel where all fighters would stay. It had 6 floors, and an immense

    courtyard with pools and benches near trees. The ce looked incredible.

    Arthur chose the sixth floor. He felt it was the safest ce for a room, as he could jump from the

    window andnd without problems. Arthur could even use his wings and fly out the window.

    It was a fact that Arthur did not trust Runo after knowing what he did. The best thing should be to

    watch his every move.

    They all went to their rooms and stored most of their stuff. Arthur saw some other people in the

    halls, presumably the other fighters that would take part in the tournament.

    He did not see anyone on a crazy level or anything like that. Maybe it would not be hard for him to

    win, although he had no motivation to do so. Arthur agreed to go there because Runo said

    something about beautifuldies from another kingdom.

    It could be Jane, Wisa, and the others. There was no reason to no go there, as it could be a chance to

    meet up with his friends. He also needed to capture Runo, so being that close to him could be a good

    thing.

    Anyway, after getting all of his stuff inside his room, Arthur went on an exploration trip to find more

    information about his friends.

    If people from another kingdom were there, inside the city, someone had to know. With his mask

    and cloak, Arthur went to a few dark alleys and beat up some thugs to see if anyone knew about

    something.

    "I don''t know anything about that. I swear!"

    The first did not know, neither the second and the third. Arthur spent hours interrogating people,

    and no one knew a thing. Was Reno lying to him? Or was it a secret information that no one knew

    expect him?

    It seemed nothing was working out for him until he spotted two people talking to each other in an

    alley.

    "Did you hear about these girls from another kingdom? They will not take part in the tournament."

    "Really? I was hoping to see them here."

    "Yeah. It turns out they had to return to their school in a hurry."

    "School? What is that?"

    "You did not know? They created a school to teach magic a few months ago, and it is getting a lot of

    famous."

    "I might consider joining it myself. Are thesedies from that kingdom the owners of this school?"

    "Well, yes, and no. They control everything but students said that there is a statue there. A statue

    about a man that is the real founder of the school, but he''s not there."

    "Oh, I see, I see."

    It shocked Arthur. The coincidence was too much. It had to be Jane and the others.

    "Excuse me, gentlemen. I overheard your talking, and I''m sorry for that, but could you tell me where

    this school is located?"

    The two men first got scared, but when they saw Arthur''s youth face, they realized he only wanted

    to go to the school to see the beautifuldies.

    "Ha, another young man. Well, the problem is getting there, actually. The school is on an ind north

    of here."

    "How far is it?"

    "Like I said, that''s the problem. If you go by normal ship, you''ll take at least 2months to get there."

    "What the fuck? And how did thedies from that school leave that ce?"

    "They all fly on the back of a huge beast. Being honest with you, I have no idea how they tamed that

    beast, but they did."

    "What is the ind called?"

    "There''s no name, but the school has. It is called Odemore."

    "Okay, thank you."

    Arthur left with millions of thoughts. The tournament was basically useless for him now.

    "I''ll wait for my crew tomorrow, kidnap Runo, and finish my task. Fuck this tournament. Also, how

    will I go to that ce, anyway?"

    Just as Arthur thought that, the egg inside his magical backpack moved.

    "Sully!?"

 Chapter 56

    Sully gave signs of life inside the magic backpack. The egg wobbled a little, but no cracks appeared. It was not yet time for it to be born.

    Arthur wanted a faster means of transportation to get to the ind. Maybe Sully could be the transport he needed, but how long would it take to hatch?

    A week? Months? Years? How could Arthur know? No way would he rely on his luck for something like that.

    He looked up at the stars, worried if he would see his friends again. Arthur sighed and returned to the hotel where he was staying.

    Although it was still night, the streets were as busy as they were during the day. Every day, new people came to visit, excited about the uing tournament.

    Arthur did not mind them, but minded his own business and returned to the hotel. When he got there, he noticed a few fighters in the hallways giving him threatening looks.

    Perhaps this was their way of scaring thepetition? Arthur did not care at all and just ignored them.

    They were annoyed, but what could they do? Fighting was not allowed in the hotel. To think they would have the strength to win against Arthur. It was impossible.

    .

    Back in his room, Arthury down, looked at the roof, and thought about his options. Perhaps he would have to travel for two months to get there if there was no other way.

    ¡°First, I have to kidnap Runo, then I will think about it,¡± Arthur thought. With these thoughts in his mind, he went to sleep.

    The sun had barely risen, and the city was already blooming with life. Arthur missed the days when he could stay in peace without so many people around him.

    Arthur walked down the stairs and picked up a free meal for the restaurant, a perk for the fighters in the tournament. Then he went to the dock to wait for Kai.

    He did not know exactly when Kai would arrive, but it would certainly be early in the morning, unless something had happened on the trip.

    Through the crowded streets, it took Arthur longer to reach the harbor, but he eventually made it. There was a huge line of ships there. He looked around for a few minutes, searching for his ship. Arthur could not find it.

    A feeling of apprehension rose in him, but soon a familiar voice sounded in his ears, turning his apprehension into peace.

    ¡°Captain!¡± said Kai.

    ¡°Where is our ship?¡±

    ¡°Well, I tried to put it nearby, but it seems that the participants in the tournament are entitled to better spots, so I had to park our ship a little farther away.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s such a thing? This world is getting crazier and crazier.¡±

    ¡°I know, right? Anyway, how are things going?¡±

    ¡°We have a lot to talk about.¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°So it turns out that your friends are no longer here, and now the tournament has no meaning. Now that it has no meaning, we will kidnap Runo in this crowded city, which is surely full of guards, get all the information we need from him, and deliver him to the Pirate Guild? And after that we will go in search of your friends who are on an ind to which it will take us two months by ship?¡± said Kai.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I am saying, yes.¡±

    ¡°Finally, something exciting to do. I mean the kidnapping part. I do not feel like wasting that much time again inside a ship.¡±

    ¡°I know. I wish I had other ways to get there.¡±

    Arthur exined everything to Kai and the rest of the crew. He already had a task for them, which was to find Runo.

    ¡°After he sent us to the hotel, I have never seen him. So we have to find all the clues about him, okay?¡± said Arthur.

    Everyone nodded, and he added another important piece of information.

    ¡°We will meet every day at midnight in our ship. Do you understand? You are not to be seen with me or near the hotel where only the fighters are, because that might alert someone who knows Runo.¡±

    Everyone understood. The crew was still a bit tired from the trip, so they all took the opportunity to eat at a restaurant and rest a bit before starting the search.

    When Arthur returned to the hotel afterwards, there were already some people waiting for him in front of it.

    He had seen them before. They were participating in the tournament, just like him. From the looks of it, these people were looking for trouble.

    ¡°Well, well, well, look who¡¯s here. The fearless country fighter. I bet you are only that brave at the hotel, right? ¡®Cause you know we can not beat you up there. So what can you do outside?¡±

    The first man to speak was wearing full leather armor. He was tall, muscr, and had a huge club on his back, like a barbarian.

    He was not alone. Two other men stood next to him, and both looked more like wizards.

    Arthur took a good look at them and found no threat at all. These guys were not even level 20 and were full of shit.

    ¡°Really? Then why do not you show me how powerful you are? If I cripple the three of you, then we will have lesspetition.¡±

    ¡°How dare you talk to me like that? Eat this, motherfucker.¡±

    The big man reached for his mace and cast a spell that strengthened his legs and doubled their muscles. He leapt at Arthur with bloody eyes, intent on reducing him to a pulp.

    ¡°Die!¡± he roared.

    A huge club flew at Arthur, and when it almost hit him in the head, he stopped.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Arthur had stopped the club with only his left hand. He looked coldly at the man and said, ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn, asshole.¡±

    A blow hit the man¡¯s mouth, and you could see some white dots flying. Those were his teeth.

    ¡°You two are next.¡±

 Chapter 57 A Powerful Enemy Arrives

    Chapter 57 A Powerful Enemy Arrives

    The first man''s teeth were knocked out and he lost his bnce. Hey helpless on the ground.

    The other two were shocked. They never thought Arthur would end the fight so quickly.

    But the two recovered and tried to cast their spells.

    A series of magical symbols appeared in the thin air, and the mana of the atmosphere gathered on it. The men waved their hands, channeling the mana and using their books as catalysts.

    It was all for naught. Before the spell was even over, Arthur was in front of them, pounding them with his fists. There was nothing they could have done to stop this...

    Just like that, three respected fighters of the tournament lost. If Arthur participated in the tournament, maybe he could win, who knows.

    Back at the hotel, Arthur searched for clues about Runo, who seemed to have disappeared. The strangest thing was that none of the others who hade to the tournament with Arthur had seen Runo.

    "Now that you mention it, brother, I have not seen him in a while." said Phil.

    The situation was moreplex than it looked. Where would Runo go, anyway? He was rich, so maybe he was in an area where only rich people could go?

    No, that was not going to be the case. The city was in chaos because everyone came here for the tournament, which meant that even the richest areas were filled with people.

    In addition, Runo belonged to the Doom Order. He''s probably not doing any good by hiding in a ce where no one would look for him.

    "Good, I can do that."

    When Runo took them there the first day, he also got a room for himself. He probably only slept there for a day, but maybe Arthur could find something there.

    Arthur also tried to pick up Runo''s scent to see if he could find it. Unfortunately, it did not work. Runo could use some kind of magic, item, or potion to avoid being found.

    "Phil, my brother. Do you know which room Runo spent the night in?"

    "If I am not mistaken, it was on the fourth floor, room number 74."

    "Thanks."

    Phil was a nice guy, but would he share the room if he knew Arthur was going to break in?

    Arthur said goodbye to him and went to the room Runo was using. It was good that the floor was empty without any fighters to witness the crime.

    Outside the door, Arthur knocked first to see if anyone was inside. No one answered, which meant it was time to break in.

    The door had a magical protective grate, and by normal means it would be impossible for Arthur to break it down.

    "I can eat them."

    With his mouth wide open, Arthur swallowed the magical field, turning the room back into a normal space.

    It was an easy task, just apply some force to the door and poof, it was wide open.

    Arthur closed the door after he went inside. He checked the room, and at first nce it looked like his own room, nothing unusual.

    He checked a few drawers, most of them contained only useless things, but in one there was something interesting.

    A letter, and from the looks of it, it was from the Doom Order.

    "This thing is not even written with a code. Are people stupid in this world? Well, Runo probably never thought someone would eat the magical barrier of his room and get in." Thought Arthur.

    The letter talked about a ce where Runo would meet with the other members. This had to be the ce where he was hiding.

    Arthur grabbed the letter, kept it, and left the hotel.

    ~~~~

    A forest. For some reason, most bad guys always hid in a ce in a forest.

    Anyway, Arthur followed the muddy path until he found a small vige. There were a few houses there, most of them simply wooded.

    It did not look like a ce where evil cultists would be, but maybe there was more there than meets the eye?

    Arthur still had the cultists'' clothing in his magical backpack that he had used when he infiltrated the cave back then.

    Behind a bush, he quickly changed his clothes to look more like the members of the Doom Order.

    When he entered the vige, the residents, who looked like ordinary people, stared at him and said, "Another esteemed member? Please,e in. The others are outside looking for someone."

    The vigers seemed to be cooperating with the Order of Fate. Why would they do that? Arthur could not find an answer to that.

    "Looking for someone. Who is it?"

    "I do not have the details, since I am just amoner, but I heard they were looking for someone named Arthur."

    How had they heard about him? What was going on?

    "Arthur? Why would they be looking for such a random person?"

    "I thought it was strange, too, until I found out why. It turns out our god is looking for him."

    Arthur froze for a second. This random guy was telling us that a god was looking for him? What the hell.

    "Do you know why, uh, our god is looking for him?"

    "No, I do not. In fact, I do not think anyone but him knows. We must obey you."

    There was something wrong. The man said that a god was looking for him, but if that were true, should not he already be dead? How could someone who called himself a god not find someone like Arthur?

    "Only if he can''t use his power in our ne... Maybe, I don''t know."

    Arthur''s n had failed. He said goodbye to the man, and when he turned around, a masked man in a robe was staring at him.

    It was a member of the Doom Order, and Arthur felt a menacing aura emanating from him.

    "What''re you doing here, you low-ranking member? Shouldn''t you be looking for someone?"

    ~~~~

    "I''m, yes. Maybe he could be hiding somewhere in the forest."

    "We were just here a minute ago. That doesn''t make any sense, does it?"

    "Really? I slept too much and came toote to search."

    The man moved his right hand, searching for the book hanging on his hip.

    "You know what I was thinking about after I didn''t find anything during the search? What if the person we''re looking for is actually dressed like us?"

    When he said that, Arthur wasted no time and used his dragon transformation. The man had a level of 30 above his head, so he''d to go all out.

    Arthur''s body changed slightly and looked like a dragon. The robes he wore covered him up, so the man didn''t see anything wrong with him.

    Until he disappeared from the man''s sight and reappeared right behind him. Stepping into the void was an impressive technique.

    The sharp ws were aimed at the man''s back, and Arthur thought it was a clean hit until something blocked his attack.

    A blue-colored barrier appeared as soon as the attack got too close, blocking itpletely. It was a mana shield. An ability that only stronger mages could use.

    As he turned, the cultist had already prepared his own attack, sending a thunder bolt that mmed straight into Arthur''s chest and spun him around.

    "Damn, that hurts."

    The spell reduced Arthur''s life points, but nothing critical. However, if he kept getting hit by attacks, things would getplicated.

    Arthur did not wait for another attack, but lunged again. The lightning came fast, and Arthur was not prepared for it, but now he was focused, and there was no chance that another attack would hit him.

    The man was visibly surprised that Arthur was walking around as if nothing had happened. He was almost sure that a normal person would be dead if he was hit by this spell.

    Arthur came closer to him again and struck with his w, which now burnt with fire. It surprised him, but he still managed to avoid fatal damage by teleporting by a short distance.

    Still, Arthur''s ming w managed to hit his left arm, and it was now doomed.

    The skin of the arm had fallen off and waspletely burned out. Even the bones were melting from the heat of the attack.

    "AAAAAAAGGGRR!" The man cried out in pain, unable to understand how that w could be so damn hot.

    The attack broke through his mana barrier, and with his arm. What would happen if he had no barrier at all?

    "Who the hell are you? Why did our god ask us to look for you?"

    "I am your worst nightmare."

    Arthur rushed back toward the man, who was now unwilling to fight. He had lost his spirit and was only waiting to die.

    "Goodbye." said Arthur, but when his attack almost reached the man''s head, he met something else.

    A man blocked Arthur''s attack with his sword, and when he looked at the number above his head, he was startled.

    [Level: 52]

    "Oh, damn!"

 Chapter 58

    The man that showed up was someone powerful and should not be taken lightly. Arthur knew that, so he jumped and retreated a few steps.

    One thing he had yet to do was to add his free points. Those nights in the nightclub had got him to level 25, which meant he had a few free points to use.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 25]

    [Health: 2920/2920]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 60]

    [Agility: 30]

    [Vigor: 30]

    [Wisdom: 30]

    [Charm: 40]

    .

    [Free points: 25]

    Before, back when he was only a human, Arthur earned 3 free points per level, but now, as a dragon, he got 5.

    These 25 points were easy to distribute, 15 in strength and 10 in agility. Arthur was fighting more in closebat, and that man was carrying a sword, so the fight would probably be melee.

    ¡°You¡¯re the person we are looking for, right? Finally!¡± The man said.

    Arthur was eager to fight him. He had never faced a strong enemy like that man. Could he win against him? Or should he run?

    No, running was not an option. Where would he run, anyway? To the city? The guards would most likely think he was a thug running from justice, and help that man in the end.

    The Doom Order had money, and its members were wealthy. They could bribe the guards in no time, and Arthur would end up in a bad situation.

    Despite all that, Arthur felt confident of winning against that man.

    ¡°I¡¯m a dragon. I can not lose to this lowly human.¡± Arthur thought.

    Two zing wings formed behind his back, improving his mobility by arge margin. The man had a surprised face after seeing it. Only a few people could use abilities that made flying possible.

    Arthur would not give the man any change to retaliate. With two ming wings and ws, he flew towards the still shocked man.

    The speed Arthur had with his wings and his newly added agility points was no joke. He could barely be seen.

    In an instant, Arthur was in front of the man again, with his ming sharp ws aiming for vital points. A deafening sound, as the ws hit the sword. Arthur had the upper hand, as the man was sent flying, almost hitting a nearby tree.

    ¡°What?¡±

    The man could not believe it. Few had been the times that he lost to someone in a direct exchange of blows. It damaged his pride.

    It was his time to show his hidden cards. The cultist drew magical symbols in a quick manner, all of which were drawn on his sword. These symbols shone, and more swords appeared flying around them.

    A sword formation, it seemed, or maybe all these swords were only illusional. Arthur had no idea.

    What he could do was to keep attacking that man with everything he got, until he won. Arthur flew once again towards the man, trying to hit him with his w.

    The man was ready this time, and all the surrounding swords flew towards Arthur, attempting to stop his attack.

    Six swords came to sh with Arthur, and he blocked each one of them using his ws. These swords were sent flying after that, as there was no one wielding them to withstand the force of the impact, but they returned.

    It did not matter how many times Arthur blocked the swords, they would fly back and try to strike him again. A pain in the ass, and that also gave the cultist more time to prepare his other attacks.

    If the fight continued like that, Arthur would eventually lose. One sword hit him on the leg, and it started to bleed. The number of health points it took away was minimal, but if all the six swords started to hit, then he would be in trouble.

    Arthur gazed at the cultist, and noticed that the sun had moved, and a shadow formed behind him. It was the perfect opportunity to use the void step, so he did.

    In an instant, Arthur was no longer flying and blocking the swords. He had vanished from everyone¡¯s sight, and the cultist was surprised once again.

    ¡°Where did you go, bastard?¡±

    Inside the shadowy part of the dream realm, Arthur could see him, although a dark curtain was blocking his sight. He went behind the man, and then got out of that ce, appearing right behind him.

    It was impossible for the man to react in time. Arthur pierced his w on the man¡¯s

 Chapter 59

    The ck substance that came from the sword covered half of Arthur¡¯s body before it stopped.

    Before, Arthur could barely grab the sword with both hands, but now, he carried it only using his right arm.

    One of his eyes turned ck, and had a few dots inside, resembling a gxy.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening to me?¡± Arthur thought.

    The entirety of his right side was covered in that ck substance, and even one of his fire wings turned ck. It did not make sense.

    Arthur thought that type of energy only belonged to these demons, but he had done nothing wrong, expect used the sword.

    Perhaps the sword was a demonic treasure? Well, it would not make sense at all, as Arthur found it in a dragon-like temple, and there was a diary of a dragon right next to it.

    It was all in vain, as Arthur lost his consciousness. Not that he was not awake, no, he was, but it wasn¡¯t him controlling the body.

    The body moved for itself, and it was a good thing more people from the Doom Order showed up.

    ¡°Who¡¯s this? He has the demon¡¯s energy, so he surely is someone from the high order.¡± one of them said.

    .

    Arthur was not awake to see, but a notification appeared in front of him, one that only he could read.

    [cidusax energy absorbed]

    [Your body cannot control it]

    [Berserker mode enabled]

    The system recognized that energy as something from cidusax. Arthur still did not know how he could be a person that belonged to another world, and the king of dragons in that world at the same time.

    What exactly was happening? Everyone until now said that energy belonged to demons, but what now? The energy was from the king of dragons cidusax, and at the same time someone was giving it to humans.

    Something fishy was going on behind the curtains¡­

    Anyway, Arthur was not in his right mind, so without thinking, he flew towards the members of the Doom Order, and swung his immense sword at them.

    There was not a single chance they would survive. Arthur did not know, but his dragon transformation was active, which doubled his attributes. And, this strange energy increased all of his attributes by 100 as well.

    He was on a different realm than those weaklings. The downside was that he could not think properly, and would probably attack anyone on his path, like a madman.

    All the people that showed up from the Doom Order, which were about 10 people, died one by one. They even tried to block the immense ck sword, but it was all for nothing.

    Some were cut in half, others turned into a pulp of meat, and some had their heads exploded. It was aplete mess, with body parts all around, and pools of blood.

    After Arthur wiped all of these people, cutting them into pieces, he passed out. His body could not endure anymore.

    ¡°Captain, CAPTAIN!¡± Kai yelled, shaking Arthur¡¯s body to see if he would wake up.

    Ha was also there, and she was both worried, and scared. The scene they witnessed when arriving there was not a pretty one. A few even threw up after seeing that many mutted bodies.

    Arthur suddenly woke up, feeling pain all over his body, and confusion in his head.

    ¡°Kai? What are you doing here?¡± Arthur looked around him, and saw that many bodies, and even he was shocked.

    ¡°What the fuck happened here?¡± Arthur said, but no one had an answer to it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, captain. We arrived a few moments ago, and everything was like this already. And there¡¯s some bad news.¡±

    ¡°Bad news? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Just look.¡±

    Kai brought a head. It was of Runo. Arthur had killed him during his frenzy.

    ¡°No way. Well, let¡¯s bring his head back to the Pirate Guild, and with the books, we can still have some kind of proof.¡±

    Arthur got up, and could barely walk. The pain in his body was too much, and it would take him some time to recover. Kai helped him by giving his shoulder, and as they were returning to the city, Arthur remembered some parts of what happened.

    He remembered that ck substanceing from the sword, and entering inside his body. After that, everything is nk.

    ¡°I passed out, and seeing all these bodies around me, I think I was the one that did it. What the hell?¡±

    It was something he did not have the answer to. On the way back, Arthur thought about what his next steps would be.

    Now that Runo was dead, he wanted to go to that distant ind and try to find his friends. But he couldn¡¯t just grab his crew and go there.

    Arthur¡¯s crew did not know his friends at all, and they would not spend 2 months on the sea for that. Kai was the only one that would do, because Arthur was his master, friend, and both of them had simr bloodlines.

    ¡°Kai.¡±

    ¡°Captain?¡±

    ¡°If I went looking for my friends, would youe with me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, but I don¡¯t know if the rest of the crew will agree.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we need to talk about that. Who do you think would do well as a new captain?¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur, Kai, Ha and Joshua were inside a inn room.

    ¡°I think Ha and Joshua are suited for the task.¡± Arthur said.

    They talked, and both him and Kai decided to put Ha and Joshua in charge. Ha was stronger than Joshua, so she would be the captain, and Joshua the vice-captain.

    ¡°But why are you guys leaving out of a sudden?¡±

    It was shocking news for both of them.

    ¡°We have a clue about something that we will follow. If all goes wrong, then I hope you can still have us in your crew.¡±

    ¡°Obviously. You will always be the captain for us.¡±

    ¡°Good, good.¡±

    The rest of the crew got that information, and no one objected their decision. Ha and Joshua were known by all of them.

    It was said to be a temporary change of leadership, but who knew what would happen to both Kai and Arthur¡­

    Arthur was okay with that. He wanted to find his girls, as it was better than staying around all of these men¡­

 Chapter 60

    The crew parted ways for the time being. Ha and Joshua were the leaders.

    Arthur had another mission, and that was to go look for his girls. He and Kai were talking with someone in the port, looking for a ship for them to buy.

    It was at that moment that Arthur overheard a conversation between two men.

    ¡°We will finally leave to do the entrance test for the magic school. I cannot wait.¡±

    ¡°Right? I hope we can learn some cool stuff there.¡±

    Arthur came close to them, and asked more about it.

    ¡°Hey, sorry to bother you too. How does one join this school that you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    ¡°No worries man. You¡¯re also looking for these pretty girls, aren¡¯t you? Anyway, all you have to do is pay a fee for that man, and he will transport you there.¡±

    One of them pointed to a fatty man that was near a ship. That was the man responsible for getting the people to the school.

    Arthur thanked them for the information, and went to talk with the man.

    ¡°I heard you¡¯re in charge of sending people to the magic school? How much?¡±

    ¡°The ship is full, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°How much?¡±

    The man seemed annoyed, but he still said, ¡°It is 50 gold per person, but like I said, it is full.¡±

    .

    ¡°I can pay you 300 gold per person, but you have to give us the best rooms.¡±

    ¡°Deal. I¡¯ll kick two.¡±

    ¡°But please, don¡¯t kick them.¡±

    Arthur pointed at the two that just gave him the information. They were nice, and he did not want them expelled.

    ¡°No problem. We will leave in two hours. Don¡¯t bete.¡±

    600 gold coins was not that much for Arthur, and he paid the man without problems. Maybe he could negotiate for less, but it would be boring, and Arthur was not feeling like doing it.

    The best part was that the ship would leave in two hours. Arthur would not have to wait long, as he would have to wait 2 months to get there anyway¡­

    He returned and exined everything to Kai, and they went to grab something to eat.

    There was no need to pack his stuff, as Arthur had already done that, and his magical backpack was full. He even put some food there in case something happened during the trip.

    They went to a regr restaurant nearby, ate, and returned to the port after the two hours passed.

    A lot of people were already there, waiting to get inside the ship. Arthur stood in line with Kai, and waited for their turn to enter.

    ¡°Your room will be the 1 and 2, the best there is.¡±

    The man kept his part of the deal, and gave one room for Arthur and one for Kai, and both were the biggest rooms of the ship.

    ¡°Now all we have to do is wait for 2 months, damn. That¡¯s a far ind.¡±

    ¡°I agree captain.¡±

    Arthur and Kai talked in the ship¡¯s hall, where all the rooms were. The others, who were looking to join the magic school passed by them from time to time.

    There were all young people looking for an opportunity to change their fate. Arthur respected that, and hoped most of them would pass the tests to enter the school.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    A man noticed Arthur¡¯s gaze, and did not like it at all.

    ¡°Can¡¯t I look? Is it a crime to use one¡¯s eyes?¡±

    ¡°Ha, I get it now. This is the first time you¡¯re seeing someone from a noble family, right? But remember your ce, dog.¡±

    Arthur had the urge to beat that man right in the spot, but that was prohibited inside the ship, and he did not want to get expelled, as it was the best chance he had to find his friends.

    But he had a better idea, one that would hurt that man more than a beating.

    Speaking of him, he left right after spitting that bull shit. Maybe he was afraid Arthur would beat him?

    Kai also left and went to his own room. Arthur would not stay still on the hallway alone, so he left as well.

    The room was said to be the best there is inside the ship, and it was indeed quite good, but it was still a room inside a ship.

    It was not luxurious nor anything like that, but it was nice. Arthur could stay there for 2 months easily.

    He sat on the bed, and thought about the moment he reunited with his friends again. It had been a long, long time.

    ¡°I cannot wait.¡± Arthur thought.

    Now all he had to do was endure 2 months¡­

    ~~~~

    Two months passed, although it looked like an eternity for Arthur, who had nothing interesting to do inside that ship.

    All he did was eat, sleep, and read some boring ass books. Well, he absorbed the sun energy every day, but the progress was little. He wondered if there was another way around.

    Anyway, after two months of suffering, they reached the ind.

    It was an immense ind, away from everything. For that reason, Arthur noticed many farms, with all different types of crops, and animals as well.

    There weremon people living there, which took care of the normal stuff of the ind. It was these people that got the food everyone ate.

    Now, Odemore, the school of magic, was not near the shore, but somewhat in the middle of the ind.

    From the shore, there was a pathway made of stone that led directly to Odemore.

    ¡°Everyone, leave. We are here.¡±

    The captain of the ship said. Arthur was almost shaking with anxiety, and Kai was excited as well. Not for the reunion of Arthur and his friends, but about the fact he would join a magic school.

    ¡°Should we go there?¡± Kai asked as soon as they stepped out of the ship.

    ¡°Well, I guess. Do you want to?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I cannot wait to stretch my legs.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, to Odemore it is.¡±

    ~~~~

    No beast or man caused any trouble during the trip. Arthur and Kai were in the front, while the rest of the people from the ship were behind.

    With each step, more and more trees and tall vegetation covered both sides of the road. The canopy of tall trees covered their heads, keeping out the sunlight.

    Arthur noticed some people restless, afraid that something would attack them at any moment. He, on the other hand, was calm.

    Many were the things Arthur passed, and it would not be a tree-covered road that would frighten him. Kai was also confident, after all, like Arthur, he could also see in the dark.

    They walked for some time until they saw signs of human workmanship. Odemore was in the middle of the ind, which made the journey not as fast as expected.

    The first thing they saw was a house, made of the same stone as the path.

    A person was sitting on a chair inside this house. Arthur saw him through the window, and it seems that he did the same.

    The man came out of the house, and asked, ¡°Who are you, and what are you doing here?¡±

    Arthur took the lead, and said, ¡°We came by ship from a distant city. The entrance test seems to be near, and we havee to perform it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, right. Well, you have arrived at very short notice since the test is starting now. Follow that path, and you will find the rest of the students who are taking the test.¡±

    The man pointed to the direction in which they should go.

    It was the same stone path they had been following up to that point. They kept going deeper into the forest, until a mansion came into their view.

    The mansion was huge, and extremely well crafted, with many details. With just a glimpse you could tell that whoever built it was an extraordinary person.

    In front of this mansion, at least 10 people were waiting. They were standing next to a huge statue, carved in detail.

    That statue was so well-made that it looked real. The most incredible thing was that the statue reminded them very much of Arthur¡¯s face.

    A person came out of the mansion, and it was no one Arthur knew.

    ¡°Is everyone here?¡± As soon as she said that, she could notice Arthur¡¯s grouping.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go quickly. We don¡¯t have all the time in the world.¡±

    Once Arthur was near, the woman could not help but notice he looked familiar.

    ¡°Attention, everyone. The first part of the test will start now.¡±

    Arthur and Kai were among the people, listening to everything the woman said. It seemed the test have more than one phase, so it would probably take a while.

    ¡°I was hoping that someone I knew would run the test, but who¡¯s this woman? Well, she is beautiful nheless, and angry it seems. A new challenge for me, he-he.¡± Arthur thought.

 Chapter 61

    It turned out the test only had one phase. The woman responsible had a crystal orb in her hands.

    ¡°Each one of you wille here, touch this orb, and it will rank your magical talent.¡±

    ¡°The talent is determined by how many times the orb shines. For you to pass the test, the orb has to shine at least 3 times.¡±

    As she was exining, that rude noble guy from the ship had his hand up.

    ¡°Say it.¡±

    ¡°3 times means you have normal talent? Then what is considered 4 times or higher, and who was the person with the highest talent tested by the orb?¡±

    ¡°3 times is average. 4 times above average. 5 times excellent talent, and only a few have it. 6 times you¡¯re considered a genius, and that¡¯s it. No one had more than 6, and the record belongs to someone from our school called Jane.¡±

    When Arthur heard that, his heart raced. It was true, the beautiful women from another kingdom were indeed Jane, Wisa, and the others. They would finally meet each other.

    After the woman exined everything, it was time for them to test their talent using the crystal orb.

    ¡°You,e!¡±

    She was the one calling out the names, and people had no choice but to go. The first person was someone Arthur had seen one time inside the ship.

    It was a girl. She was good-looking, and as she walked, everyone gazed at her.

    That rude noble guy was near me, and he said, ¡°She is too much for a country boy like you. Stop looking. She is mine.¡±

    Arthur wanted tough at that statement. Who that guy thought he was?

    Anyway, the girl went to touch the crystal orb, and everyone watched from afar.

    ¡°1¡­ 2¡­ 3¡­ 4¡­!¡±

    The orb shone four times, which meant the girl not only passed the test, but also had above average talent.

    .

    ¡°Good. The first one not only passed but has good talent. Congrattions!¡±

    The girl was jumping out of happiness, and stood behind the woman, waiting for the others to finish their testing.

    ¡°2 times, you did not pass.¡±

    ¡°1 time. Why are you even here?¡±

    Arthur saw how lots of people failed the test, and the number of people gathered in front of the mansion kept getting lower.

    That asshole noble guy actually made the orb shine five times, and did not stop bragging for a second.

    ¡°5 times, that¡¯s excellent. I expect great things for you.¡± she said.

    Some people passed, others did not. In the end, 8 people passed the test. There was only two more to go, and that was Arthur and Kai.

    Kai went first, touched the orb, and it actually shone 5 times too.

    ¡°Another one with excellent talent. This batch of students will bring glory to our school.¡±

    Even Kai was surprised to see that his talent was that good. The noble, who also had an excellent talent was not that happy with that.

    It was Arthur¡¯s time to go and test his talent.

    ¡°Look how this guy will fail badly. I bet the orb will not even change.¡±

    The same noble bastard whispered to the others, and they did not like what he said. It seemed he was the only asshole there.

    Arthur went forward, and touched the orb.

    It shone one time.

    Two times.

    Three times.

    When it reached the sixth mark, everyone was shocked, and even the woman responsible for the testing could not believe it.

    The most extraordinary thing was that it did not stop there, but continued until the tenth time.

    After the orb shone 10 times, it exploded.

    No one could mutter a word, especially that arrogant brat who was saying shit since the first time they met.

    ¡°This is¡­ this is¡­¡±

    The woman could not believe it. Ten times was too much for her toprehend. It took her at least one minute to recover from the shock.

    ¡°A chosen one came to our school. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Arthur.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Harmony, one of the teachers here. It is a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    Harmony was a blonde mature woman that taught a few subjects in the school. It seemed Odemore had few teachers, so some of them had to teach more than one subject.

    She was responsible for transformation magic, as well as emission.

    Just with a glimpse, Arthur could tell she was hot, both in appearance and temperament.

    ¡°Now, everyone, please follow me.¡±

    All the students that passed the test followed Harmony inside the mansion.

    The mansion was the main building of the school, and it was where all the ssrooms were. Not only that, but the infirmary, alchemy room, storage room etc.

    Basically, everything except the dorms was inside the main building.

    Harmony went around, showing most of the school for them. Kai was so excited after getting to know he was a talented person, that he could not help but to smile.

    Arthur, on the other hand, was more focused on trying to find someone he knew.

    ¡°All right, the tour is over for now. You can roam freely and explore the school yourself. sses will start tomorrow for all of you.¡±

    After everyone left, and there was only Arthur there, he called Harmony and asked her something.

    ¡°Hey Harmony. Is there someone called Wisa in this school?¡±

    He already knew there was someone called Jane, so Arthur felt asking it would not add anything.

    ¡°There is. How do you know her?¡±

    ¡°Long story. Is she here?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she is. She¡¯s with Jane training.¡±

    ¡°All right, thank you. I¡¯ll tell you the story about how we met in another time.¡± Arthur was just walking and then remembered to ask, ¡°Huh, where are they training?¡±

    ~~~~

    There was a waterfall, and beneath it, ake. It was a beautiful scenery that would make everyone gasp.

    Jane was there, near theke. Wisa was giving personal training for her.

    Arthur was searching for that ce, and once he did, and saw his girls there, he could not believe it.

    Everything felt like a dream. He smiled, and did his best to hold the tears from falling.

    He walked towards them with slow steps.

    ¡°Who is there?¡±

    Wisa was the first one to notice a strange presence, and she already had a sword on hands. Jane also grabbed her book, and was ready to cast a spell at any moment.

    Arthur slowly came out of the bushes, and when they saw him, they stopped everything what they were doing.

    ¡°A- Arthur!?¡± Wisa had no strength to hold the sword anymore, and it dropped, hitting the floor.

    Jane was the same, and she thought she was seeing things.

    ¡°I-I thought you were dead. Our link broke, I-¡± Jane could barely talk as tears streamed down her face like the waterfall next to them.

    Wisa, who never cried, also did. Arthur had sacrificed himself to block that spell, and died in the end¡­

    They even made a statue for him in the school, and if anyone asked, Arthur was the true president of Odemore. That was a proof of how much he meant to them.

    For the first time in ages, they hugged. It was an unforgettable memory for the three of them.

    Time seemed to stop, and Arthur was liking thefy ce above their chests.

    After everyone got their shit together, they wanted to know exactly how he had survived.

    ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°It is a long story¡­¡±

    Arthur told them everything since the moment they parted ways, including the fact about his disciple Kai, about their bloodlines and everything.

    Wisa and Jane were among the few he trusted his secrets.

    ¡°You are a dragon? That is just, just-¡±

    ¡°Crazy, right?¡±

    Obviously, he did not tell them about his abilities, or neither the system, as these were his top secrets, just like the fact that he came from another world.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be a student here, no. You are the president of the academy from now on.¡±

    ¡°Really? No, no, you should be the one, Wisa. You are the wisest of us.¡±

    ¡°Are you calling me old? I¡¯m a mature and good-looking woman. I¡¯m sure lots of men are crazy over me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? And did you choose any of them?¡± ¡°Eh, no. I have eyes on someone else.¡± Wisa¡¯s cheeks reddened for a moment, and Arthur was surprised.

    ¡°Am I the man? Ha, these two are wife material, that¡¯s for sure.¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°But where¡¯s the others? Are they okay?¡±

    Lilia was not there, neither the two siblings they met before.

    ¡°Well, they decided to take their own path. From everyone of Frostpeak academy, there¡¯s only me and Wisa.¡± Jane said.

    Turns out the rest of them decided to move on their own.

    It was not that big of a deal though. Wisa and Jane were still there, and these two were the most important.

    And, he can always find more girls.

    ¡°Now that you are here, it is time to announce to everyone that the president of the academy returned.¡± Wisa said.

    With that, they left the training area, and went towards the mansion.

 Chapter 62

    All students of the school were surprised to see Jane calling out everyone to meet in front of the mansion.

    Jane was the president, although not in name, but she was the one that took care of the things inside the school, alongside her teacher, Wisa.

    ¡°Do you know why they are gathering everyone here?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Me neither.¡±

    The students all whispered to each other, and it seemed no one knew the reason behind what was happening.

    Fifty students gathered in front of the mansion. It was not that many, but it was a considerable amount, as Odemore only epted people with decent talent, and it was a new school.

    ¡°Attention, everyone.¡±

    The moment Jane said, everyone shut their mouths. No one muttered a word.

    ¡°I¡¯m here today to announce that the president of the academy has returned!¡± ¡°What? Where is he?¡± People got euphoric, as no student of the school had ever met the president. He was like a myth to them.

    .

    ¡°Silence.¡± Wisa was the one saying that.

    They all shut their mouths again, and gazed at a person right behind Jane and Wisa.

    It was Arthur. He was not wearing the same clothes as before, but now wore the school¡¯s uniform.

    The clothing was made of fine fabric, and what stood out the most was the ck cape above his shoulders that was adorned with gold fments.

    Arthur was well-dressed, just like an academy president should. The pants and the shirt reminded him of the ¡®social¡¯ attire people used in his world.

    He made sure to gaze at the noble guy that kept talking shit about him, and when their eyes met, the guy looked to the side, avoiding it.

    ¡°Ha, I¡¯ll not expel this guy, but I¡¯ll sure make his life a living hell, at least until he changes his attitude.¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°Please, greet our president, Arthur.¡± Jane said.

    When everyone saw who the president was, they were surprised. They remembered Arthur taking the entrance test, and breaking the magical orb.

    Harmony, the blonde woman responsible for the test was also shocked. It turned out that talented youth was the president of the academy.

    ¡°You! That¡¯s, how?¡± Harmony said, and Arthur simply smiled at her.

    The students came up with the theory that Arthur was in that boat with the students to spy on new talents, and they all saw him as a mysterious figure.

    A few of them wanted to smash their heads after seeing the huge statue in front of the school.

    ¡°How did I not recognize him?¡±

    It was incredible. Arthur¡¯s title changed, and now every student was afraid of pissing him off, and they all wanted favors from him.

    Everyone wanted the good side of the president. Arthur was excited for it.

    ¡°Building up an academy, hm. Maybe I can get strong enough to return tond, and dominate that kingdom?¡± Arthur thought.

    Arthur looked at all of his students, and started his speech.

    ¡°I¡¯m Arthur, the president of this academy. It is a pleasure to meet all of you.¡±

    The students got excited, but Arthur continued.

    ¡°I saw that many of you have different grades of talent, but let me remind you. Talent is not everything. I want everyone working hard to achieve what you are looking,¡±

    ¡°I want good for all of you, and I also think everyone here wants me on their side, so for that, you must work hard and showmitment.¡±

    The speech was not that creative, but it was what Arthur thought given the short time. Still, the speech was true.

    Countless times Arthur had seen these so-called talented people fooling around doing nothing. He would not let that happen inside his academy.

    After that, all the students left to do their own stuff.

    ¡°So, want to see your room?¡± Jane said.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    They walked through the academy, and a few students gazed at Arthur. Things had turned upside down in just one day.

    The president¡¯s room was on the highest floor, which was the third floor.

    A massive double-door well decorated. There were also two flower pots in front, which made the ce look nice.

    ¡°That¡¯s your room. You can explore it on your own. We have to prepare the sses for tomorrow.¡±

    Wisa, Jane, and Harmony were the only teachers the academy had at that moment. It was not a good thing, and Arthur wanted to address that as soon as possible, although there weren¡¯t many options around.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll see youter.¡±

    ¡°Arthur, this room right here is my room. You cane visit me there at any time.¡± Jane said, and pointed to a room next to where they stood.

    ¡°My room is that one. You can visit me at any time too.¡± Wisa was the one saying now, and she pointed to another room, just besides Jane¡¯s.

    Both of them were almost throwing themselves at Arthur. The only one that wasn¡¯t doing that was Harmony, but Arthur knew her time woulde too.

    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll remember that.¡±

    With that, they parted ways. Arthur was excited to have a peek in how his room looked, and when he did that, he was impressed.

    The room had plenty of space, and was well-decorated. The first part had his main desk, with afy chair, and lots of books and papers around.

    It looked like a normal office. But there was another double-door on the right side of the room, which led to another room, and that was where Arthur would live.

    A king-sized bed, a bathroom, an improvised kitchen, and a balcony. It had lots of things inside, and was the size of a house.

    ¡°This is incredible. It reminds me of the rooms back in the pce.¡±

    What Arthur got was a luxurious room, which he deserved considering how much struggle he had passed these past months.

    ¡°I can finally chill. My next goal is to rebuild this ce into something great, and marry my two wives, Jane and Wisa.¡± Kai¡¯s training would also start. Not only his magical training, but the morebat-oriented training to utilize the most of his bloodline, and, after two months, someone gave a sign of life.

    Sully moved again, but this time, it was hatching!

 Chapter 63 - Sully is Back, and Theodore Dead?

    Inside Arthur¡¯s magical bag an egg moved. It was Sully, who had be that way after getting his bloodline.

    Two months had passed since then, and he had yet to hatch. Arthur was already happy as things were finally getting better; now even his friend was returning.

    Arthur took out the egg from the bag, and ced it above his bed. It was moving, and cracks had showed up already.

    After what felt like an eternity, a small baby wyvern hatched. It was all white, and cute.

    ¡°Ohh, look at this cutie!¡±

    Arthur was moving his hands towards it to cuttle, and then a voice suddenly said inside his mind.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡±

    ¡°Sully? Do you remember me?¡±

    He wanted to see if the memories were still intact, and it seemed that was the case.

    ¡°How would I forget such brat? Listen, I may look cute now, but I¡¯m not a baby. Don¡¯t treat me like one. Hey, what are you doing?¡± It was hard to resist. That cute little wyvern needed a cuddle.

    ¡°When I turn into a huge wyvern, and you say, ¡®Hey Sully, give a ride?¡¯ I¡¯ll answer with YOUR ASS!¡± ¡°And when I turn into a huge DRAGON, and you say ¡®Hey, Arthur, please teach me how to be a dragon¡¯, I¡¯ll say your ass. How does it sound?¡±

    ¡°I-Damn it. It¡¯s impossible to win against you.¡±

    In the end, Sully had to give up, and receive the cuddle¡­

    The number above Sully¡¯s head was 2. He was only level 2, but Arthur knew that was not a problem at all.

    Sully would have to grow strong all again? Yes, but his potential was way higher than what he had before. A fully grown wyvern is something powerful.

    As there were only the two of them inside the office, Arthur exined to him everything that happened, and also the ns for the future.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to marry two beautiful girls? When will you introduce a beautiful wyvern to me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know any. Wait, I actually know one.¡±

    ¡°You do!?¡± Sully was excited, and then all of his dreams were crushed after the next sentence.

    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s Kai, HAHA!¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡±

    Arthur rolled on the bed,ughing, differently from Sully, who was pissed.

    ¡°I like the idea of building a home though. Maybe we can conquer our own kingdom?¡± Sully said.

    ¡°Calm down, boy. We still have a long way ahead of us.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    The two of them talked about many things, and the person that interrupted them was Kai, who came knocking on the door.

    ¡°Kai, just in time. Look who¡¯s back!¡±

    Kai gazed at the bed, and saw a baby wyvern.

    ¡°Sully!¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t touch me!¡± Sully said, and that time, it was not only inside Arthur¡¯s head.

    Sully now had the ability to talk in the dragon¡¯s tongue, which was surprising considering he was still a baby wyvern. It seemed the lineage of dragons was ahead of humans at all aspects.

    ¡°I can understand you?¡±

    ¡°And I can understand you too! That¡¯s good news brat. I can talk with you instead of my master, who is a-¡±

    Arthur gazed at Sully, seeing if he would be brave enough to finish the sentence.

    ¡°Who is a marvelous person, just look at him. All handsome with his ck hair, and ck clothing. Dark, spooky!Boo!¡±

    ¡°Hey, Kai. I¡¯m nning on starting your training next week. You¡¯ll be somewhat busy with the academy, so I¡¯ll give you one week of peace.¡± ¡°Sounds fair.¡±

    That was not the truth. Arthur nned on getting some sses with Wisa before, so he could learn and then teach to Kai.

    ¡°What weapon would you like to use Kai?¡±

    ¡°Weapon? Hm, I guess a huge sword is cool.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± A marvelous coincidence. He also wanted to learn more about wielding a two-handed sword, and Kai just happened to want the same.

    After that small chat, Arthur left, leaving Kai and Sully to talk with each other.

    The school¡¯s mansion was well-built and Arthur found nothing wrong with that, but the academy felt as if it missed something.

    ¡°The students don¡¯t have anything to put their minds on in here. There are only trees, and bushes, and bugs.¡±

    Arthur had the idea of building a hangout ce for the students, with pools, and maybe a ping-pong table.

    ¡°I can teach them that, and it is not impossible to build.¡±

    It was a good idea, at least he thought so. Another thing the academycked was security.

    The ind they were in was somewhat far from everything, but still, if someone went there, the academy had no protective barriers or anything like that.

 Chapter 64 - Theodore Challenged Arthur

    Theodore got on Arthur¡¯s nerves since the first time they met. He only stopped after witnessing Arthur be the president of the academy.

    It turned out he was now challenging Arthur¡¯s authority. How could he call himself the president if he did not protect his own students?

    The girl also shared with him where Theodore was. It seemed he was mistreating others inside the dorm, so that is where Arthur went.

    The dorm was not that far from the mansion, so it did not take long to reach. Some students who were nearby could see the anger on Arthur¡¯s face.

    ¡°President seems pissed. Who is the unlucky?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m happy it isn¡¯t me.¡± Inside the dorm, Theodore was talking shit to other students.

    ¡°Huh? Do you really think I¡¯ll share my room with someone else? On your dreams.¡±

    ¡°But this is the rules. There are few rooms for us, so it is two people for one room.¡±

    ¡°This rule doesn¡¯t apply to a noble like me. Grab your stuff and get the hell out of my room.¡±

    Theodore was kicking another youth from his room. They were supposed to share the room and be roommates, but it seemed like Theodore was not fond of that idea.

    The dorm was simr to the mansion, but on a much smaller scale. Arthur went inside, and heard thosest sentences of the arguing.

    ¡°What is happening here?¡±

    When Arthur¡¯s voice echoed in the hall, everyone turned their heads and gazed at him.

    Besides Theodore and the man he was fighting with, there were also some others around watching everything. Like kids watching a fight.

    Theodore disliked Arthur since the first time they met, and even now he still thought Arthur got the title of president just because of luck, or because he knew Jane somehow.

    ¡°Oh, it is Mr President. Am I in trouble? Surely not.¡± Theodore said in a mocking tone.

    Some others near himughed after that statement. It seemed he was getting some followers.

    ¡°Is this guy challenging my authority?¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re fighting with this other student. Could you exin the reason?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I was just arguing that I don¡¯t want to share my room with thismoner. I paid to get here, and we all deserve at least one room for each one of us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you did pay, but no one forced you. And I will be the one studying and seeing how to spend this money to improve the school. But, as everyone knows, we need this money for many other things, and not a room for a spoiled kid.¡±

    The hall was silent, and only Theodore and his ¡®followers¡¯ had the guts to say something.

    ¡°How can someone as ipetent as you run this school? This is crazy. I guess you¡¯re amoner just like this guy.¡±

    That was the end of the line for him. Arthur was already being patient enough to listen to that bullshit, but now that he was talking about parents, that was not cool.

    Arthur was, after all, an orphan.

    ¡°It is funny that you don¡¯t even know me, and yet see me as ipetent. I think it is the same with your father, you know. I don¡¯t know him, yet I know he is a piece of shit to raise someone like you.¡±

    Theodore listened to that, and was red with anger, but before he could say anything, Arthur appeared right in front of him.

    ¡°Everyone that is here, listen to this carefully. I¡¯m a good guy, I can promise you that, but cross the line, and you¡¯ll be punished.¡±

    ¡°You, Theodore, you want a room for yourself, right?¡±

    ¡°I- I do.¡± Theodore was still shocked to see Arthur vanishing like that, but he still answered it.

    ¡°Good. Then for now on you¡¯ll not sleep here anymore.¡±

    Theodore had a smile on his face after hearing that, and was ready to talk more shit, until he listened to the next sentence.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be sleeping in the woods with the animals. From this day, you don¡¯t have a uniform anymore, and wille to ss only wearing underwear. Also, if you say any more shit about me or any other students, I¡¯ll cut your dick, and shove it on your throat. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Ha, you would-¡±

    Before he finished, Arthur punched in the face. The perfect nose he was so proud of was nowpletely broken, and a stream of blood dripped from his face.

    ¡°You¡¯ll only speak when I say.¡±

    ¡°Ah, my, my nose is broken.¡±

    Another punch followed, and the broken nose got even worse.

    ¡°Like I said, you¡¯ll only speak when I say you to.¡±

    After the second punch, Theodore was knocked out. He was still only level 4, and barely knew any magic. How could he challenge Arthur¡¯s authority? That man was crazy.

    Arthur grabbed him, and left the dorm.

    The students were all frozen, until someone said.

    ¡°Did you guys see that? That is a real man. We all need to learn from our master Arthur.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Anyone that dares to challenge him is stupid.¡±

    ¡°Now that you¡¯re saying this, didn¡¯t those studentsugh a few moments ago?¡±

    The small followers Theodore apologized to them, and almost cried on the spot.

    Arthur had Theodore on his shoulders, and left to the woods. He went to the deeper parts, until he found a good ce to put him.

    He also took out all of his clothes except for the underwear, and burned them.

    With his ws, he wrote a sentence on the ground that said ¡®You can onlye to the school to attend ss, and that¡¯s it. If I see you eating our food or trying to sleep in our rooms, I¡¯ll kill you. Also, don¡¯t talk shit to others and apologize to everyone tomorrow, or I¡¯ll kill you too. And, if you share this with anyone, I¡¯ll kill you too.¡¯

    ¡°Hm, I think this is good. Now, I can¡¯t wait to talk with my girls!¡± Arthur thought.

 Chapter 65 - Dinner, Peace, and a Rat?

    After giving Theodore a lesson, Arthur returned to the school, looking for Jane.

    Jane was inside her room, just like she said she would be.

    ¡°Can Ie in?¡± Arthur said as he knocked on the door.

    ¡°Arthur!? Of course. What brings you here?¡±

    Jane had a few papers lying above her desk, and she shoved them away to appear more professional to Arthur.

    ¡°Just wanted to see if you were okay.¡±

    ¡°I am, but taking care of this academy was tiring, and hard for me.¡±

    Arthur could not even imagine how many hardships Jane had passed. She had to take care of a magic school while being in grief.

    ¡°I¡¯m here now. Anyway, there are some things I wanted to talk to you.¡± ¡°You do? Go ahead.¡± The first thing Arthur talked about was that situation with Theodore, and Jane approved all of it.

    ¡°You had to be hard on him or else he would continue to do these things inside the academy, and all the students would suffer.¡± Jane said.

    That was a relief. Arthur had previously thought Jane would not be so happy about that, but it turned out she agreed with him, which was a pleasant surprise.

    The other thing Arthur wanted to talk about was what they could do to expand the academy. He had the idea of building a recreation area for the students to pass the time, and bond with each other.

    Arthur thought it was a good idea, and there weren¡¯t many things they could use the money for anyway.

    Hire more teachers? There was no candidate around, and they did not need more teachers as the academy still had few students. Maybe in the future, but that was not the time for it.

    Build more dorms, so the students don¡¯t have to share rooms? No way Arthur would do that now. The students should be thankful they had a ce to sleep in the first ce.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Hm. I do think it is a good idea. The sses are demanding and tiring, and seeing how there is not much to do on this ind, then this is a good idea.¡±

    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s enough workers on the ind?¡±

    ¡°Probably. You saw the vige, right? People there usually just take care of their farm and animals, so it is not a thing that requires that many people. I¡¯m sure there are enough free workers there. But even if not, then we can always go on another ind and hire them.¡±

    ¡°Now that you¡¯re speaking of leaving this ind. I heard some people saying you all mount an immense beast. Is it true?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no. This beast is an immense turtle we found on this ind. The turtle did not kill us, and when it is in a good mood it also gives us a ride.¡±

    ¡°But I heard you were flying. A flying turtle?¡±

    ¡°Crazy, right?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely!.¡±

    After chatting with Jane for a while, Arthur went looking for Wisa. He wanted to talk with her about the private sses, as he wanted to get better when wielding a two-handed sword.

    ¡°Wisa, are you free?¡±

    Wisa¡¯s office was just beside Jane¡¯s, so Arthur went there in no time. She had lots of papers above her desk, just like Jane¡¯s.

    It was understandable, as both of them were teachers inside the academy now, and had to prepare sses.

    Arthur was surprised to see both of her levels, actually. Jane was level 30, and Wisa 42. He did not know if they were this strong before, as he did not have a skill to check their levels, or if they did power up after they parted ways.

    ¡°Arthur? So you dide to visit, how charming. You came here first, and not in Jane¡¯s office, right?¡±

    ¡°Obviously. You¡¯re always the first, Wisa.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I like to hear.¡±

    Months and years may pass, but Wisa was just as charming as ever. Her red-hair was something that made her stand out from most girls, and Wisa¡¯s mature looks drove Arthur crazy.

    ¡°So, Wisa, remember our private sses? Could you teach me again? But now on how to use a two-handed sword?¡±

    ¡°A two-handed sword?¡± Wisa¡¯s cheeks blushed, and Arthur could not understand what she was thinking about.

    ¡°Yes. Do you know how to wield one?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the best, but yes, I know. Can we start tomorrow? At night after the sses.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Thank you, Wisa.¡±

    ¡°No problem. Hey Arthur, hm,¡± Wisa wanted to say something, but it seemed the words were hard toe out.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°We could, I don¡¯t know, maybe have dinner together? There are no restaurants on this ind, but I can cook.¡±

    Wisa¡¯s face was all red, just like her hair. She even breathed heavily after saying that.

    From all the things Arthur imagined Wisa would say, asking him for dinner was not one of them.

    ¡°Yes, we could. When?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Really? Ah, maybe next week when things calm down a little?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s sounds perfect.¡±

    Arthur left after setting those things with Wisa, and it looked like one of the girls he wanted as wives were showing their love.

    Everything was going well for him. The first day as the president was a sess, but the real job would start the next day, when the sses start.

    Within a day, all male students respected and feared Arthur. He walked through the courtyard, and they looked at him as if looking at a beast, or their father.

    Arthur enjoyed that peace. He returned to his room after a day of fixing school issues and talking with his girls.

    ¡°Tomorrow I should pay a visit to the vige to see if there are any workers there that I can hire. And I hope Theodore does some shit, so I can punish him again.¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°You¡¯re back!¡±

    Sully was lying on the bed, and Arthur had to kick him out of it.

    ¡°How was your chat with Kai?¡± ¡°All good. Hey, did you bring me something to eat?¡± ¡°Do I look like your father?¡±

    ¡°Well, if you truly think about it¡­¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine. What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Hm, maybe a rat.¡±

    ¡°A rat? Where the hell will I find a rat?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. If I knew, I would get the rat myself.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 66 - Wisas Private Class Again

    The moon right up in the sky, shining to all those who were beneath. A man, young, was searching for a rat at such dark times.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe Sully made me look for this, damn. Should I just let him starve? No, he¡¯s annoying but not to that extent.¡±

    There were trees everywhere, and all kinds of animals around. It was not hard for Arthur to fin a little rat, and he did find one.

    When he returned, Sully was still on the bed, waiting for his dinner.

    ¡°You¡¯re fuckingzy. You know that, right?¡±

    ¡°I- I¡¯m a baby now. Take care of me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s funny.¡±

    Arthur threw the rat to Sully, kicked him out of the bed, and gazed at the roof, thinking about many things.

    ¡°Hey. What do you think about this ce?¡±

    ¡°I- wait, let me eat first.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Where were we again? Oh, right, about this ce. Well, to be honest, the mansion here and everything looks nice, but this ce stillcks. There is no proper defense, not enough teachers and students. Everything around is a fucking forest, so itcks construction.¡± Sully said, and Arthur agreed to all of it.

    The fact that no one attacked that ce was extraordinary. Maybe they did not because of how little money they had at that moment?

    ¡°I¡¯ll fix these things, eventually, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°I know you will. There is no way you¡¯ll leave your pretty girls now, he-he.¡± Sullyughed in a pretentious way.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re such a bastard.¡±

    Arthur left the bedroom area and went to the kitchen. His stomach was making noises, and there were no restaurants around, so he had to make his own food.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see here. Rice, some vegetables and meat. Perfect.¡±

    The strangest part was that rice existed on that ne too. Not only that, but also some other foods.

    ¡°Is rice the base of all universes?¡±

    Anyway, Arthur cooked these things using a sort of magical oven. It was not powered up using electricity but using a mana stone.

    ¡°That¡¯s new. Did they create this not long ago? I don¡¯t remember seeing it before.¡± Arthur thought.

    If that was the case, it meant technology was evolving. Not technology itself, but the ways to use magic and mana in their favor.

    Maybe they would get flying ships in the future? In fact, if Arthur was the one to invent them, he would make lots of money.

    Anyway, after his quick bite, Arthur decided to go to sleep. He was tired, and the next day would be the day to take care of all these students, who would surely cause trouble.

    ¡°If that Theodore makes anything, I¡¯ll beat his ass in front of everyone.¡± Arthur slept, and nothing out of the ordinary happened during the night. The only strange thing was the fact that Sully, a wyvern, snored¡­

    ¡°I want to sleep, AHHHHH!¡± Arthur used the pillow to cover his ears, but it was too much.

    He made a mental note to find another ce for Sully to sleep the next night.

    Birds sang, and students chatted outside, excited because of ss.

    There were fifty students, divided into three groups. Each group would have a ss with Jane, then Wisa, then Harmony.

    Not in that exact order, but that was how it would work.

    Arthur would not teach anything, at least not now. He thought he was not ready enough to do that, as he was only a specialist when using dragon skills.

    The first thing Arthur did in the morning was to eat something. After that, he took some time to annoy Sully, as he had annoyed him with his snoring.

    ¡°I can¡¯t control my snoring, fuck.¡± Sully kept getting poked by Arthur¡¯s finger, who was making sure to piss him off.

    Then, Arthur left his office to go watch how the students were going.

    The sses had just started, so Arthur went to each room to see how it was going.

    He made sure to gaze at Theodore, who was still only with his underwear. Theodore looked like shit, with dirt all over his body, and a clear sign he had not eaten.

    ¡°He was the one that did that to himself.¡± Arthur thought.

    They even exchanged nces, but Theodore was so scared he looked down, afraid Arthur would kill him.

    Maybe that was the start of a change? Arthur did not want to expel a student, so the best case scenario was that Theodore became a decent person, or at least not that asshole.

    Harmony, the blonde teacher, had the level of 35. It was good, and Arthur was pleased by how she taught.

    It was clear she had been a teacher before, different from Jane, who was still learning how to teach.

    Out of the three, Wisa was the most experienced, and every student could tell that just by looking.

    But of course, Harmony and Jane were not bad either. They taught, and the students learned.

    ¡°They are all decent, and at least that Theodore guy stopped making trouble.¡±

    The first day of school went all right, and at night, Wisa would be giving Arthur private sses about how to use a two-handed sword.

    They decided to train near thatke with the waterfall. Wisa was adept with fire magic, so she built lots of fire sources around to brighten the ce.

    Arthur got there first, and waited for her, but when he saw how she was dressed, Arthur was puzzled.

    Wisa was not using her normal clothes, but one that showed more of her body. The two peaks above her chest were showing, and the clothes were so tight on her body that Arthur could see the tip of her nipples.

    ¡°What is this? Will she try the first move on me?¡±

    Arthur wanted to have both Wisa and Jane as his wives. He loved them both after everything, and it did not matter for him who would be the first to make a move.

    It seemed like Wisa was up for something.

 Chapter 67 - Wisa and Arthur Had a Moment?

    Wisa had two swords made of wood, which would presumably be used for their training.

    These swords were bigger than the ones they used back at the Frostpeak academy. They were two-handed swords, after all.

    ¡°You¡¯re already here? You really did miss your sses, huh.¡± Wisa chuckled, and gave one of the swords to Arthur.

    Arthur, on the other hand, was finding it hard to concentrate with Wisa wearing those clothes. She was already beautiful with the day-to-day clothing, but wearing something like that? It was too much.

    The tip of her nipples were showing, and the tight clothes made her curves even more charming.

    What was the reason behind that look? Arthur still did not know, but there was one thing he knew. The dinner next week was promising¡­

    ¡°So, you¡¯re aplete beginner in two-handed sword as well, right?¡± Wisa said.

    Arthur was somewhat embarrassed as he said, ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡±.

    ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad. Big sis Wisa is here, so you¡¯ll get good in no time.¡±

    Wisa, with the two-handed sword in hands, showed Arthur a basic stance.

    ¡°The sword is heavier, so it is harder to control. Don¡¯t try to act cool and wield it with one hand. Even if you can, it will still make the sword weaker,¡±

    ¡°Always use both hands, and make sure to have a solid base. I can see you¡¯re more muscr, but there¡¯s still room for improvement. When my schedule is fixed, I¡¯ll also give you private sses for body workout.¡±

    ¡°Private lessons for bo-body workout?¡± Arthur was fond of that idea, and millions of possibilities passed through his mind.

    Was Wisa thinking the same thing as him? Maybe she was indeed, as Arthur noticed her nipples getting hard.

    ¡°An-Anyway, let¡¯s start our training.¡±

    Wisa showed him a few basic stances, as well as some basic attacks. The most important part she told him was to keep the base stable, and use his two hands.

    Wisa had seen a lot of young adventurers that tried to use a two-handed sword with one hand to show off.

    Arthur watched carefully every move Wisa did, but it was damn hard with the clothing she wore. After each move, her big rounded boobs bounced, and as she got more sweaty, Arthur could see some parts of her body throughout the thigh clothe.

    He was sure that no man could resist that. Even with all of that, Arthur still got the important parts, and grabbed his own sword to try to replicate it.

    ¡°No, you should bend more your knees. Here, let me adjust you.¡± Wisa said.

    She got closer to Arthur, from behind, and used her soft hands to adjust his posture. Wisa was so close that Arthur could hear her breathing, and when her boobs touched his back, a marvelous sensation arose within him.

    Wisa¡¯s cheeks were red, and even her breathing became heavier.

    ¡°Like this, big sis?¡± Arthur asked, and turned around to face Wisa.

    They both stared at each other¡¯s eyes for some time, and Arthur took the lead, giving her a kiss.

    Their tongues intertwined, and a pleasing sensation filled both of them.

    Wisa did not resist, and actually went closer to Arthur. He, on the other hand, was no fool, so he hugged Wisa, using both of his hands to grab her waist, and her ass.

    The atmosphere was getting hotter, but Wisa felt like waiting for that other part to happen.

    ¡°I-I think we should do that after our dinner. I want it to be romantic.¡±

    ¡°K-Keep practicing. I just remembered there¡¯s something I need to finish for the ss tomorrow. Bye bye.¡±

    Wisa left after that, and it was clear that she was timid.

    ¡°I never thought Wisa would turn out to be timid. That¡¯s new.¡±

    Arthur calmed his body, especially the down parts, and returned to his practice.

    Even though he was trying to focus on practicing the two-handed art, he could not stop thinking about the dinner next week.

    ¡°That will be promising.¡±

    The practice went well, and Arthur started to think he should buy another two-handed sword. Thest time he tried to use the one he had, he turned berserk.

    ¡°Where the hell will I find a decent sword anyway? This ind is in the middle of nowhere.¡±

    Sully had to get big so that Arthur could use him as his personal vehicle.

    While Arthur was doing all of that, another thing happened on the same ind he was in.

    A strange building, built in the northwest part of the ind. If Arthur saw that, he would instantly think about a dungeon, the same dungeons he read in books back in his world.

    The dungeon was a maze, with corridors made of stone, and without any source of light.

    Inside the deeper parts, strange creatures roamed. They wereing out of a small rift in space, like a portal.

    What was that thing? All sorts of beasts came out of it, and the lower the level, the strongest the creatures.

    There were goblins, imps, mutated spiders, and many other beasts most people don¡¯t even know about.

    Deep down, in the lowest level where the creatures were stronger, a human-like figure stood there.

    It was no man, but a beast in disguise. There were others just like him, and they talked among each other.

    ¡°Is it really falling apart?¡±

    ¡°The Dream Realm? Not entirely, just the outskirts. We all know the godsmand the central area, and that will not fall.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of the gods, why the sudden move?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe they finally want to conquer humankind?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, unless they recovered their powers.¡±

    ¡°Who knows. We are only here to follow orders.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. But we can¡¯t leave this ce yet.¡±

    ¡°But our soldiers can. I don¡¯t know where this portal led, but we will conquer it nheless.¡±

    They talked about many other things, things Arthur had no idea.

    Maybe the ind was not as safe as everyone thought? Only time would tell.

    Arthur finished his night training, and returned to the academy to rest.

 Chapter 68 - An Army of Goblins

    The first thing was to take a shower. Arthur was sweating like a pig after shing that wooden sword for hours.

    It was quiet in the mansion. Arthur went to his room and on his way he passed through Jane¡¯s and Wisa¡¯s room. There was no noiseing from them.

    ¡°Teaching these kids is not an easy task.¡±

    Arthur cleaned himself using the hot tub from his bathroom, and changed his clothing to a sort of pajamas.

    Just like the other day, he had to cook his own food, and used whatever ingredient there was inside his kitchen to make something.

    ¡°What the hell is this? I don¡¯t know but it is eatable.¡±

    He threw everything and made something that surprisingly was tasty.

    After that, it was time to sleep and rest. Sully was already doing that, snoring through the room.

    Arthur wouldn¡¯t kick out his friend andpanion. He had to somehow ovee the snoring problem.

    He went to hisfy king-sized bed, and slept, thinking of how peaceful his life was at that moment.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t bad after all the shit I went through¡­¡±

    The next day started the same way. Students all went to their sses, and tried their best to learn how to properly use magic.

    A few of these students were raising above others, like the girl that warned Arthur about Theodore.

    She had a decent talent, so it wasmon that she would get ahead of others, at least in the initial stages.

    Jane wanted to start a more practical test, so she decided to go near thatke, and make the students test their initial spells, to see if everyone was learning it correctly.

    Arthur changed back to his fine clothing, and went with them to see how the students were doing.

    He did not go with them, but went in the shadows, and no one noticed his presence.

    ¡°All right.¡± Jane looked at the 15 students in front of her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll call out a name. You¡¯lle here, and cast the spells you know. Please, cast the spells towards theke. I don¡¯t want any burning trees or anything like that.¡±

    All the students nodded, and most of them could not stop moving their legs or hands. They were anxious, and Arthur found that funny.

    Speaking of Arthur, he was behind a tree watching everything. His all ck clothing helped to camouge when standing near a shadow.

    Jane called a name Arthur had never heard, and a student went forward.

    The student went near the border of theke, and cast his spell towards it.

    A spell that was also from the water element. A small ball of water that flew towards its destination.

    ¡°Why do I feel that spell doesn¡¯t hurt? I don¡¯t know, fireballs are much scarier and cooler.¡±

    Arthur thought about fireball, and the next student cast that same spell.

    ¡°This is it. That¡¯s a real spell!¡± Jane called, and they went, until all 15 students showed their spells.

    Both Jane and Arthur were surprised to see that all students cast spells without problems. Everyone was learning well in the Odemore academy, and that was amazing.

    Everything was going in the right direction, until Arthur noticed something strange and peculiar.

    A group of goblins, at least 10 of them. They wereing from the woods, going straight towards theke where Jane and the students were.

    Arthur kept hiding, watching their moves. All the goblins ranged from level 10 to 13.

    ¡°This is no problem for Jane. She can handle th- what the fuck is that?¡± Just as Arthur said, more and more goblins showed up. 10 turned into 20, and 20 turned into 40.

    In the end, there were at least 100 goblins marching towards them.

    It was too much for Jane, for that reason, Arthur left his hiding spot and went to talk with her.

    ¡°Jane!¡±

    ¡°Arthur? What are you doing here?¡± It took Jane by surprise. She would never think Arthur was watching her ss.

    ¡°There is a problem. I spotted at least 100 goblins marching in this direction. Leave and take the students to a safe ce, please.¡±

    ¡°One hundred goblins? Where did theye from?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find that out after dealing with them. Please.¡±

    Jane nodded, gathered all the students and returned to the academy.

    Arthur stood in the same ce, waiting for the horde of goblins to show up, and they did.

    One hundred small little green creatures, wielding all sorts of weapons. The evil on their faces was clear. Arthur knew that these goblins were looking for trouble.

    They got closer, and eventually spotted Arthur, all alone, waiting for them.

    The goblinsughed, and said some things to each other that Arthur could not understand.

    ¡°They are probably roasting me.¡±

    All the goblins took their weapons out, and prepared to march against Arthur.

    Arthur did the same, activating his dragon transformation, and setting his ws on fire.

    Two fire wings grew on his back. He was ready to kill all of these goblins.

    The sudden change of appearance surprised the goblins, but they did not think one human could win against one hundred of them.

    It was impossible. In their minds, Arthur was just doing some tricks to look more scary.

    They were wrong. Arthur flew towards them using his wings, and started to hunt them like an eagle.

    He would go up, choose a target, and fly towards it, kill, and then go up again.

    The strategy was like a cheese, but Arthur did not mind that. He actually wanted to fire breath these goblins to death, but that would set the entire forest on fire, and that was bad.

    Green blood was everywhere, and the goblins started to die, one after one.

    It was aplete mess, a massacre. Some goblins even tried to hit Arthur using their bows, but Arthur dodged all the arrows easily.

    Everything was on the right direction, until something hit Arthur from the back.

    An arrow, but one he did not see iting. It pierced through his back, creating a nasty wound.

    ¡°Oh no. Don¡¯t tell me there are invisible goblins as well? Just like that damn ce? Fuck my life!!!¡±

 Chapter 69 - Where Did They Come From?

    Arthur had to keep his focus to dodge all the attacks, and now also dodge invisible attacks. That was simply wonderful.

    The best thing he could do was to kill all the goblins he could see in the fastest way possible. It could not have lots of invisible goblins, at least Arthur hoped that was not the case.

    He decided to stop his cheese tactic, and go all in against the goblins.

    A shadow that most could not even see. Arthur flew down, and descended to the ground in the middle of all goblins.

    They were surprised to see Arthur change the way he fought all of a sudden.

    ¡°Fuck these bastards.¡±

    Arthur opened up his mouth, and used his dragon breath. A huge wave of fire engulfed most of the goblins, turning them into charcoals.

    Now that he was on the ground, it was easier to aim and not burn the entire forest. The dragon breath was perfect, and it killed most of the goblins.

    The few remaining got to know Arthur¡¯s w that ripped them apart and turned them into meat pulp.

    All the 100 goblins were dead, but Arthur knew some invisible ones were still around, trying to get him.

    ¡°Maybe they left after seeing this killing? No, that is not the case. These bastards will try to kill me, so I can follow their friends into the afterlife.¡± Arthur thought.

    But that was not the case. No attacks followed after, and it seemed that the forest was now devoid of goblin life.

    Only the corpses remained. Jane and Wisa arrived, and saw that pile of goblins, all dead.

    ¡°Arthur!¡± Jane said.

    Wisa, on the other hand, was impressed to see Arthur killing that many goblins alone.

    ¡°You kill all of them alone? That¡¯s impressive.¡± Arthur had returned to his human form right after the fight, so they did not see him in his dragon form. Even if they did, it was not a problem as he had told them everything.

    ¡°Not a big deal. They are only goblins, after all. The real question we should be asking here is, where did theye from?¡±

    Arthur said, turning around to look at Jane and Wisa.

    They built Odemore, and there was even a vige near the shore with normal people, yet a huge army of goblins appeared out of a sudden.

    It was notmon, and something was happening on that ind that they still did not know.

    ¡°Maybe the turtle knows something about it?¡± Jane said.

    ¡°Perhaps, but we can not talk with him as we please.¡± Wisa said.

    Arthur had his hand on his chin, and was in deep thought. Trying to talk to that mysterious turtle beast was not worth the time.

    They already said that it only appears when it wants, so why bother? The best course of action was to look for the source of those goblins.

    ¡°You two should go back, and take care of the school for some time. Reassure the students that everything is okay, and that the president of the academy is dealing with it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll investigate it yourself?¡±

    ¡°I wish I could, but someone has to take care of the school and the students. Imagine what would happen if an army like that attacked the school when none of us are there?¡±

    ¡°The students would all die¡­ You¡¯re right, we should go back, Jane.¡± Wisa called out Jane who was still in a dizzy after seeing all the corpses.

    ¡°O-Okay!¡±

    They left, leaving Arthur alone with his thoughts.

    The situation did not make sense. With that many goblins around, they should have noticed it after spending months on that ind.

    ¡°Why did these monsters show up all of a sudden? Was it because of me? Or is something else fishy going on here?¡±

    Arthur left the cemetery of goblins, and went deeper inside the ind, looking for the root of the problems.

    It was a difficult task to look for something he had no clue about. These goblins could being from anywhere.

    He looked behind any tree, bush, rock, anything. There was no sign of suspicious activity on the ind.

    ¡°How?¡±

    An idea popped up inside Arthur¡¯s mind. Theodore was the only one roaming around the ind these past two days. Maybe he knew something?

    Arthur returned to the academy, to Wisa¡¯s and Jane¡¯s surprise.

    They were in front of the academy, as both of their sses had been cancelled, and the students were told to stay inside their dorms for the time being.

    ¡°Arthur? Did you find something?¡± Jane was the first to ask as soon as she saw Arthur.

    ¡°I checked most of the ind and found nothing. But I have an idea. Remember Theodore? The student that I sent to live in the forest until he learned his lesson?¡±

    ¡°Ohh, I see where you¡¯re going. I did not even remember that guy existed.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Was he in any of your sses?¡±

    ¡°Hm, no. I think he¡¯s with Harmony.¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°All right. See youter.¡±

    Arthur left and went looking for Theodore. Harmony¡¯s ssroom was in the first floor, so Arthur got there in no time, and knocked on the door.

    Harmony was surprised to see someone knocking, as it was unusual, so she answered with a bright smile.

    ¡°Mr President. Can I help you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, please. Can I borrow one of your students?¡±

    Everyone inside the ssroom immediately gazed at Theodore.

    ¡°Sure, which one?¡±

    Arthur changed his gaze to Theodore, and said, ¡°Theodore,e with me, please.¡±

    Theodore, who was still only wearing his underwear, got up from his chair and left the room.

    ¡°Is he in trouble again?¡±

    ¡°I bet. That guy never learns the lesson.¡±

    ¡°Right. Who is crazy to go against Mr President? He¡¯s a madman.¡± The students all whispered to each other, and Harmony had to intervene and tell them to forget about what happened.

    Arthur dragged Theodore to his office, where the interrogation would start.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do anything to get the information from him.¡±

 Chapter 70 - The Dungeon

    Arthur sat behind his desk on afy chair, and Theodore sat on one right in front of him.

    It was evident the fear in Theodore, as he was basically sweating and could not stop moving his legs.

    ¡°I have a few questions for you, and if you answer it sincerely, I can perhaps let you use your uniform, and also share a room with someone in the dorm. That if you also promise to behave and act like a normal person.¡±

    Theodore saw light at the end of the tunnel after hearing that. It had been tough for him to survive out there, all alone, and he was regretting doing what he did to the other students.

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    Arthur tapped his fingers on the table, and entered a deep thought. ¡°In your time in the forest¡­ where did you sleep?¡±

    ¡°I- I found a huge dead tree, and I¡¯m sleeping inside of it.¡±

    ¡°Near the area where you sleep, did you notice something strange these past days? I don¡¯t know, like a strange creature or strange noises?¡±

    That was the important question. The question that decided if Theodore would continue sleeping inside a dead tree.

    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± Theodore tried his best to remember everything that happened, and then suddenly something popped inside his mind.

    ¡°Right, there¡¯s something strange, actually.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yesterday, I woke up in the middle of the night without knowing why. Then, I peeked through the tree hole, and saw some strange green creatures talking in anguage that I could not understand,¡±

    ¡°There were lots of them, and after that two humans showed up and started to talk with those creatures,¡±

    ¡°I could not understand a single thing, but then the two humans talked to each other, and that I understood. They said something about ¡®the first troops are moving, but we still cannot go far from the dungeon¡¯.¡±

    Arthur could notprehend that information entirely, but he knew what a dungeon was.

    ¡°Did they say something about where this dungeon was?¡±

    ¡°Uh, no, but I saw them going to the north part of the ind.¡±

    Theodore gave valuable information, and Arthur would keep his word and give him a uniform and a ce to stay.

    ¡°I hope that you learned the lesson in these two days. Talk to one of the teachers about the uniform and the dorm. Now, leave.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me, sir.¡± Theodore said, and even bowed. The change in attitude shocked Arthur.

    ¡°North part of the ind, hum.¡±

    Arthur left his office after getting that information, and informed Wisa about it, so that if anything goes wrong, she would know where he was.

    ¡°Be careful.¡± Wisa said, and as the two were alone, she gave him a warm kiss.

    ¡°I¡¯ll.¡±

    The so-called dungeon was still a mystery to Arthur, and he was sure that was the ce where the goblins came from.

    ¡°Who were these humans that talked to goblins? What the hell is that?¡± Arthur thought.

    He left the academy, looking for that dungeon.

    It was not a big ind, but it still took him some time for him to wander around, especially when he was looking for something he had no idea how it looked like.

    Arthur peeked at every corner in the north part of the ind, and found nothing.

    Just when he thought his searching were in vain, he saw something. It was a small construction made of stone.

    The construction was small, and at first nce it did not look like a dungeon.

    He checked it anyway. Arthur carefully walked towards it, attentive to any strange moves in the surrounding area.

    There was no door in that building, so Arthur just entered it. Obviously, he made sure to check for any traps, as these weremon in ces like that one.

    It was all clear, so he went in, fearless.

    The first thing Arthur saw after going inside was a staircase that led down. There was no source of light, and bugs crawled on the surrounding walls.

    It smelled like shit, but Arthur had to go down anyway. With steady steps, he explored the ce.

    After less than five minutes, Arthur reached the first floor.

    ¡°This ce looks like a maze. What the hell?¡±

    There were lots of corridors that led to unknown ces. Arthur did not know where to start looking, so he just chose a random corridor.

    At first, the only sign of life Arthur saw were the bugs crawling on the walls, but the more he walked inside that corridor, more clear it became that there were other things lurking inside that ce.

    What gave it away? Well, Arthur saw some small houses, like tents. He guessed these were where the goblins slept.

    There were also some bonfire remains and torches. Arthur was sure he had found the ce where the goblins stayed.

    Funny thing, right after that, Arthur heard noisesing from the corridor he was in.

    There was no ce to hide except the roof, so he jumped and used his ws to stay there, just like he had done it before.

    It did not take long for a group of goblins to appear. There were five of them, which was something Arthur could deal with easily.

    They also had the same level as the ones Arthur faced just a few hours ago.

    Arthur was just preparing his next move, when suddenly the goblins stopped moving, and returned to the same path they came from.

    It was a sudden change, yet one that Arthur felt was strange.

    The dungeon was like a maze, and the goblins surely knew how to navigate through it, and for that reason, Arthur decided to chase the goblins to see exactly where they were heading to.

    Maybe that would also mean danger, but Arthur had to get more information about this dungeon. About these monsters roaming around his ind.

    Arthur had to assure the safety of his students, but more importantly, the safety of his wives and friends.

    ¡°Let¡¯s follow these green bastards.¡±

 Chapter 71 - Wipping the Goblins

    Arthur had to keep a decent distance so that the goblins he was following did not sense his presence.

    With his night vision and improved eyesight, perks of being a dragon, it was not a hard task to keep track of them.

    The goblins were slow, and the corridor of the dungeon was not small either. Arthur chased them for 15 minutes before reaching a different area.

    It was an open area with many tents, and goblins. The ce looked like the home of the goblins, like a tribe.

    Arthur turned his looks to a goblin that was taller than the rest of them. The goblin was 3 meters tall, and was fat. It also had a crown above his head, and wore a different clothe than the rest.

    ¡°The king of goblins?¡±

    The level above its head was 38. It was a strong opponent, and seeing that many goblins around it was also concerning for Arthur.

    He did not think he would be able to beat all of them alone.

    ¡°Jane and Wisa are the strongest around here, and I don¡¯t want to put them in danger, but the only way for us to end this threat is working together.¡± Arthur thought.

    With that thought in mind, he returned, using the same path as before. Arthur made sure to carve markings on the way out in case he forgot what corridor he took.

    ¡°Arthur, are you okay?¡± Jane was in front of the mansion, doing her best to keep the students safe.

    ¡°I am, thanks for asking Look, I found some things. Where¡¯s Wisa?¡±

    ¡°At her office.¡±

    Arthur and Jane went looking for Wisa, who was resting inside her office.

    There, Arthur shared everything he found inside the dungeon, making sure to emphasize the king of goblins as a concerning threat to the school.

    ¡°Something like that exists? But where are these goblinsing from? We never saw a single goblin in all these months we were here.¡± Wisa said.

    That was also something Arthur was asking himself. Something was happening.

    ¡°The only way for us to explore the dungeon is to pass by those goblins. I remember seeing a staircase that led down near the king of goblins, just like the one I used to get there. I¡¯m assuming that ce has like different levels.¡±

    ¡°Hm, but can we win against it?¡± Jane said.

    ¡°Yes, but is Harmony enough to protect the school? I don¡¯t see monstersing from other ces than the dungeon, but who knows?¡± Wisa was already preparing his fighting gear as she said, ¡°She can, yes. Harmony and I fought a few times, and she is capable.¡±

    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s prepare everything and leave then.¡±

    Arthur, Wisa and Jane left the school, going directly towards that dungeon. It had been a long time since the three of them did some adventures together, and that made all of them happy, even though the situation did not look that bright.

    ¡°What if the monsters at the lower levels are stronger than goblins? That would make sense, no?¡± Wisa said on their way there.

    ¡°That¡¯s true. I think we can clear the first floor as it seems there are only goblins there, but the other levels are unknown to us.¡± Arthur said.

    They found the dungeon, and went down the staircase. The same bugs that crawled on the walls were there, and they scared both girls.

    ¡°Look at that bug, uhh.¡±

    ¡°My body tingles with the thought of it crawling on my skin.¡±

    Arthur even tried to scare them with a bug, and it worked. The only downside was that they tried to beat him¡­

    They followed the markings Arthur did on the walls, and found that same open area without problems.

    Wisa and Jane could not see in the dark, so the whole time they had to stay close to Arthur, but now, reaching the area where the king of goblins was, they did not have to.

    Differently from the other parts, that area had torches hanging on the walls.

    ¡°Look how fat he is.¡± Wisa whispered to the two of them, who rolled their eyes in response.

    ¡°What is the n?¡± Jane asked, looking at Arthur.

    Arthur gazed at the goblins, and entered into a deep thought. The best case scenario was to kill all the weaker goblins fast, so that they could focus on fighting the king of goblins.

    What was the best way to do that? AOE spells.

    ¡°You two have AOE spells, right? Do you think we can wipe these weaker goblins if we all attack together?¡±

    Wisa was the first to answer, ¡°My attribute is fire, so it spreads quickly. If webine our attacks, and aim for the goblins, I think we can wipe them.¡±

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s do that then.¡±

    It was a good thing that the king of goblins was separated from the rest, and it seemed he was sleeping, as that fat goblin was snoring like crazy.

    Arthur, Wisa and Jane positioned themselves in a way that their spells would attack most of the goblins.

    ¡°Prepare your strongest spells, and let¡¯s go.¡±

    Jane and Wisa started to channel their spells, and Arthur waited. He would use his Dragon Breath, so there was no need to prepare beforehand.

    ¡°We are ready!¡± A massive explosion. Jane cast a chain lightning that stroke the first goblin, and then moved to the next. It was a deadly move, and perfect for the situation.

    Wisa, on the other hand, cast apletely different spell. It was a curtain of fire, simr to Arthur¡¯s Dragon Breath.

    The spell hit the tents where the goblins were resting, and the fire spread like crazy to all the other tents, resulting in a massive killing.

    Arthur was thest, but his Dragon Breath resulted in the wiping of the goblins. He used his dragon transformation, opened up his mouth, and an immense curtain of fire got out of his mouth and went straight to the remaining goblins, who were still in a daze.

    That was the nail in the coffin, and when the king of goblins woke up, there was no army from him tomand.W

 Chapter 72 - Boss Fight

    The king of goblins¡ª with a level of 38, woke up, only to see his tribe dying.

    Goblins ran to all directions, trying to escape the mes created by Wisa and Arthur, but that was impossible. They all died in the end.

    As for the king of goblins, he roared after seeing what had happened.

    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± Arthur asked, taking a quick nce on both Wisa and Jane.

    They nodded, and gazed back at their enemy, the goblin. It was a tall and fat goblin that surely could take a beating.

    Arthur would not fool around, so he used all he got. Fire wings, ws, everything. The only thing he did not want to do for now was to wield that mysterious two-handed sword he had.

    After each step, the ground seemed to shake because of how fat that goblin was. The good thing was that he was slow like a turtle.

    Wisa and Jane were long preparing their spells, so they cast them directly at the king of goblins.

    A huge fireball hit the goblin¡¯s belly, turning it from green to ck.

    The king did not move after that, and kept going.

    It was Jane¡¯s turn, who also cast a ball, but one of lightning. She aimed for the same spot to maximize the damage, but after the spell hit, the goblin did not stop, just like before.

    ¡°This bastard sure knows how to take a beating. Jane, prepare to dodge and circle around him.¡± Wisa said.

    When the goblin got closer, Wisa cast a smoke spell, blinding the goblin for a few seconds. It was enough for both she and Jane to circle around him, and get themselves a good distance.

    The goblin opened up its eyes, and could only see Arthur in front of him. Without other options, he ran towards him. Arthur knew he would do that. With his fire wings, Arthur flew up, almost hitting the roof, which was a ce the goblin could not reach.

    He opened up his mouth and used his Dragon Breath, sending a huge curtain of fire right in the goblin¡¯s face.

    The goblin felt that attack. It covered his face using his hands, and that was a good opportunity for another strike.

    Arthur flew down, and with his fire ws, he shed the goblin¡¯s right leg. After that, Arthur flew towards Jane and Wisa to group up.

    Everything was so fast it happened in a few seconds. The goblin screamed like a dying pig. Its right leg was melting after getting in touch with Arthur¡¯s ws.

    The goblin was already slow, but now with only one functional leg? It was easy prey.

    Wisa this time cast a stronger spell. It was a fire lotus that engulfed all the goblin¡¯s body, burning everything. Jane, on the other hand, used a more supportive spell, sending a lightning that paralyzed the enemy for a few seconds.

    If that was not enough already, Arthur used another Dragon Breath. It was totally overkill, and the king of goblins was dead.

    ¡°Sheesh, that was tiring.¡± Jane sat on the ground, visibly tired after the fight.

    Wisa was used to more meleebat and trained her body every day. It was not a big deal for her.

    Arthur was the same, as he was not even a human anymore.

    They all took some time to rest. More to wait for Jane rather than resting.

    Wisa pointed at the staircase and said, ¡°look, that¡¯s the stairs we are looking for.¡±

    The staircase that led to the lower level was right behind the ce where the king of goblins slept. Now that the area was clear, they could explore without headaches.

    After the resting was done, it was time to go downstairs to the next level.

    Arthur thought if he should ask Wisa and Jane to return to Odemore, but seeing how eager they were to explore and help him, he couldn¡¯t do that.

    If things truly got to the bad side, Arthur would just grab the two of them and fly away.

    They went towards that staircase, and went down. It was just the same as the previous one, and everything looked exactly equal.

    Arthur knew, though, that the monsters would be stronger, and more danger would be lurking around.

    He went in front, just in case anything bad happened, he could protect his girls.

    The staircase looked the same, but this time, it took them more time to reach their destination.

    Thirty minutes going down. Arthur could not stop thinking they would reach the underworld if they kept going like that.

    Everything was so quiet it was daunting. The first floor at least had bugs crawling on the walls, and the goblins seemed to roam around, making noises.

    But it was theplete opposite now. Arthur could only hear his own breathing, and the breathing of Jane and Wisa.

    It was something that made them anxious. What was hiding inside this new floor? Why was it so silent?

    They could not answer any of those questions, and just kept going down the staircase.

    While they did that, someone else inside the dungeon already sensed their presence.

    Two of the strongest beasts were on the deepest floor. These were the beasts that could turn into human form.

    ¡°Did someone enter our dungeon?¡±

    ¡°It seems that¡¯s the case. How lucky he is, as we are incapable of leaving this floor.¡± ¡°Ha, do you really think he would have the strength to reach this far?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. It is impossible for him.¡±

    The two creaturesughed, and their voices were ghoulish and scary.

    Arthur had no idea any of that was happening, and he simply went down the stairs, until he reached a simr maze, just like the other floor.

    It had one path going straight, one in the left, and one in the right.

    ¡°What path should we take?¡± Jane said.

    There was no way they could know the right direction, so they all just talked to each other and decided to go for the left path.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope this is the right one.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°It is not. It is the left one.¡± Wisa answered, and chuckled due to her ownme joke.

    ¡°No way you said that¡­¡±

    Arthur alsoughed, but that was just because of how bad the joke was¡­

 Chapter 73 - A Lich

    They kept walking through the left corridor. It was just the same as all corridors, so there was no telling if it was the right choice or not.

    What scared them the most was the silence on that floor. It was as if someone was watching their every move, and could strike at any given moment.

    The fear of the unknown was daunting, but they had to explore that dungeon, or else their school and students might be in trouble.

    At first, nothing happened. There were no beasts, no humans, not even small bugs. But that did notst long.

    What appeared in front of them was a skeleton, and not a weak one to say the least. Arthur saw that it had a level of 30, which was high considering that was just amon enemy.

    The skeleton had a curved sword in hand, and was already running towards them.

    Arthur took the lead, and shed with the skeleton. The sword and his ws touched, making a metallic sound that echoed through the corridor.

    He had the upper hand, and the skeleton retreated a few steps after the impact. Arthur was not a fool to stop there, so he ran towards the skeleton, and attacked non-stop.

    Eventually, the skeleton could not block all the attacks, and got hit, and hit, and hit. Until it broke into pieces.

    The first enemy was dealt with, but all of them knew more woulde.

    Arthur actually kept gazing at the bones to see if the skeleton would resurrect, but nothing happened, so they moved forward.

    More and more skeletons came, but with the three of them working together, it was not hard to deal with them.

    They managed to win against 5 skeletons at the same time without major problems.

    That floor was way bigger than the previous one. They walked for a long time, yet there was nothing except the corridor.

    Arthur was starting to think they went the wrong path, until they saw a huge door made of stone, with some engravings on it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a good feeling about it.¡± Jane said, and the others agreed.

    If that floor had a master, it would probably be behind that door. So, Arthur, Jane and Wisa took their time to rest and prepare before entering there.

    Arthur went first, and pushed the door to see what was behind it.

    What he saw was a room with a stone table in the middle. The chairs around the table were also made of stone, and there was someone sitting there.

    It was a skeleton, but not like the ones they faced before. That skeleton had a scepter, and wore a robe.

    ¡°A lich?¡± Arthur thought, and at that moment, the lich noticed his presence.

    It gazed at Arthur, and out of their expectations, it spoke.

    ¡°Humans? What are you doing in my domain? Are you seeking death?¡± The lich got up from the chair, and was ready for a fierce battle.

    Arthur saw the level above the head of the lich. 55.

    ¡°Jane, Wisa, watch out. He¡¯s strong.¡± Wisa and Jane knew that just by looking at it. They knew about liches, so they knew these were strong and rare creatures.

    The lich tapped his scepter on the ground, and a magic symbol was drawn beneath him. Then, 10 skeletons rose from the ground. The same skeletons they had faced before.

    It did not stop there. The lich hit the ground two times, and one skeleton was summoned.

    That skeleton was way stronger than the rest. It had a level of 40.

    The situation did not seem good to Arthur and his girls.

    He could not run, as the door behind them locked itself, and fighting against that many skeletons did not seem possible.

    ¡°There¡¯s no other option but to fight. Use everything you have.¡± Arthur used his dragon transformation again, his wings, and all the other things he had on his arsenal. Wisa also took out her enchanted sword.

    It would be the fight for their lives.

    A crowd of skeletons rushed in. Arthur instantly used his Dragon Breath to slow them down, and went flying through the room, attacking them with his ming ws.

    Wisa was in a sword stance, and all of her body started to fire up, and she turned into a human torch.

    That was one of her strongest attacks, and one that put a huge burden on her body.

    Jane also had a spell simr to that one. Wisa was her teacher, and had been teaching Jane for months. So, Jane came up with a spell of her own that did the same thing as Wisa¡¯s, but instead of mes around her body, it was thunder.

    They were all going all out. Jane was sending lightning bolts to all skeletons, and Wisa dashed, attacking with her ming swords and ending the lives of these skeletons.

    The major problem was the lich, who kept summoning more skeletons.

    Not only that, but it also started to throw spells at them. Most of these spells were of dark affinity, and none of them wanted to get hit by those.

    They dashed from side to side, trying their best to avoid the attacks. But as time passed, it became harder, and harder.

    Arthur knew their best shot was to end the lich first, then go for the rest of the group.

    So, instead of aiming for the weaker skeletons, Arthur flew directly towards the lich.

    ¡°Stupid human.¡± The lich said, as he threw a dark beam directly at Arthur.

    The lich was sure the fight was over, but what happened next was out of his expectations.

    Arthur opened up his mouth, and devoured the spell.

    [+15 to all Stats]

    [+ Dark Resistance]

    Anything Arthur ate improved his body, and seeing how strong that spell was, the buff was actually good.

    ¡°What?¡± The lich said, surprised, but before he could do anything, a ming w hit his face.

    Boom, the lich flew and hit the wall.

    ¡°Is it over?¡±

 Chapter 74

    Now that the lich was no longer summoning skeletons non-stop, Wisa and Jane managed to wipe them, and the only skeleton that remained was the level 40 one.

    ¡°Is it dead?¡± Wisa asked, looking at the lich who was down on the ground.

    Jane had the same doubt, so she also gazed at it, to see exactly what would happen.

    Time seemed to stop, and everyone had their attention towards the fallen lich.

    The lich slowly got up, and said, ¡°nice try. I did not expect that, but you can¡¯t win against me.¡±

    All the mes that were burning the lich¡¯s body vanished after he moved his hand.

    Arthur was also shocked after seeing his attack do nothing. The lich simply got up, and summoned more skeletons again, as if nothing had happened.

    Jane and Wisa were getting tired after fighting for so long while using their strongest spells, and if things continued that way, they would not leave that ce alive.

    ¡°Should I use the sword?¡± Arthur thought.

    He was considering using his two-handed sword, as it was their best chance to leave that ce alive.

    But what if he hurt his girls? He could not forgive himself if that happened.

    ¡°Wisa, Jane. Can you use all of your remaining strength to destroy that door and leave?¡±

    ¡°What? Leave you alone against all of these enemies? No, we can¡¯t lose you again.¡±

    They did not want to lose Arthur after just reunite with him, but they also knew the fight was not a winnable one.

    ¡°Just go! I have a n. Please, trust me.¡±

    Wisa and Jane did not know what to do. Losing Arthur again was something they did not want, but trusting him was something both of them should do.

    ¡°Jane, let¡¯s go. He will be fine.¡±

    Jane nodded, even though she was scared about something bad happening.

    They turned around, facing the stone door, and used everything they got. It was a locked door, but it could not stand that much power. The door broke, and both Wisa and Jane left.

    ¡°So lovely. Sacrificing himself for your girls, hahaha. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll go after them when we are done here.¡± the lich said.

    Arthur just gazed at the lich without saying a word. He opened up his magical pouch, retrieving his sword.

    The moment he touched it, that ck energy came from it, and enveloped his body.

    Within seconds, Arthur was not himself anymore, and the lich was the only one around, which meant that was the enemy.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    One of Arthur¡¯s wings turned ck, just like all the right side of his body.

    With one thought in mind, Arthur dashed toward the lich, who was still in a daze.

    Differently from thest time, Arthur spoke while in that berserker state, but his voice was hoarse and sinister.

    ¡°Kill, kill, kill!¡±

    The lich tried to cast a barrier to protect himself against the uing sword, but as soon as both touched, the barrier broke, and the sword hit the lich.

    Before, the attack seemed to do nothing to that lich, but now, it almost killed him instantly.

    The ck substance that was in Arthur¡¯s sword went to the lich¡¯s body, and it started to melt its bones.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t happening. I cannot die like this!¡±

    The lich screamed, and tried everything to get rid of that ck substance, but nothing worked. The lich turned into ashes.

    All the other summoned skeletons also died, and the room Arthur was in looked like a cemetery after the fight.

    Arthur did not stop there. He kept looking for things to kill, and he noticed the staircase leading to another floor, so he went there, flying.

    A shadowy figure flew through the dungeon, going down like a missile.

    Arthur reached the next floor in no time, and just took a random path, looking for enemies.

    The first enemy he encountered was a lizard type creature that walked using two legs.

    It had a level of 40, which was insanely high, but the creature could not endure one attack from Arthur¡¯s sword.

    Arthur kept going, slicing these lizards into pieces. Within a couple of minutes, the corridor he took was filled with corpses.

    Aplete massacre. Arthur in the berserk mode was something scary.

    Boom.

    The corridor shook, and a huge lizard showed up. Just like all floors, it had a leader. The level of that creature was 60.

    There was no way Arthur could win against it using normal means, but in that state, he was truly powerful.

    They exchanged attacks, as the lizard was also wielding a weapon, a spear.

    At first, it seemed they were equal in power, and neither of them got the upper hand.

    But after each second in battle, Arthur got stronger, and stronger, and eventually the lizard could notpare to him anymore.

    It died miserably. Even after that, Arthur kept going, but this time, he was not going for the staircase.

    Arthur noticed a small ck portal, and that portal was calling him. He went towards it, and went inside.

    ~~~~

    Everything turned ck, and Arthur was inside a ce he knew well. The Dream Realm.

    The Dream Realm was a strange ce. It looked like a normal world, with a ground and a sky, but it was mostly devoid of life.

    There was no sun, which meant it was dark at all times. It also had a strange thing in the air, like dust.

    The ce looked as if it was falling apart, with cracks on the ground, and leafless trees.

    Arthur was still without his conscious, so he just wandered around without direction.

    Some beasts hid inside the Dream Realm, lurking in the shadows and watching his every move.

    When these beasts saw how terrifying Arthur was, they did not attack, and took their leave.

    Arthur walked for some time in that dead in, until he found a cave.

    A weak beast lived there. A beast that looked like a bear, but with three eyes.

    Arthur killed it without effort, but after the fight, his body was on the verge of falling, so he fainted.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Where am I?¡± Arthur could not remember what happened at first, but then everything became clearer.

    He had used his sword, and lost control of his own body. But what he could not understand was the ce he was in.

    ¡°Is this the dungeon?¡± It surely did not look like it. The interior was of a cave, and when Arthur got up and went outside to check, everything was strange.

    The sky was there, yet there was no sun or moon. The ground had cracks, and the air was dusty.

    ¡°Why does it seem so familiar?¡±

    Arthur had a feeling that he had gone to that ce before, yet he could not discover where that was.

    He returned to the cave, and took a look around to see if there was anything that could help him. There was nothing.

    The only thing he could do was leave that ce, and look for a way out.

    But where could he possibly go? Arthur tried to look for his footprints, yet could not find any. That was the downside of going around flying.

    He lost himself in thoughts, and one beast that was lurking around, saw that as a weakness, and pounced at him, looking to bite his neck.

    Arthur had his mind elsewhere, yet there was no chance he would let a beast attack him by surprise.

    He turned around, and punched the beast in the face. The beast looked simr to a puma, and was sent flying with the punch.

    It ran away, scared.

    ¡°That was close. I¡¯m in a weakened state, so I should be careful, yet I can¡¯t waste that much time here, or else I¡¯ll starve to death.¡±

    Without options, Arthur wandered around, looking for something that could help him get out of that ce.

    There was nothing, only a few dying trees, and beasts that ran away scared after Arthur kicked their asses.

    Arthur had both of his hands on his head, saying,¡± what should I do, what should I do?¡± Perhaps the universe was listening, as he felt a strange energy calling him.

    What it was, was unknown to him, but it wasn¡¯t as if he had another clue, so, Arthur followed where that feeling led him.

    After walking for thirty minutes, Arthur spotted a huge structure that was falling into pieces.

    ¡°Should I go in?¡± Arthur thought.

    There could be dangers inside that building, but he went in nheless.

    Arthur was thinking that he would not find anything useful inside a random building, yet, he did.

    There were lots of papers inside, and one of them had a word Arthur looked for a long time.

    ¡®The Sky City¡¯.

    The city that was known to be the home of the dragons when they conquered the human world.

    It was at that moment, someone appeared.

    ¡°Who are you and what are you doing here?¡±

 Chapter 75

    An old man wearing a simple grey robe. The man had long white hair and a white beard that almost touched his chest.

    It reminded Arthur of Nefion, or at least another crazy old man.

    The appearance of that old man scared the shit out of Arthur, especially when looking at the interrogation dots above the man¡¯s head.

    [???]

    Arthur could only see 50 levels ahead, which meant that the old man was strong.

    The ability that Arthur used to see other people¡¯s levels could also be activated to get more info. He never used that, but he tried to do that on the old man.

    Nothing happened. It seemed he was immune.

    ¡°I-I was wandering around and found this building. I¡¯m sorry if it is your home.¡± The old man scanned Arthur, and his eyes went wide open, ¡°no, you¡¯re not like these stupid dream beasts. You¡¯re different.¡± Arthur also sensed the old man was familiar and dared to ask, ¡°old man. Are you a dragon?¡±

    ¡°HAHAHAHA, I knew it. You are also a dragon, boy. But how?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. It just happened.¡±

    ¡°Interesting,¡± the man had his hand on his chin, and said, ¡°I¡¯m Arsin, and you?¡±

    ¡°Arthur.¡± Arthur was so excited to find another dragon. He thought all of them were dead.

    ¡°Boy, I know you are thinking about learning something from me, a more experienced dragon, but I can¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, kid. Helping other dragons is something I would do without asking, but I don¡¯t have ess to my powers here, and I can¡¯t even touch the dragon treasures, or else they wille and kill me¡­¡± ¡°Who would have the power to win against us, dragons?¡± ¡°The gods, who else?¡± It was not the first time Arthur heard about these gods. Who exactly were they?

    ¡°You have to leave this ce. I can sense the dragon energying out from you, and if I can, they also can.¡± ¡°Do you know something about them? What can I do to bring you out of this ce?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave unless you kill the god that trapped me in this ce.¡±

    ¡°Kid, do you know about Sky City?¡±

    ¡°I know it is a legendary city where dragons lived, and that is almost impossible to find it.¡±

    ¡°Correct, and correct. But there¡¯s something else there. I¡¯m pretty sure it has a way to kill the gods.

    ¡°What? Are you serious?¡±

    ¡°There are 8 gods at the moment, but back in my time, there were 10. Our lord and king, cidusax, found a way to kill them, and managed to get 2 with him before he perished.¡±

    It was strange to see that old man talking about cidusax when the said dragon was right in front of him.

    Well, Arthur still did not know how he could be that dragon yet doesn¡¯t remember anything. Perhaps when he got stronger that would change.

    ¡°But how do I get there?¡± The old man scratched the back of his head, and start walking around that disorganized room as if he was looking for something.

    ¡°Where did I put it? Where did I put it? Found you.¡± The thing he was looking for was apass. It was not an ordinarypass, and it even had a drawing of a dragon on it.

    ¡°This is the only thing I can give you for now, or else the gods will find us. This is apass that points to the Sky City, but only when you are close to it.¡±

    Arthur epted the gift. He wished thepass pointed at the Sky City from anywhere, but that was not the case. He still needed to get closer to it.

    ¡°The Sky City keeps moving, so even I don¡¯t know where it is these days. Wait, maybe I know someone that can help you.¡±

    ¡°You do?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. My brother is in the human realm trying to look for a way to free me of this ce. You should look for him.¡± ¡°How does your brother look like? Or his name?¡± ¡°He is old, just like me. The name he¡¯s using in the human realm is Nefion or something like that.¡±

    ¡°N-Nefion?¡±

    Arthur was shocked. He remembered everything that he passed with Nefion, as well as the skill description in his system that said the Void Step was created by a dragon.

    He was almost sure Nefion was also a dragon, but hearing it from someone else still shocked him.

    ¡°Do you know him?¡±

    Arthur briefly exined everything that happened with him and Nefion.

    Arsin heard the story and looked down with sad eyes. He missed his brother, and he wanted to leave that ce.

    ¡°I¡¯ll find him, and we will look for the Sky City together. It may take a while, but we will rescue you, Arsin.¡± The old man hugged Arthur, and said, ¡°thank you. But you need to leave before things get worse for you. Follow me.¡±

    Arsin led them to another room, and in that room, there was a portal.

    ¡°This portal leads outside to a dungeon on the ind of a friend of mine.¡±

    ¡°You are a friend of that turtle?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Do you know him too?¡±

    ¡°Only by name.¡±

    ¡°I see. Well, go on, youth. I can¡¯t follow you through the portal or I¡¯ll die. Take care and find my brother when possible.¡±

    Arthur walked towards the portal, turned around before entering it, and said, ¡°Arsin, we wille for you.¡±

    Arthur passed through the portal and left the Dream Realm.

    The next thing he saw was the cobblestone walls from the dungeon and a pile of corpses.

    ¡°Did I kill all of these myself?¡±

    It was a strange thing to see the aftermath of your actions, yet don¡¯t remember any of them.

    Arthur followed the pile of corpses, leaving that floor, and eventually leaving the dungeon.

    ¡°I hope that Wisa and Jane are okay¡­¡± Arthur thought.

    He left, going straight to Odemore to see if everything was okay.

 Chapter 76

    Arthur was still in a weakened state, which made him take longer to reach Odemore.

    When he got there, Wisa and Jane were in front of the mansion, anxious.

    ¡°We should go and look for him. It¡¯s been 3 hours.¡± Wisa said, moving from side to side.

    It was at that moment Arthur returned, and both girls ran to hug him.

    ¡°Arthur!¡±

    They hugged for a few minutes, before Jane said, ¡°we were so scared.¡±

    ¡°I am here now,¡± Arthur said, trying to calm down both of his girls.

    A lot of things happened after they parted ways, including Arthur entering the Dream Realm, and meeting another dragon.

    When he was exining everything, Jane was the most shocked. She knew Nefion. Not that much because he left when she was little, but still, she knew him.

    ¡°Nefion is also a dragon? That¡¯s just, how?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I guess we can only find out when talking to him again, which will take a while.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    Jane and Arthur were talking, and Wisa was beside them ying with the newpass Arthur gained from Arsin.¡±

    ¡°Will this take us to the legendary Sky City? I can¡¯t believe it. It was my dream to find that ce, you know when I was still an adventurer.¡± ¡°We will get there, Wisa, all of us, together.¡± Wisa smiled and kept ying with thepass.

    The dungeon problem was solved, at least for now. Arthur knew he did not have enough strength to clear the deeper levels, so what he needed to do was level up.

    ¡°The dinner is in a few days.¡± Arthur thought.

    They talked for a while, but it was getting dark, and the next day Jane and Wisa had to teach the students.

    Odemore could not stop teaching for that long. It would harm the students.

    Jane left first to her room.

    Wisa looked at Arthur and said, ¡°It iste for our private ss in the two-handed sword, but I promise I¡¯ll teach you more tomorrow.¡±

    Arthur moved closer to Wisa, and said, ¡°only if you promise me a kiss tomorrow.¡±

    They were close to each other, and both could hear their breaths. Wisa gave him a peck on the lips and ran away to her room.

    ¡°She¡¯s cute.¡± Arthur thought.

    The mansion was silent, but that changed when Arthur got to his room and saw the snoring Sully on his bed.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be with Kai?¡±

    Arthur made a quick dinner for himself, took a shower, and went to bed with Sully beside him.

    He knew that if he woke up Sully, then Sully would be even more annoying than usual, so he just let him sleep there, snoring all night.

    Arthur was so tired that it did not affect him that much¡­

    The next day, Odemore was vivid again. All students returned to their sses. A few were excited about that, as it meant learning more about magic.

    Others, on the other hand, wanted to have a vacation.

    When Arthur woke up, Sully was not there anymore. Sully was going out a lot these past days, and Arthur presumed he was hunting.

    For now, the only thing Arthur could do was to take care of the academy, and absorb the sunlight when possible.

    To unlock more skills described inside that book, Arthur needed to reach a certain threshold of absorbed energy. It would take some time for him.

    Arthur ate something light in the morning and went out to watch the students.

    He liked to do that to see if they were studying, and not fooling around. Theodore was the person he kept his eyes on the most.

    After everything that happened, Theodore was not acting like a rude noble anymore and was treating other students with respect.

    Arthur felt proud that he changed his behavior, although he used extreme ways.

    ¡°Maybe he was like that because of his family? They were the ones that raised him.¡± Arthur thought as he flew above Odemore, watching the students from high up in the sky.

    The dungeon nearby posed a great treat to Arthur and his school. What if the monsters there attacked the school out of a sudden?

    Arthur wanted to make a magic array around the school, as a way of protection. But leaving the ind was not possible without Sully.

    He could use his fire wings to fly and reach a nearby city, but he was sure his stamina would notst that long.

    ¡°How long will it take for Sully to grow?¡± Arthur thought.

    It was at that moment, that he saw a dot from afar going directly towards him.

    ¡°A flying beast?¡± Arthur prepared hisbat stance, but as the beast got closer, Arthur noticed who it was.

    It was Sully. In a matter of days, he was not little anymore and was big enough for two people to ride on his back.

    ¡°Sully? How did you grow that fast?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, it just happened. Look how beautiful I am.¡±

    Different from a dragon that had four legs, Sully only had two. He was all white with yellow eyes.

    Sully was not in the adult stage, but he could already carry people around, as even in the younger stages wyverns were huge.

    ¡°Hey, Arthur. Your wings have mes on them. I want it too!¡±

    ¡°One day, if you behave, I¡¯ll teach you the secret.¡± ¡°Lame ass. Also, what are you doing up here? Don¡¯t tell me you are spying on girls.¡±

    ¡°No, I was just taking care of my students.¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± Sully said jokingly.

    ¡°Hey, give me a ride.¡±

    Arthur flew and jumped on Sully¡¯s back. He did not even let Sully choose.

    ¡°All right. Let me show you my speed.¡± Above the sky, on an ind without a name, a man and a wyvern flew together. They were fast, and some students saw them.

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°I think it is your president flying on a wyvern.¡±

    ¡°A wyvern? These are rare. How did he tame one?¡±

    ¡°Oh, mighty president, please show us the way.¡±

    Most of the students were men. They worshiped Arthur, and wanted to be just like him¡­

 Chapter 77

    Arthur and Sully flew above the ind, and the breeze hit Arthur¡¯s face.

    ¡°You are fast, Sully.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m outstanding.¡±

    ¡°No¡­ just fast.¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡±

    A healthy rtionship between the two. After a few rounds around the ind, Sullynded right in front of the mansion.

    The students were in their break between sses and were shocked to see that huge wyvernnding, especially seeing that the president of their academy ride the wyvern.

    ¡°He¡¯s so handsome and strong. Will one day I found a man like him?¡± a girl said.

    Arthur was winning the heart of all students within Odemore. The boys wanted to be bad ass just like him, and the girls saw him as a prince.

    Wisa, Jane, and Harmony were also in their breaks and saw that huge wyvern.

    ¡°Is that Sully? You said he was just a baby a few days ago.¡± Jane said. She had her mouth wide open after seeing Sully and was on the verge of cuddling him.

    ¡°He grew up fast, right? I was also surprised.¡± Arthur said, getting down from Sully¡¯s back.

    Sully flew over after Arthur got down from his back. It was probably looking for something to eat.

    ¡°Can I talk with you two for a moment?¡± Arthur said to Wisa and Jane.

    Inside his office, the three of them chatted about the location of nearby cities.

    ¡°How far is the closest city? Now that Sully can fly, I was thinking of looking for a magic array for the school, seeing how this dungeon is a major problem for us.¡±

    Wisa thought for a while before saying, ¡°there is a city called Ardgan not that far from here. We take 15 days by ship, so I guess if Sully had enough energy, he can get you there in 2 days at most.¡±

    ¡°2 days?¡±

    Ardgan still took a long time to reach, but only by ship. Sully could get Arthur there in no time.

    ¡°What do you think? Should I go there? What if something happens while I¡¯m out?¡± Arthur said.

    He knew the best decision was to go there to get a magic array, so that the school would be safer. The thought of something happening while he was away was also something to consider.

    ¡°I think that this is the best time to go. We just cleared those levels in the dungeon, so I think they will note out so soon. Waiting may be worse.¡± Jane said.

    Jane had a point. It was the best if Arthur went as soon as possible, before things get worse.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let the school in your hands while I¡¯m away.¡±

    Jane gave Arthur a goodbye hug and left the office first, so only Arthur and Wisa were there.

    ¡°I did not forget about our dinner, Wisa. I¡¯ll go there and return in 5 days to max. We will have our time after I get back.¡± Arthur said as he got closer to Wisa, and his lips touched hers in a soft kiss.

    ¡°Be careful, please.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll.¡±

    Arthur left the building and used the mind connection he had with Sully to call him.

    ¡°Hey, idiot. We have a job to do.¡±

    ¡°Job? What job?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to fly us to the nearby city.¡±

    ¡°What? When did I agree with that?¡±

    ¡°Now. Finish eating and meet me here.¡±

    Arthur grabbed a map to know where he needed to go. He also got food and ced them in a box with a magical carving, so the food did not spoil. He ced the box inside his magical poach and waited for Sully.

    After 10 minutes, Sully showed up.

    ¡°Were you hunting or cooking?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    They left the ind, flying above the clouds, going towards a city called Ardgan, a two day¡¯s trip.

    ¡°Why are we going there, anyway?¡± Sully said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember if I told you, but there¡¯s a dungeon inside the ind with creatures trying to kill us. I went there, kill a lot of monsters and ended up inside the Dream Realm, where I found a fellow dragon and he helped me get out of there. Now we are in search of a magic array to keep the academy safe.¡± Arthur said a lot of things non-stop.

    ¡°What? All of that happened, and you did not tell your old friend? This hurts my feelings.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you now. Forgive me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    These two always argue when together, but that was their way of showing love to each other.

    The journey was so much cooler than by ship. Arthur could see everything from above, and the scenery was breath-taking.

    Arthur had his food inside the magical poach, but Sully needed to hunt.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go fishing. Wait for me here.¡±

    Sully dived inside the ocean while Arthur used his fire wings and waited above the water.

    They did that countless times during the trip. Sully was eating a lottely after growing up.

    Nothing extraordinary happened during their journey. A few pirate ships passed by, but Arthur and Sully were so high in the sky no one noticed them.

    The most incredible part was that Sully flew for two days straight without the need to rest. How much energy did he have?

    ¡°That¡¯s the city we are looking for.¡±

    In the distance, they saw the city of Ardgan. The city was on an ind that was so big; it had more cities in it, like a small country.

    There were tall buildings, walls, and a poption as high as the cities in thend.

    Sully flew over to a part of the ind where there was no civilization.

    ¡°Stay hidden, Sully. If you encounter any dangerous, just tell me using our mind connection.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Arthur jumped from Sully¡¯s back, and used his fire wings mid-air, flying towards the city.

    He was looking for a magic array, and Arthur hoped that one of these cities could give him that, or else the journey would have been in vain.

 Chapter 78

    Ardgan was a vast and vivid city. Arthur went there looking for a magic array for his school.

    The people yelled in the streets, selling many goodies. A magic array was a rare and expensive item. It wouldn¡¯t be found there.

    Arthur passed by the streets, and looked for something like a treasure store where rare things were sold.

    He did not know if something like that existed in Ardgan, but for his luck, it did. A marble building with 4 floors with a guard standing in front of it, acting as a defense.

    The most impressive thing was the level of that guard, 40. It was understandable considering the amount of expensive items inside that store.

    Arthur walked towards it, and the guard stopped him, just like he expected.

    ¡°Holt! If you want to enter, you need to pay a fee of 1 gold.¡±

    Without even questioning, Arthur opened up his magic poach and tossed the coin, and then walked to the building.

    The guard grabbed it and let him pass. A person had to pay to enter inside a ce where they would have to pay for the items. Arthur was d he was rich.

    Once inside, there was ady ready to talk with any potential client that went in. Arthur scanned around and saw many items on disy, and most were things he never seen before.

    ¡°Hello, sir. What can I do to help?¡± Thedy said.

    Arthur was did not want to waste time, so we went directly into what mattered.

    ¡°Do you have any defensive magical arrays here? Strong, preferably.¡± Arthur said, returning his gaze from the disys to thedy¡¯s eyes.

    He wanted something strong enough to fend for the monsters from the dungeon. Arthur hoped the ce was trustworthy and they wouldn¡¯t scam him selling a useless item.

    ¡°Our magic arrays are on the second floor. Follow me, sir.¡± Thedy said. She was pretty and wore a clothing simr to a maid.

    The first floor of the building mostly had weapons on disy, like swords, spears, dagger, bows, and other items Arthur could not tell it was a weapon just by looking at it.

    The second floor was different. It had scrolls, staffs, and talisman. Most of the items there were enchanted.

    ¡°We have this scroll here. That is a defense array. The scroll is the main part where you should ce in the middle of the perimeter you want to protect, and then channel your mana into it. The range is 3 km.¡±

    Thedy kept exining most of the defensive arrays, their range, and how protective they were.

    One of them caught Arthur¡¯s attention. It was said to fend against even wyverns. Arthur did not know if it was true, but the ce seemed to be trustworthy, and if it was a scam, the ce would have been closed a long time ago.

    He not only bought the magic array, but Arthur also put some of his items into sale. Thedy said an auction would take ce in 6 months, and that his items would be ced there.

    Arthur had many items he got from his adventures, and why not put them into sale? The most expensive item seemed to be a dagger ornamented with gold, and it had a red gemstone in it.

    The attendant had never seen something like that, and she was sure it would fetch a good price.

    ¡°Our auction house will take only 8% of the items¡¯ value. Sounds fair to you?¡±

    ¡°It does.¡±

    8% was not that much, considering Arthur would sell the items for way higher than he could on his own. So it was profit for him.

    He bought the magical array, put the items in the auction house, and left the building.

    ¡°Sully, can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately¡­ I mean, what is it?¡±

    ¡°Meet me where wended. I already bought the array, so we should get back.¡±

    ¡°You know I need some time to rest after flying for 2 days straight.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I forgot about that. Where are you now?¡±

    ¡°Inside a cave. Just hunted something to eat.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll meet you.¡±

    Arthur had to wait at least one day for Sully to rest, as he flew 2 days straight without sleeping.

    Sully exined to him mentally where the cave was, but before Arthur could find it, a group of men came out of the bushes and stopped him.

    ¡°Look what we have here. A rich stupid youth.¡±

    Arthur gazed at the group of men, all had weapons and wore leather armor, exactly like bandits.

    ¡°Me? Rich? I wish. I¡¯m searching for a cave to sleep in because I have no money to rent a room.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit. We just saw you leaving that rich people building, and thedy was all smiles, which meant you bought something expensive there.¡±

    It turned out these men were spying on him since he left the building. Arthur did not notice it inside the city as they were too many people that was almost impossible. He had just left the city, and they showed up.

    ¡°Look, I can see you are all bandits, so if you die, no one will miss your useless lives. But I¡¯m not in the mood for killing today, so please leave.¡±

    The bandits all looked at each other andughed.

    ¡°Are you so scared that you are spitting non sense? Hahaha, stop with this bullshit.¡±

    Arthur sighed and went to a killing he did not intend to. The first bandit, who was just 3 meters away from him, was shocked to see Arthur disappearing and appearing right in front of him.

    With one p, the man was headless, and a stream of blood came out from the open spot above his shoulders.

    The man fell, and his body still moved, unwilling to ept death.

    As for the others, they also did not stand a chance, and died with one move from Arthur.

    ¡°Fighting against these weak humans is not that fun anymore.¡±

 Chapter 79

    The bandits did notst against Arthur, and they all perished. Arthur did not even bother to look for their belongings, as they were surely poor.

    ¡°Sully, I had to deal with some bandits on the way. I¡¯m going now.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Arthur left their corpses there and went looking for the cave Sully was staying. It did not take that long, and soon that huge wyvern was in Arthur¡¯s sight.

    Sully had hunted a few beasts around the ind, but he was waiting for Arthur toe and cook them.

    ¡°Arthur, you need to teach me how to breathe fire, please!¡±

    ¡°In the future, yes.¡±

    Arthur grabbed a few rocks around the cave, and some fuel from the trees outside to build a fire.

    He used his fire breath to light the campfire and talked with Sully while cleaning the beasts¡¯ meat.

    ¡°Hey, Sully. Do you know about any beast that can withstand the power of a wyvern bloodline?¡±

    ¡°Oh, why would you want that?¡±

    ¡°I want to give Kai a tamed beast in the future. A wyvern friend for him, too.¡±

    ¡°Cute, but I¡¯m not your wyvern friend.¡±

    ¡°Really? Then I¡¯ll cook this delicious meet only for me¡­¡±

    ¡°¡®N-no. I¡¯m your friend for today. How does it sound?¡±

    Arthurughed and kept making their food.

    Sully did not know many beasts, as he spent most of his life trapped inside thatboratory, so Arthur would have to find a powerful beast on his own.

    He nned on giving it to Kai only in the far future, so it was not a problem for the time being.

    ¡°Did you get a decent magic array?¡±

    Arthur looked at Sully and said, ¡°it is supposed to hold even the attack of wyverns. You can test it out when he returns.¡±

    ¡°Really? I¡¯ll, I¡¯ll.¡±

    They ate delicious meat from a beast. Arthur did not know what it was. Arthur cooked it using his fire breath, and it turned out to be tasty.

    Sully loved it, as he usually ate raw food.

    ¡°One day of resting is enough for you?¡±

    ¡°It is, yes. Speaking of which, I need to sleep now.¡±

    Sully could not take anymore, and went to sleep after eating.

    Arthur still had energy, as he slept during the trip.

    ¡°What should I do now? There isn¡¯t anything interesting in this town, at least not something I can do for one day.¡±

    He thought about going into a nightclub, but Arthur was more focused on getting his wives now. Times changed.

    While he was there, inside the cave thinking about what to do, someone else was looking for him.

    It was a man wearing a leather armor, with a cape made of fur from a magic beast.

    ¡°This is thest ce they were seen?¡± The man asked.

    ¡°Yes, they were supposed to follow someone out of the city. They went that direction.¡±

    The person the man was talking to pointed toward Arthur went.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    If Arthur was there, he would see the level of that mysterious character, 60. Someone that was strong, and clearly not happy.

    The man walked out of the city and saw footprints on the muddy road, which could be from hisrades. He kept walking until he found what he was looking for.

    A pile of bodies, all of them with missing parts. It was disgusting, and even he could not believe a human did that.

    ¡°Who the hell did they follow to end up like this? Should I keep searching?¡± He did not know if the killer was stronger than him, and maybe he could end up dead.

    ¡°No, I should try to get more information about him inside that treasure house first.¡±

    The man left, returning to the city. He was not the type of person to die out of stupidity.

    Arthur did not know any of that, and was chilling inside the cave. He noticed it was still afternoon, so Arthur took that opportunity to absorb some sunlight to improve his skill.

    It was taking him a long time to reach the next threshold, but there was nothing he could do to fasten the process. At least he did not know yet.

    He stayed there as long as he could, and when the sunset, he returned to the cave to sleep alongside Sully.

    The mysterious man that was looking for him did not show up, and Arthur wouldn¡¯t even meet him, at least not for now.

    ¡°Wake up Sully, we have to go.¡±

    Arthur had to kick Sully, or else thatzy wyvern would never wake up.

    ¡°Huh, what? Why are you waking me up so early?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, or I¡¯ll kick your ass.¡±

    The dinner with Wisa was close, so Arthur could not lose time. For that reason, he had to pressure Sully.

    ¡°Okay, okay, but I¡¯ll rest for a week once we got there.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    They got out of the cave and left, flying into the sky.

    The trip back was the same, with Sully stopping to eat from time to time, and Arthur eating the food he brought, and sleeping while flying.

    But something unexpected happened that time. They were flying above the ocean, and Arthur nced at a ship that was passing.

    There was a person he knew inside the ship, and that was Captain Jack.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head down and say hi to Jack.¡±

    ¡°Jack? Who¡¯s that?¡±

    Sully was only an egg when they met, so it was understandable he did not know who Jack was.

    Arthur exined it to him briefly, and Sully got a good impression of Jack.

    ¡°He seems like a good kid. All right, hold tight.¡±

    Sully dashed down, going directly towards the ship.

    Jack and his crew saw that enormous beast flying and were preparing for battle.

    ¡°A flying beast, watch out, prepare to engage.¡±

    But as Sully got closer, Jack saw who was the person riding the beast.

    ¡°Hold on, don¡¯t attack.¡±

    The more Jack looked, the more he could not believe it.

    ¡°No way he¡¯s riding that. Bad ass motherfucker.¡±

 Chapter 80

    Sullynded on the ship, slowly, to not break anything.

    ¡°Jack, my friend. I saw you from above and had to stop to say hello.¡± Arthur said as he jumped from Sully¡¯s back,nding in front of Jack.

    ¡°Arthur, bastard. I don¡¯t see you for some time and you¡¯re now riding enormous beasts. How?¡±

    Jack wanted a flying beast too after seeing how bad ass it looked.

    ¡°I¡¯m amazing, that¡¯s why. Anyway, Jack, what are you doing in these parts?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll not believe it. Come, let¡¯s talk inside my room.¡±

    The rest of the crew could not understand what was happening, but it seemed Jack was okay with a huge wyvern inside their ship, so they did not mind it either.

    Inside the captain¡¯s room, Arthur and Jack sat on twofy chairs and talked about something that surprised Arthur a lot.

    ¡°You know about that new school of magic that¡¯s on an ind far from here?¡±

    Arthur was well-aware of that as he was the president of such a school.

    ¡°I do, yes. What did you find?¡±

    Jack took out a piece of paper and said, ¡°here, look. It is a treasure map that leads to that ind. We are currently going there to look for it.¡±

    ¡°No way, really?¡± Arthur said with his eyes wide-open.

    The coincidence was too much, and seeing that Jack and his crew would go to the ind anyway, he might as well tell him about.

    ¡°Jack, I¡¯m the president of that academy, so I want to take part in the treasure hunt when you arrive.¡±

    ¡°What? You¡¯re joking, right? You¡¯re a pirate, what are you talking about, a president of a magic academy? Good joke Arthur, good joke.¡± Jack said, but when he looked at Arthur¡¯s serious face, he could not believe it.

    ¡°Wait, are you serious? How the hell did that happen?¡±

    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m amazing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m seeing that, anyway. You can take part in the treasure hunt, too. It is actually a good thing because you probably know more about the ind than me.¡±

    Jack took the map away and stored it in a safe space. Arthur liked Jack, and he going into his ind did not pose a threat.

    ¡°I¡¯ll arrive at least 10 days earlier than you, so you should look for the school, and ask about me to anyone. Say you are a friend of mine.¡±

    ¡°All right, bro. Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Well, I have to keep going. It was nice to see you Jack, take care.¡±

    ¡°You too, buddy.¡±

    Arthur left the captain¡¯s room, said goodbye to everyone, and went flying again.

    ¡°What did you two talked inside that room?¡± Sully said.

    ¡°You won¡¯t believe it. Jack has a treasure map, and guess where the treasure is? On your ind.¡±

    ¡°What? That is too much of a coincidence. Did he let us go treasure hunting with him?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he did, but we will arrive way earlier than him, so we will have to wait.¡±

    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s that. These slow ships can¡¯tpare to my greatness.¡±

    Arthur and Sully kept flying and reached the ind after 2 days.

    The students saw from afar the huge wyvern, and everyone already knew it was their president.

    ¡°He¡¯s so bad ass.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s so good-looking.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s so strong.¡±

    These types of phrases weremon, and Arthur did not mind it.

    Jane and Wisa went outside after hearing the student¡¯s whispering about Arthur, and they also saw him descending into the ground.

    They controlled themselves in front of the students, especially Wisa, who was holding herself to not kiss Arthur.

    Arthur jumped from Sully¡¯s back, who went flying towards the deep parts of the ind.

    ¡°Long time no see. Let¡¯s talk inside my office for a moment.¡± Arthur said.

    When the three of them went inside the office, Arthur took off the defensive magic array.

    ¡°This was a little expensive, but it should hold against most creatures. I also put some of my items in the auction, so it was a profit in the end.¡±

    Jane and Wisa scanned the scroll, and they both could sense it was indeed a strong magic array.

    ¡°The range is 3 km, but I think we can rearrange it to only block the school perimeter.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can do that.¡± Wisa said.

    She was the person with the highest mana control of the three, so it was the best if she set up the array.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡±

    Arthur gave the scroll to her, and she left to set it up as soon as possible.

    Jane took the chance to give Arthur a hug and talk about what had happened in thest few days.

    ¡°The girl and Theodore are doing well in ss?¡±

    ¡°Yes, both of them are talented, and are the best students, at least for now.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. Also, Jane, I¡¯m thinking of making a tournament 3 months from now, and the top 10 will get rewards, such as money, and make them prestige disciples or something like that. I think it is a good way to motivate them.¡±

    ¡°I like that idea. Should I tell the students about it during ss?¡±

    ¡°That would be the best.¡±

    Jane left after that, as she had sses to attend to.

    Arthur was all alone inside his office, and could not wait for the dinner with Wisa, and if he was not mistaken, it would be the next day.

    ¡°What should I do in the meantime? Right, it¡¯s been a while since thest time I saw Kai.¡± Arthur thought.

    Kai was busy with the sses, but Arthur promised to help him with his training, at least teach him some of his dragon skills.

    Arthur left his office and went looking for Kai, who was talking with some students during his break, which were all women.

    ¡°Sup, Kai. How¡¯s going?¡±

    Kai knew Arthur for a long time and always saw him as his teacher and friend. He answered him in a normal tone, ¡°I¡¯m just chilling.¡±

    The girls, though, were all nervous after seeing the president of their academy so close.

 Chapter 81 - Wyvern Techniques

    ¡°Come here. I need to talk with you for a second.¡± Arthur said, moving his arm to call out Kai.

    Kai got up and went with him to a nearby tree to talk, where no student could listen to their conversation.

    ¡°What do you think of starting our training after ss?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Really? Man, I was waiting for it.¡±

    Kai had a bright smile and almost jumped out of joy. He was waiting for that. Kai wanted to be stronger. He wanted to explore his bloodline.

    ¡°Good, good. Come to my office after your sses are over.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    It was a quick talk, and then they parted ways.

    Kai¡¯s sses would finish in about 2 or 3 hours, so Arthur had the time to do his own practicing.

    He went looking for Wisa, who was hiding the scroll inside a secret room of the mansion.

    Arthur only found her because of his dragon senses, and also because he asked Jane where the hidden room was.

    ¡°It¡¯s on the first floor. Look for the storage room. There is a fake panel behind the cab.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Jane.¡±

    Not that hard to find after you know where to look. Arthur got there in no time.

    The room had nothing extraordinary, but it was the ce where they stored some books about magic that they did not want the students to see, at least not while they were beginners.

    These books were neatly arranged on wooden shelves. The room had no light source, so it was pitch-ck inside, but Arthur saw everything clearly using his night-vision.

    Wisa was in the middle of said room, and had just finished channeling her mana into the scroll.

    ¡°Is everything all right with the array?¡± Arthur said, as he entered inside the room.

    Wisa was not that surprised to see him there, and said, ¡°yes, I already finished it. Quite a wonderful array you got there.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m that good at business.¡±

    Arthur was not only there for the array, but he also wanted to know about the dinner.

    ¡°Anyway, Wisa, our dinner for tomorrow is still up, right?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, of course. I never go back to my words.¡±

    Wisa¡¯s cheeks were the color of tomatoes, and she left the room with quickened steps.

    Arthur was all smiles and could not wait for the dinner. After knowing that everything was fine with the array, and the dinner, he left the secret room.

    Kai was still in ss, so Arthur roamed around the school and even checked if everything was okay with the sses.

    Harmony was teaching mana control, and how to properly absorb the mana from the atmosphere to strengthen one¡¯s mana core. The ss taken ce outside of the ssroom, in the wilderness.

    ¡°You¡¯ll felt mana before, so all you have to do is focus on that feeling, and absorb the mana into your body. Remember, always try to absorb near your elemental affinity. Water element mages near water, fire mages near fire, and so on.¡±

    Arthur listened to all of that, as it was always a good thing to learn more.

    Harmony sensed someone was watching her. She looked to all sides until she noticed a silhouette.

    ¡°Arthur, Mr. President.¡± Harmony said in a respectful tone.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, just watching.¡±

    The students also gazed at Arthur, and most of them were more nervous now that the president was there watching.

    ¡°What if I miss in front of him?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t concentrate with a handsome guy like him watching me.¡± A girl said, covering her red cheeks using her hands.

    They all had different reactions, and Arthur could onlyugh seeing that.

    ¡°These kids¡­ Well, let¡¯s see if there is someone good here.¡±

    Theodore was among the students, and that girl as well. Arthur did not know her name yet.

    All the students sat in whatever ce they wanted. Some inside theke, others near trees, and some were trying to build a campfire to sit around it, all for the sake of absorb the mana more efficiently.

    Arthur noticed the stressed faces of all students, as they couldn¡¯t absorb the mana properly. It was difficult in the beginning, and only a few of them did that.

    Theodore, and that girl did. In 5 minutes of meditation, the mana in the atmosphere was going directly to their mana cores, strengthen them.

    It was a fast development, and even Harmony was surprised after seeing that.

    ¡°Good job Theo, Emily. Keep it that way.¡± Harmony said.

    ¡°As for the rest, keep trying, and you¡¯ll eventually get it.¡±

    Harmony tried to motivate the other students, as some could be unmotivated after seeing Theo and Emily doing the exercise so quickly.

    It was the best decision a teacher could make, and Arthur liked that. One reason he was there watching was precisely to learn how to be an excellent teacher.

    He had to teach Kai, and it was not as easy as it looked.

    After twenty minutes, other students seeded it, which made Harmony happier.

    ¡°How are the students going? And the sses? Are you happy here, Harmony?¡±

    She was surprised to see that Arthur vanished and appeared right besides here.

    ¡°Y-yes, I¡¯m loving teaching here. The students are talented and are paying attention to my sses. Even that Theodore seemed to have changed. Overall, everything is perfect.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. Are the payment also good? If not, then maybe we can talk about increasing.¡±

    ¡°No, no, Mr. President, the payment is good.¡±

    ¡°All right. If you need anything, then pleasee look for me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll, absolutely.¡±

    Arthur nodded and left. It was almost time for him to teach Kai something, and he did not know what.

    He took out that diary with dragon technique and tried to look for something a wyvern could use.

    To his surprise, there were actually a few pages with techniques meant to wyverns.

    ¡°This is some techniques our allies know, the wyverns. These are not as strong as ours, but we are superior anyway.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Unexpected.¡± Thought Arthur.

 Chapter 82 - Looking for Workers

    Arthur thought the wyverns came to existence after the dragons were dead, but it turned out both species lived in the same period.

    The diary stated wyverns were inferior to dragons, and that was something Arthur already knew.

    ¡°This is great. Now I can share some of these techniques with Kai.¡±

    It had a lot of wyverns techniques, and Arthur read through them to see what would fit Kai the most.

    The first thing he needed to do was to see what was Kai¡¯s primary element. Harmony and the other teachers had done a test in all students, and Kai was supposed to be a water type mage.

    although Arthur did not know if the mage attribute would be the same for the dragon techniques as well.

    ¡°I can only pray.¡±

    The school was getting emptier as the students finished their sses and went back to their dorms.

    Kai, though, went to Arthur¡¯s office, excited about the training.

    He knocked on the door, and a voice came from the room, e in.¡±

    Arthur sat behind his desk, upied with lots of papers. He was doing theyout for the recreation area he thought of building. It was a good idea, especially now that the students would be stressed because of the uing tournament.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Kai.¡± Arthur put all the papers down and looked at Kai.

    ¡°Busy taking care of the school? You are doing an amazing job so far. Everyone likes you, even that punk Theo.¡±

    Kai was being sincere when saying that, and it made Arthur smile.

    It was an awesome sensation to have one¡¯s work recognized.

    ¡°Thanks, anyway. We should get moving.¡± Arthur said as he got up from his chair.

    Arthur left the office, and Kai followed closely behind, excited about the training.

    They went to a part of the ind not that far, yet with no one around. Arthur wanted to go to theke as it was a cool ce for the training, but almost all teachers used that ce, so the students already knew about it, and went there to swim and chill.

    But Arthur was almost sure Kai was of the water element, so he chose a ce with water nearby. It was a good thing water was abundant on an ind.

    A small river was more than enough for the training.

    ¡°Look here, Kai.¡±

    Arthur showed the pages of that diary that had the wyvern techniques, and Kai was shocked to see that.

    ¡°There¡¯ are a lot of things there. Can I learn them?¡±

    ¡°You can, and you¡¯ll. If I¡¯m not mistaken, your attribute is water, right?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°The techniques are divided ording to their element. Let¡¯s focus first on the water ones to see if your ¡®dragon element¡¯ is indeed water, too.¡± Arthur said, scrolling the pages, looking for the water section.

    Kai felt that what Arthur said made sense. The first technique for the wyvern was like the one Arthur had, the Dragon¡¯s Fire body.

    It was called Wyvern¡¯s Water Body. A weaker version destined for Wyverns.

    ¡°You need to start with this one, and after reaching a certain mastery, we can move to the next techniques.¡±

    Arthur show it to Kai, who read everything carefully to not miss a single thing. It was just like absorbing the mana from the atmosphere, but Kai would have to focus on the water itself and absorb its essence.

    That was way harder, so it would take him a while to get there.

    ¡°You should train near a water source. There isn¡¯t much I can help you with, unfortunately.¡± Arthur said.

    He tried to exin the process by sharing his experience when absorbing the sunlight. It would be different for Kai, but at least that gave him a sense of direction.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave you to your training. If you have questions, you cane and look for me.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thank you!¡±

    Kai was grateful to have the chance to learn such rare techniques, and it was all because of Arthur. He would not let him down.

    Arthur did not return to the school, but went to the vige near the shore of the ind.

    The idea of the recreation area was almost done, but he still needed people to build, and the only ce he could find such people was in the vige.

    He also had the idea of hiring Jack¡¯s crew to help once they got there, but that would trap them in that ind for too long, so Arthur was almost sure they would not ept that, only if he offered a lot of money, and he was not that rich at the moment.

    With the help of his fire wings, Arthur got into the vige in a few minutes. The people there were surprised to see someone flying with wings, and they already knew it was someone from the magic school.

    All vigers respected everyone from Odemore, as these people were the ones that protected the ind from attacks, and kept all the ¡®normal people¡¯ safe.

    They instantly knew Arthur was someone special, and the gossip of a new president of the academy already went to the vige, so they all linked the dots with ease.

    Arthur was looking for people to work, so the first ce he went was the inn to get information.

    The ce was packed with people, as it was already getting dark. People went there to drink after working all day.

    Everyone gazed at the door as soon as it was opened, and a well-dressed youth entered it.

    Arthur ignored any of that and went straight to the counter.

    ¡°Is the owner here?¡±

    Thedy behind a counter was surprised to see someone looking for the owner.

    ¡°Who wants to talk with him? I¡¯m sorry, but he does not meet with anyone.¡±

    ¡°How about the president of the magic school? Do I qualify to talk with him?¡± Arthur said in a disdained tone.

    ¡°O-Of course, follow me, sir.¡±

    Thedy was sweating cold, and led Arthur to the inn¡¯s back room.

 Chapter 83

    ¡°So that was the president of the school?¡± A man said, sipping his mug of beer.

    ¡°It seems like it. He¡¯s so young, yet this sessful.¡± The person who said that had his hands on his head.

    ¡°Am I feeling a jealousy here?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    The people inside the inn whispered to each other after hearing Arthur¡¯s chat with the attendant.

    Arthur did not care about any of that, and just followed thedy to a back room of the inn. There, a short and baldy man was waiting.

    ¡°Sir, the president of the magic school is here.¡± The attendant said.

    The owner of the inn was leaning on a barrel, chilling. For a split second, when he looked at Arthur, he thought it was someone newing to work for him, but it was not the case.

    ¡°P-president of the academy? I¡¯m sorry for my manners.¡± He said and bowed.

    ¡°Not a big deal. Anyway, I want to hire some people to build some things I n on modifying in the academy. Can you post an announce here in your inn?¡± Arthur went directly to the important question, as he was not someone that fooled around.

    ¡°Of course. Leave it to me.¡±

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll take my leave then.¡±

    Arthur got what he was looking for. Almost all people went to the inn to drink, eat or just chill with friends. An announce there would be the best.

    ¡°I should get back.¡± Arthur thought.

    The moon watched over the ind, so it was time for Arthur to return to his school. In an instant, two fire wings grew on his back, and he flew away.

    Some people passing by the streets saw that, and were shocked. Arthur made his name spread throughout the vige with just one day¡­

    The first ce Arthur went was not his office to sleep, but the dungeon in the north part of the ind.

    He wouldn¡¯t enter there, at least not yet, but it was not a bad idea to fly around and see if there were any monsters¡¯ activity near that area.

    Arthur scanned most of the area around the dungeon and found nothing suspicious. In the meantime, no monsters would attack his school.

    ¡°I can¡¯t keep looking here all the time.¡± Arthur thought.

    The best thing to do was to check the area every day to make sure they wouldn¡¯t get a surprise attack, but Arthur couldn¡¯t do that.

    He had the students to watch, teach Kai, learn with Wisa, and now also supervise the construction of the school¡¯s new areas. It was simply impossible.

    It was not all lost, though. Arthur had a friend that might do that job for him.

    ¡°Hey, Sully, can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately¡­ Yes, what do you want?¡±

    ¡°Meet me.¡±

    Arthur exined the general location where he was, and as he was flying above the ind, not that hard for Sully to see him.

    He told him about the dungeon and asked if he could look from time to time to see if no monster came out of it.

    ¡°No problem.¡± Sully said.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Sully agreeing that easily surprised Arthur, but he did not question it, afraid that Sully would change his mind.

    They parted ways after that, with Arthur returning to his office, and Sully presumably sleeping in a cave.

    Arthur made a quick stop at the school¡¯s dorm, flying above it. The ce was vivid, with lots of talking inside, most regarding magic and teen stuff.

    The students were enjoying their time in the academy, so that made Arthur happy. After that, he returned to the mansion, to his office.

    It was gettingte, so he grabbed a few magic books and read whileying on his bed.

    One thing he wanted to do again was practice alchemy, or enchanting. These were things that had caught his attention since the day he got to know about them.

    Some of the magic books Arthur got talked about these two subjects, so he read them first.

    After a few hours of reading, Arthur fell asleep.

    The next day would surely be an important one. Arthur and Wisa would have dinner, which was something he was looking for since she asked him.

    ¡°What should I wear? Now that I think of, I only have a few clothes. Damn it.¡±

    Arthur regretted his decision of not buying some clothes back when he was looking for the magic array.

    ¡°Well, whatever. We will end up naked, anyway.¡± Arthur thought, smiling.

    The first thing one should do in the morning was to eat something, so Arthur did exactly that. A shower was also nice, but that wouldn¡¯t be thest shower of the day.

    He left his office after doing all of that, and roamed around the courtyard, just like he did every day.

    sses would start in 3 hours, yet some students were already up, including Kai, who was leaving his dorm to go near theke to train.

    Arthur and Kai exchanged nces, and Arthur send him a thumbs up.

    ¡°I¡¯m proud of your hard work!¡±

    Theo was also training just outside of the dorm, which surprised Arthur. The boy had truly changed.

    ¡°Sup, Theo.¡± Arthur said.

    Theo was visibly surprised to see Arthur there.

    ¡°Mr. President. Hello. I couldn¡¯t sleep so I thought why not practice?¡±

    ¡°Good, good. Theo, I can see that you have changed.¡±

    ¡°The teachers will announce it today, but a tournament will be held in a few months. The top 10 will get rewards, such as money, instruction, and spell tomes. And will get the title of Prestige Disciples, with better treatment and uniform,¡±

    ¡°Harmony told me about your talent, and how well you¡¯re doing in sses. For me, the most important thing is that you changed as a person,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m expecting great things from you.¡±

    Theo was lost with the rewards and could not wait to prove his value in the tournament.

    ¡°I¡¯ll not disappoint you, Sir.¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll let you practice now.¡±

    Arthur left, but Sully shouted inside his mind.

    ¡°Arthur, there are creaturesing out of the dungeon!¡±

 Chapter 84 - The Dinner

    ¡°What? How many?¡±

    ¡°For now, not that many. You and I can end them.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ming. Hey Sully, can you find a huge rock?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll look for it. The monsters are all in front of the dungeon, so you can go there and kill all of them.¡±

    Arthur thought the morning would be quiet and chilling. But that was not the case.

    He did not warn anyone from the school to not create panic.

    With fire wings, Arthur flew directly towards the dungeon. It took him a few minutes to get there, but as soon as he did, monsters entered his sight.

    Goblins, gigantic spiders, trolls, and imps. Their number was not that high, but Arthur knew more would keeping from the dungeon.

    The reason behind the rock Arthur asked for Sully was to close the dungeon entrance, and dy the monsters ofing out.

    It was not the best protective measure, but it was better than nothing.

    Arthur gazed at the monsters to see if there was a high level among them that could treat him. The highest was level 30, which was something Arthur could deal with easily.

    ¡°Should I wait for Sully? No, the area has to be clean of monsters first.¡±

    He went all out, using his dragon transformation, his fire wings and fire ws. Just like a shadow, Arthur flew towards the group of monsters, breathing fire and turning them into cooked meat.

    Some of them died instantly, while the others put up a fight. Trolls were the hardest to kill, as they had a thick skin and could regenerate wounds quickly.

    That was not a problem for Arthur, as he shed them using his fire ws, which melted their skin, just like a cksmith melted ores to craft a weapon.

    Arthur flew by, shed some monsters and flew again. The imps were the only ones that could fly as well, but their attacksprised throwing fireballs, which were countered by Arthur¡¯s Dragon Fire Body.

    A fireball hit Arthur¡¯s body, yet it did nothing. He justughed at that and ripped the imps apart.

    The fight ended in a few minutes.

    ¡°I¡¯ming to help you, Art- what? Is it over?¡±

    Sully carried a huge rock as he flew by the dungeon.

    ¡°It is. ce the rock to close the dungeon.¡±

    When Arthur looked at Sully, he was the level 50 above his head. He was growing up fast, and Arthur wanted to level up more, too.

    ¡°Like this?¡± Sully threw the rock directly in front of the entrance, closing it entirely.

    ¡°Yes! Good job. This should hold for a while.¡±

    Arthur knew that when the powerful monsters from the deeper levels of the dungeon came out, they would destroy that rock easily.

    But, for now, it was a good defensive measure. The school also had the defensive array, so all Arthur needed to do was get stronger.

    And to get stronger, he knew what he had to do.

    After cleaning all that mess, Arthur headed back to the school. The only thing he did during all day was to absorb the energy from the sun, and rest.

    When the sunset and the dinner was close, Arthur took a shower and tried his best to look fresh for Wisa.

    Arthur wore the best clothing he had, which was unfortunately his day-to-day clothing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go buy new clothes next week.¡±

    The dinner would take ce in Wisa¡¯s office, which was also her room, just like Arthur¡¯s.

    It was just beside his room, so he knocked on the door and waited for Wisa to answer it.

    Once she did, he was stunned.

    Just like that time when they trained together, Wisa wore a thigh clothing glued to her skin. The tip of her nipples showed, and she even opened a little to show half of her boobs.

    Arthur could not resist the urge, and his down parts got crazy.

    ¡°Ce in.¡± Wisa said, moving aside to let Arthur enter.

    She was visibly nervous. Arthur noticed that, and it made him more crazy.

    Wisa had already done dinner. The table had all kinds of foods, and they all smelled nice.

    Most of the foods Arthur did not even know the name, but he could tell there was meat in it, so he would eat it.

    They both sat close to each other, enjoying the food, and the moment.

    ¡°It feels nice to build something here, especially after we lost everything.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Agree.¡±

    After everything that happened, they all just wanted some peace. A ce to stay and call it home.

    That¡¯s why the dungeon problem affected Arthur that much. He wanted a safe home, yet bad things followed him.

    Anyway, the dinner continues with both of them eating tasty foods and drinking wine. An exchanged nce here, an exchanged nce there. The moment was building up.

    ¡°Are you sure you want this?¡± Arthur got up from the chair, looking directly at Wisa.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sure. Arthur, I-¡± Wisa could barely finish her sentence.

    ¡°Arthur, I- I think I love you!¡± The words she kept inside finally came out.

    Arthur¡¯s heart raced, and he had butterflies in his stomach. He went towards Wisa and kissed her.

    The moment both lips touched was unforgettable, and the warm sensation of love filled the two of them, making time stop.

    Tongues intertwined, and the atmosphere was getting hotter. They kissed each other ferociously, hitting a little furniture and making them fall.

    In a few moments, they were both on the bed. Arthur slowly took out Wisa¡¯s clothes, showing her perfect curves and her big, rounded boobs.

    Arthur took out his clothes as well, which made Wisa even more excited. Differently from the skinny boy from before, Arthur now had a toned and muscr body.

    He was not big, but lean and sexy. But there was another big thing Wisa would meet that night.

    With kisses on her boobs and body, Arthur slowly got down until his tongue moved, licking her pussy, starting the preliminary.

 Chapter 85

    Wisa moaned everything Arthur¡¯s tongue touched her down parts. She felt something new. It was a pleasure.

    It was the first time Wisa did that with someone, and that sensation was new, yetforting, exciting.

    She could not resist the urge to moan, and her legs shook with an orgasm.

    ¡°Ahh, please, babe, keep going.¡±

    Arthur would never stop. Wisa did not even need to ask that for him. He kept licking her pussy until it was the right time to prate.

    ¡°Wisa, are you ready?¡± Arthur asked, looking directly at Wisa, who was rolling her eyes in pleasure.

    ¡°Yes, please, my love.¡± Wisa said, stretching up her legs, opening it more so that Arthur could ce his dick inside of her.

    Slowly, the enormous sword he got down there entered inside a warm ce. Arthur ced in and out, until it was ready to go all out, and turn the fucking into a hardcore one.

    Wisa, who was timid at first, was also now begging for his dick.

    ¡°Please, faster, deeper.¡±

    Arthur¡¯s dick went in and out like a train inside a tunnel, without a single stop. Wisa orgasmed because of the rubbing inside of her pussy.

    It was so intense her legs moved, and she moaned even louder.

    One hand on her big, rounded boobs, and the other on his neck.

    ¡°You¡¯re such a naughty woman.¡± Arthur said, choking her, and fucking even harder.

    They changed positions. It was time for Wisa to show her skills.

    Arthurid on the bed, and Wisa did a reverse cowgirl. Wisa¡¯s perfect ass kept moving, and Arthur pped it, making it look as red as Wisa¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Keep moving.¡±

    Wisa did not stop moving her hips, engulfing Arthur¡¯s dick with her pussy.

    It reached a moment where both of them could not endure anymore. It was too much pleasure, and no one could fuck for eternity.

    Arthur had an extraordinary stamina, so him, and Wisa did a hardcore fuck for 3 hours straight.

    ¡°I gonna cum.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Please cum inside me.¡±

    Wisa asked him, and Arthur was okay with that. He knew he could not impregnate no one, as the system itself told him that.

    ¡°The system never lied to me, and well, even if it somehow she gets pregnant, Wisa is someone I love.¡±

    Arthur came inside Wisa¡¯s pussy, and they both lied naked on the bed.

    ~~~~

    ¡°What is this noise?¡± Jane returned from her duties, and was resting inside her office when she heard what looked like a moaning.

    The moaning came from Wisa¡¯s office. Jane left her own office and put the ear on Wisa¡¯s door to listen more.

    ¡°Wait, what? Wisa and Arthur are having a moment?¡±

    Not that hard to figure out what was happening, but Jane was not angry with that or anything like it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll not lose to Wisa. I¡¯ll conquer him too.¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°How was it?¡± Arthur asked Wisa, as he cuddled her soft red hair.

    ¡°Amazing, perfect, hardcore. I want this to happen often.¡± Wisa said, and she meant it.

    Wisa was now sure she loved Arthur and wanted to build something with him. They already did the first step, and now their rtionship jumped a step.

    ¡°Me too, Wisa.¡±

    They kissed each other and slept together for the night¡­

    When Arthur woke up, Wisa was not there anymore. She always got up early to prepare for her sses, and that day was no different.

    Arthur got up and dressed himself. It was at that moment a notification popped up in front of him.

    It was the system, and it had been a while since thest time something like that happened.

    [Ding, New Feature Unlocked]

    [Harem Tab]

    [A true beast from the Dream Realm is loyal to its family. Every time you have sex with someone you love, the person will be added to this system tab, as your potential wife.]

    [Now that one had been added, having sex with other girls will not grant you experience points, but having sex with your potential wife will, and it will add more experience points.]

    [The sex will also benefit your partner, who will get stronger. The stronger the wife, the higher the experience points you¡¯ll get.]

    Arthur was surprised and delighted to see that. He already wanted to only have sex with the people he loved, yet if it did not increase his experience points, then he would have to go the other way.

    But now was not the case. Arthur clicked on the system tab that had the name of ¡®Potential Wives¡¯.

    [Wisa: Level 45]

    ¡°It seems she¡¯s getting stronger. Was it because of our sex? Wait, let me check my character tab.¡±

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 30]

    [Health: 3920/3920]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 75]

    [Agility: 40]

    [Vigor: 30]

    [Wisdom: 30]

    [Charm: 40]

    [Free points: 25]

    ¡°I got 5 levels in one go? That¡¯s a lot.¡±

    Wisa was a strong woman, and after they received this bonus of the system, the amount of experience points Arthur got was huge.

    If he did that every day, wouldn¡¯t he be strong fast? That was simply wonderful.

    Arthur went to his room after getting such good news and took a shower to wash after that hardcore night he had.

    Once he left his room, Jane was in front of it, with breakfast.

    ¡°I noticed your room was silent, and you slept too much, so I made you breakfast.¡±

    Jane handed him a box filled with food and left in a hurry.

    She prepared her sses and also took the time to cook something for Arthur.

    ¡°Is something going on here?¡±

    ¡°Thank you!!!¡± Arthur yelled to the running Jane, who was almost out of his vision.

    It was strange, but he wouldn¡¯t refuse a breakfast made by someone else. Arthur was bad at cooking, anyway.

    He ate it and prepared himself to do a quick trip to the vige to see if the announcement he put in the

 Chapter 86 100000 Bounty

    Chapter 86 100000 Bounty

    Arthur used his free points before leaving for the vige. He noticed how his strength was at 75, and with 25 it would amount to 100, so he put all of it in strength.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 30]

    [Health: 3920/3920]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 100]

    [Agility: 40]

    [Vigor: 30]

    [Wisdom: 30]

    [Charm: 40]

    [Free points: 0]

    "After this, I should probably put some more in the other stats." Arthur thought.

    Two fire wings grew on his back, and Arthur flew towards the vige.

    Nothing unusual on the way, as always, and in a few minutes he was inside the inn.

    "Oh, it''s you." The attendant said. She met Arthur thest time, so she did not make the same mistake and quickly call the owner of the inn.

    A tiny man came with a smile, "Mr. President. Are you here because of the announcement, I assume?"

    Arthur liked that the man did not ask useless questions and went directly to the point.

    "Yes. Did someonee here?"

    "I got 20 men that want to work for you. Do you want me to call them?"

    "Please."

    Twenty men to work on the construction. It was not a big number, but a good number, considering they were on an ind.

    The inn''s owner went around the vige calling out the people, and soon, 20 men were in front of Arthur.

    All of them were visibly muscr, and the inn owner said they all had experience with building, so Arthur was pleased.

    He wanted to improve the academy, and the fastest, the better.

    "All right. Everyone, follow me."

    These people would work for him and not befriend him. Arthur felt there was no need to waste time trying to impress these people, even more considering they were all weak humans.

    Different from the fast journey using his wings, Arthur had to walk and wait for them to catch up. It was boring, and it took a lot of time to reach the school.

    Once they did, all the workers had their mouths wide open after seeing the vast mansion. It was the first time any of them got close to that area, as the passage was prohibited.

    Arthur talked with all of them, and it seemed one worker was respected in the vige, and all the rest had pointed him as the chief to supervise the construction.

    "This is theyout. I want you guys to study it and build the foundation."

    It was theyout of the recreation area Arthur nned to build. He still needed more construction materials, but he had the basics for the foundation.

    At least he had all the tools needed.

    "I need to ask someone to buy me materials. Maybe Jack can help me out?"

    Speaking of Jack, he would arrive in a few days. Arthur was excited to look for that treasure he talked about.

    Perhaps it would be something that would make him rich, or stronger. The realm of possibilities was endless.

    The workers grabbed the materials and tools and left for a nearby area where the recreation area would be.

    Arthur let them to what they wanted, as he was not experienced with building, anyway. But obviously, he would intervene if anything strange happened.

    "Hey, Arthur!" Kai said.

    The students had minor breaks between sses, and a bigger break for lunch. Kai was in one of these minor breaks, and he saw Arthur standing there, in the middle of the courtyard, just outside of the mansion.

    "Kai. Is everything okay?"

    "More than okay, actually. That''s why I''m here. I did some good progress in the water essence absorption, and I think I''m here to learn the first skills."

    "Oh?"

    Arthur was surprised. He knew the wyvern technique was easier and weaker than his own. Kai was improving at a fast rate, which made him happy.

    "Good work, Kai. If you''re saying you''re ready, then I''ll grant you a new technique after the sses today. Meet me at the same spot, near that river. Okay?"

    "Ok, master."

    Kai said goodbye to Arthur and returned to his ss.

    "What should I do now?"

    The dungeon problem seemed to have stopped, at least for the time being, but Arthur still flew and scanned the dungeon''s surroundings to see if there was anything strange.

    Sully was the only strange thing around that area.

    "Are you camping in front of the dungeon? You don''t need to go that far." Arthur said to Sully, whose gaze did not avert from the dungeon''s entrance.

    "My task here is important. What if I don''t see the monstersing out and everyone gets hurt?" Sully said.

    "You have a point, but you still need to rest."

    "I do rest, but in front of the dungeon so that I can sense the monsters."

    "All right. Anyway, both you and Kai are improving fast, huh?"

    "How''s that brat, anyway? Did he find a girl already?"

    "I don''t know about that, but he''s doing well in the training I passed to him."

    "You? Training someone? That''s a funny joke."

    "Shut up."

    Arthur was happy to see Sully somitted to watch the dungeon. It made him more motivated to get strong enough to kill whatever monsters came out of that dungeon.

    It was a mysterious ce that even had a portal to the Dream Realm.

    "I need to clear this dungeon, find out more about the gods, and find Nefion to speak about his brother¡­ Ah, so many things for my head." Arthur thought.

    ~~~~

    A ship that had familiar faces boarding it. It was Jack, who was still a few days away from meeting Arthur.

    Jack was stopped by another ship. Not a pirate ship, but one from the government.

    An admiral wearing a white coat came asking for questions, and he had a sketch on hands.

    "You''re the captain?"

    "Yes, I am."

    "Have you ever seen this man?"

    The admiral showed the sketch, who had Arthur''s face on it, with a number beneath it.

    Reward: 100.000 gold coins.

 Chapter 87

    ¡°I never saw him before.¡±

    Jack was shocked to see such a high bounty on Arthur. What did he do?

    The admiral looked at Jack for some time and left. He sighed in relief.

    ¡°I thought I would get into trouble.¡±

    He waited for them to sail in another direction before continuing his trip.

    ~~~~

    Arthur waited near a river. It was the ce he chose for Kai to practice, and after waiting for some time, Kai showed up.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for beingte. ss took a little longer today.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    ¡°Could you please show me how far you¡¯ve gone with the water essence?¡± Arthur said.

    Kai nodded and went near the river to absorb the water essence. It was easy for Arthur to feel it, as he was someone that could use all elements.

    ¡°Good, good. You progressed a lot in these past days. Come, let¡¯s choose a technique together.¡±

    Arthur had that diary in hands, open in the wyvern water element section. There were a few techniques Kai could start learning that fit his beginner level in the water essence training.

    ¡°Can I choose two?¡±

    ¡°That would be double the work. Are you sure? Remember that if I don¡¯t see a decent progress, I¡¯ll kick your ass.¡±

    Kai¡¯s body shook with just the thought of it, but he still kept his goals and try to learn two techniques.

    He chose one that made him able to create two water wings, simr to Arthur¡¯s. And another technique that allowed him to create a water spear.

    ¡°Are you sure you want these two?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m especially this wings, he.¡±

    ¡°Fire wings are still better.¡±

    ¡°Your ass.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, nothing, he.¡±

    Arthur used his fire wings to show Kai, but also to leave.

    ¡°You know that unfortunately I¡¯m very busy, and I can¡¯t help you directly cause these are wyvern techniques, but I¡¯ll try my best if you have questions. Good luck.¡±

    ¡°No problem, bro. I¡¯ll look for you if any doubt hinders my path.¡±

    ¡°Good. See youter, Kai.¡±

    Arthur flew away, returning to the school. He was Kai¡¯s teacher, yet couldn¡¯t really help him. It was more like he was in his personal library of techniques, and Kai had to mostly learn on his own.

    Not that it was bad. Arthur was sure he had no talent to teach others, at least not yet.

    The people Arthur hired worked on the recreation area construction until 6 or 7 pm, then they would return to the vige, as there was no ce for them to sleep inside the academy.

    That was not ideal for them, but the amount of gold Arthur was paying them made them do anything.

    ¡°People always go after money, huh?¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur¡¯s daysprised the same. He would check if the students were actually studying, check if the workers were building something, and have sex with Wisa.

    The strangest part was Jane, who would try to please him every day, be it with a home cooked breakfast or lunch.

    It was as if she was trying topete with Wisa.

    ¡°Did she hear it?¡± Arthur thought.

    That routine continued for a week until someone reached the ind. It was Jack.

    ¡°Jack, my friend.¡±

    Arthur waited by the shore, and could not help but to notice Jack¡¯s strange face.

    ¡°Did something happen?¡±

    Jack then exined to him everything. That an admiral was looking for him, and the fact he now had a bounty of 100,000 gold coins.

    ¡°What? How did that happen, anyway? I did nothing wrong.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t kill anyone?¡± Jack said, crossing his arms.

    ¡°Maybe.¡±

    ¡°Idiot.¡±

    He had to hold the urge to p Arthur in the face.

    Anyway, he put that aside and was excited about the treasure.

    ¡°You want to go looking for it today? Without resting?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. You and me will look for it. As for my crew, they will rest and only help us if needed.¡±

    Jack took out the treasure map, which had a X marked somewhere on the ind. It had few details, which meant they would have to look for it.

    ¡°It is near these three trees. Did you see anything like that?¡± Jack pointed to the marking on the map.

    ¡°But what if this map is from a long time ago and there¡¯re no trees there?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I- I did not think about it.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll carry you.¡±

    Arthur used his fire wings, grabbed Jack, and flew. It was much easier to find the ce looking from the sky.

    They searched the entire ind, yet there was nothing simr to what the map described. Maybe Jack got a wrong map? Or it wasn¡¯t the same ind. Who knew?

    ¡°This is, this is, ugh!¡± Jack wasn¡¯t happy with that.

    They stopped near the shore on the other side of the ind. Arthur, too, did not know what to do, but something caught his attention.

    The sea, just near them, close to the shore, had strange bubbles. Arthur jumped over and swam.

    ¡°No way!¡±

    It was there. The three trees on the map had. The bubbles showed a fissure down, which somehow the water could not enter, as if there was some sort of magic blocking the water.

    Arthur got back to the shore, yelling, ¡°Jack, it¡¯s here, it¡¯s here!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Jack could not believe it. He and Arthur rushed to see, and it was there.

    ¡°Should we go in?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    They both dived into the ocean, getting closer to that fissure. But, as they got close enough, a suction force came into y, and they were both dragged to the fissure.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    The fissure was wide, and for the looks of it, deep. They kept falling, and as everything was ck, they couldn¡¯t tell if the ground was near or not.

    Jack tried to grab the fissure¡¯s walls, but it was impossible. Arthur did the same and failed.

    ¡°ARTHUR, WILL WE DIE TODAY?¡± Jack yelled, afraid it was the end of his life.

 Chapter 88

    Arthur grabbed Jack and said, ¡°we are not dying today.¡±

    Two huge fire wings came out of his back, and Arthur stopped the fall. But as he looked up, a strong wind came down, cutting everything, even the sturdy walls of stone.

    ¡°We can¡¯t go back. We need to go down. Jack, hold on tight.¡±

    Arthur dashed down like a dragon. It was so fast that his cheeks moved and his ck hair was a mess.

    Jack was the same, but he was also screaming like a frightened kid. It was a funny scene, but the situation was too dire for Arthur tough at that.

    The fissure was dark inside, so Arthur was the only one that could see anything. He kept going down, hoping to find the end.

    ¡°Well, at least that scary wind is only in the upper parts.¡± Arthur said.

    That did not change the fact that the ce would presumably be dangerous.

    It was hard to tell how long they had descended, but the ground finally touched their toes.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m alive?¡± Jack said.

    Jack touched all parts of his body, making sure he was alive. After that, he had to throw up.

    ¡°Aggrr, Arthur, I don¡¯t want a flying beast anymore.¡±

    A disgusting liquid was spit on the ground. Arthur ignored that, but focused his attention on scanning the ce.

    They were between a fissure. The ground down there had grass above it, and lots of water puddles.

    How was a treasure supposed to be in there? Arthur kept asking himself that.

    The exnation for the fissure being underwater was probably because the water levels rose, and it flood.

    But it was not a normal fissure. The water from above could not enter, as if magic was protecting the ce.

    ¡°Look, there¡¯s a path there. Let¡¯s go, Jack.¡± Arthur said as he pointed to the path.

    Jack was busy throwing up, but still answered in a low tone, ¡°I¡¯m going.¡±

    With steady steps, they explored the area. That fissure looked like a cave, and the more than went in, more strange it became.

    Insects crawling on the walls, the howling of the wind, and a feeling as someone was watching them.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Jack said as he pointed to an area.

    Arthur could see clearly. It was just a rat.

    ¡°It¡¯s a rat, calm down. But how did these animals end up down here?¡±

    It was fascinating to see life down there. But if these animals could live there, then beasts could do the same¡­

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell it was a rat. It¡¯s dark down here. How are you seeing, anyway?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m me.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The pathway was narrow, and it kept getting worse the deeper Arthur went.

    A sound of feet crushing moss and water dripping from the wall cracks. It was a tense atmosphere, and then Arthur and Jack saw something extraordinary.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Jack said.

    The narrow path turned into a huge open area, with a crystal clearke in the middle, and strange buildings around it.

    These buildings weren¡¯t houses, but more like worshiping monuments. An energy came from the top of each one of these stone monuments, and they all mixed in theke.

    ¡°I do not know.¡±

    Just by looking at it, it did not feel safe. Arthur heard countless times about beings that called themselves gods, and now it seemed someone was getting some sort of energy from these pirs.

    Arthur had to keep looking. It was not as if he had another choice. There was no way he could return, at least not using the same path he took.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving Jack, we need to-¡±

    Jack, who was just beside Arthur, was not standing anymore and was lying on the ground, helpless.

    ¡°He can¡¯t listen to our conversation, at least not yet.¡±

    A soft voice. Arthur first checked to see if Jack was okay, and he was. He turned around to gaze at theke, where a pretty woman with white hair flew over the water.

    She did not need wings to fly, and did that using unknown ways.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Arthur said.

    The moment he saw her, he knew that if she was an enemy; he was dead.

    [Level: ???]

    He could not see her level.

    ¡°Me? You know me already, he.¡±

    ¡°I know you? No, that¡¯s not possible.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t your friends tell you they had a flying turtle?¡±

    The woman was now in front of Arthur, and she smelled just like flowers.

    ¡°Wait, are you that turtle?¡±

    ¡°NO! Of course not. The turtle is my pet. Are you calling me ugly?¡±

    ¡°N-no, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you live this time. I¡¯m Skye, and you are?¡±

    Skye was her name, and she had pale skin, perfect features, and a body no one could resist. Her hair was the same color as the moon, and her eyes were as yellow as the sun.

    The most extraordinary thing was her aura, which made Arthur lose breath just being near her.

    ¡°Arthur, but hey, how did you end up here?¡± Arthur said.

    He was curious why such a powerful person would be down there, especially a good-lookingdy like her.

    Skye sighed deeply, and said, ¡°I-I don¡¯t know. I remember nothing.¡±

    Arthur just gazed at her, waiting for the story to continue.

    ¡°I woke up one day, and I was here. No memories, only my name. The turtle you talked about, my pet, I found her down here.¡±

    ¡°But why you didn¡¯t escape this ce?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t. You see these energiesing from the monuments? I think these are trapping me here for so long¡­¡±

    ¡°The only things I know from the outside world are what the turtle told me. But I wish I could see it with my own eyes.¡±

    ¡°Skye. What if I told you I can get you out of here?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°What are you serious?¡± Skye got closer, grabbed both of Arthur¡¯s arms, and said, ¡°If you get me out of here, I promise I¡¯ll marry you!¡±

 Chapter 89

    Skye could not believe someone would take her out of that ce. She had been there for countless years.

    ¡°Wait, are you serious? I¡¯m already married, so you¡¯ll have to conquer me.¡±

    ¡°Is that a challenge? Skye here can do anything, hmph.¡±

    The idea behind Arthur¡¯s n was to devour the energying from these monuments. He was not sure if it would work, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try.

    Skye saw the fire wingsing from Arthur¡¯s back.

    ¡°What¡¯s your n, anyway? If I don¡¯t mind asking.¡± Skye said. She followed Arthur in mid-air.

    ¡°I¡¯ll eat these energies. If your guess is correct and these are hindering your way out, then you¡¯ll be free.¡±

    ¡°Are you serious? Eat these energies?¡±

    Arthur did not answer, and flew to the middle of theke. All energiesing from the monuments mixed at thatke, so Arthur nned on go there and devour everything at once.

    It was faster, but more dangerous as well. What if he couldn¡¯t devour the energy and died on the spot?

    Arthur did not believe that was the case. He was the lord of dragons, cidusax. What could this mysterious energy do to him?

    The moment he opened up his mouth, and all that blue energy got sucked, pain hit him hard.

    Not the type of pain that a man could bear. It was a lot of pain. Arthur freeze in mid-air, and the energy kept going inside his body like crazy.

    Arthur was unconscious to see, but a notification from the system popped up.

    [Celestial Energy Absorbed]

    [Cleansing the Body]

    [Level up]

    [Level up]

    [Level up]

    [¡­]

    After all that energy enter inside his body, he fell. Skye was near, so she grabbed him before he fell into the water.

    ¡°Arthur!¡±

    Skye felt within her body that something was different, and she guessed it meant she could leave that ce. But there was no chance she would do that and leave Arthur behind.

    There was a small wooden house Skye built together with the turtle. Trees grew inside that fissure, but most of the wood she got was from the turtle, as it was the only one of the two that could leave that ce freely.

    Skye put Arthur on a simple bed and tried her best to help him. She had been living there for a long time, so most of the nts that grew down there had their effects known to her.

    There were a few that could help with pain and fever. Arthur was sweating and was hot as the sun.

    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    Skye left the house, looking for the herbs to help him. It was near, so it wouldn¡¯t take her a long time to fetch those herbs.

    Arthur was unconscious on the bed, sweating as if he was inside a hot tub. His body kept moving because of the pain.

    ¡°Agggrr!¡±

    He opened up his eyes, which were changing colors. From red, his primary attribute, to yellow, blue, green, ck, purple, and finally to the same blue as the celestial energy he absorbed.

    [New Skill Added]

    [Celestial Body: Only a few selected individuals had reached this level of purity. These are known as ¡®gods¡¯.]

    Arthur was already awake, and he saw that notification. Although he could barely understand what was happening because of the pain.

    ¡°You are awake?¡± Skye came rushing in to see how Arthur was.

    ¡°I- I¡¯m, but I¡¯m weak-¡±

    He passed out again.

    ~~~~

    ¡°My head!¡± Arthur woke up, and the first thing he felt was a headache, as if he had drink too muchst night.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake, idiot.¡±

    The person who said that was not Skye, but Jack. He woke up after passing out because of Skye¡¯s presence, and was inside the wooden house as well, waiting for Arthur to wake up.

    ¡°Jack? Shut up. I¡¯m not the one that passed out before things even started.¡±

    ¡°Funny.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Skye?¡± Arthur said, and then a voice echoed through the house.

    ¡°Looking for me, husband?¡± Skye giggled and gave Arthur a soup.

    ¡°This is made using medicinal herbs too, so it will help you get better faster.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Arthur did not know why, but he woke up starving. He destroyed that soup as if he had not eaten in a long time.

    Jack was not that happy because he wanted a treasure.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the treasure? Aaagrr!¡±

    ¡°Treasure? I think I have a few things for you two. To repay the kindness.¡±

    Skye woke up inside that fissure with a few belongings. She had no memories, so she did not know how to use them, or if they were powerful.

    The first item she gave to Jack. It was a sharp curved sword, entirely made of a blue material.

    Jack swung a few times and was delighted. The sword was light, yet it was hard. He had never seen a material so sturdy.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°It is nothing. Here, take this too.¡±

    Skye threw a small poach filled with gold coins.

    Now, for Arthur, she had another thing in mind. There was a ne she wore since a long time ago.

    It was precious, and it had sentimental value for her as well. But Arthur was the one that gave her freedom back.

    She wanted to repay him for the best of her capabilities.

    ¡°Here, take this ne, please.¡±

    The ne had a silver cord, but in the middle was an unknown gem that looked like the deep ocean.

    ¡°I- This seems important to you.¡±

    ¡°My freedom is important to me, and you gave it back. Please, ept it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Skye.¡±

    Arthur epted the gift, as he had no other choice.

    ¡°We should go back.¡± Arthur said, and Skye was the first one to agree.

    They used the same path to get back to the ce where Arthur and Jack had fallen. The wind had stopped, so they could fly away from that fissure.

    Skye flew with them, and the moment she left the fissure, her memories returned.

    She did not even flinch, and kept flying as if nothing had happened.

 Chapter 90 - Revealed

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that there is a dangerous dungeon nearby?¡± Jack said.

    Arthur, Jack, Wisa, Jane, and Skye were talking in Arthur¡¯s office.

    ¡°Unfortunately, yes. But we are doing our best to clean that ce. I don¡¯t know how long you¡¯ll stay, but I advise you to leave before anything dangerous happens.¡± Arthur said.

    Jack and his crew only went to that ind to get the treasure. Arthur was happy to see his friend again, but he couldn¡¯t let him get hurt.

    ¡°We will leave tomorrow. Thanks.¡± Jack said as he left the office, looking for his crew to talk about what had happened.

    ¡°So, Skye isn¡¯t it? Are you sure you don¡¯t remember?¡± Wisa said.

    Even though Skye looked friendly, no one could know her exact thoughts but her. Arthur was d she helped him, but Jane and Wisa had nothing holding them back.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I see. Well, you can stay as long as you want.¡±

    Jane and Wisa also left the room, which meant only Arthur, and Skye remained.

    ¡°Hey, Arthur. You said something about a dangerous dungeon. Maybe I can help?¡±

    Arthur looked at her, and remember that she was someone far stronger than himself. If she helped him out, maybe they could wipe the dungeon for good?

    ¡°Maybe. You want to see it first?¡±

    They left the school and went flying to the north part of the ind. Arthur had two fire wings that pped around and made him fast, like a bolt. Skye flew with none of that, and was faster than Arthur, if she wanted.

    ¡°Do you know how this ce showed up?¡±

    ¡°No. A group of goblins attacked my students some time ago, so I scanned the ind and found it.¡±

    ¡°You explored it?¡±

    ¡°In parts, yes. I went inside and killed all monsters on the first three floors.¡±

    Arthur did not notice, but Skye was serious, intrigued by something.

    ¡°When inside, did you see someone strange?¡±

    ¡°Someone strange? Like what?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe a human or a powerful creature?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ~~~~

    Skye was acting weird, asking too many questions. Not that asking was a problem, but the questions itself were.

    Arthur was no fool. He knew she was hiding something and already guessed what it was.

    ¡°Skye couldn¡¯t hide things if she did not know about anything but the face she lived. Either she lied about losing her memory, or she somehow got her memories back, maybe just a part of it.¡± Arthur thought.

    He had his guesses, but could not confront her. Skye was far stronger than he was, and if she was an enemy, then he would be dead, and his students, friends, and wives would be the next.

    ¡°This is the ce?¡±

    They got in front of the dungeon, and Sully was there, waiting.

    ¡°Arthur, who is she?¡±

    ¡°A girl that I met inside a fissure underneath the water.¡±

    ¡°Something is off about her. Be careful.¡± Sully said.

    Sully could not exin the reason behind what he said, but his beast instinct was telling him that Skye was not someone simple.

    ¡°Yes, this is the ce.¡±

    The dungeon entrance was still blocked because of the stone Sully had put in front of it. Skye walked towards the dungeon entrance, touched the stone, and it turned into dust.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Arthur said, unhappy that she destroyed the only defensiveyer they had.

    ¡°Come. I¡¯ll clean this ce for you, husband.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The first floors had no monster in it. Arthur, Jane, and Wisa had cleaned up all of it. They kept moving until reaching the floor where the portal was.

    ¡°Where is it?¡± Arthur thought.

    He looked at the same ce where the portal was, yet there was nothing. Did someone move the portal? If yes, how was that possible?

    Arthur did not say these things to Skye, and they kept going down to an unknown floor.

    The monsters on that floor were immense two-headed wolves. Skye just moved her hand and all of them died.

    It was a fact she was stronger than Arthur, but it seemed she was way stronger than he was. Arthur looked at her, moving her hands and ending the lives of those monsters, as if she was a god in control of their fate.

    ¡°A goddess? Hm.¡±

    That was a wild thought, but it could exin the level of power Skye had. The only thing he could not understand is why she was trapped there, who did it, and how did she lose her memory.

    At the end of that floor, it was the chief of those wolves. It was a four-headed wolf. It had red eyes, dark fur, and was as tall as a building.

    ¡°I can¡¯t win against that one.¡±

    Skye have her hand, and the wolf was dead¡­

    They kept doing that until they reached thest floor. A strange door shut that level from the rest of the world.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go end this.¡±

    Just like always, Skye moved her hand, and the door was destroyed. A loud bang, and two human-like figures

 Chapter 91 - Level 40

    Arthur watched that scene with millions of questions inside his head. Skye told them something about 10 gods before killing them.

    Was she one of them? Arthur knew there were indeed 10 gods, and that cidusax supposedly killed 2 of them.

    ¡°What is this about gods, Skye?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Nothing, husband. I was ying with them.¡±

    Skye giggled, but Arthur could tell something was off. If she was indeed one of the 10 gods, that would exin her immense power.

    ¡°ying?¡±

    She was supposed to have no memories, yet knew exactly the number of gods that few people knew. Arthur only had that information after talking with Nefion¡¯s brother.

    There wasn¡¯t much Arthur could do to push her to answer, so he had to ept. Arthur thought she would stay a little longer, but that was not the case.

    Skye closed the Dream Realm portal, turned around, and said, ¡°husband. I want to explore the world now that I¡¯m free. I¡¯ll never forget what you did for me, and we will meet when the time is right.¡±

    Arthur blinked, and Skye was no longer there. She disappeared in less than a second.

    ¡°How is she?¡±

    Arthur had no answer for that, but he was d the dungeon problem was taken care of. It gave him breath to focus on other things, such as improving his school, training Kai, and get himself stronger.

    There was also Nefion, someone he had to meet again, but that would mean return to thend, and people would still look for him because of his participation in the king¡¯s killing.

    The portal to the Dream Realm was closed, but it should have another way to get inside that ce. Arthur wasn¡¯t worry about that.

    ¡°I should go back now. Jack could stay a little longer now that is safer. Maybe we can go fetch those materials for the recreation area.¡± Arthur thought as he left the now empty dungeon.

    ~~~~

    ¡°What? The dungeon is cleared?¡±

    ¡°Yes, me and Skye did it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s marvelous. Where is she? I want to hug her!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡±

    Arthur exined everything that had happened to Wisa and Jane. Well, not everything. He did not talk about the gods¡¯ part and his theory of Skye being one of them.

    That was something out of their reach, at least for the moment. It would bring only harm to know about that.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Jack?¡±

    ¡°At the shore, in the vige¡¯s inn.¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°All right, thank you.¡±

    Without a moment to breathe, Arthur left the school again and flew towards the shore.

    The same inn he went before. Jack was there, alongside his crew, drinking beer.

    ¡°Jack, can we talk for a second?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    They both went outside to chat.

    ¡°I have cleared out that dungeon, so the ind is safe for now. Knowing that, I want a favor.¡±

    ¡°You cleaned all of that alone? Impressive.¡± Jack gave a little p, and said, ¡°anyway, what do you need?¡±

    ¡°Could you fetch some materials for me? I¡¯ll give you the list and also the money. With everything that is happening, I can¡¯t leave the ind, at least until I¡¯m certain the dungeon problem is over.¡±

    ¡°No problem, bro.¡± Jack said as he hugged Arthur, and returned to the inn.

    Arthur would have to pay for the materials and also for Jack¡¯s service. He wouldn¡¯t make him sail a long distance to waste time, resources, and not get a single thing in return.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let him rest first before asking for things.¡±

    ~~~~

    Back in the school, Arthur went to his office to make the list of materials, as well as separate the money. Jack wouldn¡¯t leave so soon, but he wanted to get everything done before focusing on other things.

    He finished the list, but before leaving, someone showed up. It was Wisa.

    ¡°Hey, Arthur. I¡¯m dealing with a problem that I can¡¯t solve. Could you please help me?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    The bed made strange noises, as if it was almost breaking. A silently moan could be heard if anyone got close enough to Wisa¡¯s office.

    After sucking Wisa¡¯s pussy to get all of it wet, it was time for her to feel the spear Arthur had down there.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Wisa moaned every time the dick rubbed inside her pussy.

    It was a passionate sex. One that gave more pleasure. Wisa¡¯s legs shook, and her eyes re-rolled.

    They fucked hard until a point where none of them could move. Wisa¡¯s white ass was red after getting pped so many times.

    ¡°Come here, love.¡± Arthur said, putting his hand behind Wisa¡¯s head, pulling her red-hair.

    She understood and started sucking his balls and dick. Wisa was also moved her hand and drooled on his dick.

    Arthur pushed her head, and Wisa deep throated his dick with a smile. For the first time, she tasted cum.

    ~~~~

    The moment with Wisa was marvelous, but Arthur could not stop but think about adding Jane to his harem as well.

    ¡°Love, tomorrow we will return our sword sses, okay?¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°Thank you, love.¡± Arthur gave her a kiss.

    ¡°Will she be okay with it?¡±

    Arthur thought about that as he left Wisa¡¯s office after a hardcore sex. It was still afternoon, so he might as well go check Kai to see if everything was okay with him.

    To his surprise, not only Kai was okay, but he had to make good progress with his skills. Kai had a small water spear on hands, and one wing on his back.

    ¡°Congrattions, Kai.¡±

    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t scare me like that.¡± Kai said after getting a jump scare.

    ¡°What do you think about a spar? Just to see how far you¡¯re at.¡±

    Arthur saw the level 23 above Kai¡¯s head. He was getting strong at a fast pace, just like Sully after getting their bloodline.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll show my progress, teacher.¡±

    Arthur was not behind either. He was already level 40 after his sex sessions, and after getting that unknown skill.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 40]

    [Health: 4920/4920]

    [Mana: 0/x]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 100]

    [Agility: 40]

    [Vigor: 30]

    [Wisdom: 30]

    [Charm: 40]

    [Free points: 50]

    ¡°Should I add more strength, or something else? Well, let¡¯s first spar with Kai.¡±

 Chapter 92 - I Will Become A Mage

    Arthur was on one side, and Kai on the other. Kai had his water spear on hands, and one wing behind his back.

    There was no weapon Arthur could use, as the only one he had was that mysterious sword that drove him insane.

    What was left for him was to use his fists and ws.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Arthur said, and Kai nodded.

    They both thought of the same thing, as both of them dashed towards each other. Kai tried to pierce his water spear, but it was easily dodged by Arthur with a side step.

    ¡°Take this.¡±

    Arthur prepared to punch Kai in the face, so he instantly retrieved his spear to use as a protection, but it was all a fake.

    A kick came from his left side, and all Kai could do in time was to block it using his elbows. He was sent flying and hit a nearby tree.

    The impact was so strong that the tree almost broke, and the birds that were on that tree flew away.

    That¡¯s was the power of having 100 points in strength. It was no joke.

    ¡°You saw that, Kai? Always keep your eyes sharp, as you never know if an attack is a fake.¡±

    ¡°I understand, master.¡±

    Arthur was not used to have Kai calling him master, but it was a sign of respecting from Kai, so he wouldn¡¯tin about it.

    ¡°Again.¡±

    The two of them kept sparring for hours, and Kai kept learning new things. He had a strong bloodline, and a wonderful talent for magic, but never went into actual fights.

    Kai had a lot to learn, and that wasing from someone that barely knew how to properly fight.

    When it was time for theirst spar fight, Kai hit Arthur. After trying everything and failing, he used a simple tactic of faking, just like Arthur taught him, and it worked.

    It was not a powerful hit, just a punch, but it was better than nothing.

    ¡°Good job, Kai. I¡¯m proud of you. We will spar 3 times a week, understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡± Kai said as he bowed, watching Arthur return to the school.

    ~~~~

    Peaceful times those were. Arthur had sex with Wisa, tried to add Jane to his harem, trained and taught Kai.

    The workers he hired were doing good progress in the recreation¡¯s construction area, and it was already taking shape.

    Jack did that favor as well and bought the materials needed. Everything was going in the right direction.

    But Arthur could not take away the sensation that someone was watching him. Could a new danger have arrived at his school?

    That wasn¡¯t possible. No one new came, unless the danger was already there in the first ce¡­

    A month passed, which meant there was only one month left for the tournament Arthur had arranged.

    There was one thing that he wanted to change about himself. For that reason, he called Jane and Wisa to his office.

    ¡°Arthur, is something wrong?¡± Jane said.

    ¡°Please, you two, sit. I have something important to tell you.¡±

    They did not like that atmosphere, but they sat and waited for Arthur to talk.

    ¡°I want to train¡­ to be a mage.¡±

    ¡°What? Why would you do that when your physique is your powerful asset?¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°Hear me out, there is two reasons.¡±

    Wisa calmed down after hearing that.

    ¡°The first reason is that mages are cool. I always wanted to be a mage, but you both already know I can¡¯t regenerate mana¡­ Well, I couldn¡¯t, hehe.¡±

    ¡°Remember when I found that girl, Skye? I absorbed an energy down there. I still don¡¯t know its full effects, but a few days ago I absorbed mana just like you.¡±

    That was the truth. Arthur got that celestial body, which he still did not know its powers. The system only said the effects were unknown. But one thing Arthur discovered, he could now absorb mana just like everyone.

    Not only that, but it did not harm any of his abilities, which means he could absorb mana, and also absorb the spells just like he always did.

    ¡°The other reason is to make an appearance. Our goal here is to expand the school and eventually return to thend. I can¡¯t step inside thend without another identity. To be honest, I¡¯m already a suspect here, being the president of a magic academy, yet I¡¯m no mage.¡±

    Wisa and Jane listened to that, and it made sense. Arthur was a criminal back in thend, and if they wanted to go back, he had to change.

    ¡°This is perfect, Arthur. You can¡¯t use your dragon abilities careless, at least not until you reach a point where everyone bows to you. So, if we talk about strength without using those skills, being a mage is the best. Mages are the strongest human individuals in this world.¡±

    Arthur nodded. He suspected that these so-called gods were actually really strong humans that ascended, and the only way they could do that was with mana, which means they were mages, at least in the early days.

    ¡°So you do you n to study magic? With this new batch of studentsing, it will be hard for us to teach them and you privately.¡± Jane said.

    The school was rapidly expanding, and a new batch of students wasing in a few days.

    ¡°I n on bing a student on that batch.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I may have read a few spell books you have around here and found a spell that allows me to change my appearance.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about the Myriad of Faces? That¡¯s impossible. It is a spell of the shadow element, which only a few humans¡­ oh, I see.¡± Wisa smiled.

    ¡°I can learn all elements, and recently discovered I¡¯m quite talented. Not being rude, but I can¡¯t bepared to these humans. Anyway, how does the n sounds?¡±

    ¡°Perfect.¡±

    It was all set. Arthur went out to a nearby ind to buy new clothes, and in a few days, he would be a student of magic.

    Not like before, being a familiar that could only watch, but now as someone that will learn the ways of the magic, and be the greatest mage there is.

 Chapter 93 - Celestial Body New Effect, I Will Surpass The Gods

    Myriad of Faces was a spell of the shadow element that allowed the user to change their appearance.

    It was not a simple spell to learn, and it was even harder to have the affinity necessary. But that did not matter to Arthur, and he spent one week prior to that reunion learning the spell.

    The moment he could absorb mana freely, that n already formed inside his mind.

    He changed his hair color to blond, and his facial features. It was not a drastic change, but still it was impossible to recognize him.

    Arthur called out Sully, and they both left for a nearby ind. Not the same ind they went before, but in the opposite direction.

    Jack had told him about an admiral looking for him with a bounty letter, and even though he was using a disguise, one should always be careful.

    The reason for that trip was to buy new clothes, as he needed now for his president¡¯s role, and for his student role.

    ¡°You¡¯ll learn magic now? Learn a spell that conjures food for us, please.¡± Sully said.

    ¡°If there is a spell like that, I¡¯ll surely learn it.¡±

    They flew for a few days before reaching the ind. Arthur did not even know the name of that ind, and he did not have the time to look for that.

    Sully dropped him in a ce with no one around and went roaming inside the forest parts of the ind.

    Arthur saw the guards in front of the city, and they usually only check if you have anything illegal with you.

    But now? They had a poster with Arthur¡¯s face on it, and a bounty written below. 100,000 gold coins.

    It was a good thing he was disguised.

    ¡°You. Have you seen this man?¡±

    ¡°No, officer.¡±

    ¡°All right, you can go.¡±

    They were looking for him with all forces. Before there was only one admiral chasing him, but now it seemed every ind had a poster with his face on it.

    Perhaps the only ind without that was Odemore, but how long would that take?

    ¡°Is there a way to make my ind invisible? This is only possible with the help of magic, I suppose.¡±

    That small city wouldn¡¯t have a treasure like that one, capable of hiding an ind, so Arthur went to look for his clothing.

    A medium-sized store, The Golden Touch. It was a store that sold clothes. Arthur went inside.

    ¡°Wee, wee.¡± An old woman filled with wrinkles showed up.

    She was presumably the owner of that store, but Arthur could not believe that.

    Everyone, including the guards and pirates that he saw on the streets, was all weak.

    Arthur already had a level of 50, which meant he could see the level of creatures or people up to 100, yet he couldn¡¯t see the level of that old woman.

    [Level: ???]

    ¡°Show me the finest clothes you have.¡± Arthur said, trying his best to sound natural.

    Arthur bought lots of ck clothes, including a robe with a hood, a normal robe, and everything that made him look more like a mage, and not a pirate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind the question, but were you a strong adventurer back in your days?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sweetie, and why do you say that?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s just you seem healthy.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha.¡±

    He paid for the clothes and left the store. Even after leaving, he could sense that old woman gazing at him.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that youth? Does he know about my identity? I¡¯ll have to find out.¡±

    Despite that, Arthur was happy with the new clothes he had, but he wanted to leave that ind as quickly as possible.

    ¡°Sully, I know you are resting, but we need to leave.¡±

    ¡°Did something happen?¡±

    ¡°Sort of, but is better to have precautions.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    They met in the same ce Sully dropped Arthur and flew away from the ind.

    Arthur did not know that the old woman was watching his every move¡­

    ~~~~

    ¡°You look handsome, although it is strange to see your face.¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll only use this disguise outside, and not in our room. Anyway, is the new batch of studentsing tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they are. And before you ask, the new dorms are finished. That crew you got is surely effective.¡±

    The recreation area was almost over, but with new studentsing, it was the best if he focused on getting more dorms. So, he builds two more, one for the woman and one for the man.

    After returning to the school, Wisa helped Arthur with an invisibility spell. A spell like that had different tiers, which increased their strength.

    Arthur learned the first tier within a day. It was not the best of spells, but it could help him enter the ship that had the new batch of students without problems.

    Now that Arthur wanted to change his path a little, he used all of his 100 free points into wisdom. All the sex with Wisa had brought him to level 50 already.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 50]

    [Health: 5920/5920]

    [Mana: 14000/14000]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 100]

    [Agility: 40]

    [Vigor: 30]

    [Wisdom: 130]

    [Charm: 40]

    [Free points: 0]

    [Potential Wives: Wisa: Level 48]

    He had changed from a dragon warrior to a mage, but that was necessary for his disguise. Arthur was worried about getting weaker in the long run, but yet another effect of the celestial body took ce, and it was just overpowered to the extreme.

    [Celestial Body: Only a few selected individuals had reached this level of purity. These are known as ¡®gods¡¯.]

    [Effects: All of your attributes will slowly increase to match your highest attribute.]

    [Fast mana regeneration.]

    ¡°This is absurd. Even thou I¡¯m putting all my points into wisdom, all my attributes will increase. Man, if all gods have this celestial body, then it means they are still on a different level than me¡­¡±

    Arthur was getting stronger, but the gods were still far away from him.

    He gave Wisa a kiss and flew using his wings to find the ship with the students and infiltrate before they arrived in Odemore.

 Chapter 94 A New Era

    Chapter 94 A New Era

    Arthur left his office during the middle of the night. The goal he had was to find the ship that wasing with the new batch of students, and infiltrate using his invisibility spell.

    He flew away from the ind with his fire wings and hid his body with a ck cloak. The appearance Arthur had now resembled a powerful mage.

    Wisa had told him the route the ship would take, so not that hard to find the ship, although it still took him a while.

    After 3 hours of flying, Arthur finally spotted the ship, the same one he had used a long time ago when he arrived.

    There was no one strong enough inside to notice his moves. The youths there were happily resting inside their rooms when Arthur arrived.

    "Lesser Invisibility."

    A magic circle formed in midair and enveloped Arthur, making him vanish from the eyes of others.

    The spell was still tier 1, which meant that healthy people could see through his invisibility, but it was enough to deal with those students.

    Arthur hopped inside the ship and went to the storage room. He noticed there were 2 empty rooms, but he did not have the keys, and busting the door open would bring lots of attention.

    "This will have to do it for the night. We will reach Odemore by morning, so it isn''t a big thing."

    He grabbed a few potato sacks to act as a bed and slept.

    ~~~~

    "Ahhh, my back."

    One of the worst nights Arthur had. He got used to sleeping on afy bed, and now the potato sack made his back hurt.

    He grabbed a quick snack from his magical poach and waited for the ship to stop moving.

    Arthur calcted everything, and right after he finished eating, the ship arrived on the ind, and the captain yelled, "we are here!" so that everyone could hear and leave their rooms.

    "This is the time."

    A crowd of 60 youths. It was many people, and no one noticed the addition of Arthur, who sneak in using his invisibility spell and disguised himself among the youths.

    The ck-hooded cloak helped a lot, as people remembered someone with blond hair.

    "Just follow the path and you''ll should reach the school." The captain said.

    They all followed the same cobblestone path. Only two people knew about Arthur bing a student, Jane and Wisa. All the others did not know he did that.

    It would not be a simple task to act as a student, and also as the president of the academy.

    "What if I need to be in a ce as a student and as the president? Is there a spell that allows me to create a clone? Probably." Arthur thought.

    That would suck, but he could avoid that, at least for now.

    After they walked for some time, they finally reached the mansion, where harmony was waiting with an orb on hands.

    An orb that had one function only, and that was to test the aptitude of the students. The Myriad of Faces could also help Arthur cheat on that test and enter the school without problems.

    He did not want to draw much attention, but he also did not want to have problemsing at him, aka bullies. So, after much consideration, Arthur felt that having a 4 grade talent was the best.

    A 3 grade talent was too low, and problems woulde knocking. A 5 grade talent was too high, and people would pay too much attention.

    It was just a disguise, after all. Arthur had a level of talent that the magical orb couldn''t evenprehend.

    "Hello everyone. I''m Harmony. I''ll call each one of you to test your talent. Come, touch the orb, and if it shines at least 3 times, you are in."

    The students went as they were called and tested their talents. That batch of students was extraordinary. Out of the 60 youths, 45 passed, including Arthur.

    When the orb shone 4 times, showing he had a 4 grade talent, some people were surprised, but not that many people.

    One thing that helped Arthur was the other students. There was a youth with 5 grade talent, and others with 4 grade, which made people think having a 4 grade talent wasn''t that special.

    If only they knew Arthur was in a different realm than all of them¡­

    Harmony made the usual tour after testing the talents, and Arthur pretended he did One youth raised its hand, and said, "what about that room?"

    not know the mansion.

    "This is the office of one of your teachers, Jane, and that office is from another teacher, Wisa." Harmony said.

    One youth raised its hand, and said, "what about that room?"

    The student pointed at Arthur''s office.

    "That is the office of Mr. Arthur, the president of this school. He''s a powerful and mysterious man, busy too. You''ll meet him, eventually."

    "A reminder, don''t go knocking on his door, or make him angry." Harmony said.

    All the students were amazed after hearing about such a mysterious figure, and when they went asking about Arthur in the dorms, all the old students exalted Arthur, but also told them about Theodore''s story.

    "That is why you don''t want to get Mr. Arthur on his wrong side. This can ruin your time here."

    The old students felt it was their duty to educate the new ones about the rules. Arthur listened to all of that and had to hold hisugh.

    Arthur had talked with Jane and Wisa beforehand about getting a room for him in the dorm. But with the amount of students arriving, he had to share his room with someone else.

    That would make his life harder when changing his identities, but whatever. He would find a way in the end.

    The roommate he had was a guy named Philip, a thin youth with ck hair and rounded sses. They chatted after knowing they would share the room, and they both liked each other.

    Philip was an easy-going person, so that made everything easier.

    "I''m so excited about the sses tomorrow!"

    "Me too."

    Arthury down on his bed, thinking about his next move.

 Chapter 95 - Space-Time Magic

    It was hard to deal with new students, as well as the old ones. Arthur, as the president, talked with the other teachers, and they divided the sses.

    Morning for new students, and afternoon for old students. That at least until they found new teachers, which Arthur would look for after the uing tournament.

    ¡°I¡¯ll walk a little. See youter, Philip.¡±

    ¡°Okay, bye.¡±

    Arthur spent his day in the library, reading about magic, and looking for cool spells to learn. There was one school that caught his attention.

    Time-space magic. It was a rare-affinity that, ording to the books, only 3 people during all humankind had.

    Why a book like that was in Odemore? Well, it was a book scattered throughout allnds.

    The reason behind it was to make all humans try to learn these spells, and see if they had the affinity for it, and since most humans couldn¡¯t even learn, it was not a big deal to spread that knowledge.

    Time-space magic consisted mostly in teleports, the creation of pocket dimensions, such as the magical pouch Arthur had, and messed up with time.

    It was said in the book that one of the three people that were masters of that magic could travel to the past and future, but that was still uncertain to Arthur.

    Most mages could still learn teleports, but these were far weaker than the ones from the time-space affinity, and Arthur was looking for those in specific.

    He already knew that traveling through these inds was a pain in the ass, and now that he had two identities, a teleport was a must.

    Arthur stuffed all the books he felt were important inside his magical pouch, and left for a secluded area to train.

    ¡°Students can¡¯t take these books without permission, and surely not the amount I took, but I¡¯m the ruler around here, so whatever.¡±

    Students had to talk with one teacher beforehand, and borrow a book for a certain time, and the maximum was two books at the same time. Arthur got at least 20 of them.

    With the recent addition of students, the nearby areas of Odemore had lots of them roaming around and exploring.

    Arthur wanted a private area to train, and now that these students were there, he had to walk a long distance.

    The area of his choosing was near the now cleared dungeon. There was no idea students would go that far.

    There was someone there, training.

    ¡°You are a new student? I¡¯m Theodore, but you can call me Theo. Nice to meet you.¡±

    Now that Arthur thought of, Theo also had blond hair¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m Drakian, but you can call me Drak. Nice to meet you, Theo.¡±

    A disguise using his real name would be stupid, so Arthur opted to get another name. Drakian came from under his dragon genes. Not that creative, but it was the only name he thought at that moment.

    ¡°Are you here to train? I assume you went looking for a ce with no one around, but that¡¯s impossible with the amount of students, right?¡± Theo said,ughing.

    It was a strange scene. Theo, who once was an idiot, was now smiling, and looked like a decent person.

    Maybe Arthur¡¯s theory about Theo being like that because of his family was true.

    ¡°Yes, he. I just wanted a peaceful ce to read and do some testing.¡±

    ¡°Well, be my guest. I¡¯ll go by train there and you can keep this spot. See ya.¡±

    Theo left the area and went deeper into the ind. He was trying to act like a cool senior, which was funny.

    After he left, Arthur had the freedom to start his training. Only three humans in all humankind had the space-time affinity, but Arthur was certain he also had.

    Why? Well, he was not a human, but a dragon. cidusax, the lord of dragons, was said to have the affinity to all elements in legends, and that included the space-time.

    The most basic spell was called Minor Teleport. It could teleport the caster in a short distance.

    Arthur wanted to learn the more advanced spells, but for that, he needed to learn the basics.

    He sat with his backying on a tree and read all the instructions to perform the Minor Teleport.

    A specific sequence of magical symbols had to be drawn, and it took Arthur a few hours to get the hang of it.

    ¡°Now that I know the symbols, all I have to do is cast, and keep practicing until perfection.¡±

    A deep-blue circle formed in midair,ing from Arthur¡¯s hand. The circle had many drawings around it, and itsted for a second before vanishing.

    The first try was a fail, but Arthur would keep doing that until he learned it.

    ~~~~

    An old-woman watched Arthur¡¯s practice. She smiled, and said, ¡°interesting, interesting.¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur practiced until night-time, and he finally seeded.

    [Teleport (Tier 1): Teleports the caster at a short distance.]

    [Cost: 800 mana.]

    It had a high cost of mana, but just like most spells, there was no cool down. Arthur could keep casting teleport until he ran out of mana.

    ¡°With the amount of mana I have, I can cast over 15 teleports in a row. That¡¯s insane.¡±

    Even with the spell said a short distance, it was still a reasonable distance. With just 10 teleports, Arthur could cross the entire ind from one shore to the other.

    It was not a small ind either, so the teleport was incredible.

    Arthur was happy now that he was certain he could learn many spells. Did cidusax create magic? That could exin why he could use all elements.

    Anyway, Arthur returned to his dorm to rest, as it was already night-time.

    ¡°Teleport!¡±

    ¡°Teleport!¡±

    A blue circle formed on Arthur¡¯s hands, and in less than a second, he vanished. The only thing left behind was his translucent silhouette covered in a light-blue substance. It also vanished in less than a second.

    With two teleports, Arthur was back near his dorm, ready to rest before the first day of ss as a student.

 Chapter 96 - A New Teacher?

    Arthur used his TP near the dorm and walked the rest of the way. No one could see him performing that sort of magic.

    It was quiet inside the wooden dorm. Arthur¡¯s room was on the second floor. He did his best to not wake up the students there.

    ¡°I miss my bed.¡±

    The bed he had in his office was way better, but he had to sleep at least a few days in the dorm so that no one saw his behavior as strange.

    Philip snored loudly, and the sound of it almost made Arthurugh. He looked like a panda.

    Arthur could barely keep his eyes open, and his mind was not working as it should. The training had been tiring. He needed a rest, badly.

    With a nket covering his body, Arthur slept.

    ¡°Bro, wake up, wake up. We will miss the first day of ss. Broooo!¡± Philip said. He used his hands to shake Arthur, who was in a deep sleep.

    He was a cool guy, but Arthur wanted to punch him in the face for a second. If there was one thing he hated was being woken up by someone.

    ¡°Calm down.¡±

    The sun was barely shining on the sky, yet Philip was already going crazy, thinking he would bete for ss.

    It was understandable, as he was a student. But Arthur? He was the president of that academy.

    ¡°What if I arrivete for ss? I¡¯m the boss here.¡± These were Arthur¡¯s thoughts, yet he still woke up, and prepared for ss¡­

    All the new students did the same, while the old ones rejoiced at not having to wake up early, and only go to ss in the afternoon.

    Arthur did a quick bite and left the dorm, going to the main building.

    The first ss was not with Jane or Wisa, but with Harmony. 45 students were in the same ss.

    It was a good thing Odemore¡¯s ssrooms were immense, so all the students had decent space, and even with 45 of them, it was not crowded.

    While space was not a problem, dealing with 45 youths at the same time was. Harmony entered the ssroom and sat behind her desk, gazing at all students.

    Perhaps they were so excited they did not notice her presence and kept chatting aloud, which only made Harmony angrier.

    She wouldn¡¯t say a word, and it took 3 minutes for one student to see her and yell at the others to stop talking.

    ¡°Finally, huh? This is my first ss with all of you, yet I¡¯m disappointed.¡±

    The students had their heads down, ashamed. They were there to learn magic, yet were disrespectful to the teacher.

    ¡°I¡¯m Harmony, as all of you know because of the entrance test,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll say you one thing. I¡¯m not the type of person to get angry with childish behavior, so, if an act like this one that just happened continues to do so, I¡¯ll have a little chat with Mr. Arthur,¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t want to get him pissed.¡±

    Harmony said, and Arthur found it hrious. She was using his authority to control the ssroom.

    ¡°This is good and bad. I know she¡¯s trying to avoid conflict, but as the teacher, I don¡¯t think she should rely everything to me, unless it is an extreme case.¡± Arthur thought.

    She got up from her chair and exined the basics.

    ¡°Mana is a type of energy that has been around for a long time. No one knows if there was an era in which this world did not have mana. Based on the studies, mana was here since the beginning of times.¡±

    ¡°A mage is someone that has enough talent to sense the mana in the air, and absorb it to strengthen the mana core inside of you, and get stronger,¡±

    ¡°Mages are divided in ranks. 1st circle mages, 2nd circle mages, and so on, until the 7th circle. Some people say there is more after the 7th circle, but no human alive reached that point,¡±

    ¡°When a mage can cast a tier 1 spell, no matter the type, he is considerate a 1st circle mage. So, for example, a mage that can cast a 7 tier spell is a 7th circle mage.¡±

    Arthur listened to all of that, and these were things he did not know about. He knew about mana, but not about the ranks of mages, and how they were separated.

    He relied on his dragon abilities so far, so knowing that was useless for him.

    ¡°I¡¯m already a 1st circle mage then, nice.¡±

    ~~~~

    Just like Arthur had imagined, the first day of sses was boring. It was only the basics, and theory only. The practice would take a while to start.

    The only thing that made his day less boring was when he had the ss with Wisa and Jane.

    It was funny how they looked at him knowing he was the president, yet had to treat him as a student.

    Arthur saw how they had to hold their smiles, which made the situation even funnier.

    He thought nothing would happen that day, but that quickly changed. The person who acted as a guard in the sentry post on the wall to the academy came to the ssroom door.

    ¡°Wisa, excuse me. There is a woman outside that ims she wants to be a teacher here. Could you go talk with her?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Can she wait 5 minutes? The ss is already over.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell her.¡±

    Arthur had not put an announcement about Odemore looking for teachers, yet someone had shown up to apply. It was strange, but considering the amount of students they had now, it was a life-saving event.

    ¡°A good thing this is thest ss of the day, as I¡¯ll surely have to talk with her as the president.¡±

    Wisa finished the ss and went outside to talk with the neer. Arthur went to the bathroom, and once inside, used his teleport spell to appear inside his office.

    There, he changed his appearance and clothing to meet the person who wanted to be a teacher.

    ¡°No way!¡±

    The moment Arthur saw her, he was shocked. It was not someone he knew, but the level above her head was extraordinary.

    [Level: ???]

 Chapter 97 - A Missing Student

    Within days, Arthur met two people with interrogation marks above their heads. First, it was that old woman from the clothing store, and now the new teacher.

    It took Arthur a few seconds to recover from the shock, but once he did, he smiled brightly and said, ¡°wee. Are you here to apply for a teacher¡¯s position?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m Matilda. Nice to meet you, Mr. President.¡±

    She bowed and showed proper respect to Arthur. A good first-impression, although he was still afraid of her high level.

    What if she had bad intentions?

    ¡°I have no choice but to ept her. Now that she is here, she won¡¯t take a no for an answer, and I can¡¯t make someone as strong as her angry right now.¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°So, Matilda. I¡¯m Arthur, the president of this school. What do you say about a test tomorrow, early in the morning?¡±

    ¡°What kind of test?¡± Matilda said.

    ¡°You¡¯ll teach a ss, and one of the current teachers will watch you to see how well you handle the ss. There is an office on the upper floor of the mansion you can use. It will be your new home.¡±

    ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you the ce.¡± Wisa said.

    Thest floor of the mansion was where all the offices were. It had over 10 offices for the possible new teachers. Matilda would take a room there, just like Jane, Wisa, and Harmony.

    ¡°Now that I think of, most of the teachers are woman. Should I hire a male teacher so people don¡¯t think I only want women teachers?¡±

    That was a point Arthur had to consider. Anyway, the sses were over, and as Matilda was roaming around the school, it was the best if Arthur continued on his president identity.

    ¡°Whoa, is that Mr. Arthur? He is more handsome than the rumors.¡± One of the new students said.

    It was the first time they saw the mysterious president of the academy. The dark robe Arthur wore made him even more mysterious.

    Matilda explored the school with Wisa. Arthur was always close to them, just in case something happened.

    She was a beautiful woman, that is. Matilda had a blue hair, the same color as the deep ocean. A white, pale skin, blue eyes, and perfect facial features and body. She looked like someone out of a painting because of how perfect Matilda was.

    Still, she was mysterious, and on an unknown level, possibly dangerous. Arthur walked alongside her and Wisa, showcasing the school.

    ¡°What is this ce?¡± Matilda said.

    The ce she was talking about was the recreation area, who was almost finished. Arthur built a ce for students to rx, sitting onfy chairs and couches. A ce to read, to enjoy the hot-water pools, or y table tennis.

    ¡°This is awesome. I cannot wait for this to be finished so I can spend hours in the hot-water pools.¡± Matilda said.

    Matilda talked about lots of stuff, and based on the looks of it, she was a decent person. Arthur wouldn¡¯t stop monitoring her, though.

    ¡°I need to get stronger.¡±

    Now that someone way stronger than him was around, it pushed Arthur even further to achieve great strength.

    The tour around the school was getting boring, so Arthur left and let Wisa finished it.

    There was someone that Arthur had not seen in a while, and that was Kai. He had promised him to spar 3 times a week, but now, with his goal of learning magic, that would be hard.

    ¡°Kai, I knew you would be here.¡±

    Kai was in the same spot they always used to train, and different from before, he had two water wings behind his back, and the water spear seemed more powerful than before.

    ¡°Master.¡± Kai bowed.

    ¡°I can see you made quite the progress.¡±

    ¡°I did, yes. All thanks to your guidance.¡±

    ¡°Hey, Kai. We need to talk.¡±

    Arthur exined to him his new identity, the reason behind it, and asked him to keep that as a secret.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, master. I rather die than betray you.¡±

    ¡°I know. Well, sparring 3 times a week will be hard, at least for now. But I can promise you at least one spar a week. Is that all right with you?¡±

    ¡°Of course. One spar with master is already a blessing.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll let you train in peace.¡±

    Maybe it was Arthur¡¯s imagination, but since Kai got his wyvern bloodline, he seemed more respectful to Arthur. He was already been respectful before, but now it was on a different level.

    ¡°I told you. She was here.¡± A student said.

    Arthur was returning to the school, but he stopped when he heard a conversation. He saw two students talking to each other. One man and one woman.

    Based on what they were saying, another student was supposed to be in that area, yet it was gone. They were scared the student was missing.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    The two students who were arguing turned around and saw Arthur, their only hope.

    ¡°Mr. President, please help us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. President, please. Our friend was here with us a few minutes ago, but now she¡¯s gone.¡±

    ¡°Calm down. How does she look and what is her name?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s Lucy. Blond hair, and pretty. Please, find her.¡±

    There was no way Arthur could know if the situation was a joke, or if it was serious. But he had to check no matter what.

    Imagine if a student was truly missing, and he decided to not look for it out ofziness or assuming it was a prank. That would ruin his reputation, and the reputation of Odemore.

    ¡°Sully, fly around the ind and look for a prettydy with blond hair.¡±

    ¡°Understood. What is the situation?¡±

    ¡°Two students are saying she is missing.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Sully was usually someone that experimented with Arthur and made fun of him, yet was respectful now, just like Kai. That seemed different.

    ¡°What¡¯s the change?¡±

    Arthur could not think about that, as he dashed towards the deeps of the ind, looking for Lucy, a missing student.

 Chapter 98 A Killer on The Loose

    Arthur did not know anyone named Lucy, which meant she was a new student. She disappeared on the first day of school, which was weird.

    If the dungeon was still around, then maybe Lucy could be in danger, but it wasn¡¯t. The ind waspletely safe, as no beasts lived in it.

    The only magical beast that could be aggressive was Sully, but he wouldn¡¯t attack a student, and Arthur was sure a wyvern would not kidnap either.

    ¡°I hope she is okay.¡± Arthur thought, using his fire wings to fly and have a better view. Sully was also helping, yet they couldn¡¯t find her.

    They looked inside every cave, behind every bush, and even underwater. Lucy was nowhere to be found.

    There were only 4 ships in the vige¡¯s port. One was from the school, and the rest were fishermen on ships.

    Lucy wasn¡¯t inside the ind, but also did not leave by ship. The only exnation was that she could somehow fly, or travel, by water.

    ¡°That, or she is somewhere on the ind. I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    After hours of searching with no results, Arthur returned to the school and called all students in front of the mansion.<sub>.</sub>

    It was already dark, and the students had fearful faces, especially the two that had seen Lucy.

    ¡°I have an important announcement, everyone.¡± Arthur said in a tone that everyone could hear.

    He looked at all students and noticed their faces of curiosity and fear.

    ¡°A student went missing today.¡±

    The whisperings started.

    ¡°Who¡¯s missing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but the culprit must be one of the school members, right?¡±

    Arthur stopped all the murmuring with a thundery voice, ¡°silence!¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°We still don¡¯t know what happened, but I, the other teachers and my beast pet will continue to look for the student every day,¡±

    ¡°For the meantime, I ask that all of you don¡¯t go wandering in the woods alone. If you want a ce to practice outside of the academy grounds, please leave with your friends. If I see anyone walking outside of the school perimeter alone, that person will be punished.¡±

    ¡°Another thing. All students must be inside the dorm at 8 pm. I¡¯ll scan the area, and you bet I¡¯ll find you if you try something funny.¡±

    ¡°This is a measure of your own safety until we found the missing student and the person behind it. Now, all of you, return to your rooms.¡±

    The wording from the president was an order, and all students returned to their dorms. The atmosphere inside the school changed. Students were apprehensive, fearful that something would happen to them, just like what happened to Lucy.

    Arthur would try his best to find her to give his students a peace of mind. He returned to his office, changed his clothing, appearance and returned to his dorm as Drakian.

    A blue circle formed around Arthur, and he vanished from his office, appearing behind a bush close to the dorm.

    All students were already inside, murmuring in the hall and rooms about what happened.<sub></sub>

    Philip was also there, and he said, ¡°Drakian? Come, fast, the president already told all of us to stay inside the dorm.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡±

    Arthur wasn¡¯t concerned about getting caught by the president¡­

    ~~~~

    ¡°Are you enjoying the sses here? Man, I only wished there were more practical stuff, but it is understandable considering we know nothing about magic.¡± Philip said,ying down on the bed.

    Arthur was doing something for them to eat.

    ¡°I talked with one of the older students, and they said it will be a week of theory before something practical. Waiting a week is nothingpared to the time we spent inside that ship to arrive here.¡±

    ¡°Facts, bro. And look at you, socializing with older students. Was it a pretty girl?¡±

    ¡°Shut up, Philip. Come here and grab your food.¡± Arthur said.

    Philip got up from the bed with a smile, presumably because of the food Arthur made for them.

    It was a stew using the meat from beasts Sully hunted.

    ¡°I want to go to the library tomorrow to borrow a book. Wanna join?¡±

    ¡°Sure, why not?¡±

    Arthur wanted to use his time to go out and look for Lucy, but he couldn¡¯t act as a weird student, or else they would suspect him. They could even suspect he had something to do with the kidnapping.

    ¡°I actually borrowed a book on my first day. Want to practice? There is a beginner spell called candlelight. It doesn¡¯t seem that hard.¡±

    ¡°Really? Of course. Why did you borrow a book on the first day? Are you those freaks that study 24 hours a day? You don¡¯t seem like it.¡± Philip said, mocking him.

    It was funny, because Philip also had the face of someone that studied 24 hours a day, and was already speaking of going to the library the next day.

    ?[0)??? Was he projecting himself on Arthur?

    The stew was tasty, and not even a drop of it remained. Arthur took out one book from his magical pouch when Philip used the bathroom.

    Most of the books Arthur got were from the library were about time-space magic, but he also got a general book that had most of the spells all mages could use, no matter their element.

    ¡°It is a beginner¡¯s spell that creates an orb of light. Good to use when exploring dark ces, such as ruins, dungeons or caves.¡±

    Arthur exined the spell usage to Philip, who was just beside him, reading the same page.

    Honestly, it did not matter the type of spell for Philip. He just wanted to practice some stuff.

    They were about to begin their practice when Sully¡¯s voice echoed inside Arthur¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Arthur, I think I found the student you were looking for. She is¡­ dead.¡±

    The excitement of learning something vanished, and Arthur had to think of an excuse to leave.

    ¡°Philip, I¡¯ll be right back. You can use the book for now.¡± Arthur said and left the dorm in a hurry.

 Chapter 99 Dark Times In Odemore

    There was no time to change appearance and clothing.

    ?[0)??? ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be flying above the spot.¡±

    Arthur used his TP out of the dorm so no other student saw his moves. He looked up into the sky, trying to find Sully.

    It did not take long to find a huge wyvern flying. When he reached the area, Lucy was there, dead.

    Just by looking at it for a second, one could tell it was not the work of a beast. She had a visible knife cut on her neck, but the crime scene had less blood than it should be, as if someone had collected it before leaving the area.

    ¡°What is up with your face? Are you disguised?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Sully, I¡¯ll look at the crime scene. Could you fly around to see if you notice any strange movements or maybe traces of blood?¡±

    ¡°Okay. Take care.¡± Sully said as he flew again.<sub>.</sub>

    The thought of having one of his students murdered was daunting. Lucy still wore the same school uniform, and the only visible mark was that cut on her neck.

    It was impossible to collect hand prints, but Arthur could still look for something else, like footprints or even a string of hair left by the killer.

    ¡°Who did this?¡±

    There wasn¡¯t a single footprint in the crime scene. Nothing. Whoever did this knew what it was doing and left no evidence. Arthur wasn¡¯t a detective, but with his dragon eyes, he could see clearly most of the crime scene, yet there was nothing.

    ¡°Sully, I¡¯ll head back and call a reunion with the other teachers. Tell me if you find anything.¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur used the TP back to his office and changed identity. Then, he first knocked on Jane¡¯s door, who still had the lights up, which meant she was awake.

    ¡°Arthur? Is something wrong?¡± Jane said as she opened up the door.<sub></sub>

    ¡°A reunion, now. I¡¯ll call the others. We can talk inside your room.¡±

    He left in a hurry, and call out Wisa, Harmony, and especially that new teacher, Matilda.

    Even though they were with her all the time, the killings still started right after she arrived at the school. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but Arthur had to be sure.

    All the teachers reunited around Jane¡¯s office at the dinner table. It was not the best ce, but that was an urgent manner.

    ¡°I called all of youte at night because this is a serious matter.¡±

    They sat, and did not mutter a word, waiting for Arthur to speak what he needed to.

    ¡°Remember Lucy? I found her in the woods, dead.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±<sub></sub>

    The shock on their faces was clear. It was not an easy subject to talk about, and the chaos that would spread around the academy the next day would be huge.

    ¡°Did you see anything strange around the crime scene? Was it a person or a beast?¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°Lucy had a visible cut on her neck, and there wasn¡¯t much blood around the crime scene, so my guess is whoever killer her collected the blood for whatever reason.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t tell the students about this, at least not for now.¡± Harmony said.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°They are already on the edge knowing a student went missing. Now imagine how they will react once they know Lucy is dead, and killed by someone that is possible in the school right now.¡±

    What Harmony said made sense. The students were all kids, and only the missing part scared the shit out of them. A killing would be too much.

    ¡°Remember that I said about all of them returning to the dorm at 8 pm? I think we should also patrol the academy, at least until midnight. We can change the teacher each day so that all of you have time to rest before the next patrol.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I liked the idea. But how will we find the killer?¡± Matilda said.

    Arthur had his right hand on his chin, and said, ¡°it is a good thing to not spread that we found Lucy¡¯s body. The killer could be apprehensive about striking again, knowing that we already found the first victim. Which means this gives us an advantage to find him.¡±

    ¡°But for that to work, all of us had to have attention to everything that is happening inside this ce, or else the killer might have another victim.¡±

    The reunion did notst long, but all of them returned to their rooms with gloomy faces.

    Arthur hoped Matilda had nothing to do with the killing, or else he was dead as well. There was no way he could fight against her.

    He needed to change identities again and return to his dorm with Philip, but before doing that, Arthur paid Wisa a visit.

    They were already exchanging nces throughout the reunion.

    ¡°Is it okay to have sex with all that is happening? Well, I hope so.¡±

    He waited a little before knocking on her door. Wisa was already in her pajamas that looked like a sexy lingerie.

    It had been a few days since theirst sex. Arthur went in, closed the door, and instantly his lips were touching Wisa¡¯s.

    Soft lips she had, and Arthur¡¯s hands were already touching the perfectly rounded ass of hers.

    He grabbed her and threw her on the bed. Arthur took out of his clothes, and Wisa did the same.

    ¡°Let me teach you a position.¡±

    Arthur showed her the 69 position, and both of them sucked each other. His tongue moved non-stop on her pussy, turning it wet, ready to receive his dick.

    Wisa sucked his dick a lot of times since they started their romance, and she was getting excellent at it.

    ¡°Ahh, suck that honey.¡± Arthur said.

    After both of them were wet enough, Arthur put Wisa on four legs and fucked her.

    He pulled her red-hair with one hand and pped her big booty with the other hand.

    They both moaned and enjoyed their moment of pleasure.

 Chapter 100 First Class and First Test

    The time with Wisa had been perfect. Arthur wished he could stay with her all night, but couldn¡¯t.

    A magic circle formed in Arthur¡¯s hand, and he appeared near the dorm. Obviously, he had changed his appearance before returning.

    One perk of being a dragon was the senses. Arthur could hear from afar that Philip was sleeping, which was an excellent opportunity to sneak in without him noticing.

    Arthur turned the key and entered the room, trying to make as little noise as possible. Turned out, Philip was a light sleeper.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Philip said, getting up from his bed, ready to engage inbat.

    ¡°It¡¯s you Drakian? Bro, I was already thinking about the worse. And why are you returning sote? Like it is midnight already. Aren¡¯t you afraid of getting caught?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t actually, but had toe up with something to say.

    ¡°I¡¯m confident about my sneaking abilities, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Sure. You just came inside the room and no one noticed, right?¡± Philipughed so loud that it annoyed the other students.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who is making this much noise, but please, SHUT UP!!!¡±<sub>.</sub>

    The students were on the edge, and a simplyugh couldter their emotions.

    ¡°You heard that. Shut up, Philip. And did you master the Candlelight spell?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right? Check this out, bro.¡±

    A circle with strange symbols formed in front of Philip¡¯s hands, and a small ball of light surged.

    It was a great spell to use, as it did the same job as a torch, but you didn¡¯t need to carry around. The ball of light followed the caster.

    Candlelight was a tier 1 spell, which meant Philip was a 1st circle mage. The spell Arthur learned was a lot more difficult than that one.

    The disparity between mages onlysted the first 2 circles. After that, all spells were hard to learn.

    ¡°Good job, Philip. I¡¯ll try to learn tomorrow as well.¡±

    ¡°You betcha, or else you¡¯ll not keep up with this genius here, ha ha ha.¡±<sub></sub>

    Philip returned to bed after showing off his skills, as his eyes were almost closing.

    Arthur grabbed the book he had borrowed and practiced the Candlelight spell. The nket acted as a cover, and within 2 minutes, he could already cast it.

    After that, he went to sleep as well, concerned with Odemore¡¯s situation.

    ~~~~

    The next day started with Philip waking him up early, as usual.

    ¡°Bro, you don¡¯t sleep?¡±

    Arthurined, but Philip kept shaking him until he woke up.

    They had the n to go to the library, but that was only possible during afternoon or between breaks in the morning.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go there between breaks. In the afternoon, I want to have my book on hands ready to practice.¡± Philip said.<sub></sub>

    Another day of ss meant another day of theories. The practical stuff would start maybe next week, so the students had to endure their urges to showcase their skills.

    There was a break after three sses, and that was their opportunity to go to the library.

    A teacher was there taking care of all the books. It was Matilda, the newly hired teacher.

    They walked in and paid respects to her.

    ¡°You¡¯re a new teacher, right? I¡¯m Drakian, and this is my friend Philip.¡±

    ¡°Hi.¡± Philip wave at her in an awkwardly.

    ¡°Hard-working students, you two are. The first toe to this library now that I¡¯m taking care of it. I¡¯m Matilda, your new teacher of alchemy, enchanting, and maybe in the future magical arrays.¡±

    Matilda was taking care of the library, yet Arthur, who was the president, did not know. Not he was that concerned, as that was discussed with the teachers, and one of them would assume the post.

    She was the chosen one for two reasons. First, she wanted that position. Second, Matilda taught fewer sses than the rest of the teachers.

    Jane taught theory, and only practical stuff without actualbat. Wisa was thebat teacher, so she had more sses than the rest, and Harmony also taught in the same way as Jane, but she had more sses as well.

    The post fit both Jane and Matilda, but Jane did not want it, so it went to Matilda.

    A teacher of alchemy, and also enchanting, both of the things that Arthur liked, and also subjects important to all students.

    ¡°I need to hire more teachers to have different subjects, points of view, and also to give more rest to the current teachers.¡± Arthur thought.

    That would have to wait until the uing tournament. Anyway, he asked Matilda where the beginner¡¯s books were, and she showed them.

    She had been there in a few hours, yet knew most of the book¡¯s location. That proved her capability.

    Philip was not looking for a general spell book, as Arthur already had one. He wanted one for his element, which was wood. It was easy to find, and soon he was talking with Matilda to register his borrowing.

    Arthur could learn all elements, but he started working on his space-time magic, and also fire element magic.

    He felt it was the best decision, considering he already chose the fire element to train on his dragon abilities.

    So, he looked for a book that contained spells and information about the fire element, and found one in no time.

    Different from before, when he stole the books, he had to register like a normal student.

    ¡°I want to ask a favor of you. If you see any student with a book about general spells, space-time magic, and some others, please let me know. It seemed someone stole them.¡± Matilda said while doing the registration.

    Philip gazed at Arthur, who used his feet to kick his leg.

    ¡°We will, don¡¯t worry.¡± Arthur said, and they both left the library.

    When they were far enough, Philip said, ¡°how did you steal those books? Are you crazy?¡±

    ?[0)??? ¡°It wasn¡¯t me all right. Just a coincidence.¡±

    ¡°Coming from you, I¡¯m almost sure you did it. Anyway, that¡¯s your problem.¡±

    They did a quick bite and waited for the next ss, which was Matilda¡¯s.

    Inside the ssroom, Matilda threw her bag on the desk, looked at all students, and said, ¡°I¡¯m Matilda, your new teacher. I¡¯ll choose one of you for a quick test. Let me see.¡±

    Matilda looked to all students, but stopped when she was Arthur, someone familiar from earlier.

    ¡°Drakian, isn¡¯t it? Come here.¡± Matilda said with a smile.

 Chapter 101 Was It a Success or a Fail?

    ¡°Why am I so unlucky?¡± Arthur thought.

    There was no way to argue against a teacher, especially Matilda, so he got up from his chair and went in front of the ss.

    While he did that, Matilda grabbed her alchemy kit and installed it in front of everyone.

    Philip sighed in relief, as he knew she had chosen Arthur only because they had just met.

    The moment Arthur saw Matilda building the cauldron, he knew it was a test of alchemy on the first day.

    Would she ask him to make a potion without proper guidance? What was the reason for such a test?

    Arthur did not have the answer for that, and after Matilda finished preparing the alchemy tools, she handed him a paper with a recipe on it.

    ¡°Just follow the recipe and craft the potion. All ingredients are here.¡± Matilda said.

    She put all the ingredients above her desk. Arthur knew that alchemy wasn¡¯t as easy as just follow the recipe.<sub>.</sub>

    One had to have proper control of the fire to not overheat, and also mix the ingredients at the right time, and a slight dy could ruin the potion.

    The other students may not know that, but Arthur had a few sses of alchemy back when he was inside Frostpeak with Jane.

    A potion called Mermaid¡¯s Tears. It was said in the note that the potion could change one¡¯s body to that of a mermaid or mermen. The key ingredient was the tears of such creatures, as the name suggested.

    Arthur had crafted a potion before, but not one as hard as that one. Was Matilda asking a student to craft an impossible potion in purpose? Perhaps if it was a beginner¡¯s potion, a student may at least have a chance of sess.

    Now, a potion like that was truly impossible for a new student to craft, but Arthur, with his knowledge and talent in alchemy, had a chance.

    The first ingredient listed on the recipe was called Onyx Bay Leaf. It was a nt that grew underwater, and it wasmon on the archipgo they were in.

    ¡°Maybe I can use my sunlight energy to purify the nts? It is surely better than ordinary fire magic from humans, right?¡± Arthur thought.

    He could create a small me using his magic, but Arthur was not asfortable doing that then using his dragon skills.<sub></sub>

    The sunlight energy he absorbed every day to strengthen his Dragon Fire Body, and also store to use his fire wings and ws, should work on that.

    Arthur put water on the cauldron, touched it with his hands, and heated the water.

    Onyx Bay Leaf needed to be heated at a certain degree, and it couldn¡¯t pass by a lot, or else it would ruin the nt.

    With great mastery, Arthur waited for the water to reach the heat and tossed the herb inside.

    The sunlight energy was already part of Arthur, so he could sense it perfectly. It was easy for him to adjust to the right temperature.

    Matilda, who was watching all of it, just like the rest of the students, had apparent surprise on her face.

    ¡°Interesting.¡±

    All the impurities of the Onyx Bay Leaf were being destroyed. The grade of the me used was the difference between a good potion and an excellent potion.<sub></sub>

    The same potion had different grades depending on their level of impurities. That is why a high grade me was needed if one wanted to be a top tier alchemist.

    These mes could be spells, magic items, or could even be found around the world. So, even if one wasn¡¯t a fire mage, you could still find other ways to purify the ingredients.

    Not only that, but there were tools avable that did the same job, but weren¡¯t that effective, at least not yet.

    Arthur followed the recipe with the heat, and time before adding the next ingredient.

    The water first turned ck, then crystal-clear right after. That happened because of all the impurities that were purified from the Onyx Bay Leaf.

    ¡°Let me see what is next.¡±

    He looked at the recipe and saw the name of the next ingredient. Pearl de.

    Different from the other ingredient, Pearl de was more rare. It was a pearl found inside the mouth of a magical creature, and it wasn¡¯t a weak creature.

    Arthur tossed that inside as well and tried his best to maintain the right heat for that ingredient.

    He was already sweating with nervousness, and the heating from the cauldron amplified that.

    All the students gazed at him, and were shocked. The oue they all expected was a cauldron exploding. Matilda also expected that.

    The first ingredient was also a sess, and now the only one that left was the key ingredient, Mermaid Tear.

    Now, that ingredient was super rare. Arthur did not know how Matilda had such a thing.

    ?[0)??? ¡°She is strong, so I should not be surprised.¡± He thought.

    It was thest part of the recipe, and the hardest. Mermaid Tear could be ruined if Arthur heated more than what the recipe told. A one degree difference would ruin the entire process.

    For that reason, Arthur tried his best to not focus on the students, and especially not on Matilda. He looked at the cauldron and the cauldron only.

    Time seemed to have stopped, and Arthur¡¯s hand was shaking.

    Even the students were excited and curious about what would happen.

    The cauldron shook a few times, which made all the students head back, afraid it would explode, but in the end, nothing happened.

    A myriad of colors on the water, and after a few minutes of heating, the process was over.

    Everyone could not take their eyes off the cauldron, and even Arthur was excited to see if the potion had been a sess.

    Matilda got up from her desk, walked towards the cauldron, and looked at it.

    She did not mutter a single word, and that increased the excitement of everyone.

 Chapter 102 A Werewolf?

    The cauldron had a blue liquid that smelled just like the sea. It was beautiful, and when Matilda looked at it, she was delighted.

    ¡°Truth be told. The reason for this test was to show all of you how hard alchemy is, and that is okay to fail, especially without prior experience. But this? Drakian crafted a difficult potion on his first try. Without a doubt, impressive.¡± Matilda said, looking at all the students.

    Arthur was happy to seed, but all that attention aimed at him wasn¡¯t something he wished. He was disguised, so there was no point in bing famous.

    ¡°Well, it just happens, right? I¡¯m too awesome.¡± Arthur thought, proudly smiling after hearing Matilda¡¯s words.

    Matilda grabbed a few empty sks from her purse and filled all of them with the potion. That full cauldronted about 11 sks, and 7 of them went to Matilda.

    ¡°I got more because as I was the one giving you the ingredients.¡± Matilda said.

    He got 4 sks of that potion, which was already excellent considering he spent nothing to get them. Well, he spent time, but it was during ss, anyway.

    Philip sat beside Arthur, and when he got there, he tapped on his shoulder and said, ¡°good job, Drakian. Living with me has its perks, right? You are turning into a genius, too.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Obviously, that was the reason for my sess.¡± Arthur said.

    The rest of the ss also gazed at him with curiosity, respect, and some envy. Before that event, no one had paid attention to Arthur, but now? His name would spread throughout the academy like a lightning.

    ¡°Now, everyone, I know you¡¯re thinking alchemy is easy, but that youth right there is a monster. You can¡¯tpare to him, and never will, speaking of alchemy at least. So, let¡¯s start with the theory, shall we?¡±

    It was their first ss, so Matilda told them all the basics about alchemy, and did nothing practical besides Arthur¡¯s test.

    Arthur was almost sure she would do something practical for the next ss so that all students failed, and understand how hard alchemy was.

    That was exactly what she was trying to teach when asking Arthur to craft that potion. A good thing Arthur had talent and prior experience.

    After Matilda¡¯s ss was over, it was lunchtime. Most students could not leave the academy because of the killer on the loose, but Arthur did not care about someoneing after him. Whoever did that would prove stupid.

    He didn¡¯t change his appearance, and left the school using his TP, so no one saw him. There were a few restaurants in the vige, as well as the inn that served good food.

    Now that Arthur had his TP, it was easy to get there. It only took him a few seconds, faster than his flying speed.

    The ce he chose was the inn, and as it was lunchtime, lots of vigers were there. They only nced at him for a second, but Arthur was only as a student, and not as the president.

    Arthur ordered the food and waited. To pass the time, he heard the conversation of others, to see if there were some rumors going around.

    ¡°Did you know about the werewolf? Some cows and sheep were attackedst night, and some vigers said they saw a werewolf.¡± One viger said.

    ¡°A werewolf? This is only a fairy tale. It was just a regr wolf, or better, a magical wolf that attacked the animals.¡±

    ¡°But there aren¡¯t any wolves on the ind, and surely not any magical ones. The president of the magic school wiped all beasts.¡±

    One worker Arthur hired defended him. It was not a lie, honestly. Arthur destroyed the dungeon, and Sully hunt all beasts to eat.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. There aren¡¯t wolves around here. Could it possibly be a werewolf?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, and to add up, it was a full moonst night.¡±

    Arthur heard all of that, and could not help but to think that Lucy was found dead close to that event, and close to the full moon.

    ¡°Is it rted?¡± Arthur thought. He investigated more after eating.

    The waitress came with the order, and he said, ¡°thank you.¡±

    After eating, Arthur went around the vige, looking for the viger that supposedly saw a werewolf.

    It was not near the shore, or the inn, but on a farm a few minutes away from the main part of the vige.

    There were lots of crops being nted there, and most were used to satiate the hunger of all habitants of the ind.

    ¡°Excuse me, are you Ross?¡± Arthur said.

    He got the name from the other vigers. Ross was cutting off the wild grass around his crops when Arthur arrived.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± Said Ross as he got up.

    ¡°I heard a werewolf attacked your farm. Could you tell me more about it?¡±

    ¡°Ha, the rumor spreads fast, it seems. Well, it happened just like people are gossiping about. I woke up in the middle of the night with strange noises and screams of my animals. So, I grabbed a weapon and amp to look outside, and at that moment I saw it,¡±

    ¡°I know wolves, and I even saw magical wolf type creatures before, but that thing was not it. It was a werewolf, I swear to you. When he noticed me, he ran away to the woods.¡±

    ¡°Which way?¡± Arthur said.

    Werewolves were part of stories back on Arthur¡¯s world, and with all the magic and weird stuff, it wasn¡¯t impossible to have something like that.

    Ross pointed in the direction where the thing ran. Arthur said thanks and goodbyes to him.

    Then he went in that direction. It was the best clue he had.

    ¡°Now, there is no way he did not leave a single footprint behind, right? If it was in human form, maybe, but I don¡¯t see werewolves as that smart.¡±

    Arthur went into the woods, looking to know more.

 Chapter 103 A Simple Tier 1 Spell is Easy

    The forest wasn¡¯t that dense, which allowed people to walk through it without problems. Arthur went there with his gaze focused on the ground, looking for footprints or any sign of strange activity.

    It did not rain in thest few days, so the tracks should be there, unless someone intentionally covered it up.

    ¡°Could the werewolf return to his human form and erase the clues? If so, how did he escape the school perimeter with no one noticing it?

    Something smelled fishy, and as Arthur was feeling hopeless about finding something, he did.

    First, he saw a tree branch broke in half. Anyone or anything could have done that, but right in front of it there was a bush, and behind that bush, a footprint.

    Arthur crouched and tried his best to analyze that footprint. He had some knowledge about magical beasts, but not to the extent of knowing exactly what it was at first nce.

    Now, what made him think it could be from the mysterious werewolf was that the footprint looked like one from a wolf. Arthur had seen something simr before.<sub>.</sub>

    ?[0)??? The ind they were on was clear of dangerous monsters, and even if it wasn¡¯t, wolf-type creatures did not live there.

    ¡°So you went in that direction, huh?¡± Arthur thought, as he kept following the same direction as the footprint showed.

    There weren¡¯t any other footprints, which increased Arthur¡¯s theory of someone covering up the tracks. It was the only exnation, considering that the only visible footprint was one behind a bush, hidden if one did not pay attention.

    Arthur continue forward, following the same direction as that footprint for thirty minutes, until he reached a familiar location, Odemore.

    Now, he wasn¡¯t sure one of his students was the werewolf, but he was sure whoever beast left that footprint behind, it passed through his school.

    How did he not see it? Was he busy with something else at the time? Or maybe the beast just circled around the school, which would be the obvious choice.<sub></sub>

    He did not have enough to find the culprit, but at least it he found something, and was notpletely in the dark anymore.

    Arthur returned to the school¡¯s courtyard and found Philip, who was jumping around with a clear smile.

    ¡°Drakian, finally. We can¡¯t leave alone, but I want to practice, so you need to follow me.¡± Philip said, dragging Arthur out of the core part of the school.

    One thing that was missing in Odemore was a proper training room, but that would take lots of space. A mage needed space to practice the spells when needed, but also silence to not disturb.

    A magic array capable of shutting down the exterior sounds would be needed for each training room, and it was not sustainable to all students.

    ¡°Maybe a special training room for the most outstanding students? That would make them work harder. I could start the building process before finding a magic array, and also something that could help them practice like a better absorption of mana?¡±<sub></sub>

    Arthur¡¯s mind was filled with ideas as he followed Philip through the woods, reaching an area with no one around.

    ¡°Here, we can practice here. It has an open field so we can toss spells without problem, and there is also a river.¡± Philip said.

    He had a book in hands about wood magic. It was his element, and he could not wait to practice his first spells.

    Philip was not the only one with magical books. Arthur had one simr, but the focused element was fire, the one he practiced first.

    One of the first spells was the Fireball. That was one Arthur wished to learn, but one day, he wanted to cast a meteor, just like that mage did to him.

    All spells could increase their tiers, but only until a certain level. The fireball, per example, was one of the first spells to learn, a tier 1 spell, but as the mage gets better at handling the mana, and also increases the quantity and quality of the stored mana inside his mana core, it could increase its tier up to tier 4.

    After that, it was virtually impossible to have a Fireball spell reach the 5 tier, unless one changed theponents of the spell, and improved it.

    Doing that, it would alter the entire spell, and a mage could give a name to it, turning into a part of history.

    Arthur was not concerned about that, and he practiced his fireball spell, which started in the tier 1.

    Philip did the same, but with another spell called Thorns. The two of them were far from each other, yet exchanged experiences.

    ¡°I tried to focus my mana to flow through my body until it gets out from my hands, which will be the spell. Try that, bro.¡± Philip said.

    He was trying to help, yet it was not something Arthur needed. He aimed his right hands towards the sky as a magical circle formed in front of him.

    It was only one circle, which meant the cast spell was a tier 1. Soon, a small ball of mes shot from Arthur¡¯s hand, going directly into the sky.

    The tier 1 spells were easy to learn. Coupled with the fact that Arthur had a talent superior to all humans and dragons, it was easy for him to learn it.

    ¡°Bro, what? How did you do that? You already knew the Fireball spell and were only ying with me, right?¡± Philip said.

    ¡°No, I just picked it up. Don¡¯t tell anyone I¡¯m a genius.¡± Arthur said.

    Philip was shocked, but tried to keep his cool and focus on his own practice. It was useless to be envy of others.

    Arthur was happy with the quick learning, but it was just a tier 1 spell. He had a theory in mind that might increase the tier of his fire spells, but he couldn¡¯t try that using the identity of a mere student.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do that during the night.¡±

    Things were working out for Arthur and his school, but little did he know the killings were just starting¡­

 Chapter 104 Finally a Clue

    The day had been fruitful to Arthur and Philip. Both learned tier 1 spells. Philip with his Thorns spell, and Arthur with some basic fire spells such as Fireball, Ember, zing, etc.

    They were back in their dorm, tired of all the practice. Arthur was not done for the night. He left the dorm, looking for a remote ce to test his theory.

    It was all dark, yet he could see it perfectly.

    ¡°If this works, I¡¯ll be the greatest mage there is.¡± Arthur thought.

    The theory he had in mind was to use the sunlight energy he absorbed for his Dragon Fire Body, and try to enhance his other fire spells.

    He moved his hand, channeling one of his newly gained spells, Fireball. It was only but a tier 1 spell, but the moment Arthur tried to use his sunlight energy, more circles appeared.

    One, two, three¡­ six circles. The simple tier 1 Fireball increased 5 tiers when using that energy.

    What would happen when he cast a higher tier spell and add that energy? Will it break the boundaries of humans? It certainly would, as Arthur was not a human himself.<sub>.</sub>

    Arthur did not cast the spell to test its strength, though. A tier 6 spell was something scary, and it would rm everyone on the ind, and maybe hurt people if they were careless.

    ¡°I should return to patrol.¡±

    The job he had as president of the magic academy was to protect his students and find the culprit behind the killings. Arthur teleported back to his office, changing both clothes and his facial features.

    When he stepped outside, it was Matilda who was doing the patrol, just like they talked about at that reunion.

    ¡°Mr. President, hi. I¡¯m the responsible for today¡¯s patrol. It is a good thing you¡¯re here because I need to talk with you.¡± Matilda said.

    Whatever she wanted to talk about wasn¡¯t something good.

    ¡°Hi, Matilda. How can I help you?¡± Arthur said, putting both of his hands behind his back, acting like a wise person listening to its disciples.<sub></sub>

    ¡°You know I¡¯m taking care of the library, right? So, I noticed a few books about general spells and time-space magic vanished.¡±

    At first, it seemed Matilda would not add something Arthur did not know about, but there was more.

    ¡°When I discovered that, I thought to myself, why not do aplete inventory of the books to see if something else is missing, and it was? Was? A book called Magical Rituals: The Complete Guide is missing,¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you n to search for it. I just thought the president should know. Anyway, I¡¯ll be going to my patrol. See youter.¡± Matilda said and left.

    Arthur stood there, thinking if that had something to do with the mysterious werewolf and the missing blood from that victim.

    ¡°Magical rituals, huh?¡±

    The next step was to find whoever stole that book, but how would they do that? Arthur himself stole a few, and no one found him yet.<sub></sub>

    Matilda epted the job as the chief librarian after Lucy was dead. Before that, Harmony, Jane, and Wisa took care of the library only in their spare time. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if the library was open with no one taking care of it.

    They were careless, thinking that no student would steal or do something as horrible as killing. Arthur also did not want to think that was the case, but all led to it.

    Arthur had the idea of using his authority to look up all students and their belongings. But the killer was not stupid. It returned to cover up its tracks, and it wouldn¡¯t do something as careless as leaving the stolen book inside its room.

    Also, if a search liked that happened, students would wonder the reason behind it. Even if Arthur said it was just a precaution about the missing student, they would link that to ¡®one student kidnapped Lucy, and questions would be asked.

    It would be total chaos if they knew Lucy was dead.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. The killer will know I know it stole a book, and that I¡¯m close. This is not a pleasant situation.¡±

    All these things had to wait, and Arthur did his patrol around the school perimeter, looking for something suspicious. None, nothing.

    A dead end, and if things kept that way, someone could end up dead, just like Lucy.

    Arthur returned to his office, sat on hisfy chair, and entered a deep thought. The killer was acting like a shadow, someone that was right in front of their eyes, yet no one could see it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll turn into a shadow myself. Let¡¯s see if this killer hides from me.¡±

    He got up and went to that secret room inside the mansion where the magic array was, as well as some other prohibited books for the students.

    ?[0)??? The same magical book that had the Myriad of Faces also had tons of other stealth spells, such as illusions, a higher tier invisibility, and one that instantly caught Arthur¡¯s attention, a shape shifting spell.

    ¡°Shape shifting? How would the werewolf react if another one appeared in Odemore?¡± Arthur had an evil smile as he left the secret room with that book in his hands.

    ~~~~

    In the following week, Arthur had mastered a few of the spells he wanted, and the practical sses began.

    They only had alchemy sses three times a week, which meant it would take longer to advance. Matilda was a new teacher, and was also taking care of the library, so she couldn¡¯t teach every day.

    Arthur also changed a few things in Odemore. The recreation area was finished, so he set 2 days off for the students. Although most students still practiced magic even on their day off.

    Another change was the stars Arthur made using a ck material simr to an obsidian. Wisa had told him that in all kingdoms in thend, the mages wore those on their chests to show their status.

    A 1st circle mage had one star, 2nd circle mage 2 stars, and so on. That was a way of making the students work harder to achieve more.

    Now, there wasn¡¯t news about the killer even after Arthur talked with the teachers that took care of the library before Matilda, as he looked for the person who stole that book.

    But during the middle of the night, Arthur saw something suspicious.

 Chapter 105 The Bone Lord

    ¡°Are you sure we should leave? What if the president sees us?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one will patrol today. Harmony was in charge, but I gave her a tea that sent her to sweet dreams.¡±

    ¡°You attacked a teacher? Are you insane?¡±

    ¡°Shut up. She will not find out the truth. Now, you want to be worthy of the wolf king or not?¡±

    The other student stopped talking, and they left the dorm. Arthur saw all of that from a tree as he was disguised as an owl.

    [Shape-shifting (Tier 2): Change the appearance of the caster to any type of creature. Bigger creatures require more mana.]

    [Cost: ?]

    It was one spell he focused on learning, and it paid out. The invisibility spell drained his mana per second, while the shape-shifting did not.

    People would never suspect an owl, especially during night-time. Arthur kept his eyes on these three students and followed them through the woods.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Wolf king? That has to be the werewolf.¡±

    Arthur did not know what these students wanted. Worthy of the wolf king? Were they creating a cult of werewolves? He hoped to find all those questions that night.

    ¡°This is where he lives? But there¡¯s nothing here.¡±

    ¡°It is an illusion array, you idiot.¡±

    The student moved an ordinary stone, and the illusion vanished. An entrance could be seen on a hill, an entrance that was not there before.

    ¡°That is why I never found it.¡± Arthur thought.

    An owl entering inside a cave would be strange, so he changed his appearance to that of a small spider, and sneaked in, following the students.

    It was an ordinary cave, but the smell wasn¡¯t. A scent of rotten apples, no, a scent of rotten food.<sub></sub>

    Arthur kept going, moving his 8 small legs through the rock ground of the cave. The student that was leading was eager to meet this so-called wolf king, but the other 2 were apprehensive.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. If you believe in him, he will grant you power.¡±

    These two students were old ones, even before Arthur arrived and became the president. Their talent was mediocre, and even after all these months, they did little progress. Until someone came looking for them, saying that he sensed they had a talent for other things, such as dark magic.

    ?[0)??? The mysterious person promised everything they ever wanted: power. At first, they feared Arthur or one teacher finding out, but as the other students kept progressing, and they didn¡¯t, the feeling of impotence grew.

    Another student that was also in their situation epted the offer, and worshipped the same entity the wolf king did. In a matter of days, his magical practice got better, and he overcame the stagnant state.

    Jealous? Eager of power? The two students did not wish to be left behind, watching all the others rise and fly to great heights.

    When the three students reached the end of the cave, four more were waiting for them. Out of these four, Arthur knew one of them.

    ¡°She¡¯s here?¡±<sub></sub>

    It was the girl that took the entrance test with him, Theo, and Kai back then. She had a wonderful talent for magic, so why was she there?

    All the students reunited around a huge campfire, and then someone else walked over. Based on the body structure, it was a man, but Arthur couldn¡¯t see the face as the man wore a wolf¡¯s head.

    ¡°Wolf king.¡± They said, bowing to him.

    Arthur gazed at that person, and couldn¡¯t see the level. It was not as if the person was too strong, but something else.

    ¡°He is hiding his level from me. How? Did he do this or is it someone else?¡±

    Even though the werewolf was right in front of him, Arthur did not act. He was a predator, waiting for the right moment to strike.

    ¡°Is he truly here today? The Bone Lord?¡±

    ¡°Shh, don¡¯t say his name, only if he gives permission to you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but is he here?¡±

    ¡°Of course. You are all new members, so obviously he would show up.¡±

    Another name, the Bone Lord. It was a good thing Arthur did not strike first and waited for the opportunity. Now he knew the werewolf was not behind all of it, but someone else.

    He had never heard that name before, even after spending a lot of time on the ind. Based on the way they were talking, this Bone Lord was someone strong, yet no one strong had gone to the ind, unless¡­

    ¡°Matilda? Now that I think of, I¡¯m not seeing her that much.¡±

    Out of a sudden, someone came out from the walls of the cave, as if it was passing by it. A tall skeleton that wore a long, dark robe and wielded a golden scepter.

    ¡°You humans are so stupid that allowed someone to follow you.¡±

    The bone lord gazed at Arthur, who was as a spider. Arthur knew he had been found, and seeing how strong the skeleton was, he wanted to leave, but couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Did you try to use a teleport? Are you like her?¡±

    Arthur returned to his human form, but he could not move or cast any spells. Even his dragon skills were locked by that strange skeleton.

    ¡°President?¡± The students were shocked, and more scared now that their president had been caught.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± The skeleton said.

    ¡°I just wanted a fresh air, you know?¡±

    The skeleton moved its scepter, and Arthur was sending flying towards the cave¡¯s walls. He couldn¡¯t move, and then a bone spear came flying, piercing his abdomen.

    ¡°Ahhh mother fucker!¡±

    Blood was dripping from the wound. Arthur thought his dragon healing would help, but the spear was notmon, and the bleeding did not stop and only got worse.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you now, and then take over all the students you are so proud of, and turn this ce into my kingdom.¡±

    It slowly walked towards Arthur, who could do nothing but to wait for the eminent death.

 Chapter 106 The Desert

    The Bone Lord was too powerful, overwhelming, fearless. Arthur did not know why someone like that was there, trying to fetch his disciples and ruin his school.

    Did he find that thing before? No, the more he thought about it, the more he was certain he had never seen such a creature.

    It went slowly towards Arthur. Its feet did not touch the ground as he was using a flying spell, like a true mage from legends.

    ¡°I¡¯ll die like this? No, I don¡¯t want to!¡±

    Arthur tried his best to move his body, yet the strange forceing from the grasp of that creature was something he could not fend off. He would die, and his only chance of survival was if a miracle happened.

    Then, everything around Arthur stopped, except him. For a moment, he thought he had awakened a strange ability, but that was not the case. Someone else hade to his rescue.

    ¡°Matilda?¡±

    ¡°Arthur, we have little time and lots of things to talk about. Hear me about, please.¡± Matilda said.

    The situation was not favorable to ask questions, so he shut up and listened to what she had to say to him.<sub>.</sub>

    ?[0)??? ¡°My real name is not Matilda, but Elyhane, the princess of elves. You and I met before, in that clothing store. I was using a disguise as an old woman.¡±

    ¡°I was fleeing from that old lich, but he found me. The reason I came here looking for you was because of the time-space magic. I felt an energying from you, so I knew you had the affinity to it, just like me, one of the 5 people that ever had that affinity, 6 now with you,¡±

    ¡°although I¡¯m strong, we cannot face the Bone Lord, or else we will die. I had never thought he would find me here, and now even you are caught up in this situation.¡±

    ¡°When the first victim appeared, I knew it was him, so I made up precautions for when he strikes us. Now, you have a choice to make.¡±

    Matilda said a lot of things in a short time, but Arthur was so focused he understood everything that was happening.

    ¡°She¡¯s an elf? And one of the 5 people that can use time-space magic? This is incredible. I mean, we will die to that lich!¡±

    ¡°I set up a teleportation array and linked a few people to this academy. Sadly, I did not have the power to send all of you, but I picked up the most talented disciples of yours, and obviously, all the teachers.¡±

    ¡°The array will teleport you all to a random location around the world, and even I don¡¯t know where.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the few students that will remain here. The Bone Lord will also be caught in the array, and sent to another location, far from here,¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to do this? You¡¯ll have to start your magic school from scratch, or maybe it will never be built again.¡±

    ¡°What choice do I have? We will all die if we face this Bone Lord.¡±

    ¡°That is correct.¡±

    Now that things were getting better in Odemore, all of it was lost. Arthur promised himself that would be thest time others would take things from him.

    ¡°Screw this. Send us away from here. In the future, I¡¯lle looking for this pile of bones and cremate him.¡±

    Matilda nodded and executed the magic array. All the students that had been marked vanished in an instant, appearing in a new location, all of them together.

    Arthur, Wisa, Jane, Harmony, Kai, Theo, Sully, and many other talented people from Odemore had been chosen.<sub></sub>

    The Bone Lord was also sent to a far ce, and only Matilda and some students remained.

    ¡°I hope they went to a good ce. I¡¯ll gather all the students, and help them in any way I can.¡± Matilda thought.

    ~~~~

    A dry air. A ce with sand, and few vegetation. It was a ce far from Grathia; the kingdom where Jane lived as a princess.

    Shukar Empire, a vast mass ofnd mostly covered by a rough desert that few could withstand.

    The people from Shukar also used magic, but different from the rest. They lived in tribes, and the magic was inscribed on their bodies using tattoos.

    Another prominent technique from the Shukar tribes was beast taming, as these came in handy when traveling through the desert and fighting among tribes.

    Arthur and his few students had teleported to this ce near an oasis. It had nts and fresh water nearby, which was something that could save their lives until they adjusted to that ce.

    ¡°Where are we? What happened?¡±

    No one could understand, as only Arthur knew what had happened.

    ¡°Everyone, listen to me, your leader.¡±

    They all looked up directly at Arthur, and he exined everything that had happened with all the details.

    ¡°Now that things were working out, fuck.¡± Theo cursed and almost punched the sand beneath to vent his anger.

    ¡°Master, are you all right?¡± Kai said, walking towards Arthur to see if he was okay after hearing about his fight against the mysterious lich.

    Arthur had not seen Kai in a while, not after having to use a student identity, but now that was long gone.

    ¡°Were are we?¡± Jane said, looking at their surroundings to ess the situation.

    Wisa, who once was an adventurer, had more information about the world than the rest, so she blurted, ¡°if I¡¯m not mistaken, this should be the Shukar Empire, and if it is, we are in danger.¡±

    ¡°Danger? What do you mean?¡± Arthur asked, curious as he had never heard about such a ce.

    ¡°The people here are fierce, and almost all of them live in tribes. They will kill us at first sight, especially seeing how we look like outsiders.¡±

    ¡°Tribes?¡±

    The first thing that came to Arthur¡¯s mind was cannibals, or worse.

    ¡°This cannot be worse than facing the Bone Lord, right?¡± Arthur thought.

    They all rested near the oasis for some time, but someone was already gazing at them.

 Chapter 107 Entering a Tribe?

    `

    The fresh water from the oasis was marvelous. They weren''t used to withstand that much heat. It was not a simple task to survive the desert.

    Water would not be a problem for some time if they remained close to that oasis, but food? It would not be easy to feed all these people.

    Another problem was shelter. How would they build houses without materials?

    "I''ll scan the area while you''ll rest here. Wisa, Jane, and Harmony, try to look for some food near this area, but don''t go too far as we can get lost easily around here. The rest of you, stay together and notify us if you see anything strange. Also, build a campfire if the teachers found some food." Arthur gave them his orders and left the oasis.

    "Sully, help them find food and protect them while I''m out."

    "Understood."

    Two fire wings grew behind his back, and he flew over the desert, trying to look for things they could use.

    "Huh?"

    Arthur saw a person from afar that was running, and they had been spied on.

    Wisa had told him that people lived in tribes around here, so maybe if he followed that person, he would find a tribe.

    So, he did just that. Arthur went even higher so that it would be impossible for that person to spot him.

    He noticed the person wore fur clothing and had a bow behind its back, as well as 2 curved swords.

    Compared to Arthur, that man strolled through the desert sands. It was hard to travel by foot on that terrain, but Arthur did not have that problem as he flew using his wings.

    After chasing for about 30 minutes, the man arrived at what looked like a tribe. There were others that dressed just like him, with rudimentary clothes and weapons. The houses there were also simple cabins made of wood.

    Just like Arthur''s students, they also lived near an oasis where they could easily fetch water and nt some foods that could grow there.

    From above, Arthur focused on his hearing to hear what they were saying. He couldn''t understand thenguage, so he cast a basic spell all mages learned.

    "Language Learning!"

    Arthur learned that spell from the general book he stole from the library, but all the other students also learned that as their first spell. The reason? It was useful, easy to learn, and it was not dangerous to practice. New mages couldn''t control their mana properly, so a spell that wasn''t dangerous was amazing.

    The spell quickly injected lots ofnguages inside one''s brain. For normal people, that would be too much to handle, but mages could do that with ease.

    There weren''t all thenguages there, though. Most were only from the countries nearby, from that continent. Which added up to only 4 or 5nguages, as some countries spoke the samenguage.

    "Leader, leader. I saw some strange people near an oasis not that far from here. They had strange clothing, and did not look like they were from here." The man that Arthur was following said.

    "What? Did they see you? How many are there? Are they strong?"<sub> </sub>

    Arthur could now understand what they were saying, and it was not any news. The thing he wanted to know was if these people would attack them.

    "Not that many of them. I would say about 15 or 20. As for their strength, I don''t know either."

    "Leader, are you thinking of giving shelter to them? To these strangers?" Another man said.

    "Najek, we need more people in our tribe. Look around. We are only declining after they kicked us out of that ce a long time ago. And with the nearby tribes trying to take our oasis, we need more people to protect the tribe."

    "You''re right, father. I apologize."

    It was out of all Arthur''s expectations. The leader of that tribe did not pretend to attack him but add them to their tribe, which, in Arthur''s opinion, it was not a bad idea.

    They wereplete strangers in that desert, and knowing how to survive was a must. These people lived there their whole lives and knew how to do that.

    "We should not stay in the tribe forever, but it is a good learning how to live in this ce."

    With that thought in mind, Arthur descended from the skies in front of the tribe. All the people there were shocked upon seeing him, and drew their weapons.

    The tribe''s leader took the front, and said, "who are you?"

    "I''m sorry to show up out of notice. I saw that man over there spying on my people, and was afraid he would try something, so I followed him."

    "This is my fault. I did not want to offend you. I assume you were hearing the conversation we just had?"

    "Yes. Can we talk in private?"

    With that, the leader of the tribe and Arthur went to the biggest house in the tribe to talk. The other tribe members weren''tfortable in letting their leader alone with a stranger, but he said everything was all right, so they had to listen to him.

    Arthur sat cross-legged, staring at the tribe''s leader, who was a middle-aged man with a long, dark beard and hair. He was sturdy and had lots of scars around his body. It was amon appearance of those who lived in the dangerous desert.

    "If I ept your offer, promise me all the tribe members here will treat my people as their own and help them adjust to this new environment."

    "Are you really thinking of epting? I''m not gonna lie to you. Our tribe is in decline from hundreds of years, and with the constant attack from the tribes nearby, we may perish one day. Are you sure?"

    The honesty in the leader''s words was admirable, but the idea of learning the strange techniques from these tribes was something Arthur wanted. All forms of getting stronger were needed with these gods, and the Bone Lord chasing after him.

    "I do, yes. I''ll head over and discuss this with my people, and give you the answer."

    "Okay, okay. Stay safe out there!"

    He smiled brightly now that his tribe may have a chance of survival. The leader watched Arthur as he flew back to where he came from.`

 Chapter 108 New Tribe Members, and Mysterious Totem

    When Arthur returned to the oasis, he saw his students around a campfire cooking some small animals they found around the area. Snakes, lizards, anything they could find.

    They were carefree, chatting and eating. Arthur speaks with them after talking with Jane, Wisa, and Harmony.

    ¡°Arthur,¡± Jane said as she walked towards him, ¡°did you find anything interesting?¡±

    ¡°I did, yes. First, there was someone watching us from the moment we arrived here.¡±

    ¡°What? Who? Where?¡± Wisa said. She gazed at all sides, trying to find the spy, but Arthur quickly calmed her down.

    ¡°He¡¯s not here anymore, but inside a tribe not that far from here. I followed him and talked with the leader of that tribe, and he wants us to join them.¡±

    ¡°Before you say anything, let me tell you my opinion on this matter. This desert is dangerous, and without proper guidance we may die here,¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Joining a tribe can help us learn not only how to survive, but about their ways of life and their magic. Also, this tribe seemed friendly, and they weren¡¯t strong, so it shouldn¡¯t be a treat to us. So, what do you think?¡±

    They all entered a deep thought, analyzing the situation with care. What Arthur said was reasonable, but it was still dangerous to enter a tribe they did not know about.

    Now, what was more dangerous, that or living in that desert without information? Wisa had heard tragic stories about the Shukar Empire, especially the desert area where all these tribes lived.

    In the end, they followed Arthur¡¯s n and be members of that tribe, at least for the time being. None of them were scared, as they hadplete faith Arthur would kill anyone that tried to harm them.

    After settling that down with the teachers, Arthur called out all the remaining students, which was only about 20, around that campfire, and exined what they intended to do.

    Arthur had the final decision, and even if all of them oppose, but he thought it was the right call, they would go anyway. He listened to all of his students to see what they thought about it, and they all agreed to it.<sub></sub>

    ¡°I also heard that the deserts here are harsh. We will be better off by joining a tribe and learning with the people that have been living here for a long time.¡± Theo said.

    All of them were not against the n and also embraced it with radiant smiles. It was as if a burden had been lifted out of their shoulders.

    ¡°With Mr. President here, we are safe!¡± This was a thought that crossed the mind of all of them.

    In minutes, Arthur had found a way for them to have a better chance of surviving the desert. They all knew he could survive by himself without problems, yet did not abandon any of them.

    His image grew inside everyone¡¯s heart¡­

    ?[0)??? ~~~~<sub></sub>

    They all ate and filled whatever they had with them with water before leaving the oasis. Arthur had a few chests with treasures he had got from his adventures, so he tossed all the gold coins out of the chest and used as a water container.

    All of that stuff was inside his magical pouch, and after gathering everything, they left the oasis, going straight to that tribe Arthur had found.

    Before, Arthur got there quickly by flying, but walking to that ce was tedious, and it took a long time. The desert was not a peaceful ce to traverse because of the sand.

    The hot temperature was another problem for most of the students. Only Wisa and Arthur, who were proficient fire mages, could withstand it with ease, but the others did not have that much luxury.

    A few of them that knew some water spells tried to use it to cool down, but it onlysted a few moments before the heat came again. They were used to being living on those inds with water all around, and cool temperatures throughout the year. Now, in the Shukar Empire, things were different.

    Although they had to face these problems, they reached the tribe after walking for more than an hour, at the right time as the sun was leaving, and the temperature was turning from scorching to freezing.

    The tribe members quickly saw that mass of people, and the leader of the tribe, the same Arthur had talked about, came out to greet them.

    Arthur cast thenguage spell on everyone that did not know how to use it.

    ¡°So you joined? Good, good. Wee, this is the Jinzaka tribe, and I¡¯m the leader, Ahanu.¡±

    All the other tribe members had strange gazes when looking at Arthur and the others. But then, they all smiled and wee them with open arms.

    ¡°Here, taste this soup. It is one recipe from our tribe.¡±

    ¡°This is a fried scorpion. It is tasty, believe me!¡±

    The Jinzaka tribe was in decline since a long time ago. For these tribe members, having more people was something extraordinary.

    It had been a long time since anyone joined the tribe. Only their kids did, but it was not as if they had any choice in the matter. And they needed powerful warriors to return to their past glory.

    ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you the tribe, and also where you will stay.¡± Ahanu said.

    After all the members left, and the tribe declined, there were a lot of empty houses inside the tribe, so each one of the new members got a small wooden house only for themselves.

    It was a win for the students, considering they lived with roommates back in the academy. Ahanu showed them the main hall, where the tribe members ate every day at lunch and dinner.

    ¡°This is where my throne is, and this vast table is for the tribe members to have lunch and dinner together. It is a way for us to keep the connection.¡±

    An immense hall all made of wood, and had many fur rugs on the ground. There was a totem inside a room within the main hall.

    ¡°This is the totem of our ancestor, where he grants us his blessings, and teaches us the way of our tattoos.¡±

    Arthur was excited as he left the main hall and went to his little wooden cabin. Now with new clothes all made of fur, making him look like a barbarian. All the others had the same type of clothing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make this tribe great again, and get my hands on this tattoo magic!¡±

 Chapter 109 Hunting Group

    The house was simple, yetfy. It was way better than staying outside with the mortal cold from the desert nights. Hot during the day, freezing during the night. A hard ce to live.

    Arthur and Wisa were morefortable in that environment. Both had somewhat focused on meleebat, so they fit more with the tribe style of living.

    Not that the other mages were in a bad spot, absolutely not. They were actually mysterious in the eyes of the tribe members, as they usually only used their tattoo magic, and not the ordinary spells.

    Speaking of the tattoos, Arthur figured out more about them while he was there. These tattoos had many levels, just like the tiers from the spells, and you could inscribe them in your body to activate duringbat to enhance your body, weapons, and anything you can think of.

    Different from the other mages that used mana from their mana core, the tattoos had their own storage of mana, and these tattoos absorbed the mana from the atmosphere to recharge.

    They were like enchanted items, but inscribed in their bodies. Arthur saw these tribal people as enchanted warriors or something like that.<sub>.</sub>

    A normal mage without proper movement spells would easily perish against such warriors.

    Arthur discovered all of that during the first week they spent there. He also learned more about the beasts around the area, about the deadly sandstorms, and the things he should avoid doing during his time there.

    After that first week of training, it was finally time for Arthur to go out and hunt with the others. He went alone, as the other students were focused on training inside the tribe, and the teachers wanted to stay with them to help the best they could.

    Ahanu, the tribe¡¯s leader, also went with the hunting group. Food was a major problem in the desert, so the hunting group was highly respected inside the tribe. Not only that tribe, but in all tribes.

    Arthur noticed how a few of the hunters had magical beasts to help them track their preys. It was the other type of skill Arthur was interested in.<sub></sub>

    ¡°There¡¯s a ruin not that far from here. It is said to be part of a lost city from thousand of years ago. The beasts use that as shelter, so we usually get tons of food when hunting there.¡± Ahanu said, exining the mission.

    The idea of a ruin was not that appealing to Arthur. He knew these types of ces held many dangers, and seeing how unlucky he was, then maybe things could go horribly wrong.

    They left the tribe early in the morning, with the best warriors the tribe had. Most ranged between level 20 to 35, which was not high whenpared to Arthur.

    After a two hours of constant walking, they arrived at the ce Ahanu talked about. It was an enormous hole, and inside of it were lots of tunnels that were part of a mine a long time ago.

    If one explored more of that ce, would find the ruins of a city that covered a huge part of the desert. Ahanu said that no one had explored the entirety of it yet, and it was still a mystery to all tribes.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Akhur, we will go down now, so be careful.¡± Ahanu said.

    Akhur was the name they all called Arthur, as they couldn¡¯t say it properly, so they went with another name instead.

    Arthur did not mind that at all, and found it funny. The getting down part was the worse. They had to tie a robe to a huge and heavy rock, and get down using that rob.

    The only problem was that the hole was deep, and any misstep could lead to an ident.

    ¡°Do you need help to get down?¡± Arthur said to the tribe leader.

    He knew Arthur had those strange fire wings and could fly, but getting down using the rope was also a sort of training for them, so he did not ept the help.

    Arthur thought if he should use his wings and decided not to. He needed to impress these tribe members to get their respect. It was the best way to learn more about all things, especially their method of creating these magical tattoos.

    They all went down using the rope, one by one. Arthur was thest to go, and everything went well. No idents, nothing.

    Once they were all down there, one of the tribe members lit a torch to brighten the ce. It did not make a difference to Arthur, but he stayed quiet and followed theirmand.

    ?[0)??? The tunnel they were inn wasrge, and had a trail in the middle, possibly where the miners used the cart when mining. Spider webs were everywhere, and small scorpions walked in the corners of the tunnel.

    This ce had been abandoned a long time ago. ording to Ahanu, it had been thousands of years. If that was the case, then surely this city was extraordinary tost that long.

    All the tribe members had a lot of experience, so they kept going forward, and Arthur could tell they knew exactly where they were going, as if they had done that countless times.

    Something felt strange about that ce, but Arthur couldn¡¯t exactly tell what it was. Soon, they found a few magical beasts that were drinking water that dripped from the celling, forming a small pool.

    ¡°Attack with the bow. Use the tattoos and kill the beast instantly.¡± Ahanu said to his son that hade with him Najek.

    Najek was specialized with the bow. He activated one tattoo he had on his body, and his bow and arrow shone in a green light. Then, he shot an arrow that turned into five, each one of them hitting a different beast.

    Arthur focused on that move, but when he saw the beast did not die in one attack, he was frustrated.

    ¡°Are these tattoos that weak? No, wait.¡±

    The beasts gazed at the tribe members, but before they could do any move, they all died instantly, out of a sudden.

    It turned out the arrow had a deadly poison, and Arthur saw these tribe members with a new light.

 Chapter 110 Night Attack

    The power of the tattoos was strange, mysterious. Arthur tried to get more information with Ahanu during their hunting trip, but he said that when they were ready, he would teach them.

    ¡°Good job, son. You¡¯re getting better with the bow each time I see it.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll make you proud.¡±

    ¡°You already did.¡±

    Ahanu patted on his son¡¯s shoulder and signed to everyone to keep watch.

    ¡°Come here Akhur. I¡¯ll teach you how to butcher the beasts.¡±

    Arthur already had a general idea of how to butcher beasts, but maybe the desert beasts were different in some form, so he did not mutter a word and learned with the tribe leader.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Most beasts are easy to butcher, but you should be careful and learn about the poisonous beasts around this area, as you need to cut off their poison nd, or else you may end up dead.¡±

    ¡°Noted.¡±

    The beasts they had just killed weren¡¯t poisonous at all, so there wasn¡¯t any new thing Arthur learned, but he acted as he did, and kept praising Ahanu for his teaching.

    ¡°It was nothing. You are part of the tribe now.¡± Ahanu said, smiling. It seemed he was a man that liked to hear praising words, and Arthur would surely use that to his benefit.

    After he butchered all the animals, he putted the meat inside a sack, and one of the lowest rank hunters carried the bag. That hunter was displeased, as that was supposed to be the job of the new hunter, Arthur.

    The deeper they went, the darker the tunnels became. Arthur waved his hand and cast a candlelight to brighten up the ce a little, and all the other hunters were surprised to see that kind of power.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Whoa, I have never seen something like that. You look like those long-lost shamans.¡± One hunter said.

    These tribe members were only used to their tattoo magic, which was powerful, yet limited to enhance their bodies and weapons. Arthur was versatile. Mages were already versatile when having only one element. Now imagine Arthur, who could cast all spells the world had.

    Anyway, after they walked for some time, the tunnel came to an ending, and the outskirts of a long-lost city entered their sight. It was not the main part, far from it, but it was already huge.

    Tons of ruined houses, wells, and structures, Arthur did not know what they used it for. It was bigger than all the cities Arthur had seen before, and he wondered how such a wealthy ce ended up like that?

    The Shukar Empire had to be wealthy to have such a city underground, yet it was now in a poor state where most of its habitants lived in tribes, and only a few lived inside cities.

    What happened to that ce? Arthur wanted to find that out one day.<sub></sub>

    ¡°This is the farthest we can go. Let¡¯s try to hunt a few more beasts before heading back. It shouldst us at least 2 weeks.¡± Ahanu said.

    Arthur had a feeling of danger since the moment he entered inside that ce, yet nothing happened. They hunted a few more beasts in the outskirts area of the city and left using the same path they took before.

    The hunter that carried the pack with meat couldn¡¯t carry all of that, and when they asked Arthur if he could do it, the man rejoiced.

    ¡°Now you¡¯ll see what is good for you, newbie.¡± The man thought to himself, yet the scene that happened in front of his eyes was shocking.

    Arthur simply stored the sack with meat inside his magical pouch and walked as if he wasn¡¯t carrying a single thing.

    Even Ahanu was shocked, and asked what had happened to the food, so Arthur exined to him what he just did.

    ¡°This is incredible. Can you make more of these magical bags?¡± Ahanu said. He wanted at least one of these to his tribe, but sadly Arthur couldn¡¯t make these types of items, at least not yet.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We have you here so we can use this magical bag to carry the meat on our hunting trips.¡±

    ?[0)??? The addition of Arthur and the others to the tribe was helping more than they had usually thought.

    The other hunter that wanted to see Arthur suffer was also a youth, and wanted to prove himself to the tribe and his family, yet someone that came out of a sudden was standing out more than him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make you pay!¡±

    Arthur sensed a strange gazeing from the youth, as if he had a murderous intent. He only paid attention for a second before forgetting about it. Even if he was asleep, that youth could not kill him, as it was too weakpared to him.

    They all returned using the same path as before and made their way back to the tribe. The hunting group left by morning and returned at sunset. It was quite the distance to reach that ce.

    ¡°You¡¯re back, husband. How did the hunting go?¡± A beautiful woman with ck hair said. She was Ahanu¡¯s wife.

    ¡°Everything went well, and our son showed them how fierce his bow technique is, ha ha ha.¡±

    When they returned to the tribe, all the hunters parted way as they went to meet their respectable families. Arthur did the same, and when he got near the ce where all the students¡¯ houses were, he saw them training with Wisa, Jane, and Harmony helping.

    It was already night, yet none of them was cking, and were diligently training.

    ¡°That is what I like to see, my students. Hard work always pays off.¡±

    Arthur gave them encouraging words and went to check up with Kai to see how his training was. Kai made good progress in both his mage path, and also with the wyvern skills Arthur had given to him. In fact, he wanted new skills.

    ¡°Tomorrow we will spar and I¡¯ll see if you have mastered the skills I gave you. If yes, then I¡¯ll give you more.¡±

    ¡°Understood, master. How about we go for a quick bite?¡± Kai was hungry, and so was Arthur, but before they could do anything, someone shouted from one of the defensive towers built around the tribe.

    ¡°EVERYONE, AN ARMY IS COMING!¡±

 Chapter 111 A Tier 6 Spell

    ¡°It¡¯s the Okomi tribe. These bastards finally made their move!¡± One of the tribe members shouted.

    As soon as they saw that army, all of them went to their positions, preparing for battle. Arthur and his students did the same, but when they gazed at the army stationed just outside their tribe, a shiver ran down their spines.

    The Jinzaka tribe had a few members, only about 100 at most. But the army outside? With one nce, Arthur guessed there were at least 2000 fierce warriors.

    ¡°Ahanu, how do they have so many people?¡± Najek said.

    ¡°This is the result after they conquered all the nearby tribes. They are all one big tribe now.¡±

    Arthur went to near father and son, and said, ¡°want me to wipe these idiots?¡±

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t think that high of yourself. Look at how many warriors want our heads. We will fight till we die!¡± Najek said in an arrogant tone.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Calm down, son. Akhur, do you think you can dy them for us to flee? Is that what you are saying?¡±

    ¡°Tribe leader. Fleeing is only for the weak. I¡¯m speaking of killing them all.¡± Arthur said.

    He had his hands behind his back, walking from side to side.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can kill all of them with one move, but I can at least wipe 85 to 90% with one attack. The rest is up to you.¡±

    Najek snorted and felt that Arthur was only spilling bullshit. That young hunter who disliked Arthur was around, and he also came into the conversation, saying, ¡°who do you think you are? Don¡¯t speak non-sense in front of the tribe leader.¡±

    Arthur did not mind any of that, and simply focused on Ahanu. He would wipe that army even if he did not agree to it. There was no way he would let everyone get hurt.<sub></sub>

    The reason for him to speak openly about it, and saying as if it would require a lot of his energy, was just to make them grateful to him when everything was over.

    ¡°All right. If you can do that, the Jinzaka tribe will be forever in your debt.¡±

    ¡°Father?¡±

    ¡°Leader?¡±

    They did not agree with Ahanu¡¯s decision, but there was nothing they could do about it. Arthur said that he would go outside to talk with them, and Ahanu did not oppose.

    Two fire wings grew behind his back, but vanished in an instant, and no one saw it. Arthur used his wings, but also used his invisibility spell to hide it, making it look like he was flying with no sort of help.<sub></sub>

    Also, it was better that they did not see the wings or else they would think it was a treasure and one day that could bring him trouble.

    Arthur flew above the tribe until he reached the front gate and gazed at the army that stood still 100 meters away from the tribe.

    A sturdy man that had tattoos and scars all over his body took the lead, and was surprised to see Arthur, someone he had never seen before.

    ¡°Where is Ahanu? Why is he sending a youth to talk to me? Ahanu, COME OUT!¡± the man said aloud.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t scream like a dying animal. Also, you¡¯ll only speak when I give you permission to.¡± Arthur said. He looked at all these humans with a cold and proud gaze. All of them were beneath his feet.

    When the tribe members heard what Arthur said, they were scared. What was the reason for him to make the Okomi tribe even more pissed?

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    All the people in that army could not keep their cool, and yelled, wanting to attack the Jinzaka tribe at that moment.

    ¡°You are not only a stupid animal but also deaf? I do not know how your tribe is still alive having such an ipetent leader. Listen carefully, pig. I¡¯ll give you a chance to turn around, or else you¡¯ll all die today.¡±

    ¡°What? Ha ha ha ha. Are you insane? Just because you have a mysterious way to fly, you think you can scare us? You and the rest of your tribe will be the ones dying today.¡±

    ¡°All right. To any of you that might survive by a struck of luck, hear me out. Akhur, the king of the desert, is here, and everything will send beneath my feet.¡±

    Arthur moved his hands towards the sky and channeled his spell. Before, with the help of his sunlight energy, he increased the rank of a spell by a few tiers. That was not all of his capabilities.

    He was thinking of using a lot of sunlight energy in that attack. Why? Since the moment he stepped into that desert, he felt the sunlight energy increasing by a lotpared to when he was on the inds.

    Increasing the rank of his Dragon Fire Body would not be impossible if things continued working like that.

    20% of all the sunlight energy he had stored went to that attack. It was a simple fireball with one magic circle, then two, three, four¡­ six magic circles.

    A tier 6 spell, which put Arthur in the same spot as most of the legendary figures among mages. It was only possible when using a lot of his sunlight energy it was a triumph attack that could save his life.

    Jane, Wisa, Harmony, and all the other students that had a deeper understanding of that type of magic were shocked.

    ¡°President is simply too mysterious. He is so young yet so far from us!¡± one student said.

    The 6 circles that were on Arthur¡¯s hands flew, stopping right above the enemy army. It was not a fireball anymore, but something that resembled Arthur of a meteor, just like that one that almost killed him a long time ago.

    An enormous ball of me descended quickly, and the Okomi tribe could not understand what was happening.

    Najek and the arrogant youth from the tribe were lost for words as they saw that thing. In their minds, that was an attack that only the totem gods could do.

    The moment the enormous ball of me hit the ground, almost all the warriors had their skin melted, and some turned into ashes on the spot. No one survives, except for a few archers that were far from the rest of the army. They all fled using camels.

 Chapter 112 One More Wife

    The power from a tier 6 spell was beyond Arthur¡¯s expectation. It wiped the entire army, and everyone that saw it were shocked.

    Some tribe members from Jinzaka fell to their knees and praised Arthur in all the ways they could.

    ¡°Thank you for saving our tribe!¡±

    ¡°You are sent by the gods!¡±

    They felt grateful to Arthur and saw him as someone superior to all of them. Najek and the young hunter that disliked Arthur did not change their minds, and were now eager to surpass him.

    ¡°If you can do that, we can too.¡±

    Arthur used a lot of energy to cast that spell, both sunlight energy and his mana. He needed some time to rest, so he flew back to the tribe.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Ahanu, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to clean up the battlefield and get anything you can that has value. I need some time to rest for a moment.¡± Arthur said as he walked to his small house within the tribe.

    ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Ahanu said. He was shocked as well after witnessing that, and did not want to piss off Arthur.

    Ahanu warned no one could go near Arthur¡¯s house until he was fully recovered. He also gathered almost all tribe members to clean up that battlefield.

    ¡°When did Arthur be so strong?¡± Jane said.

    Wisa, who was just beside her, said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. This is the first time I saw a tier 6 spell.¡±

    They both thought of entering inside Arthur¡¯s house to see how he was doing, but didn¡¯t.

    Meanwhile, Arthur was filled with happiness as a notification popped up.

    [Celestial Body Enhancement: All attributes except Wisdom increased by 5.]

    That was the overpower effect from his Celestial Body. All of his attributes would increase from time to time until they reached the same amount as his highest attribute.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how many days passed to understand how long it takes for the attributes to increase, but even if it takes a long time, it is still worth it. 5 points in each attribute means free levels.¡±

    Arthur wasn¡¯t as tired as he seemed. It was only an act to make people think his powerful attack drained him, which was not the case. Surely it cost him a lot to cast it, but not to the point of making him weaker for days.

    All he needed to do was recover his mana and sunlight energy, and that did not take long. His mana was already recovering, but the sunlight energy would only recover the next day, when the sun arrives.

    For the meantime, Arthur sat on his simple bed and thought about his next moves. The tribe already saw him as a messenger from the gods they worshiped, and only a few tribe members had a grudge with him.

    That underground city caught his attention, as he was sure there was something incredible down there, but the ce made him feel uneasy. He wouldn¡¯t recklessly explore it, only after getting stronger.

    Now, after today¡¯s events, his name will spread throughout the desert, as he left survivors to do just that. It will cause amotion, and maybe a few people would try to harm him, but there were also benefits.

    Arthur wanted to create a powerful image, and use his unraveled strength to make a name for himself, and then move his tribe to one of the gigantic cities this country had.

    These cities were the best ce to get more resources, and also more information about this underground city that no one dared to explore it fully.

    So, Arthur had the n to talk with Ahanu the next day, and n a trip to one of these immense cities, and start anew there. If he¡¯s not in favor of that, Arthur will soak it up and when he gets a little stronger, he will go there by himself.

    Not that he wasn¡¯t strong enough to venture alone, he was. But Arthur also needed to protect all of his students and his girls during the journey, and he also had no directions to where the city was.

    Anyway, Arthur just sat there and rested for a while before a knocking came to his door.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, and Jane. Can wee in?¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°Yes, please.¡±

    Jane and Wisa walked in, slightly worried about him. Arthur exined it was all an act and that he was already fine. He also said to them how he cast that tier 6 spell.

    ¡°So that is the case. Interesting, interesting. Now, there is something rather strange, but we need to talk about it.¡± Wisa said.

    She was wheezing, and her cheeks were the same color as cherries. Based on that, Arthur knew what type of things she wanted to talk about. But with Jane there? What were they nning?

    ¡°Jane already knows about us. She already knew before I went to tell her. Arthur, you know that she also has feelings for you, and just a moment ago we were talking about this. It is not strange for a man to have over one wife.¡±

    ¡°And something is also happening, when we, you know. I¡¯m feeling my body getting stronger, and I even learned a spell that was impossible for me before. I have the theory that somehow your dragon genes are helping me get stronger.¡±

    Arthur already guessed something like that was happening. He could see Wisa¡¯s name inside his system tab, and every time they had sex, not only got he got stronger, but she did too.

    ¡°I know we aren¡¯t married yet, but me and Jane discussed, and she wants to be a part of it. She wants to be your wife as well. Like I said, she has feelings for you, so I don¡¯t oppose to it. And if it is a way for her to get stronger, then maybe we should consider it.¡±

    Wisa said a lot of things, and Jane, who was just beside her, was fully red, but did not oppose to anything Wisa had said.

    Arthur could not hide his wide smile.

 Chapter 113 Tattoo Magic

    They chatted openly about that, and even though Wisa and Jane were okay with it, she wasn¡¯t ready yet to take the next step.

    Arthur felt it was normal, as Jane was younger than Wisa, so he did not mind it. He shared his n of getting into a city, which surprised both of them.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too early? I know you¡¯re strong, but the rest of the students will not survive the journey. I think we should stay here and teach them more before leaving. Jane, what do you think?¡± Wisa said.

    Jane was thinking about other things, but quickly rposed herself and said, ¡°I agree with Wisa. The students are too weak, and this ce surely is much safer than outside. Plus, it is easier for you to protect them.¡±

    What both of them said made sense. Wanting it or not, Arthur was stuck in that tribe, at least for the time being.

    ¡°All right. We shall focus on getting these students strong.¡±

    Wisa wanted to rip Arthur¡¯s clothing right there and have a moment with him, but she wanted to wait for Jane to be ready so that all the three could do it together.

    So Jane and Wisa left Arthur¡¯s cabin and went to their own. If they wanted to make these students strong, a rigid training was required.<sub>.</sub>

    With lots of ideas inside his mind, Arthur slept.

    He woke up with noises from the outside. Screams, to be more precise. Sully, who was flying all over the desert in these past days, returned, and all the tribe members were shocked to see such an immense beast.

    ¡°What type of beast is that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, never seen one before.¡±

    Arthur walked out of his house and said, ¡°everyone, calm down. This is my beast friend, Sully.¡±

    All the tribe members were already worshiping his strength, but now? Only a messenger of the gods could have such a beast under itsmand.

    It took a while, but all the people there got used to Sully¡¯s presence, and even the kids tried to y with him. When that happened, he always came with the excuse he needed to hunt, and flew away.<sub></sub>

    A rigid training method started on all the students. They would practice more hours than before, and all the teachers would help them with anything, such as sharing spells, giving tips, and even helping the students absorb mana.

    They needed them to be stronger, so providing help in a time of crisis was the best thing they could do.

    Arthur, who always only watched the sses, taught too. Something was happening with him, and he couldn¡¯t understand why.

    Since he arrived at that desert, he had weird dreams of where he was a dragon. A particr dream where he saw a weapon specialist from humans wield all kinds of weapons.

    He watched that specialist fight for a long, long time. It felt like countless years. Then, something incredible happened.

    The dream was more real than he thought, and he could use all weapons like a true master.

    Wisa was the most shocked among all, as she knew Arthur better. The students only felt that their president always knew how to use these sorts of weapons, so they were less surprised.<sub></sub>

    They had little knowledge about melee fighting. Among the students, only Kai stood out. Arthur did not know if it was beneficial for them to learn, but he taught them anyway.

    Constant fights between the students to hone their skills, alongside the rigid training and the tips of all the teachers, improved their skill greatly.

    It was still not enough for them to travel across the desert, but it was a good start.

    After one week passed, Ahanu called out Arthur to speak in private, and the subject was something he long wanted.

    ¡°This is the manual for the tattoo creation and removal. Want to hear how it works?¡±

    Arthur did not know if these tattoos would be useful to him, but he was someone that seek knowledge, and wanted to learn new things every time he got the chance.

    This type of magic was not present in other ces, and one could only learn in the Shukar Empire. It was an opportunity he did not want to miss.

    ¡°These two skills are not the main part. They are just instructions on how to remove the tattoo or make it work. The real thing is in the tattoo itself,¡±

    ¡°Each tattoo has its unique effect, and the effect can vary in power. After you inscribe the tattoo on your body, all you have to do is use the technique to activate it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll need a higher maniption of the mana to create the stronger tattoos.¡±

    Arthur listened to all of it carefully and understood most of it. Ahanu gave him two scrolls that had two techniques, one to activate the tattoo, and another to wipe the tattoo, presumably if one wanted to get better tattoos.

    Now, the tattoos were almost like spells one had to draw on the body. The tattoos all had its unique effect and ranged between different tiers as well.

    Ahanu gave Arthur a scroll that contained all the tattoos the Jinzaka tribe had. The highest one was roughly at the tier 4.

    The curious thing about these tattoos is that the person did not need to use the mana in their body. A tattoo was like a magic item, and after the effect ended, it would recharge, gathering the mana from the atmosphere.

    It was an awesome triumph card to have, especially when one ran out of mana.

    ¡°This will increase my power when fighting using my dragon form. But these tattoos are all trash. Where will I find better ones?¡± Arthur thought as he bowed and said thanks to the tribe leader.

    One of his goals was finished.

 Chapter 114 A New Celestial

    The word of a powerful and mysterious being called Akhur spread throughout the desert. Some people felt the story was only a lie, stating that someone like that was akin to a celestial being.

    But the number of people that believed in the stories were higher. All tribes in the desert believed in their totem gods, and worshiped them, asking for protection, guidance, and strength.

    It was said that these totem gods used to manifest themselves in order to protect their devotees, but that was a long time ago. That was all but a legend now.

    These tribe members had other thoughts in mind. What if Akhur was one of these celestial beings? Now that their totems vanished thousands of years ago, wasn¡¯t it time to look for another being that was present?

    Arthur did not know any of that, but his name slowly created a new movement where people wanted to worship him. They saw him as a celestial being.

    Not that it was wrong though, as Arthur would soon find out his Celestial Body skill had more effects than he did not fully understand.

    ¡°Who are all these people?¡± Najek said.

    A crowd of people was in front of the Jinzaka tribe. None of these people were there to fight, as they had no weapons in hands, and respectfully waited in the front gate.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°My name is Ahanu, and I¡¯m the leader of this tribe. Is there something I can help you with?¡± Ahanu said.

    He tried to act respectful as he thought all these people came to join his tribe after the word of that huge victory spread. Turned out they had other reasons.

    One man wearing a robe with a hood walked in front of the rest. He had a walking stick and was clearly an elderly.

    ¡°We are all here after hearing the word about the celestial being, Akhur. I, and all the rest, will use our faith to worship him.¡±

    Arthur had just finished his eating when he heard that. It was strange, so he went to check.

    This time, he did not use his fire wings, but his flight spell. Turned out it was easy to learn to have a celestial talent.

    [Flight (Tier 4): Allows the user to fly freely.]<sub></sub>

    [Cost: 20 mana per second.]

    He already mastered the spell up to the tier 4, which increased the speed at which he could fly. The mana cost wasn¡¯t that high, but one still needed a vast pool of mana to fly for a long time.

    Arthur had 14000 mana points, so he could fly for about 10 minutes straight in a speed that surpassed his fire wings. In reality, he could fly more than that considering his mana regeneration, and he could also devour the mana from the atmosphere to restore it.

    ¡°I can fly endlessly if I want to. Maybe I¡¯m a celestial being after all.¡±

    The clothing Arthur had was not those rudimentary leather armor from the tribe. He now wore a robe, as he felt it was a type of cloth a mage would wear.

    When all the people outside the tribe saw Arthur flying in their direction, all of them fell to their knees, and said together, ¡°we all praise Akhur, the celestial being.¡±

    A strange blue energy came out from all these people that had faith in Akhur. It was the same type of energy Arthur saw inside that fissure with Skye. That type of energy was also linked to his Celestial Body.<sub></sub>

    [Celestial Energy Absorbed.]

    [All stats increasing by 1]

    [Number of devotees: 87]

    [Days before the next blessing: 15]

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    It was like the system tab Arthur had where it showed his harem, but now there was another tab with all his devotees.

    ¡°This Celestial Body skill I got looks a lot like another type of system. What is this?¡±

    Arthur already had a thought of superiority to all the humans, but now? That increased even more. If people had some sort of faith in him, then he would get free stats, which meant he would get stronger.

    Strong enough to face the Bone Lord. Strong enough to find the Sky City and learn more about his identity. Strong enough to fight against the gods of that world.

    He slowly descended, stopping right in front of the old man that had just spoke. Arthur was still flying, but only by a little to not touch his feet on the sand.

    ¡°How did you find me?¡±

    ¡°Celestial lord. Stories about you are all over the desert, and we have faith in you, more than these dead totems all the tribes worship. I gathered everyone that had the same feelings and searched for you. Please, would you ept us?¡±

    If there were no benefits, Arthur would not ept them. But after getting a new function in his system, and the opportunity to grow stronger by using their faith, he epted.

    ¡°There are plenty of empty houses in my tribe for you to live. But please, get along with everyone else, and work hard to make this ce prosper.¡±

    ¡°We will, Celestial. Thank you for your kindness.¡±

    Arthur flew back to the tribe¡¯s gate, gazed at Ahanu, and said, ¡°they will stay here. Are you okay with it?¡±

    Ahanu had no way to stop Arthur. He felt he was the leader, yet Arthur was the one inmand.

    ¡°What is this blessing in the system tab? Will I grant benefits to all my devotees? That would be the best so that they could spread the word and more people will have faith in me, which will grant me more free stats.¡±

    Arthur did not know, but he was using the same path all the current gods used to achieve the top. A path that was given to him by Skye.

    ~~~~

    The Jinzaka tribe got more alive with the newly added people, and it was clearly recovering from all the hardships they passed in all these years, all thanks to Arthur.

    One week had passed since the new people came, and for everyone¡¯s surprise, they built a totem that looked exactly like Arthur¡­

    Ahanu was furious, as it was damaging their faith on their totem, so in a moment of rage, he yelled at all these people.

    ¡°Get the fuck out of my tribe!¡±

 Chapter 115 This Hole is For You

    The amount of noise the tribe leader made everyone woke up, especially Arthur, who understood the situation quickly. If it was before, then he would not mind making these people stop praising him, but now it was different.

    He needed to use everything he got to be stronger, and not using this new system feature would be dumb.

    ¡°Ahanu. What is wrong?¡± Arthur said as he leisurely left his house, using his flight spell, floating only 15 cm.

    ¡°Akhur, this is damaging our faith. What is the reason behind this totem of yours?¡± Ahanu said.

    He pointed at the totem Arthur¡¯s devotees had built with clear anger.

    ¡°Tell me. How is it damaging your faith? My people will worship this totem, while your people worship your totem. If one of your peoplees and worships at my totem, it isn¡¯t my fault. They are the ones who have the choice to do whatever they want.¡±

    Almost all tribe members were around watching that confrontation. Arthur had a point. No one could deny that.

    The presence of another totem would not damage their faith. Arthur gazed at Ahanu, who was still quiet, thinking about his answer.

    ¡°Ahanu, let¡¯s do this. I¡¯ll move this totem to a seclude part of the tribe, and only my people can go there if they want to worship it. If one of your tribe members wants to worship it, then they must first talk to you, and they will never see the totem before that. How does it sound?¡±

    Ahanu did not like the idea of another totem inside his tribe, but there wasn¡¯t much he could do about it. The tribe was prospering because of the newly added members, and also because of Arthur¡¯s immense power.

    He couldn¡¯t offend such character, so he said, ¡°all right, let¡¯s do that.¡±.

    Najek, Ahanu¡¯s son, was just beside him, and said, ¡°we will let this outsider do whatever he wants inside our tribe?¡±

    ¡°That outsider is the only reason we are alive. Why don¡¯t you show some respect?¡±

    With that, Ahanu left and let the people do whatever they saw fit with the totem.

    The old man that was the leader of all the devotees bowed and said, ¡°thank you Akhur, for your help. I¡¯ll gather everyone to help move the totem. Where do you want us to put it?¡±

    ¡°What is your name?¡± Arthur said.

    It was a sudden question, and that took the man off guard.

    ¡°Did I offend Akhur?¡± He thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m Mohe.¡±

    ¡°Mohe, you¡¯re doing a great job here. Spread the word that you¡¯re now on one of my fingers. You¡¯ll be the first finger. This is a prominent position. I hope you continue to take care of everything as smoothly as you¡¯re doing right now.¡±

    Mohe smiled as he said, ¡°rest assure, I¡¯ll take care of everything.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. Now, about the totem, put it near my house for the time being.¡±

    Arthur left after that and went to watch his students, who were diligently practicing early in the morning. They were all sweaty, and the scorching sun drained more of their energy.

    They were all progressing rather quickly with all the support. One thing all of them thought when arriving in that desert was that it surely did not have lots of mana in the atmosphere. Well, it did, and was slightly higher than Odemore.

    Arthur had guessed that it had something to do with that underground city, which was mysterious and dangerous.

    Speaking of that city, Arthur was preparing his things to go out and explore a bit of that ce when Wisa showed up inside his cabin.

    She hugged him from behind, and whispered in his ears, ¡°let¡¯s fuck?¡±

    He stopped what he was doing, turned around, and kissed Wisa¡¯s lips, pulling her closer to his embrace.

    A few kisses on Wisa¡¯s neck made her crazy, and before they knew, both of them had no clothes on.

    Wisa got on her knees and showed her skills as she sucked Arthur¡¯s dick. It was all drooling, and the hand movement made it even better.

    She sucked it and rubbed it at the same time. Arthur grabbed her red-hair and pushed her into a deep throat. Wisa choked, yet smiled.

    The pussy of hers was already wet, but Arthur wanted to suck it, anyway. He grabbed her while standing and used his strength to turn her around.

    A standing 69 position. They had never done that, and Wisa liked it.

    After they were both wet enough, Arthur put Wisa on the bed.

    She looked at him and said, ¡°I want doggy style, please?¡±

    The seductive look in her eyes made Arthur more crazy. Of course, he would do as she wished.

    A sound of a dick pounding in a pussy, and the sound of ps on the ass. Their momentsted for a long time, and even Wisa, with her trained body, could not withstand it.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Wisa moaned. The feeling was too much of her, and she orgasmed. Shaking legs and rolled eyes.

    Arthur was the same. Wisa¡¯s pussy was something he couldn¡¯t resist.

    ¡°Husband, I prepared this just for you.¡±

    Wisa had faced the bed, and her ass was aiming up. She used both of her hands to open more of that hole and begged for Arthur to fuck it.

    It went on, and Wisa loved it. Her asshole got destroyed and filled with cum after they were done with it.

    They hugged each other in a bed after that moment, and Wisa said, ¡°I love you.¡±

    ¡°I love you too, honey.¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur returned to his preparation and left the tribe. He wanted to explore that strange ce beneath the desert sands and wanted to do it alone.

    After that moment with Wisa, and alongside all the attributes he was getting with the celestial energy, Arthur was getting stronger.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 53]

    [Health: 6400/6400]

    [Mana: 14600/14600]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 106]

    [Agility: 46]

    [Vigor: 36]

    [Wisdom: 131]

    [Charm: 46]

    [Free points: 15]

    [Potential Wives: Wisa: Level 49]

    ¡°Wisa¡¯s level is close to mine, good. Maybe one day I can give her my dragon bloodline? I still need to know she will endure it before doing anything.¡±

    With that thought, Arthur walked towards the same entrance they had used when he was in the hunting group.

 Chapter 116 A Helping Hand

    A ce with an unknown origin. Arthur went there alone because of how dangerous the ce was.

    The thought of getting anyone he cared about near danger was something he did not want.

    Arthur pondered if he should bring Kai along, as he was his disciple, yet it was too dangerous. Kai was not strong enough to adventure inside that ce.

    ¡°When I return, I should teach him more stuff. I¡¯m such a terrible teacher.¡± Arthur thought as he gazed down at the hole they had used before.

    Obviously, a rope was not needed for someone like Arthur, as he flew down like a celestial being.

    The darkness also did not affect him either, and everything was as clear as the day for him. At first, there was nothing around him, just the walls and a few small animals, but as Arthur traveled deeper, the magical beasts showed up.

    A type of green scorpion that was as big as a carriage. It had a tail with a stinger, and just the stinger wasrger than an average human.

    It also had 8 legs, and two pincers that looked like it could crush anything. The scorpion quickly noticed Arthur and dashed towards him.

    Arthur was not fooling around these past weeks after his devotees came, and he studied a few more spells, and one of them was the Mana Shield..

    [Mana Shield (Tier?): Creates a shield made of mana that protects the caster until certain damage. The more mana you put in, the stronger the shield is.]

    [Duration: 30 minutes.]

    [Cost: ?]

    He quickly cast it, using a whooping of 3000 points of mana. The moment the scorpion¡¯s pincers were close to Arthur, a blue-colored barrier stopped the attack, and the beast was sent backwards with the impact.

    It was not over, as the scorpion tried to hit Arthur with everything. More pincer attacks, bites, stinger, and even tossed its body at him. Nothing worked.

    The scorpion had a level of 40, which wasn¡¯t much in the eyes of Arthur. He cast a fireball with a little of sunlight energy, turning the spell into Tier 3, which instantly burned the scorpion, killing it.

    Arthur continued forward, exploring the tunnel, until the outskirts of a city came into view. It was the same ce he went thest time with Ahanu and the others.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    There was a group of young people not that far from where Arthur was standing. One of them felt as if someone was watching, but when he turned his head, there was no one.

    ¡°That was close.¡± Arthur thought.

    He had used his invisibility spell right before that person turned around. Arthur flew over, arriving next to them to hear what they were saying.

    ¡°What are we searching for here, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Anything of value.¡±

    ¡°This test is so dumb. Even the other warriors from the tribe don¡¯te here often, and we must pass this test to be considered a true warrior? What a bullshit.¡±

    ¡°It is what it is. This is a tradition for a long time, and with the appearance of this celestial Akhur, all tribes are working even harder to increase their strength.¡±

    ¡°Akhur? Do you believe in that?¡±

    ¡°Well, my grandpa Mohe left our tribe to gather faithful people to worship that celestial.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what a waste of time.¡±

    Arthur was near them, yet none of them could see him. It seemed they were there to take part in a test of their tribe, and it was the same tribe of Mohe that old man Arthur put in charge and turned into one of his fingers.

    Perhaps if he helped these youths, then maybe he could fetch that tribe to worship him as well?

    So, Arthur remained near them, and explored the same parts as them. There were 6 people, 3 men and 3 women.

    They were all the same tribe, which Arthur got to know the name after hearing their conversation. Sikyatavo.

    ¡°Why are the names so difficult?¡±

    As they explored the ce, a few beasts that lived down there went to attack that group of people.

    These beasts had the simr power of that scorpion Arthur faced. It was a little hard for them to face such beasts, yet they did it using their team work.

    That only one beast at a time came to attack them also helped.

    Arthur maintained a steady watch in their fight, but also took the time to explore the area. The buildings there were strange. It looked more modern, not like any other city Arthur had seen.

    ¡°This reminds me a lot of the modern architecture from my world, but this is impossible.¡±

    Millions of thoughts crossed Arthur¡¯s mind, but one thing snapped him out of his daydream.

    More beasts, and this time, the group of youths had to face over one.

    One scorpion simr to the one Arthur faced, a strange beast that was made of tentacles, and it had a mouth on it. Disgusting. And to make everything worse, a giant spider.

    ¡°We can¡¯t win against this. I think only the main hunting group from the tribe can.¡±

    ¡°Should we run?¡±

    ¡°Run to where? These beasts are faster than us.¡±

    For them, it was a lost cause. Everyone had epted within their hearts that it was the end, yet the universe was not over with their story.

    Arthur positioned himself a little higher using his flight skill and turned off his invisibility.

    The spider was the first one to attack, and the youth that was in front could not dodge it. Then, the attack was stopped by a blue barrier.

    All of them looked up and saw Arthur, who wore a silk robe, and was flying, just like a being from legends.

    He stopped in front of them, waved his hand and cast a tier 4 fireball that turned the three beasts into ashes.

    Arthur turned around, looked at the youths and said, ¡°are you all right?¡±

    They all had shocked expressions and were lost for words.

 Chapter 117 Battle for Survival

    The main hunting group from their vige could take on those three beasts too, but with a significant cost and uncertainty.

    Now, the man that stood in front of them did that with just a wave of his hand. What level of power did he achieve?

    ¡°Thank you for saving us.¡± One man said.

    Arthur already knew it was the grandson of Mohe, so he smiled.

    ¡°It was nothing. What are you doing down here? It is dangerous.¡±

    He knew the reason, but acted as if he hadn¡¯t. What would they think of him if they discovered he was spying on them? Arthur had a goal in mind, and he wanted to make these people believe in him.

    A gorgeous woman stepped forward, and said, ¡°this is the stupid test from our vige. We are only alive because of you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think that highly of me, mdy. Do you need something else to pass this test of yours?¡± Arthur said..

    ¡°Well, they asked us to bring anything of value we found.¡±

    The other woman that was right next pulled who just spoke over, and whispered, ¡°Taini, we don¡¯t know him. Don¡¯t spill out our secrets.¡±

    That sentence brought them back to reality. Even if that man saved them, what proof did they have that he wasn¡¯t dangerous? All of them put their weapons high, trying to defend themselves if Arthur tried anything.

    ¡°You have all the reasons to be suspicious, but I¡¯m not that kind of person. You,¡± Arthur pointed at Mohe¡¯s grandson, ¡°I know your grandfather, Mohe? He¡¯s one of my devotees.¡±

    ¡°What? That means you are¡­¡±

    ¡°Akhur, yes.¡±

    It was another shock to them, especially to that girl who thought Akhur was just a myth. They did not mutter a word for some time until Mohe¡¯s grandson finally said something.

    ¡°Thank you for taking care of my grandfather.¡± He said and bowed.

    Arthur tapped him on the shoulder and said he did not need to bow like that, but he still kept his position for at least 10 seconds.

    ¡°You still need to bring something of value to your tribe. I¡¯ll help you get that.¡±

    ¡°Really? Then we will trouble you, celestial Akhur.¡±

    They all believed he was indeed Akhur from the rumors, as there was no way he would know Mohe and link that youth to him.

    ¡°My grandfather must have told him about me. I hope it was good things, at least.¡±

    Arthur floated behind them and only followed. He was paying attention to their surroundings, as he would be the first one to notice if something was wrong. It was.

    The youths thought it was a good thing that no beasts were attacking them. Perhaps Akhur¡¯s presence was the reason behind that, but Arthur knew better.

    It must have a reason to why there were no beasts around the area they were in, and usually the reason wasn¡¯t something pleasing.

    At that moment, behind one of the strange buildings, a giant stood up slowly. It was not a giant made of flesh, but of metal, with a blue-colored ball tucked inside his chest.

    ¡°This thing looks like a robot. What the hell?¡±

    Arthur saw the level of that giant, 93. It was strong, and the impact of their battle would surely kill the youths.

    ¡°All of you, return to where you came from. This is a strong opponent, and you¡¯ll die when me and him fight. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯lle back with something of value for you. Just wait near the entrance for me.¡± Arthur said.

    They instantly believed the wordsing from Arthur, and ran from the area, returning to the entrance of the underground area. Arthur hoped that none of them faced any troubles on their way out.

    Now, gazing at the giant, Arthur went all out, as he knew this would be a tough fight. The first ability he used was his dragon transformation, and this time, it was way stronger.

    The dragon transformation had different levels, and the higher he leveled up, the stronger he got.

    [Level 51-99: Half-dragon appearance with a great boost of attributes, and other unique skills during your dragon form.]

    All of Arthur¡¯s body turned ck, surrounded by ck scales that shone even in the dark. His nails turned into ws as big as a forearm and changed his posture to a more beast one.

    The size of his body also went through a drastic change, and he grew in size, having almost 5 meters of height, and a bulky body. If anyone looked at it, there was no way they would link that to his former appearance.

    Another change was on his face, who looked exactly like the head of a dragon, coupled with the rest of the changes, as well as a tail. He looked like a small-sized dragon.

    ¡°This feeling is extraordinary.¡± Arthur thought.

    All of his attributes tripled their value, which meant he was in apletely different realm of strength than before.

    He looked at the giant, who was already preparing a punch that came crushing down with astonishing strength. It broke a few buildings on the way, yet the moment it got closer to Arthur, he vanished.

    The different in speed was visible, and the giant could not keep up with Arthur. His strength may be superior because of the size and weight, but it meant nothing if none of his hitsnded.

    Arthur scanned that giant while avoiding all of its attacks, jumping from building to building, and also using his flight spell to dodge.

    ¡°His weak point must be that blue core on his chest.¡± With that thought in mind, Arthur climbed the arm of the giant as soon as it threw a punch.

    Within seconds, he was already near the blue-colored core. Arthur closed his fist and punched it, using all of his body strength.

    Bang.

    Cracks appeared all over the blue core, yet it did not break. A

 Chapter 118 Near Death State, and Old Acquaintances

    The damage Arthur took from the impact wasn¡¯t low, but the regeneration from his dragon body took effect, closing the wounds at a rate visible.

    He looked up straight to the blue core inside that giant, and the small cracks were closing, just like his wounds.

    ¡°Do I need to one shot it?¡±

    Despite the incredible healing Arthur had, it would still take him some time to fully recover. Now, for the giant, it was a different story.

    Those cracks on the core closed in a matter of seconds, and he was up and ready to strike again, sending another punch towards Arthur.

    Arthur wanted to first recover his wounds, so instead of using his body to dodge, he waved his hand and cast a TP, appearing far from where the punchnded.

    He looked at where he was standing, and saw that punch destroying the ground, creating a hole.

    ¡°I can¡¯t get hit by that or else I¡¯ll be in serious trouble.¡±

    The only question he had in mind was how to destroy that core using one attack. He pondered about which technique he should use, and used his old killing move, the Fire w.<sub>.</sub>

    A few cracks appeared after Arthur hit using his bare hands, then maybe with the help of his Dragon Fire w, the core would perish? He hoped that was the case, so Arthur prepared his move.

    Therge ck ws he had set in mes. He locked his gaze on that core and waited for the next attack.

    It was a powerful enemy, but it was dumb and predictable. The next attack was a punch, just like all the others. When the attack was almost hitting Arthur, he teleported.

    In an instant, he was in the chest area of the giant, and hit the core using his fire ws. A deafening sound, simr to those of a ss breaking.

    Arthur was sent flying once again, but this time he wasn¡¯t hurt. He pushed a few pieces of the buildings that were covering his body, patted the dust of his robes, and gazed at the now lifeless giant.

    The moment the core broke, the giant died, falling back, destroying whatever was behind it with the impact.

    A moment of peace, relief, thatsted a short time. After that giant fell, others came to the fight, and the number was astonishing.

    ¡°1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ¡­ 35???¡±<sub></sub>

    35 giants, and at least 10 of these were of higher level, and appeared to have more intellect than the others.

    It was a situation that wasn¡¯t favorable for his side, and the only thing he could think of was to run.

    Arthur used his flight skill at full speed, returning to the same entrance he used to get there. But from a distance, he saw a giant punching the tunnel, destroying everything and closing it entirely.

    ¡°Bastard!¡±

    What other ce could Arthur go? He did not know any of theyout of that ce, and he only hoped to flee using that tunnel. A feeling of hopeless rose within him.

    No matter how strong he got, how hard he worked, there was always someone stronger. He did not like that feeling.

    The giants entered a circling formation, and Arthur was trapped in the middle of that section of the city. He tried to enter all the abandoned buildings, looking for something useful, yet there was nothing.

    Despair, fear, anxiety. Would his life end just like that? What about his wives? His friends? His students, and all those people that had faith in him? Would he let all of them behind?<sub></sub>

    It couldn¡¯t end like that, no. Arthur wouldn¡¯t allow it. After he left each house, a palm would go crushing down, destroying the building.

    One second of difference could end his life. The first attack wouldn¡¯t kill him, but slow him down, and that meant death either way.

    Bang.

    A foot bigger than the tribe he lived came fast as a lightning, kicking him out from the streets. Arthur was sent flying, and the impact made all of his internal organs tremble, and his ribs, arm, and shoulder broke.

    The giant that attack him was not the same he had defeated before, but one with a level that he couldn¡¯t see.

    Arthur was lying on a random street, and his gaze stopped at an entrance that looked like a sewer. He crawled his broken body towards it and opened it, using the only arm that wasn¡¯t broken.

    Then, he went down using thedder and closed the sewer right

 Chapter 119 Mysterious Grey Robed Man

    The sewer Arthur dragged himself in wasn¡¯t the most pleasing ce, but the giants could not reach him there, which was good.

    He wanted to look for a ce to rest and recover from his injuries, so that he could leave, but using what passage? The only way out he knew had been blocked, so what other ces he could use?

    With that thought in mind, Arthur explored the sewer with steady steps. It was strange to be in a ce like that. A sewer that looked a lot like the ones from his world. The rest of the city was the same.

    ¡°Could an entire city transmigrate to his world? Or did this world reach a simr level of technology before?¡±

    There were lots of questions Arthur had no answer for, so the only thing he could do was keep and try to find a way out.

    The sewer had murky water in the middle that Arthur wouldn¡¯t dare touch it, and two tforms for him to walk in. He noticed small poops, which should belong to small animals, like rats.

    ¡°I hope there aren¡¯t more beasts trying to kill me down here.¡±

    Even from down there, Arthur could still hear the giants walking through the streets, looking for him, but as he walked further and further, the sounds stopped.

    He had to make a few steps to rest, so it took him a long time to walk that distance, but it was worth it.<sub>.</sub>

    Arthur saw anotherdder, and without options, he climbed it. It was a struggle for his injured self, but adder wouldn¡¯t win against him. He pushed the sewer entrance to a side and went out.

    The moment he walked out, Arthur saw it. Bodies were all over the ce.

    Bodies of dragons and giants. They were all dead, yet their bodies were still preserved. Seeing all those dead dragons made Arthur¡¯s heart ache, and he had a feeling inside. A feeling of revenge.

    He looked to all sides and noticed that the ce did not have many buildings. Only a vast building that looked like a pce.

    Once inside, the first thing that came into view was an immense wall with drawings and a story written in a lostnguage. Arthur couldn¡¯t understand thenguage, but the images were clear as the day.

    ¡°This ce¡­ is a city built by the gods?¡±

    Someone appeared from behind. An old-man wearing a gray robe.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t supposed to be in here yet. Leave!¡±<sub></sub>

    The old man waved his hand, and a seal shot towards Arthur at an astonishing speed. In an instant, Arthur was not there anymore but in the entrance, where the rope was.

    Everything happened so fast that Arthur was still in a daze.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    Near the magical pouch that always hanged on his waist, there was another one, but with a shiny color. Arthur used his consciousness to look inside it and was astonished.

    There were lots of gold coins, weapons, and strange artifacts he had never seen. Two things inside that pouch caught his attention. A blue stone, and an orange one. Arthur did not know what they did, but a feeling inside of him was telling him that these were treasures.

    Arthur put all of that aside, and flew, leaving the ce. The youths he had met before were still in the entrance with worrying faces. They couldn¡¯t leave without a treasure for their tribe, or else they would be expelled.

    ¡°Akhur! What¡­ happened?¡±

    Akhur, a strong celestial, had wounds all over his body, and his bones were broken. He was in a pitiful state.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Turns out there wasn¡¯t only one of that giant, but at least 30. After a tough battle, I¡¯m here.¡±

    He grabbed two weapons from his newly gained magical pouch, and a strange artifact that was basically a mirror.

    ¡°Here, take this. I found inside that ce, so it should have value.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, Akhur. Would you minding with us to the tribe?¡±

    Arthur smiled and followed them to their tribe. The speed of Arthur¡¯s regeneration was so great that before they reached the tribe, he was all healed.

    The youths saw his cuts closing, and his bones restoring, and that shocked them. A healing speed is visible. For them, only higher beings could have something like that, and all the doubts they had about Akhur vanished.

    After walking for 2 hours, they reached the tribe. The warriors that watched everything from the surrounding towers saw the group of youthsing, and they instantly knew who they were.

    But what about that strange man near them? And was he floating? The warriors quickly spread the word to everyone inside the tribe and waited for them to reach the gate.

    ¡°It is Nosh.¡±

    Nosh was the grandson of Mohe, and also the son of the tribe¡¯s current leader.

    ¡°Nosh, who is that young man near you?¡±

    The warrior pointed at Arthur, who was floating and looking at others as if they were ants.

    ¡°This is Akhur. We met him down in the ruins. He saved us!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Akhur was a known name, but most people thought it was just a rumor and a legend. The warrior let all of them enter, and Arthur was sent directly to the leader¡¯s house to have a talk, along with Nosh.

    All the tribe members had strange gazes when watching that youth. He could fly, and they could feel the potent power hidden beneath those robes.

    Arthur passed through the tribe until he reached a bigger house. Nosh went in first, and Arthur followed close behind.

    They went to one room of that house, which had a table and 8 chairs. A bearded man was sitting there.

    ¡°Nosh, my son. I¡¯m happy everything went well. Now, tell me, who is this stranger you brought to our tribe?¡±

    ¡°Father, this is Akhur. Akhur, this is my father, Tyee.¡±

    ¡°Akhur? The same celestial being my father went looking for?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, father. He also knows Mohe.¡±

    ¡°What? Tell me more about it.¡±

 Chapter 120 Ahanu isnt Happy

    ¡°So this happened.¡±

    Arthur and Nosh told Tyee everything that happened down there in the ruins. Obviously, Arthur did not talk about the dead dragons, the giants or the old man he met there. These were things he wanted to keep a secret.

    That Arthur knew his father made Tyee a little more rxed.

    ¡°Akhur. Are you truly a celestial?¡± Tyee said.

    They were worshiping those totems since thousands of years ago, but the divine beings from these totems had vanished a long time ago, and maybe it was time for a new era.

    He wanted to go with his father, Mohe, to search for Akhur, but he was the leader of the tribe, and couldn¡¯t leave it there without no one tomand.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m. Not only your father, but I have more devotees, and they already built my totem. And, in a few days, I¡¯ll grant all of my devotees a blessing.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±.

    Tyee got up from his chair, with his body trembling. He heard stories about the blessings from the beings of the totem, but these were all legends. Tyee never thought he would live to see that day, and there was no way he would miss such a blessing.

    There was a legend from a long time ago that said one warrior got one of these blessings from the totem, and reached a new realm of power, uniting all the desert, and building the first city within.

    The man was considered a myth, and some said he ascended to a new realm of power, but that was unknown.

    ¡°Akhur, could you please stay here for a time? I¡¯ll gather everyone and convince them you¡¯re real. I have faith in you.¡±

    ¡°No problem, Tyee.¡±

    Both son and father left the house to go talk with the rest of the tribe, and Arthur stood there, thinking.

    He got more devotees, and if the entire tribe followed their leader, then he would have lots of them. And having more devotees equals to more power.

    ¡°Who was that person down there?¡± Arthur thought.

    That old man teleported him with a wave, and also give him a mysterious magical pouch. Who exactly was that person? He also said something about Arthur not being ready yet.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be strong enough to face that old man so soon.¡±

    Arthur did not know who that was, but he sensed the powering from that old man. It was extraordinary.

    Anyway, as he had nothing to do, Arthur just stood there inside the leader¡¯s home and waited for them to return, and they did.

    Nosh had a smile, and he said, ¡°we will see grandfather again!¡±

    From that sentence, Arthur knew the tribe had agreed toe with him.

    ¡°Akhur, I¡¯ll gather a few of my most powerful warriors and we will go to your tribe. Then, after a totem is produced, we will return here and worship you from here.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    It was better that way, as it was impossible for everyone to gather and live in the same tribe. There was no space for everyone there. Now, if each tribe Arthur conquered worshiped him from their own tribe, then everything would be good.

    After all of that was settled, Arthur went to the bedroom that Tyee gave him to stay the night, and something was off.

    The celestial body had a few powers he still did not know, and Arthur noticed he did not feel tired of sleeping. Somehow, he could sleep only if he wanted to, and if not, then he could be awake.

    So, Arthur took advantage of that new discovery to practice magic all night, and also read a few books he still had with him.

    Speaking of books, it would be hard to find books that contained spells, like the ones they had in Odemore. The desert focused more on the tattoo magic, and the tribes did not have books.

    ¡°Maybe I can find something in the city?¡± Arthur thought.

    Wisa had already told him about a city that ruled the desert. A ce where people were more civilized than the tribes. Arthur wanted to go there, but first he wished to gather as most devotees as possible.

    Early in the morning, Tyee, Nosh and a few other warriors prepared to leave the tribe with Arthur. They added to 30 people in total.

    It was not a long journey to reach the Jinzaka tribe, but as their leader was leaving the tribe, they gathered the best warriors to protect him. Not that he needed any protection with Arthur there.

    He had spent the entire night studying a few enhancing spells, and used those in Nosh, who were the weakest there, so he was the most tired.

    The spell increased one¡¯s attributes by a t amount of 15. Not that much for Arthur, but for those who were weak, it was a drastic change.

    ¡°Akhur, this is incredible. My body doesn¡¯t seem tired anymore, thank you.¡±

    Not only that, but he learned a spell that created water. Arthur felt it was an important spell to learn when venturing in the desert. All the warriors weren¡¯tpletelyfortable with Arthur around, but as he helped them during the trip, they became more used to him.

    Some even saw that chance to get a few favors from the celestial.

    ¡°Akhur, you know I always believed you were true and not only a myth. For me, you¡¯ll save all of us.¡±

    Arthur gazed at that warrior, smiled, and patted him on the back. The warrior was happy with his action, and hoped that in the future Arthur would remember his kind words.

    They walked through the desert until the Jinzaka tribe was finally in their sight. A few beasts had attacked them on their way there, but Arthur killed them with ease, and all the people there had their faith increased after each fight.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Ahanu said.

    ¡°My devotees, Ahanu. Open the gate. They will only stay for a few days.¡±

    Ahanu¡¯s face was not a happy one. He whispered to his son, who was beside him.

    ¡°You were right, son. We must act.¡±

 Chapter 121 A Plot Against Me Will Not End Well

    The before empty Jinzaka tribe now had lots of new members, but most of these members weren¡¯t there for the tribe, but for Arthur.

    ¡°Ahh, Arthur!¡±

    Different positions, same orgasms. Arthur enjoyed his time with Wisa while waiting for Jane.

    Doggy style, cowgirl, reverse cowgirl. Wisa knew it all, and got addicted to Arthur¡¯s dick. They had sex at least once a day, and that wasn¡¯t tiring for any of them.

    What was tiring, though, was to keep everyone in check. Arthur had his students to teach, but also had to do his best to avoid any conflict between the devotees and the rest of the tribe.

    He couldn¡¯t tell what, but something felt strange. The atmosphere was as if something could explode at any moment, and Arthur did not enjoy that. He wanted to feel at peace in that tribe, but that wasn¡¯t happening. So, he wandered around the tribe to check, and got some clues.

    Ahanu constantlyined about all the devotees in the tribe. Obviously, he onlyined in private with the people he trusted, but Arthur saw all of it with his invisibility, and his dragon hearing.

    They were setting a n, which was dumb, but it could turn into an awesome excuse to finally get Ahanu to witness the true power of Arthur.

    It was nighttime, and after hearing Ahanu spill out all the ns, Arthur went to talk with Mohe.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°My lord.¡± Mohe said and bowed.

    ¡°I need you to hide our totems and rece them with copies. From what I heard, Ahanu will move tomorrow and try to destroy our totems. So, we must act first.¡±

    ¡°That bastard!¡± Mohe said.

    Mohe was one person who constantly got into a fight with Ahanu. He was the leader of the devotees, and Ahanu of the tribe. It was reason enough for both of them to fight against each other.

    The n they had was to somehow draw Arthur out of the tribe, and when that happened, they would destroy the totems.

    They did not fear anyone in there, only Arthur, but if he wasn¡¯t there, then maybe he could destroy and even put the me of the devotees, saying he had nothing to do with it.

    It wasn¡¯t ethical, and considering everything Arthur had done to the tribe, it was a stab on his back. Arthur was upset the moment he heard they would do that, but he wouldn¡¯t allow it.

    After talking with Mohe, Arthur went to his cabin to spend the night practicing magic and reading. He did not have many books, only those he took from Odemore, but it would still take him a while to finish all of them.<sub></sub>

    The real problem would be where to get more of these, but that was something to think aboutter. Soon, the moon was gone, and the sun shone in the sky.

    All the tribe members were awake early, starting their daily chores. Ahanu was the same, but he was talking with Najek, and that youth that hated Arthur, about their n.

    ¡°There is a tribe nearby that is already empty, only the buildings remain. You two will lead Arthur there under the pretext of having found more devotees for him. I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±

    ¡°Father. This will be thest time someone tries to do everything they want here in our tribe.¡±

    Early in the morning, a group of warriors walked through the tribe and searched for Arthur. It was easy to find the unique youth capable of flying.

    ¡°Akhur.¡±

    Arthur turned around and saw the leader¡¯s son and a few other warriors.

    ¡°Najek. What brings you this early?¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°We were hunting yesterday and found a tribe not that far from here with people that have faith in you. Would you like toe with us?¡± Najek said.

    He was talking in a respectful tone, and Arthur could see how angry he was. Still, Arthur acted as a clueless person and agreed to go with them. They all smiled and left the vige right after that. Little did they know Arthur had all of them on his palm¡­

    ~~~~

    ¡°Who are you? What are you doing here in my domain? You know humans are not allowed.¡± Matilda said as she gazed at the two women who appeared out of a sudden.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, your highness. We are just knowledge seeking people that couldn¡¯t resist the urge to explore a bit of this ce.¡±

    ¡°You should know there is aw here that says I could decapitate you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know well thews of the elves, but if you kill me, how would you stop the demigods that areing to this ce?¡± Myria said.

    ¡°What? Demigods? This is impossible.¡±

    ¡°Nothing is impossible, your highness. There is one out already that ims to be The Bone Lord, but that one vanished and is not a problem for the time being.¡±

    ¡°Tell me everything!¡± Matilda said.

    ¡°First, I need your help. There is someone I need to find. His name is Arthur, a handsome youth that is quite strong for his age.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, I heard from an old man called Nefion that he isn¡¯t as simple as it looks, and he¡¯s our only bet of fighting the demigods, or else all of us will die.¡±

    Matilda, from her years of experience, could tell that Myria was speaking the truth, and what secrets Arthur could have?

    ¡°He is already a space-time mage. What else could that youth be hiding?¡±

    She wanted to know. She needed to know. If the demigods are truly returning, then they had a serious problem on their hands.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Where is the? I¡¯m only seeing empty buildings.¡±

    ¡°Something is wrong, Akhur. They were all here yesterday.¡± Najek said.

    The arrogant youth who hated Arthur had an evil smile.

    ¡°Did something happen out of your expectations, Akhur?¡± The youth said.

    ¡°No, actually. Should we return?¡± Arthur said and smiled.

    Najek and the others had a strange feeling within, but there was no way Arthur had seen through their ns. It was impossible.

    So, they returned to the tribe with heavy hearts.

 Chapter 122 Ill Kill One Each Day Until You Surrender

    On their way back, the warriors couldn¡¯t take the vision of Arthur¡¯s smile out of their heads. It was as if he knew everything, and was just ying with them, but that was impossible.

    Only a few selected people knew about their n, and they never saw Arthur spying on them.

    ¡°Could Akhur turn invisible? No, that shouldn¡¯t be possible at all.¡±

    They returned to the tribe after two hours, and when Arthur got there, he noticed how the devotees had angry faces, looking at Ahanu and some other warriors that used their power to destroy the totem.

    Only Mohe knew the totem was a fake, so that all the others had a genuine face of anger when facing Ahanu.

    ¡°Akhur, my lord, you are finally here. This man is despicable. He destroys our totems!¡± One devotee said.

    Arthur slowly flew into the tribe, and said, ¡°Ahanu, is that true?¡±

    ¡°Of course it is. You can¡¯te here and do whatever you want!¡±

    ¡°Yes, return to the hole you crawled out!¡± The arrogant youth said. It seemed he was always there to speak shit about Arthur, and that was getting on his nerves.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°You. I noticed you are always around to spill shit about me. Aren¡¯t you scared?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Scared? I¡¯m not one of your clueless devotees.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Arthur returned his gaze to Ahanu, and said, ¡°what will you do now?¡±

    ¡°Leave our tribe. All of you!¡± Ahanu shouted.

    ¡°Ahanu, my friend. Did you really think you¡¯re the one in charge?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I only let you in charge of appearance, and all you had to do to keep that position was to obey me. But now? You are not only insulting me, but all of my devotees!¡± Arthur said.

    He flew even higher, and his voice was making everyone¡¯s heart tremble. Arthur used his teleported, vanishing and appearing fight in front of the tribe¡¯s totem, the one Ahanu and the others worship.<sub></sub>

    After grabbing it, he teleported back to where he was. All the tribe members saw him flying with their totem on hands.

    ¡°This is your totem, right? I allowed you to worship it because you did not mess with me. Now, things had changed.¡±

    Arthur exerted his tremendous strength and crushed the wooden totem into pieces.

    ¡°Noooo!¡±

    Everyone from the tribe still believed in it, and that scene made their hearts ache, and their hatred for Arthur grew.

    ¡°You are all hating me, right? A feeling inside of you that is telling only one thing: kill me.¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you, you can¡¯t. You can train all of your life, and can get as many blessings as possible, but you¡¯ll never be near my feet. Now, this is a warning to anyone that is thinking of trying something against me, or my devotees,¡±

    ¡°Ahanu, you see that youth that is always speaking shit about me. Him, or his family?¡±<sub></sub>

    They were all still in shock, but heard everything that Arthur said.

    ¡°What do you mean, Akhur?¡±

    ¡°If you chose him, then I¡¯ll kill him. If you chose his family, then I¡¯ll kill his family. If you don¡¯t choose, I¡¯ll kill both.¡±

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t do this.¡±

    The once arrogant youth was scared, but he still believed Arthur wouldn¡¯t do that. His parents? They thought otherwise.

    ¡°Please, Celestial. Let my son live.¡±

    ¡°Dad? What are you saying?¡±

    Arthur flew in front of the man and said, ¡°this is what you wish?¡±

    The man answered with an angry face, ¡°yes, it is.¡± Then he pulled out a knife from behind and stabbed Arthur in the heart.

    He saw all of that, and could use a magic shield if he wanted to, but Arthur didn¡¯t. The reason? He wanted to show he was on another level than all of them.

    It was just amon knife, and after all the stats Arthur got recently, it barely damaged him.

    ¡°Is that everything you got?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Ahanu, you don¡¯t seem to control your tribe members. So, I¡¯ll do this. I¡¯ll kill his family, and I¡¯ll kill one random person every day until all of you surrender to me.¡±

    With that, Arthur pped the man in the face, beheading him. Then, he went to his wife, and did the same.

    Now, for the arrogant youth, he let it live for the time being, to suffer a little.

    After that, all of Arthur¡¯s devotees and students returned to the area where all of their houses were. Arthur used his gigantic mana pool and cast a magical barrier on the perimeter so that no one from Ahanu¡¯s tribe could enter.

    ¡°Remember Ahanu, one random person per day, and that¡¯s considering I don¡¯t get mad and kill more. So go on and talk with all of your tribe members.¡±

    Arthur¡¯s voice echoed through the tribe, who couldn¡¯t believe that was happening. Mohe and all the devotees were happy after witnessing that scene. They tried to plot against them, and that was too much.

    ¡°Lord, even if they surrender, I¡¯m sure they will have other reasons to, and will act against you when they have the chance.¡±

    ¡°I know, Mohe. That is why I studied a celestial power to mark all of them, so that they are bond to obey me.¡±

    All the nights Arthur spent reading and practicing were mostly to that spell, Blood ve. It was a spell to mark a person, and as long as the marked person was weaker than Arthur, then it would have to obey him.

    Arthur did not think anyone from that tribe could even dream of reaching a simr level of power to him, so that is why he was not concerned with using the spell. And even if they somehow could, then Arthur would just kill them before that happened.

    Mohe bowed and was happy to hear that Arthur had a way to deal with the tribe. Then, he left and told all the devotees that the broken totems were fake, and that made their day even better.

    While they were smiling and jumping with happiness, Ahanu did not know what to do.

    ¡°We will have to surrender¡­¡±

 Chapter 123 Preparing to Explore the Desert

    ¡°We can¡¯t surrender, father. We should gather all warriors and face him!¡± Najek said.

    They were in the tribe¡¯s main hall discussing the matter about Arthur, who said they had to surrender.

    ¡°Are you insane? Don¡¯t you remember what he did to the army that tried to attack us? He will wipe our tribe.¡±

    The memories of that army getting destroyed with a single attack from Arthur crossed everyone¡¯s mind. Could they go against someone like that? Impossible.

    While they were all busy itching their heads, trying to find a way out, Arthur was chilling inside his cabin.

    He spent the day studying the tattoo magic he got, and could add and erase the tattoos. The only thing he needed now was a good tattoo that added a decent effect.

    ¡°Maybe I should try to create one? These are all useless to me.¡±

    Arthur needed more information about these tattoos before attempting to create one. He hoped that the cities within the desert would grant him that.

    Someone knocked on the door, waking up Arthur from his daydreams.

    ¡°Lord, I¡¯m sorry to bother you. Ahanu wants to talk with you.¡± Mohe said.<sub>.</sub>

    Ahanu did not wait for the 24 hour mark before looking for Arthur. He knew deep down that what Arthur would do as he said, and there was no reason to let his tribe members die.

    ¡°Look who is here.¡± Arthur said.

    The moment he got out from the perimeter of the magic barrier, not only Ahanu but all the other tribe members knelled.

    ¡°We surrender, and we have our faith in you!¡±

    They all said in unison, but that wasn¡¯t true. Arthur knew that because his system showed no more devotees, only about 5 or 6 of everyone that was there meant these words.

    He hoped that the blood mark would change that.

    ¡°All right. All of you, get in line.¡±

    ¡°Why Akhur? Is something wrong?¡± Ahanu said.

    ¡°Nothing, just do as I say.¡±<sub></sub>

    Ahanu was the first in line, and the second was his son, Najek. Arthur called each one of them to move forward, and then he cut his right hand, waved it, and cast a blood mark on each one of them.

    The moment the blood mark hit them, they were already within Arthur¡¯smand, and the number of devotees increased.

    It took a while for that to end, but after it did, Arthur now jumped from 87 devotees to 234.

    ¡°This is good. Now the next time the system grants me free attributes than the amount will be at least doubled.¡±

    All the tribe members that had the thought of acting against Arthur were now hopeless. They now had to obey everything that Arthur said, which meant it was impossible to plot against him.

    ¡°What will we do now, father?¡± Najek said.

    They reunited all the important figures from the tribe inside the main hall after getting marked.

    ¡°Nothing, son, nothing. He won, and we have to ept it.¡± Ahanu said, as he angrily hit the table, leaving the room afterwards.

    Everyone present felt the same way, but Najek and the arrogant youth that lost his family were still pissed, and wanted to still act against Arthur, even if they had to wait for a long time.<sub></sub>

    ¡°We will get him, eventually. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Najek whispered.

    Arthur wasn¡¯t worried at all about their plotting, as it was virtually impossible for them to seed. What he could do was to focus on improving, and now that everyone in the tribe was under hismand, then maybe he should go on a trip through the desert and explore a city.

    So, with that thought in mind, he called Jane, Wisa and Harmony to chat inside his house.

    ¡°So, I¡¯m thinking that we should travel to the city, as we need more resources for our students, and maybe we could get ourselves a ce there. Wisa, Jane, would you like toe with me?¡± Arthur said.

    That startled them, but Wisa quickly recovered, and answered with a smile, ¡°of course.¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll go too!¡± Jane said.

    She had cherry cheeks and could barely utter a word. It seemed Jane was still shy after that conversation they had.

    ¡°Harmony, I¡¯ll give you temporarymand of the blood mark. Use it if someone tries something.¡±

    Arthur was not worried that Harmony would do something he did not approve. He could sense everything that happened when she used the powers of the blood mark, and if Harmony tried to do something he did not like, then he would talk with herter.

    ¡°Okay, boss.¡±

    ¡°All right. We will leave tomorrow morning. I¡¯ll try to get a map from Ahanu.¡±

    After that, Arthur left his house and went to the main building of the tribe. As he flew through it, all the people there gazed at him.

    He stood in front of the main building, and said, ¡°Ahanu,e open up the door.¡±

    Soon, someone came to answer. It was not Ahanu but his son, Najek. The displeasing on his face was clear as day, but Arthur did not care about that.

    The moment Najek opened up the door, Arthur simply walked in without saying a word. Ahanu came from the second floor, and said, ¡°Celestial lord. What do you need?¡±

    ¡°I want a map as I n to go for a walk in the city. Do you have one?¡±

    ¡°A map? Yes, I do. Wait here for a second.¡±

    Differently from his son, Ahanu did not have the strength to fight a losing battle. He just wanted to return to how things were, and enjoy his life without worries. Perhaps having someone strong like Arthur could grant him that wished.

    ¡°Here, take it.¡±

    Ahanu returned with a piece of paper. It was the map Arthur had asked.

    ¡°Thanks. Do you need anything?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Like food, weapons, or did you face any problems with your hunters? I¡¯m not the enemy here, Ahanu. I¡¯ll help you if I can.¡±

    ¡°For now, nothing, but I¡¯ll go seek you if any problem shows up. Thank you, Akhur.¡±

    ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll not be around, but you can talk with Mohe and the others. See ya!¡±

    Arthur left and went back to his house to prepare for a long journey.

    ¡°Sully, we will be leaving. Return!¡±

    Sully was flying all over the desert since the day they returned, eating and scaring some tribes. He was well-known throughout the desert.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m returning.¡±

 Chapter 124 A Problem from the Past

    In the next day, Arthur was ready to leave the tribe. He filled his magical pouch with food, water, and all the camping materials he needed.

    The city they intended to go to was called Sherekan, and it was far from the Jinzaka tribe. It would take them at least 7 days to reach it, and that was considering everything would go well during the trip, which never happened.

    It was troublesome to travel through the desert, as different from the other ces Arthur had been, there were no ces to stop and rest along the way. The only ces he might do that were inside other tribes, but no way they would let him enter.

    ¡°What if I stop by the tribes along the way and get more devotees? That would be the best.¡± Arthur thought.

    Stopping by a few tribes along the way wouldn¡¯t hurt, and they weren¡¯t exactly in a hurry to reach the city, so why not?

    Arthur gave the word to Mohe to maybe send a few messengers to nearby tribes to spread the word, the faith on Akhur.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do that, my lord..¡±

    The idea Arthur had was to maybe get more devotees while spreading the faith. If that worked, then he could use his devotees to reach others, and get more doing nothing.<sub>.</sub>

    Everyone from the tribe watches the back of the three people that left the tribe that day. Arthur, Jane, and Wisa. Sully flew above them, scanning the area for potential danger.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since we had a trip together. This will be fun!¡± Wisa said.

    She was excited about the trip, as it was getting boring staying in that tribe, only teaching the students. It had been like that since her time in Odemore, and Frostpeak as well.

    Wisa missed the days where she could travel and have fun exploring other ces. It was one of the few things she missed from her times as an adventurer.

    ¡°It will, absolutely. Hey, did you study the tattoo magic from these tribes?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Yes, we did. It is quite interesting.¡±

    ¡°Agreed. One reason for us to go to Sherekan is to get more information about that. I n on creating a tattoo myself, with better effects than these shit ones the tribes have.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Really? Creating a spell, no matter the type, is a hard task, but if it is you doing it, then I know it will be possible.¡± Wisa said.

    She wasn¡¯t wrong. Only a few people could create spells, at least decent ones. The spells that most mages knew came from a long, long time ago. In the recent centuries, only a handful of people created something worthy, and Arthur wanted to be one of those people.

    Arthur smiled after hearing Wisa. It was nice to receive praises from someone he loved.

    ~~~~~

    The two days of travel had been smooth, but in the third one, things got more difficult.

    First, it was the magical beasts. The deeper they went inside the desert, the more beasts showed up to attack them, and some that were actually quite strong. Arthur dealt with them without problems, but that was because he was a freak.

    Another problem was the sandstorms that happened from time to time. The only way to avoid them was to get shelter, preferably in a cave, but caves were rare in the desert.<sub></sub>

    Arthur created a mana barrier every time a sandstorm came, and that was enough to protect them, but it dyed the trip by a lot.

    To make everything worse, a group of warriors that were hunting found them, and ¡®kidnapped¡¯ them to their tribe. Arthur allowed them because he wanted to get more devotees in that tribe as well.

    ¡°Where are you taking us?¡±

    ¡°To the tribe, of course. We need ves to build our new temple.¡± A tanned man said.

    The man really thinks they would be the ves. What a joke. Arthur was already prepared to use his blood mark on everyone there.

    After some time walking, they reached the tribe. The warriors had tied up ropes on their hands, and were pulling them like animals.

    Arthur did his best to endure his rage, and not kill everyone in sight, especially seeing them do that to his girls.

    When they were in the middle of the tribe, with all the tribe members watching, Arthur made his move.

    He destroy the ropes that were tying his hands, and said, ¡°I¡¯m Akhur, and I demand your life. Refuse, and you¡¯ll die.¡±

    Everyone looked at him with strange gazes, and the warriors that took them thereughed.

    ¡°Are you crazy? Ha ha ha. Akhur? Are you seriously using a myth to scare us?¡±

    Arthur vanished from everyone sight, appearing in front of that man, and punched him, creating a hole in the chest, exploding the heart of that man.

    He did not stop there, but did the same to everyone else that had the guts tough. A bloody scene in the tribe, and everyone that was all talkative before, were inplete silence.

    ¡°Who are you that has the courage to do that to my tribe?¡± A sturdy man with 2 meters said.

    It was the leader of the tribe.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste my time, useless human. I¡¯m Akhur, and I¡¯m here to take over your tribe. Don¡¯t worry, everything will remain the same, but you¡¯ll have to worship me. In fact, it may get better than I often give blessings on my devotees, different from your totems that are just here to take space.¡±

    Arthur wasn¡¯t in the mood to wait for their response, and cast his blood mark on everyone, and the first victim was the leader of the tribe. After that, he ordered the leader to tell everyone to surrender, and as he was marked, it was impossible to say no.

    Just like that, a once powerful tribe that lived in the middle of the desert perished, and that event spread. It spread so far that it reached the nearby kingdom, which was the kingdom where Arthur killed the king.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Are you saying that this strange celestial looks exactly like this person in the wanted poster?¡±

    ¡°I do, yes. He is older now, but the face is the same!¡±

    A man that had recently fled from the Shukar Empire said to a guard.

 Chapter 125 Fake Job

    Arthur did not stop after conquering one tribe, but did that, so all the tribes were on the way? He also used the blood mark to make them spread his faith, which added up more devotees to him.

    The moment he reached the Sherekan city, he already had over 1 thousand devotees, which were many people. It would surely boost his attributes by a lot the next time the system grants him attributes.

    Also, the moment he arrived in the city, the blessing from his system was granted to all of his devotees. As he wasn¡¯t near any of them, he did not know what was the blessing, but if it was good for them, then they would continue to worship him, and that would strengthen him.

    Now, Sherekan city was incredible. Al though the desert itself and the tribes in it looked poor, and clearly had to struggle to survive, the situation in the city was the opposite.

    Tall buildings, sturdy walls, and clean streets. It did not lose to any other big city that Arthur went before.

    The reason for the tribes to not move there and live was the price. A person had to pay to stay in such a ce, and if an entire tribe went, then it would be impossible to pay for all of them.

    Sherekan was a city designed only for the powerful and rich from the desert, and after the war the Shukar Empire went 80 years ago, that fact was more clear than ever.<sub>.</sub>

    The economy of the empire wasn¡¯t in its best shape. It was slowly recovering, but that would still take a while to happen.

    Arthur, Wisa, and Jane made their way to the city and waited for a few minutes in line. The stream of people that entered that immense city was fairly low if youpared to its size. That was because of the exorbitant price to stay there.

    Money wasn¡¯t a problem for Arthur, at least not for now, so he paid the guard and entered the city. Sully was not with them, as the city did not allow domestic magical beasts, but he found a ce to stay outside the city, so it wasn¡¯t much of a problem.

    ¡°We should find ourselves a house to rent for a month. Could you two perhaps find one? I¡¯ll look for more information about the tattoo magic, and perhaps other books about magic. We can meet there.¡± Arthur said as he pointed to the town¡¯s square.

    Many people in Sherekan lived in the streets. They probably used all of their money to pay to stay inside the city, and also for food. For them, it was better to stay inside the city, living in the streets, than out there in the dangerous desert.

    Only powerful people like Arthur could go around, as he was pleased with no concern about the dangers.<sub></sub>

    Now, based on what Arthur knew, there was a school that taught youths to be powerful warriors, and the major subject was the tattoo magic, and also how to wield weapons.

    He got that information with his talking with Ahanu, but he also went around the city asking for it, and eventually found out it was indeed true.

    The only problem was how to enter, as the sses had already started a long time ago. Arthur did not want to be a student, as it was too boring, and would prevent him from getting most of the information he wanted, but a teacher in disguise? That would be cool.

    Arthur went around talking with everyone. Threatening, paying, and many methods to get the information he needed, and it paid out.

    ¡°Look, there is a potion store in an alley not that far from here. Just go there and say ¡®I want to buy a dessert. The owner of that shop can create you a fake ID to enter as a teacher in the school, and he also has connections inside that ce so you can enter with no one asking too many questions.¡±

    A man had bruises all over his body after Arthur gave him a good beating and got the information he needed to enter the school. It was a restrictive ce, and even he couldn¡¯t easily go there and buy the knowledge he wanted to.<sub></sub>

    The school kept the books only inside that ce, and no one could leave with the books in hands. It was their way of keeping the school important, and give it a reason for the youths to pay the absurd fee to learn there.

    Arthur went to that store the man talked about. Before going inside, he changed his appearance to one of an older man with a ck beard.

    ¡°Wee. How can I help you?¡± A middle-aged man said.

    He wore an all ck attire, and one could tell he wasn¡¯t there only to sell potions.

    ¡°I want to buy the dessert.¡± Arthur said.

    That sentence shocked the man for a moment, as it was not every day that someone went there looking for his other services. If the authorities knew about it, then he would be dead for sure, so it was not a well-known thing inside Sherekan.

    ¡°Follow me.¡±

    There was a secret room behind the counter. The man opened it, and it led to the ce where he did his illegal business.

    ¡°What do you need?¡±

    ¡°A fake ID and a word with your connections.¡±

    ¡°Sure. What type of ID it is?¡±

    ¡°Of a teacher, so I can invade the Namida school¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The man was even more shocked after hearing what type of ID Arthur wanted, but he did it. It got done in 2 hours, but he still needed to talk with his connections, so Arthur could only enter the school the next day.

    ¡°Everything costs around 250 gold coins.¡±

    It was an absurd amount for the people that lived in the Shukar Empire, but for Arthur, who hade from a ce with a decent economy, not that much. He had tons of coins and treasures inside his magical pouch.

    He tossed the coins to that man and left the store, going straight to the town¡¯s square to meet up with Jane and Wisa.

    They were already there, and it seemed their task of looking for a house went well.

    Wisa and Jane were curious after seeing how different Arthur looked, but he told them he would exin once they entered the house. So, they left.

    Arthur went there to check the ce, but little did he know that there was someone plotting against him.

 Chapter 126 Another Slave

    The ce Wisa and Jane found was a mansion in the rich part of Sherekan. It had a wall around it for more protection, and also for privacy. There wasn¡¯t a magic array for better protection, as it seems the people from the desert did not know how to do that.

    It was made of a white stone, which was clear that the quality was high. Another important part of the mansion was the courtyard with flowers and a pool.

    ¡°This ce has two floors. Isn¡¯t that too much for only the three of us?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but we have the money to live there, so why not? It has been a long time since we enjoyed our times in a decent ce.¡±

    ¡°That is true. How much is it?¡±

    ¡°30 gold coins a month. This ce economy is falling apart, as 30 gold coins are considered a huge amount.¡±

    ¡°I noticed that too. Good for us, I guess.¡±

    The insides of the mansion lived up to the outside. It had a fancy furniture, and everything inside was neatly arranged, and clean. Whoever took care of that ce had Arthur¡¯s admiration.<sub>.</sub>

    They went to the living room, and Arthur shared his ns with Wisa and Jane. He also returned to his normal youth appearance.

    ¡°Did you get ess to that ce so fast? Incredible.¡±

    Wisa and Jane were both surprised to see Arthur getting things done so quickly.

    Arthur was chatting with the amount of mundane stuff, but then he heard a strange noise. He was the only one that heard because of how good his dragon hearing was.

    He made a sign for them to continue talking as if he was there, and left the living room. Arthur instantly used his flight spell to not touch the ground, avoiding any unnecessary noise, and also used his invisibility.

    There was no way whoever was there could see through that. Arthur looked through one window and saw someone that wore a ck clothing with a hood, as well as a mask that covered the face.

    That person was trying to spy through one window and hear whatever they were talking inside. Arthur used his teleported and appeared right behind it.<sub></sub>

    Arthur was still invisible, so the person did not notice, and continued the espionage. It was funny, and Arthur watched the scene for a few seconds before grabbing that person in the neck.

    ¡°What?¡± the person said in a hoarse voice as Arthur was choking it.

    ¡°Who are you? Who sent you here?¡±

    He was not fooling around, and wouldn¡¯t let anyone hurt his girls. What was the reason behind the appearance of that person?

    Speaking of which, whoever it was tried to stab him using a knife. Arthur grabbed the arm before the knife hit him and broke it.

    ¡°Speak, or I¡¯ll kill you.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I-It was someone from the potion shop. He said you had money, and send people to steal from you.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°So it was that guy!¡±

    The same person who granted him the fake ID also tried to steal from him. Should he be worried once he got inside the school? Arthur was almost sure that person would try something funny inside there as well.

    Arthur couldn¡¯t let that person know he saw the attacker, or else it may be difficult for him to get inside that school. He already had the fake ID, but that man had to talk with his contacts to make sure Arthur went inside there as a legit teacher.

    For that reason, he put a blood mark on that mysterious person, and said, ¡°you¡¯ll go back to him, and say you scanned the ce, and saw me gathering all of my money in a bag, a bag that I¡¯ll bring with me to the school. Then, you¡¯ll say you broke your arm fighting with a guard that saw you spying on me.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Also, do you perhaps know the identity of that man?¡± Arthur had an evil smile on his face.

    Not only did the attack fail, he also learned the true identity of that person, so if he tried to mess with him, then he could expose his identity as well. And whenparing the gap of strength between the two, Arthur had way more chances of leaving the city alive.

    Arthur let the person go after learning everything he could and returned to his house to exin everything to his girls.

    ¡°A wise move you did, or else your disguise inside that ce would be doomed.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I did not kill that person. Anyway, I¡¯ll go rest as it is gettingte. See you tomorrow!¡±

    It was already nighttime, so Arthur went to his room, which was on the second floor. Wisa and Jane had their own rooms, but Jane was the only one that went there, as Wisa had other ns for the night¡­

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    The creaking sound of the bed, and the sweet moans of Wisa as they had a wonderful night together.

    Jane wasn¡¯t that far, and she heard some of these noises. One thought crossed through her mind, ¡°I¡¯ll make him mine too this month as well, hmph!¡±

    They were all together inside that city for a month, and for her, it was the best opportunity to finally get a moment with Arthur, as she was lingering for it a long time.

    ¡°Yes, ah!¡±

    Arthur fucked Wisa in various positions, and the sight of her perfectly rounded boobs bouncing was hard to endure. He squeezed them hard, and made sure to roughly fuck her, as she already told him she loved that.

    ~~~~

    The next day was a promising one. It was the day Arthur would sneak into the school, which could turn out terrible for him.

    He changed his clothing and used the same looks he had when he met that person inside the shop.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving, take care, ande looking for me if anything happens, all right? I¡¯ll probably return and sleep here.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°We will, don¡¯t worry!¡±

    With that, he left and went to that shop again, ready to get all the knowledge from that school for himself.

 Chapter 127 [Bonus chapter] The son of the Emperor

    The moment Arthur reached that shop, and met with the man that made his fake ID, he acted as nothing had happened.

    ¡°Hello, it is you. I already talked with my contacts, and you also got lucky as one teacher left the school a few days ago. Here, take it. This is the eptance letter.¡±

    He handed over the letter, and Arthur dly epted it. With that, he could enter the school without problems.

    Arthur waved at the man and left. It was almost certain that the man would try something, but that would be stupid of him.

    Namida school was in a rich neighborhood, and the size of it was incredible. Arthur stood in front of it and walked towards the two guards that were guarding the main gate.

    They tried to stop him, and ask who he was, but all Arthur needed to do was show his documents, and the guards let him passed, and treated him with respect, far different from before.

    ¡°Follow us, Akhur.¡± One guard said.

    Arthur used the same famous name that spread throughout the tribes. Inside the city, that name wasn¡¯t famous, so it was also a way to spread his name there.

    The courtyard of the school was immense, and what impressed Arthur the most was the green vegetation. He guessed that someone had a magic capable of growing nts, as it was the only exnation, considering how the rest of the area was literally a desert.

    Just like in any school, Arthur had to talk with the president the moment he entered there, and that was exactly the ce the guards led him.<sub>.</sub>

    An old-man with a long gray beard and hair stood behind a desk. He sensed Arthur before he even pushed the door to enter his office.

    ¡°Come in and sit, please.¡±

    Arthur did just like the old man said.

    ¡°He has a level of 80, which is incredible, considering almost everyone I saw inside this empire was utterly crap.¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°Show me your letter, please.¡±

    He handed it over and waited for the old man to read it. Arthur kept close attention to the man¡¯s expressions, as they changed countless times throughout the letter.

    It was probably because the letter had lots of signatures from important people, which was something rare for a teacher to have.

    ¡°You seem very capable, considering these people have trusted you to my school. Well, we are indeed missing a teacher, so you showing up it is destiny.¡±

    ¡°You can live in the teacher¡¯s dorm or in any house you have inside the city. Only the students wear uniforms, so you can also dress the way you seem to fit. You¡¯ll start after lunch. Is that okay with you?¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. For now, you¡¯ll be responsible for thebat sses, and that includes the teaching of many weapons, and also how to fight properly against other humans or beasts. You can leave now.¡±

    Arthur nodded and left the office. If it was before, then he would be terrified to teach such sses, but now? It was a piece of cake. The dream he had some time ago of the weapon master had made him master almost all kinds of weapons.

    There was still some time before his first ss, so Arthur took the chance to explore the school.

    All the students that were chilling between sses, or even during their sses in the open, gazed at him, and soon the whisperings began.

    ¡°Who is that good-looking man over there? Is he a new teacher?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, as teacher, Wattan left a few days ago.¡±

    ¡°If he¡¯s thebat teacher, then I want to wield his sword.¡±

    ¡°Shh, what if he hears us?¡±<sub></sub>

    Most of the students who were curious about him were woman, but also some men that were scared.

    ¡°Is he an arduous teacher? I need the grades or else my parents will kill me.¡±

    ¡°Well, he doesn¡¯t seem like it, but appearance can lead to mistakes sometimes.¡±

    ¡°True.¡±

    The girls were concerned about how he looked, and the boys wanted to know if he would kick their ass during thebat sses. A normal day for a teacher of Namida school.

    Arthur heard all of that and had a smile.

    ¡°My time here will be interesting.¡±

    ~~~~

    The school had a huge main building were most of the things were, excluding the dorms and the garden, obviously.

    Arthur explored the ce, walking through all the corridors and entering all doors. He even walked inside a ssroom with students by mistake.

    ¡°A library!¡± Arthur thought.

    He was looking precisely for that ce. The idea behind himing there was to gather more knowledge, and that was the ce where he would get it.

    It was bigger than he expected, which meant there were more books. Arthur stood in front of the library when a youth passed by him, tackling him using his shoulder.

    ¡°Get out of the way, old man.¡± The youth said in an arrogant tone.

    Arthur was already considered a teacher there, so there was no way he would let that pass. Hell, even if he wasn¡¯t a teacher, he would teach that youth a lesson.

    ¡°Hey, why did you tackle me? Are you blind or just stupid?¡±

    The youth turned around, looked at Arthur, and said, ¡°excuse me? Don¡¯t you know who am I?¡±

    ¡°Should I? I mean, you¡¯re quite ugly. From this day inward, I¡¯ll never forget such a horrendous face!¡±

    ¡°YOU! My father is the Emperor. Do you know the weight of these words?¡±

    ¡°What? Really? I didn¡¯t know the Emperor had the face of a beast, too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never forget this, just you wait.¡± The youth said, turning around to leave.

    Arthur instantly grabbed him by the shoulder, and said, ¡°when did I let you leave?¡±

    ¡°What will you do?¡±

    He was trying to act tough, but after seeing that the emperor¡¯s name did not affect Arthur, he was scared.

    ¡°I read the rules of the school, and they are fierce. Fighting between students is allowed, and if someone disrespect a teacher you can beat the shit out of the student too. Now, just because I¡¯m in a good mood, I¡¯ll only break your arms, and not your legs, okay?¡±

    ¡°Wh-?¡±

    Before the youth finished, Arthur snapped both of his arms, shattering them into pieces.

 Chapter 128 Spear Lesson

    The talking quickly spread throughout the school, and even before Arthur went to his first ss, everyone knew him.

    No one came looking for him, asking why he did that, as it was not a crime if a student disrespected a teacher, at least not inside Namida school. The only reason the teachers did not do that often was because of the parents of such students.

    Take the one Arthur attacked. It was the son of the emperor, and that as bond to have consequences.

    Did he care? Absolutely not. He was inside that ce using a fake ID and a fake appearance. Plus, the emperor was far from that city, and even if he traveled nonstop for 30 days, he wouldn¡¯t reach it.

    ¡°Even if he tries something, then I¡¯ll be long gone.¡±

    Arthur stopped in a restaurant inside the school itself for lunch, and he sensed the gazes of the students around, all aiming at him. Most of them were scared because Arthur passed the impression of a reckless teacher, and they did not want to end up like that youth with broken arms.

    They kept their distance, and no one was brave enough to talk to Arthur. The only thing they could do was stare, and hope that they wouldn¡¯t end up dead by the end of the month.<sub>.</sub>

    He did not mind any of that, and just ate normally, leaving the restaurant afterwards. Then, he sat on one bench inside the courtyard and waited for about 20 minutes.

    After that, Arthur slowly made his way to his assigned ssroom, which was within the main building, on the second floor.

    When he got there, students were already waiting, but they weren¡¯t talking. All of them gazed at the door, and their hearts beat fast, and sweat dripped from their foreheads.

    Some were almost freaking out, afraid that they would get low grades with this new teacher, and end up like augh stock of their family.

    The moment Arthur walked in, all the students hold their breaths, and did not utter a word, just like before.

    Arthur was wearing the same outfit, a long ck robe, but there was a difference this time. A huge sword behind his back. It was the ck-sword he got a long time ago, and couldn¡¯t use it without losing control yet.<sub></sub>

    He was abat teacher, and people in the Shukar Empire did not use magic the conventional way, so he had to disguise himself in all aspects to make sure no one notice it.

    A tattoo would be the best to fit inpletely, but he did not want to make a shit one, so he would do that after he created one himself.

    ¡°I will not have to use magic to teach these weak students how to fight.¡± Arthur thought.

    With steady steps, he strolled into the front of the ss, prepared to say a few words of introduction.

    ¡°I¡¯m Akhur, your new teacher ofbat and weapon wielding. You probably heard about the story that happened this morning, well it is true. Now, like I said to that youth, I was in a good mood, and only broke his arms. If any of you disrespect me, or don¡¯t work hard in my ss, I¡¯ll break your arms and legs. Come, we will have practice outside.¡±

    All the students were shocked after hearing it, and only came back to their senses after Arthur left the room.<sub></sub>

    ¡°We are doomed. This school hired a demon to teach us.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. If we let him wait, then he will break our arms, I¡¯m sure¡­¡±

    ~~~~

    The students already had a lot of theory from the other teacher, and even if they didn¡¯t, Arthur wouldn¡¯t teach that.

    He wanted to go in actualbat. Practice with weapons, and fight against each other. In the end, that was the only way for someone to improve.

    Theory was only for those who wished to learn spells, as that was also really important and reading a lot was a must. Now, even if you read a million manuals, you¡¯ll not learn how to use a sword if you don¡¯t practice.

    Arthur led all the students to an arena inside a separated building. It was where thebat sses happened, the practical ones.

    Other students looked through the windows from their ssrooms and saw Arthur leading the students there.

    ¡°He¡¯s already going for practicalbat. We are dead. Our next ss is with him!¡±

    The ce had a grandstand and a ring in the middle. Arthur stood there in the ring and looked at all the students that were gazing at him.

    ¡°What type of weapon were you learning with the other teacher?¡±

    It took some time for someone to answer, but a woman eventually did.

    ¡°He was teaching us the spear.¡±

    ¡°Spear, hm.¡±

    There was a room inside that building that contained lots of practice weapons, most made of wood. Arthur went there, and grabbed enough spears for all the students, which was about 20 spears.

    Then, he asked them to go in the ring, two by two, and fight. The reason for it was for him to see their level with the spear, and then find a suitable way to conduct his next lessons.

    He did not choose and let the students do as they saw fit. Arthur was toozy to do that, and just wanted to chill sitting in the grandstand, watching all the fights.

    ¡°Oh, right? You can surrender, and this is just a spar, so don¡¯t go all out. If I see anyone trying to kill the other students in this practice match¡­ you know what will happen.¡± Arthur said.

    After a few minutes passed, the students had organized themselves in pairs, and one of these pairs went to the ring.

    Two boys, both had almost the same physical structure, but Arthur could tell just by the way they hold the spear that they werepletely newbies, yet one of them seemed to be better.

    ¡°All right. Start!¡±

 Chapter 129 The Fall (1)

    The two students that were fighting had almost no experience with the spear, and also fighting itself. They had no stance, no technique or power behind their strikes, and even their bodies weren¡¯t trained enough for meleebat.

    It was aplete disaster, and Arthur wondered if the school actually taught something to their students. Wasn¡¯t this ce supposed to be one of the best schools inside the Shukar Empire? Whenpared to any other school Arthur had seen, this one wascking.

    From all the fights Arthur saw, only 3 individuals seemed to know at least the basics, and Arthur was almost sure they learned it outside the school.

    ¡°Thest teacher of yours was basically shit. Only three people in here know at least the basics which are concerning.¡±

    ¡°All of you will have to work hard, and show some improvements, or else¡­¡± Arthur said, gazing at all the students.

    That fearless gaze of his made all of them tremble with fear, and they set the goal of working hard in their minds, or else they would get low grades, which meant death.

    The ssprised the sparring, and when they had finished doing that, it was already over.

    All the students left and went to their next ss, and so did Arthur. He taught more 3  different sses during the afternoon, and all of them did the same. Spar to see their current level.

    Just like the first ss, almost all the students were utterly shit, and Arthur would rip their skins off with training.<sub>.</sub>

    After he was done with them, Arthur made a quick stop in the library.

    ¡°Hello, Akhur. How can I help you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m want to know more about the books here. Can I borrow anything?¡±

    ¡°Yes, as a teacher, you have free ess to the library, although there are a few restrictive areas that even teachers can¡¯t ess. You can borrow any book, but just like the students, you can¡¯t leave the school with the books.¡± The librarian said.

    Arthur hoped that maybe as a teacher he could leave and read inside his mansion, but even he couldn¡¯t do that. He would have to wake up early and read in the morning, as he only had sses in the afternoon for now.

    ¡°All right, thank you.¡±

    He wouldn¡¯t take a book as of now, but still looked around to see if the library had something interesting, and it did.

    Most of the books were about the tattoo magic, and about weapons. There were a few books about enchanting, as well as magical smoothen. The Shukar Empire was the home of the most incredible cksmiths in history.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Are you also interested in smithing?¡± A youth said.

    It was a student that was also looking at some books, and he saw Arthur doing the same, and started a conversation.

    ¡°It is interesting, but I don¡¯t have that much time to be spent studying it.¡±

    ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯ll be the greatest cksmith there is, so you can order a weapon from me in the future.¡±

    ¡°Ha, I¡¯ll be counting on you then.¡±

    Arthur liked that youth. He wasn¡¯t arrogant and also had a goal and a dream. Most of the students were only there to live up to their parents¡¯ expectations, and not because they wanted to.

    ¡°You are the new teacher, right? I think I have a ss with you tomorrow. I¡¯m Bill.¡±

    ¡°Bill?¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Yes. It is a strange name, I know, but that¡¯s because I¡¯m not from here but from the Dragon Scale Empire.¡±

    ¡°Dragon Scale Empire?¡±

    That was a ce Arthur had never heard of.

    ¡°Only a few people know, as it is not on this continent. Travel by ship, and it takes a long, long time.¡± Bill said.

    ¡°Why are you here, then?¡±

    ¡°Well, my Dragon Scale Empire is the ce with the most precious resources there are. We have the ores, but our cksmiths aren¡¯t that good as the ones from here. My father and his father went to study here when they were young, and so did I.¡±

    ¡°I see. I liked the name of your empire.¡±

    ¡°You are also a fan of dragons? Ha ha, you¡¯ll not believe this, but our empire has that name because some legends say the Sky City once appeared there, and that was the home of the dragons!¡±

    Arthur was shocked. A simple encounter with a student turned out to lead to a lot of useful information. He had seen no one that knew any information about the Sky City, only that it was a mythological city.

    ¡°Incredible. I¡¯ll surely visit your empire one day.¡±

    ¡°If you go there, look for my family, Higgins. We will dly give you shelter.¡±

    After that quick conversation, they parted ways. Now Arthur had a clue about the Sky City, but he still needed to find Nefion, and also save his brother from the Dream Realm.

    There were a lot of things he needed to do, but first, he had to be even stronger and master this tattoo magic.

    Arthur left the school and went to his mansion. He also made a stop to buy something for dinner. When he arrived there, he was afraid that someone had tried to attack his girls, but it seemed they were okay.

    Wisa and Jane were training in the mansion¡¯s courtyard. They were getting stronger, especially Wisa, who was having sex with Arthur, and that benefited her.

    ¡°Arthur, you¡¯re back. How did it go?¡±

    ¡°The students there are so weak, and have a lot to learn, but despite that, everything went well. In fact, I got some information about the Sky City, the ce where the dragons lived.¡±

    ¡°You did?¡±

    They both stopped their training and carefully listened to Arthur as he shared the conversation he had with that student.

    ¡°I¡¯m someone that knows a lot of ces, but I have never heard of the Dragon Scale Empire. Could he be lying?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. His heart beats were stable, but maybe he¡¯s just a goodlier? I¡¯ll try to learn more about it during this month,¡±

    ¡°Also, I brought us dinner!¡±

    Arthur and his girls went inside to eat.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Our target is inside Sherekan city?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We are not sure if he is the person who killed the king, but it sure looks like it.¡±

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s move. We have a long way to go.¡±

 Chapter 130 The Fall (2)

    Arthur¡¯s second day as a teacher began with him sitting in the library, reading all the books he could find about the tattoo magic.

    He started from the basics and slowly went to more advanced topics. His goal was to learn a lot about it during the month, and create his own tattoo using his sunlight energy, as it would surely increase the power by a lot.

    The ruthlessness of the new teacher spread throughout the school, and a high number of students were scared to have sses with him. So much that the president of the school called out Arthur to speak inside his office.

    ¡°Did you really broke the arm of the Emperor¡¯s son?¡± The president said.

    ¡°Depends. Will it get me in trouble?¡±

    ¡°From us? No, but once the Emperor knows about this, then surely he wille looking for revenge. I hope you have a way to deal with that, as even I can¡¯t protect you against him.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You asked me toe here to talk about this?¡±

    ¡°Mostly, yes. I heard the rumors that the students are saying you¡¯re a scary teacher, but I saw one of your sses, and I think you are doing a good job. Thest teacher did not teach a single thing, and that is why he was fired. I truly hope you can fix thesezy students and put them to work.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°I¡¯ll, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°Good. Well, I¡¯ll not take more of your time. See ya!¡±

    Arthur left the office after that. The president of the school seemed like a good old man, but he wouldn¡¯t blindly trust the words of that person.

    After all of that, it was already afternoon, which meant he had to work. The students that did not have a ss with him yet passed through the same sparring as the others, and the sses that had already done that went to the first actual teaching, which was about the spear stances.

    He also shared a routine of exercises for the students, and said that he wanted to see improvements on their body condition within a week, or else they would lose half of their grades.

    It did not matter how much they trained with the spear if their bodies did not improve as well. They trained with wooden weapons that were lighter than actual weapons, but that did not mean they shouldn¡¯t increase their strength.

    Also, with a poor body condition, they would lose their breaths after fighting for three minutes.<sub></sub>

    Some studentsined about it, but some were excited as they finally had a teacher that taught them something, and not only theory after theory, like thest one.

    The routine of reading in the morning, teaching in the afternoon, and resting with his girls during the evening continues for a week without major problems.

    Arthur and Wisa had sex every night, and Jane was slowly making small moves, getting ready to have her moment with him as well.

    Now, things went wrong on the 8th day since Arthur became a teacher. Out of a sudden the president of the school asked him to go in a hunting trip with a few of his friends, saying that the new students that were on their way to the school had faced a danger, and that they needed to save them.

    It was strange. How did they know about it? If these students were truly in danger, then there was no way they would get that information that quickly.

    He was almost sure that it was a n for them to silence him and kill him. Maybe that shop owner who made the fake ID was behind this, or the Emperor somehow already knew that Arthur had broken his son¡¯s arms. Either way, someone was trying to plot against him, and he wouldn¡¯t let that pass.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to rescue these students. You have my word.¡±<sub></sub>

    Arthur would y along with it and kill these people.

    ~~~~

    Wisa and Jane got to know all of this before Arthur left.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be okay, don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s no way those people have a chance of fighting against me.¡±

    The students were supposedly trapped inside a cave two days away from the city. Arthur used his mental link and asked Sully to follow them from high in the skies so no one could notice him.

    It was just another safe measure if there were more people waiting inside that cave to kill him.

    Arthur acted as a fool the whole way, as if he was concerned about the students, and asked them to go faster.

    For the men that were with him, it was funny. There were no students, and they were there to kill him, but they still made an act.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Akhur, we reach that ce in 30 minutes.¡±

    ¡°Akhur? Where did I hear that name?¡±

    The cave entered Arthur¡¯s sight, and when they entered that ce, there were no students there, but a few other masked people.

    ¡°What is happening here?¡±

    All of themughed, and one of them said, ¡°this is your bad day, Akhur. Someone wants you dead.¡±

    Who said that was one man that brought Arthur there, but the people that were waiting inside the cave did not know that the name of the target was Akhur?

    ¡°Akhur? Wait, a second. Our task is to kill Akhur?¡±

    ¡°It is, yes. Is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°There is only one Akhur in the desert, and that is the celestial.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense. That¡¯s just a myth, and surely more people have the same name.¡±

    Arthur watched all of that with a calm expression. He had already seen all the levels of these people, and they were all ants in his eyes.

    There was only one thing that worried him, though. The president of the school was almost sure he would never return, but what would happen when he did? How could he exin the death of all these people?

    ¡°All right. Could you all please shut up?¡±

    ¡°Who do you think you are? Let me remind you-you are only amb that will be killed right here, right now.¡±

    Arthur gazed at that person and dashed towards him at an astonishing speed. He used his palm as a knife, hitting the head of that man, cutting to the chest, splitting the man in half.

 Chapter 131 The Fall (3)

    The others that were there had shocked expressions, and for a few seconds, couldn¡¯t believe what had happened. Did that person die so quickly? Was their target that strong?

    These were the questions that passed through their minds, and they only woke up from their daydreams after Arthur killed yet another person.

    Arthur kept dashing and killing a new target at every second. The tables had turned, and now they were the prey, not the hunter.

    ¡°RUN!¡± One of them said.

    The others shared the same thoughts, as they all ran towards the exit of the cave. A move that in their heads could give them a chance of survival, but Arthur knew it was impossible for them.

    Arthur was relying on his body speed till that point, but as a few of them got farther away, he used his teleport, appearing behind them, and shing them with his ws.

    There was nothing any of them could do to prevent their death. He didn¡¯t kill all of them, though. Arthur needed the information, but he already had his suspicion that it was the president of the school that was behind all of this.

    ¡°I¡±ll talk if you promise you won¡¯t kill me.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°I promise.¡±

    ¡°The Emperor already knows about what you did with his son, so he sent a message to the school¡¯s president, and he hired us.¡±

    It was just like Arthur had imagined. After he got the information he needed, he kill the man. A survivor meant more problems for the future, and Arthur was full of them already.

    Things weren¡¯t looking good for him. The moment he returned alone, the president of the school would act again, and the Emperor would use more force to kill Arthur.

    He still needed more information, and the only way to get it was inside the school. They wouldn¡¯t openly attack him inside the school, or else the students would see it, and they couldn¡¯t ruin the school¡¯s image.

    Arthur killed thest man standing and left the cave, making his way back to Sherekan. He called out Sully to give him a ride, so he returned much faster in only 6 hours.

    The president was shocked to see Arthur returning with his life, and even more shocked to see him there so quickly. What type of traveling method did he use?<sub></sub>

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, president. When we arrived there, the students were all dead, killed by the beasts, and I¡¯m the only survivor. The rest of the men that apanied me died in battle¡­¡±

    He acted so well that the president thought he did not know who was the person behind the attack, but any smart man would guess the president was suspicious.

    ¡°This is terrible news. Take some time to rest, Akhur. You don¡¯t need to teach today. Come back tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, president, but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll teach.¡±

    Arthur left the office and went to grab lunch. He had returned during the morning, and as he slept while Sully carried him, he was rested to teach his sses.

    After the lunch, he did a quick stop in his mansion, and exined everything that happened to Jane and Wisa, asking for them to be careful, and set some protections around the house if they could.

    ¡°I now have a few magic arrays. They aren¡¯t strong, but it will at least warn us if anyone tries to trespass.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°All right.¡±

    He was not at peace after warning his girls, so he returned to the school to teach his sses. The students already knew he would be gone for a few days, but the president said the amount of days was ¡®undetermined¡¯, yet he was already there after just 2 days, and was teaching again.

    A few days may have passed, but the students were the same, clueless about how to fight.

    ¡°Bend your knees and maintain a tight grip. You are holding a spear, not a carrot!¡±

    ¡°Look at your opponent. Why are you shifting your gaze to your weapon?¡±

    ¡°Feet, use your feet!¡±

    Arthur was getting angry watching those students fight. It was so bad that he wondered if that ce was the best school, imagine the worst.

    The student he met inside the library that shared some information with him was also among these students, and dly, he wasn¡¯t aplete newbie. In fact, he was quite good with the spear.

    ¡°From where Ie, the spear is our main weapon. Even farmers know how to use it.¡± Bill said.

    Arthur was getting more and more interested in that ce. He gave pointers to the students in all of his three sses, and was preparing himself to return to his mansion, but then something happened.

    People ran around the streets like lost chickens, and the sound of bells ringing entered Arthur¡¯s ears, which made him knew exactly what was happening at that moment.

    An invasion, but what was invading the city was still unknown to him. Maybe it was people, an enemy army from another kingdom, or perhaps it was monsters.

    A few guards were running through the streets with their weapons drawn. Arthur grabbed one of them and said, ¡°what is happening here? Who is attacking?¡±

    The guard was in a hurry to help with the wall¡¯s protection, but still replied, ¡°it is monsters. They showed up out of nowhere, and lots of them.¡±

    He let go of the guard after that, and let him do his job. Arthur teleported throughout the city, reaching his mansion within 5 seconds.

    Wisa and Jane were already outside, lost, without knowing what was happening in Sherekan.

    ¡°Arthur? What¡¯s wrong?¡± They said, running towards him.

    ¡°A wave of monsters is attacking the city. We need to help defend it, as it is not yet time for us to leave.¡±

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s go.¡±

    The trio left the mansion and ran towards the main gate of the city, where tons of guards and other powerful figures that were currently living in the city were getting ready to protect the city.

    Other teachers of the academy were there, but the president was nowhere to be seen. Turns out he stayed in the school to protect the students.

    When Arthur went above the walls of the city to look at the other side, he was shocked.

    It had so many beasts that was impossible to count, at least 100 thousand.

 Chapter 132 The Fall (4)

    Sherekan city was not a small one, as it had lots of guards and powerful people that lived there. You could say that it had the strongest people in all the Shukar Empire.

    That was enough to fend against most invasions, and that was the reason the nearby empires and kingdoms did not attack it until that point, having thest known battle 60 years ago.

    The Emperor was scared that someone would try to attack them, as the Shukar Empire was getting weaker and weaker as the years passed. A trace of that was the economy, who waspletely broken.

    Now, humans may have reasons to attack the empire, but monsters? No one knew where did that wave of monsters came from, or what was the reason for them to be there.

    Was someone behind it? Or Sherekan city was just unlucky and impeded a monster migration?

    These were the questions everyone wanted to know the answer to, and Arthur was one of those people.

    Arthur had traveled the desert, and never saw that many beasts in the same ce. For him, that army of creatures was the work of somebody else, and there was a fact that increased that possibility.

    The devotees had a link with Arthur, and he could feel, and almost see, what they were seeing. He had these devotees spread throughout the desert, in different tribes, yet no one of them saw this horde of monsters.<sub>.</sub>

    It was as if these monsters spawned out of nowhere to attack the city.

    ¡°Maybe another dungeon appeared nearby? Just the one near Odemore?¡± Arthur thought.

    Well, there wasn¡¯t much time to think about these things, as the monsters weren¡¯t staying still, and were dashing towards Sherekan with fierce gazes, looking for blood.

    The horde had lots of different beasts, and some that did not belong to the desert region, which made Arthur think even more about that dungeon possibility.

    ¡°Everyone, prepare for battle! Protect the city. Sherekan can¡¯t fall!¡±

    One officer from the army yelled to everyone that was present there, trying his best to increase the morale of the troops.

    Most people were scared, as they knew it was almost impossible to win the uing battle. Arthur was not one of these people.<sub></sub>

    ¡°It is possible to win, and even if things go wrong, I can flee without problems.¡±

    A line of warriors stood outside of the city, with their weapons and shields up, waiting for the enemies toe. There were also archers on the city walls, throwing arrows that took the life of a few beasts before they reached the city.

    Both sides shed, with the beasts using their ws, jaws and stingers to attack the warriors, who defended with their shields.

    The number of warriors protecting the city wasn¡¯t small, around 20000, but when youpare to the number of beasts that we¡¯re storming against the city, it was a joke.

    Arthur knew that the morale of the troops would eventually fall, and that would lead to the city getting destroyed. So, he opted to take the lead and show these beasts what actual power was.

    He used his flight skill, stopping right above the warriors who were outside fending against the beasts.

    Everyone that was present there was surprised, as they had never seen a warrior that could fly.<sub></sub>

    Arthur paid no attention and channeled his fireball spell. It wasn¡¯t a powerful spell, but with the help of his sunlight energy, it turned into a devastating spell that would wipe at least 10 thousand of these beasts.

    A huge magical circle with strange symbols appeared in the sky, and then an immense ball of me got out of it, flying directly into the middle of the monster army.

    He did not stop there, and cast three more. It was his limit, but that was enough to wipe 60% of the beast¡¯s army.

    The four immense balls of me came crashing, turning thousands of beasts into ashes. No one could believe what they were seeing. It was a type of attack they had never seen before.

    Who was that person behind it? How could they never know of him before?

    Arthur proudly gazed at the destroyed beast horde, and yelled, ¡°everyone, wipe out the rest!!!¡±

    His voice had power behind it, and all warriors yelled together, rushing towards the remaining beasts, looking to kill them all.

    Slowly, the beasts were diminishing, and they were almost certain the victory was on their side until another wave of beasts arrived.

    More, and this time, it amounted to 200 thousand beasts, more than the first army. Now it was hopeless.

    Arthur still had mana to cast more of those fireballs, but he was saving it to use his teleports if the fight was lost.

    Wisa and Jane exchanged nces with him, and they knew what to do. The three of them ran from the main gate.

    ¡°What will we do, Arthur?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s take this chance to steal all the books inside the school¡¯s library and then leave. Also, there is a student there I have to save.¡±

    The school wasn¡¯t far, and within a few minutes, Arthur and his girls reached it. All the students were there, and the only person defending the school was the president, who quickly stopped Arthur.

    ¡°What are you doing here, Akhur?¡±

    Arthur had not timed to waste, and even though the president had a higher level, he was not strong enough to fight against Arthur.

    With his dragon transformation, all it took for Arthur to kill that man was a Fire w.

    Everyone was shocked to see Arthur turned into some sort of beast, but he quickly returned to his normal appearance and went towards the library.

    There, he grabbed all the books and tossed them inside his magical pouch. After that, he searched the school until he found Billy.

    ¡°Akhur? Did something happen? Some say you killed the president.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I did, but that¡¯s because he tried to kill me first. Bill, listen. There are at least 200 thousand beasts outside, and the city will fall. Do you have anyone here that you want to bring along?¡±

    ¡°What? Ah, no. I¡¯m all alone here.¡±

    ¡°Want toe with me?¡±

    Bill epted the offer, as he had a good impression of Akhur, and he also did not have other choice¡­

 Chapter 133 Fleeing the desert (1)

    They went to the back gate of the city. The beasts were only attacking in the front, which was good, as they were not surrounded.

    Arthur could feel the link with his devotees, but tried nothing beyond feeling what they were feeling. But now the situation had changed.

    He channeled his power to all of his devotees, sending a mental message to each one of them.

    ¡°A horde of beasts attacked Sherekan city. The city fell. All devotes march towards the Jinzaka tribe. We must leave the desert, or else we will all perish.¡±

    It was a simple message that spread to all devotees in an instant. The Jinzaka tribe had already stockpiled more food to shelter all these people, and perhaps they would have to flee from the desert.

    ¡°Where should we go after leaving the Jinzaka tribe?¡± Arthur said.

    Wisa was the person who knew more about thends around the Shukar Empire.

    ¡°We can¡¯t go back to our kingdom, as you are a wanted man there. There is only one ce around here that we might flee.¡±.

    ¡°What ce?¡±

    ¡°The Elven Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Elven Kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Well, there is one portal at the border of the Shukar Empire. We can use it to teleport there.¡± Wisa said.

    Myria and Lilia had taken a portal just like that one, but in another ce. Bill was beside them, hearing all the conversation, and his face brightened when he heard Elven Kingdom.

    ¡°Bill, do you know something about the Elven Kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes, I do. It is not on this continent, but on the same continent where I came from.¡±

    ¡°Really? The Dragon Scale Empire is near the elves?¡±

    ¡°It is far, but it is on the same continent, so we have a chance of survival. I promise you that my family will help us, even more now that you saved me.¡±

    Arthur believed in Bill, but he did not want to depend on others to survive. He called out Sully, who came flying to give them a ride.

    Bill was shocked when he saw that creature. Wyverns were rare, and his Dragon Scale Empire was one of the few ces that wyverns could be found, yet there was one right in front of him. Not only that, but it was a tamed wyvern.

    ¡°How did you tame a wyvern? Actually, where did you find it in the first ce?¡±

    ¡°That is a secret.¡±

    Sully was big enough to carry all of them on his back, and they flew towards the Jinzaka tribe.

    They passed above the city that was crumbling into pieces, filled with corpses of the warriors, and the residents. It was a sad scene, but there wasn¡¯t anything Arthur could do to prevent that.

    The Jinzaka tribe was still far away, but using the speed of Sully, they would reach it in 4 days.

    ¡°We are alive!¡± Bill said, as he sighed in relief after escaping the city with his life.

    ¡°We will be fine, don¡¯t worry.¡± Arthur said.

    He hugged both of his girls to warm up during the frosty night. They were far stronger than Bill, and had little trouble with the weather, but Bill had.

    Arthur opened up his magical pouch and tossed a few clothes that were warmer than the ones Bill wore, and also a fur nket.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Rest up now. No one will attack us.¡±

    He changed his appearance to his real one after that, and it took Bill by surprise, but he quickly rposed himself and did not ask.

    They did not fall asleep at first, and only did after a couple of hours. Arthur remained awake as he did not need to sleep anymore and protected them.

    Just like that, four days pass. On his way to the Jinzaka tribe, Arthur saw his devotees migrating, following his order.

    Not only his devotees but also other tribes that got to know about the beast horde and wanted to flee before it was toote. Only a few tribes remained in the same ce, saying that they would fight the army if theye. What a joke.

    Everyone was there, waiting for Arthur. 2341 devotees. One thing that scared Arthur was that he did not have enough food for all of them inside his magical pouch. After all these trips, he did. It barely had any.

    ¡°Akhur, my lord!¡± Mohe said.

    They all bowed and waited for Arthur¡¯s nextmand. He swept his gaze through the Jinzaka tribe, which was packed with people. One thing he noticed was that each tribe that left its home brought along food as well, and based on his calctions, after talking with Wisa, it could be enough for them to reach the portal.

    ¡°All right. Everyone, listen. The desert is not a safe ce anymore, and we need to flee. I know that fleeing your home seems like an arduous task, but if we stick together, everything will be all right.¡±

    ¡°There is a portal on the border of the empire, which will send us directly to the Elven Kingdom. This is our best bet,¡±

    ¡°We will rest for the day and leave. Sleep, and pack everything that we need. That¡¯s all.¡±

    All of them obeyed themand that was given to them. Billy watched all of that, and could not help but wonder how did Arthurmand these people so easily. Even great kings can¡¯t do that.

    The man he was following had lots of secrets, but deep down he sensed Arthur wasn¡¯t a bad person, and could be a great addition to his empire, who was currently at war.

    ¡°He seems so strong. Maybe with his help we can win against the dark races?¡± Bill thought.

    Arthur watched everyone gather their things for the trip and put a magic barrier around the tribe if anything went wrong. It was almost impossible, but who knows what could happen in one day?

    The people there rested, gathered everything, and in the next day, left. They left their childhood home to venture into another continent.

 Chapter 134 Fleeing the Desert (2)

    It was hard to leave the ce where you grew up and lived all your life. The devotees wouldn¡¯t do that without first seeing the horde of monsters.

    They did that because of their blood mark, but because of their faith in Arthur. A few days ago, they received the first blessing, and that took out the doubts from their hearts as they truly epted Arthur.

    The blessing improved the overall strength of all warriors, but not only that. Each person received something unique, and the people that did the most for the faith, such as praying more or spreading the word, received better bonuses.

    That made them eager to spread the word of Arthur¡¯s power, and after centuries, someone was finally doing something for them, unlike the silent totems that disappeared a long time ago.

    Arthur was happy with that, as it also increased his strength as attributes, which could be increased indefinitely. Speaking of each, Arthur had tons of points to use.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 58]

    [Health: 6900/6900]

    [Mana: 15200/15200]

    Attributes:<sub>.</sub>

    [Strength: 106]

    [Agility: 46]

    [Vigor: 36]

    [Wisdom: 131]

    [Charm: 46]

    [Free points: 40]

    The 40 free points went all to Wisdom, as he had the passive of his celestial body, which meant all the attributes would eventually increase and reach the same amount as his highest attribute.

    Also, the moment he finished using his points, the notifications from the system popped up.

    [+20 Points to All Stats from Devotees.]

    [+10 Points to All Stats except Wisdom.]

    After all of that, his stats were nowpletely different, and Arthur sensed the growing power inside his body.<sub></sub>

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 58]

    [Health: 8300/8300]

    [Mana: 21000/21000]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 136]

    [Agility: 76]

    [Vigor: 66]

    [Wisdom: 171]<sub></sub>

    [Charm: 76]

    [Free points: 0]

    [Potential Wives: Wisa: Level 52]

    Another great thing that happened was the upgrade of his Dragon Fire Body. The hot temperature from the desert kept improving it, and eventually he broke up to the next tier, increasing the power of all his fire skills.

    [Dragon¡¯s Fire Body (Max Rank): Increasing the absorption level of this skill will make you learn fire rted spells faster. It will also increase the power of your fire spells, and your fire resistance.]

    [Absorption level: 30% of 100%.]

    It was already at 30%, yet Arthur did not know how to increase it, as just absorbing the sunlight energy was doing nothing. Perhaps if he finds a fire treasure? Or maybe dived inside a volcano? Maybe Arthur should try that.

    These were things he would worry aboutter. As of now, Arthur was focused on leaving the desert alive.

    ording to Wisa, it would take them 15 days to reach the border of the empire where the portal was. Not that close, and with the amount of people there, feeding all of them would be hard.

    Arthur had to fractionate the food so that everyone could eat, and endure the long journey¡­

    ~~~~

    After two weeks of constant battle with the beasts, hunger and thirst, they were finally near the portal that led to the Elven Kingdom.

    The only problem was that they weren¡¯t alone, but came across another tribe, who were also heading to the same location. How did they know about it? Arthur did not know, but he wouldn¡¯t let them hurt his people.

    That tribe had fierce warriors, and they weren¡¯t scared of the number of people with Arthur, as they also had a simr number of people. It was, in fact, not a single tribe but the unison of many.

    Someone stepped forward, and Arthur guessed it was the leader, so he did the same. The difference of power between the two was visible as one walked and the other floated, like a being from another realm.

    ¡°Who are you? Tell me what you are doing here or I¡¯ll kill all of you.¡± The leader said.

    Arthur coldly gazed at him, and said, ¡°I did not allow you to speak, ant. Kneel.¡±

    He teleported and appeared in front of the dazed leader, who couldn¡¯t do anything to stop the strength of Arthur.

    With his right hand exerting the strength of the man¡¯s shoulder, he knelled even if he did not want to.

    ¡°I¡¯m the celestial Akhur. You may have heard about me. Don¡¯t mess with me or my people, and you¡¯ll live.¡± Arthur said as he gazed at the man beneath him.

    ¡°I assume you are also going to the portal? We may enter the Elven Kingdom together, but after that, we will follow our own paths. How does it sound?¡±

    The leader was scared, as he had witnessed the power of Akhur. His son was one person who survived on the attack in Jinzaka tribe.

    ¡°Okay, we can agree with that.¡±

    Arthur let go of the man and returned to his own people. Then, he continued moving forward as nothing had happened.

    Some of them tried to speak with their leader tounch an attack against Akhur, but he refused, and even yelled at them, ¡°are you fucking insane?¡±

    ~~~~

    A ball of green light of the same size as a carriage. That was the portal that led to the Elven Kingdom, one of them at least.

    Few people knew about it, as it was hidden inside an illusion array. Wisa

 Chapter 135 Building a Settlement

    They all passed through the portal and were shocked the moment they saw what was beyond that portal.

    The trees inside the Elven forest were as tall as buildings, and so thick that it needed 6 fully grown men to fully embrace it.

    All the people from the other tribe were also shocked, but did not stay long where the portal was, as they left, following a road to the left.

    It was their deal before going inside that ce. Each group of people would go their own way, and Arthur did the same.

    ¡°Wisa, do you know anything about this ce?¡± Arthur said.

    She was the only person who had researched this ce, but never went there in person.

    ¡°Elves aren¡¯t that friendly with humans because of the war from ages ago. I¡¯m not sure about their rtionship in today¡¯s age.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    Bill was also near Arthur and Wisa and entered the conversation, providing useful information.

    ¡°My Dragon Scale Empire has an alliance with the elves to fight against the dark races. Maybe I can somehow get us out of trouble if the situation requires it?¡± Bill said.

    ¡°That would be great.¡± Arthur said.

    They were relieved after knowing that. It made them uneasy to walk inside an unknown territory, but they did not have any choice, as staying inside the desert was a lost cause.

    Arthur had the n to improve his strength a lot on that new continent, and then fight his way back to his old kingdom and find Nefion. A task that surely wouldn¡¯t be easy, but he would do anything in his power to get it done.

    ¡°Where should we go?¡± Arthur said.<sub></sub>

    The number of people with them was not small, and it could be seen as the poption of a small city. Where should they go?

    ¡°The elves are in a small numberpared to a long time ago, but their territory remained the same size. If we are careful, and explore this ce properly, then we can find a decent spot to build up a vige.¡± Wisa said.

    A long time ago, the elves were at war against the nearby humans, and ended up losing a lot of its habitants. Elves were creatures that couldn¡¯t have babies that easily, and it would take them a long time to recover their poption.

    Centuries have passed since that war, yet they still needed thousands of years to get back to what they were in terms of poption. Even with their small number, the humans couldn¡¯t take their territory.

    Inside the forest, the elves reigned, and if the humans wanted to conquer that piece ofnd, they would have to fight in the terrain the elves knew, and were stronger at.

    The humans tried to fight in that situation, and ended up losing repeatedly, until they finally stopped and make a peace offer to the elves.<sub></sub>

    Although the war had ended, the hatred the elves had for the humans did not vanish, and it was still carved in their hearts. They only opted for an alliance with the humans because the dark races that were attacking also had the Elven forest as their target.

    Bill had shared all of that with Arthur, and said he had learned all of that from his father, who was a general in the army.

    They kept moving in the opposite direction from where the other humans went and eventually reached an area with a river. One thing that caught their attention was that the area was in, and the vegetation wasn¡¯t as dense as the other areas, and that meant it was a decent spot to build a vige.

    ¡°Everyone. We will camp here for the night, and in fact, maybe we can build our vige here if the area is safe.¡± Arthur said.

    All the devotees were happy to hear that. They wanted some time to rest after walking through the desert, and now through the forest. Also, their food was running low, so it was the best if they rested and maybe hunted to feed up all those people.

    Considering the amount of people there, the food would be a problem, so Arthur decided to quickly form lots of hunting parties, and made them explore different parts of their surroundings, looking for food.

    ¡°Sully, can you fly and look from above to see if there¡¯re any buildings around this area? Buildings mean elves, and we should be careful if they are near.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡±

    Arthur also flew towards the sky to look at the surrounding area. All he could see was nature, devoid of any type of building.

    Wisa had told him that the elves liked to live inside trees, but they still built their houses inside those trees, which meant it wasn¡¯tpletely camouged.

    And elves also needed food and water. It was known that they were one of the best for cultivating food, so if a settlement of elves was nearby, then surely it would have farms around it, and Arthur wasn¡¯t seeing any of that.

    It was a good sign, as they needed some time to settle, and who knows how the elves would react after seeing that many humans inside their territory? Maybe they would think they were trying to finally conquer it?

    The thought of going in a war against the elves wasn¡¯t something Arthur liked. They were strong and mysterious. No one knew exactly what the elves were capable of, but one thing was clear. Even with their smaller poption, they held against lots of humans, and Arthur did not see how he could win against that.

    After he made sure the surrounding area was clear, he also made his own hunting group and went looking for food.

    Wisa and Jane stayed with the other devotees who were building improvised houses. Arthur told them to use the enormous trees just like the elves did, and they also thought it was a good idea, as it made them harder to spot in the forest.

    Arthur went hunting with Kai, Theo, and Bill also went with them. He wanted to see how much Kai had improved, as he was already level 32.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, teacher. You¡¯re too busy!!!¡± Kai said.

    ¡°Today I¡¯ll see if you improved. Also, I want to share new techniques with you after we get back.¡±

    ¡°Really? Awesome!¡±

    They left the river and went inside the dense forest, looking for food.

 Chapter 136 Attacked in the Forest

    The sound of sticks breaking, and the leaves moving with the wind. Unknown sounds of animals they had never seen before, and the approaching night that made everything more tense, dangerous.

    It was something they had to do. Food was a problem they needed to solve immediately, or else their dream of building a prosperous settlement would go down the drain.

    Arthur took the lead of the group he formed, venturing inside the dense forest, looking for beasts to hunt. The bigger the beast, the better, as it meant more food to feed up all the people he had near that river.

    A beast showed up not that long after they went looking for one. It was a ck panther with yellow eyes and sharp white teeth. Arthur noticed that the level of that beast wasn¡¯t as high as he thought it would be, only level 15.

    If one judged just by the appearance, then surely that beast would rank as a strong one, but Arthur had his system, so he knew better.

    All the people with him, Kai, Theo and Bill, had higher levels than that beast, so Arthur opted to move out from the front, and let them hunt the beast, showcasing their abilities..

    The weakest of the three was Bill, so Arthur focused most of his attention on him, as he would not let him get in danger. Kai wanted to prove himself, but he could also sense that the beast in front of them wasn¡¯t strong, and that he needed to face something else to impress Arthur.

    Still, Kai took the lead, as he was the best in meleebat among the three of them. Theo stood behind to use his ranged spells, and Bill took out a spear from his back, and went to closebat as well.

    The ck panther wasn¡¯t scared of them, and pounced forward, trying to bite Theo, who was in the back line. It was a smart beast, as it targeted the ranged mage first.

    Kai quickly understood the situation, and used his water wings to fly backwards, and his water spear to block the attack from the ck panther, sending it away with the impact.

    After that, Theo cast his spell, and ice formed in the paws of that beast, locking it in ce. Bill and Kai exchanged nces, and both dashed forward with their weapons. The spear in Bill¡¯s hands pierced the chest of the beast, and the water spear of Kai pierced the head.

    It was dead after a marvelous team work from the trio. Arthur was happy to see all of them working together so well.

    ¡°Theo, you know ice spells?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Only 2. My key attribute is water, so I can also use ice, but it is harder to learn these spells, so I don¡¯t know many of them yet.¡±

    Arthur felt Theo was one student that improved the most in the brief span of time since they knew each other. Not only in terms of skill, but he also grew as a person, and was not a scumbag anymore.

    Kai also improved a lot, and with his wyvern bloodline, surely he would reach an incredible level of power in the future.

    After the fight was over, Arthur grabbed the body of that panther and tossed inside his magical pouch.

    ¡°These magical pouches are so useful. I need to learn how to make these.¡±

    It was so much easier to store things with that, especially to store food when hunting. Arthur could get lots of food before having to return. Also, the crates inside his magical pouch that had the carvings which allowed food to not rot were incredible.

    They continue forward, killing other beasts, and the deeper they went inside the forest, the stronger the beasts became, until the beasts suddenly stopped showing up, and the atmosphere was strange.

    Arthur did not know why, but he sensed something was off, so he used his dragon senses to the utmost, scanning the surrounding area, looking for hidden enemies. He found nothing, that until an arrow shot from behind a bush, hitting his right shoulder, piercing it.

    ¡°Everyone, be careful!¡± Arthur said as he cast a magical barrier around them, blocking the next arrows that came towards them.

    He did not know who was attacking them. The two possibilities that crossed his mind were the elves or the humans from the other tribes. Well, his theory wasn¡¯t right, but notpletely wrong, either.

    What attacked them was dark elves, one of the dark races that were at war against the Dragon Scale Empire, and also the elves, as they were allies of the empire.

    How were they inside that forest without the elves realizing it?

    They looked simr to elves, but with a darker skin and red eyes. Arthur saw they had the levels between 35 and 40. Not that high, but dark elves were extraordinary with stealth, and they also knew illusion magic. Not that easy to win against them.

    Arthur¡¯s first thought was to protect the others with him. Kai was the only person who could take care of himself, but Bill needed protection, and Theo was not that good in meleebat, which meant that he was an easy target for the Elven assassins that were lurking around them.

    ¡°We will deal with them at ater time. Let¡¯s leave.¡± Arthur said.

    He grabbed Bill and Theo, one in each arm, and flew away. Kai had his water wings to fly as well, so he followed closely behind.

    The dark elves tried their best to take them down, shooting arrows, but these were all blocked by the magical barrier Arthur ced around them.

    Arthur flew away, but did not return to his settlement directly after that. He first waited to make sure no one was following them before doing so.

    All the people were hungry, and once the hunting groups returned with the food, they made a huge campfire near the river, and cooked all the food they had gathered.

    ¡°We have been attacked by dark elves.¡±

    ¡°Dark elves? Around this area? Something isn¡¯t right.¡± Wisa said.

    Arthur gazed at the forest and entered a deep thought.

 Chapter 137 An Elven Settlement

    The first weeks around that area were peaceful. All the hunting groups did not find the dark elves again, and the settlement¡¯s construction went well, and progressed in a rapid.

    Now they had houses to sleep in, and a few farms were getting into shape near the area. Food wasn¡¯t a problem anymore, and with the river nearby water wasn¡¯t either.

    Things were going in the right direction, but Arthur could not help but think about these dark elves that showed up a few weeks ago.

    Bill said the Elven kingdom had an alliance with the Dragon Scale Empire to fight against the dark races, and the dark elves were part of it, alongside with the orcs, trolls, vampires, and many creatures.

    If the dark elves were nearby, then it could only mean 2 things. The dark elves were infiltrated, or the Elven kingdom wasn¡¯t as friendly as they looked. Either way, it was something they had to check, and Arthur decided he would be the person doing it.

    The rest of them remained in the settlement. Arthur called out Sully to stay nearby and protect them, as he was already reaching level 70.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s explore this area.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    Arthur had scanned the surrounding area before, but never went that far from the ce he was in. It was an immense forest, so it was hard to decide which way to go, but Arthur knew where the elves might be.

    ¡°The river!¡±

    It doesn¡¯t matter if it is humans or elves; they needed water. Arthur tried his best to look for other rivers around that area, but it seemed the one near his settlement was the only around in kilometers. So, he used his flight spell and followed the river.

    At first, he found nothing, and that concerned him. Were they really that far from the rest of the elves? But soon Arthur spotted a tree far away that looked different from the others.

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s a house?¡± Arthur thought.

    He flew in that direction, but prepared his teleport spell just in case something happened. When he got near that tree, he saw other trees around that one with houses in the insides, and farms all around it.<sub></sub>

    A few Elven kids were outside ying, and others were taking care of the farms. An idea popped into his mind.

    ¡°Will this work?¡±

    Arthur hid and watched the elves. He looked at their appearance, their behavior, everything. After he was confident enough, Arthur changed his appearance to one of an elf.

    The idea he had in mind was to act like he had lost his memory, and then get more information from that Elven settlement. If he showed up as a human, the news would travel from that settlement to all the others, and eventually to the Elven capital. That would make it harder for Arthur to travel unnoticed, and perhaps they would refuse to talk with a human.

    For that reason, he opted to change his appearance to a young elf that looked simr to him, yet not identical. Arthur changed his hair to a blond long one, and two pointed ears.

    He walked towards the Elven settlement, and soon the elves there noticed he did not live there. At least 6 Elven guards showed up, wielding swords and bows made of a yellow ore.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    They used a strange tongue, but it wasn¡¯t hard for Arthur to speak it, as he knew thenguage spell, which was incredible.

    ¡°I- I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t even recall my name. Please, help me!¡± Arthur said as he get down on his knees, and cried.

    Elves were kind, so the guards put their weapons down and brought Arthur to the biggest house inside that tree.

    There they fed him with a soup. It tasted good, and a warmth of feeling passed through his body.

    ¡°You don¡¯t remember what happened?¡± Ralnor said.

    Ralnor was the person in charge of that Elven settlement, and he was trying to learn more about the mysterious elf that showed up in his home.

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I woke up near a river not that far from here. I- I can¡¯t even recall my name¡­¡±

    Arthur did his best to act, and Ralnor believed in it. He did not know if his acting was that good, or was the elves that were na?ve.

    ¡°You can stay here as long as you like. There¡¯s an empty house, actually. Someone moved out to live in the capital, so you can stay there. Even if you don¡¯t get your memories back, you can create new ones here.¡± Ralnor said.

    He was an incredible person, and Arthur felt bad for lying to him, but it was necessary to know more about the situation.

    If a human showed up in their settlement, then surely the treatment wouldn¡¯t be as good. Perhaps they wouldn¡¯t attack, but getting information as a human would be hard, as elves did not trust humans.

    The leader of the settlement gave Arthur new clothing and showed him his new house, which was not that far from where they were. Just like all the others, it was a tree with a house built inside of it. Strangely, it was quite beautiful, and making one of those looked hard.

    ¡°How did they do it?¡±

    It was a bigger house than he expected, with 2 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. One thing that surprised him was that the elves had bathrooms simr to those in his previous world, as if they had the technology and the knowledge to build one.

    Notpletely the same, as the shower had hot-water because of magic, and the toilet also had a magic in it that made all the poop and pee disappear. To be fair, it was actually better than the bathrooms he knew back in his world, but that the design looked so simr made Arthur wonder.

    ¡°That city underneath the desert also looked simr to a city from the modern age. Is this a coincidence or there is more to it?¡±

 Chapter 138 Joining the Army (1)

    Arthur knew the location of that settlement, and also the location of his settlement. When night-time arrived, and he was alone inside his new house, he left.

    With the help of his teleport spell, Arthur returned to his own settlement in one minute, and exined everything to his girls, and a few other high-ranked members inside the settlement, such as Theo, Kai, Mohe, and Bill.

    ¡°That is an awesome idea, but you should return before someone notices something abnormal. Remember that it is your first day there, and the elves may watch you.¡± Jane said.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll stay away for some days before returning here. Sully has a mental connection with me, so if anything happens, he will warn me.¡±

    After that quick conversation, Arthur left, returning to the Elven settlement. Just like Jane had said, a few elves were around his house, watching his every move. It was a good thing that spacial magic was considered a legend, and there was no way they would guess the new elf would know it.

    Arthur returned to his house without them noticing it andid down on his soft bed with a book in hands. What could he do to get them to trust him? There was a way, but it would take him some time, but time was something he had the most, as there was no way he could leave the Elven Kingdom as of now.<sub>.</sub>

    Early in the morning, Arthur wandered around and looked for the person in charge of the guard training for the settlement. He was already teaching a few young elves that were hitting a training doll made of wood.

    ¡°You are new around here, right? The one without memory.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m, yes. Well, at least I recalled my name, Akhur.¡±

    ¡°Akhur? A different name, but anyway, it is a good thing you¡¯re remembering.¡±

    ¡°Also, I came here for another reason. Maybe I could join the training to be a guard? Seeing all of you made me eager to one day join the army!¡± Arthur said.<sub></sub>

    ¡°A difficult goal you have, but one that is not impossible. You can join Akhur. I¡¯m Giullis, a veteran in the army and now the person in charge of teaching the younger generation how it is done.¡±

    Arthur grabbed a training gear and went to the training grounds. He did just like the others, attacking the training doll with a two-handed sword. He had more skill than the rest, and Giullis noticed that as well.

    ¡®All right, everyone. Let¡¯s do some training fights.¡± Giullis said.

    The other youths were used to it, as they did that every morning. A few of them there did not like the new elf arriving out of nowhere and already getting in their training. They had to deserve that spot, and now someone just earns it without effort? They would not let that happen.

    Arthur went to the first fight, and his opponent did not have a friendly face. Giullis did not notice the killing intent behind the gaze of that youth, but Arthur did, and would let everyone know how superior he was.<sub></sub>

    ¡°All right, start!¡±

    The elf against Arthur rushed in, wielding two swords made of wood. He had a different type of stance and used magic against Giullis rules. A green energy circled the body of the elf with some ethereal flowers that showed up from time to time.

    Elves could only have 2 types of elemental affinity: wood and wind. For that reason, they were the race with the most knowledge about it, and almost all the elves nowadays had twin affinities, which meant they could use wood and wind spells. That was one reason the elves remained at the top, even with their sparse poption.

    The spell that the elf had just cast was one of the wood element that created poisonous flowers that attached to the weapon the user used, making it deadly. It seemed he was trying to kill Arthur.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Giullis yelled, but stopping the attack was impossible.

    Arthur saw all of that and wanted tough. For him, stop that attack using any of his spells was easy, but that would warn the elves as he did not know any spells of the wood element, and neither of the wind element. So Arthur opted for a more warrior style.

    When the elf got near and tried to sh both of its poisounos swords towards Arthur, he used his superior attributes, dodging the uing attack with ease. He then stood far away behind the youth and waited for Giullis toe.

    He wanted to beat that elf so badly no one would recognize him, but if he did that, both of them would be on the wrong side, and that would affect the rtionship with the other elves. Arthur did not want that, and Giullis nodded at him after seeing his mature behavior.

    ¡°Kymil, I¡¯ll not expel you because of the respect I have for your father, but if anything like this happens again, you¡¯re out. Do you understand?¡±

    Giullis made sure that all the other elves there heard it, and most of them that had thoughts of doing something like that to Arthur thought otherwise. They did not have the same luck as Kymil, whose father was a general in the army, and a friend of Giullis. If they were the ones doing that, then surely they would be in bed sheets.

    Arthur stand aside and watched all the others spar during the morning. Giullis went near him from time to time, saying he was sorry for that behavior, and that he would make sure nothing like that ever happens again.

    ¡°I need to make Akhur stay here. He¡¯s strong, and I barely saw his movements back there. Maybe the Elven Kingdom will have a new famous general in the army?¡±

    What would Giullis think if he knew that the speed he witnessed was barely 5% of the Arthur¡¯s power? As for Arthur, he got to know from Giullis that the Elven capital was near to where they were, and they would go there in a month for the next phase of their training.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m invincible. These giants are strong, and now that I have them as my undead minions, it will be easy to conquer allnds. First, I need to know how to get out of this ce.¡± A tall, robed skeleton said.

 Chapter 139 Joining the Army (2)

    The time Arthur spent inside that Elven settlement was peaceful, as none of the other youths plotted against him after Giullis warned them not to.

    Deep down, he wanted to take revenge on Kymil, but that would have to wait. The event that got most of Arthur¡¯s attention was the trip they would do.

    Giullis said an important step in their training would happen inside the Elven capital, and depending on how well they perform there, then joining the army was not a pipe dream anymore.

    Arthur had teleported to his settlement back and forth during the past month, and the progress of it was astonishing. They could now live in the forest without a problem, and Arthur could not help but praise the adaptability from the desert people.

    Now, the day he had to leave, the Elven settlement arrived. Arthur had already warned his people about it, but promised he would frequently return. In fact, in this past month, Arthur focused on learning more spacial-time spells, and learned the Anchor.

    Anchor was a powerful spell that allowed the caster to link two different ces and teleport between them with just the thought. It had arge cool downtime, but the distance from each location was infinite, which meant Arthur could teleport to both edges of the world if he wanted to.<sub>.</sub>

    He set the first anchor in his settlement near the river, and would set the second one inside the Elven capital so that he could travel between these two ces with ease. It was a spell mixed with an array, which was something Arthur had never seen.

    ¡°The ancient mages were truly incredible.¡±

    Giullis said that the capital wasn¡¯t far, but it was. Maybe the elves had a different perspective of far? Arthur guessed the reason after spending thest month with the elves.

    Elves had huge life spans, and some Elven kids had over 80 years of age. For them, the perspective of time was messed, as they lived a lot more than humans. The capital was far, yet for them, who had a lot of time, it was close.

    ¡°All right, everyone, jump inside the carriage.¡±<sub></sub>

    The carriage Giullis prepared did not have horses in front of it, but strange creatures Arthur had never seen. These creatures had feathers, but were as tall as 3 meters, and had a peck that was intimidating. They reminded Arthur of the Chocobo from a game he used to y when a kid.

    These creatures were a lot faster than horses, and even though the carriage was moving fast, it still had stability, and barely moved around as they traveled.

    All the youths that had trained with Giullis were there, and not a single one of them liked Arthur. He showed up out of nowhere, and was taking the same test as them, but the difference was that they trained for it for years.

    They hoped Giullis would separate from them once they reached the capital, and that would be their chance to plot against Arthur and make sure he wouldn¡¯t pass the test.

    Arthur was not dumb. He knew they would try something against him and was just waiting to see it happen. For him, these weak elves were nothing, and a plot by them would be easily demolished.<sub></sub>

    Another thing that happened during thisst month was a change in his devouring skill. He had barely used it since he got it, as the attributes were only temporary, and Arthur did not see the need for it, but know it was different.

    After his body gained a certain amount of celestial energy from his devotees, his devouring skill changed, and it fused with the celestial energy that granted him permanent attributes.

    Now, every time he ate a beast, or someone, he would get a portion of its strength, leading to a definitive increase in attributes. The only downside was that the stronger his attributes got, the lesser attributes the eaten prey would grant, and eventually he would gain 0.

    When Arthur discovered that, he roamed around the Elven settlement, killing lots of beasts he found nearby and devouring them. At first, he got a few attribute points, but it quickly stopped, as the beasts around that area were too weak.

    If he wanted to get more permanent attributes, he would have to find stronger beasts or people to devour. These opportunities would surely appear one day.

    ~~~~

    After 28 days of travel, they reached the Elven capital. It was immense, and the most beautiful city Arthur had ever seen.

    The walls were tall, made of a green ore that reminded him of a jade. It also had magical vines growing in it, and with a quick nce, Arthur could tell these were there to protect the city, like a defensive array of some sort.

    All the buildings inside the city were neatly arranged, and also made of precious materials that were only found inside the Elven forest. Some were made of ancient wood from the trees in the forest, others were built using the same stone as the wall, and some were of materials Arthur did not know.

    What caught his attention the most was how clean the streets were, and how everything was perfect, as if someone had designed everything beforehand, and the citizens respected thews and took care of the city.

    If onepared that to the cities where humans tossed the trash all over the ce, and tried to kill each other in the middle of the streets, it was worlds apart.

    Not that it was a perfect ce. It still had dirty in some alleys, homeless people, and thugs, but these were low numbered, and the city guards would always catch these people before something bad happen.

    The thugs were sent to jail constantly, and the king tried his best to help the homeless people, building ces that took children in, and shelter for the homeless.

    ¡°This is it. We are here. Slyvian, the most prestigious city in the entire worldJoi!¡±

 Chapter 140 Joining the Army (3)

    Giullis guided them through the city, as it was the first time they went there. The elves couldn¡¯t stop praising the city, saying how great it was, and Arthur agreed to all of it. It was incredible, and how did they build it in the first ce?

    Arthur remembered the bathroom he saw in the settlement that looked modern, and tried to spot if this ce also had simrities, and it had. The way the streets were built resembled Earth, and it even had storm drains.

    Something was strange about this world. At first, Arthur thought it was medieval without technology, but with magic. Now, though, the city he found beneath the desert, and also these elves, looked more advanced, as if someone had shared their knowledge.

    It was impossible to find that answer as of now, so it was the best to focus on what was in his grasp, and that was to pass the test to enter the army.

    The first stop they made was in an inn, and Giullis rented a separate room for each one of them. Arthur liked that, as sharing the room with those people would be a pain in the ass.

    From what he had heard, they would have met with one of the army¡¯s generals, and he would grant them a test. Giullis said that the test would hunt a beast in the wilderness around Slyvian, but he couldn¡¯t tell what beast as it was random.

    They did not rest inside their rooms and galloped to the pce. It was where the Elven royal family was, and where they would meet with that general.

    On his way, Arthur checked his status to see how it was, as he was constantly getting free attributes from his devotees, and also from his new devouring skill.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]<sub></sub>

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 58]

    [Health: 9600/9600]

    [Mana: 23000/23000]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 162]

    [Agility: 89]<sub></sub>

    [Vigor: 84]

    [Wisdom: 186]

    [Charm: 93]

    [Free points: 0]

    [Potential Wives: Wisa: Level 53]

    Arthur¡¯s level did not increase, as his was not with his girls for that to happen the amount of free attributes he got was amazing. He was sure that he had more attributes than those above level 130.

    The attributes weren¡¯t the only thing that progressed during the time he spent inside the Elven forest. Arthur was close to create his own sunlight tattoo, and his sunlight energy was on the brink ofpletion.

    It slowed down once they reached that ce, as it wasn¡¯t as hot as the desert, but Arthur guessed that even in the desert, it would take him a lot of time toplete.<sub></sub>

    ¡°This probably requires something else, like devour an item embed with fire, or jump inside a volcano. I need to find this toplete it, then jump into the next essence.¡±

    He also learned more spells of the wooden attribute, and some of the wind attribute. These were the two essences he n onplete while he was inside the Elven forest. If his guess was correct, then this ce should be the best ce to find suitable materials with those elements.

    Now that his sunlight energy was almostplete, he could learn more advanced dragon skills, but Arthur wanted to first fullyplete the essence, then learn the best skills in that book he had.

    In his mind, it was the best to learn all the best skills, and don¡¯t focus too much on the basic ones. If he was still in his early stages of absorption, then surely that would be a good idea, but he was almostpleting it, so he might as well wait.

    They walked through the city where elves chatted in the streets, traded goods, and offered their services. In that regard, it looked exactly like the cities from the humans.

    It was easy to see the vast pce, and before they even got there, it was already noticeable. Arthur thought the pce where Jane lived was immense, butpared to the one he was seeing, it was a joke.

    Made of the same rare stones from the walls, the pce was all green with gentle vines growing in the roof and walls, creating a decoration that fit well with the elves. They had an enormous courtyard with gardens of flowers, but also of magical herbs that they used for treatment, and nourishment of their mana.

    Everything was clean, neatly arranged, and even the outside pools had crystal clear water, which meant the people there cleaned the pool every day.

    The pce was also surrounded by walls, but these weren¡¯t high, as there was no need for it. A defensive array was set around it, so the walls were just for privacy, as the real protection came from that array.

    Guards stood in the front gate, and they recognized Giullis in an instant.

    ¡°Giullis, my friend. It¡¯s been a long time. Are these the ones taking the test?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I hope you all can take care of them.¡±

    ¡°Ha ha, absolutely. These are the hope of our army. We need excellent warriors. Please,e in.¡±

    He looked friendly, and was not acting rude with them,pletely different from how the guards acted back in the pce. Maybe it was because their roles changed? Back then, Arthur was only a chief, but now he was a candidate to join their army.

    Anyway, they all followed the guard to a building nearby. It was not the pce, but a separated building outside. That was the ce where the pce guards lived, and where the general was.

    The moment they walked in, a tall sturdy man appeared, hugging Giullis like he was about to crush his bones.

    ¡°Brother!!! It¡¯s been a long time. You look so skinny. Are you eating enough?¡±

    Giullis was not skinny, and in fact was quite muscr, but that thing did not even look like an elf. Maybe the face was of an elf, but the body reminded Arthur of a troll.

    ¡°Is he Giullis brother? They look a lot different¡­¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°Everyone, this is my brother, En. En, this is everyone.¡±

    ¡°Ha ha, hello young people. Don¡¯t worry, whoever joins my army will get as big as me. I have the perfect training method for all of you look bulky.¡±

    After that, he made a double-biceps pose, catching Arthurpletely off guard.

    ¡°This person is insane¡­¡±

 Chapter 141 [Bonus chapter]Joining the Army (4)

    They introduced themselves to En, and he scanned each one of them. When his gaze stopped in Arthur¡¯s, he felt a strange feeling of danger, but that couldn¡¯t be possible.

    A youth was in front of him, and he had spent years on the battlefield. How could that feelinge from that person?

    He tossed that to the back of his mind and continued to exin how the test would work. Just like Giullis told them, they had to hunt a beast around Slyvian.

    En grabbed a few papers which contained a realistic drawing of the beast, as well as a description. Then, he put these papers facing down, and waved his hand, casting a minor wind to rearrange the papers.

    ¡°Now, each one of you wille here and choose one of these papers, and that would determine what beast you¡¯ll be hunting.¡±

    Arthur allowed them to go first, to choose their papers, and waited by the side. When he was on his turn, he noticed that there were more papers there than there were people.<sub></sub>

    Even after the other elves got their papers, there were still at least 7 papers there. Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be one for each of them?

    Without another option, he grabbed one paper, turned around, and saw the beast he had to hunt.

    ¡®Lava Worm.¡¯

    Giullis saw the paper, and could not help but feel sad about his student. The Lava Worm was the strongest beast around the area, and even the generals couldn¡¯t take it lightly. Why was that type of beast there? In all the other recruitments, nothing like that happened. All the others got weak beasts that were like their level of power.

    They were concerned, but Arthur jumped with joy. With his Dragon Fire Body, he had a huge resistance to fire, which would be great when facing that beast. Also, he had an idea in his mind to eat the beast¡¯s core, and try to absorb it toplete his sunlight essence.<sub></sub>

    Well, he called it sunlight because he mostly increased it using the sunlight energy, but it was more like a fire essence, and anything simr to it would work. But as he read more about the beast, he frowned.

    Based on what the paper said, that beast was incredibly strong, and it was not something a trainee like him should face. Obviously, he was beyond that, and killing that beast wouldn¡¯t be hard, but if he was truly just a trainee, then he would be dead.

    He scanned at the other elves, who had smiling faces after witnessing his bad luck. Although it was not bad luck. The moment he looked at Kymil, he saw how he looked the other way, avoiding his gaze.

    ¡°So you asked your papa general to screw my entrance test. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll eventually find a good excuse to kill you.¡± Arthur thought.

    Giullis was also feeling something was off, but did not say a thing while they were all there.<sub></sub>

    ¡°You¡¯ll have 7 days to finish this. Meet me in here with proof.¡± En said.

    They all left the pce before that, and a guard scouted them out. Giullis stayed longer to talk with his brother, but the rest of them did not have the rights to stay in the pce for long.

    All the elves returned to the inn. Giullis showed them to rest in their rooms. Arthur did not have that problem, so he went out and hunt that beast as quickly as possible.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to rest? I heard you¡¯re facing a powerful beast.¡±

 Chapter 142 Task Completed

    The temperature inside the cave increased after every step Arthur took. He couldn¡¯t understand how a volcano was there, in the middle of an immense Elven forest. It did not fit the vibe, but who was he to ask?

    Arthur had only one goal in mind, and that was to find the Lava Worm and kill it. In his mind, it wouldn¡¯t be a hard fight considering his fire resistance, and his high attributes that were more like a cheat.

    A cave that not only kept increasing its temperature, but got narrower, giving a dreadful feeling. Also, there weren¡¯t any living beings inside of it. All Arthur could hear was his breathing, and that wasn¡¯tforting at all.

    It was at that moment, after walking for about 10 minutes, he saw it. A pit ofva, and a creatureying above it, asleep. A worm that was almost transparent, and with visibleva inside its body. About 17 meters long, with sharp long teeth in its mouth, but no eyes.

    The best moment to deal with it was at that moment, when the creature was deep asleep.

    ¡°What attack should I use? All I know are fire dragon skills or fire spells¡­¡±

    He knew a few wood spells he was learning, as it would probably be the next essence he wished toplete, but these spells were weak whenparison to that Lava Worm. It was a beast that had a level of 70, and those tier 1 or 2 spells, Arthur knew, would do no harm to it.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Let¡¯s turn into a madman then, he.¡±

    A change urred on his body, changing itpletely. Dark scales, shining eyes, ws and a tail. Arthur looked like a half dragon, as he activated his dragon transformation, increasing his attributes by a lot.

    The n he had in mind was to go into a meleebat with that beast, and devour it to perhaps finish his essencepletion. It would be the best-case scenario for him.

    Two fire wings grew on his back as he fly in top speed towards the sleeping worm. With all of that noise, it woke up, roaring towards Arthur, who did not stop because of it, but increased the speed.

    With a swing of its tail, the Lava Worm tried to attack him, and a normal person could not withstand the power behind that. Arthur looked at it disdainfully and grabbed the tail that tried to hit him.

    Arthur retreated a few steps with the impact, but did not fall, and kept firm in his stance. Then, using his extraordinary strength, he tossed the worm into the wall, making the entire cave tremble, and a few rocks fell.<sub></sub>

    A change was something he could not give to that creature. Not that it would win against him in a fight. That was impossible, but it could escape, and Arthur needed the proof that he truly killed the beast.

    ¡°Give me your head!¡±

    He shed his sharp dragon ws that were stronger than most treasures, and with one attack, cut off the head of the worm. Arthur quickly tossed it inside his magical pouch and continued his assault by devouring the rest of the worm.

    On his belly and face grew a mouth made of a ck substance. Then, it opened up so high it almost touched the roof of the cave. That could devour an entire city if he wishes to.

    A suction force came out of the mouth, making the rest of the Lava Worm go towards it, even if it did not want to. Then, the once powerful Lava Worm disappeared into Arthur¡¯s belly, and who knows where it went? It was a mystery whatid inside Arthur¡¯s belly.

    ¡°Maybe it is like a dimensional realm inside? Creepy.¡± Arthur thought.<sub></sub>

    At first Arthur felt nothing different, but when the beast core of that Lava Worm, who contained the essence ofva, was digested, he felt a painful warmth inside his body.

    ¡°Agggr!¡±

    It hurt so much that Arthur rolled on the cave¡¯s ground, and he felt like he was dying. That feeling of dreadsted a long time, and even Arthur couldn¡¯t tell how long he stayed there, trembling on the ground.

    But in the end, it was worthy of it. Thepletion of his fire essence went to 100%, and now he could learn the best fire skills from the dragon¡¯s.

    Not only that, but he was almost immune to fire now. Arthur jumped into theva pit not that far from where he was, and it felt good, as if he was in a sauna.

    With that, he left the cave, and returned to Slyvian to show the head of that beast, and pass the army¡¯s test.

    The reason behind it was to get more information about this Elven kingdom. At first, it was only to learn more about the dark elves that shouldn¡¯t be around that area, but now it was something else.

    Arthur saw that the technology of this Elven Kingdom was a lot like his previous world to the point it was almost a copy. That intrigued him, and the only way to learn more is to merge with theirmunity.

    With the help of his teleport spell, he quickly returned to Slyvian. When he was going to the volcano, he only used the teleport asionally as he wanted to store mana if anything bad happens, but now he did not care.

    He was back in a matter of a day, and rushed towards the pce to meet nor, who would probably be surprised to see him.

    The guards let him pass as nor had told them about the trainees who woulde see him, and when Arthur went inside that building, all the other elves were there.

    ,??m Everyone had passed the test, as the beasts they took were fairly weak.

    Kymil saw Arthur and was the first one to spill bullshit.

    ¡°Akhur? Did you run away scared?¡±

    The other elvesughed. In their minds, it was impossible for him toplete the task, as the volcano was far away from the city, and the beast was strong beyondprehension.

    Arthur tossed the head of the Lava Worm onto the table, mming at it.

    ¡°I honestly thought it would be harder. A Lava Worm of only 17 meters is so weak.¡±

 Chapter 143 An Unforgettable Night

    The moment the Lava¡¯s Worm head hit the table, everyone present could not believe what their eyes were seeing.

    nor went close to inspection, and saw that it was indeed real, and a strong Lava Worm.

    Since the first moment he saw Arthur, deep down, he knew Arthur was different and had a mysterious aura around him.

    ¡°Congrattions, kid. I can easily say that you¡¯ll be a general in no time.¡± nor said, smiling.

    With that, all the elves passed the test and were given a new set of clothing and armor. They could also choose their weapons, and Arthur grabbed a two-handed sword that was almost as big as him.

    ¡°You can stay here in the city for 2 days, but after that, we will all leave. The Dragon Scale Empire warned us that an army of the dark races areing towards us, and we are setting our troops on the border to fight.¡±

    After that, all of them left. The guards of the pce were stunned to see all the youths with additional sets of armor, and they treated them even better than before. They were allrades in the army now.

    Arthur first went to the inn to grab something to eat and then left the city. He searched around the area for a spot with no one around, and cast his anchor spell, linking it to the one he had back on his settlement.<sub></sub>

    It did not take him long to finish, and then he cast once again, vanishing, appearing close to the settlement.

    Everything was different there. There were houses for everyone now, filling the surrounding area of the river.

    The farms were already getting crops, and the kids were trying to get better atbat. Wisa and Jane also did the same with their students.

    ¡°Arthur?¡±

    They were almost crying after seeing him. It had been that long, but it still made them worried.

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    He changed his appearance back. It changed little, only lost his pointed ears and his hair turned from blond to ck.<sub></sub>

    Arthur wanted to spend more time with his girls, and also see how Kai, Theo, and the others were doing. But he also took his time to talk with each one of his devotees, and they were all thankful for the blessings Arthur gave them.

    Well, not him, but the system would automatically give them blessings. Maybe it was the system way to make them keep worshiping him so that he had his attributes increased.

    Everyone was doing better than ever, and despite a few attacks from the nearby beasts, the elves had yet to spot them.

    Arthur called out to everyone, and exined to them everything that happened, including the fact that an army of the dark races was going to attack the border of the Elven Kingdom.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about thest part, as the army is attacking far away from here, at the border near the capital. And I¡¯ll go there defend it myself so that the dark races don¡¯t conquer the Elven Kingdom.¡± Arthur said.

    All the devotees sighed in relief. They had total faith that if their celestial was going to take part in the fight, then there was no way the dark races could win against him.

    After exining everything, he went with Jane and Wisa to their house, which was located inside the biggest tree in the area.<sub></sub>

    When Arthur got inside, he felt that the atmosphere was strange, but couldn¡¯t tell what it was at first. Only when Jane spoke that hepletely understood.

    ¡°I-You¡¯re going to a war, so I think it is time for us to, uh, have our moment.¡±

    Wisa, who was just beside her, said, ¡°do you want me to leave?¡±

    ¡°No, Wisa. You are my teacher, so please teach me.¡±

    Jane took the lead, going towards Arthur, who was still startled by the situation. Both of their lips touched, and a warmth sensation flew inside their bodies.

    She even moaned, as she had never kissed someone before. It heated, and Arthur grabbed her by the waist, embracing her, and walking towards the bed that was not that far from the two.

    While that was happening, Wisa had already taken out her clothes, showing her perfect curves and her big, rounded boobs.

    She also walked towards the bed and helped Jane take out her clothing as well. Arthur also did that, and he was so used to it only took him a few seconds.

    Jane also had a perfect body. Arthur thought she had a more cute look, and Wisa a more mature.

    He went between her legs to suck her pussy.

    ¡°It will feel good now, Jane. Just enjoy, and don¡¯t be shy. You can moan as loud as you want, and no one will hear.¡±

    ¡°Also, suck your teacher¡¯s pussy, please.¡±

    Wisa had her belly facing down, and her pussy was above Jane¡¯s face, who licked it. She wasn¡¯t that good at it at first, but quickly learned how to do it.

    Then, while they did that, Arthur was sucking Jane¡¯s pussy, who couldn¡¯t help but moan with pleasure.

    It was a feeling she had never felt, and Jane regretted she hadn¡¯t had sex earlier.

    ¡°This is so good, ah. I understand why the teacher does it.¡±

    They kept in that position until both of them were wet enough, and Wisa showed Jane how to ride a cock.

    Arthurid down, and Wisa went into the cowgirl position.

    ¡¢ ¡°Watch. Move your hips and sit hard on that cock.¡±

    Wisa kept going up and down, and her boobs moved along with it, and the sound of her butt pouncing was loud.

    She moaned, and couldn¡¯t hold as she orgasmed with Arthur¡¯s cock. Jane watched all of that, and her pussy became more wet than ever.

    ¡°Teacher, please. It is my turn now. I want that dick!¡± Jane said.

    With a smile, Wisa cleaned the way for Jane, who almost jumped with her pussy on the dick.

 Chapter 144 Battle (1)

    Jane rode on the dick like no one. The moment it went inside her pussy, a feeling of pleasure made her moan, and her legs lost the strength, shaking it.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    She couldn¡¯t hold it and had orgasms, repeatedly. Their funsted for hours as Arthur was a machine with the vigor he had. It was more than enough to make both Wisa and Jane tired after multiple orgasms.

    The three of themid on the bed after, and Jane could not hold her smile.

    ¡°It was so good. Thank you, husband!¡± Jane said.

    They already had the conversation before about marriage. Wisa wanted that, and Jane as well. It was not strange for people to have over one wife. Woman could also have over one husband if they wished to.

    It was a different world, and if both parties agreed to it, there wasn¡¯t a problem. So, Wisa and Jane decided they want to marry Arthur, and bond with him for eternity.

    Arthur was more than okay with that, as he loved both of them. In fact, he wanted to be the strongest there is so that no one he cares about gets hurt.<sub></sub>

    Although all the three wanted that marriage to happen, it was not the time. Too many things were happening, and they wished to arrange it, and not rush anything.

    A marriage wouldn¡¯t change how they felt. It was only a ceremony, and it could wait until a better timees.

    They enjoyed their time together in the bed, but also outside of it, helping the other students and tribe members.

    Arthur made a copy of a few wyvern water skills for Kai, and he dly epted it. He also talked with everyone to see if there was something they needed, but everything was okay in their settlement.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make another anchor so that I can teleport from the battlefield if anything happens. Sully will stay here to protect all of you.¡± Arthur said.

    After he was done with the preparations, he teleported back to the ce where the other anchor was, near Slyvian.

    There was still 1 day before they left towards the kingdom¡¯s border to protect it against the dark races. Arthur had nothing to do inside Slyvian, so he took the chance to rest more, and read while waiting for their departure.<sub></sub>

    He was on his way to the inn room Giullis had rented for him when he saw, in an alley, Kymil talking with someone.

    The person he was talking to be looked older, and as Arthur listened more to their conversation, it turned out it was his father.

    ¡°What? That brat survived against the Lava Worm? He probably cheated to pass the test, as even I can¡¯t easily kill one of those things. Listen, you will all go to the border to fight. Take the chance to end his life.¡±

    ¡°Will you go too?¡±

    ¡°No, but remember, when our side loses the fight, you leave. I already talked with the dark elves, and they will not hurt you.¡±

    ¡°I understand, father.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±<sub></sub>

    Kymil¡¯s father nced at the end of the alley after he sensed someone watching them, but when he went there to check, there was no one.

    ¡°My mind is ying tricks?¡± He thought.

    Arthur had used his invisibility spell and left the scene without them noticing him.

    ¡°That was close. But what was that? Kymil and his father are siding with the dark races?¡± Arthur thought.

    The two of them said that the fight was already lost, and that was probably the first part of their n. Well, surely they would get a surprise, as they did not know Arthur had the strength to change the tides of that war.

    Should he warn someone of the high ups of this? Perhaps the king or the queen? No, he couldn¡¯t do that.

    Arthur was only a newly recruited soldier of the army, and there was no way they would believe his word over the word of a general.

    The only way was he bing a general, too.

    ¡°Maybe if I showcase my abilities in this fight, then I can get a promotion? I don¡¯t know, there¡¯s lots of rankings before one turns into a general.¡± Arthur thought.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if that would work, but surely winning that fight would grant the Elven Kingdom time, and with time, he would try to talk with the royal family about what he had witnessed.

    .?O? Anyway, these were things he couldn¡¯t change at that moment, so he went to his room to rest and read some of his books.

    In the very next day, Arthur left Slyvian with not only the new recruits but also with lots of warriors from the Elven army, going directly to the border north of Slyvian.

    They used carriages with the same beast that looked like a Chocobo.

    ¡°I¡¯m nervous about this. What if I die in my first battle?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We have at least 3 generals with us. We should be fine.¡±

    It was amon talk among the soldiers. Everyone was afraid of dying, and these elves were no different. They still fought and defend not only their kingdom, but their families who lived in it.

    That was the ultimate task for a warrior, and Arthur nned to do the same for all the people of his settlement.

    ~~~~

    After 7 days of constant traveling with little rest, they reached the border where the rest of the army was.

    Arthur saw lots of tents, and lots of soldiers, almost 15 thousand. Considering the sparse poption of the elves, that army right there had a high number.

    The new recruits, such as Arthur and the others, were sent to the battalion number 12. There was a captain in themand of each battalion, and the general¡¯smand was all of them.

    It was not the time for the fight yet, as the dark races army was still on their way, and the elves wanted to set an ambush, or perhaps get the terrain advantage so that they could win the fight.

    This army of the dark races knew they had been spotted, yet did not stop their attack, and kept going. For them, it was impossible to lose against the elves.

    Little did they know Arthur was among the elves, and he was someone that could change the course of the battle.

 Chapter 145 Battle (2)

    The next few days after Arthur and the others arrived were peaceful. All the generals from the Elven army shared their thoughts and strategies with the rest of the captains, who shared it with the rest of the army.

    A few catapults were also there, waiting for the enemies to arrive. Also, there were lots of archers, as it was the elves¡¯ specialty.

    Still, Arthur did not like the idea of knowing nothing about the enemy. He wanted to know their numbers, what enemies they were, and how far they were from the battlefield, and this sort of things.

    For that reason, he asked for a reunion with the generals that were there, and one of them was nor, who did the recruitment test a few days ago.

    They were all inside the biggest tent, nning the battle using a table that had a map showing theyout of the area.

    The only reason Arthur got a reunion was because of nor, who spoke highly of Arthur, and even shared to the rest of them he had killed a Lava Worm.

    ¡°So you are the youth nor talked about? Impressive. I can sense great strengthing from you. Now, tell me, what do you want?¡± One general said.

    Arthur first bowed to show them his respects, and then said, ¡°I dislike the idea of having little to none information about our enemies, so I propose a scouting mission, alone.¡±

    ¡°A scouting mission alone? Interesting. What capabilities do you have?¡±<sub></sub>

    He knew they would ask that, so he nned on showing them two of his spells. First, the flight spell. Elves had both the wood and wind element, so it wasn¡¯t umon for an elf to know how to fly.

    The other spell he showed was the invisibility spell. It was a spell that did not have any element attached to it, which meant anyone could learn.

    ¡°This is incredible. Your mastery with the invisibility is so high that is almost impossible to see you. Even I, that is standing right in front of you, can¡¯t tell you are here.¡±

    All the generals were impressed by his showcase of abilities, and some even felt pity for him only being a recruit.

    ¡°Listen, kid. You already showed us quite the skill. If you fight well today, I can promise you will be a captain.¡±

    ¡°We all agree with your mission, but move alone.¡±

    Arthur left the tent, smiling. They agreed to his request, which meant he would get more information about the enemies, and that would increase their winning chance by a lot.

    One thing that bothered him was that the elves did not think of sending someone to scout. Was it because there was no one with the right skill set, or was it because they thought it was an easy win?<sub></sub>

    From what he heard from Kymil¡¯s father, this fight was supposed to be the end of all these elves, but Arthur would do everything he could to prevent that.

    He grabbed a ck cloaking with a hood and left the area where all the tents were. Kymil saw his strange movement and went towards Arthur.

    ¡°Akhur, what are you doing? Scared of the battle and fleeing already?¡± Kymil said as heugh, trying to piss Arthur off.

    ¡°Me? Fleeing? Wasn¡¯t your father also a general? I don¡¯t see him around this area. Maybe he got stuck in the bathroom shitting his pants?¡±

    ¡°YOU!¡±

    Kymil was red with anger, but before he could do anything, Arthur had already vanished using his extraordinary speed.

    The direction he went was where the enemy army shoulde from. Now, the distance they were was unknown to Arthur, and he just kept going until he found something.

    Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Arthur made a few stops to rest, eat, but not to sleep as he did not need to. Finally, after 2 days, he found the army.<sub></sub>

    It was immense. The elves were proud to have around 15 thousand soldiers, but the dark race army? It was at least 4 times bigger.

    That was not even the worst part. The worst part was the creatures of the said army. Dark elves, vampires, orcs, trolls, and even freaking werewolves or some shit simr to it.

    There were also some flying creatures such as imps, gargoyles. Also skeletons. Don¡¯t forget about the skeletons.

    Arthur scanned them, andpared their levels to the ones from the elves back there in the camp. Most of them had simr levels, but the dark race army had a few individuals far stronger than the generals from the Elven army.

    It wouldn¡¯t be an easy fight, and Arthur did not know how they would win against it. He thought of attacking the dark race army right there, using one of his spells, but that could ruin the surprise effect, and also maybe make the army do a detour, and screw the rest of their ns.

    So, just like the mission stated, Arthur was only there to watch and learn more about them.

    With the invisibility spell, and also the vegetation to act as cover, no one from the dark races noticed a thing.

    Arthur was scared that the vampires would sense him, but they did not. After he got the approximated number of creatures there, and their overall strength, he left.

    He used his teleportation spell to get back, as it would make his trip way shorter. That would make the Elven army get the information way before the dark race army arrived, and it would surely be of some help. At least Arthur hoped so.

    After 6 hours of constant teleportation and running, Arthur returned to the ce where the Elven army was.

    nor was outside talking with some soldiers when he saw Arthur.

    ¡°Akhur, how did the mission go?¡±

    ¡°Gather all the generals, now!¡±

    ~~~~

    Inside the tent, all the generals from the Elven kingdom had worried faces, and some even shook in fear.

    ¡°What you say is correct? Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m, absolutely.¡±

    ¡°nor said you killed a Lava Worm? Is that true?¡±

    ¡°It is, sir.¡±

    ¡°How strong are you?¡±

    ¡°Honestly speaking, sir?¡±

    ¡°Please.¡±

    ¡°I can kill all of you with my eyes closed and my hands tied up.¡±

 Chapter 146 Tier 7 Spell

    The tent went silent. At first, the generals thought Arthur was experimenting with them, but Arthur let his energy leak in purpose, which made them believe his words.

    ¡°Can we win?¡± nor said.

    Truth be told, the only reason Arthur was sharing the extent of his power was precisely because of how strong the enemy army was. Before, he felt like it would be a tough battle, but winnable even if he did not use his powers.

    Now? It was theplete opposite. The amount of creatures in that army was astonishing, and also their levels were even higher than the elves.

    If the Elven Kingdom fell here, then the dark races would storm inside the kingdom, which would have led to his girls and all his friends back in the settlement to be hurt.

    He couldn¡¯t let that happen. Not after everything they went through together to be there.

    ¡°What do you suggest we do?¡±

    ¡°Keep the same strategy, and I¡¯ll do the rest.¡±<sub></sub>

    Arthur said as he left the tent, leaving the generals in deep thought about the uing fight.

    They believed everything Arthur said, but that made Arthur suspicious. A few of them already guessed Arthur wasn¡¯t from their Elven Kingdom, but from another ce.

    It was not umon for some elves to live outside of the kingdom, as some preferred to live alone, and perhaps that was Arthur¡¯s case.

    Arthur did not know, but the spell he used was not simple. The spell that could change his appearance was actually an ancient lost spell, and almost no one knew about it.

    The next day was peaceful, but with tension in the air. It was during the nighttime that the dark race army could be seen, marching towards them with bloodthirsty faces.

    ¡°Everyone, in position!¡±

    A front line with all the knights, and a back line with the archers and the ranged only mages. These back line mages handled the long-ranged attacks, but the knights in the front line could also use magic, but knew how to use weapons in the meleebat, like Arthur or Wisa.<sub></sub>

    The moment the elves saw the dark racesing at them, a few were scared. Orcs, trolls, vampires, these types of creatures were scary, and the elves weren¡¯t used to fight them.

    One task the captains and generals had was to boost the morale of their troops. There was a legend about an elf from thousand of years ago, who could use all the elements, and fought side by side with the dragons. Their n was to resurrect that legend using Arthur, and make the elves believe in the victory.

    Arthur was flying above the army with two fire wings behind his back, and a fierce gaze towards the enemy army.

    ¡°EVERYONE, THIS FIGHT IS OURS,¡±

    ¡°WE HAVE A LEGEND TO AID US IN BATTLE,¡±

    ¡¢ ¡°AN ELF WHO MADE HIS NAME THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY,¡±

    ¡°WE WILL FIGHT TILL DEATH, AND THESE DESPICABLE CREATURES WILL NOT CORRUPT OUR LAND!¡±<sub></sub>

    It was something Arthur, and the generals had thought to do before the fight. All the elves heard the speech, and their morale increased, but not that much. The next scene was the grand finale that would make them cheer up.

    Arthur waved his hand, casting one of the wood element spells he learned in the past month. He had the theory of adding sunlight energy to make the nts grow, which would increase the mighty of the spell, and it worked.

    6 circles with strange symbols appeared in front of Arthur, and then in the next moment, vines erupted from the ground, trapping the enemy army.

    Of course, it did not trap the entire army, but it trapped the creatures that were in the front, slowing all of them.

    He wasn¡¯t done, as he waved his hand once again, casting his signature spell, a fireball.

    Now, with the 100% essencepletion, the spell jumped in tiers, and for the first time in centuries, a 7 tier spell appeared.

    The energy fluctuations of that spell made everyone present tremble, and the dark races couldn¡¯t believe their eyes when they spotted the 7 circles appearing in the sky.

    ¡°A-A tier 7 spell!?¡±

    nor couldn¡¯t believe what his eyes were seeing. A moment that would be a legend in the Elven kingdom, and the paintings of that flying youth would be eternally printed in history.

    It did not look like a fireball anymore, but like a meteor. In theory, the basic fireball spell couldn¡¯t reach the 7 tier rank, and at most would only reach the 4 tier.

    No one present thought it was a fireball spell, but another one of incredibly mighty.

    The only reason for it to reach that rank was because of Arthur¡¯s special abilities, and the way he absorbed the essences of the world. Humans couldn¡¯t do that.

    Only dragons, wyverns, and these so-called gods could. The rest couldn¡¯t even dream of achieving that.

    Not that humans weren¡¯t strong without that, of course not. In fact, the humans won against the dragons a long time ago, but how it happened was still a mystery to everyone.

    Anyway, the gigantic ball of me appeared in the sky, going down directly at the enemy army.

    They screamed and tried to avoid it, but it was impossible. The ball of me was toorge, and only the back part of the army survived the attack.

    All the others turned into ashes, dying at the spot. The scene of the attack was something no one present would forget, even after they were dead.

    It would turn into tales the elves would pass down on their generations, and also a fear the creatures of the dark races would never forget.

    Even Arthur, who knew how strong he was, couldn¡¯t believe it. He never thought the spell would break past the 6 tier and enter the 7 tier.

    The number of mages that could cast spells of that magnitude was low, at least in the region they were in.

    Each kingdom or empire had one of these powerful mages, but they never showed up to deal with these types of things, as their power was too great.

    Arthur did not know that there was aw that prohibited these mages of casting tier 7 spells without a good reason, and that was because of the aftermath of it.

    He saw it in person. The forest around the area turned into ashes, and it would be hard to stop the fire.

    ¡°We won?¡±

 Chapter 147 The Empire Fell

    Arge part of the dark races army was wiped out after the tier 7 spell. The elves who had their morale down were screaming, and some even acknowledged Arthur as that elf from the legends.

    That was the only way to exin the amount of power they witnessed, as well as affinity with multiple elements, just like in the legend.

    All the troops saw that most of the army was now dead, so they prepared their own attack.

    The generals were the first to recover from the shock as they yelled, ¡°everyone, attack!¡±

    A stream of elves wearing te armor rushed towards the dark race army. Not only by foot, but with mounts just like the ones they used for the carriages.

    Arthur checked his status after that spell, and he saw that most of his mana was now gone. The tier 7 spell used a lot of mana, and it wasn¡¯t something he could cast over one time.

    ¡°This is like a supreme spell for me, as I¡¯m still low-leveled. The only reason I can use it is because of my attributes, who are overpowered.¡± Arthur thought.

    He got down from the air and went to the ground to rest near the generals. Kymil was there, hiding in a corner, scared now that the dark race army seemed to lose.

    ¡°That was extraordinary. Are you the reincarnation of that legendary elf?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe?¡± Arthur shrugged his shoulders.

    He did not know who that elf was, but maybe he could get all the elves as devotees to him? Just like with the others from his settlement?

    If, by all means, he gets the devotion of an entire nation, then surely the increase of his status would be extraordinary.

    ¡°Bill said there is only the Elven Kingdom, the Dragon Scale Empire, and the darknds where the dark races lived.¡±

    Arthur knew he could get the elves to be on his side, but the Dragon Scale Empire was something impossible.

    ¡°One step at a time!¡± Arthur thought.

    ,?-?m The elves shed their swords, cutting the remaining dark creatures in half. There were that were stronger than the normal soldiers, but the generals acted together, and killed them as well.

    A battle that was impossible to win was won. All thanks to the mighty of a tier 7 spell.

    ¡°What should we do with the fire?¡±

    The surrounding area of the forest was burning after the spell Arthur cast, and the elves did not know any water spells to counter it.

    ¡°Take all the army back to the capital. I¡¯ll deal with it, and return in a few days.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    After what they witnessed, the respect towards Arthur had increased a lot, and in their eyes, he was someone that would make the Elven Kingdom great again.

    ~~~~

    All the army left, leaving only Arthur behind, who used his devour skill to devour the fire that was burning the trees around the ce where the battle happened.

    It took him some time to finish that, but in the end was worth it. The scenery wasn¡¯t as beautiful as it used to be, as an enormous hole formed where the fireball hit, and the trees were all burnt out.

    ¡°I¡¯ll learn a few spells to help the nts here grow and to fix the ground. That is the least I can do after destroying everything.¡±

    The mighty of that spell was beyond what he expected, and he wouldn¡¯t let that part of the beautiful Elven forest look like that.

    He wanted to get the respect of these elves, and destroying their home wasn¡¯t the right path to choose.

    After he was done with everything, Arthur slowly returned to the capital. It did not take him that long to reach it, but the moment he got near it, he couldn¡¯t believe it.

    There were lots of tents around the capital, and the people there weren¡¯t elves, but humans.

    For a moment Arthur was scared something had happened to his girls, but once he talked with the people there, he understood what happened.

    It turned out the attack at the border of the Elven kingdom was just a decoy to keep the elves busy, and the actual attack was against the Dragon Scale Empire, who fell and its citizens had to flee for their lives.

    Not that many people survived, but those who did were now around Slyvian. The amount of tents around it was extraordinary. Slyvian had more humans inside of it than elves at that moment.

    Arthur went to the ce where he put the anchor and returned to his settlement to see if everything was okay.

    ¡°Ah, nothing happened. Good, good.¡±

    Everything looked just like it was before he left. Arthur gathered everyone, especially Bill, who now woulde with him to the capital.

    ¡°What? Are you serious?¡± Bill said as he grabbed Arthur by the arms.

    Bill was from the Dragon Scale Empire, and at that moment, he did not know if his parents were alive or not.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure they are fine. I think it is the best if all of us go to the capital, and live there for the time being. We are closer here to the Dragon Scale Empire, and now that the dark races conquered it, we are in danger.¡± Arthur said.

    They all agreed with his proposal and grabbed only the things to leave.

    The sadness was clear on their faces. First, they had to flee from their desert, and now that they finally built something, they had to flee again.

    Arthur wanted to truly conquer a ce for them to stay, and seeing how the only dangerous thing on that continent was the dark races, then all he had to do was wipe them out.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take back the Dragon Scale Empire myself, even If I have to kill each one of these creatures.¡±

    ~~~~

    After a few days of travel, they reached Slyvian. All the tribe members were shocked to see such an amazing city,pletely different from the ones they saw back in the Shukar Empire.

    ¡°Wait here for the time being. Bill, go look for your family. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    The tents were still around the capital. Arthur flew above the gates, which was prohibited, but the moment the guards saw him, they bowed.

    ¡°Akhur!¡±

    Arthur went directly towards the pce.

 Chapter 148 Merethyl

    The guard in front of the castle did not hinder Arthur¡¯s passage, and even treated him with maximum respect.

    What he did back on that fight was something all the elves knew about, and even the refugees from the Dragon Scale Empire knew as well.

    Arthur met nor just outside of the castle, and he bowed as well.

    ¡°Akhur, the Queen wants to talk with you.¡±

    Even if she did not ask for it, Arthur would go talk with her, anyway. The situation was not simple, and with the fall of the Dragon Scale Empire, they all needed to act together and wipe out the uing danger.

    The door that led to the throne room was immense, having 10 meters of height, andrge enough for multiple people to pass through at the same time.

    There, the best soldiers the Elven Kingdom had were at the post, protecting the queen with their lives.

    No one believed Arthur would do anything to harm the queen, but it did not matter who it was, or what time it was. These guards were always near to protect her.

    When Arthur looked up to look at the queen, he was shocked. For a moment, he thought everything was a dream.

    How was that supposed to happen? How could she be the queen?

    The queen was the same, getting up from her throne in shock. Although Arthur had a different appearance, she still recognized him in an instant.

    ¡°Come talk with me in private, please.¡± The queen said.

    ¡°Merethyl?¡± The leader of the queen¡¯s guards said.

    He did not understand why the queen would want to talk with that person in private, but although he had hisints, he couldn¡¯t do anything but to obey.

    Arthur and Merethyl went to a meeting room behind the throne, and the moment both of them were alone, they hugged.

    ¡°Matilda, you¡¯re the queen of the elves?¡±

    ¡°My real name is Merethyl. Yes, I am. How are you here?¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe all of this happened in this short period¡­ Well, we now have the dark race problem, and also the Bone Lord, who is nowhere to be seen.¡±

    ¡°Where are the other students that stayed behind? Are they okay?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, they are. A teacher from your previous school is taking care of them. She¡¯s called Myria, and there is called Lilia with her, too.¡±

    ¡°What? They are here too? What a coincidence.¡±

    ¡°Agreed. Hey, Arthur, there is something important I wish to talk to you.¡± Merethyl said.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    The red color on her cheeks was visible as she said, ¡°there is no king in the Elven Kingdom for ages, but I think you¡¯ll pass the test for it. We will have nothing like, uh, husband and wife, but you¡¯ll be the king. If you pass the test.¡±

    ¡°It would be cool to be the king, but I¡¯m no elf.¡±

    ¡°If you truly pass the test, that isn¡¯t a problem. And you look like an elf, so people will not judge. Also, you are a dragon, so you may be our king.¡±

    For a moment, the room went silent, and Arthur wasn¡¯t liking the direction of that conversation. How did she know he was a dragon? Only his girls, and Kai, who also had a bloodline, knew about that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so surprised. Different from these young people, I have actually seen real dragons, and fought side-by-side with them. They had an aura that is impossible for me to forget.¡±

    ¡°Look, honestly, I do not know if you have the dragon bloodline somehow or maybe you are a dragon yourself. We elves were allies of the dragons, and that is one reason we don¡¯t like humans that much, as they went against us back in the day.¡±

    - ¡°They did not have a choice, though. The ¡®gods¡¯ are the actual threats to it, as they control the humankind for thousands of years. We must stop them, for good.¡±

    ¡°You fought with dragons? Oh, my grandma queen!¡±

    ¡°You are dead!!!¡±

    Merethyl was angry after hearing that, butughed. It was refreshing to have someone with humor around.

    The whole Elven Kingdom was in Arthur¡¯s side, even more know that the queen itself knew he was a dragon. The only problem was the dark races who took control of the Dragon Scale Empire.

    Getting that piece ofnd back was the priority for them, and after that, the next step would be to wipe the darknds.

    ~~~~

    The reason for the Elven Kingdomck a king for so long was because of its tradition. A king must pass the test before siting on the throne.

    Thest king vanished out of a sudden thousand of years ago, and with him the bloodline, as he did not have any children. It was a bloodline that had passed the test for ages, and now Merethyl wanted to find another one capable of, and that is why she left her kingdom, roaming around thend.

    She did not know if Arthur would be capable of passing the trial, but it did not hurt to try.

    Before doing that, Arthur asked her to find a suitable ce for his tribe, and she agreed to have all of them live inside the pce, as there was enough room for all the tribe members.

    As for Bill, he also found his family, which were alive and well.

    ¡°Bill, I told you they would be safe.¡±

    ¡°Father, mother, sister, this is the person I talked about, Akhur. He is the one who saved me.¡±

    Bill¡¯s father grabbed Arthur¡¯s hand with a firm grasp, and said, ¡°you have my gratitude, son. We will do everything we can to help you.¡±

    Arthur told them they would also stay inside the pce, just like the rest of the tribe. It made them less worried, as it was safer inside there than out inside a tent.

    The next day would be the day of the king¡¯s ceremony to see if Arthur truly had the rights to be the ruler of the elves.

 Chapter 149 Life Tree

    A huge number of elves gathered inside the pce¡¯s hall. The queen was there, as well as all the generals of the army.

    Only a few humans were inside. Wisa, Jane, Myria, Lilia, Theo, Kai, Mohe, and Bill. Arthur asked the queen so that they could be present, and she obviously agreed to it.

    It was the day of the king¡¯s ceremony. An event that happened one time in a century to see if someone was worthy of being the Elven king or queen.

    Merethyl told Arthur that one king who ruled had a daughter, and after he died, she was the only one worthy to be the next ruler of the kingdom, and then the king was from an outside family, just like Merethyl.

    The only problem was that in thousands of years there was no man or woman worthy to rule the kingdom, so Merethyl stayed inmand, as she was the strongest elf that was still alive.

    She hoped that this time would be different, and that Arthur would truly be epted by the Life Tree and be the next ruler of thesends.

    ¡°Thank you, everyone, for getting together this very day, for this tradition that has been with us since the beginning of times,¡±

    ¡°The Life Tree is above us all, and today, hopefully, it will choose a ruler once again,¡±

    ¡°Akhur, please, step forward.¡±

    Arthur walked in towards Merethyl, who was beside a small tree nted in a pot.

    ¡°This is the seedling of the Life Tree. Touch it, and if you are worthy, then you¡¯ll transported to a new realm where all thest kings went.¡±

    The people present did not believe Arthur would be the chosen one. Of course, they acknowledged his power, and were thankful after all he did in thest fight. But there was no one capable of pleasing the Life Tree for ages.

    They had lost their hopes of finding someone to bring back the glory of the elves. It did not happen in thousands of years. Why would it be now?

    Even Arthur did not know if he would be the chosen. Now that there were all these people looking at him, he felt nervous.

    ¡°What if I fail now in front of all those people?¡±

    The thing Arthur was counting on was his dragon blood. Not only it was from a mythical creature, but the blood of the lord of dragons itself.

    He strolled towards the small tree and touched it with his right hand.

    Time seemed to have stopped, and everyone nervously watched Arthur touch the tree. Deep down, they wished something would happen, and that they would finally have someone to rely on.

    1¡­

    2¡­

    3¡­

    Three seconds passed, and nothing happened. When everyone was ready to give up, Arthur vanished from their sights, entering inside the mysterious realm of the Life Tree.

    ~~~~

    -n¡¢o¡¢ve,L A in that seemed to have no end, with a river in the middle. The river was not blue, as it should be, but had multiple colors, just like a rainbow.

    There was a rainbow in the sky too, but that rainbow had thundersing out of it that would hit the ground from time to time, destroying a piece of thend.

    At first nce, there wasn¡¯t a single life inside of that ce, as well as no buildings, and not even trees.

    Well, there was a tree, gigantic. Arthur could see it from afar, just like he could see the sun.

    Was the tree the same size as the sun? No, that shouldn¡¯t be possible, but after walking towards it for who knows how much time, it did not change. The tree still felt far, far away in a ce where Arthur could not touch.

    ¡°What is this ce?¡±

    Arthur still could not believe it. The tree resonated with him, and send him to that ce. How could a small seedling send someone to another dimension? That was something extraordinary.

    He did not know what he was supposed to do inside of that ce. Merethyl told him she researched all the kings and queens who went to that ce, and found out that the insides of that realm differ from whoever was inside of it.

    It meant that there was no way for Arthur to know what to expect. The realm would adjust to him and be random.

    The only clue he had was the immense tree on the horizon, so he kept following it. Arthur flew for so long he ran out of mana, and walked for so long that his feet hurt, and he wanted to justy down on the ground and rx..

    Still, nothing changed. The tree was far away.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t right. Following it blindly will not do. Think Arthur, think.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it, my blood!¡±

    Arthur could enter that realm because of his dragon blood, so he used his dragon transformation, expecting to turn into a half-dragon, as he wasn¡¯t at a high level to be a true one.

    But, contrary to his expectations, he turned into an enormous ck dragon. He was as big as Slyvian, and could devour the entire city if he wished to.

    The feeling of turning into an unstoppable force was something Arthur enjoyed. He pped his huge wings and flew towards the tree.

    Arthur was going so fast that the tree did not seem that far anymore, and at that moment, a voice talked inside his head. It was a woman, and Arthur instantly knew it was the Life Tree itself.

    ¡°cidusax, I never thought you would return to life. Didn¡¯t those false gods killed you back then? Hm, of course not. They weren¡¯t your match, and the only reason for your kind downfall was the seal they put in all of you, making you weak!¡±

    ¡°I warned you, didn¡¯t I? That one of you would betray you all,¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t listen. You never do. Hmph,¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s forget about it. Come,e talk with me once more!¡±

    The lightning rainbow turned into an immense hand that grabbed Arthur and sent him directly to the top of the Life Tree.

    All of it happened so fast, and in mere instants Arthur was in front of a woman with green hair.

 Chapter 150 Wood Essence, Completed

    The woman in front of Arthur did not look human. Its body was, but tree roots grew on her back, as if she was the core of the immense Life Tree they were on.

    ¡°You look different, cidusax.¡±

    Arthur, who was still in a daze with the recent events said, ¡°that¡¯s because I¡¯m Arthur, not cidusax.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes¡­ yes. I can see you are not from this world, but another. You¡¯re Arthur, yes, but also cidusax.¡±

    The sentence from the mysterious woman came as a shock for Arthur. Did she know Arthur was from a different world? How? One guess Arthur had was that she somehow read his thoughts, but would the system allow it?

    ¡°What are you talking about? What world?¡± Arthur said.

    He wanted to go near her, and get all the answers, but restrained himself. It was not an enemy he could face, and his stupidity wasn¡¯t at that level.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know about everything at the right time, as of now, let us speak about my people. It seemed you are worthy to be the Elven ruler, or else you wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±

    A quick change of subject, and one that made Arthur clench his fists. Why did she talked about such important information just to avoid it? Was it to make Arthur more curious?

    With a deep breath, he said, ¡°that is correct.¡±

    ¡°I can sense youpleted the fire essence. That is impressive. I¡¯ll grant you the wood essence, that is the most I can do for you with my current strength. We will meet again in the future.¡±

    The same rainbow hand took hold of Arthur, and tossed him out of that realm, returning to the room where he touched the nt.

    Wood energy filled his body, and the wood essence went from 0 to 100% in an instant.

    [Dragon¡¯s Wood Body (Max Rank): Wood attacks power increased, as well as wood resistance and learning speed of skills rted to that element.]

    [Absorption Level: 100%.]

    A refreshing feeling, and a sense of mighty made Arthur smile. Wood wasn¡¯t the next element on his list, but getting it free was something he wouldn¡¯t refuse. Also, that element made sense with his new position as Elven ruler.

    Arthur took his time to recover from the st of energy, and when he looked around, he saw no one.

    It was unknown to him how much time he spent inside that mysterious realm. Arthur hoped not that long.

    He left the room, and as he was inside the pce, the guards saw him, ¡°Who are you? How did you trespass inside this ce?¡±

    When the guard said that, Arthur had a bad feeling. Everyone should recognize him after everything he did, yet, that guard did not.

    ¡°What day is it?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°What non-sense is this? Are you trying to- ¡°

    The guard did not finish, as Arthur vanished from his sight, appearing right behind him, sending a blow to its neck, making the guard faint.

    After that, Arthur used both his invisibility spell, and his flight, and explored the pce, looking for Merethyl.

    For him, Merethyl was not inside the pce. Where could she be? Another thing Arthur noticed after flying away was that the tents around Slyvian weren¡¯t there anymore.

    He looked inside the city and noticed humans walking with the elves. Arthur sighed in relief.

    ¡°The tents aren¡¯t around Slyvian because the humans now live inside the city. For a moment I was scared.¡±

    Arthur remembered Merethyl had given him a separate neighborhood for his tribe members and students, so that was the ce he went first.

    On his way, he noticed the faith power from his devotees increasing, which meant they were there.

    A slim figure flew towards a separated part of the city with lots of houses. Arthur undid his invisibility spell, and when the first person inside that neighborhood saw Arthur, it knelt.

    ¡°Celestial Lord, you are back!¡±

    Arthur descended to the ground, stopping right in front of that person. ¡°What day is it? How long was I away?¡±

    ¡°My lord, I wasn¡¯t there but I know you entered a different realm to be the Elven ruler. It has been three months since you left.¡±

    ¡°Three months? Hm¡­¡±

    It wasn¡¯t as bad as Arthur thought. The reason for that guard not knowing him was because it was indeed a new hired guard.

    After the Dragon Scale Empire fell, the other small settlements of elves grouped up inside the capital Slyvian. The elves did not have a grand poption, plus the city was immense and could fit all of them, and the refugees from the Dragon Scale Empire.

    Inside that realm, it felt like a day at maximum, but it was three months since he left.

    ¡°Where is Merethyl? I searched for her inside the castle and she wasn¡¯t there.¡±

    ¡°Merethyl? You mean the queen, right? Well, the dark races started their attack in our borders, so she went there to fight alongside the soldiers. If I¡¯m not mistaken, she should be back in a few days.¡±

    ,?-?-m The devotee seemed to be an acknowledged person, and that made Arthur happy. He asked the devoted to spread the news of his arrival, and soon, everyone gathered in a square inside their neighborhood.

    Wisa and Jane were the first to run there, and when they saw Arthur, tears streamed down their faces.

    It was not the first time Arthur had disappeared from their lives, and it hurt. Two tight hugs.

    ¡°You are back! We were so scared.¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°I know, I know, but your husband here is someone hard to kill.¡±

    The three of them remained in a hug for some time until all the others were there. Kai was among them, as well as Theo and Bill.

    Kai had grown in strength, and was already at the level 48, which was impressive considering only three months had passed. That made Arthur want to work even harder.

    Theo also was now a 3rd circle mage, and for his age that was incredible as well.

    As for Bill, well, he had learned that type of magic as well, and he had a better talent for it than for the tattoo magic he used to learn back in Namida school.

    He was already a 1st circle mage, almost reaching the 2nd circle.

    Arthur flew 4 meters high, so that everyone saw him, and said, ¡°everyone, I¡¯m back!¡±

 Chapter 151 Elven Ruler

    Arthur couldn¡¯t exin everything that happened inside the mysterious realm he went to, but one thing he could, and that was the fact he would now be the Elven ruler.

    The devotees were more familiarized with the elves, and Arthur, being the ruler, meant more people would join their faith, which meant it was a good thing for everyone.

    Speaking of faith, Arthur gained more free attributes after reuniting with his devotees. He guessed that these were all the attributes from the three months he was away.

    After all of them talked for some time, everyone returned to their daily chores. Now, all the tribe members were practicing magic as well, even the ones that did not have the talent for it before meeting Arthur.

    That fact intrigued him, and after asking Mohe about it, as well as talking with the others, he concluded that his blessing gave them aptitude for magic, and the constant blessings were actually improving it, as well as other aspects.

    These devotees were turning into something that resembled the dragon priests from a game Arthur used to y back in his world.

    ¡°This is incredible. I can¡¯t wait to reach level 100 to get more from my dragon transformation. Speaking of dragons, hm¡­¡±

    Arthur wanted to do something, but that still needed to wait. The n he had in mind was to give his wives, and the other outstanding members, some dragon powers, like how Kai and Sully got their wyvern bloodline.

    The only problem was that he did not know if he could give his own bloodline to them, as it could affect his power, or even kill him.

    ¡°Maybe I could grant them the dragon powers through faith? These blessings are incredible, and maybe I could somehow fuse my dragon powers to it?¡± Arthur thought.

    He still did not have the knowledge to make that work, so he tossed the thought to the back of his mind and focused on what he could do at that moment. Sex.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    ¡°Darling, it¡¯s been so long!¡±

    Bouncing boobs and moans of pleasure. Arthur spent a few days with his wives, without caring for anything else in the world.

    p?n?a (n??)??l? Not that he was beingzy, and thinking only about sex. He was, in reality, waiting for Merethyl.

    Arthur was now the Elven ruler, and Merethyl would have to gather everyone in a ceremony to make it official. Also, she was the only one that knew more about the current situation of the dark races, as well as the fallen Dragon Scale Empire, which Arthur wanted to get back so that the humans would have a ce to stay.

    He wasn¡¯t that kind of person to help the humans getting nothing in return, but helping them in that situation would grant him something, and that something was extraordinary.

    Bill had told him about the Sky City, and Arthur hoped that the ce was there, in the Dragon Scale Empire, or at least more clues about it. The Sky City seemed to be the only ce for him to learn more about his dragon inheritance, as well as more about the history of that world, about the ¡®gods¡¯.

    After 6 days of pure fun and pleasure with Jane and Wisa, Merethyl returned to Slyvian with lots of soldiers. She was in the front, carrying the banner of the Elven Kingdom, acting like a true general.

    The moment she reached the pce, a youth was standing there, in front of the big door, waiting for her.

    ¡°Art- Akhur?¡± Merethyl said in a surprise tone.

    She had heard stories about the others who went to that realm, and some of them returned fast, others returned after years. Arthur shocked her once again, returning in just three months.

    ¡°Long time no see. Can we talk in private?¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°The description you say matches the ancient recordings I got. So you met the Life Tree, incredible!¡±

    ¡°Could you perhaps share these ancient recordings with me? I want to learn more about the Elven history now that I¡¯m the nominated ruler.¡±

    ¡°Of course, but first we have to focus on the ceremony. All the elves from kingdom are here, in Slyvian. This is the best time to gather everyone, and give them some faith.¡± Merethyl said, and the sadness was clear in her features and voice.

    After the Dragon Scale Empire fell, the elves were scared, as they were sure the next target of the dark races. They did not have the royal bloodline anymore, and thest ruler that brought faith and peace to thend vanished a long time ago.

    They had nothing to hold on to, and for them it was just a matter of time before the Elven Kingdom, a ce that existed since the dragon age, fell too.

    Arthur and Merethyl talked and held the ceremony in three days¡¯ time, so that everything could be arranged properly.

    ¡°Myria?¡±

    Myria and Lilia waited for them just outside the pce. Arthur did not talk with them that much as right after he returned, all these things kept happening.

    ¡°How are you being my student? How¡¯s your study of alchemy? I remembered you had quite the talent back then.¡± Myria said.

    ¡°Well, about that, I did not study it anymore.¡± Arthur said as he scratched the back of his head.

    Not that he did not want to practice alchemy, but he did not have the time for it. Arthur had to run from the kingdom back then, and ended up ¡®dying¡¯, and it took him a long time to get things back together. There wasn¡¯t time to stop and study that.

    Also, he wanted now to produce his tattoos using the essences on his body. Perhaps it could be something amazing, something that would be remembered throughout history.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t worry about that. I know you have lots of things to do right now, but try to study it more when you have the time. Anyway, both me and Lilia came here to ask for help.¡±

    ¡°Help?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We discovered an ancient ruin, and perhaps you could help us explore it? The dangers would be lesser with a powerhouse like you around.¡±

    ¡°All right, but wait for a few days, as I have an appointment in three days.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Myria said.

    They talked for some time and parted ways after that. Arthur had to wait three days for the ceremony, but in the meantime, there was a corrupted general he had to catch.

 Chapter 152 Mysterious Ancient Ruin

    A day just like any other. The sun was shining in the sky, giving life to all beings in the forest. Students practiced magic with Jane, Wisa and Harmony, who diligently made them sweat their pants after constant hard-work.

    Kymil was also there, acting as a simple guard, patrolling the streets of Slyvian. He gave the humans passersby fierce gazes from time to time. They did not notice it, but Arthur did, as he watched Kymil from afar.

    Before he left to meet with Kymil, Arthur shared the information he had with Merethyl, who almost destroyed her own room.

    ¡°That bastard betrayed us?¡±

    ¡°It seems like it.¡± Arthur sighed, ¡°his father is nowhere to be seen. What should we do?¡±

    The sound of footsteps did not halt as Merethyl walked from side to side inside her room, pondering about how she should deal with that situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll send some of my special forces to monitor Kymil to see if he is secretly meeting with his father. You will be the first to one if I found something.¡± Merethyl said.

    Arthur remembered that conversation as he watched Kymil. He wanted to beat that youth up for answers until he spit out where his father was.

    ¡°I bet even he doesn¡¯t know where his father is. I will have to keep it low for the meantime.¡±

    It came to him as a surprise that Kymil¡¯s father was not inside the capital. All the elves from the other settlements gathered there, and he should share the same faith. Was he in the Dragon Scale Empire? Conspiring with the dark races?

    Death was the only thing that awaited for him when Merethyl got her hands on him. Arthur would go the same.

    After his n of getting the traitor went to the drain, Arthur returned to his usual pleasure time with his wives, that until the ceremony who happened after three days.

    The elves were all inside Slyvian, and the pce crowded. It was not possible to arrange all the elves inside the pce, but they squeezed a few, making it hard to breathe inside that ce.

    Not even the courtyard survived, as elves were lying on the grass, and some trying to peek through the windows of the pce to have a look at the new ruler.

    They were in the same immense room where Arthur had touched the Life Tree seedling. No one could stop moving or whispering to each other.

    ¡°Will we finally have a ruler chosen by the Life Tree? I can¡¯t believe it.¡±

    ¡°Me neither. Well, let¡¯s see what the dark races think about that!¡±

    ¡°He. Our ruler will wipe them out.¡±

    Arthur heard these things from afar, which made him smile. He turned into someone they could rely on, a beacon of light, hope. That was something extremely necessary when facing the dark creatures.

    Merethyl was the first to talk when everyone was there.

    ¡°Elves, we are here today to celebrate something that hasn¡¯t happened in a long time,¡±

    ¡°The Life Tree chose one once again. After three months in contact with it, Akhur is now officially our ruler!¡±

    Most elves knew him and what he did back on the battlefield. For them, there wasn¡¯t anyone better suited for the leader¡¯s position than him, but that did not matter in their minds. The one and only true leader would be someone the Life Tree chose, and that was Akhur.

    ¡°Akhur!¡±

    ¡°Akhur!¡±

    ¡°Akhur!¡±

    Each one of the present elves yelled. They had waited so long for a leader, and that day had finally arrived. It felt like a dream, but also a moment of peace with all the bad things happening around them.

    Merethyl opened up a case with a sword in it, and said, ¡°this is the sword for thest ruler, and now it belongs to you!¡±

    -.??m The sword had green and leaves adornments, and it was light like a feather. Arthur saw nothing special, until the magic in the sword linked with him, allowing to see some of its mighty.

    A one-handed sword grew in an instant into a two-handed sword, changed to a spear, and even a shield. It was a weapon that could fit in all situations.

    ¡°Amazing!¡± Arthur gasped, but kept his cool as he was still in the ceremony.

    Arthur lift the sword up, and yelled, ¡°for the kingdom! For the elves!¡±

    A feeling of power came from those words, and it traveled throughout Slyvian like magic. The elves outside heard it, and their hearts raced.

    ¡°For the kingdom! For the elves!¡±

    They kept saying these words in unison, creating a brotherhood atmosphere they hadn¡¯t felt in ages. Someone was with them now to face the hardships of the war.

    The humans that were getting refugee inside Slyvian also heard those words, and they saw all the elves smiling, yelling that sentence with all their mighty.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    Humans from the Dragon Scale Empire had seen lots of kings, yet none of thempared to the mighty of the new Elven king.

    A feeling of hope born within. Perhaps they could reim theirnd from the evildoers? That was the only thing they wanted, and revenge. They wanted to show those dark creatures what despair looks like, and that they shouldn¡¯t pick a fight with them!

    ~~~~

    The ceremony ended, and Arthur was now inside one room in the pce, changing his clothing to a more Elven-like. Not that he wasn¡¯t using it before, but now he was their king, and couldn¡¯t wear rags.

    ¡°There¡¯s an ancient ruin Myria and Lilia are going to, and they asked for my help. Truth be told, I did not want to go with this war going on. Perhaps focusing on getting the Dragon Scale Empire back would be the best.¡±

    ¡°No, go. This ancient ruin the two of them talked about is actually a ruin of a dragon city.¡±

    ¡°Dragon city? As the legendary Sky City?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it is the Sky City. Even so, maybe you can find something useful there?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll go, but take care of the citizens while I¡¯m away. When I return, we will go to war.¡±

 Chapter 153 A Trap for the Unprepared

    The next day a gorgeous woman with green hair, and one with ck hair, waited for Arthur near Slyvian¡¯s gate.

    They both had bags with supplies for their trip. Arthur also had, but different from them, he had magical pouches that could store lots of things inside.

    ¡°I need to learn how to make them.¡± Arthur thought as he got close to them.

    Myria was the first to wee him with a smile. ¡°Good morning, my ex¡­ ex disciple, of course.¡± She giggled, and Arthur couldn¡¯t understand what was funny about that.

    ¡°Good morning to both of you.¡±

    ¡°Now that the formalities are over, let¡¯s move!¡±

    An ancient ruin that wasn¡¯t far from Slyvian. Arthur could not understand how the elves that lived there did not find it, but Myria and Lilia did.

    ¡°We found it by ident when we teleported to this area. It was dangerous to explore it without preparing first, so we left the ruin untouched, but it did not take long for us to be caught by Merethyl.¡±

    Arthur could tell they weren¡¯t lying, so he rxed and continue the journey with them. They walked for hours through a muddy road that had more holes than a cheese, and more mosquitoes than a summer camp.

    ¡°A good thing this magic barrier blocks these mosquitoes.¡±

    They walked, and walked, until the sun was not dancing in the sky anymore, but the moon.

    A camping ground was necessary, so that was what they did, just alongside the road. Not that far from it, but neither close to it. Arthur let the two of them put on the tents as he prepared the fire with a flick of his hand.

    ¡°I will hunt for something for us.¡±

    He left the campsite, going towards the dense forest around them. The first thing one needed to look for was footprints, and with the hunting knowledge Arthur umted throughout his time in that world, it was a piece of cake.

    ¡°This looks like the Three-Horn Boar, which has plenty of meat!¡±

    It did not take long for Arthur to find it, sipping water from a small pool inside the forest. He grabbed the sword Merethyl gave him, shaping it to look like a spear, then he tossed it with all of his mighty.

    The Three-Horn Boar died on the spot, pierced in the neck.

    ~~~~

    Arthur returned to the campsite. Myria and Lilia were sitting around the fire to warm themselves, and the moment they saw Arthur carrying the boar, they smiled.

    ¡°Finally, something to eat.¡±

    He used a butchering knife and precisely cut the boar, tossing a few parts that weren¡¯t necessary.

    With sticks, they cooked the boar meat, filling up their bellies, and sharing some stories amongst each other to pass the day. After that, they all went to sleep, anxious as they would arrive in the ancient ruin the next day.

    Nothing strange happened during night time as they continue forward through the muddy road until they reached a ce withplete dragon bodies.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Arthur said.

    The surprise on his face was clear.

    ¡°Dragon corpses, it means we are close to where the ancient ruin is. This is where Merethyl found us.¡±

    Dragon corpses without a single trace of decay, as if they were frozen in ce. Strange. Arthur wanted to get near and devour them. Maybe an amazing bonus or secret would be found, but he couldn¡¯t do it with Myria and Lilia around.

    Only a few people knew about his dragon blood, and Merethyl, one person who knew, only knew by ident or by other means. Arthur wouldn¡¯t tell her if possible.

    ¡°Maybe when we return, I can devour them without Myria and Lilia seeing it.¡± Thought Arthur.

    After they passed through the fields where the dragon corpses were, they went walked a little further into reaching apletely normal part of the forest.

    Arthur tried his best to look for anything out of the ordinary, but all pointed to an ordinary Elven forest.

    ¡°Is it an illusion array?¡± Arthur said.

    He gazed at Myria, waiting for an answer. She was busy touching into random trees around the area.

    ¡°Yes, it is. The way to unlock it is by touching some specific trees in this area. Before you ask, I knew about this since Frostpeak, where I researched about elves and the myths around this area.¡±

    Myria seemed to know what she was doing, so Arthur stood back and did not question her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Arthur. She¡¯s smart.¡± Lilia said, as she tapped Arthur on the shoulder.

    ~~~~

    It took Myria some time to touch all the trees in the right sequence, but she did it. The once ordinary looking forest turned into a small building made of cobblestone.

    ¡°The ancient ruin is beneath us. Let¡¯s watch out!¡±

    The building had an enormous staircase that led down, just like the dungeon Arthur had once gone in. For a moment, he was scared it could be the same type of ce.

    He couldn¡¯t tell why, but the ce didn¡¯t look friendly, and he sensed nothing with his dragon bloodline.

    If it was indeed a ce where dragons lived or used, then something should happen, right?

    Arthur wasn¡¯t feeling good about that ce, but no matter what he said, Myria and Lilia wouldn¡¯t back down to exploring it. The only thing he could do was keep a close watch and protect them if anything dangerous happened.

    They kept going down using the staircase, and it did not seem to have an end. Arthur cast his candlelight spell to make it easier for Myria and Lilia to see something in the dark.

    Water dripped from the cracks of the ruin,ing directly from the tree roots above it. The whole ce gave a creeping feeling, and when they reached the end of the staircase, Arthur was sure it wasn¡¯t a ce where the dragons lived.

    A maze, just like the ones he found in the dungeon near Odemore.

    ¡°We should leave. This isn¡¯t a good ce.¡± Arthur said.

    When he turned around, there was no staircase anymore. The way out was blocked.

    ¡°We are trapped, fuck!¡±

 Chapter 154 New Type of Dungeon

    The ufortable feeling Arthur had turned out to be true. It was not a ce where dragons lived, but a despicable dungeon that wanted to take their lives, just like the time back in Odemore.

    ¡°Arthur, what should we do?¡± Myria said.

    She grabbed tightly on her staff and pulled Lilia close to her. Arthur was someone that had more knowledge about that type of ce, so he took the lead to calm them down.

    ¡°This is a dungeon. I went to one of these near Odemore.¡±

    ¡°Dungeon? What is so special about this ce?¡± Lilia said.

    ¡°It has floors, and each floor has different monsters. The deeper you go, the stronger the monsters are.¡±

    ¡°My best bet is that we need to clear this ce, or else we will not leave.¡±

    It was only a guess, but Arthur was almost certain it was indeed the case. He hoped the dungeon wasn¡¯t as strong as the one back in Odemore.

    Well, there weren¡¯t any strange attacks around the forest area, and the ce was hidden behind an illusory array. Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t have stronger monsters there, or maybe it had, and that was the reason for it to be hidden.

    ¡°Let¡¯s work together and clean this ce. With the three of us, only something extraordinary can take us down.¡±

    Myria was a teacher back in Frostpeak, and nowadays she had a level of 49. Lilia also had a level of 33, which meant she was doing decent progress.

    ¡°Okay. You know more about this ce than me, so lead the way, please.¡±

    The floor looked a lot simr to the previous dungeon Arthur went. With various corridors that looked exactly the same, and probably led to the same ce.

    They randomly chose one and crept forward, keeping their focus at maximum. Even the brief movements of the bugs from within the wall cracks were noticed by them.

    What type of monster awaited them on the first floor? Arthur and the others shared the same thoughts, and when the first creature entered their sight, a sigh of relief came from all of them.

    If the monster from the weakest floor was already strong, then they would perish in thetter stages of the dungeon, but that was not the case. The monster was a mere snake with two heads. It wasn¡¯t a big one, and the level above its head was only 16.

    Arthur did not need to move as Myria cast a ranged spell, sending the tiny snake to its grave. After which, they kept going forward, until more of the same species appeared.

    These creatures were effortlessly killed by a simple spell or with Arthur¡¯s bare hands. The first floor wasn¡¯t a hard one, and they found the next staircase after twenty minutes after entering that floor.

    Without an option, the trio kept going, descending into the next floor of the mysterious dungeon. Arthur was expecting the same type of floor since thest one, but turns out his guesses weren¡¯t correct.

    After they reached the end of the staircase, everything around them changed, as if they had passed through a portal. The cobblestone walls from the maze-like structure weren¡¯t there anymore, and what was in front of their eyes was a small vige devoid of life.

    The small wooden houses and the rotten ntations made everything look darker. All the trees around the area were also dead, having only its branches.

    Arthur looked around him, and with his impressive dragon sight, he noticed that the area seemed to have an end. It was not clear at first, but after staring at the horizon for some time, one could notice it had an end, as if they were inside a room with a painted sky.

    They were still inside the dungeon, but some sort of magic had changed the surrounding area to that ce. How was it possible? Arthur had no simple answer for that, but just like before, it was a floor of the dungeon, which meant there was a way out of it.

    ¡°What is this ce?¡± Myria said, looking at Arthur, the only person there that had some experience regarding dungeons.

    ¡°I do not know, but this is probably another floor of the dungeon, so we have to look for the way out.¡±

    They moved towards the dested vige, and then a scream echoed throughout the area. A piercing scream that almost made their ears bleed. Myria and Lilia used a magical barrier to protect them from the constant sound waves.

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    Different from before, they now approached the vige with utmost care, trying to find whatever did that bizarre sound a few moments ago.

    The first house was near a rotten ntation. Arthur went inside first and found nothing out of the ordinary. Everything looked exactly like how an abandoned vige would. Without traces of monsters or traces of anything living there.

    All the other houses looked exactly the same, but when they reached the house in the middle of the vige, something was different.

    There was a mirror inside of it. Everything else had dust all over it, but that mirror did not. It looked like someone had cleaned it up every day, as if it was the most precious treasure in the world.

    Arthur had a bad feeling about that mirror, and just like most of the times, his intuition was correct.

    A woman wearing a white dress came out of the mirror. She had blood all over the dress, as if someone had murdered her a few moments ago.

    The face of the woman had a blueish tone, and her features were more monstrous than it should have been when she was still alive.

    ¡°Banshee!¡± Myria yelled, preparing to cast another magical barrier to block the sound waves.

    It turned out the creature behind the creeping scream was a banshee, a type of spirit that was difficult to deal with. She noticed the three of them, looking at the mirror as she came out of it.

    ¡°AAAAAAAAHH!¡± she screamed so loud that the magical barriers crushed, and they were sent flying away, hitting the wall of the house.

 Chapter 155 Endless Battle

    The pain of hitting the house wall was littlepared to the agonizing paining from their ears, which were bleeding after the banshee scream.

    Arthur was the first to get up and analyze the enemy they were facing. An astonishing level of 40. Not that high if onepared to their levels, but a banshee was not a simple creature to deal with.

    Also, the change in level between the first floor to that one was extraordinary. Even in that dungeon near Odemore, the change wasn¡¯t that high as this one.

    What would happen on the next floor? Arthur tried his best to wave away these thoughts and concentrate on the enemy that was right in front of him.

    ¡°Myria, what are the best ways to deal with this enemy?¡± Arthur said.

    He did not have a vast knowledge about the monsters, but he knew a banshee was resistant to physical attacks, and who knows if spells truly worked against it.

    ¡°She¡¯s immune to physical attacks, but spells should work.¡±

    After hearing that, Arthur prepared his first spell, and that was a wood type, Thorns. A type of nt emerged from the magical circle that appeared in Arthur¡¯s hand, enveloping the banshee, making her stop in ce.

    Now that the wooden essence waspleted, the might of the wood element spells were extraordinary, and casting tier 5 spells was as fast as a blink of an eye for Arthur.

    The banshee couldn¡¯t move, so another spellunched towards her, the old and loved Fireball.

    panda nOvel.cO,m ¡°Take this!¡± Arthur said.

    A ball of mes rapidly approached her, and Arthur was almost sure it wouldnd, but it did not. The moment the spell would hit its ethereal body, the banshee vanished, as if she had the knowledge of space time magic and teleported away from there.

    ¡°What?¡±

    It was not something any of them had expected, and the worst part happened next. The mirror from where the banshee came out was also the home of other creatures, such as zombies and skeletons.

    That floor seemed to be the home of the undead, and this type of monsters were a pain in the ass to deal with.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go out of the house!¡± Arthur yelled.

    A fight inside that small house would be troublesome, so they left the house and fight in the open field to maneuver better throughout the fight.

    Before leaving, Arthur cast a spell on the mirror to see if it would crumble, but nothing happened. Sighing, he left the house.

    The banshee was nowhere to be seen, but they did not forget about her as they fought against the undead, breaking the bones of the skeletons and avoiding the bites of the zombies.

    All the creatures had the same level of the banshee, 40, but weren¡¯t as strong, so Myria, Lilia and Arthur dealt with them with ease. There was still the problem that they seemed endless.

    Monsters kepting out of the mirror, and no matter what they tried, the mirror was unbreakable. What would they do if the monsters were infinite? Arthur was almost sure that wouldn¡¯t be the case, but the thought still shed through their minds.

    They kept killing these monsters, running low on mana and energy, but the number of creaturesing from the mirror decreased, until it reached a point where none came at all.

    ¡°Finally, but we still have to deal with that banshee.¡± Arthur said, and the moment he talked about her, she showed up, screaming.

    Myria and Lilia had run out of mana in thest fight, but Arthur still had as he fought melee against the undead, so he cast a magical barrier to protect them from the sound waves. His barrier was stronger, and this time the sound waves could not break it.

    Arthur did not want to give the banshee a chance to escape, so he quickly cast the same wood element spell to trap the banshee, just likest time.

    The banshee once again got locked in ce, and wanted to teleport again, but Arthur was faster. He used his own teleport, appearing in front of the banshee, hitting it with his newly gained weapon that was in the shape of a two-handed sword.

    With one strike, the banshee was no more, dying on the spot. The sword Merethyl gave him could change shapes, but its mighty was beyond the human treasures. It hit hard, and Arthur guessed it was a heavenly treasure from the ancient times.

    Well, thest Elven ruler was from thousand of years ago, so that type of weapon was not something one could find easily.

    ¡°It is over.¡±

    They sat on the ground, resting after the hard fight they had faced. The amount of danger inside that floor was incredible, and they were only at the start of the dungeon.

    Arthur regretteding there, and perhaps he should have tried harder to make Myria and Lilia stay inside Slyvian.

    ¡°It is what it is. The only thing I can do now is keep fighting ande out alive in this ce.¡± Arthur thought.

    The second floor of the dungeon was now clear, and entering the next floor would cause more fighting, so it was the best to stay in that vige for some time until all of them recovered their mana and stamina.

    After two hours, they resumed their exploration. Going back inside the house, they first met the banshee. Arthur was almost sure the mirror was on the way out of there.

    Arthur was the first to touch the mirror, and he noticed how his hand passed through it, which meant his theory was correct. They all left using the mirror, reaching the next floor of the dungeon.

    ~~~~

    Just like the previous floor, the next one looked like a different realm, but one that wasn¡¯t that friendly. An immense volcano that kept shooting balls ofva all around it, and golems of fire patrolling the area.

    Arthur nced at them and saw their levels: 60. He was confident in facing them, but what could Myria and Lilia do?

    Turns out going inside that ruin was truly a bad idea.

 Chapter 156 End of the Dungeon (1)

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Myria said as she nced at all the powerful monsters in the area.

    It would be impossible for them to fight them. Arthur was the only one with enough strength, however. Could he clean the floor while the two of them waited there?

    They were in a safe area, away from the volcano dangers, as well as the fire golems 6 meters tall, and thick like a rock.

    ¡°Maybe I will try to clear the floor first, and then after that you can return to the vige from the 2nd floor and wait there.¡±

    They both agreed to his request. Of course, Myria and Lilia wanted to explore the rest of the dungeon to see if there were things that interested both of them. However, their life was more important than that.

    Arthur turned his gaze away from them, looking at the fire golems from afar. A floor made around the element of fire. It wasn¡¯t something good to use against him, who possessed the Dragon¡¯s Fire Body at its maximum level.

    He made his way towards the volcano, and the fire golems there got to notice him, running towards him with all their might. A few of these golems had weapons, such as clubs made of the volcano rocks, but most of them relied on their bare hands to hit people.

    ¡°Come to me, baby!¡±

    An urge to fight rose within, and the sensation of danger made Arthur¡¯s adrenaline peak, reaching extraordinary levels. Who these meager fire golems thought they were? Trying to step in the same stage as the lord of dragons? What a joke.

    The first golem came throwing a punch, however, Arthur was not someone to mess with, and he threw one of his own. Both fists collided, and despite all odds, the fire golem, who was at least 5 times bigger than Arthur, was the one retreating a few steps after the impact.

    Even Myria and Lilia, who were watching from afar, gasped their mouths. They heard from others how strong Arthur was, but that was beyond their expectations. How did that youth grow so much in power in that short time?

    They did not know Arthur had a system, and one that was getting more overpowered. Anyway, after the first collision of attacks, Arthur did not stop.

    It was dumb to let the enemy recover, so the first thing he did after winning the exchange of blows was to send more of his own. He punched like a maniac, one after another, hitting all parts of the fire golem¡¯s body, but aiming at the head.

    The sounds of such fierce battle echoed through the dungeon floor, and before the rest of the enemies arrived, that first golem was already dead, broken into pieces. The fire that had once shone in its body was now gone, and only rocks remained.

    All the other fire golems stopped after witnessing the scene. They were creatures, but they weren¡¯t dumb. A powerful enemy was in front of them, however backing down was impossible.

    To where could they run? This dungeon floor had been their home for a long time, and if there was a way for them to escape, then they would have done it long ago. The only thing they could do was to fight and win.

    The fire golem that had a club on its hands stepped forward, mming the huge club towards Arthur. That club weighed a ton, and even Arthur would get hurt if it hit him.

    Arthur wasn¡¯t dumb to let that club hit him, so he dodged it using his high agility, an attribute that these golems did not seem to have.

    He jumped sideways, avoiding the club attack, however, that was just the start of his barrage of attacks. Arthur exerted the strength on his legs, jumping high enough to reach the head of that golem. He twisted his body mid-air, sending a powerful kick to the head, demolishing it.

    With one strike, a golem was dead. There were still at least 20 around him, and their anger increased after witnessing two of them die right in front of their eyes.

    The golems all charged towards Arthur, and getting locked in ce by that many monsters wouldn¡¯t be a pleasing experience. Therefore, Arthur opted to use his flight spell, going up to avoid the attacks of all the monsters.

    From above, he pondered how should he deal with these golems? He wanted to devour them as it would be the fastest way, but Myria and Lilia were watching from afar, and he did not want to expose his secrets to them.

    It had been a long, long time since he saw them, different from Jane, Wisa, and Kai, who were with him every day. What if these two were not as friendly as they seemed? Arthur was not a dumb kid anymore to trust in everyone, especially in pretty faces.

    Fire-type spells would be useless against such creatures, however Arthur still had more things in his arsenal, such as the mysterious weapon Merethyl gave him, and also his wood-type magic.

    There was also that strange sword he could not wield it.

    ¡°Bill told me he¡¯s focusing on magical smithing, and his family is famous for it. Perhaps he can help me unfold some mysteries of that sword?¡± Arthur thought.

    A simple wave of his hand, and a tier 5 spell, trapped all the golems with vines. The ground near the volcano had high temperatures, as well as the bodies of those golems, so the vines would trap them at most for 3 seconds, but that was more than enough for Arthur to cast another spell.

    Myria could not believe Arthur cast a tier 5 spell with such ease, but the next scene made her even more scared.

    Arthur used all the three seconds to cast another wood-type spell, but one he used more of his wooden essence, turning the spell into a tier 6.

    Behind him, a sunflower emerged from the ground. It was so big it looked like a small hill. The sunflower turned his head towards the fire golems, sending a beam of light that destroyed not only all the golems, but the surrounding area.

 Chapter 157 End of the Dungeon (2)

    A tier 6 was something only a few individuals could cast, especially with such ease as Arthur. Myria was breathing heavily after seeing that, but imagine if she knew about the tier 7 spell Arthur cast during that battle.

    Anyway, with that the fire golem problem was solved, but who knows what types of dangers still lurked in the shadows of that dungeon floor?

    Arthur went to where Myria and Lilia where. ¡°Stay here while I check the rest of the floor. If anything bad happens, return using the mirror.¡±

    He left afterwards, flying towards the volcano that seemed to be the main part of that dungeon floor. The fire golems patrolled the area around the volcano before rushing towards him, which meant it held something of value, or someone important enough for them to protect it.

    At the base of the volcano, there was an entrance to something that looked like a cave. The high-temperature in that area would make almost anyone gasp in terror, however, it was like a stray in the park for Arthur.

    With steady steps, he ventured inside the dark cave that wasn¡¯t as dark as Arthur could see in the dark. For five minutes straight, there wasn¡¯t a single umon thing, only a narrow cave without proper lighting, however it soon changed.

    Arge room with a pool ofva. There was someone in the middle, a sturdy bearded man that looked like he was about forty years of old.

    The most impressive thing about that man was his height, 3 meters tall. That alone was enough to tell it wasn¡¯t entirely human, but something else.

    What was that person doing there? Arthur had already guessed this ce wasn¡¯t an ordinary dungeon like one he entered near Odemore.

    All these dungeons had monsters inside of it mainly because of the portals that led to the dream realm, a ce where all the magical beasts lived. However, that did not mean only beasts lived inside such ces.

    ¡°Huh?¡± the man said as he looked at Arthur.

    The mysterious man kept hitting an anvil, and even after Arthur entered his sight, he did not stop, as if he was focused on something more important, however, that change once he felt the familiar auraing from Arthur.

    ¡°A dragon? Are you here to take my life? I¡¯m so sorry. The gods were the ones that trapped me in here and made me and our race act against you.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Arthur asked. It was the most important question of all.

    ¡°I¡¯m Wrutzus, someone from the giant race. Who are you?¡±

    Arthur thought for a moment what name should he say to that person? It seemed they had friendly terms with the dragons before the gods forced them to act against them, so Arthur opted for his dragon name.

    ¡°cidusax.¡±

    Wrutzus finally stopped hammering his anvil and looked towards Arthur with his eyes wide open. His body shook, and he knelled on the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, lord cidusax. I still remembered how you saved me back then, but the gods threated my family. They threated the entire giant race. I couldn¡¯t refuse them.¡±

    ¡°What did they ask you to do?¡±

    ¡°Th-they made me craft weapons capable of hurting the dragons, and I did it. I¡¯m the reason for all this killing¡­¡± Wrutzus had tears streaming down his face.

    Arthur did not me him at all. He did what he had to do to protect its family and race.

    ¡°But cidusax, I¡¯m sorry to ask you this, but weren¡¯t you supposed to be dead?¡±

    ¡°Can I truly trust you, Wrutzus?¡±

    The giant quickly got up, which made Arthur prepare for a fight, however the oue was different. He handed over his blood essence, which meant Arthur could kill him with just a thought.

    ¡°I¡¯ll share some of my memories with you.¡±

    Wrutzus ced his hand on Arthur¡¯s forehead, and he entered a dream state.

    ~~~~

    It was and of snow, so much snow that a normal human would suffocate with it, however, the giants had no problem with that.

    They looked like humans, but had bigger bodies, and some even reach the height of 15 meters. These giants could change their height so it wouldn¡¯t affect their lives, and that is way most of them walked around with only a height of 3 meters.

    Despite all of their mighty, they were still in a small numberpared to the other races. Constant attacks kept happening on their continent, and that made them lose lots of lives, therefore creating a sad atmosphere.

    All of that changed when a ck-scaled dragon flew above the snowynds, meeting up with the giants. At first, they were ready for a battle, but knew they had no way of winning against such a creature.

    ¡°What do you wanting into this snowynds, dragon?¡± Wrutzus said.

    Wrutzus was the leader of the giant race, therefore he had to be the one talking with such a majestic creature.

    ¡°I came here to help. It will not be free, but it is something only you can do for me.¡±

    The mighty voice of that dragon echoed, and all the giants heard. Their situation was getting worse, and a help from such creature would make them reborn.

    Arthur watched all of that as if he was a spirit, invisible to everyone else. The shbacks changed to a part where Wrutzus talked with the ¡®gods¡¯, who forced the giant race to change sides.

    ¡°The dragons will go against you after this, and you¡¯ll regret. I¡¯m telling you, Wrutzus, you will do what I asked, or else this entire continent will die.¡±

    These ¡®gods¡¯ had masked their appearance, and even Wrutzus did not know how they looked, but felt their power, and they were strong. They were stronger than the dragons, and the only reason for them to not wipe them was because the dragon¡¯s special abilities, which made them resurrect even after getting killed.

    Wrutzus had no choice but to forge a weapon capable of killing the dragons for good, and to forge such a weapon would take him lots of time.

    ~~~~

    Arthur returned to reality.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have enough power to show all the memories to you.¡± Wrutzus apologized, bowing deeply to Arthur.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. Now, answer me, what is this ce?¡±

    ¡°This is the ce were a major fight against the dragons took ce, and where the gods locked me. Also, there¡¯s something important I want to tell you.¡±

 Chapter 158 End of the Dungeon (3)

    ¡°What is it?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, at the end of this dungeon, there is a living dragon!¡±

    ¡°What? How?¡±

    ¡°The gods put her inside this ce not that long ago, but from what I heard, she isn¡¯t a full dragon but a half-one. Her father is a dragon called Nefion.¡± Wrutzus said.

    Arthur did not mutter a word. Nefion was someone he wanted to find, eventually, and now more people rted to him were around.

    Was Nefion and his brother the two remaining dragons? Not counting with Arthur, of course.

    ¡°Do you know if there¡¯re more monsters inside this ce? And how do I get both you and her out of this ce?¡±

    ¡°There are no monsters, and she is locked inside the next floor, however I¡¯m uncertain you¡¯ll be able to rescue her, and if you can¡¯t rescue her, then I¡¯m trapped here as well.¡±

    Wrutzus told Arthur everything he knew, however, his hope of getting out of that ce wasn¡¯t that high. Even if his savior was cidusax, the gods would surely put a restriction that even the dragons can¡¯t break.

    He had no option but to continue forward, so Arthur said goodbye to Wrutzus and promised that he woulde back to free him after freeing the dragon.

    Behind the pit ofva where the giant was, there was a portal that led to thest level of the dungeon. Arthur stepped in and vanished, appearing in apletely unknown ce.

    The next floor was a in with an immense bird cage in the middle. There, a youngdy with silver hairid down on a bed, reading a book she got from the shelf.

    Arthur went closer to look at who was it, and when he recognized her, he was astonished.

    ¡°Eleonora?¡±

    Eleonora, who was lost in her reading, heard a voice, and instantly got up from her bed. She stared at the young man for some time, before realizing of who it was.

    ¡°Arthur? The chef back then that killed my stepfather?¡±

    Arthur already felt the pain of exining everything to her, saying how her father was not who he said he was, but turned out Eleonora had learned all of that from Nefion.

    ¡°Nefion told me everything. Don¡¯t worry. But how are you here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here to rescue you, obviously. Well, honestly, I learned about you being trapped in here a few moments ago, but if I want to leave this ce, then I need to free you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the honesty.¡± Eleonora said with a smile.

    She had turned even more gorgeous since thest time the two of them met, but Arthur wasn¡¯t paying attention to that, as he had to find a way out of that ce, or else he would be forever trapped.

    ¡°Who put you in here? And do you know something about the seal?¡±

    ¡°Some beings that call themselves ¡®gods¡¯. Even my father, who is a powerful dragon, can¡¯t face them, and the only reason he¡¯s alive is because the gods can¡¯t use their powers properly. About the seal, well, I do not know.¡±

    It seemed even Eleonora knew little about the seal that trapped her inside the cage. Wrutzus also had little information, but was certain it wasn¡¯t something any of them could break.

    Arthur went closer to the cage and tried to touch the lock. A blue magical barrier sent him flying with heavy wounds.

    He did not know why, but that blue energy felt familiar to him. Arthur got up and tried once again, but this time, he used his devour skill, trying to devour the seal.

    Once again, he was sent flying, and the wounds on his body made it impossible to move. A good thing his healing speed was extraordinary, and after twenty minutes, Arthur was up and ready.

    After getting in touch with the blue energy two times in a row, a sh of understanding crossed his mind. That type of energy was the same from where Skye was trapped and was the same energy his devotees gave to him.

    ¡°Is this useful?¡± Arthur thought.

    Skye had given him a ne back then, but he did not know what uses it had, therefore it was kept inside his magical pouch to gather dust.

    The moment the ne came out of the pouch, the seal in the door resonated with it, and the blue energy from the seal rushed towards the ne.

    It was absorbing the blue energy, something that even his incredible devour skill couldn¡¯t. What type of ne was that?

    ~~~~

    Ten minutes of constant absorption resulted in the seal breaking. All the energy was inside the ne, and the moment Arthur touched it, it all went to his body.

    [Absorbing Celestial Energy]

    [1%]

    [2%]

    The energy rapidly filled his body, increasing all of his attributes by a whooping 50 points. A feeling of power erupted, and Arthur felt he could take on anyone at that moment.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 58]

    [Health: 12300/12300]

    [Mana: 27000/27000]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 212]

    [Agility: 139]

    [Vigor: 134]

    [Wisdom: 236]

    [Charm: 143]

    [Free points: 0]

    The level remained the same, but the increase of attributes was something extraordinary, and Arthur was on a different level than before.

    ¡°I¡¯m confident enough now to take back the Dragon Scale Empire, although I¡¯m still far away from the ¡®gods¡¯.¡±

    After adjusting his body to the new strength, Arthur walked towards the cage and opened it, allowing Eleonora to get out of it.

    ¡°Do you know where you father is?¡±

    ¡°I-I do not know.¡±

    ¡°You can stay with me. I¡¯m also a dragon, and the Elven ruler. Not trying to brag here, but I¡¯m the best bet you have.¡±

    Eleonora thought for some time and concluded she had no choice, therefore she went with Arthur. Also, Arthur was a dragon too, so they should help each other.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The two of them left the floor, reaching the pool ofva where Wrutzus was.

    ¡°What? You broke the seal? Thats¡­ that¡¯s¡­ ha ha ha, I¡¯m free!¡±

    Wrutzus knelled in front of Arthur, ¡°I¡¯ll follow you to the end, my lord!¡±

 Chapter 159 Undercover Mission (1)

    The giant had already given Arthur his blood essence, so he was bound to serve him, therefore he knelled without asking further questions, especially now that he was free.

    He owed Arthur his life.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move. We need to get out of where. Also, I have twopanions on the second floor.¡± Arthur said.

    Now that the dungeon had been cleared out, it was a simple task to traverse through it, and within minutes, they returned to the vige where the banshee attacked them. Myria and Lilia were there, waiting for Arthur.

    ¡°Who are these two?¡± Myria said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin while we move. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Arthur had talked previously with Eleonora, and they twisted the story a little so that the information about her being a half-dragon, and also Nefion being her father, did not spread.

    Myria had a few questions, as the whole story seemed strange, but she asked nothing. Maybe they had some secrets that she couldn¡¯t know, and that was okay. Everyone had these.

    The important thing was that everyone was safe, and the dungeon problem solved. They hastened their steps and left the dungeon that wasn¡¯t locked anymore.

    ¡°Wrutzus, can you be shorter?¡± Arthur said.

    In no time, Wrutzus changed from a giant to someone with around 1,85 meters of height. All of them returned to Slyvian, who was not that far from where the dungeon entrance was.

    When they passed thorough the bodies of those dragons, Arthur made a mental note to mark its location, and return during night-time to devour them, and see if anything happens. Although it felt somewhat weird to eat a dragon, as he was a dragon himself.

    ¡°But I am also a human, so not that weird, or is it?¡±

    Wrutzus was surprised the moment he saw the immense city of Slyvian. ¡°This is an elven city? This is my first time seeing it!¡±

    That statement made Arthur wonder exactly how long he had been trapped inside that dungeon. He never saw the Elven city because he never went to this ce, or was because he was too old and it did not exist back then?

    ¡°See you allter, bye!¡± Myria and Lilia parted ways the moment they reached Slyvian.

    The guard that stood in the main gate bowed the moment he saw Arthur, their new ruler.

    ¡°It is an honor to see you today, my highness.¡±

    Arthur knew that a few encouraging words would not harm, so he said, ¡°thank you for service. Please, help me protect the citizens of our kingdom.¡±

    ¡°I-I will, my lord.¡±

    After a quick chat with the guards at the entrance, Arthur, Wrutzus and Eleonora went towards the pce. Merethyl quickly came to meet with them.

    Inside a private room in the pce, Arthur exined to Merethyl everything that had happened inside the dungeon.

    ¡°A half-dragon and a giant? This¡­ this is incredible.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that good at fighting anymore, whoever I can help you with the creation of powerful weapons. I am a cksmith after all.¡± Wrutzus said.

    ¡°Good, good. We do have a war to win.¡±

    Eleonora was a half-dragon, but she still had little battle prowess, and they kept her inside Slyvian, living in the pce and training with the elves. Merethyl promised her secret would be safe, which made her sigh in relief.

    The elves were happier now with their new ruler, but the thought of having the dark races living in a nearbynd wasn¡¯t appealing, and for that reason, war was inevitable.

    Merethyl gave the idea to form a small team to first scout the area to see how bad was the damage caused by the dark races, and also to see their numbers.

    ¡°I want you on that team. You are the strongest of us, and our people want to see their ruler taking action in the war.¡± Merethyl said.

    Even if she did not ask, Arthur would still go. In his mind, he was the best to scout the area with all the spells and the immense power he now had. Sending a team without a strong backup was just stupid.

    ¡°Also, this secret scouting team will not be public. We already have one traitor general, what happens if we have another one?¡±

    She gathered the best members for that mission. These members weren¡¯t the strongest warrior in a one versus one fight, but specialized in stealth abilities, which was the best thing one could ask for in that type of mission.

    They all wore ck cloaks and knelled in front of Arthur.

    ¡°They seem good. When will we leave?¡±

    ¡°Tonight!¡±

    ~~~~

    A red-haired woman bounced on the dick, moaning with pleasure as it rubbed inside her. It was Wisa, who was having fun with Arthur and Jane.

    While Wisa rode on the cock, Arthur licked Jane¡¯s pussy, moving his tongue in all directions, making her legs shake and eyes roll.

    ~~~~

    Five ck-cloaked figures left Slyvian during the night. No one saw their movements, as if they were shadows hidden from the eyes of others.

    These were the 4 people Merethyl chose for the scouting mission, as well as Arthur, who was among them. Their journey wouldn¡¯t be a short one, and surely not a safe one.

    The Dragon Scale Empire was far, and they would have to pass through some dangerous areas to reach it, plus the dark races would surely be around, making their journey even harder.

    That was one reason Merethyl asked Arthur to go with them. It was an assurance to make sure everyone would reach their destination alive.

    ¡°It is an honor to go on a mission with you, my lord.¡±

    ¡°We are together on this, so there is no need for these fancy titles. Let¡¯s help each other out andplete the mission for our kingdom.¡±

    The first three days of their journey were peaceful with no type of danger, but on the fourth day, one member suddenly fell ill, seemingly because of a poison.

    They faced only a few monsters along the way, and surely none of these monsters were poisonous.

    ¡°Something is off here.¡± Arthur thought as he gazed at all the people with him.

 Chapter 160 Undercover Mission (2) - Fairy Mountains

    ¡°It has to be one of these nts we ate in the soup.¡± Jassin said. He was the elf that got ill during the night when they were camping inside the forest.

    They did not face any poisonous enemy, so the reason for him getting ill like that was from a poisonous nt they used as a spice, or one person there had poisoned him.

    Arthur believed more in the second option, therefor he kept close watch of all the squad members. An elf, a race that lived off thend, and presumably knew all the herbs around their forest, ate something and fell ill? It did not seem convincing.

    The four people with Arthur were Jassin, a slim elf, the one that fell ill, Folen, a guy that barely talk with the rest of them, Siora, a gorgeous woman that tried her best to pull out a conversation with Arthur, and thest one, Laeroth, who was the most suspicious of them all, at least for Arthur.

    Laeroth felt tense throughout the entire journey, but that could be because of how important the mission was, and how dangerous it was. Therefore, Arthur was not sure if he was the person behind it.

    Perhaps the culprit was neither of them, but someone else that was following them? It was a possibility, but Arthur had sensed no one.

    ¡°Let me check your pulse.¡± Arthur said.

    He did not know any healing type spell, but he wanted to try something, and that was to devour the poison from Jassin¡¯s body. Arthur could not create a huge ck mouth to devour it, so he tried to absorb the poison by grabbing the wrist of that elf.

    One needed tremendous concentration to perform that. At first, Arthur thought he would fail. Whoever he quickly felt the poison leaving Jassin¡¯s body, entering on his own.

    Now that he had his wooden essencepleted, alongside with the power of his dragon bloodline, these weak poisons could not harm him at all. The moment the poison entered his body, it dissipated instantly.

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling well again. Thank you, my lord!¡± Jassin bowed.

    Arthur focused on each one of them to see who had a suspicious reaction, but all of them looked surprised, and ced Arthur even higher in their hearts.

    ¡°Let¡¯s sleep here for the night, and continue tomorrow.¡± Arthur said.

    All of them agreed, as that was exactly what they were doing. They shared the tasks of building tents and creating a fire where they all sat around it to chat and eat.

    They had stopped only once in these past 4 days to rest, so everyone was tired, therefore it did not take long for all of them to fall asleep.

    Arthur went to his own tent, but he did not need to sleep at all, so he kept reading and paying attention to the rest of them. During the night, he heard footsteps.

    Who could walk thatte? He got up from his tent bed and activated his invisibility spell. After using it for so long, his mastery had increased to a whole new level, and he was confident that few people would see through it.

    The person who left the tent was Siora, the only woman in their group. She walked deeper into the forest, with Arthur following closely behind.

    All her actions seemed suspicious, therefore Arthur guessed she could be the person behind the poisoning.

    ¡°She did not seem like a bad person. Was I wrong the whole time?¡± Arthur thought.

    Siora kept looking behind, trying to see if anyone was following her, which made everything more suspicious. She kept walking deeper into the forest until she finally stopped.

    ¡°What is she doing?¡± Arthur thought, but the moment he saw what was happening, his eyes were wide open.

    Jassin, the elf that had been poisoned a few moments ago, was waiting for her, and they kissed each other¡­

    Arthur left before things turned into the other side. He did not want to watch that at all.

    He discarded these two of his list of culprits, but that did not mean he would not keep close attention. Now, there were only two remaining.

    The other two from the squad did not leave their tents, and were sleeping like rocks. Arthur returned to his own tent and spent the rest of the night reading and thinking about the future.

    ~~~~

    Their journey continued the next morning, and Arthur acted as if he had not seen what happenedst night with Jassin and Siora.

    The next major part of their journey to reach the Dragon Scale Empire was the Fairy Mountains, a ce of great danger.

    Countless legends about that ce spread throughout not only the Elven Kingdom but to the world. They could circle around it, but that would waste a lot of time, and time was precious.

    What if the dark races were preparing for an attack? What if the Dragon Scale Empire is beyond saving after they lost time avoiding the Fairy Mountains? These were things all of them thought, therefore passing through that ce was inevitable.

    ¡°The Fairy Mountains¡­ we should all be careful from now on.¡± Jassin said.

    Fairy Mountains had that name because of the fairies that lived in that ce. Some people thought fairies were inoffensive beings, but that waspletely wrong.

    They used illusions to y with their victims, and send me to traps. Fairies were the major problem in those mountains, but other beasts lived there, too.

    If one gets caught in a fairy illusion, then getting eaten by something else is not a wish hard toe true. Arthur hoped that his magical barrier was enough to protect him from those illusions, and that they did not meet lots of dangers during their time in those mountains.

    ¡°All right. We should rest nearby and continue the next day. We need to be at our peak to pass through this ce unscratched.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I thought the same.¡±

    ¡°I will build the campfire.¡±

    ¡°Let me deal with the tents.¡±

    Everyone helped each other before entering a ce that had taken the lives of many elves before them.

 Chapter 161 Undercover Mission (3) - Fairy Mountains

    After 8 hours of good rest, all of them entered the Fairy Mountains. It was not only one mountain but 6 of them with a path in the middle, like a canyon.

    Arthur¡¯s group slowly made their way through the Fairy Mountains, looking at all sides, trying to find danger before it could find them.

    A sense of dread, as if someone was lurking in the shadows, behind every bush, every tree, waiting for the right moment to pounce and strike.

    Perhaps there were monsters hiding inside the Fairy Mountains, or maybe all of them were trapped inside an illusion and simply did not know about it?

    The possibilities were endless, but all they could do was keep trying to leave that mountain range as fast as they could.

    At least no one got poisoned again, and the culprit behind it was still unknown, but Arthur knew he would discover more about it, eventually.

    There was a river that passed through the middle of the Fairy Mountains. Amon gathering spot for all the beasts, as they needed water to survive.

    When Arthur and his squad reached that location, they became more cautious. They weren¡¯t certain beasts were lurking in the shadows before, but now it was clear as day.

    The moment they got close to the river, a fox type creature dashed towards them. It was an orange fur, and 6 legs. Arthur did not feel well looking at that strange the beast.

    Even the sound of that creature did not resemble a fox, contrary to how its face looked. The squad Merethyl had chosen wasn¡¯t weak at all. Jassin was the first one to move, dashing rapidly through the forest, appearing behind that creature, shing his dagger at the back of the head.

    It died on the spot. Maybe they weren¡¯t the most trustworthy people, but strength was something they had. Arthur was happy, as he did not need to move, and his squad did most of the job.

    ¡°This is the feeling of a king.¡±

    They kept following the river as it led to the other side of the Fairy Mountains, which was exactly the ce they had to go.

    Monsters kept appearing. Whoever these were weak, and Arthur did not need to move an inch as his squad took care of everything.

    ¡°Wait. Didn¡¯t we pass by this ce already?¡± Arthur said.

    He had better senses than these elves, so he quickly noticed something was off. They had passed through the same tree 2 times already. Arthur knew about it because of his outstanding memory.

    The others had not noticed it, but kept walking and pay close attention to that tree Arthur talked about, to see if that was indeed the case.

    After some time, they were once again back at the same spot.

    ¡°It is true. We are trapped in a loop.¡±

    ¡°A fairy illusion?¡±

    ¡°Certainly. How do we get out of it?¡± Arthur said.

    These elves had more knowledge about the fairies than Arthur, so he was the one asking for guidance this time. Apparently, the fairies were hidden inside the illusion itself, using their mana to keep them inside the illusion. Therefore, if one wanted to get out, then finding the fairy was the answer.

    It wouldn¡¯t be a simple task to do so, or else the Fairy Mountains wouldn¡¯t be famous worldwide as a dangerous ce where casualties happened constantly.

    ¡°Everyone here is good at stealth and agility. So, let¡¯s part ways and look for the fairy. If you find any danger, then flee and scream. We will go looking for you.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur was alone, doing his best to find the fairy and stop that illusion. Based on what the elves had told them, their bodies were paralyzed in the real world, and the beasts there could end their lives, therefore leaving that illusion was their top priority.

    It was easier saying than doing it. No matter how hard Arthur tried, he could not find the hidden fairy. The forest looked normal, without a single trace of that creature.

    ¡°Maybe it is invisible? Or tiny? Honestly, I don¡¯t know the exact appearance of a fairy.¡± Arthur thought.

    The same beasts they found in the real world showed up to attack him. Arthur even let one of those to hit him, and the pain was real too.

    Was his actual body getting wounded as well? He did not know the answer for that, but he hoped that wasn¡¯t the case. After his testing was done, Arthur killed all the beasts that came looking for him, but the more he killed, the more it showed up.

    He was inside an illusion, after all. It was not the real world where the beasts had a limited number. There their number was endless, and as long as the fairies had mana, they could keep spawning more and more monsters to attack him.

    That¡¯s why finding the fairy was their priority, or else they could end up dead, and even Arthur, who was someone powerful, could perish.

    ¡°What is the best way for me to find it?¡±

    Arthur noticed how the area of the illusion was affected, just like the real world. For example, if he cut a tree there, then it would remain cut inside the illusion.

    So, theoretically speaking, if Arthur wiped out the surrounding area, killing the fairy wouldn¡¯t be impossible.

    ¡°Hehehe.¡±

    He used his flight spell and made a fire signal midair so that all the other squad members gathered where he was.

    ¡°Akhur, is something wrong?¡±

    They were all together once again, and Arthur exined them his idea. Craziness was the first thing that crossed their minds¡­

    All the squad members got away from the starting point of the illusion, and awaited for Arthur, who was flying above the area, preparing a spell.

    It took him some time to cast, but suddenly 7 magical circles appeared in the sky, and the temperature of the area increased to an extraordinary level.

    ¡°He truly knows a tier 7 spell? He¡¯s one of the strongest beings in this world!¡± Jassin said.

    An immense ball of mes appeared in the sky, descending into the ground. The trees turned to ashes before the ball even reached the floor, and if a fairy was there, it would not survive.

 Chapter 162 Undercover Mission (4) - Fairy Mountains

    The Fairy Mountains took a beating and turned into a dested area. Well, that was only the case inside the fairy illusion, as the real Fairy Mountains were still the same.

    No one would believe if they saw that attack in person. How was a person capable of releasing such force? The entire area did not have trees anymore, and an enormous hole made everything look hopeless.

    Arthur flew above the dested area, looking for the fairy who cast the illusion. There were no trees or bushes for it to hide, therefore Arthur found the fairy in no time.

    A fairy looked like a small human with wings, and a flute, whoever when Arthur got close to it, the cute appearance changed, and the fairy opened up its mouth which had long sharp teeth like a shark.

    ¡°Just die and let me out of this illusion.¡±

    He was not ying around or giving the fairy any change to retaliate. Arthur wielded his two-handed sword and cut the fairy in half.

    With the increase in all of his attributes back at the dungeon, he had an astonishing speed, and his figure blurred as he shed the fairy.

    The members of the squad watched all of it from afar, and even they could not see Arthur¡¯s movements. It was beyond their expectations.

    ¡°He¡¯s a strong mage and faster than a melee warrior? What is this?¡±

    Arthur was someone above their level, therefore it was understandable for them to react like that. Anyway, after the fairy was dealt with, they all returned to reality, waking up in the middle of the Fairy Mountains, near the river.

    In front of them was a fairy, cut in half, just like Arthur did back inside the illusion.

    They sighed in relief. ¡°We are safe for now, but we should keep moving!¡± Arthur did not disagree with that, and they continue their journey through the Fairy Mountains.

    Fairies weren¡¯t the only dangers inside that ce, and the deeper they went, the stronger the beasts became. Many monsters, but they were easily dealt with, until certain point.

    Arthur took a peek and saw 3 young male and 1 young woman happily chatting around a campfire. At first nce, they looked like normal humans, but Arthur noticed their red-eyes and sharp fangs.

    ¡°Vampires.¡±

    He looked at all the others, and everyone had already understood the situation. They were getting closer to the Dragon Scale Empire, so finding members of the dark races was not umon, and was actually expected.

    One thing Arthur knew was that they did not have to worry about getting Vampirism and turning into a vampire. It was not as easy as it seemed, and a vampire had to do a whole ritual to turn into someone else.

    Whoever, vampires were not an easy prey. Supernatural strength, senses, and strange blood spells that few people knew about.

    Everyone activated their invisibility spells to hide from them. A vampire had a powerful sight, hearing, and everything. Getting near them without a stealth ability was just in stupid, and none of them would try that.

    They couldn¡¯t talk, or else it would alert them, therefore all theirmunication was done with signals. It wasn¡¯t the best type ofmunication, but the one they would have to use at that moment.

    What was the best way to kill a vampire? Using fire. Arthur would have a good time fighting those bastards.

    Each member of the squad hid behind a tree, circling the vampires, who hadn¡¯t noticed their arrival. Arthur made a signal, saying that he would attack first and draw their attention, then the rest of them would do a surprise attack.

    Arthur was the one that wanted to do the surprise attack using a fire spell, and end the lives of those vampires in an instant, but he couldn¡¯t do that.

    If someone else from their squad draw the attention, then they could end up dead. Arthur was the only one confident enough to face all of those vampires and live to tell the story.

    When Arthur was 6 meters away from the vampires, he exerted the strength on his legs, and dashed towards them at a fast speed. Branding his two-handed sword, a sh was sent to the back of one vampire, who could not believe someone was doing a stealth attack on them.

    A deep wound from the back of the shoulder to the lower back. Nasty. Blood flowed from the wound non-stop, and the vampire screamed in both rage and pain.

    ¡°Who the fuck are you? A human insect?¡±

    The vampire cursed towards Arthur, whoever it was, all in vain. Another sword sh came, and this time, the vampire lost its head.

    All the other vampires retreated a few steps, putting their weapons high, preparing for the fight. They would not underestimate that human, therefore one vampire chanted their blood magic, which was both strong and unpredictable.

    Arthur saw it, and tried to focus on that caster, but two lines of blooding from the vampire¡¯s dead body circled around his legs, trapping him in ce.

    ¡°Is the vampire using the blood of the fallenrade?¡±

    Now, without a chance to move, the blood magic from that vampire was done, and a spike of blood shot towards Arthur, piercing his chest, and sending him flying towards one tree.

    The attack looked fierce, but at the end, the amount of HP it took away from Arthur was mediocre, and it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for him to deal with them.

    Receiving an attack pumped up his adrenaline, as it had been a while since someone gave him a decent fight.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, you sucker. Suck this!¡± Arthur yelled.

    There was an attack that he had not used in a long time. The Void Step. In a moment Arthur was there, and in the other he wasn¡¯t.

    Even the vampires were surprised, as they had never seen something like that. After one second, a sound echoed through the woods.

    Another vampire had lost its head, and this time, it was the one who cast the blood spike.

    ¡°My attack kills differently from yours.¡±

 Chapter 163 Undercover Mission (5) - Mysterious Attacker

    Two male vampires had perished, and only one male and one woman remained. The two of them sensed their situation wasn¡¯t any good, and they would most likely end like these two. Therefore, they opted to surrender.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t kill u-¡± the male vampire muttered, but Arthur ignored him, and cut his body in half.

    The others from his squad that were hidden behind the tree came out, seeing that the fight was already over, and they did nothing to help. Arthur¡¯s strength was more than enough to deal with those vampires.

    ¡°Now, you will tell me everything.¡±

    Arthur did not kill the remaining vampire instantly, but first tried his best to get more information from it, saying that he would let it live if she provided decent information.

    Obviously, it was a lie, and he killed her right after getting the answers he needed. Only someone stupid would let the enemy live, especially being inside their kingdom.

    What he got from her was decent. Apparently, the Dragon Scale Empire did not have that many dark creatures living in it. After the war broke out, and the humans fled after losing, the dark races returned to the darknds to also recover.

    That did not mean the Dragon Scale Empire was empty. It was the contrary. ording to what the vampire said, the number of dark creatures was extraordinary, and even Arthur wondered how could they have so many.

    ¡°Perhaps they were increasing their numbers of centuries before trying something? That would exin their numbers and also the fact they did not attack someone in a long time.¡±

    The dark creatures were silent for a long time, locked in their territory without getting into contact with others. It made everyone else forget about them, but then they returned suddenly, destroying an entire empire.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s keep moving, and leave this damned ce for good.¡± Arthur said.

    There was no time to stop and chill, and they kept without resting for one more day.

    During this time, they came across some magical beasts such as types of wolves, foxes, and even a giant squid jumped out of the river to attack them, but no member of the dark races appeared.

    They also fell into illusions three more times, but now they knew how to get out of it, and that was allowed Arthur to cast a tier 7 spell and destroy the illusion, therefore these did not pose a threat to any of them.

    It was not a pleasant sensation to travel inside that ce without having the time to rest. All of them knew the only reason for them toe out alive was because of Arthur, or else they could not break out of the first illusion they came across.

    While they were feeling grateful to him, he was analyzing them carefully, looking for the culprit behind the previous poisoning, but sadly, it wasn¡¯t being fruitful.

    None of them looked suspicious anymore. Could Jassin have eaten a poisonous fruit without knowing it? Before, the thought of it was unlikely, but now Arthur was believing it.

    ¡°I will look more into it after this mission is over. For the time being, I should focus onpleting this.¡± Arthur thought.

    ~~~~

    When they left the Fairy Mountains safely, all of them dropped to the ground out of exhaustion and begged Arthur for a quick stop for them to rest.

    They said it would be a quick stop, but Arthur knew it would not be. A huge campfire near a muddy road, and a few tents that weren¡¯t the most luxurious ce to sleep, but it was better than being in the open.

    Arthur had tossed a few beasts inside his magical pouch, the ones they killed inside the Fairy Mountains, therefore they already had some food to cook, and did not need to go out and hunt.

    These beasts were ugly, but tasted good, so Arthur found no problem in butchering them and cooking in the campfire. He was not that tired as the others, but it felt nice to just stop and chill for a bit.

    The time was around 6 pm, but everyone went to sleep after eating a delicious wolf meat. Arthur did not sleep, but did so just to be normal once.

    A night that lookedpletely normal, just like all the other nights he had with his squad, turned out to be slightly different.

    Arthur woke up during the night because of a strange noise. At first he felt it wasn¡¯t something he should worry about, but someone had walked out of their tents and did not move away from the camp, but stayed in it, gazing at Arthur¡¯s tent.

    He did not know how, but he could somehow sense the murder intent directed at him, which made him ufortable, even though he was sure whoever it was could never kill him.

    ¡°Is he trying to attack me while I¡¯m sleeping? I should just fake it and then grab him.¡±

    It was the first idea that came to his mind, and one that would surely work. Arthur remained in the same position, ¡®sleeping¡¯ like a rock, and even making roaring sounds.

    Whoever was gazing at his tent stood there for a while, presumably making sure Arthur was truly sleeping, and then he stepped in.

    That person had a knife in hands, and slowly went closer to Arthur with apparent intentions.

    A sharp knife came directly at Arthur¡¯s throat, but before it could hit it, a hand grabbed the arm of the mysterious person, snapping it.

    The arm that hold the knife broke, and the knife fell to the ground, as the user had no strength to hold it.

    Arthur quickly got up from his bed, grabbed the person by the neck, and said, ¡°who are you?¡±

    One hand held the neck, while the other moved towards the hood, putting it down to show the face of the culprit.

    From all the suspects Arthur had, the person behind that hood wasn¡¯t the one he had suspicions about.

    ¡°Jassin?¡±

 Chapter 164 Undercover Mission (6)

    The person behind the hood was Jassin, the one who secretly fell ill on the first days of the journey.

    It turned out he purposely poisoned himself to create doubt inside Arthur¡¯s heart, and inside the heart of everyone else present.

    ¡°Why did you do this? Answer me!¡± Arthur said.

    He was yelling during the night, which made all the others wake up from their tents ande out to see exactly what was happening.

    ¡°Akhur, what happened?¡± Siora said.

    Arthur already knew Siora and Jassin had that intimate moment, therefore he suspected she might have something to do with this.

    He exined everything that had happened, and none of them could believe it.

    ¡°Jassin, is that true?¡± Siora said.

    Jassinughed maniacally, and said, ¡°if only this person was not that strong. How did you notice my presence?¡±

    Everyone knew now that Jassin was indeed the culprit behind the strange poisoning and now the murder attempt towards Arthur.

    The reason behind it? Even Arthur did not know. He tried to get some answers from Jassin. Whoever Jassin did not mutter a word, even after feeling pain.

    It was trained to do these type of things, so pain resistance was one perk Jassin had.

    ¡°We can roam around with a prisoner. That would hinder our movements,¡±

    ¡°He tried to kill me, so his penalty would be death, anyway. So, killing him now would not be a problem, right? What do you think?¡±

    Arthur would kill him anyway, even if the opinion of the rest of the squad was different, however he wanted to know more about how they think.

    Laeroth, one that barely talked during the journey, said, ¡°kill him. He is a traitor. We have an important mission to aplish, and having him with us, why bring more dangers than good things?¡±

    ¡°I agree with him.¡± Folen said.

    The only one that did not express any opinion was Siora. It was understandable considering she somewhat had a romance with Jassin, but after putting her thoughts together, she nodded in response.

    ¡°Return to the tents. I will deal with it.¡± Arthur said.

    Arthur grabbed Jassin and left the campsite area, going towards a more remote ce.

    He tried onest time to get some answers from him, but it did not work out, no matter what type of torture method Arthur used.

    ¡°Whatever.¡±

    With a snap, Arthur broke Jassin¡¯s neck, and he died on the spot. After that, he returned to his tent as if nothing had happened.

    ~~~~

    The next morning started with a breakfast. Meat, again. Arthur could feel the atmosphere around the squad was darker than before, but what could he do?

    Only time would fix that, and he only wished that Jassin¡¯s death would not affect their performance during the mission.

    It was a mission important not only for them, but for the kingdom, and all the elves that lived there, and also for the humans who fled from the Dragon Scale Empire.

    ¡°We should eat. The border with the Dragon Scale Empire is near, and the dark races are sure to be there.¡± Arthur said.

    A chunk of red meat crushed by his teeth, sending a sensation of pleasure and fullness to his body.

    They took their time to properly eat during the morning, and after everyone was done, they packed everything and continued on their journey.

    The closer they got to the border of the Elven Kingdom, the stranger things be.

    There was a feeling in the air, as something bad would happen. Arthur noticed that the air had turned more smoky and a smell of rot permeated through the air.

    Arthur was almost sure that was the smell of the rotten corpses. It seemed the dark races did not even bother to move the corpses of the Dragon Scale Empire army.

    They reached the border in no time, and with slow steps, they scanned the surrounding area.

    At first nce, the ce was empty of any dark creature, and perhaps they were only inside the deeper parts of the empire.

    ¡°Remember that our mission here is not to kill a high number of dark creatures, but to scout the area and get as much information as we can for the actual attack.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    Their mission was to scout, and to think only the four of them could wipe the dark races was a pipe dream.

    Arthur was not dumb, and he knew some creatures had simr or above strength than him.

    After everyone got their bearings together and remembered why they were there, they kept finally entering the Dragon Scale Empire.

    When they reached it, everything looked simr to the Elven Kingdom itself.

    Obviously the forest was not the same as the one in the Elven Kingdom, but everything around them was still vegetation, and that¡¯s it.

    There was a small cabin near the border, presumably the home of whoever was there to ensure everything was correct within the two countries, although the protection in the border was small.

    The Elven Kingdom was their friend after all, and there was no need to watch the border with that many men, especially with the war on the other side with the dark races.

    Therefore, only a cabin remained, and when Arthur and his squad made their way to it, it was empty.

    Empty not of furniture or trash, but there was no one inside. The dust all around made Arthur guess whoever lived there was long gone.

    Perhaps went to the other side to fight with the dark races? If only one person was stationed here, that meant whoever it was had decent strength, therefore it wouldn¡¯t be strange for that person to go fight the other side of the war.

    ¡°Lets keep moving.¡±

    Staying in that cabin was a waste of time, but they still made a quick search to see if there was anything interesting inside, and there was not.

    They left the cabin and continue forward to the heart of the Dragon Scale Empire.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Do you think they areing?¡± A woman said.

    Half of her body was a snake-body, and her eyes were amber with pupils just like that of a snake.

    The person who was talking with her was Kymil¡¯s father, the traitor general.

    ¡°Yes, they are. One member from that squad is under mymand.¡±

    ¡°Good. What will the Elven Kingdom do when I get their king?¡± The snake-womanughed maniacally.

 Chapter 165 Undercover Mission (7)

    They walked for 12 hours before seeing the first sign of life. Well, not life as there were no humans in the empire anymore, but buildings.

    It was a small vige with ntations that had already rotten with disease. No one was there to take care of it.

    All the houses were woody, and it looked exactly like an ordinary human vige.

    A slightly bigger house, presumably for the person in charge, and another one with the same size as the vige¡¯s merchant.

    At first nce, everything looked normal within that vige, but Arthur quickly noticed a corpse near one ntation.

    ¡°They killed everyone here¡­ bastards!¡±

    The entire vige was dead, and their corpses were scattered all over the ce without a proper funeral.

    Arthur did not have the time to bury everyone from the Dragon Scale Empire, but he could not let their bodies there to rot.

    Bugs were already crawling inside the corpses, eating it. A sad scene.

    With a hand move, Arthur burned every corpse he found, turning it into ashes. It was the best he could do, and he hoped the humans did not mind his actions.

    They looked inside all the houses, and just like they guessed, corpses were in it. Arthur asked them to move all the corpses out of the houses to burn them.

    A group of 4 people left the small vige with sad and angry faces. All that killing was because of the dark races, and the elves present imagined that happening to their own people.

    It could not happen. They would not let it happen.

    After witnessing what happened with that vige, they were more determined to get as much information as they could, return, and thenunch an attack and wipe out the dark creatures.

    ¡°These bastards will pay.¡±

    ¡°Of course they will. Why did theye out of the darknds? Why couldn¡¯t they stay inside that ce forever?¡±

    ¡°Who knows?¡±

    They chatted along the way. Arthur was not fond of that idea as it could attract enemies, but walking for so long saying nothing was not something he wanted either.

    ~~~~

    The roads of the Dragon Scale Empire were made of cobblestone, way better than the muddy roads they used to get there.

    ¡°Look what we have here.¡±

    A hoarse voice echoed through the forest, followed by the appearance of lots of enemiesing from behind the trees.

    Some were vampires, others trolls and orcs. A mix of the dark creatures.

    Arthur had not noticed them beforehand, and as he swept his gaze through them, he saw a subus. He guessed she was the responsible for casting a spell that made everyone their stealthy.

    The person with the hoarse voice was a skeleton, and apparently, he was the leader behind that group of creatures.

    ¡°What do you want? A hair transnt?¡± Arthur mocked the bald skeleton in front of him.

    ¡°Shut up, insects. Why are elves here? Are you looking to die just like your humans friends?¡±

    While talking, Arthur looked with the corner of his eyes to see how many enemies were there?

    Based on what he could see, there were at least 20 enemies. A number more than enough to kill his squad, but with him there, that was only a pipe dream.

    Arthur was not scared. The level of these creatures was simr or lower than his, but the difference in attributes was game changing.

    With a have of his hand, Arthur cast a magical barrier on their squad members, and said, ¡°don¡¯t worry. Even if all of them attack together, they can¡¯t break the barrier.¡±

    After that, he returned his gaze to the skeleton in front of him. Arthur did not mutter a word, but went directly to action.

    Using his new sword, he dashed towards the skeleton, who reacted quickly, waving its staff, casting a barrier made of earth.

    The mighty of Arthur would not be stopped by a meager muddy barrier, so with a sh, he cut the barrier in half, creating a hole in which he passed, though, appearing right in front of the skeleton.

    While that was happening, the others did not stand still and tried to attack Arthur¡¯s squad.

    Vampires sending blood magic, trolls and orcs mming their weapons on the barrier, yet it did not move or dimmed.

    The skeleton saw that and remembered the words Arthur had just said.

    ¡°Was he saying the truth? What kind of magical barrier is that?¡±

    Arthur¡¯s attack did not stop after cutting the earth barrier, but kept going, aiming towards the retreating skeleton who feared the Elven monster in front of him.

    It was impossible for the skeleton to dodge, but that did not mean it was impossible to survive.

    An attraction force came, pushing one troll that was attacking the barrier. At an astonishing speed, the troll flew towards the gap between Arthur and the skeleton.

    ¡°A meat shield!¡±

    The sword attack cut through the troll, sending guts and blood everywhere. It was an enemy killed, but not the one Arthur was looking for.

    ¡°Hahaha. Did you like that?¡±

    For a moment, the bald skeletonughed, proud of his aplishments, but that only made Arthur angrier.

    A mere skeleton was ying with him? No way he would let that pass.

    ¡°Die, pile of bones!¡±

    Arthur was not ying around anymore as he instantly cast his teleport.

    He vanished from the skeleton¡¯s sight, appearing right behind it shing his sword down, cutting the skeleton in half.

    All the other creatures that were attacking the magical barrier were also keeping their eyes on the fight, and the moment their leader died, they were scared.

    Arthur waspletely pissed, and he cast his teleport spell again, and again, and gain, vanishing from all parts of the battlefield, and every time he appeared, one creature would die.

    The amount of mana Arthur had allowed him to cast multiple teleports, even more considering these were short distance ones, so none of the creatures stood a chance as they perished by Arthur¡¯s sword.

 Chapter 166 Undercover Mission (8) - Inside the City

    ¡°Done.¡± Arthur said.

    He sheathed his sword again and canceled the magical barrier he had cast to protect his squad members.

    Speaking of them, none of them could believe what they had seen. Arthur was already someone high in their standards after what he did in the Fairy Mountains, but now?

    Every time Arthur impressed them, which sent a warm feeling into their hearts.

    Arthur was their king and for a citizen to witness the strength and greatness of one¡¯s king was something extraordinary, priceless.

    All of them knelled towards Arthur, but he quickly made a sign for them to stand up.

    ¡°There is no need for this. We are all team mates here. Let¡¯s continue, but we need to be more vignt.¡±

    They nodded in response, and after getting their shit together, they continue the journey.

    A surprise attack on someone as strong as Arthur was a disrespect. How did they surprise him? He was pissed at himself for not being alert enough to see that something was wrong.

    ¡°I need to focus.¡±

    Arthur kept saying that to himself so that maybe his mind would understand that no ws could happen on that mission.

    They all kept going forward, and the more they went deeper inside the empire, the more creatures of the dark races appeared.

    Different from before, they tried their best to keep a low-profile, and stealthily pass through them, and that certainly was not a hard task for them.

    ¡°We are getting close to the capital. That ce should be where most of the remaining dark races are.¡± Siora said.

    Most of the dark races returned to the darknds, but their number inside the now fallen empire was impressive, and that number would be even higher inside the capital.

    That was the main point of the mission. Arthur and his squad had to infiltrate inside the capital and gather information about the enemy troops, such as their number, formation, and so on.

    ¡°How far until we reach it?¡± Arthur asked.

    ¡°A few hours, I think.¡±

    It was closer than Arthur thought, therefore he increased his level of attention to not get caught in an ambush close to their final destination.

    ~~~~

    The capital of the Dragon Scale Empire went by the name of Drakonia.

    It was immense, bigger than any other city Arthur had seen before.

    Sturdy and tall walls surrounded the city, with multiple watch tower that were now devoid of life.

    In the middle of the city stood an enormous castle, so big that was possible to see from afar, and was, without a doubt, the tallest and biggest construction in the city.

    Arthur did not rush in without thinking of a n first. He watched Drakonia from afar and noticed that the visible watch towers weren¡¯t as empty as he expected them to be. The dark races had taken control of them, keeping a watch of everything that approached the capital.

    Also, countless creatures were in front of all gates that led to the city, protecting with their lives, and no one could pass through it without a life-and-death fight.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Arthur said, looking at hispanions, who, despite being weaker than him, had lots of knowledge regarding the area.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe we should use the sewers? It will be disgusting, but I think it is our best choice to enter inside the capital with no one noticing us.¡± Laeroth said.

    It was the biggest sentence he said since the start of the journey, and one that made sense.

    The gates had lots of protection, but the sewer entrance was between one gate and another. So, in theory, it would not be impossible for them to sneak in, although the creatures in the watchtowers would be troublesome to deal with.

    ¡°I can make all of us invisible. Would the creatures in the towers notice us?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Well, it depends. How strong is your spell?¡±

    Arthur smirked. He was over-thinking it. With the strength he had, these weak guards would not notice a single movement as they approached the heavily guarded capital.

    He waved his hand, casting the invisibility spell in all the squad members, and they all slowly moved towards the capital.

    They nned before that it would be the best if they did not run or rush towards it, but went at a steady pace, as that would prevent the watch towers from noticing them.

    At first they were worried if Arthur¡¯s mana pool wouldst until they reached it, but that was not something they should worry about.

    Arthur¡¯s mana pool was beyond theirprehension, and by the time they reached the sewer entrance, he had barely used any mana at all.

    ¡°We did it!¡± Folen said.

    It was only the first step of their mission, but seeding in it made them excited. Arthur did not me them, but tried to remember the worst parts were yet toomon.

    They entered the sewer one by one, as the passage was not wide enough for over one person, but after they passed through the entrance, everything became more spacious, but also dirtier, and not-that-good smelling.

    ¡°Shit ce.¡±

    ¡°Literally.¡±

    The sewers were not the ideal scenario that had pictured before epting to go out on that mission, but it was something they had to do.

    Arthur went in the front, and the others followed closely behind. There were a few rats walking in that ce, and the smell almost made them throw up.

    It smelled like shit mixed with dead bodies. Arthur guessed they had disposed of some of the humans¡¯ bodies in the sewers.

    Theyout of the sewers was something none of them knew, so where should they start? Arthur noticed lots ofdders that presumably led to weigh outs, but what if they got out in the middle of a street packed with creatures?

    They kept walking until eventually stopping at adder. Arthur stood there, hearing the sounds that came from the outside, and that was the quietest way out so far.

    ¡°I will go first, disguised as a rat, to see how it is on the outside. Stay here.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? Disguised as a rat?¡±

 Chapter 167 Undercover Mission (9) - Caught

    Arthur had one spell called Shape-shifting. He did not use it very often, only in specific situations, as it was a spell meant only for hiding, and did not increase his battle prowess.

    Now, for the type of mission he was currently in, it was a blessing.

    He cast the spell, turning into amon rat, just like the ones they had seen in the sewer a few moments ago, and walked out using the nearby exit.

    The first thing he did when getting out of it was to gaze at all sides, looking for any enemies that could be around, waiting to kill him.

    It was an empty street, and the reason for the ce to be so quiet was because the sewer exit led directly to an alley. In Arthur¡¯s opinion, that was the best ce he could ever hope for.

    Arthur walked through the alley with his small body rat to make sure there was nothing there, and when he was certain the ce was clean, he returned to meet with his squad.

    After changing to his normal appearance, he said, ¡°the exit leads to an alley, which is perfect. I did not see anyone around, but let¡¯s be careful, as there could be creatures patrolling the area.¡±

    They all nodded in response, and one by one, climbed thedder, reaching the empty alley.

    All of them had some sort of technique to avoid detection, and one thing all the members of the squad could to was to move around without making noises, and that coupled with the ck-cloaks and also walking using the shadows, it was almost impossible to spot them.

    If they were spying on normal humans, then surely it would be a simple task without a single chance of failure, but against the dark races?

    Most of these creatures could see in the dark, which was troublesome for them.

    ¡°You all know at least some camouge technique, right?¡± Arthur said.

    Arthur could use his invisibility on them, but that cost a lot of manas if held for a long time, and if they got into a fighting, then he would be at a disadvantage.

    They did not know any invisibility spell, but all the members of that special squad had a camouge, simr to a chameleon, which was good enough if they kept their bodies close to the walls.

    With a peek, Arthur saw that the street close to the alley was empty, so he made a sign for them to follow him. Their destination was the castle, where most of the enemies would be.

    It was easy to know the direction of that ce, therefore they moved towards it, trying their best to not attract any attention.

    Two vampires were talking to each other in the middle of the street. They even looked towards where Arthur and the others were, but found nothing different.

    They talked in a familiar tongue, as vampires were humans after all, so Arthur could understand it perfectly.

    ¡°Did you hear about the elvesing towards us? Just like the general told us.¡±

    ¡°Really? I thought they wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to do that.¡±

    ¡°It seems they are, ha ha ha ha.¡±

    Arthur heard all of that, and a bad feeling crossed his mind. It was at that moment he heard a voice from behind them, which said, ¡°you are finally here.¡±

    After that, Arthur and the others passed out, not knowing what waited for them.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Where am I? What happened?¡±

    A pain at the back of his head, and an unknown ce. From the looks of it, it was a cell.

    ¡°This reminds me of old Nefion.¡±

    Arthur noticed all the othersying on the ground inside the same cell as him, but they had yet to wake up.

    It was still a mystery how they had passed out, but Arthur knew it was because someone had used an attack from behind their backs.

    What creature was that one? Even Arthur did not notice it, and he passed out without fighting back.

    He did not know, but the creature behind the attack was someone that had followed them since the moment they entered the sewers. A stealthy type of creature that was small, with a hunched back, and wield a rapier.

    That creature was one general from the dark races army, therefore he was strong. One of his signature attacks was a sleeping one.

    Although it took him some time to use the attack, it worked like a charm when he coupled it with his extraordinary sneaking abilities, just like how he did with Arthur.

    ¡°Can I teleport out of here?¡±

    Arthur focused on his time-space ability, but no matter what he did, the spell did note out. Not only that spell, but any other type of spell he tried, it did not work.

    Even his raw strength could not break the bars of that cell.

    ¡°This is not ordinary materials. Fuck. Think, Arthur, think.¡±

    If his guess was correct, whoever took him had other ns, or else he would already be dead.

    Maybe torture? No, if that was the case, then he would not be inside that cell resting but in an unfamiliar room feeling endless pain.

    What were they nning for him? The moment Arthur was eager for answers, someone opened up the huge metal door near their cells.

    ¡°Well, look who is here.¡±

    That person was an elf, and when Arthur saw him, he quickly guessed it was Kymil¡¯s father.

    ¡°Just the traitor I was looking for.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s me, but I¡¯m not only a traitor, but someone who sees the future, and the future belongs to the Doom Order.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    From all the things Arthur thought he would hear from that man, the Doom Order was not one of them.

    Wasn¡¯t that a cult that tried to resurrect the demons? But Arthur thought they were not that spread out to cover a whole different country.

    A strange thought crossed his mind.

    ¡°Could the darknds actually be the ce of birth of that cult?¡±

    Lost in thoughts, Arthur heard the next sentenceing from the traitor, and as bad as it sounded, it was still a chance for them to escape.

    ¡°Rest well. You will all be diators, and if you survive, then you will fight in the darknds as well. We have tons of humans diators, elves, and all kinds of races.¡±

    ¡°See ya.¡±

 Chapter 168 Arena (1)

    It took some time for the others to wake up, but when they did, and Arthur exined the situation, fear was all over their faces.

    ¡°We are dogs fighting for them now? Fuck.¡± Laeroth said as he punched the cell¡¯s wall.

    ¡°Listen, this cell is strange and prevents us from using magic, but once we are out there fighting, we can devise an escape n. I¡¯m sure almost all dark race creatures will watch the fight, so our scouting mission will be done instantly.¡± Arthur said.

    Different from them, he was not anxious about the uing diator thing. If he used his dragon transformation, those cell bars would not hold against his attacks.

    The only reason he did not do it was that he still needed toplete his mission. Why not go with the flow?

    Inside the damp cell, they stood there talking about many things.

    Folen, who barely talked at all, shared many of his experiences when younger, and Arthur had to hold his astonishment as he heard them.

    ¡°These people are all freaking old!¡±

    Whenpared to humans, elves lived way longer, and these three that looked like their early twenties were older than a century.

    Now that Arthur thought about it, how old did they think he was? Considering Arthur was the strongest ¡®elf¡¯ in their kingdom, it must surely be old, right?

    If only they did, they knew Arthur was barely 19 years old.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact day of my birthday, as the calendar is different here. I¡¯ll add one year of age after the new year celebration.¡± Arthur thought.

    Their chattingsted quite a while, but the traitor general came again.

    ¡°Move, now! Try nothing funny. The ce is swarming with enemies.¡±

    He used a type of handcuff in all of them, which was not that useful as Arthur could break it quickly, but anyway.

    They left the basement area where the cells were, going upstairs towards another room. Arthur quickly came to the understanding that they were inside the castle.

    ¡°Give me your weapons.¡±

    The elves delivered their weapons to them, but Arthur did not. He kept all of his weapons inside his magical pouch, and for them, those small pouches were only essories, and they did not mind them at all.

    ¡°Go inside.¡±

    There were so many doors inside the castle, and one of these doors led to an open area that looked precisely like a coliseum. Arthur and the elves went to a separate room where all the fighters waited.

    Inside that room were other elves, humans, vampires, and many different races, some from the dark races themselves.

    Arthur guessed these were most likely traitors sentenced to fight for the rest of their lives or until they perished inbat.

    They only gazed at Arthur for a second before turning away. For them, it was amon sight to see new prisoners.

    ¡°More fighters? What a pity. Wee to your worst nightmare.¡± One human said.

    While these people were concerned about the fights and thought if they would die that day, Arthur was as calm as a river. He did not know anyone inside that arena would pose a threat to him.

    Perhaps only the high-ups in charge of the dark races in Drakonia would stand a chance, and that was thinking high of the enemy.

    Arthur had his dragon transformation, his new sword from Merethyl, his great spells, and the strange sword that drove him mad.

    If he used all that, few people could stand in his way.

    He put these thoughts to the back of his head and picked a corner in that room to sit and wait for his next fight, which turned out to be the next one.

    ¡°You,e with me.¡±

    A vampire entered the room, pointed toward Arthur, and asked him to follow him.

    He did not ask his name, his fighting name, or anything like that. No one except Arthur¡¯s squad knew he was the sole king of the elves.

    If the dark races knew about that, his value would rise to the skies.

    Arthur followed that vampire to the exit that led to the arena, where countless creatures watched from the bleachers, craving for blood.

    ¡°Chose a weapon.¡±

    Many weapons were disyed in front of Arthur, and he chose the enormous sword there, which weighed a lot.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you lift that one, but be my guest. It does not matter; you will die today.¡±

    The door behind Arthur closed, and he was now trapped inside the arena with only his clothes and a two-handed sword. He did not know if it was good or not.

    A cage opened on the other side of the arena, and a beast emerged. The arena ground trembled after each step of that creature.

    It looked like a lion with two heads and three eyes, and the tail was a snake.

    ¡°Is this a type of manticore or something?¡± Arthur thought.

    That creature had a level of 30, which was nothing in Arthur¡¯s eyes, but he would try his best to make the fight look hard, or else the creatures there would notice something was off with him.

    The lion scanned the arena after the cage was open, and when he saw that tiny little elf with a sword in his hands, he rushed towards it with all his might.

    A couple of seconds was more than enough for the lion to reach where Arthur was, pouncing at him with his mouth open, trying to bite off his head.

    For Arthur, that attack was almost in slow motion, but he avoided it at thest second, making it look like an arduous task.

    ¡°Eat him, eat the elf!¡± someone yelled.

    The crowd was getting more excited about the fight, and that was shown by the way they acted.

    It was a mere show for them, so it was not wrong for Arthur to act, right?

    Arthur rolled to the side to avoid the attack, stopping right behind the lion. He firmly gripped his sword and dashed towards it, sending his attack.

 Chapter 169 Arena (2)

    The two-handed sword was heavy, and the vampire was not kidding when he doubted Arthur could wield it.

    A fierce sh aimed at the back leg of the lion. It was cut like a fish, and the lion fell, unable to keep bnce, having only three legs.

    Arthur rejoiced for his sessful attack, but the lion was not idle, and the snake tail moved fast towards Arthur, who was taken by surprise.

    It bit his right shoulder. An unknown toxin spread through his blood system, and the pain of that bite was terrible.

    ¡°Get off me,¡± Arthur said as he grabbed the snake with his hands, squeezing it.

    The snake died, unable to withstand the force of Arthur¡¯s grip. Then, the next one was the lion itself.

    A roaring echoed through the crowded arena. A roar of pain came from the lion after it lost one leg and its tail.

    With only three legs now, the lion¡¯s situation was not good, as his movements were hindered, and he could not move freely throughout the arena, turning it into easy prey for Arthur.

    Some people in the bleachers already knew the lion would lose.

    ¡°With only three legs, it is impossible. That elf is not that bad. Maybe he will survive today?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that he has to fight at least ten times today. It will be hard for him to stay alive.¡±

    ¡°Ten times? Why is that?¡±

    ¡°Well, he is an elf caught while sneaking inside this ce.¡±

    ¡°Ha, it makes sense.¡±

    Arthur heard these conversations. He was more focused on the creatures that were watching than the ones he was fighting against.

    ¡°Quite a lot of creatures here, coupled with the ones in the protecting gates, hum. I think we can handle it without too many casualties.¡±

    The mission was now somewhatpleted. They now had information about how many creatures were inside that ce, which was what they wished to discover.

    Now, what Arthur had to do was find a way out of that ce. He could leave the city without problems, but he was not sure about his elf friends.

    Arthur easily dodged all the attacks the lion tried to aim at him, and now that he was done with the scouting, he jumped high in the air and descended with his two-handed sword, cutting off the head of that lion.

    Blood flowed like a river, and the lion moved even after losing its head. The body had yet to realize what had happened.

    Arthur thought the crowd would boo him, but they did not. Screams echoed in that arena, and the creatures were genuinely excited to see the fight, even with the elf being the winner.

    All they wanted to see was blood, which did not matter who or what it came from.

    ~~~~

    After he returned to the waiting room where all the other fighters were, it was time for his elf friends to go into a fight.

    There was a dy between one fight and the other, so Arthur used that time to exin everything to his squad, saying that the mission waspleted, and all they had to do was survive one fight and try to look for a way out.

    ¡°I can teleport and fly out of here easily, but the only problem is how you¡¯ll escape. What do you guys think?¡±

    ¡°We are confident in escaping using the sewer again. Perhaps we can escape if you go insane in your next fight and get all the attention towards yourself.¡± Siora said.

    Arthur entered a deep thought, and it was their only option to escape.

    He had to get the attention of everyone in that arena, as most of the enemies were there. It would be even better if he caused an intensemotion so the creatures in the gates would assemble there, but that would be asking too much.

    The first one to go to a fight was Siora. She was a little scared, as she did not know what type of creature she would have to face, but ording to Arthur, the first fight would not be that hard, but certainly, after winning, the difficulty would increase.

    Arthur waited inside that room with the rest of the fighters, and after roughly 20 minutes, Siora returned.

    Siora had a few wounds on her body, but nothing serious. She was all right and won her fight.

    Then Folen and Laeroth went to fight as well in that sequence. They also won their fights, and Laeroth even came out unscathed.

    ¡°Good job, you all!¡±

    After that, a few random fighters also went to the arena until it was finally Arthur¡¯s turn.

    He stepped inside the arena again, and when he saw his enemy, he was shocked.

    It was a woman with half of her body like a snake, and he could not see the level above her head.

    ¡°What? Someone that strong? She¡¯s not someone normal fighters would face, and I assume she is one of the high-ups controlling the dark races here.¡±

    Arthur¡¯s assumption was correct, and he was sure of it as he heard the crowd talking.

    ¡°Lady Serana is fighting? What is this?¡±

    ¡°I never saw her step inside the arena before. What did that elf do to get her attention?¡±

    ¡°He may have won thest fight, but in this one, he is dead.¡±

    These were the things Arthur hearding from the crowd. Coupled with the unknown level of that woman, he had to be careful.

    ¡°Who are you? You don¡¯t seem to be an adversary for diators.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Oh, why you say that?¡± The woman said with a smirk.

    Measuring his words, Arthur said, ¡°you are not trash like everyone else here, that is why. I assume you are the person in charge of the dark races here. Am I correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you are. I¡¯m Serana, a general of the army. Be happy that yourst enemy is me!¡±

    A bold statement from that woman and Arthur would surely make her regret that.

 Chapter 170 Arena (3)

    That was a cocky statement from Serana, but she had the strength to back it up.

    The level above her head was unknown; whoever Arthur believed himself to have high attributes to go against her without problems.

    He still had many cards on his sleeves, such as his dragon transformation and the mysterious ck sword, though he did not want to use them lightly.

    Serana had a bow as her weapon, and her snake-like physique made her look intimidating, almost as tall as 4 meters. Arthur kept his eyes on her, waiting for her to make the first move. His hand was tightly gripped at his sword, and his heartbeat raced with the drill ofbat.

    She did the same, scouting every inch of her adversary. Deep down, Serana felt something was off with that young elf in front of her, as if he had a dormant dragon inside.

    Time seemed to have stopped with the two, and after three minutes of constant staring, Serana finally made her first move, drawing her bow so fast no one could see it.

    No one except Arthur. He did not ck for a second, and when he noticed the slightest movementing from her, he dodged sideways, avoiding the green arrow that came towards him like a bullet.

    Perhaps that tiny arrow would not do significant damage to Arthur. However, the green substance was indeed a poison and a strong one that would hinder his movements and cause considerable pain for the rest of the fight.

    ¡°I think I can absorb whatever poison she throws at me, but it is better to be careful.¡± Arthur thought.

    He could not stand still and wait for her to attack once more. Serana¡¯s primary weapon was a bow, so Arthur¡¯s best chance was to stay close to her and enter meleebat.

    For that reason, Arthur put immense strength into his legs, dashing towards Serana, who was shocked for a moment after seeing such extraordinary speeding from that youth.

    In her mind, that elf was not simple. First, it was the strange feeling she got every time looking at him, and now a speed beyond herprehension.

    Was he a secret weapon of the Elven Kingdom? These thoughts crossed her mind; strangely, she was not entirely wrong.

    Arthur¡¯s existence was yet to be known throughout the continents, and the dark races had never heard of the elves having a king.

    They knew about their tradition. Therefore they also knew that no ruler had appeared in thousands of years. There was no way Serana would guess the prisoner elf, a diator, was the ruler of the elves.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Serana said.

    Arthur saw no reason to tell her his true identity, so he said, ¡°I am your worst nightmare.¡±

    Within moments, Arthur was in front of Serana and shed his two-hand sword down, trying to cut her in half.

    Serana was no rookie inbat. She ducked over the sword, twisted her body, and sent a tail attack toward Arthur.

    Everything happened so fast that he couldn¡¯t dodge and was sent flying with the impact.

    There were no apparent wounds in Arthur¡¯s body, but the blow hit hard, and the pain was all over his body. However, he was not someone weak that would cry over one attack. The extraordinary regeneration of his kicked in, diminishing the pain after each second.

    The crowd went into an uproar, shouting in excitement as the fight intensified. For them, it was already a blessing to see their general fighting in that arena.

    ¡°That elf is not that bad. He is holding well against Serana.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Let¡¯s make a bet?¡±

    ¡°Haha, now we are speaking.¡±

    Arthur did not mind that but focused on the opponent in front of him. Holding back was not an option, and with a quick teleport, he vanished from Serana¡¯s sight.

    ¡°What?¡±

    She could not believe speed alone could have done something like that, only if Arthur was in a level close to legends.

    ¡°A teleport? But I did not see him casting.¡±

    One of the differences between Arthur¡¯s space-time magic from themon teleport was the casting speed. Arthur could make it almost instantly if it were only a short-distance one.

    In a fight like that, seconds counted a lot, so his teleport was one of his most potent spells.

    The thought of Arthur knowing space-time magic never crossed Serana¡¯s mind.

    Firstly, she only heard rumors about it, and the legends stated that all people who knew this magic type was dead.

    Only if she knew not only Arthur could cast it but also Merethyl, another elf that was her enemy in the uing war.

    Arthur appeared behind her, a familiar blind spot for most enemies, and attacked using his sword. Everything happened so fast that Serana couldn¡¯t dodge the attack entirely.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Serana cursed, using her tail again, but this time not to attack but to defend against the sword crashing down.

    Serana retreated a few steps after the impact, but the damage to her tail was only a tiny wound. When Arthur saw it, he knew it was time to discard that sword and use his own.

    The ck sword that drove him mad would only be used as ast resort; for that reason, he opted for the sword Merethyl gave him. It was a sword that had turned into his primary weapon. Arthur even thought of giving it to Wrutzus to see if he could uncover some of its mysteries.

    It took only a few moments for Arthur to swap weapons, but Serana took full advantage of that, sending three poisoned arrows toward him.

    Arthur saw iting, so he changed his sword to a shield and defended against the attack, having only to retreat one step.

    ¡°What? His weapon can change forms?¡±

    She had never seen anything like that before, and greediness shed through her eyes. Not only for the sword but the magical pouches Arthur had with him.

    ¡°You are a rich elf, aren¡¯t you? Perhaps a noble?¡± Serana said.

    The aura around her started to increase, and her body turned bulkier. Arthur guessed it was some transformation to improve her body strength.

    ¡°She¡¯s going all out after seeing my treasures, tsk. I think it is time for me to do the same.¡±

 Chapter 171 Reducing Numbers

    Arthur¡¯s body changed, but he did not use his dragon transformation to its fullest. The second stage of that skill would make him unrecognizable, so for that reason, he opted only to use the first stage.

    The number of attributes it increased was primarily reducedpared to the second stage, but at least it kept his secret.

    A few cracks appeared all over his body; if one looked closely, they resembled dark scales simr to snakeskin.

    Another thing that changed was his eyes, which kept changing colors, and his pupils were dragon-like.

    ¡°What is this? Transformation magic?¡± Serana thought.

    The thought of an elf being a dragon never crossed her mind, so the only exnation Serana could find was some transformation magic, which was not umon.

    Although it looked simr to transformation magic, the number of attributes Arthur¡¯s dragon transformation increased was in another realm.

    After that change, Arthur felt at home, embracing his true nature. All of his attributes, which were already high, doubled, turning him into a killing machine.

    He dashed towards Serana again, but she was unable to react in time this time. A sword attacked right in the middle of her chest, cutting it wide open.

    Greenish blood flew like a river, and Serana growled in pain.

    ¡°Fuck. What type of monster are you?¡±

    Before, Serana acted all mighty and did not put Arthur in her eyes, but now? She was sure it was a fight impossible to win. Their strength was even before the transformation, but after, it was worlds apart.

    Serana was a general in the army, and to reach that position, one needed strength and smartness. She would not be able to win against it alone, but there might be a chance if other generals fought with her.

    The crowd, who was previously yelling, was now scared. That fight did not seem ordinary and more like an enemy attack.

    All the creatures in the crowd got their weapons ready, closely watching the fight unfold.

    While all that was happening, Siora, Folen, and Laeroth escaped from that room alongside the other fighters, who noticed something was off when the guards around the area left, going towards the arena.

    ¡°How can we escape?¡± A human asked Siora and her group.

    It was known that she had entered the city without the troops noticing her, and the only reason they got caught was a misfortune. Now that they were on the run, everyone there was brothers in the army, and there was no shame in asking others for advice.

    Not only that human, but all the rest focused on Siora and her group, waiting for the answer.

    ¡°All right, our friend is causing amotion for us to take advantage and flee. We n to use the sewers, as we used them to get in without problems. Everyone can follow me, and we will get out of the city. How does it sound?¡±

    ¡°I am in.¡±

    ¡°I am in.¡±

    ¡°Count me in.¡±

    Everyone agreed with that, leaving with Siora, Folen, and Laeroth.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Eat this!¡±

    Arthur threw the first attack towards the crowd, who were already preparing to join Serana¡¯s side against him. He tossed a tier 5 fireball towards them, destroying a huge part of the arena, and killing many creatures.

    The attack was not aimed to wipe them out at once, as it was impossible unless Arthur used a tier 7 spell, but it was good enough to kill a few of them and make the rest go crazy, running to all sides like frightened chickens.

    Serana, the person who had to fight one versus one with Arthur, was in terrible shape. She knew there was zero chance of her winning, so she asked for help from the other generals, and one of those was the guy who followed them back into the sewer.

    It was a pity that Arthur could see through his invisibility the whole time now that he was in his dragon transformation. Before using it, it would be impossible, but with it, Arthur was in another realm.

    That creature focused more on stealth, so it was not that durable regarding meleebat. Arthur took the chance and surprise attacked him, killing it instantly.

    So, Serana was alone again, fighting the monstrous Arthur, who was seeking blood.

    ¡°I wonder if they left already?¡±

    Arthur jumped up high, activating his flight skill. He looked far beyond where he was, trying to see if he could see Siora and the others.

    Sure enough, he saw all the fighters leaving the city and entering the deep forest nearby. Arthur returned his gaze to Serana and said, ¡°now, if you allow me, I will reduce your numbers a little, okay?¡±

    Deep down, Arthur wanted to use a tier 7 spell and wipe all of them, but that would not be possible. That spell would destroy all buildings around it, and that was a legendary castle of the Dragon Scale Empire. Arthur could not destroy it, so he had to fight them normally.

    With a teleport, Arthur disappeared from one ce and reached another, just behind Serana. With his increased speed, she could not react in time as her head fell from her body. Serana was dead.

    All the creatures saw that scene, and anger filled their bodies. They rushed toward Arthur, wielding their weapons, ready to kill him.

    A muscr orc was among them, another general from the dark race army.

    ¡°Kill the enemy!¡± It yelled.

    Arthur was strong, but against that many creatures was difficult, even more without his tier 7 spell. But that did not mean he would leave without showing them how it was done.

    He kept using his teleport to avoid the enemies¡¯ attacks and send one of his own.

    Fireballs, sword sh, fire ws, punches, kicks, everything. Arthur reduced their number by a lot, but his mana was getting lower after each passing second; therefore, it was impossible to maintain that fighting style forever.

    ¡°I think it is time for me to leave.¡± Arthur thought.

    Using his flight spell, Arthur went up and looked in the direction of where his friends went. He returned his gaze to the general, angrily staring at him.

    ¡°Hey, ugly orc. Don¡¯t sleep toofortably cuz I will return to haunt you.¡±

    After that, he cast another teleport, vanishing from the arena.

 Chapter 172 Back at Slyvian

    Arthur teleported away from the arena toward the direction his squad went. His team¡¯s speed was quite good, but it was a jokepared to his.

    Within three minutes, he had caught up with them.

    ¡°Akhur! Are you all right?¡± Siora said.

    ¡°I am fine, and you?¡± Arthur said, directing his question to all of them.

    ¡°We are fine, but we need to hurry now. There is no way they will let us off that easily.¡± Laeroth said.

    Everyone knew that the dark races would not let them off and chase them, but not permanently. The damage Arthur caused to them was massive, and the remaining general in the area would send someone to the darknds to get back up. This meant they would remain in the castle for some time, as leaving it empty would only make the humans easily take control of it.

    Arthur and his team had a massive advantage in the distance; all they had to do was keep running, and the dark races would not catch up with them.

    The other fighters that came with them parted ways after they reached the forest, and Arthur did not sense that someone was following them, which was nice.

    ¡°Now all we have to do is return and prepare an attack at these bastards,¡± Folen said.

    They saw that the dark races did not have that many of them inside Drakonia city, which meant it was the best time to go and try to conquer itpletely.

    If they allowed them to get reinforcements, their task would get immensely moreplicated. So, their best decision would be to return to Slyvian and get the army ready to attack, while the dark races did not recoverpletely.

    For that reason, Arthur and his team used their top speed, not resting a second, rushing towards the capital. They went for four days straight without resting and sleeping. When they reached the capital, Siora, Folen, and Laeroth could not take it anymore and found a room inside the pce to rest for at least 24 hours.

    Unlike them, Arthur was fine; all he needed was something to eat; then, he would be back at his one hundred percent.

    Merethyl asked to talk with him when he arrived in the city, and Arthur agreed.

    They were inside the same room they had used for meetings, where Arthur exined everything that happened in Drakonia and his fight with the generals.

    ¡°You killed Serana? Good job. She is troublesome, and without her, the strength of our enemy is greatly reduced.¡±

    ¡°You should rest, I will prepare our army for the attack, and all the humans from the Dragon Scale Empire will take back their city.¡±

    Arthur nodded, leaving the room. The moment he returned to one of the main halls of the pce, Eleonora was there and went to hug him.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡±

    The two perfect rounded soft boobs of hers pressed at Arthur¡¯s chest, and his firm wille to y, returning him to reality.

    ¡°I am, and you? How is your time here in the pce?¡±

    Eleonora stopped hugging him and said, ¡°everything is good. The elves are gentle with everyone, though they treat me even better. Did you threaten them to do it?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, of course not. I just let them know you are someone important to me, that is all.¡±

    When she heard that, her cheeks went red, and she found some excuse to leave.

    ¡°N-now that I saw you are okay, I will return to my doings, b-bye!¡±

    ¡°Bye.¡±

    Arthur was not lying when he said she was important to him. Almost all dragons were dead, and she was still a dragon despite being a half-dragon.

    He would protect her with everything he got and would try his best to find her father, Nefion, who was also someone that helped Arthur back then when he needed it.

    After that encounter, Arthur returned to the city area where all the students and his wives were. It was a vivid ce, with youths practicing magic and people training meleebat.

    ¡°Kai, you seem to have improved.¡±

    ¡°Master.¡± Kai bowed the moment he saw Arthur.

    Kai was getting stronger quickly,  but no matter what he did, he could never reach the same level as his master. His respect for Arthur increased in his heart, reaching unimaginable heights.

    Arthur had given him a few new wyvern abilities from his mysterious book some time ago, but it seemed Kai was not yet proficient in those. It was understandable, considering he started to practice it only a few days ago, and the skills would get more challenging as their level of strength progressed.

    Jane, Wisa, and Harmony seemed upied with the students, so Arthur opted not to interrupt them for the time being.

    ¡°Kai, want some sparring?¡±

    ~~~~

    Kai had a water spear in his hands, two water wings on his back, and a full armor made of water essence.

    These elementary water skills from wyverns were aimed to create reliable equipment forbat, better than most of the things one could find in armor shops and old ruins.

    On the other hand, Arthur was not using any skill or weapon. He wanted to see how much his body strength had progressed these days.

    Bill, Arthur¡¯s friend, was also learning magic with the other students, but he was in his resting time, so he decided to take a look at Kai¡¯s and Arthur¡¯s fight.

    ¡°Hey, Bill. I want to talk with youter, don¡¯t vanish.¡± Arthur yelled as he gazed at Bill, who was sitting nearby.

    The atmosphere became quieter as both Arthur and Kai focused on theirbat. Arthur just stood there, waiting for his disciple to go and show how much his skills had progressed.

    Kai knew that, so he dashed towards Arthur at a fast speed. With the aid of his wings, it was so fast that Bill could not see the movements.

    ¡°That is impressive. Is Kai¡¯s strength getting close to his master, or maybe he had surpassed it?¡± Bill thought.

    All these thoughts were crushed when Bill noticed that no matter what Kai did, he could noty a single attack on Arthur¡­

 Chapter 173 The Night Before - Enjoy While We Can

    Kai kept attacking with his spear at all angles. From the left, from the right, even from behind Arthur¡¯s back, nothing worked. Arthur would easily dodge no matter what he tried, and give him some pointers.

    Arthur was on another level after witnessing that weapon master fight, as that knowledge printed inside his head, turning him into a master.

    Regardless of what move Kai tried against him, it was pointless. Well, the reason for a sparring match was to learn in the first ce, and that was something Kai was doing despite him notnding a single attack.

    ¡°You are so strong, master. Where did you learn all of this?¡±

    ¡°Well, I just dreamed about it, and then puff became a master.¡±

    ¡°Stop messing with me,¡± Kai said.

    There was no way Kai would believe in such a thing, but it was indeed the truth. The two of them kept fighting, and as time passed, more and more students on their breaks sat next to Bill to watch the fight.

    The impact of their attacks even caught the attention of some patrolling guards who went there but did not say anything after seeing who was practicing¡ªtheir king.

    They even wanted to stay, watch and try to learn something from their king, but if he saw them beingzy there instead of patrolling the city, Arthur would surely be pissed. The guards reluctantly left, gazing backward from time to time to have a glimpse of that fight.

    Kai sat on the ground, sweating as if he had trained for weeks. The sparring match ended in the most strange way possible, with the depletion of Kai¡¯s stamina.

    On the other hand, Arthur was fine, without a scratch or even a drop of sweat from his forehead. The points he got after freeing Eleonora were massive and made him even stronger than before. With the amount of stamina, he had, fighting for days was not an impossible feat, as long as his opponent was not stronger than him.

    After the sparring match, all the watching students returned to their practice, more excited and eager to reach that power level.

    Arthur looked for Bill, who did not go with the rest of the students but diligently waited for him.

    ¡°Bill,e with me.¡±

    Inside Arthur¡¯s house, Bill was anxiously gazing at him.

    ¡°So, I heard you are studying to be a magic cksmith, and your family are quite good in that regard.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that is correct. Do you want me to forge something for you?¡±

    ¡°No, actually, I was wondering if you could maybe study a weapon of mine? Let me exin to you in detail.¡±

    The weapon Arthur was talking about was indeed the mysterious ck sword. He told Bill about its effects and power, emphasizing the part where the sword drove him mad. He hoped that Bill or his family could somehow find a way to prevent that.

    ¡°Wait? I have never heard about a weapon simr to this. Can I see it?¡± Bill said.

    Arthur saw no reason to refuse that, so he put out the sword from his magical pouch and ced it on the ground. Bill tried to lift it, but it was impossible with his level of strength.

    ¡°Heavy!¡±

    ¡°Will it be all right for you and your father to study it? Can he lift it?¡±

    ¡°With pure strength? No, but we have a few potions that can reduce the weight of this sword.¡±

    ¡°Really? Does it work while inbat?¡±

    ¡°No, sadly.¡±

    ¡°That is a shame. Anyway, I thought of giving you the sword to study after the next fight. Who knows if I¡¯ll need it when taking over the Dragon Scale Empire.¡±

    ¡°No problem. I will let my father know about it beforehand so that he makes the preparations.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Thanks, Bill.¡±

    Bill left after that, returning to his practice with the other students. Arthur was unsure if Bill¡¯s family would find a way to deal with that sword, but they were the only clue he had at the moment.

    Arthur took the time to rest and browse through some skills from his dragon¡¯s book, as well as some fire and wood spells, considering these were the attributes he had the 100% essencepletion.

    He first practiced a few spells, as these were easier to learn whenpared to the dragon skills. Spells were easy after one had the 100% essencepletion, like a cheat. Perhaps that was one of the various advantages his system gave himpared to the ordinary folk.

    ¡°Fire Weapon spell sounds cool,¡±

    ¡°Fire lotus, hum, it looks pretty so that I will learn it,¡±

    ¡°Scorching grounds? This is a must spell in the uing fight,¡±

    ¡°Healing Seed,¡±

    ¡°Healing Bloom,¡±

    ¡°Nurture life.¡±

    Arthur focused on learning three spells of the fire element and three of the wood element. All the fire spells concentrate on dealing damage, and even though the wood element had attacking spells as well, Arthur thought hecked supportive magic, so he opted for healing spells.

    ¡°Healing spells are also important for my teammates who aren¡¯t as strong as me.¡±

    He got lost in his practice and only returned to reality after Jane and Wisa entered the house.

    ¡°Did you spend the entire day reading magic books? You are so hard-working, darling.¡± Wisa said.

    Jane went behind Arthur and started to massage him. ¡°Are we going to have some fun tonight?¡± Jane asked.

    There was no way Arthur would say no to those two, and seeing how seductive their looks were, his friend was already starting to wake up.

    ¡°We will leave tomorrow, so we must enjoy our time,¡± Arthur said.

    They looked at each other and smiled. Jane and Wisa quickly started to take his clothes off, and both sucked him simultaneously.

    Two tongues on his dick sent a unique sensation all over his body, making him feel like he was floating on a cloud.

    With Arthur¡¯s increased endurance afterpleting that dungeon, Jane and Wisa would have a hard time that night¡­

 Chapter 174 Taking Back What Belongs to Us (1)

    The trio fucked for hours. It was good that they cast a muffling spell around the house so that no sounds leaked.

    Jane, who was once shy, was now bouncing on the dick like it was her natural habitat. Wisa smiled at that scene, proud of having taught Jane all her moves.

    Arthur did not have to take the lead and show them positions. Both already had a good grasp of it after many nights of sex, although Arthur still took the lead from time to time to give them a rough fuck.

    Their love for him increased each day, and after both acknowledged that having sex with Arthur improved their training, they wanted to have him every night, which Arthur also wanted.

    When the following day came, everyone in Slyvian had worried faces as an army of elves and humans assembled in front of the city. They were preparing to leave and take back the Dragon Scale Empire from the dark races and, if everything went well, eradicate the darknds after that.

    A few people went with Arthur this time. Jane and Wisa wanted to go, and Arthur did not see a reason to refuse. Kai and Theo also wanted to go out and get more battle experience, so they went with Arthur.

    There were a lot of guards and strong elves inside Slyvian in case the enemy tried a sneak attack. However, it was virtually impossible, considering the dark races were on the other side of the continent.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Arthur said.

    All the people he would bring along followed him to the main gate of Slyvian, where the rest of the army was. Merethyl was also there, waiting for Arthur.

    When the troops saw their mighty king wearing shiny te armor, they shouted in unison.

    Merethyl insisted that Arthur ept another gift, the special armor from the previous kings. Just like the weapon she gave him, the armor also had mysterious properties that no one knew 100 percent of.

    It was a shiny greenish armor that looked like the shell of an ancient turtle. There was also a few golden adornments, but the armor was old, so it was almost impossible to see them.

    Arthur was also wielding the weapon Merethyl gave him in the form of a giant two-handed sword attached to his back. All of which gave him an aura of a mighty ruler, and the morale of all the soldiers increased before the fight started.

    The army was divided into the ordinary soldiers walking by foot, some who used mounts as these were the trained soldiers specifically for that position, and the generals, who also traveled using mounts.

    A few essential characters traveled by carriage: Arthur, Merethyl, Wisa, Jane, Kai, and Theo. Eleonora also wanted toe with Arthur, but it was too dangerous, so they decided to keep her inside Slyvian.

    A unique spell left inside the castle allowed Eleonora to send a message to Merethyl, so they would know if anything terrible happened inside Slyvian.

    Arthur had also put an anchor there and could teleport back to help if the situation was too dire. After putting all these mechanisms, he and Merethyl could leave the city with a peaceful mind.

    ¡°Are you sure the number of troops you saw was only that?¡± Merethyl asked within the carriage.

    When Arthur returned to the city, he exined everything to Merethyl, including the number of troops there, as that was their mission in the first ce.

    ¡°I am sure, though I¡¯m not familiar with the distance from the capital to the darknds and the means of transportation from the dark races. Could backup arrive there quickly?¡±

    ¡°Hum, I don¡¯t think that is possible. The darknds are somewhat far. My best guess would be that only a few of them remain in the Dragon Scale Empire while the rest return to the border of the darknds, preparing a definitive attack to wipe us all.¡± Merethyl said.

    That was the same thing Arthur was thinking. Now that Merethyl and the new ruler of the elves were out, it was their best chance to strike and end their lives for good.

    More than usual, it would take them some time to reach Drakonia, as they were traveling as an army and not a particr unit.

    Speaking of a particr unit, Siora, Folen, and Laeroth called out from outside the carriage, and Arthur let them in. It had plenty of space, so he did not see any problem.

    ¡°Akhur, my lord. I can¡¯t wait to finish these bastards.¡± Laeroth said.

    The elf who was once timid was now all talkative. Arthur had asked about him to Siora, and she simply said Laeroth was only shy with strangers.

    ¡°So this is the case.¡±

    They spoke about their ns during the first few hours of the journey, but after that, everyone was tired and wanted to stop and take a rest.

    Arthur and the others inside the carriage weren¡¯t that tired, but the soldiers who had to walk on foot were, and they had to think about them as well.

    Merethyl made a sign for everyone to stop, and after thirty minutes, countless tents were ced around the road and inside the forest.

    Some elves even used magic to move the trees without cutting them off. That would onlyst a day. After that, the trees would return to their original ce.

    Arthur could stay inside the carriage if he wanted to, but he opted to ce a tent somewhat far from their original spot to have more privacy with his wives.

    Another reason for him doing that was that he needed to take a bath, and luckily there was a river nearby, just beside where he ced his tent.

    He took off his clothing, ced them inside the tent, and jumped inside the river, unafraid. Even if that river had some aggressive beast, it would only be courting death trying to attack Arthur.

    Jane and Wisa watched his bath, and when all the soldiers far away were in a deep sleep, they also took out their clothing, seductively looking at Arthur.

 Chapter 175 Against the Odds

    Sex underneath the water was something different, even more, when one considers the countless soldiers nearby and the adrenaline of doing in a wild river inside a dangerous forest.

    They tried their best to make it silent, and no one noticed anything strange, which was good.

    The next day the tiring journey returned, with nothing interesting to do while inside the carriage. Arthur talked a little with everyone inside, but in the end had to do something else, like reading and practicing some spells.

    He did not practice his dragon skills there, but practicing spells was no problem. There was no reason to try and learn more spells than he already did the other day, so Arthur focused on practicing the ones he had known to increase his mastery over them.

    With the help of his essences, the mighty of those spells could increase to an unimaginable level, and the dark races would regret messing with him.

    Speaking of the dark races, not one attacked them during their trip. Arthur did not sense anyone either, so it was not that they were scared to attack them, but they weren¡¯t even there in the first ce.

    The best exnation was that someone in charge had called out all the dark creatures in the surrounding area to gather inside the capital and try thest defense. These were cannon fodder, as Arthur was not ying around and would wipe them out.

    It took them six days to reach Drakonia, which now had a lot of dark creatures waiting for them at the front gate.

    From afar, Arthur could tell their numbers, and it should not be a problem to face them, especially with him there, in the fight.

    ¡°Everyone!¡± Arthur jumped from the carriage, flying above his army.

    ¡°Today is the day we take back the city to our allies, but it does not end there. Today is the day we KILL all of these dark creatures that are destroying ournds, and tomorrow will be the day that WE will destroy the darknds and bring peace to this continent again!!!¡±

    The soldiers yelled every time Arthur finished a sentence, increasing their morale for the uing fight. Arthur knew that the troops¡¯ confidence made a lot of difference during a battle.

    All the soldiers got ready, wielding their weapons and shields, fiercely gazing at the dark creatures in front of the gate. The number of elves and humans was higher than the creatures, and with Arthur there, the fight would be an easy task.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Arthur yelled.

    The first wave of attacks came from the mounted soldiers that dashed towards the enemies, using their spears to pierce their flesh and kill them.

    Arthur would not stand still, so he flew with his army, branding his two-handed sword, and each time a creature ended up dead.

    From the corner of his eyes, he saw one of his generals hurt, with an arrow pierced through its chest. It would be impossible to survive if Arthur wasn¡¯t there, that is.

    He ran towards the fallen general, using both hands to pull the arrow from the chest. That elf was so hurt that it did not even scream. After that, Arthur cast his healing spells on him, and with the aid of the wood essence, the wounds healed in a matter of seconds.

    ¡°Thank you, my lord, thank you!¡± The general said, getting up and returning to the battle.

    Arthur scanned the battlefield, looking for the people in charge of the dark creatures to end their lives, as that would cause amotion on the enemy side.

    His gaze pierced through all the troops,nding on a familiar face: the traitor elf, Kymil¡¯s father.

    ¡°You!¡±

    A teleport was enough to appear in front of that elf, who was startled after seeing Arthur appear out of nowhere, but before it could scream for help, Arthur grabbed him and teleported once again, leaving the battlefield with him.

    ¡°Wh- what do you want with me? I don¡¯t know anything, I swear.¡±

    ¡°We will see.¡±

    ~~~~

    Both sides were equal in the battle, but someone appeared flying above the battlefield with three heads.

    These were the heads of the three generals of the dark race army of that area, and one belonged to the elf Arthur tortured for more information.

    When the enemies saw that, they could not help but shiver in fear. Arthur tossed those heads at them, followed by an immense lotus of fire that engulfed the entire army, turning them into ashes.

    ¡°We won!¡±

    The army cheered, and the humans who lost their homes cried and hugged the nearby elves. It was just the first step, but that was something to be proud of.

    Arthur took some time to help the wounded soldiers, who bowed after being healed by their king. He also helped the humans to settle in their city again.

    ¡°We will not leave until you recover a bit, and after that, we will march towards the darknds.¡±

    They could leave after one day of rest if they wanted to, but Arthur could not leave these humans without help, and who knows if the dark creatures would not stand in their territory and instead would march towards them for a final battle.

    Inside a room, the essential members of the elves talked to each other.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they will attack us here, considering they have the advantage in their territory,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I agree; if they did that, it would only be dumb of their part.¡±

    These people were part of the elven council, which was around since the beginning of the elven kingdom. Even though all of them could give their opinions regarding aspects of the domain, the king was the only one with the final power to decide things.

    But this time, all of them were wrong. Despite all of their conversations about how the dark creatures would not leave the darknds to fight in the Dragon Scale Empire, it turned out that was precisely what happened.

    An immense army of creatures could be seen in front of Drakonia. There were not only joint troops but the strongest generals of the dark races, and actually, someone was behind the entire army, just waiting to strike.

    If Arthur knew who it was, he would choose to flee instead of fighting¡­

 Chapter 176 A Demigod

    Someone came rushing in, not caring if it was a private meeting of the elven council.

    The person who went inside was just an ordinary soldier, and when the gazes of the council membersy on him, he wanted to hide his face, but the thought of what had happened gave him courage.

    ¡°I am so sorry to interrupt your reunion, but the dark race army is marching towards us right now!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    They exchanged nces, got up from their seats, and went outside the castle to see if what the soldier was saying was true. It was.

    Far away from the Drakonia city, an army of creatures could be seen, marching in their direction with blood lust gazes, wanting to tear the elves and humans apart.

    Arthur could not understand why the enemy decided to fight there, away from the darknds, where they had the terrain advantage. Did they have a triumph card? Arthur was not the only one thinking that, but all the higher-ups from the elves and humans had the same thought.

    Their utmost confidence in winning the fight was the only exnation for them to attack there. They weren¡¯t dumb, and no way they would march in a lost battle.

    ¡°Get everyone read near the walls and in front of the gate for the fight!¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    While gathering the soldiers for the battle, Arthur flew around the city to see if the enemy would try an attack from behind or from the sides.

    After looking for a few minutes, Arthur did not see anyone, which meant the dark races would only attack in the front.

    ¡°That is weird. Are they underestimating us?¡± Arthur thought.

    He returned to the main gate where all the soldiers were. Their faces weren¡¯t that good, but when they saw their king, the mood of everyone present brightened up as they remembered the strength of their king.

    ¡°With our king here to aid us, there is nothing for us to fear.¡± One of the soldiers said, and soon that sentence spread throughout the entire army.

    Arthur was happy to see that his troops had confidence in him, but still, something was off about the whole situation.

    A few important people were there, such as Jane, Wisa, Kai, and Theo. If anything happened with them, Arthur did not know what to do.

    Everyone present had turned important to Arthur. Each elf was part of his kingdom, and as their king, he would do anything within his power to protect them.

    For that reason, Arthur joined the fight at the start, taking advantage of the enemy troops far away from the city.

    He flew towards them, and when he was still far, yet closer than the rest of his army, he started to channel his spell, and this time, they would see what true power looked like.

    Seven circles appeared in the sky, shining brightly, catching the attention of everyone present, friend or foe.

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    Some creatures of the dark races did not recognize what it was, but the generals instantly knew what wasing to them.

    ¡°A tier 7 spell? That is impossible. These people never show up to deal with mortal affairs!¡±

    Soon, a vast lotus made entirely of mes appeared in the sky, rotating from side to side, sending smaller fireballs shot at the dark race army.

    It wasn¡¯t the end but the beginning. The fire lotus descended, covering a wide area, and engulfing one-third of the enemy army.

    ¡°RUN!¡±

    They screamed and tried their best to avoid the attack, but it was impossible. A fire lotus burned them to ashes, destroying the surrounding area, but Arthur did not care about that.

    One of the generals from the dark races yelled right after the attack, ¡°keep going, this must be a one-time spell, so we still have the chance to win this battle.¡±

    ¡°That is right; it is impossible that they can cast another attack with this level of mighty.¡±

    The dark races recovered their spirits and continued forward, aiming at Drakonia city.

    Arthur could not hear any of that but made something no one present believed to be possible.

    More magical circles appeared in the sky, seven of which were precise. All the dark creatures stopped when these circles appeared and yelled in despair.

    ¡°That is not possible. How is that possible?¡±

    Soon after, fireballs rained from the sky, destroying more of the enemy army, and then, the final attack was a massive fireball simr to the sun.

    The skin of the enemy army heated up before the fireball was close, and some even had their skins melted. What would happen to them if the fireball hit the army? It would mean destruction.

    A vast portion of Arthur¡¯s mana pool vanished after casting those two tiers seven spells, but that was more than enough to wipe almost 90% of the enemy army, and 10% was an easy task for his army to deal with.

    The elves and humans on Arthur¡¯s side were already yelling as they believed the victory was in their hands, and there was nothing that could happen to change the oue.

    Sadly, it had. A robed skeleton appeared out of nowhere in front of the spell when the huge fireball was in the middle of the sky, descending towards the dark race army. With one hand, he stopped the tier 7 spell, and with a wave of his wand, the mighty tier 7 magic vanished.

    Merethyl, who watched everything from afar, had her eyes wide open, and her body trembled unconsciously.

    ¡°B-Bone Lord? Why is this fucker here?¡±

    Arthur still remembered how powerless he felt in front of that skeleton, and no matter how many levels he increased, the gap between them was still gigantic.

    Merethyl had told him this Bone Lord was considered a demigod, an existence that was worlds apart from humans, elves, and all the other races.

    ¡°Merethyl, take everyone and leave. No matter our numbers, it is impossible to fight against that thing.¡±

    ¡°But Akhu-¡°

    ¡°Do it, save our people. Return to Slyvian.¡± Arthur yelled.

    He then turned his gaze back at the skeleton flying far away from where he was.

    ¡°I will deal with this bastard.¡±

 Chapter 177 Brink of Death

    Everyone was worried about Arthur, especially his wives, who could not leave and wanted to stay with him, but Merethyl told them otherwise.

    ¡°This is his choice, and based on everyone present, he is the only one that has a chance of dealing with that thing. If we stay, we will only stay on his way and make the fight even harder than it already is.¡± Merethyl said.

    Wisa, older and more experienced than Jane, recovered faster and convinced Jane to leave. Arthur had a chance of winning, and they did not want to be the people that diminished that chance, even if it was only one percent.

    All the elves and humans inside Drakonia left, returning to Slyvian after a failed mission. They did not fullyprehend the power of that skeleton, but seeing how it destroyed a tier 7 spell with such ease made them tremble in fear.

    ¡°It will alle down to our king.¡±

    They had a lot of faith in Arthur, and if there was someone capable of winning against that demigod, it was him.

    Arthur saw everyone quickly leaving, so he sighed and flew towards the skeleton, who calmly waited for him.

    The Bone Lord did not try to stop everyone from running. In his mind, the fight was already over, and after he was finished with Arthur, he would go to Slyvian and kill everyone.

    Why rush things and kill them now? Giving them false hope that their king would win the fight against a demigod was better.

    ¡°Well, look who is here,¡± The Bone Lord said.

    He had seen Arthur before back in Odemore, and even though his ears were pointed, and his hair was no longer ck but blond, the facial features were still the same, and he recognized him instantly.

    ¡°Pile of bones, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be far away.¡±

    ¡°I was, indeed, but found my way back to this ce, and when I heard about you, I had toe looking. After I am done with you, that bitch Merethyl is the next on the line.¡±

    The anger was evident in his sentences. What did Merethyl do to make that skeleton hate her that much?

    ¡°What did she do to you? Stole your wig?¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up. That bitch stole something important from me, and she must pay!¡±

    Arthur did not discover what it was, but it was a start. The only problem was how he would survive a fight against the demigod.

    Perhaps he could try to run using all his teleports and stealth skills, which could work, but it also meant the Bone Lord would go to Slyvian and kill everyone he cared about.

    He could not let that happen, so he needed to win against that thing, but how? The gap in strength was too much, and Arthur was not sure that even after using everything he got, there would be a chance of him winning.

    The dark race army knew a lot about the Bone Lord, as it had appeared in the darknds some time ago and conquered it entirely.

    ¡°There is no way that elf will win. He is strong, but the Bone Lord is something else¡­.¡±

    ¡°We can rx now and watch the show. After that, we will march to Slyvian and eradicate the elven kingdom.¡±

    No one believed Arthur had a chance of winning. Even if he did not, there was no way he would give up without fighting.

    ¡°I will let you make the first move. Please, go on.¡± The Bone Lord said in a mocking tone.

    Arthur would not hide his trump cards. It was a life-and-death fight, and he had to go all out.

    So, he quickly used his dragon transformation to the maximum stage he could. His body changed utterly, with dark scales covering each inch and a tail behind his back.

    Even his face changed, and now he looked like a small-sized dragon that had no wings. Arthur also used his fire wings spell, so now he looked like a half-human half-dragon wielding a sword.

    ¡°What is this? Transformation magic? Hum, it is something else. Your power increased greatly, although it is nothingpared to me.¡±

    Arthur did not pay attention to those words and dashed towards the Bone Lord, shing his two-handed sword at him with all his strength.

    The creatures watching the fight were scared and could not even follow Arthur¡¯s movements, as it was too fast for them.

    ¡°What monster is that? He looks like a lizard or something.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what he is, but I can sense the power from his attacks. What a terrifying being. Without the Bone Lord around, we would surely be killed by him.¡±

    Arthur shed his sword countless times in a short period of 5 seconds, yet the Bone Lord did not move, and the attacks touched his bones yet did nothing.

    He was tired of seeing that Arthur changed his attacks from the sword to his fire w, a vital skill from the dragon race. Its power was extraordinary, and yet, it was not enough.

    That skeleton seemed to be indestructible. Arthur tried everything he had in his arsenal, and nothing worked against that thing.

    ¡°Fuck. How can you be this strong?¡±

    After all the training he did. It was not enough. He could not win against the demigod.

    ¡°You are quite impressive, I must say. Don¡¯t feel bad. The people that can go toe to toe with me in this world can be counted with one hand.¡± The Bone Lord said as he punched Arthur using his right hand.

    The punch was so fierce that Arthur was sent flying, destroying the ground beneath them, buried in it.

    Wounds were all over his body, and no matter what he tried to do against the Bone Lord, it did not work.

    ¡°Will I perish today? No, that cannot happen. I can¡¯t let him hurt my people, friends, and wives!¡±

    A strong will was the core of a strong warrior, and using that will, Arthur crawled from the hole he created, staring viciously at the Bone Lord.

    ¡°Oh? Are you still alive? But it is only a matter of time now.¡±

    Arthur was not in his dragon transformation anymore. It vanished after he got hurt. He could barely move, and the only thing that kept him going was the will to survive and the anger towards that skeleton, who thought too greatly of himself.

    ¡°What if you are strong? What if you are a demigod? I, cidusax, killed gods before, hahaha!¡± Arthurughed like a maniac.

    ¡°P-cidusax? How do you know about that name? What nonsense are you spitting?¡±

    Arthur was not himself anymore. On the brink of death, he went insane with only one thought in his mind, kill everyone.

    He grabbed the mysterious ck sword from his magical pouch, and the moment he touched it, a ck substance covered his body, making him look like a shadowy creature.

    Thest time that happened, only half of his body had been caught by the ck shadows, but now it waspletely covered.

    Two ck wings grew behind his back, as well as two horns. Arthur¡¯s face was covered entirely in that ck substance that crawled on his body, yet his teeth were not, and they looked like shark teeth, immensely sharp.

    It was not the end. A notification from the system popped up, yet Arthur was agitated and did not pay attention to it.

    [Using the reserves of celestial energy]

    [Increasing attributes by 10x]

    Arthur did not know, but the moment he almost died, the system used everything it had to make him stronger. It did not matter if it would give him bacshes after the fight; nothing mattered.

    He could not die, or the system would die too. All the celestial energy his devotees constantly gave him was used to increase his attributes temporarily.

    The mysterious ck sword that turned him mad was not the real culprit of his agitated state. When he was almost dying, a part of him that was cidusax woke up, merging with his other self, and for a moment, he could not think straight.

    ¡°What is that thing? He said he was cidusax, but it looks like something else!¡±

    He knew cidusax, as he was alive during that time yet was too weak to participate in any of the fights. The Bone Lord only knew it by name, yet cidusax¡¯s appearance was that of a dragon and not that thing Arthur looked like.

    ¡°This looks more like a demon! Is he one of them who came from another world?¡± The Bone Lord thought.

    Arthur locked his gaze on him, who waspletely scared. The moment he jumped, the ground beneath him was destroyed by the sheer impact of his legs.

    A massive ck sword stroke down on the Bone Lord, who waved his cast to cast multiple magical barriers, yet all of these broke as soon as it came in touch with the sword.

 Chapter 178 Answers

    Arthur¡¯s level of power was far beyond the Bone Lord¡¯s expectations. For him, as a demigod, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone capable of harming him in that realm, yet someone was doing exactly that.

    The sword sh broke at least seven magical barriers, and its power did not diminish even after that. It hit the skeleton on the chest, sending him flying where the dark race army was.

    A pile of bones hit the army, killing some creatures with just the impact. It did not hurt the skeleton that much, but differently from before, he took damage now, and a lingering fear rose within his heart.

    Who was he? A demigod was like a legend, yet someone had damaged him for the first time in centuries. The Bone Lord wanted to find a grave and hid in it, like the skeleton he was.

    Arthur could not care less about what the skeleton was feeling, even more considering his state of frenzy. All he wanted to do was finish the miserable life of the Bone Lord.

    After a few creatures from the dark races were killed with just the impact of the fight, they started to retreat, returning to the darknds, looking for a safe ce to hide.

    Only Arthur and the Bone Lord remained, exchanging powerful blows that could wipe an entire army.

    A spectral sword came out of the skeleton¡¯s wand, cutting Arthur¡¯s left arm. The Bone Lord rejoiced after seeing that, but it onlysted a second as the army flew back to its original spot, mending itpletely.

    ¡°What monstrous healing!¡±

    Not even he or the other demigods had a simr healing speed. It was beyondmon sense, which increased the lingering fear inside his heart even more.

    Arthur kept shing using his ck sword without much thinking. His moves were predictable yet so fast that it was impossible to dodge, even if one knew where the attack woulde from.

    In front of actual power, that did not matter. The Bone Lord tried to defend against the attack, waving his wand to create magical barriers and shields, yet all of that perished when in contact with the sword.

    Their exchange continued until the Bone Lord was full of scratches, and he even lost his left arm.

    ¡°The more we fight, the stronger he gets. How? This is impossible. This can¡¯t be happening. I can¡¯t lose!¡±

    It was something he never thought would happen, even in his wildest dreams. A demigod losing against someone on that ne? How was that possible?

    Countless skeletons of all types crawled from the grounds, rushing towards Arthur, trying to fend off his attacks, and buy time for the Bone Lord to cast an even more powerful spell.

    The idea was great, yet no matter the type of skeleton, it could notst a single hit from Arthur. Still, it worked in the end.

    When Arthur had finished taking care of the skeletons and was ready to attack the Bone Lord, the mud beneath him moved, trapping his feet, which made him unable to move.

    He tried to exert his strength, but only small cracks appeared. It would take him at least 3 seconds to fully break the spell.

    ¡°Hahahahaha. Can¡¯t you escape? Now, eat this for me.¡±

    Arthur¡¯s enemy was already counting victory, not knowing that mere spells did not work against the lord of dragons.

    The Bone Lord waved his wand, and eight circles appeared before it. It was a level of spell that the realm had never witnessed before. If a tier 7 spell could wipe an entire army, what would a tier 8 spell do to one individual?

    That was why the Bone Lord did not see how that fight could end the other way around.

    ¡°Die now. After I am done with you here, it is time for the rest of your friends!¡±

    An immense bone spearunched from the magical circles. It was as big as a city, and one attack could wipe an entire town. It was a type of attack that would change a ce forever.

    The Bone Lord was proud of his attack and was proud of being a demigod, yet, he was only a demigod in the mortal realm, a ce where the strongest beings were only but seven circle mages.

    Being considered an eight-circle mage, he could do whatever he wanted in that realm.

    However, against all odds, Arthur stopped the uing attack. A gigantic mouth of the same ck substance that covered his body emerged, devouring the immense bone spear, an attack that could destroy everything yet was useless against Arthur.

    ¡°How?¡±

    The skeleton knelled, helpless. He had used arge portion of his mana to cast that attack to be easily fended against. How was that possible?

    ¡°I-I guess this is my fault. I never managed to reach the ten circles to leave this useless realm¡­.¡±

    ¡°I know you are mindless now, cidusax, but hear me out. Perhaps when you recover your sanity, you will remember these words.¡±

    While the skeleton was talking, Arthur slowly made his way toward him to end his life.

    ¡°The dragons did not die. They weren¡¯t from this realm in the first ce but a higher realm. They built the dream realm so that other beasts could survive there, and they were the reason why mana is in the atmosphere of this in the first ce,¡±

    ¡°I know about this because I plotted against you back then, and the dragons made you, their lord, sacrifice himself so that they could run.¡±

    ¡°These gods you see here aren¡¯t but a sliver of conscienceless they left behind,¡±

    ¡°The mortals here say that the seven circles are the limit, but the real journey only starts after the tenth circle, and you will have a long way to reach the top and uncover the truth,¡±

    ¡°It was a good fight; perhaps we can meet each other in another life.¡±

    When on the brink of death, the Bone Lord remained of the past, and sadness was visible on his face, utterly different from his previous actions.

    ¡°You know, I did not bear a skeleton but turned into one, and  when seeking power, my personality changed; I- I hope my family can pardon my actions¡­ .¡±

    ¡°Goodbye, cidusax, and I hope you can reach greater heights than me in this life.¡±

    After he was done talking, Arthur was in front of him and shed the ck sword down, cutting the poor skeleton in half.

    The Bone Lord had no idea if these things he told Arthur would remain inside his mind after he returned to sanity, but it did not matter. He was dead now, and he regretted all of his sins.

    He truly hoped that his parents would forgive him in the afterlife.

 Chapter 179 Commotion in the Dark Lands

    After ending the life of the Bone Lord, Arthur kept moving forward, looking for blood. The army of dark creatures that were returning to the darknds was still near, so he quickly caught up with them.

    They trembled in fear when they looked back, gazing at him, who looked like a demon from the underworld.

    ¡°H-He won against the skeleton? How is that possible? We can¡¯t outrun him too!¡±

    It never crossed their minds that Arthur would win that fight, so for that reason, they weren¡¯t worried about quickly returning to the darknds, but now? A monster with a power beyond theirprehension was right behind them.

    ¡°Everyone, assemble and fight him!¡± One of the generals said.

    Their best beat was to team up and try to win against Arthur, who might have gotten hurt after fighting with the Bone Lord. However, even though they knew it was their best bet, the creatures scattered, running to all sides, praying that they would somehow leave that ce alive.

    Arthur¡¯s only thought was to kill them, so he chased them down like a beast following prey within the forest. No matter what direction they chose or how fast they went, Arthur would find them and tear them apart in the end.

    The dark race army was not the same after receiving the tier 7 spells from Arthur. Their number was way lower, making it easier for him to finish them.

    It did not matter if it was an ordinary soldier or a trained general; they all died with a single sh of Arthur¡¯s sword. After each kill, the madness inside his head increased, turning him into a fierce beast with only one goal: to kill.

    He ran towards the forest, looking for ordinary beasts to kill. Some peacefully drank water from a river when a sword cut them in half.

    Arthur did not know, but his direction was the same as where the darknds were. The more he went in that direction, the less greenish the vegetation was, turning into a hollowed state.

    There were still nts blooming with life, but the amount was way lower, and even the area looked darker as if the sun did not shine.

    A mist permeated the air, making the atmosphere creepier. Arthur could not care less about that, as he kept moving forward, killing any beast or dark race creature he could find, until eventually passing out inside a dark cave.

    ~~~~

    ¡°It¡¯s been three days; where is he?¡± Wisa said.

    They had returned to Slyvian when Arthur told them to, and with the imminent danger of the Bone Lord, they speed up, reaching it in only three days.

    Everyone thought Arthur or the Bone Lord would show up on their way back to find them, but no one did.

    That raised a question about what had happened in that fight. Merethyl had that same question, so she sent Siora, Folen, and Laeroth to find out more about the situation, as they were tracking and stealth missions specialists.

    Wisa and Jane wanted to go with them, but they knew Arthur would not be happy if they got themselves into trouble for him, so they decided to remain inside Slyvian, taking care of their students.

    ~~~~

    Arthur woke up inside that cave without understanding a single thing about what had happened. The first hour involved him recovering his strengths and slowly returning all the memories.

    He remembered all the words the Bone Lord said, as well as everything that happened.

    The mysterious ck sword was just beside him. Arthur quickly put it back inside his magical pouch, afraid of touching it again.

    ¡°At least this saved my life.¡±

    It seemed that there were countless realms, and the dragons were from one of these higher realms. Arthur guessed these were different yet simr worlds where stronger beings lived.

    What brought the most questions to him was why the dragons fled from this realm. Why would they go there in the first ce? And why let their king die in the hands of these mysterious beings called ¡®gods¡¯?

    Arthur wanted to find the Sky City to learn more about it, but now that he was a mere speck of dust in the vast universe, he wondered if that ce would genuinely give the answers he looked for.

    Another question he had was regarding Nefion¡¯s power. The Bone Lord also spoke highly of the dragons; the legends about them stated they were powerful, yet Nefion did not look that strong.

    ¡°Did they seal his strength? That would make sense as to why he can¡¯t leave this realm. Or maybe he did not leave to stay here and rescue his brother?¡± Arthur thought.

    The Bone Lord had given him more information about the realms, yet that did not bring answers but more questions.

    ¡°I guess I will find out more when I get strong enough.¡±

    Arthur checked his status and saw they weren¡¯t at their peak, presumably a side effect of using all that power to win against the demigod.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 58]

    [Health: 8000/8000]

    [Mana: 15000/15000]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 106 (212)]

    [Agility: 69 (139)]

    [Vigor: 67 (134)]

    [Wisdom: 118 (236)]

    [Charm: 71 (143)]

    [Free points: 0]

    No information stated how long the bacsh wouldst, but Arthur hoped it wasn¡¯t forever.

    Another change that happened was with his devouring skill. It evolved after eating that tier 8 spell from the bone lord, and now the effects were somewhat different.

    He could devour any spells beyond tier 5 without any cooldown, but if the attack was higher than that, the skill had a cooldown before it could be used again.

    That made the skill weaker at that point, but now Arthur would absorb the mana from the spell, directly increasing his attributes permanently.

    Before, the bonuses were only temporary, which did not prove that efficient for him to use.

    ¡°I can learn whatever spell I devour now, and if I devour a creature, I have the chance of getting one of its unique abilities. This is incredible, but the cooldown is rather long¡­.¡±

    The cooldown of the devour skill increased drastically, which meant he would not be able to keep consuming and quickly increase his strength.

    Another drawback of the skill was that when he reached a certain threshold of power, the weaker creatures or spells he devoured would not grant him any benefits.

    It was both a drawback and a good thing. That gave Arthur even more motivation to seek fights against stronger foes and keep improving, not staying stagnated at the same level of power. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why the dragons reached the top.

    The first thing he did was to scan his surroundings, and Arthur saw nothing. He knew the ce he was in was a cave within the darknds, which meant danger was lurking everywhere, and now that he had temporarily lost some of his power, he had to be careful.

    ¡°Should I disguise myself and go deeper inside the darknds to finally wipe them?¡±

    One of the creatures that belonged to the dark races were the dark elves, and seeing how Arthur could already disguise himself as an elf; then a dark elf could not be that hard.

    Using his spell, Myriad of Faces, Arthur changed his hair to ck, his eyes to red, and his skin to a darker tone. He did not change much of his facial features, as no one that saw him in Drakonia lived to tell the tale.

    The clothes he had on him were all ragged after the fight, so the first thing he had to do was to find a city where the dark races mingled together and get new ones.

    Now, what direction should he go for? Arthur did not have the necessary knowledge about thendscape of the darknds. Few people did, and that would make his journey a lot harder.

    Arthur only knew the rough direction of where the principal city of the darknds was, but even that was not 100% guaranteed. The only option he saw was to find some dark elves or other creatures around the area and befriend them, to travel along maybe and learn more about that ce.

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat something here and think about the restter.¡±

    When he was still in his mad state, Arthur killed the beasts who lived inside the cave he was currently in, so at least he woke up with food right next to him.

    He quickly made a campfire and cooked the parts of the bear-like creature that lived inside that cave, and while he was enjoying his meal, someone walked inside his newly acquired cave.

    ¡°We can spend the night here, in this cave. Rumor has that something killed an entire army not that far from here, so it is not a good time to wander around during the nighttime.¡±

    A group of three dark elves walked inside the cave, not knowing that the person behind that massacre was just in front of them.

 Chapter 180 Misty Town (1)

    The trio entered the cave they picked as their safe ce for the night and noticed the light from within the cave.

    ¡°Is someone here?¡±

    It was not hard to see the light from the campfire, and when they noticed another dark elf sitting around it, they rxed a little bit.

    ¡°So it is another dark elf, hey!¡±

    Arthur pretended to be surprised, but he had noticed them before entering the cave.

    He put his hand on the heart and said, ¡°you scared me. It is a good thing you are also elves.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing out here?¡±

    They felt more at home and sat around the campfire with Arthur. He sensed these elves did not have a dangerous aura around them, and they were also low-leveled, having a level of 12-13.

    Even if they tried a sneak attack on him, there was no way any of their attacks would hurt him, so Arthur pretended to be an average dark elf that was not that strong, having simr power as them.

    ¡°I was adventuring and heard rumors about someone killing an entire army, so I decided to hide here for the night.¡±

    ¡°Really? That is the same reason why we are here. What a coincidence. I¡¯m Vamir, thisdy is Taenya, and that otherdy is Ayna.¡±

    ¡°I am Akhur; nice to meet you all!¡±

    It did not take much for them to be friends and share their experiences. It turned out their group of people were adventurers that went hunting magical beasts for ingredients and selling the parts for money.

    Their final destination was the capital, but to get there, they would still pass for a few other towns; Arthur asked if he could go with them, and they saw no problem with that.

    ¡°Now, the problem of how to reach the capital is fixed!¡± Arthur thought.

    The best way to get someone to like you is to give food; that was precisely what Arthur did, sharing the meat he had just cooked.

    ¡°You killed these? Impressive. These bears are quite strong.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I just got lucky.¡±

    They did not believe it was pure luck but did not ask many questions as everyone had their secrets. It made them feel better, knowing that their newpanion was not weak and would be helpful in their journey.

    Arthur chatted with them for quite some time, but his mind kept wandering, remembering the Bone Lord¡¯s words, especially about how demonic he looked in that transformation.

    That was something he had no answers for. The Doom Order was said to be also present in the darknds, and the demons they worshiped had the same ck energy as Arthur, but Arthur was no demon but a dragon.

    cidusax seemed to be the only dragon that had links with these demons, as all the other dragons did not have that type of energy. Arthur kept thinking about it until something clicked inside his mind, something that could potentially make sense.

    ¡°cidusax is not the reason for this ck energy. I am!¡±

    From the beginning, Arthur kept thinking that cidusax was the reason behind it, as he was cidusax itself, yet it was not the case. Arthur was also an ordinary youth from another dimension, from Earth.

    ¡°Something might have happened when I got transported here, making me gain this strange demonic power. Or perhaps I was like that since my time on Earth, who knows.¡±

    Small pieces of the puzzle started to make sense, and Arthur hoped that his time in the darknds would help him uncover the mysteries behind that ck energy.

    ¡°I¡¯ll sleep now; good night!¡±

    ¡°Goodnight! Bed, here I go!¡±

    They all went to bed, tired of their adventure from the previous day. Arthur did not need to sleep, so he just stood there, thinking about his life.

    It was also an excellent opportunity to see if they would try something funny to him while he was asleep, like trying to murder him to get his belongings, but they did not. Maybe Arthur¡¯s ragged looks helped him, or these elves were just kind.

    The next day started with them having a quick meal, leaving the cave with happy faces, eager to reach a proper town to sleep, rest, and eat good food without fear of being pounced on by beasts.

    Arthur kept his attention on their conversations, trying to get as much information as possible. It seemed that the first town they would stop was at least 7 hours away from where they were, and the city had the name Misty Town.

    Misty Town had that name because of a dense fog that surrounded the city, a fog that did not have any apparent reason to be there, which made the town quite famous, and countless people went there trying to uncover its secrets.

    No one ever found anything, but Misty Town was still famous because of its food, one of the best in all the darknds.

    ¡°A city with a mystery, charming.¡±

    He could not wait to reach that ce. These elves were somewhat weak, so their information was limited, yet still useful for someone like Arthur, who had zero knowledge about the area. Now, inside a town, things were different. It was easier to get information from merchants and other adventurers.

    On their way there, a few beasts attacked them, but all of them were pretty weak, and Arthur¡¯s group managed to end their lives without a problem. He also helped a few times but only showcased a few of his abilities, mainly using meleebat, not his powerful spells.

    After 8 hours, a slight dy considering the fights they had to win, they finally reached Misty Town. Just like the name suggested, the mist around the area was dense, and one could barely see more than a few steps ahead.

    It gave the town a creepy aspect, coupled with the buildings mainly made of ck wood; everything looked like a town straight out of a horror show.

    They went inside, and Arthur could not help but notice how almost everyone used ck cloaks to avoid being recognized.

    ¡°A lot of people here are criminals, so everyone uses ck cloaks, even if you are not one. Here, take it!¡± Vamir said as he gave Arthur a ck cloak as well.

    The four put on their ck cloaks and entered Misty Town, a dangerous and mysterious ce. Vamir and his group had a few pelts from the beasts they hunted, so they parted ways with Arthur, saying they would go there to sell them.

    ¡°There is an inn called Witch¡¯s Hut. We will all meet there tonight.¡±

    ¡°All right, take care,¡± Arthur said.

    Arthur was now alone to do his things. He gazed at the quiet town, seeing a few creatures from races he had never seen before, and wondered what would his next step be.

 Chapter 181 Misty Town (2)

    The creepy atmosphere of Misty Town was something Arthur liked. It was quiet, and not that many people wandered in the streets.

    He did not know what to do first, but he was sure that he wished to discover more about this fog around the area, as it could hold some treasures or at least something interesting to pass the time.

    Arthur only had roughly one day before they left this town again to keep their journey towards the biggest city in the darknds, so there was no way he could uncover that ce¡¯s mystery in just 24 hours.

    ¡°Just for fun, I guess.¡±

    Misty Town had all different locations one could go to, but the best way to get information was in the alleys, especially inside shops that did not look like safe ces.

    A few beggars sat in the alley, begging for food or money as Arthur passed through them without ncing. There, Arthur noticed a small shop with a sign that said, ¡®Rodd¡¯s Weapons.¡¯

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if this shop will have information for me, but it does not hurt to try.¡± Arthur thought as he walked inside that poor-looking shop.

    He was expecting an ugly old orc to wee him with the name of Rodd, yet, that was not what happened. A gorgeous elf greeted him with a smile and an exciting face to finally see a client.

    That elf had a tanner skin than the elves from Slyvian, which meant she belonged to the dark elves, just like the group Arthur found in that cave and his appearance at that time.

    ¡°Wee, wee. What are you in need of? Anything you want, we have it!¡± She said.

    The curves of her body were spectacr, and for a moment, Arthur was lost for words. He quickly recovered and said, ¡°I am here not only for a weapon but for information. If I buy something, can you answer a few questions? Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll not ask anything strange or something like that.¡±

    ¡°Sure, why not? You can look around for a weapon you like, bute and ask me if you have any questions about the quality of the weapons or their history.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Arthur was not there to buy a weapon, as he already had plenty of good weapons, but if that meant he could get some information from that gorgeous elf, he would do it.

    Money was not a problem for him. Arthur saw that as if he was paying for information and even got a weapon he could sellter. A win-win situation.

    The weapons were not disyed in fancy cases but hung on the walls or above wooden tables. Their quality was excellent. Arthur could tell that with one nce.

    Perhaps the rich people who went there would see those weapons as ugly, without adornments or fancy things, but Arthur was not that person. He knew that although the weapons there looked rough, they were of extraordinary quality, sharp, and capable of cutting through creatures like melons.

    He grabbed a few weapons, analyzing them to see if they were of his liking. Most weapons were good, but not close to the level of power of the sword Merethyl gave him, and worlds apart from the power of his ck sword, but he had to keep a facade and act as if he was looking for something.

    Thedy noticed that most of the weapons were not of the liking of her mysterious customer, so she said, ¡°there is a special weapon here, but it is a little expensive. Do you want to see it?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Arthur said as he gazed towards thedy, who went to the back room of the small shop, looking for the weapon she had just spoken about.

    Arthur was not expecting anything grand or extraordinary like the elf said, but perhaps the world could surprise him. Well, it did.

    It was not a weapon but a pocket watch. Its pointers moved with the help of magic. The exterior was made of a silver material with fine details that reminded Arthur of snakes.

    The only reason that pocket watch caught Arthur¡¯s attention was that the moment he got closer to it, something inside his body connected to it as if it had belonged to him since the beginning.

    He tried to understand from where that feeling wasing, and soon it made sense. That pocket watch had something to do with time-space magic, which was why its energy felt so familiar to him.

    ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°Uh, 500 gold coins!¡±

    The elf was afraid that the exorbitant price would scare Arthur away, but the truth was that 500 gold coins were nothing to him, and that watch was worth way more than that. He even felt pity for that elf.

    Arthur tossed a sack filled with gold coins on the counter and said, ¡°now, can you answer a few questions?¡±

    She would do it no matter what type of item Arthur bought, but now that he handed her 500 gold coins, an amount she did not make even in 10 years of work, the elf answered everything he asked for with excitement.

    After thirty minutes of talking, Arthur left the store.

    ¡°It is a pity that she does not know where that pocket watches from, but at least I got more information about the fog and the darknds!¡±

    Based on what the elf said, the mysterious fog around the town had always existed, even before the city was built. Some legends said that two powerful mages fought each other, and the aftermath of that battle caused that, but few people believed that was the case.

    The theory that most people epted was that a mysterious beast was causing the fog to appear, and considering how there was arge ravine not that far from the city, where no one ever managed to reach the end of it, the theory held even more strength than the rest.

    Arthur also got plenty of information about theyout of not only Misty Town but the various towns around the area, as well as a map as a gift from her. Now, he did not need the help of those elves he met to reach the biggest city in the darknds.

    Traveling alone would significantly increase his speed, and the faster he went there to wipe the rest of them, the better.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know how long it will take for me to recover my full strength, tsk.¡±

    From all the information Arthur got, one was the most precious, and that was about the Doom Order.

    He wanted to explore more of that cult because of his strange demonic energy, and it turned out that there was a branch of the cult right there, inside Misty Town, and anyone could try to enter it.

    ¡°Maybe this is an opportunity to get those crazy people to worship me and make me stronger, hehehe. But wouldn¡¯t that turn me into a bad guy?¡±

    After Arthur learned more about the Bone Lord¡¯s realms, he felt more dis-attached to the realm he was currently in, as it was only the beginning of his journey. He would make his wives strong enough to follow him no matter where he went.

 Chapter 182 Canyon (1)

    After Arthur left that decaying shop, he wandered around Misty Town, looking for something else to do, and he found something that fit his desires at that moment.

    It was a group of 4 adventures who talked among each other, saying that they wished to explore the canyon nearby, where it was rumored to be the source of the fog around the town.

    Before Arthur could go towards that group and ask if he could join them, a familiar voice rang inside his ears.

    ¡°Akhur!¡±

    The person who said that was Vamir, the dark elf Arthur had found on his way there.

    ¡°Hey, Vamir. Would you like to team up and explore the canyon nearby?¡±

    Arthur went straight to the point, as he was not someone who liked to lose time.

    ¡°You are going there? Look, I should remind you that it is dangerous; tons of people die yearly. So, for that reason, I will not be going with you.¡± Vamir said.

    Vamir was kind and tried to warn Arthur about the dangers he would face inside that ce, but he did not know the extent of Arthur¡¯s powers.

    ¡°I see. Well, I guess this is a goodbye for now. I will still go towards the capital, so perhaps we can meet there.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps. Good luck, Akhur.¡±

    They were just acquaintances of destiny, so Arthur was not feeling wrong about not going with Vamir. For that reason, after saying goodbye to him, Arthur walked toward the group of people that talked about exploring the canyon.

    One of these people was a dark elf, the other a vampire, and the two were orcs. It was a strange formation, but Arthur did not care where they came from.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Arthur said, making these four creatures turn their gazes toward him.

    ¡°I overheard your conversation about the canyon, and it turns out it is also the ce that I wish to explore. So, can I join your team? Our chances of surviving there will be greater.¡±

    What Arthur said made sense to them, and even if they did not know each other, one more person in the group would significantly improve their chances of getting out of that ce alive.

    Also, the four of them were already friends, so if Arthur tried something funny, they could team up and deal with him, so the risk of adding one more person to the group was almost null.

    ¡°No problem. I¡¯m Luvon, the blond vampire is Michael, and these two ugly orcs are Wanug and Taghig.¡±

    Luvon, the dark elf, pointed at the other members, and they nodded in response after being introduced to Arthur, who analyzed them carefully.

    The orcs both had the same level, 30. The dark elf was 33, and the vampire was the strongest at level 49. Weak whenpared to Arthur, but maybe the vampire could be troublesome, considering the weakened state Arthur was currently in.

    ¡°When will we leave?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Tomorrow morning. We are staying at an inn called Witch¡¯s Hut. You can meet us there tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°Will do.¡±

    They parted ways after that quick conversation, but Arthur was more than happy to find a group willing to explore the nearby canyon. Everyone inside the town felt like the ce was a waste of time and too dangerous for regr folks to go there.

    Well, Arthur was no ordinary folk, that is.

    Meanwhile, Merethyl, Wisa, Jane, and all the others from the elven council were inside a room, waiting for the response of Laeroth, Folen, and Siora.

    Merethyl had sent them on a mission to understand what had happened near Drakonia. Someone came rushing inside the room without knocking, saying, ¡°Merethyl, this is too important!¡±

    It was Siora. She started to exin how Arthur was nowhere to be found, but the corpse of the Bone Lord was there, as well as the corpses of the army they were supposed to face back then.

    ¡°What? Akhur won against the Bone Lord? This is¡­¡± Merethyl said as she got up from her seat, with a clear expression of shock. Not that she was unhappy with Arthur¡¯s win, but the possibility was so slim that it caught her off guard.

    She had faced that skeleton before, and she knew better than anyone else how powerful he was, yet, Arthur somehow found a way to win against it.

    ¡°We need to find Akhur. I suppose the area around Drakonia is clear, right? We can send all the humans there so that they can start rebuilding their empire,¡±

    ¡°Then, we need to form a special team to look for him. Jane, Wisa, you two areing,¡± Merethyl said, and as she was done with it, a vast impact sound echoed through the pce.

    They went there to see what had happened, and someone that was always near yet timid was there, Sully.

    He was immense at that point and, with a struggle, managed to speak in the elvennguage so that everyone present could understand.

    ¡°I am also going to find that idiot.¡±

    In a dire situation, Sully made all of them burst intoughter. It was good that Sully showed up, as he and Arthur had a blood connection, which would help them in the search.

    Jane and Wisa looked at each other, feeling a little guilty for going into danger to find Arthur, who would never allow that, but they could not help. They needed to help, as staying still waiting for answers was driving them crazy.

    Everything was quickly arranged, and within 6 hours after Siora exined the situation, many humans left Slyvian, while a small group of cloaked elves left the city.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Will hee?¡± Michael said.

    It was the group that would go with Arthur into the canyon, waiting inside the Witch¡¯s Hut. Arthur did not go there, as he did not need to sleep, but wandered around the town to learn more about the world.

    A ck-cloaked figure entered the Witch¡¯s Hut, but the group did not pay attention as everyone looked the same under a cloaking, but it turned out it was Arthur.

    ¡°Sorry for beingte. Shall we go?¡±

 Chapter 183 Canyon (2)

    Early in the morning, Arthur and the others left Misty Town to explore the canyon. However, one could not tell whether the day was due to the area¡¯s fog.

    ¡°The canyon is not that far from here, but once we are inside, it will take a while to explore. It is like a whole different world down there.¡± Luvon said.

    No one has ever been able to find what secret is inside that canyon, but many have tried and perished. It was a ce said to have countless magical beasts, and some of these beasts were strong enough to destroy an entire army.

    The truth was that Arthur did not want to explore that ce after knowing all of that in the current state he was in, but the second he stepped inside Misty Town, something felt familiar.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what it is, but I hope it is something good.¡±

    Arthur did not know if it was something to do with his bloodline or something else, but he sensed that this fog would have a shocking secret that could potentially increase his strength.

    ¡°Here, this is the canyon.¡±

    A big hole, so dark that it was impossible to see what was inside.

    ¡°The entrance is right there, but if something happened here, then it would be able to attract the beasts,¡± Luvon said with an evil smile as he pierced a dagger at Arthur¡¯s back, kicking him into the abyss.

    Arthur did not trust these people, but he never thought they would betray him like that. He thought they would be happy to have his strength during the exploration, and if a treasure were found, they would indeed plot against him and kill him.

    But never he imagined the plotting would happen so soon. As Arthur fell, he tried to cast any of his spells or dragon skills, but nothing happened.

    He quickly checked his status screen and saw that he had been poisoned with the dagger strike, temporarily making it impossible to use mana.

    ¡°You will regret this!¡± yelled Arthur as he fell into the dark abyss.

    ~~~~

    ¡°Ahhh, it hurts.¡±

    Arthur¡¯s unconscious time was unknown to him, but the pain was so fierce in all parts of his body that he wanted to scream.

    His left arm had bent, wholly broken after the fall. Not only that but a few ribs were also broken, making every move a hard one.

    Arthur¡¯s incredible healing speed was taking effect, but it was not as fast as he had hoped. Perhaps that poison had also hindered some of his healing, or maybe the canyon had a mysterious effect on it, he didn¡¯t know.

    Slowly getting up, Arthur gazed at his dark surroundings, which were not a problem for his night vision. The insides of that canyon were far different from the outside and the rest of the darknds.

    It was green everywhere. The nts had life, and the majority of the nts were things Arthur had never seen before. The fog was still there, decreasing the vision range, but still, it felt more vivid than the rest of the darknds.

    How? The darknds are so ¡®dead¡¯ because the sun did not send that much sunlight there, making most of the nts die, and the region seems as if it was always night-time.

    The canyon was inside the darknds, and the sunlight would be even harder to reach that ce, yet, it seemed it was not the case considering how alive it was.

    ¡°Does it have to do with the fog?¡± Arthur thought.

    There was no time to think about that, as one of the nts not that far from where Arthur was attacking him using his vines, grabbing him by the feet, turning him upside down.

    The mysterious nt opened a vast mouth and tried to eat Arthur.

    ¡°In your dreams,¡± he said, using his right arm to sh his sword down, cutting the nt in half.

    ¡°That was close. I need to find a suitable ce to rest.¡±

    Arthur¡¯s situation was not good, considering his damaged body and attributes. He needed to find somewhere to heal his external wounds before venturing inside that canyon.

    Thus, he wandered around that forest-like area with the utmost care, ensuring that no other nts or beasts tried to eat him.

    Speaking of beats, the ce had a lot of them, but for his luck, not a single one found him. Arthur had the n of finding a cave or something like that to rest, but what he did find was an old wooden cabin with vines covering the walls, making it blend with the rest of the area.

    ¡°Did someone live here?¡±

    It was an odd sight, something that he did not think of finding there. Arthur tried to look through the windows beforeing inside, and based on what he saw; there was no one there.

    There was also no traces of someone being there for a long time, so it should be a decent location for him to rest a little.

    The cabin was dusty, with a few bugs crawling between the furniture, but Arthur did not mind. What was important was that he was safe inside that ce. He hoped for, at least.

    Out of curiosity, Arthur searched for the belongings of the old owner of that house to learn more about the people there, and what he saw shocked him.

    On one of the shelves, there was a diary that Arthur had yet to read, but the book was a magical one about tattoos besides that diary.

    ¡°This¡­ Was he someone from the Shukar Empire? Or was it someone else?¡±

    Arthur grabbed the diary, sat on the bed, and read it while healing. After a few hours, he was done with it, and the things he found inside that small old diary were shocking.

    ¡°It makes sense, but why here?¡±

    While he was lost in thoughts, a noise came not far from the cabin. It voiced, and Arthur guessed these belonged to the group that betrayed him.

    ¡°Look, a cabin!¡± Luvon said.

    Arthur went to a hidden cabin room with a mischievous smile, which he learned from the previous owner.

    ¡°Hehe, you will regret doing what you did.¡±

 Chapter 184 Canyon (3)

    ¡°I never believed we would find a cabin inside this canyon,¡± Michael said as they walked inside the cabin, closing the door behind them.

    A few moments ago, they had almost lost their lives when fighting with some beasts, but dly a cabin was nearby, which gave them a way of protection, hiding inside that ce.

    They did not know that the person they tossed into the canyon, who should be dead, was inside a hidden room of the cabin.

    ¡°What is this ce? I thought no one had ever lived inside this canyon,¡± Luvon said.

    Many people had ventured inside the canyon but had never heard anything about a cabin or civilization there. It was not the first time Luvon and his group had explored the canyon, and there was no such thing as a cabin in all the times they went there.

    ¡°Me too, but let¡¯s not waste our opportunity and use this ce for our safety. Beasts are swarming outside, so we better stay here for a while until they calm down.¡±

    ¡°Now that you say that, didn¡¯t we see some blood pools near this ce?¡± Michael said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you think that poor dark elf is alive? I also saw blood, but it probably belongs to something else, so chill.¡±

    In their minds, Arthur couldn¡¯t be alive. They did not sense anything extraordinarying from him when they met, and the level of strength disyed by Arthur was weaker than theirs.

    They did not know that Arthur was faking it to look weak, or else that group would never agree to let him go with them. Arthur did not need their help to fight against the beasts. The only reason he decided to look for a group was information.

    Take the group that betrayed him, for example. They hade to the canyon multiple times, meaning their understanding of the areas was deeper than Arthur¡¯s.

    Even the tiniest information would be helpful, especially for someone like Arthur, who understood the bigger picture better than these weak adventurers.

    ¡°What can I do to them?¡± Arthur thought while sitting inside the hidden room, a ce that had everything he needed to survive.

    It seemed that whoever lived in that cabin had already prepared in case anyone found his ce, so the hidden room was like another small house.

    Arthur was sitting there, thinking about how he should deal with this group of people. He did not want to kill them but y with them.

    ¡°Oh, I could try that?¡±

    ~~~~

    The group sat inside the cabin around an improvised firece that kept them warm. At that moment, the cabin door opened without anyone touching it, like magic.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    They got up, preparing all their weapons for the imminent danger.

    A dark elf with a long white beard and hair. It floated above the ground, with both hands hidden behind his back.

    It said in themonnguage of the dark races, ¡°what are you doing inside my cabin?¡±

    That dark elf was precisely Arthur, who disguised himself. He looked ethereal with a few illusion spells, simr to a ghost.

    Arthur also got lots of information from the previous owner¡¯s diary, which meant he could easily impersonate someone else.

    ¡°A-are you a ghost?¡± One of the orcs said.

    Even though ghosts were not unusual, they were still feared, especially a ghost appearing in a ce with a reputation for danger.

    ¡°Yes, I am, and you are the first to find my cabin¡­ I wonder if you are worthy of my inheritance,¡± Arthur said.

    The way he spoke sounded profound, like a master. Also, the word inheritance quickly got the attention of those people.

    No matter the race, everyone would always want treasures and a way to increase their power.

    They looked at each other, and Michael was the first to speak up, ¡°we will do anything to prove our value.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. You are not in the best shape, so it is wise to rest for now. An extrayer of protection around my cabin would not harm.¡±

    Arthur said as he left the cabin. They followed closely behind to see exactly what that older man would do, and it startled them.

    With a wave of his hand, Arthur cast a powerful tier 6 spell, creating trees, vines, and bushes around the cabin, adding ayer of stealth and protection.

    ¡°A tier 6 spell?¡±

    The real reason behind that act was to make these people see his power, as not everyone could cast a tier 6 spell, especially in their ce.

    A single move showcasing his power was enough to make them believe they would get some sort of inheritance from him, which obviously would not be the case.

    ¡°The only reward you will get is death.¡±

    After that, Arthur used his teleport, vanishing from their sight, appearing inside the hidden room of the cabin once again.

    ¡°Did you see that? That old elf is freaking powerful.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ It is good that he is friendly, or else we will be in a dire situation right now.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s do what he said and focus on our resting. Boys, if we get an inheritance from that old man, then perhaps we can reach greater heights.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely!¡±

    They spoke to each other inside the cabin, happy that the world had finally given them a chance for reward. It was a pity that it would not be the case for them.

    After a full day of resting, Arthur showed up on their doorstep again, and now with the task they had toplete if they wished to get the inheritance.

    ¡°I-I can¡¯t remember where my body is¡­ I died with many treasures, yet no one can use them¡­.¡±

    ¡°The fog is the answer. Find the truth about the fog; that is where my body will be!¡±

    Arthur said those words as he flew up, slowly turning his body invisible as if he was fading away.

    ¡°The fog¡­ Where should we start?¡±

    That question shed through the mind of that group of adventurers.

 Chapter 185 Canyon (4) - Mysterious Door

    The group left the cabin, doing exactly what they intended to do when going to the canyon, uncovering its truth.

    A stronger desire is born within, a desire to uncover the truth about the fog and get their hands on all the treasures of the old dark elf.

    They did not know it was a setup from Arthur, but why would they know? After stabbing him and throwing him inside that canyon to die, Arthur would not be merciful to those people.

    He was already visualizing their faces of disappointment after finding out there was no such thing as treasures. Well, if they reach that far.

    Arthur learned from their conversations that it was not the first time they had gone to that canyon. They had more information about the mysterious fog than most people.

    Would this information lead to the truth? Arthur did not know, but he would try to help them in the background if things got too dangerous.

    That group of adventurers had to use the things they knew to uncover the mystery of that canyon, so for that reason, they could not die randomly while traversing through the canyon.

    ¡°If only I could steal their memories¡­ Is there a spell like that?¡± Arthur regretted not learning that if there was such a thing.

    While he observed the group, he noticed how they had a destination already set in their minds, walking towards a specific part of the canyon, far from where the cabin was.

    Just like before, magical beasts constantly attacked them from all sides, and Arthur had to pull a few strings so that they would not perish, like interfering with the movements of those beasts using his magic.

    It was hard to see anything inside that ce, with the surrounding dense vegetation and the almost inexistent light source.

    ¡°The border of the canyon?¡± Arthur thought.

    He had followed them since they left the cabin, using his flight spell not to make noises and his invisibility spell so they would not see him.

    The effect of the poison which messed up with his mana was long gone, but the weakened state after fighting with the Bone Lord did not, and Arthur wondered if there was a way to recover faster.

    There was a tunnel in the rock wall of the canyon. One needed to touch a few specific rocks for the ce to open up; as such, Arthur guessed it was information only that group of adventurers had.

    Arthur had a better understanding of the canyon after reading the diary of the previous owner of that cabin. It turned out that the canyon was the home of a small tribe, the creators of the tattoo magic Arthur saw in the desert.

    But these were different from the desert people. The tribe that lived inside the canyon was not from that realm, but a higher one, just like the dragons.

    Perhaps they hade to the realm Arthur was in at the same time as the dragons, or maybe they did it long before or after. The specific time was still unknown to Arthur.

    The person who lived in that cabin was also someone from that tribe, yet he rebelled, leaving the canyon, leaving their home. Arthur had a feeling that was the reason why the people in the desert had some understanding of tattoo magic.

    ¡°He probably shared some information with them.¡±

    Arthur also knew that the former tribe that man belonged to was not the reason for his death. It was stated in the diary that he returned to the canyon after countless years, only to find his tribe long gone.

    Some members were dead, while others managed to flee that realm, returning to where they came from.

    As for how they died, Arthur felt it had something to do with this fog. The fog was not there when the diary owner left the canyon and only appeared afterward.

    Arthur followed the group of adventurers into that tunnel, which was narrow and devoid of light.

    They kept moving forward until finally stopping in front of a door, which was locked. The door had a strange symbol on it. It was weird for them, but Arthur had seen it before.

    ¡°The Doom Order? Here? How?¡±

    It was the symbol of that strange cult that worshiped demons. Arthur had a deep hatred for them at first, but now that he was slowly discovering that he had a few demonic parts inside of him, he wished to learn more.

    ¡°Were they the ones behind the fog? I don¡¯t know if the cultists had enough power to kill an ancient tribe from another realm, but¡­ a demon could!¡±

    ¡°This fucking door. We could not open it thest time, and after searching for a long time, we found out about the Doom Order, and even infiltrated inside of it, yet¡­.¡±

    ¡°Calm down, Luvon. We can try out the key first, and if it does not work, we will stay here and think more about it,¡± Michael said.

    Luvon stepped forward with a key in his hands. Arthur remembered it looked like one of those keys the Doom Order used in those doors. Yet, before they tried it, Arthur knew it would not work.

    The door in front of them was different. It had a keyhole, but that was only to fool people. Whoever found the door would keep trying to find a key that fits in, which meant they would never open it.

    ¡°The key does not work, fuck!¡± Luvon tossed the key at the wall, almost breaking it.

    He was frustrated. They had done quite the research and had spent lots of time and effort to get their hands on that key, only not to work.

    Arthur saw all that and could not even figure out how to open the door.

    ¡°If a demon is supposedly trapped there, then maybe only another demon can open the door?¡± Arthur thought.

    It was only a guess, but it did not hurt to try, so he appeared to them right in front of the door.

    They jumped for a second, scared after the sudden appearance, but when they saw it was that older man from before, a hint of hope shed through their eyes.

    ¡°I see you found my grave¡­ How did I lock this door thousand of years ago? My old mind can¡¯t seem to remember¡­.¡±

 Chapter 186 A Demon?

    Arthur sounded mysterious, and even though he said he did not remember how to open the door, that group of adventurers still had the hope he would somehow open it.

    ¡°Take your time, senior. Let the memories flow,¡± Michael said.

    The others praised his attitude, showing respect and giving the older man time to think and remember.

    After Arthur cast a tier 6 spell with such ease, they did not want to rush things and make him pissed, or else they could as well die in that tunnel, where no one would ever find their bodies.

    It was not sure that the door would truly open with his touch, but Arthur tried anyway, hoping for the best, or else he would make that group suspicious of him. Not that it mattered anymore, as he had already found what he was looking for.

    When his right hand touched the door, a mechanism moved, and the door was open.

    ¡°I was correct, after all.¡±

    Arthur would not rush in without knowing what was on the other side, and as he was portraying a ghost, he said, ¡°I remembered!¡±

    He cast an invisibility spell, fading away like a ghost. The group of adventurers could not hold their excitement as they went in.

    Following closely behind, just like before, Arthur saw the same things they did, and it was extraordinary yet scary.

    Behind the door was a room with someone chained in the middle. That person looked like a demon, with horns, wings, and a tail. The most impressive thing was the height of that creature, 10 meters tall with a bulky body.

    The chains weren¡¯t the only things around its body, but also vines from an immense nt behind the demon, constantly absorbing its life essence, turning it into fuel to grow all the nts inside the canyon.

    Not only that but there was a hole at the top of the room, where the fog passed through to envelop Misty Town¡¯s surroundings.

    It turned out the fog was also produced using the life essence of that demon-type creature.

    What level of strength did that demon have to be still alive after countless years? Arthur could only guess as he gazed at that creature.

    ¡°What is this? Michael, have you ever seen something like this before?¡± The dark elf said.

    ¡°No, never. But it does remind me of the demons that Doom Order used to worship.¡±

    ¡°Right! Now that you talked about it, it does indeed.¡±

    They had entered the Doom Order as spies to get a key to open that door, but it turned out that it was not needed.

    ¡°Where is the body of that old man?¡±

    At that moment, augh echoed through the room as Arthur returned to his dark elf appearance, the same they knew about.

    When the group turned around to see a familiar face staring at them, no one could believe it.

    ¡°This is impossible. Not only I stabbed you, but I also poisoned you and threw you into a canyon. How are you still alive?¡±

    The moment they realized the older man was, in truth, Arthur, a sense of fear grew within their bodies. It meant Arthur was stronger than them, and they could all die with just a mere thought.

    For that reason, the dark elf who stabbed Arthur was the first to kneel and say, ¡°I am so sorry. Please, forgive us!¡±

    The rest of the group followed his action and did the same.

    Arthur looked at it and could not believe it.

    ¡°First, you try to kill me, and now you are sorry? Cut the crap, piece of shit,¡±

    ¡°Tell me, how do you want to die?¡±

    Before Arthur could make a move, Michael, the vampire who was also the strongest among them, dashed towards him, wielding a sword imbued with blood.

    Michael was the only one Arthur was worried about, but he had long since prepared for him. The second Michael made his move, Arthur waved his hand, quickly casting a wood-type spell that created nts to lock the opponent in ce.

    Magical vines circled Michael¡¯s feet, hindering his movements.

    ¡°A mere trapping spell? What can you do when I get close to you?¡±

    Arthur had already prepared his sword and dashed towards Michael, who did not believe what he saw. It wasmon sense that mages were not good at closebat, yet Arthur was doing just that.

    He believed his vampire strength would overwhelm Arthur the moment their swords met, yet, he was the one that was sent flying with a deep cut on his chest.

    ¡°How?¡±

    None of the questions he had in mind were answered as Arthur teleported right in front of him, decapitating Michael in front of the rest of his group.

    They weren¡¯t dumb and had known each other for a long time. Everyone knew Michael was the strongest among them, yet he was killed in seconds.

    ¡°Now, who wants to be next?¡±

    Arthur gazed at them, but soon something beyond his expectations happened. Michael, now dead, was not that far from the chained demon, and its blood started to leave his body and rush towards the monster.

    ¡°What is happening?¡±

    After all the blood was absorbed, the demon finally opened up its eyes, gazing at everyone present. It still did not have enough strength to leave that ce, and Arthur believed even if he killed everyone present, it would still not have.

    ¡°You, who are you?¡±

    Thenguage the demon spoke was lost since ancient times, and not even the spells from mages could make one say it.

    ¡°Wh- what is he saying?¡± Luvon said.

    ¡°I can understand it!¡± Arthur said, using the samenguage as the demon.

    He did not know what was happening to him. Even the demon was surprised after hearing it, and a feeling of hope rose within his body.

    ¡°Please, kill these people so we can talk in private.¡±

    ¡°Why would I trust you, a demon? Aren¡¯t you suppose to be bad?¡±

    ¡°Demon? That is what people are calling us nowadays?¡±

 Chapter 187 New Horizons

    Arthur killed Luvon and the two orcs before gazing at the strange creature in chains.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    That was Arthur¡¯s first question; it felt most important to him.

    ¡°A man, just like you.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°What I mean is, I am what you call human.¡±

    The first sentenceing from that creature was already shocking but did not make sense to Arthur.

    ¡°How can you be a human? Look at your appearance?¡±

    ¡°Kiddo, do you know about mages?¡±

    ¡°I do, yes. I am one myself.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, Arthur changed to his original appearance, which he had not used in a long time. ck eyes and ck hair, a slim yet toned body.

    ¡°Oh, you are? What tier of spells can you cast?¡±

    Arthur already understood the mage ranking, as the Bone Lord had talked with him about it.

    He was a different case, using the world¡¯s essence to strengthen his spells. Using it, he could easily cast tier 6 and 7 spells, but without any help, Arthur could only release tier 5.

    Still, a 5th circle mage at a young age was quite impressive, and Arthur was sure no one had the body strength he had and the mana pool.

    ¡°I can cast tier 7 spells with the help of essences, but without it, only tier 5.¡±

    Arthur did not know if it was the right decision to talk about his essence, but he was not expecting anyone to know about it, plus that human was chained.

    ¡°What? Can you use essences? This is¡­ strange.¡±

    The room went quiet for some time until the human finally spoke again.

    ¡°You heard about dragons. When I was still around, they were also here and probably turned into a legend for your people,¡±

    ¡°Almost all individuals can somehow absorb the essence, even humans. A normal type of human mage in this realm can have one essence. Well, that is considering they even reach the rank of a true mage,¡±

    ¡°I brought up the dragons because any one of them can have at least three different essences on their bodies,¡±

    ¡°Off all dragons, there is one known to have 8 essences, cidusax.¡±

    That creature spoke a lot of things, and these were things Arthur did not know.

    ¡°Wait, humans can have essences too?¡±

    ¡°Well, getting your first essence is a requirement to leave the 10th circle and reach the first rank of an official mage.¡±

    ¡°How does one absorb the first essence?¡± Arthur said.

    He trained differently than the human mages, as he had the techniques passed down to him from the dragons and his system that helped him in that regard.

    ¡°Well, you must know that a mage meditates to absorb the mana from the atmosphere, and as they keep absorbing mana, their mana pool will get stronger, making them able to cast higher tier spells,¡±

    ¡°After one gets strong enough to cast a tier 10 spell, one needs a meditation technique that allows you to absorb the essence and convert it to power,¡±

    ¡°You know why there are no 7th circle mages and above here?¡±

    Arthur did not know, and that question never even crossed his mind.

    ¡°No idea.¡±

    ¡°Well, after one reaches the 7th circle, the mana from this part of the is not enough to make you cross to the 8th circle, so most mages leave this part of the, going to the central continent,¡±

    ¡°Also, that is the only ce where you can find the techniques to make you able to absorb the essence and eventually leave this realm, this.¡±

    ¡°What rank are you?¡±

    ¡°Me? Hehe, a secret. Listen, I don¡¯t know how you have the same energy as me. You know, the ¡®demon.''¡±

    A new world opened up for Arthur as if he was a bird trapped inside a cage, finally able to see the outside.

    ¡°I am not an ordinary mage but a warlock. We use the bloodline of the Monlog Giant. As such, only members of my family of warlocks are supposed to have this power, yet you have, and I have never seen you before this.¡±

    ¡°Warlocks? Monlog Giant? I never heard anything about it, either. Let me ask you; you know why this ck energy makes me go crazy?¡±

    ¡°You already used the power of our bloodline? It makes sense now. Only official mages of at least rank 1 can utilize a small portion of the Monlog Giant bloodline. No wonder you went insane after using it has the strength of a 7th circle mage,¡±

    ¡°Still, how did you manage to absorb essences in the first ce?¡±

    ¡°Well, that is my secret.¡±

    Even more, questions rose inside Arthur¡¯s mind. Was he part of the Monlog bloodline? How was that possible, as he came from Earth and was a regr guy back there?

    The system he had only spoke about him being cidusax, and considering everything that happened till now, Arthur has this legendary lord of dragons. Still, at the same time, he was a regr guy from Earth.

    But now? He was not only a regr guy from Earth, a dragon, but also part of the Monlog bloodline. What was that?

    ¡°Do you know anything about the ¡®gods¡¯?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°These fuckers. They are the reason why I am here. A long time ago, a rumor spread in the upper realms, saying that a strange portal to another dimension appeared in this ce, on this. That is the reason why the dragons came, the Monlog bloodline came, and many others from the higher realms, including these so-called ¡®gods,''¡±

    ¡°They aren¡¯t real gods, but just powerful mages, really powerful.¡±

    Arthur already knew precisely what portal it was. The same one he used to leave Earth and go to that ce. But did he say the rumors about this portal are from long ago? Did that mean others crossed through the same portal as Arthur?

    ¡°Hey, kiddo. I promise you I am not the bad guy here. If you release me, I can help you leave this ce and find the answers you are looking for.¡±

    ¡°I can help you if you and I make a pact.¡±

 Chapter 188 Leaving Misty Town

    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s us sworn with blood.¡±

    ¡°And what is your name anyway?¡±

    ¡°George, you?¡±

    ¡°Arthur, wait a second. Your name is George. That is¡­ peculiar.¡±

    ¡°Laugh at it, and you will die.¡±

    George was still chained but used a mysterious power to make a small cut on his arm, and the blood flew over, standing in mid-air.

    Arthur did the same with his sword, and George was the first to swear when both blood touched.

    ¡°I, George, swear not to harm Arthur or those he cares about. I will also help him whenever I am free of this ce.¡±

    ¡°I, Arthur, swear to do anything in my power to help George escape this ce and promise not to harm him in any way.¡±

    After they were done with the blood pact, George exined how Arthur could free him of that ce, and it was not as easy as he thought.

    ¡°You saw when I drained their life force? This fucking nt is draining my life essence, so the only way for me to escape is to recover some of my strength,¡±

    ¡°The only way for me to do that is by you giving me fresh corpses of at least rank one official mage, but the stronger they are, the better.¡±

    ¡°Rank 1 mages or higher? Aren¡¯t these in another realm of power? I assume I can only find them in the central continent.¡±

    ¡°Yes, about that. Try to reach the highest circle you can in this area. When you find a bottleneck, look for me and exin how to move out and reach the central continent. There, you will find more opportunities to increase your power.¡±

    ¡°I will leave you a mark. That way, we can talk mentally when on the same.¡±

    George waved his hand, and a symbol appeared on Arthur¡¯s forearm, like a tattoo. It was a design of a giant with horns and wings covered in a ck substance. Arthur guessed it was the same giant from George¡¯s bloodline.

    Arthur was hoping to get an instant increase in power when exploring the canyon, but it was not that bad of a trip. He got to know more about his demonic powers, but these were still unknown to him.

    For him to have that, he needed to have the bloodline of the Monlog Giant, but that was not possible. There was no way cidusax, who was somehow merged with Arthur, had that bloodline.

    The only exnation meant Arthur himself had it, but how? Could the mages from this world travel to Earth? That could be a thing, but for now, he would not unravel the mystery of his lineage.

    After Arthur was done talking with George, he left the canyon area, returning to the city of Misty Town, which looked the same as when he left.

    Those adventurers he met back in that cave had already left the town, trying to reach the central city of the darknds, where most opportunities were.

    Arthur also wanted to reach that ce, but the reason behind it was to conquer it, yet, little by little, he was starting to have other feelings about it.

    Humans and elves portrayed the dark races and the darknds as a ce of evil, death, and all things rted. Arthur also had that feeling before, but every time he saw the dark elves, vampires, and orcs, working every day, just like everyone else, it made him think otherwise.

    They weren¡¯t that bad, but the hatred between them and humans and elves seemed unrepairable. Arthur wanted to help them but could not let them harm the people he cared about.

    It was not an easy situation to deal with. Arthur had millions of thoughts, but someone walking in the streets of Misty Town came to him, smiling.

    ¡°You? This must be destiny. Are you leaving town?¡±

    The person who asked was a gorgeous dark elf, the shop owner where Arthur got his information from, and the strange pocket watch.

    ¡°I am, yes. Why?¡± Arthur said.

    He could guess what she wanted; travel along with him. It was so obvious, but Arthur still acted clueless.

    ¡°Well, it turns out I decided to move to the capital with the money you gave me and perhaps start a shop there, away from this dead town,¡± she said, extending her hand, ¡°I am Dera.¡±

    ¡°Akhur.¡±

    ¡°So? Can I go with you? The roads are too dangerous for a princess like me,¡± Dera said.

    With a nce, Arthur could tell it was all but drama.

    ¡°Fine, but I hope you are not annoying.¡±

    Arthur saw no problem in that. Also, Dera had more information about the area than Arthur, even after his research, so maybe she woulde in handy during their trip.

    Dera kept talking, saying she wanted to leave the town as quickly as possible; Arthur saw himself leaving Misty Town without resting aftering back from the canyon.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then. Are you running away or something?¡±

    ¡°No, just excited. I went to the capital once, you know, when I was little. My grandfather was the one who brought me there.¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°It is so vivid,pletely different from this dead town. You will know once we get there.¡±

    She did not know that Arthur had seen countless cities, but he still smiled, seeing how happy she was with just leaving her town.

    At that moment, George, who had seen Arthur a few moments ago, sent a request through the mark he ced on Arthur, asking them to ¡®link¡¯.

    George exined that not only did the mark allow him to send voice messages, but he could also use a link function, where he would see things as if he were Arthur.

    Arthur could cut the link at any time. He epted it, and George¡¯s voice soon rang inside his head.

    ¡°Who is this gorgeous dark elf? Is she your girlfriend?¡±

    ¡°Where are we going? Arthur? Arthur?¡±

    Within seconds Arthur regretted having activated the link¡­

    ¡°George, calm down. You look like someone who had been trapped without contact for years¡­.¡±

    ¡°This joke is not funny anymore, bastard!¡±

    ¡°It is funny to me.¡±

    ~~~~

    A few hours after Arthur and Dera left Misty Town, someone new walked in.

    ¡°Where are you? You killed my grandson Michael and think you can escape?¡±

 Chapter 189 Trip to the Dark Lands Biggest City

    Right after they left the city, a few merchant carriages were outside, near the gate, preparing to leave.

    A few people had paid these merchants to use their carriage, sleeping near the crates, making use of it to reach their destination without walking.

    Also, traveling with that many people was always safer than going alone. Arthur was not thinking of traveling with these merchants, but as he did not have the time to rest, perhaps that would be a good idea.

    For that reason, he approached the merchant in charge of transporting the crates to the capital.

    ¡°Excuse me. Is there a ce for two in one of these carriages?¡± Arthur said.

    The merchant was from a race Arthur had yet to see, with gills and blue skin.

    ¡°There is, yes, and our destination is the capital. It is 20 gold coins per person.¡±

    ¡°Cheap.¡±

    Arthur said as he tossed 40 gold coins to that merchant and entered x one of the carriages. Dera could not understand how he had that much money.

    People in the darknds were not rich, and only a few strong adventurers or merchants like the one they had just met had a good amount of wealth.

    Dera, for example, had a shop, yet it was in a dead town, so she barely had any money before Arthur bought the pocket watch from her.

    They chose a carriage with a few crates, but they had enough space. Plus, it was a carriage without anyone else but the two.

    Others were also doing the same thing, using the merchant carriage as a means of transportation to the capital, so the other carriages had some people in them.

    ¡°What do you think about this war with the Dragon Scale Empire?¡± Arthur asked Dera, who was preparing toy down in an improvised bed they made with a few nkets.

    ¡°Honestly? I understand the point where we need a decent piece ofnd as a nation to prosper, and not in this area where nts barely grow. But I still think we could do something else instead of war, maybe finding another piece ofnd for us,¡± Dera said.

    She had a decent point. Whoever was the ruler of the darknds wanted to get newnds so that its people could prosper, and the only grounds avable nearby were the Dragon Scale Empire or the Elven Kingdom.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    If only Arthur could find somewhere else for these people to live, then maybe he could have a way to stop the war.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you send them to the central continent?¡± George said.

    They were still in the link, but Arthur asked George not to talk that much, as he was annoyed by it.

    ¡°But you said only strong people can go there?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no. You will need decent strength to stabilize the portal for everyone to pass through. Plus, the central continent is huge, and there isnd avable there for everyone, and if I am not mistaken, all the races here are there as well.¡±

    George had a decent point and perhaps a way out of the war. Arthur would still have to get stronger, but that was something he could easily do in a short period.

    He would also have to talk with the ruler of the darknds about this and make it agree to go to the central continent.

    ¡°Maybe if I disy my strength and they see that the war against me is impossible to win?¡± Arthur thought.

    With these thoughts in mind, Arthur sat on the carriage in a meditative state, waiting for them to reach the capital.

    ~~~~

    The darknds were not a big piece ofnd; as such, reaching the capital would only take three days, yet, on the second day, a group of bandits tried to attack the merchant convey.

    All merchants expected this, one reason they allowed these adventurers to travel with them. That merchant with gills also paid some adventurers for protection, so the bandits did not stand a chance, dying on the road like pigs.

    Arthur did not even move to stop these bandits, as the others did just that. Why would he bother with such weak people? With a wave of his hand, they would die instantly.

    Before reaching the capital, the convoy made a stop in a nearby town, where new adventurers paid the merchant for a ride, and one of these people went to the same carriage Arthur, and Dera were in.

    ¡°Luck me, a gorgeous woman and a weakling,¡± a sturdy orc said.

    He sat near Dera, trying to start a conversation with her from time to time, yet she did not pay any attention to him and instead moved closer to Arthur.

    The orc saw that, and it made him pissed.

    ¡°Seeking protection with this weakling? Come here, honey; I can do better than him.¡±

    Arthur noticed how that man was getting on Dera¡¯s nerves, acting like a piece of shit. He also did not like that man¡¯s presence at all, so for that reason, he made his act.

    At one moment, Arthur was sitting on one side of the carriage, and on the other, was right in front of the enormous orc, who had no strength to move when Arthur¡¯s hand grabbed his neck.

    ¡°Hear me out, ugly green thing. Say another word, and you¡¯ll die a horrible death that not even your parents will recognize you,¡±

    ¡°Before you say anything, I don¡¯t care who you are, where youe from, or any of this bullshit. Do orcs live in tribes? You can call your whole tribe, yet they will die like pigs in front of me. Could you please shut up before I rip your tongue out?¡±

    Arthur made sure to exert some of his strength on the orc¡¯s neck, making him unable to breathe. When he saw the frightened eyes of that creature, he let go of him.

    The rest of the journey went smoothly, without a single sentenceing from that orc.

 Chapter 190 Death Awaits Arthur

    The capital of the darknds. A ce called Khazijar. Arthur did not know the reason behind the name but did not care either.

    It looked like any other major city, with sturdy walls, many buildings, and a vivid atmosphere of people buying and selling goods.

    ¡°Look! I told you this ce is awesome,¡± Dera said, looking at Arthur¡¯s face, which had no expression.

    For him, it was just like any other city. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    A line of people waited to enter the city. Those who went walking managed to get in faster, but the merchants had to have their merchandise checked by the guards, and if anything were wrong with it, they would meet in trouble.

    Arthur was sure that most of these merchants carried illegal stuff with them, and the guards had a blind eye to it.

    He and Dera quickly entered Khazijar. The guards barely checked anything from them, so one could tell howzy their work was.

    ¡°Can I stay with you until I am settled here? This ce scares me,¡± Dera said.

    ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go buy a residence here.¡±

    The n Arthur had was to spend some time inside the capital of the darknds, raise his power, and maybe convince their leader to leave toward the central continent.

    It was not a n with a great chance of sess, but if it did not work, Arthur would make all of them surrender.

    Buying a house was not aplicated matter, and there were tons of avable homes as many people that lived inside the capital did not have the money to buy them. Arthur and Dera went to a building that specialized in selling these houses and browsed through their catalog to see if anything was interesting.

    ¡°You want to buy a house?¡± The attendant said, shocked.

    For her, people usually went there to browse the houses and not buy because of the high price. She thought Arthur would do the same, but his serious expression made her believe otherwise.

    There were countless houses avable, but one caught Arthur¡¯s attention. It was a two-story vi with a vast courtyard and a researchb. The amount of mana in the area was not that bad. It seemed that they used mana stones to increase the amount of mana in the atmosphere so that their mages could improve faster.

    Arthur could guess it was because of the war. They were trying to increase their strength as fast as possible, and Arthur would not be a fool not to make use of that.

    ¡°I will want this one,¡± Arthur said. He tossed a bag filled with gold coins, the necessary amount for the vi he wanted.

    Within a few minutes, the ce was already in his name, and the keys were in his hands.

    ¡°You are so rich, Akhur. Maybe you could invest in my weapon shop?¡±

    ¡°No, thanks.¡±

    After they left the building, it was time to go to the vi in person. Arthur had seen pictures of it made of magic, as urate as photos from Earth, but it was better to see it in person.

    The streets were crowded with all kinds of people, but the tense atmosphere within the capital was clear. A rumor about their army being wiped out by a single elf spread through the darknds, and they were worried they would be the next target.

    ¡°Did you hear about the elf? They are calling him ¡®Death.''¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a few days since I¡¯m not getting proper sleep with this madness. What will we do if hees here? Death single-handed killed our army.¡±

    ¡°All we can do is pray for the best.¡±

    These were the conversations Arthur heard along the way about him.

    ¡°Arthur, did you hear about this elf as well? I was scared that he would show up in Misty Town too!¡± Dera said.

    She had no idea this elf who turned into a legend was right in front of her. Even Arthur could not believe his acts would grant him the nickname ¡®Death.¡¯

    The two of them passed through the city¡¯s poor areas until eventually reaching a neighborhood of vis belonging to mages.

    It was where Arthur bought his vi as well.

    ¡°This ce looks nice.¡±

    When Arthur looked at his vi, he was pleased with what he saw. The main building was a two-story building made of stone that was quite beautiful, reminding Arthur of the modern houses on Earth.

    The only thing the vi did not have was a protective formation, which was something Arthur wanted severely, considering he was inside enemy lines.

    Not only protective against attacks but also from spies who would try to sneak in or hear his conversations using mysterious ways.

    ¡°You can stay in one of the rooms until your shop is running well,¡± Arthur said.

    Dera was astonished by the ce, as it was a fine house she would never be able to afford, even after working for decades.  Arthur was kind enough not only to her until the capital but also to let her stay in the house for some time.

    It was something she would never be able to repay.

    For her, it was only kindnessing from that youth, but Arthur had different ways of thinking.

    ¡°It is a good thing she is here, being someone truly from the darknds to make me look less suspicious. Now, let¡¯s start putting some formations.¡±

    While Dera was inside the mansion, trying to choose her favorite room, Arthur was busy putting the formations around his vi to make it less porous.

    He did not only study spells in his free time but also formations, as these were quite useful. One of the perks of not having to sleep was free time to learn all sorts of things.

    Also, his mastery and mana pool was way more advanced than the other mages, which proved to be quite helpful in creating the formations as well.

    Arthur had even tried to put some essence on the formations, and they did increase the power, just like with the spells.

    ¡°You are new around here? It is nice to see a fellow dark elf.¡±

    A dark elf approached Arthur¡¯s vi. He had short ck hair and red eyes and looked rtively young. It was one of the other mages who lived in the nearby estates.

    ¡°It is indeed. I am happy my neighbor is a dark elf, too,¡± Arthur smiled.

    ¡°I am Jhazaken, and you?¡±

    ¡°Akhur. I just moved, and this ce looks incredible.¡±

    ¡°Ha, I thought the same back when I moved here.¡±

    Arthur kept creating his formations while chatting with Jhazaken, which brought his attention.

    ¡°You are quite skilled with magical formations; that is impressive. I am trying to reach the fourth circle but am stuck at it¡­.¡±

    ¡°You are this young and already at the third circle? Don¡¯t feel bad about yourself. Even though I am skilled with formations, I am a mere second circle mage.¡±

    ¡°Still impressive. You looked as young as me. I do think we will get along pretty well.¡±

    ¡°I do too!¡±

    Arthur felt it was best to lie about his power rank to these people he did not know yet. Mages could tell the position of others by sensing their mana pool, but Arthur got to know it was an easy task for his system to hide his level of power.

    He took the chance to try his best to get closer to that elf. A reliable contact inside the capital would prove to be valuable. Arthur knew that well.

    After he was done with the formations around the vi, Arthur went inside his mansion to see Dera preparing dinner for them.

    ¡°I saw your hard work there, so this is the least I can do,¡± she said.

    ¡°Thanks. Did you choose your room already?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, I did. There are four bedrooms on the second floor, and two have balconies. I chose one of those¡­ but don¡¯t get mad at me; the biggest room is still yours.¡±

    Dera felt strange for having chosen one of the mansion¡¯s best rooms, and the thought of upsetting Arthur did not leave her mind the entire day.

    Arthur did not care what room she picked. ¡°I don¡¯t need even to sleep anymore,¡± he thought.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Hey, I will be right back.¡±

    Now that everything was settled inside the capital of the darknds, Arthur went to theboratory of his vi, preparing to send a message through his devotee¡¯s connection.

    He sat cross-legged, trying to make the connection with his devotees, but it did not work. Nothing happened, no matter how hard he tried as if the link was cut.

    ¡°Maybe that is because I am injured? Or because I overused the celestial power, and it needs some time to recover.¡±

    Seeing that it did not work, Arthur tried to send a message through his connection with Sully, and it worked.

    ¡°What? You idiot, why didn¡¯t you send the message earlier? You know I can start the connection if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    ¡°I was injured, you stupid wyvern, and it probably made the connection shatter. Anyway, warn everyone that I am already inside the capital of the darknds, disguised as a dark elf called Akhur. I even have a nice vi here,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°You? Hahaha, you are dead.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, Sully?¡±

    ¡°You live in a mansion while your wives are in the middle of the forest, living in tents while looking for you. You know that Jane and Wisa will kill you after I say it to them.¡±

    Cold sweat dripped from Arthur¡¯s body, and he said, ¡°could you please take the mansion part off? I can giv-¡°

    Sully cut the connection before Arthur could finish it.

    ¡°I am dead. I am so dead.¡±

 Chapter 191 Monlog Giant Meditation Technique

    The moment Sully cut the connection, Arthur could feel the murderous gaze of his wives. He knew his time would be hard after meeting up with them again, but that would have to wait for some time.

    Arthur had a goal while inside the capital of the darknds, which was to increase his power as much as possible. Based on the information he got, the maximum level of power mages could achieve there was the seventh circle.

    After that, the low mana in the region¡¯s atmosphere would be quite hard. For that reason, almost all mages at the 7th circle range left these continents, going towards the central continent where one could have the opportunity to increase its power.

    Normal mages increased their powers by absorbing the mana from the atmosphere using their meditation techniques. Arthur could do that as well, but he would usually have a good time with his wives to increase his power.

    ¡°Hey, kiddo. Something is off with your body,¡± George said, channeling through the mark.

    With a frown, Arthur started the link to have a good chat with George.

    ¡°What is wrong with me?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°How can I say it? Look, mages usually have something called Spiritual Force. It is like a condensed version of the mana they absorb from the atmosphere,¡±

    ¡°But you, you don¡¯t have any. It does not make sense to me, as even a first-circle mage would have a tiny amount of spiritual force. I assume yours are somewhat blocked, and without it, you will not be able to increase your power.¡±

    George could not understand how Arthur managed to have the power of a mage and even cast strong spells yet did not have any Spiritual Force. Arthur, on the other hand, understood everything in an instant.

    The way he increased his power was not through meditation but with the increase of his attributes through sex. The mana he got inside his body was not condensed into Spiritual Force through normal means.

    ¡°So now I will have to meditate to condense my mana? How troublesome, but it is still faster than first absorbing the mana and condensing afterward.¡± Arthur thought.

    Normal mages took a long time to absorb the mana and condense it. Arthur had the luxury of increasing his mana with a single tap when increasing his attributes.

    Now, a question crossed his mind. What meditation technique would he use? As it was not something he had done previously, Arthur did not clearly understand it.

    ¡°George, what is stronger, a dragon or your bloodline?¡±

    ¡°A strange question, hum, let me see. I think someone that trains in our bloodline meditation technique can go toe to toe with a normal dragon, and some outstanding members of our family can win against high-grade dragons,¡±

    ¡°Now, if you ask me if someone from our bloodline can contest against the lord of dragons, that is a pipe dream. Although the source of our lineage, the Monlog Giant, can win against any dragon and even go toe to toe with the gods.¡±

    George gave Arthur a brief exnation, sending him into deep thought.

    He browsed through the mysterious book he had that contained the dragon techniques, hoping to find the meditation technique from cidusax, but it was not there.

    ¡°Can someone train in more than one meditation technique? Like, switching it?¡±

    ¡°Taking you as an example? I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You have the bloodline of the Monlog Giant. Thus, it would help if you practiced using the meditation technique of that bloodline. The only possible way for you to switch is if you are not human but another ancient creature, which is impossible,¡± George said.

    ¡°So, hypothetically speaking, if someone trains using your technique and is also an ancient creature and trains with another, what would happen?¡±

    ¡°If you train in my technique, you will get extraordinary powers simr to the Monlog Giant. Then, let¡¯s say you are a dragon as well, and also train in the dragon technique; then, you will have both powers and turn into apletely new creature capable of shaking multiple realms and worlds. A theory, of course, as that is impossible toe true.¡±

    Arthur tried his best to hide the smile he had on his face. There was no way Arthur would share all of his secrets with George, at least not until hepletely trusted the man.

    ¡°Could you perhaps give me the technique from our family?¡±

    ¡°Of course. You and I are brothers now. I will imprint it in your head.¡±

    As George said, lots of information entered Arthur¡¯s mind. It was about the Monlog Giant Meditation Technique, which consisted of levels ording to what realm the mage was in.

    It went from the first circle to the tenth, from the rank one magone to the 7, and ended.

    ¡°Rank 7 mage? Only that?¡±

    ¡°O-Only that? This is one of the strongest meditation techniques one can find. Look, the so-called central continent in this realm is the strongest ce there is, yet the highest mage there is only at rank 2, or 3 perhaps considering a lot of time had passed,¡±

    ¡°A rank seven mage can erase this world with a wave of his hand, yet you called weakly? Also, when turning into a rank one mage, your life span will increase significantly, and a rank seven mage, for example, is known to live for almost 100 thousand years.¡±

    Arthur was shocked. One of the things he wished to achieve in this new world was to live forever, but considering how little time had passed since he got there, that idea went to the back of his mind, but now? It seemed it was something he could also achieve in the future.

    ¡°Is there someone at a higher rank than 7?¡±

    ¡°In this era? No. It is said to have mages of rank 8 and 9 in the ancient era, but that is long gone, and the highest is at rank 7. All the mages in the rank 7 are old and slowly dying, incapable of reaching the next level.¡±

    Every time Arthur spoke with George, it was as if he realized how small of an ant he was. Arthur was believed to be one of the strongest with his system, yet the world was far more extensive than he expected.

    The Bone Lord, seen by the people there as a demigod, was only someone who did not even reach the rank of one mage status.

    ¡°You say these mages are old, yet I managed to reach my level quickly,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Yes, that is because you are only at the early stages. Reaching the ten circles is easy, but after that, it gets tough, and the difference between the levels is worlds apart,¡±

    ¡°To give you perspective. I, George, can proudly say I reach the ten circle at three years old,¡±

    ¡°Turned into an official rank one mage at the age of 11, and reached the rank two at the age of 80,¡±

    ¡°The rest I will not tell because you think I am a grandpa.¡±

    When Arthur heard that, it was as if lightning had stroked him. George had achieved the ten circles when he was still an infant, yet the people in the realm of Arthur never reached it using all of their life spans. One could tell the difference in talent just by that.

    Still, even with the superior talent and resources, it took George a lot of time to reach the rank two mark.

    ¡°You look shocked by the years, but that is just because you did not reach that level yet. When you get your life span increased by a lot when bing a rank one mage, spending years and years in meditation and research will not seem strange to you and will pass in the blink of an eye.¡±

    Arthur was not concerned about himself but for his wives and the people he cared about. He knew that not only he but Wisa and Jane had their powers increased while having sex with him, but would they keep up with him?

    There was no way he would let them die, so he had to devise a n to make them grow stronger and faster. Not only them but his disciple Kai, and he would try his best to help the rest of his students.

    ¡°George, I have a few important people I don¡¯t wish to see dying. Is there a way to increase their power as well? They are mages at the five circle, I think.¡±

    ¡°Well, I have a few other high-grade meditation techniques that might be suitable for them, but if you want them to increase their power fast and have a simr life span, then you should consider nting your bloodline into them.¡±

    ¡°Is that possible?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and I can teach you. We, mages with a bloodline, have a longer life span than normal mages, so if you truly want to live a long time with your wives, then granting them your bloodline might seem like a good idea.¡±

    After that, George shared the way of sharing the bloodline, which made Arthur sigh with relief.

    ¡°Thanks, George,¡± Arthur said as he cut the link between them.

    His focus was to increase his power as fast as possible, so it was time to train in the Monlog Giant Meditation Technique.

 Chapter 192 Ninth-circle Mage

    The thought of not increasing one¡¯s power was not something Arthur enjoyed. It had been quite some time since thest time he was with his wives, and in his weakened state, the celestial energy that increased his attributes was not working.

    He sat inside theboratory area of his vi, practicing the new skill he got from George, the first time he had ever meditated.

    [Monlog Meditation Technique: A meditation technique from the Giant n, derived from the bloodline of the Monlog Giant, a creature said to have reached the apex of the magus world.

    Effects: Absorbs the mana from the atmosphere to strengthen the mana core and condense the mana into Spiritual Force.]

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s give it a try then.¡±

    The moment Arthur practiced the meditation technique cross-legged inside hisb, a dark-type substance enveloped his body and theb¡¯s interiors.

    It was simr to the ck substance from when he transformed into that demon-like creature, but this time it was not driving him mad; in fact, a refreshing feeling passed through his entire body.

    Although Arthur could use spells up to the 7 tier, his strength without the aid of his essencesy on the five-circle rank. There was a problem, though.

    George could not understand how Arthur cast spells without Spiritual Force, as it was required even for the first-tier spells.

    Arthur guessed it had something to do with his system, but now he would start anew, condensing his mana into Spiritual Force, making him able to reach greater heights.

    ¡°I messed it up. Just because I have a strange system does not mean I don¡¯t need to train properly.¡±

    He did not know, but without condensing his mana, there was no way Arthur would ever reach the rank one official mage status. Perhaps he would be able to keep leveling up and gain attributes, but it would not matter when one can¡¯t cast the higher tier spells.

    Arthur had a total of 27000 points in mana, and as he started to practice his meditation technique, that amount started to diminish, but a more refined type of mana was shown on the status screen, and that was the Spiritual Force.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 58]

    [Health: 12300/12300]

    [Mana: 26700/26700]

    [Spiritual Force: 1]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 212]

    [Agility: 139]

    [Vigor: 134]

    [Wisdom: 236]

    [Charm: 143]

    [Free points: 0]

    With quick math, Arthur noticed that 300 points in mana would equal 1 in Spiritual Force, so by the end of his condensing, he would have 90 points in Spiritual Force.

    Also, the once weakened attributes vanished after he started practicing that meditation technique. The reason was the astonishing healing speed of the Monlog Giant, which instantly took effect as it was the first time Arthur had ever used the method.

    George had shared with him that each circle would be equal to 10 points in Spiritual Force, and one would have 100 points in the tenth circle but would have to get more than that somehow to pass the rank, finally reaching the official mage.

    Arthur already had 90 points, equal to a ninth circle mage, an extraordinary power in his region; indeed, he would be the strongest mage there.

    ¡°Reaching nine circles, not bad. Most mages leave this ce in the seventh circle to find more resources in the central continent.¡± Arthur thought.

    A feeling of excitement rose within his body and an urge to condense all the mana as quickly as possible. With that thought in mind, Arthur stayed in the capital of the darknds for three months.

    During this time, Arthur spent most of his time inside theb, and Dera was still living in his vi.

    She had opened up a shop, but the ce still needed to get traction for the money to starting in, and Arthur did not mind her living with him.

    ¡°Akhur, I made breakfast,¡± Dera said in front of theb¡¯s door.

    It was tasty fried eggs with meat from a timber deer.

    ¡°Why are you smiling, Akhur?¡±

    Dera noticed the happy mood Arthur had after getting out of theboratory, and that was because he had finally finished the condensation of his Spiritual Force.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Draconic Name: cidusax, the Eater of Worlds]

    [Rank: ???]

    [Level: 58]

    [Health: 12300/12300]

    [Mana: 0/0]

    [Spiritual Force: 90]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 212]

    [Agility: 139]

    [Vigor: 134]

    [Wisdom: 236]

    [Charm: 143]

    [Free points: 0]

    All the spells that used mana before now used Spiritual Force, as it was the same thing but more condensed and refined.

    Also, Arthur improved all the spells he knew up to the 9 tier, which made sense, considering he was now a ninth-circle mage.

    He and Dera got closer to each other during this time and could be considered good friends, so Arthur did not keep it secret and said, ¡°I finally reached the ninth-circle stage, he he.¡±

    She almost choked with the breakfast, ¡°what? This is impossible.¡±

    Dera knew Arthur was someone extraordinary, but reaching the ninth circle? In her mind, it was impossible and only achievable in ancient times, but that was not true.

    She thought that way because shecked knowledge about how this and the other worlds worked. All mages in the seventh circle would leave this ce, going to the central continent using a way only known by a few, which made the majority of the poption think the seventh circle was their limit.

    Arthur would still think that way if George had not shared everything with him.

    ¡°I am awesome. Anyway, how¡¯s your shop going?¡±

    ¡°Not that great. I mainly sell normal weapons, but the demand right now is enchanted weapons, and I am only starting on the enchanting path now,¡± Dera said, visibly sad with the situation.

    ¡°Maybe I can help? I don¡¯t know how to enchant, but with my strength of the ninth circle, making a few decent weapons will not be that hard.¡±

    ¡°You would do that?¡±

    ¡°Of course, but I assume until you get enough money to hire an enchanting master to work under you, which will not take that long.¡±

    Dera¡¯s mood improved, and she happily ate the breakfast, excited to see Arthur enchant a few weapons for her shop.

    Before leaving, Arthur used his connection with Sully to talk with him, but it did not work.

    ¡°They all probably returned to Slyvian, which is why I can¡¯t talk to him. Not a problem, as I can easily reach Slyvian now.¡± Arthur thought.

    Now that he was in a new realm of power, his tier 9 teleport and tier 9 flight skills would make the journey much easier. Arthur guessed that instead of days to reach Slyvian, he could reach it in one hour or less.

    The thought of it made him gasp in astonishment. It seemed that the difference in ranks got bigger as one climbed thedder, and now he was even stronger than before.

    After seeing that the connection with Sully would not work, Arthur left his vi with Dera. Their destination was the shop.

    ¡°Akhur! Good morning!¡± Jhazaken said.

    It was the dark elf Arthur met the moment he moved to that vi. During the past three months, he barely went outside hisb but still tried his best to get new connections, and Jhazaken, being arade dark elf, helped him in that regard.

    ¡°Good morning!¡± Arthur said.

    The two shared greeting daily but did not speak further as both understood they had things to do.

    Everyone inside the capital had calmed down after these three months, and the heavy atmosphere of it had vanished. For them, that elf who killed their entire army did not appear to end their lives, which was already a win for them.

    It was a sense of peace, but more than anyone, Arthur knew it would notst. Now that he reached that level of power, he wanted to talk with the leader of the darknds and make them flee this piece ofnd, going towards the central continent.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this n will work, though. Why would they trust my words? Also, sharing the way of leaving this ce might be a dumb idea. Hum, what else can I do? Right, how did I not think of it earlier?¡±

    Arthur could do that, or he could subdue the leader of the dark races, making him obey hismands, or he would die. Not only that, butmanding their children as well, as the family in charge of the darknds, never changed.

    Arthur would kill them if they did not coborate, crushing their life force. He even had the idea of using all of his essences to imnt a mighty spell, maybe at tier 10 or even tier 11, which was equivalent to a rank-one official mage.

    That is why the spell would also detonate, destroying the entire darknds and everyone in it. Arthur hoped it would not reach that point, but one that had to be done was a wrong move.

    ¡°Here, this is my shop! Did you like it?¡±

 Chapter 193 First Enchantment

    They stopped in front of a medium-sized shop with an anvil symbol. It was the weapon shop Dera had opened up in the capital, and sadly it was not seeing many customerstely.

    Themerce of normal weapons was not in demand anymore, as most people who looked up to weapons were also adventurers with certain knowledge about magic. Therefore, they would look for magical weapons.

    Magical weapons were not just enchanted weapons but weapons made of rare materials, which were harder to find and deal with during the creation process.

    Arthur went in with Dera to see the insides of the shop. Unlike before, Arthur now wore a robe again, and with his new strength, he looked even more mysterious.

    Dera opened up her shop and showed Arthur around. It had the main room where most of the weapons were disyed, basically the only room avable for themon customer.

    There was a bathroom, but that was only used by Dera and those who worked under her, which were zero at the moment. A forging room where she created all the weapons of her shop, a storage room, and an empty room where Dera nned to be her bedroom.

    She did not make the bedroom yet because Arthur let her stay in his vi and never said anything about her moving out. It seemed he did not care if she lived there, and Dera did not have the money to buy the furniture for her bedroom.

    While she was showing the shop, the bell rang, and a customer entered her shop. It was a small green goblin with a staff and a long hat.

    Arthur knew just by looking at him that it was a mage. But why would a mage look for a weapon in Dera¡¯s shop?

    ¡°Wee!¡± Dera said.

    ¡°Hello! This ce sells magical items?¡±

    The moment the goblin said that sadness was evident on Dera¡¯s face. It was a phrase she heard every day, and there was nothing she could do about it now.

    ¡°Depends. What are you looking for?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Well, maybe an essory? A ring or a ne.¡±

    Arthur could tell the mage was not that strong, maybe at the third circle, which meant he was capable of enchanting an essory suited for that goblin.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have it now, but you cane and pick tomorrow. Just tell me your element so we can get you the right essory.¡±

    The goblin was delighted after hearing, as he did not expect that ce to have a magical essory, as these were rarer than weapons.

    ¡°Fire element. I will look forward to it then!¡± The goblin said as he left the shop with a smile.

    ¡°How will we get him a magical fire essory?¡± Dera said.

    ¡°I will make one for you. Be right back,¡± Arthur said.

    He left the shop after that, going to another shop afterward.

    With his knowledge, enchanting a decent essory for that goblin would not be a problem, but he still needed a ring or a ne to enchant, as Dera did not craft these items.

    So, he went to a jewelry shop to buy a few pieces.

    ¡°You will take all of them?¡± The shop worker was shocked.

    Arthur bought many rings and nes from the jewelry shop, showcasing his wealth. The attendant packed everything up with a smile, curious about the identity of such a rich customer.

    After returning to Dera¡¯s shop, Arthur went to the room where she crafted the items, saying he would now start the enchanting process.

    He had never tried it before, but a nine-circle mage¡¯s strength would be quite helpful in creating a magical essory.

    ¡°First, pick the right runes.¡±

    The enchanting process consisted in using one¡¯s mana or Spiritual Force to draw specific runes in the target item, creating the wanted effect.

    Each rune had an effect, andbined runes generated new effects. For that essory, for example, Arthur wanted to draw three fire runes on the ring, amplifying its effects.

    These runes would help the user when casting fire spells, increasing their power and diminishing the amount of mana used to cast them.

    That alone made magical essories expensive. Arthur was ready to get all the money he could from that goblin.

    Arthur put a small ring on a table and started his enchanting process. He carved specific runes on that ring using his vast Spiritual Force with clean moves.

    The once in ring now had three different sets of runic words that exhaled a mysterious power. It was not an essory Arthur would use for himself, so the amount of effort he put into its creation was minimal.

    Also, if he started to create unique magical essories, then Dera¡¯s shop could get in trouble. Though he did not believe there was a single person capable of threatening him, it was better to be safe.

    After one hour, Arthur left the room, shocking Dera again.

    ¡°Did you enchant it this fast? This is¡­ incredible. Can I see it?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Arthur tossed her the, and even she, that was not a fire-type mage, could tell it was an extraordinary item.

    He did a quick test before leaving to see if the item was truly decent, and it was! Arthur was happy with it and wanted to learn more about enchanting so that he could make his essories and weapons, which would be far better than what he had made for the goblin.

    ¡°This is an extraordinary ring. With this, I am certain to earn a lot of money!¡± Dera said.

    She could not hold her happiness. It had been tough times for her, still better than her shop in Misty Town, but not enough for her to have a decent life.

    Dera was only now starting on her magical journey, reaching the second circle and also initiating her studies about enchanting.

    ¡°It is, indeed. I will see how the goblin reacts tomorrow and ask him to share this with his fellow mages, which will bring us more customers. Then, I will enchant the rest of the items to sell, making you a good profit. Of course, I want a share of it if possible.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Akhur. Also, can you teach me how to enchant?¡±

    Arthur looked at her and could not find an answer. He was not that good with enchanting, and the only reason he could easily create those items was the gap in strength.

    Those essories were at most good for fourth or maybe fifth circle mages, which was already extraordinary. Butpared to his strength in the ninth circle, it wascking.

    He still had more knowledge than her about it, as Arthur had read tons of books since he first arrived in that world, so he could help her, even if it were only a little.

    ¡°I can, yes, but not today. I have a few things to do. I will be back tomorrow to talk with that goblin.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Many thanks!¡±

    Arthur left the shop and returned to his vi. There, he cast his anchor spell to link the vi to the next location he would go so that his traveling would be more convenient.

    And what ce was that? It was time for him to return to his wives, who would presumably kill him.

    ¡°I will teach Sully a lesson when I get back.¡±

    He activated his flight spell, which now had the mighty of a tier 9 spell, and left the capital like a sh.

    A few passersby saw a shadow flying above the city and gasped in astonishment.

    ¡°Is that an old mage that left seclusion?¡±

    Arthur did not know their thoughts as he flew directly toward Slyvian, the elven capital.

 Chapter 194 A Moment of Pleasure, and a Trespasser

    The new realm of strength Arthur achieved proved to be helpful as he reached Slyvian in 2 hours and not days. Some adventurers and mages could only see a shadow passing through them.

    He did not stop for a single moment, and soon the capital of Slyvian was in his sight. It looked exactly like before, with beautiful buildings, sturdy walls, and a spacious area, home to many elves and humans!

    One of the things that changed after the initial fall of the Dragon Scale Empire was the friendship among elves and humans. Before, the elves would not easily allow humans to step foot inside Slyvian, but now it is amon sight.

    Some adventurers took out missions that led them to the elven forest, and while doing the mission, they would rest and explore the famous city of Slyvian.

    This made the city even more vivid than before, and the harmony between races was something beautiful.

    Arthur changed from his dark elf appearance to his elf appearance. He still had his ck cloak, which instantly caught the attention of some guards.

    ¡°You there,e here, NOW!¡± a young elf said.

    It was one of his first days as a guard, and seeing that strange cloaked figure entering the capital, the youth saw an opportunity to catch a criminal and get some points with everyone.

    ¡°Take off your cloak and stay still,¡± the elf said.

    The guard spoke everything with a clear tone of anger, as if he was dealing with a criminal. Arthur was an experienced person and could tell the nervousness of that youth.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s his first day? I feel kinda bad now.¡±

    Arthur took out his cloak, showing his face that was well-known to most elves and humans but not to that specific guard that was talking with him.

    That elf came from one of the settlements and seeing how Arthur was not around when he came, he never saw his king. Merethyl wanted to build a statue of Arthur to make him forever engraved in Slyvian but did not have the time to do so with the craziness of the war, which had calmed down only now.

    While the newly recruited guard was searching for illegal things that Arthur may possess, another guard, who was a captain, saw that, and his entire body trembled, almost fainting on the spot.

    He ran towards them and knelled, asking for forgiveness.

    ¡°I am so sorry, my king. This guard is new and thus doesn¡¯t recognize your greatness. I will personally punish him after this!¡±

    ¡°What? K-King?¡±

    The guard could not believe what he heard, shaking like his captain. He had done everything to reach that position yet treated their king badly.

    What did that mean? If Arthur wanted, he could sentence that elf to death. After knowing that, the young elf knelled beside his captain, begging for forgiveness.

    ¡°Please, stand up. It was nothing. He was doing his day-to-day routine. It was my fault to enter looking suspicious.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your kindness, my lord,¡± the captain looked at the youth beside him and said, ¡°say it!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your kindness, my lord!¡±

    Arthur did not mind these two as he flew away from the main gate, showing his face. Many elves and humans instantly recognized him, bowing and expressing their love for the king.

    He flew directly towards the neighborhood where most of his students and wives lived. It was a closed section, and only specific people could get in.

    When Arthur reached that location, Jane and Wisa were the first to greet him. First, a hug.

    ¡°Husband! It¡¯s been so long!¡±

    After the loving part, it was time for the fight.

    ¡°A little bird told me you lived in a mansion while we were camping in the woods looking for you. That can¡¯t be true, right, husband?¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°About that¡­¡±

    Some students said that Wisa tried to attack her husband to vent her anger, casting fire spells, her specialty, only to nothing as Arthur was immune to low-ranked fire spells.

    When everyone calmed down, Arthur exined everything to his wives. He intended to share some information with Merethyl, but not the whole.

    The part about George, for example, and his Monlog bloodline would have to remain secret.

    Arthur exined the realms of power, the central continent, and the bloodline transfer. George had said it would be the best way possible for them to increase their power and not have to leave their husband¡¯s side.

    Wisa was the first to agree, saying she would be the first to test out the transfer method so that her student would not have to deal with it.

    ¡°Wisa,¡± Jane said, hugging her teacher.

    Jane also wanted to have that bloodline after hearing everything Arthur said. She wanted to explore the world, and the thought of her husband leaving for another continent or even another was daunting.

    She wanted to be part of it, and seeing how powerful the bloodline was, Jane was even more eager to have it.

    ¡°But remember, you can¡¯t use the true power before reaching the rank one Official Mage, or else you will go berserk.¡±

    The berserk state was something Arthur learned about in the worst way possible. Now, about the transfer, it would require some time to perform, and Arthur still needed to go back to his vi the next day, which meant it would have to wait for some time.

    ¡°No problem, husband. But do you think they will leave for the central continent? The people there will not easily leave theirnd.¡±

    ¡°I know, but I was thinking about doing this¡­.¡± Arthur exined his method of stealing their life essence, and surprisingly, Jane and Wisa agreed to it.

    Arthur looked at his wives with a smirk when the exnation was over. They also looked at him and understood instantly.

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    Moans echoed through their house as Wisa¡¯s boobs bounced. She was in a doggy-style position, her favorite.

    ¡°Fuck, I missed that.¡±

    Jane watched everything from the side-line, ying with her pussy and boobs.

    ¡°Come here, Jane,¡± Arthur said.

    He put her in bed, pulled out her purple hair, and fucked her hard. It was so intense Jane rolled her eyes with pleasure,ughing as well.

    ¡°Make me your bitch.¡±

    ~~~~

    The trio went out of the house and appeared as if nothing had happened. No one heard their teachers¡¯ moans or sentences with the sound-proof formations around the house.

    Now that Arthur better understood how the world worked, he called out to Kai to give him a wyvern meditation technique he found inside his book.

    ¡°Thank you, master.¡±

    Another great student everyone praised was Theo, the once problematic kid of Odemore. Arthur could not share his bloodline with him, but he would try his best to find a suitable high-grade meditation technique once he reached the central continent.

    Arthur went to see Merethyl, exined to her a few things, and returned to his vi using his teleportation technique, the anchor he put before leaving.

    The moment he stepped out of hisb, Arthur saw the ruined furniture inside his house as if someone had broken in.

 Chapter 195 Meeting with a Queen

    ¡°What happened?¡± Arthur thought as he stepped out of hisb.

    The entire vi was a mess, with broken furniture and books scattered all over the floor. Someone broke in and was looking for something, but how?

    Arthur had spent lots of time creating the formations around his vi, and even though the city had lots of criminals, it was not to the point of people breaking in without the guards noticing it.

    Also, this vi was in a rich area of the city, making it safer than the rest of it.

    ¡°I should ask Jhazaken to see if he saw something.¡±

    Jhazaken was his neighbor, a dark elf who was also a mage. Arthur barely went outside, but every time he did, he would take the chance to chat with Jhazaken.

    He left his vi and went to the vi on his right side.

    ¡°Jhazaken!¡± Arthur yelled, and within seconds, a youth appeared.

    ¡°Akhur, hey. Is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Actually, yes. I was away, visiting a few shops in town, and when I return to my vi, everything inside was a ruckus. Someone broke in and destroyed the ce.¡±

    ¡°What? No, this is impossible,¡± Jhazaken said.

    Jhazaken still remembered when Arthur put all of those formations that even he couldn¡¯t break, and now someone easily broke in? It made little sense.

    ¡°I am so sorry, Akhur, but I heard nothing. I was inside myb working in a few experiments, and that ce has a soundproof formation, so if someone broke in while I was there, then I did not hear.¡±

    ¡°No problem. See youter.¡±

    Something inside Arthur was telling him that Jhazaken was acting weird. Could he be lying about this? If anyone could crack those formations that it could be him who saw Arthur ce them.

    Arthur saw no reason to go after him without proof, so it was the best if he first tried to find some clues about the invasion.

    Back at his vi, Arthur stood there, looking at all the damage the trespasser did. With a focused mind and sharp senses, Arthur smelled everything with his dragon senses.

    Dera¡¯s scent, the smell of food, flowers from his garden, and¡­

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    There was a strange smell that Arthur could not recognize, which meant it was possible from whoever broke in.

    ¡°This does not smell like Jhazaken at all, but he could still be involved, so I should be careful.¡±

    It was a smell Arthur never came in touch with. He recorded that scent so that he could recognize the owner with they ever meet.

    Arthur went to the same ce where he bought the vi, as it also offered cleaning services.

    ¡°Someone dared to break in? I will send someone to clean it up and add more guards around your area.¡±

    He was pleased with the quickness of that attendant, so with a bright smile, Arthur returned to Dera¡¯s shop, which was as dead as when he had left.

    ¡°No costumers?¡± Arthur said to Dera, who was sleeping on the counter.

    ¡°What? Who? Akhur?¡±

    She was surprised to see him there, but also wanted to hide her face in a hole after Arthur caught her sleeping while working.

    ¡°It is dark already, so close to the shop.¡±

    ¡°Also, someone invaded our vi, but I am already taking care off.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Dera woke up in an instant after hearing it, worried that something could have happened to the ce they lived, but Arthur reassured her that everything was fine.

    ¡°Someone is already there cleaning everything, and I think more guards will now patrol the area. So, let¡¯s go out and eat something in the meantime.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. Let me lock everything.¡±

    The talk about food made Dera hasten up her moves, locking her shop within seconds, and then following Arthur closely behind.

    ¡°The moon is beautiful tonight,¡± Arthur said.

    It was a full-moon, which made everything brighter and beautiful. There were lots of people in the streets, enjoying the night, chatting, eating, exploring. A vivid city that reminded Arthur of his previous world.

    Their destination was one of the fanciest restaurants, which had 5 floors, and the people with more authority would sit in the higher levels.

    A guard stood in the restaurant¡¯s front. Anyone could use the first floor, but the other floors one needed some status to be in.

    The second floor was only four mages between the 1 circle. The third for 2-3, the fourth for 4-5, and the fifth floor was only avable for mages from the 6 circle beyond, and the royal family of the darknds.

    As there was no one with that level of strength as a mage, it was basically only for the royal family. Well, not until Arthur arrived.

    ¡°Excuse me, is it with you I must speak to go onto the higher floors?¡± Arthur said to the guard who was in front of the fancy restaurant.

    That guard scanned both him and Dera with clear disgust in his eyes.

    ¡°Yes, but do you know the rules to go higher? One needs actual strength to do so.¡±

    ¡°Oh, actual strength? Like this one?¡±

    Arthur had his palm facing up, and then circle after circle appeared. He would not cast a spell inside the city. It was only to show the guard that he had the strength to cast such spells.

    He thought about showing his 9 circle prowess, but it would spoil the surprise, so he opted for only 6 circles.

    ¡°I-Impossible.¡±

    Thest time a 6th circle mage appeared in the darknds was a long time ago, but now a youth showed up, making the guard unable to realize what was happening.

    ¡°Wait here, let me talk with my boss.¡±

    After thirty seconds, a man showed up. It was the owner of that restaurant, as well as a 5 circle mage.

    ¡°Can you show me, please?¡± He said to Arthur.

    The guard was skeptical about Arthur¡¯s veracity as a mage, and for that reason asked his boss, who was also a mage, toe and check.

    Arthur did not mind that, and cast once again a tier 6 spell.

    ¡°It is true. You are a 6 circle mage, ha ha ha. Pleasee in. Is she with you? You cane, too.¡±

    The owner of that restaurant was a mage that wanted to one day reach the status of a 6 circle mage, as he was close, yet could not reach the next step. So, he treated Arthur even better, hoping to have a chat that would benefit him on his mage journey.

    They kept going up, and everyone who was on each floor could not believe the status of that young dark elf.

    ¡°What floor is he going to? Fourth? Fifth? Who is he?¡±

    ¡°Maybe a lover of the queen?¡±

    ¡°Shhh, don¡¯t say that. Don¡¯t you know she is there on the fifth floor? What if she hears you?¡±

    When Arthur heard those conversations, a smile formed on his face.

    ¡°So the leader of the darknds is here? What a coincidence.¡±

 Chapter 196 Confrontation

    They made their way up to the fifth floor, which had an ample space with tons of tables, yet only one had people in it. The queen of the darknds.

    She was waiting for her food while looking through the window of the restaurant, gazing at the moon and the people who were walking down the streets.

    The queen of the darknds was also a dark elf. Arthur did not know her name, but people usually called her matriarch.

    When Arthur reached the fifth floor, the queen nced at him with apparent surprise. She knew well those who could step on the fifth floor, and it was usually just her.

    Who was the mysterious dark elf? This was the question that crossed inside her mind.

    ¡°Should I invite him over?¡± The matriarch thought.

    That thought vanished when she saw that Arthur already had someone with him.

    ¡°This ce is incredible.¡±

    The title of the fanciest restaurant in all darknds was well-deserved. It had fifth floors with lots of space, neatly arranged tables, candlelights, and enormous windows for an astonishing view.

    It was made of a white-type of stone, as beautiful as marble, and resistant too. Arthur sensed the formations around the restaurant, and based on his calctions, it would withstand the attack of a seven circle mage.

    Well, considering the matriarch came to that ce often, it was bonded to have good security.

    ¡°I bet there is even a secret tunnel underneath so that the matriarch can escape if anything happens.¡±

    The owner of the restaurant led Arthur and Dera to a table somewhat far from where the matriarch was, but it was still within sight.

    ¡°You can have this table. It is one of the best. Here, take it,¡± he said, giving them a food menu.

    Arthur disliked the idea of not having the rights to choose his own table. He guessed it was just to prevent them from getting close to the matriarch, as Arthur was a strong mage who might be a threat to her.

    A few strong mages hid in the shadows of the fifth floor, invisible to themon eye, acting as protectors of the matriarch. Arthur saw all of them and could onlyugh.

    ¡°Dera, what do you think we should eat?¡±

    ¡°Hum, let me see. I think the fried flying snake is wonderful, as well as this special sd. Maybe the stew as well? It has the meat of wild snow boars, quite rare, if you ask me.¡±

    ¡°All right, we will take all of that.¡±

    Money was no problem for Arthur, and the owner of that restaurant also said something about a discount ¡ª which was nice.

    The matriarch who was a few tables away kept ncing at Arthur and Dera, which made them somewhat ufortable.

    ¡°Today is the day we will have a real talk, but first, eat.¡±

    It was the first step of his n of total dominance of the darknds. Before going to that restaurant, Arthur would still wait a few days before going to talk with the matriarch, but now destiny reunited them together, and he could not let that opportunity go to waste.

    After ten minutes, all the food was ready. It was fast, and that pleased Arthur. The smell was nice as well, and Arthur ¡ª being the hungry beast he was ¡ª could not wait to destroy that food.

    ¡°So good!¡±

    Dera ate ferociously, which surprised Arthur. It was not every day that she could eat something as good as what they were eating, so she might as well take the opportunity and go all out.

    The only people on the fifth floor were them, and the matriarch over there, which meant Dera did not have to keep appearances, resulting in a fric eating.

    Well, if she knew lots of mages were watching their every move, then maybe she would not behave like that. Would Arthur share that information with her? Of course not.

    He simply sat there, ate his food, and chilled. The mages who were watching them could not understand how rxed Arthur was. They knew he was a 6 circle mage, which meant he had long sensed all the mages there, yet he act as it was nothing in his eyes.

    The fact was that it wasn¡¯t. A 6 circle mage would have no chance of winning against that many mages, but a 9 circle mage with a giant and dragon bloodline? It would be a piece of cake.

    When both of them were done with the eating, Arthur said, ¡°let¡¯s go talk with the matriarch.¡±

    ¡°Matriarch? What?¡± Dera said. She had been so immerse in her eating that did not realize the highest authority in all the darknds was right there in front of them.

    ¡°Can I sit here?¡± Arthur said, pointing to a chair which was right in front of the matriarch.

    ¡°Sure, why not?¡±

    Arthur sat there and looked properly at the matriarch. She was gorgeous, with soft ebony-hair, and different from the other dark elves who had red eyes. She had blue ones.

    The need for a disguise was over. Arthur returned to his normal human appearance, right in front of her. His ck hair was now long, as he did not cut it since his first arrival in that world.

    ¡°Right, before I forget. If any of the mages that are hiding in here move an inch, I will kill you,¡± Arthur calmly said.

    ¡°I¡¯m Arthur, you?¡±

    ¡°Adrid. Brave of you being a human inside the darknds.¡±

    ¡°Bravery? No, you got it wrong. It is called strength. I can destroy this wrecked piece ofnd along with everyone in it if I want to, but that would beme.¡±

    All the hidden mages moved, but Adrid made a hand signal, making all of them stay in ce.

    ¡°What do you wanting in here?¡± Adrid said.

    She was not dumb. If the other party finally showed its true appearance inside the darknds, then it must have an extraordinary strength to protect itself, so making a move wouldn¡¯t be wise.

    ¡°Stop the warpletely. I know you want to get the Dragon Scale Empire to have a decent piece ofnd, as this one you have here is utterly trash. But what if I told you there is a central continent where there isnd avable for you to take? Also, there are dark races there, too.¡±

    Arthur was sure that n would not work, but he asked her anyway.

    ¡°You want us to withdraw from ournd? Impossible.¡±

    With a pitiful look, he gazed at Adrid and said, ¡°are you sure you want to challenge me?¡±

    She could not understand why, but a feeling deep down was telling her that whoever was in front of her at that moment was someone she could not mess with.

    ¡°I will. What type of leader would I be to give up in front of the enemy?¡±

    Adrid waved her hand, and all the mages that hid in the restaurant attacked in unison. The restaurant had a protective formation, so they did not hold back and attacked with everything they got.

 Chapter 197 Bloodline Transfer (1)

    Arthur did not move a single inch. Dera, who was beside him, was scared to death, afraid it would turn to be the day she died.

    He grabbed her arm and said, ¡°do you trust in me? Don¡¯t move, there is no way these weaklings can harm us.¡±

    The matriarch was still in front of him and thought Arthur was being too cocky for someone who was surrounded by enemies.

    All different spells came from all directions, trying to end Arthur¡¯s life in one go. These mages were not concerned about Dera¡¯s life, as it was a small price to pay for the annihtion of a strong mage.

    As for Arthur, all he did was his hand, creating a powerful magical barrier around him and Dera. The spells they were so proud of hit the barrier and did nothing.

    The magical barrier was at the tier 9, which was something impossible for those mages to break. When Dera realized there was nothing to fear, she rxed.

    ¡°Impossible. How?¡± Adrid said. She could not understand how those countless spells did not pass through the barrier.

    Not only the spells, but they could not even get close to Arthur. The magical field around him made the two invulnerable.

    ¡°I told you to ept the first offer, but honestly? I prefer this,¡± Arthur said.

    Five minutes passed with the mages casting their spells non-stop. They were already running out of mana, but the magical barrier was still as strong as when it was first cast.

    Adrid had to give up in the end.

    ¡°Everyone, leave,¡± she said.

    The mages did not like the idea of leaving her alone, but they also knew that theycked the power to help her.

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Right to the point, hum. Well, your life essence, as well as the life essence of everyone from the royal family.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    ¡°Or you can choose the other option. I will wipe the darknds from the map.¡±

    Arthur was not kidding when he said that. The mighty of a tier 9 spell was incredible, and seeing there was no one strong enough to contend against him now, destroying the darknds would be a simple task.

    Adrid entered deep thought, thinking about all the possibilities, and if there was a way out of it, but there was not.

    She had witnessed the mighty of Arthur, and the only way out was to surrender.

    ¡°Fine. What choice do I have?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t feel so bad about it. I will try to get your people a decent piece ofnd, but one without an owner. Now, your family will be in charge, but thest word will still be mine, and if you do anything, I don¡¯t agree, then consider you and all of your people dead.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. Now, can we go to your pce?¡±

    ~~~~

    The pce where Adrid lived was enormous, all made of a ck-stone. It reminded Arthur of the Gothic churches back in his world.

    Arthur went there not to rx, but to perform the ritual to steal Adrid¡¯s life essence. He could do it with ease, but the n was to get the life essence of everyone that shared the same blood as her, which meant the entire royal family.

    ¡°A human?¡±

    Everyone that was inside the pce fiercely gazed at Arthur, as it was umon for a human to be in the darknds.

    Still, no one dared to mess up with him. Their leader, the matriarch, was just beside him, so it must be a friend of hers.

    A human friend? That was something they would never believe to happen, and sure enough, it was not the case.

    Those mages who were together with Adrid back in the restaurant exined everything to everyone who was inside the pce, and quickly the rumors spread.

    They did not know about the life essence part, but the mighty strength of Arthur was something everyone knew at that point, and the ones who gazed with anger toward Arthur were trembling with fear.

    Adrid led them through the entire pce, until reaching a basement area, which would be perfect for the ritual.

    ¡°You can sit, please,¡± Arthur said.

    There were only a few wooden crates down there, so that is where Adrid sits, with Arthur right behind her.

    He touched her back with his right hand, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

    The idea was to focus on her blood, feeling every part, to steal the life essence not only from that, but from the rest of her family.

    Tick-tack. An hour passed, and Arthur¡¯s forehead dripped with sweat. It was not as easy as he thought it would be, but in the end, it worked out!

    A drop of blood from Adrid came out of her nose, flipping in the air as it had a life of its own. Arthur waved his hand, and it flew toward him, entering inside his mana core.

    Now, all he needed was a thought so that the entire royal bloodline from the darknds seized to exist.

    ¡°Your job now is to make everyone in the darknds see humans, elves, and everyone else in a brighter light,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I know exactly what to do. Don¡¯t worry,¡± Adrid said as she got up from the crate.

    ¡°Do you mean it about finding and for us?¡±

    ¡°I do, yes. But don¡¯t think this wille fast, as I have other things to do, plus I don¡¯t know where an empty piece ofnd could be.¡±

    ¡°No problem. Thank you for sparing my people.¡±

    Finally, a problem was solved. Arthur did that not for himself, but for the rest of the humans and elves.

    He would soon leave for the central continent with his wives, and a few others he felt had the talent to reach the status of an official mage.

    With that settled, there were a few other things Arthur wanted to do before leaving: transfer his Monlog Giant bloodline to his wives, and find Nefion, whose daughter, Eleonora, was also eager to see him again.

    Thest ce Nefion had been seen was back in the Rhupia Kingdom, which was the ce of birth of Jane, and where Frostpeak academy was.

    ¡°I wonder how Marget is doing,¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°Will you leave?¡± Dera said. She went toward Arthur and gave him a tight hug.

    ¡°Maybe fate will bring us together again. Remember, if you reach a high-level as a mage, look for a way to the central continent. If I am still there, then I will help you. Also, Adrid promised me to keep you safe and also help with your shop.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, Adrid? Someone broke into my vi, and even though I am leaving now, you must find the culprit for me and kill it.¡±

    Arthur was not feeling like wasting his time trying to find whoever it was. The thing he needed to do now was transfer the bloodline to his wives, find clues about Nefion ¡ª if possible ¡ª and then leave for the central continent.

    ¡°The anchor spell is still in cooldown, so flight it is. Well, at least I¡¯ll enjoy the view.¡±

 Chapter 198 Bloodline Transfer (2)

    The dark wastnd was not pleasing to the eye, but after flying for thirty minutes, Arthur was back at the Dragon Scale Empire. He even made a quick stop in the capital, Drakonia, to chat with the humans who were now rebuilding their empire.

    Bill and his family were there, inside the pce. They were already important before, but after the emperor saw they had close ties with the Elven ruler, then they put them at even higher standards.

    Arthur wished he could remain in his normal appearance, but the elves were strict with their ruler, and never in history was the Elven ruler was, in fact, a human.

    Not that Arthur was only a human, but of all the things and creatures he was, an elf was not one of them.

    So, for that reason, he returned to his former appearance of a long-haired blond elf.

    ¡°Akhur, long time no see.¡±

    The moment Arthur went to the pce, Bill and his family were there, waiting for him.

    ¡°Hey, Bill. I came to tell you about that sword I wished you to study. Well, it turned out it was a dangerous weapon, so I had to throw it away.¡±

    ¡°Really? No problem. Would you like to stay for the party tonight?¡±

    ¡°Wish I could. There are some important things back at Slyvian that I must take care of, but maybe next time.¡±

    The disappointment was obvious in Bill¡¯s face, but it soon vanished. Arthur was a king, and he surely had lots of things to do.

    They chatted for a few minutes before Arthur flew away from the capital, going towards Slyvian.

    It took him little effort to reach it, and soon he was within his house, talking with his beloved wives.

    ¡°So the war problem is over? Well done, husband.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. Anyway, shall we start the bloodline transfer?¡±

    George had told Arthur that no problems should appear during the bloodline transfer, as it was a safe method. Few people had ess to that, though, as usually the only way for someone to get that bloodline was being the son or daughter of someone from the Monlog family.

    ¡°I will go first,¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s prepare everything and do it inside the pce.¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur prepared a hot-tub with water, and a few specific herbs that weren¡¯t hard to find within Slyvian. These had the purpose of reliving the pain, and also make the subject fall asleep during thetter parts of the process.

    He also needs a few other things for it to be sessful, and that was an empty sk, like the ones they used to make potions.

    The sk needed to be filled with Arthur¡¯s blood, and then purified so that he could separate his dragon bloodline from it.

    It would not be hard, as the technique George passed to him did exactly that, but it was only meant to purify the blood from other things, and not to purify another bloodline, but it would work the same way.

    ¡°In the future, I hope to give them both bloodlines, but as of now, I will start with the Monlog one first.¡±

    Inside the pce, Jane, Wisa and Arthur were in a room that only had a table, and a hot-tub.

    Wisa was naked, bathing in the hot-tub, while Jane was at the sideways watching everything.

    She was having a good time in a hot bath. Arthur was bleeding out to fill the sk.

    Blood dripped from a serious wound Arthur made on his forearm, filling the sk rapidly.

    After that was out of the way, he put the sk on the table, touched it, and cast the strange technique George gave him.

    It was just like a spell, but harder to perform, and took a longer period. Arthur had his eyes closed, focusing on the blood that was right in front of him.

    For a moment, it felt like he was inside of it, looking at two massive creatures. One, an immense body of a giant, who was all covered in a ck substance, and it looked a lot like a starry sky.

    As for the other creature, it was a massive ck-scaled dragon, whose breakfast was entires.

    Arthur quickly realized who these were, so he shifted his gaze to the giant, ignoring the dragonpletely. After some time, the dragon was nowhere to be seen, and the only thing that remained was that strange giant.

    ¡°Sess!¡±

    Turned out the purification process was a sess, and the only bloodline remaining inside that sk of blood was from the Monlog Giant.

    Now, all he had to do was transfer it to Wisa. The process was painful, but with the special herbs in the hot-tub, the pain would diminish, and Wisa was also someone tough.

    He went towards her, who was naked, and grabbed her big-rounded boobs, squeezing them hard.

    ¡°H-husband? Wasn¡¯t this a bloodline transfer process?¡±

    ¡°It is, and touching the boobs is an important step of it.¡±

    They knew he was just spilling bullshit, but did notin and let it flow.

    Arthur opened up the sk and said, ¡°can you do a minor cut? Any part of your body?¡±

    Wisa always carried a weapon with her, so with a knife, she cut her palm. It was only a slight wound, but it was more than enough for the transfer process.

    The next stepprised Arthur channeling the power of the technique George gave him. At first, nothing happened, but then the blood from the sk moved by itself, flying towards the cut in Wisa¡¯s palm.

    When it entered her blood system, pain stroke her body. It was not something one could easily withstand, and even with the help of the herbs, Wisa screamed in pain.

    ¡°Aggrrr, this shit hurts!¡±

    She screamed, but did not flinch. Wisa endured everything like the strong woman she was.

    Arthur kept channeling the technique, squeezing her boob in the meantime. It was a way to make her awake.

    ¡°I am feeling¡­ great!¡±

    Wisa got up from the hot-tub after all the blood had entered inside of her body, and the pain stopped. She was feeling energetic, and better than she ever was.

    It was a clear sign the bloodline was working properly inside her body, and that nothing bad had happened, just like George had said.

    Arthur sighed in relief and said, ¡°I was scared something bad would happen, but everything turned out just fine.¡±

    He gave Wisa a tight hug, lying his hands on her butt, squeezing it just like he did with her boobs.

    ¡°You horny. After Jane¡¯s bloodline transfer is over, we should have some fun here,¡± Wisa said, grabbing Arthur¡¯s pants, right in that part.

    ¡°Agreed.¡±

    ~~~~

    Jane¡¯s bloodline transfer worked the same way as Wisa¡¯s. Nothing bad happened, and she was feeling well, too.

    The three of them had lots of energy to spare, and being alone in that room with a hot-tub made them think of many possibilities.

 Chapter 199 Home Coming (1)

    The act of having sex inside a hot-tub was something the trio enjoyed. Not caring if someone from the pce could hear, they fucked as if there was no tomorrow.

    Wisa and Jane were full of energy after receiving the bloodline, and that was clear on the way their hips moved above Arthur, who was having the time of his life.

    They were getting better and better at sex, moving their hips and taking the lead in the sex positions.

    Arthur did not stand still either, increasing the speed of his dick thrusts after each second, driving Wisa and Jane crazy.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this getting bigger and thicker?¡± Jane said, as she put the entire cock deep inside her throat, almost choking with it, yet smiling afterwards.

    ¡°Come here, you two.¡±

    He put both of them in the doggy style position, one above the other.

    From his perspective, two tasty pussies were close to each other, just waiting for him to choose.

    ¡°Husband, fuck me first!¡± Jane said.

    ¡°No, me!¡± Wisa said.

    The sight of it made his dick even harder, and without mercy, he put his dick inside of them, first one, then the other.

    Moans of pleasure echoed through that room, and the trio wished that moment never ended.

    ~~~~

    With two of the problems solved ¡ª the war and the bloodline ¡ª Arthur could now focus on the other things he needed to do, and that was to find Nefion, if possible.

    One thing that bugged him was theck of ces for all the students to practice magic.

    ¡°Wisa, do you think Marget would change Frostpeak so that both man and woman study in it? Or maybe we can build a new academy near Frostpeak with Marget¡¯s help.¡±

    ¡°I think the second option is more viable, and an excellent idea. You, me, and Jane will leave for the central continent soon, so it is a good thing to have a decent ce for our students¡¯ practice,¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°I¡¯m nning on bringing some high-grade techniques from the central continent to our academy, so they can also achieve at least the rank of an official mage.¡±

    Jane, who was beside them, said, ¡°is this Odemore¡¯s resurrection?¡±

    ¡°It seems like it.¡±

    They couldn¡¯t just abandon these students, so creating a new academy once again was the right move. It would not be like before, where they lived on an ind without resources.

    The new academy would flourish, and if Marget ¡ª Frostpeak¡¯s president ¡ª helped, then everything would be much simpler.

    Wisa and Jane left first to talk with everyone to see who will go. They were almost certainly all the students, and all the devotees would go without thinking.

    Everyone wanted to learn magic, and even if they did not express it, they all preferred to be inside a human kingdom than in the middle of an elven forest.

    For that reason, Arthur called out to Merethyl and exined to her some of his next steps.

    ¡°Are you returning to Rhupia?¡±

    Merethyl had traveled to lots of ces when looking for the next Elven ruler, as well as running away from the Bone Lord, so it was not umon for her to have heard about such a kingdom.

    ¡°Yes, and after that, continue my journey with my wives. What about you?¡±

    ¡°Well, I also want to leave this ce, but I can¡¯t leave without having someone to take care of this kingdom. Also, don¡¯t feel bad about leaving. Everyone here knows the chosen Elven ruler always leaves, rather by disappearing, or by reaching higher realms of power,¡±

    ¡°You are not someone that will be trapped in a ce like this,¡± Merethyl said.

    Arthur felt happy that she and all the rest of the elves understood him. All the past Elven rulers also left the kingdom, and Arthur had a firm guess that they had left that.

    For one to be the Elven ruler in the first ce, an extraordinary talent was needed, and these people would not stop there, and would try their best to reach additional levels of power.

    ¡°I guess this is a temporary goodbye, Merethyl. Thank you for everything you did for me, and if anything happens here, call me.¡±

    ¡°Take care, Arthur.¡±

    He would never forget how she saved his life back then in Odemore when the Bone Lord attacked. Arthur did not have the strength back then to fight against it, so if she was not there, then he would have perished, as well as everyone else.

    After settling that with her, Arthur returned to where Wisa, Jane, and everyone else were. To his surprise, they were all waiting for him, and their excitement was clear.

    ¡°When will we leave?¡±

    There was still a problem, one that Arthur had forgotten. How would they leave? Myria, who was also there, had a solution.

    ¡°We can use the same portal me and Lilia used to get here, but that will lead us to the inds again, so we will still need to travel by ship until Phuvia.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, as not that far, anyway. At most, it will take us 3 months to get there.¡±

    Arthur was not concerned about that. He still had to meditate in order to break to the tenth circle, and both of his wives were still growing their bloodline.

    The amount of blood they got from Arthur was small, and George had said that it will take them time to mature their bloodline. It was even better for them to take some time to reach Phuvia.

    ¡°So it is settled. Everyone, pack your things, and let¡¯s go. The sooner we are inside a ship, the better.¡±

    ~~~~

    Myria took the lead, showing them the location of the portal she used to get there. It was near to Slyvian, which was a good thing.

    Within a matter of hours, lots of people were in front of a green portal that hid in the bushes.

    ¡°This is the ce?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Yes, this is it.¡±

    Arthur did not believe Myria would trick him, so he went inside the portal first to see what was on the other side.

    A feeling of nausea came to him the moment he stepped through the portal, but it vanished right after.

    On the other side of the portal was a normal ind. Arthur looked at all sides and found nothing, not even a single house.

    The other side of the portal was also hidden behind bushes.

    ¡°They really like bushes. What the fuck?¡±

    He hopped back and shared what he saw with everyone, and they were even more excited.

    ¡°The ind this portal leads to has a decent town. We can get ourselves a ship there, but I think we will need at least three ships for this number of people,¡± Myria said.

    ¡°Money is not a problem. Everyone, let¡¯s go to a new kingdom!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!!!!!¡±

 Chapter 200 Home Coming (2)

    A strange feeling erupted inside everyone present, but mostly in everyone who once lived in that archipgo. Not mattered how they looked at it, it was still their home.

    As for everyone who came from the tribes in the desert, it was strange to be there.

    ¡°Look at how much water there is!¡± someone from the tribe said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t drink it,¡± Arthur said, worried that one of them might drink sea water.

    For most of these tribe members, it was their first time seeing the sea.

    ¡°The town should be nearby, but I don¡¯t think we can enter with that many people,¡± Myria said.

    They had appeared inside that ind out of nowhere using that portal. Arthur did not know who was the strongest person in the archipgo was.

    It was a mysterious ce that still needed exploration. Who knew what dangers could lurk? So for that reason, everyone waited on the other side of the shore, away from the city.

    Arthur and Myria went in with the goal of buying two ships.

    Guards were in front of the gates, making the day-to-day routine.

    ¡°Some things never change.¡± Arthur thought.

    A quick search and they were good to go. They could not help but think about the difference between the archipgo and the Elven kingdom.

    The mighty and beauty of Slyvian far exceeded that of those cities. Even the biggest city in the archipgo could notpare to it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the port area.¡±

    With one goal in mind, both Arthur and Myria did not care for anyone or anything inside that city, and simply walked towards the port area to buy their ships.

    There, a fatty vendor was sitting on a chair, waiting for a customer to look at the ships he had to sell. No one did, as why would they?

    Those who bought ships were pirates, and pirates would not go to that ind.

    ¡°Excuse me. I want to buy a ship. Show me the biggest who can fit more people.¡±

    The fatty vendor heard those words, but it took him some time to realize the meaning behind them, and when he did, a huge smile formed on his face.

    ¡°Y-YOU will BUY A SHIP? Look, this is the¡­.¡±

    He showcased all the best ships he had, and Arthur bought two of the biggest.

    Speed was not something he was looking for, but space. There were lots of people that needed to go along, so space was the most important aspect of a ship in that moment.

    Money was not an issue for him, at least not to buy mundane stuff, so he paid the fatty a few hundred gold coins for the ships.

    They still needed to buy some food for their trip, and even though it was a small town, it was something easy to find.

    Within thirty minutes, both ships had many crates inside, and these had a magical symbol carved in it so the food did not rot.

    It was basically potatoes, rice, meat, and that¡¯s it. They would not have the luxury to choose.

    Fresh water was also important, but any mage could cast that, so it was not something Arthur needed to worry about.

    Back at the port, Arthur said, ¡°you drive one and I the other. As we don¡¯t have a crew now, let¡¯s just use wind or water magic to move it.¡±

    One of the many perks of being a mage was to do things like that. Arthur hopped inside one ship, waved his hand, and controlled the water beneath the ship, making it move to where he wanted to.

    ¡°Sailing a ship with magic is way easier, but I don¡¯t have the patience to control the water for over one hour.¡± Arthur thought.

    ~~~~

    On the horizon, two immense ships came towards a shore where lots of people were waiting, jumping in excitement. Not only people, but it seemed there was a wyvern with them, which made the scene even funnier.

    ¡°Everyone, jump in. We already got the food, so we are good to go!¡± Arthur said.

    The students and devotees were not experienced sailors, so driving the ship in themon way would not be possible.

    ¡°All right, everyone. I think all of you can control the water to move the ship, even if your element is not water. We will work with shifts.¡±

    No oneined, and soon tworge ships left the ind, going towards the kingdom they once lived.

    ¡°Excited to go back?¡± Arthur said to Eleonora, who was inside his captain¡¯s cabin.

    Not only her, but Wisa, Jane, and Harmony were there. Harmony had been helpful since the start, teaching the students and taking care of them while everyone was away.

    Arthur wanted to repay her, but giving the bloodline would be too extreme, so his idea was to get her a high-grade technique so that her mage journey did not end.

    ¡°I am. I guess we all are.¡±

    ¡°Now that we are returning, it reminds me of Hiley. She helped a lot back in the pce when I came to rescue you, Jane.¡±

    ¡°Thinking of trying to find her? We have no clue about her whereabouts,¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°What happened to her, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Well, remember when I told you Myria and Lilia moved out of Odemore by themselves to explore the world? Hiley did the same, but we do not know if she stayed in the archipgo or moved out to another ce.¡±

    Wisa had told him before that Hiley had left Odemore just like Myria, but different from them, Arthur did not find her again. Deep in his heart, he hoped she was okay, and that perhaps fate would reunite them again.

    ~~~~

    The number of days they all spent inside that ship was unknown to them, but soon a familiar city was within sight, Rento.

    It was the city they once used to flee Rhupia. Rento looked as vivid as ever, and Arthur entered a deep thought if he should hide his identity or not.

    ¡°Well, considering Jane and Eleonora are both princesses of this kingdom, and you did not kill the king, it was already dead, possessed by something else. So, you are innocent, and should not have to worry,¡± Wisa said.

    Arthur was not scared, as he knew there wasn¡¯t someone in his realm of power inside that kingdom. During their ship trip, Arthur and his wives had a lot of fun, which gave him a few extra levels, thus his normal mana pool increased again.

    With the increase of the mana pool, Arthur practiced the Monlog Giant Meditation Technique, condensing his mana into Spiritual Force, getting closer and closer to the tenth circle.

    He was notpletely in it, but was at the peak of the ninth circle. That meant even if my a miracle Rhupia kingdom had someone of the ninth circle, it would still not be a match for Arthur.

    ¡°I also have my dragons skills, which I can only practice outdoors and without people around.¡±

    It had been quite some time since hest practiced his dragon skills. These were more vtile, thus practicing inside a closed space was not rmended, and it had to be in secret as well.

    ¡°We are finally here. Shall we make a quick stop at the castle?¡± Eleonora said.

    Arthur, who was just beside her, answered with a smirk, ¡°absolutely.¡±

 Chapter 201 Melinda

    Rento was not that far from the capital of Embercoast, where the royal family lived.

    Arthur was not scared to share his true identity, but he still wore a hooded-cloak to not attract that much attention.

    The students and devotees were with him, as well as Sully, who turned small to fit in a pocket. It had been a while since he did that.

    ¡°Shall we part ways?¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°What¡¯s your n?¡±

    ¡°Well, Jane and Eleonora are the ones that can help you with your innocence, so I thought that I, Myria, and Harmony can lead everyone else to Frostpeak.¡±

    ¡°All right, we can do that. Sully, go with Wisa.¡±

    If Arthur went inside Embercoast with that many people, then he would surely attract attention. Also, what could they do to help, anyway? It was more likely that they would be in danger.

    They parted ways after deciding that. Wisa knew a different way to reach Frostpeak, so that they would not pass close to the capital.

    As for Arthur, Jane, Eleonora and Myria, well, they had to go on the normal path, walking toward Embercoast. The day was sunny, but the people did not seem happy, and their facial expressions looked as if something was bothering them.

    Arthur went to one of these people, a farmer who was taking care of its crops just outside Rento. He kept his hood low, making sure the man would not recognize him.

    ¡°Hello, brother. I was away in plenty of mercenaries missions, and yet now that I return home, it seems people are concerned with something. What happened?¡±

    The farmer stopped what he was doing and looked at Arthur with a surprised face. ¡°you¡¯ve been away so long? Well, let me tell you. Do you know the Shukar Empire? The one that is close to us.¡±

    ¡°I do, yes.¡±

    ¡°Well, a strange horde of beasts came from there, and they seemed endless. Phuvia is now at war against these beasts, so if you want some more missions, I am sure they will have some that pay well.¡±

    ¡°As for us here in Rento, we are concerned, but not that much. We are blessed to live just near the sea, and if something happens, then we can all hop on ships and leave.¡±

    ¡°I see, many thanks.¡±

    Arthur returned to his group, who was just waiting in the road, and exined it to them.

    ¡°What? We need to get the word to Wisa,¡± Jane said.

    ¡°Wait here.¡±

    They had just parted, and with Arthur¡¯s teleport, he quickly arrived in front of Wisa, exining it to her before leaving again.

    He was not that concerned as Frostpeak, just like Rento, were on the edge of the kingdom, and both had sea close to them as an escape route.

    Still, it did not mean Wisa couldn¡¯t get attacked before arriving there, so Arthur felt it was wiser to let her know beforehand.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue forward. With this crazy war going on, maybe they forgot about you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I am the person who killed the ¡®king¡¯.¡±

    ¡°What are you afraid of? There is no one in this ce near you level of power. Let¡¯s just talk with my family. I am sure they understand now that father was not father anymore.¡± Jane said.

    There was no way the royal family wouldn¡¯t search for more informations after what they saw with the king. The only reason for them to be looking for Arthur was to give a culprit to everyone put the me on.

    What about now? If they truly continued in the dark without looking for more information about what had happened to the king, then Arthur could not me them for their foolishnesses.

    Embercoast, the capital, wasn¡¯t that far from Rento, and with a matter of hours, Arthur reached it.

    He did not use the normal entrance, as the guards would surely recall who he was, and that would lead to problems right at the entrance. So, Arthur turned invisible and fly above the city.

    Jane, Eleonora and Myria entered the normal way, and perhaps the guard was a new one, as it did not recognize the two princesses.

    They went inside without problems, thus meeting with Arthur right after that, going straight towards the pce.

    ¡°This ce looks dark,¡± Arthur said as he looked around Embercoast.

    The ce still looked vivid with people trading stuff at the streets, but it was not like before where they had smiling faces and the goodies were of all kinds.

    Now, most of the things were weapons, potions, books with spells, and everything rted tobat. The war against these creatures made them shift their gaze to that, and lots of people walked around the streets wearing armor and with weapons behind their back.

    Turn into a mercenary was a profit way of living now, but also dangerous. Lots of people joined the adventurer¡¯s guild to earn big with the war, taking on dangerous quests with bountiful rewards.

    ¡°You can tell by the atmosphere that these are war times,¡± Arthur thought.

    While he was walking towards the pce, Arthur tried to guess what were those beasts that were attacking the kingdom. If he was not mistaken, these surely came from a dungeon, but why now?

    Also, if they were already in Phuvia, does it mean that the Shukar Empire had fallen? Their situation was not good before the beast invasion, so Arthur would not be surprised if they truly had perished.

    ¡°It feels like a long time since I have been here,¡± Jane said, looking at the building in front of her; it was the pce.

    Eleonora was also been away from home for quite some time, but Jane was way longer. Mixed feelings grew inside both of them.

    ¡°We will be all right. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    There were lots of guards in front of the pce, and they immediately looked at Arthur and the others that were arriving at the pce.

    ¡°Who are you? And what businesses do you have here?¡±

    Jane and Eleonora took the lead.

    ¡°I am Jane, the princess, and this is Eleonora, the other princess. Move out of the way.¡±

    The guards were stunned for a moment. Two princess who had those names had vanished some time ago, and with the beast invasion, the royal family was concerned that something might have happened to them.

    Now, though, they had returned to the royal pce.

    ¡°Go on, mydy.¡±

    Everyone moved out of the way, so Arthur and Myria followed closely behind. Jane and Eleonora¡¯s arrival created an uproar inside the pce, and within minutes all of them knew they had returned.

    ~~~~

    Inside the throne room stood the queen, and one youth that Arthur did not know yet.

    The queen was Jane¡¯s mother, Melinda. As for the king, it seemed they did not have anyone to take the position, and the prince was too young to take the responsibility.

    It was not umon in that world for the queen to rule alone, especially if one had the strength to do so. Melinda was not an ordinary woman but a sixth circle mage.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she help capture me? With her strength, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Jane, Eleonora, I can¡¯t believe you are here!¡±

    She got up from her throne and hugged both of them. After that, she looked at Arthur and said, ¡°you are Arthur, right? The one that killed the demon who looked like my husband.¡±

    ¡°That is correct. It seems you did the research.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Your wanted poster disappeared a few months ago. Also, thank you for protection my daughters. It means a lot to me.¡±

    Melinda went and hugged Arthur as well. She had a perfect body, and the two soft peaks rubbing against his chest made his breath irregr.

    ¡°You all probably know about the beast invasion, right?¡± Melinda said and then turned his gaze to Arthur once again.

    ¡°Arthur, I know you are strong, stronger than anyone on this continent. I can grant you the power tomand our army against the beasts, as a general, and after this war is over, I can promise you the position of king, if you wish.¡±

    ¡°King? Wouldn¡¯t that mean¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be your wife, just like my daughter is.¡±

    ¡°Mom!¡± Jane¡¯s cheeks flushed.

    ¡°You can¡¯t hide things from your mother. Also, don¡¯t worry, it will only be by name until the prince is old enough to take the seat.¡±

    It was the only move Melinda could think of. The Prince, Jeremias, was too young to take the throne, so she wanted Arthur to act as a provisory king until he was old enough.

    ¡°I can help with the invasion, but soon we will leave this continent, so I can¡¯t act as a king anymore,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s end this invasion first, and if peaceful times are here, then Jeremias will take the throne, and with me here teaching him how to rule, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    Arthur liked that idea. It better suited his ns, but he also wanted to have some fun with the queen. Was he on the wrong side? Would his wives think bad of him?

 Chapter 202 Defending the Kingdom

    Arthur sat on arge meeting table with Melinda and a few generals of the army. They wanted to share all the information they had with him.

    Melinda also wanted to introduce him to everyone else, as he would be the person in charge of all generals. Arthur was okay with the responsibility, and with the power he had, then leading them would not be a problem.

    As for them? Well, they weren¡¯t a fan of having someone who was once a wanted person in charge, but they did not have a saying on it.

    ¡°These beasts came from the Shukar Empire, which is nowpletely wiped out, and attacked our cities on the border. As for the reason behind it, no one knows.¡±

    ¡°We tried to get some information from the few survivors from the Shukar Empire, but they also don¡¯t know where these beasts came from.¡±

    Each general at that table shared some things they knew, which was basically nothing. No one knew where, when, and why these beasts appeared.

    Arthur still remembered the time when he was acting as a teacher in the Shukar Empire when these beasts came out of nowhere. He tried to kill some of them, but those beats seemed endless.

    It was the name situation happen all over again. The Phuvia kingdom army was fighting against those beasts for quite some time, but their numbers never diminished.

    ¡°What do you think, Arthur?¡± Melinda said.

    ¡°I was in the Shukar Empire when the first wave of beasts arrived. No one knows from where they areing from, and it seemed they appeared out of thin air,¡±

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯ believe these beasts are endless, but in a high number. We should keep defending the kingdom, but if their numbers don¡¯ diminish, then a special squad should look for the origins of those beasts.¡±

    They were surprised to know Arthur was there when the first wave of beasts arrived. Still, he who was there did not know its origins.

    ¡°All right. Arthur, you can go with general Louis to the northwest part of the kingdom to defend against the horde. From all the locations, that one is the worse.¡±

    These beasts were attacking the Phuvia kingdom from all sides, but the northwest part was the one with the most attacks, and that is why Arthur was heading there.

    Melinda was not trying to harm him, but needed his strength to protect the most damaged part of the kingdom.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur left the meeting and shared most of the things with Jane, Myria, and Eleonora. They would stay in the pce for some time, at least until the region around Frostpeak waspletely safe.

    Wisa was in that region, but she had many powerful people with her, so even if problems arrived, she would be all right. Jane only had Myra and Eleonora to count on at that moment, so going there was not a wise decision.

    ¡°When I finish cleaning up the northwest part, then I will scout you all there,¡± Arthur said as he gave Jane a kiss.

    Louis was waiting for him right outside of the pce, inside a fancy carriage.

    He was the youngest general, having a handsome face and blond hair. Louis was definitely someone that the girls would want as their husband.

    ¡°How bad is the situation there?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Real bad. The number of beasts there are wayrger than the rest of the attacked area.¡±

    What was the reason for that? Perhaps the answers to these strange beast waves could be found in that location. Arthur hoped so, as both he and Louis traveled to the northwest part of the Phuvia kingdom.

    ¡°What city are we going to?¡±

    ¡°A few viges already fell, and one city as well. We are currently stationed in the Markhar city. It is a fairly big town, so we have a decent wall and watch towers to use against the beast horde. Perhaps that is the reason we are still up and fighting.¡±

    Arthur chatted with Louis along the way to get some information, but it did not take long for both to run out of subjects to talk about, making the carriage silent again.

    The Markhar city was not as close as Arthur hoped to be, and he had to endure a trip in a bouncing carriage for two days before finally reaching their destination.

    ¡°Wee to Markhar city. What do you think?¡± Louis said.

    It was a city like any other, but the cracks on the wall, and a few destroyed buildings, made the atmosphere looked darker.

    A lot of soldiers patrolled the walls and kept watching their surroundings using the watchtowers. The war atmosphere was clear, and the despair was visible to everyone¡¯s faces.

    ¡°General Louis!¡±

    Not only the army, but the other citizens who were still inside the city were happy to see the familiar face of a general again. It was something that brought them a sense of hope, safety.

    ¡°Citizens are still living here? Why didn¡¯t they flee?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Most don¡¯t have a ce to go, and will die for their city. Also, lots of them are helping the soldiers, acting as cksmiths, doctors, and even selling or giving potions for free. Everyone is trying to their best to survive.¡±

    What Louis said had a reasoning, but Arthur still thought it was not an excellent decision to stay in that ce without strength.

    ¡°If I was weak, then I would run to the capital instantly. Why lose my life in a battle I can¡¯t change the oue?¡± Arthur thought.

    Louis quickly showed him the city, but their destination was outside of the city, near the walls, where lots of tents could be seen. It was the ce where everyone from the army was staying. Louis included.

    The biggest tent was his, and he called out all the captains that were around that area for a meeting.

    ¡°This is general Arthur. He is actually the one in charge of all the generals and is our best bet to end the war.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, this is good. One more general means we have a better chance of restoring this part of the kingdom.¡±

    Arthur thought they would not swallow him as their superior, but that was not the case. Everyone was just happy to have one more powerful individual to help them in battle.

    They kept talking about many things rted to the war, but something else disturbed their conversation.

    It was the sound of a horn. Louis instantly knew what it was.

    ¡°A beast horde ising. We should prepare!¡±

    All the soldiers stopped whatever they were doing and prepared for the uing battle. That was a normal urrence for them, so the speed at which they prepared everyone was incredible.

    ¡°How many?¡± Louis said.

    The person who used the horn was a member of the scouting team, who kept close watch somewhat far from the city to get the information about attacks before they happened.

    He looked at Louis with a depressing face, and said, ¡°general Louis, their number is at least the double fromst fight. I don¡¯t think we can survive this.¡±

 Chapter 203 Battle in Markhar City (1)

    ¡°My first hours here and they are attacking already.¡± Arthur thought.

    It was bad luck, but nothing that worried Arthur in the slightest. What if the beast horde was attacking now? It would happen eventually, so thinking about it too much was a mistake.

    Arthur left the tent alongside Louis and the other captains. The first thing they needed to do was gather the army. Not a hard task considering all the soldiers heard the horn, so they were already going into their positions.

    The monsters usually came from one direction, so almost all the army was positioned there. Some soldiers were on the ground by foot, others by horse. The back lineprised archers and mages.

    Another important part of the battleid on the watchtowers where the strongest mages were. These mages took a longer time to cast their spells, but that was not a problem when using the protection of the watchtower.

    When Louis finished setting up the battle formation, he looked at Arthur and said, ¡°Arthur, I¡¯m a mage specialized in meleebat, so I usually fight in the front line. What about you?¡±

    Arthur looked at him and could not think of an answer. He could fight in any area, melee range, midrange, or long range. The best would be to cast the strongest spell he knows and wipe these creatures, but that could also mean harm his own soldiers, and also destroying the environment.

    ¡°I will go in the front line with you. Two generals fighting side by side will make quite the story.¡±

    Louis smiled, and said, ¡°take this armor then. It is the standard general armor.¡±

    The people who fought in the front line usually used te armor for more protection against many attacks. Louis gave Arthur a full te of armor, all in silver. It also had some gold adornments, catching the attention of anyone who saw it.

    As for the weapon, Arthur opted to use the sword Merethyl gave him. George had warned him not to use the Monlog bloodline powers until he was at the rank 1 mage level, as it could drive him mad. So, the ck-sword was not an option.

    Arthur left the tent after changing his armor. The cloak attached to the armor moved with the wind, and the silver helmet he had made him look like a hero.

    ¡°Looking good, brother. Now, let¡¯s go.¡± Louis said.

    They both took the lead to stand in front of the entire army. Itprised about 5 thousand soldiers, plus whoever was in the watch towers or inside the city.

    Not all soldiers were outside, as even though the beasts only attacked from one side in all battles, perhaps they could change that and nk them, so it was better to have a group of soldiers inside to prevent that.

    ¡°Are you ready, Arthur? Every battle here can be yourst.¡± Louis said.

    ¡°Last? Brother, with me here, you don¡¯t need to worry.¡±

    ¡°That is the confidence a soldier needs. Tell me, brother, what gives you that confidence? Some times Ick that.¡±

    ¡°The reason for my confidence? No one ever asked that. Well, the easiest way to have confidence in everything you do is having power. Take this fight, for example. It does not matter how many beasts or what beasts appeared here, I am sure my strength of a nine circle mage is more than enough.¡± Arthur said, giggling.

    Louis looked at him, trying to see if it was a joke, but Arthur was not ying around.

    ¡°No fucking way. How? You look younger than me, and nine circle mages are only from legends.¡±

    Arthur looked at him and said, ¡°it is a secret.¡±

    After that, he turned to gaze at the uing beast horde who wasing in their direction. The beasts inside the horde were a little different from the ones Arthur saw back in the Shukar Empire.

    It had the same beasts as there, but also the addition of new ones. None of the soldiers seemed surprised after seeing that, so Arthur guessed the type of creatures of that horde were only normal.

    ¡°Everyone, PREPARE FOR BATTLE.¡± Louis yelled.

    All the soldiers had their weapons and shields ready. The archers were already preparing their shots, hitting the beast horde before they arrived there, diminishing their number by a small amount.

    As for Arthur and Louis, who were at the front? Well, they were the ones that rushed towards the beast horde.

    Out of the two, Arthur was the fasted, who used his flight spell to reach the beast army within seconds. The first beast that stood in his why was a forest troll, which had 5 meters of height, and had tremendous regenerative power.

    All of that did not matter, as the immense sword Arthur had shed down, cutting the troll in half as if he was a tofu. Louis, who was still catching up to Arthur, saw that and had an expression of admiration.

    ¡°Good attack, brother. Now, it is my turn.¡±

    Louis stopped a little farther from the beast¡¯s horde and entered a strange sword stance.

    ¡°Moonlight sh!¡± He said, shing his sword, sending a white-colored ray which pierced through many beasts, killing at least 10 with one strike.

    Arthur saw it and realized hecked some spells that could be used with the sword. Most of his spells were mage-like longed ranged attacks that took some time to cast.

    The Moonlight sh? It could be used with a sword, and the cast was almost instant.

    ¡°After this fight, I might as well get some simr spells. Does George have any of that type?¡± Arthur thought for a moment before getting his attention back to what mattered; killing all the monsters.

    He dashed through the beast¡¯s horde like a shadow, dodging all attacks with ease and killing those beasts with only one sword sh.

    The beast horde did not stop moving, even with Louis and Arthur¡¯s attacks. Only a few of these beasts would stop to attack them, but the majority would continue rushing toward the army.

    Louis did not think about that, and ssified it as a mere beast¡¯s behavior.

    Arthur did not think it was the case. He had lived in the wilderness for a long time, and was the only person who could rte a lot with the beasts, as he was a dragon and a Monlog Giant.

    Those beasts were not that high-leveled, and neither were intelligent type ones. The moment Louis and Arthur rushed in like that, all the beasts should try to kill them first before continuing doing whatever they were doing.

    Still, that was not the case. All of them acted as if someone was behind them,manding their attack. An intelligent beast, a human mage, who knows what it could be, but Arthur knew the situation had more to it than the eyes could see.

    The appearance of that horde in the Shukar Empire was already strange enough, as if someone had spawned all of those beasts. Now, someone could control those beasts, which gave Arthur more reason to believe something was off.

    He said nothing and continued to attack those beasts with everything he could. The number of beasts was diminishing at a rapid pace, way better than all the other battles.

    Then the ground trembled, as if something huge was walking towards them. Arthur looked in the sound¡¯s direction and could not believe his eyes.

 Chapter 204 Battle in Markhar City (2)

    It was a giant with a fur armor, an immense wooden club, and its skin was blueish, as if it was frozen.

    Arthur did not know if it was a giant from the same race as Wrutzus, the cksmith who was with the rest of the students at that point.

    ¡°Louis, have you ever seen something like that before?¡± Arthur said.?

    ¡°Never, and it seems it is a powerful enemy. What will we do?¡±

    The level above the giant¡¯s head was high, and Arthur did not think Louis could be of any help in that fight.

    ¡°Stay with the rest of the army and deal with the horde. I will fight against this thing.¡±

    ¡°Good luck.¡± Louis said.

    He was not willing to let Arthur fight alone, but Louis could not picture his army fighting without their general to give them the mental support needed to win that fight.

    As for Arthur, he was gazing at the giant, who wasing on his way with blood lust eyes. It did not look like one giant from the Wrutzus race, or someone had altered something on that giant.

    Arthur was not in the time to be thinking about those things. He sped his sword and dashed towards the giant with his gleaming armor.

    Within seconds, both parties met, and a giant wooden club came crashing down, ripping the air as it went, showing the fierce power behind that attack.

    No one sane would try to match strength with a giant, so Arthur used his agility the best way he could, avoiding the slow attack from the giant, passing through his legs.

    The club attack mmed on the ground, creating a hole in it, and it sent waves that even the army next to the city walls felt. It was terrifying.

    With the strength Arthur had on his body, he did not flinch when the waves came, standing at the same ce.

    ¡°It is my turn now.¡±

    The Achilles tendon was the spot Arthur was looking for. It was a spot where usually there wasn¡¯t much defense, and getting a wound there would hinder the movements by a lot.

    Arthur had noticed before the fight started that the giant was not wearing full armor; only a few pieces of fur armor that barely covered his body.

    So, attacking that region was difficult in that situation.

    A sword sh so fast it cut through the air particles, touching the frozen skin of that giant in full force. Arthur was expecting a huge wound, but that was not the case.

    ¡°A minor wound? Well, at least it is getting hurt, so all I have to do is attack more.¡±

    The giant did not turn around after feeling the pain in his foot. It instantly lifted its other foot, and then mmed it on the ground, creating a small scale earthquake.

    It was clearly a special ability of the giant, a spell maybe, because Arthur clearly felt the mana fluctuations.

    Arthur was sent flying with the earthquake for at least 300 meters, breaking lots of trees in mid-air. It hurt a lot, and he was sure some of his ribs were broken after that attack.

    ¡°Fuck. That thing is stronger than I thought.¡±

    He got up and noticed the giant running towards the army. That was the bottom line for him.

    ¡°Are you belittling me?¡±

    The ying was over, and the giant would have to face a pissed Arthur, which was the worst nightmare for lots of people out there, even more for creatures.

    He waved his hands, and magical symbols appeared one after the other. One, two, three¡­ 7 circles. Then, Arthur stopped the mana channeling, releasing a mighty tier 7 wooden spell.

    Life-draining vines erupted from the ground, and each one of these vines was as tall as the giant itself. They circled around the giant¡¯s body, trapping him in ce without the slightest chance of moving.

    Even though Louis was busy fighting alongside his army, he did not stop paying attention to Arthur¡¯s fight, and when Arthur got hit, he was thinking of leaving the battlefield to help him.

    Before he could do that though, Arthur used his tier 7 spell, which shocked Louis to the core.

    ¡°A seven circle mage? How?¡±

    The giant, who looked mindless, did not believe those vines could hold him there, so he tried everything to destroy them, but to no effect.

    Those vines were like the ones that were trapping George, so the life of the giant was slowly getting away, absorbed by the vines.

    With one tier 7 spell, a mighty giant was done for. What was the level of strength of tier 8 spells? 9 or 10. Hell, imagine what tier 11 spells could do.

    Arthur could not wait to reach that level, but first he had to win that fight, which was already going in that direction.

    The giant menace was over, so all he had to do was help the rest of his army, and he knew exactly how to do so.

    He got up and dashed towards the army. It did not take long for him to reach where the fight was happening, and then he cast another spell of the wooden element.

    It was also tier 7, and it created a gigantic Lotus flower, which would open up and send a strange powder which would heal all the wounds of the soldiers.

    ¡°This is incredible. Look at the healing provided from that nt!¡± One soldier said.

    When all of them felt the power of that healing spell, their morale went up by a lot, and for them it was impossible to lose the fight with that support with them.

    The strangest part was that some soldiers were so wounded that it would be impossible to save them, yet the magical powder from that nt healed all of their wounds, and they were basicallying back from the dead!

    Arthur was happy with the power of his spells, and was also d to take the time to learn some healing spells, as those came in handy in situations like that one.

    Even after casting that powerful spell, Arthur did not stand still and watched his army fight. He grabbed his own sword and dashed through the horde of beast, killing lots of them with his sword shes and a few fire spells from time to time.

    ~~~~

    ¡°It is finally over¡­.¡± Louis said. He sat on the ground, tired after fighting that many beasts.

    Louis looked up at Arthur and said, ¡°What will we do with the giant?¡±

    He was referring to the giant who was still trapped in the vines. At first it still had lots of strength, so it tried to break the vines with everything he had, but now? The vines were slowly draining his life, and he did not have the fighting strength it had.

    ¡°I am thinking of studying it. Perhaps find what happened to such an intelligent creature end up like that. Also, I think someone is behind the beast horde, and that someone was controlling the beasts in this fight.¡±

    ¡°You noticed it too, right? When you and I rushed towards the beast horde and they did not stop to kill us, but continued forward.¡± Arthur said.

    Louis nodded, as he had felt something was off in the other times he fought against those beasts.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s go back to the city and rest. I will send some soldiers to clean those beast bodies using spells.¡±

 Chapter 205 Shocking Memories

    Arthur looked at the giant, who was almost passing out after getting its life drained by the vines.

    He went towards it, jumped, and stopped at the giant¡¯s shoulder. Then, Arthur ced both of his hands on the giant¡¯s head and channeled his mana.

    It was not a spell, but an attack that all mages knew. Almost impossible to do during a fight, as the enemy had to be standing still, and weak to not fight back.

    The reason behind that attack was to channel the users inside the brain of the enemy to either get their memories, make them obey the caster, or just make them pass out.

    Arthur wanted the giant to first pass out, as that would make doing the other two things way easier. Within 10 seconds, the giant passed out.

    After that, a youth returned to the city, carrying a giant. It weighed a lot, but with the strength Arthur had, it was within his powers to lift that giant and carry it around.

    The flying skill was of great use, and the people from the city instantly recognized the youth who were flying above the city with a giant.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that general Arthur? I heard he is a seven circle mage, and that he was the reason for our victory.¡±

    ¡°That is correct. My cousin is a soldier, and he told me everything. General Arthur even brought some soldiers back from the dead with his healing spells.¡±

    ¡°Incredible! I also heard he single-handedly defeated the strongest creature of the horde, that giant he is now carrying!¡±

    Arthur heard all of that and could not help but to think that gossip and information spread quickly. The fight had just ended, yet most people knew what had happened already.

    He encountered Louis along the way, so Arthur looked down and said, ¡°can you find me a suitable ce for experimentations with this giant?¡±

    Louis was the general responsible for that area for quite some time, so he knew everything around the city, and also had a personal mansion big enough for Arthur to use in his studies.

    ¡°Follow me.¡± Louis said.

    The ce he was leading Arthur to was his personal vi in the Markhar city. A ce where no one could enter except him, and as he was an important member in the army, the ce was immense.

    It was even bigger than the vi Arthur bought back in the darknds.

    ¡°That building separated from the main one is where I do my personal training, but there is also an undergroundb if you want to use. It is big enough for that giant to pass without problems.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Louis.¡±

    ¡°No problem, brother. You are a key piece of our army now. And my friend.¡±

    Louis waved his goodbyes and then entered inside the main building of his vi, presumably to rest after that intense fight against the beast horde.

    Arthur went inside that separated building Louis had talked about moments earlier and looked for the undergroundboratory.

    It was there, and was so big the giant actually fit perfectly. Arthur thought it was a joke by Louis and that he would have to find a way to put that thing inside theb, but it turned out it was the truth all along.

    He did not know why Louis built everything so big, but would notin, considering that fat had just made his life easier.

    Inside theb, he put the giant¡¯s body on the floor after pushing some tables away.

    ¡°At least the tables aren¡¯t the size of a giant, or else I would worry about the precedence of this ce.¡±

    Now that Arthur had a ce to calmly study that giant, he sighed in relief. The procedures would not take that long, at least not memory scanning.

    Arthur ced both of his hands on the giant¡¯s head again, but now he aimed to scan the memories of that creature to see exactly what had happened to it.

    Nothing urred in the first five minutes of Arthur channeling his mana, but then images appeared inside his mind.

    And it was, ¡°the Bone Lord?¡±

    Images that showed the Bone Lord arriving at a snowy continent, and that is where he saw the giants, which some were dead, and others alive and well.

    The particrly giant Arthur had on hisb was alive, and even talked with the Bone Lord in some of its memories. The Bone Lord tried to conquer those giants, only to fail, as the giant lord was incredibly strong and almost killed the Bone Lord, sending him away from their continent.

    Arthur knew the Bone Lord was not behind the incident, as he had killed him, so he kept checking the memories of that giant to see if there was anything of value.

    Then he saw something that made his body tremble. Inside the snowy continent, there were a few people who were intruders, hiding in it, searching for something.

    He recognized those people as the Doom Order, which worshiped the so-called demons, which were basically people from the Monlog bloodline.

    George had said that the Monlog bloodline is the purest, but there were another type of simr giants who came after the Monlog, producing weaker bloodlines but that shared some of its powers.

    The Monlog was basically the ancestral of all these ¡®demons¡¯, and George said it was not umon for weaker bloodline families to manipte others from lower realms.

    Arthur was almost sure one of these families was ying with the Doom Order, granting them some of these ¡®demonic powers¡¯, which was a way for them to take control of bodies and experiment with their avatars in that realm.

    ¡°Those people are sure bored to do something like that.¡±

    Anyway, the strangest part was not the Doom Order itself, but three people that were being held captive by them.

    The first one was Hiley, a woman who helped Arthur back in the pce, and the two of them had a somewhat romance.

    As for the others, those were two people that Arthur got to know only for a moment, right before getting shot by that arrow and falling into the sea.

    It was Aria, the girl he saved from the wolf before reaching Rento for the first time, the practitioner of the divine arts. And her brother Cedric was there too!

    Arthur knew they had left to explore the world, just like Myria, but never he expected that something as bad as that would happen to them.

    He kept scanning the memories, but found nothing. It was as if whoever got that giant erased that part of the memories in case someone got their hands on it.

    The ns in Arthur¡¯s mind had changed. He wanted to slowly end this beast invasion, and then build his own academy near Frostpeak to make sure his students would have a decent ce to stay, and maybe someday reach the rank 1 mage status, but now?

    There was no way he would let Hiley, Aria, and Cedric in the hands of those bastards. He had to save them, no matter the cost.

    But how would he do that with all the problems he had to face?

 Chapter 206 A Memorable Night

    Melinda had asked him to go there and fight in the northwest region, as it was the most damaged one. Arthur did not want to let her down, but what could he do?

    The visions showed people he cared about, and that was only one part of it. That strange monster horde has something to do with the ce Arthur saw in the memories, so if he went there, he could not only save his friends but perhaps end the beast¡¯s invasion.

    But how would he leave? Everyone was counting on him, and who knows what may happen while he was away.

    ¡°The people I truly care about are safe in the capital and near Frostpeak. Even if this ce falls, not that much of a deal.¡± Arthur thought.

    Louis was the only person Arthur had a somewhat connection while he was there, but that was it.

    With those thoughts in mind, Arthur destroy the corpse of the giant, and then he left Markhar city, straight towards Embercoast to speak with Melinda again.

    Thest time took a long time, but that was because they were using carriages, which are afy but slow way of traveling.

    Arthur liked more his flight spell, as well as the teleports from time to time. It turned a long trip into something done in two hours.

    Inside the pce, Melinda was not in the throne room, but taking a path in her private pool. When Arthur showed up there, she asked for him toe in to the back parts of the pce where the restrict ces were, including that pool.

    She was alone in there, naked. It was more like a thermal font, as the heat was clear with the steaming from the water.

    Melinda had her hair tied, giving her an extraordinary charm, more when one looked at her beautiful mature face, and the body she hid beneath the water looked even better than most woman, with a wless skin, and perfect proportions between all parts of her body.

    ¡°Arthur, my most handsome and strong general. What brings you here? Also, how do you travel so fast?¡±

    ¡°I came as fast as I could to see you,¡± Arthur said.

    It was not his intention to make it sound something else, but Melinda seemed to understand something wrong, as her cheeks blushed, and she got up from the pool, showing her body in front of Arthur.

    The first thing his eyesnded on were the two perfectly rounded boobs that bounced the moment she got up. Arthur could not help but to notice that both nipples looked hard, as if Melinda was excited or something.

    ¡°Did something happen?¡± Melinda said.

    ¡°Look, it is like this¡­¡±

    Arthur did not tell her about the part when he saw his friends on that snowy continent. He only shared the information about the now dead Bone Lord, about the Doom Order and the giants.

    ¡°So the Doom Order has something to do with this? Bastards.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where that snowy continent is? Is it safe for me to go there?¡±

    ¡°The Phuvia kingdom does a lot ofmerce with that ce. You know that most of that continent has snow during one part of the year, but not always. Also, it is like any normal human continent, and those giants you talked about are more like legends to most people there,¡± Melinda said.

    What Arthur had pictured was a continent ruled solely by giants, but it turned out it was just a normal human settlement with those giants living there as well, but rarely seen by the habitants, turning them into legend.

    ¡°It makes sense. Giants were extraordinary in the ancient times, but humans have the superior number and would eventually conquer allnds.¡±

    ¡°Arthur, if you want to go there, it must be a secret, and no one can know. Even though we are doing trades with that continent, they are acting weird, as if they are nning an attack or something. I would send someone there eventually, but you are the most suitable.¡±

    ¡°Another war? With this beast horde as well, things may getplicated. All right, I will go there.¡±

    ¡°Good. I will arrange a ship for you to go there, but you must act as one of their own there, so you must know more about their culture. I have a few books about it in my private library. Do you want to see them?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    On their way there, Arthur asked where Jane, Myria and Eleonora were, and Melinda told them they were probably in their rooms, so he could check on themter.

    Melinda brought Arthur to her private library, which had lots of shelves filled with books. The ce did not have anyone working, so it was calm and devoid of noise.

    The only thing Arthur could hear were the heartbeats from Melinda, who was giving a strange vibe to him.

    ¡°There is no way she will try to ¡®attack me¡¯ here, right?¡±

    Arthur was someone faithful to his wives now, so what exactly was the queen trying to do?

    ¡°Here, this is the book I was talking about,¡± Melinda said.

    The book was a little higher on the shelf, so she had to do some effort to catch it, grabbing a small wooden stair to do so.

    Melinda wore a skirt, and the moment she went up the small stairs to catch the book, Arthur noticed she was not wearing an underwear, showing her pussy right in front of him, again.

    This time, it was more clear to see, and even Arthur, who was trying his best to act normal, could barely resist the temptation.

    ¡°Is it a test?¡±

    Arthur breathed heavily, ignoring what he had just seen, and waited for her to show him the book.

    ¡°This is a general book about how their act in there. Those people are barbarians, so you must be careful while there. Although I am pretty sure there is no one near your level of power.¡±

    She gave him the book, a little wink, and said, ¡°I will notice you tomorrow about the ship. You may stay in the pce for the night.¡±

    After hearing the brief exnation about where Jane¡¯s room was, Arthur left the private area of the queen.

    Jane was inside her room reading a book about magic when she heard someone knocking on the door.

    ¡°Who could be thiste?¡±

    Eleonora and Myria were the people, she guessed, but when Jane saw Arthur standing in front of her, she could not believe it.

    ¡°What are you doing here? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be in the northwest region fighting?¡±

    ¡°We overcame a horde a few hours ago, and with my current speed, it¡¯s easy for me toe here. I am nning on staying the night.¡±

    Arthur looked at Jane, who was already wearing her pajamas, and smirked. Jane did the same. She had a look of horniness on her face, and no one would believe a princess would act that way.

    ¡°Fuck me hard, please.¡± Jane said as she tossed Arthur inside the room and closed the door shut.

 Chapter 207 A Friend is on its Way

    The moment they went inside the room, Jane quickly locked the door, took out her pajamas, andid on the bed.

    Arthur did the same, crawling towards her, kissing her neck, which was something that made Jane crazy.

    ¡°Ahh.¡±

    She put her lips close to Arthur¡¯s ears and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll suck you dry.¡±

    Jane put Arthur with his back facing the bed, turned around, and put her pussy right on his face, as saying ¡®lick it¡¯.

    Before Arthur could do anything, Jane spit on his dick and started her blow job, massaging his balls and put the whole dick in her mouth.

    She was excellent at it, after countless deep throats, and it was so good that it drove Arthur crazy.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, babe. Suck it all the way.¡± Arthur said.

    He would not stand still and let her do all the work. Arthur¡¯s tongue moved, sucking her pussy too, in exact spots that Jane could not resist as well.

    ¡°Ahh, you know my pussy, don¡¯t you?¡±

    They both kept that position for thirty minutes. It was enough for the preliminary.

    After Jane got the bloodline, her body, which was weak as she was only a long-range mage, was getting stronger and stronger, and that caused her stamina and vitality to increase as well.

    Jane was crazy, so she went to the doggy style position, and used her hands, opening her asshole.

    ¡°I want it there, please. Please!¡±

    Arthur smirked and went to work. He spit in her asshole to make it easier to go in, but considering how good was Jane¡¯s blow job, it should not be a problem.

    The first moment when the dick went in, Jane rolled her eyes and orgasmed. Her legs shook, and she had her tongue out, making passionate faces.

    ¡°Fuck me more, more.¡±

    ¡°You asked for it, now endure it,¡± Arthur said.

    He already had a tremendous vigor with his high attributes, which meant he could fuck hard for hours. But seeing how vigorous Jane was, he used the first stage of his transformation, which did not change his appearance, but it boosted his attributes, making his vigor go even higher.

    Then he started pounding on that ass. Jane moaned out loud, unable to resist the pleasureing from her asshole, which was being destroyed by her husband.

    It was only the beginning, though. She kept changing positions to cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, and any other that wasfortable for her to get fucked.

    Jane¡¯s asshole was not the only victim, but her pussy as well. It was dripping with wetness, and seeing that tasty pussy, Arthur could not resist.

    ~~

    A loud snoring. It was Jane who went into a deep sleep after countless orgasms. She was so destroyed after that night that it would take her at least two days to get out of the bed.

    Arthur was not sleeping, but was lying beside her, thinking about the uing trip that would surely be dangerous. He did not have the mind to sleep, so he wandered around in the pce to clear out his mind.

    With the control he had over his body, Arthur could move without making noises, and there was no way the normal guards that patrolled the pce corridors would notice his presence.

    He even used magic to walk on the walls and on the roof. It made him remember of the vampire moves back at his world.

    ¡°I used to watch those movies and now I can proudly say I already killed a vampire. That is incredible.¡±

    Arthur went to the pce¡¯ roof, which could be essible using the stairs. He did not, and felt that flying was cooler, so he flew all the way up.

    Someone else had the same idea, and was watching the city through a balcony. It was Eleonora. Her silver hair floated in the wind, showing the sad face behind it.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t sleep?¡± Arthur said.

    It took Eleonora by surprise, and she immediately put her hands on her chest.

    ¡°You scared me. And yes,¡± Eleonora said as she returned her gaze to the city, ¡°too much things inside my mind.¡±

    Eleonora hoped to learn more about her father with Melinda, or perhaps get some clues in the pce, but found nothing. Melinda was her mother, but she also did not know back then that Nefion was a dragon in disguise.

    If even she, who was Eleonora¡¯s mother, and also the woman that went to bed with Nefion, could not find him, then who could?

    ¡°We will find him, don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t forget that I am a dragon, just like you and him.¡±

    ¡°Arthur¡­.¡±

    She went toward Arthur and gave him a hug. The help he was trying to lend meant a lot to her, and no one will help her the way he was.

    A strange feeling was growing inside her heart since that moment when he rescued her from the cage. It was something she could not exin, but in the meantime, Eleonora was happy to get hugged.

    Arthur hold her tightly, trying tofort her. He could sympathize with her feeling, as he had never had a family before, and wanted to know them as well.

    Eleonora got to know her real father for so little, and then all those bad things happened. It was not something easy to deal with, and that was the reason she was so d Arthur was around tofort her.

    ¡°This ce is high, but don¡¯t you think we can go a little higher? The moon is so beautiful tonight.¡±

    ¡°Higher? That would mean go into the roof itself, but that is impossib- ¡°

    Arthur did not let her finish the sentence, activating his flight spell. He was carrying her in a hug, and within seconds, they were at the highest point of the pce.

    It was hard to stay there without falling down, but Arthur found a decent spot that allowed both of them to sit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I can catch you if anything happens.¡±

    She was still in a daze, but the moment she looked at Embercoast, and at the moon from that higher spot, a calmness entered her heart.

    The sky had many stars, stars that were hard to see if one was not with a clear view of the sky. Eleonora, being at that top spot of the pce, could see everything clearly, and it was beautiful.

    ¡°Thank you, Arthur. I¡¯ll never forget this.¡±

    That memory was something Eleonora would never forget, even after centuries had passed. It was her most memorable memory, the moment her heart was clear it had fallen in love.

    ~~

    Melinda prepared a special ship for Arthur to use in the next morning. It would wait for him at Rento, and countless mages were on board of that ship.

    The reason for it was to make use of spells to make his travel faster, reducing the amount of days from a month to 7 days.

    Arthur said goodbyes to Jane, Eleonora, and Myria before leaving. For them, he would return to the northwest part to fight against the beast horde.

    Not even Jane knew about the real reason for his travel, and the only reason Arthur did not tell her was because of Melinda, who asked him to keep it a secret.

    He could not understand the reasons behind it, but Melinda was someone he trusted, and someone that would not harm her own daughter, so the reasons must be good.

    ¡°I wille see you when I have the chance, but with the increase in the beast attacks, I don¡¯t think I will return so soon,¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°That is okay, husband. Stay safe,¡± Jane said, giving him a warm kiss of goodbyes.

 Chapter 208 A New Place

    The journey to Rento did not take long. It was near Embercoast, and Arthur had a tremendous speed to travel from ce to ce.

    He traveled so fast that the people who were walking on the roads or inside the city could only see a shadow. Once he was there, in the city, a hooded figure was waiting for him in the city¡¯s port.

    It was one mage that would transport Arthur to the other continent.

    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, my lord. Please,e in and rx inside your room.¡±

    The respecting from that mage was clear. Melinda had told them about Arthur¡¯s aplishments, plus the mage was not dumb. He could sense the tremendous mana emanating from Arthur¡¯s body, which only proved that he was a mage in a different realm than the rest of them.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Arthur said.

    There were lots of people inside that ship. Most were mages, but some were merchants that did not know about the mission, and were only going there to trade with the barbarians.

    That continent was snowy during most part of the years, so there were lots of foods that did not grow there, which was why so many merchants traveled there to sell those types of goodies. It was a cheap item to produce, and it gave a good return.

    Arthur did not care about any of that, and simply walked towards the master room of the ship.

    In the deck, before Arthur entered the part of the ship where the rooms were, a tall, muscr merchant stopped him.

    ¡°So you are the person who will use the master room?¡± He said.

    The tone that the merchant used was clearly aggressive, and he had a disgusted face after seeing the poor clothing Arthur had. Well, Arthur was on a secret mission, so he was not wearing fancy clothing like the rest of the mages or the merchants. He had a basic fur clothing that looked simr to the ones people used on the continent he was heading to, plus a cloak to hide his appearance.

    ¡°Yes, I am. Any problem with that?¡±

    ¡°I have, actually. I don¡¯t see you being better than me.¡±

    ¡°Better than you? You are thinking too high of yourself to think that you can evenpare to me, peasant.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    In the next moment, a punch came towards Arthur, who only moved his left hand, grabbing the merchant¡¯s fist as it was nothing.

    Arthur stared at the man and said, ¡°this time I¡¯ll forgive you, but do it again and you are dead.¡±

    He exerted little strength, breaking all the fingers of that man¡¯s hand. The merchant did his best to not yell and keep himself looking strong, but the fear inside him was too much. After that, Arthur passed through him and went towards the master room of the ship.

    ~~~~

    The master¡¯s room had everything he could ever want. Arge and soft bed, a fully magical bathroom with a hot-tub that was amazing, and some shelves with books to pass the time. Arthur missed the TV and wondered if he could one day create one with magic.

    It was also somewhat far from the rest of the rooms to give him better privacy and avoid the unnecessary noise from the other passengers.

    Melinda thought about everything when setting up that ship for him, which was nice.

    With that peaceful environment, the days passed quickly. Arthur spent his days eating, meditating using his special technique from the Monlog bloodline, and also sleeping.

    Sleeping was unnecessary at all for him, but it was a good thing to make the time pass faster, which was nice considering how boring it was to stay on a ship.

    The merchant that tried to pick up a fight with him never said a word to him again and acted like a stray dog. All the others feared Arthur as well, only seeing him as a mysterious person who they should not mess up with.

    Arthur enjoys it. That way no one came to bother him, and he could finally have a peace of mind, even if it would onlyst for a short period.

    ¡°We are here!¡± One mage said.

    A continent called Ssia, and the ce they were going to be one kingdom of that continent that had the name of Ragheroth.

    The habitants of Ragheroth were rustic. Almost all of them were blond, and the men usually were tall, muscr, and had fine beards.

    Arthur did not think he looked good with a beard, but he changed the color of his hair from ck to blond using his spell. As for his height, well, it was not needed, as Arthur was naturally tall.

    The city they were in was one of the biggest where most of the trading happened. Ships entered and left the city multiple times during the day, and no one cared about the ship Arthur came in.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s move.¡± Arthur thought.

    He walked through the city, exploring it the most he could. The people there did trades just like any other ce, but everyone had a fierce look in their eyes, and almost everyone carried weapons on their backs or hips.

    Almost all people were fighters, even those who took care of farms or run a store inside a city. Arthur would act rather suspicious to ask those people lots of questions, so he found another way to get information, and that was to scan the memories of someone random.

    The Ragheroth kingdom, and all the other kingdoms of that continent, were acting as if they intended to raid and invade the Phuvia kingdom. That was the reason Arthur was there, as Melinda had asked him to investigate it.

    So, if it was before, then they would not mind someone from another ce asking too many questions, but in those turbulent times, Arthur would look a lot like a spy, and that would make everyone go after him.

    He explored the city and looked at the alleys where most of the homeless or thugs lived. It was the best spot to find someone to get some information, someone that no one would care about.

    Most of the alleys had over one person, so it took Arthur some time to find one that had only one.

    When he finally did, Arthur slowly walked behind that person and knocked him unconscious with an attack on the neck. After that, he grabbed the unknown thug and left the alley, not leaving a trace behind.

    Arthur had the thug on his shoulders and teleported away from the city into the nearby forest. There was no ce for him to stay with no one noticing his presence, so he thought it was the best to leave the city entirely.

    The vegetation was way different from what he was used to, and who knows what type of creatures were in that ce, so Arthur decided to quickly find some ce to hide, and just like always, a cave was the perfect spot.

    There were lots of bears around that city, so not that hard to find a cave with bears in it. Arthur cleaned up a cave before finally sighing in relief.

    Now, it was time to use the same technique he used to see the memories of that giant. It would be a more extensive search this time, trying to learn everything the thug knew about the ce he lived. For that reason, it would take a little longer to perform.

    Not that it was a problem, that is. Arthur was alone in that cave, and he still had plenty of time, as he had just arrived on that continent.

    So, he ced both of his hands in the thug¡¯s head and channeled his mana, slowly scanning all the memories that man had.

    Arthur was a powerful mage, so getting ess to that much information was not a problem for him, whose brain was way better than the average human. It was way better than most mages, actually.

    After staying in that position for at least half an hour, images shed through his mind, showcasing all the things that had happened in that thug¡¯s life. Some things not even the thug remembered, like the day he was born, and some memories from when he was little.

    The thug had grown up in another city, somewhat far from where they were at that moment. So, he had plenty of information about the world, which was valuable for Arthur at that point.

    He absorbed all the memories he felt were important, and left the thug in that cave.

    ¡°So it is like this. The giants are in a ce only known in legends. How can I find it? Also, if I want to learn more about the invasion, I will have to leave this city and go towards the ce where all the important figures are.¡±

    Arthur did not see a reason to stay in that city, so he left. The ce he was looking for was where the most prominent figures of that continent were, and also a ce where he could get more information about the ce where the giants could be living.

 Chapter 209 The Kind Old Man Returns (1)

    Nothing interesting happened while Arthur traveled throughout the Ragheroth kingdom. The reason for Melinda to choose that ce was because it was the first kingdom on that continent that had the idea of invading another continent.

    It could be said there were the ones that gave birth to the idea, and also the kingdom that created an alliance with all the rest.

    Honestly speaking, Arthur was not that concern with it. Even if all of them united, there was no official mage among them, and Arthur was getting closer to that rank. He could single-handedly win the war, if is.

    The only things that gave him some fear were the giants, but based on the information he got, as well as the memories from that giant, they did not mingle with humans and were viewed as myths.

    ¡°If only that giant¡¯s memory was not sealed, then I would already know where they live.¡± Arthur thought.

    He needed more information, so the ce he headed to was the biggest city in Ragheroth, and the ce of birth of the kingdom¡¯s alliance.

    Whenpared to all the other cities Arthur had seen, that one wascking. It had a rustic look, and it was the only city in all the kingdoms that had a decent library. Based on that, you can tell how barbaric that city was.

    Speaking of the library, that was the first ce Arthur went to when arriving in Khaeburn. There was only one person inside of that building, responsible for registering the books if someone borrowed one.

    Arthur was not nning on borrowing books, and would read them while inside the library.

    ¡°Do you want some help?¡± The librarian said.

    ¡°Books rted to the giants myth. Where are they?¡±

    ¡°Another historian, it seems. They are right here. Come.¡±

    The librarian showed the session where those books were, and Arthur spent hours reading them in the room¡¯s corner. Even after finishing all of them, he still was not sure exactly where the giants could be.

    He left the library feeling bad about himself, but then a group of adventurers were talking in the middle of the street. More like whispering, but that was not a problem for his dragon hearing.

    ¡°Are you sure that ce is where the giants are? No one ever found it before.¡±

    ¡°I am sure of it, but it is dangerous. Are we all willing to risk our lives for profit??¡±

    ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    Arthur was leaning on a wall, listening to everything from afar. He did not appear suspicious at all, and that group of adventurers did not notice his presence.

    Their conversation was about the ce the giants could be living. Arthur was not sure they truly knew where the ce was, but then he heard something that made those people look more believable.

    ¡°Where did you get this information?¡± A muscr man said.

    The person in front of him went closer and whispered, ¡°I got some information from a friend of mine who is a member of the Doom Order.¡±

    ¡°Doom Order? The crazy people that worship demons? Ha, it must be the correct ce then.¡±

    Back when he saw the memories from the giant, the Doom Order was involved with those giants, and Arthur had a good guess that they were the reason behind the beast invasion back in the Shukar Empire and in Phuvia.

    What was the reason behind it? Who exactly was the Doom Order? They were scattered all over the continents, having presence everywhere.

    Could they also be on the central continent? Perhaps the leader of that organization was an official mage.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a better clue, so I might just follow these guys.¡±

    Arthur was not feeling like losing time inside that city, and apparently those 4 adventurers left instantly after that conversation, which was a good thing.

    The groupprised one tall, muscr man that wielded two axes, one considerable small guy that had a sword-and-shield, and two women who wore a type of robe and had staffs on their backs.

    ¡°One fighter, one tank, and two long-ranged mages. It is not an awful party.¡±

    Their party was well-rounded, but still they did not seem that strong, and all of them had a level of around 35-40. Speaking of levels, Arthur had leveled up after his time with his wives, but he did not use his points yet.

    They walked out of the city, chatting with an obvious excitement, eager to explore the rumor about the ce where the giants lived.

    ording to what they spoke along the way, it was an entire ind that was invisible, protected by a formation. No one could enter it without passing through that formation, and apparently the same guy that got the information about it would meet with his friend from the Doom Order and get a key to pass through that magical array.

    Arthur had two guesses: either it was a trap, or that friend of his betrayed the Doom Order, and wanted to get some treasures alone, without having to share with the others, thus seek help from that adventurer¡¯s group.

    ¡°It is more likely to be the second option, as they would not use a trap to capture those weak adventurers.¡± Arthur thought.

    Those people did not look like they had something valuable that the Doom Order would want, so Arthur had a strong guess that someone betrayed the Doom Order for profit, which was something normal for humans to do.

    He was not concerned it was a trap either, as Arthur had his teleportation spell to easily avoidbat and leave unharmed.

    The first few hours after the adventurers left, the city had nothing fun for Arthur to witness, only a few beasts that he already knew after stealing the memories from that thug.

    Speaking of the thug, he woke up in that cave knowing nothing that happened, and returned to the city, like any normal people would do.

    The group that Arthur was following passed through that man, who was not looking any good. They did not exchange words or anything, but they could not help but wonder what had happened to that man.

    Arthur giggled at the sight, thinking that it was quite funny.

    ¡°Let¡¯s camp here for the night. I think it is a decent spot.¡±

    After walking for hours, they finally stopped and set camp. Arthur was watching everything from above a tree, and they noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

    With the help of his invisibility spell, there was no way he would let those people notice his presence.

    The ce they camped was not that far from the main road, near a small river.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a suitable spot, oh, well, just like I said.¡±

    A group of bandits that usually stole from travelers that used that road appeared. They had seen the smoke from the campfire and went to check.

    Their levels were slightly lower, but their numbers were way higher, having 20 bandits against 4 people. It would be impossible for them to win, and if they died, then Arthur would never find out about what they knew.

    ¡°Like always, I will have to help¡­¡±

    Arthur changed his appearance to that of an old man with a kind smile.

 Chapter 210 The Kind Old Man Returns(2)

    ¡°Who are you?¡± One mage from the group said.

    ¡°You can¡¯t tell? Hahaha, we are bandits, and you are about to die.¡±

    The group of bandits was not ying around, and all of them had their weapons ready. They were not there to only rob, but to kill that group of adventurers.

    Arthur changed his appearance to that of an old man and pulled out a bottle of wine from his magical pouch. Then, he slowly walked towards that group of people, as if he was drunk.

    Everyone had their attention on him when he appeared. It was umon for people to be traveling alone in that area, especially during the night. Add the fact that it was an elderly man, then it was almost an impossible sight to behold.

    ¡°Old man, don¡¯te any closer.¡±

    Even though they were bandits, they still felt pity to kill or steal from an old man. Arthur was holding a bottle of wine, lookingpletely drunk. It was enough to get theirpassion, although for a few seconds.

    The group of adventurers saw himing towards them, and said, ¡°leave, old man. It is dangerous for you!¡±

    Arthur knew those people were not bad people. He had followed them for quite some time and came to that understanding. Still, it was not because of it he was saving them, but because he still needed them.

    ¡°Anyone want to drink with me? Ah, youth these days.¡±

    He got too close to that group of bandits, so one of them had enough, and acted, attacking him using a sharp sword.

    Arthur did not look at the attack, and simply bended his body, avoiding the attack with ease. That made everyone else present more aware of him. An old man that could dodge an attack without even looking at it, plus being drunk? That was a force to be reckoned with.

    The adventurers who felt it would be their end with all of those bandits now felt hope. The old man was not as simple as he looked.

    ¡°I want to drink with those four, right there. Can you all leave?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, old man. Don¡¯t think too high of yourself after only dodging an attack. Look around. You can do nothing here.¡±

    The bandit who swung the sword at Arthur a few moments ago was still nearby, so within less than a second, he stole the man¡¯s sword, and threw it towards the leader of those bandits, who did not see a thing, dying on the spot with a sword in his throat.

    Before the bandit in front of Arthur could react after having its weapon stolen, Arthur grabbed him by the neck and exerted some force, cracking the neck of that poor man.

    He then looked towards the rest of the bandits and said, ¡°I give you one chance to leave without dying. Will you take it?¡±

    All the bandits looked at their leader, who was supposed to be the strongest of them, yet died in less than one second when facing that old man.

    A lingering fear born inside all of them, and the only thing they could think of was to run as far away as they could.

    The group of adventurers were happy to be saved by that old man, but they were also scared, just like all the bandits who ran away like chickens.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just kill those who piss me off. Is there a seat around this warm campfire?¡±

    ¡°O-Of course. Thank you for saving us!¡±

    ¡°It was nothing. Is there something for us to eat? Meat helps me get sober.¡±

    ¡°Not yet. We barely made our campfire, and then those bandits came. I will hunt something for us.¡±

    It was one of the woman who took the lead, as the others were still in a daze after everything that happened.

    ¡°Can I go with you? Who knows, maybe they will be back.¡±

    The others thought it made sense in what Arthur told them, but they could not let one of them go alone with that old man.

    ¡°Are you scared I will do something to her? Or scared that the bandits can return to this ce while I am not here?¡±

    ¡°If it is the first option, you know that whoeveres with her would not be of any help. Don¡¯t worry, I am not a bad person, I promise. I will stay here then, if that is what you want.¡±

    ¡°No, you cane with me. I am Signy, and this one here is Helga. As for the two brutes, they are Finn and Bram.¡±

    Finn was the bulky, tall man with two axes, and Bram was the other one that had a shield. They waved back after being introduced by Signy.

    ¡°Nice to meet you all, young people. I am Arthur.¡±

    ¡°Arthur? What a different name.¡± Bram said.

    ¡°Are you saying it is a name of old people?¡±

    ¡°No, I was just- just saying it is notmon here.¡±

    Bram was sweating, but then Arthur said something that made him rx a bit. ¡°I was just joking with you. Rx.¡±

    After all of them got to know each other, Signy and Arthur left the campsite to look for something to eat. She was a mage, so hunting a wild animal was an effortless task for her.

    All Arthur did was stay near her and mind his own business. He would not help, only if a danger enough to threaten her life appeared.

    ¡°Are you a fifth circle mage? Not bad for your age.¡±

    Signy, who was walking inside the forest, looking for a wild animal, stopped her movements and gazed at Arthur.

    She was shocked. Not even her friend, Helga, who was also a fifth circle mage, could tell that just ncing at her.

    What exactly was the level of that old man? She was scared before, but Arthur had only showed his physical strength, but now he had also showed his prowess with magic.

    For her, he turned into apletely new beast, one that was even scarier.

    ¡°Can you tell that just by looking at me? I did not do any magic.¡±

    ¡°Ha, this old man¡¯s eyes are sharp. It seems you are close to the sixth circle, not bad, not bad.¡±

    That sentence made her entire body shiver. Signy did not even tell Helga about that. It was her little secret. No one else knew she was almost reaching the sixth circle, which was an existence strong enough to shake thosends.

    But now, a random drunk old man could tell that just by looking at her? Of course, she was shocked. Who wouldn¡¯t be?

    Signy tried her best to put all those thoughts at the back of her mind and continue her hunting.

    ¡°A deer? Awesome! Good job, Signy.¡±

    They all sat around the fire and prepared delicious meat.

 Chapter 211 Breakthrough (1)

    They ate and chatted about many things, but those adventurers tried their best to hide about what they were doing.

    But even though they were trying to do that, Arthur told that he stayed with them for a while, saying that one of them looked like his grandson who he did not seen in years.

    Everyone thought Arthur was just a crazy old man, but Signy knew it was not the case. Someone on a level she could not even see it will be incredible. There was no way a strong mage would be mentally ill, as the field of magic had the answers to many problems.

    There was no way they could send Arthur away, and seeing how he did not mind the things they were doing, only walking with them to have somepany, they let it be.

    What could Arthur possibly do? He was not trying to harm them, and even protected them when things got too dangerous.

    ¡°Is it a good idea to bring him along with us?¡±

    ¡°We have no choice, and he is still helping us. Perhaps he wille in handy when we got there.¡±

    ¡°True. That ce is dangerous, and with that strong old man around, we have a better chance of surviving.¡±

    Arthur had left their group for a quick pee in the bush, but he still heard everything they said.

    He had to win the trust of those adventurers, and Arthur was genuinely wanting to help them.

    ¡°They are good people that are heading to a dangerous location. What a pity. I hope nothing bad will happen to them.¡±

    ¡°All right, everyone, let¡¯s sleep.¡±

    Four tents, one for each one of them. There was none for Arthur, but he did not mind at all.

    ¡°Arthur, where will you sleep?¡± Signy said.

    She was the only person who feared him after he saw through her powers as if it was nothing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Arthur was a powerful mage, so building a simple house from scratch was not a big deal. With a wave of his hands, the ground beneath his feet moved, getting the shape of a square. Then, he entered inside of it, and close it shut.

    ¡°Now let me put this, and that, and maybe this.¡±

    After the countless travels Arthur had to do, a lot of useful furniture was inside his magical pouches. So, even though he was in a house made from the ground, there was still a decent bed for him, and with the help of his magic, illuminating the ce was no problem, either.

    Not the most luxurious of ces, but it was good considering he spent seconds building it. It was enough to keep the mosquitoes away during the night.

    The others from the group who did not know Arthur was also a mage were shocked.

    ¡°He is a mage! Signy, what realm is he? Are you stronger?¡± Helga said.

    Signy looked down and said, ¡°I cannot tell his power, but I can safely say he is unfathomable.¡±

    That sentence made everyone there shocked. How could that old man be so strong? Not even Signy, who was a fifth circle mage, could tell what his power was.

    Helga was even more shocked than those two. They were fourth circle mages, but they had simr power to them because of their body training. She knew how hard was to go from the fourth circle to the fifth.

    ¡°How would they react once they discover I was in the ninth circle? Well, I am almost at the tenth, and I am sure I will reach it within two days.¡± Arthur thought.

    There was not a single day he did not practice his meditation technique, and that made him advance quickly through the mage ranks. He was almost at the tenth circle, which was the highest one could get before finally achieving the status of an official mage.

    Arthur did not need to sleep, so he spent the entire night meditating, waiting for the group of adventurers to leave.

    ~~~~

    The next morning started with them trying to make almost no sound and leave Arthur behind, not because they did not like him, but because of the secret location they were heading to.

    Arthur saw their every move, and let them unpack everything without giving a sign of life, which gave them a feeling of hope. But the moment they walked away, Arthur waved his hand and the temporary house disappeared.

    ¡°Youngsters, don¡¯t leave this old man behind! How will I survive alone in the middle of this forest?¡±

    The group rolled their eyes after hearing that, and then turned around to look at Arthur, having a smile on their faces.

    ¡°We have just finished packing up. Come, let¡¯s go.¡±

    There was no way they would tell ¡®hey, we were leaving without you old man,¡¯ but they also knew Arthur knew that was what they were doing.

    With a loudugh, Arthur heeled them behind, watching their every move.

    The journey continued for two days. They were all around a campfire, eating, just like they did every night, but then Arthur got up and said, ¡°I have to leave for now, but don¡¯t worry, I will find you.¡±

    They all stared at him, and when they blinked, he was not there anymore. Arthur used his teleport to leave the campfire.

    It happened out of a sudden, and no one understood the reason behind it, but Arthur knew what it was; level up!

    He had meditated every day, and finally broke through the tenth circle, the apex before the official mage rank. The reason for him to leaving so soon was because of what George said to him.

    A mage that reaches the tenth circle would cause amotion to the surrounding area during the breakthrough, and as Arthur was both a dragon and a Monlog Giant, then themotion would be fiercer than normal mages.

    For that reason, he had to leave that group of adventurers and break through somewhere far from them.

    He was not dumb. Before he left, Arthur waved his hand and ced a secret mark on Signy, who heard a voice inside her mind.

    ¡°I will be absent for some time, but with this mark, I will know your location. Don¡¯t share this with them, or you will die.¡±

    ¡°The reason for me meeting you was not a coincidence. I want something in thend of the giants, and I heard you can help me get there.¡±

    ¡°If you agree to help me, I will protect you at the best of my capabilities, and help you break through to the sixth circle, or perhaps to the seventh circle, if I am in a good mood.¡±

    ¡°See ya!¡±

    That was the message Signy heard. Arthur tried to threaten her, but what if she did not buy it? Then he would have to kill those people who did not deserve it, and he could not find thend of the giants.

    For that reason, Arthur offered her something she would do anything to achieve. Signy had seen the prowess Arthur had since the first time he uncovered her level of power with just a nce, and now after disappearing without leaving a trace, plus putting a mark on her, all within a second.

    ¡°Could he be¡­ an eighth circle mage?¡± Signy thought.

    That was a wild guess she had, but if she knew the truth, then her mind would blow.

    Arthur kept using his teleport like a madman, trying to find the most desert ce he could. No matter where he went, there were people nearby. It had to be a ce where no one would pass, no matter what happened.

    He was not sure how long it would take for him to breakthrough, but a few days was expected, so it had to be a suitable spot.

    Time was ticking, and after every second that passed, Arthur felt he was closer to the breakthrough, which meant he would have to stop where ever he was.

    Then he saw it. It was a type ofke, and inside of it was a cave where a beast lived.

    Arthur could not care less about it, and simply rushed inside of it.

    The cave was formed in a way that the insides had no water at all. When Arthur entered it, flying like a madman, the beast that lived inside quickly realized someone was invading its space.

    A loud howl, and an immense sea lion appeared, staring at Arthur. It did not attack immediately, as it felt a mysterious powering from Arthur.

    ¡°Can you understand me?¡±

    Arthur used his magical power to speak with the beast mentally, using themonnguage most intelligent beasts knew. It worked.

    ¡°I can. Why are you invading my area?¡±

    ¡°This is an urgency. I will only use a part of your cave for a few days, and after that, I will leave this for good.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    The sea lion agreed to it instantly, so Arthur flew to the deeper parts of that cave and entered seclusion.

 Chapter 212 Traitors are Everywhere

    The cave the sea lion used as itsir was big enough to fit both of them, so it did not mind having Arthur inside of it for a couple of days.

    It was not a dumb beast, either. The power emanating from Arthur¡¯s body was incredible, way stronger than the sea lion. If it tried anything funny, Arthur could end its life in an instant.

    Arthur found a ce far from where the sea lion stayed, but only that would not bring him a peace of mind. So, he waved his hand and cast a mana barrier around him.

    With the amount of mana he had, it was easy to keep it working for a few days. The mana barrier would usually cost more mana if someone attack it, and if that happened then Arthur would try to stop his breakthrough for a few seconds and kill whoever it was.

    The moment Arthur sat on the rock ground, a ck substance enveloped the surrounding area, engulfing his body inplete darkness.

    A shape of a giant formed behind his back. It had horns, wings, and red eyes. The sea lion was far away, yet felt the sinister aura emanating from the part of the cave where Arthur was.

    ¡°What beast is that?¡±

    In the sea lion¡¯s mind, there was no way Arthur was truly a human. It had guessed it was some sort of beast capable of changing into the form of a human. Notpletely wrong, though.

    A feeling of warmth expanded throughout Arthur¡¯s whole body, making him feel as if he was inside a hot spring. It felt nice, but after that, his mind went nk.

    Arthur passed out while in a cross-legged position, unaware of what was happening in the external world.

    The good part was that the ck energy surrounding his body acted like a protective mechanism, killing whatever got too close to it.

    What happened was not a nap, but the beginning of his breakthrough.

    ¡°Where am I?¡±

    Arthur was inside a mysterious ce that had nothing but darkness. He could still see the surrounding area clearly, but nothing there caught his attention.

    He floated in the air, aimlessly, without a direction. Even though the ce felt strange, a familiar feeling appeared inside of him, which made him wonder where exactly was that ce.

    A long time passed. It felt like days. Arthur had seen nothing new after flying for a long time until he did.

    It was an immense heart. The size of it reminded Arthur of the sun.

    ¡°How is this possible? Am I¡­ Am I inside the Monlog Giant?¡±

    Everything made sense now. The familiar feeling, and the strangenesses of that ce.

    ¡°How can the heart of it be so big? What is the actual size of that creature?¡±

    Arthur could not believe it. George never shared how powerful the Monlog Giant was. Arthur had a guess that not even George knew the true power of that creature.

    Just the size alone was enough to crushs as if they were mosquitoes.

    It was a realm of power far from where Arthur was at that moment, and after he took a glimpse of the immense heart, he woke up.

    The cave looked exactly the same as he remembered, but what was different was his body.

    ¡°I can feel the tremendous difference. This is incredible. Hahaha, I am only one step away from the rank 1 official mage.¡±

    Words could not describe how happy Arthur was. Things were working out perfectly for him, and now the only thing left for him to do was rescue his friends.

    He left the cave, and the sea lion scouted him out as a sign of respect. Arthur did not know, but the energy fluctuations from his breakthrough were helpful to the sea lion, making it easier for it to increase its power, too!

    ¡°Let me see where they are.¡±

    With just a thought, Arthur could sense where Signy was using the mark he put on her body. Not only that, but he could see what her eyes were seeing, so Arthur was sure she was with the rest of the group.

    Also, from the looks of it, they had yet to meet with the guy from the Doom Order.

    ¡°Perfect timing. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Anyone that looked up would see a flickering shadow crossing the skies. Those who had a better eye could tell some features of it; an old man with a long beard and a messy hair.

    Arthur was even faster than he once was. The breakthrough increased everything, and the mighty of one¡¯s spell was also a part of it. Not only his flight spell was better but also his teleport, making him travel long distances in a blink of an eye.

    Signy, Helga, Bram, and Finn were inside a town close to where they would meet with the person from the Doom Order. At that moment, a message echoed inside Signy¡¯s mind. It was Arthur.

    ¡°I am back, Signy. You guys are going to the inn, right? I will be there in five minutes.¡±

    The message ended, but the shock Signy had was not. After Arthur parted way with them, only Signy knew he would return, and that he was tracking them.

    For that reason, the others wanted to travel even faster to make sure the old man would not catch up with them, which made them create a great distance.

    But what for? They had traveled for four days before finally stopping at that town, and yet Arthur, who was a long distance away, said he would reach that ce in five minutes.

    She could not believe it, even for someone with an unfathomable strength like Arthur.

    Arthur did not need five minutes. He was already there. Inside the inn they would go to rent a room, and had rented a room of his own.

    He waited for them to talk with the inn owner, rent their room, and then Arthur contacted Signy again.

    ¡°Are you allowed to leave? If yes, do two weak knocks on the room number 7. That is where I am right now.¡±

    Signy was inside her room, alone. They would only share rooms with there was not enough avable for all of them, and after seeing there was, then each one of them had a room.

    The group agreed that all of them could roam freely in the meantime, but would have to be there in three days, as that was when the person from the Doom Order would appear.

    Arthur was sitting on his bed in a cross-legged position. He could feel that Signy, who was only a few doors away from him, was in a deep thought.

    She did not like the idea of keeping a secret from her friends, but the temptation of reaching the sixth or even the seventh circle was too much, even for her.

    After putting those conflicted thoughts aside, she quietly left her room, and then gave two weak knocks on Arthur¡¯s room door, and then left the inn.

    Signy left the town and ventured into the woods. There, a small witch cabin entered her sight. It was one of her houses, hidden in the forest, protected by many illusion formations.

    She knew Arthur would follow her for a chat, and the most private ce she could think of was her cabin. There was no way someone would spy on them there.

    After a few minutes, an old man appeared in front of her cabin¡¯s door. Signy opened it up and let the old man enter.

    ¡°Signy! Long time no see. Are you alright?¡±

    The first thing she noticed was how mysterious the old man was. He was even stronger than thest time they saw each other, and even Signy could tell the difference.

    ¡°Everything is fine. What do you want to talk about?¡±

    ¡°Did you get more information about the location or about the friend with the ¡®key¡¯?¡±

    ¡°You know about that? Obviously you do. Well, all of us tried to get more information with Bram, but he did not share with us.¡±

    ¡°I can firmly say he ns on betraying you all when the time is right.¡±

    ¡°What? He wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±

    ¡°Really? Aren¡¯t you doing the same in the name of profit?¡±

    Signy did not mutter a word after that. Arthur was right.

    ¡°Anyway, let me tell you some information that might be useful for you. This Doom Order wants something of that ce where the giants live. They are already there searching for it.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Yes. My guess is that this person who betrayed the Doom Order wants some profit for his own. I can assume whatever they found there belongs to the higher ups of the Doom Order, and not to someone like him.¡±

    ¡°If what you are saying is true, the Bram is coborating with that person from the Doom Order since the start, and they nned on get ride of us inside that ce?¡±

    ¡°That is correct. Anyway, let¡¯s get to the good part. I will raise your level to the sixth circle right now, so that you have more chances of surviving in that ce.¡±

    ¡°What? Really?¡±

    She grabbed both of Arthur¡¯s hands, and look at him with her two violet eyes. Signy was a real beauty.

    ¡°Should I show her my true appearance? Hum, not right now.¡±

    Arthur then prepared himself to help her, not knowing the extraordinary existence he was about to create.

 Chapter 213 Arriving at the Island of the Giants

    Signy was sitting on the ground with her back facing Arthur. She had to take out some of her clothing from it, showing her pale, perfect skin.

    Arthur barely nced at him before putting both of his hands on her back, and then using his power to help her condense her mana.

    The level of which she was in was close to the sixth circle, and she had already gathered the mana for the advancement. One thing remained for her to do and that was to condense all of that mana into Spiritual Force.

    That was something that took some time when one did not have a high-grade technique like Arthur, and some people would never reach it even after trying for many years, eventually giving up.

    Arthur was okay with helping her, as she did not pose a threat to him. Even if she entered the sixth, seventh, eighth, or even the ninth circle, it would all be useless in front of him.

    ¡°How are you doing this?¡± Signy said.

    The shock was obvious on her face, as she felt her mana turning into Spiritual Force at a rapid pace, and then out of a sudden she was already in the sixth circle, something she thought it would take a year to achieve.

    ¡°Done. You should rest now and keep meditating. When you are close to entering the seventh circle, then maybe I will help you. It depends on how things will work out from now.¡±

    A person like Signy was someone that wanted power, not mattering the cost. Arthur did not want to give her for free, as that would be useless. He only helped her get to the sixth circle, so she had more chance of surviving, and also for her to witness his power.

    As for helping her to reach the next levels? Then she would have to first prove her value.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will do my best.¡± Signy said. She even knelled in front of Arthur, who felt that was ufortable.

    ¡°Good. Now listen.¡±

    Signy got up and focused on Arthur¡¯s next words.

    ¡°Your friend Bram and the person from the Doom Order will try to kill you, Helga, and Finn. It will not be when you meet, but presumably inside the ce where the giants are.¡±

    ¡°I will follow you all, and you will try to help me get inside. Once we are there, leave them and explore alone. Maybe call Helga if you truly trust her, otherwise don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°If anything happens, then I will know through the mark and go toward you instantly. Also, I will call you if I find something valuable for you.¡±

    ¡°As for your mission, I hope you can help me find these people¡­¡±

    Arthur left Signy¡¯s cabin after that, returning to his room in the inn, where he waited for three days before they finally met with the person from the Doom Order.

    The group met in the inn, and then left the city, meeting up with that person on a crossway not that far.

    ¡°Bram, long time no see!¡±

    ¡°Sven, you look good, my brother!¡±

    Sven was a pale blond man that barely had any muscles. He was a traitor from the Doom Order, and someone that everyone else was weary of, except Bram, who was happy to see his friend again.

    Signy paid more attention to them after hearing from Arthur that they nned on betraying them, and she noticed some strange behaviors from the two of them, like ncing towards the rest of the group from time to time and whispering some words.

    Helga, who was just beside Signy, was not stupid, and she also noticed something was off. So, she asked Signy if she knew something about it, but Signy said nothing.

    Arthur had not allowed her to share information with Helga, so Signy thought the best thing she could do was wait.

    ¡°The ce is not that far from here. We are almost reaching the shore where I already have a ship prepared for us. After that, it is only a one day sailing to reach the ind.¡± Sven said.

    Arthur listened to everything using Signy¡¯s mark, so he also heard about the ind itself.

    The giants lived on an ind not that far from the major continent. The reason for people not finding it was because it was invisible. Not only that, but if one did not have the key, then even if you hit it with your ship while sailing, nothing would happen.

    ¡°The formations that hide the ind are incredible. I wonder if it is possible to have a look at them while I am there.¡±

    They walked for some time until reaching the shore where a small ship was waiting for them. It was small but had enough size to fit all of themfortably, with rooms for everyone.

    Arthur stared at them from afar, hiding behind a bush. He then sent a message to Signy, saying that he would have to use her room.

    ¡°This is my ship. Everyone, chose your room and rest. We will reach the ind in one day.¡± Sven said.

    Signy went to her room, which was small and barely fit one person, but the moment she locked the door, an old man appeared out of nowhere.

    ¡°You scared me!¡±

    With the usage of one teleport, Arthur easily got inside the ship, with no one realizing it.

    ¡°Hello Signy. You can use the bed. I will stay here quietly. You will not even notice my presence.¡±

    She agreed, as there was no other answer to it, and mind her own business while that old man was sitting cross-legged in the room¡¯s corner, acting like a crazy person.

    The journey would only take one day, but everyone still slept to keep their body in peak condition. Yet Signy, who woke up during the night, saw Arthur sitting in the same position with his eyes open, staring at her.

    ¡°This is a dream. I am dreaming.¡±

    Those were the words she kept saying to herself, falling back to sleep, and thinking it was only a nightmare.

    After one day, everyone met each other on the deck. Sven had a mysterious purple stone on his hand, and he said, ¡°this is the key to enter the ind. After I activate this stone, all the formations that keep the ind hidden will disappear for one minute, so we take that chance to rush to the ind.¡±

    He then activate the stone, and just like he said, a vast ind appeared in front of him out of nowhere. It was so big that it was impossible to see the end.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    All of them jumped out of the ship, going straight to that ind. Arthur was still sitting cross-legged inside the room, not moving an inch.

    Arthur wanted to see if there were any dangers the moment they stepped inside the ind, so for that reason he stayed there, watching everything using the mark he had ced on Signy.

    The group reached the shore of that ind, and nothing happened, which meant the ce was safe, at least the first area of it.

    After confirming that, Arthur teleported to the ind as well, but appearing somewhat distant from the rest of the group.

    It looked like a normal ind, but there was snow there, lots of snow. The season they were in was not winter, and it was actually summer. Which meant something made the ind have snow during all seasons of the year.

    Arthur was not there to uncover the mystery behind that, but to find his friends. Hiley, Aria, and Cedric. Everything else was optional, and he would only do it if he had the chance.

    ¡°Where should I start?¡±

    The memories he saw from that giant were not clear, so it was impossible to find the location where the Doom Order was, but if Arthur was not mistaken, then it would surely be behind a door, inside a cave, or something like that.

    Snowkes fell, hitting Arthur¡¯s face as he walked deeper inside the ind. The snow beneath his feet made him drown after each step, which led him to use his flight spell, floating above the snow.

    ¡°How troublesome.¡±

    Despite that ce being known as the ind of the giants, there was not a single giant visible. At least Arthur did not find after exploring for quite some time.

    ¡°Are they hidden inside the hidden ind? Are they running from something?¡±

    Maybe Arthur¡¯s luck was finally on his side. When he thought about theck of giants, a group of them were walking through the forest.

    They were beings that could change their height, but not their weight. The giants Arthur saw were only five meters tall, but every time they walked, the snow beneath was destroyed. They were a lot bigger than they seemed.

    ¡°Are they from a hunting group? This is the perfect opportunity to follow them and learn more about the dangers of this ce.¡±

 Chapter 214 Confronting Sven

    They wore fur armor, just like the giant Arthur met back on the battlefield. Their features were also simr, but these giants were moving alive, not pale like thest one.

    Arthur followed a group of four giants, which were actively looking for monsters to hunt and bring back to wherever they lived.

    Some of these giants shared words with each other, and Arthur understood it as he had learned thenguage after entering inside the mind of that giant back in thatboratory.

    ¡°Where are the beasts? We have to bring back some or else the leader will get pissed.¡±

    ¡°Calm down. We are just starting. Look, footprints.¡±

    One of these giants was younger, and it got nervous when thinking of the possibility where they would not bring back any food. He said the leader would get angry, and Arthur guessed the leader¡¯s power might be simr or even stronger to that of an official mage.

    Arthur was not confident in facing that, at least not yet. The group of giants got their shit back together and continued their hunting trip, finding a decent amount of beasts, those that were not that different from what Arthur had seen.

    Most of the beasts there were mutations of the beasts one could find in normal ces. Those beasts adapted to survive in snow during all year, and most had a white fur, ideal to camouge using the ground snow.

    Some were so hidden that Arthur almost missed them. If he was alone, then maybe he would get a surprise attacking from the enemy.

    Anyway, the most important part was to follow them and learn more about where they lived. As the group of giants got closer to their vige, Arthur had a bad feeling inside.

    He saw the vige from afar, but did not dare to enter with the strength giant that protected those people.

    ¡°So this is the ce¡­ I wonder where the Doom Order is hiding. If my guess is correct, then it should be there!¡±

    Arthur left, going toward the location he thought the Doom Order might be, and that was far away from where the vige was.

    The Doom Order had to be far from there, or else the leader of the giants would realize their presence there, and then everything was over.

    Another aspect to be considerate was a escaping route. If anything went wrong, the Doom Order had to have a way of leaving, which made Arthur believe they would choose a ce near the shore where a ship would be ready to rescue them.

    After pondering of all these ideas, Arthur walked to the opposite direction where the giants were, going straight to the shore.

    ~~~~

    Signy and Helga separated from the rest of the group, which caused a fight, as Bram and Sven wanted them close.

    ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? This is a dangerous ce, and we all must stay together.¡±

    ¡°Stay together with this guy I don¡¯t even know? I can see you two are up to something, and I will not be fool enough to fall for it!¡±

    ¡°I agree with Signy. This is getting weird, and I don¡¯t trust you. Not even you, Bram.¡±

    ¡°You bitch. When I say you will stay here, it is an order. Sven.¡±

    Both of them got their weapons ready and moved towards the direction where Signy and Helga were. Even Finn, who did not know what side to take, agreed with Bram, and he also draws his weapon to go against Signy.

    Signy was getting anxious, and even with her new gained power, it was difficult to win against them. Not because of Bram and Finn, but Sven!

    She had a better sense of things after getting to the next rank, and that man was a peak seventh circle mage. It was something Signy could not handle, at least not at that moment, so she had to do something or else they would get caught by those crazy men.

    ¡°Arthur, are you listening to me? Sven, Finn and Bram are attacking us, can you help me?¡±

    Arthur saw everything using the mark he ced on Signy and wondered if he should help or not. There was something off about the situation, as if Bram and Sven needed those two witches for something else.

    ¡°The only way for me to find out more is to speak with Sven himself.¡±

    When the thought was solidified inside his mind, Arthur vanished from where he was. Within seconds, he was right in front of Signy.

    The men that were approaching her were surprised to see an old man appearing out of nowhere, and Sven was the most shocked. He sensed dangering from that old man, and did not want to act rashly, so he ced his hand on Bram¡¯s arm, signalizing for him to step back.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Sven said.

    Arthur still had the looks of a crazy old man. He stroked his beard, looking at them and said, ¡°I don¡¯t see any of you having the rights to know me.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit! Let me teach you a lesson old man!¡± Bram said.

    He was someone that easily got pissed, and was already going towards Arthur wielding two sharp axes.

    Sven thought for a moment and let the situation unfold. His n was to use Bram to make the old man show some of his strengths.

    ¡°Hahaha, kid. You should train for at least one hundred years before facing me.¡±

    Bram was red like a tomato. He swung his axes with a lot of force, aiming for Arthur¡¯s neck.

    Arthur was not even concerned about the attack, and his gaze never left Sven, who was already sweating cold.

    With the tip of his fingers, Arthur stopped both axes, and then kicked Bram away, who went flying with at least 5 broken ribs.

    Sven now was sure the old man was good in meleebat, but what about ranged? Still, he was not confident in cast a spell, as he was almost sure the old man would get to him before he could finish it.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Sven said.

    No matter the scenario, there was no way he would win against the old man. So, Sven gave up, at least for the moment.

    ¡°What I want? Hum. Why don¡¯t you tell me the reason you are here, young man?¡±

    ¡°For the treasures, of course. This is an unexplored ce, so it must have lots of treasures.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Really? Is that the reason you ¡®betrayed¡¯ the Doom Order in order to get some human sacrifices? I am sure they are eagerly waiting for you near the shore.¡±

    The time seemed to stop, and Sven did not mutter a word for quite some time. The shock was clear on his face, and Arthur was feeling proud of himself for guessing everything correctly.

    ¡°How do you know that? Are you also from the Doom Order? This is the only exnation, right? You are here to help me, hahaha!¡±

    Sven had a mental breakdown after having all of his ns seemed through by the other party.

    ¡°Human sacrifice, hum. You and the rest of your order should work just fine.¡±

    ¡°What- ¡°

    Arthur vanished and appeared in front of Sven, and with just a palm attack, the man was unconscious.

    Only after all of that was over was that Signy and Helga sighed in relief. Finn was scared, thinking he would be the next target.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, young man. I can see you are not a bad person, and only did this or else Bram would kill you. He must already told you some information about it, right?¡±

    Finn had his face down, and said, ¡°correct. What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°First, what type of sacrifice it needs and why?¡±

    ¡°The Doom Order found a pce that belonged to whatever lived in this ce before the giants came. There is a door that needs the sacrifice of one with a decent amount of mana.¡±

    ¡°Meaning it only epts sacrifices from strong mages, like Signy and Helga?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°Hum. We can sacrifice Sven, so it is all good. Now, tell me. What do you think is behind that door?¡±

    ¡°From what I heard from Sven, there is an item there that makes this ce gets snowy during all the year. The Doom Order guessed it is some powerful treasure of the ice attribute.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Good, good. What else? I am sure Sven spoke lots of things to get even you to his side.¡±

    ¡°Well, he said there are lots of treasures there, so I could take some. As for the reason he is there, well, he said something about bloodline but I did not understand what he was talking about.¡± Finn said.

    Arthur, who¡¯s expression did not change during the entire process, finally did. From what George had said, the Doom Order was basically puppets from a bloodline family from a higher realm. So if a powerful family like that one is trying to get something, then it is surely good.

    ¡°And do you know where the pce is? Or where the Doom Order is?¡±

    ¡°The Doom Order is inside the pce. As for where it is, I am afraid only Sven will know.¡±

    Arthur looked at Sven, and said, ¡°Sven, it seems you and I will have a fun time.¡±

 Chapter 215 Arriving at the Hidden Palace

    A damp cave with minimum light. Arthur had found it during his search for the ce where the Doom Order was.

    He was there with Signy, Helga, and Finn, waiting for Sven to wake up. They needed answers about where the pce was, and the only person who could give that to them was Sven.

    Arthur sat on a rock inside the cave, calmly waiting for Sven to wake up, and when he did, it was time to get some answers from him.

    ¡°Finally awake, hum?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Where am I?¡±

    Sven woke up scared, looking at all sides, trying to figure out what was happening. When he ced his eyes on Arthur and saw him looking at him with a smirk, a bad feeling erupted inside of him.

    ¡°How do you want to suffer?¡±

    Arthur walked up towards him, grabbed his hand, and exerted his tremendous strength, breaking his fingers.

    ¡°Agggrr!¡±

    ¡°This is only the beginning. You and I will be best friends!¡±

    With that, the round of torture began. Sven was strong at first, resisting the pain and not telling anything Arthur wanted to know, but after some time, he admitted defeat.

    Arthur knew some healing spells, and one thing he did was hurt Sven to the point of almost no return, and then healing him back to start the torture once again.

    Signy, Helga and Finn were watching everything from the side, and they felt an immense fear inside after witnessing the torture methods Arthur came up with.

    ¡°He seems skilled in torture. I am happy he is in our team.¡±

    ¡°I- I will tell you everything. Please stop!¡±

    The reason for Sven enduring that much was because he thought Arthur would not kill him, as he was the only one that had the information they were looking for.

    But even he, who had a strong will, could notst in that endless cycle of torture.

    Sven shared the location of that pce the Doom Order was. It was also hidden behind a magical formation, but luckily Sven had the key to undo the formation, so not that much of a problem.

    Just like Arthur had guessed, the pce was near the shore. To be more precise, it was above water, floating in the air.

    He also learned more about the situation the Doom Order was in. It seemed there was a door inside that pce that needed a blood sacrifice to work.

    Aria, Hiley and Cedric were there with them, but they would not be used as a sacrifice, and that is why Sven went out after some others, which turned out to be Signy and Helga.

    ¡°Do they have other ns for my friends? But that would mean they already know what is inside the pce.¡±

    Arthur tried to get even more information from Sven, but even he did not know that. It was so important that only the high ups from the Doom Order knew about, which made Arthur even more curious to learn about.

    Still, knowing that his friends would not be used as a human sacrifice was good enough for him at that point. So, after getting all the information he could, Arthur grabbed the now unconscious Sven and left the cave, going straight to the ce where the pce was.

    Not that far from where they were, and the key to uncover that pce was the same one Sven used to get them to the ind.

    ¡°What do you think is inside that ce?¡± Signy said.

    She was even more respectful towards Arthur. Not by fear after watching the torture, but because she knew how extraordinary he was.

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know. But it will be important or else there wouldn¡¯t be these many hindrances just to enter inside that ce.¡±

    There was something inside that ce that was about the bloodline. Arthur was the only person who knew the Doom Order was being used by other mages from higher realms, and those were from simr bloodlines to his own, the Monlog Giant.

    It was something valuable enough to get the attention from higher realm people, and it would probably be useful to Arthur as well, as the Monlog Giant was the ancestral of whatever family was using the Doom Order.

    They walked for some time until finally reaching the part of the shore where the ind was. It was 100 meters away from the shore, and 300 meters above the water.

    ¡°Signy, Helga, you two know how to fly, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we do.¡±

    ¡°Good. I will take Sven with us, and you take Finn.¡±

    Signy and Helga yed rock, papers, scissors to see who would have to take Finn along, and Helga lost.

    ¡°Your luck is unbelievable.¡±

    Arthur had Sven on his shoulder, while Helga had Finn. They flew towards the ce where the pce was supposed to be, and then Arthur activated the strange stone Sven had, which disabled the magical formations around the pce, making it visible to everyone.

    It was immense. Less like a pce and more like a city because of its size. The building alone was even bigger than some cities Arthur had seen.

    All of it was made of a white stone, which was unfamiliar to Arthur¡¯s eyes. He assumed it was long lost with passaging time, and only those ancient buildings had it.

    The pce was shiny, with four towers around it, making it look like a fortress.

    What caught the most attention was the entrance to that ce. A door that had 25 meters of height. It was truly a ce meant for giants.

    ¡°This is incredible!¡± Signy said.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it was here all this time. Can the people inside of it see us?¡± Finn said.

    ¡°No idea. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Arthur slowly made his way towards the door and pushed it using his strength. He encountered little trouble to open it, but it was still heavy. Normal mages would have toe up with a special n just to open the door.

    When inside, the first thing they encountered was a hall that had no one in it. Everything was clean, and still had furniture, although these were way bigger than what Arthur was used to.

    The floor was also made of the same stone from the exterior, so the entire hall was white, which made the ce be too bright.

    That hall had three doors. One in the front, facing where they came from, one to the right and one to the left.

    Based on what Sven had told, the door in the front was toward the direction of where they needed a sacrifice to open. Not that door itself, but another one in that direction.

    He also said that the Doom Order was staying on the right side, waiting for him to bring back the sacrifices.

    So, the right side was exactly where Arthur would go. He had two priorities inside that ce. The first one was to save his friends from the hands of the Doom Order, and the other one was to explore that location and look for the bloodline treasure, as it was something that caught his attention.

 Chapter 216 Aagi Family? How do you know that?

    ¡°Where do we go?¡± Signy said.

    ¡°Sven told us that the Doom Order is on the right side, and I have some unfinished businesses with them. Come with me for the time being.¡±

    Arthur was not someone that needed help to get his friends back and kick the ass of those bastards, but he could not let them alone.

    The possibility of them using the unconscious Sven as a sacrifice and exploring the ce before him was high.

    Not that he would not share the treasures with them, but imagine if the door is permanently locked after the sacrifice. What would he do?

    The best course of action was to make them follow him for now, so he would have a way of controlling them.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Arthur had showed them his power, so they agreed to follow him without problems.

    So, the group went towards the right side, opening up yet another door that was massive.

    Those doors were not as gigantic as the front one, but still had 10 meters of height, which was huge whenpared to the small doors humans used.

    The moment Arthur opened up the door, a voice echoed from inside, ¡°Sven? You are finally here. We have been waiting for you- ¡°

    Whoever said that had a look of disappointment the moment its eyes were set on Arthur and the unconscious Sven.

    ¡°Hello Doom Order. How are you?¡±

    Behind the door, lots of people from the Doom Order stood, some seating while the others talked among each other, trying their best to make the time pass.

    There were other doors after that one, but the Doom Order had already explored that area and there was nothing, so they stuck together in the closest door to the way out in case something bad happened.

    These members had robes and masks that differed in color ording to their rank, and in the middle of the room stood the person behind everything.

    Arthur gazed at all of them, and only the leader had a somewhat decent strength, but the rest was a pure joke to him.

    Most were five circle mages, with a few being six and seven circles. It was a type of strength that was in the apex before the central continent, yet in the eyes of Arthur, it was nothing.

    He was already at the tenth circle, and the difference between each level was immense. Even if all of them joined forces and tried to attack him, it would not be enough.

    The leader opened up its eyes and looked at Arthur. That person was the strongest there, being an eighth circle mage.

    For that reason, his perception was higher than everyone else, and the moment his eyes locked on Arthur, he was shocked.

    He could not tell Arthur was in the tenth circle, but he could tell that Arthur was stronger than him, which was something incredible for that region.

    ¡°A guest,e, sit and drink with me.¡±

    The other members from the Doom Order did not understand why their leader was acting so respectfully towards the old man that appeared out of nowhere with Sven.

    They guessed it was someone with a simr power as their leader, so for that reason, they also acted respectfully toward him.

    Arthur said nothing and then started the link with George so that he could see and hear everything.

    ¡°Finally, brat. I was getting bored here. Wait, who are those maniacs in masks staring at you? Are you part of a cannibal cult or something?¡±

    ¡°Cannibal what? No, these are the people from the Doom Order, remember?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, right? What do you need?¡±

    George was eager to help Arthur in any way he could, as that would ensure Arthur would thrive and reach greater heights, thus allowing him to be free.

    Also, he was bored, so being able to watch some of the outside world was already awesome for him.

    ¡°We are inside an invisible pce in thend of the giants where supposedly there is an item that helps our bloodline. It must be good or else the Doom Order, who is controlled by a bloodline mage family, wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±

    ¡°Your guess is correct, and that should be the case. Also, this person right there, that I assume is the leader, has some fluctuations of an energy simr to ours. If I am not mistaken, the family behind him must be the Aagi family.¡±

    ¡°Aagi family?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The Aagi is also a giant that came after the Monlog, which means it is weaker, but the Aagi is not that weak. If you take all the families beside ours, the Aagi is ranked at the top three regarding power. If they are here, then this time must be fantastic, and I cannot wait to steal it from them.¡± George said.

    The more he talked with George, the more his horizons expanded. Now he was sure the treasure inside that ce was worthy of his time.

    Arthur looked at the leader and said, ¡°drink? I am too old for that. Let me do a proposal. Want to hear it?¡±

    The leader from the Doom Order had a bad feeling, but he still answered yes.

    ¡°I know you are an eighth circle mage, and some here are seventh or sixth. That is quite the achievement, but in front of me this is just child¡¯s y. Maybe if all of you were at the ninth rank¡­ no, even with that, you would still be dead.¡±

    ¡°So, you can all leave, and I will spare your life.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, are you crazy, old man? Do you know who you are talking to?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do, but someone from a weak family like the Aagi cannot act like that here.¡±

    Silence. When Arthur muttered those words, not a single person inside that room understood it, except the leader, who was shocked.

    Someone from the Aagi family had possessed the body of that person and was controlling the Doom Order from the inside.

    But that was something no one should know about, yet an old man seemed to know even the name of his family.

    The leader did not answer for some time, lost in his thoughts. He tried his best to figure it out how to assess the situation, as the person in front of him was unknown, yet knew things others were not supposed to know.

    What he could do at that point was perhaps have a private conversation with the other party, away from the rest, as the things they would talk about were secrets.

    So, the leader got up from the chair he was sitting, and looked at Arthur.

    ¡°Can we talk in private?¡± The leader said.

    Arthur smiled, and followed the leader to another room close to where they were.

 Chapter 217 Unexpected Alliance

    The two of them went to another room, right beside where everyone else was. With the help of a spell cast by the leader, there was no way they could hear anything they said inside that room.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±

    It was the first question the leader asked, but one that Arthur was not willing to answer.

    ¡°My identity is not the point of this conversation, but the treasure of this ce is. What can you tell me about it?¡± Arthur said.

    George was still linked, so he was seeing and hearing everything. He said that the Aagi family was on good terms with the Monlog family, and in fact, was helping them recover their former strength.

    He did not go to details, but the Monlog family suffered a devastating blow a long time ago, and declined a lot in terms of power.

    The only reason for them to be still at the top of the bloodline families was because of the power of their core members, which were so high that the other families did not want to mess with them.

    But hidden plots still happened, and the Aagi family was one of the few that still helped the Monlog family, showing respect for their ancestors.

    ¡°Look, first answer me. How do you know about me? If you truly have information about the Aagi family, you must know we are not bad mages.¡±

    ¡°Brat, you can tell him you are from the Monlog family. He will probably think you possessed someone from this lower realm, and if he asks further questions, you can pretend to be me.¡± George said.

    Arthur heard that and pondered. It was not a bad idea. The only reason he did not attack the man was because of the alliance the Aagi family had with the Monlog.

    He could not deny who he was. Arthur had the Monlog Giant bloodline, and George was someone that helped him in lots of ways, and was even willing to help him leave that world when the time is right.

    ¡°I am from the Monlog family. That is how I know who you are.¡±

    ¡°What? But that is¡­ that is¡­ How?¡±

    ¡°Just like you are here. Now, for the sake of your alliance, can you tell me more about the bloodline treasure inside that ce? And can we both have it?¡±

    ¡°First things first. I am Rolf, you?¡±

    ¡°Arthur.¡±

    ¡°Now, about the treasure. This is something that both my family and yours got to know about. Maybe you are someone that is out of the family headquarters, traveling, and that is why you don¡¯t know about it. Anyway, it is a special tree that we still don¡¯t know its origins, but the golden fruit that it bears can help us develop our bloodline further.¡±

    ¡°The idea is to get the entire tree, and leave this world to nt it in a ce that both our families can take advantage of it, but this mission is time-consuming,¡±

    ¡°I had to slowly take control of this body, create an entire organization to look for the tree, and increase my level of power to this stage. And it is not over even after we get to the tree, as we will need more power to leave this world as well.¡±

    Rolf exined what the item was, and what was the reason for him to be there, looking for it. Arthur was not sure if he would believe entirely in what Rolf was saying, but ording to George, he would not betray the Monlog family, as they had a magical pact that prevented that.

    ¡°How do you got to know about this tree?¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know if you know, but there is a strange portal that appeared in this world. After that, countless people and races came here to learn more about it. So, that portal brought strange things to this ce, and the tree is one of these things. I did not know where it was at first, only that it was in this world.¡±

    The portal once again. Arthur came through that portal, but it seemed it had a lot more to it than that. And based on what Rolf said, more things came out of that portal as well.

    ¡°Is there anyone else from the same world as I? Or perhaps from another world?¡± Arthur thought.

    If Rolf knew about the portal as well, then maybe everything he said was legit, and George confirmed multiple times that it was impossible for the Aagi family to betray them, even if they wanted to.

    ¡°I see. I heard one needs a human sacrifice to open a door here. Can we use one of your people?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Did Sven act rude? You can use him. Look, Arthur. That tree is something incredible that was not supposed to be in this ce, so I believe the ce we are about to enter is dangerous, and that is why I need your help.¡±

    ¡°I know, but treasures and danger walk side by side.¡±

    Maybe one reason Rolf was sharing the information was not because Arthur was from the Monlog family, but because he needed someone strong to actuallyplete the mission and get that mysterious tree.

    ¡°Wise words. Are you willing to help me? You are someone from the Monlog family, so even if we get to the tree, you will be the one that will carry it.¡± Rolf said.

    The words had an honesty behind it. Arthur could see that, and it diminished some of his doubts.

    ¡°I will help you, but the rest of the treasures will be divided between me and you, and I may pick first.¡±

    ¡°No problem. I had no intentions of giving the treasures to these outsiders, anyway.¡±

    Arthur and Rolf shook hands, and an alliance that never crossed Arthur¡¯s mind formed. Him and the Doom Order, that was something straight out of a fairy tale.

    ¡°Also, did you see some people that looked like this?¡±

    He exined the appearance Hiley, and the others had, and Rolf knew about them, but they were not there anymore.

    ¡°We indeed had captured them and for that I am sorry, but they aren¡¯t here anymore. After we realized only a strong mage could be used for the sacrifice, we put them on a ship and let them go.¡±

    ¡°What? Do you know where?¡±

    ¡°I do, actually. The three of them were already in the fifth circle, which meant they could venture into the central continent. As for how they knew how to get there, it seemed there was someone stronger backing them.¡±

    One reason Arthur was there was to rescue his friends and meet up with them after a long time.

    He was happy that nothing bad had happened to them, but also sad as he would not see them.

    ¡°No worries, Arthur. You are almost reaching the official mage rank, and then we will go there as well. I think one of the first things you should do once there is to find your friends, as the central continent is danger for those who do not have the power.¡± George said.

    Arthur agreed to what he said and left. Everyone in the other room was eager to know what would happen next, and those from the Doom Order believed a fight would break down, but Arthur and Rolf got out of that room with smiles all over their faces.

    ¡°Everyone, this old man right here has the same authority as I now, so you better treat him like he is also a leader from this organization.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Not a single one of them could believe it, and even Signy, who knew how fierce Arthur was, could not believe he opted to form an alliance.

    She was also strong, so she could tell Arthur could defeat everyone in that room alone, including the so-called leader.

    If he could win against them, and have all the treasures for himself, what was the reason for him not doing it? What secret do those two shared?

    Signy had millions of thoughts shing through her mind, and she recovered only after Arthur came and tapped her on the shoulder.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Signy. We will enter this ce for real now!¡±

 Chapter 218 Decaying Realm of Blood

    Arthur and Rolf took the lead, with lots of members from the Doom Order following closely behind. Signy, Helga and Finn were also there, adding up to 20 people in total.

    They all returned to the first hall, where one could choose from three sides.

    ¡°We already explored both right and left. There is nothing but day-to-day rooms.¡± Rolf said.

    He came with the hopes of easily getting the treasures, but it was not as easy as it seemed. The door needed a sacrifice, and oneing from a powerful mage. Rolf wanted to use someone from the Doom Order, but that would make them anger, and if all of them worked together, Rolf would die.

    So, the only thing he could do was be patient and look for someone else, and now that someone else was Sven.

    They passed through the first door, which looked exactly like all the others, but when they stepped inside the room, the atmosphere turned cold.

    There was even snow inside that ce, and some of the weaker mages found it hard to endure the weather. Even Arthur, who was strong, felt some difort, meaning that the frosty aura of that ce was not ordinary.

    ¡°This is the door?¡± Arthur said.

    Rolf was just beside him, and said, ¡°yes, this is it. Before you ask how we got to know about the sacrifice, take this.¡±

    Arthur indeed was going to ask that, as there was nothing showing a sacrifice in that room. What Rolf gave him was a type of stone tablet. It had some strange symbols in it, and Arthur knew it was written in thenguage the giants used.

    On that tablet, it showed how to open the door, and the reason the giants could not open it. The sacrifice had to be human, and it had to be killed by another human, or else it would not work.

    Another interesting fact was that the giants were trapped on that ind as long as they were alive. That exined why the giant Arthur found was strange. It was already dead.

    Speaking of that beast invasion, Arthur asked Rolf if he knew something about it, but he stated that the Doom Order had nothing to do with it, and they were only there to get the bloodline treasure.

    Arthur was hoping to find his friends and learn the reason behind the invasion when meeting with the Doom Order, but it seemed his n had got to waste. At least he knew his friends were going to the central continent, and that was his next destiny as well.

    ¡°Let me kill him.¡± Rolf said.

    He was not afraid now if the rest of the members tried to work together and attack him. With Arthur by his side, there was no way those people would seed.

    Also, most of the members disliked Sven, saying that he mistreated everyone, and even harassed some women from the Doom Order.

    Basically, a scumbag. Arthur was not the same as he was. Killing people was no problem for him, especially if it was someone that had done bad things.

    Rolf put Sven in front of the door and cut his throat with a dagger. A bloodstream erupted from Sven¡¯s neck, and all the blood magically flew towards the huge stone door, filling the strange patterns it had.

    The entire door changed to a reddish color, and thundering sounds echoed throughout the entire room. After a few seconds passed, the door opened, revealing what was behind it.

    A deadnd, with withered grass and trees. Everything looked devastated, and the river made of blood coursing throughout it made everything even more bizarre.

    ¡°What is this ce?¡±

    It even had a sky of its own, reminding Arthur of that ce where he went when touching the tree of the elves.

    Arthur had a better sight than most, so he could see far away. He saw a volcano, or at least it looked like it, but the strangest part was that it was not eruptingva, but snow!

    ¡°George, have you ever seen something like this?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and no. Brat, I believe this is a dimensional space created by another mage. For one to do that, it needs to have the power of at least a rank 4 official mage.¡±

    ¡°What? Mages can create worlds?¡±

    ¡°This ce is not as big as a world, but depending on what level the mage was, it can get pretty close. It has its ownws, and other creatures can live here as well. Usually mages created these spaces to act as their home, increasing their power when fighting inside this dimensional space. Also, mages usually stored their treasures here.¡±

    ¡°So this is a dangerous ce that can be filled with riches? Should I take the risk?¡±

    ¡°Well, you are already here, so why not? Your life as a mage is only starting, and you will face more ces like this one in the future if you truly want to achieve the top.¡±

    Achieve the top. That was something Arthur will do. The reason for it? Well, first he wanted to live forever, just like the powerful mages from legends.

    He also wanted to learn more about how and why he was teleported to that world, and if someone else had the same fate as him.

    Maybe returning to his world and bring along his powers? That would make his life way easier.

    Anyway, these were just wild thoughts, and the thing he needed to concentrate now was how to thrive inside that dimensional space and find the tree they were looking for.

    ¡°Rolf, that icy volcano seemed to be the main part of this ce. Maybe that is where some treasures are located?¡±

    ¡°What? Where?¡±

    Rolf used some enhancing spells and finally saw the ce Arthur was talking about. He was almost sure the tree they were looking for was inside that volcano, and presumably deep in it.

    ¡°It will not be easy.¡±

    ¡°I know, but we have to do this.¡±

    Everyone that was below the fifth circle was shitting their pants off. They were almost sure they would die, and most of them looked behind just to see the door locked, meaning it was impossible for them to flee.

    All they could do was hope for the best, even though that was likely a pipe dream.

    What they needed to do was reach that volcano, but it felt like a distant goal, and after walking for only one minute, strange beasts jumped from the river of blood, attacking them.

    Some of the weaker members died in the first sh, diminishing the number of people.

    Arthur guessed that most of them would die before they could reach the volcano, but that was not his problem.

 Chapter 219 Exploring the Dimensional Realm (1)

    Something felt off about the ce they were in. Arthur felt someone was watching their every move, waiting for them to make a mistake and then punish them.

    Maybe it was just his head ying tricks on him, but Arthur was someone that believed in his instincts.

    All the others only thought the ce was weird, dangerous, and nothing more. Even Rolf, who was someone from a higher realm, felt that way, too.

    ¡°Am I over-thinking?¡±

    The more they went toward the volcano, the fewer people were with them, and most of those who died were from the Doom Order, although its weak members.

    ¡°What type of beast is that?¡± One of them said.

    ¡°An ancient beast! This ce is older than we thought.¡± Arthur said.

    He was someone who read lots of books, so it was not strange for him to know about an ancient beast, but what was strange was why something like that was there!

    An ancient beast was akin to a dragon in terms of rarity, and supposedly these types of beasts were not around anymore, and could only survive in specific locations.

    The beast that Arthur and the others met was a giant eye with tentacles around it. Creepy.

    It was not a powerful beast, though. That was the only good thing about it.

    Arthur took the lead and faced the beast alone while everyone else rested near a dead tree. It was not troublesome for him to end the life of that creature, and he did it wlessly.

    ¡°We are still so far away. Fuck.¡± Rolf said.

    Just like before, the more they walked towards the volcano, the further it felt. Arthur was sure it was not an illusion of any kind. The volcano was just far, that¡¯s it.

    But how could a dimensional space be so big? Even George, who was still watching everything from Arthur¡¯s perspective, was shocked.

    ¡°Arthur. I risk myself to say that maybe whoever created this ce could be in the sixth or seventh mage rank! That is an existence capable of destroying this entire, like literately cast a spell and destroy the whole star!¡± George said.

    He was always sharing the mighty of strong mages, but it always felt like a dream to Arthur. Someone capable of destroying a? It was something in apletely different realm from where he was at that point, and who knows if George was only overreacting?

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving!¡±

    They rest only for a short time before continuing their journey toward the snowy volcano. One thing that made them believe they were getting closer to it was the cold.

    After each step closer to the volcano, it got colder and colder. Not a nice feeling to have, but one they had to endure in order to reach their goal.

    Other type of beasts appeared to attack them, and some even threated Helga, who was saved by Signy, showing her power after increasing her rank.

    Arthur watched everything and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled at it, and a feeling of happiness erupted inside of her, although it onlysted a moment inside a ce like the one they were in.

    In all the fights that happened, Arthur did not move to help anyone from the Doom Order, and only did that to save his group.

    Rolf did not help his own group. For him, they were just tools to reach his goal, and there was nothing wrong with it.

    He was not even from that or realm, and his view of these weak humans was different. The only ones that meant something to him were official mages, or someone from a bloodline family, like Arthur.

    Even if the members of the Doom Order disliked that, no one could do anything inside that ce, and if they got out of it, Rolf would leave with his treasure anyway, so the Doom Order was basically over.

    Arthur was watching a few members of the Doom Order fight against some beasts, but when he scanned his surroundings, looking at the ground just beside him, he was shocked.

    Everyone else would not see it, or sense it, but he could. It was a blue energy, the same one that those powerful figures had. The celestial energy.

    It was only a small amount, and the only reason for Arthur to sense it in the first ce was because it was really close to him.

    ¡°Why is it here?¡±

    Nothing showed that those celestial beings created this ce, so why was that in there? Arthur¡¯s own celestial energy had a drawn back after he got seriously injured when using all of it, and it was still in need to recover.

    So, he moved his hand towards that small amount of energy and absorbed it. Nothing happened, but it was still something for him. Perhaps if Arthur found arge amount of it, he could recover his celestial powers back.

    George saw everything, and could not help but to ask, ¡°Arthur, what did you see?¡±

    Arthur was not sure if he should tell George about it. Even though he looked friendly and was helping him a lot, the only way for Arthur to truly trust him was to meet the whole Monlog family and see if they were good people.

    ¡°Nothing. My eyes were just imagining things. George, is it possible that the person who created this ce is still around?¡±

    ¡°This¡­ Look, the only reason for someone that strong to be here is, either there is something incredible on this that he wants to get, or he is injured and cannot leave this ce. The other possibility is that is already dead, and only this ce remained.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    So George did not discard the possibility of the entity who created that ce to still be alive, and that was a problem considering Arthur had just seen traces of celestial energy.

    Based on what Arthur had learned so far, these people that called themselves ¡®gods¡¯ were just strong mages that reached an unimaginable realm of power. But the strangest part was that no one except these selected individuals could use the celestial energy.

    Was it something that only someone who reached a high level of power could use, or something that someone used to reach a high level of power?

    Still, having a trace of that mysterious energy inside a ce like that one was not something good. Perhaps it meant whoever created that ce knew how to use the celestial energy, and maybe was still alive!

    If it was still alive and had a small part of its power, everyone was dead, even Arthur. The difference in power was too much.

    Arthur was thinking about all of that while the Doom Order was fighting some beasts and losing more of its members. Only three members remained, making the atmosphere tense, and even Rolf was getting anxious.

    ¡°Arthur,¡± Rolf said, leaning closer to Arthur to whisper into his ear.

    ¡°Do you think we will make it? The beasts are getting stronger the close we get to the volcano, and I am sure the inside of it will be the most dangerous ce so far.¡±

    ¡°Well, it is not like we can get out. The entrance we used is closed, and during all the way we traveled there was nothing but dead vegetation and beasts. I am afraid the only way out of this ce is inside the volcano.¡±

    ¡°Tsk.¡±

    Rolf was not dumb, and had already guessed that, but could not believe it. Only after hearing Arthur was he sure their situation was truly not good.

    He was not that afraid to die, as it would only mean his consciousness would return to his main body in another realm, but all the work he had put to find the treasure would be gone, and the members from his family, as well as the Monlog family would not be happy with his work.

    So, no matter the cost, he had to make the mission work.

    ¡°Look, honestly, the members that died were weak, and everyone else that remained has a decent power. If we work together from now, then we can reach the volcano without problems. The only problemys inside of it, as we do not know what we will face there.¡± Arthur said.

    Everyone listened to it carefully and nodded their heads. It was not a time to fight against each other, and even Arthur, who was not someone that wanted to help the Doom Order, would do it from that point in forward.

    He had witnessed the power of the beasts that attacked them, and some had the power of a seventh circle mage. Things were getting harder, and if he did not help, then maybe even Rolf would die before reaching the volcano.

    Arthur knew he would reach it with minor problems, but the knowledge Rolf had may be crucial after they reached that ce, so he had to stay alive no matter the cost.

    ¡°Now that we are all on the same page, let¡¯s go. We will get treasures and leave this disgusting ce with our lives!¡± Rolf said.

    The morale of them increased, and they marched forward toward the volcano, not knowing that an existence was watching their every move with a smirk.

 Chapter 220 Exploring the Dimensional Realm (2)

    The journey took a few more days. No one was sure how long it took, as their time perception was messed up inside that dimensional space. But finally, after enduring lots of fights against the beasts, they finally reached the volcano.

    It was huge. Arthur and the others were at the base, and when looking up, one could not see the top of it. Now that they were closer, it was possible to see a tunnel that led towards the insides of the volcano.

    ¡°Something was built inside of it. Maybe the ce where the mage trained? If that is the case, then there are lots of treasures there, certainly.¡± Arthur thought.

    They did not venture into the volcano instantly, but rested near the base. It was not in eruption or anything like it, so it was safe, at least for the time being. Even if something like that happened, the tunnel was near, so all they had to do was run toward it.

    Arthur was in constant watch of their surroundings, even while talking with Signy, who was trying her best to learn more about him.

    She was trying to get him to be her teacher, or at least help her in her way of magic. Arthur was not willing to be someone else¡¯s teacher again, but helping her was not a big deal.

    He tried to answer some doubts she had, and even helped with the condensing of spiritual energy, consolidating her in the sixth circle.

    Signy was someone that was bing Arthur¡¯s friend, and he hoped she was a good person indeed, and not someone only after benefits.

    Arthur wondered how would she feel if she discovered he was not an old man, but a handsome youth. Would she act rude against him, or fall in love?

    ¡°Everyone ready?¡± Rolf said.

    Everyone was a strong word, considering almost everyone had died, leaving only Arthur¡¯s group and two of the Doom Order. The others all perished before reaching their destination.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    There were no more reasons to stay outside of the volcano. It was a dangerous ce, but it was also the only way out of the dimensional realm, and presumably the ce where all the treasures were.

    Those who were there were afraid of death, but were also eager to get their hands on some treasures, and maybe reach the next level of their mage journey.

    Arthur was no different, wanting to get that bloodline treasure, and increased his power even further. They all went inside with those greedy thoughts in mind.

    It was a dark tunnel, and the cold inside the volcano was almost unbearable. Arthur was not someone with an icy resistance, but he was still better off than the rest because of his incredible physique, boosted by both of his bloodlines.

    The mages from the Doom Order tried to cast some fire spells to dissipate the coldness. It helped, but only a little. The difference between the power of their fire spells to the coldness was too much.

    Even Arthur, who had some fire skills from the dragon race, could not dissipate the cold.

    ¡°What is creating this? Even a dragon fire cannot melt it!¡±

    The danger of that ce increased, making Arthur increased his attention to avoid any missteps that could lead to his demise.

    Everyone else felt the same way, slowly exploring the narrow tunnel into finally reaching a building. It was a double-door, and a wall made of cobblestone.

    Arthur guessed it was the entrance to the ce where the mage trained. So, the dangers were about to increase by a lot, as there was no way the mage would allow intruders to steal their treasures with ease.

    The only hope they had was that the mage had long died, and the protective mechanisms turned old, therefore not working properly.

    He went close to the wall, inspecting it, passing his hand through it to see if there was something different about it, but nothing happened.

    They were happy that it did not trigger any traps.

    ¡°Arthur, be careful. Don¡¯t touch things without thinking.¡± Rolf said.

    Arthur ignored him. With his dragon senses, he scanned the wall before touching it, and was sure there was nothing strange about it. The only reason he touch it was to make sure.

    He also had George watching everything, who gave insights about what was happening, increasing the knowledge Arthur had about the ce.

    ¡°Usually mages create this type of fortress to meditate inside with no one disturbing them, and also to store treasures and do experiments. You better expect traps inside these ces, and even if a long time had passed, some of these traps will still work.¡± George said.

    ¡°Sorry. Shall we enter?¡± Arthur said.

    All of them prepared themselves before pushing the door, revealing what was on the other side of it. Just like Arthur guessed, it was amon room, all made with the same cobblestone from the wall before.

    But different from the tunnel, these rooms wererge and tall, pushing away the ustrophobic feeling.

    Just by ncing at it, one could tell it was like a home, divided into specific rooms, such as the meditating room, the treasure room,boratory, and so on.

    ¡°We should be careful now, as this ce can still have traps.¡±

    They all knew that, but what they did not know was that someone was watching them from a type of screen created by magic.

    It was someone that looked like a corpse, with white hair, and barely any meat in its body.

    That person wore a red long robe, and wasughing like a maniac while staring at the screen.

    ¡°Finally, some living humans are inside my realm, hehehe. Will this be enough for me to recover some of my strength and leave this ce? How should I proceed with this?¡±

    What that figure said was unknown to Arthur and the others, who were more concerned about the traps the ce could have, and about the treasures they were about to get.

 Chapter 221 Exploring the Dimensional Realm (3)

    ¡°What direction should we take first?¡± Arthur said.

    The first room was empty, but it had doors at their front, right and left. Arthur had a strong guess that these first rooms could have some traps to stop intruders before they could even take a nce at what was behind those doors.

    Rolf had the same guess, so all of them stood still in one ce, not moving an inch towards one of these doors. The room was big, so it had plenty of space for all of them.

    ¡°This room surely has some traps, but what kind? They could be on the ground, walls, roof, doors, and maybe invisible ones.¡± Rolf said.

    The possibilities were endless, and it made all of them scared. One mage from the Doom Order said something helpful.

    ¡°I know a spell that creates a small golem. We can use it to scan the ce, and maybe activate some traps to see what exactly should we expect.¡±

    Arthur loved the idea. Even if the golem activated some traps, they would not be in danger. Whoever built this ce would surely only put traps that aimed to the target itself, and not something like an area attack, or maybe a detonation devise.

    If it did that, then the rest of the rooms could suffer, and maybe he could even destroy his own treasures. No one in their sane mind would do that.

    Everyone agreed with the idea of that mage, and soon he cast his spell, creating a small golem made of earth.

    He then send towards the door that was in front of them. The room was enormous, so it would take some time for the golem to reach the destination.

    But, after the golem reached 100 meters away from them, it will trigger a trap. Arthur was paying a lot of attention, and noticed that the floor beneath the golem moved. It was a trap triggered the moment he stepped into the wrong tile.

    That meant the floor they were currently on was akin to a minefield, and any misstep could lead to their end.

    What happened next was extraordinary. A spear made of blood appeared out of thin air, piercing through the golem, destroying it instantly.

    The mighty of the attack was extraordinary, and Arthur had a feeling that if it was any of them there, they would die for sure.

    ¡°How many golems can you make before you ran out of mana?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Ten to fifteen. Why?¡±

    The person from the Doom Order did not understand the reason behind such a question. Even if he could only cast a few of them, all he had to do was wait for his mana to recover.

    When he thought about that, he instantly understood the reason behind Arthur¡¯s question.

    ¡°We can¡¯t regenerate our mana inside this ce!¡± He said.

    Everyone present was shocked. That would make their task harder. If an enemy appeared and made them ran out of mana, then they would perish.

    But the thing that annoyed them the most was the fact that their n of using the golem to pass through that minefield was not one hundred percent efficient.

    The room wasrge, and depending on how frequent the traps were, everyone would run out of mana before reaching the next room.

    Also, the next room would probably have another type of traps, and they would not have the mana to pass through it as well.

    ¡°Now you realize the trouble you are in, hahaha!¡±

    The strange mummy who was watching everythingughed out loud as he watched the situation using his magic.

    No one, even Arthur, had any idea that someone was watching them.

    All of them were anxious, trying to think of ways to ovee the traps, seeing that their mana would not recover while inside that ce.

    Arthur was not concerned at all! Even though not even he could regenerate his mana inside of that ce, it did not mean there was no mana in the atmosphere.

    He could devour the mana to replenish his own, which meant he could use that to his advantage.

    ¡°Can you teach me this spell? I have a way of recovering my mana while inside this ce, and if over one person knows how to use your spell, then we have a better chance of getting out alive.¡±

    A glimmer of hope appeared on the face of everyone present the moment Arthur said he had a way to recover his mana inside that ce.

    They did not ask him how, as it was not the moment to learn the secrets of others. Focusing on their survival was the most important part, so for that reason, the man from the Doom Order shared his knowledge of the spell.

    He used a type of transmission, as he did not have the scroll that contained the spell in hand, but it was still in his memory, so sharing was not that hard.

    A piece of information about the golem spell entered the mind of everyone present, and all of them tried to learn it, but it was hard.

    It was not a hard spell to learn, but one part of learning a new spell was to practice, and they did not have the luxury of spending their mana carelessly, so it made the learning process more difficult.

    Arthur did not have the problem, as even without practicing the spell itself, he could learn it easily using his superior strength.

    Within thirty minutes, he could already cast the spell and create an earth golem. The most surprising fact was that the golem looked a lot simr to the one the Doom Order member cast, meaning that their proficiency with the spell was simr.

    But that would mean Arthur beat up someone who used the spell for a long time in only thirty minutes. What kind ofprehension was that? Even Rolf, who came from a higher realm, could not believe it.

    Arthur looked at them and said, ¡°now two of us know the spell, so shall we continue to trigger some traps?¡±

    They did not see a reason to refuse, and while the rest of them continued to practice the spell, Arthur and the man from the Doom Order focused on finding more traps in that minefield.

 Chapter 222 Exploring the Dimensional Realm (4) - Tower

    They took turns. Arthur cast a golem of his own and made it move towards the door in the front. After it got killed, the man from the Doom Order would do the same, and so on.

    One thing they did was to mark the tiles that were safe, and the ones that they found traps in it.

    ¡°We still don¡¯t know if the tiles are static or change. So, after we find a safe path towards the door, we shall first send another golem to test the waters.¡± Arthur said.

    He was being careful after hearing George say those things about the power of the person who built that ce. It was not someone that could be looked down on.

    Arthur tracked the right path for them so that no one would perish in the first part of the strange ce they were in.

    After some time, the others picked up the spell as well, although it was not as good as the one Arthur and the original owner could cast.

    Still, the golem was not meant forbat, but to trigger the traps. Even if it was a weaker version, it was more than enough.

    They kept sending golems, activating many traps during the way, but most of these traps were blood spells that killed those golems in less than a second.

    Whoever built the ce put some of its spells in traps that could reactivate countless times if there was still mana in the atmosphere.

    It was a fine piece of work, and the mighty of those spells was incredible, but it was not enough to stop all of them.

    With the help of everyone present, they found a safe path towards the door that was in front of them. They noticed that when someone was in a 100 meters range from the door, there were no traps in it, meaning they had a safer area to stay and rest before advancing to the next room.

    Arthur sent another golem to make sure the path they chose was the right one, and no traps were activated, which meant their n worked.

    One by one they followed the same path of tiles, reaching the next door without problems. Not a single one of them got hurt, but their mana diminished by a lot, and all of them could not recover it while inside that volcano.

    The only person who could was Arthur. Everyone present knew that, so they saw him as their hope of getting out of that ce alive, treating him with respect.

    Even the two remaining members of the Doom Order who disliked him thought otherwise, acting as friendly as possible to him.

    They waited in front of the door, sitting on the ground to finally rest after a life-and-death situation.

    ¡°We are alive!¡± Signy said.

    It was only the first part, but it was already an achievement to be proud of. After resting for some time, Arthur slowly made his way towards the double-door, and opened it.

    What waited for them in the next room waspletely different. It was like an immense cave, with only a bridge that led to an obsidian tower.

    The tower had many floors, and the top of it was touching the roof of the cave-like ce.

    ¡°A tower?¡±

    They did not expect that. It differedpletely from the previous room. The first thing they did was send another golem to check if the bridge had any traps on it, just like the previous room. It did not.

    ¡°Strange. I thought this ce would be filled with traps.¡± Rolf said.

    ¡°The real danger might be inside the tower.¡± Arthur said.

    All of them gathered their courage and went towards the enormous tower. Nothing happened while they were on the bridge, but the feeling of someone watching still did not vanish, and it was actually getting stronger the more Arthur went towards the tower.

    He was the only one that felt it. The others did not have a keen sense like him.

    ¡°George. I have a feeling that someone is watching me, and my instincts never fail me. If the owner of this ce is still alive, what can we do?¡±

    ¡°That is impossible. If someone is truly watching you, then it is someone else and not the creator of this ce.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The creator would feel all of you the moment you entered, and would not allow you to pass through the first room.¡±

    George was certainly the person who created that dimensional space was not around anymore, and even had another guess inside his mind, one that he shared with Arthur.

    ¡°I have a strong feeling the person made this ce to share his inheritance with whoever mage is strong enough to get it. If someone is watching you, then it could be someone who got trapped in here and did not get the treasures of this ce.¡± George said.

    Arthur heard it, and it made sense, but he was still not sure if that was the truth. The creator of the dimensional realm could be hurt, hiding inside of it.

    Those were all guesses, and the only thing they could do was walk towards the obsidian tower and go inside of it. The moment all of them put their feet in it, each one of them vanished.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    The entrance of the obsidian tower had a teleport formation, sending each one of them to a different floor of the tower. Each floor differed from each other, and the luck of one would mean if they would pass to the next stage or not.

    Of course, the strength was also important. Arthur, for example, was not that scared as he was someone strong. But a small fear was still within, considering the realm he was in was created by a powerful mage that could wipe his existence with just one thought.

    Arthur scanned the ce he was in. It looked exactly like a normal building, and the only difference was the countless red eyes that stared at Arthur through the dark.

 Chapter 223 Exploring the Dimensional Realm (5) - Almost Dead

    The floor Arthur was on was pure darkness. Even with his improved eyesight, it was hard to see it properly, but there was one thing Arthur could see without problems; red eyes.

    Red eyes stared at him from all directions. These eyes were like a hunter, and he was like the prey. A feeling of difort grew within, and Arthur did not want to stay in such a ce for much longer.

    ¡°What type of creatures are these?¡±

    Whatever it was, it did nothing but to stare. Although the staring made him feel bad, it was better than having countless beasts jumping on him trying to get a piece of his flesh.

    After making sure those things would not attack him, Arthur moved, making his way throughout the dark building.

    The only thing inside that ce was some random pirs from time to time, and that¡¯s it. He could not tell if he was going in the right direction or not.

    Arthur could not understand how that ce was messing with his vision, which was supposed to see in the dark, yet it was not working as intended.

    It was not the first thing the dimensional realm messed up, as the mana regeneration was also facing problems. Arthur asked George about it, and he said that whoever created this realm could set its own rules, and that is why some things were strange and mysterious.

    He kept ready to defend himself in case anything tried to attack him, and it happened. The red eyes that were staring at him finally made their move, with some rushing towards him.

    When it got closer, Arthur saw what those things were; cadavers. These things were like mummies with red-eyes and long ws.

    The face of those things were disturbing. It reminded Arthur of monsters from horror movies.

    ¡°Get off me!¡±

    Arthur was not concerned about sparing his mana, but against those things, he did not need it either. He had an extraordinary physique, and when that ugly mummy got closer to him, he threw a punch right into its face, sending it flying away.

    He saw through the level above the head of that mummy that it was not a powerful enemy, having a low level of 25, which was nothing to him.

    For a moment, Arthur thought he would easily pass through that floor, but things were not as easy as he thought.

    The mummy that was sent flying and was presumably dead returned to life. Not only that, but the number of red-eyes staring at him through the darkness kept increasing into the point of thousands.

    ¡°This concerns, Arthur. You are strong, but against these many monsters, things will get troublesome.¡±

    ¡°Really, George? If you hadn¡¯t said I would not realize it.¡±

    Arthur mocked him and tried to think of a way out. Fighting against those things would not work, as it seemed they would keeping back to live to haunt him.

    ¡°Maybe I should just run and hope for the best?¡±

    It was the only thing he could think of, and that was what he did. Using all the strength he had on his body, Arthur ran as fast as he could, achieving unprecedented speed, dodging from most of the mummies.

    Not even a single one of those mummies hit him, and everything seemed to go in the right direction. Arthur was not finding the right direction, but at least the mummy threat was not a concerning aspect anymore.

    The moment he sighed in relief, a deafening sound echoed through the entire floor, and all the mummies that were chasing Arthur stopped and fled, scared of whatever screamed a few moments earlier.

    Arthur felt the same way. When he turned around, a strange beast was staring at him. It was so disgusting that he had the urge to throw up.

    It was a ball made of flesh with a mouth in it. A countless number of human arms were attached to the ball of flesh, moving non-stop.

    The strangest part was that it seemed some human faces were on the ball of flesh as well, as if it was a fusion of countless dead bodies screaming from time to time.

    ¡°What the fuck is this?¡±

    There were only interrogation marks above the head of that creature, which meant it was something strong, and the best decision was to not fight against it, but to run.

    Arthur continued to run toward the same direction he was previously been going, not stopping for a single second to look back.

    He was not only using the speed of his body, but his teleport as well, trying his best to increase the distance between him and that strange creature.

    But it did not work out for him. The beast was getting closer and closer, as if it was teleporting as well, just like him.

    Then, one arm attached to that ball of flesh extended in size, hitting Arthur on the shoulder, breaking itpletely.

    ¡°Aggggr!¡±

    Arthur endured the pain and kept using everything he got to leave that floor and flee from that creature.

    The only problem was that he was not finding the way out, and the beast send yet another attack, now breaking most of his ribs.

    He was not in the best shape of his life, and after some other attacks from that creature, Arthur was on the verge of passing out.

    Blood dripped from his wounds, and he could not move his arms properly after the beast broke them, making it hard for him to cast his teleport spell.

    Hopeless, Arthur used all the willpower he had within and continued forward. Then he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

    It was a way out, a door. Arthur gathered all the strength he had left and dashed forward, trying to reaching the way out before the creature killed him.

    An arm from the ball of flesh went forward, trying to end Arthur¡¯s life, but when the arm was almost reaching his head, even grabbing some of his hair, Arthur passed through the door and left the tower to safety.

 Chapter 224 Exploring the Dimensional Realm (6) - Thief, and others?

    Arthur was hurt everywhere on his body, and with his current appearance of an old man, he looked rather pitiful. What waited for him after he passed through that door was an open green field which did not look like it was part of a volcano.

    There were trees everywhere, but the main part of it was a garden in the middle with strange herbs filled with vitality.

    He saw it, right in the middle of that garden, an enormous tree with strange golden fruits. The moment he looked at it, both bloodlines inside his body felt attracted to it, and his body moved without hismand.

    ¡°Stop, Arthur, stop!¡±

    That was what he told to himself multiple times, and eventually it worked, returning the control of his body.

    The treasure he and Rolf were after was right in front of him, but he did not know if there were dangers around the area, and in his wounded state, Arthur was weaker than ever.

    It was at that moment that someone appeared out of thin air, as if it had entered a dimensional door and appeared there, just like Arthur did a couple of minutes prior to that.

    ¡°Rolf!¡±

    Rolf was the person who showed up, and differently from Arthur, he was not bruised and seemed to be in peak condition. The first thing he did was to check up on Arthur to see if he was okay, but when his eyesid on the tree, greed could be seen in it.

    He wanted it badly, and mischievous thoughts shed through his mind.

    Wasn¡¯t that the perfect opportunity? The tree was right in front of him, and Arthur was hurt, barely able to walk!

    ¡°Hahahahaha! It is finally mine!¡±

    Arthur saw the maniacugh of Rolf, and he was not liking the situation.

    ¡°Rolf? Didn¡¯t you mean our treasure?¡±

    ¡°Our? Look at your state. This is a great opportunity to have it all to myself!¡±

    It was just like Arthur imagined. Greed took the best of Rolf, and he was not willing to share any of it after seeing how badly hurt Arthur was.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of the pact our families have?¡± Arthur said.

    George was confident Rolf would do nothing against them because of that pact, but the next sentence surprised them.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do anything, but the pact does not work with me, someone who had been kicked out of the family! With this treasure, I will create a family of my own and destroy the Aagi family for good. After that, you are next!¡±

    Rolf was from the Aagi family, but that was a long time ago. He had been kicked out of the family for good, and they did not recognize them as a member anymore, which meant the pact would not work with him at all!

    Arthur tried his best to get up and stop Rolf from getting that treasure alone, but Rolf cast a wind spell, sending Arthur flying away from the tree and cutting his body everywhere.

    He walked toward the tree with a greedy smile. Nothing happened. Not a single trap activated, or an enemy appeared to attack him.

    Before, Arthur did not want traps or enemies, but now it would be the only thing capable of stopping Rolf from stealing the tree for himself, but it did not happen.

    Rolf got closer to the giant tree, opened up his magical pouch, and a fierce suction force sucked the tree, tossing it into the pouch.

    Just like that, the treasure both of them would share was gone, and Rolf had it all to him.

    The strange mummy was still watching everything, shocked to see that Arthur had passed through that tower floor.

    ¡°How? I used a lot of my power to send a special creature just to go after that old man! Fuck, fuck, fuck!¡±

    Arthur was the strongest of them, and that mysterious person who was watching everything knew it as well, and that is why he sent a special creature using his own power to go after him.

    He was almost certain Arthur would die, but it did not happen, and Arthur fled from the tower floor, wounded. That was one reason Rolf appeared unscratched. The focus was on Arthur, and not him!

    Rolf grabbed a few more things from the garden, and then continue forward, entering a magical portal, leaving the area.

    Thirty minutes passed. Signy and Helga came from the portal, and when they saw Arthur all hurt, they instantly went to help him.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Signy said.

    ¡°I was hurt during the test inside the tower, and Rolf saw the opportunity to grab the treasures in this area for himself and then leave me behind to die.¡±

    ¡°Bastard! I knew he was not someone worth trusting.¡±

    Arthur felt the same way, but he had trusted the pact between families, and that had caused his demise.

    Signy and Helga had a few potions with them, coupled with the regeneration Arthur had by being a dragon and a giant. He recovered most of his wounds after one hour.

    Then, he pointed toward the portal and said, ¡°he used that portal to get to the next stage. I can guess there are some steps before reaching the end of this ce, so we still have a chance of getting him before he flees from here with those treasures.¡±

    George had said something about that ce being an inheritance from a powerful mage. There was no way the test would end so soon, so Arthur had the hope of catching Rolf and getting back his treasures.

    The only good part about all of that was that if Arthur caught him, then he would not have to share that treasure with the Aagi family, which meant it was more power to him!

    Signy helped him get up, and the three of them moved toward the portal, passing through it and appearing in apletely new location.

    It looked exactly like the insides of a cave, but the roof was a river of blood, not falling at their heads because of some mysterious power.

    Far, Arthur noticed a silver chalice with blood on it, and then he saw countless people there.

    Youths, all different from each other, but with one goal in mind, reach the chalice and get the inheritance. Rolf was among those people, clueless as well as how they were there.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Arthur said.

    He scanned through the area and noticed that they were at least in the seventh circle, and three individuals were in the tenth circle!

    They had not noticed those new people, and Arthur would be the focus of attention if he was an old man, different from everyone that was young there.

    So, for that reason, he returned to his usual appearance, shocking Signy and Helga that were just beside him.

    ¡°Arthur? This is how you truly look? You are so, so- ¡°

    ¡°So handsome? I know.¡±

    Signy¡¯s cheeks turned red, and she moved her head, avoiding Arthur¡¯s gaze.

 Chapter 225 Inheritance Test (1)

    Signy and Helga already had a deep impression of Arthur, as he was someone strong, but after seeing how he truly looked, the admiration they had for him increased.

    One thing was an old man who was strong after training for years; another thing was a youth who had the same level of power.

    In their eyes, Arthur was someone talented enough to be called a genius, and that was not an exaggeration.

    ¡°Who are these people?¡±

    Arthur saw countless youths that were strong, and three of them were at the tenth circle, simr to his own power. There was no way these people could be from the same ce as him, so the only guess he had was that these youths were from the central continent!

    Some of these youths were in groups, but most of them were alone, so Arthur looked for one of these individuals.

    He chose someone that was not that strong, having the power of the seventh circle, and that looked friendly as well, as he was not looking to start another fight.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Arthur said.

    The person he talked to was a cute girl who wore a long dark robe and had dark hair as well. What caught the most attention were her eyes, which had a deep red color.

    ¡°Is there anything you need?¡± She said.

    ¡°I just want to know from where everyone herees from. Could you maybe enlighten me?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Are you those people that studies all the adversaries before a test? Cool. Well, I don¡¯t know the exact location of everyone, but moste from powerful families or academies on the central continent. You see those three right there?¡±

    She pointed at the three who were at the tenth circle, and said, ¡°these three are the top students of the younger generation, and the three of them are from the same academy, the Abyssal Bone.¡±

    ¡°They are so strong, yet so young!¡±

    ¡°That is to be expected. Their academy gives them lots of resources, and that is why they are ahead of all the others from the younger generation!¡±

    Arthur¡¯s guess was correct, and everyone there was indeed from the central continent. He did not know what was happening, and why those people were there, so he kept talking with that girl named Samantha and learned more about what was happening.

    Whoever built that realm had built different passages to enter the inheritance in all parts of the world. Arthur, for example, used the strange pce on the ind of giants to reach it, but everyone else from the central continent used another entrance!

    All the youths used the same entrance, so Arthur knew at least two different entrances, but did not know if there was more scattered throughout the.

    It was not the first time youths were sent there. That inheritance opened up once in a 1000 years. The reason only youths entered there was because the highest strength one could have when entering was the tenth circle!

    Official mages could not enter inside the inheritance. They had tried to fake their power using spells or artifacts, but it did not work.

    No one knew how long the inheritance was there, but they all knew that 1000 years ago, lots of youths entered, trying to get the inheritance for themselves, but no one got it!

    Half of the youths who entered died, but those who survive did not get the inheritance, only some other treasures.

    Samantha shared all of that with Arthur as if he was a friend of hers, which made him wonder if he was that charming or she was just someone that loved to talk.

    Arthur was d to learn all of that with a simple conversation, but he wanted to learn how the test worked. But it was more troublesome than he thought.

    ¡°Do you know something about how the inheritance test goes?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, not. The information we have since thest opening was from 1000 years ago, and before that everything is lost¡­¡±

    He said goodbyes to Samantha, who seemed happy after getting to know him, and returned to Signy and Helga.

    ¡°Oh, right! Where is Finn?¡±

    ¡°No idea¡­ I don¡¯t think he passed through the previous level.¡±

    It was a shame, but Arthur was not that shaken. He barely knew Finn, but he still hoped that he was not dead. As for Rolf, he was far away in the middle of the crowd, anxious after getting the tree for himself, yet unable to leave and flee.

    Now Rolf would have to take part in the test for the inheritance with all the youths, and during it, Arthur would do his best to steal the magical pouch in his possession and get his hands on that tree!

    Speaking of treasures, based on what Samantha told him, the portal they had on the central continent led them directly to the ce they were currently in, which meant they did not know about all the rest of the dimensional realm!

    ¡°This means that if the other rooms have treasures, I am the only person who knows about them!¡±

    George, who was only observing everything quietly, said, ¡°Arthur, get the inheritance. If you get it, then you will have the power to move freely throughout this dimensional realm, so getting our hands on all those treasures will be easy!¡±

    ¡°Also, try your best to get some friends, maybe Samantha? She is from the central continent, the ce you will go next, so it will prove useful.¡±

    Arthur agreed to what George was saying and waited for the next stage of the test.

    All the youths waited inside of that cave-like ce. Some tried to get near the strange chalice, but there was an invisible barrier that blocked everyone that tried to advance, so they all waited inside.

    After two hours, an ethereal figure of an old man appeared, floating above the chalice. It was so big that everyone could see from afar, and when that figure spoke, everyone could hear as well!

    ¡°I am Ichor, the creator of this ce!¡±

    Everyone present paid close attention to what Ichor was saying. George exined to Arthur that it was only a small piece of Ichor¡¯s soul that was still there to guide them to get the inheritance.

    The real Ichor could be dead, or somewhere else.

    ¡°The test to get my inheritance will change this time, different from all the previous times people tried to conquer it!¡±

    ¡°This ce opened up three times already, and during 3000 years, no one passed the test. The time is running out, so this time, someone will have to pass it!¡±

    ¡°With that in mind, the test will change. I will teleport everyone here to another location where you will have to survive against beasts, the environment, the other mages, and try to find the inheritance as well!¡±

    What Ichor said was that the test was basically¡­ a battle royal, and only one of them will find the inheritance!

 Chapter 226 Inheritance Test (2)

    Everyone present was shocked after Ichor announced how the test would happen, but they did not have the time toin as all of them vanish right after he was done talking.

    They were not inside the volcano anymore, or at least did not seem like it. The ce Ichor teleported everyone looked exactly like a normal forest.

    Some animals one could find in the outside world were there, and it was impossible to tell they were inside a dimensional realm.

    Arthur was there, but Signy and Helga weren¡¯t. It waspletely random where one would appear, so the first thing he wanted to do was to find them, and also find Rolf to get his hands on the treasure that belonged to him.

    ¡°This ce looks so real. George, are you sure we are still inside the dimensional realm?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Like I said, whoever created this can make anything it wanted, so creating a veritable forest like this is not a big deal.¡±

    The person behind the dimensional realm probably got animals from the outside world and put them to live in that forest. After who knows how many years, the ce turned into a giant self-sustainable forest.

    Even though it was an incredible feat, Arthur was more concerned about the others who were in the test, and also about how to find the inheritance.

    Based on what Ichor said, killing others was not the answer to find the inheritance, so it was not like everyone would die and only one would remain.

    But, only one person could get the inheritance, so if over one person finds it, then a death-match is inevitable. For that reason, Arthur wanted to be the first to find that thing and leave without problems.

    Not that he was afraid of facing those youths, but they were all from the central continent! Arthur was not sure his disguise spell would work against the probing of official mages.

    Turning into a killing machine there would only make them his enemies, thus making his time on the central continent worse than normal.

    The best possibility for him was to find the inheritance, and get it with no one knowing his identity.

    ¡°George, how does an inheritance looks like, anyway?¡±

    He needed to find it, yet never saw one before. Arthur was d he had George there with him to help with those things.

    ¡°Remember the silver chalice you saw? Ichor probably teleported it together with all of you, because that is the inheritance! I am almost sure you need to drink the blood from the chalice to get the inheritance.¡±

    ¡°What will I get with it?¡±

    ¡°Usually useful memories about magic itself, enchanting, creation of artifacts, and then unique spells, ancient spells, and many other things. It depends on what inheritance you get, but it will be beneficial to you, so try to get it.¡±

    a€¡­So it turned out Arthur had to find the strange chalice he saw the moment he passed through that portal. But where it would be?

    There was no way of knowing it, but what he could do was to explore the surrounding area and try to look for some clues.

    ¡°The chalice will not be in the open, so maybe inside a cave? Or hidden behind magical formations?¡±

    The possibilities of where that thing would be were endless, and the thought of it made Arthur¡¯s head ache. He looked around and saw no one near, which was a good thing.

    Then, Arthur used his invisibility spell and started his search for Signy and Helga. Of course, he would also try to look for clues about the inheritance along the way, but his priority was to find the two of them.

    Signy was his friend, and Helga seemed like a good person, but they were not that strong whenpared to the rest of the youths there, which meant they were in danger inside that forest.

    Arthur was someone who was knowledgeable about hunting, which included tracking as well, so finding clues about the youths in that forest was easy.

    Within five minutes of walking through the forest, he found someone. Perhaps destiny was ying a part once again, but the person he found was Samantha, someone who had helped him by giving him information.

    He thought if he should take off his invisibility and talk with her, but opted not to, at least not for the time being.

    Samantha may have helped him, but Arthur knew little about her, and considering all the youths were there for the inheritance, who knows what they could to get their hands in it.

    So, he stayed in the shadows, not showing his presence to her. In fact, he left her and continue his own path, trying to find his friends, and maybe some clues about the inheritance.

    The forest, who was once quiet, changed in a matter of minutes, as the youths were meeting each other, and fights broke out throughout the entire ce.

    A blood bath. Some youths killed others just for their spoils, and maybe for the chance of acquiring some information about the inheritance.

    Arthur was not concerned with any of that, and continued to hide behind trees and bushes in that dark forest. Then, he saw two girls he was familiar with.

    Signy and Helga were in a poor state, fighting against three mages from the same school. They had wounds all over her bodies, and the hope of winning was long gone.

    ¡°You two are dead! That is what you get after not giving all your belongings to the Thorns Academy!¡±

    The three men from the Thorns Academy had green robes and vicious faces, maniacallyughing while attacking Signy and Helga.

    Arthur watched everything from behind a tree and immediately took action, appearing beside Signy.

    ¡°What is happening here?¡± Arthur said.

    Everyone there was shocked. They sensed nothing, and a youth appeared out of nowhere. Arthur was not an ordinary mage, but the ego from those men made them act in the worst way possible.

    ¡°Who is this man? Your boyfriend? Hahahaha! Good, good! This way, he can die with you!¡±

    Arthur frowned and could not understand why those men acted that way. He had a view of the central continent; a ce with strong mages who were smart and cared for others. A prosperous ce.

    It seemed he was mistaken, and just like everywhere else, these people were rude and felt superior to everyone else.

    A pity. Arthur was trying his best to not start a blood bath inside that ce, but he would not run from a fight, and would kill anyone that disrespected him.

    With a quick nce, he saw that most of those mages had a level of 50, which was equal to having the eighth circle.

    That was someone strong when put in the ce where Arthur came from, but in front of him it was nothing!

 Chapter 227 Inheritance Test (3) - Another Tower?

    The three men from the Thorns Academy were not concerned with Arthur¡¯s presence. For them, there was no way he could deal with the three of them, so why bother with it?

    They continued their verbal assault, saying, ¡°you will die with your boyfriend today. Isn¡¯t that lovely?¡±

    Arthur did not know how these people could be so dumb to not realize his power. Although he was always hiding it, they should know he was not simple after appearing in front of them out of nowhere, right?

    One of them, the same who was talking shit, cast a spell of his own,unching a ray of sunlight. A powerful spell which would surely kill Signy and Helga if Arthur was not there.

    For him, it was nothing. With a wave of his hand, a magical barrier appeared, blocking the uing attack easily.

    ¡°What?¡±

    None of them could believe it. The ray of sunlight was one of their strongest spells, yet blocked as if it was nothing.

    ¡°Are you cheating? What did you do?¡±

    Even when the situation was clear in front of their eyes, they could not ept Arthur was someone stronger than them. Perhaps their master or the school behind them made them think they were invincible, or prodigies.

    ¡°Is this all you got?¡± Arthur said.

    The trio got even angrier, and theybined their attacks, trying to destroy the magical barrier, yet it was impossible.

    No matter how many spells theyunched against it, nothing happened.

    Arthur was getting bored with the situation, so he cast the same vines he used to lock that giant down, the life draining vines.

    These vines came from the ground, trapping the three men from toe to head. Unable to move, they slowly calmed down, and one of them, who seemed like the leader, said, ¡°you can¡¯t hurt us or the Thorns Academy will go after you! We are ranked at 10 in the academies rankings, so you better be careful!¡±

    It was so predictable Arthur found it funny. Of course, these people would use their academy name to protect themselves, acting rude in front of others.

    Before Arthur showed his power, they were attacking and insulting Signy and Helga, and now they wanted to get away without suffering the consequences?

    ¡°Arthur, don¡¯t fear such a thing. You will probably enter an academy yourself when going to the central continent, and with your talent, you can go anywhere!¡± George said.

    When he heard that, Arthur looked at them, smirked, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let them die here. Oh, right, before I forget.¡±

    Arthur waved his hand again and three magical pouches flew toward him, who put them all inside his own. After that, he left with Signy and Helga, letting the three men die, absorbed by those vines.

    ¡°Thank you, Arthur, for saving us!¡±

    ¡°It was nothing. We should be careful from now on. Now, before anything, do you two want the inheritance from this ce, or can I get it to myself? If you two stay out of it, I will give you something in return, and help you two go to the central continent.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Signy and Helga did not believe they could get their hands on the inheritance, anyway. So, having Arthur say he would give them something was simply amazing.

    ¡°We will not go after the inheritance. Thank you for everything!¡±

    With that, all the three were on the same page. Now that both of his friends were safe and with him, Arthur could focus on his task of finding clues about the inheritance.

    The fights were happening all over the forest. Arthur had to do his best to avoid them, but he still passed near to see if he could get some information from others.

    He even crossed paths with Samantha again, and this time he went and talk with her.

    ¡°Samantha, any news about the inheritance?¡±

    ¡°This is the first thing you ask me? How rude. Well, some people said that the three who are in the tenth circle are the ones who know more about it, but we cannot go against them, so it is useless.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where they are?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I think they are all climbing the tower. Look, from what I heard, there is a tower far from here, up to the north of the forest. Anyone that had killed at least one person can enter it, and presumably who climbs higher than everyone else will get the inheritance.¡±

    Samantha had lots of information, startling even Arthur. How did she get all of that within that short period? The most shocking part was that people had already found the ce where the inheritance could be.

    ¡°Thank you, Samantha. You are heading there?¡±

    ¡°I am, yes. Would you like toe with me?¡±

    ¡°I still have some things to do, so no, thank you.¡±

    After that, both of them parted ways, and Arthur now had to find a ce for Signy and Helga to stay while he went to that tower.

    They were not going for the inheritance, and going there would only put them in danger, so the best thing for them to do was find a ce and wait for the test to be over.

    Arthur was not concerned about the inheritance. He knew it would take them a long time to get it, and even Ichor did not state any time for the test, so everyone guessed it would not be an easy one.

    So, he first roamed around the forest, going toward south, the opposite direction of where the inheritance was. That would be the safest ce for Signy and Helga to stay.

    It was easy to find a cave for them, but the hard part was to set up all the formations. Arthur spent an entire day setting protective formations, illusion formations, concealing formations, and everything he could to keep them safe.

    He even left some food from his magical pouches, enough tost them three months without the need to go out and hunt. Not that the test would take that long, but it was better to be safe.

    Then, after making sure everything was okay, he left the cave, going towards the north to see exactly how that tower was.

    The word spread quickly, and almost all the youths who went towards the tower. To enter, one had to have killed at least one person during the first part of the test, which meant the number of youths inside had diminished a lot, and only those who were confident in protecting themselves went toward the tower.

    Arthur was one of these people. He had killed three members of the Thorns Academy, so entering there was not a problem for him, and his strength was higher than everyone else.

    Those three who were in the tenth circle could go toe to toe in a fight with him, but if Arthur used all of his trump cards, he did not see them winning at all.

    To make up for the time he lost, Arthur went toward the north using his teleport, reaching the tower in no time. There were lots of people around the tower when Arthur got there.

    These people were scared to enter it, or were trying toe up with a n. When Arthur got there, they all gazed at him, but soon returned to their own businesses.

    The tower of which everyone was talking about was huge, and it reminded Arthur of the tower he had entered before. No one there knew about the rest of the dimensional realm, so he was the only one who knew the tower was simr.

    ¡°How do you think this tower works, George?¡±

    ¡°Hum. It is hard to answer, but I believe there will be monsters, or something else, to show you are worthy of it. The only way to find out is to go inside.¡±

    Arthur scanned the area and did not see Samantha or anyone strong. All the people that were scared to enter inside the tower were in the seventh circle, which meant everyone else from the eighth, ninth, and tenth circle were inside the tower.

    Staying in front of the tower, thinking about all the possibilities, and trying to prepare for the test was just dumb. Even George, who was someone far from their league, could not guess what the tower had inside.

    The only thing possible was to enter, and that was what Arthur did. He walked towards the tower, and the gaze of everyone present fell on him again.

    ¡°Will he enter?¡±

    That was the thought they had in mind, and it was exactly what Arthur did, entering the tower with little thinking.

    The moment he entered, a pressure came upon his body, making it harder to walk and breath, but it was not a big deal.

    There was no one on the first floor, so Arthur looked for the stairs, which were not that far from the entrance, and continued up.

    As for the second floor, some people were there, with sweat dripping from their foreheads. Walking with that much pressure was hard for some of these mages, but for Arthur was a stroll in the park.

    He kept going, causing the envy and shock from all the mages from the second floor.

 Chapter 228 Inheritance Test (4) - Stalked by Beasts, Broken by it

    The pressure was something unbearable for the weaker mages, and even those who were strong felt it, yet Arthur did not.

    Those mages on the second floor looked shocked when seeing Arthur walk past them like a stroll in the park, going up using the stairs, reaching the third floor.

    Fewer and fewer mages were on the third floor, and the more Arthur climbed, the fewer they be. The first five floors of the dungeon were the same; a high pressure would strike upon those who stepped on the floor, making it hard to walk.

    It was a way of separating those who were strong from those who were not. When Arthur reached the fifth floor, the pressure was gone.

    There were some mages there, including the three who were in the tenth circle. They were resting after passing through the first five floors.

    The three who were in the tenth circle were not in a terrible shape, but the rest of the mages who were weaker had suffered a lot to reach that point. Arthur was just like when he first entered the tower.

    He took less than thirty minutes to rush through all those floors and reach the ce he was currently in. Not a lot of mages were capable of that, so when Arthur appeared on the fifth floor, everyone present nced at him with surprise.

    ¡°Another one? Shall we wait for more?¡±

    One mage who was in the tenth circle said that. They were counting the number of mages present, and for them, it was enough to start.

    He then walked toward Arthur, which caught him by surprise.

    ¡°In case you don¡¯t know how the sixth floor works, it is a beast wave. We are gathering the most mages we can, so it gets easier for us to clear the floor and reach the next one.¡±

    The mage only said that and left.

    ¡°A beast wave?¡±

    Arthur was familiar with that kind of thing, but why a group beast wave?

    ¡°I think the floor can be passed solo, but gathering in groups makes it easier, but it will cause conflicts, as only one can climb and get the inheritance. This is just a way to make them go against each other.¡± George said.

    The true meaning behind that test was fierce and bloody. Arthur thought that whoever built that dimensional realm only wanted a bloodbath.

    He did not answer that youth. Not agreeing to act as groups but not dismissing it either. It was the best scenario possible to avoid conflicts.

    ¡°When we all enter there, I will go my own way. Actually, isn¡¯t it better to go now while they are still resting?¡±

    Most mages on that floor were resting, and only the strong ones, like those in the tenth circle, were just there to wait for more mages toe and create their group.

    That meant Arthur had the best shot now to just walk in blindly, alone, and get the advantage he needed.

    There was no reason to stay there or fight as groups. One needed to have the strength to fight alone or else it would be impossible to get the inheritance.

    For that reason, Arthur ignore everyone and everything, going straight to the stairs which led to the sixth floor. All the mages there already knew about the group n, so some of them thought Arthur was crazy to go alone.

    Arthur thought otherwise. Crazy were those people who wished to join forces. What if it made your time easier on the next floors? Only the three who were in the tenth circle had any chance of getting the inheritance, and those who were weaker would not get that.

    The only way for those who were weaker to have a shot in getting it was to act alone and find any advantage they could get.

    Being the first person to enter the floor was an advantage, as time was also something that counted in the test. It does not matter how many of those mages had the strength to pass the test. What mattered was the first mage who passed the test.

    Arthur wanted to be that person, so he ignored all the stares from those mages and went to the next floor.

    He expected a lot of things, but apletely new world was not one of them. The sixth floor was not a tower, like all the previous ones, but a new ce.

    A greenish in with nothing but beasts. Arthur could see a forest from afar, presumably where those beasts lived, and also a river where some were drinking water, but it was filled with beasts.

    The moment he entered that floor, almost all beasts noticed his presence and rushed toward him with killing intent.

    There were all kinds of magical wolves, spiders, bugs, and even a fish with legs who jumped out of the river and chased him.

    ¡°What the fuck is this?¡±

    Arthur was expecting a normal tower floor where he could fight the beasts and look for the stairs to reach the next floor, but it was not the case!

    What bothered him the most was the fact that all the beasts on the floor knew where he was and rushed toward him like blood-starved beasts.

    He was hoping to get an advantage with his invisibility to avoid most of the beasts, but it would not happen, it seemed.

    George was also surprised, but he quickly understood how the level worked.

    ¡°I have a guess here, and it should be correct. Want to hear?¡±

    ¡°Well, obviously. Spill it out, brother!¡±

    ¡°I think that the moment you enter this floor, the tower sets you a timer that starts counting, so each person has the same timer, but depending if you go first or not will affect the result. Seeing all those beats rushing toward you, I believe this is a surviving test, and you have to survive the beast wave until your timer runs off, and then you will be sent to the next level.¡±

    ¡°This is a pain in the ass. Do you think the next stage will be simr?¡±

    ¡°Well, considering the first four floors were the same, and then the fifth a resting point. We can assume the floors 6,7,8 and 9 will be the same.¡±

    What George said had a lot of sense, and it made Arthur happy knowing that his decision to enter the sixth floor before everyone was the correct answer.

    One thing that was bothering him was how did they know about the sixth floor? The three who were in the tenth circle knew it was rted to beasts, but not a single person had entered it, only Arthur.

    ¡°Could they have a divination spell? No, that would be too much. Then how?¡±

    Arthur had a feeling something was not right about the whole situation, but he dismissed it as there was something more important for him to deal at that moment; countless beasts who wanted to kill him.

    He saw a lot of them getting closer to him, so the first thing he did was to use his flight spell, which worked.

    The floor should have a formation that restricted flying spells, but it seemed it did not. Arthur was happy with that, but then realized the reason his flight worked.

    From the clouds above, a giant blue bird appeared. It had at least 50 meters from beak to feet, and lightnings were constantly roaring around that bird.

    The power of that creature was astonishing, and George yelled inside Arthur¡¯s mind, ¡°Arthur, that thing has the power of at least a rank 4 official mage. You should run, NOW!¡±

    A rank 4 official mage was something incredible, and there was not a single one on the whole central continent, which was the most prosperous ce in that world.

    Which meant that the bird had the strength equal to mages from other worlds!

    Arthur went to the ground again, and then gazed at the skies, noticing the bird had returned to the cloud, not chasing him.

    The bird was like a formation that made flying impossible.

    Now on the ground, Arthur had to work harder to flee from those beasts, but with his incredible physique and a few teleports, it was not a problem.

    He kept using his teleport, reaching a ce devoid of beasts. Arthur knew it would notst long, so he had to think of a n.

    ¡°You can try to find a ce and hide. With some formations, I believe you will hide.¡±

    Arthur did not know if that would work, but it was better than fleeing without a direction. When he entered the sixth floor, not all beasts rushed toward him, but lots of them who were in the surrounding area.

    That meant the beasts had an extraordinary radar, but it did not cover the entire floor.

    Before Arthur could do anything, the ground beneath his feet trembled, and a skeleton hand grabbed his feet, exerting enough strength to break his ankle.

    ¡°What?¡±

    The pain was not the worst part. The skeleton hand broke not only his ankle, but pulled him to the ground.

 Chapter 229 Inheritance Test (5) - Friendly Skeleton

    In one moment, Arthur was thinking about how to hide from the beasts which were following him, and in the next moment, he had his ankle broken, and something was pulling him into the ground.

    It took him by surprise, and the worst part was that he did not sense the creature before the attack. Perhaps if it was a deadly attack, then Arthur might as well be dead at that point!

    The fear of the unknown took the best of him, but before he could do anything, the hand which grabbed him stopped pulling, tossing him inside a strange construction underground.

    ¡°Where am I?¡±

    ¡°Yo! Sorry for the ankle.¡±

    Arthur was still getting his things back together. H was in a corridor made of cobblestone, and the skeleton who pulled him into the ground was speaking!

    ¡°Sorry for the ankle?¡±

    He thought of teaching that skeleton a lesson, but the unknown level above its head made him think otherwise. The skeleton could break his ankle with such ease, which meant it was someone strong.

    ¡°I had to bring you here, as the beasts are following me as well. Annoying little things.¡±

    The skeleton did not have any clothing or weapons, and looked exactly like a normal skeleton. Arthur was surprised to learn that the beasts were also following him.

    ¡°Why would the beasts follow you?¡± Arthur said.

    He was slowly getting away from the skeleton, and even looked at the hole above his head, thinking if he should fly back up.

    Would the strange bird attack him if he did that? Arthur did not know, but it was a shot he would take if that skeleton tried to attack him.

    ¡°You know, I am human, too! Or at least I was before dying inside this ce a long time ago¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°This is an inheritance, right? It opened up many years ago, and I was one youth who came here looking to get it, and sadly died here. Well, not dead-dead, but I had to use a prohibited spell to continue living as a skeleton, unable to leave this ce.¡±

    It turned out the skeleton was a mage from 1000 years ago, when the inheritance opened up!

    ¡°But why can¡¯t you leave? If you are ¡®dead¡¯ then the test should be over for you, no?¡±

    ¡°Things are moreplicated than that. Look, I am not the only one that survived! Someone else from my academy did, and it also used the prohibited spell to keep his life!¡±

    ¡°I saw him once, but fled before it could get me. I have been hiding here ever since. That person is evil, and I believe it came here before me.¡±

    The skeleton shared that not only he was alive, but someone else that entered the inheritance a long, long time ago. Arthur had the guess that person was trapped inside the inheritance since 2000 years ago.

    ¡°Do you know the reasons for that person to be here?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°I am not sure, but when me and all the other youths entered here, that person tried his best to kill us, and that is why no one got the inheritance yet.¡±

    ¡°The first time I saw that man he was a skeleton, just like me, but the more he absorbed the life of the students he killed, the more human he looked.¡±

    When hearing all of that, Arthur remembered the feeling he had when he entered inside the dimensional realm, as if someone was watching his every move.

    Was it the skeleton who was in front of him, or the evil one that was trying to get all the students killed?

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you or him leave this ce?¡±

    ¡°The only way for us to leave is if someone gets the inheritance and allows us to do so. That is why I brought you here. I can¡¯t leave this floor of the tower, but if you get the inheritance, could you free me?¡±

    ¡°I can tell you more about the other person from my academy, as he will surely try to kill you before you get the inheritance. Also, if you free me, I promise you to help you in any way I can.¡±

    Arthur listened to all of it and entered, deep in thought. He was not fond of helping that weird skeleton, but he also had a feeling that saying no to it may cause him danger.

    ¡°I can try, but I can¡¯t promise you anything. And why did you choose me? There are plenty of others who are exploring this inheritance.¡±

    ¡°That is because I believe you are the person with the most sess rate in getting the inheritance.¡±

    ¡°That, or I am the first person you saw.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! Want to hear more about that, mummy? I can tell you everything I know.¡±

    The skeletonughed, and then shared everything he knew about the strange person from his academy.

    Arthur returned to the surface after the talking. He wanted to stay inside that ce as if seemed safe, but the skeleton told him that the beasts from the underground would find him, as these beasts did not have eyes but could sense the life force of their prey, and the skeleton did not have any, so that is why it could stay safely underground.

    ¡°There are beasts in thend, beasts underground, and a gigantic bird in the skies. Is there even a safe ce inside this realm?¡±

    ¡°Arthur, move. Look ahead!¡±

    He looked to where George pointed, seeing a wave of beasts frically running toward him again.

    Peace was something Arthur would not get while inside that floor, so he continues to run and teleport all over the ce, trying to flee from those beasts.

    As for the other youths who were uncertain if they should enter the sixth floor or not, they all did so after one day of waiting.

    The moment they entered inside the floor, the beasts who were nearby were attracted to their presence, rushing toward them.

    Arthur did not know they followed his actions after 24 hours passed, but he sure noticed the number of beasts chasing him diminishing, which was a good thing.

    Those beasts now had more targets to go after, making his time easier. Within 24 hours, Arthur found a small cave, cing lots of magical formations around it, making him almost undetectable.

    The only problem he faced was fresh water and food, as his magical pouches could not be used inside that tower floor, making his stored food useless, and any spell that conjured fresh water was also useless.

    Whoever built that ce wanted the mages to get out of their hiding spots and hunt for their survival, which was not something they will do after finally finding some ce safe, but Arthur had to do it, anyway.

    ¡°Someone, help me!¡±

    When Arthur left his cave, the first thing he heard was not the singing of birds or the roaring of beasts, but the scream of someone in danger.

    ¡°Not my business.¡±

    Arthur was not feeling like losing his precious time to help someone he did not know, but the more that person screamed, the more Arthur felt it was the voice from someone he knew.

    ¡°Samantha?¡±

 Chapter 230 Inheritance Test (6) - Saving a Hot Woman

    Samantha was the person who answered his questions and shared a lot of information with him. Arthur did not like the idea of letting her get hurt or even dying.

    ¡°To even up the odds.¡±

    Arthur owed her after all the help she handed to him, but saving her at that moment would surely make both of them even, and he liked that.

    She was running away from a group of beasts, and appeared near the cave Arthur was hiding in. Was it a coincidence?

    It was not the first time those two had met, and surely it would not be thest. Samantha screamed and was almost giving up, but then Arthur showed up!

    For a moment, she did not believe her eyes. Arthur again? Samantha also felt the coincidence was too much, but obviously did not show any of that, and smiled when seeing him.

    ¡°Arthur! You are an angel! Please, help me!¡±

    They barely knew each other, but Arthur was already an angel in her eyes, showing up just in time to save her life, like a knight in a white horse.

    Arthur wanted to repay for her kindness when they first met, so he ran toward her and grabbed her by the waist.

    It took her by surprise, and Samantha¡¯s cheeks were like tomatoes, and her irregr breath made it obvious that she was not used to something like that.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Samantha said.

    ¡°Saving you, obviously. I may look young, but I am already married, okay?¡±

    He ran away from the beasts with Samantha in his arms. Arthur did not use his teleport spell, but his cave was not that far from there, so there was no need for it.

    Once both of them were inside the cave, Samantha finally rxed.

    ¡°Thank you, Arthur, but are you sure this ce is safe?¡±

    ¡°No worries, and yes, it is. I built it myself, so the beasts will not find us here, but we still need to go out to look for water and food.¡± Arthur said.

    Samantha sat on a rock, breathing heavily after everything that had happened. She did not think the beasts would rush toward them the moment they stepped inside the sixth floor, and despite all the mages saying they would team up, everyone split.

    She did not have anyone to rely on, and the number of beasts following her increased after each passing second. Different from those three monsters who were in the tenth circle, Samantha was not that strong.

    The power she had was in the ninth circle, and that level of power kept her alive for that long. She did not believe those in the eighth circle would easily pass through that test, perhaps only with a special stealth spell to avoid the beasts, but who would have that?

    Those beasts sensed them, no matter what invisibility spell they used. Hiding was impossible. At least Samantha found nothing useful.

    ¡°We are safe than, that is good to hear. I don¡¯t know how to repay you, but if you ever travel through the mountain area in the north part of the continent, look for my family, and I will surely give you a ce to stay.¡± Samantha said.

    Arthur felt the sincerity in her words, which pleased him a lot. He was yet to be sure if she was truly a good person, as appearances could fool someone, but at that moment, Arthur felt she was a good person.

    A good person was a strong word. She was someone who knew how to repay kindness and offered a hand if Arthur ever needed. He would surely need as the central continent was the next ce he would go, so having any type of connection there was priceless.

    Connection was one thing he wished to get when helping her.

    ¡°That would be great. Samantha, do you know how this test works?¡±

    Arthur was almost 100 percent sure the test was just like George said, where the person had to survive a X amount of time before reaching the next floor.

    Even though he knew the answer, Arthur wanted to see if anyone else had the same guess, or if those three who knew about the sixth floor had shared that information as well.

    ¡°After seeing how those beasts followed me everywhere, and their number seem to increase, as if it was endless, I guess we have to survive here for some time? I don¡¯t know the specifics, but that would make the most sense, as official mages cannot enter this realm, and I can only see official mages being able to kill all those beasts.¡± Samantha said.

    Different from Arthur, Samantha had people in her family which were in the official mage rank, so she understood their powers better. She knew only official mages could fight against that many beasts, but those figures could not enter inside the dimensional realm.

    If you can¡¯t kill the beasts, you should at least be able to run from them, making it more like a surviving test. Samantha guessed correctly, which gave Arthur a better impression of her.

    ¡°I believe that as well, and that is why I focused on building this safe ce in thest 24 hours. The only problem is, how long do we have to survive on the sixth floor before reaching the seventh?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Who knows, but it shouldn¡¯t be that long. Perhaps a week? There are more floors for us to pass, so this one should notst more than that.¡±

    She was once again correct. The sixth floor was not thest one. The tower had over fifteen floors. If the required time to pass through each floor increased the more one climbed, then those youths would spend at least one year inside that ce.

    It was too much. Arthur could not wait that long. He had to reach the official mage rank, travel to the central continent, and explore it, getting the sacrifices needed to free George.

    He also had to see his wives, the academy they were building, and stop the beast invasion, as well as the invasion from the other continent.

    Not to mention finding Nefion, and the Sky City if possible. A lot of things to do, so wasting time inside that ce was something Arthur did not want.

    ¡°You can stay here while I get us some food and water. I¡¯ll get water for us to drink and shower.¡±

    ¡°Shower? Inside this cave? I don¡¯t see any privacy.¡±

    Samantha¡¯s face was red again. Arthur looked at her with a smirk. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be the first hot woman I saw naked.¡±

    With those words, he left the cave, leaving a stunned Samantha behind, who had wild thoughts about what would happen when both of them showered.

    ¡°He is married, Samantha, married. Calm down, breath.¡±

    She kept saying that to herself, trying her best to send away those nasty thoughts.

 Chapter 231 Inheritance Test (7) - Staircase to the Sky

    The situation inside the dimensional realm was chaotic, with mages running around the ins and forest, trying to survive the attack of those beasts.

    Arthur was also in the same situation before, but now he had a ce to stay, one where no beasts would find him.

    He did not have any tools to use, as his magical pouch was blocked by a strange force. So, he broke a few trees with his ws, and used his wood magic to manipte the material, turning the logs into barrels.

    A barrel was the best thing he thought of to carry water back to the cave, as Arthur and Samantha needed it to drink and shower.

    The logs slowly took the form of a barrel, and Arthur was proud of it.

    ¡°Maybe I should open a carpentry shop?¡±

    With a barrel in hands, Arthur went to a nearby river, collecting the water with little trouble. All his moves were fast, and the few beasts that were around the area died horribly before having the chance to do anything.

    Arthur filled not only one barrel, but 4! The more barrels of water he had, the fewer times he would have to leave his cave.

    He was confident that four barrels were enough tost them through the entire week.

    ¡°I am back!¡± Arthur said.

    Samantha was in the cave¡¯s corner using earth type magic to change the rocks and build improvised bath tubs. She built one for her, and one for Arthur, separated by thick walls.

    It was not the most private ce, but it was the best she could do in the current situation.

    Arthur went toward Samantha, and praised her work, ¡°good job. Here, four barrels of water! You can take a shower while I go back to get us some food.¡±

    She turned around to look at his face and say thanks for all the work he was doing for her, yet the moment she turned around, Arthur was no longer there.

    In a forest not that far from the cave, Arthur used all the knowledge he had about tracking and hunting, killing a few beasts for them to eat.

    The beasts were notmon to him. At least he had not seen them outside of the dimensional realm, so Arthur was not sure what beasts were edible, or those who taste good.

    He knew he should not be choosing food in the situation he was currently in, but food was something important, so Arthur tried his best to catch the most delicious food!

    Arthur hunt something that looked like a deer with strange symbols on its fur, and the fur also had a greenish color. Not only that, but he took a quick detour to grab some fishes in the nearby river, increasing the variety of their dinner.

    ¡°Maybe I should get some vegetables?¡±

    There were lots of strange fruits and vegetables inside the forest, but he was not sure if they were poisonous or not. Still, Arthur grabbed all of them!

    With his incredible body changed by two bloodlines, poisons would not affect him, especially the weak ones.

    When Arthur returned to the cave, Samantha was inside the bathtub she had built. She even heated the water to make it more pleasant and was so focused on it that did not notice Arthur.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t just go peek through the edges of the wall, but he did not need to anyway, as Samantha got out from the hot tub naked, thinking no one was there.

    Not in her wildest dreams Arthur would return so quickly of a hunting trip, especially with the amount of danger outside, yet he did, ncing at her beautiful body.

    Samantha, who had her thoughts on something else, said, ¡°Arthur, what did you bring us for dinner?¡±

    She smiled and got closer to him, and then she noticed her shoe-fewer feet, making her face turn red, realizing the situation she was in.

    With quickened steps, Samantha returned to the stone bath tub, the ce where her clothes were, wearing them, and returning to where Arthur was.

    The awkwardness was too much, and it took Samantha one hour to say another word.

    ¡°You¡¯ll forget everything you saw, okay?¡± She said, grasping her clothes and trying to hide her face.

    ¡°I saw nothing. Here, take it.¡±

    Arthur handed her a piece of meat he had prepared for the two. The meat from the deer and the fishes were delicious.

    ¡°What are those nts? Are they good?¡± Samantha said.

    She saw Arthur tossing some strange herbs into his mouth, making her curious to know more about it.

    ¡°I figure that out now. Some are poisonous as well, so be careful. Here, eat this one.¡±

    A small red fruit. Arthur ate some of those along the way, so he was certain they weren¡¯t poisonous. Samantha did not have the chance to deny, as he basically forced her to eat it.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ this is delicious!¡±

    Samantha loved it, and ate the rest of the red fruits, barely letting some for Arthur. He did notin, engulfing enormous pieces of meat, enjoying his peaceful time.

    One week passed quickly. The two of them kept doing the same routine, leaving the cave only a few times to gather food.

    Those four barrels of water Arthur brought were enough tost them for the entire week, proving fresh water to drink and to bathe.

    Arthur, who entered the sixth floor twenty-four hours earlier than everyone else, was the first one to leave. Early in the morning, a strange suction force was making Arthur go toward a specific area, not giving him the choice to stay.

    ¡°Samantha, I came earlier, so I am leaving first. Stay here, and perhaps we can meet up on the next floor.¡±

    These were thest words Arthur said before vanishing from the cave, flying throughout the floor at top-speed.

    Some mages who were still alive saw him, including the three who were in the tenth circle. They did not understand what was happening, but it was clear something was pulling Arthur in a specific direction, so they followed him using all the means possible.

    Arthur traveled throughout the entire area, reaching a ce where there were no mages nearby.

    One of the tenth circle mages said, ¡°wasn¡¯t this area filled with beasts? I remembering here before. Why is it empty now?¡±

    Then they saw it. A huge staircase that led to the sky, to the clouds. Arthur, who was getting pulled by some strange force, stood in front of the staircase, gazing at the top of it.

    The strange force stopped, and he knew what he had to do; climb the staircase to reach the next floor.

    He made the first step, but then someone yelled from behind.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you sharing this discovery with the rest of us? Did you n on leaving everyone behind?¡±

 Chapter 232 Mounting the Blue Bird

    Not all mages who were on that floor followed him, but the three who were in the tenth circle were there, per usual.

    They acted as the owners of everything, and Arthur disliked that. The only reason he did not go after them was to keep his peace intact and focus on what was important.

    ¡°I did not expect guests. What do you want?¡±

    ¡°What do we want? You dare to ask that question.¡±

    ¡°Calm down, Kane. We are here to talk.¡±

    One of the three tenth circle mages was Kane, a red-haired youth who was visibly angry at Arthur for keeping the staircase a secret.

    The other one was a beautiful woman with blue hair and her eyes had sparks on it, as if they were a thunderstorm.

    ¡°What do you know about the staircase? I am Laura, by the way.¡±

    She was acting friendly, different from the guy beside her, but Arthur was no fool, and would not trust someone without knowing them first.

    ¡°I do not know. It just appeared here.¡±

    ¡°Laura, don¡¯t trust that guy. He is obviously lying. Look at his face of- ¡°

    ¡°Kane, shut the fuck up!¡±

    Kane stopped talking like a loyal dog.

    ¡°Do you mind if we climb up with you?¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Arthur said.

    He smiled at the thought of it. Based on his calctions, there was no way they could leave, as they still had twenty-four hours of survival left.

    Arthur climbed, one step at each, and when he looked behind again, he saw the three of them trying to climb the staircase as well, but there was an invisible barrier stopping the three of them.

    The look on their faces was pitiful, but Arthur did not care about it either. He kept climbing the staircase until a thundering roar soared through the skies, catching the attention of everyone present.

    From above the clouds, the immense bird flew down. The p of its wings created a fierce wind, and some trees around the area were sent flying.

    It was the same bird Arthur saw when he tried to fly the very first day. When he talked with Samantha, she said she tried to fly as well, but some lightning stroke down from the clouds, making it impossible for them to do that.

    She said nothing about a bird. Arthur was sure he was the only one who saw it, as he had been the first to enter that floor.

    ¡°What is that thing? The manaing from its body is just, just¡­¡±

    They were from families which had official mages in it, but the powering from that bird was even stronger than the ancestors of their families.

    How strong was it? They did not know. For a moment, the three youths thought they would die.

    Arthur shared the same thought, but then he noticed how the bird went in his direction, stopping just beside him.

    ¡°Kiddo, hop on.¡±

    The bird used a mental transmission to say that, which caught Arthur by surprise.

    ¡°Will you eat me? Please, eat them and let me live.¡±

    ¡°Eat you? Maybe if you were a giant worm¡­ Listen, I will lead you to the next stage of the test. You are the first to pass, so you have the advantage of skipping some levels.¡±

    It turned out the bird was there to give Arthur a reward for being the first one to pass through the sixth floor. Unexpected and Arthur was happy about being the first one to have the balls to leave the fifth floor.

    The three were angry after not being able to climb the staircase, but now envy as well after seeing Arthur mount the bluebird, who was the strongest creature they had ever seen.

    Arthur flew away toward the sky where the staircase led. Then he saw it, an immense floating city with an enormous pce in the center.

    ¡°This is thest part of the test. All the other floors are divided into parts of the city, and like I said, you will pass through some levels as a reward. I will ce you near the pce, in the outer district.¡±

    He had no time to thank the bird as it tossed him directly into the city. Flying was not allowed there as well, but Arthur only floated a few meters away from the ground when near it so that he would not hit and turned into a meat pulp.

    All the houses and buildings were destroyed, corroded due to passaging time.

    It was easy to follow the right direction, as the pce was literally immense, but before Arthur could walk, a group of zombie creatures rushed toward them.

    They were undead, wearing te armor and all different weapons.

    ¡°The guards from this ce. Draugrs?¡±

    Arthur was not expecting to see anyone alive inside that ce, but usually it was the home of beasts, not undead.

    A rusty sword came shing, and Arthur defend against it with his ws. He was not expecting to open up his magical pouch, but he tried anyway, and it worked!

    He grabbed the sword Merethyl gave him, which was a treasure from the lineage of elves.

    Those rusty swords were not a rival to it, breaking the moment they met his sword. Arthur parried one of the draugrs, breaking the weapon in its hands, creating an opening for a clean strike.

    sh. The draugr was cut from head to toe, one part falling to the left side, and the other to the right side.

    Killing one was not the end. More and more draugrs appeared, circling around him. Typical mages would find trouble in a situation like that one, but Arthur, who was incredible in meleebat,ughed as he shed those mummies, ending their lives for the second time!

    An arm falling into the ground, a leg, a head. Arthur kept cutting those draugrs as if they were bread. When the fight was finally over, Arthur tried to stop to catch some breath before continuing, but more of those creatures appeared.

    It was not a beast invasion like the previous levels, but it had the same principle! The city was immense, and Arthur was the only living thing inside that ce.

    All the undead guards had only one prey: him! Just like on the sixth floor, Arthur had the advantage of being the first one, but also a clear disadvantage as well!

    ¡°Screw it. I am way closer to the pce than the rest of them, and that is where the inheritance is! All I had to do was endure it!¡±

    Like a madman, Arthur ran through the streets, killing any draugr that stood in his way. He turned into a killing machine, and the speed at which he did it increased after every kill.

    Arthur was more focused, more sharp. Those weak draugrs had no change against him, and despite their high density, Arthur killed them all!

    The streets of the once empty city had piles of undead corpses.

    Then, something unexpected happened once again; a human scream.

    ¡°Help me! Help me!¡±

    Arthur instantly dashed toward the ce where the scream came from.

 Chapter 233 Battle Against a Strong Figure

    Arthur was no dumb. The possibility of the scream being the act of another type of creature was high, as it would make more sense, considering the entire city was devoid of life, swarmed with undead creatures.

    The speed with which he traveled through the city was incredible, making it almost impossible for the draugrs to chase him.

    He made his way toward a decayed house, the ce where the scream came from. There was no one inside, but there was something that caught his attention, and in fact, made his entire body shiver with fear.

    A small square made of wood, filled with crystal clear water. The important part of that thing was not the water or the base, but what Arthur could see in the water¡¯s reflexion; him!

    It reminded him of a security camera showing the current house he was in. The feeling of being watched, the same feeling he had when first entered, returned!

    Was it the person the mysterious skeleton talked about? It was the only one Arthur could think of at that moment.

    All the others who were taking the test with him were on the previous floor, and even if they left the sixth floor, they would not be in that part of the city.

    ¡°This motherfucker!¡±

    The feeling of someone watching you was unpleasant. Whoever it was, it sent the screaming to get Arthur in that ce, to make him frightened.

    It was a warning, saying, ¡®I am watching you¡¯. Arthur was a little scared that the man would be more powerful than him.

    There were lots of ces he wanted to go, and lots of people he cared about. Arthur did not want to perish in that ce, so the only thing he could do was go after the inheritance, and get the hell out of that ce!

    After seeing there was no one to be saved, Arthur nced at the ¡®security camera¡¯ and showed his middle finger. He did not know if people in that world understood its meaning, but he did not care!

    Now, with a ming desire to get more power, Arthur dashed toward the location where the inheritance was. He did not care about those draugrs, passing through them like a rocket.

    Those who could still stop his dashing were cut in half, destroyed by his spells, or even punched to death by his bare hands.

    ¡°I will hide most of my abilities, as I am now sure someone is watching me. That person is probably inside the pce. Hum, let¡¯s see if you are strong enough to face me.¡±

    He kept going and going, killing everything that blocked his path, until finally reaching the bridge that led to the castle.

    An immense gate was right after the bridge, and in front of it was a tall old man with three arms, a long robe, and one golden ax.

    It looked like a human, but its skin was pale, and the size of its body was beyond the normal human aspect, having close to five meters of height.

    The ax on its hands was also immense, proportional to its big sized body. When Arthur got close to the gate, that old man, who had its eyes closed, opened them up, gazing at Arthur.

    ¡°Level 80, strong!¡±

    Way different from the weak draugrs Arthur faced. That strange creature was someone strong. It would be a tough fight, and if he wanted to maintain most of his secret attacks a secret, the fight would be even harder!

    With a lot at stake, Arthur sped his sword, preparing for the fight he would have in the next moments. The tall old man did not care for any of that, and did not speak a word, as if he could not.

    Perhaps that creature was like those undead, but slightly stronger. Maybe it was the leader of the guards from the city, who unfortunately had the same path as all the rest.

    Arthur would not back down. Could it be waiting for someone to appear and fight him all those years? Arthur felt pity when the possibility came to his mind.

    When the creature was 20 meters away from Arthur, it jumped, attacking down with its impressive ax. The strength of such an attack was something that even Arthur was afraid of.

    shing against it was prone to be a stupid idea, so he opted for the most obvious choice, and that was to sidestep the attack, avoiding it with the best of his capabilities.

    It worked, but the creature wouldn¡¯t allow Arthur to have a room to breathe, attacking once again with its ax, but this time, it had magic!

    Behind the ax, the ethereal figure of a lion appeared, roaring out loud, increasing the speed and power of the ax by at least tenfold.

    The attack took Arthur by surprise this time, and it went so fast toward him that not even his teleport spell was cast.

    With little options, Arthur changed the form of his sword to a shield, focusing everything he had on blocking the attack.

    Boom. The force of it sent him flying 50 meters away from the exchange. His body hit one of the castle¡¯s walls, creating a hole in it big enough for two people to fit in.

    Pain. Something he was used to, but something that did not happen often. The enemy this time was not simple, and it would take Arthur more than a few attacks to take it down.

    Arthur looked up toward the man, who was running toward him already! Barely two seconds had passed since he was sent flying, and the old man was attacking once again with its ax.

    It was like a madman. A fighting addicted who did not fight in years! The situation was dire, but it kindled something inside of Arthur. A ming desire to fight, and improving after each attack!

    What if it hurts? What if he could not show all of his capabilities in that fight? He would win using all the tools he had avable.

    The ax came striking down, and this time it was not powered by a spell, so it was much slower. Arthur sidestepped it again, jumping right after the attack, sending a punch at the old man¡¯s face!

    A sound of someone punching a resistant rock echoed through the area. The skin of that old man was tougher than Arthur had thought.

    It was a shocking scene, but the most impressive feat happened afterwards.

    The third arm from that old man, which was smaller thus hidden beneath his robes, appeared.

    Arthur did not have the chance to defend against it, and a powerful punch hit him on the face, making his nose bleed. Not only that, but the creature sent an elbow attack with its left arm, which was free as well.

    It hit Arthur right in the belly. He was sent flying once again!

 Chapter 234 The Inheritance, Finally!

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    The fight was not going toward Arthur, wanted it to be. He had a bleeding nose, some broken ribs, and his attacks weren¡¯t working against the tough skin of that old man!

    Still, the injuries he possessed were small ones. The natural regeneration of his body came to y, healing all of it in less than fifteen seconds.

    ¡°The only fatal attack shoulde from the ax, which I have to avoid at all costs!¡±

    Arthur would have to take the fight more seriously, but still hid most of his special attacks, as someone was watching his every move by that point.

    So, he opted to only use his meleebat, just like he was doing so far, but also to add up some magic to it. The element he had at his disposal was fire and wood.

    Out of these two, Arthur felt that fire was better for a one versus one fight, thus the enemy seemed to be some sort of undead as well, so fire would be even better to use against it.

    The creature came running toward him again, swinging its ax, trying to cut Arthur in half. It was still far away, so he had time to prepare for the attack.

    Arthur thought of using his teleport, but it was the best if he kept it hidden the most he could. So, instead of using it, he opted to use his fire wings, increasing his speed by a lot!

    When the ax came striking down, looking to end Arthur¡¯s life, he dodged it. It was so much easier now that he had his fire wings, and even the creature could not understand how its prey had vanished so quickly before his eyes!

    He circled around in a quickened pace, giving him the opportunity to strike behind the back of that creature, which would surely increase the damage output.

    But what attack should he use? The time was running short, so any spell that had a long casting speed was a no no.

    Arthur had a sword in hands, so why not set it aze? Within seconds, the once normal looking de was now at fire, a fire hot enough to melt anything!

    Then, he flew up toward the creature, shing his fire sword upon its head, and different from before, the attack worked!

    The head was split in half, and the scorching fire turned the insides of it into a melted pulp. A gross scene, but Arthur did not care about it. What was important was that he was safe, and the creature was now dead.

    ¡°What? He killed it? Back when I tried to go against it, I could not do so. Interesting.¡± A strange mummy said, looking through a small mirror, watching Arthur¡¯s every move.

    ¡°I did it!¡±

    A sensation of relief shed through his entire body. Winning a fight was already good, but winning a life-and-death fight was even better.

    Arthur enjoyed the adrenaline, which was only possible when not using all of his powers. It was a delightful feeling, and he could not wait to go to the central continent where strong mages and beasts lived.

    For him, it was getting boring to fight against such weak creatures. Understandable, as he had reached the peak power for the region he was in.

    It was a rare asion for him to feel the adrenaline of a fight, and that was something he was looking for, badly.

    Now that the fight against the strange man was out of the way, Arthur continued forward, entering the castle.

    ¡°If I see that old man as the gatekeeper, then the enemies inside this ce will be much harder.¡±

    The moment he entered inside the castle, a group of draugrs went toward him. They differed slightly from the ones he had faced inside the city.

    Those were of the general guard of the city, but these were the royal guard. Arthur knew that just by looking at the different type of armor and weapons they had, as well as the higher level.

    Still, they weren¡¯t enemies Arthur was worried about. He killed them with little effort, continuing forward, exploring the castle.

    The insides of that ce looked exactly like how a normal castle would look like, with sturdy walls made of stones, and countless rooms from all the servants who once worked in that ce.

    What Arthur wanted to look for was where the inheritance was. Considering the whole aesthetic around the realm was a tower of which one had to climb the levels, the inheritance should be at the highest point of the castle, yet it was not.

    Arthur explored most of the ce, killing all the draugrs that came in his direction, and searched in all the four watchtowers around the perimeter. There was nothing that looked like a chalice to him.

    ¡°Where could it be?¡±

    George, who was quiet for some time, said, ¡°maybe in the dungeon area of the castle? Going up or down in a tower depends on the angle you see it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it! You are a genius!¡± Arthur said, changing the directions, going toward the dungeon area of the castle.

    With a whisper, George said, ¡°or maybe you are just an idiot¡­¡±

    ¡°What? What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, nothing.¡±

    Arthur put that to the back of his mind and continue his journey. He had explored most of the castle, so he tried to recall anything that looked like a dungeon to him, and the ce that fit it was the guard¡¯s barracks.

    The guards¡¯ barrack were where all the royal guards slept, and it should also have a dungeon area beneath it to lock any prisoners until they would be transported to the city¡¯s jail, or to another city.

    When Arthur got there, it was the ce with the most undead guards in the entire castle. It was a good thing they were at the same level of power, so it did not take long for Arthur to kill them.

    Inside of the guard¡¯s barracks, there were lots of beds and a small kitchen. A storage room to store weapons and armors, which were all rusty at that point, and also a staircase that led down.

    ¡°This is it. This is the ce I have to go!¡±

    Arthur descended in slow steps, making sure to not trigger any trap or attract unnecessary attention from beasts who could lurk in the area.

    What he was expecting was a room with some cells where the prisoners should be, just like any other normal castle, but what he saw waspletely different.

    It was an immense ce. A vast corridor that led to a massive underground cave, which had all kinds of original buildings and structures that Arthur had never seen.

    ¡°What is this? A whole new society beneath the castle?¡±

    The creatures down there were strange. Humanoid creatures with long ears and no eyes. Their skin was pale, and they also wore armor and wielded weapons, just like intelligent creatures.

    From afar, Arthur noticed a strange altar with a silver chalice in it. Not only that, but there was also a skeleton of a dragon just beside it.

    ¡°The inheritance, and, A DEAD DRAGON?¡±

 Chapter 235 Impossible Fight, is it Over?

    It was there. Arthur could see it, the shiny silver chalice with blood. The inheritance everyone was trying to get was right in front of him.

    Well, not really in front of him, but it was within his sight range. He would get it. That was only a matter of time.

    He was not someone who liked to waste time, especially considering everyone else was trying to get the same inheritance as him.

    The mummy was watching everything from the mysterious mirror, shocked to see Arthur reach that location so fast.

    ¡°Let the fun begin, hahaha.¡±

    In other parts of the city, all the mages that passed through the sixth floor were exploring, Samantha included. But them, in front of each one of them, a red portal appeared, sucking them into it.

    The next moment, all of them were teleported to the same cave Arthur was, and some of those mages were close to him.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Arthur said as he saw strange youths appearing all over the cave.

    Somehow all the mages who were on the sixth floor were there, and not only that, but everyone that was still alive back in the early stages of the inheritance test was there as well, including Signy and Helga.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± Signy said.

    She was with Helga inside the cave when a strange portal appeared, transporting the two of them to the same location. Signy gazed at the area, trying to understand what was happening, but she still did not know.

    ¡°Signy, look!¡± Helga said.

    Helga was pointing at the silver chalice in the distance. It was the inheritance everyone was looking for.

    ¡°We are near the inheritance! But how?¡±

    Arthur was paying a lot of attention to everything that was happening, and he quickly spotted Signy and Helga. So, he dashed toward them in fast speed.

    They noticed someone going toward them, making the two increase their guard, yet when they noticed who it was, both sighed in relief.

    ¡°Arthur, so you are here too! Did the red portal get you here, too?¡±

    ¡°Red portal? So that got all of you here?¡±

    ¡°You did not know?¡±

    ¡°No. I reached her using my feet. Look, this is a dangerous ce now with everyone trying to get the inheritance, but I don¡¯t think there is a ce for you to hide, so we should stick together.¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    Signy and Helga were okay with being with him, and it was the only thing they could do anyway. Arthur did not have the time to set up another safe ce for them.

    There were lots of creatures and mages inside that underground area, madly rushing toward the chalice, which was at the top of an altar.

    The skeleton of a dead dragon was just beside it, and it was giving Arthur a bad feeling. Could it resurrect to attack them? It was not impossible, considering everything that was happening. Actually, Arthur would be surprised if that was not the case.

    Even those who were weaker and had given up on the inheritance in the early stages were tempted to reach the silver chalice, so all of them tried to go toward it.

    Only Signy and Helga were not doing it. The first reason was because it was dangerous and the two of them did not wish to lose their lives inside that ce. But also because Arthur had promised to give them good things if they let the inheritance to him.

    Speaking of the inheritance, Arthur had a bad feeling about it, too. If there was someone watching them, and was probably inside the same ce they were, why it did not take the inheritance to itself a long time ago?

    George believed that whoever drank the blood of that chalice would get the inheritance. Perhaps that was indeed the case, but Arthur was now having a feeling not that simple.

    ¡°There is a catch here, and I need to figure it out fast.¡±

    He asked Signy and Helga to follow him as fast as they could, and that was what they did. Arthur dashed through the underground area, doing his best to avoid any fights with the other mages.

    There was something he wished to try, but it was risky. He knew something was off with the inheritance after all those signs, so why not wait for someone to get it first, and see what happens?

    It was a risky move because perhaps there was no catch, and someone else would get the inheritance in the end, which would be bad for him.

    Arthur was not after the inheritance for the powers it could give him, as he already had the bloodline of a dragon and the bloodline from the Monlog Giant.

    The most important part of the inheritance was the power to walk freely through the dimensional realm, which meant he could get his hands in all those treasures. Treasures that the others did not know about.

    That was what Arthur was really after, and he would not give up on that chance so easily.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s here.¡±

    Someone appeared right beside Arthur, also dashing toward the ce where the chalice was. From all the people it could be, it was Kane, the red-haired youth who was angry with Arthur before.

    ¡°Oh? Kane? Will you cry again because I am walking in this ce without telling you?¡±

    ¡°Shut up bastard. Want to fight right here to settle everything?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose my precious time with trash.¡±

    After saying that, Arthur used his fire wings again, and grabbed both Signy and Helga, and flew toward the chalice.

    Kane did not have the chance to answer him, as Arthur was nowhere to be seen again. Arthur was going faster than everyone else, and when Kane noticed that, the anger inside of him grew.

    If things continued like that, Arthur would be the person who would get the inheritance, and that was something Kane could not let happen.

    With that thought in mind, he used a secret spell to get in touch with Laura and the other youth who were in the tenth circle, sharing the situation he had just seen.

    The trio exchanged a few words, and teamed up to take down Arthur before he could get his hands on the inheritance, and then the trio would fight against each other to see who would get the right to get it.

    That was something they had decided since the start of the test, as they were the stronger among everyone else present.

    Arthur did not know about the n they were forming, but once he got closer to the altar, the skeleton of the dead dragon moved.

    It roared, making the whole ce tremble before it.

    ¡°I knew this thing was alive!¡±

    Adrenaline pumped through his veins. Arthur was ready to go all out against that thing, but then George¡¯s voice echoed inside his mind, changing his ns instantly.

    ¡°Arthur, that skeleton has a power equal to a rank one official mage. You cannot go against it, or you will die. Hell, everyone inside this ce will die!¡±

 Chapter 236 Who Exactly is this Bird?

    When George said that, the fighting desire from Arthur diminished. He had never faced someone or something at that level of power, but based on what George said, and the feeling he had when looking at the bluebird, it was not a fight he could pick.

    ¡°Perhaps that is the reason no one got the inheritance yet. Win against the skeleton dragon is not a simple task!¡±

    It all made sense, but didn¡¯t that make the inheritance almost impossible to get? Official mages could not enter inside the dimensional realm, so the strongest person there had the strength of the tenth circle.

    A tenth circle mage would die with one attack from that dragon. Even if all of them put their hatred aside andbined their strength, it would still be impossible to win against that thing.

    The only answer Arthur could think of was that someone who was in the tenth circle somehow advanced to be an official mage while inside the dimensional realm.

    It was impossible for an official mage to enter, but maybe someone who advanced inside of that ce could still walk freely.

    That was the only exnation, but still hard enough to be called impossible!

    ¡°George, do you think it is possible for me to advance to an official mage inside of this ce?¡±

    ¡°Well, it is considering you are already at the peak of the tenth circle, but you would need a tremendous burst of energy to reach the next level. Usually, people used potions or valuable items to advance, but I don¡¯t think you have any of that with you.¡±

    What George said was correct. Arthur had nothing valuable or useful for him to use, and it was impossible to brew potions while being chased by a dragon. He did not even have the right ingredients to do so.

    ¡°Signy, Helga. That skeleton dragon has the power of an official mage. We cannot go against it!¡±

    ¡°Official mage? What is that?¡± Helga said.

    Both she and Signy knew little about the central continent and the realm of power of mages. For them, the tenth circle was already something incredible, and what came beyond that was unknown.

    ¡°Official mages are one hundred times stronger than tenth circle mages, maybe even more. What I am saying is, even if all of us team up to go against that dragon, we cannot win.¡±

    ¡°What? What can we do then? Die?¡± Signy said.

    When the two of them heard about the tremendous power of that skeleton dragon, despair filled their bodies. Even if all of them teamed up, it was impossible to win against it?

    The only thing they could think of was that it was their end.

    Arthur saw how hopeless both of them looked, so he said, ¡°calm down, I am still here. I¡¯ll reach the status of an official mage and kill that thing.¡±

    ¡°But how?¡±

    How? Not even Arthur was sure of it, but then a familiar voice echoed inside his head. It was from something he had met before.

    ¡°Kiddo, I will help you. Leave this ce and met me in the air above the castle.¡±

    It was the mysterious blue bird from before. Arthur saw a glimpse of hope, so he flew back to the ce he came from, leaving the underground area.

    The mummy who was watching everything could not believe its eyes.

    ¡°Why is he leaving? Shouldn¡¯t he go to the inheritance just like everyone else? There is no way he discovered the skeleton mage has the power of an official mage. It is concealed.¡±

    All the other mages could only sense that the dragon had a power of the tenth circle. It was strong, but still something they could take on.

    Arthur knew about its true power because of George, who was in apletely different realm. Even though he was injured, weak, and not even there, he was still way stronger than them.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Signy said.

    She was taken aback by the sudden change of directions, but did notin, trusting Arthur with her life. On his way back, Arthur saw Samantha, who was also running toward the inheritance.

    He sent her a mental transmission, saying, ¡°Samantha, that dragon has the power of an official mage. Don¡¯t be fooled by it, and run while you can.¡± Samantha stopped when she heard it. After everything she went through with him, she trusted Arthur, so she turned around and left.

    Arthur did not stop for a second, leaving the underground area, the castle, and finally flying up into the sky. There, from above the clouds, the blue bird appeared.

    ¡°What is that thing?¡±

    Helga and Signy were shocked upon seeing that massive creature. For them, it was better to be down there with the dragon, as the bluebird looked even more dangerous.

    ¡°This one is friendly.¡± Arthur said.

    They hoped on the back of the bluebird, who sent another voice transmission to Arthur.

    ¡°I will guide you to my home, where that mummy cannot see us.¡±

    The blue bird flew up into the sky, fast as a lightning. It kept going and going until finally reaching a floating ind that hid in the middle of clouds.

    There was a massive cave on that ind. It was the ce where the giant bird slept. Once inside the cave, the blue bird spoke only to Arthur, and the creature knew more about him than he thought.

    ¡°I can help you kill that thing and get the inheritance. But there are some things you have to listen to first, and it is up to you to believe it or not.¡±

    ¡°First, stop the link between you and that person from the Monlog family. Nothing personal, but only you can hear the things I have to say.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Both Arthur and George said in unison. The mysterious bird knew about the Monlog family and knew about the link.

    It was impossible. Not a single creature from that realm should know about it. The only possibility was that the bird was stronger than they thought.

    ¡°I will do that. Wait, a second.¡±

    Arthur said to the bird and then sent a message to George.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it personal, okay? This might be the only chance we have to survive.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. See youter.¡±

    With a thought, the link between them was cut. Then, the real talk with the mysterious bird started.

    Arthur was already shocked when the bird noticed George¡¯s presence, and also knew about his origins, but the following sentence made him even more shocked.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s make everything clear. I know you have the Monlog Giant bloodline, and I also know about your dragon bloodline. Lord of the dragons hum? That is impressive.¡±

    The bird saw through Arthur, spitting out most of his secrets. For a moment, Arthur wondered if the bird could read his mind, but that was impossible.

    All of his secrets were exposed, except for his system and the fact he came from another world. Arthur hoped so, at least.

    ¡°Now you are thinking I can read minds? That would make sense seeing how I know a lot about you, but that is not the case.¡±

    ¡°I simply felt the power from the bloodlines from your bloodstream, and also the power of the mark which connected you to that person.¡±

    ¡°But there is something you should know. I am not bragging here, but be it the Monlog Giant, or cidusax, the lord of dragons, they are all ants whenpared to me.¡±

 Chapter 237 [Bonus chapter] From Prey to Hunter

    The statement from the blue bird shocked Arthur. It was bold, ambitious, and not anyone would have the courage to say something like that.

    Arthur had never seen the power of the Monlog Giant in person, but he had visions about cidusax, and the power of the lord of dragons was extraordinary.

    Still, the bluebird was confident he was stronger than both legendary creatures.

    ¡°How are you so certain about that?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°The two of them tried to challenge me before, and did notst a second. The universe is bigger than you think.¡±

    ¡°Do you see the sun? My brother is the one carrying it, and I carried the moon, but someone helped me escape such duty, and I ended up sealed inside this ce.¡±

    A bird capable of carrying the sun was his brother? That was so incredible it sounded like a lie, but Arthur was in a world with so many strange things that perhaps that was possible.

    ¡°I can help you not to only escape this ce with your life, but increase your power, giving you theplete essence of the lightning.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the catch? I am sure you want something in exchange.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do. When you get my lightning essence, I will be inside of your body, hidden, recovering my strength. The only way for me to escape this ce is by being hidden inside of your body, and you will have to help me recover, and also help my brother.¡±

    ¡°All that just for a lightning essence and a way to escape this ce? It seems like little.¡±

    ¡°Little? Okay. When you get the inheritance after killing the dragon, I will contend against it and lock it inside your mind, so that you can only ess when you are at the rank 3 official mage level.¡±

    ¡°What? Why would you do that?¡±

    ¡°Kiddo, I had the power to destroy your universe, yet someone had the power to trap me here. Do you really think the Blood Monarch is someone you can mess with?¡±

    ¡°Blood Monarch? Is that the name of the person which this inheritance belongs?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I tried to gather more information about him, but found little. My best bet is that he is from our neighbor¡¯s universe where the Godse from.¡±

    ¡°Can you enlighten me?¡±

    The blue bird was talking about a lot of things. Things that Arthur did not know, yet did not know if it was true or not.

    ¡°This we are on is just one of the entire universe. There are mages everywhere, and thes are rated. Take this, for example. It is only a Grade 2 because the top power is a rank 4 mage. The amount of mana the has also changes its grade, increasing it if its abundant,¡±

    ¡°But if a has a good amount of mana, more people will reach higher levels, thus increasing the grade of a.¡±

    ¡°I see, but the grade of a has any influence on the grand scheme of things?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I believe there is a sort of alliance thatmands all thes, and the higher the grade of your, the more benefits it gets. I am not sure about it though,¡±

    ¡°The important thing is that the Blood Monarch is from the universe that is closest to us. Humans had tried to conquer that universe for a long, long time, but failed every time. Their power is beyond ourprehension.¡±

    ¡°Anyone that tries to get the inheritance from that man, they will die. I can help you keep your life so that you can slowly get ess to it. Perhaps you will learn more about that universe, and help us conquer it in the future.¡±

    Arthur was not willing to ept the trade at first, but after hearing all of that, his opinion changed.

    He did not want to die after getting the inheritance, and the person who left that inheritance behind was not simple, and was arguably one of the strongest mages alive.

    So, leaving the inheritance behind would not be a smart idea.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it.¡±

    Signy and Helga, who were beside, did not know what they were talking about. It was all done using mental transmissions.

    ¡°I am Ikarus. You?¡±

    ¡°Arthur.¡±

    ¡°These twodies should wait outside of the cave to not get harmed.¡± Ikarus said.

    Arthur nodded and asked Helga and Signy to wait outside. They did notin and did as he told. The ind was a safe ce, so there was no chance the skeleton dragon would attack them there.

    Ikarus asked Arthur to sit down and exined the process to him.

    ¡°I will turn my body into a small crystal which will go inside of you, beside your mana core. This process will be harmless, but absorbing the lightning essence can hurt a little, so be ready.¡±

    In an instant, the immense blue bird turned into a small crystal which had lightning around, attacking anything that got close to it.

    Then, it flew toward Arthur, passing through his body like a ghost, stopping right beside Arthur¡¯s mana core.

    It did not hurt at first, but Arthur¡¯s body absorbed the lightning essence without hismand, and the pain got worse and worse to where Arthur wished he was dead!

    He had absorbed other essences before, and those did not hurt. Why was the lightning one like that?

    Well, it was not only one essence, but two! Ikarus not only gave him the lightning essence, but the moon essence as well.

    Arthur was not absorbing the moon essence, though. It was something beyond his capability, but just the fact it was there inside his body, dormant, made the absorption process a living hell.

    Screams of pain echoed from inside the cave. Signy wanted to go inside to look and see if Arthur needed any help, but remembered he asked them to not go no matter what happened.

    It was hard to listen to those screams, but Signy and Helga kept themselves strong and did not go inside the cave without a calling.

    After one hour of suffering, Arthur left the cave. He was not the same person who walked in, no. The difference was so immense that even Signy and Helga noticed it.

    [Ding]

    [Lightning Essence Absorbed, 100%]

    [Ding]

    [Rank 1 Official Mage got]

    [+200 in all stats]

    Arthur was beyond happy. The changes that urred in his body were drastic, and he was now way more confident.

    ¡°Let me check this real quick.¡±

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Bloodline: Dragon (Legendary cidusax), Monlog Giant]

    [Rank: Official Mage (1)]

    [Level: 70]

    [Health: 34000/34000]

    [Mana: 0/0]

    [Spiritual Force: 170]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 412]

    [Agility: 339]

    [Vigor: 334]

    [Wisdom: 436]

    [Charm: 343]

    [Free points: 0]

    ¡°All my attributes are insane! My Spiritual Force even went up to 170! I believe I need 200 of it to get the next rank.¡±

    The power he now had, and it was time for that skeleton dragon to flee. Tides had changed, and the prey became the hunter!

 Chapter 238 Helping a Lady in Trouble

    The power Arthur felt was something he had not felt before. It was akin to the time he first got his bloodline, which turned his weak body into something incredible!

    Those attributes were insane, and now that Arthur was an Official Mage, all the spells he knew could be cast as 11 tier spells.

    The reason for it was because of his essences. He could use them to buff his spells, and not everyone could do that. Arthur¡¯s system yed a huge role in helping him achieve the feat.

    He moved around the ind, getting used to his new empowered body. Signy and Helga watched everything, and could feel the power behind each action Arthur took.

    ¡°Kiddo, these two are cute. Maybe you could introduce me to them? But only if they were birds too¡­¡±

    ¡°Ikarus? Don¡¯t tell me you can speak? My days of peace are over.¡±

    ¡°You are a lucky bastard. I will have to slumber after stopping the inheritance from killing you, but I will be back to haunt you!¡± Ikarus said.

    ¡°Well, you saved me and also gave me strength, so I will let you annoy me a few times.¡±

    ¡°I once carried the moon and now look where I am, trapped inside a teenager,¡± Ikarus murmured.

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I said you should get moving and get the inheritance before someone else does.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right.¡±

    Arthur went toward Signy and Helga, grabbed them, and then flew away from the ind, returning to the ce where the inheritance was.

    With his new attributes, Arthur was faster than ever before, returning to the underground area in no time. When he got there, the ce was a mess!

    The buildings which weren¡¯t in an excellent state before were now destroyed. Arthur could hear the screams of those mages running away from the dragon.

    ¡°What is this feeling? Oh, I get it.¡±

    When Arthur got there, the mysterious mummy person who was watching everything was not a secret to him anymore. Arthur could sense someone was watching him, and could also guess the location of that person, which was not that far from where he was.

    Should he go kill that person first, or focus on the inheritance? After pondering for some time, Arthur went for the inheritance, as it was something that could vanish.

    There were lots of people running around the underground area, so not that hard to find the skeleton dragon. It was also an immense creature, making it even easier.

    The only ones that stayed in that area were dumb, or thought their strength was enough to go against the skeleton dragon.

    When the mages finally collided with the dragon, they knew there was no chance of them winning, so most of them died, and the rest did their best to flee from that area.

    Those three who were at the peak of the tenth circle could slow down the dragon, which allowed a higher number of mages to flee.

    It was admirable. Arthur saw the trio merging their strengths, trying to win against the skeleton dragon, but it all proved to be useless.

    Their attacks did not work, not even scratching the enemy.

    ¡°Laura, what can we do? Should we give up on the inheritance?¡± Kane said.

    ¡°I believe so. The inheritance is valuable, but our lives are more.¡±

    The trio talked to each other and concluded they had to flee from the area. It was not worthy to lose their lives for the inheritance.

    But when they tried to flee, the skeleton dragon roared, creating a barrier around them, locking everyone in the same ce.

    ¡°Laura, we can¡¯t break this barrier. What can we do?¡±

    She could not believe the dragon would cast something like that. It was their end. No matter what they tried to do, the barrier was unbreakable, and fighting against the dragon was certain death as well.

    ¡°Will I die like this?¡± Laura thought.

    It was at that moment that a youth carrying two beautiful women appeared, flying from the roof. Then, a familiar voice entered inside Laura¡¯s ears, making her return to reality.

    ¡°Need some help, prettydy?¡±

    ¡°You? What are you doing here? This skeleton is stronger than we thought, and¡­ wait, you? This is impossible, impossible!¡±

    Laura was one of the top students in the One Hundred Thunder Academy. She had contact with official mages every day, as all of her teachers were at that level.

    Her master was even someone in the rank 2 stage, the leader of the academy. Which meant she knew how the aura of an official mage was, and Arthur was emanating from it.

    But that should not be possible! Laura had met Arthur before, and he was not at that level. Also, how could he be an official mage young like that? She believed he did not have over 18 years of age.

    The most shocking part was that the aura Arthur had was even stronger than those of her teachers, who were experienced mages that had lived a long, long time.

    ¡°Are you here to save us? I can give you anything if you do.¡±

    Laura said in a charming tone, causing the anger of Kane, who was someone that loved her, yet never happened between the two.

    ¡°Kiddo, you are going to the central continent, right? I can sense the power of lightning from her, so the academy she studies in surely has the lightning as their key element. With my essence, you should easily be able to be a teacher there, as well as a top-student. This will be valuable for you to get more resources and also protection while you explore an unknownnd.¡±

    Ikarus gave Arthur an idea, which was not a bad one for sure. He would need resources and protection on the central continent, and being part of a strong academy would give him that.

    Also, if he truly shines, the leader or the elders could help him track down Hiley, Aria and Cedric, who had gone to the central continent as well.

    ¡°All right. Tell me more about the academy you study in.¡±

    Laura felt the question was weird, but answered none the less.

    ¡°It is called One Hundred Thunder Academy. We are based on the top of 6 mountains in the west part of the central continent. Our teachers are rank 1 mages, but our rector is a rank 2 mage, one of the strongest of the central continent, if you exclude the few rank 3 mages.¡±

    ¡°I see. I will save you if you promise me to get me inside your academy. With my strength, I should be a teacher, or something simr?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and no. You can be a teacher once you reach the eighth circle, but most teachers are from the ninth circle to the rank 1 mage. It is just a normal job to get you more rewards, but it is not mandatory to be a teacher if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    ¡°I see. So, can you get me inside your academy?¡±

    ¡°If you can save me, then yes. But our academy only uses the lightning attribute, the purer the better.¡±

    ¡°Like this one?¡±

    Arthur opened up his palm, and a small lightning appeared above it. The color and power were something Laura had never seen, and she believed it was one pair with the thunder the rector from the academy could use.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± Laura thought, blushing for a moment, which did not go unnoticed by Kane.

    Arthur then turned to face the skeleton dragon, which was already charging toward them.

 Chapter 239 Slaying the Skeleton Dragon

    Before the advancement, the skeleton dragon was an existence Arthur had no chance of winning against, and trying to go in a one versus one fight was just dumb.

    Now? The dragon had no chance against him, who had his attributes increased by a lot after the advancement. Normal Official Mages did not have a power simr to that of Arthur.

    He was someone who had three essences now, as well as two different bloodlines. What could a dead dragon do to him? Arthur was the lord of dragons himself!

    The dragon came flying toward them, attacking using its ws, who were as sharp as a sword crafted by a master cksmith.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Laura said.

    She was beside Arthur, so the attack was going toward her as well, which caused her entire body to tremble in fear.

    Arthur was not concerned with such a weak attack. He ced the palm of his hand in front of him, colliding with the ws of the immense dragon.

    Kane and Philip, the two who were with Laura, thought it was their end. After the dragon killed Arthur and Laura, the two of them would be the next target.

    But the unthinkable happened. When the powerful w attack hit Arthur¡¯s palm, nothing happened. He did not move an inch despite the immense forceing from the enemy¡¯s attack.

    Even Laura, who already knew Arthur was an Official Mage, did not believe what her eyes were seeing. If she was not mistaken, the dragon also had the power of a rank one Official Mage. There was no way the difference between the two of them was that huge, with the two having the same level of power.

    Arthur was shocking her repeatedly. Now, the promise of getting him inside her academy was not a bad idea at all. Laura was sure he would turn into a pleasant addition to the academy¡¯s power.

    ¡°Is this all you got, little dragon? Let me show you how a w attack really is.¡± Arthur said.

    One of his hands was holding the attack from the dragon, and then the other hand moved. His nails turned into long sharp ws, which shed the dragon¡¯s paw, cutting it in half.

    Arge bone disconnected from the rest of the dragon¡¯s arm, making it useless for the rest of the fight. The skeleton dragon did not show any pain, as it did not feel any in the first ce, but its attack power was diminished, giving an advantage to Arthur, who did not stop after that attack, sending another one, but this time, a spell.

    Arthur¡¯s belly inted, increasing its size. Then, he opened up his mouth, sending a fire breath directly toward the dragon.

    The bones of the dragon almost melted when in touch with the mes, but that was not the end. That fire breath not only warmed the dragon, but all the buildings around the area, turning them into ashes in an instant.

    Laura, Kane and Philip, who were on the other side of the attack, also felt its power. They sweat because of the tremendous heat.

    ¡°What?¡± Kane said.

    He did not know Arthur had the power of an Official Mage, as it was something impossible in his mind, but after seeing what happened, he was sure Arthur was not someone simple.

    Kane remembered the times he wanted to pick up a fight against Arthur, thankful that he did not do it in the end. If that happened, then he would be a dead man at that point.

    The skeleton dragon was badly hurt after the attack. Its bones were like charcoal, and it could barely move. It was not an actual dragon anymore, or else Arthur would have trouble in facing it.

    ¡°Just a shell of a once mythological creature. Rest in peace.¡±

    Arthur respected all the enemies he faced, and a dragon even more. It was a pity he had to face a dragon, but now at least the dragon was truly dead, finally resting in peace. He wanted to think that way to make him feel better.

    He took out the sword Merethyl gave him, shing down, sending thest attack that killed the dragon for good.

    When it was finally over, Kane and Philip could not believe what had happened. Laura was even more shocked, as she had seen some Official Mages from her academy fight, as well as the rector.

    The power Arthur disyed was extraordinary, and she believed only a few rank one mages could match it.

    Who was he? That was something she kept asking herself after seeing time and time again more incredible thingsing from that youth, who looked younger than her, yet had a power beyond her imagination.

    All of them were shocked, but one of them had a n in mind. Kane was the first one to move, rushing toward the chalice, which now did not have any protective barriers around it after the dragon was killed.

    It was the best shot he had, yet it was all in vain. Arthur waved his hand, creating lots of vines who emerged from the ground, locking Kane in ce.

    ¡°Did you truly believe you would get it? I should kill you now.¡± Arthur said as he flew toward Kane with his hands behind his back.

    ¡°You can¡¯t kill. The rector of my academy is also my father, and he will hunt you!¡± Kane said.

    Although Arthur said that, he would never kill those three. Just by looking at them, one could know they had important positions in their academies. Also, there was nothing for him to gain by ending the life of such a weak person.

    ¡°You will get away this time, but don¡¯t test my patience.¡±

    Arthur let Kane locked in ce with the vines and flew forward toward the chalice. Laura and Philip were watching everything, and did not move. They weren¡¯t as stupid as Kane to challenge an Official Mage.

    With his path clear, Arthur went toward the inheritance, stopping in front of the silver chalice.

    ¡°Just drink it. When the power of the inheritance enters inside your body, I will block it until you are strong enough to ess it.¡± Ikarus said.

    ¡°How can I be certain you will keep your promise?¡±

    ¡°I already helped you kill that dragon and even gave you new powers. I want to leave this ce, want to help my brother, and also if you die, then I will die too. Is that enough?¡±

    ¡°It is.¡±

    Arthur was already convinced Ikarus would not betray him, but he wanted to make sure before drinking that blood. He then did what Ikarus told him, drinking the blood from the chalice.

    It was something disgusting, but it had to be done. He gulped it, and nothing happened. There was no pain, no eminent death, nothing.

    ¡°Kiddo, I already sealed the inheritance, but I will have to sleep for some time to recover. You probably have the power to freely walk around this realm as it is yours, so get everything you found useful. See ya!¡± Ikarus said.

 Chapter 240 Leaving the Dimensional Realm

    Ikarus used a lot of his strength to stop the inheritance from killing Arthur, which made him go into a slumber, not knowing when he would wake up again.

    Arthur felt a warmth in his heart after receiving the help of that bird. They barely knew each other, yet it was almost sacrificing its life to help a stranger.

    Was it a good-natured creature, or was it Arthur used to the evil from humans? He did not know the answer to that question. No one knew.

    The benefits of the inheritance came into y a few seconds after he got it. Even though all the memories of the Blood Monarch were still locked, Arthur had total control of the dimensional realm and could use it as he pleased.

    So, the first thing he did was to send everyone back, except Signy, Helga, and Rolf!

    Arthur had not forgotten about him, and now that he was the ruler of the dimensional realm, he could sense exactly where he was.

    But before that, he listened to Laura, who gave him an important item for his next destiny.

    ¡°This is the token of my One Hundred Thunder academy. Just go there and show this to anyone, and you will be epted as an important member. Thank you for saving my life, and I hope we can meet up in the future.¡± Laura said.

    ¡°Thank you, brother.¡± Philip said.

    He was a man of few words, but still thanked Arthur for saving his life. Kane was the only one from the trio who had an immense anger for Arthur, and the two of them did not speak.

    ¡°Wait here.¡±

    Arthur vanished from the spot he was currently in, appearing inside a dark building from the underground city. It was the ce where Rolf was hiding, hoping to have time to steal the inheritance, or at least leave that ce with the bloodline treasure.

    ¡°Arthur? This is impossible!¡±

    Rolf was sitting in a corner of the house, and when he saw Arthur staring at him with fierce eyes, his whole body trembled.

    He could not believe that Arthur was not only alive, but better than ever, emanating the power of an incredible mage. Also, how did he find him so easily? Rolf could not understand that.

    The thought of Arthur being the person who got the inheritance never crossed his mind.

    ¡°Are you ready to die?¡± Arthur said.

    There was no time for him to answer, as Arthur cut his head off, killing him in an instant. He would give no chance to a robber, especially one that betrayed him.

    With quick moves, Arthur got everything from Rolf¡¯s magical pouches, including the tree he had stolen. Everything was going well for him, and now it was time to cut the remaining weed, which was the mysterious mummy who was watching everything.

    Arthur vanished yet another time, appearing in a ce that looked like a tomb with a coffin in the middle, and a strange mirror.

    There, he saw a mummy, who was looking through the mirror, watching the fight between him and the dragon,pletely scared.

    ¡°I already killed it. Is your treasure having difficulties to track down the fight between Official Mages?¡± Arthur said.

    The mummy was surprised to see Arthur there. As for him, the fight was still happening. Arthur had messed up with the magical mirror without the mummy noticing it, sending him dyed images.

    ¡°How are you here?¡±

    Everything was not going ording to n. The mummy wanted to get the inheritance for himself, yet someone showed up screwing all of his ns.

    ¡°Magic.¡±

    Arthurughed at his ownme joke, one that the mummy did not understand. He prepared to kill that thing for good, yet something unexpected happened once again.

    ¡°We will see each other again, mark my words.¡±

    Then, blood circled around the mummy, who disappearedpletely from the dimensional realm. Arthur tried everything, yet it was impossible to feel the mummy.

    ¡°How did he leave it without my permission? Who was that mummy?¡± Arthur thought.

    He believed there was no way for that thing to escape his grasp, yet the unexpected happened. Perhaps that skeleton he met before was lying about the identity of that mummy?

    When Arthur thought about it, he decided to teleport to where he first saw the skeleton, and it was not there. He could not sense it as well, as if it had already left the dimensional realm, just like the mummy.

    ¡°Could the two be the same person?¡±

    A wild thought crossed Arthur¡¯s mind, but he was not sure if it was true or not.

    There was no gain in thinking about those things, so he returned to where Signy and Helga were. Everything happened so fast that the two of them did not have to wait for a long time before meeting with Arthur again, who was excited to explore the rest of the dimensional realm.

    He teleported the three of them to the garden, where lots of strange nts he had never seen before were.

    Within seconds, all of it was sent to his magical pouch, and he did not stop there, exploring all the other rooms of the dimensional realm.

    The ce had fewer treasures than Arthur expected. Perhaps the mummy or the skeleton had got a few of them before leaving. That would exin a lot.

    He was slightly disappointed, but the trip had been a win for him.

    Arthur got an inheritance for someone extraordinary. Lighting and moon essence, as well as breakthrough to the next rank.

    There was also the tree, which had fruits capable of improving his bloodline. It was something truly valuable to him. Arthur was d he had found Rolf to get that back.

    ¡°There is nothing truly extraordinary here. A pity.¡± Arthur said while looking at the room where the treasures were supposed to be.

    The room only had a few weapons of all kinds, and some other misceneous items which Arthur did not know their uses. He did not know if they were valuable at that moment, so he simply put everything inside his magical pouch and left.

    When Arthur finished getting everything that had the value of the dimensional realm, he got out of it, returning to the ind of giants.

    Signy and Helga were there with him, d to leave that ce alive.

    ¡°Are you two willing to follow me to a ce? I own a magical academy on another continent. We can stay some time there, and when you two are ready to go to the central continent, then I will lend you some help as well. Also, here, take it.¡±

    Arthur gave Helga and Signy some treasures he found in the dimensional realm. He was not someone who would get everything to himself, as he believed that would only bring him bad luck.

    As for the offer to go to Odemore, the academy Wisa and Jane were building near Frostpeak, the two of them epted.

    ¡°Oh, right? Can you tell me everything you know about the invasion?¡±

    ~~~~

    Inside a normal-looking ship, a youth wearing a ck cloak drank a fine wine, longing to meet up with his wives once again.

 Chapter 241 Returning to Embercoast

    The goal Arthur had when going toward that continent was to find more about why they wanted to attack the continent Arthur came from, as well as the whereabout of his friends.

    With the help of Signy and Helga, who would share everything they knew about it, helping Arthur to seed at it.

    He also got to know that his friends were going toward the central continent, but he found nothing about the strange beast¡¯s invasion that was happening.

    It was something that bugged him before, but now it was not the case anymore. Arthur was way more powerful now, and the only ce that could have dangers was the central continent. He could walk around Phuvia like it was his house.

    ¡°So you already have two wives? You look the same age as I!¡± Signy said.

    She was with Arthur and Helga on a ship that lead to Phuvia to Rento. It was a normal ship, not the same one he had used who had lots of mages using their magic to fasten up the travel. It would take them some time to reach it, which made Arthur bored.

    Also, after Ikarus told him to sever the link between him and George, Arthur never reestablished it. He did not know why, but he felt that Ikarus¡¯ words had a hidden meaning, and perhaps he should not trust George blindly, that is.

    ¡°We both have an oath, so there is no way he will betray me, but who knows what he will do when the oath is over?¡±

    The moment George escaped from that ce, and helped Arthur get out of that, the oath would bepleted. There was no guarantee he would not hurt him, and that was daunting.

    Arthur did not want to think about that. He was almost certain that if he reached the rank 2 of an Official Mage, the current George would not be a match to him. George was badly hurt, and it would take him some time before recovering his strength.

    That fact gave Arthur a peace of mind, so he turned his focus on the important aspects.

    ¡°You two want to be teachers in my academy? I n on giving lots of resources so that everyone who has enough talent can reach higher levels.¡± Arthur said.

    Arthur had the n of bringing some people with him to the central continent when he went there. His wives, of course, and perhaps Kai and Theo, two of the most talented people he knew, and one was even his disciple, although he did not teach him much.

    ¡°Would you ept us? Thank you!¡±

    ¡°Not only that, but I can help the two of you reach the eighth circle. After that, impress me. Even though I am going to the central continent soon, I can freely move from anywhere on this to my academy, so you two will not bezy after I am gone.¡±

    The teleport spell Arthur had, which was overpowered, was one thing that made him confident in making Odemore work again.

    Even if he was far away, he could still return using an anchor. The academy would not be alone, and its owner would be around to make sure his students grew strong!

    Well, only while he was on that, that is. After he left, Odemore would have to flourish alone.

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    They were more than happy to get a decent position in Odemore, as well as the help to reach the eighth circle. It was something the two never thought possible, or at least something that would take a long time to be true.

    The trip took longer than expected, but at least no one bugged them during it, like thest time Arthur traveled by ship. After nearly a month, they were back at Rento, the city Arthur had gone to quite a few times.

    ¡°This weather is so nice! No snow or frigid cold!¡±

    One of the first things Signy and Helga noticed was the weather change. Not that impact-full for them, as they were mages, but it was still something that made some difference.

    It was their first time leaving their continent, so everything around them felt different, making all the suffering caused by days in a ship worth it!

    Signy and Helga wanted to explore everything, and even though they had things to do, Arthur did not bug them for doing that.

    He was also tired after the trip, so it shouldn¡¯t be that bad to breathe some fresh air and enjoy the moment. Embercoast was also near Rento, so they slowly walked towards it, seeing the nature and also rest along the way.

    When they got closer to the city, both girls had their mouths wide open! They weren¡¯t used to those types of buildings, and the cities from where they came from weren¡¯t that big!

    Arthur smiled after seeing their reaction, and then he said, ¡°we should go to the pce to speak up with the queen. She will be happy to hear all of that you told me.¡±

    They made their way through the city, going straight toward the pce. The guard who was protecting the gates of the pce saw Arthur arriving, looking like a beggar with that ck cloak and messy hair, but when he noticed who it was, he instantly bowed.

    ¡°General Arthur, it is an honor to see you.¡±

    While they were walking through the courtyard of the pce, Signy got close to Arthur and whispered, ¡°you have a magic academy and are also a general? Why am I not surprised?¡±

    Everyone who saw them bowed in respect for the general. Arthur nodded in response, acting like a genuine leader, heading directly toward the throne room to speak with Melinda.

    The beautiful queen was sitting on a throne, and when she saw Arthur, she was surprised.

    ¡°Arthur? You returned so quickly! And who are these two lovely women you brought with you?¡±

    ¡°Queen,¡± Arthur bowed, and then said, ¡°about these two, you will be surprised.¡±

    All of them went to a separate room where Signy and Helga told the queen everything they knew about the invasion, as well as some ns to stop it from happening.

    Turned out they wanted to invade Phuvia for their ores, as it was a kingdom with lots of mines. So, Melinda prepared to prevent such invasion from happening, as she now knew most of the strength the enemy had.

    Also, it would be the best if the invasion never happened. Melinda would try to set an agreement with them, perhaps proving ores for something else.

    Signy and Helga were almost certain the opposition would ept such an agreement, which gave Melinda a peace of mind.

    Arthur was feeling good that one problem was out of the way, but the strange beast invasion was still happening, but Melinda told him it had weakened a lot, and the beasts did not seem endless anymore.

    Everything was working out, but what was more important was to check how his wives were doing.

    He was not feeling like sending them a message, as a surprise would be more fun! The surprise would make their night even spicier.

 Chapter 242 Is this Odemore?

    They did not leave Embercoast after speaking with the queen, but stayed in the pce for some time. Everyone was tired, and no one would say no to a night in such a luxurious ce!

    Signy and Helga enjoyed the hot pools of the pce, as well as eat a lot of delicious food for free. Arthur did the same, but spend some time at the roof the pce, thinking about how things were going.

    ¡°One Hundred Thunder Academy¡­¡±

    It was the ce where he would look for when reaching the central continent, but what about his wives? Jane¡¯s major element was lightning, so she would have any problems in joining the same academy as Arthur, but what about Wisa? Kai and Theo?

    Arthur was seriously thinking about creating a new academy, a branch of Odemore on the central continent. For what he saw, most academies were strict in their elements.

    The One Hundred Thunder, for example, only epted those who had a high lightning affinity. If other academies acted the same way, then surely lots of young mages did not have a ce to go if their elements did not fit.

    Could Arthur create a school good enough to have anyone join it? No matter the element? It would not be a straightforward task, and he would have to get his hands on multiple techniques from all elements, which was almost impossible.

    ¡°This won¡¯t do. Maybe creating a safe ce and try to get a high grade fire meditation technique for Wisa?¡±

    What he could do was just build a base. He did not know where the One Hundred Thunder Academy was, but it would surely be next to a city where his wives could stay!

    All the spells from the lightning element were easily essible to him, so Jane would not have any problems. The only elements remaining would be fire and water for Wisa, Theo, and Kai.

    Two elements were more doable to find than all of them. Maybe Kai and Theo could go to other academies?

    ¡°Maybe they can act as spies while I slowly take full control of all academies? This is the right move. One day I will leave this, so before that, everything has to be under my control!¡±

    It was ambitious, yes it was, but Arthur had set that goal inside his mind while looking at the starry sky above Embercoast.

    ¡°So this is the ce youe to think about life? Are you copying me?¡±

    Eleonora¡¯s voice entered his ears, waking him up from his daydream. She was looking as gorgeous as ever, and Arthur could not help but notice that the level above her head had increased.

    Arthur was certain she was not training, so that could only mean her dragon bloodline was getting stronger.

    ¡°The sky was beautiful, so I had to see it.¡±

    ¡°It is indeed. Will you go see sis tomorrow? I was thinking¡­ can I go with you to the magic academy? I am tired of not being strong enough¡­¡±

    She grips her long white dress, looking down, ashamed. Eleonora wanted to get stronger, and staying inside the pce without nothing interesting to do was boring to her.

    After she got kidnapped and trapped in that ce, a desire for power grew inside of her. She did not want to pass through the same things again, and the only way to make sure that would not happen was getting stronger.

    ¡°Sure, you cane with me. Everyone in Odemore is friendly, and Frostpeak is also near if you need any help.¡±

    ¡°Really? Thank you!¡±

    Eleonora ran toward him, giving him a tight hug. Her boobs were softly touching Arthur¡¯s chest, and once she realized that, she ran away with her cheekspletely red.

    ¡°I am so handsome they ran away from me!¡±

    ~~~~

    The next morning started with Arthur waking up filled with excitement. He wanted to see his wives and his friends again, and also check how was Odemore.

    He hoped it was not in a precarious state, like it was back on that ind.

    ¡°Marget is helping them, so everything should be nice. Speaking of Marget, how is she?¡±

    Marget was the president of Frostpeak, the woman who had helped them in a lot of ways when he first came to that world. Just her not killing him or tried to experiment with him was already a blessing.

    Arthur was not scared to return there, as it did not matter if anyone knew he came from the dream realm. What could they do? His power was beyond their capabilities, and even on the central continent, Arthur was a force to be reckoned with.

    He said goodbyes to Melinda, and said to her that if the beast¡¯s invasion got worse again, he woulde to help.

    ¡°I know you would, my sweet little boy. Come here,¡± Melinda said.

    She grabbed Arthur and hugged him. Just like with Eleonora, Melinda¡¯s soft boobs touched his chest, and her perfume entered inside his nostrils, making him feel uneasy in his down parts.

    Melinda was a beauty capable of charming the heart of any man.

    ¡°Imagine if I can have both mother and daughter? Wait, what am I thinking?¡±

    Arthur dismissed all of those thoughts, leaving Embercoast with Signy, Helga, and Eleonora. Their destination was Odemore, who was far from where they were.

    ¡°How was it on the other continent? Is it true that the people there ride wolves and eat human flesh like barbarians?¡± Eleonora said.

    ¡°What? Is that how the people here to see us? That is crazy.¡±

    Arthur was listening to their conversation, so he said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the wolves¡­¡±

    Signy tapped him on the shoulder,ughing, and said, ¡°idiot.¡±

    The feeling of friendship among them was increasing after each passing day. They talked, camping, and stopping along the way to explore the beautiful scenery.

    Of course, just like any travel, a group of bandits tried to steal for them, not knowing the beast they were messing with.

    Now that Arthur had some people with him, he did not even need to teach those bandits a lesson, as Signy did it for him. It happened over one time until they finally reached Odemore!

    Odemore was near Frostpeak, but not that near. It was isted from any city, as it wasparable to a city itself!

    When Arthur saw the magnitude of that ce, he could not understand how did Jane and Wisa had created such an incredible ce in that short time!

    ¡°Melinda, of course. She probably gave her daughter a lot of men to work to build this ce.¡±

    The ce was called Odemore, but it was not just a magic academy, but a city called Odemore! There were lots of people trying their lives there, as the rumor of a princess taking care of that ce spread throughout the kingdom!

    Also, everyone knew general Arthur from their army was also a resident of that ce, and the fame Arthur had was tremendous!

    He did not know, but while he was away, the deeds he did in that battle spread throughout the kingdom, and those people saw him as a hero!

    ¡°Is this Odemore? You told me it was a magic academy and not a city!¡±

    Signy, Helga, and even Eleonora were shocked upon seeing the city.

    Arthur was proud of what Jane, and Wisa had aplished, so he entered Odemore.

 Chapter 243 The Boss is Back

    Chapter 243 The Boss is Back

    The city was incredibly prosperous already, having shops and stalls all over the ce, with farms around the area with crops and animals.

    It even had a wall already for protection. Arthur was quite shocked at the speed of how the construction went.

    ¡°This is only possible with magic.¡± He thought.

    Arthur had been away for about two months. There was no way normal humans might build that many things in that short period.

    Of course, everyone had helped, but for the wall, for example, earth magic was a must, or else it would take too long to finish.

    ¡°There is even a queue to enter inside your city. You are quite the man, Arthur.¡± Signy said.

    For them, Odemore was his magic academy, and was his city as well. When someone said Odemore, Arthur was the person who appeared in their minds.

    ¡°Let¡¯s skip the queue. I don¡¯t want to cause amotion.¡±

    It was a simple task for him to avoid the guards, so he led everyone to the city¡¯s insides with no one noticing it.

    The first step was to go toward the magic academy itself, as that was the ce where his wives were, and also the ce were Eleonora, Signy and Helga would spend their time.

    Two of them as teachers, and one as a new student. While they were going toward Odemore Magic Academy, lots of youths were doing the same! Some were young, having only 12 years of age!

    There weren¡¯t many magic academies in Phuvia, and one of those only epted women, so Odemore quickly rose in poprity, especially with the support of the queen, as well as the princess and the hero of the people, Arthur.

    Lots of talented young mages traveled from all parts of the kingdom, hoping to have time to enroll in Odemore.

    One teenager passed through Arthur and said, ¡°are you here to take the test too? I hope we both pass it!¡±

    Then the young man kept running away toward the academy. Every time Arthur went to his own magic academy, a test was happening.

    ¡°This is too much of a coincidence.¡±

    Well, he did not know, but that was the second test to enter Odemore, and this one would be thest for the whole remaining year!

    The first test happened a month prior to that, and lots of talented youths enrolled in Odemore, but it was not enough.

    Most of the people who wanted to take a shot at the test were from afar, so it would take them more time to reach that ce, so they opted to have another test now that everyone got the time to reach the city.

    Arthur passed through the queue of youths who were waiting to get inside Odemore, causing the anger of them.

    ¡°Who do you think you are to cut the queue like this? We are all equal here! I don¡¯t care if you are a little older than me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, he is right. Go back to your ce.¡±

    ¡°Guards, someone do something!¡±

    The enraged youths yelled so much that the guards had to intercept Arthur. He was almost in front of the gate when it happened.

    ¡°Get the hell out of here, or I- ¡°

    Arthur took out the hood he had, and the guards recognized his face in an instant! Some youths did not, as they were kids, but the guards knew exactly who he was, the hero, general Arthur!

    He instantly went to his knees and asked for forgiveness.

    ¡°Why do these big fish always use hoods to make us act like idiots?¡± the guard thought.

    Arthur did not know the guard had that thought, but it was indeed something he felt pleasure in doing. It was a lot of fun to see everyone shocked, and a good way to see who acted rude.

    ¡°No problem. I will go first, and these three will go with me.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course. Go on.¡±

    Just like that, Arthur got inside Odemore, shocking all the youths who were in the queue. Some of them knew who Arthur was, and the word quickly spread throughout the city.

    As for those who were locked inside the academy, studying, it was yet something they had to know. So Jane and Wisa did not know he was there to see them.

    The courtyard of the school was vast and had lots of green to make their time, making it more pleasing to the eye. Soon, lots of students got out of the main building.

    ¡°It is the break! Makes sense, as the test to enter the academy will happen so, so the teachers must be free. Good timing!¡±

    Odemore Academy was way different from it was back on the ind. The main building had 8 floors, packed with ssrooms and other academic buildings. Arthur knew the school now could take care of lots of students.

    They had four different dorms around the academy grounds, each one better than the previous. It was their way of making the hardworking students have more benefits than those who were there just for the fun.

    Everyone who was studying in Odemore had considerable talent, so hard-work yed a big role in their sess there.

    Arthur saw a greenhouse from afar, some watchtowers around the academy. The only thing he saw that needed improvement was the protective formation around the academy, but that was not a big deal now that Arthur had the power of an Official Mage.

    He went toward the main building, looking for Jane and Wisa. There, one professor of Odemore stopped him in his tracks.

    ¡°Who are you? I don¡¯t remember your face, and you are not using the school¡¯s uniform.¡±

    It was a tall man with dark hair of shoulder length. He wore the uniform of the school, but the emblem he had on his chest differed from those of the students, and he also had a ck-cloak that went to his feet.

    ¡°Are you a professor here? Can you tell me where Wisa and Jane are?¡±

    ¡°Wisa and Jane? Why do you want to speak with the two presidents of this ce?¡±

    ¡°I am their husband. Now, where are they?¡±

    ¡°What? Hahahahahahahaha, kiddo, are you insane? You look like you are eighteen and you are saying to me you are the husband of two goddesses?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    The man did not believe that, and was ready to expel Arthur from Odemore, but the Wisa and Jane were getting down from the stairs, looking at the entrance of the main building.

    They saw it. Their husband, the knight in a white horse and shiny armor. For a moment, everything felt like a dream.

    ¡°Husband!¡±

    ¡°Darling!¡±

    Both of them came running, passing through the professor as if he was not even there, giving Arthur a tight hug.

    All the students who were in the courtyard were shocked, as they had never seen the two presidents act like that.

    ¡°Who is that?¡±

    Some of the male students thought, visibly angry after seeing someone hug Jane and Wisa, who were the crush of most men in Odemore.

 Chapter 244 It was finally time

    Chapter 244 It was finally time

    The entire school stopped for a moment, especially the professor, who thought everything was a lie. Where could he hide his face at that point?

    If that youth truly wanted, then he could be fired from the school, losing the job he worked hard to get. When noticing that, the professor waited for the hug to end, and quickly apologized to Arthur, in hopes it was not over for him yet.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just continue being an excellent teacher, or else¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course. I will do my best!¡±

    The entire school knew about Arthur¡¯s arrival within less than thirty minutes, as well as the fact two new teachers were starting out the next very day.

    With just one word, Helga and Signy got their new jobs as teachers of Odemore, and no one could say otherwise. Arthur had total control for Odemore, both school and city.

    He took a stroll around the academy with both of his wives, who were so happy to see him after over two months away.

    ¡°How did you build this so fast? Everything looks incredible!¡±

    ¡°All thanks to Melinda, who lends us lots of mages willing to build not only the school but the city itself. She also paid for all the services, giving us a lot of space to grow without entering debt.¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°Really? So we can safely say Odemore is an official city of Phuvia now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is. The queen made it official two months ago, and that is why this ce has this many people. The prices ofnd were cheaper now as the city is still new, so lots of people came here to open up shops or live peacefully on their farms.¡±

    ¡°Also, the area we got covers 300 kilometers from the center of the city, and all thends are in your name, husband.¡±

    ¡°What? Doesn¡¯t that mean I am rich now?¡±

    With all of those people buyingnds to start anew in Odemore, all the money they paid for suchnds, as well as the taxes, all went to Arthur¡¯s pocket!

    Not that he cared a lot about such things. He was getting into a realm wheremon currency meant little for him, and most of the trades were using mana crystals.

    But it was still nice to get money, as it was an easy way to fund the school, as well as to give resources to those who looked promising on the magical path.

    Arthur was pleased to hear such things, thus asked further questions about Odemore.

    ¡°How many teachers do we have? And is it enough with the huge stream of studentsing?¡±

    ¡°We have at the moment 13 teachers, with two more you brought us today, so 15 in total. It is more than enough for all these students.¡± Jane said.

    They were right. Fifteen teachers were a high number, considering the amount of sses they had weren¡¯t that high, as all mages needed time to meditate and practice on their own.

    One could say that the teachers were there just to give these youths some guidance, but most of the work they would have to do it alone.

    ¡°Well, we can continue our expeditionter. Shall we see the entrance test?¡±

    Jane and Wisa nodded, returning to the main part of the school near the front gate. There, lots of aspiring youths were trying their best to enter the school.

    Almost all of them were nervous, shaking their legs, afraid that they had gone that far just for nothing. No one knew exactly how the entrance test would go, but the word around said that Odemore was epting almost everyone, even if their talent was not that great.

    ¡°Are we truly epting any talent?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and no. Grade 1 and 2 talents are too bad, so we are taken from the Grade 3 and up. Grade 3 is themon talent, so almost everyone has it, as those who have worse talent than that do note here at all!¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that increase your student number by a lot? Meaning it will cost us more to maintain everyone.¡±

    Arthur was concerned about the financial aspect of the school. Even if money was not necessarily a problem to him, it was still something about the school, and the city needed to keep growing, especially Odemore, who was at its early stages.

    ¡°Yes, but Wisa implemented one feature from the adventurer¡¯s guild to Odemore, and I believe it will get a lot of poprity here!¡±

    ¡°A mission board?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Now it made more sense. Arthur had a strong guess that the students had toplete at least one mission in a certain period, meaning the cash would keep flowing into the school.

    ¡°Also, we are giving everyone a small amount of resources, and then if they perform well, they will get more. Also, most of the students here look for some sort of ie, as we only provide breakfast and lunch for them.¡±

    The school worked in two periods, morning and afternoon. It was already impressive that they gave free breakfast and lunch for all the students. Only a few number of schools did that, especially for that many!

    As for their dinner and other snacks, the students had to pay for it, so that forced them to look for missions on the board, or find work in the city, making it flourish in some ways.

    It was a win-win, both for the school and for the city. Arthur really liked the way everything was working out, and he hoped it kept that way.

    ¡°Good, good. The first part of the test will be with that orb too, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The professor you met before is handling the test. Look!¡± Wisa said, pointing at the professor Arthur met when arriving in Odemore.

    He felt someone looking at him, so he shifted his gaze, and when he noticed it was Arthur, the man awkwardly smiled, and then entered a serious mode, trying to enter the test as wless as it could.

    ¡°Is he afraid of me?¡±

    Arthurughed and then watched the youths take the test. Most of them were nervous at first, but when they saw the nature of the test after the first few tried it, everyone calmed down, and some even smiled, realizing it was not a big deal to pass.

    There was no showcase of their abilities, no fighting or any other type of test. It was only an orb they had to put their hands on, and then it would say if they had enough talent to enter or not.

    Incredibly, all the youths there had the talent of at least Grade 3, which proved that Wisa was right when she said only those who were confident in their aptitude would try to enter Odemore.

    After the test was over, the number of students Odemore had increased by a lot, and the ce looked more vivid than ever. The four immense dorms proved to efficient, giving shelter to everyone.

    Even after that many students, one dorm was stillpletely empty. That alone showcased how big Odemore was.

    Then, it was time for Arthur to have some time alone with his wives, who were breathing heavily since the first moment they met.

 Chapter ?245 Helping Others Succeed

    Chapter ?245 Helping Others Seed

    The new students were getting used to the school, roaming around, exploring the school facilities. Now that Jane and Wisa weren''t the teachers, they had more free time to focus on their own things, and that was to have sex.

    "I missed this so much!" Jane said, moaning with pleasure as Arthur fucked her in the position she loved, doggy style.

    Wisa was just beneath the two, licking Arthur''s balls and Jane''s clitoris. It was hot, even more considering the three did not have moments like that in a while.

    They had been far away from each other for two months, which made the horniness in all of them reach an absurd level. Jane rolled her eyes each time Arthur''s dick entered inside her pussy.

    "You are such a savage!" She said, smiling. Arthur pulled out her hair, moving his hips even faster, making her go crazy.

    Rough sex was something both Wisa and Jane loved. Jane was the one being fucked, but Wisa, who was watching by that point, was wet.

    "You two are so fucking hot. Husband, it is my turn now!"

    She wanted the dick too. Jane and Wisa switched positions.

    "This is exactly what I needed. Fuck me! I am your little bitch!"

    This went on for a long time, and not a single person inside Odemore imagined that both Jane and Wisa, the leaders of such a ce, were in fact sluts when alone with their husband!

    ~~~~

    The next day was the day Odemore had more life than ever. With the increase in students, the ce was all talky early in the morning, with lots of students being excited about their sses.

    Some did not even sleep, anxious about the next day. Arthur found it funny, reminding him about the time he too got anxious about a math test.

    "I wonder how my world is going these days."

    It did not seem like it, but over one year passed since the day he went into that world. Arthur''s strength grew quite fast, but he knew his journey was just starting.

    "General Arthur, are you truly the owner of this city and school? Awesome!" One student said.

    Everyone who passed through him in the courtyard would pay the respects, bowing deeply. Arthur was a hero for them, and someone who had a level of power beyond theirprehension.

    Not only the students were shocked when seeing him, but the teachers as well! The teachers had a deeper strength than the students, so they knew Arthur was not someone simple.

    There was even a teacher in the ninth circle! Someone that had the power to go to the central continent if they wanted to, yet even that person could not see through him! That alone shocked anyone to the bone.

    Arthur nodded to any student that passed, acting as friendly as possible, but soon there were simply too many people trying to speak with him, so he left the crowd, hiding inside Wisa''s and Jane''s room.

    "How is your bloodline going?" Arthur said.

    He saw that both Wisa and Jane''s level increased, which meant their bloodline was maturing. They both changed, but Jane, who was younger, now had a more mature look after getting the bloodline.

    "Things are going pretty well. I reached the seventh circle, and Wisa the eighth circle." Jane said.

    "What? Really?" Arthur said, getting up from the chair he was on.

    It surprised even him. Their power increased by a lot in just two months. Well, it made sense. Both Wisa and Jane had extraordinary talent for magic, but were just normal people, not like Arthur, who had two bloodlines and a system.

    But now that both of them had a bloodline, their power was increasing by leaps and bounds, which was lovely! The faster they got close to the rank one Official Mage status, the faster Arthur could get to the central continent.

    "I need to talk with you two about some things. First, I n ongoing to the central continent, and I hope you two cane with me. But that is not all of it. Remember Hiley, Aria and Cedric? They are on the central continent too."

    "What? That is awesome!"

    "Also, what do you think about Kai and Theo? I want to bring them along with us too. I got some information about the central continent, and also a token to enter one academy. Hear this out." Arthur said and then exined everything.

    "So you will get thunder element spells for you and Jane? Now we only need to get the Fire and water element for me, Theo and Kai."

    "Yes. I am thinking of letting Theo and Kai enter other academies."

    "Me and Wisa can enter other academies too. That would help us get total control of the central continent. I know you fear our safety." Jane said.

    Arthur heard that and entered deep thought. He was still uncertain where his wives should go after he entered the One Hundred Thunder Academy.

    They could not go with him there, but he still wanted them to me somewhat close, but where? Now Jane had the idea of her and Wisa entering another academy as well, as they wanted to help Arthur achieve his goal of total control of the central continent before leaving the.

    "But if you two will be alone, then you two have to reach the Official Mage rank before we go there. Prepare for an arduous training." Arthur said.

    After that talk, everything was settled. Arthur called out to Theo and Kai as well, exining everything. The two epted the offer instantly.

    The two also wanted to explore more about the world, and did not want their path as mages to end so soon. With that, the training camp officially started!

    Now that Odemore was working alone, Arthur had the time to help Wisa, Jane, Theo and Kai with their training.

    Every single day, their training would start in the morning and would only end at night. Well, Wisa and Jane would do another training during night-time in Arthur''s bed, as it was something that leveled up them too with the help of his system.

    Speaking of his system, the celestial powers who were locked after Arthur almost died were now back! He could see the time for the next blessing, as well as the free attributes he would get from time to time. As for the rest of the celestial abilities, they were still a mystery to him.

    That routine continued for more three months! After those three months, all of them changed!

    Well, the person who change the slightest was Arthur, who only increased his attributes and his Spiritual Force, but it was way distant from reaching the rank 2. Just like George had said, Arthur should not expect to wait over one decade to reach that level of power!

    Not that he wasining, as he could now live for hundred of years, and his appearance would not change as well.

    Jane and Wisa reached the rank 1 Official Mage after those three months of training. Kai and Theo did not, but the two reached the tenth circle, which was something incredible as well!

    Signy and Helga did not getzy during that time, too. Arthur helped the two, with both reaching the peak of the tenth circle, one step away for the Official Mage rank status.

    Those two also had training about leadership and did a blood contract with Arthur. An oath to make sure they would never betray him, and would take care of Odemore while they were away.

    Speaking of getting away, it was time for Arthur to do just that!

 Chapter ?246 A Jungle? And is that a Gigantic Mosquito?

    Chapter ?246 A Jungle? And is that a Gigantic Mosquito?

    They prepared some supplies before leaving for the central continent. Someone who did not want to be left behind was Sully, who turned into his small version, hiding inside Arthur''s pocket, waiting for him to leave toward a new area!

    Speaking of Sully, he was growing stronger and stronger, having his power almost equal to that of an Official Mage. It was not there yet, but Arthur was sure he would reach that point given enough time, or perhaps with the usage of the bloodline treasure Arthur got from the dimensional realm, although he was waiting to use it when on the central continent.

    Arthur wanted to know how to get to the central continent, and George was the only one that knew how, but Arthur was reluctant to speak with him, afraid that George was not someone he could trust.

    Still, he spoke with him anyway, as he had no other choice.

    Just like he imagined, the way to reach the central continent was through a hidden portal, but it was not a simple task to get to that portal.

    It was in the middle of the ocean, on a tiny little ind between all the continents.

    "Another ship journey? Ahhhh!" Arthur yelled, visibly frustrated.

    Before leaving Odemore, he set his anchor spell so that he could return with ease. After that, all of them left Odemore.

    He spent some time during the previous three months making a copy of all the dragon skills that suited Eleonora, who had ice as her major element.

    Eleonora was learning magic inside Odemore, as she wanted to get stronger, but she did not neglect his dragon powers, learning some things with Arthur in these past months.

    She wanted to go with them to the central continent, but she was not ready yet. Arthur promised he would help her find Nefion as well, as he would search for more information about him while he was on the central continent.

    Arthur only left Odemore after all of that was settled, leaving on a ship, eager to reach a new location.

    "We barely know the central continent. What dangers should we expect?"

    "Well, I believe not that different from our ce. The only difference is that there are Official Mages there, varying from rank one to three, so we should be careful with them. As for the strength of the creatures that lived there, we can expect them to be at a simr level or even higher!" Arthur said.

    The central continent was the ce where all aspiring mages went to get their hands on high grade meditation techniques so that they could reach the level of an Official Mage.

    Arthur, Jane and Wisa reached that level because they had the Monlog technique at their disposal, so they did not need to leave and search for a meditation technique, different from the rest of the mages.

    "Makes sense. The only problem is the waiting¡­ at least we got ourselves a private room, hehehe." Wisaughed, getting closer to Arthur, touching his down parts.

    Different from all the other ship journeys, who weren''t good, that one was. Arthur now had thepany of his wives to enjoy the ride, literally.

    ~~~~

    The ship stopped at a random location in the middle of the ocean. It was a tiny ind that had nothing on it. No buildings, nothing.

    "Were is this portal again? At the middle of three coconut trees?"

    "Apparently. No wonder people have to spend lots of time researching this portal. It makes no sense at all!"

    They all parked the ship there and went toward the part of the ind where the portal was supposed to be. It was in the middle of three coconut trees.

    Well, it was invisible and someone had to deliberately activate the portal or else nothing would happen, even if they stood in it.

    How did George get the information about that portal? Arthur did not know, but when he spoke out loud the words which activated the portal, it worked!

    A circle enough to cover three humans appeared. It was transparent, and by looking at it, one could see the other side of it, which was a jungle!

    Arthur had traveled to many ces, and he knew the ce he was looking at was something unknown to him. He was certain it was the central continent!

    "It worked! Shall we go? Who will go first?" Theo said, jumping in joy, excitement.

    "Me, of course." Arthur said, taking the lead to pass through the portal before everyone else.

    If anything went wrong with the portal, then he would be the person to suffer by it, leaving his wives and friends alive.

    Not that he was the person to always act like a hero. It was more like he was sure there would be nothing wrong with the portal, as he had already scanned it before using it.

    When his lead feet passed through the portal, Arthur was no longer on that tiny ind but in apletely different ce ¡ª a jungle!

    The sunlight could barely reach the ground of that jungle, as the trees'' tops covered most of the sky! Everything was so big in that ce; the trees, the bushes, the long green vines and¡­ the bugs!

    Arthur saw an immense mosquito fly toward him. It had the same as a human child, which made the thing scary!

    "What is that thing? If a mosquito has this size, imagine the rest of the things?"

    The good part was that the mosquito, despite the gigantic size, was not strong. Arthur finished it with one spell, sending a thunder toward it.

    Jane, Wisa, Theo and Kai were at the other side of the portal, and they could see everything that was happening, especially the battle with the giant mosquito.

    It was not something any of them enjoyed, but after making sure everything was safe, they all crossed the portal, meeting with Arthur at the other side.

    When all of them crossed, both portals were closed, and one had to speak the same magical words again to activate it. Arthur made the test, and it worked.

    "We should mark this spot so that we know where it is in the future." Arthur said, as he carved some trees around the area using his ws.

    With his boosted memory as a mage, it would not be that hard to memorize the location, but considering most of the jungle was almost the same, it would prove to be a hard task.

    "Where should we go first? We do not know where we are." Kai said.

    What he said was indeed true, but that did not mean it was impossible to find civilization.

    "If there is civilization inside this jungle, then it has to be near a river and in a in area, so it will be easy for us to see it, but I have a strong feeling there is not a civilization here." Arthur said.

    "So we should focus on leaving this ce as soon as possible?" Jane asked, scratching her head.

    "Yes, and we have a strong fuel to help us with the motivation to leave this ce."

    "Yeah? And what is it?"

    "There."

    Arthur then pointed toward their right side where tons of immense bugs made their way toward them!

 Chapter ?247 Asking for Help

    Chapter ?247 Asking for Help

    The jungle was a dangerous ce for anyone who dared to set foot in it. Not only the gigantic bugs gave a sense of dread, but the low sunlight, and the sensation of being watched, increased that feeling.

    All of them ran through the jungle, avoiding to hit the trees and jumping bushes just to get away from those bugs!

    "Why are we always unlucky?" Wisained as she ran away.

    Despite them having the power to kill those bugs, it was still something that gave them fear, especially for Jane and Wisa, who thought these bugs were disgusting!

    There was even a giganticrva crawling toward them. The liquid around its body made it even more disgusting, making everyone flee even faster from that jungle!

    They did not know where to go, but when Arthur used his flight spell to fly above the treetops, he noticed a in not that far from where they were.

    But when he looked behind, the jungle seemed endless! It went on and on until a point where not even his dragon sight could keep up.

    "It is a good thing the portal is near the way out. What exactly is this ce?" Arthur thought as he went down again, exining to everyone what they saw.

    With their energies refreshed after knowing the way out was not that far, everyone kept going forward, leaving the jungle after thirty minutes of walk!

    There were a lot of times that the bugs got too close to them, but Arthur intervened in time, ending their lives before one of them could traumatize his wives.

    When they left the jungle, there was a in, and not that far from it a muddy road with a wooden sign that said ''Forgotten Forest'' and another one that said ''Extremely Dangerous, Keep the Distance''.

    It was a ce that few people had the courage to go into. Arthur had been lucky the portal was just at the edge of that jungle, so there wasn''t any real danger, but that would change if one ventured deeper into it.

    "We are finally out of that ce! Look at this beautiful sun!"

    Different from the jungle where the treetops made it impossible for the sunlight to pass through it, now that they were outside of the jungle, everything was different!

    Arthur could not tell why, but the central continent had a different vibe to it. One thing he quickly noticed was the amount of mana in the atmosphere, which was higher than that of the rest of the.

    "That is why the central continent is the home of all mages! This differspletely from the countryside we came from!"

    The eagerness to explore all of it was within all of them.

    "Look at that! Isn''t that magical?" Kai said.

    "It is just a tree¡­"

    "And that? This has to be something incredible, right?"

    "Incredible, let me see, ah¡­ a rock."

    "That creature right there! I have never seen it before."

    Finally, something that caught Arthur''s attention, but when he went to check, the creature was merely a chicken. Well, that was a good sign, as a few moments after they saw that chicken, a vige entered their sights.

    When they entered that vige, it did not go unnoticed, but people soon mind their own business. Sure, a group of cloaked people would catch some attention, but that was it.

    It was not an umon sight for those vigers, especially considering their vige was close to the Forgotten Forest, where lots of mages went to look for opportunities.

    What caught the most attention was that those cloaked figures were alive and well, different from most of those who tried their luck inside the Forgotten Forest.

    "This is incredible! I am almost sure we are far away from the big cities, yet this vige looks bigger than some cities we saw before!" Arthur said as he gazed at all the buildings and the people working on the farms.

    A vige from the central continent was way different from the viges Arthur saw back at his continent. Maybe the reason for the massive difference was the money.

    "This ce is way richer than us, so that is understandable. Look, this ce even has a branch of an adventurer''s guild! Those things we could only find in big cities!" Wisa said.

    The vige had over three inns, an adventurers'' guild branch, cksmithing stores, alchemy stores, enchanting stores, and even a small library with some magical tomes!

    It had everything a traveler would need, and even more! Arthur walked through the streets of the vige when someone stopped him.

    "Are you a mage?" A middle-aged man said.

    Arthur was surprised to see someone walk up to him like that. He was sure he had done nothing wrong while inside the vige, so what could that be about?

    "Yes, I am. Is there something wrong?"

    The man instantly knelled after hearing that, begging Arthur for help.

    "Please, help me, sir! I have little, but I can pay you for anything! Please, help me!"

    "Calm down. Can we talk in a more private ce?"

    "Of course, of course. Come, I will show you my house."

    Arthur turned around to speak with his wives and friends, who were d to roam around and explore the vige at their own pace.

    It was better that way, as each one of them would go toward an area, seeking for more information, and by the end of the day, all of them could merge that information into something useful.

    The viger who seek Arthur''s help led the way toward his house, which was not in the middle of the vige but farther away, in a farm.

    There, inside his house made of wood, his wife waited for him with a seriousness in her face that made Arthur wonder what exactly had happened.

    "Mary, I found someone willing to help!"

    Mary was the man''s wife, who immediately ran toward Arthur and got to her knees, begging.

    "Please, find my daughter!"

    "Sr. Mage. Our daughter disappeared three days ago. We asked for help in the adventurers'' guild, but no one heard us, ignoringpletely¡­"

    "Sr. Mage, please help us find her. She is a talented youth who will attend the One Hundred Thunder Academy. Can you believe that? She has too much to live¡­"

    When Arthur heard about the ce their daughter would go to, he was shocked. Once again, the world threw at him for coincidences.

    He would help her anyway, even if he did not know about that information, but now he wanted to do that even more.

    "Can you exin how did she go missing?" Arthur said, picking up a wooden chair to sit and listen to theplete story.

    "Well, four days ago, someone from the One Hundred Thunder Academy came here to do some recruiting. They do this once after five years, trying to fetch some good saplings from the viges around this area."

    "Our daughter, Elena, passed the test, which brought us an immeasurable happiness that onlysted a day¡­"

    "Some cloaked figures broke into our house the next night, kidnapping her,"

    "Please, find her! We will give you anything."

    They did not know that the person they were talking to was basically a teacher of the academy their daughter would go.

    "Destiny works in strange ways."

    Arthur set up his mind to help them find Elena, but the first thing he had to do was find some clues about the kidnapping.

 Chapter ?248 Butthurt

    Chapter ?248 Butthurt

    Tom, Elena''s father, had told Arthur that the people had broken into their house during the night, taking Elena away.

    Arthur asked him if they might be someone from the One Hundred Thunder Academy who was just taking her away to the school, but they dismissed the idea.

    "No. The ss for her will only start in about two months. They are roaming around the continent recruiting people, so everyone who passes it has to go on their own to the school."

    It was a fail, but that did not make Arthur hopeless. The first ce he could use to look for clues was the very house he was in.

    If someone normal tried to look for clues in there, they would not find it. Even a normal mage could see nothing out of the ordinary.

    Whoever that was who kidnapped Elena, they were professionals. There was not a sign of a break in, nothing. Tom only knew about it because he woke up during the night and saw those people taking her away, but when he got out of the house, there was nothing, as if they had vanished.

    Arthur, though, had better senses than everyone else, which meant he could see things the other could not. The first strange thing was the dust in some parts of Elena''s bedroom.

    The particles were so tiny that it was almost impossible for someone to see it, but he saw it.

    "This seems like the type of dust someone who explored a cave would have on their shoes. Interesting."

    That alone already gave Arthur a strong guess they were keeping Elena inside a cave, or at least that was the ce they had gone just before kidnapping her, which was something rather suspicious.

    With only that as a clue, there was no way Arthur would find Elena, but he had something else. Something that would make his search easy.

    Scent. Arthur picked up Elena''s scent while searching her room, and now all he had to do was follow it and see where it led. Something like that was only possible because of his extraordinary senses.

    "Did you find something?" Tom said the moment Arthur got out of Elena''s bedroom.

    He said to him everything would be okay, and all he had to do was wait and take care of his wife. Arthur did not want to share his discoveries, as that could leave the lips of that man, which could somehow alert the kidnappers.

    Arthur tried his best to keep both parents calm in that situation without telling them anything about the case itself. It worked, it seemed, so Arthur left their house after that, following the direction from which the scent came from.

    The scent made Arthur leave the vige and return using the same path he used to get there.

    "This is leading back to the... Forgotten Forest!"

    The kidnappers were hiding inside the Forgotten Forest all along, or intentionally went there just to hide Elena so that no one could find her.

    It was not a safe ce to be, and ording to what Arthur could guess, the deeper parts of that forest were dangerous to even Official Mages. Who knows, maybe not even the rank 3 Official Mages had explored that cepletely.

    So, these kidnappers could not be that deep into the forest, just like where Arthur was when he first arrived in that ce using the portal.

    He walked through the muddy road again, passed through the same sign that warned people to keep their distance, and continue forward, entering inside that ce once again.F

    "These bugs again? No, no, no."

    Arthur activated his invisibility spell the moment he entered inside the Forgotten Forest, as he could see in the distance some bugs already making their way toward him.

    Now, though, after using the spell, he could swing around the area, and no one could notice his presence. The next part of his n was to use the scent he got and see where it led him.

    He walked, walked, and walked. After almost forty minutes of walking inside that dense jungle, Arthur found something that was likely the ce where the kidnappers were.

    How did he know that? Well, it was a cave, and someone in a green robe was standing in front of it, acting like a guard. The whole ce had zero secrecy, which made Arthur wonder no one had to find them yet.

    "Well, no onees here. That is why."

    A ce with a huge danger sign, and stories about missing people. That was enough to make almost everyone keep their distance from that ce, and only a few crazy mages tried to explore it.

    "How should I approach this? I am not sure if Elena is alive and well, but I cannot sense any scent of blooding from the cave, so she is probably alive. Making too much noises in the cave''s entrance can alert the others who could kill her." Arthur thought, gazing at the entrance of that cave.

    Then, he remembered one spell he had learned a long time ago, and one that was quite useful. It was the shape-shifting spell.

    After he reached the level of an Official Mage, the spell got even more powerful, making it impossible for those people to notice him.

    It was even better than an invisibility spell. Arthur turned into a small flying bug that had the same color as the cave walls, merging with the surrounding area like a chameleon.

    He flew past the mage, who was sitting on a rock reading a book, giving no attention to his surroundings. Then, he kept going forward into the cave, passing through more mages who were sitting on chair, beds, and some ying cards.

    The entire cave was like a home to those mages who looked more like bandits! Arthur could not understand why those people would kidnap Elena.

    What did she do to enrage bandits? Perhaps she had a secret that even her parents did not know about.

    Arthur kept going, until he finally saw her, trapped in a cage. There was a person near it, who Arthur guessed it was the leader of those bandits, considering the aura and strength. This leader was talking to a youth who had an age simr to that of Elena.

    "All of this gold just to kidnap a youngdy? May I ask the reasons behind this?" The leader of the bandits said.

    "She is supposed to marry me, but never rely saw me as her love interest. I neverined about it, but now she is leaving for some sort of school to learn magic, so I had to move before the chance is lost." He said, looking at Elena, who was trapped in that cage.

    With just one sentence, Arthur understood everything. That youth was someone who would marry Elena, probably because of an agreement with both families, but that agreement would probably vanish after Elena enrolled in the One Hundred Thunder Academy.

    "You are just a scumbag, then. Hold on, Elena. I aming." Thought Arthur.

 Chapter ?249 Elena is Safe!

    Chapter ?249 Elena is Safe!

    The only reason Arthur did not rush in attacking everybody was because he was not sure if Elena was safe. One strange noise could make these bandits go all out and kill her.

    It would be a disaster! He was not there to punish bad guys or anything like that. Arthur was there to rescue Elena, so he should focus on that, and not on attacking bandits like a madman.

    But now everything was different. He had the youth who hired these bandits right in front of him, as well as the leader of those bandits and Elena itself.

    "How should I go about this? Killing everyone and flee with her? No, that could traumatize Elena and maybe my reputation can be tarnished on my first day here."

    Arthur thought about how he should proceed with the situation, and he opted to just use his identity! Elena was going to the One Hundred Thunder Academy, and he had a tremendous authority there.

    Using that authority to save her withoutbat would make Elena see the academy with better eyes, but see Arthur as someone decent!

    He was not someone that cared too much about reputation, but when in front ofdies, one had to showcase their power in all the ways possible, and look like a knight on a white horse.

    So, Arthur went to a corner, changed back to his normal appearance, and confronted the youth and the leader of those mercenaries, who were surprised to see someone there.

    The mercenary leader took out his weapon, taking a fight stance. As for the youth, well, he was barely a one circle mage, which was a joke in front of Arthur.

    "Who are you? How are you here? Kaleb, weren''t supposed to be guards all over the cave? How can this lowly brat appear here? This will be deducted and- "

    "Shut the fuck up, NOW!" Kaleb yelled.

    Different from that spoiled youth, he had way more experience and power. Kaleb knew the youth in front of him was not simple.

    "May I know who sir is?" Kaleb said.

    "Oh? Someone that knows their ce. First, tell me, are you bandits?"

    "No, sir. We don''t see us as that. Look, we are mercenaries and ept all kinds of jobs. Some are bad, some are good. It depends on who is hiring us. We all have families, you know, and we do what it takes to feed them." Kaleb said.

    The honesty in his words was clear, making Arthur see him with a better light. He was not wrong, and the only bad person was the youth just beside him.

    "Farewell. I am Arthur, a professor at the One Hundred Thunder Academy. Here, this is the token." Arthur said, picking up the token Laura gave him, showing to Kaleb.

    Elena was already alert at everything that was happening the moment she saw someone unknown there. It was a chance of survival, and she hoped that the person who appeared was friendly.

    But after hearing the name of the school she would go to, as well as the title of a professor, Elena had her eyes wide open in shock, trying her best to hold up the tears from falling.

    "What?"

    Kaleb went forward, picking up the token to have a better look. It was authentic. He had done some business with the One Hundred Thunder Academy before, so he knew the difference between the tokens.

    The token Arthur had meant he was someone with a foremost authority there.

    "You knew this girl would go to that school?"

    "Uh, I did not see that as something important to tell you."

    "NOT IMPORTANT? Do you know that the One Hundred Thunder Academy is on the TOP 3 of the entire continent? Of course you don''t. You are just a spoiled brat. Fuck!"

    Kaleb was angry with that youth, but also scared.

    "How much did he pay you? I can give you more than that, and we can call it even. Maybe you can give him a beating to make him learn things properly? But please, don''t kill him."

    "Of course. Don''t need to ask for the beating, as this brat deserves it!"

    Arthur then paid the man gold, more than he would get for the job. Kaleb also invited him to have a drink at the inn, and Arthur said he would show up at night.

    Everyone who was under Kaleb''s control inside that cave bowed to Arthur on the way out, showing the most respect they could for such an important figure. Some even had thoughts and dreams of one day reaching such a level!

    After Arthur left with Elena, Kaleb looked at the youth, who were already shaking with fear.

    "Now, this is what you get from tricking me, you bastard!"

    The screams of pain from that youth were so loud that some mercenaries in the cave shook in fear, too.

    ~~~~

    "Are you truly a teacher from One Hundred Thunder Academy? This is destiny! Thank you for saving me!"

    Elena waspletely different after being saved. She was happy again, asking lots of questions, trying to know more about the youth who saved her.

    "He has an age simr to mine, yet he is already so powerful!" Elena thought, staring at Arthur on their way back to the vige.

    She had an orange hair, and amber eyes! A unique look that gave her a unique charm! Still, she was quite young, having 16 or 17 years of age.

    "You cane with me back to the school if you want to."

    "Really? That would be awesome! When will we leave?"

    "Soon, don''t worry. First, go talk with your parents. They were worried about you."

    It did not take long for them to reach Tom''s house, and when both of Elena''s parents saw her, they could not believe it! Tears streamed down the face of all of them, and Arthur left the area, giving space for the family to reunite!

    "I should buy a map, and seek information about schools which are recruiting." Arthur thought.

    Wisa, Jane, Theo and Kai had to find ces to stay and flourish. Arthur was thinking of letting Theo and Kai study in one school while Wisa and Jane worked on creating Odemore on the central continent as well!

    He wanted to get full control of the central continent before leaving that, so having a branch of Odemore there would help him achieve such a feat!

    Also, getting control of the central continent meant control over information, and he still needed to find Nefion, but Arthur was almost sure Nefion had left the.

    Those were things for the future. What Arthur needed was aplete map of the central continent to prepare for his travels.

    It was a good thing the vige had a general store with just that!

 Chapter 250 The Start of the Journey in the Central Continent

    Chapter 250 The Start of the Journey in the Central Continent

    The general store had a lot of things in it, incredible considering they were in a ce categorized as a vige, or maybe a small town.

    What Arthur looked for was a map that covered the whole central continent, and he found one there! It was not expensive at all, making him feel delightful.

    ¡°Do you know information about decent schools hiring acolytes or teachers? I can pay you for the information.¡± Arthur said, picking up a purse with coin, tossing at the counter.

    ¡°Give me your map. You see this ce right here? Someone from the Phoenix Blood Academy will do a recruiting in about one month and a half. The school focus on the fire element, and only those with that as their main element can standout there,¡±

    ¡°This city right here is where the Crystal Waterfall Academy will do their recruiting too, in about three months.¡±

    The man kept drawing circles on Arthur¡¯s mind, showing the cities where some academies would do their recruiting. It varied between all elements, and some schools that epted everyone.

    Arthur wanted a fire and water school for both Theo and Kai. He got that information, so he left the general store with a wide smile.

    He spent the day walking around the town, trying to learn as much as he could, and when night came, Arthur made his way to the inn where he would meet up with his wives and also share a drink with Kaleb.

    ¡°Hahahaha. He cried, but when he opened up his mouth, there were no front teeth, HAHAHAHA!¡± Kaleb said. Heughed and drank a can of beer, sharing funny moments when beating that youth who tricked him.

    Arthur found it funny, and was feeling happy that the youth got what it deserved. They spent some hours drinking, but when it got toote, the owner of the inn politely asked them to stop the drinking for the night, so everyone left.

    Wisa, Jane, Kai and Theo were all in the same room, waiting for Arthur, who opened up the door right after Kaleb left.

    It was time to share all the information they got during the day, and Arthur was happy to share his ns for Kai and Theo, as well as the project for Odemore, the third time!

    ¡°You already got schools for both of them? Good job, but about Odemore¡­ Are you sure we can survive in here? There are tons of schools and they will put pressure on us.¡± Wisa said.

    She had a decent point. If Odemore grew in power, the schools around would have their authority shaken, which could cause them to do some actions to stop Odemore from getting big.

    The only way to avoid such a thing was to first find a suitable ce for the school to take form. A ce where only small schools were around, so when they finally noticed their presence, Arthur could stand up and defend Odemore!

    If he somehow reached the rank 2 Official Mage in the next decade, then no school would try to go against such a powerful figure, making it easy for Odemore to be one of the strongest schools of the central continent!

    Arthur then exined all of his thoughts.

    ¡°But to find a decent ce for the academy, you two will have to travel around the central continent. Sully can go with you two, so it should not be tiring for you two. Also, we can use magical imprints tomunicate. It is not a good feeling to part ways, but it is only for some time. I have to take these two to the cities where the tests will happen, and also go to the One Hundred Thunder Academy.¡± Arthur said.

    He did not want to stay away from his wives, but it was something they had to do if they wanted their ns to work. Jane and Wisa felt the same way, but it was for the best!

    When the firstyout of Odemore was built, then Arthur could use his space-magic to travel there in an instant, so he could see his wives often, which was the only reason they will part ways.

    ¡°All right. We can leave tomorrow.¡±

    ~~~~

    Theo and Kai left the room, going to their own room to stay the night. As for Arthur and his wives, they were ready to have a good night before going into different paths.

    Arthur sat on the bed, looking at the delicate face of Jane and Wisa. They were doing the work, sucking up his dick like legends, spiting all over it!

    ¡°Look how good I am, Jane.¡± Wisa said, grabbing Arthur¡¯s dick with both hands, and sucking it up all the way into her throat.

    She wanted to show her skills in deep-throating, but Jane was not taken aback by it.

    Jane grabbed the dick, putting in inside her mouth too, and it went deep, almost putting Arthur¡¯s balls inside her mouth as well.

    ¡°Wow! This is what I call skill!¡±

    Wisa was impressed, but when the dick was all wet and ready, she showed Jane how to ride on it like a pro, moving her hips.

    The reserved cowgirl! Her butt was right in front of Arthur, who could not help but to p with.

    ¡°Yes, p me like your little bitch! Fuck, fuck, aahh!¡±

    ~~~~

    The next morning, it was time for them to part ways. Wisa and Jane had the mission of first finding a decent ce to build Odemore, and then start the building itself!

    They both had secret imprints so that they couldmunicate with Arthur. Theo and Kai also had those, so all of them were together, even if far away from each other.

    ¡°Bye darling.¡±

    Arthur gave the two a tight hug, a kiss, and left the small town with Kai, Theo, and Elena, who were excited to go to One Hundred Thunder Academy.

    ¡°Our first stop is here!¡±

    The first city they would go to was called Groria, and that is where a school specialized in the water element would recruit students. Kai would stay there and enter that school.

    Then, they would go to the next city, Akestin, and that is where Theo would stay for the test as well!

    It took them one month of travel to reach these two cities, which meant Arthur and Elena had a lot of time to spare. During the trip, they all saw incredible sceneries, cities, and met great people!

    The central continent was truly extraordinary, and that was only a tiny portion of it! Both Groria and Akestin were cities that weren¡¯t far away from the small town near the Forbidden Forest.

    Arthur had seen lots of incredible things in just a short distance, which only proved the greatness of that continent.

    A youth in a ck-cloak left Akestin with an orange-haired girl.

    ¡°Are we finally going to our school, Arthur? I cannot wait!¡±

    Their destination now was the One Hundred Thunder Academy, which was far, and the path to it was not a safe one.

 Chapter 251 Land of the Damned

    Chapter 251 Land of the Damned

    The One Hundred Thunder Academy was in the west part of the central continent, built in 6 different mountain peaks which were close to the clouds to gather the lightning power!

    With the map Arthur got from that store, and also the ones he looked in the two cities he had passed, he now knew where the academy was, and how to reach it!

    There were two troublesome parts of his journey. The first one was the Land of the Damned, which was a dead-like area where one of the few dark arts schools on the central continent lived.

    It was a ce devoid of life, and even by using the road, one would have to deal with lots of skeletons. That area was dangerous and prohibited, just like the Forbidden Forest.

    One could use an alternative path to pass through that ce, but it would take a lot of time, more than Arthur had. So, they would have to go through that part, but not now!

    ¡°Come.¡± Arthur said, asking Elena to follow him.

    Right after he left the city, he did not go far, but stopped at a building just outside the city. There was an enormous sign in that ce, saying ¡®Hagrid¡¯s Beasts¡¯.

    When the two of them entered that building, a tall bearded man with an amicable smile said, ¡°wee costumers. How can I help you today?¡±

    ¡°Hello friend. We are looking for one flying mount to buy. Which one is the best?¡± Arthur said.

    These beasts weren¡¯t that expensive, at least not for a mage. Arthur wanted one just to make his traveling easier, as Sully was not with him at that moment.

    ¡°Depends. Are you looking for a flying mount that can also fight side-by-side with you, or just for traveling alone?¡±

    ¡°Just for traveling.¡±

    ¡°Hum. May I suggest you the Griffin? These are loyal, and their speed is one of the best! But the types I have aren¡¯t great at fighting.¡±

    ¡°Can you show them to me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, hahaha. Follow me.¡±

    The first part of the building was just a small part of it. Hagrid, the bearded man who was the owner of that ce, showed them another room close to where they were, and it was impressive!

    Arthur thought all those beasts would be locked in cages, but it was not necessarily the case! There were some small portals, and each portal led to a magical realm, a habitat for those beasts!

    It was not identical to the real world, as the beasts could not fight against each other, or else it would be death, but the flying beasts could fly freely, the water beasts could swim inkes, and so on. Way better than a normal cage.

    Hagrid went inside one of these realms and asked Arthur and Elena to follow him. There, they saw it, the Griffin! It had four legs with immense paws and ws, the head of a bird, and two massive wings!

    The Griffin looked lightly different from what Arthur had imagined, but the essence was the same! The head feathers were white and the rest of his body was brownish, quite simr to a gold color.

    ¡°Beautiful!¡± Elena said with bulged eyes. She fell in love with the Griffin, and it was a creature she had never seen before.

    ¡°We will take him.¡±

    ~~~~

    After the payment, Arthur said goodbyes to Hagrid, someone that treated not only his costumers well, but the beasts there too! It was clear those were all beasts that were rescued and saw Hagrid as their father.

    Different from Sully, Arthur could not talk with the Griffin, but it could understand somemands. As for their name, Elena wanted to give it one.

    ¡°It is a girl! Well, then your name will be Megan!¡± Elena said.

    Megan made some bird-like sounds after receiving the name. Apparently, it liked the name.

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s all hop on.¡±

    It had enough space for at least four people to ride on, so it was more than enough for just Arthur and Elena. Their next destination was a city near the Land of the Damned, thest safe destination before having to pass through that area.

    ¡°I am so excited about going to school. You know, I am barely a one circle mage, and there are a lot of things I want to learn!¡±

    ¡°I know that feeling. Don¡¯t worry about it. I will be there to help you.¡±

    An indescribable feeling born inside Elena. She felt grateful to Arthur, someone that had not only saved her when she needed the most, but was someone willing to help her without asking something in return!

    These types of people were rare. Elena knew that well, and that was what made her think highly of Arthur.

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Elena said, so quiet that it was almost impossible to hear it.

    Arthurughed at that, and then pulled out the reins, making the Griffin fly. Elena then was once again both shocked and afraid. It was the first time she was flying.

    Scary at first, but the beauty of the scenery made all of that fade away as the time passed, and soon Elena wasfortable in the air.

    ¡°This is beautiful, look!¡±

    She said that to every mountain, river orke. To every animal, city, or vige. Everything for her was new and impressive.

    ¡°How far are we?¡±

    ¡°Far. Also, we will have to pass through two dangerous locations, but with me around, it should be fine.¡±

    Speaking of dangerous locations, after twelve days of traveling, only stopping from time to time so that the Griffin could rest, and for them to eat, they reached thest safe ce before the Land of the Damned.

    Safe was a strong word, as the small town had a dark look, and the people who stayed in there weren¡¯t necessarily good people.

    All kinds of dark mages ventured around that area, with the necromancers being themon type. Arthur took out a ck-cloak from his magical pouch and gave it to Elena.

    ¡°This town has some bad people lurking around. We better be careful while here.¡±

    ¡°What about Megan?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have this!¡±

    Arthur had bought from Hagrid not only the Griffin, but a special and expensive bestial pouch! The idea behind that was to simte the same habitats Hagrid had in his building, so that the Griffin or any kind of mount could go inside of it, and live normally.

    All Arthur had to do was toss some food into the bestial pouch, as the only thing it had was water. Megan went inside of it, along with some fresh meat Arthur had gotten during their trip.

    Now, everything was taken care of, and all they had to do was enter inside that strange little town.

    What was the reason for Arthur to go in there? Information. Although he knew the Land of the Damned was dangerous, he did not know what dangers to expect.

    The town they were in was the closest to that location, which meant it should be the ce with the most information about it.

    Arthur hoped that was the case as he entered inside the town.

 Chapter 252 Something is Following Us!

    Chapter 252 Something is Following Us!

    The city was so shady it did not have a name. People often called it the Damned City, as it was close to the Land of the Damned.

    Not a good ce to be, but it was the best way of getting information. When Arthur and Elena went inside the city wearing their ck cloaks with hoods, no one gave them any attention.

    It was something so normal that no one nced at it, and most of the people inside that town had simr clothing, all wearing cloaks and hoods to hide their identity.

    Arthur knew just by looking that almost everyone in that town was criminals, fugitives, or practitioners of the dark arts.

    Speaking of practitioners of the dark arts, Arthur saw a group of youths who were in front of an old inn. It was as if they were waiting for someone.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s hide for now.¡±

    They both hide near the ce where those youths were, and after some time waiting, two more figures appeared. These two were also wearing cloaks, but there was a token in their chest, and Arthur recognized it in an instant.

    ¡°These two are from the Dark Hand Academy! Are these youths the new students?¡±

    The Dark Hand Academy was one school that taught the dark arts, such as curses, necromancy, blood magic, and anything rted to that.

    Not that surprising to see someone from that school around the area, as the school was located right after the Land of the Damned.

    Arthur thought it was a great opportunity! The Dark Hand Academy often used the Land of the Damned as a testing ground, which meant they all had a deep understanding of it.

    ¡°Elena, we will pretend to be the new recruited students!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°You two arete! But I will forgive you this time.¡± The man said.

    Arthur and Elena already looked like new students at the Dark Hand Academy. Their clothes and their age were equal to everyone else, and no one believed anyone would have other reasons to be in that area.

    ¡°We shall go now. Just follow us and you will be okay.¡±

    The two people in charge of getting the students back to the school did not even check Arthur¡¯s and Elena¡¯s identity, which was weird.

    Those schools did not mind people infiltrating in it, as long as they are talented and seek to work for the greater good of the school. Anyone, be it a normal student or an infiltrated one, will die if going against the school.

    It was the harsh reality of those youths who wished to walk through a different path, one that was highly overlooked by the society.

    They left the town right after Arthur and Elena arrived, not wanting to waste more time. After two hours passed since they left, two youths appeared at the location where they were supposed to meet with the high ups of the Dark Hand Academy.

    ¡°Where is everyone? I know we arete, but they are supposed to only leave after all students arrive!¡±

    ¡°Fuck. What will we do?¡±

    Arthur did not know he and Elena had stolen the spot of two students. What he was more concerned with was how to pass through the Land of the Damned!

    Even though these two from the school said they would be okay, Arthur knew in dangerous ces like that one bad thing could happen, and usually in unpredictable ways!

    ¡°But these two are Official Mages, so we have three Official Mages here. We should be okay, right?¡± Arthur thought.

    These two from the school were also Official Mages, but they did not notice Arthur was hiding his power, and saw him as a first circle mage, just like all the rest.

    The reason for it was the gap between them! Arthur might be in the same rank, but he has two bloodlines, threepleted essences, and a system!

    When they arrived in the Land of the Damned, everyone felt the difference in the air. It was as if the air had the scent of death, entering their nostrils, sending a chilling sensation.

    It reminded Arthur of a battlefield, as that was a ce where lots of people died.

    ¡°This ce is filled with the undead!¡±

    During their trip there, all the students remained silent, not sharing a single word among them. They were all selfish individuals and were not looking to mingle before reaching the school.

    Arthur and Elena talked neither, looking simr to them to avoid suspicions.

    After their first five minutes of walking into the Land of the Damned, the two from the school shared their knowledge, and that was exactly what Arthur was looking for.

    ¡°This ce looks dead, but don¡¯t touch the dead trees. These things aren¡¯t dead, but ready to eat you if you touch them. Also, be careful to not stomp in any grave, or else the undead beneath it will pull you to death!¡±

    Just like Arthur imagined, everything in that ce was dangerous, but that should not be all of it. The Land of the Damned was a ce known to everyone on the central continent, and even those rank 2 Official Mages had a hard time while traversing through these ces.

    What did it mean? It meant the real danger of that ce was something they had to find, or hope to not find it.

    The first few skeletons showed up to attack the students, but the two Official Mages moved, killing them in an instant. All of them were just one circle mages, so they could not go against these skeletons even if they wanted to!

    Four days passed. They all kept going forward, following the road as it was considered the safest ce for them to be.

    They had all stopped to camp and rest for a while, but Arthur had a frown, not knowing what to do.

    Two days prior to that, meaning two days after they entered the Land of the Damned, Arthur felt something strange, as if someone was following them.

    He tried to check if the two Official Mages felt something simr, but they both looked normal, which meant their senses weren¡¯t as urate as Arthur¡¯s.

    Whenever Arthur had that strange feeling, he would try to look behind without catching the attention of the follower. It did not work for the first times, but eventually Arthur got a glimpse of whatever was following them.

    It was a shadow! A tall figure with long arms and legs, having at least three meters of height. Completely dark like a shadow, and the only thing different was its eyes, which were a deep red.

    Arthur had noticed it from the corner of his eyes, but he could not understand how no one had to find it yet. He tried to move his head toward the shadow, trying to act as normal as possible, but when his head moved, the shadow simply disappeared.

    ¡°What the hell is this thing?¡± Arthur thought.

    He had a feeling it was just the start of their nightmare!

 Chapter 253 Knows About What?

    Chapter 253 Knows About What?

    The deeper they went into the Land of the Damned, the more skeletons showed up to attack them. Just like before, the students did not talk with each other, and did not engage in any battle.

    Everything was dealt by the two Official Mages, which made Arthur¡¯s life easier, as he could walk and focus his attention on the thing that had followed them for a long time.

    Arthur did not know if that thing was preparing to attack them, or was just watching. It was not a good feeling to have, and that the two Official Mages had noticed nothing strange meant the shadowy creature was strong, or at least good at stealth.

    As no one there was talking with each other, Arthur did not have the chance to share his discoveries with Elena, so even she who was traveling with him did not know something was following them.

    When night came, and all of them set up camp to rest, the mysterious creature finally attacked! When all of them were sleeping in tents, the creature approached the camp and took one student.

    It happened so quietly only Arthur noticed the attack. When morning came and all of them were ready to continue their journey, the two Official Mages and the rest of the students realized someone was missing, which sent a shiver down their spines.

    How did someone vanish with no one realizing it? It could happen to any of them. The students thought about the possibility, making them even more fidgeted.

    ¡°This is good.¡± Arthur thought.

    Different from them, he had noticed the attack, and for him it was a good thing! The feeling of someone following them vanished, which meant that the creature picked up its dinner and was ready to leave.

    But what if more of those creatures appeared? Or perhaps something worse?

    After the incident, the two Official Mages hastened up their steps, diminishing the time they needed to traverse the Land of the Damned.

    There was no rest, no camping, for an entire week! Those two Official Mages gave the students some potions which took away the tirednesses, allowing them to keep moving forward without the need to sleep.

    Of course, they would have a bacsh after finally arriving at the school, sleeping for an entire week or, but it was still better than dying.

    They got out of the Land of the Damned without other casualties, which was rather good. Arthur was also happy that no other strange creatures appeared to kill them, but even if he left the area without facing problems, the problems were still in front of him.

    ¡°Did you really think we would not realize you are a spy? Who are you?¡± One of the Official Mages said, looking at Arthur and Elena, who were far from the rest of the students.

    ¡°What do you mean, sir? I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°There is no way these two mages saw through my disguise, right? They still think I am just a first circle mage, but one that should not be here.¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, kiddo. We will kill you in an instant so you will not feel any pain.¡±

    Only one of the Official Mages prepared a spell, as they thought there was no need for the two of them to act.

    A simple spell should be enough to end Arthur¡¯s life. Well, that was what he made them think!

    Arthur faked to be in fear, with a trembling body and tears in his eyes, making the students and the teachers look at him with pity.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry brat. Just die.¡±

    The spell the mage chose was a dark me, an elementary spell of the dark element. It flew toward Arthur and Elena, but when it was almost hitting him, he opened up his mouth and ate the spell.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    They could not understand what had happened, and Arthur would not let them react in time, anyway. He quickly cast his teleport, appearing in front of the mage, who still could not believe what was happening.

    Then, he pierced his ws through the man¡¯s chest, opening a big hole in it!

    ¡°Fuck!¡±

    The mage cast a spell that locked Arthur in ce with shadows and stepped back to recover from the wound. He could not fight anymore, as it was a deep wound that almost killed him.

    ¡°Fuck, he survived, and now I am at a disadvantage against these two.¡±

    After realizing the fight would be a troublesome one, considering he would have to protect Elena as well, Arthur opted to use his teleport to free from the shadows, grabbing Elena and fleeing at top speed.

    Everything happened so fast the students could not see a single thing, but the teachers saw something. A small token that was hanging on Arthur¡¯s waist.

    ¡°Someone from the One Hundred Thunder Academy? Leader is thinking of plotting against them for a while now. This might be the fuel we needed!¡±

    ~~~~

    Arthur did not stop for a single second, and after getting enough distance from those mages, he took out the Griffin, hopping on it and flying away, going in the direction where the school was.

    ¡°What did just happen?¡± Elena said.

    She could barely see the fight between them, and then Arthur grabbed her out of nowhere, flying with her at an extraordinary speed! For a moment, Elena felt what it looked like to be an extraordinary mage, which ignited a me inside of her.

    ¡°They uncovered our identities, but not my power, giving us the advantage. If the first mage died with my attack, then we could attack the others, but it did not go as nned.¡± Arthur said.

    Even though he was strong, he was also someone who acted with care, not allowing to risk his life or Elena¡¯s life.

    A one versus two situations was not favorable. He did not even know the spells those mages had, which made everything harder! Fleeing was not what he liked to do, but sometimes it was necessary.

    ¡°How far are we from the school?¡±

    ¡°Hum, let me see on the map¡­ We still need five days, I think.¡±

    Five days to reach the city of Luinard, which was close to the One Hundred Thunder Academy, and it was one of the biggest cities on the central continent!

    Luinard was ranked among the ten most prosperous cities. A ce where most mages of the central continent dreamed of knowing, and Arthur got the chance to do just that!

    After five days of straight flying with only a few stops to rest, Arthur and Elena reached Luinard!

    The city was immense! When Arthur looked at it, Slyvian was the first thing that came to mind! It wasparable to the capital of the elves. These humans should be proud of such a thing.

    Flying mounts were prohibited in the city, and only Official Mages could use a flying spell. Arthur already had the idea of giving the Griffin to Elena as a gift, as his flying speed was higher than that of the Griffin. He could teleport and already had Sully as his mount.

    When he did that, Elena could not believe it, screaming in joy in front of the city¡¯s gate, catching the attention of the nearby people.

    ¡°This is real?¡±

    ¡°Of course. You can use it to reach the academy more safely.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Arthur! You are the best! Also, will you be my teacher there? I would love such a thing.¡±

    ¡°Maybe. If I have the time. Anyway, shall we go inside to explore the city?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely!¡±

    Arthur then cast a flying spell to both him and Elena! She could not fly freely, as Arthur was the one who controlled the direction she would go, but that allowed her to fly side-by-side with him as they entered the city.

    The moment he did that, a few guards used their own flying spells to meet up with him in the sky, making everyone inside Luinard look up.

    ¡°Stop right there. Only Official Mages may fly. You two will be sent to jail!¡± the guard said.

    In their minds, it was almost impossible for someone as young as Arthur to be an Official Mage, but the moment they said those words and walked toward them, Arthur released his mana, shocking everyone in the city!

    It was so dense the guards could barely breathe. Some weaker mages down there on the streets who were just watching the scene passed out with their noses bleeding.

    ¡°I am sorry, sir! I did not mean to offend you. It is just that you are so young and- ¡°

    ¡°Young, talented, and handsome? I know. Please, don¡¯t bother me or my student here anymore.¡±

    ¡°Of course. No problem, sir. Have a pleasant stay and enjoy everything we offer!¡±

    The guards all flew back down with fearful faces, sweating like pigs.

    ¡°We almost died right there. Captain will be pissed!¡± One guard said.

    ¡°Only if he knows about it!¡±

    ¡°Knows about what?¡±

    When the guards turned around, their captain was staring at them, making the remaining strength of those guards to vanish!

 Chapter 254 Arriving at the Academy!

    Chapter 254 Arriving at the Academy!

    The news about an Official Mage appearing in Luinard traveled fast. Everyone knew those were figures who should not be disturbed.

    As for those guards who acted that way with Arthur, well, their captain punished them with the increase of their training, rising it up to almost impossible levels.

    Arthur was unaware of most of these things. What he had in mind was to go toward the One Hundred Thunder Academy before Elena.

    ¡°Do you know where the academy is, right?¡± Arthur said to her as they both walked on the streets.

    ¡°I do, and with the pet you gave me, then reaching there will be easy, but we shall rest today and go tomorrow, right? There is plenty of time.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Elena wanted to rest and explore the city after such a long journey, but Arthur was not feeling like it. He had to go first and get his position as a teacher before Elena got there, or else she would think he was just a scam!

    ¡°I can¡¯t let her know I only have the token but not the position. It will ruin my reputation!¡±

    He still strolled around the city with her, visiting some ces to eat, and searching for interesting in the many shops Luinard offered, but when it was nighttime, and they were both sleeping in an inn, Arthur left the city.

    Arthur did not fly or anything extravagant like that. He wanted to leave the city with no one realizing it, especially Elena.

    A cloaked figure dashed through the city, climbing up the walls without a single guard noticing. It was in the middle of the night, and some of those guards were actually sleeping!

    Luinard had a decent defense and manpower, but they were so close to the One Hundred Thunder Academy it made themzy! Just by having such strong school around them, it gave the city protection, making these guards morezy than usual.

    ¡°I will use that to my advantage.¡±

    It went smoothly. Not a single guard or person noticed anything out of the ordinary, like a random youth climbing up their wall and jumping around like a ninja.

    What Arthur did not know was that Elena had the same thought. She wanted to reach the school as soon as possible, eager to learn, so she left the inn without telling Arthur, leaving Luinard right after he did.

    The only difference was that she left through the gate like a normal person, and then used the Griffin to fly toward the academy right afterwards.

    She was not an Official Mage who had the attention of everyone, so leaving the city turned out to be a piece of cake for her.

    Arthur used his flight spell after jumping through the city¡¯s wall, going at top speed toward a mountain range not that far from the city.

    The closer he got, the more his lightning essence flickered with anxiety, as if it was arriving at its natural habitat.

    One Hundred Thunder Academy had been built in that location precisely because of the natural urrence of thunders, and the exorbitant amount of mana in those mountain peaks.

    The reason most of these schools were at the top of the ranking was their location! An excellent spot with high mana would make creating strong mages easier, making the power of those schools to grow year after year.

    It was almost impossible to steal the top spots from these schools. Arthur and his wives would have to work hard for Odemore to be sessful.

    But that was a thing to think about in the future. What Arthur had his focus on was to reach One Hundred Thunder Academy, quick to return to his day-to-day training!

    The path to reach the rank 2 was a tough one, and Arthur hoped that such a strong school would have the means to help their talented students reach it!

    Arthur also needed their help to gather information about Hiley and the others, so he was going there to turn into an absolute beast!

    ¡°Huh? Is someone following me?¡±

    Elena was still somewhat far from Arthur, but his sharp senses did not fool him. He realized someone was following him, so he waited behind a tree for the person to show up.

    Ten minutes passed, and when Arthur saw the Griffin flying high in the sky, he internally cursed.

    ¡°Fuck. Why is she here? Now I have to speed up!¡±

    She was supposed to be inside the city, only going toward the school the next day. That fact gave Arthur time to reach the school first, but now his n had the chance of failing!

    For that reason, he not only used his flight spell but also his teleport, repeatedly, quickly passing through Elena, going toward the school like a madman.

    There was a barrier around the school for protection. It was always active, and only those who had the school¡¯s token with them could pass through it without problems.

    Arthur flew past it like a bullet! The person responsible to greet the outsiders did not even see him, only waking up after hearing the wind!

    ¡°This should dy her for some time!¡±

    He kept flying, passing through the forest area, and then he saw it! Six mountains with buildings at their peak! It was like 6 different small cities, and each one of them was higher than the other!

    With no idea of where to go, Arthur went to the first mountain peak, which was the lowest, and look for help.

    When he got closer to it, he was surprised to see the quality of such buildings!

    All of it was made of with something that reminded him of marble, and the architecture was exquisite, and truly beautiful.

    Whoever built the entire school was surely an expert, making even Arthur, who saw countless cities in both that world and his previous one, shocked.

    The ce had some enormous buildings and a lot of free space for the people to walk. It reminded Arthur of the so called ¡®sects¡¯ from some books he used to write before going to that world.

    Then, an old man with a long-white beard appeared. He was someone who knew all the students, and Arthur was someone he did not know!

    But that should not be possible. Without the token from the school, not even a rank 2 mage could enter without causing a tremendousmotion, warning everyone from the school before it could actually enter.

    ¡°Who are you, little one?¡± The old man said.

    Arthur was taken aback, seeing that someone had noticed him so fast. When he looked at that old man, he felt an incredible pressure, as if it was someone he could not go against.

    ¡°I am a friend of Laura. We both met, and she gave me a token to enter this school, as I am currently without one.¡±

    ¡°Laura? As the school¡¯s leader apprentice? Wait here. I will call her to make sure this is real.¡±

    The sentence from that old man surprised Arthur. He had already guessed Laura had a prominent position inside the school, but the apprentice of the leader? That was the highest one can get!

    Everyone in the first mountain peak was new students, as the higher the peak, the higher the power you need to go to it. They had strange faces upon looking at Arthur, wondering who was that youth.

    ¡°Is he a new student? I remember some are arriving these past weeks.¡±

    ¡°I betcha. He will soon learn the ceremony for the new students.¡±

    Arthur heard them talking and theirughing, causing himself tough.

    ¡°Do they really think they will pull out a prank on me? I am not at your level, kiddos.¡±

    It took some time for Laura to return with the old man, as she was in the higher mountain peaks, but when she saw Arthur, Laura ran toward him, giving him a tight hug!

    ¡°Arthur! You really came! Wird, he is my friend and also an Official Mage, so he should get the proper care!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Really? An Official Mage this young? Hey, kiddo, show me your power.¡±

    The fact the old man was skeptical about his power was understandable, but when Arthur released most of his mana, the old man had his eyes wide-open.

    ¡°It is enough, kiddo, or else the students around will pass out. Follow me. I will show you the school, and you can talk with your girlter.¡±

    ¡°Girl? I am not his girl, you perverted old man!¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°All the peaks are simr, with the only difference being their quality,¡±

    ¡°The first peak, for example, is where most of the new students are allocated, and you have to increase your power to at least the third circle to have ess to the next peak,¡±

    ¡°They all have alchemy supplies, enchanting supplies, forging and spell books, but the higher you climb, the better the quality of such things are!¡±

    ¡°Also, the teachers have their own ranking, and if these students want to learn from the best, they have to increase their own power first, as the best teachers are up in the higher peaks,¡±

    ¡°There are things like a mission board and tournaments, but these are things you will learn with time.¡±

    The old man kept exining basic things about the school as they flew higher into the fourth peak.

    ¡°We arrived. Ta-dan, this is your house!¡±

 Chapter 255 Who is the motherfucker?

    Chapter 255 Who is the motherfucker?

    ¡°Does everyone have a house?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°The Official Mages, yes. As for the students, they all share dorms.¡±

    It made sense. The school would use all of its resources andnd to give all the students a house. Only those who proved themselves could earn one, like Arthur.

    ¡°You can use the day to explore the school, and tomorrow Laura will help you out with things. Remember, you can only enter the first four peaks. As for the fifth, it is where the school leader is, and the sixth peak is a ce not even him can enter.¡± Wird said as he left.

    A ce that not even a rank 2 mage could enter. Arthur was curious about the sixth peak now, but there was not anything he could do to go there.

    ¡°Each peak has a strange barrier blocking people from lower levels. I can¡¯t even enter the fifth peak, as I need the rank 2 to ess it. Does it mean the sixth peak is only for the legendary rank 3 mages?¡±

    The thought of it made Arthur¡¯s body shiver. That was an existence world apart from him, but he knew one day his level would reach that point!

    He went inside his house to have a look. It was not luxurious, and it was in fact a house made of wood with little space.

    Arthur knew some people would hate such a simple ce, but he loved it!

    ¡°This is small but probably way bigger than the dorms all the students have. Also, it is not like the school can keep building houses for everyone forever,¡±

    ¡°And this ce has a decent space for a garden!¡±

    What Arthur enjoyed about his house was not the house itself, but the location. It was way distant from the houses of the other Official Mages, and he could also build some formations in case anyone wanted to break in.

    It was peaceful, and there was lots of space for him to nt some things, which ignited his passion for alchemy once again!

    A lot of things had happened so fast that he did not have the time to study alchemy, but now the peaceful time has finally arrived.

    The path to reach the rank 2 and beyond was long. Arthur was prepared to train for more than a decade before reaching such a level, and that was actually fast among the mages!

    But one thing he knew for certain was that alchemy yed a huge role. Rare and well-prepared potions could boost their efficiency in training, diminishing the time it took for one to reach the next level!

    Now that Arthur would stay in the same ce for some time, he wanted to take the time and get better at alchemy. And there was also the tree he got inside the dimensional realm!

    ¡°Let me see this!¡±

    Arthur opened up the magical pouch he had got from Rolf, but when he saw the tree, sadness took over his body.

    The tree was still there, which was a good thing as it meant it could be nted again, but the golden fruits were on the ground, rotten.

    It was impossible to bring the entire tree without damaging the fruits, which was unfortunate.

    ¡°Well, it can still be cultivated, so let¡¯s think it brightly.¡±

    He wanted to nt that tree as fast as he could to not damage it like what happened to the fruits, but Arthur doubted something like that would happen, and he could not put the tree at everyone¡¯s sight!

    The other herbs he wished to nt for his alchemy could be outside, as no one would try to fetch them. But that tree was something even rank 3 mages would want, so Arthur had to find a perfect location to nt it!

    ¡°Should I just put a lot of formations to protect the tree? Maybe make it invisible? That way the Official Mages will not find it, but the leader of the school probably would if he visited my house, so that is a problem.¡±

    Arthur was confident in hiding the tree from the rank 1 Official Mages with no problems, but for rank 2 mages it was apletely different story.

    ¡°Maybe nt it inside the sixth peak? Wird told me no one can enter that ce, and I am not sure if the requirements are truly being a rank 3 mage or something else!¡±

    The idea was insane, but it could work if Arthur found more information about the sixth peak. He assumed what one needed to enter was the power of a rank 3 mage, just like the fifth peak required the power of a level 2 mage.

    But that would not make sense! All the other peaks had some barrier blocking their passage, but when Arthur passed through them, he analyzed such formations, and they weren¡¯t special at all!

    It looked like a formation set by the school leader itself on the fifth floor.

    What did that mean? The ancestors of the school did not ce those formations, so it was not true that one needed the rank 3 status to reach the sixth peak!

    ¡°But this still leads me to nothing! The school leader has ess to all the five peaks, which meant he read all the books and diaries about this school, and even after doing that he had not found the way to enter the sixth peak.¡±

    The school was rather mysterious in Arthur¡¯s eyes. All the ancestors who built the school weren¡¯t around anymore. Arthur had a strong guess they had left the and locked the sixth peak before doing so.

    Arthur did not know why, but it surely had something incredible behind it!

    ~~~~

    ¡°I am finally here!¡± Elena thought as she got out of her mount, returning it to its bestial pouch.

    She was greeted by someone in the first peak who showed her the dorm and exined a lot of things about the school.

    There was no test she had to take, as they were already tested before being invited to join there. Elena listened to all of it carefully, not missing a single thing about the school¡¯s affairs.

    After the man exined most of the things and left, Elena was all alone at the first peak. A few male students passed near her and whispered to each other, ¡°look at the new student. Isn¡¯t she gorgeous? Who do you think will get her first?¡±

    ¡°Maybe Roger? All thedies go crazy over him.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but I wished it were me!¡±

    These were disgusting sentences, but Elena could do nothing about it without power.

    But it was at that moment Arthur appeared, as he knew Elena would soon be at the first peak, so he came to look and heard everything those students said.

    ¡°Wished it was you what?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    The two students looked up to gaze at Arthur, but they did not recognize him, but they recognized the token he had, meaning he was one of the few Official Mages of the school.

    ¡°Why is someone of his caliber here during the middle of the night?¡±

    ¡°I am so sorry. We did not mean to say that.¡±

    They both kowtowed a few times and then left, hearing Arthur¡¯s words, ¡°I will remember you two.¡±

    When Elena saw Arthur handling those two idiots with such mastery, she yelled in happiness, ¡°Arthur? I¡¯m sorry I did not warn you back in the inn, but aren¡¯t you supposed to be there?¡±

    ¡°Well, I also left during the night without warning you, so we are both assholes.¡±

    Elena burst intougher, recovering the happiness she had before hearing those nasty words from these students.

    ¡°Are you going back to your dorm, or would you like to eat something? I heard the restaurants here never close.¡±

    ¡°That would be great!¡±

    They both looked for some restaurants at the first peak. Each peak had everything the students needed. It was their way of making them focus on their training and not having to leave the school for any necessity.

    Arthur walked around acting as if he knew the ce, but in fact he did not. The only reason he found a decent restaurant was because he used his senses to look for the most crowded one, as it could only mean two things. It was the best or the cheapest.

    ¡°I am so sorry, there aren¡¯t any tables left, so you two better wait outside and- ¡°

    Ady responsible for the guests said, but stopped mid-sentence when she realized who she was talking to. An Official Mage!

    The token Arthur had on his chest represented his authority inside the school, and thedy could not stop shaking after realizing the words she had spoken.

    ¡°I am so sorry! We have a VIP room that is being used by some students from higher circles. We will kick them out now and let you two inside!¡±

    She quickly left and went to the second floor of the restaurant where the VIP tables were. There, Roger was sitting with some of his friends. All of them had the power of a fifth circle mage!

    ¡°What? Are you kicking me out? Who is the motherfucker who wants my room?¡± Roger yelled angrily, and left the second floor without hearing thedy¡¯s words, aiming to confront Arthur at the door.

 Chapter ?256 Icy Cave(1)

    Chapter ?256 Icy Cave(1)

    "Who is the unlucky one who made Roger pissed?" One student said.

    "No idea, but whoever it is, is dumb! Roger is the king around this area!"

    "That''s right!"

    Roger went down from the second floor, passing through the students who were whispering about him on the first floor, increasing his morale.

    "You are right. Who is crazy enough to pick a fight with me?"

    He went directly to the door where Arthur and Elena were. Roger yelled nasty words before even seeing Arthur, as he had a firm belief there was no way powerful people would go to those parts.

    "Motherfucker! This is what you get from pissing me off. Your life inside this school will turn into a nightmare!"

    Arthur looked at that fool of a man, and could not hold hisugher, making everyone from the restaurant to gaze at him. Elena, who was just beside him, found everything funny andughed as well.

    "This Roger is screwed."

    "Well, well, well. Look what we have here, young Roger? Hum, Roger. I will surely remember this name during my sses."

    "Oh? You are paralyzed of fear? That is funny!"

    Roger went out of the restaurant cursing like a kid, but then he saw the token on Arthur''s chest, and at that moment, he knew he fucked up!

    It was the token which only the higher ups of the school had. A symbol of Arthur''s power, a rank one Official Mage! That was a level far from Roger, and everyone else present in that restaurant.

    The others who went out to look at who Arthur was after the maniacugh also saw the token on his chest. Most of them felt pity for Roger.

    "Ah, his life will be tough now. We should cut our ties with him." One student said to the other just beside him.

    "You are right. Roger already has a poor reputation, and strength was the only thing that kept us at his side. But now? He is an ant whenpared to that person. Who is he, anyway?"

    Arthur gazed at Elena and said, "let''s go. The room should be clear now."

    She simply nodded and followed him close behind. All the male students who found Elena cute went she arrived at the school now had different thoughts.

    "Is she his sister? Or maybe a childhood friend? Ah, don''t care. I will treat thatdy as a goddess!"

    Elena was only walking close to Arthur, and yet it made everyone fear her, which was a good thing considering she was a new student who was susceptible to bad things.

    They ordered only the best from the menu and feasted like a king and queen that night!

    "Elena, focus on your training, and we may meet at the higher peaks in the future." Arthur said.

    "I will, absolutely! I- I will not be a burden to you anymore!"

    "Good, good."

    ~~~~

    The next morning started with Arthur waking up early to take care of his new garden. Not that he actually slept, but people could always watch, and someone who never sleeps would get a lot of attention, attention which would surely bring him trouble.

    He first made a quick stop at the exchange center, where students could exchange the points they get from the school for items. What Arthur was looking for was precisely herbs and anything rted to alchemy, his old passion, which was now ignited!

    "Arthur? Uh, well, you don''t have any points yet, but you can get all those things for free!"

    "For free, really?"

    "Free now¡­ Any student can buy things without the points, but they would have to leave the school afterwards for missions, and that would only stop after getting all the points needed."

    "Makes sense."

    The attendant from the exchange shop already knew Arthur, as his fame had spread throughout the school quickly. Not only because of the incident with Roger, but because he was the youngest Official Mage of the school!

    "If I take everything from this list. How many missions would I have toplete?"

    "Well, it depends on the level of difficulty. I heard there is a difficult quest some other teachers got from the board, but they are still making the group. You should go talk with them."

    "Will that quest pay for all of this?"

    "What? Pay for all of this? Ha, it will not only pay, but you will get a lot of extra points!"

    "You convinced me. Pack everything."

    After Arthur got everything he needed from the exchange shop, he went looking for those teachers the attendant talked about.

    Not that hard considering the fact the school had little Officials Mages, and those who took the jobs of teachers were even less, so Arthur quickly found the people he was looking for.

    "Excuse me, I heard you are looking for help?"

    A gorgeous woman was surprised after seeing Arthur, but before she could say anything, someone else said.

    "Yes, we are, but this is only for Official Mages. So, return to your ssroom, please."

    The middle-aged man believed Arthur was a mere weak student when looking at his youthful face. An Official Mage? Arthur had the age to be the son of that man, so how could he have the same level of power?

    "Return to my ssroom? You might have mistaken me for your sixteen years old son who cannot even read yet. I am Arthur. Nice to meet you."

    "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

    Arthur handed out his hand for the man to shake, and he was so angry that he grabbed it with all of his power, and then regretted right afterwards.

    He unleashed all of his mana to make pressure on Arthur, but that was a dumb move!

    Arthur did the same, but the amount of mana he had was higher than that of the middled-age man. Not only that, but the power of his body was way higher than well, so the hand-shake did not go as nned.

    "Aaaaaggrrr. Let¡­ me¡­ go¡­"

    The man could barely say those words, weak after having to endure the pressure of both the mana and the power of Arthur''s body.

    He was almost falling to the ground, but then Arthur released him.

    "So, can I help?"

    ~~~~

    After one day, the team was formed. Arthur, Bailey, Esmond and Michelle!

    Bailey was the gorgeous woman with ck-hair who did not have the chance to talk with Arthur, as Esmond went all out trying to teach him a lesson.

    As for Michelle, she was also a new teacher who had taken the position six months prior to that, and many people knew little about her.

    They had spent the day preparing for the mission, and Bailey also exined the details behind it.

    "There is a mysterious icy cave. Our goal is to go there and get some stings from the scorpions who live there."

    "What use does these stings have? Who wants it?"

    "I don''t know, but it is a trusted mission or else the school would not allow it to be on the board. So, we should not worry about that."

    Arthur ced his hand on his chin, thinking about the mission as they left the school.

 Chapter 257 Icy Cave(2)

    Chapter 257 Icy Cave(2)

    The entire mission felt strange. What use would a scorpion sting have? Also, this icy cave was not a ce unfamiliar to Arthur.

    He had heard about it before, and if he was not mistaken, that ce was one of the dangerous ces everyone knew on the central continent, like the Forbidden Forest, for example.

    ¡°This exins why they took so long to form a team, and why only four of us are going there. Ha, greed is a powerful and deadly feeling.¡±

    Arthur knew the mission would be a dangerous one, but the rewards were too plentiful! Not only would he pay for all the herbs, recipes and books he got without having points, but it would also give him a lot more of these points!

    Not only that, but Bailey said the person who requested the mission would give them additional rewards, which made that mission even more tempting for those who needed money.

    ¡°My money is getting useless. I need either contribution points if I need the things the school offers me, or magic stones if I want to trade with other mages.¡±

    These magic stones were too important for those in the rank 1 and above. It allowed them to use it as a coin for trading, an aid for training as they could absorb the mana from these stones, and also many other things, like a power source for formation, alchemy cauldrons, used to enchant weapons and many more.

    It was basically the core of any which has mana. Arthur wanted some of these stones. The only way for him to get was to either find it in the natural veins of mana stones, steal it from others, orplete missions.

    Well, Arthur had another idea of how to fetch some of these stones for himself, but that would still take some time to work, so he was not thinking about it at the moment.

    ¡°How strong are these scorpions?¡± Edmond said.

    ¡°ording to the information I have, they have a power slightly higher than that of a newly advanced Official Mage. They are strong, but our brains are better, so if we think and team up, it should not be a problem for us to take a few down.¡±

    Beasts were usually stronger than humans of the same level, but the downside was that humans were smarter, so in the end, it was an equal fight. What surprised Arthur was that these scorpions had that much power!

    If he was not mistaken, these scorpions lived in the early parts of the icy cave, a ce that the humans had barely explored! What other creatures could be in the depths of such a ce? The thought of it made Arthur¡¯s body shiver.

    They kept talking with each other along the way, trying to get to know more about each other, as it would help them fight better side-by-side by knowing each other¡¯s strengths and weaknesses.

    Obviously, Arthur had no intentions of sharing his secrets with the others. He only shared a few of his lightning spells, which were not a lie in the first ce!

    Arthur had recently got the lightning essence, and that was why he had the chance to enter the school. He had studied a lot of spells since the first day he went to the school, but even with his incredible learning speed, it was still impossible to learn a lot of spells within days.

    He was behind his peers in that aspect, but he also had his fire and wood essence, which turned him into an absolute beast!

    Everyone in the school had lightning as their primary element, but almost everyone had a second element as well, but it was weaker than the main one.

    Almost every Official Mage could use two elements, but the second element would almost always lose in power to the first one, unless they turned it into aplete essence, which was the requirement to reach the level of a rank 3 mage.

    A tenth circle mage had toplete the essence of his first element before passing to the rank one, and a rank 2 mage had toplete the essence of its second element before reaching the level of a rank 3 mage.

    It was an arduous task. The low number of rank 3 mages on the entire showed how hard it was!

    They felt weird that Arthur did not want to share a lot of his abilities, but none of them pushed him to do so. Acting like assholes would not make Arthur coborate with them during the fights.

    After half a month of travel, they finally reached the icy cave! When they got there, other mages were around the area.

    ¡°Mages from other schools?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Yes. The Icy Cave is controlled by our top schools, and not everyone can enter.¡±

    ¡°What? Controlled to get the scorpion stings?¡±

    ¡°No. We don¡¯t even know the uses of these stings. The top schools control this ce because we are still exploring it!¡±

    ¡°It is a way for them to share the profits if any of the schools find something useful inside the cave.¡± Arthur said.

    It wasn¡¯t a hard thing to understand. Not a single one of the top schools would allow the others to gain profit and increase their power alone.

    These schools had a simr level of power, almost equal. So, they made some sort of agreement that would benefit all of them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Bailey said.

    When they appeared in front of the Icy Cave, the other mages quickly prepared to engage in a fight, but then they saw the tokens of their chests.

    ¡°So it is just the dogs from the One Hundred Thunder Academy.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Years may pass, but the Phoenix Blood continues to run in the veins of sparrows.¡±

    ¡°YOU!¡±

    ¡°Lightning dogs and ming sparrows. Shut the fuck up.¡±

    The person who said that was a youth with ck-hair. It was someone from the rank one school. Arthur had a feeling of danger just by looking at the youth.

    What Arthur did not expect was that the youth would return his gaze! They looked at each other for a few seconds, and both of them acknowledge the two were dangerous individuals!

    Not a single mage talked after that statement, which revealed the supremacy of the rank one school had over the others.

    Arthur and the others went inside the cave, as anyone with the token of the top schools could enter with no problems.

    The moment they went in, a freezing wind passed through all of them! Everything was frozen inside that cave, apletely different season than the outside world!

    ¡°This ce always has snow and frigid winds, and the deeper we go, the colder it gets.¡± Bailey said.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we rest before going in?¡±

    ¡°Rest? Does everyone wants that? Yes? So be it. Let¡¯s camp inside the cave to adjust our bodies to the cold.¡±

 Chapter 258 Icy Cave (3) - Traitors

    Chapter 258 Icy Cave (3) - Traitors

    The initial parts of the Icy Cave weren¡¯t that cold, making it okay for anyone who wanted to camp in the area. Bailey said she was notfortable while camping outside near the rest of the mages, and they all agreed to that!

    Arthur, for example, wasn¡¯t scared of the mages outside, but the youth with ck-hair gave him a sense of danger. For him, that person was the only one he should worry about in that area.

    Well, the youth and the beasts they were about to face! They only rested for a few hours before heading inside the cave, looking for the scorpions.

    ¡°Keep your guard up! These scorpions appear out of nowhere, and we cannot trust the mages from other schools!¡± Bailey said.

    It was amon urrence for those mages to attack the others inside the Icy Cave and me the scorpions or any other ¡®natural¡¯ thing. For them, it was a chance to get rid of some troublesome mages from these top schools, diminishing the power of their rivals.

    For that reason, Arthur was not only focused on the creatures of that cave, but also on any other mage who could try to attack them.

    ¡°Look out! Be careful!¡± Esmond yelled to all of them.

    The snowy ground beneath them shook, and then exploded, creating a vast hole in which a scorpion came out. It had a massive body of about 6 meters and was as tall as 4 meters.

    Not only that, but its sting was bigger than its own body! Having a length of approximately 8 meters. The skin of that scorpion was hard, and was white as the snow, making it blend with the environment.

    Just by looking at such creature it had evolved throughout the ages, adapting to live inside such a ce. It was marvelous, but dangerous at the same time!

    The scorpion made a deafening sound, one that would nevere out of the mouth of a normal scorpion! It quickly moved toward Arthur and his group, aiming to attack Bailey, who was in the front leading the way.

    It did not attack with its sting at first, but with its pinch ws that were massive! One clean hit of it could end the life of almost anyone. So, Bailey tried her best to avoid such an attack after seeing iting.

    ¡°Lightning steps!¡± Bailey yelled, using the thunder to enhance her feet, making her run as fast as the lightning itself!

    Well, not that fast as it would be to overpower, but her speed increased by a lot, allowing her to dodge the uing w attack. She jumped and walked in mid-air, returning to the rest of the group safe.

    ¡°That was close,¡± she said, gazing at the scorpion, who was clearly angry after failing the attack.

    ¡°Everyone, work together to kill it!¡±

    Esmond was the first to act, casting his spell, which was a thunder of purple color. It flew toward the scorpion at fast speed, but when it touched its hard skin, nothing happened.

    The purple thunder hit and then was repelled, hitting the cave wall just beside them.

    ¡°How is that even possible?¡± Esmond said, having his eyes wide open after seeing such a scene.

    Michelle, the remaining mage of their group, was not only watching but preparing a spell of her own.

    ¡°Lightning Cage!¡±

    Sparks of lightning came out of nowhere, taking the shape of a cell, trapping the scorpion in it! It tried to get out by attacking these lightnings with its ws and even sting them, but nothing worked!

    ¡°Good job Michelle. That is the power of our support! Arthur, Esmond, let¡¯s go!¡± Bailey said.

    Bailed and Arthur ran toward the scorpion, while Esmond created a magical bow that shot lightning spears! It was a powerful attack, and each arrow pierced through the skin of that scorpion.

    Arthur did not want to show them too much of his power, but he could not stay put and do nothing. They were a team and each one of them had to help or else they would only get the profits without the effort. That was uneptable.

    It had been a long time since Arthur did not go out in a melee brawl, so he used his lightning powers to create a lightning spear simr to those Esmond was shooting with his bow.

    But different from him, Arthur would fight the scorpion up close! Piercing the spear into specific spots of its shell. Spots that were the most vulnerable, causing significant damage to that thing!

    With quick and precise attack, as well as the attacksing from both Esmond and Bailey, the scorpion did notst long, dying in the spot.

    ¡°That was close. Good job, everyone.¡±

    They quickly got the sting from that creature. Well, not the entire thing, but the tip, which was way smaller and was where it stored the venom.

    The meat was also something important for them while being down there, as no one knew when a troublesome situation maye around. Even Arthur took a few pieces to store inside his magical pouch.

    ¡°Who knows when I will need it?¡± He thought.

    After that fight, the confidence of the group increased, and they marched forward deep into the cave, killing more and more scorpions, getting their stings.

    Whoever it was said in the details of the quest that they had to bring back at least 15 stings, but the more they got, the more they would earn in the end.

    The strange part was that the quest did not have a limit.

    ¡°The person behind this thing really wants this stings and surely has a lot of money. But what for?¡±

    Arthur knew the contributions points they would earn came from the person who gave the quest, as it would pay for the stings with mana stones, and then the school would either give them the mana stones, or exchange it for contribution points.

    Contribution points were better, at least Arthur thought so. There were lots of items inside the school which were way difficult to buy in the outside world even if one had the mana stones. That was one perk of being part of a top school.

    ¡°We are getting way deep into this ce. How many stings do we have?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Hum, let me see here¡­ 16, which meant we finished the quest!¡± Bailey said.

    The three of them, Arthur, Bailey and Michelle, were ready to leave, but Esmond did not want it.

    ¡°Come on everyone. If we get more stings, we get more rewards. Isn¡¯t this a golden opportunity? When will we return to this ce? Remember that we cannot enter for quite some time.¡±

    ¡°You have a point. The agreement only let the same mage enter this ce once every year.¡±

    They all thought about the situation for some time and kept going. Arthur was okay with that, as he too needed the money, but there was a feeling of danger that he could not let go.

    More and more scorpions died on their hands, having their stings ripped off for some random person who really wanted them.

    As for the feeling Arthur had, it grew and grew along the way, until he finally understood what it was. Treachery!

    The group was neither a pit that no one knew where it led, and anyone who fell on it would surely die. So, that was what they did!

    Michelle quickly cast the lightning prison, giving Arthur no time to react as a lightning spear pierced through his body!

    It was not enough to kill him, but it was enough to make him fly all the way down into the abyss!

 Chapter 259 Icy Cave (4) - The truth about the gods

    Chapter 259 Icy Cave (4) - The truth about the ''gods''

    ¡°He is dead, right?¡± Bailey said.

    ¡°Probably. We can just tell it was an ident, and as he is someone new in the school, everything should be fine.¡±

    ¡°Good. We will not have to split with him, hehehe.¡±

    ~~~~

    The pit was pitch-ck, and even Arthur, who could see in the dark, could not do so in that ce. It was as if there was a veil blocking his sight.

    He kept falling at top speed and tried many times to cast some sort of spell to prevent that from happening. Nothing worked.

    Arthur only stopped falling when he hit the ground. The good news was that the snow was also there in the pit, and it lowered the damage from his falling, making him only break a few bones.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    The reason behind such a treacherous act was something Arthur did not know.

    ¡°Was it just about the mission reward? They did not want to share with me?¡±

    All the three teachers looked like decent people. Arthur had seen nothing wrong with them during the entire journey, yet they betrayed him for profit.

    It was not worth to think about those things, as it had already passed and there was nothing Arthur could do to change that.

    But he could focus on surviving such a terrible situation and eventually uncover the truth behind the acts of those teachers.

    ¡°I fell in that pit and now I am here. But where is here?¡±

    Arthur slowly got up from the ground, cing his hands on specific parts of his body. Everything hurt, and even though his regeneration capabilities were extraordinary, there was still a limit.

    He had not only suffered from the fall but also from the attack of Official Mages. It would take him some time to recover.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope this ce isn¡¯t that dangerous, although I doubt that is the case.¡±

    The ce he was currently in was a pit with a narrow corridor, not only in front of him but also behind. Arthur did not know what direction to take, but kept going forward, hoping it was the right call.

    There was barely any noise inside that pit. The only thing Arthur could hear was the wind pressing into the walls made of stone.

    What he feared was a scorpion appearing out of nowhere and attacking him. It wouldn¡¯t be that great to fight in such a tiny space.

    ¡°Well, if I barely fit in here, then the scorpions will have a worse time than me.¡±

    That was the thought that kept him going forward, getting colder after each step he took. Everyone knew the Icy Cave was cold, and the deeper one went, the colder it got.

    One reason humans did not explore it entirely was because of that inhospitable environment, and it was also something they wished to know more about.

    Why was it always cold inside the cave? Why did it get colder? Maybe there was a treasure in the deepest part of the cave, or maybe a creature in a slumber. Could it have both things?

    ¡°This is too much. How can a human survive in a ce like this?¡±

    Arthur¡¯s body was turning into a frozen statue from toe to head, so he quickly used some of his fire spells to dissipate the cold away, and it worked!

    He had an advantage inside that ce with hispleted essence of fire, as well as his dragon fire skills.

    Two wings grew behind his back, extending into an armor made entirely of mes, making his body warmer and protected.

    Then, after walking for quite some time, he left the narrow corridor, reaching an open area with an immense gate!

    It was made of rocks Arthur did not know in a rectangle shape. The portal was tall, almost touching the roof of the cave, and it was wide as well.

    ¡°I have never seen something like this.¡±

    When Arthur got closer to the portal, someone walked out of it.

    The pressure was too much, even for him. He gazed at that figure, and noticed it was a human, just like him. But there was something familiar about that human. Something Arthur had not found in anyone else he met in that world.

    ¡°We finally met, Arthur.¡±

    ¡°Do I know you?¡±

    It seemed the man who got out from that mysterious portal knew his name, yet Arthur was sure they had never met before.

    ¡°I am one person you call a ¡®god¡¯. Did you know that we have a lot inmon, Arthur?¡±

    ¡°Oh? And what could that be?¡±

    ¡°We are both from Earth.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we have that inmon, but¡­ wait, what?¡±

    Arthur instantly put his guard up, looking at that man with immense fear. It was not the first time someone discovered he was from another world.

    The blue bird he met inside the dimensional realm who was one of the strongest creatures knew about it too, but not that he was from Earth.

    People appearing from others weren¡¯t that umon, but Earth was not one of theses! Arthur wanted to return to Earth someday, yet he had no clue about it.

    ¡°This is impossible. There is no way you are also from Earth.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really? Is it that impossible we came from the same portal as you?¡±

    ¡°We? All the other ¡®gods¡¯ are from Earth as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that is correct. I am only telling you this because you will die today. This is only one of my avatars, but you will die.¡±

    The source of all the cold of that ce wasing from that man! He had a blue straight hair, and his body was lean and muscr, but it still looked like something one could naturally achieve.

    He picked up a spear which was pierced into the ground right in front of the portal. The moment the man touched the spear, a chilling aura enveloped it, making Arthur tremble just by looking at it.

    ¡°There is no doubt. This man has the power of a rank 2 mage!¡±

    Arthur believed in everything that man had said. He did not think someone could fake and pretend to be from Earth, so it must be true.

    It turned out all the ¡®gods¡¯ were from Earth, just like him. But what reason did they have to go after him? What did they want in the first ce?

    There were lots of things Arthur had no answer for, and seeing how strong the enemy was, then perhaps he would never get the answers himself!

    ¡°I might really die here. Fuck. What can I do? What can I do?¡± Arthur thought.

    Even if he used all of his trump cards, there was no chance he would win against that man! Not only he had special skills, but had the power of a rank 2 mage.

    In the current situation Arthur faced, the chance of someone appearing to save him was akin to zero. He had to fight against that man, even if it meant losing and dying.

    ¡°At least I will die fighting.¡±

    After a long time, Arthur used everything he got. The surrounding aura increased by a lot as his dragon transformation took effect, changing his appearance to something simr to a lizard man.

    ¡°Oh? Your dragon bloodline? That is not enough to stop me, you know.¡±

    Then, for the first time, Arthur used his Monlog Giant bloodline without turning into a mad beast!

 Chapter 260 End of the Line

    Chapter 260 End of the Line

    The moment Arthur activated his Monlog bloodline, his body changed once again. He was alreadypleted different from a human being, and the Monlog bloodline came to amplify it!

    His body doubled in size. Not only his height but also his muscles bulged, turning him into a creature directly from movies!

    A tall and bulky lizard. Then, the dark substance the Monlog Giant used came enveloping his body, making him even scarier!

    ¡°What the hell is this? A Godzi?¡±

    The man in front of him knew a lot of things about Arthur, but the Monlog bloodline was not one of these things. He was shocked after witnessing the transformation, but there was no way Arthur could deal with him.

    ¡°It is still not enough to face my avatar, you know. But hey, you can try, hehehe!¡±

    Even after all of those hidden powers, bloodlines, and all, Arthur¡¯s aura was not at the same level as the man in front of him.

    He knew it, of course he did, but what could he do? Arthur had to fight for his life in that scenario. The fact would never change.

    A flickering light the eyes could barely see. It was the man dashing toward Arthur, wielding his long, sharp, and chilly spear.

    ¡°Fast!¡±

    The distance covered was astonishing. He was at least 100 meters away from Arthur, yet appeared in a matter of seconds.

    Everything happened so fast. The only thing Arthur could do was use his ws to defend against the spear attack. It worked, but the force behind the attack was too much, causing Arthur to fly away, hitting the cave¡¯s wall.

    ¡°Hahahaha, did you like it? I trained in spears since the moment I came to this world!¡±

    Arthur slowly got up, feeling both of his arms numb. He looked at the man and said, ¡°how did youe to this world, anyway? Is it the same with all the others?¡±

    ¡°Well, considering you will die today, then it should not be a problem for me to tell you this. Also, you would find the answer, anyway.¡±

    ¡°All of us were just living our lives. We went to bed and then boom, we are here. Also, all of us appeared on the same continent as you did, but at different times. I was the fifth toe, and some before me appeared thousand of years ago!¡±

    ¡°What? This makes little sense. Why and who would send us here?¡±

    ¡°Dunno, and don¡¯t care. Never wanted to go back, just like all the others. We even created an alliance that rules all thes. Could you believe it?¡±

    What the man said was valuable information. All the gods turned out to be humans from Earth, but they got there before him, way before. Still, based on what the man told, all the humans from Earth were from the 21st century.

    So, they all vanished from Earth almost at the same period, yet some arrived in this new world thousand of years earlier.

    ¡°Time is messed up, then. What the hell! I believe my time inside that dark space took way longer than I noticed!¡±

    Also, the alliance whichmanded all thes was ruled by them! That was not something good. Even if Arthur somehow escaped that ce with his life, his time when traveling betweens would be a living hell!

    They were hunting him and if they were an alliance that rules over everyone, it would be hard for Arthur to survive!

    ¡°What can I do? What can I do? Wait, could that work?¡±

    One thing Arthur knew about these gods long before this very meeting was the strange energy they had! It was now part of his system as well, the Celestial Energy!

    Arthur did not know how these gods came into touch with this energy. When they arrived in this new world from Earth, then all of them had to use mana, right?

    He still did not know the origin of such energy, but he had a ne Skye gave him that could absorb the Celestial Energy!

    The man slowly went toward Arthur. He did not believe for him to lose the fight, so he wasn¡¯t feeling like ending it too fast.

    It was his ying ground, and Arthur would have to endure long enough to satisfy his desires.

    He stopped right in front of Arthur, but before he could say something, Arthur tossed the ne Skye gave him!

    That ne acted like a ma, going directly toward the man and gluing itself on him!

    ¡°What is this? Wait, this ne¡­¡±

    The man found the ne familiar, yet could not find out where it came from. Not during a fight, at least.

    ¡°But a piece of jewelry will not change your fate, Arthur.¡±

    The man prepared his spear, yet a strange change inside his body made him stop. It was like a pump which send pain all over his body, and a feeling of weaknesses.

    ¡°No way, this¡­ this is draining my energy!¡±

    A smile could be seen on Arthur¡¯s face. His n of using the ne Skye gave him worked!

    ¡°Was she trying to protect me against them?¡± Arthur thought, but quickly focused on the fight once again.

    The ne was draining the man¡¯s energy, but it was not something instantaneous. He was still way stronger than Arthur, and now that a time bomb was nted on him, he would try his best to end the fight as quickly as possible!

    If Arthur had that line of thought, his adversary also had!

    ¡°I really wanted to y with you, but now you are dead!¡±

    He grasped his spear, and then twisted his body, making circr movements. Small snowkes appeared, merging with the wind created by his circr spear attacks, turning into a blizzard!

    The wind blew into Arthur¡¯s body, and it was so strong it made him retreat a few steps, but that was not the worst part of the attack. Cold, a cold that was turning Arthur into a frozen statue!

    After both of his legs werepletely frozen, the man stopped circling with his spear, and dashed toward Arthur instead, piercing it through his belly!

    It did not matter if Arthur had his dragon scales or not; the spear pierced through him like butter, creating a hole big enough for one to see through him!

    A stream of blood and agony! It was not the first time Arthur faced death, but he was sure this time it would be almost impossible for him to escape with his life!

    The man was not ying around anymore, and even though his Celestial Energy was being drained, the power he had was at the rank 2 level. Actually, it was almost at the peak of it!

    Only an avatar of that man was enough to end Arthur¡¯s life. The difference between them was immense. Even in death, the desire for power for Arthur had increased.

    It was a pity that feeling alone would not save his life.

    ¡°You fought well. This ne took me by surprise, and I am afraid if I can¡¯t get this out of me than this avatar will die¡­ Well, I only use it to y with the mortals, so not a big deal at all!¡±

    He lift his arm up high, piercing his spear once again, but this time, the destination was Arthur¡¯s heart!

 Chapter ?261 Ice Affinity to its Highest

    Chapter ?261 Ice Affinity to its Highest

    It was the end. Arthur had gone so far, met lots of people and was even married with two beauties, but all would soon turn into nothing.

    He would perish after fighting with one god. An avatar which was strong enough to end his life. Arthur learned a lot about the origins of these self-proimed gods, but he could not find the answers¡­

    All of his transformations had ended. His pity human look made the man in front of him smile with evilness. Arthur closed his eyes, thinking about everyone he cared about, waiting for his death.

    Perhaps he would return to Earth after this, but who would wait for him? He had no friends back then, and no parents. Now that he thought about it, it was the first time he had people waiting for him, counting on him.

    A life Arthur believed it would never be possible somewhere else. Why did it have to end like that? Why was an avatar of one god down there in the first ce? Was it all set up?

    Three seconds passed after he closed his eyes, and with the speed of the spear, he should be long dead. Arthur slowly opened them up once again, and then he saw it. A goddess came to save him!

    Skye! She wore a silver te armor, and her long blond hair was as beautiful as ever. She blocked the spear using her rapier.

    "Are you alright?" Skye said, looking at Arthur, who was on the ground, smiling.

    The blue of her eyes reminded Arthur of the deep ocean, of his adventurers as a pirate, and even his old friend Captain Jack, who helped him save Skye back then.

    How was she there? What was going on? An avatar of a god in that remote ce was already strange enough, but now Skye was there too?

    Arthur was not sure, but he had a strong guess she was one of these ''gods'' that came from Earth, but she was not at their side. Maybe that was the reason she was locked.

    "Skye? How are you here? Aren''t you supposed to be locked?"

    Not only Arthur was shocked to see her there, but the man was as well.

    "Yes, but Arthur saved me, and now I am here to stop you."

    "Can you? You lost all of your powers. How far did you progress in this short time?"

    "Well, I may be far weaker, but I am already a rank 3 mage. So what can you do, Jared?"

    "What? You are bluffing."

    Skye did not answer him, but hit him instead, kicking Jared in the stomach, making him fly away like a piece of trash.

    She did not stop there, dashing toward him as fast as lightning, attacking with her rapier so fast Arthur could not even see it!

    Wounds appeared all over Jared''s body, and even though he tried to keep up with Skye''s speed, it was not possible.

    "How are you so strong? This is unfair, unfair!"

    The sh between titans kept going. Arthur stayed far away, as he was not someone who could intervene in that fight.

    Jared also had the ne draining his power after each second, making the fight even harder for him.

    "Fuck this!"

    He yelled, activating one secret skill he had which borrowed some of the power from his other avatars, as well as from his actual body.

    His power, which was diminishing, went up, increasing his power into the rank 3, and eventually stopping once he reached the peak of the rank 3!

    Jared was now stronger than Skye, but obviously that secret skill had a drawback. The avatar would be destroyed after fifteen minutes, and even his actual body would receive a bacsh!

    "Now what can you do, HAHAHA!" Jared said, taking off the ne Arthur ced on him, throwing at the cave''s corner.

    "Fuck!"

    Skye, who had the upper hand in speed, had lost that advantage as well. She believed Jared would go after her first, but that was not the case! He vanished and appeared right in front of Arthur, who barely had the time to dodge, losing his left arm in the process!

    "Aggggrrr!"

    Without other options, Skye used everything she got to protect Arthur. She used every boost she could to make her body stronger and then grabbed Jared before he could do anything else to Arthur.

    She flew toward the strange gate that Arthur saw the moment he went to that ce, and passed through it with Jared! After that, the portal closed for good, and Arthur did not know where Skye and Jared went¡­

    ~~~~

    Arthur passed out with the blood loss from his lost arm. He woke up only after thirty minutes.

    "No one is here¡­ Where did the two go? Skye¡­"

    Skye had saved his life. Arthur hoped everything was okay, and that she won the fight in the end, but there was no way for him to know it for sure.

    As for his lost limb, Arthur was not worried about it. The healing capabilities he had were extraordinary, and even though it would take him some time to regrow a limb, it would happen eventually.

    Now, the problem Arthur faced was how would she get out of the Icy Cave? He had fallen into a deep pit, and there was no way for him to return using the same path he did, as there was something interfering with his mana, making it impossible for him to use a flight spell and fly up.

    "Is there a way out around this area?" He thought, exploring the open ce he was.

    He also did not forget to get his ne back, as it would be useful in future fights. After some minutes of scanning the area, Arthur found another narrow corridor, one that was different from the one he used.

    It was a good sign. Also, his arm had stopped bleeding as well, closing the wound naturally! Still, Arthur only had his right arm for the time being, which would surely diminish his power by some degree, but some time inside the school would allow him to heal just fine.

    Arthur used the narrow corridor, walking for twenty minutes after finally reaching the end. The worst-case scenario would be nothing at the end, and the best would be a way to leave that part of the Icy Cave and return to the school.

    These two options did not happen, and what waited for him instead was a portal and an altar!

    The portal seemed to be the only way for him to get out of that cave. As for the altar, it had a shiny blue crystal above it. Just by looking at it, Arthur guessed it was the source of the cold.

    "Should I grab it? Wouldn''t that destroy this whole ce?"

    If it was something that increased his power, Arthur would try to get his hands on it, but if it meant destroying the whole ce, it was not worth it!

    There was still the portal Skye and Jared used, as it could be useful in the future, so destroying the whole Icy Cave was not an option.

    Still, Arthur touched the blue crystal which was floating above the altar, just in case to see if anything strange happened.

    It did. A notification popped up in front of him.

    [Ding]

    [Increasing the user''s affinity with ice to the highest degree!]

    [Essence Conversion: 1%]

    "This tiny crystal made my affinity reach the highest level possible? Isn''t that like cheating?"

    Arthur had a big smile! He still had a few techniques from the dragons which would allow him to train using an ice element technique, making it possible for him to achieve a high level of essence conversion now that his affinity was boosted.

    Even though he almost lost his life, Arthur still got something in return.

    Now, where exactly would the portal send him?

 Chapter ?262 Another Dimensional Realm?

    ?262 Another Dimensional Realm?

    The fear of the unknown was something anyone would face in that situation. Arthur did not know where the portal would lead him, but there was no other way to leave the cave.

    "It is what it is."

    He thought of trying to contact George to see if he knew something about the portal, but Arthur was avoiding contact with him, as he was still uncertain if George was trustworthy or not.

    Arthur tossed all these thoughts to the back of his mind and passed through the portal. His vision blurred, and for a moment, everything around him was pure darkness.

    Then, sunlight hit his eyes, making him close them for a second.

    "Snow?"

    The ground beneath his feet had a thickyer of snow, and all the surrounding trees had snow as well! It was not umon to have snow on the central continent. In fact, the entire central continent was snowy during winter!

    But it was not winter. Arthur had traveled for quite the distance inside the central continent, and there was not a single ce on the entire continent that was snowy!

    Well, maybe the highest mountains or the Icy Cave, but that was it! It was no winter on the central continent, which could only mean Arthur was somewhere else!

    "Don''t tell me I am on yet another continent, or even another? Wait, a have a familiar feeling here..."

    Arthur stayed right here he was and analyzed the surrounding area. Something felt familiar, and after some time, he understood what it was.

    "A different realm! I am inside a ce built by a mage!"

    It was just like the dimensional realm he went when getting the inheritance from the chalice, but that one felt more vivid, and more like a normal world, not a ce with tests and strange creatures!

    Now, what truly shocked Arthur was what happened right after he acknowledge that. He wanted to use his flight spell and explore the ce more carefully to find a way out back to the central continent, but he could not use mana!

    "No way! This ce blocks mana?"

    When he thought things could not get worse, an arrow came flying right beneath his feet. Scared, Arthur looked up and saw a few bearded man wearing fur armor staring at him!

    They looked simr to the people Arthur saw on the continent Signy came from, but those looked even more primitive!

    One of them approached him, as they clearly saw Arthur had no weapons hanging on his waist, and looked fragile.

    The man had a long, thick blond beard and a scar that crossed his left eye. He spoke in anguage Arthur could not understand, as without his mana, he could not use his spell, which allowed him to learn othernguages in an instant.

    "I don''t understand!" Arthur said, but the man only frowned in response.

    Without other options, Arthur grabbed a nearby stick, making the rest of the man to aim their bows at him, afraid he would use that as a weapon.

    Then, he drew on the snow two men talking, and an interrogation mark in hopes the man would understand. It worked.

    The man who went to talk with him return where the others were to have a chat.

    "He cannot understand ournguage."

    "But how? We are the only tribe in this ce. And he does not seem like one of us."

    "Correct. Could he be from the outside world?"

    "Outside world? That is impossible. Thest person who came from the outside world was centuries ago, and it left without helping us."

    They kept talking, and Arthur could listen to it as they weren''t that far from him, but could not understand a single word that came from their mouth.

    After some minutes of waiting, the man he talked to returned, making some signs which Arthur understood as ''follow me''.

    "They will not kill me, which is good! I cannot use mana, but maybe there is a way for me to use my dragon skills? Or a way to break the seal of this ce and use mana!"

    What made Arthur think he could use his dragon skills was because of his lost limb! He could still sense the healing taking effect, and his body still had the same power. Whoever was blocking his usage of spells could not block the power of his bloodlines or the attributes he put using his system.

    It was a good sign, and one that gave Arthur hope. Other mages would be helpless without their mana, but he was different. His body was his strongest weapon!

    Now, another thing that annoyed him was his magical pouches. They worked using mana, as their name suggested, and now that the mana was blocked, there was no way for him to open them, which meant he could use none of the items he had.

    No weapons, no food, no money, or ingredients. His spare clothes were also inside those pouches, making everything even worse.

    "Will I smell like a pig?"

    He kept following those men, passing through a forest, and even crossing a river using a crude wooden bridge. Then, they finally reached their tribe, which was glooming with people!

    There were kids running around, ying some games. The parents were always close, watching to make sure none of them got hurt.

    Some men patrolled the area, some went out to hunt, and some trained with the others. Women also shared the same tasks, and everyone worked together to create a prosperous and friendly vige.

    When all those men came back from the hunting trip bringing along not only their food but also a strange human, everyone nced at them.

    Whispers quickly spread throughout the tribe. Arthur wished he could understand what they were speaking, but it was not possible!

    They led him to the biggest house of the tribe where the chief lived.

    "Chief, we found this young man not that far from the vige. He does not speak ournguage, and we have a strong guess he is from the outside world."

    "What? Did someone finallye to help us?"

    "Should we give him the diary from the others who came before? That would help him learn ournguage."

    "Yes, yes, of course. We shall help him with everything we can, as this might be the only shot we have to leave this ce."

    The chief of the tribe was excited after getting the news about Arthur. They went to a seclude part of the tribe where a wooden cabin was.

    They tossed Arthur inside of it and closed the door.

    "What is happening here? Why did the chief of the tribe look rather excited? Are they cannibals?"

    Arthur hoped that was not the case. He then looked at the cabin, and the first thing he saw were small notebooks scattered on a table.

    "What are those?" He thought, grabbing one to have a look. The first sentence he read shocked him, as it was not written in the unknownnguage of those men, but in themonnguage of the central continent!

    "If you are reading this, then it means you are a mage from somewhere and now you are trapped in here. This notebook contains all the things I learned inside this ce before I ultimately perished."

 Chapter ?263 Knowledge Seeker

    ?263 Knowledge Seeker

    "What is this? A diary written by a mage who came across this ce just like me? But what about the rest of these notebooks?" Arthur thought.

    Before trying to read the rest of that diary, he nced at the other diaries and noticed they were also written by other mages who went to that ce.

    He was not the first to go there, neither thest. A lot of mages went there through the ages, and only a few of them left with their lives.

    "I guess this is reading time!"

    Arthur believed the people there would not kill him, or else they would have done it already. Also, the first pages of all the diaries mentioned that these tribe men always kept the outsiders alive as they still had hopes of leaving that strange ce, yet it never happened.

    For him, learning everything that happened with the other mages was really important, but learning thenguage of those people was important as well!

    "This is the only way for me to truly get their help while inside this ce."

    He spent hours reading all of those diaries, gathering the most information he could about the ce. There was aplete guide of how to speak theirnguage, a bestiary about the creatures one could find inside that ce, and also about some of its secrets.

    For example, one mage who went there was from thousand of years ago. Someone who had ice as its main element, and based on his reports, that ce was the best to practice ice rted techniques. Though the man never really got his mana unsealed to be sure of that statement.

    The mage even wrote his most famous ice spells on the diary, saying that he would never have the chance to get a disciple, but would considerate anyone who read the diary one.

    "This is a fantastic timing, as I just increased my ice affinity. Maybe I should focus on this element as my next essence?"

    Although these diaries had lots of good information, there was nothing saying how to get out of that ce. Well, it made sense. Anyone who got out would not return to write a diary.

    Arthur would have to gather all the clues he found in these diaries and found a way out by himself.

    He was so focused on reading that he did not notice one of the tribe members go inside his small cabin, cing a bowl of soup above his table, and leaving right after doing that.

    Just like that, three entire months passed. Arthur spent most of the time learning theirnguage, trying to merge with the rest of the tribe, and even went out to hunt with them twice.

    Another thing that changed was his appearance. Arthur now wore a fur clothing just like the rest of them and even had a beard! It made his baby face look a little older.

    "A thick beard means a wise mind."

    Everyone from the tribe knew him, and the chief treated him with the utmost respect! Thest outsider was from centuries ago, and lots of them had lost the hopes of leaving that strange ce, but now everything could change!

    Arthur was there, and for them, it meant hope. Another thing that progressed rapidly in these three months was Arthur''s spells of the ice element.

    He learned most of the spells that mage wrote in his diary, but it was impossible for him to do some practical experiments, as Arthur still did not use his mana inside that ce.

    Arthur truly wished he could train inside that ce to increase his essence conversion, but it did not happen, at least not during the first three months. He had to first use his mana, then he could train properly.

    As for his Spiritual Force, which was the key for him to achieve the rank 2 as a mage, it was not progressing that fast! Normal mages needed to first absorb the mana from the atmosphere and then condense it.

    Arthur did not have to do these boring stuff, as he gained mana by leveling up and putting points into his attributes, but without his wives there, he could not level up that way!

    So now that he had somewhat adjusted to his life inside that strange ce, Arthur wanted to find a way of how to use his mana. He had read those diaries countless times, trying to see if there was something in them that would help him, but found nothing!

    "It has to have something about this! I don''t believe a mage who cannot use mana could leave this ce!"

    He was not ready to give up just yet. Now that the tribe men were familiar with him, Arthur could leave the tribe and the chief of it would not say a single word.

    "Chief, the outsider is leaving again. Should we follow him?"

    Two men spoke to the chief inside the biggest house of the tribe.

    "No need. Let him do as he wishes. I am sure he is trying to find a way out of this ce, so let him."

    "But what if he finds it and leaves without helping us?"

    "Then that is a shame. We cannot make him do the things he does not want to."

    ~~~~

    The dimensional realm Arthur was in was always cold, and its size was big. There were forests, rivers, mountains, and no one could tell it was not the real world.

    Now, someone should have built that with a purpose, right? Arthur did not believe it was solely for training, and the mana seal was something strange. He had another guess for that ce, and it was not something good.

    He went to all parts of the dimensional realm, and there was one particr ce that got his attention during the past three months.

    It was a mountain. What was weird about it was how quiet it was! Arthur spent days watching it from afar, and not a single animal or magical beast went close to it. Not even the birds flew above it.

    Not only that, but on a windy night, Arthur noticed that the trees around that mountain did not move with the wind like all the rest.

    "An illusion? But how did no one else notice this?"

    The fact was so easy to be detectable that made Arthur question the exploration of the other mages. Were they so stupid or did something change since thest time someone went there?

    For him, the only way to find out was to go to that ce, so he did. When Arthur got close to that mountain, the whole scenario changed!

    It was not a mountain anymore, but an immense... shopping? For a moment Arthur doubted his eyes, as there was no way something like that was possible, but no matter how many times he rubbed them, the shopping center was still there!

    What was the most shocking of it was that the small stores were from brands he knew back on Earth, and there were people there, walking, talking, eating and exploring the shopping.

    It was like a rift, a portal, a glimpse of another universe!

    "Will this bring me back home? I- I don''t want to leave my wives alone!"

    Then, the whole scenario shattered, now showing an entire city which reminded Arthur of the cities he saw in this world. After some time, the scenario shattered again, and then it showed something else.

    "Each scenario is from another? Another gxy? Who built this ce?"

    Even though it kept changing to all kinds of different ces, it was not possible to go there using that ce as a portal. It was as if whoever built it could only nce at other gxies but could not go to them.

    Still, what concept was that? A being capable of peeking at other gxies was something incredible.

    The changing of scenarios kept happening for quite some time. Arthur just stood there and watched it, hoping to find a clue of something useful, but then his entire body shivered!

    The scenario changed again, but this time it was not a glimpse of another ce, but a creature! A bizarre giant ck eye with tentacles!

    It slowly opened up, looking directly at Arthur. The creature was so immense it felt bigger than the whole dimensional realm Arthur was in!

    For a moment, that eye was as big as the sun, and stronger than everything he had ever seen. Arthur stood still, scared of moving, until the mysterious eye finally spoke.

    "Another mage came to my realm seeking knowledge. Are you worthy of it? Hum, let me see. Arthur? Someone from Earth? A ce without mana? Wait, you are a dragon reborn on Earth without memories? Interesting, interesting."

    "Who are you?" Arthur said.

    "Me? I am a knowledge seeker. Someone who exploreds and gxies, adding any bit of knowledge I can." The eye said.

    "You are trapped inside this ce, just like me, right?"

    "Me? Trapped? This is an insult to me! I know all the entrances and exits of this ce. The only reason I am here is because the universe will eventually die, and I am seeking a way out."

 Chapter 264 Leaving the Icy Cave

    264 Leaving the Icy Cave

    What the eye said made little sense. Was the universe dying? Well, if you think about it, everything would eventually end.

    "What do you mean?" Arthur said, frowning his eyebrows after hearing such a sentence.

    "Some threats that are unknown to even me are lurking around. I built this ce to think about ways to prevent the copse of everything we know and love!"

    "This ce? I see nothing special about this ce, so how would it help you save the universe?"

    Arthur did not believe it, even for a second. He now knew more about the ''gods'' who controlled the gxy. They were humans from Earth, just like him.

    But the universe? He did not know how many gxies there were in the first ce, but he was sure Earth was not even close to the he was.

    What bullshit was that about the entire universe ending? That would mean the end of everything. Who could have such power?

    "You see nothing special about this ce? Well, for starters, time is slowed down here, as this is the way I found to think about how to save the universe! If you spend one thousand years here, then it would probably pass around 10 seconds in the real world."

    "What? You are joking, right? This isn''t possible at all."

    Now Arthur was sure that the creature had just lost its mind after being trapped inside that ce for a long time. That was the only exnation Arthur felt reasonable.

    "Believe me, if you want to. Look, you and I meeting here is fate. I can send you back to where you came from if you like to, and even help the others from the tribe nearby."

    "And what will you want in exchange? I don''t believe in free lunch."

    "Wise one you are. All I ask is that you seek knowledge for me and uncover the truth about this threat to the universe. Here, take it."

    The eye tossed a book with a ck cover toward Arthur. It had nothing written on it, and the pages were all nk.

    "You can store the knowledge you find useful in this book. It will automatically enter my mind too, and we can even talk using the book."

    "So you want me to go out gathering information for you? Free information?"

    "Free? No, not free at all. Like I said, you will leave this ce. Isn''t that good enough? And I can answer you a few questions if you do your job properly. Mages would kill each other for a piece of my advice and knowledge."

    "But didn''t the other mages leave this ce without your help? If they did it, I can do it too!"

    "The others? Everyone that left this ce had my help, and they are out there, seeking knowledge as we speak. You do not differ from them. Don''t think you are special just because you are from Earth, have a dragon bloodline or a strange system that helps you. You aren''t the only one."

    The eye knowing that Arthur had bloodlines or even came from Earth wasn''t that surprising, but he also knew about his system? That was something Arthur did not predict and made him fearful of the unknown.

    "What do you mean? There are other people with systems?"

    "Of course, or did you think you were the protagonist of some heroic book? Anyway, will you ept my offer?"

    "I will think about it."

    ~~~~

    Arthur had no intentions on believing everything the strange creature said, so he tried everything he could go find a way out without its help.

    He looked in every corner of that ce and found nothing. No matter what he tried, it never worked. After one more month passed without a single clue, Arthur had no choice but to return to where the mysterious eye was.

    "You are back already? I told you there is no way out of here."

    "Fine, I agree with your terms. What about the rest of the people inside this ce?"

    "I will send them to a random ind. Or are you willing to take care of them?"

    "No, I have a lot of things to deal with."

    "Okay. Now, remember the promise, and gather the knowledge."

    Everything around Arthur shattered, and he returned to the Icy Cave in an instant. He was not in the same spot where the portal was, but back at the surface area, which meant he was ready to leave that ce without problems.

    "He sent me back. That is good."

    Arthur nced at his lost arm, which still needed time to recover, and also at the ck book the eye gave him. He did not know what would happen if he did not gather the knowledge, but would do it anyway.

    It would not take him a lot of effort to share the knowledge with that creature, and if there were other benefits, then Arthur would dly help.

    "I had no other choice or else I would be stuck inside that ce forever. Also, the eye knew about the system and also about Earth. Could the universe be truly in danger?"

    There was no way for Arthur to know if the universe was in danger or not, but considering that eye knew a lot of things, then maybe that was also a truth.

    But he would not blindly believe in that, so seeking his own knowledge would be the best course of action.

    "I will learn more along the way."

    Now that he was back, what Arthur needed to do was deal with the situation inside the One Hundred Thunder Academy.

    These three teachers, who were the high ups of the school, tried to kill him. Arthur believed they did that to not share the prizes of the quest, but that could not be the only thing.

    Maybe a conspiracy? It was the guess he had, but the only way to confirm it was returning with his life back to the school.

    He left the cave using the same path as before, and when he was outside, Arthur noticed some mages.

    "I remember some of them were here before I entered, but that should be months ago. Was the eye really speaking the truth about the time thing?"

    All the mages were surprised to see Arthur. He did not look like a mage, but more like a barbarian. Most of them did not recognize him at all!

    Well, the youth with the ck-hair who Arthur believed it was someone dangerous was still there, and he remembered Arthur.

    "Why is he wearing a fur clothing, and why is his arm gone? Did he find something inside the Icy Cave?"

    Not a single one of them stopped Arthur from leaving. They were all from top ranked schools, but Arthur was as well! A fight between them had to have a good reason, at least when in an open field like that.

    Arthur quickly left the area and made his way back to the school. During the entire journey, he kept thinking about all the things that happened inside that ce.

    Everything was so strange. He could not help but think about what the eye said.

    "Others with systems? The end of the universe? Fuck, I need to train harder!"

 Chapter 265 Squad Leader

    265 Squad Leader

    On his way back, Arthur thought about all the things he bought in the exchange center, hoping to pay all of it afterpleting the mission.

    "I have to go back before they deliver the quest to get the rewards! If the time thing is real, then they only have a few hours ahead of me."

    Arthur had to arrive first, no matter what, or else he would be in a financial trouble. Now that he was in the outside world, using mana was no problem, so his flight and teleport proved to be life-savers!

    He believed he would arrive at the school before than those three teachers. Different from them, Arthur did not need to sleep, so he kept going without stopping for a single second!

    During the journey, Arthur did not cross paths with them. Everything went smoothly, and he was back at the One Hundred Thunder Academy.

    There was no need for him to stop and let the guard check him, as he had the token of the school, allowing him to pass through the barrier without problems.

    He bounced to his house to grab a new pair of clothing, as he was still wearing fur armor, and also shave his face.

    After that, he went to the exchange center to check if the mission was said to bepleted on the mission board. It wasn''t. That meant the three teachers were still on their way to the school.

    Arthur sighed in relief and then looked around for Laura. It was difficult to find her because of her prestigious position, but nothing Arthur could not handle.

    "So, what do you want to talk with me?" Laura said, crossing her legs, staring at Arthur.

    He exined everything that had happened and even came up with a n.

    "What? Are you one hundred percent sure they attacked you?"

    "Yep. Will they believe me if I say I did not see the attacker? Those scorpions came out from the ground out of nowhere, so maybe we can make them think we don''t know about their true colors!"

    "Well, it should work if we don''t act suspicious. Just rest. I will talk with my teacher about this."

    "Thank you, Laura. You are the best!"

    "Shut up, you idiot."

    She left with her cheeks blushed. Laura''s teacher was the leader of the school, someone with the power of a rank 2 mage! She would share everything she learned with Arthur with him, hoping that he would help them.

    Arthur wasn''t expecting the school leader to attack the three teachers, as that was something even Arthur could do. They needed to be smarter and figure out who was behind these three traitors.

    Not only that, but what if there were more traitors inside the school? Arthur needed the power of the school to find his friends and perhaps help in Odemore''s building process, so he had to find these traitors, or else the school could be in danger!

    Now it was all up to Laura and her teacher. If they did not believe Arthur, then things would get rough.

    Two more days passed after Arthur''s arrival at the school, and the moment the three teachers entered inside the school, Arthur went to greet them.

    He knew the first thing they would do was deliver the quest to get their rewards, so Arthur was already in the exchange center, waiting for them.

    "Hahaha, we will get a lot of points now, as we got more stings than the quest needed, andpleted with just the three of us." Esmond said.

    When they went inside the building where one could exchange points for items, and also get the quests, Arthur was there, staring at the door with a friendly face!

    He was not wearing the fur armor anymore, but his usual casual shirt, pants, and a long ck robe that also had a hood.

    For a second, Bailey, Esmond and Michelle froze in ce! They could not believe what they were seeing. How could Arthur be there after falling into that pit?

    "Arthur! You are okay?" Bailey said.

    They kept looking in all directions, waiting for the school enforcers toe and punish them for treason, but it never happened.

    "Yeah, I think a scorpion attacked me from behind and I fell. Anyway, shall we deliver the quest?"

    There were lots of questions inside their minds. They were sure Arthur saw them attacking him, as Michelle even cast a lightning prison.

    "This leads to three possibilities. First, he told the school and they are working together to get us. Second, he told the school, but they did not believe him. Third, he somehow lost some of his memories after being hurt." Bailey thought.

    She believed in the second option. The three of them were students of the school since a long time ago, while Arthur was just someone who randomly entered. Out of all of them, he would be the most suspicious of being a traitor.

    "We are d you are okay."

    The only way for them to find out if the school was after them was by looking for clues, and that was something they would do in ater time.

    Bailey was the one if the quest itself, so she was the one who delivered it. The attendant of the exchange center grabbed the scorpion stings, as the school was responsible in delivering the items to the person who wrote the request, and then gave them the points.

    "This is enough to pay for everything I got, and I still have a lot of points!"

    Even though all of that bullshit happened inside the Icy Cave, Arthur still reaped some benefits, such as increasing his ice affinity to extraordinary levels, and learning more about the ''gods''.

    The bad part was that he lost his arm, but it would heal in a few months.

    "At least I look more bad ass now with only one arm!"

    Arthur returned to his small little cabin again and prepared his ntation! Most of the herbs he got from the exchange center weremon ones, and weren''t that extraordinary that people would want to steal them from him.

    So, he nted them just outside his cabin, but even though it was supposed to be safe, Arthur still put a lot of formations around his house, and spent quite the effort to make them.

    He did not know, but after creating so many formations, coupled with his quick learning, Arthur became an expert in magical formations.

    The formations he put around his cabin would protect his things from most mages. Still, the rank 2 mages were too strong for him, but the only one on that level was the school''s leader, so everything should be fine.

    Now, what he needed to do was find a ce to nt his bloodline tree, uncover the reason behind his attack inside the cave, and also be someone important enough for the school to give him perks.

    It was a lot of things to do, but the first step was to teach those students who were the bad ass inside that school!

    Arthur went to teach some weaklings in the next day and became a sensation within hours! Everyone was talking about the handsome teacher who only had one arm, yet was strong enough to shake the world!

    Most of the people who listened to his teachings barely spoke, because Arthur looked scary!

    Another month passed, and Arthur climbed thedder from the bottom to the top! Everyone inside the school now knew him, and for most of the students, he was the best teacher!

    The school leader called him for a meeting inside his room. Apparently, it would be the first time he would leave the school after returning from the Icy Cave.

    "A tournament? Isn''t that a waste of time?"

    "You will not be fighting, don''t worry! Only the students from the tenth circle and beneath will be fighting. I called you here because I want you to be the leader of our squad."

 Chapter 266 Losers I spent Resources On

    266 Losers I spent Resources On

    "Leader of a squad? Enlighten me, please." Arthur said.

    The school leader called him out of a sudden to talk about a tournament, one that he knew nothing about!

    "It is a tournament with all the top 10 schools. Only the tenth circle and beneath students will be fighting. Your job is to take care of them while there, and do everything you can to make us get an excellent position!"

    "What will I get? But I could spend my time on something else."

    Arthur was pleased that the school leader chose him out of all the Official Mages of the school, but still he would not do something that brought anything in return!

    "If you get us to at least the top 5 in the tournament, I will give you a higher position. You will be the Official Mage in charge of all the other Official Mages!"

    Now, that was something worthy of his time! A better position among the Official Mages was something he needed at that point.

    He would basically turn into the highest authority beneath the school leader, like a vice president! That was huge for him, and all he had to do to earn such a position was take care of a few kiddos.

    "Why is this tournament so important?" Arthur said.

    If the school leader will give him such a position just to get a decent result in a tournament, then it surely meant something.

    "Well, the higher your rank, the better the resources for the school."

    "Of course, that is the case."

    What the school leader said basically meant the stronger schools got stronger, while the worse schools had to work harder to earn enough to keep their students fed.

    "Fine, I will do it. Also, how is the investigation?"

    "Nothing yet, but don''t worry, we will get them eventually. All right, you can go now. Someone wille looking for you tomorrow."

    Arthur left the meeting room and returned to his small little cabin to take care of his herbs and practice his daily meditation.

    He was now focusing on ice rted spells, trying to increase his essence conversion, as it would improve hisbat prowess and help him advance to the next level.

    Now, about the team he would lead in that tournament, Arthur did not know who would take part in it! Laura was the only person Arthur was sure it would be there, as she was one of the strongest students beneath the Official Mage level.

    As for the rest, he had no clue. He would have to wait for tomorrow to see exactly who would go there, but they should be at least decent, as the school''s president was choosing them.

    "There is no way he will mess up with the choosing process at such an important event, right?" Arthur thought as he ced some water on his herbs just outside his little cabin.

    "Arthur! What a lovely garden you have here!"

    Arthur was surprised to see someone there, as no one visited him, and only a few people had the authority to go to his cabin.

    "Laura? What are you doing here?"

    "Just heard you will be the person taking care of us in the tournament. What a bad luck we have¡­"

    "Idiot. Don''t you remember thest time I saved you? Well, it won''t happen again."

    "Oh? So the person who is supposed to take care of us will not take care of us?"

    "No, you got it wrong. I''ll help everyone except you."

    "You''re such a bastard."

    "Thank you."

    The whole interaction was both unexpected and funny. They both sat on the grass near the nts and talked about many things, but mostly was about the uing tournament.

    "The fights are mostly between the ninth and tenth circle mages. All the schools will bring three of the ninth circle and three of the tenth circle."

    "So the ninth circle mages can only go against the other ninth circle mages?"

    "That is right. The same rule applies to the tenth circle mages. The fight is a one versus one until someone passes out or gives up."

    "I see."

    It was a generic tournament. Arthur was happy that the ninth circle mages would not have to go against the tenth circle mages too, as that would be unbnced.

    Still, he knew Laura was someone strong among the tenth circle mages, but what about the other two? What about the three ninth circle mages?

    Arthur would not be the person fighting in the tournament, so the only thing he could do was help outside of the fight, and pray that the students he gets in his team were at least decent.

    "Even I don''t know who are the others. My teacher is still choosing them, but don''t worry, they should be the best at their level."

    "I hope so, or I will beat them to death."

    "Hahaha, that is the spirit of a team leader."

    Lauraughed for a few seconds until realizing Arthur was actually speaking the truth.

    "Wait, you wouldn''t beat them to death, right?"

    "Of course not¡­"

    "Madman!"

    ~~~~

    The very next day started with the school''s president knocking on Arthur''s door, waking him up!

    He barely slept as it was not something necessary to him, but when he did, then the universe would try its best to wake him up just to make him pissed!

    Not that he did not know he would leave the next day with the other students, but no one told him it would be that early!

    "What are you doing at my cabin this early? Are you a rooster or something?"

    "A rooster? You know I run this ce, right?"

    "You know I don''t care, right?"

    "The only reason I allow you to talk with me like this is because you saved my disciple."

    "  ."

    Arthur was surprised the first time he saw the school''s president. He was a rank 2 mage that looked rather young, so their rtionship was more friendly than normal.

    They both joked around and talked shit about each other, just like brothers!

    "So, Seth, who are the losers you chose for my squad?"

    Seth was the name of the president, and the losers Arthur talked about were all behind him, listening to their entire conversation.

    "Why do they both act like kids?" Laura thought while listening to all of that.

    "Losers? Ha, Arthur, let me tell you this. These aren''t normal losers, but losers I spent the resources to nurture."

    He talked so proudly about the students, cing his fist on his chest.

    As for the students, they could not believe their rector said that.

    "You weren''t supposed to agree with him about us being losers!!!"

    ~~~~

    Once again, Arthur left the school with the students Seth chose. But, before leaving, he ced an anchor inside his small little cabin, allowing to link with another ce to have an easy transportation.

    Why did he do that? Well, after some time, his wives finally reached out to him using the mark the three of them had.

    "My dear husband! We found a decent ce to build Odemore, so pleasee see us as soon as possible! We both miss you so much."

    They exined to him the exact location for him to find them.

    "Finally, I will see my wives, but first I have to deal with this stupid tournament and take care of these losers!"

 Chapter 267 Best Hotel Filled with Animals and Losers

    267 Best Hotel Filled with Animals and Losers

    The tournament would take ce in a city in the middle of the central continent. That way, it would be easier for all the top schools to go to, as each one was at one unique part of the continent.

    Arthur did not know how to get there, but he had a map, and Laura went to that city before, so not that problematic for them. Well, the only problem was taking care of those losers.

    "Arthur, can we rest for some time? I am tired!!!"

    "But we are traveling in a carriage? How can you be tired of doing nothing?"

    "I- We are not used to sleep on those moving things."

    "This is unbelievable."

    When Seth told him the tournament would start in a month and a half, he wondered what was the reason to leave so soon then? Well, Seth knew his losers, and after a few hours, Arthur understood why.

    The amount of times they had to stop and camp to rest was unbelievable. These students had zero energy levels, and most of them could not stay 24 hours awake!

    "These people would be casuals gamers back at my world."

    Arthur tried to put his mind on other things, like the beautiful scenery he saw through the carriage window, or talk with Laura about random stuff.

    A journey that should take him fifteen days toplete turned into an entire month! When Arthur saw the city they were supposed to go, he did not believe it for a second.

    "Is it true? Are we finally here?" He thought.

    The city was called Trine, and it was the destination of all the schools in that period. As Arthur was using the carriage of the One Hundred Thunder Academy, the guards quickly realized who he was, and did not let him take a queue to enter the city.

    "Sir, there is a secret entrance for esteemed guests. Please, follow me." The guard said.

    Not only the schools, but Trine was a busy city, as it was in the middle of the continent. Lots of people lived there, but a lot of travelers from around the continent went there during their journeys to a stop.

    For that reason, the ce bloomed with all kinds of people from all parts of the continent. As for theyout of the city, just like most of the cities Arthur saw, it was backed up by a wall with magical formations and guards watching every entrance!

    The only umon thing Arthur saw was a gigantic tree in the middle of the city, which reminded him of the trees he saw back at where the elves lived because of how huge it was!

    "Beautiful, isn''t it? Some legends say the tree is the effect of a powerful spell from thousand of years ago." Laura said after they passed through the secret entrance to the city.

    They went inside by foot, as their carriage was in another ce, being watched by the city''s guards to make sure nothing happened to it.

    "It is indeed. How long till the tournament?"

    "Fifteen days or something. We have a reservation in the best hotel the city offers. Awesome, right?"

    Laura was smiling and jumping with happiness. For Arthur, it seemed she was more excited to have a vacation in this hotel than the actual tournament.

    Well, for him it was the same thing! He would not fight, which was already boring enough, but he also had to take care of the losers Seth gave him.

    Any sane man would go insane, but perhaps fifteen days in the best hotel the city has could change that oue!

    "Let''s fucking go!"

    ~~~~

    The streets of Trine were decorated and the people''s smiles turned the atmosphere into apletely different level! That tournament happened frequently, and as the years passed, it turned into a celebration for the people of Trine, making them decorate the city and sell their food and trinkets to all the tourists that came to see the tournament!

    "They turned this tournament into something profitable for them. That is nice." Arthur thought.

    On his way to the hotel, he saw some other students from lower ranked schools. Different from them who could enjoy his time in the best hotel, they had to go to other hotels in the city, and that showed the difference between their schools!

    Not that the other hotels were bad, not at all, but the treatment Arthur had was way better. They made their way to the hotel Laura was talking about, and it was extraordinary!

    The ce was in a quiet neighborhood that the normal people could not ess it, making it a peaceful environment.

    What caught the most attention was the immense courtyard with pools of all sizes, hot springs, saunas, outside tables to eat surrounded by the green, and lots of fun games Arthur did not know how to y!

    The building itself had a whooping seventeen floors! It was huge, all made of marble with columns made of gold! Just by looking at it, one could tell it was a ce for the rich.

    Arthur was not the first from the top schools to arrive there. Some were already enjoying their time in the pools in the courtyard, and among those people was the ck-haired youth Arthur saw back at the Icy Cave.

    "He is here!"

    Both of them exchanged nces for a second, but ignored each other afterwards. Now, the one person Arthur was not expecting to see was Kane!

    The red-haired youth that was with Laura back at the inheritance.

    "Look what we have here. Laura and her puppet." Kane said.

    He had the backup of the Official Mage who was taking care of their squad in the tournament, and that was the reason to why he was so arrogant.

    "Laura, who is this?" Arthur said, looking at her.

    "Don''t you remember, Kane? You saw him back when you saved me."

    "Oh, right? I am sorry, I usually erase useless stuff from my mind. I am so sorry for you being a useless trash, Kane."

    Everyone who was just chilling in the pools had already seen the scene that was unfolding, as well as the arroganceing from Kane, but not a single one of them expected for Arthur to strike back so fiercely!

    "You are brave to talk with my student like that."

    The Official Mage in charge took the lead before Kane said something stupid and end up dead! It was a fight between the leader of the squads, and the rest should stay away.

    "And you are stupid to think we are on the same level. Isn''t your school Phoenix Blood or something? You should take to your superior and change it to Bird Brain, because holy shit, you are all stupid to the bones," Arthur said, and did not stop.

    "I am no beast tamer, but I surely talk with a lot of animals. Move out of the way, bird head."

    Arthur shocked everyone with his sentences, and then shocked them even more after he walked and bumped into the Official Mage, not giving a fuck!

    The people from the Phoenix Blood were burning with anger, but there wasn''t anything they could do at that moment! Fights for the hotel were prohibited, and everyone knew a rank 2 mage was watching everything!

    Arthur stopped after bumping on the Official Mage, turned around and said, "hello? Losers from my school? Hurry or I will kill you!"

 Chapter 268 Everyone Wants to Make Him Angry

    268 Everyone Wants to Make Him Angry

    The students from the One Hundred Thunder Academy stood still for a few seconds before returning to reality, following Arthur toward the hotel!

    Even Laura, who knew Arthur well, did not expect him to act so fearlessly in front of other Official Mages. Was he trying to start a fuss there? Or was his strength way superior to those mages?

    Arthur did not even nce back at the others, walking directly into the hotel, reaching out to the counter to do the check-in.

    "We are the One Hundred Thunder Academy." Arthur said to the woman behind the counter.

    She quickly grabbed her notes and said, "Sr. Arthur, your room is the 704. Here, this is your key!"

    "Thanks."

    The room Arthur had was bigger than those of the non Official Mages, as it was expected. Laura and the others had their rooms on the same floor as him, which was the fifteenth floor!

    Each one of them got a magical key to unlock their rooms. All the rooms in that hotel had an extrayer of protection, making it safe against most threats!

    The ce did not have an elevator like Arthur knew, but there was a magical circle which one could walk into, and then choose a number, making it teleport the user to the correspondent floor.

    It was basically an elevator with a magical touch. Arthur took the lead, bringing all the students to a massive corridor which had a red carpet on it.

    "The tournament is in fifteen days, right?"

    "Yes."

    "So, the president asked me to make you losers decent enough for us to get a suitable spot, so I will do just that. You will have 10 days of training with me, and 5 days to rest and enjoy this ce."

    "The training will start tomorrow. Everyone has to be awake early in the morning, or I will beat you to death."

    After that, Arthur turned around and went inside his room, using the key he just got to enter it, while all the students were shocked in the hall.

    Arthur could not care less about how they felt at that point. He was already being nice enough to give them five days to rest. For him, they would have to train at least for a month before having that luxury!

    Now, he aimed to focus on making those losers fight better, as it was impossible to increase their power by a lot in just 10 days.

    Based on what Laura said when he talked about the tournament, weapons weren''t allowed, and people could only fight using either spells or with bare hands.

    So, Arthur wanted to improve how they think during a battle, and to properly use their strengths and avoid getting their weaknesses exploited by their enemies.

    "Training these brats will be a pain in the ass. I need a drink and food. NOW!"

    The journey had been boring, but at least now Arthur could enjoy his time in an awesome hotel, and make those students train until they pass out.

    "Now that I think of,ing to this tournament wasn''t a bad idea." Arthur thought,ughing maniacally.

    ~~~~

    Arthur wanted to lie on his bed and rest, but what he wanted more was a decent food and some wine. So, he left his room and went to the restaurant, which was on thest floor of the hotel.

    Night had alreadye, but the whole hotel was well illuminated with balls of light, making it look even more magical.

    As for the restaurant, it had lots of mages and other important guests who were happily eating their exquisite meals, and talking about all kinds of things!

    They were all finely dressed, making it clear they were wealthy people who were just enjoying their time in such a spectacr hotel!

    Arthur was not wearing the same clothes he had, as the hotel gave him special clothes which were only essible for Official Mages.

    He now looked like someone important. The moment he stepped inside the restaurant, everyone nced at him, and most of them had a praising eye!

    Official Mages weremon, but Official Mages who were young and from a top-ranked school were rare. The people who worked in the hotel quickly appeared to talk with Arthur, giving him one of the best tables avable, just outside the restaurant on a balcony.

    "The view here is beautiful."

    Arthur could see the entire city from that balcony, drinking his ss of wine and experimenting with all kinds of foods the restaurant had on its menu.

    He also saw that Official Mage from the Phoenix Blood academy talking to one employee, asking for one table avable on the same balcony Arthur was.

    "I am sorry, but someone from the One Hundred Thunder academy got the table first. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do..."

    The school Arthur was from had almost the same rank as the Phoenix Blood academy. So if the two of them wanted a table, then the first one to ask for would get it!

    Arthur had showed up first in the restaurant, so it was his right to have that awesome time on the balcony. The mage from the Phoenix Blood academy gazed at Arthur, and could not believe it was him again!

    "First you insult me and my students, and now you get my table in the restaurant. You will regret this!"

    Well, the man only thought that, as he did not have the courage to say it aloud, at least not in a public space.

    When Arthur saw what was happening, and sensed the intimidating gaze the mage sent toward him, he simplyughed, making the other party even angrier.

    "Can I sit here?"

    Arthur looked up and saw Laura.

    "Sure, why not? How are the other losers?"

    "They are all sleeping. Lazy bastards. But wait, other losers? Are you calling me a loser?"

    He looked at her, and remember the strongest person in the entire school was her master, so he said, "no, of course not. Laura, what are your expectations about the tournament?"

    "My expectations?"

    Laura looked at the city for a while before answering.

    "I believe I cane on top, but as for the rest of them, I do not know. We don''t know the level of the others."

    It was just like Arthur thought. He was one hundred percent sure Laura could win her fight, as she was taught by a rank 2 mage, but what about the rest of them?

    Arthur believed Seth had chosen the best students he had at the ninth and tenth circle, but were they on a pair with the ninth and tenth circle mages of the other schools?

    Some rumors were spreading, saying that the One Hundred Thunder Academy was losing some of its past power, and maybe their ranking would decrease after that tournament.

    Perhaps it was just bullshit and fake news, but what if it was true? What if the other schools were improving rapidly, and the One Hundred Thunder Academy was not?

    Just the thought of it made Arthur''s body warmer, and that mage from the Phoenix Blood Academy had some friends, and one of these friends went to the balcony to mess up with Arthur.

    "Yo, what happened in here, brother? Do you need a hand? Or maybe an arm?" A man said while looking at the empty spot where Arthur''s left arm was supposed to be.

    The man even giggled to his other friends, who were just behind him.

    A jokeing straight from the kindergarten, and Arthur did not have the patience to deal with it. He looked at that man, shook his head, and said a sentence that not a lot of people would say to an Official Mage.

    "Who the fuck are you? I thought this ce did not allow animals to wander around inside of it." Arthur said aloud.

 Chapter ?269 Things Will Get Ugly

    ?269 Things Will Get Ugly

    The other party, as well as everyone else present in that restaurant, were shocked! Someone had to have a lot of guts to say that to another Official Mage, even if one was stronger.

    Fights between Official Mages could go either way, and the amount of destruction it could cause was unmeasurable!

    "What did you say?"

    They were so angry after hearing what Arthur said that all of them wanted to attack him right there in that restaurant, but did not, as that would be a dumb move.

    "What did I say? Well, it makes sense. Animals can''t understand ournguage. Look, just go back to your room where you spend the night sucking the cock of that mage from the bird head academy, and stop bothering me."

    It was the end of the line. The man tried to stay cool after hearing the insultsing from Arthur, as he already expected them, but that was something even he could not listen to quietly.

    The man waved his hand, ready to cast a spell right in front of Arthur, but then an old man appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the man''s hand.

    When the old man stepped inside the room, everyone hold their breaths, as the aura of the old man was too much for most of them to handle.

    That person was the rank 2 mage responsible for the hotel, as well as responsible for the city.

    "Young man, what were you trying to do?"

    "I-did you hear what he told me? Isn''t that a motive?"

    "I heard yes, but I also heard you were the first to pick up a fight, joking about the man''s inability. If I were you, I wouldn''t mess up with this youth. He only has one arm, but I am sure that even if he did not have any, he would still kick your ass. Now, please shut up or leave my restaurant."

    Not a single person muttered a word after that, and even the man who would have attacked Arthur had given up after seeing the old man. It was not a figure he could go against, especially inside its property.

    He would only lose his face by staying inside the restaurant, so he called out the boys who came with him to stir a fight with Arthur, and then left the restaurant.

    "Are you all right, young man? I am sorry for the inconvenient."

    "I am, yes. Thank you! Also, your hotel is incredible." Arthur said.

    The mages who were sitting on the tables already knew the old man, but they found it funny seeing Arthur trying to start up a conversation.

    "Is he dumb? Old man Brook only talks with important figures."

    "Why would an extraordinary rank 2 mage talk with an armless youth?"

    Arthur could not hear their thoughts, but could see the faces of these people had, looking at him as if he was an idiot.

    "Did you like it? It makes this old man''s heart happy! You are so young and have already achieved this level of power! Who is your teacher, kid? It must be one of these old monsters." Brook said.

    Everyone who thought Arthur would be ignored were now bitting their own tongues.

    "Would you believe me if I told you I have no teacher?"

    "Really? Then you are even better than I expected! Well, I have some things to do for the tournament, which will soon start, so if you excuse me."

    "No problem."

    "Right, right, I almost forgot. I am Brook. Nice to meet you, kid."

    "Arthur, nice to meet you too, Brook."

    "Kiddo, take this card. It will allow you to stay in my hotels for free, and you will receive the best treatment."

    Brook gave him a ck card and then left. It was a VIP card, giving Arthur a free pass to any hotel Brook owned. That was unexpected.

    "I did not even know he had over one hotel. Is this man a rich old man?" He thought.

    As for the reason Brook gave him a VIP card, well, even Arthur did not know. Perhaps he admired the strength Arthur had at such a young age, or maybe there was another reason behind it. No one knew.

    He stored the newly gained card and returned to his eating. Everyone who had seen that interaction now had a different view of Arthur.

    "That youth is someone we cannot mess with!"

    Not only those who were in the hotel, but Arthur''s name spread through the city, and everyone got to know he had a rtionship with a rank 2 mage!

    Increasing one''s power was important, but having connections was as well. It would be way harder for someone to go pick up a fight with Arthur now that he had a rank 2 mage as a friend!

    Well, Brook wasn''t necessarily a friend, but just the fact they both talked with each other and Arthur had a VIP card. It made others link those two facts and think he is.

    He finished eating his dinner and then returned to his room to have a good night''s rest.

    ~~~~

    "Wake up losers!"

    Early in the morning, Arthur went and knocked at the door of all his students, making them wake up early, just like promised. Most of themined before opening up the door, but when they saw the fierce face Arthur had, all of them said sorry.

    The hotel had everything a hotel should have, but it did not have a ce for them to train in peace. A tournament wasing, so the best ce to train was away from their adversaries to not give them any information at all.

    Everyone who was taking part in the tournament thought the same, so it was not umon to see groups of mages leaving the city to train in the nearby area. On the mountains, forests, or even secluded caves.

    Most of these mages would train, and then go back to the hotel at night to rest and enjoy their time there, but Arthur would not do that!

    They would start a rigid training camp of ten days. No one would return to the city or the hotel before ten days passed.

    Arthur already had the camping gear inside his magical pouch, and he would make sure these students trained until theirst drop of energy vanished! That was the only way to achieve victory in such an important event.

    "Arthur, where will we train? This is getting far from the city, so it might be difficult for us to return to the hotel." One student said.

    "Return to the hotel? Ha, nice joke you have there kiddo. Let''s keep moving. Anyone who slows me down will get killed."

    "Wait. We will not return to the hotel?"

    The fear was stamped on the face of all of them. They weren''t that concern about camping in the wild, as everyone had done that before, but the fact they would not return meant the training Arthur had in mind would be ruthless!

    All of them had also heard the stories about how Arthur insulted even Official Mages, so what could he do with them? Now every time he said he would beat them to death, all of them believed in it...

    "All right, I think this is enough. You can rest for thirty minutes, so take every use, because things will get ugly after that!" Arthur said.

 Chapter 270 Start of the Tournament

    270 Start of the Tournament

    Laura, Jeremy and Richard. These three were the mages of the tenth circle who would take part in the uing tournament. Jeremy and Richard had a simr level of power, and Laura was slightly ahead of the two.

    It was understandable, considering she was the disciple of a rank 2 mage. Now, the three of them would be Arthur¡¯s disciples for ten days, in which he hoped to make them fight better.

    ¡°The first thing you, the three of you, need to understand are the elements.¡± Arthur said, looking at the three who were in front of him.

    ¡°All of you focus on the lightning, and the other major schools have their own elements as well. I don¡¯t see an element being stronger than the other. It is all up to the situation!¡±

    ¡°If you three go up against someone who uses the water element, for example, you will have the advantage. But the story can go the other way around against earth and wood.¡±

    ¡°But what can we do? Some of our enemies will be immune to the lightning element, so what can we do?¡± Jeremy said.

    ¡°Look, you are all stupid. Not only you, but all the other mages who will take part in that tournament. Hear me out,¡±

    ¡°If you go up against someone who you have the advantage regarding the element, then you should win,¡±

    ¡°If you go against someone who has no disadvantage and neither an advantage, then the fight will be set by skill,¡±

    ¡°And if you go against someone who is immune to your attacks, then just give up.¡±

    ¡°Give up?¡±

    They couldn¡¯t understand the logic behind that, not until Arthur exined it to them.

    ¡°Your position will be based on the amount of wins you have. Not only you, but all the mages with other elements will have fights with advantage and disadvantage.¡±

    ¡°But most of you, young mages, are both dumb and proud. Not everyone will have the guts to give up in an impossible fight, making it likely for you to just spend energy, or even get beaten up.¡±

    ¡°Remember that I told you there were fights that would be decided by skill? Well, if one steps inside the ring all hurt after an impossible fight, then that would give you an advantage!¡±

    ¡°I get it now! Some fights will be impossible, so we must save up our energy, and fight the fights we have a chance of winning!¡±

    After the exnation, everything became clear! Arthur was not only strolling around the hotel, but was paying close attention to all the other mages from the top schools. Based on what he saw, only the top 1 school would use a simr strategy!

    All the others weren¡¯t looking to get a better position. They only wanted to fight against the other schools to prove a point. Their proud would not allow them to give up, even if the fight was virtually impossible!

    Arthur was sure of that after observing the other mages and was more sure of it after the argument with that mage from the Phoenix Blood Academy. They could not even control their anger, imagine their proud?

    Now that the students he brought to the tournament understood the reason behind it, Arthur tried his best to hone their skills during a fight.

    It was impossible for him to teach them spells in such a short time, but he tried his best to improve the way they thought during a battle, as well as their bodies!

    The n was to give up on those impossible fights, but that was not the only part! Those fights were supposed to be impossible because of the element of both fighters. Official Mages could use over one element, so that was only a problem for those weaker mages!

    But in the outside world, it was possible to ovee such weaknesses with proper nning and using weapons. Now, inside a ring it was impossible to hide and do surprise attacks, and using weapons was also prohibited in that tournament.

    So, Arthur tried his best to hone the bodies of all fighters, and tried to teach them how to fight using their fists!

    There was no way he would turn them into professional fighters within just ten days, but it was not impossible to make them good enough to take those mages by surprise and knock them out.

    He even spent some money inside the city, buying elixirs, which could improve one¡¯s physique, as well as the recovering process.

    ¡°If we get a decent position, then I will just ask Seth to pay the money I spent here. We are aiming for the rank 2 spot!¡± Arthur thought.

    ~~~~

    After ten days of harsh training, all the students weren¡¯t the same anymore. They now looked more focused, savage, and their aura reached extraordinary levels!

    Not only that, but their bodies werepletely different, making them look more healthy than most mages, who only focused on their reading and casting.

    ¡°The training was a living hell, but I can see the difference already!¡±

    ¡°Right? Remember this. A strengthen body also strengthens your mind!¡± Arthur said to his students, who were now back at the hotel, looking to rest during thisst five days.

    Arthur knew that making them train until thest day wasn¡¯t an excellent strategy. They needed a time off not only to recover their bodies, but to rx and get the anxiety off before the tournament.

    Most of the mages first came and enjoyed the hotel, then they would go hone their skills afterwards, theplete opposite of what Arthur did with his students.

    ¡°People are so dumb. Why rest first and then train afterwards? They will not have the time to rest before the tournament.¡±

    Now, the following days were awesome for all of them. They enjoyed everything the hotel offered, such as the pools, hot tubs and saunas, excellent food, and a soft bed.

    Arthur did the same, but he also used his stealthy skills to spy at their adversaries, learning more about their spells and ways of fighting. It was not cheating. The adversaries were just idiots for not realize he was watching them. That was what Arthur told himself to make him feel better about it.

    Those five days were of pure joy, but when they were over, it was time for the real thing to begin the tournament!

    As it was something which had turned into a festival, the amount of investment it had was extraordinary. They built an entire arena just for the event, with lots of seats for the people to watch and enjoy, as well as vendors selling foods and trinkets to everyone present!

    ¡°Whooooaa!¡±

    Screams of excitement could be heard everywhere throughout the city that day. There was not a single person who was not excited about such a majestic event!

    Even Arthur, who was not that fan of these sorts of things, was enjoying the atmosphere of the city.

    ¡°It feels nice, but losing in such a grand arena with these people watching would be awful. I hope these losers are fewer losers now!¡±

    Arthur made his way to the arena, followed by the six students he had diligently trained during these past days, hoping to get a decent spot at the tournament, as it would be beneficial for his ns!

 Chapter 271 It was about time!

    271 It was about time!

    They went not directly into the arena, but around it, waiting on the sidelines for their fights. All the others who would take part in the tournament did the same.

    Arthur and his students weren¡¯t thest ones to arrive. In fact, they were one of the first ones! When the crowd saw them walking up to the arena, all of them lost their breaths after an intense round of screaming.

    ¡°The One Hundred Thunder Academy is here!¡±

    ¡°These youths look fierce. I am d I am not their opponent.¡±

    ¡°Who is the youth leading them? Don¡¯t tell me his an Official Mage already?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you hear? He is a friend of Brook, and even got a VIP card from him!¡±

    ¡°What? Brook was the rank 2 mage? This kid must be incredible. Could him be Brooks¡¯ grandson?¡±

    The crowd went insane, mostly talking about Arthur, who had be a sensation inside the city.

    Laura was beside him, tapping Arthur using her elbow. ¡°Look, they love you.¡±

    Arthur rolled his eyes at that, and remain still, siting on thefy stuffed chairs. It took some time for all the schools who would take part in the tournament to arrive with their students, especially the first ranked school, which obviously was thest one to arrive!

    The ck-haired youth Arthur met back at the entrance of the Icy Cave was the Official Mage in charge of the students from the first ranked school. He ignored anyone except Arthur.

    Every time they met, both exchanged nces, and this time they even nodded to each other. It was as if both of them knew they were strong, which was the reason for the respect both had.

    An old man floated above the ring, catching the attention of everyone present. It was Brook! He was the person in charge of the tournament that year, so he would be the one announcing the fights, and watching everything in case anyone tried something funny!

    ¡°Everyone, please, attention!¡± Brook said, making the entire crowd go quiet after his intense aura swept across the building.

    ¡°This is an important moment for all of us. A moment to see which school is walking in the right direction, and which is not.¡±

    ¡°We have twenty-five schools taking part this time, and just like always, the event is divided into two parts.¡±

    ¡°First, the schools ranging from the 11 up to the 25 rank will faced against each other to see who goes up, and who goes down in the ranking.¡±

    ¡°Then, after that is settled, the most important part of the tournament will begin, and that is the fight between the top ten schools of the central continent!¡±

    Even though the crowd was silent, trying their best to keep it that way, they got excited after hearing those wordsing from Brook¡¯s mouth, making them cheer up and scream once again!

    Brook did not mind it, and waited a few seconds before making some hand signs for them to turn silent again.

    ¡°I know most of you want to see the best schools go up against each other now, but first we need to see the lower ranked schools. But bear with me, as I am sure these kids will entertain us with great fights. Also, the food here is great, so even if the fight is bad, we are still enjoying every second, HAHAHA!¡± Brook said.

    Everyone wanted to see the top schools, as it was more exciting for them, but of course, that would be thest part of the tournament or else everyone would leave right after it, not watching the lower ranked schools.

    The entire thing had turned into a festival, so a lot of profit was involved as well, making the rich people want to keep them there the whole time!

    Brook knew all of that and still got a fewughs from the crowd and increase their excitement regarding the lower-ranked schools.

    ¡°This old man is a fox. No wonder he has a lot of hotels spread throughout the continent!¡± Arthur thought.

    After a few more words, Brook sat on his chair as well, allowing another Official Mage take the lead. Not only Brook was taking care of the tournament, but there were 8 rank 1 judges who would watch all the fights, counting the points each school had, as well as interfering if anyone broke the rules!

    ¡°The first fight is between the Heavenly Sword Academy and the Yellow Fingers!¡± one judge said.

    ¡°Heavenly Sword? Aren¡¯t those guys specialized in meleebat using swords? Weapons are prohibited here!¡± One man from the crowd said.

    The Heavenly Sword school was ranked at 12, being close to the top ten schools! Not only that, but they got that ranking taking part in these tournaments which had a weapon restriction, meaning they could not even use their full potential!

    ¡°Impressive. This Yellow Finger is ranked at 18, so it should be a one-sided fight.¡± Arthur thought.

    First, the ninth circle of students would go into the arena. Just like Arthur had imagined, the Heavenly Sword Academy only lost one of their fights!

    They could not use proper weapons, but it did not mean they could not cast them using spells, which still turned to be deadly at the hand of an experienced swordsman.

    Arthur watched all the fights, but most of these fights weren¡¯t intriguing for him. He was not at the same level of those mages anymore, and there wasn¡¯t much he could learn from them.

    Still, it was the best thing he could do to pass the time until it was finally time for his students to fight.

    ~~~~

    Two days. The first part of the tournament took two whole days to be over. It turned into something boring for Arthur, yet, unexpectedly; the crowd loved every second!

    ¡°The level of this year is higher than in the previous years!¡±

    ¡°Right? This just seems our entire continent is progressing to reach greater heights!¡±

    After those two days of agony, it was finally time for the top ten schools to fight against each other. Arthur hoped that the losers he trained would be the first ones to go up into the arena to prove their value, yet it was not their turn.

    The first school of the top ten to go was the Phoenix Blood Academy, up against the Burial Sand. Arthur knew little about the strength of those schools, but he knew those from the Phoenix Blood were usually assholes.

    He leaned toward his students and said, ¡°watch and gather as much information as possible from the otherpetitors. Remember, you cannot enjoy the fight! They are your opponents, too!¡± Arthur said.

    Arthur reminded his own students that they weren¡¯t there as a crowd to enjoy the fight, to be entertained. Everyone who stepped inside the arena from now on would be their opponents as well, so it was important to watch everything!

    Not only them, but Arthur himself would watch everything, and try his best to give his student insights about their opponents, as it was one of the few ways he could help.

    ¡°Ah, I wished there was a tournament with the rank 1 Official Mages. I would kick the ass of these losers, one by one!¡±

 Chapter ?272 Kane versus Laura

    ?272 Kane versus Laura

    The fight between the top schools was on a whole different level. Even though they were nothing in Arthur''s eyes, he could already tell their level was worlds apart from the lower-ranked schools.

    He watched every move from both the Phoenix Blood and the Burial Sand academies. They would be their opponents soon, so it would make sense to watch all of them.

    What was strange about the tournament was that everything would happen within a day, as there were no breaks between fights.

    Each school would go against each other once, so in the end everyone would have to fight while being tired from the previous fight.

    Still, it was not a type of tournament Arthur was used to, but when he heard about it, he did some preparations. That was one reason he had focused on body training and conditioning in the ten days of training.

    Arthur believed the reason there were no breaks between the fights was mainly to test the endurance of the students. It was not rare for mages to neglect the body training, but everyone knew it was an important part if one wished to be an extraordinary mage.

    Not that mages with weak bodies could not go far, but you still needed to train it a little, or else it would be impossible to hold an exorbitant amount of mana inside of it, making it impossible for someone to reach higher levels.

    Everyone knew that, yet some mages did not train it because ofziness. Those losers from the One Hundred Thunder Academy were just like that! Arthur worked hard for ten days using efficient training methods, as well as the help of potent elixirs to turn them into fewer losers.

    Anyway, the fight between the Phoenix Blood and the Burial Sand was in equal terms. The Phoenix Blood academy focused on the fire element, and the Burial Sand on the Earth element.

    These elements were neither weak nor strong against each other, so what would determine who was the winner of those battles was their skill!

    Arthur did not know the people from the Burial Sand, but knowing that the Phoenix Blood had lots of assholes, he cheered up for the Burial Sand!

    Even Laura, who did not had an opinion formed before, now was not that friendly with the Phoenix Blood Academy anymore after they acted rude with Arthur, and the other students.

    "3¡­"

    "2¡­"

    "1¡­"

    "Go!"

    The judge said, making the fight between the ninth circle mages start! Arthur analyzed all of it, hoping that the Phoenix Blood lost it.

    Well, sadly, things did not work as he nned, and the Phoenix Blood won all the three fights with the ninth circle mages. They even left the arena unharmed!

    As for the fights of the tenth circle mages, they only won two out of three, but it was still an awesome result, making everyone from the crowd scream with excitement!

    "They look so strong. Who will be strong enough to stop them?"

    "Honestly, Phoenix Blood has a decent chance of increasing their ranking this year!"

    "Now, a five-minute break, as the Phoenix Blood will fight again, now against the One Hundred Thunder Academy!"

    ~~~~

    The time had finallye. Arthur would see his losers go up against the Phoenix Blood, and for him, losing was not an option!

    They had to win and get a decent position in that tournament, but not only that, winning against the Phoenix Blood was the most important part of the tournament!

    He called out all of them for a chat before the fight, sharing what he had analyzed about their opponents.

    "You see one right there? He is good when fighting at a long range, but if you can get into a mid-range or even closer, his battle prowess will diminish."

    "So, whoever goes against him, try to use the speed of our thunder to get a better position."

    Arthur exined a few things, and then it was time for the fights. Just like before, the ninth circle mages would go first.

    "3¡­"

    "2¡­"

    "1¡­"

    "GO!"

    Their opponent was precisely that mage Arthur talked about, which had a problem in fighting up close. So, the moment the judge said go, the loser Arthur trained cast a spell which created a pair of boots made of lightning, increasing his speed by a lot!

    Then he went closer to the mage, dashing in like a thunderbolt. He cast another spell while running toward the youth from the Phoenix Blood Academy, and this time, it was a spell to cause great pain!

    Two lightning gloves! Everyone did not expect for the One Hundred Thunder Academy to go all out in closebat, as it was not their specialty.

    A jab in the belly, followed by an uppercut on the chin! These two moves happened so fast most of the crowd could not see it! Even the mage who did it was shocked!

    "When did I be so fast? I never focused on meleebat before!"

    Not that he was fast, but the other mage was too slow. Just like Arthur imagined, most mages beneath the Official Rank had neglected their body training, making it a simple thing to exploit to achieve victory!

    With that, the first win came to Arthur''s team, causing a great shock to everyone present, and that was only the beginning!

    The three mages of the ninth circle from Arthur''s team got their win, making it 3-0 for them! A tremendous blow to the Phoenix Blood Academy.

    "Fuck! Our only chance is to win the three fights of the tenth circle, and then we will have to fight another time!" The Official Mage Arthur, responsible for the Phoenix Blood, said.

    It was not a situation good for them, especially after seeing the next fight. Kane versus Laura!

    "You three, losers. Good job!" Arthur said. He was feeling good after seeing the performance of those three mages from the ninth circle.

    Arthur wanted to give them some elixirs to help with the recovery, but it was also prohibited during the tournament, as a rank 2 mage and lots of rank 1 mages were closely watching them.

    Now, the next fight was between the two strongest mages from both schools. Kane and Laura knew each other from the inheritance back when Arthur had saved them.

    "Laura, we finally met in a fight. I will show you how much I improved these past months!"

    "Oh? Really? Improved just like the other three from your school?"

    "Shut up! These three were useless garbage. I will show you what true power looks like."

    Kane had a real burden on his shoulders. It was the first fight between the tenth circle mages, and it was between the two strongest!

    If he lost there, then their situation would go downhill. Even if the other two won, they would still lose overall, which meant he had to win, no matter what!

    As for Laura, she also had the responsibility of sealing their coffin. If she won there, then the sh between the two schools would be over, and the One Hundred Thunder Academy woulde out on top!

    The judge waited for the two to take a side in the square ring made of stone, and then he said, "3¡­"

    "2¡­"

    "1¡­"

    "Go!"

 Chapter 273 Ouroboros

    Kane moved both of his hands, creating magical symbols which floated in mid-air. These symbols gathered the mana from the surrounding area, and the temperature of the building increased at a rapid pace.

    It was a spell of tier 7, which had a decent destructive power, and did not require a long time to cast, making it perfect for a first quick move in that fight!

    The size of the arena was immense, and there was a barrier that blocked all the spells froming out of it, so all the fighters could go all out as the crowd would be safe.

    Laura also moved the moment Kane did, not wasting time, preparing a counter spell of her own. A massive spear of fire shot from Kane¡¯s hands, flying toward Laura, piercing through her body!

    ¡°I did it!¡± Kane thought, but what happened next was out of his expectations. It turned out the Laura he attacked was just a clone made of lightning, perfect to fool someone.

    Kane was unquiet, nervous. He looked everywhere and could not find Laura. What saved him was an instinct, a sense of danger.

    He looked behind his back and saw Laura tossing three balls of lightning. It was a powerful attack, and one Kane would find to dodge in such a situation.

    ¡°I will have to use it!¡±

    It was impossible for Kane to defend against such a spell, as he did not have the time to cast a strong enough barrier to stop it. What he could do was dodge it, so he opted to use one of the signature moves from his schools, the Phoenix Wings!

    Two wings of fire appeared on his back, allowing him to barely dodge the balls of lightning, taking fully advantage of his increased speed.

    Arthur, who was watching the fight, did not like the fact Kane was copying him.

    ¡°My dragon wings are stronger, anyway. Phoenix? Bird heads.¡±

    Kane smiled, looking at Laura with a proud face.

    ¡°Oh? Your surprise attack did not work? Remember, you are facing the strongest youth of our generation!¡± Kane said to her.

    Laura did not answer him, as actions spoke more than words, and what followed Kane¡¯s sentence was a funny scene. The lightning clone he previously destroyed was now behind him, as Kane had turned around to face Laura after dodging the attack.

    He did not notice the clone reconstruct itself, and then cast a spell! It was only of tier 5, but Kane was taken by surprise!

    A figure of a translucent tiger appeared, with sparks all over its body. It ran toward Kane, who took some time to notice it, receiving the full blow!

    ¡°Agggr!¡±

    Kane yelled, feeling an excruciating pain all over his body. The robes he wore now had a few holes in it, burnt by the attack!

    His whole being was a mess, but he was still awake, so the judges did not stop the fight.

    ¡°It is impossible for him to win the fight after that attack. He should give up¡­¡±

    ¡°Right? Just ept his adversary is stronger. What is the problem with that?¡±

    The voices of the people in the crowd entered inside Kane¡¯s ears, making him even angrier. He would not give up, especially against Laura!

    He liked her for a while, but after seeing it was impossible for the two to have something, he acted like an idiot, and now wished to cause pain to her!

    A madman who was not ready to ept defeat. Kaneughed and then tried to cast a few more spells, but it was all useless.

    The damage from the previous attack made all his actions slower. Both he and Laura were already at a simr level at first, so now that he was hurt, it was impossible to bounce back.

    Laura hit him with a few more spells, making him faint at the middle of the arena. Arthur gave her a thumbs up, while the Official Mage in charge of the Phoenix Blood Academy was pissed!

    ¡°You were supposed to be the strongest student, yet lost like that? You are lucky the rector likes you, or else¡­¡±

    The funny part was that the Official Mage yelled at Kane, but he did not hear a single thing, as he was unconscious¡­

    After that win from Laura, the mood of all the students from the One Hundred Thunder Academy got even better! Even if Jeremy and Richard lost their fights, they would still win against the Phoenix Blood Academy!

    All the top ten schools had a simr level of power, so the results of the tournament were unpredictable. In thest tournament, for example, the Phoenix Blood won against the One Hundred Thunder.

    Well, they did not have Arthur back then.

    ¡°You only won because of how stupid Kane is. But good job.¡± Arthur said.

    Inside, he was happy about the way Laura fought the battle, but the tournament was just starting, so he had to be harsh or else these students would think the tournament was already won.

    Jeremy was the next to fight, going up against an ugly youth who had big ears and a bowl cut. The battle was more equal this time, with both parties receiving damage, but Jeremy came on top and got yet another win for the One Hundred Thunder Academy.

    As for Richard, well, he fought bravely, and surprised Arthur a few times during the fight, but still lost! He was the weakest among the tenth circle mages of the school, but his improvement was clear.

    ¡°Good job Richard! You will get em next time!¡±

    For the looks of Richard, he did not seem that shaken after the fight, and was in fact happy about his performance. That was a rare trait, and that very thing could lead him to great heights some day.

    The crowd was going wild after the incredible fights from both schools, but the school who would fight next was the most famous of all of them, the school who was ranked at the top.

    ¡°The Ouroboros!¡±

    A school which never lost its position after centuries! Everyone on the entire continent knew them, yet the school was still a mystery to most people.

    The reason for it was because of how little information they had ess to. To enter that school, one had to have incredible talent, and probably something else which people did not know about.

    Another thing was the location of the school. It was on an ind inessible to normal people, and even the rank 1 and 2 mages could not go there without permission!

    Some rumors said that the rector of the school was a rank 3 mage! Rank 3 mages were scarce, and just the rumor was enough to scare anyone of trying something against the school.

    During all the previously tournament, the Ouroboros school barely showcased their power, using only a small fraction of it to win against everyone.

    Arthur was optimistic about the One Hundred Thunder Academy getting a decent position, but he knew it was impossible to win against those monsters.

    The ck-haired youth who was the mage in charge of Ouroboros, the same one Arthur met back at the Icy Cave, went to sit just beside him.

    ¡°What¡¯s up? Can I sit here?¡±

 Chapter 274 Drawing Attention for the Losers

    ¡°Of course. Why not?¡± Arthur said.

    These two had exchanged nces a few times, so they weren¡¯t strangers to each other. Arthur knew that youth was not someone simple, and it was most likely to be someone with a simr strength to him!

    ¡°I am Jim, you?¡±

    ¡°Arthur.¡±

    ¡°So, Arthur, who do you think will win this fight?¡± Jim said, looking at his students, who were on the opposite side.

    ¡°Your school will win.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why do you think that? Is it because of the rumors about us?¡±

    ¡°No, not at all. Look at your opponents. They are trash.¡±

    When Jim heard it, he could not hold hisughter.

    ¡°I agree, I agree. Anyway, I came here just to introduce myself as we both had seen each other quite a few times already. See ya!¡±

    After that, Jim returned to where his students were. Anyone would see that as a normal introduction, but Arthur had other thoughts.

    Why now? All of that just to say hi? Arthur still remembered the strange look Jim had once he got out of the Icy Cave wearing fur clothes and without an arm,pletely different from how he first entered.

    Did he discover something about the strange realm Arthur went? Or could he have something to do with the traitors of the One Hundred Thunder Academy?

    Arthur could not tell, but would surely try to learn more after the tournament was over.

    Speaking of the tournament, the fight between the Ouroboros and the other school was just a joke. Ouroboros destroyed them easily, not losing a single fight, and the longest fightsted 25 seconds.

    Yes, 25 seconds. These mages were strange, and Arthur now knew the main element of these mages was the shadow element, and also a bit of poison.

    They dashed, and had deadly attacks, like trained assassins. Arthur was shocked to see such incredible fighting skills.

    ¡°They should be even better during the night and at sneak attacks. I honestly don¡¯t think we have a chance of getting the first ce out of them, but maybe we can aim for the third or second ce?¡± He thought.

    A few other schools fought, and then it was Arthur¡¯s time once again. They were up against a school which had Earth as their main element, making it hard for the lightning to be effective.

    The n they had in mind was to give up in the fights which were impossible to win to save energy, but still try to see if they had any chance.

    Well, for the three mages of the ninth circle from the One Hundred Thunder Academy, it was impossible to win. They tried to send a few spells and even go into meleebat, but it did not work out as nned.

    A not so pleasant situation for them. Even if the three mages of the tenth circle win, it would still have a tie breaker to decide who came contest.

    Those from the Phoenix Blood Academy already had smiles all over their faces,ughing at Arthur and the rest of his students. But, something happened!

    Arthur had thought of such a possibility, but it had never happened in thest tournaments, so he thought the chance of such a thing urring there was almost inexistence.

    Yet, the worse happened! Everyone knew that there were strong schools who practiced the dark arts, and those even had an equal power to those top 10 schools!

    But, they did not take part in tournaments or care about a mere number such as a ranking. They worked in the shadows, and this time, they found the best opportunity to attack all the top schools at the same time!

    A group of ck-robed mages came out of nowhere, casting spells toward everyone present, be it a mage or a citizen!

    ¡°Someone is attacking!¡±

    The first group of ck-robed mages all had the power of Official Mages, but not a single one of them was at the rank 2. After their first attack, more and more mages wearing ck-robes appeared, attacking not only that building, but the entire city!

    They were attacking all sides of the city, using the power of both Official Mages, tenth and ninth circle mages! It seemed they also wanted to destroy the city, but their focus was on the building where the tournament was taking ce.

    Brook quickly got up to stop the attack, but then at that moment, three mages appeared in front of him, each one of them having the level of a rank 2 mage!

    ¡°Let¡¯s fight outside of the city.¡± One of the ck-robed figures said.

    Not that they were kind enough to fight outside, but because the fight between them would cause great destruction, killing everyone around, including both side¡¯s allies.

    The entire ce turned into chaos, with people dying after every second. Arthur quickly understood the situation, so he went near his students, and tried his best to gather all of them at the same spot!

    A few mages tried to stop him, but all of them ended up dead! There was no way tenth or ninth circle mages had any chance against him.

    ¡°Is everyone all right?¡± Arthur said.

    Laura, Jeremy, and Richard were there, but the three mages from the ninth circle were nowhere to be seen, and were presumably dead by that point.

    Now that all of them were together, what they needed to do was leave the city as soon as possible! It was an attack aimed at all the top schools, so the tournament did not matter anymore.

    ¡°Yes, I think so. What should we do?¡± Laura said.

    ¡°Leave this city, now!¡±

    They quickly left the building, running and jumping through the roofs. Laura thought the attack was only happening in the building where the tournament was happening, but it was not the case!

    ¡°They are attacking the entire city! Jeremy, look out!¡±

    A group of mages intercepted them on one roof, attacking Jeremy without blinking.

    ¡°Die filthy pig!¡±

    Jeremy did not know about dodging it, and Laura was too far to stop the attack. A corrosive ck dart was shot toward them, flying at a fast speed!

    Those mages were almost certain Jeremy would die, but then Arthur appeared, and simply grabbed the corrosive dart with his hand!

    ¡°Arthur, be careful! This is acid and- ¡°Laura stopped talking after witnessing the next scene.

    Arthur not only grabbed a corrosive dart receiving no damage, but he also ate the spell in front of those mages!

    ¡°Hum, yummy, yummy.¡±

    They could not believe what they were seeing! Arthur always walked with his power hidden, and even those with a simr level could not tell what power he had.

    The dark mages saw a group of tenth circle mages walking alone and thought it was an excellent opportunity to strike and take their lives.

    Well, it did not go as nned. They finally realized Arthur was not a simple character.

    ¡°An Official Mage! Everyone, run!¡± One of them said, but it was toote.

    Arthur used his extraordinary speed to kill all of them with only his right palm, making their bodies explode and turn into a disgusting mess. That was how strong his body was whenpared to them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We cannot lose time inside the city.¡± Arthur said.

    The more time inside that city, the more dangerous it became. These mages from the dark art schools were there to kill everyone, and that would only be the beginning!

    If they decided to finally attack after years, there was only one possibility; war!

    Screams could be heard from everywhere inside the city, but none of that stopped Arthur! He killed every mage who tried to hinder his movements, going directly toward one of the city¡¯s entrances.

    Arthur, Laura, Jeremy, and Richard arrived there unharmed, all thanks to Arthur. But things weren¡¯t that simple. The mages who tried to stop them were weak, but at the gates, there were Official Mages!

    ¡°What can we do? Three Official Mages are there!¡± Jeremy said to Arthur as they all hid and watched the southwest gate. Running was no option, not if all of them went together.

    ¡°I will go first, drag their attention and then you all leave the city! Do you all have maps?¡±

    All of them pulled out a map. Arthur then marked a specific ce on all of them!

    ¡°Wait, we are not returning to the One Hundred Thunder Academy?¡±

    ¡°We are, eventually. But if the dark mages attacked here, they are confident on killing all of us, giving us no chance of warning our schools. So, we have to first find a safe ce and wait a few days before returning.¡±

    ¡°It makes sense. But where can we go? Dark mages are everywhere, so if we enter any city they will notice us, and we don¡¯t have the rights to enter inside other schools!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see, but first we have to get out of here alive. Prepare to run with everything you have after I get the attention of those three.¡±

 Chapter ?275 A Life-and-Death Battle

    ?275 A Life-and-Death Battle

    "Who''s there?"

    Those three mages had the responsibility of not letting anyone leave the city alive! Any strange movements happening around the exit would be noticed by them!

    Arthur had cast his invisibility spell on Laura, Jeremy, and Richard to increase their chances of surviving. As for him? He had the job of getting the attention of those mages, and start up a fight with them!

    He did not use an invisibility spell with the others, as it would be impossible for them to pass through without them noticing.

    The only reason for it to have a chance of working was if the mages had their focus on something else, like fighting against Arthur!

    He came out from behind a house, appearing in front of the three mages who were viciously staring at him.

    "Only one Official Mage? You will die here today! No one can leave this ce alive!"

    When Arthur appeared in front of them, they immediately waved their hands, drawing magical circles in the air, preparing their spells!

    All three mages did it, so Arthur would have to deal with three different spells at the same time! He was strong, but his power was not without match, especially when dealing with mages he know nothing about.

    He was not inside the school anymore, and it was a life-and-death situation. Arthur wished to remain only using his lightning attribute, but now he was thinking of using two!

    Official Mages could use two elements, but their secondary was weaker. That was not a problem for Arthur, who had mastered three essences already!

    Arthur cast his own spell, but not only that, he also used one of his dragon skills, making two fire wings appear on his back in an instant! That was one benefit of those skills, the quickness!

    They could not understand how Arthur created those wings so fast, but that was not the time to be lost in thoughts. What they had to do was to end his life!

    Three spellsunched toward him! One was a gigantic skull with a green energy around it. The other was a corrosive shot, simr to what that mage cast previously.

    As for thest spell, a spear made of bones! These three spells were all tier 11! The highest level a rank 1 Official Mage could cast.

    Those three spells shot toward Arthur, one after the other. Laura was watching everything by the side, and even though she knew Arthur was not someone simple, the power of those three spells was extraordinary!

    Arthur finished his spell before those things hit him. He cast his own tier 11 spell, but it was not meant to attack, but a barrier!

    He fused all of his elements into it! With his fire, wood, and lightning essences fullypleted, the sturdinesses of that barrier was heavenly.

    mes, vines, and lightning intertwined into the blue barrier, creating a vivid dome around him, blocking the spells!

    The first to hit was the skull, and even though it did not pass through the barrier, cracks formed on its surface!

    Then the corrosive shot. No one believed a barrier could block two spells of the same tier. That was possible only with magical formations which took time to prepare.

    Still, to their shock, the corrosive shot did not demolish the barrier, but it was almost falling apart! When the bone spear came, everyone thought it was the end.

    They were certain the bone spear would break the barrier and pierce through Arthur''s body, and it happened! The barrier broke after getting touched by the spear.

    But then Arthur shocked them again! When the bone spear was almost hitting his chest, a strange mouth appeared in front of him, simr to that of a lizard, or a dragon!

    The bone spear passed through it, going straight into Arthur''s own mouth, but then it vanished! A mighty tier 11 spell was devoured by Arthur, who seemed just fine after doing that!

    "This is my chance! My devour is in cooldown, so I cannot devour another spell as powerful as this one!" Arthur thought.

    It was the best chance he got. He flew toward them using his fire wings and attacked using his fire ws!

    One of the mage was too slow to react. It died on the spot, having his body split in two! As for the others, they used their own escaping spells to move farther from the gate.

    That was the best chance Laura, Richard and Jeremy had! They run toward the gate, and left the city without the mages realizing it. They were focused on the beast which was in front of him.

    "Who are you?"

    When the questions and the looks of disbelief appeared, Arthur knew he had the upper hand on the psychological fight.

    Before, it was one versus three, but now only two of those mages remained. A strange doubt appeared inside their minds.

    Was it worth it to stop that man with the chance of losing their lives? Just like their friend? These dark mages were selfish.

    "Just leave the city. No one will look for you." One of them said.

    Arthur was confident of winning against those two mages, but what if reinforcements appeared? Then he would be in trouble.

    "How can I be sure you will not follow me?"

    "Follow you? Just to die?"

    "I will trap you two just in case."

    "What?"

    They had no time to react as huge vines came from the ground, enrolling the two of them, making it impossible for them to move!

    Now they were two easy targets for him, but then Arthur sensed more Official Mages approaching his location. It was not a wise move to stay there and attack them, so he left using all of his speed.

    ~~~~

    Within minutes, Arthur found the others who were dashing through the nearby forest, afraid that someone would pursue them.

    They heard a few noisesing from behind, but when they saw it was Arthur, all of them sighed in relief.

    "Arthur? Did you kill those three already?"

    "Only one, the other two, are trapped in a spell. More mages wereing, so I had to leave."

    Arthur had a bad feeling about the situation. There was no way it would be so easy to escape, and he was right. After a few minutes, he noticed the aura of 10 mages following them.

    Laura and the others did not know it, as their perception was way worse than his, but the situation was not good.

    He would have to stay and buy them time or else they would be dead.

    "All of you, keep moving and go to the marked point on your map. There are Official Mages following us, so I will have to stop them again."

    "What? How many?" Laura asked when she noticed the worried look Arthur had.

    "Ten."

    "Hell no. You will die!"

    "I don''t die that easily. Do as I say, or I will be the one killing you."

    He then stopped, turned around, and waited for the ten mages. As for Laura and the others, they kept moving, not looking back as it would make them stay...

    "I hope you leave this ce alive, or I will kill you!" Laura yelled.

 Chapter 276 Arthurs True Power

    One versus an army. That was the feeling Arthur had when facing ten Official Mages at the same time! He was not sure he could defeat all of them.

    While Laura, Jeremy and Richard ran as fast as they could toward the ce Arthur marked on the map, he was standing still, waiting for those mages toe.

    It did not take long for the mages to catch up with him. Ten mages with ck cloaks appeared, surprised to see Arthur standing there, alone.

    There was one who looked like the person in charge. Hee up to the front and said, ¡°Oh? Did you give up already? I am sure you are not thinking of fighting against all of us, right?¡±

    They allughed, not understanding why Arthur did not flee. At least he would have a slight chance of surviving.

    As for Arthur, he knew words were useless in that situation. No matter what he said, these people would not let him off. What he could do was go all out at the start, and take them by surprise!

    Arthur¡¯s body pumped up more blood than usual, and then itpletely changed for his ordinary human looks to that of an immense lizard-like creature!

    He was almost reaching level 100, and that would allow him to turn into a true dragon! But as of now, he still looked more like a lizard.

    ¡°What the fuck is this?¡±

    The mages saw the scene and could not understand what was happening. They had never seen a spell like that, so what could it be?

    It was not even the end, as Arthur also used his Monlog Giant power, increasing the size of his body to even greater heights. A ck substance covered his body, making his scales all tinged ck!

    Then he leaped forward, choosing randomly from one mage. While using his two transformations, his attributes increased by a lot! His strength of 412 points increased more than the double, reaching over 1000!

    Not only that, but his agility was also unmatched. He was so fast it looked like he was disappearing throughout the forest! In less than a second, he was already in front of that mage, ripping its body apart using his ws!

    The mage had no time to react as his body was split in half, and his guts fell to the ground. Even after death, the surprised eyes were still on his face, unwilling to ept death.

    Anyone who saw such a scene would be scared, shocked, and that gave Arthur one more move without them fighting back! He dashed toward the mage who was the closest to his position.

    He opened up his mouth and devoured the man, chewing his entire head! A disgusting scene, but for Arthur, who was not a human anymore, it was not a big deal.

    ¡°M-monster!¡±

    For a second, all these mages had the thought of running, but then they remembered the orders from their superiors, who were rank 2 mages! They had to deal with Arthur, no matter what.

    Each one of them started their own spell. The first thing they wished was to somehow lock Arthur in ce, as it was impossible for them to aim a spell at him, giving him incredible speed.

    Arthur saw the countless magical circles appearing around him, but he did not stop. He went toward another mage who even tried to dodge, all to nothing!

    A w pierced through his stomach, killing him instantaneously. But as he finished killing the third mage, the other seven mages had their spells ready, throwing them at him!

    Most of those spells had the shadow element, as it was themon element of the dark arts! The shock they once had after witnessing the death of their friends was now gone, reced by the pure joy of sting Arthur with their spells!

    ¡°We did it! We killed the monster!¡±

    That was what most of them thought, but those spells were exactly what Arthur was waiting for. What could be fastest than his incredible body? A teleport!

    Arthur had the talent for space-time magic, one of the rarest things, at least on that he currently was. A teleport with an instant cast. The mages around Arthur did not even see him disappear, as the dust and particles of all those spells made it impossible for them to see a thing.

    ¡°Look at all those dumb mages.¡± Arthur thought as he looked at them from the top of a tree.

    He had used his teleport to avoid all the spells, but did not go far, as he still needed to finish them. With just a nce, he noticed four mages out of the seven were close to each other, as they thought the fight was already over.

    It was the perfect opportunity for Arthur to kill them! He knew a spell would catch their attention, and in a melee fight, it would be hard to finish all the four fast enough.

    Well, it was a good thing he still had his dragon abilities, especially his powerful dragon breath while in his transformation.

    From the top of the tree, Arthur¡¯s belly and mouth expanded, and then a powerful fire came out of it, aimed directly at the mages, in particr the four who were close to each other.

    All of that happened instantaneously. The mages were all fine andughing, and then a massive fire engulfed them, turning four of them into charcoaled bodies.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    The remaining three could not fully understand what had happened, at least not in the first few seconds after the attack.

    Was there someone else nearby that attacked them? That should be the only exnation, as there was no way Arthur could escape from all of those spells alive.

    But when they turned around to look in the direction where the fire came from, they saw it! A terrifying lizard sat at the top of a tree, gazing at them with snake-like eyes.

    Before, they still had some courage to go up against him, but now? Out of ten mages, only three remained. What they had in mind now was to run as fast as they could away from that beast, but would Arthur allow them?

    Of course not! He jumped from that tree, leaping at one mage who was so scared at the scene that he did not even move! Arthur grabbed the heart of that mage, pulling it out of its body!

    The other two finally returned to their senses, activating their flight spells, escaping from the battle using everything they got.

    Two fire wings grew on Arthur¡¯s back, and he flew in the chase of the two remaining mages. One by one, they fell, leaving a pile of corpses in that forest.

    Arthur was not a fool, so he obviously plundered the magical pouches of those mages, earning a few decent items, such as mana stones.

    After that, his transformation ended, and he sheltered under a tree for a rest. It was difficult to use all of those powers. Even though the strength he got from it was extraordinary, everything had a price!

    He was still recovering as well, having only his right arm. Laura and the others already knew where to go and would not stop at any cost!

    ¡°The spot I marked is close to where Odemore is being built!¡±

    With all of this mess happening, Arthur wanted to see his wives again, and warn them about everything. Based on what he saw back at the city, the dark mages had assembled together to take control of the central continent!

    A war wasing, and this time, Arthur had to fight. The central continent was the only ce with enough resources to allow him to reach greater heights and eventually leave the.

    What would he do if the entire ce turned into a mess? Now, even though a war was a troublesome time, it still had plenty of opportunities to capitalize on.

    For example, those who performed well in a war would get lots of resources. Arthur was not sure if he would still get the position it was promised to him before the tournament, but performing well in the uing war would surely give him a lot of benefits.

    ¡°I should start moving, or else they will get too far.¡± Arthur thought, getting up from the ground, moving toward the direction where Laura and the others went.

    After a few minutes of flying, he sensed them, but remained hidden. The presence of an Official Mage with them would make them stand out more, prone to receive more attacks from dark mages, as well as bandits.

    The best thing he could do was stay hidden, and only appear to protect them in case someone strong attacked them.

    ¡°Is he okay?¡± Jeremy said.

    Laura was just beside him with a worried face, but when she thought about Arthur and his incredible power, she was certain there was no way he would lose his life that easily.

    ¡°I am sure he is fine. We should focus on reaching the ce he marked and wait for him there!¡±

    ¡°You are right!¡±

    With positive thoughts, they marched forward, not knowing Arthur was nearby, watching them from the shadows.<!--

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 Chapter 277 Re encounter

    The entire continent went to chaos after multiple cities suffered from attacks from dark mages, but none of those cities fell, as the schools and the wanderer mages got together to fight against that threat!

    Laura, Jeremy and Richard passed through multiple viges and cities before arriving at their destiny, and they saw how gloomy everyone looked.

    News traveled fast, especially with so many mages running away, spreading the word. In no time, almost everyone who lived on the central continent knew about the dire situation they would soon face.

    It took them a few days to reach the spot Arthur told them to go. Laura and the others were worried throughout the entire journey, afraid that something had happened to Arthur, or with their school.

    ¡°Now all we can do is wait¡­¡± Laura said, looking down, scared, thinking about the worst scenarios possible.

    Arthur kept following them during the entire journey, looking to protect them in case anything dangerous happened.

    Although a few mages and bandits attacked them during their journey, they were weak and easily dealt by the three tenth circle mages. They did not need a helping hand, so Arthur kept himself in the shadows, gathering more information while also chasing them.

    With his superior power, it was easier to get hold of such informations. He heard a few mages talk about the alliance the dark mage schools had, with amon goal; take control of the central continent!

    But it was not as easy as it sounded. Although they had a sess in the first few days, the other powers of the central continent never discarded such possibility, which meant they were ready in case a war broke inside the continent.

    Everyone was on the same side now, putting away their differences to fight against theirmon enemy. Arthur knew he would have to y a big role in the uing war to guarantee their win, or else those mages who use the dark arts could destroy everything!

    ¡°Where is he? We spent a day here, yet there is no sign of him!¡± Jeremy said.

    It had been a day since they arrived at the ce Arthur marked on the map, which was in the middle of nowhere inside a forest.

    They thought he had marked the wrong ce, as they were not seeing anything special about the ce. All of them got more worried after each second, but then a familiar voice entered inside their eyes, making them wake up to reality once again.

    ¡°Waiting for me, losers?¡±

    ¡°Arthur!¡±

    The three mages knew Arthur was someone strong, but fighting against multiple Official Mages was something ordinary people could not do.

    Hell, depending on the amount of rank 1 mages, even a rank 2 Official Mage would not stand a chance, yet Arthur was there, alive and well.

    For them, it was a victory. They knew Arthur would y a huge role in the war, so losing him was not an option.

    Laura went running toward him as soon as she heard his voice, giving him a tight hug! Only after a few seconds, she realized her reaction was a bit too much, therefore stopping the hug moment.

    ¡°Took you long enough. Now, tell me, where are we? I see nothing special about this ce.¡±

    Jeremy and Richard saw how Laura¡¯s face was as red as a tomato, and the two of them used a lot of strength to hold theirughs in front of her.

    ¡°You will soon know. Follow me.¡±

    Arthur was happy to see that these people cared about him. He waved for them to follow him, leaving the forest, going toward a mountain range not that far from it.

    They saw it just like an ordinary mountain, as they could not see a single thing, but Arthur knew it was the ce where a famous ce was being built, and that was Odemore!

    Jane and Wisa had already set up a few formations around the area, making it impossible for outsiders to see anything on that mountain. Only after getting really close they would see it!

    Arthur knew about that because they had told him about it.

    ¡°Now that we are close, then you may know. This is a new school in progress, built by my two beautiful wives!¡±

    When he said that, both Jeremy and Richard poked him and said, ¡°wives? How many do you have? Aren¡¯t you too young for that?¡±

    He ignored them and kept going up in that mountain range. It was a beautiful ce with lots of trees around it. No one would see it from afar and think there was civilization there, but Odemore was there.

    The reason Jane and Wisa chose the ce was because it was rtively far from any other school, but still somewhat close to a city, making it easier for them to get supplies.

    Not only that, but the mana concentration on that mountain range was quite good. It was slightly worse than those top 10 schools, but it did not lose by a lot.

    Also, Arthur nned on somehow increasing the mana of the surrounding area with the usage of magical formations, as well as nting magical trees.

    It was not impossible to do that, but the increase would be gradual, and it would take quite a few years for that mountain range to be at a simr level of the top schools.

    Arthur was not in a hurry, though, as he knew lots of years would pass before he could eventually leave the.

    After they reached almost the top of the mountain, Arthur saw it! A group of small cabins, and a bigger building being built not that far from those houses.

    ¡°Who is there?¡±

    Just like always, Arthur did not warn them about his arrival, making both of his wives surprised to see him there, but happy.

    ¡°Husband!¡±

    Simr to what Laura did, both Jane and Wisa ran toward him for a hug and a few kisses. Jeremy and Richard could not believe Arthur had such beautiful and powerful wives!

    For them, they were worlds apart, having the power of Official Mages, just like Arthur.

    ¡°Darling, this is Jeremy, Richard and Laura. They are from the school I am currently in, and also the survivors of an attack¡­¡±

    ¡°Attack? You mean the dark mages who are causing terror around the continent?¡± Wisa said.

    ¡°Did you hear about it?¡±

    ¡°Only recently, like yesterday, when we went to the city to get more supplies for our building. You see these cabins? They are for the workers who are building the main part of Odemore.¡±

    ¡°That is great!¡±

    They all went inside the cabin where Jane and Wisa lived, sharing everything they knew about the situation.

    Arthur would only stay there for a few days before eventually returning to the One Hundred Thunder Academy, as he would be important in the uing war.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us, husband. This ce is away from everything, and we are strong! Plus, Sully had grown in this time you did not see him, bing stronger than the average Official Mage!¡±

    ¡°Sully, who is that?¡± Laura said, clueless about most of the things Arthur and his wives talked about.

    ¡°Sully is my pet.¡±

    ¡°A pet stronger than an official mage. why am I not surprised?¡±<!--

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 Chapter 278 A Little Sex does not Harm Anyone

    278 A Little Sex does not Harm Anyone

    The next few days had been quite peaceful around the area where Odemore was being built. A high number of workers woke up early in the morning to continue with the building process, just like they did every day before this whole mess on the central continent.

    Laura, Jeremy, and Richard finally had some time to rest and think about what to do next. Each one of them gained a small little cabin to stay.

    As for Arthur, well, he was inside one of these cabins as well, but with both of his wives, doing the things all the three missed.

    ¡°Are you ready, husband? This cock of yours will be dry by the end of the night.¡± Jane said with a smirk, slowly undressing Arthur.

    They were not there to y around, but to drain all of Arthur¡¯s energy. But he would not go down without a fight!

    While Jane spat on his cock, rubbing it using her soft hands, Wisa had her pussy shoved right into Arthur¡¯s face, saying, ¡°take this little pussy and lick it.¡±

    He did just that, grabbing Wisa¡¯s round ass, pping it a few days, and then moving his tongue right at the perfect spot! She loved it, moaning after a few seconds of licking.

    Her pussy was wet, and her eyes rolled every time Arthur¡¯s tongue moved around. As for Jane, she loved a dick deep in her throat.

    She started it slow, spitting, licking and putting half of Arthur¡¯s dick in her mouth, but as it became easier for her to suck it, the real game began!

    Jane grabbed Arthur¡¯s thighs with her hands, and then moved her head downwards, putting the dick right in her throat. It was deep, making her cough a few times, but that did not discourage her.

    It was the opposite. She smiled and kept putting it deeper and deeper! She was a skilled sucker, and maybe the promise of sucking him dry that night would be true!

    While Jane was sucking it, she was also seeing Wisa¡¯s pussy being licked, making her own pussy wet.

    ¡°This is so good. Keep licking it, or else you will face to deal with an angry Wisa!¡±

    ¡°Give it to me. My dick wants some fun.¡±

    Arthur loved that position, but he wanted more. He got up from the bed, picking Wisa up using his sheer strength. Her boobs bounced in the air, and she was even more horny after being tossed around on the bed.

    He put her on all fours and fucked her hard!

    ¡°Jane,e here!¡±

    Jane then went just beneath the two, sucking both Arthur¡¯s balls and Wisa¡¯s pussy! It was a sexy, making the three of them feel inexplicable pleasure!

    Wisa rolled her eyes every time Arthur¡¯s dick went in. He also grabbed her red-hair, pulling it, making her tongue stick out of her mouth, salivating!

    She loved being demolished by her husband in bed, and Jane was no different! After seeing Wisa get destroyed by Arthur¡¯s cock, she wanted some as well!

    The two of them switched positions, with Wisa being down there sucking the balls and pussy, while Jane was on all four!

    Both Jane and Wisa had their share of orgasms, shaking her legs and rolling their eyes in pleasure. As for Arthur, he kept demolishing them until it was finally time for him to cum!

    Wisa and Jane got to their knees and opened up their mouth, waiting for it. A huge load on both mouths and face.

    ¡°This is a lot of cum, husband.¡±

    They rubbed his dick, putting it back into their mouths, noticing it was still hard!

    ¡°Husband, you aren¡¯t thinking of fucking us again, right?¡± Wisa said.

    She was almost fainting after multiple orgasms, yet the endurance of Arthur kept growing and growing, and he was ready to take them down!

    ~~~~

    The few days Arthur passed with his wives were incredible! But it was not yet the time for them to reunite for good. There were a lot of things to do, especially after the recent attacks.

    ¡°How long do you think Odemore will take to get some students?¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°Quite some time. We are still in the early stages¡­ But with this war, the other schools may get weaker, which is a grand chance for us to thrive in the next decade!¡± Wisa said.

    She was right. The war between the schools did not matter to Odemore, as it was still a hidden ce in construction. But if the power bnce of the entire continent changed after the war, then it would be a great chance for them to gain power!

    Well, considering the war would go on their way, as there was still the chance of the dark mages take full control of the continent, making its future uncertain.

    Arthur was reluctant to leave, but there was one thing that made him more calm, and that was his anchor spell! Now that he reached Odemore for the first time, it was possible for him to teleport back any time he wanted, just like the anchor he let back at Odemore on the other continent!

    After he did that, he realized the spell had some ws, and it was not as perfect as he thought! He could only ce three different anchors, meaning he could have three locations to teleport to!

    Not that it was bad, but it was not possible for him to keep adding anchors everywhere, turning into someone who could travel long distances quickly.

    Still, he now had an anchor attached to this project of Odemore, meaning he coulde see his wives. That was incredible, as he was not sure he could return normally with this uing war.

    ¡°Goodbye, husband. Take care! We¡¯ll send you any news using the mark, and pleasee see us regrly, or I will kill you!¡±

    ¡°You heard her, husband. Me and Jane are Official Mages, so you better watch out or we will hunt you!¡±

    They hugged and kissed each other while Laura, Jeremy, and Richard waited on the sidelines. Speaking of Jeremy and Richard, they now respected Arthur even more and asked him some tips on how to get a girlfriend.

    It was funny, considering the three of them had simr age, yet they acted as Arthur was a middle-aged man with lots of experience in that sort of thing¡­

    ¡°Now we will return to the school?¡± Laura said.

    ¡°Yes, that is correct. Seth probably got to know about the attack quickly, as rank 2 mages have their own way of talking to each other, but he still does not know we are alive and well!¡± Arthur said.

    The reason for him to not go back to the school right after the attack was that he needed to make sure his wives were okay, and waiting a few days for the dust to settle was a smart move.

    Also, he did not know how the situation was back at the school, especially with the traitors who had attacked him previously. Who knows, maybe they were spies from these dark arts schools.

    Anyway, he left the mountain range of Odemore with Laura and the others, looking forward to return to the school to learn more about the current situation!

 Chapter 279 Wrecks

    279 Wrecks

    The situation was worse than Arthur thought. He had seen the gloomy faces of the people in every city he passed through, but the attacks on the roads were getting more frequent as the time passed.

    Most of the mages who attacked travelers weren¡¯t Official Mages, and some were even as low as a third circle mage, but those people were invincible when fighting against the non mage poption.

    Everyone was fearful, and the number of rich merchants hiring people to protect their convey was getting more frequent. Even Arthur received the offer, and he epted it.

    Inside the town, which was not that far from Odemore, a merchant saw him, and offered him a job to protect them on the road.

    Arthur wasn¡¯t willing to ept it, but the destination of the merchant was not that far from the One Hundred Thunder Academy, plus the payment was not that bad!

    He was expecting gold or something like that, but the merchant actually offered him mana stones, which was an important currency now that Arthur was an Official Mage.

    These two things alone made him ept such an offer, riding on a carriage toward his destination. Laura, Jeremy, and Richard would not receive any payment, but they were more than happy to travel on afy carriage. Chilling.

    ¡°How do you think the school is?¡± Laura said.

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know. But I hope things are doing alright.¡± Arthur said.

    There was no way Arthur could be certain about the situation at the school, but he hoped everything was okay. Also, it was not impossible for a powerful school like the One Hundred Thunder to fall, but it was impossible for it to happen so fast.

    So he was very optimistic about the situation, but was uncertain about the future. What worried him the most was not the rank 2 mages, not at all!

    Arthur was certain he would eventually reach the level of a rank 2 mage, and usually wars took a long time to end, especially one covering the whole continent!

    What worried him, though, was the rank 3 mages. These people were powerful beyond imagination, and it would take him quite some time to reach that level. So the side who has more rank 3 mages would win.

    Now, how many rank 3 mages did the dark mages have? They had been keeping a low-profile for a long time, meaning the top schools did not know the extent of their powers, and that could be their downfall!

    ¡°I cannot believe they did not keep track of them. Why were they so certain the dark mages would never attack them?¡± Arthur thought.

    It made little sense. A potential enemy was living inside your continent, yet no one paid attention to them, allowing them to grow and grow until reaching the point of a war.

    Anyone who had half a brain would not let that happen so easily, or at least would keep track of their movements, and in case something suspicious happened, then actions would be made.

    But now it was toote! All the schools, all the civilians, could be in danger.

    ¡°Why are they attacking the continent, anyway? What do they have to gain?¡±

    That was another doubt Arthur had. These mages, who were called ¡®dark mages¡¯, killed innocents without problem and usually practiced necromancy, blood magic, and some forms of magic which werebeled as ¡®prohibited¡¯.

    But the other mages weren¡¯t saints either. Everyone killed each other. No matter if they were dark mages, or the other mages, they all killed others while seeking riches and power.

    The entire world was like that. If you had the power, then the others could only obey you with their heads down.

    Arthur was a lot on his thoughts during the travel, but the merchant who hired him dragged him back to reality.

    ¡°A group of mages is ahead of us. Can you deal with them?¡± A fat merchant said.

    Laura was ready to get out of the carriage, but Arthur stopped her and said, ¡°don¡¯t worry, I will handle this.¡±

    She could not tell why, but for a moment Laura felt pity for those mages who were trying to ambush the convoy.

    ¡°Look what we have here, boys, six carriages filled with goodies! We are rich, hahaha!¡±

    ¡°This is only the start. We will take everything from them and rule this entire continent!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Who is that? An armless man?¡±

    Arthur got out from the carriage, which was at the front of the convey, and strolled toward a group of mages who ranged from the third circle to the seventh.

    For him, they were as weak as a bug. Laura or the others could deal with those people just fine, but he was getting bored inside the carriage.

    ¡°Leave now, or die. It is up to you.¡± Arthur said.

    ¡°What? Are you insane? Kneel and maybe I will grant you a quick death!¡±

    With a sigh, Arthur vanished from where he was, appearing in front of their leader, punching him in the chest. It exploded, with his organs flying everywhere, and the blood turned the ground red!

    None of that touched Arthur, as his magical barrier kept these body parts and fluids away from him and his clothing.

    After mercilessly killing their leader, Arthur smirked at the rest of them, sending a shiver down their spines! He wanted to return as fast as possible to the school, so he killed them as fast as possible as well!

    A kick, another punch, and a few sword shes. Arthur killed each one of them using a different way, trying to make the fighting more exciting, but that was not possible.

    ¡°Fighting these weaklings is so boring.¡± He thought while returning to the convey where all the merchants had fearful faces when looking at him.

    ¡°Who is the monster Mr. James hired?¡±

    That was what all of them had in mind, but no one knew the answer¡­

    ~~~~

    During their trip, more groups of mages and bandits tried to steal from the convey, but to no sess. Arthur easily dealt with them, making the rest of the merchants feel more rxed about the journey, but with even more fear toward him!

    After one week, they reached the city which was close to the One Hundred Thunder Academy, and that was where Arthur agreed to scout the convey.

    ¡°Here, this is yours.¡±

    A leather purse with a few mana stones. It was not an exorbitant amount, but it was still decent, considering it was not an easy currency to get.

    After that, they all left the city, going directly toward the school.

    As they got closer and closer, all of them had a strange feeling inside, as if things weren¡¯t as good as they expected.

    ¡°What¡­ is¡­ this?¡±

    The first building they came across was where the gatekeeper was, keeping track of anyone who wanted to cross the school¡¯s barrier. He was not there. As for the house he lived? Well, it was destroyed!

    They hastened their steps, passing through it, and realizing the magical barrier around the school was not there anymore. When they finally reached the main part of it, it was in wrecks!

    It was clear someone had attacked the school, but even though some parts were destroyed, the main building and other important things were still in a decent condition.

    ¡°This means they won, but suffered¡­¡± Arthur thought.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    A man flew from the sky, dropping right in front of them. It was Seth, and he had a faint smile after seeing Arthur and the others alive and well.

    ¡°Ah, Laura, Jeremy, Richard! I am d you are safe,¡± Seth said, gazing at them, but changing it back to Arthur.

    ¡°We had a few problems while you were away¡­¡±

 Chapter ?280 Decaying Skull

    ?280 Decaying Skull

    If the war breaking out all over the ce was not bad enough, the traitors who attacked Arthur had done a sneak attack at the school, destroying some parts of it, and killing some students!

    That was something terrible, and could be avoided if Seth had paid more attention to those traitors. He was watching their every move, but when the rumors of the war broke out, he shifted his attention for some time toward it, and that was the opportunity these traitors were looking for.

    "What will we do now?" Arthur said.

    Seth and all the Official Mages from the school were together in a meeting room, talking about the situation.

    "What will you know? You are an outsider, so you could work with them too!" One of them said, getting up from his chair, punching the table.

    Not only him, but some others shared the same feeling, but were not brave enough to say it aloud. Well, they had a reason to not trust him. He was indeed an outsider, and in times like that one, it was perfectly normal to have suspects about him.

    As for Seth, he heard from Arthur everything that happened, and knew he had protected Laura and the others during the whole time. Laura even said he went up against lots of officials mages just to protect them, proving not only he was someone trustworthy but also powerful!

    "Enough! Arthur yed a huge role in bringing these three students alive and well. Also, we cannot lose any Official Mage in this uing war. All of you here today are our strength, our forces. We have to stay together, and fight against not only the dark mages, but the other schools who might try to take advantage of us! It is not the time to y around like kids." Seth said.

    The tone, and the power behind his words, were enough to make all the mages stop talking and agree with him. He was right. It was a dangerous situation that did not allow them to fight against each other. They had to work together for a brighter future.

    Seth breathed for a few seconds before returning to the important topics.

    "Our priority now should be reconstruct the magical barrier around the school to make sure we have ayer of protection in case someone tried to attack us. That will also give our students a sense of security, which is important in this time of need,"

    "Now, as for the war, I am talking with the other school leaders, and they are preparing attacks on all the schools of the dark mages."

    "What? Are we fighting till death now?"

    "Yes. We have information that the dark mages will not stop until we are all but corpses, so we must strike back while we have the strength to do so!"

    "The leaders agreed that each school would face one dark mage school, and in case of a victory, we would move and help the others!" Seth said.

    Arthur heard all of it with care. After the reunion was over, only he and Seth were in the room.

    "Arthur, you proved your value, and in this delicate situation, I need your help. You will be in charge of all the mages. You are now the vice president of this school!"

    That was exactly what Arthur was waiting for. But how could Seth give such an important position to an outsider like him? Arthur had thought about that before, and concluded: Laura!

    He was almost certain that Laura was Seth''s daughter, or part of his family, like a sister, for example. So, after Arthur saved her countless times, Seth saw him as someone trustworthy, thus giving him such an important position.

    "I will proim your position tomorrow. First, you have an important mission. Tell me, how good are your stealth skills?"

    ~~~~

    Seth announced Arthur''s position on the very next day, causing somemotion and unhappiness of the Official Mages, but none of them said a word.

    As for Arthur? Well, he was not even inside the school anymore! Seth gave him an important mission to aplish while they were busy rebuilding the magical barrier and cleaning up the wrecks, and that was to spy on the school they would have to invade in a few days!

    The school was the Decaying Skull. It was the closest one to where the One Hundred Thunder Academy was. That was perhaps the reason the other rank 2 mages asked Seth to deal with it.

    "How should I proceed with this?" Arthur thought, while looking at a strange cemetery from afar.

    The school had been built underground, and to ess it, one had to find a specific graveyard in the middle of a forest, and then enter using one tomb.

    Arthur could not go there and enter, as the dark mages would notice his presence and attack him. What he had in mind was to kidnap a student who went out alone, and use his disguise spell to copy their identity, thus entering inside the school with little trouble.

    He was not sure if it would work, but if things gotplicated, then he would just use his anchor spell and flee from that ce.

    Behind a bush, Arthur waited, and waited, and waited. Most of the mages who went out were in groups, but after an entire day of waiting, someone left the school alone during the night.

    It was a golden opportunity. He followed that person who was wandering in the forest for no apparent reason.

    "Who is there?" The man said.

    Then, with a clean move, Arthur cut the throat of that man with a dagger. The only reason Arthur waited for the man to speak was to hear his voice to imitate it as well!

    Everything happened fast, and with little noise. No one was around, and no one heard a thing. After that, he changed his appearance to look exactly like that person, and changed clothes as well.

    Not only that, but he hid his aura until the level of an eighth circle mage, which was the level of the person he had just killed.

    "Now all I have to do is enter!" Arthur thought.

    He returned to the graveyard and walked to the same tomb everyone used. Arthur opened it up, seeing a staircase which lead down to a tunnel.

    The school was basically had lots of tunnels with bigger rooms. It did not have fancy buildings or a space. Some students gazed at him while he walked in those tunnels, but not a single one of them cared until a man appeared.

    "Jester! Where were you?"

    "I went outside to breathe some fresh air and pee."

    "That is so you. Anyway,e here. The leader of our squad wants to share some information with us."

    Arthur did not know what was happening, but he followed that person. They walked through some tunnels until reaching a bigger room with a table in the middle. It was basically a meeting area, and on that table were some of the Official Mages from the school.

    "Is most of them here?" One of them said.

    "I believe, yes."

    "Everyone, hear me out. We have some information regarding the safety of our school! Some rumors spread about the top schools attacking us, and if that is the case, then surely they will send a spy here to learn more about us!"

 Chapter ?281 Celestial Power is Back!

    ?281 Celestial Power is Back!

    Arthur froze when he heard that sentence. The person who said it was not only an Official Mage, but a rank 2! If they found out about him, then his destiny was uncertain.

    "What? A spy?"

    All the students whispered, and the rumor about a spy circled inside the school quickly. They searched in every corner, every room, and around the graveyard as well!

    No one believed it was possible for the spy disguise as a student. Maybe he could use the same uniform and try to avoid them, but they would find him given enough time.

    A spell like the one Arthur knew was something they had never seen. Even Arthur himself could not understand how such a good spell was in the decaying Odemore back at that ind.

    Two days passed after the mage announced about the spy. Arthur helped them in the search, trying to look as normal as possible to avoid their suspicion. It worked at first, but as the close friends of the real Jester talked with him, they noticed something was off.

    It was nighttime. Someone came yelling into the graveyard, saying something which made Arthur instantly flee.

    "I found the corpse of a student nearby!" One student said, getting the attention of everyone.

    "A student? Do you know who it was?" Another student asked.

    Soon, almost everyone was gathered close to that person.

    "This is the strangest part. The corpse I saw was from Jester, but he was here since two days ago when the leader announced about a spy¡­ wait."

    When they had finally noticed it, Arthur was no longer there! He cast multiple teleports the moment he heard that man yelling, as he knew it was definitely something about him.

    Arthur''s quick reaction gave him enough time to escape from that graveyard without being chased by the others, especially that rank 2 mage.

    "That was close, but now I know more about their forces, and also about the traps!" Arthur thought, smiling as he returned to the One Hundred Thunder Academy.

    Even though only two days had passed, most of the destroyed parts of the school were now like new, showcasing the efficiency of magic.

    The magical barrier had also been rebuilt, and Arthur could only attribute the quickness to Seth, who had the power of a rank 2 mage, making it way quicker to repair such a powerful barrier.

    "Arthur! You are back!"

    Seth and Laura were the first toe see him after his return. They went to the meeting room minutes after, where all the Official Mages were, waiting for Arthur to share the information he collected.

    "There is only one rank 2 mage, and about 700 students. Out of these 700 students, 80 are Official Mages."

    "Oh? That is more than I expected. After the damage we suffered, they have more rank 1 mages than us." Seth said.

    "Is there a paper here?" Arthur said.

    "What for?"

    Arthur grabbed the paper Seth found for him, drawing a map of the graveyard, and all the rooms he had the chance to explore while down there.

    The good part was that he visited most of these rooms when searching for the spy. Even a few prohibited rooms for a mage below the rank 1.

    With his expertise in magical formations, Arthur saw through most of the traps and barriers of the school. A valuable information to have, making even Seth impressed.

    "Good job, Arthur. With this, our chance of sess will increase to 90%!"

    Not only him, but some of the other rank 1 mages had a good impression of Arthur, but a few of them did not like him at all, presumably because he was an outsider who got the position of vice-president. A position which most of them wanted.

    But, as their situation was not good, they shut up and work together to avoid disaster.

    "When will we attack them?" Arthur said.

    "Tomorrow during night time. The meeting is over, everyone, rest and prepare for the fight!" Seth said, getting up from the chair, leaving the meeting room alongside the other mages.

    Arthur then returned to the small cabin he used to live, and it he was shocked to see everything around it was in a perfect state.

    "My magical formations are impressive. Hehehe!"

    The garden he had outside was perfect, but some nts showed signs of decay, as they did not receive proper care during the past month.

    As he had nothing else to do, Arthur watered his nts, and then went to read after that. He was on his simple bed, reading a thick book, when a notification popped up.

    [Ding]

    [All attributes increased by 10]

    [Next blessing in 15 days]

    "What? This is the first time my celestial powers worked after quite some time! This is good!"

    After he got seriously injured back then, and had to use most of his celestial power to survive, it stopped working, making him sad, but he recovered it some time ago, and now it finally gave him the permanent stats!

    Things weren''t good for him at that present time, but that simple notification from his system made his day a little better!

    "Let me see how my stats are! I had a good time with my wives a few days ago, so my level surely increased!"

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Bloodline: Dragon (Legendary cidusax), Monlog Giant]

    [Rank: Official Mage (1)]

    [Level: 96]

    [Health: 41050/41050]

    [Mana: 1300/1300]

    [Spiritual Force: 170]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 422]

    [Agility: 349]

    [Vigor: 344]

    [Wisdom: 446]

    [Charm: 353]

    [Free points: 120]

    [Potential Wives: Wisa: Level 88]

    [Jane: Level 85]

    "Whoa! It increased by a lot, actually. Was it because I spent some time without having sex with them?"

    Arthur''s level, as well as his attributes, were increasing by a lot! He was certain no one at the same level of him had simr stats. It was impossible.

    The only thing which was taking more time to grow was his Spiritual Force, but that was something which required time, and he knew it.

    Most Official Mages looked young, but were in fact old people. The stronger one got, the more life span they had. Arthur had even more of it because of his bloodlines.

    "I can probably live five times more than normal rank 1 mages, so maybe like 1000 years?"

    With his increase in level and attributes, Arthur gathered some mana from it, so all he had to do was meditate to turn it into Spiritual Force.

    He also had 120 free attribute points, so putting them into Wisdom would give him even more mana, which then would turn into even more Spiritual Force.

    "I will put everything into Wisdom, as this benefit me the most for now. Also, my celestial body makes all my attributes increase until reaching the same level as my highest attribute, but it takes a long time¡­"

    Well, Arthur was still happy with his progress, hoping to reach the rank 2 as fast as he could, especially since everyone was at war. The level of a rank 2 mage would make his survival chances a lot higher.

    Then, the next step he would have to take was to reach the level of a rank 3 mage, and maybe figure out how to leave the.

    But before that, he still needed to free George and take control of the central continent.

    "Ah, so many things to do¡­"

    Arthur''s mind was filled with many things, so all he wanted to do was to get some sleep and wait for the battle which would happen the very next day!

 Chapter ?282 Destroying the Barrier

    ?282 Destroying the Barrier

    The people in the One Hundred Thunder Academy were at a fuss. It would be an important day for them, as they had to win the fight against the Decaying Skull school, or else they might perish in that war.

    Even though the attack would only happen at night, they spent the day preparing the things to bring along to the fight, as well as the tactics they would use.

    The information Arthur gave them about the interiors and the traps was valuable, but he stated they should not take the traps for granted, as they knew there was a spy who fled, so they might have added or changed the location of a few traps.

    "Arthur? Are you there?"

    A voice came from the outside of his cabin. It was Laura who came to see him early in the morning.

    "Laura? What a pleasant surprise." Arthur said as he left his cabin, seeing Laura near his garden.

    "These nts are incredible! I recently started with alchemy, so maybe that is why I am kind of biased."

    "Oh?"

    He did not know why she was there, but presumably was because of the uing battle.

    "I- I just want to thank you for everything you did, and please take care of the uing battle. I don''t want to lose you!"

    Laura said that really fast, avoiding Arthur''s gaze, and then she ran away.

    "I was not expecting that." He thought.

    Arthur walked around the school and saw someone he knew very well. Elena! She was definitely scared about the fight, and she would not even fight because of her weak power.

    "Arthur? A few days away from me and you are already armless¡­"

    "Idiot," he said, moving closer to her, "are you okay?"

    "Yeah, it''s just¡­ I came here to learn, but now everything is a mess and I cannot even learn magic¡­ What if this war takes a long time? Wouldn''t that make my journey as a mage way harder?"

    What Elena said made sense. Things would not get any easier, and that was only the start of the war. How could she learn from all of that happening? Arthur felt pity toward her, and wished to help, but how?

    The only thing he could do was send her to Odemore when it was ready, and hope that she can learn something there.

    "Elena, I might help you. Can we take more privately after the fight tonight?"

    "More privately?" Elena said with her cheeks turning red.

    "Okay Arthur, no problem."

    ~~~~

    When the sun was going down, a huge troop left the academy grounds. Most of them were Official Mages, and ninth and tenth circle mages.

    As for the rest? They would not make that much of a difference in the fight. Seth went as well, as he had to be the person to take down the rank 2 mage from the Decaying Skull.

    Arthur and Seth were at the front, leading the squad. Seth looked at him and said, "Arthur, do you think we can win?"

    He looked at him,pared both forces and said, "I do, yes. Even though we have less rank 1 mages, I can count for one hundred. Now, can you kill their rank 2 mage?"

    "Ha, what a confidence. About the mage, yes, I can take him down."

    "Good."

    They both smiled and kept moving through the forest, getting closer and closer to the graveyard. When they finally got there, they saw it!

    Dark mages everywhere, protecting the tombs as these were the entrances to the school. Only a small force of them was outside, and most were only mages beneath the rank 1.

    Basically cannon fodder, which had only one function; die and then rm the rest of them about an attack.

    "How can we proceed? They have a barrier around the school, so we cannotunch a spell to wipe these mages." Seth said.

    They were all hidden behind bushes and trees, watching the graveyard from afar. Arthur was there, and he said, "leave the barrier to me. I can deactivate it."

    "What?"

    All the other rank 1 mages around him could not believe such a thing. How could he deactivate a barrier capable of fending against spells from a rank 2 mage? It was impossible.

    Well, impossible for them who were dumb. Arthur had spent two days in that graveyard, and he studied the barrier carefully.

    He was someone with vast knowledge in that field, and now he was confident in deactivating it. Arthur could not care less if those mages did not believe him. The only person who could give him an order was Seth, but he also agreed to it.

    "I believe in you. We will wait here while you deactivate the barrier." Seth said.

    Arthur gave him a nod and then left the area. If he wanted to deactivate the barrier, he would have to be closer to it, but getting close to the position they were in would make the mages see him.

    So, he circled around the area, until finding a weak spot where only three mages were protecting it. Even though the barrier could block spells, it could not block Arthur, who still had the token he got from Jester, the student he killed.

    He dashed toward these three students, and killed all of them using a dagger, like a true assassin. After he made sure no other mage would patrol toward that area, he took care of the barrier.

    A magical formation as big as that one had a core, and that core would probably be in the deepest part of the school, protected so that no one could enter it. How could Arthur deactivate the barrier then?

    Well, there was a trick. The first thing Arthur had to do was to destroy a small part of the barrier, and that was what he did.

    When he was close to it, a blue barrier appeared with some symbols on it. Arthur destroyed some of these symbols with surgical moves. He had to destroy it in the right order, or else the barrier would react to it, exposing his location.

    Sweat came from his forehead, but after a few minutes, he did it. A small part of the barrier was destroyed. The moment that happened, the core of the magical formation pulsed mana toward that location in order to repair it as quickly as possible.

    Now, that was when Arthur acted once again, and did something only he could do. The core pulsed mana one time, enough to rebuild the area, but when the mana got near the broken part of the barrier, Arthur opened up his mouth, and devoured the mana!

    The magical formation was not advanced enough to think, so it did not ur to it that someone could devour the mana it sent, as that was something impossible.

    Then, Arthur used his own mana to ''repair'' the barrier, giving it a false sense of duty aplished.

    "Done!"

    Arthur smiled, returning to where Seth and the others were. He exined to them the small part of the barrier he destroyed.

    "You can cast the spell through that, but I think we should all enter through it. It would surprise them, giving us an advantage."

    "All right. Everyone, let''s go kill these bastards!"

 Chapter 283 Void Step During Night-Time

    283 Void Step During Night-Time

    They went inside the graveyard using the hole Arthur created in the barrier. Now, someone had tounch a powerful spell as a surprise attack, and that person could not be Seth!

    Seth had to fight against the other rank 2 mage, which means he could not waste his energy before the fight. So, out of everyone present, Arthur had to be the person to do that.

    "All right. Everyone, my attack will destroy the tunnels and rooms beneath us, so prepare to fend against lots of students who will march toward us." Arthur said to the other mages who were nearby.

    The spell Arthur cast was a meteor, infused with his first essence. Fire! It took some time for him to fully cast it. A tier 11 spell was no joke!

    Magical circles kept appearing in front of Arthur''s hand, stopping only after eleven circles were formed. These circles had strange symbols, runes, which gathered the mana from the atmosphere, turning into fuel to ignite the meteor!

    All these circles merged, forming a big circle which appeared high in the sky, covering more area than the barrier which surrounded the graveyard.

    The barrier from the school was like a dome, protecting the school from attacks which came from the top. Arthur and everyone else were already inside the barrier, and with his dragon eyes, Arthur saw the highest point the barrier covered.

    "I cannot cast the meteor from that high because of the barrier, but it will work anyway."

    A few students from the Decaying Skull noticed the strange circle above their heads, as not that high in the sky.

    "What is that?" One student said.

    They did not have a good feeling about it, but everything happened so fast it did not give them any time to react. When the circle appeared in the sky, a huge meteor followed right after,ing down toward the graveyard at tremendous speed.

    "A-A-"

    These students were so shocked they could not even talk, and then the meteor hit them. The impact was so great that the tombs, tunnels and the ground itself were destroyed. The school was no more!

    A lot of dark mages died just from that attack alone, but the rank 2 mage had sensed the moment the meteor formed, so he cast a barrier to protect them, reducing the casualties by a lot.

    But that was not the important part. Now that the school was extinguished, all the traps they had set up were useless, and all the dark mages had toe out from those tunnels to fight them.

    Going inside the school would make Arthur at a disadvantage, but fighting outside? It was everything he wished for. Also, the attack harmed the core of the school''s barrier, shutting it downpletely.

    From the broken parts, a muddled age man with a scar on his right eye appeared. He opened up a tunnel on those wrecks, allowing the rest of the dark mages to leave the destroyed tunnels, appearing on the surface once again.

    It was the rank 2 mage from the school.

    "Dark mages, attack! Kill all of them! Don''t worry about their leader, as I will take care of him!"

    Seth and that mage exchanged nces and then left the battlefield to fight in a nearby area to not harm their own armies. Then, a bloodbath began!

    Mages which ranged from the ninth circle to the rank 1 marched against each other, killing without mercy. Arthur was one of those mages, and he went all out!

    He did not use his transformations, but wielded the sword Merethyl gave him, attacking those mages using a melee weapon. They weren''t particrly good in meleebat, so when Arthur dashed toward them with a speed which far surpassed what their eyes could see, it was game over.

    A rank 1 mage saw a shadow running toward him, so he prepared a spell to counter attack it, as he knew it was an enemy, but then the shadow which was still somewhat far appeared right in front of him.

    "What?"

    The dark mage saw a youth wielding a massive sword using only one arm, smirking at him like a mad beast. A sh, fast and clean, cutting the dark mage in half, sending blood and guts to all the dark mages near it, increasing the fear in their hearts.

    Arthur did not stop there, and in fact increased his speed! He channeled his lightning essence, creating thunder all around his body, like an armor. These thunders increasing his speed as they also covered his feet!

    He was not running at the speed of the light, as that was too fast for him, but it increased his speed by a huge margin, coupled with his high agility. There was no way these mages could hit him.

    Before some of these mages saw a shadow from a distance, which gave them enough time to prepare. Now? Arthur was so fast he simply appeared in front of them and ended their lives with a sword sh!

    "Can I merge my essences in my sword attacks? Let''s see!" Arthur thought.

    He focused his lightning essence on the sword and then shed it horizontally. Arthur was not sure it would work, but it did! The lightning took the form of a de sh, flying horizontally toward the dark mage army.

    It had so much power that even after cutting the first row of dark mages in half; it did not stop, going deeper and deeper toward the enemy army!

    "What is that?"

    Some mages who were still behind saw that, and wanted to run away, but it was toote! The lightning sh caught up to them, cutting them in half, just like all the rest.

    One attack from Arthur changed the course of battle, killing most of the ninth and tenth circle mages, and also a few of the Official Mage as well.

    At first, the One Hundred Thunder Academy had fewer men than the opposite side, but now? They far surpassed it, as the dark mages were only corpses!

    Everyone on that battlefield shared one thing: fear! Those mages who weren''t happy about Arthur getting the position of vice-president now wished to be far away from him and question none of his orders. He was like a demon who came to rule all of them!

    After that, Arthur did not even have to fight anymore, as the remaining mages were dealt by the others from the One Hundred Thunder Academy.

    "We won!"

    They yelled, but Arthur knew that was not the end. The person they had to kill no matter what was the rank 2 mage, or else all of them would be dead.

    Arthur looked at his own army, which had a few casualties only, and said, "I will go to help Seth if he needs to. Try to dig those wrecks and find their treasure room."

    "Understood!"

    All of them said in unison, like when speaking to a respected general from the army. Arthur could not understand their sudden shift, but did not ask further questions, leaving the area to look for Seth.

    ~~~~

    A little farther away from the graveyard, Seth was fighting against the rank 2 mage from the Decaying Skull. He believed the fight would not be that hard, but it turned out that the middle-aged mage had a few tricks on his sleeve, catching Seth off-guard.

    "Hahaha, are you tired already, Seth? Don''t worry, my dark mages are wiping the floor with your students as we speak, and now I will deal with you too!" He said.

    Arthur was hidden behind a bush, seeing the two mages fight up in the sky. He was using all the stealth skills he had, trying to avoid being detected by them, and it worked, at least for now.

    "Seth is losing. What can I do to help? I can''t possibly go up against a rank 2 mage, or can I?"

    His brain was working at his maximum, trying to see an opportunity to strike. Arthur was confident in surviving one attack from a rank 2 mage, as his teleport would prove useful in such a situation, but how could he hurt them?

    The tier 11 spells he could cast would not even pass through the natural barrier of a rank 2 mage, and even though his dragon skills had a simr power, they weren''t that strong, as he still needed to get stronger.

    While he thought of that, Seth and the middle-aged man were fighting against each other with everything they had. Seth cast multiple spells of the lightning element, while his adversary focused on the shadow element, using hidden and unpredictable attacks.

    "That is it! My Void Step! But it is dark now... Old Nefion warned me about this."

    There was no time to wait. Arthur saw the opportunity after Seth trapped the dark mage with a lightning cage. That was the chance Arthur needed to kill the rank 2 mage before it was toote.

    He took out the dark sword from his magical pouch, and when he touched it, the Monlog Giant bloodline resonated with it, increasing its power to a tremendous degree, yet Arthur was still him, not turning into a frenzied beast.

    Then, he activated his Void Step, entering a different realm which he still could notprehend. He knew Nefion warned him, but there was no other option!

 Chapter ?284 A Real Body in the Astral Plane?

    ?284 A Real Body in the Astral ne?

    The Void Step was a strange technique Nefion had taught Arthur a long time ago. It allowed the user to step foot inside the Dream Realm, which was a mysterious ce Arthur had little information about.

    Now, the Void Step took the user to an even more mysterious part of the Dream Realm, and Nefion always told Arthur he should not use that technique at night-time, as it was when strange creatures could attack him.

    If Arthur could, then surely he would avoid doing such a thing, but it was not the time to think about it! Seth was getting weaker and weaker, unable to win against that rank 2 mage.

    Seth losing there meant all the effort he put to win the battle would be useless, and everyone would die.

    "Even if I don''t kill him, hurting him will be enough! A clean hit is all I need!" Arthur thought.

    Arthur activated the Void Step, and everything around him turned darker, as if a veil was covering his vision. Then, he dashed toward the rank 2 mage, stopping right behind him in the air!

    No one from the outside world could sense him there, but that did not mean he waspletely safe! On a distant where mages were more advanced in power. A ce where they had recently returned to practice the Astral Travel. Looking for others, a young mage saw Arthur!

    "I did it. I found a with life! Who is this young man? How is he in the Astral ne without the help of tools? And with his real body? I shall share this with the teacher!"

    Arthur was clueless about this, as all he could think of was to attack the rank 2 mage in front of him and help Seth!

    He had the ck sword on hands, and then he left the Dream Realm, appearing behind the rank 2 mage like a ghost.

    It was not a good feeling to sense someone appeared out of nowhere, especially for someone with a great power. Things like that should not be possible to happen, as even if a mage hid its power, a rank 2 mage would still notice it if it got too close.

    Yet, this time, the rank 2 mage did not notice a thing. Arthur instantly gathered all the power he could and shed the back of the rank 2 mage! Everything happen so fast it was impossible for him to cast any additional barrier, and the only barrier that protected him was the natural one.

    A clean cut, sending the rank 2 mage flying toward the ground, creating a crater. Blood was everywhere, streaming from the wound caused by the sword sh.

    Arthur was surprised to see the rank 2 mage was still alive, but the damage he took was not small, and Seth would have an easy time to finish the job.

    "I am tired. Why does this sword drains so much power?"

    It was the first time Arthur used the sword''s actual power, and the first time he was not a madman while wielding it.

    Even though he only used a fraction of its power, it drained a lot of his strength, but it was worth it! The rank 2 mage was almost dead.

    "What? Arthur? How?" Seth said.

    He could not understand what had just happened, and Arthur had to wake him up from his daydreams.

    "Seth, finish it! Kill the rank 2 mage while he is down!"

    The sentence pulled Seth back to reality, as he cast his strongest spell, sending a thunder from the sky, which hit the wounded body of that mage, making it turn into a charcoal.

    It was over. Seth thought he would lose the fight, yet Arthur came to help him. That was something he was not expecting, as the gap between a rank 1 mage and a rank 2 mage was huge!

    "It was a ime secret technique. We already won the battle back at the graveyard, so I came here to check up on you. I need to rest now¡­" Arthur said.

    Sure, he was tired, but he made it act like the Void Step and the sword sh drained all of his powers as if it was a secret technique that would give him permanent injuries!

    He did not want Seth to know a lot about his secrets, and the act would also make him even more grateful toward Arthur, so it was a win-win situation.

    They returned to where all the students were, and all of them were excited to see their president and vice-president alive and well!

    "We found their treasure room! Shall we take all of it back to the school?"

    "Yes. We will share the spoils with everyone who fought the battle." Seth said.

    Everyone had smiles all over their faces as they returned to the One Hundred Thunder Academy to rest and store all spoils from the battle.

    ~~~~

    The first thing Arthur did was return to his small little cabin, and rest. When everyone arrived back at the school, Elena quickly came to check up on him to make sure he was alright.

    "You are alive!" She sighed in relief, following Arthur back to his cabin, where they would talk in private.

    Arthur was on the bed, while Elena sat on a chair in front of him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

    "Elena, are you willing to leave this school and enter Odemore?"

    "Odemore?"

    "Yes. A school created by me and my wives! Well, we still have to build it, as the real Odemore is from another continent¡­"

    "Another continent? Tell me stories about it!!!" Elena''s eyes were shining. She was a girl who loved a good story, so she could not wait to hear more about it.

    Arthur tried his best to not share too much information, especially about the location of the real Odemore, and the one on the central continent.

    "What do you say? Jane, my wife, also has lightning as her main element, so she might help you! I can help you too, but the war is crazy these days."

    Elena was looking to the ground, thinking about what she had just heard. She did not want to die, and wanted to rise above others, and maybe leave the one day! Arthur told her that was their n, and for a moment she wanted to go with them!

    But to do that, she needed to practice magic, and with this ongoing war, a weak mage like her could easily die, and all the teachers she had were upied with battles, and with protecting the school.

    They only valued ninth and tenth circle mages during war times, so Elena was not receiving anything! She felt so unlucky.

    After finally being able to join an excellent school, something like that happened. Elena''s parents were so proud of her joining such a prestigious ce, and now she could perish before meeting them again¡­

    "I-I will join your school! If I stay here, then I can die at any second¡­ But is it okay for me to stay with your wives? Wouldn''t they get the wrong idea¡­?" Elena said with her cheeks turning red, panting.

    "It is okay. We can leave next week, so you have some time to prepare."

    She nodded, leaving Arthur''s cabin after that.

    Arthur, though, had a strange feeling, thinking about the consequences of using the Void Step during the night.

 Chapter ?285 A Letter to Ouroboros

    ?285 A Letter to Ouroboros

    The One Hundred Thunder Academy spent the week recovering from the battle, as well as fortifying the school in case the dark mages attacked it. Everyone was feeling good after the victory, and the news about the other top schools winning their own battles increased that feeling, but not everything was roses.

    A few schools lost their battles and now were no more. The top 10 schools were the only ones who came on top after the first sh with little deaths, but the weaker schools did not have a good time.

    Not only these schools, but the constant attack of bandits and dark mages on the roads, inside the cities, and any potential ce made the normal poption fearful of leaving their houses.

    The central continent was dealing with one of its darkest eras, and the feeling of uncertainty was something no one liked.

    Arthur spend the week resting, reading, meditating and taking care of his garden, but he still heard the news about what happened to the other schools.

    He wondered if it would be safe to send Elena away, so he used the secret mark to send a message to Wisa and Jane, sharing the news he had about the battles, and also asking them if everything was alright.

    Based on what they told him, there was no strange movement around the area, and they were ready to ept students, but Wisa and Jane felt that would attract too much attention during these turbulent times, so she did not recruit anyone yet.

    Arthur had never thought about that, and it was surely something to consider. If they started getting too many students now, it would get the attention of those dark mages, which would be bad.

    "A few students should not be a problem, but that''s something to consider for the future." He thought.

    Elena was excited throughout the entire week, eager to meet her new teachers, who were Arthur''s wives! Also, she liked the idea of going into a remote ce, which sounded way safer than where she currently was, consider the war situation.

    "I will leave for a few days, maybe a month. Contact me if anything goes wrong." Arthur said.

    Both he and Seth were talking inside the meeting room they often used.

    "You''re leaving? Can you do me a favor, then?"

    "Sure. What is it?"

    "Send this letter to the Ouroboros school. With the seal on it, they will let you in."

    "What? Can I ask why?"

    "Unfortunately, it is confidential. Do you know where the Ouroboros Ind is? No? Give me your map."

    Arthur left the meeting room with a puzzled expression. Why would Seth want to send a letter to the Ouroboros school? Couldn''t they just send messages using magic?

    He did not have the answer for that. Perhaps the location of the school was so remote it was impossible to send messages using magic? That was the only thing Arthur could think of.

    After he returned to his cabin, Arthur tried to open the letter, because well, he was curious, but when he looked at the letter, there was nothing written on it.

    "Of course this would happen. Anyway, Seth did not give me a time limit, so I will deliver it after going to Odemore. Now that I think of, the ind is not that far from Odemore..."

    The location Jane and Wisa found for Odemore was near the ocean, far in the north part of the continent. Arthur saw where Seth marked the Ouroboros Ind, and it was also at the north part of the continent.

    "Could this be the reason no school got our location before? It was an excellent spot, yet not a single school had been built there."

    Maybe everyone was just afraid to build their own school near Ouroboros. Arthur would be too if he knew their location was there.

    For a moment he worried if the construction of Odemore would face some troubles with the Ouroboros school there, but he tossed the thought to the back of his mind, and prepared for the uing trip.

    If Arthur wanted to, he could use his anchor spell to instantly reach Odemore, but he was not sure if he could bring someone as weak as Elena with him. She could get harmed during the teleport.

    Also, the anchor had a long cooldown, so he wished to only use it when necessary. Another journey throughout the continent was fun, especially with thepany of a gorgeousdy.

    "Can we go now?" Elena said.

    She was inside Arthur''s cabin, waiting for him.

    "Sure, you go first and wait for me outside the school. I need to gather these herbs before leaving."

    Elena nodded and left. Arthur was slowly detaching from the One Hundred Thunder Academy, as he would eventually go to Odemore.

    Also, before he wanted to find a ce to nt his bloodline tree inside one peak of the school, but now he was thinking of building a secret ce near Odemore, nting it there.

    That way it would be safer, as he never knew if the school would suffer another attack. He went outside, gathered all the herbs from his garden, and then left.

    On his way out of the school, Laura came out of nowhere to talk with him.

    "Where are you going, Arthur?" She said.

    "Me? I don''t see why I have to tell you. But as we are friends, I am just leaving to deal with a few personal things."

    "Oh? Is that why Elena left first? Are you two in a romance?"

    "Shut up, I am married, you idiot. Anyway, what do you want?"

    "I was wondering if I could go with you? Master told me to stay away from the school for a few months, as he is afraid of retaliation and does not want me to get killed."

    "Really? Alright, but if you piss me off, I will throw you to the wolves."

    Now, the journey with Elena turned out to have another person in it. Arthur nned to leave Laura in Odemore as well, perhaps helping Elena with her practice.

    They both left the school and met with Elena, who was waiting for them just outside of the barrier.

    "Laura? Is sheing with us?"

    "Do you know me? Well, everyone does around here, hehehe."

    "Don''t brag. Yes, she is, but if she pisses you off, just tell me."

    Arthur was worried they would not get along, but within minutes Elena and Laura were happily chatting about many things, especially about magic.

    Their destiny? Odemore, which was still far away. Arthur wanted to rx a bit, so when they reached the nearest city, he was a mount, which was arge green lizard.

    It was big enough to have a small structure above its back, like a tiny house or a carriage. That way, only one person had to control the lizard while two could rest.

    Obviously, Arthur had to be the first one to control it while Elena and Laura had fun talking to each other,ying on twofy beds.

    They were leaving the school, but little did they know a lot of things would happen around that area, and maybe the central continent would soon face even more dangers.

 Chapter 286 Attacked in the Woods by a Gorgeous Woman

    286 Attacked in the Woods by a Gorgeous Woman

    They passed through lots of beautiful cities, but its citizens weren''t happy with the ongoing war. Some cities had their walls damaged by the attack of dark mages, as well as some destroyed buildings.

    Arthur saw fearful families packing up their belongings, looking for a better ce to live, perhaps far away from the main part of the continent, as that was where most of the attacks were happening.

    An unpleasant sight. Arthur did not want these people to suffer. They weren''t even mages, but normal people who took care of their farms and lived a simple life. Why were the dark mages attacking them, too?

    As they had no way of helping them now, Arthur, Elena and Laura kept going, passing through gorgeous sceneries. From rivers to mountains, from forests to ins.

    There was even a desert, which was easy to navigate through it with the help of his lizard mount. Speaking of mounts, Elena often took out the Griffin Arthur gave her, allowing to fly around them, and enjoy the trip with them.

    When they got close to Odemore, a creature came to wee them. Someone Arthur had not seen in a long time. A voice echoed inside his mind, making him angry just to hear it.

    "Arthur, idiot. You finally came to take away my peace!"

    "Oh, shut up Sully. You are the one always begging for food and snoring so loud no one can sleep. Now that I am here, you will sleep at least 5 kilometers away from the school!"

    "Five kilometers? Ha, now that you are here, I will sleep beside your room, you bastard!"

    The two kept exchanging insults through their mind connection, but when both of them saw each other after a long time, they hugged.

    Well, not a hug, as Sully was immense, even more than before, but it was a sign of friendship.

    Sully had the number 102 above his head! He was already level 102. That was insane. Speaking of which, Arthur wanted to evolve Sully''s bloodline from a wyvern to a dragon, but he was not sure if Sully had already grown to its peak power.

    "What is this thing? Is this your pet?" Elena said.

    Both she and Laura were trembling in fear after sensing the auraing from Sully, as well as seeing its appearance. They were relieved to see it was a friend and not a foe.

    "Yes, his name is Sully. Anyway, let''s keep moving." Arthur said.

    Odemore was close, so they kept moving, with Sully hovering above them. Soon, the familiar mountain entered their sights, and as they got closer, they saw the main building of the school!

    The workers had left afterpleting the main building, as they wanted some time to rest before taking on more parts of the school. Still, just the main building alone was quite impressive.

    It had many floors, with libraries, ssrooms,boratories and everything a student would want. Wisa and Jane also created a stronger barrier around the school, but they weren''t that good for magical formations, so they were waiting for Arthur toe by and help them.

    He had to send them a message saying he would stop by, so when Arthur appeared in front of the main building, the surprise was there, but it was not as big as before.

    Still, they were more than happy to see their husband again, rushing toward him for a hug and some warm kisses. Laura and Elena watched everything from the sidelines, not muttering a single word.

    "I remember you," Jane said, looking at Laura, and then she looked at Elena, and said, "aren''t you the girl Arthur helped back at the first vige we came across?"

    "Yep, that is me, Elena. It is a pleasure to be here in Odemore."

    "Right. Husband told us about you wanting to be the first student. We will be d to help you!"

    They all got together really well, and Elena was already walking inside the main building, exploring the ssrooms and the library. She found it fascinating and had a huge smile after she heard Jane saying she would start teaching her the next day!

    With the war, it had been a while since Elena had a decent time to practice with a teacher, but now Jane was so happy to teach her, wanting to start right at the next day. That meant a lot to her.

    Laura was also feeling at home, and as she also had the lightning element, she was thinking of watching Jane''s ss, and maybe ask for a few tips, as she was now close to reach the level of an Official Mage, something she dreamed of achieving since a long time ago.

    As for Arthur, he was roaming around the area where Odemore would be, marking a line to see the range of the barrier he wished to create.

    There were lots of mountains around the area, but the barrier could not protect all of it, at least not the first one he wanted to create.

    So, he wanted to first create a barrier to protect the main area, which was basically the mountain they were in. As for the surrounding mountains, it would take them a long time to build there, so that was something to work on in the future.

    He also checked a ce for his bloodline tree and created a hole in the back part of the mountain to nt the tree inside of it.

    It would still get the sunlight to the tree, and would also be hidden not only behind the barrier of the school but also inside a hole where he would put some other formations, making it invisible as well.

    Even if someone took full control of Odemore, it would be hard for it to find that spot. Arthur thought it was perfect, but he wished to first set all the formations and nt the tree only after that.

    "So? Can you make a formation for us, husband?"

    "Yes, but I will need a few items. Also, there is something important we need to discuss." Arthur said to Wisa, who came to look for him in the forest.

    "Okay, darling, but we can discuss thatter." She said, pushing him toward a tree.

    Wisa then kissed his neck a few times, as well as his mouth. She then tied up her hair in a ponytail, went on her knees, and started his job.

    She had missed her husband''s dick and could not wait for bedtime. She wanted it now! Wisa rubbed it using both of her hands, and spit on it to make it easier for her to suck it!

    A man and a woman having a good time inside a forest. Wisa put the dick all the way inside her throat, choking with it, and yet smiling.

    ~~~~

    "Why took you so long?"

    "We were working on the perimeter for the barrier. Anyway, where is Jane?"

    "She is in that cabin over there! While me and Elena will sleep in that cabin over there!" Laura said, pointing to two different locations.

    Arthur nodded and then went to his cabin to talk with Wisa and Jane about the Ouroboros situation.

 Chapter ?287 Demon Lord Arthur!

    ?287 Demon Lord Arthur!

    The three of them were inside the wooden cabin, talking about something really important. Arthur had discovered about Ouroboros just a few days ago, so even he was scared about it.

    "What? The strongest and most mysterious school is near us? Fuck, no wonder this incredible ce with high mana density has no one around it." Jane said.

    They had searched for a long time to find the perfect spot to build Odemore, and it was a ce with incredible mana density.

    Jane and Wisa thought it was luck ying a role in their finding, but it turned out the reason no one was in that region was because of the Ouroboros school.

    "Well, I will go deliver them a letter, so I will check if they are that bad, and maybe with a good rtionship between me and them, our situation can soften a little." Arthur said.

    He was trying his best to not think about the worst. Also, he was sure that with a great power he would be able to standalone against all of those schools, so what was the point?

    Given him enough time, Arthur would surely rise above all of them, but that could only happen with that time. If the Ouroboros attacked them, then it was over.

    Still, Ouroboros was not a school of dark mages, and everything showed they would attack no one without reason. They would probably warn them first if Odemore was in a ce they did not wish a school in it.

    Anyway, Arthur shared everything he knew about Ouroboros, as well as the situation about the war. After all those boring subjects were settled, it was time for some fun!

    A threesome inside a small wooden cabin which only had the lights of a candle was surely romantic and hot. Arthur was on the bed with both of his wives sucking up his dick.

    It felt good, especially when one of them sucked the dick, while the other sucked his balls. He could finally rx and have some fun after all the bad things happening.

    "Come here. I want to fuck you two."

    Arthur ced both of his girls on all fours.

    "Who wants to be the first?" He said.

    Wisa had some fun back in the forest, so she allowed Jane to get fucked first.

    "Here I go!" Arthur said, pping both butts and then putting his dick inside Jane''s pussy.

    He was not stopping there. While his hips moved to fuck her, his right arm fingers yed with Wisa''s pussy, making both of his wives to moan with pleasure.

    They changed to all kinds of positions, but Arthur was a little limited as he still only had one arm¡­ But that did not make the night less pleasing to any of them.

    Arthur loved to see the perfectly rounded boobs bounce while Wisa and Jane got fucked. It was a scene pleasing to his eyes!

    Jane noticed it. She squeezed her own boobs with her hands, and said, "do you want to suck these tits my darling? Come here."

    The way she said that was so hot it made Arthur''s dick harder! Of course, he would not say no to such a wonderful request. He sucked both of her tits, and Wisa''s tits. He was in paradise!

    Not only that, but they used their boobs to rub his dick. Arthur was already at the end, and when those soft boobs kept rubbing his dick, the pleasure was immense.

    He sent a load of cum on Jane''s and Wisa''s tits. They licked each other''s boobs after that.

    "I still have energy. Come here, hehe!"

    Wisa and Jane already had a lot of orgasms, but they also had energy as well! That was one benefit from the Monlog Giant bloodline they got.

    With that, they barely sleep, and fucked during the entire night¡­

    ~~~~

    The next day was the day Arthur would leave Odemore once again. Elena and Laura would stay there, learning from Wisa and Jane, but he still had something to do, and that was to get the materials for the magical formation, and also deliver the mysterious letter Seth gave him.

    "Goodbye, everyone. I will return as quickly as possible. Send me a message if anything happens." He said, giving his wives a hug and a kiss.

    Sully was still around, and they were also in a remote ce, so everything should be fine.

    Arthur ced a hood on, and left Odemore, going toward the beach, which was still two days away from where he was. Now that he was well-rested after traveling using a mount, he traveled as quickly as possible, running, flying and using his teleport like a madman.

    Last night, after he had sex with his wives, Arthur had finally reached an enormous mark, level 100! Now, ording to what his system said, his dragon transformation would turn him into an actual dragon.

    He was eager to try it out, but he gathered all the mental strength he had to not do it. Just like if all the stages of his transformation, he would get a debuff after using it.

    The debuff got stronger depending on the stage of his transformation, so Arthur was sure turning into a dragon, thest stage of the skill, would get him a huge debuff.

    Ouroboros was the next ce he would go, so saving up strength was a good idea, but Arthur had to try hard to avoid the thought of turning into a dragon, because that was just AWESOME!

    "How long does the transformationst? How big will I be? There are so many questions, aaaagggrr, I want to try it out!!!"

    After two days of traveling, a city could be seen. Not an immense city, but a small vige with a simple harbor. That was the ce where he could get a boat to reach the ind where the Ouroboros school was.

    He went inside the city, and did not stop at an inn or anything like that, but went straight to the port. It was daytime, so the few people who lived in that ce were active, especially those who worked in the harbor.

    "Who are you? What do you want?"

    A youth with the uniform of the Ouroboros school was there. Just like the jobs one could get back in any schools, the Ouroboros also had things like that.

    The student would have to stay a few days taking care of the city, as well as meeting with anyone who wished to go to Ouroboros.

    Arthur took out his hood to speak with the youth, and when he did, the student actually recognized him.

    "Demon Lord Arthur? Why are you here? It is a pleasure to meet you."

    "Demon Lord? What is this? How do you know me?"

    Even though the youth was from the strongest school, he still acted respectful toward Arthur, as he was not only famous, but an Official Mage, someone with a higher rank than him.

    "I saw you back at the tournament. You are the person who was beside Jim, right? And about your nickname, everyone calls you that. Rumors spread about a demon who killed many on the battlefield."

    "Really? That is unexpected. So, let''s get to the business. I have a letter here that I need to deliver to your school. It is from Seth. Can you scout me there?"

    Arthur thought it would have some troubles, but no.

    "Of course. Hop on the boat!"

 Chapter 288 The Mysterious President of the Ouroboros School

    288 The Mysterious President of the Ouroboros School

    The vehicle they took to reach the Ouroboros Ind was not a ship but a small boat which barely fit five people at the same time.

    "There are better ships, but these are only used when we need to transport a high number of students. Don''t feel bad, even the rector of other top ranked schools go to the ind using this small boat!" The youth said, trying to make Arthur feel better about it.

    Arthur did not mind it at all. He was happy to enter Ouroboros with minor problems. It would take them a few hours to reach the ind, which was not that much time.

    Along the way, he talked with the student, trying to get as much information as he could about the school, and it worked!

    "Our school is a mystery to most people, but you are a strong and famous rank 1 mage, so you will eventually know more about it, but I don''t think I am the person to tell you everything."

    "I see."

    Although Arthur got some information, it was only basic stuff, which was not that interesting to him. He hoped that Jim or someone else would tell him more about Ouroboros.

    He did not annoy the youth, and treated him with respect. A good rtionship with the Ouroboros school was a must, so Arthur would not act rude, even in front of someone far weaker than him.

    Then, after some time sailing in that tiny boat, Arthur saw it, the Ouroboros Ind! It was way bigger than he expected, reminding him of some of the biggest inds he saw back when he got shipwrecked.

    When they stopped the boat on the ind''s shore, Arthur noticed a lot of snakes crawling around.

    "Our ind is filled with them. We shared some simrities, such as stealth attacks and poison." The mage said.

    Some other mages appeared after the boat arrived on the shore, wanting to see who exactly it was.

    "Aren''t you supposed to be down in the vige? We know the job is boring, but it was your turn now."

    "And who is this person with you?"

    The group of mages could not see Arthur''s face, as he was gazing in a different direction. When he turned to face them, all of them had shocked expressions.

    "Demon Lord Arthur!"

    Most of them had never seen Arthur, but the rumors shared how he looked, and everyone knew the Demon Lord Arthur only used his right arm to give its opponents a chance!

    The rumor about Arthur visiting the ind spread as fast as lightning, and while he was making his way through the path, Jim appeared to wee him!

    "Arthur, long time no see."

    "Jim! You did not need to wee someone like me."

    "Cut the non-sense. You are famous, and almost all the rank 1 mages know about you. Also, we can safely say we are friends, right?"

    "Absolutely. Tell me, what did I miss?"

    They talked to each other while walking on a pathway which led toward the school itself. Different from all the other schools, Ouroboros seemed like it did not have a n. The buildings were scattered inside the woods, and ording to what Jim said, anyone could build anything, as long as the president allowed it.

    "He usually allows anything. Look, a student wanted to build a statue of a naked woman, and there you have it!"

    Jim pointed to a ce where a realistic statue of a gorgeous woman was. It waspletely naked, and just beside it was also a realistic naked man!

    "What is that for? The same student?"

    "What? Oh, no, a female student wanted a naked man, so the president allowed it too!"

    Arthur was understanding why the Ouroboros school was mysterious, and most people could not go there. They were crazy!

    He tried to forget about the things he saw on his way, until finally reaching the main building of the school, which was a vast mansion made of a ck stone with nts all around and inside.

    "The president wants to talk with you in private. Don''t worry, I think you and him will be good friends."

    "Oh? You think so?"

    "Absolutely! Our school reached even greater heights after he took control of it!" Jim said.

    "Wait, is he a new president?"

    "Yes, anyway, go inside. He is waiting for you behind that door."

    They went inside the main building, going up to thest floor, where only a few people could enter, and that was where the president of the Ouroboros School spent most of his time.

    Arthur was nervous to meet with such a crazy person capable of allowing its students to build realistic naked statues. That was too much!

    But when Arthur went inside the room where the president was, his mind went nk. Not only his mind, but the president''s mind as well.

    For a moment, Arthur thought he was seeing things, as that was not possible at all, but after blinking for a few times, the president was still there, looking at him dumbfounded.

    It turned out, the mysterious president of the mysterious Ouroboros School, the person who allowed their students to do these pervert things such as building naked statues was¡­

    "Old Nefion?"

    A warmth entered inside Arthur''s heart. Nefion was someone who went from an unknown person to a grandfather to him. He could not believe Nefion was there, of all ces!

    "Arthur? How are you here? This is, hahaha!"

    The two hugged each other. Tears streamed down their faces, as they could not hold it. Arthur wanted to look for Nefion. That was one thing he wanted to do before leaving the.

    He was almost sure Nefion was not even on that anymore, but that was not the case at all! The mysterious Ouroboros was now under his control!

    "We have a lot to catch up! How is Eleonora? I ended up here after fleeing from the gods, and now I do not know how to return¡­"

    Arthur exined everything that had happened. He did not mention a few things, but Nefion was someone he trusted, so he told him most of the things.

    "She is safe back at Odemore, and I know how to return, so we can go there to see her, or bring her here!"

    "Really? Are you speaking the truth to this old man?"

    "Yes, I am. Old Nefion, the president of the school I am currently in, asked me to give you this letter."

    There were a lot of things for the two to talk about, but Arthur knew the letter had some importance, or else Seth would not ask him to give it to the Ouroboros school.

    Nefion took it, and then activated it using a secret spell, allowing to read its contents. Arthur was watching everything, and he noticed how Nefion frowned a few times while reading the letter.

    "Is something wrong?" Arthur asked after Nefion was done with the reading.

    None of them spoke a word for a few seconds. Nefion sighed, and then said, "Arthur, we have more troubles, as if these dark mages weren''t enough already¡­"

    "What is it? More enemies?"

    "I will share with youter. Come, follow me. We have something important to do?"

    "What is more important than a mysterious letter which possibly talks about the destiny of this entire continent?"

    "Hehehe, the gorgeous women I hired to be the teachers often bath around this time, hehehe."

    No matter how much time it passed, some things never changed¡­

 Chapter ?289 More Problems

    ?289 More Problems

    They went to a spring where the female teachers of the Ouroboros School often bathe. Nefion knew the time and ce, as well as the locations to hide, with no one noticing it.

    It was obvious it was not the first time Nefion did that. The two of them knew it was wrong, especially Arthur, who was now married.

    "What? You have wives now? Alright, then there is more for this old man."

    "Are you sure your friend is still up to the task?" Arthur said, pointing downwards.

    "Shut up, my grandson. Everything you know, this old man knows better."

    After Nefion was done with the spying, they returned to his room to talk more about the situation. Arthur exined to him about Odemore, which was not that far from the Ouroboros Ind.

    "Yeah, you guessed it right. There are no schools around the area because we don''t allow it. So, move Odemore to another ce."

    "What?"

    The room was silent for a few seconds, and then Nefion said, "I am just joking with you, brat. You can stay there, and Ouroboros will protect you if anything happens."

    He tapped Arthur on the shoulder,ughing after seeing his face.

    "You actually believed in that. What an idiot."

    "Oh, shut up, old man. Now, what was that letter about? I am curious."

    "About that¡­ Well, it seems there is a ce called the Demon Continent in this world, and they want to take control of the Central Continent now."

    "What? Now we have to deal with dark mages, and also this Demon Continent?"

    "Yep, we are screwed. Also, brat, are you a rank 1 mage already? Impressive."

    "I am awesome, right? What rank are you, old man?"

    "Well, just like you, I have an incredible body, but I am already at the rank 2, and on my way to reach rank 3 soon!"

    "Really? Pretty good for someone your age."

    "Shut up! Anyway, we have to end this war with the dark mages as soon as possible. This letter said there are only rumors, and the Demon Continent should only invade us in the future, but if this ongoing warsts for too long, then we will not have the time to recover."

    Nefion was right. If they took too long to win this war, then the Demon Continent would attack them in their weakest state. Another thing to consider was that the dark mages were working together with the Demon Continent.

    "Don''t you think it is strange for this Demon Continent to wage war against us suddenly? Just like the dark mages¡­ Couldn''t they be working together old man?"

    "Oh? Now that you say this, it makes sense. This might be even worse than we thought¡­ Well, what do you think we should do?" Nefion said.

    Arthur was someone good with fighting, but he did not have the knowledge of how to stop a war. The first thing that came to his mind was to kill the person behind the dark mages, but no one knew who it was.

    "Kill those in charge would make the most sense, but we don''t know who it is."

    "The other schools don''t, but I do!"

    "Really?"

    "Of course, this is me we are talking about." Nefion said, bragging.

    "Right. Someone as old as this has a lot of experience."

    "Why can''t you appreciate how bad ass your grandfather is? Anyway, the person in charge is a rank 3 mage, and that is where the problemys."

    "A rank 3 mage? But our side surely has someone with a simr level of power?"

    Nefion did not answer him, which could only mean one thing.

    "How can we not have a rank 3 mage?"

    "As far as I know, everyone who reached the rank 3 would be expelled from the by the gods, but that was before when they were around here exploring the portal which appeared and   . They aren''t here anymore, which means anyone who advances can stay here if they want to."

    After that exnation, it all made sense. The gods were there studying the portal through which Arthur came through. It seemed they were there studying that very portal for a long time, even before Arthur passed through it.

    But now they left and this rank 3 mage behind the dark mages probably advanced to the rank 3 in that time frame.

    "Why doesn''t he attack us then? If he is the only rank 3 mage in the Central Continent, then he can do whatever he wants."

    "The thing is, he does not know about the gods expelling the other rank 3 mages, which means he thinks there is more waiting for him to make his move. That is why he is acting in the shadows."

    "Oh, it makes sense. At least this will give us some time to prepare, but what will we do? I don''t see where I can help with my meager power."

    Arthur knew he was far surpassed the general rank 1 mages, and even killed a rank 2, though it was using a surprise attack.

    A rank 3 mage? That was a force he could not go up against, and even he, a prideful person, knew it was impossible.

    "I need you to enter the school that rank 3 mage is in charge of, and learn more about him for me. While you do that, I will reach the rank 3 to go up against him,"

    "You probably have some essences already, right? I can help you with the Shadow Essence, as that is the element most of these dark mages use."

    "So you want me to enter a school filled with dark mages who will kill me if they discover my identity? The same ce where a rank 3 mage is?"

    "You can do it!" Nefion said, giving Arthur a thumbs up.

    "But will they ept more students? Aren''t they in the middle of a war?"

    "Yes. They are like us, just chilling with all the students going to ss just like before. That man is behind the strongest school of the dark arts."

    "How long will it take?"

    "Hum, a year maybe. The n is for you to enter as a new student, and make your way through the school ranks, until reaching a point where that rank 3 mage trusts you. By that time, I will also be at the rank 3, and we can work together to end the war."

    "Okay, alright. Can you monitor Odemore for me, old man?"

    "No problem. Come, follow me. We will have to prepare first."

    Everything was happening so fast Arthur could barely keep it up, but he knew it was something only he could do.

    Nefion and he went to another room, which looked more like a dungeon.

    "Sit."

    Arthur did as he was told, sitting on the ground cross-legged. Nefion then went behind him, cing the hand on his back.

    He was not understanding at first, but then a strange energy entered inside his body. It was the Shadow Essence. Nefion was giving it to him, at least for the first part.

    "Unfortunately, I cannot give you theplete essence. You will have to practice, but don''t worry, with this dragon meditation technique, it should not be a problem." Nefion said, taking out an old scroll from his magical pouch.

    "Void Dragon Meditation? Isn''t this for a Void Essence?"

    "Correct. If you train with this, then your Shadow Essence will get stronger, turning into a Void Essence after itspletion. That is my secret technique."

    Arthur was lost for words. Sure, both he and Nefion were dragons, most likely one of thest, but seeing Nefion give him his secret technique made his heart warmer.

    Also, now that he remembered, he saw Nefion''s brother a long time ago! He never had the chance to speak with Nefion again, so that is why he had not told him yet.

    "Old man, a long time ago I went inside the Dream Realm, and the gods had your brother trapped."

    "WHAT?" Nefion grabbed Arthur''s shoulder.

    "Are you saying the truth? Arsin was there?"

    Nefion could not believe what Arthur was saying. He had not seen his brother since a long, long time ago. He thought Arsin was dead, but now Arthur was saying he saw him inside the Dream Realm.

    "Yes, that is right. Old man, I think this might be the best chance we have to save him. You said the gods are gone, right? So maybe they aren''t inside the Dream Realm anymore."

    "I don''t think it is that simple¡­ Was he alright?"

    "Yeah, he looked okay."

    "Okay. Let''s first focus on winning against the rank 3 mage, and then we will go after him. I don''t think we have enough strength to go inside the Dream Realm yet."

    Even though Nefion wanted to save his brother, he also knew they did not have the strength to do so.

    "Now, I will tell you everything I know about the school you will go, as well as where and when they are getting new students."

 Chapter ?290 Skipping the Test

    ?290 Skipping the Test

    The school had the name of Blood Spear and was the most famous school who taught the dark arts. What was dark arts was not the element those mages practiced, but how they did it.

    It wasmon for dark mages to perform rituals, human sacrifices, as well as necromancy and other things which weren''t seen with good eyes by the others.

    Arthur now had some understanding of the shadow element, as it was the main one they used in most of the dark mage schools, but the Blood Spear was different.

    There was a reason to why it was the strongest, and that was because of the Blood Essence their Official Mages had. A strange type of technique, one that was lost a long time ago.

    "I do have an entire inheritance about it, but I can''t use it now. Well, at least I''ll see if these blood spells are good or not." Arthur thought.

    He had the inheritance from the Blood Lord, but the strange blue bird used its power to lock it, as Arthur was not ready to use it.

    "How can I enter? Will they ask a lot of questions?" Arthur said.

    "Not at all. You just need a different appearance and then pass their test. These schools forge their students to act bad and fiercely, so not only you, but everyone who enters is still a ''good person''."

    Nefion gave Arthur more instructions, and then it was time for him to leave. The two of them wanted to spend some time together after a long time separated, but that was not possible.

    There were a lot of problems urring on the central continent, and Arthur had to start their n as quickly as possible, or else all of them could be in danger.

    "It seems I will have to create another anchor inside this school." Arthur thought.

    He had finally reunited with his wives again, but now he was sure it would take him quite some time to wander around, so an anchor would give him a chance to see his girls from time to time.

    After leaving Nefion''s room, Arthur also left the ind and went to Odemore, which was not that far. There, he exined the situation, as well as telling who the president of the school is.

    "What? Grandpa Nefion? Can I go see him?" Jane said.

    "He said he wille here soon, so just wait."

    The first part of the exnation was well received, but Arthur''s wives did not like the idea of him going undercover inside a dangerous school.

    "I know this is something you have to do, but it is too dangerous!" Wisa said.

    "Don''t worry about it. I will be okay. Remember that I have some spells to teleport here once a week, so you will see me."

    "Really?"

    When they got to know that, both Wisa and Jane rxed a little. As for Laura and Elena, they would remain in Odemore for the time being, learning from Jane and Wisa.

    Unfortunately, Arthur had to leave as quickly as possible, because the Blood Spear school was at the other corner of the continent. It would take him a long time to reach it.

    He said goodbyes to all of them, and then left, hoping that the n Nefion had would work.

    ~~~~

    A young man traveled around the continent. He wore a dark robe which covered everything from head to toes, but one could see the white brands of his hair.

    It was Arthur after he changed his appearance a little. The face was almost the same, with only a few twists. The most umon thing was his hair, which was now white.

    The Blood Spear school would ept new students soon. It would happen in a city called Shavassa, which was basically a city for rogues and bandits.

    Not only that city, but the entire region was clearly under the control of the dark mages. Any vige or city had guards, but those guards worked for the dark mages, only being there to protect the people against beast attacks, as well as to cover any mission person caused by the hands of the dark mages.

    Arthur had been traveling for quite some time, so he was not armless anymore. His left arm had grown again, and now he made a promise to not lose it, at least not soon.

    The moment he stepped inside the city, a group of bandits came from the alley.

    "Look what we have here, a wealthy boy. Give us everything you have, and then we will let you live."

    It was the same sentence every time, making Arthur wonder if all the bandits hade to an agreement about these phrases. Well, that was thest thing they would say for a few days after Arthur beat them up to almost something unrecognizable.

    Then he waited. Nefion told him the recruitment was something every dark mage knew, so Arthur noticed more and more youths, simr to him, entering the city.

    The inn he was currently in wasn''t good, and it smelled like cow shit, but it was the best one in the city, so one could imagine how the other inns looked like.

    After one more week of waiting, two Official Mages came to the city. The bandits did not even look at them, afraid they would take their lives.

    As for the guards? They bowed the moment those two mages passed, clearly showing who was the person in charge.

    Those two mages were from the Blood Spear school. They walked toward the center of the city, where most of the youths had gathered after hearing about their arrival. Arthur was there as well.

    "Oh, this year has a lot of aspiring students, but only a few of you will pass the test,"

    "The test is quite simple. First, I will test your talent and your key element to see if you fit the school. Then, we will have a duel between you, and those who die will not pass."

    When the mage said, some youths could not believe it. The first part of the test was something they had expected, so all who were there knew about their talent, but a death match?

    It was fierce, and some of them weren''t willing to lose their lives just to enter a stupid school. Some left, reducing the number of students by almost half.

    "Does anyone else wants to leave? No, then we will start."

    The mage took out a gemstone and saw the talent of all the mages present. Arthur was there to hide his real identity, but not his new one.

    He was there to reach the apex of that school, and get the trust of the rank 3 mage. For that reason, he did not hide his talent, shocking the two Official Mages.

    "This is... I don''t think there was anyone with this level of talent in our school before. Master will be pleased to have such an excellent student."

    "Calm down, he still needs to prove to us he can fight."

    "Can''t we just skip that part for him? What if he gets hurt? Master will kill us."

    "You''re right. You, stay behind us, you already passed."

    Some youths there had envy and anger after witnessing such a scene.

 Chapter 288 The Mysterious President of the Ouroboros School

    The vehicle they took to reach the Ouroboros Ind was not a ship but a small boat which barely fit five people at the same time.

    ¡°There are better ships, but these are only used when we need to transport a high number of students. Don¡¯t feel bad, even the rector of other top ranked schools go to the ind using this small boat!¡± The youth said, trying to make Arthur feel better about it.

    Arthur did not mind it at all. He was happy to enter Ouroboros with minor problems. It would take them a few hours to reach the ind, which was not that much time.

    Along the way, he talked with the student, trying to get as much information as he could about the school, and it worked!

    ¡°Our school is a mystery to most people, but you are a strong and famous rank 1 mage, so you will eventually know more about it, but I don¡¯t think I am the person to tell you everything.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Although Arthur got some information, it was only basic stuff, which was not that interesting to him. He hoped that Jim or someone else would tell him more about Ouroboros.

    He did not annoy the youth, and treated him with respect. A good rtionship with the Ouroboros school was a must, so Arthur would not act rude, even in front of someone far weaker than him.

    Then, after some time sailing in that tiny boat, Arthur saw it, the Ouroboros Ind! It was way bigger than he expected, reminding him of some of the biggest inds he saw back when he got shipwrecked.

    When they stopped the boat on the ind¡¯s shore, Arthur noticed a lot of snakes crawling around.

    ¡°Our ind is filled with them. We shared some simrities, such as stealth attacks and poison.¡± The mage said.

    Some other mages appeared after the boat arrived on the shore, wanting to see who exactly it was.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be down in the vige? We know the job is boring, but it was your turn now.¡±

    ¡°And who is this person with you?¡±

    The group of mages could not see Arthur¡¯s face, as he was gazing in a different direction. When he turned to face them, all of them had shocked expressions.

    ¡°Demon Lord Arthur!¡±

    Most of them had never seen Arthur, but the rumors shared how he looked, and everyone knew the Demon Lord Arthur only used his right arm to give its opponents a chance!

    The rumor about Arthur visiting the ind spread as fast as lightning, and while he was making his way through the path, Jim appeared to wee him!

    ¡°Arthur, long time no see.¡±

    ¡°Jim! You did not need to wee someone like me.¡±

    ¡°Cut the non-sense. You are famous, and almost all the rank 1 mages know about you. Also, we can safely say we are friends, right?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. Tell me, what did I miss?¡±

    They talked to each other while walking on a pathway which led toward the school itself. Different from all the other schools, Ouroboros seemed like it did not have a n. The buildings were scattered inside the woods, and ording to what Jim said, anyone could build anything, as long as the president allowed it.

    ¡°He usually allows anything. Look, a student wanted to build a statue of a naked woman, and there you have it!¡±

    Jim pointed to a ce where a realistic statue of a gorgeous woman was. It waspletely naked, and just beside it was also a realistic naked man!

    ¡°What is that for? The same student?¡±

    ¡°What? Oh, no, a female student wanted a naked man, so the president allowed it too!¡±

    Arthur was understanding why the Ouroboros school was mysterious, and most people could not go there. They were crazy!

    He tried to forget about the things he saw on his way, until finally reaching the main building of the school, which was a vast mansion made of a ck stone with nts all around and inside.

    ¡°The president wants to talk with you in private. Don¡¯t worry, I think you and him will be good friends.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You think so?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely! Our school reached even greater heights after he took control of it!¡± Jim said.

    ¡°Wait, is he a new president?¡±

    ¡°Yes, anyway, go inside. He is waiting for you behind that door.¡±

    They went inside the main building, going up to thest floor, where only a few people could enter, and that was where the president of the Ouroboros School spent most of his time.

    Arthur was nervous to meet with such a crazy person capable of allowing its students to build realistic naked statues. That was too much!

    But when Arthur went inside the room where the president was, his mind went nk. Not only his mind, but the president¡¯s mind as well.

    For a moment, Arthur thought he was seeing things, as that was not possible at all, but after blinking for a few times, the president was still there, looking at him dumbfounded.

    It turned out, the mysterious president of the mysterious Ouroboros School, the person who allowed their students to do these pervert things such as building naked statues was¡­

    ¡°Old Nefion?¡±

    A warmth entered inside Arthur¡¯s heart. Nefion was someone who went from an unknown person to a grandfather to him. He could not believe Nefion was there, of all ces!

    ¡°Arthur? How are you here? This is, hahaha!¡±

    The two hugged each other. Tears streamed down their faces, as they could not hold it. Arthur wanted to look for Nefion. That was one thing he wanted to do before leaving the.

    He was almost sure Nefion was not even on that anymore, but that was not the case at all! The mysterious Ouroboros was now under his control!

    ¡°We have a lot to catch up! How is Eleonora? I ended up here after fleeing from the gods, and now I do not know how to return¡­¡±

    Arthur exined everything that had happened. He did not mention a few things, but Nefion was someone he trusted, so he told him most of the things.

    ¡°She is safe back at Odemore, and I know how to return, so we can go there to see her, or bring her here!¡±

    ¡°Really? Are you speaking the truth to this old man?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am. Old Nefion, the president of the school I am currently in, asked me to give you this letter.¡±

    There were a lot of things for the two to talk about, but Arthur knew the letter had some importance, or else Seth would not ask him to give it to the Ouroboros school.

    Nefion took it, and then activated it using a secret spell, allowing to read its contents. Arthur was watching everything, and he noticed how Nefion frowned a few times while reading the letter.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Arthur asked after Nefion was done with the reading.

    None of them spoke a word for a few seconds. Nefion sighed, and then said, ¡°Arthur, we have more troubles, as if these dark mages weren¡¯t enough already¡­¡±

    ¡°What is it? More enemies?¡±

    ¡°I will share with youter. Come, follow me. We have something important to do?¡±

    ¡°What is more important than a mysterious letter which possibly talks about the destiny of this entire continent?¡±

    ¡°Hehehe, the gorgeous women I hired to be the teachers often bath around this time, hehehe.¡±

    No matter how much time it passed, some things never changed¡­<!--

    -->

 Chapter 291 Starting Anew

    The death matches happened right there in the middle of the streets. No one tried to stop these mages, and it all went like nned. Out of everyone there, the Blood Spear epted 20 new students.

    It was not a small number, and it was actually the highest number of students they epted in one go. The war made them lose lots of ''soldiers'', so it made sense for them to get more students during those times.

    As for Arthur, he watched all the fights, but did not take part. A perk he gained after showing his immense talent. Even after the test was over, and it was time for them to return to the school, those two Official Mages visibly gave Arthur a better treatment.

    Out of these 20 students, Arthur paid attention to four of them. These four were two men and two women, and they also had an extraordinary talent, and did not look angry or with envy toward him.

    Maybe the reason for it was because of their outstanding talent as well, so they knew all they had to do to surpass him was train harder.

    "Ah, uh, hello, I am Liz, nice to meet you."

    A petite girl with blond hair said. She was way smaller than Arthur, but still had quite the body with considerable boobs, butt, and a thin waist.

    She was one of the four students Arthur was paying attention to and went to speak with him on her own.

    "Arthur. Nice to meet you too."

    "Can I walk up with you?"

    "Sure."

    They talked along the way about many things, and Liz looked and sounded innocent. Arthur felt pit about the things she would have to face inside the school, which would probably change her forever.

    Out of the other three who Arthur was paying attention to, only one of them came to talk with him. It was a youth called Lucas, and both he and Arthur quickly became friends, as they would soon be neers to the school.

    "How do you think the school looks like? I only heard stories about it, but they said there is a huge demon heading out of the ground, and its horns formed two mountains!" Lucas said.

    It sounded absurd, but Arthur had seen so many things in that world he thought it could be true in the end. Their journey was not long, reaching Blood Spear in about a day.

    The test happened in Shavassa because it was one city under the school''s control, and not that far from it, making it easier for the new students to reach the school safely.

    "This is it! We are here. I will exin everything to you, so listen."

    "The two mountain peaks you see are prohibited, and only the leader and the members of the Blood Council can enter. One day if you reach a high level of power you can try to enter the council, but as for now, that is prohibited ground for all of you."

    "And the rest of us, including the scarce number of teachers in this ce, we live around here. You can build your home anymore, live inside caves, inside the forest, underground, steal the house of someone else. We don''t care. Anything here can be disputed in a death duel."

    "Take this. A magical pouch with your uniform, a few instructions, and a few starting spells for you, as well as the meditation technique. Train harder, as the stronger you are, the more opportunities are around here. Now, bye-bye!"

    The two mages exined everything, and then left, leaving the 20 new students dumbfounded. Now it was up to them to survive in such a fierce ce, yet they did not give them anything to work with.

    Some of the older students from the school walked around the area, ncing at the neers as if they were prey, yet no one attacked them.

    Arthur guessed this ce still had some rules. Maybe they could not attack neers, or maybe a duel to the death required a decent motive. Who knows?

    "What will we do now?" One student said.<sub> </sub>

    They weren''t used to such situation, not understanding how to survive.

    Arthur was not willing to stand there like an idiot. He walked toward an empty area, and then he heard a voice, "can I go with you?"

    "I also want to go!"

    It was Liz and Lucas, the two neers Arthur talked to during the trip. He did not mind them following him, so he said, "as long as you don''t get in my way."

    After they left, the other students did the same. Some left alone, others with friends, but all of them left. Now their mission was to thrive in that ce, get stronger, and then get recognition for their school.

    "Where should we start? Isn''t this ce a little too far?" Liz said.

    "It is still inside the school barrier, so we are good. The first thing we need is a house for us to stay, but there is no way he can build that tonight, so fire and food."

    "I can hunt for us. My father taught me." Lucas said. He wanted to be useful, and hunting was one of the few things he was good at.

    "Okay. Liz and I will get the fire going, as well as a temporary shelter."

    Truth be told, Arthur did not need a shelter, and could actually just use his spells to create a house made of earth within minutes, but he was pretending to be a weak student, and a weak student would want a shelter in that scenario.

    While Lucas went hunting, Liz went looking for branches and leaves to create a temporary house for them. Arthur was to get fresh water and a fire going.

    "It should have a river nearby. Oh, there it is."

    Arthur was the river where all the students got their water from. It crossed the entire school, and there was enough for everyone.

    Where Arthur was, some other students were getting their water too, a few of them being the neers.

    "Prepare to suffer next month, fresh blood. Do you know why you are still here? It is because we cannot attack new students before the first month passed, or else you would be dead by now!"

    The older students passed by the new ones and threatened them with offensive words. Also, just like Arthur had guessed, they could not attack the new students before a month passed.

    But what was the reason behind it, anyway? Why would they attack others without reason? Even a dark arts school would not allow their students to kill each other without motive.

    "Is it to create fierce mages? A merciless environment will surely turn them into something they would never reach while training in peace."

    It had to be that or the higher ups of the school were madmen. Arthur wanted to believe that was not the case.

    And, just like them, Arthur was also a new student and had to hear offensive words.

    "Pretty little boy with white hair. Are you really a boy or a girl?"

    "Your mother did not have any doubtsst night."

    For the first time in a long time, a new student stepped up against the older one. Now that Arthur knew he had one month of peace, he would not let them act as they wished!

 Chapter 292 Empty School

    They did not attack Arthur, or did anything at all. The same youth who was saying those bad words to them said, "I will remember you face." Then left.

    Arthur was not concerned with it at all. Even though he was pretending to be someone weaker, there was no chance he would lose to these people who barely had any actualbat in their lives.

    He got his water and then returned to the remote ce they built their temporary shelter. There, Lucas had returned with a few rabbits.

    "I''ll return to get a bigger one." Lucas said.

    Anyone could tell it had been tiring for him to hunt in that area, as it had many magical beasts.

    "Don''t. I will get a few more for us, just rest near the campfire." Arthur said.

    Lucas nodded and did as he was told. Liz had already made a fire for them, so he wanted to get some rest, but did not want to say it aloud. Arthur dropped the basket with water near them and left.

    Getting a few animals to eat was an easy one. Lucas may have been taught by his father, but Arthur had hunt since the first week he went to that world.

    He got a few more rabbits, and a deer for them as well. All of that in ten minutes! Well, Arthur got them earlier, but waited some time to not look suspicious.

    "Oh! Nice work Arthur!"

    A few praises after he returned, and then the three of them were around the fire, eating the recently sliced deer meat, and chatting.

    "Will we be in danger next month?" Liz said.

    She heard from Arthur about the one peaceful month they would have, and that worried her. Lucas felt the same.

    Arthur was chugging a piece of meat and then he said, "all we can do is get stronger. There is no other way around this."

    "You''re right! Let''s help each other build a temporary shelter and then start our meditation practice!"

    Lucas cheered them up, and after their dinner of meat, the three of them helped each other to build a shelter. It was basically a small cabin made of long branches from the trees and leaves.

    Not the safest ce, neither the prettiest, but it was a start, and would get them through the night just fine. They build two of them. One slightly bigger, as it would be the ce where Lucas and Arthur would be, and one smaller just for Liz.

    They did not want her to feel ufortable, so that was what they did to make things easier for her. Then, it was time for the practice!

    Arthur analyzed the meditation technique he got from the school, and it was not special at all. Sure, it would absorb mana faster for them, as well as increasing their shadow essence, but that was it.

    He did not see any benefit of practicing it over the Void Dragon Meditation Nefion gave him. The void meditation was better at all aspects, so he opted to train in that one instead.

    No one in the school would notice it either, as it first train the shadow essence just like the other techniques. For them, it would look like the same from the outside, but Arthur knew how much better Nefion''s technique was.

    Lucas and Arthur started their training inside the little hut, and Liz did the same in her hut as well. The meditation technique of both took effect, gathering the mana from the atmosphere, putting it inside their mana core!

    Not only that, but it turned a small fraction of it into shadow essence, slowly increasing it as they meditate. It was a slow process, but it was happening, and training with this type of technique since the start would prove very helpful in the future!

    "Ah! I feel like I can reach the 2nd circle this week." Lucas said,ying on a bunch of leaves, looking at the stars through a tiny hole in their roof.

    "Just keep at it, and-" Arthur could not finish his sentence, as Lucas''s roaring echoed inside the little hut.

    "Of course he is tired."<sub> </sub>

    Different from him, Arthur was not feeling like sleeping, and practice the entire night. The void meditation was way better than the one the school gave them, but Arthur also discovered something else.

    It was easier to meditate during nighttime, and the effects were way better. He was sure that would be the case for the meditation technique from the school as well, but few of the students knew about it, as no one told them.

    "Good morning."

    "What? You are already up? Are you even human?"

    Lucas stretched himself after waking up, and was surprised to see Arthur already awake. If he remembered it correctly, he had been the first to sleep, and yet woke up after.

    He felt like he was cking off with his training, and a burst of energy entered his body.

    "I will not let my bro Arthur get stronger than me!"

    "What are you even saying, Lucas? Also, there is something I want to share with you and Liz."

    They went outside to meet with Liz, who was already awake too, and did the breakfast for them. Arthur then exined he noticed the meditation technique being better at night time!

    "Really? Well, it makes sense since it is a meditation of the shadow element, but are we supposed to turn into vampires? Sleep during the day and train during the night." Liz said.

    "Look around."

    "Huh?"

    When they scanned their surroundings, there was almost no one. Only a few of the neers were walking through the school, but everyone who was an older student was not around. It looked like a desert school.

    "So that is why there were lots of peoplest night, and now this ce is deserted. Everyone here usually sleeps during the day, and train during the night!"

    Realization stroke them. Arthur understood the part where they wanted to max out their training speed, but living like that wouldn''t harm them?

    Well, for him, that was not a problem, since his body could work just fine with no sleep.

    "Should we go back to sleep, then?"

    "After lunch, maybe."

    The three of them lived their morning normally, and then take a nap after lunch to save more energy to train during the night.

    It would take them some time to readjust, but if they never started it, then it would never happen. They finished their breakfast and went to a nearby river to take a bathe.

    After doing all of that, there wasn''t much they could do. Arthur told them he would leave for some time, and so he did.

    He needed to explore the school, and what better time than during the day when most of the students were sleeping?

    There was nothing that especially, only a few houses built by the students themselves, but those houses had a secret!

    "I cannot sense anyone inside these houses. There is no breathing at all!" Arthur thought.

    Then, he chose one house that had a weak magical formation around it, and broke it with ease. Once inside, he did not see anyone, but after a quick search, he noticed a small trapdoor.

 Chapter 293 The Peace Ended

    "A trapdoor? What is this?"

    Arthur knew a trapdoor would lead to an underground area, but what could be down there? He was expecting some kind of basement, but what he found was something incredible, and also unexpected.

    He opened the trapdoor and went down through a staircase. Then, he saw an entire underground area with many buildings, libraries, shops, and anything one could imagine.

    "Is this the real school?"

    The students of the Blood Spear school lived in the underground. Arthur sensed nothing at all back when he was on the surface. A magical barrier protected the underground from not only attacks, but from scouting as well.

    One of the impressive things Arthur saw down there was the roof. It was translucent, meaning one could see the sky from the underground, yet anyone outside would see nothing.

    "Impressive work!"

    Almost all the students were asleep, but some stores were still open, though Arthur was not sure if he would want to explore it.

    The new students did not know that ce existed, and if he went down there, and someone recognized him, then the question of how he entered inside that ce would appear.

    They would know he went inside one house without permission, and that would bring the anger of many students. Arthur knew he would eventually get some attention because of his strength, but getting unnecessary attention was just dumb.

    For the time being, the best move was to avoid going inside that ce.

    "We are neers, so no wonder none of us knew about this." Arthur thought.

    Since there was nothing he could do down there, Arthur explored the rest of the upper area of the school.

    Compared to what he had seen in the underground city, the surface left something to be desired. Just a few huts and that was it.

    "On the surface, the only decent ces are the two mountain peaks, where the principal and the blood council are."

    With nothing to do, Arthur returned to his temporary home where he found Lucas and Liz, who were talking about various things, mostly about magic.

    "You''ve already made so much progress in just one day, Lucas. How envious! I wish I could conjure spells..." Liz said, looking down with a downcast face.

    "Don''t feel that way, Liz. I''m sure you''ll be as good as me!" Lucas said, trying to cheer her up, even if only a little.

    "What are you two lovebirds talking about?" Arthur said.

    With just one sentence, Arthur made both of them''s cheeks flush.

    "Small talk. What about you? Found anything interesting?" Lucas said, trying to divert the subject.

    "Well, you won''t believe what I found."

    Arthur held a dramatic pause, making them both uneasy.

    "Spit it out. What could be so amazing about this ce that only has bushes and wooden huts?"

    "An underground city! I broke into another student''s hut, found a trapdoor, and when I went inside, I saw it! A beautiful underground city with lots of buildings and stores and people walking and everything."

    "You what? You think it''s right to break into another student''s house?" Liz said.

    She was more focused on the breaking and entering part, while Lucas was fascinated because the school had an underground city.

    "Tell me all about this ce. Actually, can''t we just break into another house and go there? It shouldn''t be dangerous since we''re on school grounds."<sub> </sub>

    Liz looked at them both, and whispered, "men..."

    "We can''t go there. The students won''t enjoy having their homes invaded by us." Arthur said.

    "Also, I''m sure they''ll introduce us to this underground city when we get a decent strength. From what I could tell down there, that underground area is the actual school!"

    Arthur knew it was only a matter of time before they could enter that ce, so Lucas didn''t need to be agitated and anxious about it.

    "Well, it makes sense. We entered school recently, so there are a lot of things we don''t possess knowledge about yet." Lucas said.

    After hearing what Arthur had to say, he calmed down and saw that there was no need to hurry. Not only them, but twenty new students had entered the school, and surely others would soon find out about the underground area.

    "We can wait and see what happens to those who seek to know more about it before the right time. If nothing happens, then let''s go there with no fear!" Arthur said.

    With everything settled, the trio went back to doing their normal everyday things. Well, Arthur wanted at least a respectable log cabin, so fetching wood was the first thing he did.

    Experience was something he was notcking, especially for surviving in the wild. Arthur could see trees that were good for building, and also use his magic to handle the materials, thus building a hut with no major problems.

    In just three days, Arthur had not only a small log cabin with a roof, but a bed as well! Lucas and Liz were amazed to see such dexterity and mastery, and, of course, Arthur offered to help them build their own huts.

    With that, they all now had a better ce to live, and no matter how small it was, it was something that mattered to them.

    "Look at that! I can say I built this hut with my own two hands." Lucas said, standing in front of his newly gained hut.

    "Well, Lucas, it''s not like Arthur built much of that hut of yours, right?"

    "Hey, easy there Liz. Don''t belittle a man''s work. Right, Arthur?"

    "Why do you talk as if she''s lying? I actually built that hut of yours myself!"

    "That''s unfair! You two are teaming up against me!"

    Lucas said that and left immediately after going into his cabin. Liz and Arthurughed at the situation, incredulously.

    "Is he really mad? He can''t be..."

    "That''s what it looks like... Well, let''s find something for lunch and see if he calms down..."

    The days were quiet inside the Blood Spear school. Arthur, Liz and Lucas spent the early hours of the morning meditating in their huts, slowly increasing their magical power.

    But all good things are short-lived. After a month, the time of peace was over. Some students came knocking on Arthur''s hut door, and he knew exactly who they were.

    "The idiots I cursed at by the river that time? Well, it won''t hurt to teach these youngsters a few things." He thought, walking out of his hut as soon as he heard the first scream.

    It took them by surprise. In their minds, there was no chance of Arthur leaving, and they were already wondering how to make fun of him for being a coward.

    But that didn''t happen in the end, and Arthur came out of his hutpletely pissed off.

    "Hey there, you little shit. What do you want now? I will not fuck your mother today. I''m too busy!

    Thest time, Arthur also spoke about their mother, and he saw it was a sensitive topic for them. So, he did the same! If they wanted to piss him off and look for troubles, then he could not be merciful at all!

 Chapter 294 Teaching Them A Lesson

    "You asshole! Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?"

    That young mage was enraged and wanted to grab Arthur and rip his throat out. Although that was his feeling, Arthur knew it was something impossible to happen.

    Arthur was living a new identity. The identity of a young prodigy who would rock that school. Those two magicians who had recruited him already knew his potential, and even though it didn''t seem like it, several important figures were watching him.

    "He''s already in the third circle and almost in the fourth in just one month. You weren''t lying when you said his talent was impressive." A hooded figure said.

    "Well, that''s obvious. I wouldn''t have the courage to lie to you, master."

    "How far do you believe he can get in six months, or maybe a year?"

    "Well, it''s hard to say, but if he reaches rank one, it would be something never seen before in our school."

    "You''re right. Monitor him for me, and if anyonees close to killing him, interfere."

    "As you wish, master."

    Arthur was not aware of that conversation, and his mind was focused on something more important; teaching a lesson to some bullies.

    "Are you going to stand there watching ore up?"

    Those students were not novices, but they were not experienced either. A group of three mages in the third circle. Arthur was also using the power of the third circle, but the fight was not at the same level, but in his favor!

    Hisbat experience far surpassed that of these young men, and even if they were a few levels higher, it would be difficult for Arthur to lose to them.

    That provocation was thest straw, and those three magicians channeled their spells, all the same element, shadows.

    Arthur stood motionless, waiting for those spells, and when two ck balls and a spear were heading his way, he moved, but only at thest second, dodging the spells with a sidestep, taking those students by surprise.

    After that, it was his turn! In just one second, Arthur cast a spell, the Shadow Prison, binding the 3 mages.

    "What? How is that possible?"

    They were shocked! The spell Arthur used was a Tier 3 spell, which meant that he had already reached the same level as them!

    Not only that, but the way Arthur dodged the spells was impressive. They couldn''t understand how a young man could have so much skill.

    "Could he be a warrior before he came here? What is the meaning of this?" One of them thought.

    The fight was practically won. Those youngsters couldn''t move, so finishing them would be as easy as taking candy from a child.

    "I hope you won''t look for trouble with me after the beating you''re about to suffer." Arthur said, strolling toward them.

    The screams could be heard in the distance. Arthur showed no mercy, and punched those youngsters several times, to where they were trembling with fear, begging him to stop.

    What was the motive behind this? Well, some might say this was an evil act, but Arthur saw it to protect himself from future problems.

    He knew very well that letting them go without teaching them a lesson would only bring trouble in the future, since they certainly would not let him go so easily.

    But what about now? Those youngsters trembled at the sight of Arthur''s face, and this would certainly lessen one of his problems.

    The two mysterious people who were watching everything from afar were impressed, not only with Arthur''s performance in the battle but also with his firm decision to beat those mages.

    "Impressive. He knows very well when he needs to show a strong persona."

    Those three mages ran away with fear after witnessing such terrific disy of skill, and mighty. Even Lucas and Liz, who were watching everything from the side, afraid Arthur would suffer a beating, were lost for words.<sub> </sub>

    "Bro, could you take the fight more lightly? Did you see the face of those guys? They looked uglier than me, and that is something hard to aplish, you know!" Lucas said.

    "You know I had to do that or else they woulde looking for more troubles. At least now we know the group is done for, but more problems will surelye knocking on our doorstep."

    They were young, but not dumb to the point of not understanding the reason behind Arthur''s actions. It was something one had to do, and they were d Arthur had the courage and discipline to do just that!

    "Can you teach me those moves? Not the spell, but the sidestep! That was smooth."

    "I can try, but I don''t think you old man''s body will mimic it."

    "Idiot."

    Liz could onlyugh. Seeing these two cursing each other had turned into one of her favorite part of the day.

    While they were chatting, the two mages who had recruited them a month ago showed up.

    "Yo, remember us?"

    "Of course, seniors."

    Lucas and Liz bowed, recognizing the higher authority those two mages had. Arthur was not willing to bow for someone weaker than him, but did it anyway.

    "We came here to share a few things with you, as well as to build the entrance to the underground inside your cabins."

    "Underground?" Lucas said, getting excited, but calmed down after he saw Arthur''s look of pretend we don''t know this shit.

    The two mages then exined what was underground, as well as the reason for it to be there. It was easy to guess, but the reason for the school to be underground was protection.

    Not only the Blood Spear school, but most dark arts schools were underground or hidden in some other form. People disliked them ¡ª for a good reason ¡ª so staying hidden was their best chance of surviving in the long run.

    Sure enough, these two mages built three trapdoors, one in each cabin, and exined to them everything about the underground.

    Down there it was where all the shops, and the students passed their time. Not only that, but it was where they trained, and received a few lessons from rank 1 mages, though these lessons seemed to be rare.

    One thing that caught Arthur''s attention was the alchemy, and the ingredients cultivated down there.

    "They have specific magical formations which allow the nts to grow even in the underground. Impressive."

    Maybe it was time for him to get back at doing alchemy and other things, especially after he saw therge stones near a pce in the underground.

    It acted as a ranking for the strongest student inbat, alchemy, enchanting, and magical smithing. All of it only counted for those below the rank 1, so Arthur fit in just fine.

    "This seems like a good way for me to get famous, and that will help me get into the Blood Council!" He thought.

    "All done. You can explore everything on your own, as we might see things differently from you! Also, good job, all of you, especially you, Arthur!"

    They were shocked to see Arthur already in the third circle, but Lucas and Liz weren''t that behind, already in the second circle, aiming to get to the third in a few days.

    For them, a talented new batch of students meant powerful soldier to use in the war. Little did they know Arthur was not nning to help them in that regard.

    "Shall we go down to explore?" Lucas said.

    "That is obvious. Let''s go!"

 Chapter 295 Exploring The Underground

    Now they finally had the right to explore the underground area of the school. Out of the three, Lucas was the most excited one.

    Arthur had seen many extraordinary things, so for him, it was not a big deal.

    "Look at this ce! Everything is well-designed, and it does not feel like we are underground at all!"

    "The sky is beautiful!" Liz said, amazed by the magical formation which allowed them to see the sky from down there!

    They saw many students walking up and down through the streets. Some looking scared as if something was chasing them, while others were smiling. Arthur and his friends were happy to be there as long as no one came looking for trouble.

    "Shall we split? I want to look at the weaponry store." Lucas said.

    "Weaponry? Are you nning on bing a battle mage or something?"

    "Yeah, that would be cool, but that''s something for the future only. Anyway, see you guyster!" Lucas said, parting ways with them.

    Liz was still with Arthur, and had not said a word about going somewhere else. She wasn''t feeling that confident in walking all alone.

    "Where do you want to go first, Liz?"

    Arthur was no stupid person, and he understood how she was feeling.

    "The library!"

    To the library they go. Liz always walked with a book by her side, and that was something Arthur got to know before they even reached the school.

    It was a good habit to have, especially for a mage. Reading was essential, and knowledge was power. Arthur did not oppose to that at all, and he also wanted to have a look at what books did the Blood Spear school have.

    Find a library down there without knowing a single thing about the ce was no simple task. Both Arthur and Liz weren''t feeling like asking questions to the other students, as most of them did not look friendly at all.

    So, they had to find the ce themselves, and that took half an hour of their day, but they seeded.

    "Whoa! This ce doesn''t look bad at all. It looks big, so it should have lots of books inside, right?" Liz said.

    She was amazed by everything, and did not even wait for him before getting inside the library. As for Arthur, he was more concerned about the student who was following them.

    "What does he want? I have never seen him in my life." Arthur thought.

    He acted as if he had no notice of that person following, and it worked. The gap they had in power was beyondprehension.

    Once inside the library, Liz looked pleased after seeing the library was not only big, but had lots of books. She felt safer inside, so she went on her own to look at the shelves, searching for an interesting book.

    As for Arthur, he noticed that the person following him waited in an alley a little farther from the library, not having the courage to go in. It was the perfect opportunity for him to have a little talk with that person.

    He looked at Liz, who was lost looking for books, and thought, "she will not even notice I left."

    The man following them had his gaze locked on the library''s entrance, so Arthur left, making sure the man saw him so that he would follow.

    Arthur walked a little further from the library, and the man did not flinch, waiting in the same spot.

    "What? He is only after Liz? What does he want? Should I confront him?"

    Before, if the man followed him, then Arthur would surely have a talk, and beat the man to a pulp. But the man was not after him but Liz. He wanted to know about it, primarily the reason behind it.

    So, he decided to not go after the man, and wait for a better opportunity to know more about the situation. If he went there, and got information from the man, then whoever was behind it would know they know, and that was not good.

    Also, Arthur was not necessarily in a ce where he could torture people for no reason. Even in a school like that one, killing and torturing for no apparent reason was not something they could do.

    Why? Well, lots of mages who practiced the dark arts went crazy throughout the years, so if they saw signs of someone walking toward that path, they would either kill the person in spot, or expel from the school.

    Arthur did not want to be treated like a madman, and there were lots of things he still needed to do inside the Blood Spear school, such as getting ess to all of its important spells, and also turning into someone trustworthy of the leader, a rank 3 mage!

    So, thinking about it, Arthur opted to return to the library with a chicken leg in hands, looking as if he had left the library for a quick bite.<sub> </sub>

    "Went out to eat? Did not even see you leaving!" Liz said, gazing at Arthur, and then gazing back at the shelves.

    "You only have eyes for the books¡­ Poor me¡­"

    "Where did you learn this drama from? Lucas probably."

    "You are right. He is the master, and gave on me everything he knows about it¡­"

    "Shut up! Hey, look, there are lots of interesting books here, not only about spells, but stories, and other magical things like herbs, ores, and recipes,"

    "I am thinking of learning some enchanting, and maybe jewelry craft. You and Lucas have something in mind to learn, too?"

    "Alchemy. As for Lucas, he looks like a magical smith, right?"

    Liz had a hand on her chin, thought for a while, and then said, "yeah he does indeed."

    She then said, "don''t you think our team will be good if we chase these paths? Well-rounded at least."

    "I believe, yes."

    Arthur had met them not too long ago, but they had turned into two important people for him. He did not with for them to go the wrong path and wanted to help them in any way he could.

    He and Liz spent one hour browsing through the books, picking up anything they found useful. One thing Arthur enjoyed was that there was no limit on how many books one could get.

    They did not even ask for a return date, but Arthur was not stupid to think no one was looking into it. He was almost sure the Blood Council itself would go after the students who stole from the school.

    Liz focused on getting books regarding spells, jewelry craft, and enchanting. Arthur wanted to return with his alchemy studies, so he got lots of books about it.

    He had a decent knowledge, but the vegetation on the central continent was a little different, and they also had a deeper knowledge about it, so there was no harm in getting some of those books.

    After that, they left the library and went looking for Lucas. He told them he would go to the weaponry store, so that is where they went.

    A building with the sign of an anvil in front. Not that hard to find, as the sign was gigantic. When they went inside, they saw Lucas, looking at all the weapons, almost salivating.

    "Arthur! Liz! Look at those things! Impressive, right? I wish I wasn''t poor¡­"

    He wanted a weapon for himself, but all the weapons were made with magical ores, and many of them were enchanted too. These things were expensive, and one needed lots of mana stones to buy those.

    "Lucas, let''s go take a quest. With our strength, we can get a low-ranked quest, and then you can take our part as well to buy your weapon." Arthur said.

    "Would you really do that for me?"

    Lucas could not hold his feelings, hugging both Arthur and Liz. They would give up their part of the reward for him to get a weapon. That was genuine friendship.

    "But after that, you will help us get some things as well."

    "Absolutely. Oh, I would do anything for a clink shiny weapon!"

    They left the weapon shop, buying nothing. There wasn''t much to do down there, as most of the restaurants and shops were expensive.

    But there was one thing they wanted to see, and that was the ranking stones. These things were huge rocks with names written on it, showcasing who was the best at alchemy, enchanting, crafting and all those things.

    There was also a rock forbat, but to get there, one had to win duels against others, and Arthur was not feeling like challenging people just yet.

    "My name will be up there in the magical smithing ranking, you betcha!"

    When Lucas said that, a voice came from behind, saying, "do you think you will surpass me? That''s a funny joke."

    The person who said that was a youth who had the power of the seventh circle. Not that strong, but almost everyone in the school knew him, and even the rank 1 mages treated him with respect. That was because of his incredible talent in magical smithing, being the responsible for crafting the strongest weapons for the school.

    "Leonard! What is he doing here? And why are these neers picking up a fight with him?" A passerby said.

 Chapter 296 First Mission In The Blood Spear School

    "And who are you?" Arthur said.

    He would not let someone appear and talk shit, especially to his friend, who had done nothing wrong.

    "Don''t you know who I am? Well, you three are new around here, so I will forgive you this time. Look at the top of these two stones." Leonard said, pointing toward two of the nearby stones.

    One was the ranking of the best magical cksmith, and the other one the best enchanter, both only to those below the rank 1. The name at the top of both stones was Leonard, and that was exactly the person they were talking to.

    Arthur quickly picked up the entire situation, and he respected the prowess of the youth in front of him, but could not understand the reason for such words.

    Why would he talk shit about others who wished to walk the same path as him? Was he so insecure that someone would surpass him? It made little sense. No matter how good you are at something, there is always someone better.

    "I see. You are the best at both things. But why are you diminishing others? Are you afraid of losing your spot?"

    "Lose my spot? Impossible. No matter how hard he tries, he will never surpass me."

    "So, are you willing to let us in peace, then? If he does not pose any threat to you, then everything should be fine. I don''t think someone as grand as you would go back with your words." Arthur said.

    The way he spoke in a melodic voice convinced not only Leonard, but everyone around it as well. Arthur was way more experienced, especially with words, and that his charm was so high, convincing these weaklings was not a problem to him at all.

    "You are right. There is no reason for me to bother with him. I will take my leave now. Always remember, Leonard is the greatest!"

    Leonard said those words and then left, leaving the people nearby astonished. He was well-known for picking up fights, and usually his targets gave up because of how influential he was.

    For the first time, Leonard acknowledge a defeat, and one without a fight. Defeated by the words of a new student. How surprising was that? Arthur wanted fame to get to the peak of the school, and that was exactly what he got after that event.

    Everyone inside the school knew Leonard, so when both socialized, everyone got to know Arthur, too.

    "Isn''t he a new student? But he is already in the third circle in just one month. How monstrous is that?"

    "Right! I never thought about it, but when you put it this way¡­"

    These were the things the students talked about, but Arthur had more things to worry about, such as increasing his shadow essence conversion, and also read a lot about alchemy.

    After the encounter with Leonard, Arthur had the goal of reaching the top ranking of alchemy. So, to achieve such a thing, Arthur had to first return his studies, and also start his own garden again!

    There was no one around his cabin on the surface, so he started his garden at that location. Lucas and Liz did not oppose to it, and even promised to help him by watering the nts.

    "Dragon Tongue, Blueberry, Red Mountain Flower¡­"

    ? Arthur got a few useful nts from one store inside the school and cultivated them. Most of the herbs a student could get in one of these stores were the core of almost all the recipes their textbooks had.

    "I should ce a few formations to make it a secret."<sub> </sub>

    It was a deserted ce, but that did not mean no one could walk around the school ande across with his garden. Arthur did not trust those he did not know, and someone stealing his nts could happen.

    "Time as well!"

    He spent an entire week cing lots of formations around his garden, and around his cabin as well. Arthur also noticed someone watching him from afar once again.

    At first, he thought the youth who was following Liz finally appeared again, but it turned out it was an Official Mage! Instead of getting anxious, Arthur got excited!

    "This can only mean one thing, the leader of the school put someone to watch me! They are impressed by my aplishments, and I want to keep it that way!"

    If they knew he was a spy, then the school president itself would go there and kill him in public, so that was that made Arthur realize it was not the case. So, when he noticed that person watching his every move, Arthur showcased his talent with magical formations as well!

    It was a field of study that did not require one to have extraordinary strength to be good at, just like most of the other diverge paths, like alchemy, smithing, and enchanting.

    So, even though Arthur had a meager strength, it was not impossible for him to be good at those things. He kept cing lots of formations throughout an entire week, and the more the mysterious person saw it, the more excited it was.

    "He is not only talented at cultivating mana but also in magical formations? And what is this garden about? Is he also a genius in alchemy? No way, that would be too much. He is already defying heavens!"

    The mysterious cloaked person left when Arthur stopped putting the formations, going directly to the school leader to tell him about it.

    Arthur smirked, happy to see that his ns had the desired effect. Not only that, but his garden and cabin were now protected, and all he had to do was wait for his herbs to grow.

    Obviously, he was not willing to wait all that time and not practice in the meantime. Arthur wanted more ingredients to brew potions, but for that, he needed more money!

    So, the three of them, Arthur, Liz and Lucas, took a few quests to earn the money, and also get more experience.

    The quests not only gave mana stones but also contribution points that could buy less expensive things, like the normal alchemy ingredients Arthur wanted.

    A magical weapon like the one Lucas wanted was unique, so it was not possible to buy with the contribution points, but mana stones, and a lot of them.

    They had talked with Lucas and aimed for a weaker weapon, and not the top one he first wanted. The weaker ones still cost mana stones, but it was a realistic amount.

    "Now that I think of, even weaker mages came in contact with mana stones on the central continent. Back then, I did not even know these things existed!"

    The more Arthur explored the central continent, the more he realized how weaker his own continent was.

    "The first mission wants us to talk with the mayor of a nearby vige, and identify what is behind the mysterious disappearing''s in the vige."

    That type of quest was something Arthur enjoyed, and it seemed Liz was the same person.

    "Maybe a monster? Or a killer? A vampire? Ahh, I cannot wait to uncover this mystery. You two bird heads, let''s go!"

 Chapter 297 A Conspiracy?

    A vige by the name of Chesterville. It was close to Blood Spear Academy, just two days away. Arthur, Liz and Lucas left the school during the early hours of the morning, excited toplete their first quest together.

    "Arthur, what do you think is behind the missing people''s reports?" Liz asked.

    "Don''t know, but I bet nothing good, and I hope nothing too strong." Arthur said.

    Lucas was beside them, and said, "I agree with you on that one. I don''t wish to die so young."

    They chatted along the way with nothing unusual happening, and without them realizing it, they reached the small vige of Chesterville.

    ? If Arthur would guess, the vige had at maximum 200 vigers. The first viger they came across was the guard, who was waiting at the vige''s gate, making sure no one strange went inside.

    He did not do that before, but with the missing people, they were trying their best to avoid that of happening again.

    "Who are you?" The guard said when he saw Arthur approaching.

    It was a dumb question, as anyone could see the school token on their uniform, and when the guard realized that, he instantly became more humble and aware of the three youths in front of him.

    "We are from the Blood Spear Academy. I heard there are a few missing people around this area?"

    "You are here to help us solve that? Thank you, thank you."

    The guard had tears streaming down his face, and he even kneeled in front of Arthur. That reaction was a bit too much, but Arthur quickly realized what had happened.

    "Don''t worry, we will find the person you lost. Come, show us the vige."

    While they were walking around the vige, Liz tackled Arthur with her elbow and asked, "how did you know he lost someone?"

    She was hoping Arthur would give her a decent exnation, as she truly wanted to learn, but what Arthur answered gave nothing, but it was still something he would say.

    "Because I am just too good. Young, handsome, and strong."

    Liz could only roll her eyes at that and did not ask further questions. The guard showed all the houses, farms and the locations where the people went missing.

    No one knew the exact time, but all the people who went missing disappeared during night-time, and that was only to be expected. Now what Arthur needed to know was who or what was behind these attacks.

    The first thing to do was ask these vigers more questions, and for that, Arthur, Lucas and Liz parted ways, each one of them exploring a distinct part of the vige.

    Arthur was with the guard, and he asked, "can you tell me more about it? Any information might help us find the culprit."

    He looked reluctant at first, probably because an important person of him went missing.

    "Thest person to go missing was my sister. It happened three days ago. She went outside to get a bucket of water from our well, and never came back. We all formed a searching group, just like what we did with the others, but we found nothing..."

    "I understand. Thank you for your help. We will find your sister and the others!" Arthur said.<sub> </sub>

    That little piece of information would help him a lot. Now Arthur knew who thest missing person was, the day it went missing, and also the location.

    No one in the vige found tracks, but if Arthur would find one, then it had to be in the ce where thest person went missing. The environment could erase tracks easily, especially the weather changes, so Arthur went as fast as possible to the well that the guard told him.

    He knew its location because the guard had toured them throughout the vige just a few moments ago. Arthur walked through the vige''s main street, which was only a normal-looking road of mud, going toward one of the biggest houses in the nearby area.

    It was where the guard lived with his sister. The house was made of fine-wood, had a well outside, giving them fresh water, and it even got a few dummies behind, presumably where the guard did his training.

    "The disappearing happened outside, so going inside is just a waste of time. Also, I did not ask permission from the guard." thought Arthur.

    He strolled toward the well. It was twenty meters away from the house, and it was close to the nearby forest.

    "Someone could stand behind a tree, waiting for an opportunity to strike. The well is far enough from the house, so the guard would take some time to realize what happened."

    Arthur could imagine the scene of a beautifuldy pulling a bucket filled with water from the well, while a creepy guy watched her from behind the tree, and when the time was right, attacked her, putting a hand on her mouth to avoid screaming, knocking her out and pulling her into the woods.

    "If I can imagine such a scenario, there is no way a trained guard like him could not. They probably searched in the woods, but how could they find nothing?"

    The entire situation was weird. Not only the disappearing itself, but the search group as well. They had lots of people to search in this small area, yet no one find a single thing, and gave up after only three days of search?

    Something smelled fishy, and Arthur would surely find the answer he was looking for. He nced at the well, and also went to the nearby trees to see if he could find something, and he did.

    There was a footprint hidden by a few bushes. Just by looking at it, anyone could tell someone had put the bushes on purposely.

    "Someone is hiding the kidnapper''s tracks. But who? And why? The kidnapper is from the vige or knows someone from it." Arthur thought.

    The more he looked into the matter, the stranger it got. There was nothing else near the well, or the trees, so Arthur left and look for Liz and Lucas to see if they had found something else.

    "Lucas, Liz. What did you find?" asked Arthur.

    Even though the vige was small, there was an inn, and that was the ce the three of them were staying.

    "Something feels off. I asked the same questions to different people, and although the words they spoke differed, the meaning was still the same. For me, it looked like they had previously talked with each other to think about answers if anyone came asking." Liz said.

    When she said that, Arthur was sure something was happening in the vige, and all the vigers had their hands on it.

    "What about you, Arthur?" Liz asked.

    "Well, I also found something strange. So I went to the ce where thest person went missing, and found some footprints near the area, but someone purposely put bushes above it to hide it, and the search group the vige formed did not find such an obvious track, which is really weird."

    "This is surely weird. I feel like all the people here know who the kidnapper is, but no one will spit it out. What is happening here?"

 Chapter 298 The Plan

    "Any ideas on how to proceed with this?" Lucas asked.

    The three of them were inside the same inn room, and when Liz was ready to answer the question, Arthur used his mana to write a few words on the air.

    ''Someone is hearing us through the door. Act as if we are clueless and pretend to leave soon''. Both Lucas and Liz were not strong enough to realize someone was at their door, but Arthur could.

    "Honestly, I don''t know. Maybe we will never find it, and this is a waste of time." Liz said.

    "Agreed. We should stay here for three days, and if we learn nothing new, then we leave." Arthur said.

    When the person behind the door heard those things, it smirked, and then left the inn silently. Arthur waited a few seconds to make sure no one was there.

    "What the fuck? Why is someone spying on us?" Liz said.

    Arthur now had a few clues about what was happening, but was yet to be sure of it.

    "I don''t know. Look, I have an idea. Let''s do like we told to whoever it was behind the door and look for clues during three days. Then, we will pretend to leave, and then return, find somewhere to hide, and try to get the culprit."

    "This is a good idea. Nothing will happen while we are here, but once we leave, the culprit mighte out." Lucas said.

    So, after the trio decided what their next moves would be, all of them slept in separated beds, looking forward to the next couple of days.

    Arthur took the situation as a vacation. He woke up the next day, grabbed a nice te of meal in the inn, and then left to explore the area, looking for more clues regarding the incidents.

    He tried to ask more questions to the vigers, but just like Liz said, they kept answering simrly, and added nothing they did not know already.

    Liz and Lucas did the same as he, but also found nothing, and the more time they spent in that vige, the fewer vigers they saw!

    Anyone could tell they were just avoiding them, waiting for their departure. It seemed as if they knew they would leave the next morning, which made Arthur think the entire vige had something to do with the attacks.

    Arthur went to the biggest house in the vige, which was where the vige''s chief lived. He knocked on the door and waited a few seconds for him.

    "You are the mage from the Blood Spear Academy, right? Is something wrong? Did you find any news about the attacks?"

    The chief was a bearded middle-aged man with a slick back hair, and a breath of alcohol. He tried his best to appear curious about the situation, but Arthur knew it was all an act.

    "Unfortunately, no. I came here to tell you we will leave the next morning. We have lots of things to do back at the school, and this investigation does not look like it will bring us any results." Arthur said.

    With his high charm, the way he talked convinced the chief, making him believe everything Arthur told was the truth.

    "That is a shame¡­ Thank you for all the help, even though we did not have any sess." The chief said, extending his hand for Arthur to shake.

    They shook hands, and then Arthur left, returning to the inn once again. And this time, it would be theirst night.

    "Where can we hide after faking our way out? Does anyone here knows any spell to help us?" Lucas asked.

    "I know a few stealth spells, and we have this vast forest nearby to take refuge." Arthur said.

    "You do?" Liz said. She was surprised to see Arthur so efficient inbat and spell learning.

    "Remember what I told you? About me being awesome, handsome¡­"<sub> </sub>

    "Stop right there. I know the rest."

    "We should rest for tomorrow. One thing I hate about this mission is not training at night-time. I feel like my improvements are way worse!" Lucas said.

    Not thatte yet, so Arthur suggested the three of them practiced some meditation before falling asleep.

    "I don''t feel like waking up too early tomorrow, so let''s take the time to practice!"

    Arthur was meditating every day. The absorption of mana was not that bad, but that was not his focus for the time being. Getting a higher level of shadow essence conversion was.

    With the Void Dragon Meditation, he was making a lot of progress in a short time, reaching an extraordinary 25% essence conversion in just one month! But, just like with all the other essences, it was getting harder after each increase.

    If he wanted to have a quick level up, Arthur should look for a ce or item with a lot of shadow essence in it, and that was something rare to find. The progress he was making was incredible.

    Not only his essence conversion was increasing, but the skill he got after using such technique would make quite the difference. Just like with his other essences, he had a dragon body of said element.

    [Shadow (Void) Dragon Body: Increase the mighty of all attacks rted to the shadow (void) element, as well as the resistance of the user toward these elements.

    [Essence Conversion: 25%]

    He had a simr skill to his fire, wood, and ice essence. But different from this one that had only 25%, the other three werepleted, which made the passive way stronger.

    "I will get there, eventually."

    ~~~~

    On the next morning, Arthur and his friends left the inn, going back to where they came from. It was a funny sight to see all the vigers who were avoiding them reappear and wave their goodbyes.

    They travel for three hours, and then stopped. Not that far, but still far enough so that they did not notice them.

    "What now?" Liz asked.

    "Let''s stay around this area and return during the night." Arthur said.

    "What? We will have to camp? This makes me remember when we did not have a shelter back in the school!"

    Hearing these two talk about such things made Arthur realize how little experience they had. They were younger than Arthur, so he tried to understand their point of view.

    "Don''t worry, it is only a few hours. We will not even have to sleep during the night, so it should be safe."

    They spent the rest of the day gathering some food to eat, like berries and getting fishes from a nearby river, and then sit around a fire near the road.

    Arthur waited until it was one hour away from midnight, and then the trio left again, returning to the same vige, but this time, they did not go using the front gate, but circled around the vige from afar, using the forest to hide their movements.

    "Are you sure this will work?"

    "If you two keep quiet, then yes. Follow me!" Arthur said when they got close to the vige. He used his invisibility spell on him, Lucas, and Liz.

    With the help of the spell, getting inside the forest was no big deal, and the next step was to find a ce to stay and built up a temporary hidden spot for the next few days.

 Chapter 299 Night Watchers

    The best ce to hide was always a cave. Dark enough for anyone to stay hidden, and usually made people think twice before going inside, making it the perfect ce.

    Well, if Arthur had the option of getting a morefy ce, he would, but they searched throughout the forest, and the only decent ce they found were caves, so they picked one.

    Liz feared going in, so Arthur and Lucas had to go first, explore it, and get rid of any danger that may lurk inside.

    "Could a powerful beast be inside this ce?" Lucas asked as both of them went inside the normal-looking cave.

    Arthur could already tell from kilometers that there was nothing inside the cave, only bugs and that''s it, but he could not tell that directly.

    "Probably not. If something dangerous was around, then the vigers would have reported a few attacks."

    "That is true, but maybe they are not only working with the kidnapper, but also with the beasts. Who knows, one of them mightmunicate with them!"

    "Don''t you think that''s too much?"

    "Yeah, I think I went too far on this. Also, what is the chance of these torches dying on the way?"

    They prepared two torches to explore the cave more easily, but the question Lucas had been one Arthur did not even think about. For him, the torch was just for appearance, as his dragon eyes could see clearly inside the cave.

    "Stop thinking about bad things and try to be positive. We are already covered in shit with this task, so being negative will not help at all."

    Lucas did not answer, but based on the face he showed, Arthur was sure he understood the message. They kept going and searched every inch of the cave. There was nothing inside.

    It was a narrow ce, and it even got two different tunnels one could take. That was good in case someone found their ce.

    They went back to get Liz, and this time, Arthur used some spells to make the interior of the cave brighter, making the torches useless.

    "How many spells do you know? Are you a freak?"

    "I know an infinite number of spells. Yes, I am a freak. Some call me a dragon among men."

    "A dragon among men? You went from awesome and handsome to a legendary dragon in a twenty-four-hour span. What a legend." Liz said, chuckling at Arthur''s statement, not taking it to the heart.

    Now they had a temporary base for their adventurers, and Arthur believed no one woulde looking for them inside that cave. First, not that close to the vige, and they went deep inside the cave, and almost no one would do the same.

    Arthur was confident in watching the move of every viger without them noticing him, but he was not that confident with Liz and Lucas, as they did not know any stealth spells. So, he took a risk and imnted the knowledge of the Invisibility spell into their minds.

    Not everyone could do such a thing, and if Liz and Lucas were rank 1 mages, for example, they would instantly conclude that Arthur was not a simple character. But they weren''t rank 1 mages, so for them that act was not something rare.

    "Thanks, bro! I''ll start practicing, so give me a few tips!" Lucas said.

    They both went to practice the Invisibility spell right after Arthur put the knowledge into their heads, and with the help of that, they got good with the spell in just half an hour.

    Of course, they weren''t using a high tier of Invisibility spell, but it was enough for them to hide from weak enemies below the ninth circle. Arthur was not sure about what was the level of strength his enemies had, but they should not be that strong, or else stronger mages would have gone there to wipe them.<sub> </sub>

    "You two are ready? Now, we all know these attacks happened during the night, and that perhaps is the only truthful thing these vigers told us. So, we will sleep and rest during the day, and stay the entire night awake, spying on them."

    "We will part ways. Each one of us will be in charge of an unfamiliar area of the vige, and share information throughout secret marks."

    "Secret marks? What are those?"

    Arthur then exined about the secret marks that allowed mages to send mental messages, and he marked them with his own imprint, which was the drawing of a dragon.

    That way, he could send the two messages, and they could send him messages too. Of course, one had to first record the message, send it, and then the other had to listen when it had the time. It was not as if they were hearing each other''s thoughts and were in constant talk. It was more like an instant carrier pigeon.

    "Now we are ready. Let''s go find out the truth."

    They all nodded, and then left the cave, already using their invisibility spell to not draw any attention. Each one of them went to a distinct part of the vige, and Arthur handled the area where that guard lived.

    He watched every single viger of that area, and it was clear they were hiding something. Now that they were supposedly gone, all the vigers did not have the sad faces from before, but were living their lives just like normal, and even the guard whose sister went missing was walking around with smiles, as if nothing happened.

    "Did his sister truly went missing? I don''t know, but I have a feeling this guy lived alone all along." Arthur thought.

    The reason for him to think that way was because he spied through the window of the man''s house, and did not see over one bed! Arthur did the same to all windows, taking full advantage of his invisibility spell, and there was nothing!

    So the first person who met them. The person who toured the vige was not telling the truth. What else could they be hiding?

    After long hours of boredom, Arthur returned to the cave to meet up with Lucas and Liz, who also got nothing from the first night of watch.

    "Don''t be discouraged. This is the first night, and for them we left the vige only some hours ago. Let''s keep going!" Arthur said to Lucas and Liz, who were so tired they looked like did not even listen, falling asleep right after arriving at the cave.

    Arthur was not feeling like sleeping, so he spent a few more hours training, taking usage of every second to increase his essence conversion, aiming to reach a greater power in the future.

    When Lucas and Liz woke up, he was pretending to be asleep to avoid them of asking questions. He was already showing a lot of his prowess.

    "Bro, wake up! Eat, or else you will pass out during the night watch!" Lucas said.

    With an extraordinary acting skill, Arthur pretended to wake up, surprised to see he waste.

    "Did I oversleep? I am sorry."

    "No problem. Here, take this! Lucas got ourselves some meat!"

    Arthur epted the food and ate like a madman. After that, it was already night-time again, so they left the cave, going toward the same locations.

    But this time, something happened during the night.

 Chapter 300 A Turn Of Events

    A cloaked figure left one house Arthur was watching. The house was the one where the guard lived, so he was almost sure the cloaked figure was the same guard who had talked to him before.

    Not only him, but more vigers wearing cloaks left their houses, meeting up at a corner of the vige. Arthur followed them and counted at least 10 people.

    "What are they doing?" Arthur thought.

    He kept his watch for a few minutes, as more and more people appeared, until one of them finally said a word.

    "Are you sure they are not here anymore?"

    "Yes. We followed them after they left the vige. They stopped to camp, and we already searched inside the vige and found nothing."

    "Good, good. They were kids, after all. Is everyone here?"

    "I think so, yes."

    "Let''s move then!"

    Arthur was not the only one there, as Lucas and Liz also saw strange movements and followed as well. They were all invisible, so the vigers did not notice they were there.

    He went to meet with the two who were also hiding behind trees.

    "Arthur, did you see that? What are those people doing in the middle of the night?" Liz asked.

    "No idea. Let''s go, we cannot lose their tracks." Arthur said.

    The trio shared the same thought, so they kept following the vigers, these who left the vige, and walked through a muddy road to past the vige.

    "Where are they going? What are they doing?"

    They followed them for ten minutes, and then these vigers finally stopped in front of a small cobblestone building. Arthur looked at it, and could tell it was a tomb, a ce where an undead would rest.

    "Is she there?" One of them said.

    "Yes, she is waiting for us inside."

    "Let''s not keep her waiting then."

    Arthur did not know what they were talking about, but kept following them once all of them went inside the tomb. Liz and Lucas were there as well, but they were a little more scared.

    "Go inside this creepy ce? I don''t like this at all. What kind of monster could be inside?" Lucas said.

    "If you two don''t want to go, so be it. I will." Arthur said, going inside the tomb right after.

    Lucas and Liz hesitated for a split second, but followed Arthur as well. There was no way they would let him get all the fun. Especially Liz, who wanted to uncover the mystery more than anyone.

    The cobblestone tomb had an iron gateway, and then a staircase right after the gate. There were lots of spider webs and bugs crawling on the walls. It was clear no one had cleaned up the ce in a long time.

    It was dark inside, but they could not use any source of light to not attract the attention of those vigers. A good thing was that the vigers had torches, and all Arthur had to do was follow them from afar.

    They kept going until the staircase ended, leading them to a corridor, and then to a double-door made of an unknown material. It had some drawings on it as well, and Arthur knew that could only mean one thing; trouble.

    The vigers stopped in front of the door, and one of them took out a key from their pockets, inserting on the door, and opening it up.<sub> </sub>

    A cracking sound of an old door opening, followed by the scent of blood. All the vigers bowed as soon as they opened up the door. Arthur peeked inside this room, and saw arge dining table with some people sitting around it, as well as a throne with someone in it as well.

    It was a girl, a beautiful girl with pink hair and two deep red eyes. She wore a fine leather armor tied to her body, exalting her curves.

    She did not have any weapon with her, but Arthur could see the level above her head. Level 80! It was an enemy he could take on with ease, but his friends did not have such luxury. They would surely die if they went into a fight.

    "You idiots. You let three people follow you here." The pink-hair girl said.

    Then she disappeared, grabbing Lucas and Liz, tossing them inside the room. When she touched them, she also casts her own spell, blocking their mana for a while.

    As for Arthur, the girl had a strange feeling about him, and did not rush to grab him.

    "These three are the youths from the Blood Spear Academy! I thought you said you followed them and were sure they weren''t here!" A man yelled, taking off the hood.

    It was the chief of the vige, and the person he was talking to was the guard. They started yelling and cursing, but the girl said a word, making all of them shut up.

    "Who are you?" she said, looking at Arthur.

    The vigers could not understand why such a powerful being looked scared when facing a youth who barely had any power.

    "Mydy Sybille, just kill them." The vige chief said, ignoring the orders she had just said.

    "Shut up!"

    Lucas and Liz were near the throne without moving an inch. Not because they did not want to help Arthur, but because they were trapped by a spell which created some chains made of blood.

    Arthur look deeply into Sybille''s eyes, and then said, "can you exin me the situation here? I might consider helping you, or just letting you live, perhaps."

    She wanted tough at first, but when she met his eyes, something inside of her was telling to not mess up with the youth in front of her.

    "Before you ask, I am not killing people. Look, everyone at this table is those who went missing. Why are they here? Well, first because I need blood to survive, and I also need allies to search for a way to free me from this ce,"

    "So I turned these people into vampires, just like me. You may wonder why would they ept this? These people all have incurable illness. Maybe with a lot of money it would be possible for them to have a chance of surviving, but none of them wanted to keep a debt to be passed by generations, so they chose me instead!" Sybille said.

    Arthur heard every word and tried to pick up any clue to see if she was lying or not. It appeared she was not lying, but then she could just be a good liar, and not someone who was speaking the truth.

    "If I could free you right now, what would you do for me as a reward? And can I trust everything you said is true?"

    "What? You can free me?"

    "Answer my question first."

    Sybille got too much excited after hearing that, but then rposed herself, and thought about what she could do to make him trust her.

    "You know I am a vampire, right? So I do not age. You and I can make a contract, so I will have to follow your orders for one hundred years. After that, you and I can decide what we want to do." Sybille said.

    That was a tempting offer. A gorgeous vampire maid for one hundred years. Arthur did not even have to think.

    "Okay. I ept you terms. Shall we make the contract first?

 Chapter 301 A Gorgeous Vampire Maid

    No one inside that ce could understand what was happening. A powerful vampire who could go up against rank 1 mages was not fighting against a youth who had recently started on his magical journey.

    What was the meaning behind that? Lucas and Liz knew Arthur had a secret, but they would keep it because he was their friend.

    Sybille grabbed an old piece of paper and wrote the contract using her blood. It stated that she would have to obey all ordersing from Arthur for one hundred years, and if she went against the terms written in the contract, she would die a horrible death.

    She stamped a symbol on it, and then it was done. Arthur grabbed the contract and read all of it, making sure it was correct. After that, he signed it, and she did the same.

    "Done, now can you free me from this ce?" Sybille asked, jumping with joy.

    For her, it was not a big deal to follow orders of someone from one hundred years, as that was a small period for her. She also knew that in a dangerous world like that one, a youth like Arthur could die making her more willing to write such a contract.

    Not only that, but Sybille had been inside that tomb for a long time, and she was getting crazy! No one would endure such a thing. The only reason she was still sane was because of the vigers who often came to talk to her throughout the generations.

    She did not care if Arthur was lying or not. Getting out was the only thing she wished.

    "Now, can you free my friends and send everyone away so that we can both be alone?" Arthur said.

    Sybille waved her hands, freeing both Liz and Lucas, who could finally sigh in relief after realizing the situation was under control. Then, the two of them, alongside all the other vigers, left the tomb, returning to the vige.

    The only people inside were Arthur and Sybille, who could not understand who the youth in front of her were.

    "Who are you exactly?" Sybille asked.

    "I am a dragon. The reason for me being in such a decaying school is because I have a task. Now, you won''t tell that to anyone, right? If you lie, then you are dead."

    "What? A dragon? No way! I have never seen one, and I have been around for a long time. But if I remember correctly, weren''t you supposed to be an enormous creature with wings, and not a good-looking man?"

    "I am both. Now, let me get you out of here."

    The reason Arthur was so confident in freeing her, and the reason he asked everyone else to leave, was his devour skill! He had not used it in a while, so it was not in cooldown, and he believed eating a spell or magical formation would be easy.

    He walked around the room, looking for what was trapping Sybille inside that tomb.

    "Do you know who trapped you here, and why?"

    "I do not know. I woke up inside this ce a long time ago with my memories a mess. Also, I do not know what is trapping me here. The only thing I know is that I can''t pass through that door or touch the walls of this ce." Sybille said.

    "I see."

    The entire tomb was under a powerful magical formation which would trap her inside. The most extraordinary thing was the fact that it was not a formation which would trap all vampires, as those Sybille turned could leave just fine.

    The formation trapped Sybille, and Sybille only. Arthur wondered what was her real identity for someone to do such a thing. Now, what he needed to find was the core of the formation, and that had to be an object nearby.

    Could it be the throne? The dinner table? Or the coffin where Sybille slept? No, that should not be the case. It had to be something Sybille would never think of, so even if she sent vampires to seek answers around the world, she would find nothing.

    "This is it!" Arthur thought.<sub> </sub>

    He walked toward her, which got her by surprise. "What are you doing?" She said with her cheeks getting red as Arthur got close enough for the two to share breaths.

    Then he ced his hands behind her neck, taking out the ne she was wearing.

    "What do you want with my ne? My mother gave me, and I never take it off!" Sybille said.

    Even though she was a friendly vampire, for a split second she wanted to punch Arthur in the face because of the stealing.

    "You never wondered why the vampires you sent found nothing about this magical formation? Whoever did this is a genius¡­"

    "What do you mean?"

    "All magical formations have a core. I believe you know that. So, instead of using an item around this area to be the core, they used the ne. Sybille, whoever trapped you here, knew you a lot. Enough to be certain you would never take your ne off." Arthur said.

    "I see¡­"

    The sadness on her face was clear as the blue sky. Sybille thought a lot about who had done that to her throughout the years, and even though she was not willing to ept it, she knew it was someone close to her, but who?

    She never had the chance to find that out, but now that could change! Arthur had the core of the formation in hands, so all he had to do was eat the mana from the ne, destroying the formation, and that was what he did!

    Arthur opened up his mouth, and it expanded in a bizarre way, not looking like his mouth anymore but like a ck hole who could devour an entire! Then, he ced the ne in front of it, and slowly the mana from the ne was being absorbed, going straight into Arthur''s belly!

    Not only was he destroying the formation and freeing Sybille, but his mana pool was increasing a lot, which he could turn into Spiritual Forceter, making his journey to the rank 2 a little easier.

    It took him a few minutes to finish the job, and each second that passed made Sybille more and more anxious. She wanted him to seed. She wanted to leave and found out who did that to her!

    "All done." Arthur said as his mouth returned to normal, and he slowly walked toward Sybille again.

    She turned red again as Arthur pulled her hair to the side to make it easier for him to put the ne where it was.

    The pale neck of hers was charming, and when Arthur looked down, he saw the two white peaks moving with Sybille''s breathing. A normal man could not resist such temptation, but Arthur was no normal man, so looked up again, and then pointed toward the door.

    Sybille knew what it meant. She slowly walked toward it, and lots of feelings filled her body. Happiness of finally leaving that ce, but also fear of not working in the end, and that Arthur was ying with her.

    But when she tried to pass through the door, it worked! She went down to her knees and started crying tears of blood.

    "I¡­ I am finally free¡­"

    ~~~~

    Inside an unknown pce, a pale youth felt a pulse inside his body.

    "No way¡­ she escaped?"

 Chapter 302 I Am A Dragon

    The cobblestone floor met a new pair of feet, Sybille''s. For the first time in a long time, she left her imprisonment, excited to see the outside world through her own eyes, not by how others told her.

    "I sincerely don''t know how to repay you," Sybille said, bowing her body at a 90 angle degree, a proof of how grateful she was for the man who saved her life.

    "Don''t think about it too much. Remember, you have one hundred years to help me. I''m Arthur, nice to meet you, Sybille."

    She smiled. A radiant smile capable of charming the toughest men or women. Arthur had yet to be sure if freeing her was the right choice, but only time would tell.

    Sybille got more nervous after each step taken, still thinking the entire situation was a daydream. Arthur looked at her, and said, "rx, I am here with you. Also, do vampires walk in the sunlight? If not, then our journey might turn to be more difficult."

    "Don''t worry about it," Sybille said, punching her chest with her hand, "I am a special vampire capable of walking during daylight. I am awesome, right?"

    "You are indeed. Do you have any ns after we get out of here?" Arthur asked.

    He knew Sybille had to obey his orders, as it was on the contract they made, but Arthur still wanted to know what she wanted.

    "Honestly, I don''t know. I want to find out who was the person behind my lock down, but I also want to explore this beautiful world I had not seen in ages..." Sybille sighed.

    "I see. Do you want toe with me? There are lots of things going on in this central continent, so we might have to talk about it."

    "What do you mean, want toe with you? I have to do that because of the contract, right?"

    "No, not at all. You can do whatever you want as long as it does not affect me or the people I care about."

    They were almost reaching the end of the staircase. Arthur looked behind his shoulders, noticing Sybille was standing still.

    "I- I will go with you. You- you are a good person, Arthur." Sybille muttered, hiding her hands behind her back and looking down.

    "Sure. It will be a pleasure, but it might take some time for us to get into a real adventure."

    "How so?"

    "Basically, there is a way going on, so I am acting as a spy inside another magic school while also building my school, which I aim to control this entire continent before I leave this."

    "Huh? I might have something on my ears. Wait a second," Sybille used his pinky to clean up her ears, and then said, "can you say it again?"

    ~~~~

    The two of them were chatting just outside of the tomb. Arthur exined to her the whole situation, as she seemed to be someone he could trust, but they had an agreement.

    "This is just crazy. Look, can I stay in this Odemore while you are acting like a spy? I can help build it and make it the best academy on this continent. Hehe, with the help of Lady Sybille here, you have nothing to fear!"

    "Sure. This is what I had in mind, too. I will mark the school on the map, and send a message to my wives telling you are going, and exining the situation."

    "Okay. Now you have to talk with your friends and exin why someone stronger than a rank 1 mage feared you. What will you say? Already thought of that?"<sub> </sub>

    "Honestly, I will just tell them I am a dragon, and I am hiding inside the school for protection. Everyone knows almost all dragons died a long time ago, so it should not be strange for one to hide like this."

    "Aren''t you afraid they will stab you in the back?"

    "Well, they are good people, so it will be quite sad if they do this. But I have no other choice, and telling them I am a dragon might sound better than telling I am a freaking spy."

    "Yeah, when you put it like this, it makes sense. Anyway, bye-bye Arthur. I will head to this ce called Odemore."

    "How long will you think it will take?"

    "A month probably. I want to explore as I go." Sybille said. She turned around to leave, but Arthur went and hugged her, catching her off guard.

    "Be careful out there with this war. Even someone as strong as you can be in danger." Arthur said.

    "I-I will take care. You too, Arthur."

    Sybille ran away after that, leaving with the marked map Arthur gave her. Then, it was time for him to return to the vige, and exin the situation to the vigers, and also to some extent to his friends.

    When he got there, a lot of vigers were waiting for him by the inn. Even though it waste, not a single one went to sleep before getting their hands on the truth.

    "You are back! What happened to Sybille? Is she all right?"

    All the vigers who had worked with Sybille, trying to free her in an exchange for her, turning some of them into vampires to avoid dying by a fatal disease were there, waiting for Arthur.

    He exined he had freed her, and now she went on roaming around the world, catching up to everyone she lost throughout the ages. Arthur expected them to be not so happy with that, but none of the vigers said a thing.

    They were happy she was finally free, and all of them had a smile on their faces, as well as some words of gratitude toward Arthur, and an apology.

    "You were just protecting our own. I am d those who would die of a disease now continue living."

    Arthur exchanged a few words with the vigers before going up to the second floor of the inn where the rooms were. There, Lucas and Liz waited for him, wanting to get some answers.

    The moment he went in, Lucas got up from the bed and said, "bro, tell me the secret. How can you be so strong?"

    It was a situation Arthur had no way of avoiding. If he did not step up back at the tomb, then both of his new friends would be dead, and that was not something he wished.

    "This will sound absurd, but I can promise you I can prove it to you, if you can promise me to not tell this to anybody. It does not matter where you are or what school you are in. This is really important, and I am trusting you two."

    Arthur spoke those words with a serious face, and his friends, who were always ying around, knew it was not the time to do such a thing. Lucas and Liz went silent for a second, and then they said in unison, "I promise to keep your secret."

    They were eagerly waiting for Arthur''s next words, and lots of ideas crossed the mind of the two, but what Arthur said was not one of those things.

    "I am a dragon."

 Chapter 303 True Form Of A Dragon

    The inn room wentpletely silent after the first sentence spoken by Arthur. He wanted to exin further, but first waited for his two friends to rpose themselves.

    "This is impossible. Dragons are only a legend. No one had seen one in ages." Liz said.

    Arthur was expecting them to not believe him, and that is why he said he could prove it to them. How? Well, he could turn into a full dragon now, and wanted to find any excuse to test his new powers.

    He was almost sure Lucas would share the same feeling as Liz, but it turned out that was not the case.

    "Bro! No wonder you are handsome, strong, wise and many other things. You are not human! We humans cannot be this good, you know? Also, can you teach me how to breathe fire? I always found it look dope!"

    Lucas was the type of friend anyone wanted. He did not even ask if his bro was telling the truth, but believed in it by heart, and that was something rare.

    After the initial reaction, Arthur continued to tell them more, using his knowledge and experiences to create a convincing story about how he ended up where he was, saying that there were lots of powerful beings trying to kill thest remaining dragons, and he ended up by having to flee for ages.

    They heard it all, and even Liz was believing, as that could exin why Arthur was just too good for someone his age. Also, Liz had woken up after having a nightmare and noticed that Arthur was still up. She had never seen him go to bed first, and that was something she felt suspicious about.

    "Maybe he is a vampire?" That was one thing Liz theorized about him.

    Arthur was happy to see both of his new friends believed in him, but was still scared that they would share the fact he was a dragon with someone else. That could bring his end, but the two reassure him it would never happen.

    "Don''t worry, we never do that. But answer me, bro, can you teach me how to breathe fire?"

    "Of course he can''t, you dumbass. How can he teach you to be a dragon?"

    "But I wanted to breathe fire¡­"

    The atmosphere got lighter as they speak, and when the trio remembered their task was over, and they would get their rewards, everything became even better.

    "Arthur, aren''t dragons supposed to have lots of riches? Can you lend me some money?" Lucas asked.

    "I don''t have money, but I have a few treasures, and even a few weapons. The thing is, I cannot give to you because everyone back at the school will want to learn its origins, and you know the rest."

    "But¡­ but¡­ If I leave the school in the future, will you give me an overpowered weapon forged by the dragons?"

    "I might, yes. Us bros always help each other, right?"

    They spent the night talking, and left the vige the next day, going back to the school for good this time to get their hands on the reward.

    Now, they did not rush toward it, but went to a desert ce, as both Lucas and Liz wanted to see Arthur''s true form.

    Not only them, but Arthur himself wanted to test his new stage of the transformation skill. The ce they chose was away from everything, and Arthur checked the surroundings to see if there was anyone hiding in there. There was no one.

    "Behold my true power, and please don''t be scared."

    "Rx, bro. I trust in you, bro. A dragon shouldn''t be that scary, right Liz?" Lucas said, looking at Liz, who was beside him. She had her eyes wide open, and even though she knew it was her friend Arthur, her legs shook without hermand.

    Lucas realized something was wrong when looking at her, and when he returned his gaze to where Arthur was, he saw it!

    An enormous dragon with ck scales! It walked using four legs, and just one of its ws was at least the size of three humans! It was so big the entire area turned darker, with Arthur blocking the sun using his body!

    The two wings behind his back pped, creating a wind so strong that some of the nearby trees were destroyed, cut in half or uprooted by the wind''s force. All the animals, small or big, ran away. The magical beasts did the same.

    Without Arthur realizing, his presence in that forest made all the beasts ran, creating a territory of his own!<sub> </sub>

    ? "This is incredible! I can feel my power at least five times stronger than before! I believe I can go up against a rank 2 mage and win!"

    Lucas and Liz could not move an inch, and it took them a few minutes to get their shit back together. Arthur looked at them, and spoke in the human tongue, "I told you I was a dragon."

    "My bro, you look DOPE! Look at those wings and these ck scales. But hey, aren''t you too big? I don''t remember the dragons of the legends being these powerful."

    "Oh right. I am actually the lord of the dragons itself, cidusax."

    "WHAT?"

    Now Liz was the one who went into a shocked state again. Different from Lucas, she read lots of books, and continue doing so. cidusax was not an unknown name to her, as she read stories about him in old scrolls found on a different continent.

    Few people knew about cidusax on the central continent, as those scrolls were not from there. The reason she did was because of her father, who worked as a merchant, and was in constant travel through the sea, and he had found scrolls telling the story of cidusax on one of those inds.

    For a moment, she had the urge to kneel in front of him. Dragons were already legendary creatures, but cidusax was in a different realm.

    "cidusax? Never heard about such a dragon. Liz, is cidusax truly the lord of dragons?"

    "Yes, he is. Your bro is awesome."

    Arthur then flew away to have a better experience as a dragon. He went up above the clouds, circled around a few times, and wanted to breathe some fire or ice, but restrained himself, as he was sure the attack would cause significant damage.

    Then, he turned back into his human form to meet up with his friends, who were watching him flying from the ground.

    "So, are you two keeping my secret?"

    "Of course, Arthur. I will one day be strong enough to serve you!" Liz said.

    "No, you don''t need to serve me. I am happy if we were friends. You too, Lucas."

    He was not showing his power to get people under hismand. Arthur could do that.

    "Now, what is our next move?"

    "We shall return to the school and get our reward."

    "Agreed."

    The trio left the deserted area and went back to their journey toward the Blood Spear Academy.

    ~~~~~

    "I am telling you, I saw a freaking dragon!"

    "What? Captain Jack, are you up with the rum again? You should take it lightly now that you are approaching the rank 1. It might hinder your progress." A muscr bald man said.

    "I did not drink sincest week! You should trust your captain more. I am telling what I saw was true!"

    "Right, right¡­ Next week you will say you saw a unicorn."

 Chapter 304 Calling From The Rank 3 Mage

    The Blood Spear Academy looked the same as before, with almost no one on the surface, and so silent one would think the ce was deserted.

    Arthur, Lucas and Liz returned to that ce. Arthur wanted to go to Odemore for a quick trip, but it was on the other side of the continent, and that would dy their mission by a lot.

    He did not want the Blood Council or the rector suspicious about him, so the best course of action was to just return.

    "I can use the anchor in one of the next days when things settled down." He thought.

    The trio went to the remote area of the school where their cabins were. Then they used the trapdoor to go underground to where the real fun was.

    "Shall we deliver this quest and get ourselves the reward?" Liz said with a chuckle.

    Of course, that was the first thing they did after returning to the school. They went to the same building they got the quest for, and then showed the paper which the chief of the vige stamped.

    Then, the attendant went to browse their records, and saw the stamp was authentic.

    "Here, this is your reward."

    The attendant gave them a small sack of leather which had mana stones inside. These stones weren''t of the best quality, and the quantity was low as well, but it was a good starting point for weak mages like them.

    As for the contribution points, these were added automatically, so they did not need to worry about it.

    "Ah! It feels nice to have money!" Lucas said as they left the building.

    Liz rolled her eyes, and then said with a smirk, "it is nice for you to say since our share of the mission will go to your weapon!"

    "Oh,e on! Only this time, okay? It is not as if we will not get another quest soon."

    "She was just joking, bro, rx. What shall we do next?" Arthur asked.

    They could get more quests, but then they would just be doing low-ranked ones with lower rewards. Arthur believed the best thing they could do was get stronger and practice other things inside the school, as it was a safe ce for the time being.

    "Let''s focus on ourselves first. Get stronger with magic, and practice the things we want, like my enchanting and your alchemy. Maybe one quest a month? Let''s see how we are till that point." Liz said.

    Lucas nodded, agreeing with everything she had just said, and Arthur felt the same way. If it was only him, then sure, go out on some adventures would not hurt because he was already strong, but Liz and Lucas had just started their magical path, so practicing was more important than getting money.

    Before doing such things, they went to the shop and bought a magical weapon for Lucas, as that was something he wanted. The weapon of chose was a spear, which Lucas felt it was cool!

    "Look at how handsome I am now!" Lucas said as he did some sloppy moves.

    "Put it inside your magical pouch when inside the school, or else some people wille looking for trouble."

    "You''re right."

    The trio left the shop, and then heard an announcement which travelled through the underground area, calling each one of them to the pce, the biggest building in the underground.

    Arthur did not know who called them, but he was almost sure it was the rank 3 mage in charge of the school.

    All the students went to the pce. No matter what level of strength you had, they had to obey to their master, or else the punishment would be death!<sub> </sub>

    "What is happening? Have any idea, Arthur?" Liz asked Arthur who she believed to be the person with the most experience.

    "Hum, the only reason for them to call everyone is for an event, which I doubt it will happen, or something happened with the war. I believe it is thetter."

    No one had a good feeling about it, but what could they do? Even though some did not want to go answer the call, they did anyway.

    When they got in front of the vast pce, someone was flying in front of it, looking at all the students who approached the ce.

    The person had a youthful face, wore a crimson robe, and had a white hair long enough to almost touch his butt. It was the first time the new students saw their leader, Arthur included.

    For a moment, he was scared that his disguise would be seen, as the auraing from that man was insane, but nothing happened, so he rxed a bit.

    After the stream of students stopped, the man in crimson robes spoke once again.

    "I am calling you today because of the war. Some of our weaker schools are being raided, so we have to respond with the same coin."

    "The two schools we are aiming to attack are The Crystal Waterfall and the Scorching Sun. Anyone who is at least in the 7th circle will take part, as for the rest, you will stay here. This is all. You have one month to prepare."

    The man disappeared, and most of the students sighed in relief. Those who were below the seventh circle would not have to take part in the war, so why worry?

    "Arthur, this is good news. We don''t need to fight in the war, and-" Liz stopped talking when she realized Arthur did not take the news as good as everyone else.

    "The¡­ the Crystal Waterfall is the school where Kai is, and Theo is in the Scorching Sun¡­ How can I be this unlucky?" Arthur thought.

    He did not mutter a word until the trio returned to their cabins, and there he told them about his two friends who helped him a long time ago, and those two were in the schools they would attack.

    "Bro¡­ This is unlucky¡­ What will you do?"

    "Either pretend to reach the seventh circle and go with them, or just flee from the school and intervene there."

    "Are you going to kill all of our students who will take part in the fight?" Liz asked him with a worried face.

    Although she did not know most of them, it was still something she did not agree.

    "That, or just take my friends and leave."

    "Arthur, we never thought of asking but, what side of the war are you in?"

    "Both me and Lucas went to this school because it was easier to get into. You know that the only school who teaches the shadow element is the Ouroboros, and no one can enter that ce¡­"

    "If I could get you two into Ouroboros in the future, like a year from now, would you go?"

    "Could you really? If yes, then yes, we will leave this ce. A year from now? I will work hard to not be a burden to you!" Liz said.

    Lucas said the same words. Then it was settled. Both Lucas and Liz would go to Ouroboros after Nefion dealt with the rank 3 mage, which would take at least one more year.

    Now Arthur needed to think of a way to rescue his two friends in just one month.

 Chapter 305 Scapegoat

    The only thing Arthur could do was pretend to reach the seventh circle and go with the others to the battle. He thought about staying below that rank, and then fleeing the school to help his friends, but that would not work.

    Sure, he could use the anchor to quickly disappear from the school, but the rank 3 mage would notice he was gone after a few days, and then his disguise would be over.

    Still, getting into the seventh circle that fast would shock even the rank 3 mage, but there was nothing else he could do. Arthur was hoping everything would work out, and the rank 3 mage would not kill him on the spot.

    Then, he pretended to enter a secluded training for the entire month, increasing his power gradually. He remembered there was a person who kept a close watch on him from time to time.

    "What? He is already reaching the sixth circle? This is beyond precedents. Is he trying to reach the seventh circle to fight for his school? What a goodd!"

    Everything the mysterious person saw it would share it with the school leader, who was getting more and more excited to meet such incredible youth. So much he was even thinking of getting him as his disciple in the future!

    "I believe he will reach the seventh circle before one month passes, which is insane. I will let him go to the battles, as the schools we will invade aren''t that strong, and some of you will be there in case something happens."

    The rank 3 mage sat around a long table with lots of other mages from the Blood Council. Arthur had turned into someone important for them after seeing how much progress he made within a short period.

    They were discussing how to proceed, and all of them wanted to protect and nurture such youth. Although their school was one of the dark arts, and usually their students lived in a harsh environment, they were not willing to put Arthur in danger.

    The ongoing war was harsh for everyone, and having someone who could change the battle to their side was huge! If Arthur kept progressing at the same speed, then he would soon turn into a rank 1 mage, and that would increase their power by a lot!

    "What about the inheritance? Does anyone know who got it?"

    "You mean the inheritance from the legendary Blood Lord? No, we still don''t have a clue about it, but that''s the reason we started the war, right? To get our hands on it!"

    "You are right. We will get it eventually."

    Arthur was ignorant about what the Blood Council was talking about, as he was more concerned about getting stronger before they left for the battles.

    The shadow essence conversion was improving at a slow pace, but that was not something which concerned Arthur. Also, he had sent a message to his wives about everything. Sybille going and their contract, the battles which would ur against the schools Kai and Theo were in, and so on.

    After one month passed, Arthur was ready to leave the school with the others. Lucas and Liz improved a lot as well, reaching the fourth circle! They weren''t bad, and the school wished to nurture them as well. So much they could train in a special area within the school where the shadow element was more present.

    Arthur was improving so fast in a normal area that the Blood Council could not wait to send him to the special area after the battle.

    "Now I am leaving for a battle that will not happen!" Arthur thought.

    He sent a message to Theo and Kai about the attack, saying the exact time they would leave. Arthur did that a month ago, before he even started his training.

    And just three days before their departure, both Theo and Kai sent a message to Arthur, saying their schools had abandoned their grounds and would not mix with the other stronger schools.

    Not only them, but most of the weaker schools did the same, merging with the top schools who had the same element as them. It was a way to prevent a high number of casualties, and it was working well so far.

    The Blood Spear did not know they would send their troops to an empty area, and Arthur was concerned about what would happen next, and that is why he already made his move!

    During the past month, Arthur not only trained, but studied everyone from the Blood Spear Academy, and found someone to put the me on!

    It was the same person who was following Liz, and Liz agreed to help Arthur put the me on that person.

    "Was he following me? Anyway, I will help you, and I liked the fact you did not resort to killing everyone from our school in the battle. But what do you want me to do?"

    "It is very simple. You have noticed how the Blood Council is impressed with my talent, right? They are also taking care of you and Lucas as well!"

    "So, after we leave for the battle, you wait around three days, and then report to the Blood Council about this man who is following you."

    "They will surely send a rank 1 mage to check, and will see that he is truly following you."

    "So what? How can this help us?"

    "I forged some documents and ced inside his house. They will search his house after seeing him following you for no reason, and will see the documents there, so he will get the me."<sub> </sub>

    "Okay, I will trust you with this."

    ~~~~

    The day of the departure. Lots of students were leaving the Blood Spear Academy, as well as some members of the Blood Council. Obviously, they would not let the school unprotected, so the leader and some of the rank 1 mages were there to make sure everything would be alright.

    Arthur believed nothing would happen to the school at all because of the rank 3 mage they had. The only way for them to deal with him was with the help of Nefion after he reached the rank 3 too, and Arthur hoped it would not take that long.

    "You are Arthur, right? You can stay close to me during the journey. That way, nothing will happen to you." One of the rank 1 mages said.

    The students who were around were jealous of the special treatment Arthur was receiving.

    "Is he so weak that he needs someone to protect him?" One of them mocked. Arthur was ready to speak for himself, but the rank 1 mage who was near him did for him.

    "No, actually. We are protecting him because he is important to the future of our school, different from you who I don''t even know the name. Speak again and you will die before the battle even begins."

    Even Arthur was shocked after hearing that. He understood his talent and importance to the school, but wasn''t that too much?

    Anyway, they kept moving, until reaching a point where the students were divided into two small armies. They needed to attack two different schools who were far from each other.

    Arthur was on the team who would attack the Scorching Sun school, which was in the west part of the continent, near a dangerous volcano.

    They marched for a few days, but when they finally reached the ce where the school was, there was no one there! The students were relieved, as no one wanted to die, but mages from the Blood Council were enraged!

    "How? Is there a traitor among us? We must return to the school now!"

    The same thing happened to the others who went to attack the other school. There was no one there, and they also returned to the Blood Spear Academy.

    "Who do you think the traitor is?"

    "I don''t know, but I am sure the school leader will find out who it is!"

    Everyone was talking about the spy on their way back, and when they finally returned to the school, the Blood Council and the school leader were already waiting for them.

    "You did not find anyone there, right?" The school leader said.

    The rank 1 mages who were with the students were surprised. They did not send him a message about it beforehand, so how did the school leader know?

    "All the members of the Blood Council,e with me! Also, Arthur, you cane too!"

    "Is Arthur a part of the spy group?"

    "No, I don''t think so. I think they see him as a new member of the Blood Council in the future."

    "What? Why do you say that?"

    "Well, he went from zero knowledge about magic to the seventh circle in just two months. Can you do that?"

    "What the fuck? I thought it was just a rumor. Is it true?"

    "Yes. That is why the rank 1 mages treat him so well!"

    "No wonders. He is worlds apart from us."

    The students whispered these things while all the members of the Blood Council and Arthur made their way to one peak.

 Chapter 306 Disciple Of A Rank 3 Mage

    The Blood Council went to the peak of the mountain, where an immense building was located. It was the ce where the Official Mages rested, trained, and lived. It was also where their meeting room was.

    Arthur was getting scared, thinking that his n was a bust, but when they all went inside the meeting room, the person who Arthur put the me on was there.

    The leader of the school was the first to talk, sitting on the highest chair at the table.

    "This person here is a traitor sent by the schools to steal information from us. Look at this!"

    He threw lots of documents, those which Arthur forged. These documents were like reports, aimed to be sent to all the top ranked schools. All the members from the Blood Council read them.

    "Are you sure these are real? Could someone fake these to frame him?"

    When the mage said that, Arthur got anxious, but he had already used a tactic to avoid such suspicion, and the school leader fell for it.

    "No. All the documents have the Ouroboros stamp, and no one knows about it, only its members. You must know no one can go to that school without permission, and even those who go do not know this symbol."

    "The only reason I know is because I was once a part of the school, before I founded this one."

    It worked better than Arthur expected. He was not sure if the man would recognize the stamp, but he hoped that was the case, yet it worked even better!

    "Was he a member of the Ouroboros? Strange. Why did he leave the school, and is now acting like a madman trying to kill everyone?" Arthur thought.

    As for the youth who got framed, he did not even may talk, as they put a cloth on his mouth.

    "So it is all settled. We will execute him in public to make sure no one else attempts to back stab us. Also, notice me if any of you see something strange."

    "Understood."

    "You can all leave and prepare the execution to happen now! Arthur, stay here. I want to talk with you in private."

    All the members of the Blood Council left, leaving only Arthur and the school leader alone in that meeting room. He did not know what the leader wanted to talk about, but Arthur hoped it was something good.

    "Arthur, you are proving to be someone very talented, and I already told the other members I want you in the Blood Council in the future."

    "Master is being humble. I am a mere seventh circle mage."

    "No, not at all. You reached this point in just two months with no guidance, which is incredible. I want you to be my disciple. If you don''t like the way I teach, so you can just say and go on our own. I am not binding you at all."

    That was unexpected. Arthur knew they were exalting him, but get the guidance of the only rank 3 mage on the central continent? That was priceless, even if the mage was not someone good.

    The task Arthur had was to get close to that man while Nefion reached the rank 3, and then the two of them would work together to take him down, thus stopping this war.

    So, turning into his disciple was not a bad idea, as that would guarantee he would get close to the man, but it would also mean they will have their eyes on him.

    Still, saying no was not an option. Any mage who got such an offer would say yes, and if Arthur said no, then the school leader would suspect him of having a hidden agenda.

    "Is he trying to learn more about with this? This man is smart, and I should not act as if he will never suspect me." Arthur thought.<sub> </sub>

    He looked at the man with bright eyes, and said, "really? Are you telling me the truth? Yes, of course I want to be your disciple."

    "Good, good. Few people know my name, but I am Sebastian. Now, I have a few things to deal with right now, so I cannot teach you personally, but you now have ess to the other peak, which is where my residence is. You can go train there, as it is the best spot in the entire school!"

    Sebastian gave him a token which would allow him to pass through the barrier of his peak, as well as where the members of the Blood Council stayed.

    "You are already a member of the Blood Council, but not officially yet because you need the power of a rank 1 mage, but I believe you get that in a few months. Anyway, I will leave for now."

    He also gave him some books which were like treasures for Arthur! The Blood Spear school not only specialized in the shadow element, but it was also the only school on the who had techniques which used the blood!

    "Blood essence! This is something I want, as I have that inheritance to use in the future!"

    Arthur epted all the gifts, bowing to Sebastian as he left. Everything was going in the right direction for him, almost like a dream.

    He went down the Blood Council peak, getting the attention of the students.

    "Look, Arthur is almost a member of the Blood Council! What else can he get?"

    "What else can he get? Nothing! He is just lucky, and I will surpass him in the future!"

    The youth who said such words was a tenth circle mage that wished to be a member of the Blood Council as well! And everyone was sure he would because his uncle was a member. All he needed was the power of a rank 1 mage to officially enter, just like Arthur.

    They never met, but he despised Arthur because of the attention he was getting, and when he saw him leaving that peak, he wanted to pick up a fight with him, but stopped when he noticed Arthur not going toward them, but moving to the other peak!

    Arthur was not the first student to go to the peak where the Blood Council was, but no one could go to the other mountain peak! That was the home of the school leader, a rank 3 mage!

    "What is he doing? Is he crazy?"

    "Maybe he does not know about the barrier. Ha, let''s see him hitting his face."

    Without him realizing, lots of students were watching him go up the mountain peak, waiting for him to hit his face on the barrier, and look like a clown in front of everyone, yet that did not happen.

    Arthur passed through the barrier using the power of his token, shocking all the students who were watching him.

    "This is impossible. Am I seeing things?"

    "There is no way. The only exnation is that he is now the school leader''s disciple, but he has never got a disciple since the foundation of this school."

    "He can''t be his disciple, right?"

    The scene spread to everyone in the school. Liz and Lucas, who knew Arthur well, were also shocked, more than the other students.

    "Why is he a disciple of that man? Isn''t a dragon way more powerful than a rank 3? What is he up to?"

 Chapter 307 Tides Changed

    The days inside the Blood Spear Academy improved for Arthur after getting ess to the ce where the school leader trained. There, the mana density in the atmosphere was way better, and it helped Arthur to get to the rank 2.

    Everyone inside the school knew he was the disciple of a rank 3 mage, so no one dared to make a move against him, or his friends! Lucas and Liz also got some benefits from it, and were granted the ess to practice in another secret area of the school.

    At the top of a mountain inside a vast building looking like a castle was Arthur. It was the residence of Sebastian, and he was not around! When he told Arthur he had some things to do after the meeting, he really meant it! The man left for an entire week, appeared, stayed for one day and then left again.

    There was something important going on, and Arthur wished to ask Sebastian when he returns, but while he was not there, there was something he could do, and that was exploring the area and draw a map!

    Arthur already mapped the other areas except for the two mountain peaks. He now could ess both without problems, but he was not feeling confident about going into the other peak as mages would be there, different from the ce he was currently in, which was deserted.

    "How far is Nefion from the rank 3? Close? Maybe that''s the reason Sebastian in leaving." Arthur thought as he mapped the entire area, taking advantage of no one being there.

    After that, it was time for some training. The area had an incredible mana density, and also a good amount of shadow particles around, which would help him get more of his essence converted. Arthur sat cross-legged inside one of the many rooms of that pce and shut down his thoughts, severing the connection with the outside world, focusing on his training.

    Days passed in the blink of an eye. Arthur got up and left the room he used for training, looking around the area to see if Sebastian had returned. He had not. It was strange, and Arthur was worrying about.

    "Should I leave to speak with Nefion or send him a message?"

    He double-checked the pce and then left the mountain peak after seeing there was no one indeed. It was nighttime, so it was possible to see some students roaming around the school, and all of them recognized Arthur as soon as they looked at him.

    The most incredible part was how powerful Arthur was in just days. He now showed to them the power of a mage in the tenth circle, which was extraordinary! Arthur was not scared to show it now, as he could just say his talent, plus the helpful ce he could use for training made him progress that fast.

    He did not mind these students looking, and went to his old cabin to look for Lucas and Liz, but they weren''t there.

    "Strange. Where could they be?"

    When someone does not know something, it was better to just ask, and that was what Arthur did. He went looking for one of the Official Mages, as these would surely know way more things than the normal students, and the one he found was one mage who did the testing when he entered the school.

    "Arthur, it is you! I can''t believe how much stronger you are now! You must not know, but I knew about your talent back then, and that is why you skipped all the tests, ahem."

    The mage looks exactly like before, a tall slim man with a medium dark hair. He was one of the few people Arthur liked in that school.

    "Thanks. I came here to ask for some things. Do you know my friends, Lucas and Liz? They came to the school with me. Anyway, I just left my training and went looking for them in their cabins. There was no one there, and I can''t seem to find them."

    "Lucas and Liz, hum, let me see. Right, I remember now! Our school went to invade another school after the traitor was caught, and the two of them were in the seventh circle, so they went as well. But now that you say this, it has been a while since they left. Could something have happened?" The mage said.

    Arthur got a little worried after hearing that, but he knew his friends would not get themselves in danger for nothing. They should be okay, but where was Sebastian? He did not even ask the mage, as he was sure he would not know the answer for such a thing.

    "Thanks!" Arthur said, slightly bowing to the mage, making him wave his hands and say it was unnecessary.

    Anyway, Arthur was once again alone inside his old cabin, thinking about if he should go after them or not. One thing he wished to do was practice his alchemy skills, but that would be impossible with a constant worry in mind.

    He had to look for them, but as Sebastian was not around, the highest authority was a strange man who was in charge of the Blood Council. Arthur had met him a few times, and that man smelled fishy.

    The peak where the Blood Council was. It was almost identical to the peak where Sebastian lived, even the buildings there were simr. The only difference was the amount of mana, as Sebastian had a slightly better ce.

    Arthur went to a vast pce made of a ck stone with some red details on it. Pretty good looking, but considering the mysterious person Arthur would talk to, that was not relevant.

    A few members of the council were there, and they obviously recognized him. He asked them if he could talk with their leader, and they allowed him, just like he had imagined.<sub> </sub>

    Then, he went to the same meeting room they always used, but this time the chairs were empty, and only one chair wasn''t, and that was where the leader of the Blood Council was.

    It was a middle-aged man with a brown, slick hair, an eye-patch covering his left eye, and a cane to support him. He even had a long beard, which made him look even more fragile while walking using the cane.

    Although he looked that way, everyone knew how strong he was, and his strange personality made him even more dangerous! A rank 2 mage was not someone to y with.

    "Arthur," he said in a hoarse voice, "I heard you wanted to talk with me."

    Arthur sat on the other side of the table, locking his gaze on that man. "Yes. Two of my friends went to a battle, and the Official Mage I spoke to was concerned as no one got any answers from it."

    "Oh, right? Do you know of Ouroboros? A prominent school, the strongest I might say."

    He was not liking where the conversation was going to, but went along, "yes I heard of it. Could they be invading that school?"

    Arthur did not believe that would be the case considering how strong Ouroboros was, but the leader of the Blood Council said otherwise.

    "Yes, they are. Well, they are probably still on the journey to reach that ce."

    When the Blood''s Council leader said those words, Arthur could not stop thinking about his wives who were in Odemore, which was near Ouroboros!

    What if they found them? Arthur could not let that happen, so he left the meeting room and was prepared to leave the school!

    If no one allowed him, then he would go anyway. It was not up to discussion. He had to save his wives, warn Nefion and also help Liz and Lucas.

    There was nothing he needed to get, but he sent a message to Nefion using a secret mark before leaving the school using his anchor spell! In just one second, Arthur was no longer in the Blood Spear Academy, but back to Odemore!

    Wisa, Jane, Laura, Elena and Sybille were there. The sudden appearance of someone caught them off-guard, but when they saw who it was, all of them were all smiles.

    "Arthur!"

    "Arthur!"

    A beautiful scene to see those gorgeous women running toward him for a hug. Even the situation was not dire, then Arthur would be even more happy.

    "Is Sybille causing you any trouble?"

    "No, she is lovely. Husband, did something happen?"

    Arthur exined the situation to them, and different from what Arthur believed, they weren''t that concerned with Odemore.

    "Sybille used some ancient formations from her family, and when activated, there is no way they will find us. She said even mages at rank 5 and superior could not." Jane said.

    "What? Since when you are this powerful? Anyway, I have to warn Nefion about this! The rank 3 mage from the school is not there too, so he might join the battle this time!"

    He wanted to stay more, but the destiny of the central continent was on his hands, so he left, going to Ouroboros to speak with Nefion in person.

 Chapter 308 Fast Progress To Rank 2, Aiming For Rank 3

    The mages from the Blood Spear Academy had yet to arrive near Ouroboros. Arthur knew they were just being cautious. A rank 3 mage like Sebastian could travel throughout the continent fast, so it made little sense he had not arrived yet.

    Arthur went to the same port he used the other time, and a different youth was the unlucky one to stay there and watch. Everyone in Ouroboros knew about Arthur, as Nefion himself hade in front of everyone to say Arthur was his grandson, so no one wanted to disrespect him in the slightest.

    The youth who was in the harbor saw Arthur from the distance and recognized him in an instant.

    "Arthur! I will prepare the boat for you, Sr." The youth said, showing the respect for Arthur.

    If it was a normal day, then sure Arthur would go in that boat and sail chillingly to the ind, but that was not the case. The situation was not looking favorable for them, and Arthur hoped Nefion had reached the rank 3, or else they would not have a chance of winning.

    When Arthur was just in front of the youth, he jumped above him, started flying, and said, "no need. This is an urgency. Thank you."

    With his flight spell activated, Arthur went as fast as he could toward the Ouroboros Ind. Most rank 1 mages noticed a strange and powerful aura going directly toward them, so of course, they had to check to see if it was an enemy.

    But when they saw it was Arthur, none of them stood in his way, but all of them had questions.

    "Why is he in a hurry? Did something happen?"

    Arthur flew past everyone he encountered, including Jim, who got curious, just like all the other students of Ouroboros. To see Demon Lord Arthur, the grandson of their school leader, so anxious, something big must have happened.

    He went directly to the main building, up to thest floor, as that was where Nefion usually was. Arthur did not stop for a second, opening up the door to Nefion''s room to see it empty.

    "Where is that, old man? No, don''t tell me he is..."

    Arthur had a wild feeling, one he did not wish to be true, but it was something normaling from Nefion. He left the main building, and went to the bathing area not that far, and there he saw it, an old man behind a bush watching some young girls showering.

    "Old man! What are you doing?" Arthur said as he went behind Nefion, tapping him on the shoulder.

    "Shh. If you speak too loud, they will hear us!"

    "Old man, we have some serious problems."

    "Serious problems? Can it wait for the bath?"

    "No, it cannot."

    Nefion turned around to see Arthur staring at him with a serious face. He instantly knew it was a serious problem, and Arthur was not making it up just to get him out of that ce.

    The two of them left the bushes, going to Nefion''s room to speak about what was happening. Arthur went directly to the point, sitting in front of Nefion with his legs crossed, saying, "the rank 3 mage and the students of the Blood Spear Academy areing toward us."

    Nefion, who was also sitting, got up after hearing the sentence. He was more than anxious.

    "Are you sure?"

    "Yes, I am sure. I don''t know how far they are, but they must get close."

    "Well, it would happen eventually. Kiddo, I reached the rank 3 already, but I am not sure I can win against Sebastian." Nefion said.

    Arthur was surprised to see Nefion reaching the rank 3 so fast, and for a moment he had hopes, but hearing the old man say he could not defeat Sebastian made him feel sadder.<sub> </sub>

    "Are you sure you can''t win? Is there a way for me to be useful in the fight?"

    "Look, Ouroboros is not a weak school. The barrier we have around the ind and the small vige outside is enough to endure their attacks for one month. Kiddo, I have one month to get stronger in the rank 3 realm, and if you want to help, you have one month to reach the rank 3. Can you do it?"

    "Reach rank 3 in a month?"

    Arthur was not sure that was possible, but if he wanted to help Nefion and everyone he cared about, then he would have to do everything in his grasp to achieve such a thing.

    He was almost reaching the rank 2 after consuming the mana from Sybille''s ne, but in normal ways it would still take him some time to level up, but with Nefion there, it was not a problem for him anymore.

    Nefion said that with his new power as a rank 3 mage, he could help Arthur reach the rank 2 as he was already close to it, but from the rank 2 to the rank 3 there was not much he could do.

    The only reason Nefion even believed Arthur had a chance of achieving such a thing was because he was cidusax! cidusax was his lord back then, and Nefion knew the power the Lord of Dragons had. If anyone could go from rank 2 to 3 in one month, then it had to be the Lord of Dragons!

    After Arthur agreed to try, Nefion helped him reach rank 2, which turned out to be a simple task for him, but the moment Arthur reached that realm, everyone in Ouroboros and beyond felt his aura.

    He was already stronger than normal mages, and now on a higher level, that feeling was more prominent than ever! Even Nefion was shocked to see the difference between the rank 1 Arthur and the rank 2.

    Sure, every mage would get a tremendous increase in power, but what happened to Arthur was just ridiculous. Nefion now saw a hope of Arthur reaching rank 3 and dealing with Sebastian without problems.

    "Perhaps once again my lord will help us?" Nefion thought.

    "This is incredible! I feel so much better!"

    Arthur was astonished after feeling the strength inside his body increasing each second, as if it would never stop. He believed he had the power to take down anyone below rank 3, but a rank 3 mage was still his opponent, so it was not enough.

    "Any ns on how to reach rank 3?" Nefion asked, looking slightly worried.

    "First, I need my wives!"

    Normal mages had to meditate, get the mana from the atmosphere, and then condense it into Spiritual Force to then reach the next level.

    Arthur could have sex, get mana from his level ups, and then condense it into Spiritual Force, making it way faster than normal

    He was not sure if it would be possible to reach the rank 3 in a month, but what Arthur was sure was that he would have a fun time with his wives.

    The speed at which Arthur left the Ouroboros ind was extraordinary. It was way faster than before, and no one could even see him, not even rank 1 mages.

    Arthur passed through the ind, then the sea, the small vige, eventually making his way back to Odemore, shocking everyone there with his aura!

    "A rank 2 mage ising. We must prepare. Wait, I know this aura." Wisa said.

    It was Arthur, shocking all of them once again. But Jane and Wisa could not understand the meaning behind his smirk.

    "What a month it will be!" Arthur thought.

 Chapter 309 Will He Do It?

    "Things are not looking good for us." Arthur said.

    Both he, Jane and Wisa were inside one of Odemore''s rooms, talking about the situation which was not favorable to them.

    "What do you mean?" Jane asked.

    "Nefion is already a rank 3 mage, but he is not confident in winning the fight¡­ Sebastian, the rank 3 mage from the Blood Spear Academy, ising."

    "How can we help?"

    Jane and neither Wisa knew how they would help in a fight against a rank 3 mage. That was a fight way above their league, and even Arthur, who was someone extraordinary, had no means of helping.

    But then they were already surprised to see Arthur reach the rank 2 so fast, could he reach the rank 3 fast as well? They believed that was the case, but fast meant maybe in a few years, and not months.

    "I will enter an intense training to reach rank 3 in one month, and I need you two with me."

    "What? Rank 3 in one month? Are you joking with us?"

    Even though they believed in Arthur''s capabilities, that was just too much, even for him.

    "Sex is the key! We will follow a strict sex routine for the entire month, and that will improve my power. I am not sure if I will reach rank 3, but it is something I have to try." Arthur said.

    "A month of sex? How many times per day are we talking here?"

    "Hum, maybe 6 times a day? This seems like a good amount."

    "6 times a day for 30 days straight?" Wisa said, and then she looked at Jane, "we are in deep trouble¡­"

    Elena, Laura and Sybille stayed in Odemore, as it was also a safe ce after the new formations had been ced. Sybille guaranteed there was no way the rank 3 mage or even a rank 4 mage would find them there, which was incredible to think about.

    As for Arthur and his two wives, they left Odemore, making their way to Ouroboros, where Nefion waited for them. No one questioned who these two women were because Arthur was the one bringing them. In their minds, they were surely important, and some students had their guesses when seeing them so close to each other.

    "Demon Lord Arthur has two beautiful girls for himself. That power can bring us."

    "When I grow up, I want to be just like him!"

    "Aren''t you the same age as him already? Or perhaps older?"

    "Oh, shut up!"

    Arthur did not stop to listen to such bullshit, and flew as fast as he could toward the main building. There, Nefion gave him a special room for training, just like the one he was using.

    "You shall not leave until I am the one calling you. Some of my students saw Sebastian and the other mages approaching, and they should be here in two days, but like I said, our barrier canst one month, maybe slightly more. You must focus on your training with everything you got!" Nefion said.

    "Understood."

    Arthur and his wives went inside the room, which had many formations around it, making so no sound leaked from the inside, and no sound came from the outside. As well as some protection barriers.

    It was like an entire house, and Arthur would not even need to leave. There was a bed for rest, a bathroom, and lots of food avable inside. The perfect ce to train with all his needs taken care of.

    The first thing he did was to check his stats to see how his progress was doing level wise.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Bloodline: Dragon (Legendary cidusax), Monlog Giant]

    [Rank: Official Mage (2)]

    [Level: 102]

    [Health: 42700/42700]

    [Mana: 0/0]

    [Spiritual Force: 210]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 422]

    [Agility: 349]<sub> </sub>

    [Vigor: 344]

    [Wisdom: 586]

    [Charm: 353]

    [Free points: 10]

    "Not bad at all!"

    Nefion had told him that from the rank 1 to rank 2, the body changed little, but the amount of mana and the might of the spells a mage could cast were worlds apart.

    So, stats wise, it changed little the moment he passed from the rank 1 to rank 2. Even so, Arthur''s attributes were incredibly high, making him way stronger than most mages.

    What Arthur was eager to be to reach rank 3! Nefion exined to him that the body would suffer a reborn after reaching rank 3, and he also stated that seeing how Arthur''s body was already extraordinary, the change would be even higher!

    Now, he did not have any mana to convert into Spiritual Force, as he had done that already, but the best way to get mana was through leveling, and what was the best way to level up fast? That is correct, sex.

    The first part of the training happened in the bed with Wisa wiggling her rounded ass on Arthur''s dick, while Jane shoved her pussy in his face! It had be something standard for them, but still too good!

    After Wisa and Jane got the Monlog Giant bloodline, they were more vigorous, more horny, which was a good thing for Arthur, who needed exactly that.

    "Oh god this is too good! I am your little bitch!" Wisa said while moaning, riding on the dick like there was no tomorrow.

    They switched positions from time to time, as all of them wanted to getpletely demolished by Arthur''s dick, but as the days went by, their energy levels diminished, and the only reason for them to keep at it was because of their bloodline, and also because of their power-up when having sex, simr to what happened to Arthur.

    It was a fun experience to cum on the face of two gorgeous women six times a day. Arthur changed from time to time, cumming on their big boobs, ass, and, of course, pussy.

    The system stated he could not impregnate someone, for now at least, so he was not concerned with the creampies. In fact, Wisa and Jane loved it!

    Their routineprised having a hardcore sex for about one-to-one hour and a half, and then meditate right afterwards. That way Arthur leveled up, earning more mana through it, which would be turned into Spiritual Force.

    But not every round of sex would cause one level, so Arthur would meditate to not only transform the mana into Spiritual Force, but to also gather more mana in the normal way of mages.

    ~~~~

    While Arthur was focusing on his training, multiple attacks were happening outside of Ouroboros. It was Sebastian and the rest of the strongest students from the Blood Spear Academy.

    Even he, a rank 3 mage, was surprised to see such a sturdy barrier capable of protecting the school for days. At first, he believed the barrier would notst over one week, but the days kept passing, and even though the barrier got weaker and weaker, it did not break.

    But when Sebastian saw a few cracks in the barrier, he got even more excited, yelling, "I don''t know who the leader of Ouroboros is, but I know there is no rank 3 mage anymore on the central continent, only me! If I have known this sooner, then everything would be mine already."

    "You are almost right. Indeed, there was no rank 3 mage before, but here I am!"

    A voice echoed from the distance. It was Nefion, who came to check the barrier, as it would onlyst for a few more days.

    "Oh? You are a rank 3 mage, too?" Sebastian said. It surprised him for a moment, but he noticed how Nefion had just entered the rank 3, meaning it was not an opponent to him.

    "You don''t have a chance against me, old man, and you know it too!"

    "You will see, Sebastian, you will see."

    With a smirk, Nefion left, returning to Ouroboros. The reason for his confidence was not only his power, but because Arthur was really close to reach the rank 3! Nefion went to check on him when he noticed the barrier would notst much longer, and by sensing the aura which emanated from Arthur, he knew how close he was!

    Disturbing him in such pivot time would be stupid, so Nefion only came to check on him but did not say a word. He left the room emanating confidence, and also shock!

    "Of course, he would reach this point in just one month. He is our lord, the Lord of Dragons. I should have never doubted him." Nefion thought.

    As for Arthur, he was so focused on his training throughout the month he did not even notice Nefion going there. It was a good thing the old man did not enter the bedroom, because that would be an unpleasant moment for all of them.

    "I am progressing so fast, but ording to my calctions, I only have three more days. Will I be able to reach the rank 3?"

    What Arthur aplished was the peak of the rank 2, but crossing to the next stage was something hard, and only condensing Spiritual Force would not do.

    He had to meditate and find a way through his wild thoughts, reaching the point of transition.

    It was easier to say than do it, and as the time passed, Arthur got more and more nervous¡­

 Chapter 310 Blood Monarch Inheritance!

    "What will you do now, old man? Your barrier will onlyst a few hours!" Sebastian yelled, flying in front of the barrier,unching some powerful attacks from time to time.

    Nefion was there, as well as were the rest of the students. Anyone who had the seventh circle would fight and protect not only the continent, but the continent itself!

    Only these two schools were fighting against each other. The reason? They were the only ones who had the back of a rank 3 mage. It did not matter if the others schools came, Sebastian would wipe all of them with ease.

    So, no one came to help Ouroboros, and the same could be said for the Blood Spear Academy.

    "Lord, please make it in time!" Nefion thought.

    Sweat dripped from his forehead, but a fire grew inside of him. He was not willing to lose and die before finding his brother. Before avenging all of his dragon friends who died in the hand of these so-called ''gods''.

    The reason for Nefion''s worry was because Arthur would not make it in time! He trained like a madman for the entire month, but would not be present the moment the barrier broke. But when Nefion came to check up on him, he did some calctions and was sure Arthur would be ready two hours after the attack, which meant he would have to deal with Sebastian for two hours!

    Would he be able to do it? No one knew, but Nefion would sure fight with everything on the line, just like all the other students who did not wish to see the continent fell on the hands of such evil person.

    "Old man, you can try it, but you will never win against me. Don''t worry, after I am done here, I will kill everyone else on this shit continent, and then go to the other continents do the same. Hahahaha!!!" Sebastian said,ughing like a crazy person.

    The first thing Nefion thought when hearing that was his family. Eleonora, his daughter, was still on the other continent, and that was something which gave him a peace of mind during the war, but now Sebastian said he would dominate the other continents as well!

    "Shut up, you bastard."

    He did not say more, as actions spoke louder than words, and Nefion will use all drops of power to stop that man, even if it took his life.

    While the two sides were preparing to sh on a battle, Arthur meditated inside his room, trying his best to transform all the gained mana into Spiritual Force, on his way to the rank 3!

    It was so close, yet felt like an impossible step to make. What could he do to reach the next level? Could he do it in time? At that moment, a familiar voice echoed inside his time.

    "Kiddo, I am away for a few months and you end up in such a dangerous situation? Why is a rank 3 mage trying to kill you?"

    "Ikarus!"

    The blue bird, an existence beyond hisprehension who helped him get his hands on the inheritance from the Blood Monarch, and also gave him the lightning essence.

    "Yo. Are you close to reaching rank 3? Not bad, kid."

    Arthur saw Ikarus'' appearance as a sign of hope. He was trying everything to take thest step and reach the rank 3, but nothing worked. But now, with the help of Ikarus, then maybe he could do it.

    "Can you help me reach rank 3? I am trying everything, yet it does not work."

    "Well, that''s because you need a tier 13 spell. Do you know one?"

    "Can''t I just use my essences to boost the spells up to rank 13?"

    "No, that is not how it works anymore. You can do it to any spell from tier 12 and below, but tier 13 spells can only be found in the universe or created if you are a genius. That is one reason the rank 3 mages often leave theirs, to find more spells, thus increasing their power and their chance of reaching rank 4." Ikarus answered him like a teacher to a kid.

    "Fuck. Then how am I supposed to get a tier 13 spell here? Can I get one from Nefion?"

    "Nefion? Who is this?"

    "An old man who is also a dragon."

    "Oh, no you can''t."<sub> </sub>

    "Why is that?"

    "I don''t know if you can call it spells, since spells are a thing for mages, but the skills are unique to each dragon, just like with all the other magical creatures. You cannot use the skill Nefion has to advance. Also, I am pretty sure this Nefion was way stronger than a rank 3 mage, and just lost his powers, because a newborn dragon is already stronger than a rank 1 mage."

    Arthur heard that and felt hopeless. There was nothing he could do to get a tier 13 spell when stuck in that room. Not only that, but where could he get one on this?

    "So how do all the others advance in rank 3 while living on this?" Arthur asked.

    "They probably have an old scroll with a tier 13 spell, passed down by their generations to help someone with talent when the time is right. Prettymon in mosts."

    "Can you have?"

    "Well, I can, but of failure."

    "Exin."

    "Remember the inheritance you have? From the Blood Monarch, an existence stronger than anything we know? I told you I could open a small portion of it when you reach rank 3, but you aren''t there yet, but we can still open and get our hands in some of his memories."

    "Memories which will have a tier 13 spell for me to use!"

    "Correct. But we fail because of your meager power, and both of us will die."

    "Well, if I don''t reach rank 3, we will die either way, right?"

    "You have a point, kiddo. Can I unseal a part of the memory for you then?"

    Arthur did not answer. He first thought about it, and share it with his wives, who were also meditating close to him. They did not like the idea of a life-and-death situation to get a tier 13 spell, but they weren''t stupid, so they knew it was the only way to reach rank 3.

    "We both trust you will make it, husband."

    They shared some kisses before it, and then it was time for the real thing.

    "I am ready." Arthur said.

    Ikarus then channeled his power to unseal a part of the inheritance, and the moment that happened, the pain Arthur sensed was something he never felt before.

    Lots of images shed inside his mind, as if someone was inserting a memory card in his head, the brute forcing this knowledge, a knowledge he was not supposed to have.

    The pain in his mind grewrger andrger, until a point where Arthur passed out, making both of his wives concerned.

    "He is still breathing!"

    At least they knew he was not dead, but what exactly was happening inside his mind?

    ~~~~

    The barrier of Ouroboros finally broke, and Sebastianughed like a madman, calling out Nefion for a fight. They left the area to fight in a more remote ce to not harm their students.

    Noises of spells and weapons shing echoed as a battle between students from both schools urred, causing the death of many.

 Chapter 311 Old Man Nefion Versus Sebastian

    "Eat this!" a student with a red robe yelled, sending a shadow hand.

    Both schools used the same element, which made the fight harder for both sides, as they all knew how to deal with their own element. But, even though both used the shadow element, the Ouroboros school had the upper-hand in the student''s sh!

    That was to be expected. Ouroboros was superior in all aspects, but the Blood Spear Academy had Sebastian, which was the strongest mage on the central continent! Even if the Ouroboros students win the fight, it would not matter because Sebastian could end their lives just the same.

    Speaking of Sebastian, he was away from the battlefield, fighting a one versus one against old Nefion, who would go all out for the sake of the continent.

    "Now you will see why the power of the blood is the strongest path a man can take!" Sebastian said.

    Sebastian got a short-sword from his magical pouch. The sword looked more like an ornamented sword than an actual sword used in fighting, but it could still cut flesh because Sebastian pierced it through his chest!

    The blood spurted from the wound, but then the blood flew into the air, circling around Sebastian''s body, forming a type of armor made of blood! Not only that, but both his eyes turned red, and his hands grew long ck ws.

    He did not look human at all, and different from what everyone expected from a mage, Sebastian enjoyed the meleebat, and believed he was better at that than with casting long-ranged spells!

    Nefion saw that, but did not flinch. If it was a melee fight Sebastian wanted, then that would be what he got! Just like Arthur, Nefion changed to his true appearance, that of a mighty dragon!!!

    Turning into an immense dragon would only make it harder for him to fight against a small enemy, but even though his size did not change, the power he gained was the same!

    Scales covered his body, and Nefion turned from an old frail man into a bulky lizard-like creature in just one second! It was a lot simr to the second stage of Arthur''s dragon transformation, but the power was way higher, as Nefion was a rank 3 mage, after all.

    "What is this?" Sebastian thought.

    He had seen mages morph before, but not a single one of them had an increase in power, like Nefion. It was something incredible, and the fight which should have been easy for him would not go that way.

    Both parties dashed toward another, exchanging punches and ws attacks, like two frenzied beasts and not two mages! Each time their fists met, a loud noise echoed throughout the surrounding area, as if two giants from legends were fighting.

    "Got you!" Sebastian yelled, fainting his punch, and then throwing a left hook which hit Nefion right in the face, sending him flying from the sky to the ground, creating a massive crater.

    He did not stop there, dashing down toward Nefion, who was still on the ground, ready to punch him a few more times.

    Nefion smirked with his lizard mouth, showing his sharp teeth. When Sebastian saw that, he had a bad feeling about it, but continue dashing forward.

    "He is probably faking it." He thought, but it was at that moment Nefion opened up his mouth, sending a strange breath made of a ck substance!

    It was the Void Breath! His favorite attack, and one that was not to be taken lightly. Sebastian was engulfed by it, and instead of dashing forward, he was sent flying away with some burns around his body, almost losing all the clothing.

    "Fuck you, old man!"

    The surprise attack worked out just like Nefion nned. Sebastian got angrier, channeling one more spell, which was way stronger, and could be said to be one of his strongest spells.

    He grabbed his left arm and ripped it off! Then, he tossed the arm up into the sky, and said, "Blood Moon!"

    The lost limb mixed with the blood, turning into a huge red ball which resembled a moon. It kept going up into the sky, only stopping when it was far away.<sub> </sub>

    Its size also grew while in the air, so when Nefion looked up, it looked as if he was gazing at the moon itself!

    Then, the surrounding area turned ck.

    "You are now inside my domain, old man!" Sebastian yelled.

    The Blood Moon in the sky kept sending blood into Sebastian''s body, increasing his power and healing some of his wounds! He now had a new armpletely made of blood, making him look even scarier than before!

    Not only that, but everything which had life, such as the birds, bugs, small animals, big animals, and all the magical beasts in a radius of a few kilometers had their life essence sucked out of them, sending all of it to the Blood Moon!

    The Blood Moon sent all of that drained essence into Sebastian, strengthening his body after each passing second! It was reaching a point where he was almostparable to a peak rank 3 mage, which was an existence beyond extraordinary.

    "Fuck. I don''t think I can go up against this man!" Nefion thought.

    In the first sh, Nefion believed he had a chance of winning, or perhaps hurting the man enough for Arthur to finish the job. Now? He was not so sure. What he could do was send hisst attack, and perhaps injure him if possible.

    "See this, old man? This true strength looks like!" Sebastian said,ughing like a madman, but when he gazed at Nefion, he was not there anymore.

    "What? Where are you hiding, old man?"

    Then, suddenly, Nefion appeared behind him with only five meters of distance. It took Sebastian by surprise, and the next attack was one he could not dodge!

    Nefion used one of his dragon skills, creating a dragon head on both of his fists, like a gauntlet. Then, he send his strongest attack, one that would shake the entire continent.

    "Void Fist Annihtion!!!"

    A punch capable of stopping time with how strong it was. It was so fast Sebastian did not even have the chance to see what hit him.

    When Nefion''s dragon gauntlet touched Sebastian''s body, the sound of bones breaking could be heard. Not only that, but Sebastian had a hole in his chest!

    Sebastian went flying, destroying the ground and trees as he passed by them. Even an entire mountain turned into dust with the impact, and the once beautiful forest turned into a dested area!

    The Void Fist destroyed everything. Almost 2km of green areapletely vanished from the! Nefion felt an ache in his heart, as he was not someone who enjoyed destruction, but it was something he had to do.

    "Is it over?" Nefion thought, breathing heavily while gazing at the horizon in the direction Sebastian went.

    That was hisst attack, one which drained most of his energy, and it had to work, or at least make Sebastian incapacitated for some time.

    "N-No way! How is that possible?"

    Far away from Nefion, he saw Sebastian slowly flying toward him. He was now with no skin, hair, and had lost both of his arms and legs.

    Sebastian was basically a flying torso, but as he flew toward Nefion, his body rebuilt itself, which was what caused the shock of Nefion.

 Chapter 312 Rank 3, Emperor Eye

    Nefion had lost all the hopes. The Void Fist Annihtion was the strongest move he could use with his current level of power, yet it was not enough to end Sebastian''s life. What could he do now? Wait and die?

    "Calm down. He has to be badly hurt, right?"

    Sebastian had turned into something unrecognizable, and even though his body seemed to regenerate at a fast pace, there was no telling if he would get back to his former strength or he would receive permanent damage.

    But as he got closer to Nefion and his body reconstructed itself, his aura also returned to what it was previously, and did not look weakened at all.

    "This is¡­ where did he find such incredible spells?" Nefion thought.

    The they were in was a weak one, and the rank 3 was the strongest one could get while living in there. But even though some could reach the rank 3, they weren''t as strong as rank 3 mages from strongers.

    But Sebastian? The spells he used were powerful even for a top standards. Where did he find these? That was a question Nefion had no answer for, and now the only hope he had was Arthur''s appearance.

    "Nice try, old man. For a moment, you made me believe I was dead. Now, what are yourst words?" Sebastian said.

    He was now fully recovered, with the only exception of his clothes, which turned into nothing after the impact.

    "Nothing? Good, now die!"

    "Arthur, Jane, Eleonora¡­ brother¡­ Please, forgive this old man. We will see each other in another life¡­" Nefion thought.

    For him, it was the end, and the regret he felt was beyondprehension. After trying everything to stop Sebastian, it did not work, and now he would die before having the chance to revenge his dragon kind¡­ Die before seeing Eleonora grow into a beautiful woman, and a strong daughter¡­ Die before reuniting Eleonora with her mother again¡­

    Then, an aura burst from far away. The wind carried by such aura uprooted trees from the ground, and made Sebastian flew back, making it impossible for him to end Nefion''s life.

    "Who is this?"

    In the battlefield where the students were fighting, and Ouroboros had the upper hand, all of them suddenly passed out, not having the strength to withstand the aura. Even the rank 1 mages passed out!

    From one room of the Ouroboros pce, a youth walked out of it. He had a perfect skin, toned muscles, and a long dark hair that touched the end of his back.

    There was something off about his eyes. One had the normal color of ck, but the other kept changing to a particr set of colors: white as the snow, orange like a me, green like the forests, blue with thunders sparking on the pupil, andpletely dark like the void!

    It was Arthur, and the moment he stepped out of the room after reaching rank 3, his stats changed drastically, and he gained a few more skills.

    [Emperor Eye (4th of the Forbidden Eyes): The eye which belonged to one of the first 7 humans to ever exist, the Essence Master. It is said to allow the user to see the true essence of the world. Also, ording to the legends, this eye allowed the Essence Master to chase down the other humans to gather all the Forbidden Eyes, but he was stopped after getting his hands on five eyes, reaching an unimaginable realm of power, one he could not withstand.]

    [Current Master of the Emperor Eye: Arthur / cidusax.]

    [Previous Master of the Emperor Eye: Blood Monarch.]

    "What the fuck is this thing? I got by using a part of the inheritance from the Blood Monarch, and this is the reason I am ranked 3 now!" Arthur thought.

    He looked around the pce, and he could now see everything clearly! The mana in the atmosphere, the intricate lines of the magical formations inside Ouroboros, and his eye could zoom in so far he could see the particles!

    "Now, let me look at my stats!"

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Bloodline: Dragon (Legendary cidusax), Monlog Giant]

    [Rank: Official Mage (3)]

    [Level: 125]

    [Health: 102000/102000]<sub> </sub>

    [Mana: 0/0]

    [Spiritual Force: 340]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 672]

    [Agility: 599]

    [Vigor: 594]

    [Wisdom: 833]

    [Charm: 603]

    [Free points: 125]

    "All my attributes were raised by 250, which is absurd! Not only that, but with the constant sex, I reached level 125, giving me over 125 free points to use!"

    Ikarus was the one who helped him, and after unsealing a part of the inheritance, he fell into a deep slumber once again. Arthur remembered he said it was impossible to use the essences to boost spells beyond the tier 12, and that was the reason only a few humans reach rank 3 on weaks.

    Tier 13 was rare, and sometimes a did not even have one. But, as Arthur was analyzing the spell he used to reach rank 3, which was the Emperor Eye, it was not a tier 13 spell at all!

    In fact, he had a guess it was something beyond the normal scale of mages, reaching an unimaginable level of power! Arthur was unsure about its effects, but he noticed two things after getting his fresh eye.

    First, it was the enhanced vision, and the second was the essence boosting! Differently from what Ikarus said, Arthur could use his essences to boost his spells up to tier 13! That was one reason the original owner of the eye was called the Essence Master!

    "I need to see if everyone is okay!"

    Wisa and Jane were inside the room, as it was the safest ce for them in the time being. Arthur left the pce so fast no one could even see a shadow! It reminded him of one super-heroes he watched back on Earth.

    He saw all the students on the ground after passing out to his aura, and in an instant he scanned all of them, and sighed in relief.

    "Jim, Lucas and Liz are okay. I should take Lucas and Liz out of here!" Arthur thought.

    Arthur grabbed both of them and teleported from the area, dropping the two into a forest some kilometers away from the battle. Even though it was a distant ce, Arthur had taken three seconds to do all of that since the first moment he left the pce.

    "Now, where is the old man? Emperor Eye!"

    His left eye kept changing colors, and it zoomed in far, far away. Arthur could see everything was perfect in a range of 2500 kilometers from where he was standing! That was something unimaginable, even for mages.

    It did not take long for him to find old Nefion, who was visibly tired. He also saw Sebastian, who was ready to attack Nefion. There was no chance Arthur would allow that to happen, so he used everything he got to reach their location as fast as possible.

    They were far, but it still took him only two seconds to reach them, and he appeared at the right time to block Sebastian''s attack!

    "Die old man." Sebastian said, sending a spear made of blood, one of his signature moves.

    There was no way for Nefion to block the spell, so he had his hands down, epting his fate. He closed his eyes, and it felt like an eternity, yet nothing happened.

    "What?" Nefion thought. He slowly opened up his eyes to see a familiar youth in front of him.

    "Yo, pervert old man. Chill and let me handle this loser."

 Chapter 313 Sebastian Had No Chance Of Winning

    Nefion fell to his knees and sighed with relief after seeing Arthur. The regret he was feeling was too much, and there was so much he needed to do before dying, yet for a moment Nefion believed it would be his end for good, but Arthur came to chance that oue.

    "Wait, a second¡­" Sebastian said, gazing at Arthur.

    Although Arthur had different clothes and hair, his facial features were still simr to that of what he used to get into the Blood Spear Academy. It was easy to link the two, and that shocked Sebastian.

    "Arthur? This makes little sense. Aren''t you supposed to be in the seventh or eighth circle? How are you a rank 3 mage?"

    The chance was so drastic Sebastian believed he was getting crazy after being hit so many times in the battle against Nefion. He smiled, looked at Arthur and said, "so what? Even though you are a rank 3 mage, there is no way you can go against me!"

    With a smirk, Arthur said, "oh? Is that the case?"

    Then he vanished. No one saw Arthur''s movements. In a moment he was there, and then in the next he was not. The speed at which Arthur moved around was something only a few people could go up against.

    Arthur appeared right in front of Sebastian, who had just finished his sentence of superiority, but then a powerful punch came directly toward his face, and he was sent flying kilometers away. It was just a normal punch with no special skill, just the pure strength of Arthur, yet it was enough to cause significant damage to Sebastian.

    "How? No rank 3 mage is stronger than me!"

    Sebastian sounded like a maniac, not willing to ept what was happening. There was one spell he could use, but it would cost him some of his life essence, and that was hard to recover.

    "Losing here means death, so what if I need to recover for some years?" Sebastian thought.

    Thest spell he had upon his sleeve boosted his body to an incredible extent. Sebastian sliced his arm using his ws, and all the blood of his body left, making him look like a mummy. Then, it attached to his skin, creating a more powerful version of the armor he had previously used.

    It shaped around his ws too, making them their deadliest weapon! The transformation had a limit of time, so Sebastian did not want to lose time, dashing toward Arthur at a speed he had never had before.

    Even Arthur was surprised, and just like what he did, Sebastian attacked him fast in a way that normal rank 3 mages would not defend against, but Arthur was no normal mage!

    The w came directly toward his heart, but Arthur grabbed Sebastian''s right arm using his left arm, and then twisted his body, kicking him in the ribs! All of that happened in less than a second, and Sebastian was sent flying once again.

    He could not believe Arthur was stronger than him after using his transformation. Sebastian went again and again, making use of his strengthened body to attack Arthur with everything he got, yet it was not working!

    Sure, hend a few hits, making Arthur bleed, which gave him hope, but Arthur''s body regeneration was so fast the wounds vanished after a few exchanges of blows, making it impossible for Sebastian to win if things continue that way.

    But what else could he do? He had used everything he got. The transformation was his strongest spell, and surely it was strong, but Arthur was stronger! Sebastian was panting, and made peace with the fact he was going to die!

    "What are yourst words, Sebastian?" Arthur said.

    He looked directly into Arthur''s eyes and said, "can you spare my students?"

    "I can, but if they start a war again, no."

    "Thank you."

    Sebastian looked calm and grateful, way different from his normal attitude. Did the brink of death change him? Perhaps he was sorry for all the bad he did back when alive.

    Arthur concentrated his fire and lightning essence around the palm of his hand, creating a vortex of energy around it. Just by looking, one knew it was a powerful attack.

    He moved the palm toward Sebastian, and before it hit him, Sebastian said, "we will see each other again, hehehe."

    Then Sebastian was no more! The two essences around Arthur''s palm had so much power it turned Sebastian into dust, moving away with the wind as if he had never existed. It was finally over! The war would end, and Nefion was safe.

    "You did it! Hahahaha, you learnt it well with this old man!" Nefion said,ughing and patting Arthur on the shoulder.

    "I did, yes. Let''s go back and stop the battle. Also, we should send the message to everyone that the leader of the dark mages is dead."

    When Arthur and Nefion returned to Ouroboros, most of the students were waking up again, and when they saw two powerful mages flying toward them, no one made a move. Both sides stopped and waited to hear what Arthur and Nefion would say.

    Nefion was their leader, so he was the first to talk. He looked at all the students and said, "Sebastian is dead. There is no leader in the dark mages anymore, and you can''t win against two rank 3 mages. Tell that to everyone, and we shall stop the war."

    The students there were relieved! For them, what was important was their magical path, learning and growing as much as they could. Sebastian was the one who wanted war after the inheritance he wanted got stolen away.

    The war was a way to look for the person who had the bloodline, but it did not work his way, and he ended up dead! All the other mages went along in the war because of Sebastian''s power. How could they say no to a rank 3 mage? But now that he was gone, their lives would return to their usual, and everyone would return walking their own path, which was exactly what they wanted.

    All the mages from the Blood Spear Academy bowed toward Nefion and Arthur, and then left. The news about what happened would spread throughout the continent fast, and the war was over.<sub> </sub>

    Not only the mages were happy with the end, but the normal people were too! They could finally live without the fear of getting jumped by a dark mage out of a sudden. Sure, attacks would still happen, but it was significantly less than with a war going on.

    Arthur told Nefion about the two friends he made back at the Blood Spear Academy, and said they were good people who will join Ouroboros, as it was the best school, with the shadow as their key element.

    "Just get them here for this old man to have a look."

    ~~~~

    "Where are we, Lucas?" Liz said. She remembered to be in the battle against the Ouroboros school, but how could she be there, in the middle of nowhere?

    "I- I don''t know. It feels like we passed out."

    As they were getting up, leaning their bodies into an enormous tree, a voice entered their ears.

    "Yo, my best friends. Remember me?"

    "Arthur? You¡­"

    "Look different? Stronger? More handsome? That is what I do."

    "You look the same¡­ What happened?" Liz asked.

    Arthur exined the situation, emphasizing his incredible power, which made everyone pass out, and then how he faced Sebastian and won. Of course, he did not share the bloody details of the fight.

    "So, the war is finally over? This is great!"

    They were both happy after hearing it. It meant the battles between sides would stop, and everyone could focus on improving their strength without exposing themselves to that much danger.

    "Oh, I almost forgot. The old man who rules Ouroboros wants to see you two."

    "What? Really? How did you get him to ept us?"

    "I told him I would kick his ass if he did not."

    "¡­"

    The trio went flying back to Ouroboros. It was easy for Arthur to control the wind and make Lucas and Liz fly slowly.

    "The view is incredible!" Liz said.

    "I can teach you two the flight spell."

    "Please!"

    "Bro, teach me some attacks."

    "But flying is important too. How can you hit me from the ground?"

    "But if I am strong, you will not have the time to fly!"

    Lucas and Liz argued about what was better, attacks or flying. Arthur was losing his patience, so he said, "just learn how to attack and how to fly. Happy?"

    "Oh! You are so wise!"

    "Wise? I think it is the contrary¡­"

    "What did you say?"

    "Nothing. We are almost there prepare to impress the old man."

    Now that the war was over, Arthur was ready to focus on improving Odemore and taking control of the central continent! With Nefion as his ally, that should not be a problem at all.

    Also, there was George who Arthur was avoiding, but he had toplete his part of the deal and free him. He hoped that would not bring him any harm.

 Chapter 314 A New Journey

    "Hum, you two are not bad. Not bad at all, hahaha!" Nefion said, patting both Lucas and Liz on the shoulder.

    He was impressed by their talent, as it was decent for a human. They had just started their magical journey, yet had improved at a fast pace. Nefion was more than happy to have two incredible youths in his school!

    "Is it over?" Wisa asked.

    She and Jane had left the training room to meet up with Arthur and the others, hoping that everything went in the right direction. When both of them left, everyone was shocked! Wisa and Jane had gotten some benefits from the intense one month training, and had reached the rank 2!

    Arthur was the only one okay with it, as he already knew his wives had reached rank 2. It was still quite the achievement, and everyone in Ouroboros was impressed by them.

    "Are you leaving, bro?" Lucas asked.

    Now that the war was over, there was no reason for Arthur to stay there, especially now that he was a rank 3 mage, and could explore all the corners of the. He had a lot of things to do in Odemore, but his n to take control of the central continent was not that hard anymore.

    Nefion agreed to help him, as that was the only way to keep their hearts at peace when both left the.

    "For some time, yes. I need to find some of my friends." Arthur said.

    The look of sadness was clear on their faces, but there was nothing Arthur could do to prevent that. There were three people he wanted to find as quickly as possible: Theo, Kai, and Hiley.

    Lucas and Liz would now stay in Ouroboros, and they both promised Arthur they would train as hard as they could to one day reach him, and maybe fight side by side with him. That was a noble statement, and Arthur believed they would reach that point, considering their talent.

    Nefion wanted to go see Eleonora now that everything was dealt with, but he needed some time to recover after the fight, and it was a good thing for him to stay around until the war was officially over. So, he stayed in Ouroboros for now.

    "Kiddo, I will try my best to locate your friend Hiley, but you must know this is a hard task, and it can take some time."

    "I know, that is why I will leave on a journey to find her now that I am a rank 3 mage."

    There were only a few mages who could go up against him on that. Arthur was not dumb to believe there were no other rank 3 mages on the. Perhaps there was no human with the power of a rank 3 mage, but there were lots of other races, and surely some magical beasts had grown to have such power after thousand of years.

    Still, with his current level of power, traveling throughout the world trying to find Hiley was possible, and that was exactly what he would do.

    Both he and his wives left Ouroboros after saying goodbye to everyone, returning to Odemore where Laura, Elena, and Sybille were.

    "Arthur, you are back! And what is up with your strength?" Laura said.

    She could not believe what she was seeing. Sure, she felt some incredible mages fighting, but Laura never believed Arthur was already on a level she could notprehend! No matter how hard she tried to read his mana, she felt nothing. It was as if Arthur was only a human without mana, but she knew better than that was not the case.

    When he told her everything, she still could not believe! Laura was almost reaching the level of an Official Mage, but now Arthur was already a rank 3 mage, an existence that surpassed her teacher!

    Arthur wanted his wives to go with him on this adventure, but they had a job, and that was to turn Odemore into a decent school, one who had the power to contend against the top schools of the central continent.

    They needed a better structure, teachers, students, and also gather knowledge, as that was one of the most important aspects of a school. It would take time, so starting as soon as possible would be the best thing for them to do.

    "Well, with the power I have nowing back here to see you or help, you will be simple. Sybille, do you wish to stay with them for now?"<sub> </sub>

    "I do, master. The strength I have now is a joke, so I am focusing on getting stronger too!" Sybille said.

    Sybille had lots of questions about her imprisonment, but she also knew the strength she had would not be enough for her to dig deeper into that story. Sure, Arthur could help her, but she wanted to have her own strength and not depend on others.

    Arthur understood that, and he was happy that Sybille would stay in Odemore, as that was one more strength for them.

    "Right, before I leave, can you help me nt something?" Arthur asked.

    The bloodline tree he had needed to be nted now that things had finally calmed down. Sybille was an expert with formations, so she hid the tree very well inside the mountain. No one could find it, even if Odemore went to dust.

    After that, he said goodbyes to everyone and left Odemore, Laura, alongside him. Laura was in Odemore because of the war, as Seth believed it was the safest ce for her. Now that the war was over, she could return to the One Hundred Thunder Academy with no problem.

    "What level are you, exactly? You seem so distant from me." Laura asked.

    They had hired a carriage in the closest city, and were enjoying the trip. It would take them a lot longer, but Arthur wanted to take the time to readjust his body, as his strength had drastically increased.

    "A secret. Also, how far are you from the rank 1?"

    "I should get it in less than a month."

    "Good. Keep training hard. I have faith in you!" Arthur said, giving Laura a thumbs up off as a sign of approval.

    "Will we see each other again?"

    Laura felt both of them were so distant in power that she might never see Arthur again after they arrived at their destination. He had grown to be someone important to her.

    "Yes, we will. On this, and I know you will meet me somewhere else away from here."

    Laura felt the words Arthur said were just tofort her, but tried her best to believe it, anyway. What she could do was work hard and try to live up to his expectations.

    During their trip, some dark mages and bandits attacked them, as that was a normal thing considering the war had to yet end entirely, but Arthur did not need to move, as his presence alone made these attackers pass out, just like what happened back then in Ouroboros.

    He was on apletely different level, so why bother with such weak people? Arthur just wished to arrive at the One Hundred Thunder Academy as fast as possible, and when they did, Seth went to wee them, and even he was shocked.

    "What? How?"

    Seth asked many questions, trying to understand what was the secret behind Arthur''s sudden increase in power, but how could he tell it was because of a one month training using an overpowered system?

    Arthur avoided all the questions, and left the school, going on a mission to find his friend, Hiley.

    "Goodbye Laura, we will see each other in the future." Arthur said as he vanished from the school.

 Chapter 315 You Sailed All The Way To Here?

    Now, with the level of power Arthur achieved, he could explore all the forbidden areas of the central continent, and maybe find some clues about Hiley, who had vanished out of a sudden.

    "This town does not look so bad." Arthur thought as he went inside a city called Wind Lake.

    Win Lake was an average sized city built around a gorgeouske. Some said it has magical properties, but no one is sure of it. Arthur did not choose the city for any specific reason, he was just traveling through most cities trying to get some info about Hiley along the way, as he intended to meet up with Theo and Kai.

    The streets were packed during the early hours of the morning, and fishermen were frequent. Arthur stopped one of them to ask the reason, and the man said, "theke always has fish for us."

    Most of the food the citizens from Wind Lake consumed came from the fish, but that did not mean they did not have farms and cattle. They did, but most people could just fish for dinner.

    What caught the most attention out of Arthur was that the city guards allowed everyone to fish by theke, even homeless people. So it was almost impossible for someone who lived there or was just visiting to starve, and that was incredible!

    Arthur heard from some people that they did not allow anyone to fish before as they believed the fishes would end, but as years passed and the people living there increased, the amount of fish seemed to not diminish but increase instead! Everyone believed theke truly had magical properties, giving free ess to food!

    "Cool."

    The best ce to get information in a city was the inn, and that is exactly where Arthur went. He was using his normal appearance, but he used a spell to hide his Emperor Eye in a way to avoid attention. Not only that, but he did not have any mana fluctuations. A rank 2 mage could check on him and would believe he was not a mage, which would help him even more to avoid attention.

    Why was he trying to avoid people with his current strength? It was not because he was afraid of an opponent with simr strength, but because he did not enjoy lots of people walking up to him.

    One knows that a rank 3 mage is an existence everyone would fear and treat with respect. Any city Arthur went would turn into a rumor, and everyone around the continent would know. He was not sure if Hiley was around or someone had kidnapped her.

    "If someone kidnapped her, I cannot go around and let the kidnapper know all of my moves!" Arthur thought.

    A ck-cloaked youth went inside a wooden inn. It wasmon for people to wear cloaks, so no one paid attention to Arthur.

    "This ce is crowded." He thought, choosing a table in the corner, waiting for a waitress toe.

    "Hello, sir. What would you like?" she asked, showing Arthur the menu.

    He ordered some meat, vegetables, and a beer. The waitress wrote all of it with dexterity and then went to the back parts of the inn. Arthur sat away from everyone else, but he could clearly hear all the things they were saying.

    Arthur did not believe someone would go speaking about Hiley, as he would have to ask the person behind the counter of the inn for some information, but it was still nice to catch up with any news while eating. What he did not expect was to hear something about a friend he met a long time ago, back when he was lost in the archipgo.

    "Did you hear this? Captain Jack reached the rank 1 as a mage, and he still keeps saying he saw a dragon."

    "A dragon? He is still with this story? Could it be real?"

    "I don''t know, but lots of adventurers had formed parties to go looking for this dragon."

    "And Captain Jack, is he with them?"

    "No, he is staying in a house here in the city, but I don''t know where."

    "Could it be THAT Jack?" Arthur thought. He went looking for this Jack after he was done with his lunch.<sub> </sub>

    The coincidence about a Captain with the same name was too much, but a rank one mage? If it was the Jack Arthur knew, how did he increase his power so fast? It was not a simple task to reach rank 1, especially for someone in that archipgo, which was a ce without a lot of resources.

    Not only that, but he came all the way to the central continent?

    "He used a portal, right? He would be crazy to sail all the way to here¡­ Jack wouldn''t do that, or would he?"

    Arthur ate his lunch, and then left the inn, looking for this Jack they talked about. The city wasn''t that big, and considering how strong Arthur was, finding a single person was easy at all. He went to an enormous mansion which was on the other side of the city. One had to circle around theke to get there, and Arthur did just that.

    "Thiske is beautiful! I would love to just buy a house and live here!"

    Theke had a crystal clear water, and it seemed there was always a minor wind moving the waters, making it look like a magical ce. Arthur saw lots of people sitting around theke with their chairs, eating, fishing, and even the kids yed ¡ª on the grass a little farther from theke, as most parents were afraid of them falling into the water.

    "Is this the ce?"

    Arthur saw a mansion with a guard in front, who quickly noticed him and turned aggressive.

    "Who are you? No one may be here. This is private property." The guard said.

    "Is Captain Jack here? Tell him an old friend wants to see him." Arthur said.

    He was not concerned if it was the Jack he knew or not. If it wasn''t, then all he had to do was leave. There was no mage capable of hurting him.

    The guard thought it was just bullshit and said, "I will not say that to Captain Jack. Now leave before I break your bones, young man!"

    "Say what?"

    A voice came from behind the guard. Two people were leaving the mansion, and one of them was Jack. Arthur looked at him, and yep, it was the same Jack he knew.

    "This homeless man is trying to speak with you, and-"

    "Shh, be quiet." Jack said, not allowing the guard to finish the sentence. He was looking directly at Arthur, trying to remember who it was.

    "Captain Arthur? No fucking way!!!"

    Jack ran toward him, giving him a hug. Both had known each other for a short time before parting ways, but their friendship was still there.

    "You look good, Jack. How did you end up here?"

    "Hehehe," Jack scratched the back of his head and said, "I was sailing and got lost¡­ Bro for a moment I thought I discovered a new continent, such a shame¡­ Captain Jack would be recorded in history if that was the case."

    "You truly sailed all the way to this continent¡­"

    Arthurughed out loud, patting Jack on the shoulders, "you learnt it well."

 Chapter 316 Unknown Runes

    The mansion was the ce where not only Captain Jack but the rest of his crew were staying! They were all improving in their magical path quickly, but Jack was the only one who had reached the rank 1 yet.

    "I remember you! Hahaha, I cannot believe we are meeting here!" One of the crew members said.

    Not everyone from the original crew was there, as some had parted ways, and others had died, but all of those who were with Jack since the beginning knew Arthur. He had showed up and sailed with them as well. They never forgot his strength back then.

    Some of them wondered if they could be a match for Arthur now that they were also learning magic, but none of them could sense the mana emanating from Arthur.

    Could the sturdy youth from before lost all of his powers? That seemed unlikely, but strange things happened all the time, so who knows?

    "What is your goal now, Jack? You have conquered the sea, and now you are a rank 1 mage. What else do you want to aplish?" Arthur asked as he drank a ss of wine.

    The dinner hall of the mansion was bursting with life as everyone from the crew ate and drank, danced andughed. It was a party!

    "Me? I want to get even stronger because that is the only way for me to explore this world entirely." Jack sap his own ss of wine and said, "what about you, Arthur?"

    "I am currently looking for some friends."

    "So you are saying I am not the one friend you were looking for?"

    "I did not know you were here."

    "I know, I just messing with you. Anything I can help?"

    Arthur did not want to bring Jack into this mess, but he knew Jack would try to help him anyway, so he might as well just tell him.

    He exined about Hiley, how she looked, and some clues he had, which amounted to basically nothing.

    "Well, I am on a task of exploring this world too, so if Ie across with something, I will tell you, bro."

    "Thanks. And you? Want help with something?"

    "Not really, but if anythinges up, I will hit you up."

    "Alright bro."

    They spent an entire day talking about many things, especially their adventures. Jack had so much to tell that Arthur was almost always listening instead of sharing his own, and that was okay with him. It was nice to see some old friends still around. Arthur knew that his journey now will be longer, and those who did not keep up would die of age.

    He wished he could stay longer, maybe a week, with his friend, but both of them had things to do. Jack was just passing by that city, and Arthur was also on an important task.

    So, Arthur left the mansion the next morning did to his own things, and Jack left the city with his crew.

    "If I see anything about your friend, I will send you a message through this mark. Take care bro, see ya!"

    "Care, bro."

    Arthur stayed still, waving goodbye to his friend. He sighed and said, "should I stay a little longer here, or move to the next city?"

    He knew there was no clue about Hiley in Wind Lake, but perhaps that ce could have something else for him. What caught his attention was this strangeke, and he wished to have a better look at it.<sub> </sub>

    Morning came and went, afternoon too, and when it was finally night, Arthur went on with his mission. Theke was the most important part of the city, so they had guards taking care of it.

    Not only normal guards, but mages too! There were quite a few rank 1 mages during the night, watching everyone who got closer to theke. Normal citizens were prohibited from getting close to theke during that time, and those who did could get into big trouble.

    Well, it was a good thing Arthur was no normal citizen, and getting near theke was not a problem for him. But what was the magic behind it? The only way for Arthur to know more about theke was to go inside, and that was what he did!

    Arthur did not jump in like a fish, but used his teleport spell to appear right inside of the water, so the mages heard nothing strange. He also did not swim, as his flight spell worked underwater, making it easier to move around.

    "What is up with this ce?"

    The deep parts of theke looked like just any otherke. The only difference Arthur saw was the amount of fish there, which exined how everyone fished every single day and the food never ran out.

    Some colorful nts were underwater, and the colors of these nts were the reason theke shone during daytime, like a rainbow. If Arthur was not mistaken, these were magical nts.

    "I should get a few samples."

    Arthur now had a notebook where he drew and wrote about many ingredients he found around the world. He still wished to pursue more of the alchemy field, and now was the perfect time.

    Reaching the rank 4 would take years now, even with his system, and the war was also over, so it was the perfect time to learn other things.

    He pulled out a knife from his magical pouch, and cut all the strange herbs he could find, putting them back into his magical pouch forter study. But after doing that, Arthur noticed nothing else about theke.

    "But there is no way the number of fish here is normal. It should have something down here!"

    Last time Arthur went into an undergroundke, he found Sully, who was now more a pet of his wives than his. But now, with his strength, Arthur could sense if there was a powerful creature beneath theke, and there was none.

    So, the reason for the magical property of theke was other, and Arthur wished to find out! He searched every corner of theke, and when he was finally ready to give up, he saw some strange runes marked on a rock at the bottom of theke.

    Arthur went close to it, and it was anguage he did not know! Mages had created a spell which allowed them to learn almost allnguages known, but it was not working for that one. Could it be so old the humans have no records of it?

    He tried to pass his hands on the rocks nearby, as usually if there was a writing, there was a secret passage behind or something. And surely, the moment his hand touched the rocks, it was sent back by some strange energy.

    Even after Arthur used some of his strength, nothing happened, as if those rocks were indestructible. When he thought about that, Arthur got excited!

    "I am a freaking rank 3 mage, lord of the dragons, and a giant, with a system at the top of that, and this rock is stronger than me? I don''t know if I feel bad or excited."

    After making sure there was nothing else to do, Arthur returned to the surface. With his memory, it was easy for him to replicate the runes he saw down there, so he did, writing them in his notebook.

    ? "I will search for it during my travels."

    "Hey! You! You cannot be here!"

    One of the rank 1 mages watching the area noticed Arthur.

    "Well, I guess it is time for me to leave."

 Chapter 317 Patience Is Key

    The mages saw Arthur, but he disappeared in the next instant, making all of them wonder who exactly was he. It was time to leave Wind Lake, and the best way to do so was by getting inside of a carriage and chilling.

    "Yes, I can put you in, but seeing how you are not strong to act as a guard, the price will be higher." A merchant said.

    It wasmon for people to get a ride with the merchants, as they usually travelled from city to city, and it was cheaper than getting a carriage for one person only.

    "No problem. Where does it lead?"

    "We will have a stop of one day through all the cities which are in the way of the Scorching Sun Academy."

    "Oh? Scorching Sun? Why are you guys going there?" Arthur asked.

    Scorching Sun was the school where Theo was, so that would be an opportunity to see him, as well as look for clues in the cities along the way.

    "I have quite a few new students who are going there, and they are paying me good. Anyway, for you it will be 2 gold coins. You can give it to me now and go to that carriage over there." The merchant said, pointing at one carriage from their convoy.

    Arthur paid the man and went to his designed ce. When he got inside, there were a few people there already, most of them young people.

    "I guess these are the students." Arthur thought.

    He sat on a space of the carriage, and gazed at all the other students, who were also looking at him. At first they believed he would also be a student of the Scorching Sun school, but all of them had at least the power of a first circle mage, yet Arthur had no mana fluctuation.

    They believed he was just an ordinary man, so no one paid much attention to him, except one girl, who kept looking at him non-stop. Arthur returned the gaze, and it was at that moment he realized something familiar with her.

    "She''s someone with a bloodline!"

    Arthur was someone with two bloodlines, so he could sense when someone had one, and that was the first time it happened. He was not sure if the bloodline of the girl was a strong one, but what he knew was that it was still dormant, and perhaps she only had a few benefits of it.

    "Why are you looking at my sister like that?" A youth said, getting up to confront Arthur.

    When he said that, it was obvious one of them was adopted, because only the girl had a bloodline, and the man was a normal first circle mage.

    Arthur was not looking for trouble, so he got up, gave a slight bow, and said, "I am sorry."

    It was a simple act, yet one that made the youth more rxed, as he could feel Arthur had not done what he did with the purpose of disrespecting his sister.

    "It is okay. I was just being an overprotective brother. Do you want to sit here?"

    He saw how Arthur was alone in the carriage''s corner, and that was why he asked that. The others who were there too disliked such thing.

    "Are you really mixing up with normal people? They will never be better than us."

    "That is right. He should be in the other carriages with the peasants. I will talk with the merchant after we reach the school."

    These were the type of things Arthur had to hear while there. A normal person would be pissed off, but Arthur was so above them he did not care! Sure, he would make them regret saying it in the future, but acting now would spoil all the fun.<sub> </sub>

    "Ignore them. Come, I am Chris, and this is my sister Cheryl."

    "I am Arthur. Nice to meet you." Arthur said as he got up from where he was and sat beside Chris.

    Although the other students disliked what was happening, they would not openly attack Arthur or Chris, especially inside the carriage of someone else, so they kept quiet.

    Arthur chat with both Chris and Cheryl, and discovered they were both from a small vige far in the east part of the continent. It was so small it only had around one hundred people living in it, which was absurdly small.

    Mages rarely went to such remote ces to find mages, as that was not worth their time, but when the war was still happening, they needed all the manpower they could find, as no one knew how long it would take for the war to end.

    So, they gave the vige a shot and found two potential mages, Chris and Cheryl. The mages from the Scorching Sun were not the first to appear, but both siblings had fire as their key element, so not every school would ept them.

    But when the recruiter from the Scorching Sun came, they will ept both siblings. They weren''t that talented to enter a top 10 school, but they weren''t bad either, so for the Scorching Sun school, it was a win to have them.

    "And you? Are you nning to join any school?"

    "Me? Nah, I am just traveling the world. Besides, only talented people go in those ces, right?"

    "But maybe you have the talent and just don''t know it!" Cheryl said.

    Both siblings were trying to cheer Arthur up after all the bad things the others spoke about him. That proved both were good people, and Arthur helped them before they part ways.

    "Really? Haha, then maybe I will see if someone can test me at the Scorching Sun Academy." Arthur said.

    The others who were quiet could not hold their tongue after hearing such a thing, and one of them said, "dream on. They will never ept trash."

    If Arthur, who was the strongest mage in all central continent was trash, then who was that youth? The greatest of all time?

    It took him a lot of patience to not yell at those kids. What saved them was the voice of the merchant who said, "we are getting inside the first city! Everyone will have one day to rest!"

    The carriages passed through the city''s gate, one by one, and then stopped in an area designed for carriages with security 24/7.

    Everyone got out from all the carriages of the convoy and went to explore and chill inside the city. The merchant and his team were the only ones who were there to make actual businesses, delivering some crates they brought with them. They would to do that not only in that city but in all the others in the way.

    For them, making money was the most important part, so if they had to get some students to the school, then they might as well get even more money along the way, delivering crates filled with goodies people will buy.

    As for Arthur, he was ready to leave alone to explore the city, trying to find some clues about Hiley, but Chris and Cheryl came with him.

    "Can we walk together?"

    Arthur could tell they were both concerned about his safety after what happened inside the carriage, so he said, "that would be lovely!"

    The other students were gazing at his back with hateful eyes, thinking of a way to harm him. Arthur could sense all of that, and found it funny.

 Chapter 318 First Stop

    "This ce is beautiful!" Cheryl said.

    She walked down the road with her blonde hair moving with the wind, and her smile was so cute it would make any man fall in love.

    Both Cheryl and Chris had never left their vige before, so any town was extraordinary. Arthur imagined how they would react upon seeing the other truly amazing cities of the central continent.

    "Where should we go first?" Arthur asked.

    The two siblings did not need any time to think of an answer, quickly shouting, "eat!!!" in response to Arthur''s question. Well, he could not agree more.

    They slept and ate inside the carriage, but it was not the same thing as eating in a restaurant and sleeping on afy bed. Everyone from the convoy appreciated all the stops because it allowed them to recharge their batteries before going into the road again. No one was in a hurry, especially Chris and Cheryl, who were enjoying their time, seeing all the things they did not have the chance to see back then at their vige.

    "Brother, can we go there? The food smells delicious." Cheryl asked her brother, using a cute face.

    "I don''t know, sis. We need to save up for now," Chris said.

    He wanted to give all the luxurious things his sister asked for, like going into fancy restaurants, but it was not possible. They had used almost all of their resources to get a ride to the school, and they still had quite the way to reach their destination, so going into cheaper ces was the way to go.

    Arthur saw their reluctant faces, and he said, "let''s go there, and don''t worry about it, I will pay for you both."

    "What? Can you do that?" Cheryl said, showing her excitement.

    Chris moved his head from side to side and said, "what she meant to say is that you don''t need to use your money. We will eat somewhere else."

    "Chris, I insist. Money is not a problem for me, so as long as you are with me, then it is not a problem for you two. Nowe before I change my mind." Arthur said.

    They did not like the idea of taking advantage of Arthur, but he insisted for them to go, and not going would hurt his friend, so the trio went to the fancy restaurant for a meal!

    The hostess guided them to a table and also showed them the menu. It had lots of foods, and some Chris and Cheryl had never eaten.

    "Big bro Arthur, can I order everything I want?" Cheryl asked.

    Chris was ready to say something, but Arthur was the one saying it first, "of course. But only order what you will eat. I don''t want to see a tiny piece of food left on any of your tes."

    "Ha, you don''t need to worry about that. This belly of mine can tank them."

    Cheryl called the waitress and ordered a lot of food. Soups, bread, tes with steaks, tes with chicken or fish, and even some octopus. She even got some dessert, which reminded Arthur of a brownie, and ate everything. The sole survivors were the actual tes.

    Although Chris was not liking the idea of spending Arthur''s money at first, when he noticed Arthur truly did not care about it, he also ordered lots of food. Truth be told, they had barely eaten during the trip, as they did not have the money to afford a lot of food.

    "You will eat just that?" Chris asked, gazing at Arthur''s te.

    Arthur got only a medium-sized steak and some vegetables with it. It was not a lot of food, especially for a young man like him, but it was more than enough.

    He couldst a lot of time without eating and would still be okay. Arthur made a mental note to one day try to see what was the longest period he could go on without eating, and seeing if it changed something, like his battle prowess.

    "Yeah, I am a light eater."

    The restaurant they were in had normal people and also mages. If someone saw two first circle mages, and someone who had no mana at all, they would see them as easy prey, and that was exactly what happened.

    Someone in the restaurant''s corner was gazing at them, but that person had the power of a rank one mage, so both Chris and Cheryl did not notice the killing intent from that person, but Arthur did.

    He looked at Chris and Cheryl, noticing they were too busy eating, so he tilted his head, looking directly at the eyes of the mage who was watching them.<sub> </sub>

    For a moment, the mage froze, and the strength of his legs disappeared. He would have fallen into the ground if standing still, so the chair saved him in that regard.

    "Who is that person? Is this a coincidence, or can he sense me?" The mage thought.

    It had to be a coincidence, as there was no way a person without mana would notice him. The man was confident that even ordinary rank 1 mages would not notice his gaze, but a few seconds had passed, yet Arthur was still looking at him.

    "Should I send him a mental message?" Arthur thought.

    Now that he was rank 3, he could forcefully send mental messages to those who were weaker to him, even if they did not agree to it.

    "Nah, he will know I am a lot stronger, and I am trying to keep it a low profile for now."

    Arthur slowly withdrawn his gaze from that mage, making him sigh in relief, and the strength of his legs returned.

    "Is something wrong, Arthur?" Chris asked.

    "No, not at all. How is the food?"

    "Delicious!"

    After the trio ate, Arthur paid for all of it, and they all left the restaurant, looking to explore the rest of the city.

    What one could do inside a city? Eat good food, see the beautiful buildings, and of course spend money on things.

    The two siblings did not think they would have the chance to buy something for them before, but Arthur insisted he would pay for the things, and the two epted.

    "Big bro, you are truly rich!"

    "Yes, I am. You and your brother can buy things with no remorse."

    They went into clothing shops, weapon shops, jewelry shops, and anything you could imagine. Chris and Cheryl got themselves some new clothes, jewelries, and Chris got a fine sword for himself.

    It was not enchanted, but still made of fine materials.

    "Can I truly get this? I don''t know this feels wrong." Chris said, trying to give the sword. He just got back to Arthur.

    "Get the sword, bro. It is not as if I have a use for it, anyway."

    "Oh, right..."

    Chris thought Arthur meant he was too weak to use the sword, but the sword was useless for someone as strong as him.

    After a day of buying, the trio went to the best inn in the city, and the other students who were in the carriage with them were there too!

    "Look who is here. And where the hell did you two get money? Aren''t you two from a poor vige? Guards! Someone stole something!"

    One student yelled, and the others helped with it. It was their chance of messing up with Arthur, Chris and Cheryl.

    Lots of guards quickly appeared, and perhaps it was bad luck, but a rank 2 mage appeared as well! And it was someone Arthur knew very well.

 Chapter 319 Seth And Bad News

    "What is the meaning of this? Who is the thief? You must know this is a serious crime!" The guard said.

    The other students who set up that were looking at Arthur andughing. There was no way he would get out of that unharmed.

    But then the rank 2 mage who was alongside the guards stepped forward to have a better look at who were the so-called thieves, and when he saw it, he could not believe it!

    "Arthur?" He turned around and looked at the guards. "He is a friend, so I can take it from here."

    There was no way the guards would disrespect such foremost authority, so they left without asking further questions, but the students who tried to plot against Arthur could not understand what was happening.

    "Seth, what are you doing here? Don''t you have a school to take care of?" Arthur said.

    "Well, I am a businessman, and this is for the sake of the school. Also, what are you doing in an inn? Did you lose all of your money betting?"

    "No, of course not. Do you have a better ce for us?"

    "That is obvious. Follow me."

    The four of them left the inn, leaving the students stunned. They did not hear their conversation, so all they could do was guess.

    "He is probably a servant or something like that. Even though it is a rank 2 mage, we can still get him during the rest of the trip."

    "That is right. Arthur is probably getting punished as we speak after embarrassing his master."

    While they thought that was the case, the reality waspletely different. Seth, the rector of the One Hundred Thunder Academy, had many friends, and no matter what city he went, there was a mansion waiting for him.

    "This is a mansion of my friend Rodric. He is out on an adventure, so we can use it."

    "Did you ask him?" Arthur said.

    Seth scratched his own cheek and said, "well, of course. Who would use someone else''s house without permission, right? Hahaha."

    Chris and Cheryl wondered what type of rtionship the rank 2 mage and Arthur had. For them, a rank 2 mage was an extraordinary existence, and was among the strongest mages of the continent! They still did not believe Arthur was a mage, so the only exnation was perhaps childhood friends or money!

    They realized Arthur was rich, so even with no mana, it would be possible for him to befriend someone like Seth.

    "I am Chris and this is my sister, Cheryl. We met Arthur along the way, as we are in the same carriage."

    "Oh? Is that so? Where are you two heading?"

    "The Scorching Sun Academy. We both got epted there."

    "Good. I hope you two work hard in there, and maybe we can meet again in the future."

    "Of course!!!" Chris and Cheryl said with vigor, bowing toward Seth, showing their respect.

    It was amon thing between mages, and the higher your ranking, the more respectful one had to be when talking to such a person. Seth was a rank 2 mage, so only rank 2 mages could talk with him on equal terms.

    "Arthur surely has a strong friendship with Seth because he does not show any respect at all!" Chris thought.

    Arthur and Seth talked like equals, but that only happened because Arthur insisted to. He was a rank 3 mage, so even Seth had to treat him with respect, but acted as if Arthur was no mage at all in front of them.

    "Me and Arthur will talk privately, but you can walk around and eat anything you want. There are lots of good things in the kitchen." Seth said.

    "Can we use the hot tubs?" Cheryl asked.

    "Sure. Why not?"<sub> </sub>

    The mansion had many rooms, so Chris and Cheryl had a lot to explore and enjoy the night they would spend there. As for Arthur and Seth, they went to a small library.

    Seth pulled out a random book, opening up a secret passage. Amon thing in mage''s houses, so Arthur was not surprised at all. They went down a stair, reaching a room which looked like aboratory.

    "I believe it is safe to talk here. Look, we have a problem."

    "Problem?" Arthur said, trying to think about what it could be, and he had a strong guess.

    "Is it the demon continent?"

    "What? How do you know it?" Seth said.

    It was a thing only the leaders of top schools knew about.

    "Well, the Ouroboros rector told me, and I am like the protector of this continent, right? So I must know."

    "Yeah, it makes sense. But listen, the problem is worse than we thought, and perhaps this continent will face dark times¡­"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Rumors alright? Don''t jump to conclusions but some rumors are saying this demon continent has a few creatures with the power of a rank 4 mage¡­ If that is the case and they decide to attack us in the future, we are all dead."

    "This is impossible, right? It must have been only rumors."

    "I hope so. Anyway, we have an advantage. Based on our research, the demon continent is far from here, like far, far. To take it to perspective, if they send mages to attack us right now, they would reach the central continent in about 5 years."

    "What the fuck?"

    "My exact thought. So, if we take that into ount, they will surely first gather a vast army and send the highest number of troops at the same time."

    "Makes sense. It will be harder for them to keep sending soldiers at this distance, and we, as the defenders, have an advantage."

    "Correct. I share the news about this demon continent with all the rectors from the other less strong schools, as they will also help us when the timees. It might take some years, like 5, 10 or but we must be prepared."

    "Isn''t a good idea to send someone to the demon continent to get more info? I am sure they did that to get more info about us."

    "That is the thing¡­ The continent is too far and we know nothing about it, either. We barely know where it is. So, we would have to send someone to explore the sea and reach a ce no human set foot before, a ce where it can possible have things as strong as 4 rank mages¡­"

    "What you are saying is that for someone to be the pioneer of this expedition, they need to possess great strength, perhaps like the strongest mage on the central continent¡­"

    "Hehehe, you are quick. There is a reunion to be held in a month with all the strongest powers of this continent, and they will invite you too, and speak about this idea of expedition."

    "Look, it is not like I am not up for an adventure. In fact, this whole expedition into a ce no human set foot before is quite awesome, but I still have some things to do, like finding my friends."

    "About that. Perhaps you can ask them to help you? A lot of influential people will be in that meeting, so you can act like, ''I can go into this adventure if you help me find my friends''".

    "Not a bad idea at all. Can you keep me update about this demon continent thing?"

    "No problem. Let''s go back before those two youths destroy my house."

    "Your house? I thought it belonged to a friend."

    "Shhh, he is not here, so it is mine, all right?"

    The bright horizon Arthur had in his view was not as bright now with this demon continent of danger. He was not so concerned about it after reaching rank 3, believing he would easily defeat his enemies, but if a rank 4 mage came into y, then it was all doomed.

 Chapter 320 The Barrier Cannot Stop Him

    Arthur, Chris and Cheryl slept in the mansion, each one with their own vast room. The difference between the bed was worlds apart, and it was something neither siblings had used before.

    "So this is how it feels to be rich. I want it one day, but getting stronger is my priority." Cheryl thought, as she enjoyed the softness of the bed.

    While the two siblings had nothing to worry about and could enjoy their time there as its fullest, Arthur had other things to worry about and to do.

    He put on a ck hood and went around the city, trying to find more clues about Hiley. The more he looked into it, the more distant she was. What had happened?

    The only thing Arthur knew was that she went to the central continent with someone else, like a teacher. But who was that person? It was an answer he wished, and not knowing it made his heart uneasy.

    Just like all the previous searches, it amounted to nothing, so he returned to the mansion before Chris and Cheryl woke up, acting as if nothing happened.

    "We should eat something and also buy some decent food for our journey."

    They still had a few hours before the merchant left with the carriages, so it was more than enough to have a proper meal and buy some things to bring with them for the journey.

    After they were done with these two things, it was time to continue with their journey. All the other students were already there, as well as were most of the other passengers.

    "These scumbags are there already. Can we go in another carriage, perhaps?"

    "Nah, I don''t think that it is possible at all. We should endure, and it is not like the journey will take that long." Chris said.

    Even though they were not feeling it traveling alongside these people, it was not as if they would try something before reaching the school. Arthur was afraid these students would try to hurt Chris and Cheryl after their sses start.

    As for Seth, he had left the city too, with lots of things to do, and an invasion to take care. It was a lot, even for a powerful mage like him.

    When Arthur went inside the carriage, which was waiting for them at the city''s entrance, not a single student muttered a word. They had spoken to each other, and decided to not act until they reached the school.

    "If it is not possible to harm him, then we will go after the two siblings." That was what they all had agreed upon.

    The carriage went up and down as the road was not in its best condition, and their journey would not end so soon.

    ~~~~

    Fifteen days passed like a blink of an eye. The merchant stopped at other towns, and Arthur did the same, took care of Chris and Cheryl''s needs, and tried to look for Hiley, but it was not working like he hoped for.

    After that much time, it was finally time for theirst destination, and that was the Scorching Sun Academy! The merchant stopped, and all the new students left the carriage, being greeted by two mages who were at the school''s entrance, waiting for them.

    "Are you all the new students? Come with me, please." One mage said.

    The students felt it was the perfect opportunity to strike, seeing that Arthur was among them.

    "Hold on, seniors. This man right there is not one student, and is trying to sneak in!"

    "What?"

    Chris and Cheryl wanted to punch these idiots. Arthur was not trying to sneak in at all. He had just left the carriage with them to say goodbyes. What was the reason for all this lie they kept spreading?<sub> </sub>

    Arthur found it funny. With only one word of his, these students would never enter that school. Of course, he would not do that, as they were just immature kids who had a lot to learn, but teaching them a lesson was not out of the question.

    The mages who were there to apany the new students went toward Arthur, and tried to grab him by the arms, and throw him away, as if he was someone trash in their eyes.

    He looked at both mages, who were not even rank 1 but at the tenth circle, and said in a cold tone, "don''t even think about putting your hands on me if you wish your school does not turn into a pile of dust."

    "Hahaha, what is he talking about?"

    Arthur send a tiny portion of his mana toward the two mages, and they understood in an instant Arthur was not someone they could mess with. The students who were plotting against him did not feel a thing, so they could not understand the reason for these two powerful mages to freeze.

    "M-May I ask who the senior is?"

    "What is the difference? It is not with you I will talk to. Is the leader of this school here?" Arthur said.

    "He is busy now, but I am sure the senior might wait a little..."

    These two mages knew Arthur was strong, but they did not believe he was stronger than the leader of the school. Well, they were mistaken, but Arthur was not in the mood for fighting with them.

    "Okay. I will head first with my two friends here. No problem, right?"

    Arthur said as he went toward the school''s gate, pulling Chris and Cheryl. The siblings had a token which allowed them to walk past the barrier, but Arthur did not!

    "Wait, senior, the barrier will attack you!"

    When the guard said that sentence, the students had smiles on their faces, waiting for the show to happen. They wanted Arthur to turn into dust right in front of them.

    But things did not go as nned. Perhaps if it was one of the top schools, then sure Arthur could have a hard time with their barrier. Not that he would lose, but it would take some time for him to destroy it, just like when Sebastian tried to attack Ouroboros.

    A weaker school? That was apletely different story. Arthur went inside the school, and when the barrier tried to stop him, it did not work. The mana sts from the barrier were easily stopped by a wave hand, and after a few hits, it suddenly stopped working.

    "Rector!" one mage said.

    The leader of the school came to see Arthur after sensing the barrier failing to attack him. Rank 2 mages would have a hard time, which could only mean the youth in front of him was the legendary Arthur, who was once called a demon during the war.

    "Are you Arthur? The hero of this continent?" A gorgeous woman with red-hair said.

    She gently bowed toward Arthur, expressing her respect.

    "Hero? People are calling me that already?"

    "Yes, and some ces are already building some statues of you. You are a beacon of hope for us. I am Nyssa, the leader of this school. Please,e in."

    Arthur liked the way she treated guests, and judging by her looks, Theo was having a good time in such a school.

    As for the other students, those who talked shit about Arthur were trembling with fear, while Chris and Cheryl were shocked after discovering Arthur was not as simple as he looked.

 Chapter 321 Spying Bathing Girls Is An Art

    "Are these two new students your friends?" Nyssa asked as she looked at Cheryl and Chris.

    "Yes, they are. Could you take proper care of them?"

    "Absolutely. I can get the two under my wing as their teacher. Is that enough?"

    Arthur was not expecting her to do such a thing. Sure, he was the strongest mage on the central continent, but it was not as if he was invincible. Nyssa did not have to take them as her disciples, but if she said so, then Arthur would not go against it.

    That would make sure they would be safe while he was not around, which brought him a peace of mind.

    "Will you do that? Thank you, Nyssa."

    "No problem. Hey, you two,e with us."

    They left, leaving everyone who watched the scene dumbfounded. No one could guess Arthur was that strong, and Nyssa getting two disciples at the same time because of him was incredible.

    "What brings you here today, Arthur?"

    "Just visiting a friend. Theo is his name."

    "Theo? He is one of our teachers and is well known for being a pervert."

    A pervert was something Arthur expected of Theo, but acted as that was a surprise for him, "really? I must teach that young man a lesson. This is not the proper behavior for a teacher."

    Nyssa did not buy that bullshit, but acted as she did. They walked around the school, talking about lots of stuff, none of which was important. It was more of a way for Nyssa to show the school to her new disciples, who were shocked to see such magnificence.

    Thest stop of the trip was in a mansion where normal students and teachers could not get near it. It was Nyssa''s house, and also Chris and Cheryl''s house now.

    "You can pick any room. It should have some uniforms inside as well, so grab them. Me and Arthur will talk in private, but I will be back after it to talk with you more."

    "Understood."

    The siblings went inside the mansion while Arthur and Nyssa continued to walk around the school. He did not know where she wanted to go, but when he noticed the wooden walls and the thermal fonts, Arthur knew exactly what it was.

    "A hot bath during the afternoon?"

    "Well, I am a fire mage, so it feels good for me. Also, we are here not only to bathe, but to find your friend. Look, he is right there spying through that hole." Nyssa said, pointing at one of the wooden walls which were supposed to give privacy to anyone bathing.

    There, Arthur saw a youth he knew well, Theo. He wore a red robe which had some ming drawings, and his hair was also red, different from before.

    "Did he dye his hair?" Arthur asked.

    "Yes, and no. Did you never think about how I let a pervert like him stay in this school? Theo is the only one from this generation who got the approval of our ancestors to enter the path of me, and he got some benefits there. He stayed there for two months, and when he got out, he had red hair."

    Theo was so focused on spying that he did not notice Arthur and Nyssa right behind him.

    "Yo, long time no see. Are you a pervert now?" Arthur said.

    Theo, who was spying through a small gap, jumped when he heard someone talk. How did he not notice someone was there? Was his spying skills getting worse?

    "Arthur? What are you doing here?" Theo said, with shock stamped on his face.

    Arthur did not warn him at all about his arrival, as it was not nned, anyway. The only reason for him to go see Theo so soon was because it was along the path he was taking.<sub> </sub>

    "Just passing by and thought of saying hello."

    Nyssa could feel the two wanted to talk, so she said, "I''ll go for a walk. We can talkter, Arthur."

    Then, only Theo and Arthur remained.

    "Come, I will show you where I live."

    They went to a vast building, which was where all the rank 1 mages lived. It was like a dorm for those who were stronger.

    Because it was in the middle of the afternoon, few mages were there, so no one paid attention to Arthur and Theo, who went up the stairs to the third floor, to the room 314, which was Theo''s.

    "So, how are you doing? I heard some stories about you, but I am not sure if they are true."

    "Well, I am a rank 3 mage now. My wives are rank 2, and we are slowly building Odemore near the strongest school, Ouroboros, who turned out to be controlled by my grandfather."

    Theo was drinking a ss of water while hearing what Arthur had to say, and spat almost all of it.

    "What? Rank 3? Isn''t that too fast of progress? Even for you?"

    "Don''t cry. How about you? Still at rank one?"

    "Look, I am getting close to the rank 2, all right? I already got some powerful techniques from the path of me, and I will catch up to you in no time."

    "Okay, catching up is a bit too much. I will get to the rank 2 in no time. Better?"

    "I did not even say anything. We have a lot to catch up, so where can we sit?"

    ~~~~

    Arthur filled him with all the new information, especially about the demon continent, as well as Hiley, who he was looking for. Theo was growing in authority inside the school, and that was the first step.

    "Look, when you reach rank 2, we cane up with a n for you to take control of the school. I pretend to do the same with Kai."

    "Will you be leaving?"

    "Not yet, but I will and that is why I want you two to have an excellent position here, as well as build Odemore to be one of the strongest schools on this continent."

    "I see. And what about this demon continent? Do they truly have a rank 4 mage?"

    "Don''t know. The person who will explore the unknown location will be me, probably, so yeah, if I get any info, I will let everyone know."

    "Right, they want you to go on this expedition thing. I mean, I would go too if I was strong, but I am way below you right now. Are you nning on bringing your wives with you?"

    "I do, yes, or else the journey will be boring. But they still need to build a solid school for us, and I don''t know what to do."

    "Well, perhaps you can go to the other continent and bring some of your friends from there? Like Signy, Helga or Eleonora? They are surely getting strong, so maybe they can take care of this Odemore, and let someone else taking care of there." Theo said.

    What he did made sense. The Odemore in the central continent would turn into the main one because the other was on a weaker continent. But could they be ready?

    "There is no way of knowing the demon continent will invade only the central continent, or the others, too. So maybe bringing them here will be safer? Eleonora can be with Nefion to learn more about her draconic powers. Hum, what should I do?" Arthur entered a deep thought.

 Chapter 322 Concerning Events

    The conversation with Theo led to some new questions about the attack, as well as the leadership of Odemore. Arthur knew he would have to go to the demon continent eventually, and he would bring his wives with him.

    So, he had to find someone else to take care of the Odemore on the central continent. The war had been just the tip of the iceberg, it seems, and problems kept arising.

    After the two finished talking, Arthur went to see Nyssa, who was in the thermal fonts, rxing a bit. She had a tanner skin, a gorgeous body and a hair red as blood.

    "What do u want to talk about?" Arthur said, appearing out of a sudden, surprising her.

    "You scared me. It''s strange to be close to someone way stronger than myself. First, will you bath with me?" Nyssa asked in a seductive tone.

    Perhaps if it was the Arthur from the past, he would fall to such techniques, but he had grown, and he would not go around chasing women when he already had two beautiful wives.

    "I''m good. If you don''t want to speak, then I am taking my leave." Arthur said.

    He turned around to leave, but Nyssa quickly said, "no, wait. Hear me out, please."

    Arthur smiled, but when he turned around, there was only a nk face saying, "go on."

    "There are some rumors about you being the one exploring the demon continent. Am I right?"

    "You are indeed. What does that have to do with you?"

    "Before taking the position of chief here, just like most mages, I was an adventurer. I got some records about the demon continent, some really old scrolls, but I cannot understand them. Do you want them?" Nyssa said.

    That was something Arthur was not expecting at all. Could they be fake? The human continents barely had any information about the demon continent. They knew its general location, like what direction to take to reach it, but the distance and the dangers along the way were unknown.

    Even the creatures which lived there were unknown to them, making the task Arthur would have to face way harder. When Nyssa mentioned something about old scrolls which could hold some information about this mysterious demon continent, then surely he it was attractive to him.

    "Do you want something for these scrolls? I don''t see a reason for you to give them for free."

    Arthur did not believe in free lunch, even more so in this world of mages.

    "For now, nothing at all. Maybe in the future if I am in the need of help then I hope you can lend a hand. Don''t worry, there will be no contract or pact, just our words. If I need help with something you cannot do, then just don''t do it." Nyssa said.

    It was not a poor offer. Without a contract or pact to bond these words, then it was just a promise, which meant it could be broken if she needed help with something impossible.

    "Okay. Where are these scrolls?"

    Nyssa chuckled and said, "inside my personal library. Let''s go." Then she got up from the thermal font, showing her nude body in front of Arthur. It had perfect curves, and the boobs had the perfect size! Everything was perfect, and it took a lot of mental strength for Arthur to resist such a scene, but he did.

    She put on some clothing after noticing her charms did not work, and the two went to the main building of the school where Nyssa''s room was. The students whispered after seeing the two walking together, trying to guess what was the identity of the man beside Nyssa was.

    The two went to thest floor of the school''s main building, and the entire floor was prohibited to anyone beside Nyssa and those she allowed to enter. It was her home.

    There was a bedroom, a bathroom, a personal library, some pools, and all the luxury one could get. It made sense, as she was a rank 2 mage, as well as the leader of a school.

    "This is my library. Come, I will pick up the scrolls for you." Nyssa said.

    When she spoke about a library, Arthur believed it would be small, like the books one had in its home on a shelf, but the reality was theplete opposite. It was freaking huge, and Arthur believed it was bigger than the libraries he saw in the cities.

    It was easy for one to get lost in there, but Nyssa was familiar with everything, so with fast moves she got the scrolls she talked about. Three scrolls in total of it written in a distinctnguage, one Arthur did not know.

    He wondered how did Nyssa know it was from the demon continent. It was actually written in there in thenguage humans knew, but that was it. Demon Continent was the only thing they could read.

    The scrolls had some drawings showing different locations, mythical creatures, and ''demons''.<sub> </sub>

    "I will have to find someone who can read this, but who?" Arthur thought as he put the three scrolls into his magical pouch.

    "Thanks Nyssa. I will take my leave now. If you excuse me."

    "No problem. See ya, Arthur the hero."

    There was nothing else for Arthur to do at that school, as he already spoke with Theo, and got some unexpected benefits, the scrolls. But now it was time for him to return to his task.

    Arthur went to see Chris and Cheryl. He wanted to say goodbyes to them, as well as speak with Chris in private.

    The two siblings were in the room Nysa provided them, not happy now that Arthur would leave.

    "Don''t be sad, you two. Get stronger for us to meet again in the future. Look, I got you some gifts."

    Chris was the type of person who enjoyed weapons, so Arthur gave him one of his treasures, the sword Merethyl gave him back then when he became the ruler of the elves.

    It was hard for him to departure of such valuable treasure, but it was weaker now that Arthur reached a whole different level of power. If he was still in the rank 1, then sure he could use it and it would be good, but now it was not the case.

    "This is a sword from a distantnd. It can change shape into any weapon you want and remember, it can also turn into a shield for protection. If my calctions are right, this can go up against rank 1 mages, but after that, it will get weaker. Who knows, maybe if you learn some magical smithing than you can upgrade it." Arthur said.

    "I- are you sure you want to give me this?"

    "Of course. Use it to protect your sister."

    "I will, I will."

    "What about me?" Cheryl said.

    She also wanted a gift, but Arthur had nothing which suited her. There was one thing he believed it would be useful for her, and that was one fruit from the bloodline tree he nted in Odemore. It would still take some time to grow, so Cheryl would have to wait a little for her gift.

    "Cheryl, I have something way more precious than what I gave your brother, but it will take some time for me to get it. Can you wait for it?"

    "More precious than what my brother got? Hehehe, of course I can wait,"

    She did not look sad, making Arthur sigh in relief. Chris went near Arthur and whispered, "is it truly more precious than this freaking weapon?"

    "Yeah, it is, but it''s something only suitable for her, so don''t overthink it." Arthur whispered back, but then spoke in a louder tone, "I will leave now, but I am sure we will meet again. You two, focus on your training, and if you have any doubt or need any help, you can contact me through this mark."

    Arthur waved his hand, and both Chris and Cheryl got the tattoo of a dragon on their forearm. It was Arthur''s secret mark, which allowed them to keep in touch.

    The trio hugged each other, and then Arthur left the Scorching Sun Academy, continuing his search for Hiley, as well as for someone capable of reading the scrolls he got from Nyssa.

    ~~~~

    One month passed. Arthur kept asking around, as well as hearing the rumors, yet did not find a single clue about Hiley, and neither someone capable of reading the scrolls.

    He was getting worried, and his journey led him to the capital of the central continent, where a young boy came looking for him with a letter.

    "Excuse me sir, are you Arthur? I am a courier, and this is a letter for you!" He said, giving him the letter, leaving afterwards.

    "So the meeting Seth talked about is finally happening. I can only hope they can help me get more information about my friend, and perhaps someone to read these scrolls, though I have to be careful to not show too much."

    Arthur read the letter, and moved to the location where the meeting would take ce, and that was in the city he was currently in, the capital of the central continent, Vuurora.

 Chapter 323 Arthurs Only Hope

    The city of Vuurora was thergest in the central continent. For many mages, visiting it was their dream, or at least one of their goals. Arthur, well, he was there for other reasons.

    Frustration was the word that best defined how Arthur felt at that moment. After wandering through several cities looking for answers about his friend Hiley, he found nothing. Those scrolls Nyssa had given him? They remained a mystery that needed to be solved.

    For Arthur, his only salvation seemed to lie in this meeting he had been invited to. Could they help him in exchange for his coboration? In exchange for his strength? He hoped so, and it was with this positive thought Arthur wandered through the crowded streets of Vuurora.

    "Come,e, the finest jewels you can find here! Excavated directly from the Reshgan mine, the most famous mine on the continent!"

    "Are you looking for a potion to get the love of your life? You havee to the right ce. Only today at a great discount!"

    The shouts of the vendors weremonce, and certainly their offers seemed tempting to anyone passing by. Arthur paid little attention to these, as there was something very important that needed to be done.

    "The most famous pce in the central continent. I wonder if the other participants are already there?" thought Arthur, looking at the vast building on the horizon.

    In no hurry, Arthur walked to the pce, observing all the mages and normal people passing by on the streets. Everything was so clean, well kept, and anyone could notice the huge amount of guards patrolling around, ensuring the safety of the people.

    "The guards don''t seem to abuse their power, which is something rare. Apparently, the punishment for them is severe around here."

    Being the capital of the continent, any guard who broke thew would be castigated. Maybe in smaller cities the rulers looked the other way, ignoring some acts, but in Vuurora that wouldn''t happen, and it was precisely because of this that the number of bandits was much lower.

    Not only the number of bandits but also the number of people living on the streets. Buying a residence in Vuurora was expensive, but sleeping in one of its many inns was not, and as the region had many ways to earn money, the number of adventurers there was high.

    Arthur stopped in front of an enormous gate made of a white stone, like marble. This was the entrance to the pce, and a guard quickly noticed Arthur''s presence, who was not dressed very well for the asion.

    "Quite a nice ce." thought Arthur, looking at the pce through the bars that surrounded it.

    "I''m sorry, sir, but this is a private ce." The guard said.

    The respectful manner in which the guard addressed him was reassuring, different from the experience Arthur had in other cities.

    "Well, I have this invitation. Could you look at it?" Arthur replied, holding out his hand and handing over the same letter he had received from the letter carrier recently.

    The guard took it from his hand, carefully analyzing every part, since forged letters weremon. And to his surprise, the letter was legitimate, and not only that, but the person in front of him was considered the hero of the central continent.

    "Arthur? The hero who saved us from the war? A thousand apologies. I didn''t recognize your face," said the guard, bowing in respect.

    "Don''t even worry about it. Well, could you show me around?

    "Of course, of course. Please follow me." The guard then looked at another guard who was practically asleep on his watch and shouted, "Robert, go take care of the gate, youzy bug, or else I''ll finish you."

    Robert woke up startled, but did as he was told. Arthur and the guard walked around the pce, first exploring the beautiful garden that surrounded it.

    The ce had several servants who curiously looked at Arthur.

    "Another important person for that meeting? I wonder what they are talking about?"

    "Let them take care of those important matters for the entire continent while we deal with the things within our reach."

    The guard escorted Arthur to the main door of the pce and then said, "Others who will attend the meeting are already staying at the pce. I can only apany you so far. Excuse me."

    Arthur thanked the guard for escorting him, and then opened the pce doors, entering the pce alone. The first thing that came into his vision was a long corridor with several doors, both on the left and on the right.

    The walls were decorated mostly with paintings, which were certainly expensive. Arthur could notice servants sweeping the pce floor and removing every speck of dust, doing their utmost to make the ce as beautiful as possible.

    "I hope they are at least paying them well." Arthur thought.

    He could only take a few steps, and someone had alreadye to meet him. And as always, the person who seemed to be a haunting, appearing in every likely ce, Seth.

    "Arthur! You''re finally here!" Seth said, going towards Arthur giving him a hug.

    "Well, I thought the meeting wasn''t until tomorrow, so why the finally?"

    "Yes, it is tomorrow, but I am just happy to see you. Come on, I''ll introduce you to some of my friends." Seth said, leading the way.

    The two went to a lounge where other mages were waiting, sitting and rxing with various drinks in hand. These all possessed the power of a rank 2 mage, so Arthur quickly figured that these were all leaders of their respective schools.

    From what Seth had told him, all the leaders of the 15 strongest schools on the continent would be there. Well, not exactly everyone, since Nefion would not be going.

    "Everyone, this is Arthur. Arthur, these are my long-time friends!"

    Seth then introduced Arthur to about 6 people. Just as he had imagined, they were all school leaders, and they were trying to tter Arthur in every way possible, causing his impression of them to diminish.

    "I hate people who only want to get close for benefits. I wonder if Seth is also friendly because of this? Well, I guess not. He seemed to be nice even when I was weak," Arthur thought.

    Arthur talked with Seth''s friends for some time in the living room, and even had a few drinks, which had little effect on his superhuman body. After getting fed up, Arthur found some excuse and left the ce, going to the room they had granted him.

    "I think this is the one."

    He turned the magic key on the doorknob and entered a beautiful room. Everything was nicely arranged, and there was even a balcony for Arthur to observe the beautiful garden.

    "Not bad," he thought, lying down on thatfortable bed, rxing his body after a month of constant stress.

    Everything would be decided at the meeting tomorrow. Would he truly go to the demon continent as a pioneer? Would they help him find Hiley? Lots of questions which only time would give the answers.

    "I just hope everything goes well." thought Arthur, closing his eyes to sleep for the first time in a long time.

 Chapter 324 All Falls Into The Hands Of The Strong

    Arthur spent much of his time in his room, resting after a long search for Hiley. Not getting anything, not even a clue, made his mind work at a million, which made him tired, even though he possessed the physique of a dragon.

    Well, of course, he didn''t just stay in his room. Arthur explored the pce and made use of all the benefits that were offered, such as hot baths and food prepared by the best chefs on the entire continent. He was an honored guest, so everyone was trying their best to please him.

    And after rxing for a whole day, the next morning started with excitement. That day would be marked by the meeting of the continent''s greatest powers, where the imminent threat of the demon continent would be discussed.

    The meeting would take ce in a room with an immense table with 17 chairs. Fifteen of these were for the leaders of the 15rgest schools, one where Arthur would sit, and one for the highest power on the continent, the Archmage.

    Honestly, Arthur did not know that something like an archmage existed, and after learning more about the position, Arthur came to an understanding. The Archmage is basically a mage from the lineage of the first family of mages that settled the central continent, like the royal family.

    All the other mages respected the family, and did not question the decisions of the Archmages who ran the central continent throughout its history. Of course, if any of them tried to do something absurd, not only the leaders of the schools, but the entire poption would object.

    Well, the Archmage was very close to reaching rank 3, and he was the strongest mage among all of rank 2. This was one reason that the other mages listened to his opinion, and respected his decisions.

    Coming from a lineage considered royal was not enough, since all mages respected someone with power, and this was something the Archmage had plenty of.

    Anyway, slowly all the leaders of the schools sat down on their chairs around the table, and at both ends of the table were the Archmage, at the top, and Arthur, at the bottom. That represented that they both had the most power there, and so they did not sit in the side chairs of the table.

    "Is everyone present yet?" The Archmage said.

    The chairs were slowly filled, with only one left, where Nefion''s chair would be, who was busy with other things. Not that it mattered much since Arthur was there representing the two, who were practically family, although the others didn''t know that.

    "Well then, let''s get started," said the Archmage, tapping the table lightly with his fingers, "as you can all see, the noble hero of our continent is here with us today, Arthur!"

    "I want to congratte you for being responsible for getting us out of a war that was costing the lives of many of our citizens, and I hope that after this meeting you can ept some gifts from me."

    "Well, let''s get to the principal subject of this meeting, the demon continent. Anyone who has any information or ideas on how we should handle this, please raise your hand."

    Arthur''s first impression of the Archmage was positive. He seemed to be someone who was good with words.

    "I need to be a little careful," Arthur thought.

    The Archmage being good with words, could very well try to manipte him, so Arthur had to be smart when talking to him.

    One mage raised his hand, and it was the leader of the Phoenix Blood school, one that Arthur wasn''t too fond of. The Archmage made a sign with his hand for the man to speak.

    "Everyone here knows that we have little information regarding the demon continent. The only thing we know is that they have passed through the spell we ced in the middle of the ocean, showing that their troops are moving, and it is only a matter of time before they attack us. They have tried to take over our continent in the past and failed, and now that we are weaker than ever, they are trying again!"

    That was something Arthur had already imagined. There were some scrolls with ancient information about this continent of demons, so humans have had contact with them, but that happened a long time ago. Almost no one remembered..

    The was slowly decaying, with its powerful spells fading over the years, or being stolen by outside mages. Now a human reaching rank 3 was already something unbelievable, almost impossible. Surely when the Demon Continent invaded the Central Continent, the level of power was totally different.

    Who knows, maybe the central continent had mages of rank 4 or even 5, but this was so long ago that it became a story, a fairy tale. Now, with the level that the central continent was at, it might be the perfect chance for the demon continent to attack.

    All the mages in the meeting room whispered after hearing what the leader of the Phoenix Blood School said, and stopped only when the Archmage motioned for everyone to be quiet. Another person had raised his hand, and this time it was Arthur!

    "Hero of the continent, please speak your mind." The Archmage spoke in a respectful tone.

    Many of the mages present there did not know Arthur personally. Some didn''t really have a good impression of him because he was someone very young, who appeared out of nowhere, but they couldn''t argue with his ruthless power. It didn''t matter if they liked him or not, they all respected the power he had, and hoped that he was a decent person.

    "Well, I have one other question to raise at this meeting. Don''t you think it''s a little strange that both the war against the dark mages, and this invasion of the demon continent, are happening almost at the same time? Could it be that somehow some dark mages have contacted the demon continent and formed an alliance? Since we could locate them through spells in the ocean, then someone from here contacting them in some unknown way doesn''t sound so unlikely." Arthur said.

    This time, the chatter inside the meeting room increased even more. In fact, what Arthur put on the table made sense. Not only that, but it was possible that someone in the meeting room was a traitor!

    "Very well said, Arthur. Indeed, we can imagine that the two events are connected. Do you think we could find the person who is contacting them so that we can extract information?" The Archmage asked.

    "Honestly, I don''t think whoever it is would be dumb enough to be found. I believe our best chance would be to send someone out into the ocean to search for the demon continent, thus bringing back concrete information and not spection."

    "So, would you be volunteering to go on an expedition toward apletely unknownnd?" The Archmage said.

    "Of course, why not? However, I have some special requests and would like the Archmage to hear them after the meeting."

    "Of course. Well, let''s decide exactly how that would happen."

    So all the leading mages of the major schools talked among themselves, deciding when, how, and what information Arthur should seek when he arrived at the demon continent. One thing they all knew was that the journey would take a long time, and would be extremely difficult and dangerous. Therefore, the Archmage granted whatever requests Arthur had.

 Chapter 325 Lots Of Things To Do

    All the mages left the room after the meeting was over, going back to their rooms inside the pce. Arthur and the Archimage were the only ones who were still there to talk about the terms of their agreement.

    Arthur told him about Hiley, who had disappeared a long time ago. He said he searched in lots of cities and viges, yet could not find his friend. It was as if she had turned into a ghost.

    "I understand the central continent is big, but a rank 3 mage like you should have been able to find her, or at least some clues. Well, don''t worry about it, as I will now help you find her." The Archimage said.

    With the help of his magical powers, Arthur shared a vivid image of Hiley so that the Archimage would know exactly who he had to search for. Not only the Archimage, but all the people he would put to look for her.

    "Is there anything else you need?"

    "Well, you said something about gifts. What are those?"

    The Archimage smiled, leading the way as both of them left the meeting room, and went to a ce only a few people had ess to, and that was the treasure room of the pce. With swift moves, the Archimage got a magical key from his magical pouch, and used it to open the safe where lots of treasures were stored.

    "You can go inside and look if there is something useful for you. I will take my leave and start sending people to look for your friend. Here, this is the key. Give it back to me after you are done." The Archimage said, turning around and leaving.

    The man truly trusted Arthur to leave him alone inside a ce filled with treasures. He even left the key with him.

    "Well, it is not like he trusts me, but more like only a few treasures would catch my attention." Arthur thought.

    Inside the treasure room, there were lots of things from swords, spears, bows, jewelry, and many items. Arthur did not know about its effects. He scanned the room entirely, trying to find something decent.

    The treasure room had mostly weapons, but a weapon was not something Arthur needed. His mysterious ck sword was still powerful, so there was no need to search for something better. Even if he tried, Arthur did not believe that the treasure room would have something superior to it.

    So, what he could do was look for strange items which could have some cool effects, like the ne Skye gave him. Perhaps one thing who looked like junk could be something great. The odds were small, but just looking would not hurt.

    After looking for a while, Arthur decided to just feel his heart and take something which its effects were unknown to him.

    "A small mirror. Even if its effects are shit, I can still check my appearance from time to time." Arthur thought as he grabbed a small mirror, cing it inside his magical pouch, and then leaving the treasure room.

    Arthur closed the treasure room using the key the Archimage had given him, and then went looking for said person.

    The Archimage was already talking to some of his contacts, sending the picture of Hiley to them in hopes they would find her as quick as possible.

    "I am done. Here, take your key." Arthur said.

    He gave him the key and then left the pce. They had already talked about how the expedition would work, and Arthur had one week before his departure.

    They wanted to send someone to explore the demon continent as soon as possible, and Arthur was not against such a thing. It was the only way to get more information about them, and for him, it was exciting to explore the unknown! That was a rare feeling for him, as he had already explored different continents!

    Arthur hoped they would find Hiley before one week passed, but that was unlike to happen. If it was that easy for them to find her, then Arthur would already have. With only one week left, there were lots of things he had to do before leaving the continent.

    The first thing was to send a message using his secret mark to Kai and Theo, filling them up with the new information regarding the Archimage''s help, as well as his exploration into the unknown.

    Both Theo and Kai wanted to go with him, but it was too dangerous! Arthur said he would first see how it was, and then if it was possible for them toe, then he would return to get them.

    Only three people would go with him on this journey: Wisa, Jane, and Sybille. He also sent a message to his wives, saying he would return to Odemore to look out for Signy, Helga, and Eleonora.

    Arthur returned to the first vige he encountered after traveling to the central continent. It was the ce where the Forbidden Forest was Elena''s hometown.

    Before going into the Forbidden Forest to look for the portal which led him back to his continent, he paid a quick visit to Elena''s parents to share how his daughter was doing.

    "I knew it was you! Everyone is talking about the hero of this continent, and when they showed us a drawing of you, we remembered!"

    "Hero is a strong word. I am just someone who did not wish others to get hurt. So, about your daughter, she is fine, but she is now studying in my school, but don''t worry, she is getting the best tuition, and she is safe!"

    After talking a little with Elena''s parents, Arthur went to the Forbidden Forest, looking for the portal he used thest time. It was not deep into the forest, and it seemed it was still working, so Arthur used it, leaving the central continent!

    ~~~~

    In an instant, he was not inside the forest anymore, but on a small ind. That was where the portal led.

    "Well, now that I am close to my destination, then I can use my anchor spell!" Arthur thought.

    One thing he noticed was that his teleport increased the mana cost with the distance. It was not something which bothered him, considering the amount of mana he had, but the central continent was so far that he believed even his mana would not withstand such a distant teleport.

    So, he first took the portal, so that nothing went wrong. The moment he appeared on that ind, some pirate ships which were sailing nearby saw him flying above the ind.

    "Who is that? How is he flying?" One pirate said, but then, before he could warn hisrades, Arthur was nowhere to be seen.

    "It is been a long time."

    Arthur used his anchor spell, appearing right in front of Odemore, which was even better than thest time he saw it! The magical barrier around the school was way stronger, and it had more buildings inside of the school''s perimeter.

    Another thing Arthur noticed was the number of students, which were absurdly high! The Queen itself was advertising Odemore, so it was not unexpected to see that many students.

    He slowly made his way to the school''s gate, and when the mage who acted as a guard saw Arthur''s face, he had a puzzled expression.

    "Doesn''t this youth look simr to the statue of the founder?"

 Chapter 326 The Founder Of Odemore Is Back

    "Who are you?" the mage asked, looking at the youth in front of him. He was shocked that the youth seemed eerily simr to the statue of Odemore''s founder.

    "I want to see Signy. Can you call her for me?" Arthur asked.

    The guard, not wanting to waste any time, ran towards the central area of Odemore in search of Signy, who was the person in charge.

    He was not worried that Arthur would go in and invade the school, as the protective barrier surrounding it was not something anyone could destroy. The barrier was an invisible wall of energy that kept students, teachers, and staff safe from harm.

    Signy was huddled inside her office on the third floor of Odemore''s main building, working tirelessly to deal with all the school''s affairs. The situation was so bad she did not hear the guard knocked on the door and only returned from her daydreams after he was standing right in front of her.

    "Excuse me, Miss Signy. Someone at the gate wants to speak with you," the guard said, bowing in respect.

    "Someone wants to see me? Who is it now?" Signy said.

    People often went to meet with her, usually wanting to ask for things, so she was angry that someone tried to see her, but then the mage said something which turned her emotions into a rollercoaster.

    "I am not sure, but he looks much like the founder''s statue."

    When Signy heard that, she threw all the unfinished papers on her desk and sprinted out of her office, running straight to the school''s main gate. Some students were walking around the courtyard, and doubt filled their minds when they saw Signy running towards them. Who could it be to make her act so uneasy? Could the school be in danger? These were some things the students thought as they watched Signy run through the school.

    Her heart was full of emotions, and even though the guard said it was someone who looked like the founder, she was afraid it was a misunderstanding. Her stomach was in knots, and she couldn''t calm down. "It has to be Arthur!" she thought as she reached the gate, looking at the youth who stood there, waiting for her.

    Arthur smiled as he said, "long time no see, Signy. How are you holding up with taking care of the school?"

    "Arthur!"

    Before talking, Signy wanted a hug, and when Arthur saw her doing that, he did not avoid it. It took her some time to get her arms wrapped around his waist, but she did it. Arthur was surprised by her sudden embrace, but he did not pull away. Then, after seconds of hugging, Signy realized it was getting out of hand. "I am sorry for this." She backed off.

    When Arthur heard her words, he said, "It''s okay. Don''t worry about it."

    "So why are you here out of a sudden? Should I be worried?" Signy asked, afraid that Arthur''s sudden appearance came with trouble.

    ? "Can we talk in a more private ce?" Arthur asked.

    Signy nodded and led the way to her office, where she had just left. The guard, who had not been fast enough, met the two along the way. He looked at Arthur and asked, "are you Odemore''s founder?"

    The students only heard stories about Arthur and how he single-handled built the school with the help of the Queen itself! A statue had been made in the middle of Odemore to symbolize his greatness.

    "Yes, I am. It is a pleasure to meet you." Arthur said.

    The man couldn''t hold his tears as emotion filled up his heart. Being able to meet the founder of Odemore, someone who was considered a legend, was a blessing. Arthur was happy to see his presence held such importance in the school he created.

    Some of the students strolling inside the school''s courtyard noticed Arthur, and it was easy to link him to the face of the statue. Murmurings started, and within seconds almost everyone knew the founder of Odemore was present, paying a visit.

    Anyone would want to meet such an important figure, but all the students restrained themselves, unwilling to get in the way of their founder. The situation was not simple for someone like Arthur to be there, so no one wanted to get in his way, as there was a slight chance he would get mad at them.

    "This ce looks way better now. These towers are for what?" Arthur asked, pointing toward two towers, one at the school''s south and another at the north.

    "We use them to study the stars. You know, anyone is interested in others."

    The study of stars and others was something that the worldcked, and hearing Signy talk about it surprised Arthur, although he did not believe they would find much with their level of strength.

    After some time of walking, they arrived at the main building of Odemore and went directly toward Signy''s office, where they would discuss many things.

    "Don''t overthink about the mess. I have been busy with lots of things recently." Signy said.

    The room had lots of papers scattered around the floor and table. When Arthur saw it, he realized Signy looked tired, as if she had worked too much in the past few days.

    "Is there something happening?" Arthur asked.

    Signy sat on her chair, sighed, and said, "the other schools did not take our ascension very well. You must know Frostpeak is a well-known school, and they support us, just like the Queen. We are a threat to them."

    "No wonder. Do you want me to teach a lesson to anyone in particr?" Arthur said.

    Now that he was a rank three mage, not even the mages of the central continent could go up against him, much less the mages from a weaker continent.

    "Can you do it all by yourself?" Signy asked, visibly concerned about his safety.

    "Well, that is obvious. You must know I am a rank three mage now," Arthur said, stuffing his chest with air to look bigger.

    "What?"

    The other mages from the central continent had simr reactions, but Signy, who had not even seen rank two mages, was startled! If what Arthur said was true, he was unstoppable anywhere he went.

    "Are you being serious about this?"

    "Of course. Now, there are other things we must discuss. Can I sit here?" Arthur said, pointing at the chair in front of Signy''s table.

    It was time for Arthur to exin the situation about the demon continent, the position of Odemore, and his ns for the future. He wanted Signy, Helga, and Eleonora to leave with him for the central continent. That was the best way to keep them safe and give them more chances of increasing their powers in the future.

    "Eleonora''s father is there too?" Signy said, pondering the situation.

    "Can you give me a few hours to speak with the others? I have some talented teachers who are likely to be strong enough to take the position of a leader here." Signy said.

    Arthur was okay with her doing that and decided to visit Eleonora while Signy was busy with those things. She was training in sword-fighting with a youth.

    "You are rapidly improving, Eleonora!" the youth said.

    It was clear that the youth had a crush on Eleonora, but she only saw him as a friend, and the moment Arthur entered her sight, the youth was no longer present for her, and all Eleonora could look at was the handsome face of a ck-haired youth!

 Chapter 327 Big News For Eleonora

    Eleonora dropped the sword she was wielding, gazing straight at the youth who appeared in the training field.

    She could not believe what her eyes were showing her, but no matter how many times she blinked, the face of the youth remained the same. Arthur was important to her in ways she could not exin, and Eleonora could not help but scream his name.

    "Arthur? Are you truly there? I am not dreaming, right?" Eleonora said.

    "Yes, I am here. Come," Arthur said, opening up his arms.

    He did not need to say a word, as Eleonora understood the message. Instead, she ran toward him, jumping in his arms, something she had been dreaming of doing since the very moment Arthur left.

    Eleonora''s arms wrapped around Arthur''s waist, but differently from Signy, she was not holding back! Eleonora held him tightly, afraid he could vanish at any moment.

    Arthur had no problem hugging her, but the youth training with her had, as he was angrily gazing at the two of them. He watched Arthur and Eleonora hug for some time before saying, "Eleonora, who is this?"

    He was not liking how the situation was going, especially after noticing this mysterious youth was someone handsome, even more than he was. Could it be a secret lover of Eleonora? He did not want to think about that, but it was right in front of him, so denying it would be in stupid.

    "He is just a friend and also the person who built this school," Eleonora said.

    The idea of just a friend was not something the youth believed in, but when Eleonora said he was the founder of Odemore, the shock was visible on his face.

    "What? Are you truly Arthur? The strongest mage this continent ever produced?"

    Arthur was not necessarily from that continent nor from that universe, but the youth was correct when he said Arthur was the strongest mage from that ce.

    "Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, but can I have some private time with Eleonora? We have some important things to discuss." Arthur said.

    What he had in mind to discuss with her was the demon continent, Nefion, and the idea of them going with him to the central continent. But what the youth had pictured inside his mind was the two of them deciding what beach they would choose for their marriage.

    "Of course, Bye Eleonora, see youter."

    "Bye, James."

    James left the training area, returning to his dorm room. He only looked down during the way, holding his tears each time he thought about Eleonora and Arthur together.

    "Who is that?" Arthur asked.

    "A friend who has a crush on me, but my heart is with someone else," Eleonora said, her breath getting irregr and her cheeks as red as two tomatoes.

    "Can you show me your room?"

    "W-What? Why do you want to go to my room?"

    Wild thoughts crossed Eleonora''s mind, but Arthur said, "for us to talk in private? I also want a ce to sit."

    She sighed in relief, leading the way through Odemore, leaving the training area where most students used, going directly toward the women''s dormitory.

    A rule prohibited male students from going near the women''s dormitory due to some past problems. Eleonora was unsure how the others would react to it, but it should be okay for Arthur to go there, as he was the person who controlled the school, as well as its rules.

    If there was one person who could do anything he wanted inside Odemore, that person was Arthur.

    When both Eleonora and Arthur arrived in front of the women''s dormitory, the other students were there, ready to yell after seeing a male student invading their territory. Still, no one dared to say a word when they saw the youth''s face.

    Rumors traveled fast, and by that point, every student knew Arthur was there and he was in control of everything. They did not mutter a word when Eleonora brought Arthur to the dorm and even bowed as he passed through them, trying to show respect for someone who was like a legend to every mage.

    Arthur was pleased with the situation but did not want to look like someone who disobeyed the rules. Instead, he used his mana to enhance his voice, making it reach the ear of all the female students inside the dorm.

    "Excuse me, and I am sorry for entering your space. I need to talk with Eleonora in private about important matters, and I hope all of you can forgive me for breaking the rules this time."

    It was a simple sentence that relieved the stress of all the women there. Arthur tried to say that the rules were still there, and he would not allow anyone to break them. It might sound small to some people, but it was a big deal for the women there.

    The two of them went inside the dormitory, which had two floors and was made entirely of wood, enchanted tost a long time. It also had a protective barrier in case someone tried to attack it.

    Elenora''s room had the number 14 on the door. She picked up her key from her magical pouch, opening the door for them.

    Arthur first noticed the fragrance of flowers, sweetening his nostrils and sending a pleasing sensation to his body. It was the same smell Eleonora had, like flowers from the field, but it was even more intense inside her room.

    "If that youth with her came here, then I am sure he would pass out." Arthur thought as he followed Eleonora.

    The room was not a luxurious ce like the castle Eleonora used to live in, but it was better than many ces and had anything a person would want.

    "This is my lovely room. The chairs are ufortable, so we should lie on the bed," Eleonora said.

    After saying it, she realized the severity of her sentence, but Arthur did not mind as he jumped on her bed, "ah, this feels so good."

    Eleonora saw Arthur, who was not overthinking the situation, so she calmed down after a few deep breaths and did the same as him.

    "So, what are we talking about?"

    Arthur did not know how he should start. A lot of things were happening simultaneously, but the most crucial thing for Eleonora was Nefion! She had yet to realize he was alive and well, waiting for her in the central continent.

    "Eleonora, you will have toe with me to the central continent."

    "What? Really?"

    She had wanted to go with him since a long time ago, but her strength was mediocre, but now she had reached the level of a ninth circle mage! And her dragon powers were increasing too.

    "Yes, you will be safer there with your father," Arthur said.

    The room wentpletely silent after the sentence, and Elenora started to doubt her ears. Did Arthur say what she had just heard? Or was it something else?

    "What did you say?"

    Despite her usual timid behavior, Eleonora grabbed Arthur by the shoulders and asked again, "what did you say?"

    "Nefion, your father, is alive. We met not long ago, but the central continent had too many troubles to deal with, and he got hurt in thest fight. That is why he has note to see you."

    After Eleonora calmed down, Arthur exined everything to her, and she could not wait to explore a different ce but, more importantly, meet with her father again.

 Chapter 328 A Duel

    The idea of reuniting with her father again made Eleonora jump with happiness. Arthur loved to see her like that and was happy she reacted so well after hearing it, as he was afraid Eleonora would not want to part ways with the friends she made in Odemore.

    "When can we go?" Eleonora said as she walked around her room, packing her stuff for the trip.

    Arthur still had to wait for Signy to find someone to take care of Odemore, but she guaranteed him she had some people in mind, so it should not take long, or at least Arthur hoped so.

    "Soon, Signy is finding someone to assume her position here. Who do you think she will choose?" Arthur asked.

    "Well, I believe Helga will be the one."

    "Helga? Wouldn''t she go with us?"

    Signy and Helga were friends, and Arthur thought she woulde along with them to improve her strength in a morepetitive environment.

    "She''s married to a noble now and pregnant."

    "What?"

    The fact took Arthur by surprise, but it was something understandable. Helga was not someone with immense talent, and neither had the dream of achieving the peak of the magus world. She had decent strength and now wanted to settle down, building a family with someone else.

    "I see. If it is Helga, then Odemore will be in good hands." Arthur said.

    "Absolutely. Arthur, I will finish packing my things and shower."

    "Are you kicking me out?"

    Arthur was joking with her and preparing to leave, but then Elora said, "Eh, you can wait inside here if you want."

    That was unexpected.

    "Am I her crush? No, this will get messy; she is Nefion''s daughter and somewhat a rtive of Jane..."

    Just thinking about the situation gave Arthur''s headache, so he said, "I would love to, but I also have some things to do. We''ll see each otherter, alright? Bye-bye, Eleonora."

    "Oh, no problem," she said with a non-content face, "bye-bye, Arthur."

    Arthur left Eleonora''s room and spent the rest of the day exploring Odemore, seeing the students and teachers, and looking for anything that might need improvement. The barrier surrounding the school could receive some upgrades, and with Arthur''s power, it was not a big deal to improve it.

    Another thing Arthur did was share some of the high-grade spells he got from the central continent, allowing more mages to reach the rank 1 one day, increasing not only the power of Odemore but of the whole continent.

    "Now, with all these new books in the library, the mages here have a better chance of reaching greater heights." Arthur thought as he added some books to the library''s collection.

    Signy waited for Arthur outside the library with a familiar woman beside her. It was Helga, who was pregnant, just like Eleonora said.

    "Helga, it is so nice to see you, and congrattions on the baby and marriage," Arthur said with a smile.

    "Thank you, Arthur. Signy told me you were back, and I could not believe it! Not only that, but she offered me her position. Are you being serious about this?"

    Although Helga married a noble, it was not a rich one, and even with her power as a mage, providing her family a good life was not an easy task, especially when talking about children. But if she got Signy''s position, then everything would be a lot better.

    "I am dead serious. Signy will leave with me, Eleonora too, and I don''t see a better person fit for the job than you."

    Arthur was being sincere when saying that, which made Helga emotional, having tears streaming down her face as she almost kneeled in front of him.

    "This position means a lot to my family and me. Thank you, Signy, Arthur; you two are blessings in my life, and I hope we can see each other in the future."

    An emotional departure between the three, but mainly between Helga and Signy, the closest ones; Arthur left after a few minutes, leaving the two alone to say goodbyes to each other.

    He then returned to Eleonora''s room to see if she was ready, but someone stopped him along the way. It was Eleonora''s friend who heard some rumors about Arthur going into her room.

    "James? Is there something you need?" Arthur asked when he noticed the youth in front of him.

    "I know you are incredible, but do you ept a duel?" James said.

    Some students were nearby, and when they heard such a thing, no one could believe it.

    "Is James crazy? The person in front of him may be young, but he is the school''s founder and the strongest mage ever on this continent."

    "Right? I heard it is because of a girl."

    "A girl? Are you talking about the beautiful blonde girl who trains with him? I never believed he had a chance, and now it seems the girl has a crush on Arthur, so it is even more impossible for him."

    Arthur was surprised by the sudden duel request, and it was not hard to understand the reason behind it, even without the students whispering around them. But, deep down, Arthur felt terrible for the kid.

    Even if Arthur was not there, Eleonora never saw James as more than a friend.

    "It is what it is. I feel bad, but I know you cannot force anyone to like you, so if Eleonora does not feel the same way, you should ept it." Arthur thought.

    He gazed at James, who had a grudge against him, showing some hostility, and said, "are you sure you want to do this?"

    It would be a boring fight, one James had zero chance of winning with his power, but if Arthur did not ept it, he would keep asking, making him lose his patience.

    Arthur believed that would at least make James see the difference between the two, increasing his desire for power, and who knows, maybe one day he would turn into someone incredible too.

    "I am sure of it," James said firmly, adding one more thing to his sentence,  "are you scared of me?"

    That was the funniest thing Arthur had heard in a while. It was understandable. Everyone talked about how grand Arthur was, but no one knew the difference between his power and everyone else.

    A duel in front of everyone would allow them to understand this difference, increasing Odemore''s and Arthur''s poprity even more.

    "Scared of you?" Arthurughed out loud in front of James and then said, "maybe if you train a thousand years, no, that is thinking too highly of you."

    James had a fire burning inside of him after hearing that. He did not believe the difference between the two was that high, especially when Arthur had no mana in his body at all.

    "When?" James asked.

    "Tonight? I n to leave with my girls soon, so I will check with Signy and Helga to find an arena. Are you okay with it?" Arthur said, passing by James, who had the urge to punch him in the face.

    "Good, good. The sooner, the better!" James said.

    He left after that encounter, and the rumor about the duel spread across everyone inside the school, and they all had one thought, "does James wants to die?"

 Chapter 329 Impossible To Win

    Eleonora was finishing packing her stuff for the trip when she heard a noise from the door. It was a knock, and she hoped the person responsible was Arthur.

    She stopped what she was doing and went to answer. Arthur was behind the door, and what he had to tell her was rather funny.

    "How are things going?" Arthur asked.

    "I am almost done. What is up with your smile?" Eleonora said.

    "Remember James? Your friend from the training field? He challenged me to a duel tonight after he saw meing to your room."

    "What? You are joking, right?"

    Never did she think James would do something so stupid. Eleonora thought about going to talk with him and prevent the duel, but he was the one who challenged Arthur, so perhaps there was nothing she could do about it.

    Arthur used Eleonora''sfy bed as his resting ce while she finished getting everything she needed. Then, when she finished it, it was time to look for Signy and prepare for the duel!

    When the two left the dormitory, an arena appeared in the middle of the school. It was nothing more than a vast square made of stone with some ces for a crowd to sit around it to watch the show.

    The most strange part was the students who were already waiting for the fight. Maybe they were also curious about what type of power the founder of their school had.

    A gorgeous woman came toward them as soon as they left the dormitory. The beautiful woman was Signy, who said, "Arthur, the arena is finished, but what is up with this duel? Who is the crazy ass student?"

    Signy could not believe it when she heard the rumors in the school about a tenth circle mage called James, who challenged Odemore''s founder to a duel. It was so absurd. Signy thought it was a joke, but it was happening!

    Arthurughed and said, "the challenger has a crush on Eleonora, and he got pissed when I hugged her."

    "Men..." Signy said.

    Two more hours passed. Eleonora and Signy were ready to leave for the central continent now that all the matters had been solved. Everything was more rxed after Helga took the position, as she was someone Arthur and Signy liked, and the students did.

    All students sat around the arena, waiting for the exciting fight they would soon watch. James was already there, looking as fierce as a wolf in the middle of the arena.

    No one believed he had a chance of winning; only he did. Everyone screamed when Arthur slowly walked toward the arena with Eleonora apanying him!

    Arthur did that to make James angry and ignite his hidden talent, or at least make him work harder.

    "Are you ready, kid?" Arthur said as he stared at James.

    They needed a referee for the fight, and Signy was the one who would take the position. No oneined, and the only thing left for the battle to start was the two fighters.

    James pulled out two swords behind his back and said, "I am always ready!"

    He was someone who specialized in meleebat, like a battle mage, and that was something that gave him lots of advantages when fighting other mages. Even though everyone said Arthur was strong, he did not believe his body was the same!

    "You can be a stronger mage, but I am a stronger fighter!" James thought.

    If Arthur knew James'' thought, he would roll on the arena,ughing like crazy. The strongest aspect of Arthur was his body, and James believed otherwise, which would shock him deeply.

    "If you two are ready, I will count to three and begin the fight."

    James and Arthur nodded in response.

    "3..."

    "2..."

    "1..."

    "START!"

    With a clear strategy, James rushed toward Arthur when the fight started. He wielded two sharp swords, and his body produced an incredible speed, which surprised most of the students who were watching.

    As for Arthur? Even if he got hit by all of James'' attacks, his natural resistance would block them, making him leave unharmed. What could he do in such a situation? Well, y with his opponent, and let him see the difference between the two.

    Arthur took out from his magical pouch a small dagger made of fine materials and considered a treasure even among rank 2 mages, but Arthur often used it to cut meat or ce butter on his bread.

    The dagger was ordinary looking, so James ignored it when Arthur took it out, continuing to focus on his barrage of attacks.

    A quick sh from James'' left sword, another one with his right sword. Fast as lightning, sharp as the teeth of a beast, and deadly as poison. James attacked with everything he got, yet all were blocked by a small ordinary-looking dagger, which was so fast wielded it could stop two swords simultaneously.

    No matter how many attacks he sent, all of it was useless in front of Arthur. James had sweat dripping from his forehead as he jumped back to create some distance between the two to think about another n.

    It shocked everyone present, but what Arthur said next surprised me even more!

    "I can defend using my hands to make it easier for you. Also, do you want me to blindfold my eyes?"

    "Are you mocking me?" James said.

    James was a prideful person, and losing in theirst exchange of attacks hurt his pride. But hearing a sentence like that from his opponent hurt even more.

    After hearing such a thing, how could he call himself a mage, a fighter? No matter how hard he trained, he was still weak.

    "You think you work so hard yet are weak, right?" Arthur said.

    "Look, James. I epted such a childish request of yours to show you the difference between you and me! Perhaps you can be considered a strong student here, maybe one of the strongest, but in front of me, you are nothing,"

    "I am not being cocky when I say that; you must know I am a rank 3 mage, and there are only two rank 3 mages in the entire PLANET, not a continent,!"

    "How are you supposed to win against me? I can tell you have great talent, and one day, when you get stronger, we can have a proper duel where the odds are equal." Arthur said.

    Not a lot of people knew Arthur was a rank 3 mage. For them, he was just someone strong, maybe a rank 1 mage or something simr, as they had never even seen a rank 2 mage before.

    But rank 3? That fact took them by surprise; even James could not believe it. If he knew Arthur was ahead of him, he would never challenge him for a duel.

    "I- Can you take myst attack? After taking your precious time with this duel, the least I can do is show you everything I have!"

    "Good, that is what I like to hear. Come!"

    James changed his stance, bending both knees, a magical circle appeared behind him, and his body was enveloped with lightning!

    It was his final attack, and James hoped it could at least scratch Arthur.

 Chapter 330 Returning To The Central Continent

    Arthur was surprised after noticing James'' main element was lightning, like Jane. His entire body had thundered, increasing his speed to an astonishing level.

    James focused on melee fighting, and his attacks were already fast by nature, and now with a spell enhancing his speed, it went to an entirely new level. He dashed toward Arthur, and the thunders around his body went to his swords, too, increasing their power by adding elemental damage.

    Not a single student could see his movements, and even Signy, a rank one mage, was impressed by how fast he was. Sure, speed was not the only thing one needed in a fight, as there were many variables, but a surprise attack with that much speed would surely bring trouble to any mage.

    It was not a bad move, and Arthur was sure no student beneath the rank one would be able to avoid it, but in front of him, it was still child''s y. Arthur could see James perfectly, and that was without using his Emperor Eye.

    "Take this!!!" James yelled, jumping and binding his two swords together, sending a powerful double thundery sh.

    When it almost hit Arthur in the face, he moved his right hand, blocking the spell quickly. Even after colliding with the force of the attack, Arthur did not move a single inch, standing tall like an unmovable mountain.

    James knew it would not hurt Arthur, but he expected his attack to have more effect, maybe moving Arthur away from his original spot. If he managed that, it would be worth it in his eyes.

    Arthur saw his defeated face and said, "your attack was incredible, kid. I can say with certainty that no other student can block it."

    These words brought James back to reality and gave him a feeling of happiness. It was an unforgettable experience to hear the strongest magepliment you.

    He would never forget that moment, and his anger was long gone. There was no reason to go up against Arthur.

    "Now that I think off, Arthur never did a thing, so why was I angry with him? I should use this experience to grow stronger!" James thought as he bowed toward Arthur in a sign of respect, admitting his defeat.

    The two of them exchanged a few words, and James left to ponder about the fight. As for all the students present, they were now sure Arthur was indeed the strongest mage around. It was gone after the battle if anyone else thought of challenging him.

    Everyone dispersed when the show ended, most returning to their dorms to rest and study, preparing for the next day of ss. Signy and Eleonora had packed everything. After saying goodbyes to Helga, the trio left Odemore during the night, going toward the portal leading them back to the central continent.

    "How long will it take for us to reach this portal?" Signy asked.

    Arthur wished his anchor spell was ready to use, but the cooldown was not short, so they had to travel without its help. Well, he nned on using his teleport skill to shorten the distance.

    "Can you twoe closer, please?"

    He did not answer the previous question and instead asked them another, making both girls confused, but they did as he told them. Then, when they got close to him, Arthur grabbed each one using one arm and said, "hold on, ''cause we are about to teleport!"

    Their vision blurred, their surroundings shifted between different locations, like when traveling fast, and the scenery kept changing. So when one teleport was over, Arthur used another one, and another one, until he ran out of mana, which would take a long time.

    "Finally, it stopped!" Eleonora said, holding her stomach using her hand, afraid she would throw up.

    Signy was in a simr situation, but it was slightly better for her because she was a rank-one mage.

    "When my mana recovers, we will keep doing this. If we follow this routine, we can reach the portal in three days." Arthur said.

    Just like that, they reached the ind in three days, as Arthur stated. He was used to using teleports, so for him, it was not a big deal to travel in that style, but Signy and Eleonora praised the heavens when they reached the destination.

    "Remember, we still have to pass through the portal, which will be like the teleport but a lot worse."

    "Can we rest?" Both girls said, but Arthur threw them through the portal and followed right after.

    "I will kill you!!!"

    Their screams and threats did not scare Arthur at all. There was no time to waste, which is why he did what he did. What awaited them at the other side of the portal was the Forbidden Forest, a mysterious ce Arthur wanted to explore, but first, he had to deal with this demon continent threat.

    "Woah, this ce looks incredible," Eleonora said as she gazed at the immense trees surrounding them.

    The scenery was so gorgeous that the two girls forgot to throw up or punch Arthur in the face, not that he wasining.

    "Wee to the central continent! We must leave this ce because it may be dangerous for you two." Arthur said.

    He led the way out of the Forbidden Forest with the two beautiful girls following him closely behind. Eleonora and Signy were tired, so Arthur decided to rest for a day in the vige Elena came from, using the only inn avable.

    Arthur wanted to get more than one room, two if possible, one for him and one for the girls, but only one room was avable, so the three ended up staying in the same room.

    Of course, the room only had one king-sized bed, and Arthur was a gentleman who let both girls sleep on the bed.

    "I can sleep on the ground."

    They felt terrible after seeing him sleep on the ground, but there was nothing they could do about it, as the bed would not fit the three of them.

    "Good night, Eleonora, Signy, "Arthur said, putting a few nkets on the ground to make it softer.

    "Good night, Arthur," they said in unison, falling into a deep sleep after three days of teleports.

    ~~~~

    The girls slept for an entire day! Arthur got up, wandered around the vige, talked with Elena''s parents again, and even helped a few farmers, yet the two girls roared inside the inn''s room.

    He even bought them breakfast, but it turned into lunch as they got up from bed hours after he bought it.

    "Good morning, sleepyheads. You will eat this cold food due to yourziness." Arthur said.

    Signy and Eleonora understood what he meant as they both woke up feeling sluggish, which could only mean they slept too much.

    "Is it a problem?" Signy asked.

    It was clear that Arthur was in a hurry, so they felt terrible after making him wait for too long, but he did not look angry, which made the two rx.

    "Don''t worry about it. Eat, take a shower, and then we can leave afterward. Our first step is the Odemore of the central continent."

    "But what about my father? I want to see him!" Eleonora said.

    "He is close to Odemore."

    "I see, good, good."

    Arthur waited for them to be ready, and all he could think of was his next journey, his next adventure. He would have to travel the sea into an unknown continent, which was exciting!

 Chapter 331 Family Reunion (1)

    The trio left the vige after Signy and Eleonora finished eating and showering. Odemore was their destination, and after both girls begged for a regr journey, not one made entirely of teleports, it would take quite some time.

    Arthur tried to understand their point of view, and anyone who visited a foreign ce wanted to know it better. So even though traveling by carriage would take a lot longer, it was a period they could rx and enjoy.

    It was cheap to get a carriage, and any town offered the service, so they only walked a short distance until reaching the nearest town. After that, all they had to do was look through the carriage''s window, feel the refreshing breeze on their face, and appreciate the scenery.

    "Look, I never saw a bird like that!" said Eleonora, pointing toward a tree where a bird was making its nest.

    Everything differed from continent to continent, so it was customary for them to see many animals which could not be found anywhere else but there, on the central continent.

    Arthur felt better after seeing both Signy and Eleonora happy with their new adventure, lightening up his mood and making his thought about the demon continent go to the back of his mind.

    Another thing Arthur noticed was the number of dark mages and bandits'' attacks, which was almost close to zero! Sure, it was stillmon to see bandits attack carriages, but it was not that frequent, like when the war was still happening, and that was only for the bandits, as the dark mages were not showing their faces anymore.

    The fact meant the situation in the central continent stabilized, the war was officially over, and both sides were recovering. A more significant threat could be on the horizon, waiting for them to rx to end their miserable lives, but at least one of their problems was long gone, and that was better than nothing.

    "Holt!" A voice came from the front of the carriage.

    Arthur''s coachman stopped the carriage after seeing who spoke those words. They were official mages and ones from a new special squad created by the Archimage.

    That squad was responsible for checking the carriages to ensure no illegal businesses were going on and looking for any dark mages. No one wanted a surprise attack like what happened in thest war.

    The mages got closer to the carriage, and one of them said to the coachmen, "who is the person using the carriage?"

    Their tone was not a friendly one. Arthur was unsure if that was because the coachman was just a regr human or because those mages thought too highly of themselves.

    He got out of the carriage and appeared in front of those mages, saying, "I am the person who owns this carriage. Is there a problem?"

    Although Arthur''s name was famous throughout the continent, and he was considered the strongest mage and a hero, not everyone had a clear picture of his face inside their minds.

    "We are mages from a special team created by the Archimage, and we need to see all the things you are bringing with you and your identity!" The leader of the mages said.

    Arthur did not feel like losing more time than he already was, and he disliked how those mages were rude to his coachman.

    "My name''s Arthur, so can we skip this whole thing, and you can move out of my way?"

    It was a group of six mages, all with the power of a rank one official mage. They were young, so that made them even bolder and more reckless. They all chuckled when they heard what Arthur said but returned to their serious faces right after it.

    "Please, get out of our way, or we will use force."

    "Use your force; it is not like you can win against me. Come, all of you, against my left army only."

    The sentence hurt the pride of those youths, and they were ready to attack Arthur, but their leader, who was the most experienced of them, quickly caught some details of the situation, and then he suddenly asked, "are you Arthur, the hero?"

    For him, only one person could have the name Arthur and act like that in front of six official mages. He was unsure if his guess was correct, but it was better to ask before doing anything stupid.

    "Yes, that is me, but I will still punish your squad. Is that okay with you?"

    It shocked them, and the leader said, "please, do it, I will do it myself after we get back to our headquarters."

    Arthur liked his attitude, but he still used his mana to send them some pressure, making the entire squad kneel, powerless when in front of such power.

    They had sweat dripping from every pore of their bodies, and they all gritted their teeth in pain. The leader was the only one who did not suffer from it.

    After thirty seconds, Arthur stopped doing it and said, "I will let it pass this time, but be careful next time."

    "Of course, we are so sorry. Can we scout you to the next town as an apology?"

    Arthur knew they were getting near an area famous for their bandits'' attacks, and he did not feel like leaving his carriage to deal with them, so a scouting group was something he liked.

    "Sure, why not?" Arthur said as he turned around, going back inside his carriage.

    Three of those mages went in front of the carriage, and three to the back, protecting the carriage. With such people covering the carriage, Arthur did not need to worry about anything and could rx inside.

    The most surprising thing for him was that some bandits tried to attack them even after seeing six official mages.

    These bandits were either dumb or could not clearly sense the mages'' power, resulting in such stupid attacks. They protected Arthur''s carriage until they reached the next city, where their headquarters were.

    The squad leader promised to punish them as they parted ways after reaching their destination. Arthur did not know if he would punish them, but he had forgiven them after such incredible bodyguard service.

    With that, they kept going until they reached Odemore, which took them ten days!

    Eleonora and Signy left the carriage and had their mouths wide open after seeing the incredible structure of the school. What caught their attention was the protective barrier around it, which they had never seen before.

    "Who did this? Was it you?" Signy asked.

    "No. Sybille, a friend of mine, did it."

    "Impressive."

    When they arrived in Odemore, Jane, Wisa, Sybille, and Elena came to see them!

    "Husband, Eleonora, Signy!" Wisa and Jane said, rushing toward the trio and hugging them.

    The school stillcked students, but now that Signy was there to take control of it, it would soon flourish! She first needed to reach rank 2, but with Arthur''s help, that should not be a problem!

    Eleonora and Signy explored the school and chatted with their friends, but Eleonora had something else on her mind.

    "I loved here, but I want to see someone else," Eleonora said to Arthur in private.

    "Do you wish to go now? It is not that far from here."

    "Yes!"

    Arthur left Signy with Jane and Wisa to learn more about the school and how she would handle it while he and Eleonora left for Ouroboros.

    "Father, I aming!" thought Eleonora, holding on to her tears.

 Chapter 332 Family Reunion (2)

    Ouroboros was not that far from Odemore, and Eleonora could not wait to reach it and meet up with her father after such a long time. Arthur led the way, with her following closely behind, excited for the reunion.

    Like all the other times, a youth from the school was in the vige. The mage was responsible for taking care of the citizens and bringing visitors by boat to the school.

    Arthur was well-known throughout the continent, but even more so in Ouroboros after he disyed skill in that battle. So, when he got near the harbor, the responsible mage recognized him instantly.

    "Demon lord Arthur, it is a pleasure to meet you in person. Come, there is a bot waiting," the mage said, slightly bowing and pointing the way for Arthur.

    He could fly to Ouroboros if he wanted to, and bringing Eleonora with him was no big deal, but why rush? It was not as if the boat would take ages to reach the ind -- it was a short distance.

    Arthur and Eleonora hopped inside the boat with the mage, sailing toward the ind. They were so close, yet it felt like an eternity for Eleonora, who could not wait to meet with Nefion again.

    She yed with her blonde hair, moved her feet uncontrobly, and bit her nails too.

    "Rx, Eleonora. Your father will be waiting for you," Arthur said when he noticed Elenora''s anxiety.

    The student had yet to speak a word after they went on the boat, afraid his words might upset Arthur, but when he heard the word father, he had to ask.

    "Your father? May I ask who your father is?" the student said, shifting his attention from the oars to Eleonora.

    "Nefion. Why the question?"

    That youth froze for a second, and then he said, "Nefion? That crazy old man is your father?"

    He could not believe what he had just heard but seeing that the girl was with Arthur, it was probably true. They kept sailing until reaching the ind, and then they parted ways with the student, who had to return to the vige.

    Arthur knew Ouroboros Ind decently enough, so he took the lead and brought Eleonora to the main building where Nefion often stayed. Many students saw and recognized him along the way, but they mostly said hello and nothing else.

    They went inside the main building, going up the stairs until reaching thest floor, where no one was supposed to go. Arthur and those with him were the only ones who had permission to do so.

    No one stopped him, and he and Eleonora were in front of Nefion''s room in no time. So Arthur knocked, and a familiar voice came from inside the room, "who is it? Arthur? If so, thene in."

    Eleonora did not wait for Arthur to open the door, as she did it herself! Nefion was sitting in the middle of a vast room, meditating, still recovering from thest fight. Then, when he looked up and his eyes met with Eleonora''s, Nefion could not believe it!

    "Oh, my daughter!"

    He was severely hurt, yet he moved as fast as possible to embrace his daughter in a tight hug. Nefion almost died back then battling against Sebastian, and he regretted not seeing his daughter before the end.

    If not for Arthur showing up, Nefion would have to live with that in the afterlife.

    "Father! I heard you almost died, and I wasn''t here to protect you; I- I promise I''ll get stronger!" Elenora said with tears streaming from her eyes.

    Arthur did not want to get in the way of their reunion, so he went to a separate room, giving both more private time. So he took the time to explore more of Ouroboros and even talked with some of the students there, who were eager to know him more.

    But there were two specific students he wanted to talk to Lucas and Liz, the friends he made back inside the Blood Spear Academy, who were now part of Ouroboros!

    "I am telling you, this ring boosts your mana! Just try to cast a spell, and you will see how better it feels," Liz said.

    Lucas focused on his work, which was magical smithing weapons, so he barely gave Liz any attention.

    Ouroboros had a fully equipped station for him, and he started training the first week he came to Ouroboros, improving his craft, just like Liz was doing with her enchanting and jewelry crafting.

    "Why would I use a ring to boost my spells when I can cut my enemies with a sword?"

    "But you cannot rely only on swords to win battles against mages!"

    "I know, and that is why I am forging a bow as we speak!"

    "I cannot understand you, truly," Liz said, shaking her head.

    Arthur watched the scene and found it hrious. They had yet to realize he was there, and both were startled when his voice entered their ears.

    "Yo, my dear friends. You two did not change a little," Arthur said, walking toward them inside the building where most craft stations were.

    "Arthur? You are back!"

    Lucas did it for Arthur, his bro, who never stopped his crafting process; instead, he put the hammer away and met up with his friend.

    "I see you two are practicing the paths we chose back then," Arthur said, looking at the furnace where Lucas was working and the ring Liz had.

    "Yes, we are. What about you? How is your alchemy going?" Lucas asked.

    Arthur scratched the back of his head and said, "please don''t judge me, but I did not start it yet."

    "I know you have many things to do, but our promise is something you cannot break," Lucas said, tapping Arthur on the shoulders.

    He felt terrible for not starting his alchemy, but it was not his fault. Problems kepting his way, and now with this new adventure toward the demon continent, who knows when he would start up his potion brewing?

    "I will start it soon, I promise! But anyway, how are you two? How''s school?" Arthur asked.

    Just by looking at how drastically their strength and crafting prowess increased in that short period, Arthur knew the school had been great for the two.

    "Awesome! Everyone here is cool, and the structure is way better than that of the Blood Spear Academy. Not only that, but people here are nice, different from the dark mages..."

    Arthur and his friends talked for a while about many things, and the demon continent subject eventually came.

    "Can we go with you? I know it is dangerous, but it feels so exciting to explore a ce no human has gone before," Lucas said.

    "Unfortunately, no. It is too dangerous, and I am only bringing a few people, most of who are rank two mages."

    Jane, Wisa, and Sybille were the three people Arthur wanted to bring along with him. He believed only rank two mages could survive in a ce like the demon continent; therefore, bringing anyone weaker than that was asking for death.

    "I see, but you should take care too, brother. We don''t want to see you getting hurt."

    It was refreshing to see people who cared about his safety, and after Arthur spoke with his friends, he was even more determined to deal with the demon continent issue.

    "I cannot let them kill such good people."

 Chapter 333 New Sea Adventure

    Talking with his friends was excellent, but Arthur did not wish to get in their way. Instead, he saw how focused Lucas was in his smithing process, and Liz also with her enchanting, so he wanted to leave them alone to do their own things. After catching up with the news, he left them, returning to Nefion and Eleonora''s room.

    Arthur spent quite the time exploring Ouroboros and talking with everyone, so when he returned to Nefion''s room, the duo, father and daughter, had finished their reunion and were ready to speak about the future.

    "How was the reunion? Many tears, old man?" Arthur said jokingly.

    "Strong dragons like me do not cry."

    "Yeah, sure. So, Eleonora will be staying with you?" Arthur asked.

    Instead of Nefion, Eleonora answered, "yes, I will. Father said he would help me with my dragon powers and mage path. Also, Odemore is close, so I can always go there."

    "Good. Also, old man, do you have any sparing teachers or know some who need a job?"

    "I can fetch you a few. What elements are you looking for?"

    "One for each, if possible. Odemore aims to be the only school that teaches all elements, open to everyone!"

    "Well, with your name backing it up, I know you will get many students. Also, your good rtionship with my school is known to everyone, which will boost it even more." Nefion said.

    Arthur was d the old man would lend him a hand. He had many things to do, including getting Signy on track with everything, such as the new teachers who would arrive and the students. But the most important thing was to prepare for the expedition!

    It would be costly to get the best ship and all the necessary food for such a long journey, but the Archimage said he would pay for it, which was nice. But still, Arthur had many things to take care of.

    "Then I must say goodbyes to you two," Arthur looked through the window with apparent sadness, "I''ll prepare all the things I need for my journey and then leave. I hope everything works for you."

    It was not the end of the world. Arthur could still contact them during most of the journey, but one thing that bothered him was that his anchor spell would not work due to the long distance.

    If something terrible happened while he was away, there was no way of knowing or helping. But the consequences could be much worse if he stayed without leaving to explore this imminent threat.

    He and Nefion were the only ones with the power of a rank 3 mage, and no one else could go but them. Now, the two could not go together, or else the continent would be unprotected, so Arthur was the one who would go.

    Arthur hugged Eleonora and Nefion, leaving Ouroboros afterward and flying back to Odemore, which took him little time and effort. It was time for a reunion with Signy, Wisa, Jane, and Sybille.

    All of them sat at a table inside Wisa''s office ¡ª not thefiest orrgest ce, but it was the only ce they had. Arthur wanted to let Signy know about his ns, including adding new teachers and students for Odemore.

    Not only that but about their expedition, which would surely take years for them to return. During that period, Signy would be the person in charge of both this Odemore and would have to help Helga if anything went wrong on her side.

    "Are you sure I can take this position? You trust me a lot," Signy said, looking at Arthur, Jane, and Wisa.

    "We do trust you. If you need help with anything while we are away, you can go to the Ouroboros School." Arthur said.

    "Ouroboros School?"

    "Yes. It is the strongest magical school on this continent, where Eleonora is with her father, the leader of the school and a rank three mage."

    Signy rxed a bit after hearing that. She was scared of assuming such an important position without anyone around to help her. Still, everything would be much easier if someone powerful like Eleonora''s father were there to help her.

    "Can we still keep in touch while you are away?" Signy asked.

    "Yes and no. We can send messages through my secret mark, but it will reach a point where the distance is too much; therefore, the connection will end."

    That was the case for everyone, not Signy alone. Arthur would be able to send messages until probably half of their journey, but after that, the distance would destroy any form of connection, and they would be all alone. So it was a price they had to pay for going on such a dangerous journey.

    They exined how the school should work and what Signy had to aim for. Also, Arthur told her about Kai and Theo, who would probably leave their respective schools soon, and could help her if needed.

    Everything was settled, and the future looked bright for Odemore ¡ª if the demon continent threat ended. Arthur now needed to speak with the Archimage about the ship and the supplies for the expedition.

    He sent him a mental message and got his response almost immediately.

    "Hello, Arthur. Yes, we got your ship and supplies ready. Could youe to the town of Ront? It''s a town near the north shore of the continent. You know, the demon continent is to the north."

    Arthur was happy to see the Archimage prepared the needed things, so he, his wives, and his maid Sybille left Odemore, traveling toward the northern part of the continent.

    They did not rush the journey, using their time to enjoy every view ¡ª Arthur knew his future was an endless sea with nothing to see...

    But just like everything in life, it ended, and they reached the town of Ront, which wasn''t small or big. Merchant ships frequently visited Ront, but not many mages went there, as there weren''t many exciting things for them.

    The Archimage himself was there, waiting for Arthur by the harbor. Behind him, Arthur saw an incredible ship, well-designed and made with the best materials possible. Arthur did not know, but it was a famous ship of the central continent and was arguably the best.

    "My dear friend Arthur and hispanions! I got you a crew for the journey, but they are below rank 1. I can''t remove too many forces from the central continent, or it could get vulnerable."

    Arthur was not expecting a crew at all, but it was nice that the Archimage provided him with that too! But the problem was how much food they would need to feed everyone?

    "Are you worried about the food? I put it all inside special crates; each crate can store a lot of food, and it does not spoil! You should be okay for at least 10 years, although I believe someone with your power doesn''t need to eat that often anyway," the Archimage said.

    "That much food?"

    The Archimage really put effort into that, and judging by how everything was done so fast, Arthur believed the man had done it beforehand, even before the meeting, as if he knew Arthur would ept the task.

    "So, have a nice trip, everyone. I will take my leave," the Archimage said, flying away from the harbor.

    A dangerous expedition into the sea was about to start, and even though Arthur was scared, he was excited. Newnd to be discovered, and he would be the pioneer!

 Chapter 334 Sybille Joins The Fun

    The crew the Archimage came up for Arthur was notposed of the best mages, but each of the men there knew how to sail and survive in the open sea ¡ª exactly what Arthur needed for a long journey.

    He went on the ship with his wives and maid, interviewing each man to see if they had what it would take for such an expedition. One had a wooden leg and a bird hanging on its shoulder. A typical sailor if one asked Arthur.

    "You all seem alright. Do you know the length and importance of this expedition?" Arthur asked, gazing intensely at the eyes of everyone present.

    The wooden-leg man stepped forward as he said, "I do. We will explore an unknownnd, which will take us years!"

    "Are you willing to go even after knowing the details?"

    "Of course, captain. We are all but small fish here, but maybe we can turn into sharks by your hands," he said.

    That was the right mindset needed to approach such an arduous task, but Arthur was not so confident about turning them into sharks ¡ª he firmly believed they would turn into sharks'' dinners instead.

    Of course, he did not share his thoughts aloud, afraid it would hurt the morality of the crew before leaving the port.

    "I am not confident myself, yet these weak sailors are? My mindset has to change, or I can perish here."

    After the round of interviews, the sailors went to their designed positions, taking care of the ship and preparing it to leave the shore. Arthur and his wives had a private room, miles better than the crew''s small beds.

    "This looks nice," Wisa said as she stepped inside her room, one she would share with Jane and Arthur.

    The walls were of the same expensive material as the rest of the ship, and the fancy furniture, paintings, and candlelights turned the room''s atmosphere into an entirely new level. Arthur loved it, and for the looks of it, his wives too.

    "Are we going to stay here for years?" Jane asked.

    What concerned them the most was the boredom and the extensive time on the open sea. Anyone would feel worse in such an environment, so Jane was not guilty of asking that.

    "Yes, and no," Arthur said, jumping on therge bed and feeling the softnesses on his back. "I believe we wille across many inds along the way. Will they have people living in it? Who knows, but we can still stop from time to time to restore our mental health."

    Arthur knew each stop would make their journey take longer, but no one was a machine capable of enduring such harsh times without a break, especially his crew, who would startining.

    "That is good to hear. But where will Sybille sleep?" Jane asked.

    The rest of the crew was a mix of men and women ¡ª the Archimage knew these people would have other needs after a long time on the sea, so that''s the reason behind the perfect 1-to-1 number of men and women.

    But could Sybille sleep down there? Arthur did not like the idea, as she had helped him a lot by caring for Odemore, so she deserved a better ce.

    Arthur, like a well-prepared mage, took out a nice bed from his magical pouch and cing at the corner of the room. It was a big room, so space was no problem.

    Wisa and Jane gave him a look of ''why do you have that inside your pocket?'' Arthur answered with a," don''t even ask."

    Sybille was content with the bed, even more with the friendly gesture from Arthur and his wives. There was a problem; when the trio of Arthur, Jane, and Wisa exchanged nces, all knew what it was.

    "Our private time!"

    Truth be told, there were not many things to do inside the ship, so having sex was one of the things they nned. But how would they do it if Sybille was there?

    They could do it during the daytime and order Sybille to do something else around the ship. But his two wives had another n, one which surprised Arthur.

    "What? Do you want to add her to our threesome? Why are you two okay with this?"

    Arthur did not know, but Sybille and his two wives got close to each other and became good friends! Wisa and Jane wanted her to join the fun, so who was Arthur to say no?

    Sybille was no youth, and she heard everything they were talking about from the other side of the room. Her cheeks turned red, and she could not believe what she wanted would happen soon.

    Yes, she wanted that! Sybille liked Arthur the moment she saw him, and after bing friends with his wives, she liked them too! She wanted to be a part of this, to be one with them.

    As for Arthur, he also had a strange thought in mind, "is she a grandpa?"

    Sybille was a vampire, and he had yet to know her actual age but based on what he heard and how there were no vampires in the central continent, Arthur knew she was OLD.

    They all settled themselves in their new room, but no sex in the first day, as they still needed to talk it through to see if Sybille would genuinely join them.

    "Captain!"

    "Captain!"

    The crew got excited every morning when Arthur left his room, going on the deck to ensure everything was alright with his crew and the ship.

    All he could see was the ocean blue and the fish that would jump from the water from time to time. The wind was refreshing, and the first week of the journey went smoothly, especially by the eighth day, when the real fun was about to start.

    It was night-time, and most of the crew was asleep, with only a few on the deck to ensure the ship kept moving without hitting anything. Arthur was on the bed with his wives, and things got hotter with their exchange of kisses.

    Their tongues intertwined, sending a pleasing sensation down there. Arthur could not help but to squeeze his wife''s boobs, making the two moan.

    Sybille was lying on the bed not that far, hiding beneath the nket, ying with her pussy. She heard the moans and could not help but y with her flower.

    Things got hotter with each passing second. Arthur and his wives heard a moaning from the other side of the room, and they quickly realized what it was.

    Wisa and Jane smiled, leaving the nkets naked, and walking toward Sybille''s bed. They threw Sybille''s nket away, revealing her gorgeous body, which was half-naked, with her hand touching her clitoris.

    She was surprised as she believed there was no noise from her bed, but it appeared she was mistaken!

    Jane and Wisa grabbed her, took out the remaining clothing, tossing her on the bed afterward. Sybille had perfect white skin, and a unique charm came from her soft long, pinky hair.

    Everything about her was perfect, from the curves to her pretty face. Arthur''s wives were surprised to see such an incredible woman beneath those clothes.

    "Now the real fun begins," said Wisa, licking her lips.

 Chapter 335 Unforgettable Night (R18)

    Sybille was naked, looking at the room''s ceiling. Arthur was beside her and asked, "are you ready?"

    "I-I am. Please, take good care of me," Sybille said.

    Arthur moved down toward her and dived into the middle of her legs with his tongue. When it touched Sybille''s clitoris, she moaned, "ah!"

    He kept moving his tongue circrly, not too fast nor too slow. Sybille loved every second of it, and when Wisa realized she was more rxed, she moved toward Sybille''s head, cing her pussy in front of it, and then Wisa said, "now, you lick it."

    Jane was the only one who was not participating in the fun. "Come here, Jane, I''ll make you feel good," said Wisa, calling Jane to her side.

    Sybille faced up with Arthur licking her, and she licked Wisa''s pussy, who was facing down and licking Jane''s pussy. It was a hot scene, and Arthur loved it, just like all his girls.

    They kept that position for some time, but then it was finally time for Arthur to use his dick, and Sybille looked ready for it, more like begging for it.

    "I am going in, alright?" Arthur asked, and when Sybille nodded in response, he slowly moved his dick inside her pussy.

    "Ahhh, so big," Sybille said, feeling it rubbing the walls of her tight pussy.

    It started out slow, but the thrusting speed kept increasing until Sybille rolled her eyes, and her cute face was long gone, turning into that of a thirsty subus.

    She tossed Arthur on the bed and said, "don''t move; let me do my work."

    Arthur was now facing up with Sybille above him, moving her hips like crazy, like a beast who found its dinner. So he let her do the job, which was fantastic.

    "My turn now, Sybille. Don''t be greedy," Wisa said, taking Sybille''s position.

    Wisa wanted to show Arthur who was the one who could ride the cock better. "No way I''ll lose to her," she thought.

    A night of sex turned into apetition of who could ride the dick better. Arthur had noints about it, enjoying the moment of pleasure. Wisa moved up and down, and her boobs followed, just like the big rounded ass she had behind.

    Sybille saw how skilled the other two girls were and, for a moment, feared she would lose thepetition. But she had onest move, something she was great at.

    "I am an old vampire, so how can these youths beat me with experience? I know what a man loves, and that''s an ass!" Sybille thought.

    When it was her turn again to ride the dick, she took everyone by surprise, riding with her ass instead! Arthur was the type of man who loved anal, so when Sybille did that for him, she won thatpetition.

    "Ah," she moaned as the dick went in her tight little ass.

    Signy had her tongue out, and her eyes moved to turn into a strange expression, one Arthur remembered from his world. "Ahegao?" Arthur thought.

    The feeling she felt while riding using her ass was too good for her to hold. Signy''s legs shook, and she moaned even harder with her orgasm, over and over again.

    Wisa and Jane watched all of it and let Signy do as she pleased until she orgasmed too many times to keep going, falling on the bed, tired. When she was out of the game, it was time for Jane and Wisa.

    They went through various positions, but their favorite was doggy style. Arthur put the two of them into that position and fucked them, alternating between the ass-hole and the pussy. Their fate was the same as Sybille, fucked hard, orgasming so much it was hard to keep going.

    Still, both Wisa and Jane, even after being tired, begged for the cum, both on their knees, smiling and sucking Arthur''s dick.

    "Please, give it to us," they said as one sucked the dick and the other the balls.

    A massive load of cum on their faces, and both licked each other''s faces to clean it up! After that, all of them were tired. But one had to shower after such intensive sex, and it was good that their room had a bathroom too!

    It worked using two magical runes, one to create water from nothing and the other to heat it. Arthur missed the inte and all the technology from his old world, but magic there was starting to do wonders.

    Who knows, maybe on one of thes, mages created something simr to the inte using magic.

    They used the rune to turn the water not too hot but neither too cold, just the perfect temperature for a night shower. They all showered together ¡ª it was big enough to fit even more people ¡ª and returned to their beds.

    Sybille wanted to sleep with them, but it was not like they did not like it, but their bed could not fit four people. Still, Sybille dragged her bed closer to them, merging them and transforming them into a huge bed.

    It was sleep time, and even Arthur, who often slept less than everyone else, decided to take a good night''s rest.

    ~~~~

    Five months passed after that night, and it turned out to be an everyday moment for them, almost every night, or at least one night of sex and the other of rest.

    The crew wanted at least one week off, and Arthur told them to look for a decent ind on their way and anchor there. When he said that, every single crew member had smiles on their faces and felt their captain was a kind one.

    "Ha, if it was ck-beard, he would make us work until passing out, and then he would stop." one of the crew members said.

    "Really? Have you ever sailed with captain Lion''s Crest? He would never stop at all."

    These were the type of conversations happing on the ship''s deck, and Arthur found it funny. They had been sailing for five months yet met few ships on the way.

    When they were closer to the central continent, it was possible to see some merchant ships and even pirates, but now? Not a single one. Arthur knew ships were still out there, especially pirates, waiting for the chance to steal everything they got.

    For that reason, during their entire journey, Arthur kept a close watch on his surroundings, making sure to prepare for any battle.

    "It''s not like they can surprise attack us on the open sea," Arthur thought.

    The crew kept sailing, and on the same day, they saw, from a distance, an ind! Well, Arthur was the one who saw it using his Emperor Eye, but he announced it to everyone on the ship, making the crew excited!

    "Are you sure it is not a continent?"

    "Yes, it is too small, and I can see its shape like an ind, but rejoice, everyone, it is still a win for us. We can rest for a week or more there!"

    It was nice to finally rest onnd and not inside a ship that moved with the waves, making it bouncy and hard to stay at after a long period. So they sailed toward the ind, taking 12 hours to reach it.

    When the ship anchored, and everyone felt the ground on their feet after such a long time, they could not hold their excitement! All of them yelled, happy to see an unexplored ind''s sandy shore and abundant vegetation.

    The crew had around 14 people, plus Arthur and his girls, totaling 18 people. Arthur saw how happy they were but had to take action, so he said, "everyone, I know how happy we are for reachingnd after such a long time, but who knows what could be inside this unexplored ind? Beasts, other humans, or maybe more terrifying things! We have to explore it first."

    When Arthur said that, everyone came to a realization ¡ª it was an unknown ce for them! Anything could be there, watching them from behind the bushes, waiting for a chance to strike.

    "Captain is right."

    But, before going into adventurer mode and exploring the ind throughout, they decided to set up camp near the shore and rest. They had tents inside the ship''s supplies, and with the help of magic, setting up a camp was no problem at all, taking only one hour to set up an individual tent for all of them.

    Arthur had the biggest tent, as he was the captain, and his tent would be home for not only him but his girls too.

    "Now, who wants to go hunting?" Arthur asked.

    Sure, they could use the vast amount of the ship''s food supplies, but those were meant for them to use when on the open sea. So if it was possible to get food using other means, that would be the best thing to do.

    The strongest people there were Arthur, Jane, Wisa, and Sybille. He did not like the idea of all the strong leaving the camp because that would mean the rest of the crew was vulnerable but more important, the ship would have no one guarding it.

    But seeing they knew nothing about the ind, Arthur decided to look for food and explore it simultaneously.

    "No one?"

    All the crew members wanted to rest, so no one volunteered for the hunting team. Sybille, who had nothing else to do, went with Arthur on that mission.

    Their goal was to find food for everyone and learn more about the ind ¡ª an ind with more secrets than the eyes could see.

 Chapter 336 Island Mystery (1) - A Cobblestone House?

    The hunting team turned out to be only Arthur and Sybille, but none of themined. If the rest of the crew needed to rest, then it was fine. Arthur would not be the type of person to be angry at that.

    Sybille walked beside Arthur, and as they went inside the ind''s forest, she asked, "Are we looking for anything specific?"

    "Big animals to feed everyone, and anything suspicious may indicate human activity or another type of sentient species," Arthur said.

    It was an unexplored ind, at least it looked like one, so there was no clear path for them to take, and the vegetation was denser, thus hard to navigate.

    "It smells so fresh? Completely different from the cities," Sybille said, filling her lungs with fresh air.

    The atmosphere was different; fresh air, green, and many animals, mostly small ones. A yellow bird flew passed them, stopping on a tree branch, using its peck to hit the tree in a fashioned manner.

    They were looking for no birds but bigger animals or magical beasts to feed everyone. So, they only looked at the bird with awe but kept moving forward.

    Arthur had a dagger in his hands, useful to cut some of the branches and foliage to open up a path for them. It was the same dagger he used to fight James ¡ª made of fine magical materials, strong enough to cut most things.

    "Look, a boar!" Sybille said after passing through one bush and seeing a boar drinking water from a river.

    She was ready to attack it, as it was an animal capable of feeding them, but Arthur grabbed her right wrist and said, "wait. There is a magical beast inside the river."

    Sybille could not feel the beast, which meant it was either stronger than her in battle power or was stealthy. It was thetter.

    An elongated fish came out from the water, devouring the boar in one gulp. It resembled the mixture of a fish and a water serpent, with sharp teeth and a vast body.

    The beast had the power of a tenth-circle mage, so it was easy prey for both Arthur and Sybille. So he asked Sybille to wait because he was unsure about the level of power of the creature. All he could tell was that there was a beast there, and that was it.

    "This beast is good at hiding. You can go and kill it, Sybille. Its strength is equal to a tenth-circle mage." Arthur said.

    After Arthur assessed the situation, Sybille dashed toward the blue water serpent. Her speed was not bad; it was toote when the beast realized a predator was approaching it!

    Sybille grabbed its neck, tossing it out of the water and preventing it from running away. The water serpent could still live and fight onnd, but it weakened its power, which was not that high in the first ce.

    With no chance of winning, Sybille sent a clean cut to its neck using her nails, killing the beast with one strike. She proudly looked toward Arthur, seeking his approval. He gave her a thumbs-up, which made her crack a smile.

    Arthur went toward the beast''s body, tossing it inside his magical pouch. They could return after that, as it was enough to feed the crew for a week, but he had another task: to explore the ind.

    After that encounter, Arthur knew there were magical beasts on the ind, so he had to know if there were stronger beasts than the water serpent they found or if all of them had simr power.

    Another concern was what could be living deeper in the forest. It was not umon for tribes of humans to live in ces like those, and cannibalism was alsomon!

    "We will keep moving, as we can see in the dark, right? Let''s take advantage of the night to explore this ce," Arthur said.

    There was no reason for Sybille to say no, so they kept going after putting the beast''s corpse inside the magical pouch. But, of course, anyone knew that people often lived near rivers, so following the one they found was a good idea, or at least Arthur hoped so.

    They did just that, following the river, carefully looking for anything strange, and indeed, they found it. Constructions made of cobblestone, old, one could tell just by looking at the vines on it.

    "What is this?" Sybille asked as she passed her hand on the cobblestone.

    It reminded them of a house, or at least the project of one; hard to tell, considering it was long gone.

    "Maybe someone lived here once? There''s only one ''house,'' so perhaps that person was alone?" Arthur said.

    He was only guessing, as there was no proof of anything. "Should we go in?" Sybille said.

    "Sure, we can, but there''s nothing more than vegetation inside."

    The cobblestone house had no door, roof, or walls, one could tell whaty inside without having to do much. Only vegetation and a small snake were crawling between the bushes.

    Still, the old cobblestone house proved a point ¡ª the ind was not as unexplored as they thought. Arthur knew there were only a few unknown ces, but that ind, even if someone had stepped foot there before, could be a long time ago.

    "Let''s keep moving to see if there is something else," Arthur said, and Sybille agreed.

    It was not a tiny ind, so they should be able to find more things. Although nothing happened, Arthur had a strange feeling, as if that ind had much more to share with them.

    After the first encounter with the cobblestone house, Arthur and Sybille found nothing else, and as the night got darker and the crew hungrier, they returned to the shore.

    "Finally, you two are back! We made the fire already!" one man of the crew said.

    They built a huge campfire, making everyone warmer and scaring most predators away. Arthur returned with the food, and the atmosphere turned into one of a festival!

    The crew members worked together to cut the water serpent, taking off its skin and anything which was not edible. After it, they cut a piecerge enough to feed all of them, piercing it using arge stick and cing it above the fire!

    Surprisingly, some crew members explored a small part of the forest near the shore and got some edible fruits and nts, which would go well with the meat.

    One of the crew members whispered to another, "let''s go grab some beer without the captain noticing it."

    "Will it be alright? What if he gets mad?"

    After the quick exchange of words, two of the crew members returned from the ship carrying lots of beers, which caused the scream of others.

    "Yes, that was what I needed, hahaha."

    Everyone was happy, drinking and eating, while Arthur was inside his tent with Jane, Wisa, and Sybille, sharing the information about the cobblestone construction they found.

    "It''s probably nothing to worry about, but we should keep exploring a bit of the ind daily," Wisa said.

    Jane felt the same way, saying Arthur should not worry about it, but that feeling did not leave him, and by the following day, after the party was over and most of the crew were drunk, Arthur noticed something.

    "There are only 13 people, someone is gone!"

 Chapter 337 Island Mystery (2) - Lake Runes

    Arthur did not panic at first, as drunk people could fall asleep in the oddest ces, like peeing or sleeping behind a bush or a tree. Instead, he wandered around the shore and in the nearby vegetation, utilizing his incredible senses to look for anyone who might be hiding, yet there was no one.

    One by one, the crew members woke up, recovering from the drinking spree ofst night, and when they got better or could speak adequately, Arthur asked questions about the missing person, and at that moment, they all realized someone had indeed vanished.

    Panic came but went fast, with Arthur saying he would find whoever went missing and that they should not worry about it. Arthur knew a beast could not have done it, as people would scream, and the beast would probably make a lot of noise.

    It was a human, or at least something simr to it, capable of kidnapping someone from a tent without no one realizing it. Not even Arthur sensed anything, which meant whoever it was behind it was good.

    "As a safety measure, you can stay here on the shore, but at night you all sleep inside the ship. It has a magical formation, and one of the strongest there is, so nothing can go inside after we activate it!"

    The sentence made most of the crew rx, but what was more important was to answer Arthur''s questions about what happenedst night. It was not easy to ask about a night when everyone was drunk.

    Arthur was losing hope until someone approached him. It was the man with a wooden leg and the bird which was always with him, on his shoulders.

    "Captain, I did not drinkst night," he said, making everyone surprised.

    After they tried their best to remember the wooden leg man, they knew he was speaking the truth and did not drink a single cup of beer.

    "What can you tell me?" Arthur asked.

    "Well, the missing person is a girl named Samara, and she left the camp; maybe that''s why she got taken away."

    "What? Left the camp? What do you mean?"

    "I was in that state of almost falling asleep, and then I saw her leaving the camp, going toward that direction," the man said, pointing toward a part of the forest, "that''s what I remember. But, as I said, I fell asleep right after that, and with his wooden leg here, I was not feeling like going after her to ask. Also, what if she was peeing? I would turn into a pervert..."

    What the man said made sense, and although it was not that much information, it was still something for Arthur to use to try to find her. So he decided to leave the camp and explore the direction Samara took to see if he could find something.

    Sybille wanted to go with him again, and he did not find a reason to say no. Wisa and Jane were the strongest, so it was good for them to stay there and protect the rest of the crew if something happened.

    "Let''s go," Arthur said to Sybille as they left the shore.

    They had no idea what could be behind the attack, so all precaution was wee, so they kept their attention at the maximum level, looking for anything suspicious.

    Just like the man said, Arthur quickly found a path of footprints when he went in the said direction, and the footprints led to a bush where Samara probably peed. But, for some reason, after peeing there, she walked further into the woods, and after a few more steps, she was gone.

    The trail ended suddenly as if a giant bird snatched her out of the ground, flying away to its nest. But of course, Arthur did not believe that was the case, but he knew someone had taken her, and that''s why the footprints ended.

    "If I was someone trying to kidnap her, how would I do it?" Arthur thought, looking around to seek inspiration.

    If he was the person behind it, he could jump from a tree, attack her on the back of the head, making her unconscious, grab her, and return to the trees, jumping from one to another, not leaving any footprints behind.

    Arthur looked up and saw a small tree branch, broken in half as if someone had stepped on it, and it snapped.

    Whoever did the kidnapping was skilled, but no one couldmit a perfect crime. Maybe if it were an average person looking for clues, they would find nothing, but Arthur had his draconic body and Emperor Eye.

    Of course, his Emperor Eye, how did Arthur not think about it sooner?

    When he activated it, Arthur saw remnants of an aura, indicating someone had been there and was likely to be the kidnapper.

    He felt dumb for not trying the Emperor Eye before, but during the thrill of the chase, hepletely forgot about it.

    "I got his trace, Sybille; follow me closely," Arthur said.

    She wanted to ask him how he had done it but decided to do so after the situation was over. They kept going deeper into the forest, with Arthur chasing a blue-colored aura. He had no idea where it would lead him or if it would be a dangerous ce, but if he wished to find Samara, Arthur would have to take the risk.

    The trail led them to a waterfall with ake beneath it. Based on the aura, the kidnapper jumped inside that pool of water, bringing Samara along.

    "Why did you stop? Don''t tell me Samara''s body is beneath the water?" Sybille asked.

    She hoped it was not the case, but Arthur had no way of giving her an answer. If someone jumped with Samara into thatke, then it could only mean it drowned her.

    Arthur did not want to jump to conclusions, so he said, "I''ll go inside and take a look. Wait here."

    Sybille nodded and waited near theke''s edge, believing Arthur would find the girl alive.

    Water sshed as Arthur jumped inside theke. It was dark down there, but with the help of his Emperor Eye, seeing was not that much of a problem.

    The blue aura was down there too, and Arthur followed it, just like he did on the surface. He kept going until he arrived at a strange rock with some runes.

    Arthur looked at them and thought they looked simr to something he had seen before. After a few seconds of thinking, he remembered it.

    "The runes beneath theke in Wind Lake-town. But why are those things here?"

    It was the same runes, everything, even their sequence. Arthur could not find an answer as to why these runes were there, but more importantly, he could not read them at all, just like before.

    "One thing I am sure of, these runes are a type of portal." Arthur thought.

    What made him think that was the sudden disappearance of the blue aura he was chasing. Arthur returned to the surface to speak with Sybille about the situation.

    "So? What happened?" Sybille asked the moment Arthur came out of the water.

    "I followed the trace to a rock with some runes I could not read. Also, I remember these runes from anotherke back in the central continent." Arthur said.

    "Runes? What runes? Can I see them?"

    Arthur took out a notebook from his magical pouch, the one he used to record the runes in Wind Lake.

    He did not believe Sybille could help him, as he had searched throughout the central continent, looking for someone who could understand them, yet found nothing.

    "I-I know these runes! They are themonnguage in the demon continent," Sybille said.

    "What? How do you know this?"

    "I am not sure. My memory is a mess, but I understand this," Sybille said.

    Arthur knew whoever locked Sybille down in that crypt sealed most of her memories, and she was still getting them back slowly.

    "Can you go down with me and read the runes aloud to see if something happens?" Arthur asked, and Sybille agreed to it.

    Both dived into theke, with Arthur leading the way. Arthur waved his hand, creating a bobble around their heads, making it possible for them to breathe and speak while submerged.

    Sybille looked at the rock and said, "the mermaids are one with the water, and only a singing voice can enter inside its domains."

    She read it, yet nothing happened. Arthur looked at her and said, "try reading as if you are singing."

    Arthur asked her to do it because there was no way he would sing with his terrible voice. He had no idea if it would work, but it did not hurt to try.

    Sybille did as he told her, and when she sang those words, the runes on the rock shone, and a water vortex appeared in front of them.

    Everything happened so fast that Arthur had no time to react, and both entered the vortex, disappearing from theke.

    ~~~~

    "Do you think everything is okay with them? It''s been hours already," Jane asked.

    "Our husband knows how to handle things, so don''t worry. We will wait here as long as it takes, protecting the rest of the crew and the ship," Wisa said.

    The two of them were inside their tent, and Arthur had left hours before that, so it was customary for them to worry about him.

    They did not know, but by looking for Samara, Arthur found something incredible!

 Chapter 338 Atlantis Alike

    Their vision blurred as the vortex engulfed them. There was no way of knowing where it would lead, but Arthur hoped it was toward the missing crew member.

    It felt like when passing through a portal, but slightly worse, after what seemed like an eternity, Arthur and Sybille ultimately passed through the vortex, reaching an unknown ce.

    "Where are we?" Arthur asked as he looked at their surroundings.

    Water was simr to theke, but Arthur could tell it was seawater and one way deeper. From afar, he nced at a big city with many buildings, just like any ordinary city in thend. What caught his attention was that it was not an abandoned city that somehow ended up beneath the sea but an actual working town with people living in it.

    Well, not necessarily people. Arthur used his Emperor Eye to gaze at the city and saw its citizens ¡ª mermaids and tritons.

    Arthur could not believe what he was seeing, and the first thing that came to his mind was Antis or something like it.

    "Why would they take Samara away?" Arthur thought but could not find an answer, no matter how hard he tried.

    "What can you see?" Sybille asked.

    She noticed the strange looks on Arthur''s face, so she wanted to know more about the situation. The city was far, so only Arthur had a way of looking at it.

    "Mermaids and tritons took Samara; reason still unknown, but we must go there to find out," Arthur said.

    The two of them made their way toward the city, using magic to fly inside the water, making it faster than actual swimming. On their way there, they did not see a mermaid or a triton swimming around. Instead, at least during that period, they gathered inside the city.

    But even though no mermaid or triton was present, many huge fishes circled them, thinking of jumping and eating Arthur and Sybille alive, but all it took for Arthur to send them away was a small fraction of his aura.

    "We are getting closer, and no one knows whether these creatures are friendly. We may assume they are not after kidnapping Samara, but who knows, maybe there is more to it than we currently know," Arthur said.

    When they got close to the city, two males stood at the city''s gate and easily noticed Arthur and Sybille. It was clear they were tritons, but they were on two legs and not with a tail.

    The reason for it was the city itself! A bubble around it made it possible for everyone to live in the town like a city onnd. There was no reason for these tritons to use their tails, as they were on solid ground and not in water.

    Arthur believed they would attack them at first sight, but it seemed these tritons were more friendly than he thought and were surprised to see humans there.

    "Holt. Who are you? And what is your business here? Also, are you two humans?" One of the guards asked.

    No human had stepped inside that city, at least not without the tritons and mermaids'' help. Arthur looked toward the triton who asked him that and said, "I am Arthur, the captain of a crew whose member went missing, and I believe the person is here. As for the human question, the answer is sort of?"

    When Arthur mentioned another human, the guards quickly realized who it was and said, "oh, are you talking about Samara? She is fine, and one of us took her because she was born here."

    "What? You are saying Samara is a mermaid?" Arthur asked.

    "Correct. Can you two wait here while I check with the king to see if you can enter? I believe you two being friends with Samara is enough, but it''s better to check, or else I could get in troubleter," the guard said with a chuckle, and Arthur nodded.

    There was no reason to rush, and based on that exchange of words, these two tritons seemed kind and not enemies. Could Samara indeed be a mermaid and all of that was just a misunderstanding?

    Arthur and Sybille waited for some time before the guard returned and said he should follow him toward the pce to meet with the king. When both of them went inside the city, the tritons and mermaids looked at them with eyes filled with curiosity.

    They looked somewhat simr to humans without their tails, the only difference being their gills and skin color. Most mermaids and tritons had a blueish skin tone, but their hairs varied colors.

    Inside, it was like any other city, with shops, inns, houses, and merchants screaming on the streets. Not only that, but Arthur saw ntations and cattle.

    "How can nts grow here?" Arthur asked the guard, who pointed toward a tower in the middle of the city.

    At the top of that tower was a big bright circle that reminded Arthur of the sun. Yes, that was it; those people made an artificial sun to grow their nts and brighten up the city during half of the day. An incredible feat,  and Arthur was now sure that with the help of magic, one could build a town anywhere.

    Arthur wanted to explore the rest of the city and see what goodies they sold there, but it would have to wait, as they needed to meet with the king. Also, what was with the Wind Lake-town having a portal there too?

    "Are there other entrances to this ce?" Arthur asked the guard.

    He would understand if the guard was unwilling to share that information with him, but the most strange part was that the guard answered without problems.

    "Yes. Our ancestors built many different entrances hidden around the world, but humans were not supposed to be able to read the runes, so how could you two be here?"

    "Yeah, remember I told you we were sort of humans?"

    "Oh, I see."

    The guard could tell Arthur did not want to share that much about himself then, so he did not push further and kept silent while they went toward the pce to meet with the king.

    "This is it. Beautiful, isn''t it?"

    Arthur looked up and saw the vast pce! Like most buildings inside the city, it was made of a blue-colored rock, with monster shells as part of the roof. An exotic design, but one Arthur believed fit well with them.

    More and more guards were there, especially at the pce''s entrance. Arthur scanned them using his superior strength and noticed most of them were rank one mages, with only one being a rank 2, and he believed that was theirmander.

    None of the guards asked any questions as to why these two humans were entering the pce; as the king shared with all of them, some guests would arrive, so no one interrupted them, but they did have some curiosity about who those humans were.

    The insides of the pce were impressive too, and it was almost impossible to tell it was something built underwater; the quality of the ornaments and the furniture was astonishing.

    Arthur and Sybille walked through some corridors but did not enter any of the doors they found. The guard led them to the throne room, where the king waited for them.

    A big double door slowly opened, and there it was, the king. It was a triton with 6 meters of height and a massive body, looking thrice the size of those bodybuilders Arthur remembered from Earth. He had long white hair and a long beard too.

    He wore scaled clothes and wielded a massive golden trident, and Arthur was impressed by that man, but what was more shocking was his strength ¡ª equivalent to a rank three mage!

    Rank 3 mages were like legends in the most vital human continent of the world, yet in the odd ce possible, Arthur found someone with that level of strength.

    "This shows the world is a mysterious ce."

    Besides, the giant man was an ordinary-looking girl, and Arthur was sure that person was Samara, the girl they were looking for. He was even more certain of it after she looked at him and said, "captain! I am sorry I troubled you."

    Arthur guessed Samara''s identity but did not share it aloud.

    "King," Arthur said, slightly bowing in front of the king.

    There were more people inside the room, like guards and those the king trusted who had higher positions inside the city. When they saw the polite manner of Arthur, all of them had happy faces and turned more fond of the human standing in front of them.

    "I am king Nehres Rnsath. May I know your names?" the king said.

    Nehres had an imposing voice, and Arthur knew he was using some of his power to intimidate them. It might have worked with Sybille, who was way weaker than Arthur, but it did not work for him.

    He stood up, making the king shocked, and said, "I am Arthur, a ship captain who came looking for my missing crew member."

    The triton kingughed loudly and said, "what are you all waiting for? Bring some wine and food for my guests."

    With just one word, the king made all the servants, who were watching, start to move and prepare a fart table. Arthur proved to be someone strong, and Nehres respected the strong, especially one on pair with his incredible power.

    "We have a lot to talk about, Arthur. Please sit, you two," Nehres said, gesturing for Arthur and Sybille to sit, and they did exactly that.

 Chapter 339 Karantis

    The table had many foods, but it was mainlyposed of seafood, the city''s specialty. So, Nehres, the king, acted way differently than before, as he was now confident Arthur was powerful enough to stand as equal with him.

    "I am sorry to trouble you, captain Arthur. Samara is my daughter, and she kept it a secret from you. She never believed you woulde after her," Nehres said.

    "I knew it!" thought Arthur.

    He knew Samara had not been kidnapped but went there with someone freely, and they weren''t looking to hurt her. Arthur believed she was one of them, or at least someone they knew, but that changed after he saw her so close to the king.

    The only exnation for Samara to sit beside the king was that she was part of the family, and when Arthurpared the two of them side-by-side, the simrities were there.

    "Why would she think that? I always help my friends, and she is one of them, even if we did not have that much contact."

    "You do look like a good captain. So, what brings you here? Something else or just looking for Samara?" Nehres asked.

    Arthur sat on the table in front of the king''s throne. He grabbed a ss of wine, sipping it lightly.

    "It was just for Samara, but I never believed I would find such an incredible ce. What''s the name of this city?"

    "This is one of the ancient cities, like the long-gone Sky City, but we are still around, alive and kicking. It''s called Karantis!" Nehres said, stuffing up his chest in a proud manner.

    Well, that was unexpected. Arthur had read some texts which contained the name Karantis. Still, the material was scarce, just like the information about the Sky City, one Arthur tried to find a long time ago but never got any decent clue about it, yet Nehres mentioned it.

    "Karantis! I read this name before from old texts, but I don''t know much about it. And what do you mean the Sky City is long gone?" Arthur asked.

    He did not know if asking Nehres about it would lead to something, but it did not hurt to try.

    "You know the Sky City is the legendary city of the dragons, right? If you know that, you must know the dragons are not from this in the first ce, as they are one of the strongest creatures in the universe!"

    "The Sky City is as massive as a, and it''s always moving, but so far up in the sky, no one can see it from the ground. But, many mages are mistaken about it,"

    "Mages believe the Sky City only moves around this, but that is incorrect. The Sky City left this long ago, constantly moving throughout the stars in the universe!"

    Not even Arthur knew about that! The Sky City was as big as the itself, moving around the orbit like another moon! So, that was the reason Arthur found no clues about it; the Sky City was not around anymore and could be anywhere in the vast universe.

    "This is incredible. But why do you remain on this? Aren''t you strong enough to leave?"

    Sybille and most of the others who were weaker and were listening to their conversation gaped their mouths. A city flying among the stars? Leave the? For them, all of it sounded like a pipedream.

    Nehres snorted and washed away his pride, saying, "I know my limits. Power equal to a rank three mage is the highest I can achieve, even if I get out of this."

    Arthur knew it was not easy for a man like Nehres, a king, to say he could not improve his power. It only proved Nehres was a good person and someone who knew when to stop and settle.

    "Nehres," Arthur said, looking at him intensely. He was not sure if he should share that kind of information, but the king of Karantis seemed to be decent.

    "My next goal is the demon continent. I need to explore it and learn more about their''s domination n. Do you know something about them?"

    Nehres got up from his throne and said, "did the demon continent start their moves? I heard they n on taking control of Karantis after dealing with the central continent and all the other human continents. So I was nning to visit the current Archimage to speak about an alliance!"

    Arthur was d to hear that. Nehres possibly had some information about the demon continent to share with him. Still, he was willing to form an alliance with the central continent in the first ce, even if Arthur did not find Karantis by ident.

    "How strong is the demon continent?" Arthur asked.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The room was silent, and the only thing anyone could hear was the breathing sound of everyone in that room.

    "Strong, really strong. The general poption is stronger than that of the central continent. Still, they have fewer numbers, so the central continent and the demon continent are equal regarding the general force, but the real problem lies on something else," Nehres said. Then he paused for a second before disying the following sentence.

    "We all lose to that ce because... they have rank 4 mages!"

    Arthur had heard such stories before about rank 4 mages being present in the central continent, but it was hard to believe considering the low number of rank 3 mages on the entire.

    How was he supposed to win against a rank-four mage? Arthur was already someone who defied logic by increasing his strength at a rapid pace, but even with all of his ''cheats,'' he knew it would take him years to reach that level of power!

    "A decade, and that''s aiming low," Arthur thought.

    The journey to the demon continent would take years, and while being on the ship, it was not the most adequate ce to train when considering the mana density, but he could get a lot of experience with the constant sex with his wives.

    Still, even if that, he was far from being capable of going against a rank 4 mage, and that''s also considering it is a regr rank 4 mage. So if it is a strong one, or maybe a peak rank 4 mage, Arthur had no chance of winning even after reaching rank 4.

    The expedition, which Arthur believed would take a long time, appeared to take longer if he wished to reach a level of power capable of going against those creatures.

    "How many ranks 4 mages are there?" Arthur asked.

    "Well, many different races live in the demon continent. Some races are weaker, having only a rank 3 mage in charge, and some even weaker, having only a rank 2 mage in charge, but the strongest races there have rank 4 mages, so you can expect at least 10 of those."

    "Ten ranks 4 mages, at least!" Arthur said with shock.

    "I don''t know your goal with your mission, but don''t worry about having to fight those mages. They are usually in the dark and don''t act often, plus almost none of them have friendly rtionships with each other; I believe that is one reason the rest of us are still alive," Nehres said.

    Even though there were some rank four mages, most hated each other and were only willing to share the same side of the battle when facing a greater enemy, like a different continent to invade.

    Arthur was confident he would be able to travel throughout the demon continent without getting much attention, avoiding the rank 4 mages while he aimed to reach the rank 4 himself.

    "Is there something else I need to know about that ce?"

    "I wish I could tell more, but I don''t know much about it either. Look, you can count on us to help your continent and all the others. So I''ll go and talk with the Archimage myself and discuss an alliance with him. Here take this," Nehres said, taking out a box with a piece of jewelry in it; a ring.

    "My race and the humans had been friends for ages, and this ring belonged to one of your human ancestors. It has some unknown magical properties that even I don''t know about it, but there''s one thing I know about this ring; it allows the user to speak with other ring users," Nehres said, showing his hand, which had a simr ring on it.

    A valuable magical item, especially for Arthur, who would be far from everyone else. He was happy to receive such a precious little thing and wanted to study it to replicate it.

    What if all his friends and subordinates had a ring like that, like a secret society of mages? It would be easier for them to speak with one another.

    "Thank you for the gift. I wished I had something of equal value to give you. So, Nehres, if I fetch something nice in the demon continent, I will give it to you," Arthur said, picking up the box which contained the ring.

    "I will be waiting for it," Nehres said,ughing.

    Arthur stored the box inside his magical pouch for the time being. He continued his conversation with the king of the tritons and mermaids, mainly about the alliance and the demon continent.

    Nehres gave him a map with all the entrances to Karantis, all around the world, and each continent had at least three hidden. It would be helpful for Arthur to get Nehres''s help, especially after he arrived at the demon continent.

 Chapter 340 Battle Of Beasts

    The talking with the king of Karantis went pretty well, with Arthur getting a mysterious magical ring, more information about the demon continent, and, more importantly, the king''s help in the uing war against the demon continent.

    Arthur''s crew now had one less member, but at least Samara was okay and not in trouble like most believed before arriving at Karantis.

    After the talking was over, Nehres, the king of the mermaids and tritons, left Karantis, looking to go toward the central continent to speak with the current Archimage about an alliance and share everything he knew about the demon continent with them as well.

    "We are now free to explore this ce, which is honestly incredible!" Sybille said as they left the pce, looking at all the other buildings in Karantis.

    They went to every shop, from clothes to weapons, looking for any trinkets they might want to bring before leaving Karantis. Arthur was interested in some alchemy ingredients and a cauldron too! So he went to the alchemy shop and learned everything he could from the vendor, who politely shared all the usages of each ingredient. Arthur wrote and drew each ingredient in his magical notebook, which was starting to look thick with all the information he wrote in there.

    He bought some of the ingredients, but not all, and a cauldron for his alchemy experiments. Arthur still had a long journey ahead of him, so he might as well refine his alchemy skills.

    On the other hand, Sybille was more fond of jewelry, so she bought lots of pearl nes, some rings, and earrings too! Would these things have an actual usage for her? Absolutely not, but she still used her money without remorse, and was happy with the purchase, so who was Arthur to me her?

    After their exploration of Karantis was over, Arthur and Sybille returned using the same portal, going back to theke. They wished to explore more of it, but the rest of the crew, Jane and Wisa, needed to know more.

    "With the map of the entrances, I can return here again to explore," Arthur thought.

    A vortex teleported the two of them back to theke underwater. They were both wet, and Sybille''s clothing was tight on her skin, making it a sight to behold. Arthur saw the tip of her nipples, which got hard after she noticed his gaze.

    "Savage! We spent months having sex in the ship; don''t you get tired?" Sybille said that but had a lewd smile on her face.

    "Shouldn''t we get our clothes off to dry them?" Arthur suggested, and Sybille, of course, epted.

    They got naked near theke, and their eyes exchanged nces for a moment, thinking about having sex there, but they opted not to do it. Arthur and Sybille had yet to getfortable enough to have sex, just the two of them.

    Deep down, they felt guilty if doing it just the two, putting Jane and Wisa aside, so that''s the reason they usually did it all together.

    Arthur used his magic to cast a hot vapor, drying up their clothes without much trouble. After that, they returned back to the shore where their camp was. Nothing unusual happened along the way, meaning it was a stroll in the park for them.

    "Captain!"

    The crew yelled when seeing both Arthur and Sybille in the distance, and when they noticed Samara was not there, most thought about the worse. Arthur gathered everyone, and all of them sat on the sand of the ind''s shore, where Arthur exined the situation. Only after the exnation the crew calmed down and send away all the negative thoughts.

    Still, it was a shock for them as no one knew about Karantis'' existence, much less that Samara was one of them! So it was a surprise, but all of them were happy she was okay, even though Samara would never be a part of their crew again.

    "So we can all rest and enjoy our time here on this ind?" one of the crew members said.

    Arthur returned to his tent after sharing the information with the crew, where his wives and he had a good time during the entire week they stayed on the ind.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    ~~~~

    Nothing special happened during the week Arthur and his crew stayed there, and when everyone had enough rest, it was time to hop back into the ship and resume their trip toward the demon continent.

    Just like that, two years passed.

    Arthur and his wives had not changed much during that period, as they were strong mages who could keep their youthful looks for a long time. He trained in meditation during those two years and had sex with his wives constantly to get experience points and level up, adding up to an astonishing increase in power.

    They significantly improved, with Jane and Wisa reaching the peak of rank 2 and Sybille at the middle of rank 2. With the constant increase in spiritual force, Arthur reached the peak of rank 3, and now he was in the most challenging part of his power-up.

    The top of rank 3 was one thing, but reaching rank 4 was a different beast! Arthur knew his growth would get way slower, even with the help of his system. But was there something else he could use to boost his improvement? Yes, there was, and that was alchemy!

    Arthur did three things during the past two years; meditate, have sex, and practice alchemy! He was not arrogant enough to call himself a master alchemist, but he was sure his knowledge about the field was ranked at the top of the central continent!

    Now, his once calm journey turned into a nightmare! It was nighttime, and Arthur was on the ship''s deck, looking at the stars and chatting with his crew to make them feel better. They were in a location called the demonic sea, known to be the home of strong magical beasts capable of destroying ships!

    Well, ships rarely sailed there, as they were getting close to the demon continent, and that area was mainly unknown to humans. Arthur never believed something would happen to their ship because everyone knew that powerful monsters were usually deep in the sea and not on the surface level where ships sailed.

    But his prediction was wrong! They sailed toward an ind for their usual stop, like when they found Karantis. It happened once after three or four months to ensure everyone''s mood was good.

    This time, though, things did not work out their way. When the ship was getting close to the ind, a beast attacked! It was simr to a massive shark but had a reddish color and two wings!

    It came from the water, colliding its head on the ship, snapping it in half! Everything happened so fast that they had no time to react!

    The crew of which Arthur became friends all died in the attack... Arthur''s ship was sinking fast, and they couldn''t get any resources from it.

    "Jane, Wisa, Sybille!" Arthur yelled, meeting up with his wives on the ship''s deck.

    As for the shark, it was not beneath the water anymore but flying in the sky, looking at Arthur and his wives, who were the only ones alive after the initial attack.

    "Fly away toward the ind! I will deal with this thing!" Arthur said.

    The shark tried to intercept them, but Arthur was ready for it, and he yelled to the shark, "why don''t you fight with someone your size? Or perhaps bigger?"

    He activated his dragon transformation, turning into a massive ck-scaled dragon, colliding with the winged shark, sending it flying away with the impact.

 Chapter 341 Demon Emperor

    A massive ck-scaled dragon collided with a winged shark, and the impact echoed throughout the demon sea, scaring away some of the nearby creatures. It even scared Arthur''s wives, flying away toward the nearest ind, not far from where the ship sank into the water.

    It was no longer a battle between a mage and a magical beast but between two blood-starved beasts! The winged shark flew with the collision, but that was not enough to hurt him badly, so it went toward Arthur with its mouth open, trying to bite one of his legs!

    The shark was giant but not as big as Arthur''s dragon form, and even though they both looked like beasts, dragons were a kind of superior intelligence, especially Arthur, a mage by nature. There was no way Arthur would let the shark bite him that easily.

    When the shark''s mouth was near his right leg, Arthur activated his Emperor Eye, making the enemy''s attack look slower, giving him an edge when dodging it.

    He moved his leg, avoiding the bite, opening his mouth and sending a dragon''s breath toward the shark! Arthur could use a whiff of any of his essences, and he opted to use a fire breath.

    Massive burns appeared all over the shark''s body as the fire breath engulfed him. The fire breath was way bigger when in proper dragon form, and it was so massive it covered the whole shark, which was as big as a mountain!

    Even though the attack was powerful, it was still not enough to finish the shark. It did not fly toward Arthur again and was visibly less aggressive than before. Then, a voice tried to contact Arthur, and he allowed it.

    "Do you want my territory? I ept defeat!"

    It was strange to talk in that tongue, and even though Arthur had never studied, he knew it well, just like when he spoke with Sully! That was one of the perks of being a dragon.

    "Why would I want your territory? I am just passing by, and you attacked my ship and friends." Arthur said.

    Truth be told, he wanted to kill that shark for doing what it did, but there was no denying that the shark had the power equivalent to a rank 3 mage too! Arthur was at the peak of rank 3, so it would be easy to kill the beast in normal circumstances, but not there where they were!

    If the shark wanted, it could go back toward the deep sea, and following after, it would be stupid, as lots of other beasts were down there, waiting for prey to be so stupid to go.

    "You are just passing by? I will return to the sea while you are here and will onlye out after you leave to not disturb you. I am sorry about your friends," the shark said, diving back into the sea, his safe ce.

    "Should I follow it or not?" Arthur thought.

    His heart wanted him to go, but his mind told him it was not the right call, "I can kill him in the future."

    Now that Arthur had seen the shark''s aura with his Emperor Eye, he could follow it no matter where it went or how much time it passed. That was one of the many powers of that strange eye and one useful for future revenge.

    Arthur looked around to see if his wives had reached the ind yet, but could not see them at all, even after using his Emperor Eye.

    "Strange," he thought, flying toward the ind in his dragon form.

    The ind was not the only one around. It was like an archipgo of inds, but the distance between each ind was long, and that part of the sea called the demon sea had tons of beasts, making it a dangerous task to travel from ind to ind.

    "I should return to my human form to not scare the animals around here."

    When Arthur got close to the ind, he could sense something was amiss, and when he turned around, a barrier formed behind it. It was not looking good, but before trying to break the barrier, Arthur wanted to find his wives, who were not there!<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    He looked near the ind''s shore and saw them there, Jane, Wisa, and Sybille. They had passed out for some reason and ended up on the beach.

    The first thing he did was check if they were alive, and thankfully all of them were okay, and all Arthur needed to do was wait a few hours for them to return.

    With the help of his magic, Arthur built a house made of earth and ced his wives inside to ensure they had ayer of protection while he tried to destroy the barrier around the ind.

    Truth be told, he was almost sure his power, a peak rank 3 mage, would be enough to quickly destroy that barrier, and it turned out that was not the case.

    Hell, it was even worse; no matter what attack he used, there was no scratch on the barrier! His final move was to use his devour skill, which always helped him in times of need, and even his cheat skill from the system failed.

    "What? How is this even possible?"

    Arthur did not know, but that ind was not ordinary. It was a myth, just like the Sky City, which belonged to the dragons. In fact, that ind was even rarer, and no one could find it by normal means.

    It might sound ridiculous, but even with a power equivalent to a rank 6 mage, it would be impossible to break the barrier with pure force alone. He was stuck with his wives, and it was up to him to find a way to leave or perish...

    ~~~~

    "What happened?" Jane asked as soon as she woke up.

    Wisa and Sybille had the same questions inside their minds, and Arthur told them about his fight with the shark, but more importantly, they were trapped on a desert ind!

    "Even your power of a rank 3 mage did not scratch the barrier? Let me see it!" Sybille said as she got up and flew toward the barrier to see it up close.

    She returned after some time with a not-so-good face. Even Sybille, who had a deep understanding of barriers, and magical formations in general, could notprehend the one surrounding the ind.

    "We are truly trapped here... Well, let''s think positively. We can maybe find more information about the barrier inside this ind!" Sybille said.

    What she said made sense. The ind they were on was massive, way bigger than most of the inds around that archipgo. It had to have something about the barrier there, as Arthur did not believe they would stay trapped there for eternity.

    "Are you all okay? If yes, we can start exploring this ce and look for a way out!" Arthur said.

    They nodded, so they all left the ind''s coast, going deep into the tense forest, looking for a way out of there. Arthur believed it would take them a long time to find something, but contrary to his expectations, there was a small wooden cabin close to where they originally were.

    "A cabin! Although I believe there is no one there," Arthur said to his wives, pointing toward the wooden cabin.

    Ironically, there was someone in there. A middle-aged man with a long grey beard and hair. It was clear the man had been there for a long time, but the most surprising thing about the man was his strength, which Arthur could not sense at all!

    "Huh? Who are you? Everyone on this ind knows no one can get close to my house! I am the Demon Emperor, after all!" the bearded man said.

 Chapter 342 Nowhere To Go

    The man in front of them, who said he was known as the Demon Emperor, was no ordinary person. Arthur looked at him and could not tell his level of power, and considering how dangerous the sea around the ind was, there was no way that man was weak.

    What could be the exnation, then? Well, it meant the man was more powerful than Arthur, and how much stronger was still an incognita.

    "Who are you, if I may ask?" Arthur said.

    "The Demon Emperor, just like I told you a few moments ago. Are you telling me I am a liar?" the bearded man said, appearing to be displeased with Arthur''s question.

    "No, no," Arthur said, moving his arms in denial, "I believe you. Oh, great Demon Emperor, what can you tell me about this ind?"

    Arthur had no idea if the man was telling the truth, but he still epted the statement as urate to not get into trouble with that unknown man.

    "I will tell you just because you said I am great, okay? Very few people acknowledge that, so I know you are exceptional!"

    "This ind has no name, and it''s been so long since my arrival that I cannot remember it clearly. Well, not that I came here willingly; this is a special prison built to contain me!" the man said.

    When the man said that, Arthur could feel a headacheing his way. It was a man whose power was immeasurable, and considering Arthur tried everything to break the barrier around the ind, and it did not work, he was in deep trouble.

    "What do you mean a prison? Are you a criminal? You look too awesome to be one," Arthur said.

    He understood the man liked to be ttered, and if that gave him answers, he would do it with no problems.

    "Indeed, I did nothing wrong back then! All I wanted to do was clean the reputation of my continent and work with everyone else to make this entire a better ce,"

    "But no, they had to kick me out of my position and lock me in. They wanted blood and world domination, and all I wanted was a better world for my people," the man said.

    Based on what the man said, he was once the ruler of the demon continent. That was the ce Arthur was going toward, and if that was true, then the man in front of him had much valuable information for him.

    "Is there a way for us to leave this ce?" Arthur asked.

    Truth be told, the identity of that man mattered little to Arthur as he had no way of confirming it. The man could mean anything, and there would be no proof to back it up, at least not inside the ind.

    Now, leaving the ind was something Arthur could do, and that was what he wanted to know the most. If he found a way to escape, then finding out the true identity of that man would be no problem for him.

    "Perhaps. I don''t believe in unprable prisons."

    "Out of curiosity, how long have you been trapped here?"

    The man tried to count with his fingers, but then he looked toward Arthur and said, "I am not sure. I stopped counting when it reached around 800 years or so."

    Arthur wanted to cry, and his girls too. The man said he did not believe in unprable prisons, yet he has been there for more than 800 years! So if a jail like that was not hard to escape, Arthur had no idea what it was.

    "So you are saying you tried to look for a way out of here all these years and found nothing?"

    "Sort off. Look, I stopped after a while and came to peace, knowing I would not leave this ce so soon! Also, we are not the only ones trapped here; there are also some tribes here."

    So it turned out that man was not the only one there, and there were even tribes living on the ind. The barrier which trapped everyone was not at the shore, but a little farther into the sea, so people could still fish for food, nt inside the ind, and animals were living there too!

    Arthur believed tribes had the means to live there, so he asked, "these tribes were here before you? Do you know if the barrier was here before you as well?"

    "I believe so, yes. Why do you ask?"

    "Have you ever tried to work with them to find a way out? If they are here longer than you, then they surely know more about this ind," Arthur said.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The crazy bearded man looked at him with a face of surprise and said, "I never tried to do that before. In my mind, if I could not leave, no one on this ind would be able to, but what you said makes sense. What''s your name? You are wise for a youth. I am Zeph, by the way."

    Arthur wanted to punch Zeph in the face but restrained himself.

    "I am Arthur, and these are my wives, Jane, Wisa, and Sybille," Arthur said, pointing to his wives.

    Zeph was not surprised to see someone with more than one wife, which wasmon all around the. He looked at them and said, "the tribes are deeper into the ind. You can go there and see if they can help us. As for me, I will take a nap inside my cabin. See ya!"

    He turned around, walked toward his little wooden cabin, and went inside to take a nap. Arthur thought he would at least go with him to check with the tribes to see if there was a way out or if they knew something, yet he was not so down to it.

    "He''s been here for a long time, so I understand his tirednesses of seeking a way out of here. He probably searched everywhere throughout the years." Arthur thought.

    Arthur would not wait for that man to help him and was ready to look for a way out of the ind alone. So, just like Zeph mentioned, Arthur went deeper into the ind, seeking the tribes which were supposed to live there.

    "Husband, do you think there is a way out of here?" Jane asked as they walked into the ind''s dense vegetation. Wisa and Sybille had the same questions and were waiting for an answer.

    They wanted to believe Arthur would find a way out of that predicament, but when they heard the man speak about many years trapped there, they could not help but feel worried.

    Arthur grabbed their hands and said, "we will find a way out of here, do not worry."

    He spoke confidently, and his wives believed he was telling the truth. When did he let them down? Whenever a problem appeared, Arthur would find a way through it, no matter how unfavorable the odds looked.

    With a positive attitude, Arthur led the way into the forest, looking for the tribes Zeph spoke about, and it did not take long for him to find them.

    Arthur had no idea if there were more tribes or if the one he saw was the only one, but that ce had to have information for him. So he looked from a distance, keeping a low profile, as he had no idea how these people would react after seeing him.

    The tribe was primitive, as expected, and everyone had simply wooden houses with leaves acting as roofs, and most of them wore clothes made of fur or leaves, too, depending on the weather.

    After some time hidden, Arthur could tell their strength did not exceed that of a rank one mage. Even if they were hostile toward Arthur and his wives, dealing with them would be no problem for them, so they walked toward the tribe, trying to look as friendly as possible without any weapons in their hands.

    It did not take long for the tribe members to spot them, and all of them had spears on hand, mainly made of wood and stone, aiming at them.

    A bulky man who looked like the person in charge of the warriors spoke to him in a strange tongue, and after Arthur used his spell, which had manynguages stored for him to pick up at any time, nothing came out of it!

    Well, it made sense. If Zeph said he was there for more than 800 years, and those people were there before him, then whatevernguage they spoke was an ancient one that was not avable for the mages nowadays.

    The man kept speaking, and Arthur could not understand a single thing, just like his wives. So he tried to use his hand to make signs for them, but it was not working as expected! Arthur was starting to get worried until an old shirtless man appeared to confront him.

    Everyone stopped talking when the man came, and with that, Arthur could tell the man was the tribe''s chief, someone they all respected and would never interrupt him.

    "Even if he is the chief, he will speak the samenguage, so what use does this have?" Arthur thought as he looked toward the old man, the only rank 1 mage inside the tribe.

    But, when the man spoke, it was not thenguage the others were saying, but it was also one Arthur did not know.

    "I cannot understand you..."

    Arthur was feeling down, but then Sybille, behind him, said, "Arthur, I know thisnguage! It is themonnguage spoken in the demon continent!"

    Just like when Sybille read the runes to enter Karantis, she was again using his knowledge about thatnguage!

 Chapter 343 Clues About The Barrier

    "Can you understand me?" the tribe''s chief asked.

    Arthur could not understand a single word, but Sybille went to his side and said, "I can understand, and I will represent my husband in this conversation."

    It was strange to hear two people talking yet not understand it, making Arthur feel uneasy, but Sybille quickly said to him, "he asked if we could understand him, and I said I could."

    Arthur nodded and waited for the chief''s following, or better, questions.

    "Who are you? How do you end up on this ind? And what do you n on doing next?"

    The chief talked respectfully, as he was the only one in the tribe who could grasp Arthur and his wive''s powers. It was not something the tribe could take on.

    "We are mages from another continent, and our destination is the demon continent, but our ship died from a beast attack, and we ended up stranded on this ind. Our next and only n is to leave here as soon as possible, but there''s a barrier surrounding the ind, preventing us from doing it,"

    "So we came to explore the ind, looking for something to help us, and found your tribe," Sybille exined.

    She told almost everything to them, taking out only the part where they met Zeph, who sounded like a crazy person.

    The chief went silent after hearing what Sybille said, pondering about it. He could feel she was telling the truth, so he felt pity for them, who were so unlucky to end up in such a ce.

    "Follow me. We can discuss more things in private," the chief said, walking away toward the most prominent house in the tribe, signing for them to follow him.

    Arthur understood the meaning of such actions, so he followed the older man toward his house, his wives with him. The warriors who had their weapons aimed at them turned them down, as they saw their chief did not see those people as enemies.

    Even though it was the most prominent house in the tribe, it was still rtively simple, as those people did not have many supplies to build things. So the tribe''s chief sat on a mattress, facing Arthur and his wives, ready for a conversation.

    The man was silent, so Sybille took the initiative to ask, "do you know something about the barrier? Is there a way for us to leave?"

    "First things first, I am Jhenazal, and you?" Jhenazal said.

    "I am Sybille; this is Arthur, Wisa, and Jane," Sybille said, pointing at them to make it easier for Jhenazal to differentiate.

    "Nice to meet you all. Now, about your question, we have some theories, but it requires some specific things, and we may not be able to do them,"

    "Our tribe lived on this ind for more than one thousand years, and we discovered some things during this time,"

    "The barrier gets slightly weaker during a full moon, but our recordings stated that it gets even weaker during an eclipse,"

    "But it seems that strength alone is not all it takes for the barrier to open. One must have lunar power, which no one has had for a long time. The full moon and eclipse part is one hundred percent true, but the rest is only theories."

    Even though these people lived there for a long time, they did not have the resources to study the barrier. After all, they were on an ind without connection to the outside world.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    After Sybille heard everything, she tranted what the man said to Arthur, Wisa, and Jane. When Arthur heard about lunar power, the first thing that came to mind was the bluebird hidden inside his body! Ikarus was once the bird that carried moons and was one of the few beings with lunar power.

    Ikarus told him that, but Arthur was unsure if the bird had given him some lunar power or if it would wake up to help him. After Ikarus used his power to help Arthur reach rank 3 using the inheritance from the Blood Monarch, it went to slumber.

    Years passed since that asion, yet Ikarus was nowhere. Arthur knew it was alive because he could feel its presence, but that was it. So he would have to wait for an eclipse or a regr full moon and hope he had the power to break the barrier.

    Sybille looked at Jhenazal and asked, "do you know when the next eclipse is?"

    "You guys arrived at a good time; it''s six months from now, but even with the eclipse, there is no way of knowing you will be able to break the barrier."

    "I see."

    They talked about other things, like where to get food and if there was a ce they should avoid on the ind. So Jhenazal said they would have to hunt for their food, as all the animals and ntation were for the tribe only, and he had to feed them.

    As for a dangerous ce on the ind, there was none. The ind itself and the water inside the barrier waspletely safe. It had some animals that could attack them, but no magical beasts.

    He said they could leave anywhere, but not inside the tribe. It was not as if he did not like them, but the rest of the tribe would be uneasy, so it was better for all of them if they stayed away.

    Jhenazal even mentioned an abandoned wooden cabin near the shore that they could use.

    "They don''t know about the existence of that Zeph. This generation of humans only? Or he never showed his presence to any of them during all these years." Arthur thought.

    They left the tribe afterward, returning to the simple house where Zeph lived. Unexpectedly, he was not there! Where could he be trapped on an ind? Arthur even questioned himself if Zeph was real or just a hallucination.

    "What should we do next?" Wisa asked.

    Now they knew when the barrier got weaker, and Arthur knew someone like Zeph would have noticed such a thing, especially after spending that many years there. So, strength was not the only thing needed to break the barrier!

    If Zeph, who was way stronger than Arthur, could not break the weakened barrier, then there was no way he would be able to. So with that in mind, Arthur hoped there was something else to it and that he could crack the barrier.

    "First, we must find a ce and build ourselves a home. There are six months until the next eclipse, so we need a ce to stay and grow food. After that, we must find the secret to break the barrier within six months!" Arthur said.

    They agreed to it, and all roamed the ind, looking for a ce to build a home. The chosen site was on the other side of the ind, near the shore, but it still had a small pond of water for them to use.

    "We can cast magic to fill this thing with water anytime, and fishing will be fun!"

    An ind survival challenge wouldst six months, with their final goal to break the barrier. Should it be an easy task for them to survive? Right? Or it wasn''t that simple?

 Chapter 344 Four Legendary Creatures

    The house took them one day, built mainly with wood, one of the only resources on that ind. As for the roof? Different types of leaves created a reliable top capable of enduring heavy rains and wind.

    It looked simr to the houses of the tribe, but Arthur had one thing they did not have: decent furniture! His magical pouches had many things inside, and clothing, furniture, and valuable items were among these things.

    One never knew when the time to use such things woulde. So being prepared was always the correct answer. With their shelter done, food and fire weren''t that much of a hustle, as they could easily aplish such things with the help of magic.

    "We are good for now, so our goal is to find a way to break the barrier when the timees!" Arthur said as he and his wives sat inside their little house.

    Six months was the time they had to find the answer, and Arthur hoped it was enough. "We should be safe on this ind," he said, but things were not as easy.

    They went to sleep that night inside their house. Nothing happened between Arthur and his wives, as they all were tired, and resting was their priority.

    Arthur was lying on his bed, looking at the rooftop, taking longer to fall asleep, so that was the reason he was still awake even after his wives had entered a deep sleep.

    Then, something strange happened. Arthur heard a voice inside his head. It was impossible to understand what was said, but it meant something.

    "What is this?" he thought, getting up from his bed, and trying his best to follow the voice.

    He pinched himself to see if it was a dream, and it was real and not a dream at all! Arthur left his newly built home, and the voice led him to the shore next to his house.

    It wasing from beneath the water! Arthur did not like that, but he did not feel any powerful creature underneath the water, so what could it be?

    There were only regr fishes down there, and Arthur was sure regr fishes could not send mental messages. Also, with that powerful bearded man living on the ind, there was no way he had not felt as if a powerful creature was living underwater.

    "Well, let''s dive and hope for the best!" Arthur thought as he jumped inside the water, following the strange sounds inside his head.

    The deeper he went, the clearer those sounds were, until a point he could understand them! It was the standard monster''s tongue, the same one Sully knew. It tranted to "help."

    A beast was down there, calling for help. Arthur did not know if it was a trap, but he had to check it. If it was a dangerous creature near them, then he had to be the person to go after it, making sure to protect his three wives.

    "Where is iting from?" Arthur thought.

    With the help of magic, he swam like a bullet, trying to find the source of the voice, but when he did find it, Arthur could not believe what he was seeing.

    "This is... this is..."

    A massive turtle head! Its neck was long, and when Arthur was standing in front of its face, he noticed the entire ind was on the shell of that turtle!

    "T-This is massive!"

    He had never seen a beast as big as that; the most impressive fact was its hidden aura! No one knew the ind was a beast, not even the Zeph, leagues above Arthur.

    Arthur stopped in front of the turtle''s head, prepared to use his teleport to leave that ce if the beast did something.

    "I can not believe someone finally came!" the turtle said.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Its voice was hoarse, like a wise elderly teaching the younger generation.

    "Who are you? I heard you ask for help," Arthur said.

    The turtle nodded, creating huge waves on the water, "yes, I did. You are the first to understand my words! No one else on this ind knows thenguage of the magical beasts. I wonder, are you even human?"

    Arthur knew thenguage because he was a beast, but he did not feel like telling the details to an unknown giant turtle.

    "Why do you need help? Did you know you are an ind now?"

    "Yes, I do. My slumber took more than expected, and an ind formed on my shell. Someone put a barrier around me when I was ready to leave and swim free on the sea."

    The turtle was another victim of whoever ced the barrier there. But, like everyone living on the turtle''s shell, there was no way for either of them to leave.

    "Do you know something about the person who put this barrier? I am trapped here, too, and wish to leave. Also, do you know someone called the Demon Emperor?" Arthur asked.

    That beast sounded wise and was undoubtedly an old creature who had seen and heard many things during its life. If he could extract any information, it would be a way for both sides, as the turtle had no way of moving.

    "Those who trapped me are unknown, but I know they are not from this, just like me. About the Demon Emperor, well, that is the title given to anyone who rules the demon continent. Such ruler changes every two hundred years, and the requirement to be the Demon Emperor is the power of a rank four mage."

    Arthur was in deep thought after he heard what the turtle said. He was not sure if Zeph was telling the truth or not before, but now he was sure of it!

    Zeph was probably the Demon Emperor 1000 years ago, and they kicked him out of the position because he wished to work with the other continents, which was something none of them approved! That was why someone trapped him there, but who could it be?

    Zeph was at least a rank four mage when that happened, and even if lots of rank four mages got together, it would be hard to trap someone easily, especially with such a barrier, which would surely take a long time to create! Zeph had been on that ind for 1000 years and got stronger, yet he could not break free.

    Someone stronger than a rank four mage helped, so it could only mean it was from another, just like the turtle said.

    "You are from another? What are you doing here?"

    "I can''t you that young man, I am sorry. But I need your help to break the barrier so all of us can leave!"

    "What do you have for me?"

    "The people behind this barrier used an eclipse to power this thing, so when another eclipse happens, the barrier gets weaker, and that is the perfect time to obliterate it!"

    "But there is a problem. To destroy this thing, one needs the power of one of the four legendary creatures, the moon power of Ikarus!"

    Arthur''s heart beat faster, and he asked, "what do you mean?"

    "Well, Ikarus is the only being I know that has the moon power. He is one of the four legendary creatures like me! We are all brothers. Ikarus carried the moon when younger, and I carried a, so my power is the World''s Essence!"

 Chapter 345 Worlds Essence

    The turn of events took Arthur by surprise. He never expected the strange turtle down there to be one of the four legendary creatures! Not that he knew much about those beings, but Ikarus was one of them, and Arthur knew him.

    "If I can somehow break the barrier, would you reward me with something?" Arthur asked.

    "Well, I don''t believe you can unless you have the moon essence, but that''s impossible. So, hypothetically, if you break the barrier, I can grant you the world essence."

    "You swear? No going back on your words?"

    "Are you doubting me? Brat, I can give you the world essence right now, as it will not matter if you can''t leave this ce."

    The turtle did not like someone doubting its word, so it decided to give Arthur the world essence before they even tried to escape!

    It did not matter, as even with the world essence, Arthur would not be able to leave, and if Arthur broke the barrier, then the turtle was automatically free too.

    "I can sense you have two great bloodlines on you, so I believe you can easily absorb my world essence, but I don''t think you have the power to use it properly."

    Arthur could not hide his smile after gaining a new mysterious essence from one of the four legendary creatures, plus information about how to break the barrier, which was using the moon essence, something he already had! A win-win situation for him.

    A bright ball came out of the turtle''s brain, and it flew toward Arthur, entering his body. He felt extreme pain when his body tried to absorb the world''s essence, just like when he got the moon essence from Ikarus, but it was way more powerful, at least one hundred times!

    But, unlike when he got the moon essence, Arthur was now a rank three mage, making his body worlds apart from what it was, so even though the pain was way higher, it was still within his capabilities to withstand it.

    "Wait," the turtle said, realizing something while transferring some of the world''s essence. It realized something, but it was toote, as the world''s essence was already inside Arthur''s body.

    "Y-You have the moon essence, brat! How do you have it? Even I can''t find Ikarus; he vanished long ago!"

    It seemed that Ikarus was well hidden inside Arthur because not even that powerful turtle, his brother, could sense him there.

    "I met him once, and he liked me, giving me the moon essence. Now I have the world''s essence, too, hahaha!" Arthur said.

    He was unsure about the powers that essence would grant him, but it was from beings far stronger than the Monlog Giant or even the lord of dragons himself! It had to be something good, and even if it took Arthur a long time to use it, it would still be worth it on his path to the peak!

    "You pranked me, brat, but it means we have a chance to leave this ce; I cannot believe it!"

    "I am called Turquoise, and you?"

    After knowing Arthur possibly had the key to their freedom, the turtle treated him more respectfully than before. Arthur did not mind the change of attitude and was happy to get another power to his arsenal.

    "Arthur. Where will you go if I can break the barrier when the next eclipse happens?" Arthur asked.

    "I will leave this and finish some unfinished businesses. Don''t you worry; I am sure we will meet again in the far future."

    Arthur hoped the turtle would not cause any trouble, but it was not as if he had a choice. He had to break the barrier to leave, automatically freeing the turtle.

    "I see. Do you have any clues on how to use the moon essence? I never trained with it before."

    Turquoise was Ikarus'' brother, so it probably knew at least something about the moon''s essence.

    "Just like the name suggests, you should try to feel it during the night. Also, you have to be outside, feeling the moon on your body, and Ikarus once said if you are starting, being naked help."

    "Let''s see if it works. The next eclipse is in a few months, so I need to get good at it before it happens."

    After that, Arthur returned to the surface, to his cabin near the shore. He did not want to wake his wives, so he stayed on the coast, one hundred meters away from the house.

    The moon essence matter was urgent, and because of that, Arthur wanted to start training as soon as possible, beginning that night. So he took off his robes, putting all of them near a tree, using it to hide his magical pouches, as he could not lose those.

    "Being naked in the open is... strange, but good at the same time. I feel free and connected to nature."<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    It was not something that frequently happened, as Arthur only got naked inside private ces with his wives, and he was almost always inside cities, not a good ce to get naked in the wild.

    But inside a desert ind? That was one of the few perks Arthur saw in being trapped there.

    He ced a towel on the sand to sit without worrying about crabs pinching his parts. Arthur looked to the moon, which was notplete but crescent, and concentrated on it as hard as he could.

    Arthur could hear the sounds of all the animals who lived on the ind. The roaring of the tribe members could not escape his ears too.

    "So beautiful," Arthur said, looking at the moon.

    People often never took a moment to see the moon, fell its moonlight, see the sun, and feel its heat. Small animals or big ones, small trees or big ones, everything around had a unique beauty, yet some people never stopped to realize it.

    Just like how people only cared about cellphones and the inte back in Arthur''s world, in this world, some people only thought about magic, training to get stronger, not stopping for a moment to feel the incredible nature around them.

    "It does not matter the world, the universe, people are always the same, it seems. Giving more attention to what does not matter and forgetting the things right in front of their eyes."

    Arthur was there to train, but a moment alone in such a quiet and beautiful ce made him think about many things. He had nothing back on Earth, but in that new world, he got lovers, friends, and, more important, a goal!

    People counted on him. Entire continents could end without his braveness to explore the unknown and fight against the''s most powerful beings.

    It was up to him to fight against the demon continent, so no matter what happened, Arthur had to find a way out of that ind!

    "Only those who see the moon can use its essence!" Arthur thought.

    With just a thought, one of his eyes changed as he activated the Emperor Eye. He could see the auras of all creatures, of all things.

    The moon did not escape his gaze, and Arthur focused all of his vision toward the moon, zooming it so much he could almost see it clearly, like a telescope.

    Arthur sat cross-legged in a meditative state during the night. It was like a daydream, and he did not see the hours pass. He only returned to reality after the moon was gone and the sun rose in the sky.

    "I did not feel the moon''s essence, but I believe I was in the right way."

    Jane, Wisa, and Sybille were still sleeping, so Arthur wore his clothes again and went there to see them. They slept like babies on the soft bed.

    "I should prepare a breakfast for them," he thought, leaving their house to look for food.

    What could they eat? Arthur searched for a source of meat, and the easiest to get was fish, so that was what he did. So with the help of magic, getting those fishes was easy, and Arthur filled a basket of them.

    After that, he ventured inside the forest, tasting all the fruits and vegetables he could find to see if they were poisonous. It would be a dumb move if it were someone else, but Arthur was immune to those poisons.

    He filled one basket with fish and another with fruits and vegetables, which were safe to eat. It was the best one could find inside that ind, and even though Arthur wanted to get the potatoes the tribe had, he would never steal from them.

    "Would they give me some so I can nt them?"

    That was something for him to do at another time. So he returned to his house and got some wood around the area to rebuild the campfire, which fire had long extinguished.

    The next time was to clean the fish, which was not a difficult task for him, and it took him fifteen minutes to clean all the fish he got. Then, he put them on the fire and went to wash the fruits and vegetables.

    Arthur then used his wood magic to create a table with some chairs right in front of his house. His wives woke up while he did that, but by that time, the fish, fruit, and vegetables were ready to eat.

    He even made wooden tes, knives, and forks for them, looking like a rustic breakfast.

    "Good morning," Arthur said when his wives left the house.

    "Did you make all of this for us? Thank you, honey. It seems like we will have to repay you this morning, hehehe," Jane said, and the three of them had lewd smiles on their faces.

 Chapter 346 Wives Destroyed (R18)

    The breakfast was only the first part of their morning. Jane, Wisa, and Sybille ate with happy smiles, "this is delicious," they said, loving the kind gesture their husband made for them.

    When Arthur did that, he only tried to make them feel better without asking for anything in return. But his wives had other things in mind.

    "Our husband is a good cooker, so what can we do to please him?"

    After breakfast, they all waited for the food to digest, and then Jane gave them the idea to swim, seeing that the sea was right in front of their house, and not going there would be a waste.

    Arthur watched his wives change from their day-to-day clothes to bikinis, showing their big boobs and ass. Jane had a purple one to match her hair, just like Wisa had a red one and Sybille a pink one.

    All of them had perfect curves and had the body type Arthur loved, big rounded boobs, a great ass, wless skin, and, of course, a beautiful face capable of driving any man crazy.

    They were perfect in appearance, but that was only a tiny part of why Arthur loved his wives. All of them were funny and caring and had helped him during his most difficult times, willing to believe in him, even when all the odds said the contrary.

    It was hard to find someone like that, and Arthur found three! Maybe luck and fate were indeed on his side in that life.

    "Let''s go to the beach, honey," they said, running first, making sure Arthur saw their boobs bouncing and cute smiles.

    When they got close to each other, Jane threw water on Wisa, and quickly all of them sshed water against each other, creating a fun and beautiful scene.

    Arthur had all types of clothes inside his magical pouch, so he got bathing underwear that looked decent enough to use on a beach. He changed and followed his wives, who were already swimming in the sea far from the shore.

    "Wait for me, you cunning foxes," Arthur yelled, swimming toward his wives, trying to catch up.

    He did not know it was all a trap set by his wives. When he was close to them, Sybille appeared behind him and grabbed his arms, trying to hold him in ce.

    "What is this?" Arthur said, moving his head, seeing a lewd smile on Sybille''s face.

    "Now, Jane, Wisa, take off his underwear and suck his dick!"

    Wisa and Jane used their magic to freeze a small part of the water, creating a resistant ice capable of enduring many attacks.

    Sybille threw Arthur on the ice, making him sit on the edge of it with only his feet touching the water. Arthur then looked down at the water, and two faces came out. It was Jane and Wisa who were pulling his underwear off.

    Although they were on a block of ice, it was not cold, probably due to some other magic, and it was evenfortable, better than on the ground.

    "Don''t move, honey, and let us torture you," Wisa said as she spat on his dick and put it all inside her mouth.

    The noise of something hitting deep on her throat entered everyone''s ears, but there was no one around to interrupt them or watch.

    "Give me some, too," Jane said.

    She used her right hand to grab Arthur''s cock from Wisa''s mouth and put it all inside her throat, more profound than Wisa to show her skills.

    "I can suck his dick and balls simultaneously; look, Wisa, Sybille."

    Jane kept going with her neck until the balls were inside her mouth too!

    "Dayum girl, I cannot do that," Wisa said.

    Wisa was genuinely impressed by that skill, and as for Sybille, she watched everything with saliva dripping from her mouth.

    "I can''t take this anymore!"

    Sybille, who was behind Arthur, holding his arms, stopped doing that, and instead, she went with her pussy toward Arthur''s mouth.

    "I will suffocate you with my pussy, and you have to lick it to escape," she said.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Arthur liked the situation, so he grabbed both her legs and moved his tongue precisely, hitting the right spots to make Sybille go wild.

    "Yes, right there."

    She had shaking legs, and her eyes were white as she rolled them backward. Sybille lost herself with orgasms. If there was something she loved, that was it.

    While that happened, Jane and Wisa did the work with their tongues and throat until Arthur cummed on their faces.

    Both of them smiled, licking the liquid. They loved it and knew it was only their morning''s start.

    "Look, it''s even harder than before," Wisa said, using her hand to grab Arthur''s dick and use it to p her cheeks.

    They pulled Arthur into the center of the ice, and they took turns riding on his cock in the cowgirl position. The way they moved their hips was an art, and the warm and wet feeling of their pussies was something Arthur enjoyed and loved.

    He creampied Jane''s and Wisa''s pussy.

    "Oh, this warm liquid inside me is so satisfying."

    Arthur''s wives controlled him on the sex, riding, sucking, and doing everything they wanted, but on their times. He wished to take control and show them a hard rough fuck.

    He waved his hand, sending a wind to make the ice tform float on the water, returning to the shore.

    "What is this?"

    His girls could not understand, but then some vines from the trees near the shore moved, locking their hands and feet. They could not move, and Arthur was in total control.

    "Let me see who gets the punishment first... Sybille, you," Arthur said.

    She had been the one grabbing his arms back then, so she had to be the first. The vines moved, making Wisa and Jane watch the scene in front of them.

    Apletely naked pink-haired girl, locked in a doggy-style position.

    "Here I go!"

    Arthur spat on her ass and fucked her. He moved like crazy, not stopping a second. Sybille was getting destroyed, yet she loved each second of it.

    "More, please. Destroy my little ass-hole," Sybille moaned.

    Wisa and Jane were getting hornier while watching the scene, but they could not move their hands, so it was not possible for them to y with their pussies.

    They had to watch and endure. Liquid dripped from their pussies, hitting the ground, catching Arthur''s attention.

    "You two cannot wait to get destroyed too."

    Sybille had her ass all red with p marks, and her ass-hole got demolished and creampied three times. Her pussy shared the same fate.

    "Thank you, husband," Sybille said as her body dropped to the ground without any strength.

    The orgasms took away her energy, but it was worth it in the end, as she had a big smile on her face, cum dripping from her holes.

    "You two are next."

    Jane and Wisa could not wait, and both wanted to go first, so Arthur said, "Wisa will go first today, but the next time you will be the first, Jane."

    Two more beautiful girls got demolished on that shore, and Arthur showed them who was the person in charge.

 Chapter 347 Moons Essence

    After the excellent sex, Arthur exined the gigantic turtle situation to his wives, but he did not hide many things from them, and Arthur felt it was essential information for them.

    "So we have a way out of here?" Jane asked.

    Arthur was lying on his bed, looking at his roof, "yeah, I need to learn how to use the Moon Essence before the eclipse happens."

    The turtle had exined to him the best way to train, but Arthur was still unsure if he would be able to reach a decent level in the short period he had.

    He could feel the Moon''s Essence was different from other essences. It was more powerful, more vtile, and more brutal to learn. Even with his talent, he was not sure if it was possible, but Arthur would still try because that was the only way they would leave the ind safe and sound.

    With that, Arthur''s training began. He and his wives would still have a good time together, but only during the day, as the night was his training time. Not a single day Arthur would not go out during the night, get naked, and try his best to feel the Moon''s Essence.

    When it was a full moon, then Arthur would try even harder, as it was the best time of the month to train. Zeph, ''the Demon Emperor,'' never appeared again, making Arthur wonder if that was an illusion or if the man showed up when they got to the ind the first time.

    Days, weeks, and months passed, and Arthur could not feel the Moon''s Essence at all. He was starting to lose hope, but it happened one night when he was naked by the water pool near his house.

    Arthur started to feel something different, like a new power entering his body. It was the first time he felt something simr, and he understood it when he noticed his body shining brightly like the moonlight.

    "The Moon''s Essence."

    It took Arthur four months to reach that point, which meant he had two more months before the eclipse to get good at using his Moon''s Essence.

    "What can I do with this?" Arthur thought, moving his arms, looking at them to see the effects of the moonlight.

    The moonlight attached to his body, so Arthur tried to get a weapon to see if he could use the moonlight to boost its attack or something like that.

    Arthur took out the dagger he used in daily tasks such as cleaning fish and other animals, then tried to concentrate and gathered all the moonlight around his body toward the knife.

    At first, it did not work, but then Arthur saw the tiny specks of light flying toward the dagger, making it shine. The weapon''s appearance was not the only thing it changed; its aura too! Arthur could sense a strange power behind the dagger and be eager to try it.

    "Let''s see how strong this thing is," he thought, flying toward the shore.

    He had the perfect thing to test the dagger''s power: the barrier surrounding the ind! Arthur stopped before the barrier ¡ª still far as it was not needed for him to get too close to it ¡ª and then performed his attack.

    A quick sh, so fast not even rank three mages would see it. If someone looked from afar, they would think Arthur was crazy to be shing in the air, but right after it, the moonlight around the dagger formed a massive sh of a silvered color, which flew toward the barrier.

    It was even faster than the first sh, and when it came in touch with the barrier, a massive explosion echoed, and the ind seemed to be shaking.

    Boom Boom Boom

    The people who lived in the vige could not understand what was happening, and for a moment, they thought the ind would disappear.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "What is this?"

    Everyone was confused and scared, but someone was happy inside, even if its features did not show. It was Turquoise, the turtle, who could not believe he felt that familiar energy from Ikarus.

    "That brat did it! We have a chance!"

    Even though the moonlight sh was extraordinary, it only cracked the barrier, even with the full moon shining on the sky. Arthur could only use one of those attacks, so the only way to leave was to wait for the eclipse.

    "Still, this is a good sign! If I can make the barrier look like this now, then I should be able to destroy it during the eclipse."

    He was confident he would make it, but only time would tell. Jane, Wisa, and Sybille woke up with the noise, and when they went to check, they saw the cracks in the barrier and smiles formed on their faces.

    "You did it, husband!"

    They always believed in him, and like most of the time, he did not disappoint them. Arthur was proud of himself, and now all he had to do was wait for the eclipse.

    ~~~~

    The remaining two months passed. Arthur kept his routine even after getting the Moon''s Essence, as practice would help him use the essence more efficiently and create even more powerful attacks.

    Not only that, but he had to recharge his essence to use those attacks, so meditating during night-time was now something he would do every night, even if only a little.

    Arthur and his wives were sitting on the shore, waiting for the eclipse to happen. The tribesmen were also inside their tribe doing the exact same thing.

    As for Zeph, Arthur tried to look for him the day before the eclipse yet found nothing, not even a clue about the man. He even went down to speak with the turtle to see if it knew something about that man, but Turquoise said, "I have never seen such a person."

    More and more, Arthur felt like Zeph was a ghost, but that was not something he could think about. Instead, he had to focus all his energies on breaking the barrier, finally leaving that ce.

    "You can do it, husband," his wives said.

    Then, it happened. The moon and the sun merged with one another, which was the moment Arthur had been waiting for since the day he learned about it.

    Unlike before, Arthur did not get his dagger, but the mysterious ck sword, which was something from his Monlog Bloodline, was his most potent weapon, so he would use it to break the barrier or try it.

    Arthur''s body shone with a silver light, and then all of that light flew toward his sword, mixing the ck of it with silver. The weapon was beautiful, but the most important part was its power, which was extraordinary!

    Anyone could feel how potent the weapon was; even the tribe''s chief felt back inside his tribe. Then, Arthur did the same as before, stopping before the barrier and preparing for his attack.

    A sh, one with precision and mastery, capable of ending the life of any man or beast. But could it end the life of that barrier? Arthur moved his sword up and then shed down, sending a vertical moonlight sh toward the barrier.

 Chapter 348 The Demon Continent!!!

    The moonlight sh hit the barrier, shooking the entire ind with the impact. It was stronger than thest time when Arthur was just testing the waters, and now even more cracks appeared on the barrier.

    Everyone felt the powerful force behind the attack, but the turtle deep in the sea was the one who was the most excited to see the barrier break. Turquoise had been there for a long time, and it was finally time to be free and leave that.

    "Please, work!"

    That was the thought inside Arthur''s wives, who wanted to leave that ind for good. But it was not only them who had that thought; the tribesmen also did, as they wished to see the rest of the world.

    Arthur looked toward the barrier, watching the cracks increase, hoping it would work. He could not use another moonlight attack even if he wanted to, which was their only shot because the next eclipse would take a long time.

    After what felt like an eternity, the barrier broke! The moment it happened, a colossal st echoed, entering the ear of all the humans and beasts over a range of fifty kilometers.

    "I-It fucking worked!" Arthur yelled, unable to hold his smile.

    His time on the ind with his wives had been good, but being trapped there went against everything he wished. Arthur wanted to go out and explore and had an important task ahead of him. An entire continent needed him!!!

    "Yes! Finally!" Jane, Wisa, and Sybille yelled with him, flying toward him for a hug.

    The four of them hugged each other in mid-air, and it was at that moment a gigantic turtle head came out of the water. Its neck moved, and the turtle was facing them.

    It was way bigger than Arthur or his wives, and just the eye of that turtle had the size of a building!

    "You actually did it, Arthur. I am impressed and happy to be free again. Tell me, is there something you need before I leave this?" Turquoise asked.

    Arthur had given the turtle its life back, its freedom. He looked at Turquoise, thought for a while, and then said, "there are two things I need. Would you hear?"

    "Go on."

    "First, I was hoping you could ride us to the demon continent; our ship broke, which would help us greatly."

    "No problem. With my speed, you will reach the demon continent way sooner. Now, what is the next thing you need from me?"

    "Ikarus told me his brother is in danger, the bird who carries a sun. He asked for my help in the future, but when the timees, can I count on you?"

    "Ikarus asked that? Of course, I will help them even if you are not here anymore."

    With that, everything worked out for Arthur and his wives! Sure, it was a tragic thing his crew perished in that attack, but it was good that they got themselves the help of such a mighty creature.

    The tribe''s chief went to meet with Arthur after he saw the gigantic turtle head, afraid the beast was there to attack them, but it turned out the turtle was on the ind!

    It took some time for him toprehend its meaning, and now all of them would go together toward the demon continent!

    Turquoise looked at the tribe chief and said, "the demon continent is dangerous. After I bring Arthur and his wives there, I can transport you to a safer ce. Is that okay?"<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "Thank you."

    The man bowed in retribution and wanted to kneel before the turtle, but Arthur stopped him. "We are all friends here, so there is no need for this," he said.

    While they were talking, a man with a long beard and a ragged robe left the ind like lightning. No one sensed his presence. The turtle was the only one capable of doing that, but its power was sealed for a long time, so Turquoise was still recovering it.

    With the barrier problem out of the way, it was time for Arthur and his wives to return to their task ¡ª head toward the demon continent.

    The ship they had before was fast, considered the best one in the central continent, yet it was nowhere near the speed of that turtle.

    Arthur guessed that the journey, which would still take them three years to end, would diminish to an astonishing six months! That was how fast the turtle was, and Arthur was delighted!

    "We will reach the demon continent way sooner than expected, giving us more time to gather information and move against them!"

    Turquoise could speak mentally with Arthur; along the journey, he shared lots of information about the demon continent.

    There were many races living there, and some of them were the most known ones, with a rank 4 mage in charge. Surprisingly, there was a race of humans there! They weren''t exactly like the humans Arthur knew, but that was because of the type of magic they used.

    Another famous race was the werewolves and vampires, who surprisingly were present on that and on many worlds. When Turquoise spoke about the vampires, Arthur decided to keep it a secret from now, but he had a guess Sybille hade from that family of vampires!

    Arthur had never seen a vampire before, and they did not exist on other continents, so it was safe to say Sybille was either from the demon continent or another. Still, Arthur believed it was the first option.

    The demon continent was a mix of different races with their own cultures and beliefs. Arthur now understood why it had been so difficult for them to unite and fight against theirmon enemy.

    "This will be beneficial for us. If we get the help of some families there, then we will have an ally inside!"

    A civil war! It was a smart move and one that would work well in the demon continent environment. Arthur thought about many things while on the way, and just like that, six months passed!

    It was a regr morning, just like all the rest, but it marked a change, a new thing on the horizon. Everyone living on the turtle''s shell could see from a distance a massive piece ofnd ¡ª the demon continent!

    Arthur could not believe he had finally reached his destination in record time. Turquoise could not get too close to the continent, or else the people there would notice a strange floating ind, so he stopped far from it.

    "Remember everything I told you about this ce, and make sure to fit in," Turquoise said.

    Arthur and his wives hopped out of its shell, flying in mid-air, saying goodbyes to Turquoise, who had helped them a lot! Then, they turned around to face the demon continent and slowly made their way toward it.

    There was no way of knowing if it was a decent part of the continent to arrive at or if it was packed with guards waiting for someone to invade their continent.

    "We should turn invisible when close, just to be sure."

    It was finally time for Arthur and his wives to explore a newnd filled with mysteries and dangers.

 Chapter 349 Lizardmen Village

    The massive piece ofnd had a mysterious feeling to it. Arthur could not tell why but felt that way by looking at it from the horizon.

    "Do you think there will be enemies waiting for us?" Sybille asked Arthur as they all flew toward the continent.

    It was hard to say if there would be enemies, but Arthur could see through his Emperor Eye that there was no such thing as guards waiting for them. That particr spot of the continent looked rtively empty.

    "I don''t sense anyone, so we should be fine. Let''s cast our invisibility spell now," Arthur said.

    Arthur did not feel anyone, but he still used his invisibility spell. All of them did, just in case. Who knows? Maybe a hidden assassin waited for them there.

    They got closer to the continent andnded on it without many problems. Arthur scanned his surroundings and saw that thend looked simr to the central continent, way too identical.

    "Looks good. We must first find a vige or city to get information and mingle. Remember what Turquoise said about the humans here, right?"

    The demon continent also had humans, and one of these human families was one of the strongest rulers in the demon continent, having a rank four mage. But what differed them from all the other humans? First, they were ruthless and killed those who deserved it without a problem.

    Secondly, they usually fought using swords, spears, and so on. And, what differed them the most from all the other human mages was the type of magic they practiced; Transfiguration Magic.

    It was a subject that had little study in the central continent, and no mage could cast it at all! Arthur was deeply interested in it, seeing he also used this type of magic when transforming into a dragon.

    "It could help me power up my transformation."

    Finding suitable clothes and weapons to look like human natives of the demon continent was no problem ¡ª Arthur had all of that inside his magical pouches ¡ª but learning Transfiguration Magic was a whole new story.

    They had to learn some of it before going into the major cities, or else people would get suspicious about them, and then it was game over. Arthur was not feeling like going up against many rank four mages, as that would only result in his death.

    "We need to look for a remote ce and try to learn some Transfiguration Magic before going on with our mission," Arthur said.

    His wives nodded in response, feeling like it was an appropriate stateing from him. So, they chose to follow the muddy road near the shore they had just arrived at.

    They had two directions to choose from, left or right. After a quick vote, they went right, walking up the muddy road, looking for a vige or something.

    It was moreplicated than they thought. While walking on that muddy road, there was no vige, and many magical beasts jumped from the surrounding forest to attack them. A nightmare, one could say, and the only good part was that the beasts weren''t strong.

    Not only the vegetation looked simr to the central continent, but the magical beasts too! Arthur had read many books about beasts, and he recognized each one of the beasts who attacked him.

    That should not be possible at all! Arthur was sure no book mentioned the type of beasts living in the demon continent. In fact, all the information about that ce was a mystery, and people never went or left that ce.

    Theorize while looking for a vige was all Arthur could do, and after four hours, they finally found a vige! When they got close to it, Arthur and his wives saw that the habitants of that vige were lizardmen, living not only near the sea but a massive swamp too!

    "This is the first time I''ve gotten inside a lizardman vige!"<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    While traveling to the demon continent, Sybille took the time to teach them the generalnguage of the demon continent, the one she had used before.

    Each race had its own culturalnguage, but there was one that all knew. That way, none of the races lost their inheritance, yet they could speak among each other without problems.

    Not that they often spoke to each other, as most living in the demon continent were selfish and did not like outsiders getting inside their space.

    Arthur knew little about the lizardmen, but contrary to their fierce looks, they were kind and weed humans to their vige without problems.

    "Ryumans! What brings you here today?" a lizardman said.

    The way they spoke humans was funny, but Arthur restrained himself from making jokes. He looked at the enormous white lizardman in front of him and said, "we have been traveling for quite some time. I was hoping you could give us temporary shelter? We can help with the vige duties!"

    Arthur wanted to make sure the lizardman felt confident when talking to him and did not see him as someone who could lie or, worse, destroy their vige while they slept.

    He even proposed to help them with the vige duties, like farming, fishing, hunting, and other things. The lizardman seemed to like them, so he said, "no problem. If you keep your promise, you can stay here as long as you want."

    So, Arthur and his wives could stay in the lizardman vige as long as they kept helping. It made sense, as no one would want people who would only eat and do nothing to help.

    "Thank you! What is your esteemed name?

    "I am Hattami, the chief of this vige!"

    "You can call me Arthur, and this one is Jane, Wisa, and Sybille," Arthur said, pointing to his wives as he said their names.

    After they spoke with Hattami, all the other lizardmen around went to talk with them, curious to see humans there. They got to know themselves better, but Arthur and his wives did everything to keep their identities secret because if the information leaked, they would die.

    Although Hattami said they did not have to help on the first day, "you are tired because of the journey. Rest first," Arthur did not feel like it.

    Jane, Wisa, and Sybille opted to rest in one of the empty tree houses avable in the vige. They built houses at the top of the swamp trees. It was not the most beautiful sight to wake to, but it felt safe.

    Arthur, different from his wives, wanted to go out and help the lizardmen. But, for him, it was also a way to learn more about the environment, the other races, and the demon continent.

    Like in all tribes and viges, some lizardmen hunted using their own crafted weapons. Arthur was among them, trying to fit in. He had to help them track and gather more information without showing too much of his skills.

    "Here, take this spear," one lizardman said, giving Arthur a stone spear.

    Arthur said thanks and wielded that on the hunting. He was not feeling like showing them his other weapons, and it was also a sign of respect to the lizardmen tribe to use their own weapons.

    After all the preparations were over, eight lizardmen and a human left the swamp, looking to hunt for food. They did not know, but the rival vige would get in their way.

 Chapter 350 Lycans!

    "We are tracking a Chakal! These are smart creatures, and they live together, so it is even harder to get them," one lizardman said.

    Arthur left their vige with eight other lizardmen, looking to hunt for food, and the area did not have that many types of creatures, and the Chakal was one of the only ones.

    Chakals were like giant hyenas, and the most troublesome part was that they lived together in groups, so it was harder to kill them, but if you did, you would have a lot of food to bring back to your vige.

    It was strange to see lizardmen working together with a human; the demon continent was way different than Arthur expected. Sure, the lizardmen could be the exception and were the few kinds, but what if all the other races were too?

    "Look, this is the footprint we are looking for. See that there are lots of them? I assume this is a group of 12 Chakals."

    The lizardmen knew how to hunt, and they knew their surrounding area, making it impossible for those Chakals to roam free. One of them had already found footprints, and based on its analysis, it was a group of 12 Chakals, higher than their group, which had nine members.

    Arthur was not worried at all about the disadvantage, as he believed these weak beasts would not pose a threat to him at all. Instead, they kept following the track until meeting a group of Chakals, with the exact number the lizardman predicted.

    "Formation!" the leader of the lizardman said.

    They all had a battle formation prepared, and Arthur did not know it, as they did not share it with him. He was there without much coordination with them, but with his power, the situation was alright.

    He separated from the formation, and when the Chakals noticed someone was alone, they rushed toward Arthur, pouncing and trying to attack him with their sharp ws and fangs. Out of the 12 Chakals, five went toward Arthur.

    "Come, you stupid beasts," yelled Arthur, wielding a stone spear.

    With swift moves, he dodged the attacks using sidesteps and acrobatics. He moved gently on the battlefield as if he was flying. That was the perk of high agility, which was way higher than those Chakals.

    Arthur chose one of them and vanished, appearing right before the Chakal, who could not understand how a human was so strong. With his right hand, Arthur pierced the stone spear right into the beast''s belly, quickly reaching the other side and creating a hole where the wound was. A lot of blood spurted from the wound, and it was clear to everyone the Chakal had no chance of living.

    The lizardmen focused on their battle, but even so, they still saw what Arthur did, and the lizardmen were impressed by how strong he was. To make them even more shocked, Arthur kept dashing on the battlefield, killing more Chakals, eventually ending the lives of the five who were stupid to attack him.

    With the number of Chakals diminishing by the minute, the lizardmen got more excited and, with the help of their formation, killed all the other Chakals.

    "With this, we have meat for an entire week. Thank you, Arthur! Killing twelve would have been hard even for us," one lizardman said.

    Arthur nodded at it, but then he noticed something was amiss, and that was when a voice echoed from a distance, saying, "giant frogs, aren''t you gonna split this meat? I am sure your vige does not need all of it."

    "Lycans! What are you doing here? Your territory is deep in the forest, and ours is next to the swamp!"

    Lycans! These were weaker versions of werewolves, and they did not have a human form and were always in the form of an erected wolf. The lizardmen knew them, as they lived close to each other but weren''t supposed to be there.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    That was the lizardmen''s territory, and territory was something the races respected, or else it would be chaos! So if the Lycans had the guts to go there, they had another reason in the first ce, and it was not only for the meat.

    "But we can still wander around and end up here. You would be in trouble if it weren''t for our help."

    They acted as if they were the saviors who killed the beasts, which was a joke! Arthur did not want to say anything because that was a problem between the lizardmen and the Lycans, but seeing how helpful and friendly the lizardmen were, Arthur would lend a hand if a problem arose.

    "You are here with 20 Lycan warriors, and you are trying to intimidate us? Aren''t you ashamed?"

    "Ha! It is not our problem if the frogs cannot make more warriors. Look, we are here to send you a warning. Our poption has grown a lot during the past few years, and it is time for us to expand our territory! We will attack your vige seven days from now. Be prepared to die!"

    Those Lycans gazed at them with hatred, and after the warning, they left, returning to their vige. It seemed that Arthur would get involved in that mess even if he did not want to. So what was the chance of the vige he chose to spend some time getting attacked? Close to zero, yet it happened the same day he arrived there.

    "Problems follow me, it seems," Arthur thought.

    The lizardmen had worried faces, and after they collected the Chakal''s bodies, they returned to the vige, meeting with the vige''s chief right after returning. Hattami was inside his house when the warriors appeared in front of it, wishing to speak with him about something important.

    "You already returned from the hunting? It seems it went smoothly!" Hattami said as he looked at all the Chakal bodies.

    For a moment, he felt happy about the sess of the hunting, but then the blow hit him hard when the hunting chief exined what happened, saying the Lycans nned on attacking them in seven days.

    "What? This makes no sense. We had a peace treaty a long time ago. Why would they break it now?" Hattami said as he walked from side to side, not knowing what to do!

    Arthur was there when the lizardmen shared the story and said, "I believe these Lycans will not attack after seven days."

    When he said that all the lizardmen looked at him, and Hattami asked, "what do you mean? Please, share your opinion."

    "You said you two have been in peace for a long time, right? If they are willing to attack your vige now, they need a high chance of sess. They will not attack after seven days, not a day before, as it would be too obvious. They will attack after five days, trying to get your vige by surprise," Arthur said.

    That was his guess, and he believed it was almost one hundred percent correct. Hattami and the other lizardmen understood it instantly but feared it would be impossible for their vige to escape.

    "We might have to think about leaving our vige. Our strongest warrior is at the rank 1, just like their strongest warrior, but their numbers are way higher than ours, which means we don''t have a chance..." Hattami said with a gloomy face.

    Arthur looked at him and said, "Hattami, aren''t you forgetting about me? I can wipe the Lycans for you if you want."

 Chapter 351 [Bonus ] Scouting The Lycan Lair

    "What? Now that you are saying this, I do not know your strength. You seem to be clouded with a mist. Arthur, are you an expert of the Ryumans'' race?

    Hattami now saw a beacon of light for his vige, and maybe they would not have to leave! Leave was thest thing they wished. The swamp they found a long time ago turned into their home, and it was the perfect ce for the lizardmen to live.

    It would be hard for them to find another ce, and reconstructing a vige from zero was not easy too. Hattami did not want to ask Arthur about his strength, as people liked to keep it hidden, but he said, "can you truly win the battle against the Lycans?"

    The Lycans had been meddling with the lizardmen''s business for quite some time, and it was not the first time they had done something to them. Once, they even killed some lizards who were out hunting. Hattami, the chief of that vige, wanted to do something about it, but it was not possible with his strength, and that could make the Lycans angrier, leading to a full-out attack, like what they said they would do in seven days.

    Arthur had just arrived in the demon continent, so he was not feeling like getting involved in too many things, but there was no way he would let the lizardmen perish! So even though they had just met, the lizardmen had offered their home to Arthur and his wives toplete strangers!

    "If I want a good reputation inside this demon continent, I must work and help all the other races! Who knows, maybe I can stop the demon continent attack without a war," Arthur thought.

    He still wanted to see exactly how the people living in the demon continent were, but if they were a tiny bit of what those lizardmen were, there was no reason for another war to happen.

    Also, Arthur arrived at the demon continent way earlier than expected due to Turquoise''s help, so he could use that time to learn more about the continent and find another way out, one that did not include the death of many.

    He was most worried about the people he cared about, who were still back there. If a war broke out, Arthur was not sure he would be able to protect all of them, which would be a shame.

    "Hattami, I can help your tribe. In fact, I can take care of the Lycans without you having to risk your people," Arthur said.

    When Hattami heard that, he kneeled in front of Arthur, tossing away his pride as the chief of a vige, and he said, "Arthur, our vige will be forever grateful to you, and I will spread the word to all lizardmen around the continent about you! You will be considered a savior to us!"

    That was precisely what Arthur was looking for. If the word spread about him, then the lizardmen, an entire race of the demon continent, would befriend him, which would help him a lot in the future.

    Still, there was a downside, and that was Arthur getting known. The humans living in the demon continent did not know him, and they would wonder where he came from? If Arthur was a citizen of the demon continent, then with his strength, there was no way the other humans would not know about him. So, that would only lead to the conclusion that Arthur was from somewhere else!

    But there was nothing he could do about it! Arthur had some goals in the demon continent. First, get more information. Secondly, reach rank 4 to contend against the other rank 4 mages from the demon continent.

    To aplish both things, he needed to explore the continent, which would lead to people knowing him. Well, if his reputation was good, and he managed to get many allies, then there was no reason the rank four mages would attack him, so Arthur would be safe until he reached that level of power too!

    "Can you show me what direction is the Lycan''s vige?"

    ~~~~

    Wisa, Jane, and Sybille stayed inside the lizardman vige to protect them in case someone tried to attack, like a Lycan sneak attack.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    On the other hand, Arthur followed the general direction one of the lizards showed him, ultimately leading him toward the Lycan vige. Arthur went there to see the level of power of those Lycans and find a way to end the conflict.

    For him, the best scenario would be to end the conflict without killing the Lycan tribe. Because no matter how he ended the conflict, the lizardmen would be grateful to him, but if he wiped the Lycan vige, he would be the enemy of another race.

    Well, if he killed everyone there, the word about it would not spread, and no one would know who killed the Lycans. And it was a small vige ¡ª Arthur was sure no one visited it.

    He ventured inside the woods, passing through the swamp area and reaching a dense forest. Arthur kept going for two hours and finally found where the Lycans lived.

    With his level of power, it was easy to sneak up on them, especially with the help of his invisibility spell and his shapeshifting spell.

    No one paid attention to an ordinary-looking bird sitting on a tree''s branch. From up there, Arthur had a clear view of the entire vige.

    It was in the middle of the forest, in an open area that the Lycans had to clean before building their vige, which consisted of holes! Around it was a dense forest, and it was hard to see the holes in the ground leading to the underground cave where they lived.

    "I will have to go inside to have a proper look," Arthur thought.

    He could only see some guards patrolling around the area, making sure no one got close to their cave entrance and warning everyone if they saw something suspicious.

    Even though Arthur had to go inside, it was rtively easy. Also, no guards were standing right in front of the entrance, making it easy for him to break in.

    Arthur cast his invisibility spell and flew toward the cave''s entrance, still in the form of a bird. An invisible bird breaking into their of Lycans ¡ª that could turn into a great tale in the future.

    After getting in, Arthur instantly saw a lot of wolfkins! They were all around the tunnel, sleeping on the ground. He kept going forward until reaching a massive open area, where tons of Lycans slept together, all on the ground too!

    They did not build a single thing except for arge throne where the chief of the Lycans slept. Theirir was rtively simple; a hole in the ground with a straight tunnel, then an open room where most of the Lycans, as well as their leader, slept, and then two more tunnels, each going into a different path. Arthur guessed these were emergency exits in case something went wrong.

    "Now, how should I proceed?" thought Arthur as he flew above the Lycans, staring at all of them.

    He believed no one would notice him there, but the Lycan leader, sleeping on that throne, moved his ears.

    It woke up and instantly gazed at the air, directly at an ''invisible'' bird.

 Chapter 352 Bloody Devour!

    It surprised Arthur. He did not believe the Lycans would notice him, especially after using his invisibility spell. But the Lycan leader did, and he looked directly toward Arthur.

    In the generalnguage of the demon continent, the leader said, "who are you? Aren''t you afraid of invading my domain?"

    Arthur did not know what to say. He changed his form back to that of a human and canceled his invisibility spell too. By the time he did that, all the other Lycans, sleeping on the ground, had wakened up. So they stared at the floating human with rage.

    "I heard you were nning on attacking the lizardmen, and I cannot let you do that," Arthur said.

    "Why is human meddling with the businesses of the lizardmen? Humans and lizards have an alliance now?"

    Arthur did have an alliance with the lizardmen after all the kindness they showed him, but the human race? Arthur had no idea how they felt about the lizards, so there was no way he would speak on their behalf.

    "No, not at all, I am the only human helping the lizards."

    The Lycan leaderughed and asked, "Why are you doing that? Do you owe them something from the past?"

    "I want to repay their kindness. Tell me, will you leave this area never to return, or will you die here?" Arthur said in an arrogant tone.

    He had the power to act like that, and after his inspection, he saw that the Lycan leader was at the peak of rank 1. It was not someone who could go against him, and even if all the Lycans there worked together, it would not be enough.

    Arthur could quickly kill them with a strong AOE attack, especially if he destroyed the roof above their heads, copsing the cave.

    The leader of the Lycans looked at Arthur and tried to sense his power, yet was unable to. He noticed Arthur''s presence only because of his keen senses and nothing more!

    "We cannot leave this area. You and I will have to fight! Lycans, kill him!"

    With a howl, all the Lycans around the area gathered there, howling too! It was their way of boosting everyone''s strength by a little, turning their eyes red, and entering a frenzied state. All of them pounced toward Arthur, aiming their ws at his neck!

    A single man was fighting against hundreds of Lycans. No one would believe Arthur would win such a fight. The leader of the Lycans decided to attack Arthur because he did not think Arthur would have that great of strength. A rank 2 mage at most would not win against that many Lycans, which is why he was confident about taking Arthur down.

    Rank three mages were rare, and even though the demon continent had many of them, they often never left their domains, and Arthur was in a remote area, and there were not even rank 3 mages around!

    But the Lycan leader would soon regret his decision. Even with that many Lycans pouncing toward Arthur, he dodged all of their attacks with ease, and every time he did that, a few Lycans would fall by his counter-attack.

    Arthur had a dagger in his hands, which shone with a bright silver light. It was his Moonlight Essence, and after that many month''s training, he had a higher mastery of it, allowing him to control the amount he used in each strike. That way, he could conserve his essence -- although he had plenty of it, as he kept meditating every night to increase it.

    Still, a tiny portion of his Moonlight Essence was all Arthur needed to cut the Lycans like tofu. He flew from side to side, avoiding the attacks, and sending his own. The speed at which his arm moved was extraordinary, and not a single Lycan could see his attacks!

    After the first minute of exchange, the number of Lycans diminished by 80%, causing great shock to their leader, who had yet to make his move.

    He regretted it, as it was clear it would be impossible for him to win that fight! But what could he do now? There was no way Arthur would ept his apologies, and even if yes, his tribe suffered a tremendous blow. It was toote to regret it, and as time passed, the corpses inside that cave grewrger andrger.

    For a moment, a hint of darkness appeared on Arthur''s left eye, which was his Emperor''s Eye. It turned crimson, like the blood of his foes, and his mind was not sane.

    "Kill, kill, kill!"

    He kept shing the Lycans with his dagger, and the moonlight, which was silver, started to change its color to red! Arthur did not know, but he was unconsciously using some of the inheritance from the Blood Monarch, which came with his Emperor Eye!

    There was a reason not only that eye but all the others werebeled as forbidden. It granted the user great power, but it also had its drawbacks, and it was known throughout history that the users of those eyes had quite a temper.

    "Blood, blood! I need more blood!" Arthur yelled,ughing like a madman, scaring even the leader of the Lycans.

    The blood from the corpses around him moved, flying in the air, going directly toward his body! Arthur was absorbing the Blood Essence, which fused with the Moonlight Essence from his dagger, creating a powerful weapon out of a simple dagger!

    "What the fuck is this thing? Is he even a human?"

    The leader of the Lycans had never seen something like it, and when he saw all the blood fusing with Arthur''s body, he only thought of vampires!<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Vampires were a sub-race of humans, and the vampires had their territory inside the demon continent, one of the strongest races, having a vampire with the power of a rank 4 mage!

    They were the only ones who could use the blood to their advantage, so when the Lycan saw Arthur doing the same thing, he thought he was a vampire! But that should not be possible. A Lycan like him would be able to tell from the scent if it was a vampire, yet Arthur''s smell was that of a human.

    He wished he had listened to what Arthur proposed, but it was toote. Arthur flew toward him like a bullet, using the dagger to cut the Lycan in half, making blood fly everywhere. Just like what happened to all the others, the blood of that Lycan flew toward Arthur''s body as he absorbed it.

    [Ding]

    [Devour Skill evolving]

    [...]

    [New Skill Unlocked!]

    [Bloody Devour]

    [+10 to all stats]

    [Bloody Devour: The legendary skill from cidusax, the lord of dragons, found its soulmate, the Blood Essence. You can devour spells like before, and the skill enters in cooldown after consuming strong spells. The skill also has a second effect, draining the blood of the victims you kill, increasing your attributes, and having the chance to unlock the secrets of their blood, granting you new special abilities.]

    That was unexpected! The devour part remained the same, allowing Arthur to devour a strong spell, surviving the attack while also putting the skill on cooldown for a couple days. But now, there was a second effect, and it worked even if the skill was in cooldown!

    It allowed Arthur to drain the blood of his victims, increasing his own attributes while also having the chance to unlock more blood-rted skills! That was the base for his new Blood Essence to grow stronger.

    Arthur did not know that, as he was still in a frenzied state after killing all the Lycans and leaving the cave afterward. He was almost salivating, dashing through the forest like a starved beast, looking for more things to kill.

    His speed was even greater than before, and after one hour of running, Arthur found a small settlement of humans! Just like any other race, they were scattered around the continent, so it was not impossible to find small viges or towns of any particr race anywhere on the continent.

    Arthur was out of his usual self, and when the farmers saw him in the distance, running toward their tiny wooden houses and farms, they were scared, and some were shaking so much they couldn''t move.

    "A-A monster! A vampire!" the vigers yelled, trying to run away from Arthur, yet it was impossible.

    He was not using his dagger anymore, but his ws! Arthur''s nails turned into long sharp ck ws, tearing the flesh of his victims! The vigers stood no chance, having their heads decapitated, limbs cut away from their bodies, and organs crushed by Arthur''s feet.

    The vige had a few guards, but they shared the same fate as all the others, dying horribly at Arthur''s hands. All the blood from their corpses went toward Arthur, making him stronger.

    After the massacre, Arthurughed like a maniac and passed out in the middle of the now-desert vige, but he did not know everything he did and the reason behind it.

    Hey there on the ground, covered in blood and body parts.

    ~~~~

    "You said there is a tiny human vige in this direction?"

    "Yeah, it should have. We can rest there and continue our missionter. What was the enemy we had to kill, Lycans?"

    "That is right. Theirir is far from the human vige we are heading to."

    A group of three humans walked toward the same vige Arthur had recently destroyed. They were adventurers from the adventurer''s guild and were doing missions, as that was their way of making a living.

    "What is this smell? Blood?" one of them said.

    The trio looked at each other and then rushed toward the small human settlement.

 Chapter 353 Three Girls

    The scent of blood from that human settlement caught the attention of the adventurer''s trio. They were nning on going there, but now instead of walking, they were dashing toward the vige, afraid something terrible had happened.

    "What happened?" thought Arthur as he woke up.

    He looked around, seeing the pile of human corpses, and slowly the memories about what had happened returned to him, making him understand it! So he got a new powerful skill and a new type of essence.

    That alone would make him happy, but the fact he turned into a furious beast was not something he liked.

    "Did it happen because of the Emperor Eye or the new blood essence? I wish my system kept track of those things, but this is something I will have to look up alone."

    Arthur was not that shaken about what had happened. He only feared one day hurting those he cared about but killing strangers was not a big deal to him anymore.

    Perhaps when he first entered that world, he would feel disgusted by it, but now it meant nothing. Also, Arthur was no longer human, so it was even less of a burden to him. He was a beast by nature.

    "I need to clean this blood and change clothes."

    A spell could clean his clothes, but Arthur felt like taking a shower in a wild river, feeling the fresh water against his skin, and rxing after such craziness. But as he was about to leave the once-popted human settlement, Arthur heard footsteps.

    It was the three adventurers, and the moment they got close to the vige and saw the pile of corpses, they could not hold the urge to throw up!

    "What the fuck happened here? What did this?" one of them said.

    Vomit came out of their mouths, considering the corpses were fresh. After a while, the scent would get much worse, and who knows how these people would react.

    Arthur was hidden, watching all of them from afar, and wondered if he should confront them but decided not to, as that would only lead to conflict, and he felt like chilling after killing that many people.

    Arthur left the vige, looking for a river nearby to bathe. An easy task to aplish, and with just a little walking, Arthur found a river. It was the one that the human vige often used.

    He took off his clothes, putting them back inside his magical pouch. Then, he dived into the river to clean up the blood on his body. The amount of blood was not that high, as his Bloody Devour skill kept absorbing the blood essence of his enemies, so only a tiny amount of blood remained.

    "So good!"

    The refreshing water was incredible, cleaning Arthur''s body of all the dirt and blood and washing away his tiredness. He was taking full advantage of the situation, as the lizardman vige only had a swamp near it, and while that worked for the lizards to bathe, it was not exactly something Arthur wanted for his life.

    While he was rxing, the adventurers who found the destroyed vige could not decide what to do. They could tell just by looking that the corpses were fresh, and after a quick conversation, they decided to look around the area for the culprit.

    Arthur dove into the river, seeing the small fish underwater and the different types of nts growing there. At that moment, the trio of adventurers made their way to the river, and they saw him swimming there.

    "Who are you? Say your name and the reason why you are here!"<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The person who said that was a woman with short ck hair, leather armor, and a ck cloak. Arthur could tell just by looking she was the stealthy type, having two daggers on her waist and probably more hidden somewhere else.

    She looked pretty, and so did the other two women with her ¡ª a blonde one with heavy armor and sword and shield. Andst but not least, a woman wearing a long ck robe with a wooden staff.

    Two of them had ck hair, the mage, and the assassin, while the warrior was blonde. It looked a lot like the party of an RPG.

    Arthur looked at them, leaving the water, showing his muscr naked body to them. His pale skin and long ck hair made the three women hide their eyes using their hands, and their cheeks turned red.

    They never believed they would find a handsome man in that remote ce, and the girl almost forgot she had asked Arthur a few things for a split second.

    "I am Arthur, a wanderer. I''m staying in the lizardmen tribe not that far from here, but there is no river there, so Ie here often to bathe. It is either this or a swamp," Arthur said while he picked traditional cotton clothing and a ck cape with a hood, looking like the mage he is.

    With his high charm attribute, it was easy to make those weaker than him believe in what he was saying, at least with humans. Beasts were another story ¡ª like the Lycan who did not listen to what Arthur said, poor one.

    "Are you speaking the truth?"

    "Absolutely. You can check with the lizards if you want to," Arthur said.

    "Did you hear anything suspicious?"

    The river was not that close to the human vige, so if Arthur had been there bathing, it would not be possible for him to hear the screams of the vigers. Still, the girls asked anyway, trying to see if he was lying based on his bodynguage.

    Of course, that was impossible, as there was no way Arthur would make them suspect him, so he said, "I heard nothing. Is there something wrong?"

    After that, the girls exined what happened to him, and Arthur acted like it was the first time seeing this, and he even faked feeling nauseous.

    Deep down, Arthur felt bad for acting like that, but there was no denying that he was not who he used to be, and as the years passed, he was getting closer and closer to a beast in human skin. He wanted to feel bad for the vigers who died, but he did not.

    "We know where the lizardmen vige is. After we bury all the bodies andplete the task, we will go there to check on you."

    Arthur did not ask their names, and they were not feeling like telling him that, at least not at that moment. Instead, they parted ways, the three girls returning to the destroyed vige while Arthur returned to the lizardman tribe.

    Despite his rogue murder, Arthur still killed the Lycans, who were a threat to the lizards and his wives, a good thing.

    "I need to study what happened to me. Also, after the alchemy training, I am finally at the level to be able to craft potions that will work for a rank three mage!"

    Arthur practiced alchemy while he was on the sea, and because it had been such a long time since hisst study, he was way below the average, but with his talent, it was not hard to catch up. Now, he could finally craft potions that would work for rank three mages, and Arthur was hoping to find an elixir capable of cooling his head and curing this frenzy of his.

 Chapter 354 A Vampire In Quintus

    Arthur returned to the lizardman vige just to see the worried faces of everyone, even his wives. He did not know, but his burst of madnesssted a few hours, and no one got any news about him and worried the Lycans would find a way to deal with him.

    Of course, his wives did not believe Arthur would perish against such weak enemies, but it did not mean a powerful one could not appear and attack him. They were foreign, so it was better to be careful while there.

    But when he showed his face again, everyone jumped with happiness, and Hattami, the leader of the lizardmen, came toward him to ask what had happened.

    "The Lycans are no more. I tried to talk with them, but they attacked me, and I had to fight back," Arthur said as shes of the battle appeared in front of his eyes, especially when he turned crazy.

    Although it was a talk about death, the lizardmen rejoiced with the news. It was understandable, considering the Lycans had killed their kind before and were willing to destroy the vige, killing all of them, including children.

    Arthur wanted some time with his wives to talk about what happened, so he said to Hattami, "I need some rest. Can we talk moreter?"

    Hattami believed it was because of the tiredness of the battle, so he said, "of course. Thank you, Arthur. I will talk about your help to all the lizardmen I came across."

    After a few extra words, Arthur left, going toward the tree house the lizardmen provided him and his wives. Arthur had a gloomy face when they were inside the room.

    "What happened?" Wisa asked, noticing Arthur''s strange behavior.

    "Something happened," Arthur said, proceeding to exin the situation.

    He told them about his new blood essence, how it absorbed blood involuntarily, and how it turned him mad. Arthur did not feel face there and worried he would turn into a madman again and attack them.

    "This is bad. Will you go rogue every time you fight someone, and they bleed?"

    "I believe so, and that is why I have an idea. It is risky, but it''s a good shot,"

    "There are vampires in the central continent, and they know how to manipte blood. So we can try to look for something to deal with this."

    "Won''t they attack us? I mean, vampires love humans, right?"

    "No, they wouldn''t attack us for no reason. Also, we are not humans if you think about it."

    Each one of them gave their opinions, with Jane and Wisa worried about potential danger, while Sybille was excited, as she wanted to learn more about her origins.

    In the end, they decided to go there. They first needed to find a bigger city and get more information about the vampires. That would have to wait for the next day because Arthur''s body and mind were tired after all that mess, and all he wanted to do wasy on his straw bed and sleep.

    ~~~~

    The following day, it was time for Arthur and his wives to say goodbye to the lizards, and they all felt grateful for what Arthur did and would remember him for the rest of their lives.

    Before Arthur left, they made a feast for him, cing a long table in the middle of an open field and filling it with food and drinks. Arthur appreciated the kind gesture and enjoyed a good meal before he left the vige. "Goodbye, Hattami, everyone! Stay safe, and if there is something I can do for you in the future, I will!" Arthur said, waving goodbye.

    After he left the vige and walked a few steps, the three girls who had met him the previous day were bumping into him on the road.

    "It is you! Are you fleeing?" one of them said.

    "No, of course not. But we are leaving; also, do you know any decent town around here?" Arthur asked.

    "I-I do know, yes. We are heading there to the adventurers guild.   Y-You cane with us because we need to ensure you will not run away!"

    The person who said that was the assassin girl with ck hair. She had red cheeks and could not meet Arthur in the eye. It was funny, but Arthur''s wives nced at her with curiosity.

    "We don''t mind another wife for our husband, but we don''t know you, so be careful!" they thought.

    They all mixed, going toward a city called Quintus. On the way, they got to know each other better, and while the three girls knew Arthur''s name, he had yet to realize theirs.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "I am Nykka; that one with the big hat is Yeva, and the tough one is Tarinne."

    Nykka was the assassin, Yeva the mage, and Tarinne, the warrior. When the three girls chatted with Arthur''s three wives, they got morefortable with the situation and even forgot about Arthur''s existence.

    "How far is this town anyway?" Arthur asked, gazing at Nykka, who was chatting with Jane.

    "It will take us four days, which means we will have to camp in the wilderness for four days. Arthur, you look like a pretty rich boy. Will you survive this?"

    Arthur had his aura hidden, and judging by his looks, he looked like a handsome, rich boy, but that was not the real him. "Pardon me. I am a survivalist expert. You don''t have to worry."

    She did not believe what he said but agreed to not sound rude. Instead, they walked on a muddy road for an entire day, and when night came, they camped and ate whatever they could find in the wilderness.

    Arthur, who often led the hunt, decided to act like a rich boy and stay in the camp while Nykka and Yeva hunted for their dinner. It was not because he waszy, but he was scared that the blood from the prey would make him unstable again, which could lead to terrible things.

    "I told you were a spoiled kid. Here, take this," Nykka said, finishing the cook of meat and then throwing it toward Arthur.

    Jane, Wisa, and Sybille understood everything from the start and knew why Arthur acted like that. But, deep down, they felt warm, knowing their husband was just worried about them.

    Yeva, the mage from the group, had a magical pouch of her own, and she took out some tents for them to pass the night. It was better than building a provisory shelter or sleeping on the ground, so Arthur and his wives were happy about it.

    The next day was the same thing, but on the third day of travel, the once muddy road was now cobblestone, signaling they were getting close to a more civilized part of the continent. While on the way, some beasts tried to attack them, but nothing too crazy, and Arthur was starting to think the fame of the demon continent was a little inted.

    Then, after four days of travel, they reached the town called Quintus. It looked a little dark, with everything made of cobblestone and covered with mountains, so the sunlight barely hit the city. Another thing Arthur noticed was the variety of races.

    Just by the entrance, he saw going in and out: humans, dwarfs, elves, orcs, a walking fish, fur people, etc. No guard stopped them after they saw the golden emblem on Nykka''s, Yeva''s, and Tarinne''s chests.

    That was the token they got from the adventurers guild, and although gold was not the highest rank, it was still decent enough to grant them many perks, meaning these regr guards would never get in their way.

    "We will go to the adventurers guild to report about our mission. You can wander around and do your things, but don''t leave before saying goodbyes, you hear me?" Nykka said.

    They got a lot to talk about in the adventurers guild because the mission they had, about cleaning the Lycanir, turned out to not need their help, but whatever it killed the Lycans, it did the same to the human settlement.

    So it was their job to report everything and let the adventurers guild find the best way to deal with this new beast. Arthur and his wives did not know anything, and they parted ways.

    Their mission? Find more about the vampires, and Arthur stroke big because he met a vampire in that city! It was rare for vampires to leave their family''s territory, so something big must have happened for one to be there.

    Arthur found her in a restaurant. He knew it was a vampire because she gave a simr feeling to Sybille''s. So he got up from the table he was at and slowly walked toward thedy.

    She was gorgeous, with silver hair and two silver eyes that would turn red inbat. Arthur had never seen someone as pale as that girl, and despite that, she was one of the most beautiful ones he had ever seen.

    Two tall men were with her, and judging by their looks and how they acted, they were two bodyguards, making Arthur wonder what the identity of thatdy vampire was.

    "Excuse me, can I sit here?" Arthur said.

    The restaurant was empty, so one paid attention to it except the bodyguards; one of them threw a punch right into Arthur''s face. It happened suddenly, but Arthur was not worried about it and gently blocked the man''s punch using his hand.

    It shocked them because Arthur felt like an ordinary person who did not know what he was doing.

    The silvered-haired vampire looked at Arthur and said gently, "you can sit."

    It looked like Arthur had passed the first test.

 Chapter 355 Shyvana, The Vampire

    Arthur did not know the identity of that vampiredy, but she had to be someone special to walk around with two bodyguards. She was impressed by his strength to block her bodyguard''s punch as if it was nothing.

    "What brings this handsome young man to talk with someone like me?" she said, crossing her arms and staring at Arthur intensely.

    There was no way a move like that would scare him, so Arthur said, "I can sense you are a vampire, and I have some things to discuss with you. Can it be in private?"

    "Oh?"

    Thedy seemed to be thinking about a lot of things, and in the end, she dismissed her two bodyguards and asked the restaurant owner not to allow anyone else inside the third floor, allowing her and Arthur to be alone.

    "I am Shyvana, and you?" Shyvana said, extending her hand to Arthur.

    He instantly knew what it was, so he picked her hand and lightly kissed the top, saying, "I am Arthur, Nice to meet you."

    Shyvana liked how Arthur managed things and was pleased with his manners and asked, "so, what do you want help with?"

    What she had in mind was that Arthur would ask her to turn him into a vampire, as that happened quitemonly, but that was not the case then.

    "I don''t know how to start, and I also cannot give you that much information about me. So let''s say I have the Blood Essence, and whenever I absorb it from my foes, I turn into a madman, losing my mind and killing everything in sight. Can you help me with that? I heard vampires control blood too."

    Shyvana could not believe what she had just heard, and she said while getting up from the table, "What? Are you serious?"

    On the other hand, Arthur could not understand what the fuzz was about. Losing control after absorbing blood was that big of a deal?

    "You must not know, but only vampires with a high affinity for the Blood Essence lose their minds after using it. If I am not mistaken, thest one with simr effects is from ages ago!"

    "But I am no vampire, so why is this happening?" Arthur asked.

    "Look, we are not that different from humans, as we were once. The only difference between normal humans and us is the blood essence. Most humans be vampires to learn how to use the blood essence. It is safe to say you are like us," Shyvana said.

    Arthur was starting to understand things and felt dumb for not realizing it at first. He had a wife, Sybille, who was also a vampire, and she was just like any other human, with the only difference being her drinking blood and possibly using the blood essence, yet she was still re-learning it.

    "So you are saying that if I go to your family, everyone there will treat me like a vampire?"

    "Yeah, pretty much. Are you willing to stay in my family''s territory for a while? My father is a count, so we are not that strong of a family, but we have ways of helping you."

    "You do? Aren''t you lying just for me to go to your territory?"

    "No, of course not. We can help you, I promise you! Look, my father, the count, is a rank three mage, so you can trust he will not betray you. He is a man of word."

    When Arthur heard the strongest vampire inside their family was just a rank three one, simr to him or even weaker, he was not scared to go there anymore. For him, the only problem was the rank four mages, and those he should not pick a fight, at least not at that moment.

    "Is there a problem for me to bring my wives there? One is a vampire, but the other two do not have the blood essence."

    Shyvana gave him a strange look after knowing he was married, and then she said, "no problem, but it would be best if you transfer some of your blood essences to your wives too. We know a ritual to do it if you want to."

    "Will they go rogue like me?"

    "No, don''t worry. The blood essence your wives will get from the ritual is weaker than yours but still on par with what most vampires have."

    The whole idea of going into Shyvana''s territory was good. Arthur will not only know her family and possibly get more allies, but he will also cure his blood problem and give Jane and Wisa the blood essence.

    "I see. If you say your family will treat my wives and me well, I wish to go. But if something happens, I will leave immediately."

    Shyvana had a friendly face and said honestly, "you have my word; nothing will happen."

    Arthur liked how she spoke, but then he asked, "your family is not close to here, right? Why are you in this small town in the first ce?"

    She ced her head on the table, covering it with her hands. Then, with evident despair, she said, "I came here to ally with the dwarves who live in a mountain range not that far from this town, yet it failed... my father will not like this."

    "Why do you need an alliance with the dwarves, if I might ask?"

    Arthur did not know if he was asking too much but did it anyways. There was no way Shyvana would attack him, right?<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "My family and all our subordinates live in a cold area northwest of here. The subordinates stay on the continent, living in cities, but our family''s castle is on a small ind one kilometer from the shore. We have found an abundant natural mine of Azrite, and we needed the dwarves'' help to collect them. But honestly? There is a lot of water around it, and the lizardmen would be even better. You know, those man-like lizards? They are good miners and are better underwater. But it is hard to even speak with them..."

    Arthur listened to everything Shyvana said with care, and when she spoke about the lizardmen, Arthur could not believe he would pay a visit to his friends that quickly.

    "I can get you the help of the lizardmen, don''t worry," Arthur proudly said.

    "Really? How?"

    He looked at her and softly said, "it is a secret. Now, when will we be leaving?"

    "As soon as possible, but we first need to get the lizardmen toe with us. Can you fetch their help? My two bodyguards and I will remain in this town waiting for you."

    "No problem. I will take my leave then," Arthur said.

    ~~~~

    The first thing he did after leaving the restaurant was to find his wives and share everything with them.

    "So we are going to stay in her territory for a while? Based on how you described her, she seems like a good person. Also, their strongest vampire is a rank three mage, so we are safe."

    "Indeed. You three can stay in this city while I leave to contact the lizardmen. Gather more information about everything you see as important," Arthur said.

    There was no reason for his wives to follow him, as he would have to return there anyway. Also, it was faster when he traveled alone because of his teleport. Jane, Wisa, and Sybille agreed to it, and they wanted to stay there and talk with Shyvana to see for themselves if she was genuinely decent.

    They kissed each other before parting ways for a few days at most, and Arthur was ready to leave the town when Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva stopped him.

    "Are you running away? I am just kidding. We came here to say goodbyes for now."

    "Where are you three going?"

    "We need to return to the capital to speak with the guild''s headmaster about what we saw, as they are preparing to form a team to hunt down the creature who did that."

    "Hehehe, right. I wish you three a safe journey, and I know we will meet again. Bye-bye!"

    Arthur waved goodbyes at them and then left the town. When he was away from them, he sighed in relief and said, "no way the headmaster of the adventurers guild is creating teams to hunt me! Why is my luck so bad?"

    The adventurers guild was gigantic in the demon continent. If that, the girls said, happened, then lots of strong adventurers would being after Arthur in the future, and he did not dismiss the possibility of a rank four mageing too!

    "I need to cure my insanity and also get stronger!"

    With that thought, Arthur used his teleport spell,  disappearing and appearing far away from where he originally was. Arthur was back at the lizardmen vige in less than a day, and they were all surprised to see him there!

    Hattami was the first to greet him, "Arthur! What brings you back so early?"

    "I have something to discuss with you. Can we talk?"

    ~~~~

    "So they want to hire us to get ores? Hum, let me think."

    "Aren''t you scared of vampires?"

    "Why would I? They are civilized and don''t attack without reason, unlike those Lycans. Also, they don''t like lizard blood anyway."

    Hattami wondered if he should bring his vige or get other lizardmen who wished to join Arthur in that mission. So he called the entire vige to speak about the proposal, and almost all of them agreed to go with Arthur!

    They were sure the vampires would pay good money for their mining work, and maybe that was a way for them to live better and not just survive.

    "We will go with you, Arthur, everyone. Pack your things!"

    With that, Arthur and the lizardmen prepared to leave. Arthur did not know, but someone from the adventurer''s guild was not that far from him, following him closely.

 Chapter 356 Lord Hephas Coldharbour

    The journey back to the town of Quintus took longer, just like the first time with the three adventurers from the guild. Arthur could not keep teleporting, as he had to go with the lizardmen.

    Still, although it took more time, it all went smoothly without any hindrances along the way, like the attack of beasts or people with evil intentions.

    When Arthur reached the city again, he looked for his wives first and found them in that restaurant with Shyvana! His wives were now friends with that vampire, especially Sybille, who was intrigued about her and could not wait to go and visit her territory to learn more about vampires.

    "How can they make friends with everyone so easily? Most people I want to punch in the face..." thought Arthur, but the more he thought about it, the harder it became to find an answer.

    "Look who is back!" Shyvana said the moment Arthur stepped inside the restaurant''s third floor.

    She was there with his wives, talking about many things and eating all the delicious food the ce had to offer.

    "Yo. The lizardmen are outside and ready to leave whenever you want."

    "How many did you get to work for us?" Shyvana asked, smiling.

    "If you n on paying them well, then all of them will go, and there are 48. Now, if you don''t pay them well, then none will go." Arthur said.

    He was being honest there. The lizardmen spoke with Arthur before leaving, and they would only work for good money. They believed Arthur would be able to grant them a fair price.

    "Absolutely. The lizardmen don''t need to worry about money, food, or a ce to stay. We will pay them a fair amount, and they will not live with everyone else but on our ind!" Shyvana said.

    Arthur did not know what a fair price was, but Hattami indeed did, and he was there with the other lizards.

    "I will bring their leader so you two can discuss the price and how the job will work."

    Hattami went in and spoke with Shyvana with Arthur present. They reached an astronomical price of 5000 gold coins and 200 mana stones per WEEK! Arthur did not care about the gold coins, but the number of mana stones was quite decent, and he was almost thinking of asking Hattami for a pickaxe and some swimming lessons...

    After they were done with things, and Hattami and all the other lizardmen were okay with the price, they left the town of Quintus in carriages. Shyvana had her own carriage with the symbol of her family. Not only one but many of them. These carriages were once for the dwarves and were now for the lizardmen.

    Arthur and his wives went on the same carriage as Shyvana. As for the two bodyguards, Shyvana insisted they use another carriage, saying she was okay without their protection. Ultimately, they had to listen to their boss, leaving her carriage and using another one.

    "How long will it take for us to reach your hometown?" Arthur asked.

    "Hum, a month. Don''t worry. It will be a pleasant journey for all of us."

    ~~~~

    Although Shyvana had said those words, the journey was not good. Arthur gave credit to the carriages, which were morefortable than normal ones, making the trip less painful, but still, a whole month inside a carriage was a pain in the ass.

    Well, it was terrible, but still way better than the time Arthur and his wives spent on a ship to get there, so they would live.

    After one month, just like Shyvana told Arthur, they reached the area where her family lived, the Coldharbour family. It was strange to see such a drastic change in the weather. While Quintus was hot, Shyvana''s hometown was snowy the entire year.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    It had a whole city near the sea and many other viges. Everyone respected territories in the demon continent, so everyone knew it was the territory of the Coldharbour family, and no one wanted to anger powerful vampires.

    "This big city is called Andromeda. Most people who work for us live there, but anyone can live, as long as they follow my father''s pretty good rules! All we ask is a monthly blood donation, and all the other rules are simr to most other ces," Shyvana exined.

    Arthur understood that. A family of vampires needed blood to keep them alive, and a monthly blood donation from the citizens was not a big deal, and no one would get hurt in the process. So based on what Shyvana told, some other vampire families had blood ves, a tragic fate she did not wish for anyone.

    "Good. This information made me think highly of your father. Maybe your family is falling because he is a good person?"

    Shyvana was surprised and said, "how did you know our family is declining?"

    "Well, it makes sense when you consider a ''princess'' left'' her hometown to look for allies."

    Arthur did not see himself as intelligent because he understood what was happening and believed anyone who used their brains would realize such a thing.

    "Yes, you are correct. The most powerful vampire families are fierce and act to their own benefit without caring how others feel, like tyrants. We are still in a decent position because of my father''s strength, which is at the peak of the rank three, only losing to the rank four mage of our race."

    They passed through the city of Andromeda, where everyone bowed when seeing Shyvana, and they wondered who the others were with her. Then, they went to the other side of the city, where a harbor with a long bridge led to the ind not that far from the coast.

    Arthur could see it from afar, an immense castle made of ck stone, with towers at each corner, and other small buildings around it, looking exactly like he pictured a vampire castle.

    It reminded him of a game he yed back on Earth with a DLC about vampires.

    When the carriages got close to the gate, a man, who was the person to make sure all the people who went inside the castle had authorization, yelled, "Shyvana has returned!"

    All the carriages stopped outside the castle, and each one went inside. Shyvana led everyone to the main room, which her father often used. He was not there, but it did not take long for him to appear after getting the information about his daughter, who had just returned.

    A pale, tall, and skinny man with long red hair and eyes. He was handsome, but when Arthur looked at him, he could only see a person with a strong character and worried about his following words.

    The man prepared to speak, and his first words were, "Oh, my little Shy-Shy! Why took you so long? Father was worried."

    He said while grabbing Shyvana for a hug.

    Arthur wanted tough but restrained himself. It would not look good for him.

    "So, who are these strangers you brought to our hall?"

    "This is Arthur, Jane, Wisa, and Sybille! We need to talk privately about him, but those are the lizardmen he found for us. They are even better than the dwarves!"

    "Hahaha! My cutie never disappoints. I am Lord Count Hephas Coldharbour. Nice to meet you all!"

 Chapter 357 The Blood Monarch, Again!

    Shyvana''s father''s personality waspletely different from what all of them thought. It made sense why the other vampire families saw the Coldharbour family as weak. Still, at least he was decent, which was what most people should aim for.

    "So instead of dwarves, you brought lizardmen? That is even better for the task we have in our hands." Hephas said.

    The ore they needed to excavate was called Azrite, which existed only underwater, making its excavation a pain in the ass. Hephas wanted that ore because of its properties, which allowed him to manufacture weapons, and armor for his soldiers.

    It was a magical ore, so its durability and sharpness were on a different level, not only that, but it ranked among the top best ores!

    That reason alone made Arthur understand why count Hephas was so eager to get his hands on those ores and why he was willing to pay an absurd amount for the lizardmen to excavate them.

    "We have some houses behind the castle. You all can live there, and I will exin your work tomorrow. Is that okay?" Hephas said to Hattami and the other lizardmen.

    They had just arrived from a long and tiresome journey, so Hephas did not want to put them right at work and gave them some time to rest.

    Hattami and the others left, leaving only Arthur and his wives inside the main room.

    "So, who is this person, Shyvana?"

    "He is someone with the blood essence so strong he gets insane when using it! He is the one who got the lizardmen to work for us, and he came here looking for a way to stop his madness."

    The count could not believe it when he heard that.

    "Are you sure?" Hephas looked to one of the nearby servants and said, "bring something for us to kill."

    After a few moments, some vampire guards returned with a magical beast, a two-headed lion with green skin, and its tail was a sting.

    Arthur slowly walked toward the beast, who pounced on him after the guards released it. All it took was one hand for Arthur to block its attacks and another to p, thus decapitating the creature.

    Blood spurted from the wound, yet it did not fall on the ground but flew toward Arthur, entering his body. This time, the amount of blood was small, so he did not go insane, but it was still enough for Hephas to sense the madness, and he was then sure Shyvana was speaking the truth.

    "So you truly are this talented with the blood essence. You are Arthur, right? Would you like to marry my daughter?"

    "Father!" Shyvana said, blushing when Hephas said something like that but knew it was only a joke.

    Hephasughed out loud and said, "I am just kidding. So, let''s discuss the important part, Arthur. Can you follow me?"

    The two of them left, going toward Hephas''s office, where he spent his day taking care of his territory. There were many things to do to keep things in order; a difficult job.

    There, Arthur and Hephas sat on a desk facing each other, and then Hephas said, "I assume Shyvana did not tell you about your madness problem, right?"

    "No. Shyvana only said her family could help me."

    Hephas tapped on his desk and said, "I know you brought us the lizardmen, and that is a great help, but it is smallpared to what we will have to do to help you,"

    "Think about it like this. Even if you did not bring us the lizardmen, we would still find someone to get the ores. To cure your madness, that will be quite the journey."

    Arthur understood that the lizardmen were only a tiny thing; he brought the count, and if his cure demanded more, he would do it.

    "Can you exin how this cure works?"

    "First of all, there was only one vampire, long ago, who had the same talent as you with the blood essence, and he was from our lineage. It happened at least ten thousand years ago, but we still have records about him, and it is known that he was called the Blood Monarch,"

    "Supposedly, he left one inheritance on this for future generations, but no one knows where it is, and people searched in this continent but found nothing. This inheritance is what the general people know about, but we know more!"

    When Hephas told the story, it shocked Arthur, but after second thought, it did make sense. His blood essence came from the inheritance from this Blood Monarch, so it made sense that the Blood Monarch had the same problem as he when younger.

    "An inheritance? And there is more to it?"<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "Yes, correct. The inheritance people know about has some of his memories, but not all of them! And one of these missing memories is the part about the cure to the madness. In one of his diaries, it is written, ''Whoever finds my inheritance, and it is not from my family, will suffer, and the madness will consume its own mind.'' That was his way of ensuring the inheritance would return to our family,"

    "Tell me, you did not find any inheritance, right?" Hephas asked after he exined everything.

    It turned out the inheritance Arthur got was only a part of it, and the other part, which only the Coldharbour family could find, had the means to cure his madness. So the Blood Monarch did that to ensure the death of those outside his lineage who dared to get the inheritance.

    "No, never."

    "I see. Well, there is a slight problem with this. We do have the Blood Monarch''s diaries, yet we still did not find the location of his second inheritance, but we do know it is here, in this continent."

    Of course, things had to beplicated for Arthur. So he would have to track the second part of the inheritance to find a way to cure his madness, and that was a hell of a problem!

    Arthur''s wives could not go with him on this, as he was scared to lose control and attack them, so it was a mission he had to do alone.

    "So you are saying that to give me ess to everything you know about the second inheritance, I will have to give you something in return."

    "Indeed. There are two things I ask you. First, someone good you have to offer me, and second, if you get the second inheritance, you will pass on to me how to cure this madness in case someone from my family has it in the future generations."

    Hephas was indeed a decent person. He could ask for all the other information Arthur would get from the inheritance, like the location of treasures, special techniques, or anything precious to mages or vampires. Yet, he only wanted the cure for the madness to help his descendants.

    "Is there something, in particr, you want help with?"

    "Tell me your qualities, and I will see if something impresses me."

    Arthur looked at him with a serious face and said, "I am a peak rank three mage, like you. I also know how to produce potions that work for rank 3 mages, and I am an expert in magical formations."

    With just that sentence, Arthur caught Hephas attention. "You are this strong? I already have a few things you can help me with."

    "Say it."

    "My daughter, Shyvana, is at rank 2 now. Could you help her reach rank 3 using some of your potions? I can fetch you the ingredients and tools; all you have to do is craft it."

    "No problem. Something else?"

    "Yes. Would you be willing to enter my family?"

    "What? Are you asking to marry your daughter?"

    "Yes and no. You don''t need to marry her now, and only when you feel like loving each other. If it never happens, you are still part of this family."

    Arthur could not fullyprehend the reason, but Hephas exined it. The Coldharbour family was declining in power among the other families. Hephas wanted Arthur to join it to increase its strength, but also for him to be the leader of a vampire council and train them to get stronger.

    "So you want me to help your daughter with some potions, which is not a big deal, then be a member of your family to outsiders, and then train your strongest vampire soldiers so that they no longer are jokes?"

    "Yeah, basically. Maybe you don''t know, but a civil war ising, and we must get stronger, or our family will perish. I cannot give you any information now, but if you be someone I fully trust, then I will."

    A civil war! That was precisely what Arthur needed, as that would help him change the current leader of the demon continent, making it stop the fight against the central continent!

    As for joining the Coldharbour family? It was not a big deal. Arthur would not officially join it, as he was not from their bloodline. It was more like entering by paper, enough to fool the outsiders.

    "Fine, I can do it. But with one condition, you must help me with a ritual to give my wives the blood essence too."

    "Well, these types of rituals are expensive and..." Hephas tried to speak his way out of it, but Arthur was not buying it, and in the end, he said, "Okay, I can help you with that."

    Their conversation went well; the next day, a ceremony was held in the Coldharbour castle to announce its new member!

 Chapter 358 Problems

    The Coldharbour castle had many vampires, not only vampires but other races too! Everyone who lived under Hephas''s control went there -- well, not everyone but those who had the time and nothing better to do.

    It was a ceremony to introduce Arthur to the Coldharbour family, with food, drinks, music, and many other types of enjoyment.

    "I don''t like these types of things," Arthur said to Hephas, who was beside him, sitting at the main table.

    "You do? Well, I can announce you now, and then you can escape the party if you want."

    Hephas got up and called everyone to get their attention, saying the Coldharbour had a new member, Arthur. He then said a few words to convince everyone Arthur was decent, strong, and an excellent new addition to the family.

    It worked as no one asked a thing. The people yelled and kept drinking their wine and dancing. Maybe Hephas''s tactic was to get everyone drunk before announcing it.

    "Clever," thought Arthur.

    The ceremony continued for hours, and Arthur only stayed a portion. He wanted to leave after Hephas announced him, but it would make people think wrong of him, so he endured and stayed a little longer.

    "Hephas, I think I am leaving. Is that okay?" Arthur asked.

    Hephas was chilling with a ss of wine in his hands, "no problem, but remember tomorrow there''s a reunion with the other council members, and before I give you the journals, you must help Shyvana."

    "I see. Where will the reunion happen?"

    "Someone will send you a letter through your room''s door during night-time."

    Arthur had no idea why the secrecy but did not ask more questions and left the castle''s main room. He and his wives got rooms in the castle, which were exquisites. Hephas gave him and his wives separate rooms, all close to each other, but in the end, they all used the same room for sleeping and other purposes.

    When Arthur got to his room, Wisa and Jane were already sleeping, but Sybille was awake in the next-door room, training. She wanted to activate her blood essence, and Shyvana was helping her out.

    "Yo. How is it going with you two?"

    Shyvana and Sybille were surprised by the sudden appearance, and they stopped training to greet Arthur.

    "We were just training to get my blood essence working. I had some improvements, but nothing too extraordinary."

    "Don''t worry about it. I am sure you will make it."

    Arthur did not feel like interrupting their training and only went there to check if everything was fine. After making sure it was, he returned to his room and went to bed.

    ~~~~

    The following day started with the lizardmen doing their new job of mining ores! Arthur went there to check with Hattami if the houses they got were decent, the tools, and everything else.

    "Arthur! Long time no see. What brings you here today?" asked Hattami, who had a pickaxe in his hands.

    "Just checking to see if everything is okay."

    "Okay? It is more than okay! We got a fine house, like rich people''s, and excellent pay too! Arthur, I cannot thank you enough for this!"

    The lizardmen were happy with their new job, which gave them hope for a brighter future. With money, Hattami could build a better vige for his people, and they would live morefortably, which was all he could ever ask for.

    "That''s good to hear. Talk with me if something happens, will you?"

    "Of course!"

    If the lizardmen themselves were happy with their new job, who was Arthur to get in their way?

    "Husband, what are you doing so early? We woke up, and you weren''t there," Jane and Wisa said.

    "I am sorry for that. I was just worried about the lizards, that''s all," Arthur said, hugging them as an apology.

    The castle was quiet in the early hours, as vampires often woke upter than usual. Sybille, too, was still in bed, especially after her training with Shyvanast night.

    Arthur took the chance to explore the castle without having many eyes on him. He trusted Shyvana, her father, but it was still an excellent decision to ensure nothing was happening behind his back.

    He passed by the kitchen door and heard two voices. "Do you think we will seed?"

    "Only time will tell, but we must act in the shadows to not draw attention, especially with a new face around the castle. He might hear us and start asking questions," a hooded man said, looking around to see if someone was watching, and Arthur barely avoided him by moving his face away from the door.

    "Now that you say this, what about that new family member? What he has that Hephas finds important?"

    "Don''t worry about that. When we get the castle, we will get whatever that person has!"<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The two figures in hoods moved away from the kitchen, returning to the main hall, so Arthur had to do the same and hide. When he was sure he was safe, Arthur asked himself what he had just seen.

    It was easy to spot that it was a conspiracy happening, one that Hephas might or might not know about. Arthur was also caught in the middle because those mysterious people wanted to know his secret, and if that leaked, he would have a problem.

    Arthur thought about following those two, but there was no way it would lead to something during the daylight. It would be best if he followed them at night to see what secrets they had.

    "If they were in the kitchen, they either work there, or there is something inside that ce."

    He was thinking about many possibilities when someone knocked on his door, and it was Hephas.

    "Why are you up so early? I thought vampires slept during these early hours," asked Arthur as he opened up the door for Hephas to go in.

    "We do, but not when a problem arrives at our door. I know you were supposed to first help Shyvana and then go after the second part of the inheritance, but it seems the information leaked, and another vampire family is going after it before us..."

    "What?"

    Arthur knew instantly that the responsible for leaking the information was the same person responsible for this conspiracy. So, he told Hephas precisely what he saw and heard in the kitchen.

    "Are you serious? These bastards are using the early hours we are all sleeping to act behind my back!"

    Hephas was enraged. One thing was to have a traitor inside your territory, but a traitor inside his own castle? That was too much, even for him, who was known to have a good temper.

    "Thank you for letting me know. I will do everything I can to find the culprits."

    "You said I will leave to look for the inheritance before the other vampire family, right? My wives will stay here and can help you with anything."

    "Thank you for the help, Arthur. I hope my daughter Shyvana one day bes your wife too."

    "Hey, old man, calm down. So, do you know what family knows about the inheritance?"

    "Unfortunately, no. But you will find out soon enough. Here, these are all the diaries I have."

    Hephas gave Arthur some diaries, which were from the Blood Monarch.

    "Hephas, if this family got some leaked information, it has to know where to look, which means they know about these diaries. So tell me, who has ess to them?"

    "This..."

    Hephas was hesitant to say it, but he did, "all of the council members have ess, which amounts to 20 vampires."

    Arthur knew it! Someone from the council leaked information, and that person probably has more spies inside the castle, trying to conspire against Hephas. Their objective? Unknown, but Arthur could tell they not only wanted the inheritance but also wanted to ruin Hephas life.

    "That is bad. Do you think I should leave to look for the inheritance now or try to find the traitor here?"

    "No! Look for the inheritance. Let me deal with this traitor!"

    Hephas was d Arthur offered help to deal with such a thing, but he did not want it! Those traitors were from his territory and were acting behind his back inside his home. He had to deal with that on his own, or his pride would never be the same again.

    After that conversation, they parted ways. The first thing Arthur did was to call his wives to his room and talk about what was happening.

    The sad part was that he would have to separate from them for some time, as he did not feel safe dealing with enemies with the chance of getting insane and hurting them.

    "Don''t worry, we understand. We will remain here and act in the shadows to learn more about this conspiracy."

    Arthur hugged and kissed each of his wives, happy to have them in his life. They all exchanged nces as if they were speaking with their eyes!

    Who knows how long they would stay away, so a good time in bed was a must! So without speaking, they all took off their clothes, preparing to have a wonderful time!

    ~~~~

    Inside the kitchen, the two hooded people who spoke before were again there.

    "This is such the perfect spot! They rarely use the kitchen in ce of vampires."

    "Right? That is precisely why I chose this ce. Come, follow me."

    The two went into the storage area, pushing some crates away to reveal a trapdoor, and then both went inside.

 Chapter 359 Secret Meeting (R18)

    "Do you like it?" asked Sybille as she rubbed Arthur''s dick with her soft hands.

    He was lying on the bed, tied to it, unable to move. Sure, Arthur could break free, but why would he? His wives were above him, shoving their pussies and boobs in his mouth, and he loved it!

    Jane sucked the balls while Sybille did the work with his dick. It was beyond good.

    "Ah, yes, suck it all, babies," Arthur said, looking down to see the horny faces of Sybille and Jane.

    "My dear, you don''t ask things here. You are the one tied up! We will suck your dick dry, make you fuck us until you can no longer move!"

    It was their revenge! Arthur always had more energy ¡ª possibly because of his strong bloodline and high endurance ¡ª meaning his wives always got tired first.

    That night would change that fact! Jane and Sybille did a fantastic blowjob, making Arthur cum three times! Their faces and hair were all white, "let me handle this," Wisa said, moving toward the two, licking the cum off.

    "They will stop with the blowjob now, right? Did they know this is my weak spot?"

    He loved when his wives sucked his dick. Arthur firmly believed they would stop now after him cumming three times, but no! The only thing that changed was that Sybille had the pussy on his face, and Wisa was now doing the blowjob.

    ? "Oh no, what will they do with me?"

    Glub Glub Glub

    Wisa and Jane put the entire dick in their mouths, showing how good they were. Arthur loved all of it, especially the sound of the dick going in and out of their mouths.

    Three more loads of cum, which were decreasing in size as they kept sucking it dry! Arthur could only produce that much of it because of his bloodlines. He was a beast beneath the human skin.

    But, even though he wanted a moment to rest, his wives would not give him that! After that, it was time for the ride!

    "Let me ride on your dick, darling, and you will have to endure, okay?" Jane said with a giggle, going above Arthur in a cowgirl position.

    The way she moved her hips and the tightnesses of her warm pussy was something Arthur loved, and the pleasure was too much for him to handle it.

    Arthur moaned, making his wives more excited about it, and it was as if they had turned into three subus whose only goal was to destroy him using their bodies!

    "I am cumming, ahh!"

    Jane''s pussy was the first to get creampied, but two more were on the line, and without giving Arthur a second to catch his breath, Wisa hoped on him, but differently from Jane, she wanted her asshole to get demolished.

    Wisa was above him in a fetal-like position, moving up and down, with the dick entering inside her little ass hole; who could not handle a big dick like that! It got demolished, but that was precisely what gave Wisa the pleasure, making her roll her eyes and move more fiercely.

    "Yes, fuck my asshole, destroy it, do anything you want!"

    When Arthur looked at her, he saw Wisa''s face, which was that of a horny mature woman who wanted a dick so bad it would do anything for it! It was hard to hold when looking at such a scene, but Arthur kept in that position with her for 30 minutes, cumming inside Wisa''s asshole in the end, which was already destroyed, and she could barely walk.

    Sybille was the only one left, and just like the n they formed after Arthur was done with Wisa''s asshole, it was time for Sybille to act without giving him breathing room.

    But Arthur, even without energy, fucked Sybille''s pussy like a real pro! Not only her pussy, but the asshole too, as she, just like Wisa, loved to do anal.

    Another load of cum, and after that one, Arthur wanted to stay in bed for a while to rest. He did just that.

    ~~~~

    Arthur stayed in bed the entire day, and the n of leaving to look for the second part of the inheritance changed for the following day. "A day will not change that much, right?" thought Arthur as he heard footsteps in front of his room.

    He was ready to get up and attack anyone who entered his room, but that did not happen, and instead, a letter passed beneath the door.

    "What is this?"<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Arthur moved his hand, and the letter flew from the ground into his hands. He opened it, reading its contents.

    "This is Hephas. The reunion of the council will begin soon, only with a small selected people I trust, as I now know someone from the original council is leaking our information. All the meetings happen like this, with me sending a letter to exin the location. Go to the servants'' room area, and look for the fourth room on the right side. Then, open the closet."

    That was what the letter said, and Arthur did precisely that. He changed from his pajamas to regr clothing, a white shirt, ck pants, and a robe with a hood, all of it ck too! That was his outfit almost every day, and he was starting to think he should change the color of his robes.

    "I always wear ck. Well, it is the most badass robe possible, so that makes sense."

    Arthur left his room after changing his clothes. It was during the middle of the night, and differently from most ces, some vampires were walking inside the castle, mostly patrol guards, who did not ask what Arthur was doing, as he was someone important to their lord.

    "I think this is the ce," thought Arthur when he arrived at an area of the castle where the servants lived.

    The area was quiet as most servants weren''t vampires but humans, so they slept during the night. Arthur saw, in that hallway, many doors on each side, and he looked for the fourth door on the right side.

    It was each to find it, and Arthur noticed no servant inside, unlike the other rooms where he could hear some breathing. So, Arthur opened up the door without worries, and an ordinary room entered his sight.

    There weren''t many things inside the room, but there was only one thing Arthur was looking for anyway: the closet. So he opened it up, and at first nce, only clothes were inside.

    Arthur knew something else and was sure it was a secret passage. Then, after two minutes of searching, Arthur found a hidden lever that opened up the fake panel of the closet, and a tunnel entered his sight.

    "This gives me some secret societies vibes, and I still want to create my own!"

    One of the things Arthur loved to read about or watch back on Earth was anything rted to secret societies, as those things looked fantastic, and now that he was in a world of magic, he wanted to create his own in the future, of course.

    He walked through the narrow tunnel with no lights until arriving at arge room with a stone table and chairs and some coffins around. That was the ce where the vampires met in secret.

    Arthur instantly recognized Hephas there, but there were four more vampires there, all of which were at the peak of rank 2! Arthur had passed his eyes on two of those before but never believed they were part of this secret council of vampires.

    "Arthur, I am d you came. So please, sit," Hephas said, pointing to one of the stone chairs.

    The other four vampires did not know Arthur like they had never talked to him before, but all of them respected him, considering he had simr strength to Lord Hephas.

    "I called all of you today, my most trusted friends, to talk about some discoveries I madest night," Hephas said.

    The meeting was supposed to happen with all of the council where Arthur would be nominated its leader and would train those vampires and lead them to greatness. But, Hephas knew someone from the council was a traitor, so he changed the meeting to another day and did one in secret with his most trusted close friends.

    Arthur was anxious to hear what Hephas discovered, just like the other four vampires sitting and listening to everything.

    "Could the traitor be here? What is happening?" thought Arthur.

    Hephas cleaned his throat and exined, "The problem is worse than we thought. The vampire family trying to invade my territory is one with a rank four mage and one of the strongest in this continent..."

    "What? Really?" One of the four vampires said.

    They knew there was no chance of winning against a rank-four mage, so that worried them.

    "I am older than you, so I remember that family. It is said they had a princess called Sybille, who was their most talented vampire in all history, yet some of the members locked her up somewhere," Hephas said.

    When he said that, Arthur could not believe it! Hephas already knew one of Arthur''s wives was a vampire called Sybille, but it was not like the name was rare, and many vampires shared it.

    But, what Hephas did not know was where Arthur had found her ¡ª locked inside a crypt. So, Arthur was sure this family attacking the Coldharbour family was the same one Sybille came from a long time ago!

    "Are theying for her?"

    Arthur was worried, but there were still many things to happen that night!

 Chapter 360 Coldharbour Family - The End?

    The other four vampires were shocked too, just like Arthur, who could not believe the family trying to infiltrate Coldharbour was Sybille''s. He thought about telling it Hephas but decided not to,  as that would only bring unnecessary problems.

    "This is the only thing I know now, but I know many spies inside this castle, and I will find them! The meeting is over, and your task is to wander inside the castle, looking for anything suspicious,"

    "You, Arthur, stay. I want to speak with you about your rtionship with my daughter."

    Four vampires left the secret meeting room, not wanting to stay around to hear their lord speak about his daughter''s boyfriends. Arthur, too, could not understand why Hephas would say something like that in such hard times. People were invading his castle, yet he wished to speak about marriage?

    "I said I will not marry Shyvana, not now, at least."

    Hephas did not look at Arthur but closed his eyes, focusing on his hearing. "Hum, they are gone now. We can speak."

    "Arthur, I did not tell you this in the letter because that way, you would act differently, and maybe they would know. Those four vampires I called? Yes, they are close friends, but one of them is a traitor, and I am sure of it,"

    "What I said about the invaders is true, and that should force them to meet in secret to n their next moves, and that''s when we will get them."

    Turned out Hephas had everything nned, and one of those four vampires was a traitor, and he called them there with the pretext of being ''trustworthy friends.''  That was a brilliant move, even more when he used a rtionship between Arthur and his daughter to make the four vampires disappear without suspecting their private conversation.

    "Impressive, Hephas. I never saw you as this smart. Now, what''s our next move?"

    Hephas rolled his eyes at that joke and said, "you believe they meet during day time when most vampires are asleep, right? Well, we will check those four vampires tonight and the next day and follow them to their secret meeting spot, where we will end them."

    "I see. But there are four vampires, and we are only two."

    "Shyvana will help us with the following. She is good at hiding. But you or I will have to take care of two. It shouldn''t be a problem considering they will not leave the castle, and we are rank three while they are not."

    After the quick conversation, Hephas and Arthur left to meet with Shyvana. All the four vampires who took part in the meeting saw the trio, which made them believe even more about the conversation Hephas had with Arthur about marriage.

    Even in these small details, Hephas thought about them, which was impressive. So, after the three were together, it was time to follow those four vampires.

    Arthur went to his room beforehand and exined the situation, leaving the part where the family invading Coldharbour was the same family as Sybille, as that would only make her more curious about it, which could make their n fail.

    Then, Arthur was responsible for following a thin vampire with short ck hair called Jhacksho.

    "Where should I look first? And why do I feel strange?" thought Jhacksho, looking behind his back to see if someone was following him, looking for why he felt that way.

    He was exploring the castle during the night, looking for anything suspicious, just like Hephas asked. He and the other three vampires were doing the same thing, so it was almost impossible to know who the traitor was based on that alone.

    Jhacksho walked on the walls and roof of the castle, out of sight from the ordinary servants ¡ª the few who were still awake ¡ª and of the weaker vampires.

    For some reason, he felt something strange, yet no matter where he looked, there was no one. Was his mind ying tricks on him? That was what he thought, but he was unsure if that was the case.

    The four vampires wandered around in the castle during the night and found nothing. That was understandable, considering one of the four was the traitor, so they couldn''t find anything even if they wanted.

    Now, when the day came, things changed. Three of the four vampires returned to their room to sleep, and Jhacksho was one of them. But, the one Hephas was following did not, and instead, moved toward the kitchen area!

    Arthur and Shyvana looked for Hephas when they saw their targets going to bed, and they found Hephas inside the castle''s kitchen, looking toward the storage area.

    "This is the ce. I saw one of the four vampiresing here. Bastards act early in the morning when no servant is awake, so they avoid us, vampires, and the others."

    "I also saw strange movements inside this kitchen before, so it must be here. Shall we go in before others appear and see us?" Arthur said.

    Hephas agreed to that, and the three of them went into the storage area, where they saw many crates filled with food.

    "There is nothing here," Shyvana said, but Hephas and Arthur knew more and kept searching.

    A secret passage had to be there, and after a few minutes of search, Hephas found it beneath some crates.

    "A trapdoor!"

    One by one, they went in, going down an old woodendder until reaching a narrow tunnel that would presumably lead to the room they used for their meetings.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    They kept going until arriving at a room that had nothing! Just an open area with no tables, chairs, or signs of life. The only thing inside that ce was another tunnel leading to another secret passage in the castle.

    Arthur remembered the time when he saw those strange people inside the kitchen, and they also went to the storage area. He could safely guess they used the same trapdoor, but nothing was inside!

    "They went in, and left using the other passage, only to... fool me!"

    He could not believe those people had figured that he was watching them, and if that was the case, they had fooled them too!

    "Hephas, you were wrong. Not one of the four vampires is a traitor, but at least two! One lured us here while the other is doing the business."

    Hephas was enraged, and the only reason he did not punch the walls of that room was to not destroy the foundation of his castle.

    "Let''s leave this ce using the other passage."

    The trio followed the other passage, leading to an empty room where the vampires lived.

    "What should we do now?" Shyvana asked when a massive explosion echoed, and a giant ming rock demolished one of the castle''s towers!

    "They are attacking us!"

    Hephas looked at Arthur and said, "We failed, and I don''t know what will happen in the future. You have one mission, Arthur. Grab Shyvana and leave this ce. You have the journals; if Shyvana lives, then our family will still live,"

    "Also, take this. This is a magical pouch with the treasures of our family."

    Arthur wanted to say no, but the determination on Hephas face said it all, and if there was one thing Arthur could do to help him was to protect his daughter.

    More and more screams echoed in all parts of the castle as two armies of vampires shed, with Hephas leading the Coldharbour family.

    On the other hand, Arthur went to look for his wives, leaving the area as quickly as possible.

    ? "I cannot leave my father. If you and I go there, we can win the battle and,"

    Arthur stopped her and said sadly, "I can sense from here they have a rank four mage just waiting to attack us if needed. No, unfortunately, we cannot win with our power..."

    Hephas had been someone good to Arthur, and if he had the chance, he would help him, but it was impossible against a rank-four mage. Sure, Hephas could flee with them, but what would that say to all the people under hismand? That he was a leader who ran at first sight of battle?

    "I-I."

    Shyvana was at a loss for words and did not want to leave her father to die in a meanless battle. But what could she do? She did not have the strength to help him...

    Arthur left with her and went directly toward his room to see his wives, but only Jane and Wisa were there. "Where is Sybille?" He yelled, his heart beating faster and a bad feeling arousing within.

    "T- There was nothing we could do. Someone powerful took her and left..."

    "What? Who? The rank four mage is still here."

    "Husband, you don''t understand. They have more than one rank-four mage! One of them came, took Sybille, and flew away from this ce. The other is there to make sure all of us die."

    The situation was even worse than Arthur thought, and instead of one rank-four mage, there were two! He couldn''t do anything but run away, which made everything worse.

    "But Sybile... We have to rescue her," Arthur said, unwilling to let his wife suffer.

    Jane and Wisa felt the same way but knew they couldn''t act. "Husband, you need to reach rank four before doing anything, or else this is impossible..."

    Arthur panted, trying to calm down and think about that situation. He could not win against rank four mages, and the one who took Sybille was farther away, and even if he tried to follow the mage, it would be impossible to catch up.

    He tried to think positively, remembering that Sybille''s family had locked her up before, so they were not looking to kill her.

    "Alright, let''s get out of here."

 Chapter 361 Secret Passage In The Wine Room

    The Coldharbour castle, a structure that had been there for ages, was now crumbling by the enemy''s attack. Hephas was outside, fighting against an army of bloodthirsty vampires who wanted him dead.

    Arthur''s bedroom abruptly opened, and a vampire he knew well was there. It was the same one he had followed.

    "Come, quickly. There is a secret passage for you to use and leave this ce alive! Hephas sent me here to make sure Shyvana left this ce with her life!" He said.

    "Where is this secret passage? Can you tell me?"

    "Huh, it''s the one by the west watchtower."

    When Arthur heard what the vampire said, he made his move. Then, with a swift movement, Arthur dashed toward the vampire, using his long sharp ws to pierce through his chest, right in the heart.

    All the blood from the vampire''s body flew toward Arthur''s body, making him stronger and changing his personality! For a brief second, Arthur''s eyes turnedpletely red, and all he wanted to do was kill everything in sight, but only one victim was not enough to make him go crazy.

    After a deep breath, Arthur returned to his usual self.

    "W-Why? How did you know?"

    He could not believe Arthur had seen through his disguise, but that was only understandable. Hephas was sure at least two of the four vampires were traitors and that one appearing out of nowhere in his room was suspicious enough. But what made Arthur sure of it was about the secret passage.

    Yes, one led out of the castle, but it was not in the west watchtower but inside a room where Hephas stored his wines. Perhaps the west watchtower also had a secret passage ¡ª the castle was full of them ¡ª but it was not the one Arthur was looking for.

    Arthur looked at Jane, Wisa, and Shyvana and said, "there is no time to exin. He is one of the traitors who made this attack possible. Come, follow me."

    Wisa and Jane had no idea where they were going after they left the bedroom, but Shyvana knew that passage but did not want to leave her father alone in that fight, even though she knew she couldn''t change the oue.

    "If I go there, then my father will die in vain," Shyvana thought, and that thought was what gave her strength.

    The insides of the castle were a mess, and all the servants who weren''t vampires wanted to leave. Seeing Arthur and Shyvana, two people they knew well, gave them hope!

    "Shyvana! Can you help us? We cannot help with the fight!"

    Arthur looked at them and said, "follow me, but if anyone hinders my movement, then there is nothing I can do. It is everyone for himself now!"

    He wanted to help them, but only to the extent that it would not harm him or his wives. All the servants agreed to what he said, and they also knew Arthur barely knew them, so just showing them a passage out of the castle was more than what they could ask for.

    With quick steps, Arthur, his wives, Shyvana, and around twenty servants made their way to the room where Hephas stored his wines.

    Once inside, Shyvana took the lead to open the passage for them. Hephas had shared it with Arthur beforehand, but he only heard it, and Shyvana had been there before, so she did things way faster than he did.

    It was a sequence where one had to pull a few fake bottles of wine from the shelf, so it was pretty challenging to find it, and the whole ce was hidden behind magical formations, making it even harder.

    Shyvana did the sequence wlessly, making the shelf move to show a narrow tunnel that could only fit two people side-by-side.

    "Done! Everyone, go!" Shyvana said, gesturing for the servants to go first.

    Arthur disliked it, as he wished to go first to ensure his wives were safe, but Shyvana probably knew those servants for years, and she wanted to keep them safe!

    All twenty servants went through the tunnel, with Arthur and his wives following closely behind. After they went inside, Shyvana closed the passage again to ensure no one would follow them.

    It was dark inside, but with some magic, candlelight brightened their way, making it easier for those servants who did not have the luxury to see in the dark.

    "How far is this tunnel?" asked Arthur.

    Shyvana was the only one who knew that, so she said, "this tunnel goes underwater and ends in a forest away from the nearest town. I assume this goes about... 50 kilometers away from the castle."

    "50 kilometers!" Arthur gasped.

    That was a short distance for him and any powerful mage, but traveling through a tunnel was not the same as traveling outside.

    They were there to keep themselves hidden, so using too much mana to increase their travel speed could rm their enemies, making their n to waste.

    So, it would take them at least a day to traverse through the tunnel. Still, Arthur tried to think positively. "A long tunnel means we are farther away from the castle; thus, it is safer."

    ~~~~

    "Finally, we are out of here!"

    Only the servants were almost passing out, unable to keep moving again. Arthur was alright, and the tunnel led them to a snowy forest away from the castle.

    But what should they do now to make sure those servants were safe?<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "Come, there are some carriages my father positioned here in case we needed for a run," Shyvana said, retaking the lead.

    It seemed that Hephas thought about everything in case something happened in the castle. Sure, he never believed another vampire family would do that, much less that it would happen so soon, but Hephas made sure to have the precautions if needed.

    Not that far from where the tunnel ended, hidden behind a magical barrier that made all the things inside invisible, there were a few carriages!

    The horses had runes on them, making them way more powerful than normal ones, eliminating the problems of weather, thirst, and hunger!

    "This is quite useful. These horses stayed here for a long time, yet are okay because of those runes. I don''t remember seeing anything like it in the central continent. Maybe I should write it down?" Arthur thought.

    He had his notebook ready when they all went inside the carriages and left the area.

    "Where should we go?" Arthur asked.

    The general area was not a knowledge he had, and Arthur hoped Shyvana had that in her.

    "A town nearby is not in the territory of any vampire family. That is the best ce for these servants to stay."

    "How long till we get there?"

    "Around two days."

    "I hope everything goes well..."

    ~~~~

    The Coldharbour castle did not live to see another day, but all of it got demolished, but the rank four mage was not happy, yelling like a madman.

    The only survivors were the lizardmen, who saw the situation getting severe, so they jumped in the water and fled.

    "Where are the fucking journals? Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

    Sure, they found Sybille, someone who belonged to their family and was supposed to be locked away, but what about the journals?

    They needed them to help them find the next part of the inheritance, as their spy had only leaked some information, but not all of it! The only person who knew all of what was inside the journals was Hephas, but he was now dead!

    Dead? Sort off.

    Inside an unknown dark room, a man coughed blood.

    "My avatar is dead, but this gives me the advantage of surprise! These bastards will pay with their lives for what they did with my family!" Hephas said as he looked beside him to see a woman''s body,pletely frozen.

    ~~~~

    They made their way to the town where all the twenty servants left the carriages and could not thank them enough. It would not be easy for them to start over, but it was doable, and the most important part: they were alive!

    If you have health, no matter the difficulties, there are always ways to bounce back. Also, they had some money from the time they worked for Hephas, who paid them well, so they would be okay.

    Now Arthur, Wisa, and Jane had a new task: find the next part of the inheritance, and get stronger to find Sybille! Well, that was the goal of Arthur and his wives. As for Shyvana, she wanted to get strong to kill those who attacked her family!

    "Are you sure you want to part ways?" Arthur asked.

    "Yes, I do. You have your own journey, and I have mine, but I hope youe to help me kill those bastards when the timees."

    "I will, absolutely. Hey, Shyvana, take this. I did not have the time to produce many of them, but this should help you reach rank three."

    Arthur had produced a few potions which would help Shyvana ¡ª Hephas had asked him that, but there was not much time to prepare more potions, so he only had three.

    "Really? Thank you, Arthur. I will never forget what you did for me."

    Shyvana had a strange feeling inside of her, one she could not pinpoint what it was, but one thing she knew: she did not want to part ways with Arthur, but she had to.

    In a little town amidst the snow, Shyvana left, looking to find her own adventure, which could only end when her family''s killers died.

    On the other hand, Arthur was starting a new one to find the cure to his madness, get stronger and ultimately rescue Sybille!

    But he did not know that his rage would only get worse...

 Chapter 362 Looking For Three Beautiful Adventurers

    The first thing Arthur and his wives did was to find a safe ce to read the journals Hephas gave them and find out more about the second part of the inheritance.

    It was hard to think about finding an inheritance when your wife''s kidnapping never left your mind. That was how Arthur, Wisa, and Jane felt, hidden inside a small inn surrounded by snow.

    Arthur watched the snowkes through the window while he read many different journals, all of the same person -- the Blood Monarch.

    "I will go downstairs and get a hot chocte. Do you want some, husband, Jane?" Wisa asked softly, trying not to disturb Arthur, who had his focus on the second part of the inheritance.

    He put the journal down for a second, smiled, and said, "yes, please. That would be great! Thank you, darling."

    The atmosphere was cozy, but all of them knew problems were everywhere, all of which were urgent!

    Wisa went downstairs to get the hot chocte, and there she saw many simple-living vigers sitting around the fire, warming their bodies.

    It was amon sight in a snowy ce like that, but it still brought a little peace to Wisa''s heart, which wished to be as carefree as that.

    "One day, perhaps." she thought.

    Jane was still inside their room, lying on the bed in a cross-legged position. Since Sybille got kidnapped, they were training harder, including Jane.

    Still, even while meditating, she found the time to ask Arthur, "found anything interesting?"

    The second part of the inheritance was important to cure Arthur''s madness, allowing him to focus entirely on reaching rank four and getting Sybille back.

    "Yes," Arthur said, scratching the back of his head before adding, "I believe."

    "There is something about this passage here; hear this out,"

    ''Surrounded by three mountains, it is.''

    ''His ce of eternal rest."

    ''A beast is lying underneath.''

    ''And going there means death.''

    ''The perfect hiding spot.''

    ''To anything but lost.''

    ''Will you find it?''

    ''Can you find it?''

    ''A tip for those who are reading it.''

    ''Anyone can see, but only one will see its true colors.''

    "So, what do you think, Jane?" Arthur asked after reading that small poem.

    The journals shared some information about where the second part of the inheritance could be, and during these passages, it is clear that the ce has mountains around it. Therefore, the poem most likely spoke about the inheritance''s actual location.

    "It speaks about a hidden ce, and the Blood Monarch put some beast to guard it. But what about thest part? That should be the most important one to find the location."

    Yes, thest part was a tip, but Arthur could not understand, at least not at first. But the more he read it, the more it resembled his Emperor Eye!

    The Emperor Eye could see the true form of anything, which matched the poem''sst part. Not only that, but the person who should be looking for the second part of the inheritance probably had the first one, meaning it had the eye too.

    "But I still need to find at least a general location. I cannot wander the continent aimlessly like a lost chicken."

    "I am back," a voice echoed inside the room, and they could hear the sound of a door opening.

    It was Wisa who returned with three hot choctes for them. "What did I miss?" she asked, and then Arthur exined that part of the journal.

    "Yes, it does seem like it, especially the part about your mysterious eye. But how will we find this ce? Also, I am sure many ces in this continent will have three mountains around it."

    That was another thing that worried Arthur. It was not like the ce described in the journal was unique or anything like that. So many ces would have a simr look, making the search even worse.

    "Husband, didn''t you tell more vampire families were looking for this thing? Maybe we could kidnap a few of them and get some answers," Wisa said, giving an excellent idea.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Hephas said more families got the information, possibly the one who invaded Coldharbour and a few others. So, what Arthur could do was to find some of these vampires and get some answers.

    They surely would not know about the Emperor Eye part, but if they at least found a ce simr to the one described in the poem, that would make the trouble worth it in the end.

    "That is a good idea, Wisa. But how should we start to look for them?"

    Although Hephas mentioned that other vampire families were looking for that inheritance, he did not tell him their names, so it was almost impossible to know their location.

    "Think, Arthur, think."

    Arthur did not even blink, entering a thoughtful state, trying to find anything he could to help him find those vampires, and after a few minutes of thinking, he did find them!

    "Right! How I never thought about it earlier!"

    The Adventurers Guild! Why? Well, the guild worked like this: someone, who wanted something, would post a job, and the adventurers would ept the job, thus getting a reward at the end of it.

    Many influential people put orders in the Adventurers Guild, which was an essential pir of the Demon Continent. Vampires were only one race inside the continent, and if they made strange movements, it would catch the attention of other powers who would want to learn more about it.

    "So all we have to do is wait for the information about the vampires reaches the Adventurers Guild, then we get the information about the witness and find the vampires," Wisa said.

    Jane was sipping her hot chocte when she said, "but how are we going to enter the guild in the first ce? A job rted to powerful vampires is only avable for higher rank members."

    "About that..."

    ~~~~

    Arthur and his wives are set on a journey, leaving the snowy area and looking for three specific individuals. Yes, the three adventurers Arthur met before: Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva.

    "How can this eye of yours find them anyway?" Jane asked as the three of them were flying in the sky.

    "I met them before, so I can focus on finding their specific aura using the eye. It does not always work; it depends on the distance we are from the target and the target''s power level.

    Speaking of level, Arthur gained only a few of them in the past days, but his stats had increased because of the blood absorption and his Celestial Energy!

    After a long, long time, the Celestial Energy was working again with constancy, and if it kept increasing its attributes, then it meant the people back in other continents still believed in him.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Bloodline: Dragon (Legendary cidusax), Monlog Giant]

    [Rank: Official Mage (3)]

    [Level: 132]

    [Health: 107000/107000]

    [Mana: 0/0]

    [Spiritual Force: 370]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 714]

    [Agility: 639]

    [Vigor: 634]

    [Wisdom: 878]

    [Charm: 636]

    [Free points: 145]

    The attributes increased due to the blood and the celestial energy, but the most important part was his Spiritual Force! It was already at 370, as Arthur kept condensing the mana he gained from the levels to increase it at a faster rate.

    "I need to get it to 400 and then find a way to break through to the next rank! Also, where do I put these 145 points?"

 Chapter 363 Demon Continents Capital

    The Emperor Eye proved to be valuable when looking for specific individuals. Arthur and his wives traveled throughout the continent, following the aura of the three adventurers Arthur had met before.

    "We are getting close," Arthur said.

    They had traveled across the demon continent, far away from where the Coldharbour castle was. Arthur, who had little knowledge about theyout of the continent, still knew the direction they were heading led to the capital!

    That was where the main headquarters of the Adventurers Guild was and where the three girls Arthur met went.

    "Aren''t they going there to speak about the killing? The one I caused due to my madness? Hell, I hope this does not give me more problems." Thought Arthur.

    Only after chasing them down for days did Arthur remember where the three girls were heading. Understandable considering the terrible situation he and his wives were in.

    "The capital of the demon continent? This is the best ce to get more information about the war!" Wisa said.

    Honestly, the part about the war turned secondary as Arthur wanted to rescue Sybille and then think about ways to prevent the war.

    He was not that worried because of how fast they arrived in the demon continent with the help of the legendary creature, Turquoise. They still had plenty of time to think about that in the future.

    "Can we go in like without problems? Or should we sneak in?" Jane asked Arthur as the trio flew in the sky, and the capital was already in sight.

    Arthur frowned his eyebrows and then said, "we should sneak in just in case. The vampire family who attacked the Coldharbour castle could be there, watching everyone who enters the city. With the help of magic, they could know our faces, so we better be careful." He said.

    As they got closer to the demon''s continent capital, Rolmuth, they slowed their flying speed and descended to the ground.

    The story behind the city''s name was because of its founder, Rolmuth, a powerful demon who once ruled over the continent long ago. He conquered the continent when it barely had cities or viges and built his ideal town where he lived before eventually disappearing from the map.

    "How can we sneak in? The walls are tall, protected with magical barriers, and each entrance has guards."

    Wisa and Jane did not know, but Arthur had once sneaked into a ce simr to that one, and the answer to all of the security problems was¡­ the sewers!

    Arthur took out the sewer door with the unpleasingmentaries of his wives.

    "Are we going inside this dirty ce? There is not any other way around it?"

    "Unfortunately, not. This is the price we have to pay if we want to sneak in without being noticed, thus going to jail, or worse, get the vampires to find us and end our lives."

    Arthur would try it if there were any other way around it, but there was not. Rolmuth was the capital of the continent, and differently from the central continent, in the demon continent, most races disliked each other. Hence, the security in cities was way higher to prevent any damage.

    The smell of rotten food, feces, and rats was getting into the nerves of the trio, who wished nothing more than leave that sewer as quickly as possible!

    "Look at this dirty water. After this, we need to bathe, the three of us!" Jane said while doing her best not to stomp in any feces along the way.

    This time, their sewer strategy went well until the middle part, where a magical barrier made them stop. The city would not let the sewer unprotected; that was obvious.

    Still, it was the most essible ce to break in. While the main entrances and the city walls also had magical barriers, there were guards, unlike the sewer, where no one wanted to go.

    "Don''t worry about it," said Arthur, looking at Jane and Wisa, "I can break through this barrier given enough time."<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "Enough time? How long? We need to leave this shitty hole as soon as possible."

    Arthur''s wives wanted to leave, as that ce was smelling worse by the second, and even Arthur, who had the endurance to resist such terrible sites, was starting to feel the urge to throw up.

    "Not too long, but be ready to pass through the barrier as soon as I break it," Arthur said.

    The magical formation was a blue barrier that blocked anyone who tried to enter without having permission. If destroyed, it would rm the powerful mages responsible for caring for the city.

    Arthur was a master when it came to magical formations, and now with the help of his Emperor Eye ¡ª which allowed him to see the mana flow of the barrier ¡ª made everything easier.

    It took him twenty minutes to create a small hole in the barrier. Big enough for them to pass through but not too big to rm the mages. "Be ready to pass through it quickly. The passage will onlyst three seconds not to rm anyone," Arthur said.

    Wisa and Jane nodded, and when they saw the hand sign of Arthur, the two rushed through the hole, reaching the other side of the barrier.

    When the two passed through, Arthur still had one second to do the same, and as he was literally in front of the hole, it was more than enough for him to pass through it too.

    "That was close. Now let''s get out of her-" Arthur turned to see his wives, who were already far from him.

    "I am sorry, darling, but we cannot handle this shit smell anymore! Quickly follow us!" Wisa said from afar.

    They left him there. "Wait for me, or I will punish you two in bed tonight!"

    ~~~~

    The sewers had many exits, so Arthur and his wives chose one leading to an alley, as anyone sneaking in would do. It was dark, and most of the people in those alleys were thugs and homeless people who did terrible things to live.

    It was not an area where guards usually went, only passing there from time to time to make sure it was not a mess.

    "I think it is clear," Arthur said, looking from inside the sewer to see if anyone was around.

    He made the sign, and the trio left the sewer. Jane and Wisa wanted to scream joyfully after leaving that shitty hole but did not, as that would attract unnecessary attention.

    They first needed a bath, so they left the dark alley and went into the main streets, looking for a ce to bathe.

    Rolmuth was the capital, so it had way more things and people. It was easy to find stores and vendors on the street that sold anything you could ask for, and one of the main ces people went when visiting Rolmuth was their hot springs!

    The hot springs were in the upper part of the city, with few houses resembling more of a natural look, like a park. It was like a park in the mountains; to get there, one had to pay a fee at the main gate.

    It was their way of ensuring no homeless people went there to live. Money was no problem for Arthur, so he paid the guard, and he and his wives went in.

    A bath in a hot spring was a blessing, but there were more things they could do in that ce¡­

    "I told you I would punish you," said Arthur, pping Jane''s and Wisa''s butts.

 Chapter 364 Hot Spring (R18)

    The park was immense, with more than just hot springs. There was ake with benches for people to sit and rx and a small restaurant designed for couples who wanted a romantic time together.

    Everything about the ce felt romantic, and Arthur could imagine the couples sitting by theke and sharing their first kiss. Well, not only guess, but as he was exploring the ce with Jane and Wisa, he saw two orcs kissing each other.

    "Love is beautiful," Arthur thought, trying his best to avoid the orcs'' gaze as they looked fierce!

    Although the restaurant looked cozy and an excellent ce for Arthur and his wives to have a romantic time together, they aimed for the hot springs themselves, as a bath was all they could think of.

    "The sign says it is in that direction," Wisa said, pointing at a wooden sign at a crossroad.

    The park was immense, so many signs were around to make it easier for people to navigate inside, especially those going there for the first time, like Arthur.

    "Good evening. Are we looking for separate hot springs, or do all of you want to use the same?" ady asked Arthur, Jane, and Wisa, who found their way to the hot springs inside a specific building in the park.

    "Can we have one private for all of us? It would be best if there''s no one around to disturb us," Arthur said with a smile.

    "Of course, but the cost will be higher."

    Arthur was expecting that, so he only smiled and paid thedy the price she asked for.

    The building had many doors, and behind each door was a room with the ceiling open, covered by four walls. There the hot spring was, in a pit of rocks.

    Each room had a neighbor, but Arthur''s did not. He paid extra precisely for that, meaning his room was away from everyone else, like a VIP area.

    Why would he pay more for that? His wives needed punishment after leaving him behind in the sewer. He had not forgotten that; the hot spring was the perfect ce for his revenge.

    "Ah, this feels so good," Jane said.

    They took their clothes off after entering their private hot spring. Arthur checked it and could see the ceiling, which was open, had a magical formation on it, making it so that no one could break in. Also, anyone from outside would not see anything, but the people inside would see the outside.

    That was their way of protecting the privacy of their clients while notpromising their experience. No one wanted a wholly closed room without fresh air, especially in a hot spring ¡ª the vapor would make it unbearable.

    Wisa also took out her clothes, and the moment she did, her two mountain peaks bounced, and she noticed Arthur''s eyes staring at them, which made her smile.

    "You love my prominent peaks, right, husband? Now that I think of it, Jane also has two voluptuous boobs. Is this something you look for in women?"

    Arthur was taking out his pants when he heard that and said, "of course not. Well, not that I don''t love them, but that''s not the only thing that matters. You two are way more than looks for me."

    He was not stupid and thought well about his following words. Anything wrongly said could cause their palms to meet his face.

    "That''s what a man would say. You impress me more every day, husband."

    It was nice to hearpliments, and for Arthur was no different. He had a smile, happy to have found people that mattered in his life.

    When he thought about that, Sybille also came to mind, and she was now missing¡­ Wisa and Jane could see his sad face, thus imagining his thinking.

    "Don''t worry, darling. We will find her!"

    They went toward Arthur, hugging him tightly. The gesturested for a minute before they let go of each other to return to bathing.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The ce had two pools where they could stay and rx, while the other was meant for bathing. Arthur and his wives first went to the one meant for bathing, utilizing the bar of soaps the ce gave them to clean their bodies and give them a pleasant fragrance.

    Arthur knew they would have to take two showers that night, but they were so dirty they first needed one, or else the pool meant for rxing would turn ck with impurities. Yes, the sewer part had been a nightmare for them.

    After the bath, they changed pools, going into the hot spring meant for rxing. There, the fun began!

    "Come here, Jane," Arthur said.

    He hugged Wisa while Jane was in front of him, waiting to hear his following sentence. Arthur looked at her deeply and said, "suck it."

    Arthur was sitting on the edge of the hot spring, so he was a level higher than Jane.

    She looked at him and said, "you don''t need to ask that. I will dly suck it dry."

    Jane grabbed her hair and wrapped it in a ponytail to make it easier for her to suck the dick. Wisa was beside Arthur, looking down to see the hot face of Jane putting the cock in her mouth.

    It was a hot scene, making her wet just by looking at it. Wisa wanted some too, and for a moment, thought about going down, but Arthur grabbed her and said, "I want your pussy now."

    Arthurid back, putting Wisa above him with her legs wide open and her pussy in his face. Then, it was his time to show his tongue skill, licking the clitoris like an expert.

    "Ah, yes, right there!" Wisa moaned.

    Jane, who was working on sucking the dick like a pro, looked up to see the bouncing ass of Wisa, which made her roll her eyes and turn her on even more.

    "Yes, baby! Fuck it. You are too good with - ahh!"

    Wisa''s leg shook, and she could not hold her orgasms, reaching multiple in a row with the amount of pleasure she felt on her clitoris.

    "Wisa, switch ces, please?" Jane begged.

    She loved to suck a dick, but she also wanted her husband to lick her pussy the way he did with Wisa.

    Although Wisa wanted more of it, she knew how to share, so she nodded and switched ces with Jane, going down a level to suck the dick while Jane went up to have her pussy licked.

    Now it was her time to have some orgasms, and when Arthur''s tongue touched her clitoris, a pleasing sensation waved on her whole body.

    "Yes! I love this!"

    Jane wiggled her ass, and Arthur pped it multiple times, turning it all red! Wisa watched the scene, making her pussy more wet, ready to end the preliminary and go to a rough fuck.

    "Now that I remember, you two must be punished for leaving me alone in the sewer. Jane, you are the first. Come here," Arthur said, getting up and putting Jane on her fours.

    He ced his dick in Wisa''s face and said, "spit it." She did that, making it easier for the dick to go in.

    "Now, where do you want it first?"

    Jane had her butt aiming at the sky and used her two hands to open her asshole more. She looked at Arthur and said, "please, fuck my asshole first!"

 Chapter 365 A Hunting Team Found Their Prey

    "That felt good!" Jane said after they left the hot springs.

    Arthur looked at her and asked, "the bath or the sex?"

    She giggled at it and said," both, you silly."

    In the hallway, after they left the hot spring room and walked a little further into where the other rooms were, the three adventurers Arthur was looking for appeared!

    They were also there to enjoy the hot spring, and it was all but a fantastic coincidence, as it would make Arthur''s life easier.

    Nykka was chatting with Tarinne while walking, looking at her face, but then she noticed Tarinne staring at something in front of them, so she turned around to gaze at the same thing and saw Arthur!

    She never believed they would meet so soon, especially in a ce like that.

    "Arthur! What a surprise. How is it going?" Nykka said.

    Arthur rejoiced with their sight and said, smiling, "pretty good. Also, I need to talk with you three in private."

    He went directly to the matter, not wanting to lose time with foolish words.

    "Talk with us? May I ask the subject?"

    "Your Guild."

    It caught Nykka''s interest, so she agreed to speak with him, and seeing how they had just arrived for a bath, Arthur decided to leave first and agreed to meet in the small restaurant not that far from the hot springs.

    The ce was made of ck wood, had two stories, and had a balcony where people could sit and see the nearbyke. There were also many trees around it, so the sound of birds singing and the atmosphere turned the ce into something peaceful.

    "I want a table for six, please," Arthur asked the restaurant attendant.

    She was surprised, as people often preferred their restaurant for romantic dinners, so it had fewer clients, primarily couples.

    "Follow me, please."

    The attendant brought them to the second floor of the building, and there was no table for six, but the attendant mixed a few smaller tables and made a bigger one. Arthur was not angry, as the restaurant was not meant for a family dinner.

    Also, the table was on the balcony, so it was even better! "Beautiful," Arthur said, looking at theke from a privileged position.

    The attendant asked if they wanted food, but Arthur dismissed them, saying they were waiting for the others toe. Arthur, Jane, and Wisa waited at that table for thirty minutes before Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva came.

    "Sorry for keeping you waiting," Nykka said, sitting on one of the chairs.

    "Don''t worry about it. So, do you want to eat first, or should I get straight into business?"

    "Eat."

    "Eat."

    "Eat."

    "Eat."

    "Eat."

    All five girls present said the same thing, surprising Arthur. "Ok, I will go get us the menu."

    Arthur left the table, grabbed the menu with one of the people working in the restaurant, and they decided what to eat. Arthur and his wives did not know some of the food on the menu but decided to follow what Nykka and the others ordered.

    The table went from empty to bursting with food without a single spot without a te on it.

    Nykka bit a chicken leg like a starved beast and said, "so, what do you want to talk about?"

    "Well, it is like this¡­."

    He then exined everything in the Coldharbour family and discussed the problem of various vampire families looking for the same treasure, one which belonged to the Coldharbour family.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "So you want me to keep an eye on the new tasks of the guild to see if there is anything rted to these vampires?"

    "Yes, that is correct."

    "I will do it, but with one condition."

    Of course, there were always conditions in situations like that, so it did not surprise Arthur.

    "Go on."

    "I will have to ept the task so I can read more information about it, and if I ept it, I have to finish it. Get the point?"

    Arthur was not stupid, so he said, "you three want toe with us, right? Well, you can, but it will be dangerous."

    "We can handle it."

    Their discussion ended in friendly terms, and now Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva would keep an eye on all the new tasks arriving in the Adventurers Guild to see if there was something about the strange vampire movements.

    After that, all of them parted ways, with Arthur and his wives going into a particr store responsible for selling and renting properties.

    Why? Who knows how long it will take for a task containing information about the vampires to appear in the Adventurers Guild? Arthur was not staying in an inn all this time, as he also needed to train in a decent ce, so the best option was to rent a house.

    Rent would be way less expensive than buying the whole thing, and he was not nning on staying in the capital for that long, at least not for now, but maybe in the future.

    They spent the night hours looking for decent houses until morning came, with the sun brightening up the surroundings and all the workers waking up to deal with their daily affairs.

    After that much time, they finally found the perfect house to rent! It was spacious but not to the point of uselessly immense ¡ª only three people would live there, after all.

    But what caught Arthur''s attention was how well protected the house was, with magical formations that would make even him take a long time to crack, and the exceptional facilities within the house, which was aboratory for experiments, a magical cksmithing room, an alchemy room, and finally, an enchanting room.

    It had everything Arthur needed, but the thing he wished for the most was the alchemy room! Now was the perfect time to settle down for a while and improve his skills.

    "Beautiful ce, this is. Husband, are you leaving?" Wisa asked when she noticed Arthur leaving after seeing the house.

    "Yes. I will pass by the ingredient shop and buy supplies for my alchemy potions. Wisa, Jane, can you check the special mark to see if Sybille is okay?"

    "Of course."

    Arthur then left his newly acquired house, looking for a shop that sells ingredients. It was not that hard to find, as the capital had everything one could wish for.

    "Don''s Magical Herbs," Arthur read the sign in front of the store.

    He had no idea if it was a decent shop, but it had to be, right?

    ~~~~

    "I saw him entering an ingredient shop."

    "Really? Is he an alchemist, then?"

    "That is obvious. Why else would he go there? Are you stupid?"

    "Shut up, you two. We have some information that he is the beast behind the attack of the Lycan''sir and, more importantly, the human settlement."

    "But boss, he looks so normal and young, like a normal youth. Whatever did those things was a mad beast!"

    "That''s what makes him dangerous! He is a beast hidden among the people. So, what''s his level of strength?"

    "Rank three as well, just like us! It will be three versus one, so this is a fight we will win for sure."

    "Hum. Let us first wait for an opportunity."

 Chapter 366 Potion Shop!

    Arthur bought many ingredients in Don''s shop. It was not the most luxurious ce, but it had the things he needed, and more importantly, it was not that expensive.

    But, still expensive, and Arthur started to think about ways to earn money, especially now that he was paying high rent for his house.

    "Should I sell some potions? They are easy to make, and they are valuable."

    When he bought the ingredients with Don, he asked him as many things as possible, trying to see if alchemists were rare in the demon continent too.

    It turned out they were! Well, promising alchemists, at least. Those who could craft potions for Official Mages were rare. As for beneath that, it was way moremon.

    "Many people try alchemy, but only a few are good at it."

    Arthur returned to his house, and both of his wives were already asleep when he got there. "So cute," he said, looking at their faces while sleeping.

    He went to the alchemy room to store all the ingredients he bought and then outside in his garden for some meditation. That was his way of making sure his Moon Essence was getting stronger!

    During the day, Arthur used the sun for his Fire Essence. During the night, the moon for his Moon Essence. It was mainly involuntary, the same for his lightning and wood essence.

    That was slowly making him stronger, but still far from the rank four, which was his goal.

    "Tomorrow, I will start making potions! First for selling and making money, and then after that for my strength! Yes, it is settled; I will open a shop here!"

    The training session went well, and by the time he finished, it was already morning. Arthur not only trained but also thought of his shop and how he should proceed.

    "Good morning, honey," Arthur said when he saw Jane and Wisa leaving the house to meet with him in the courtyard.

    Arthur noticed that both Jane and Wisa had high levels now, meaning they were training, and the sex had helped them too!

    "Are you two close to rank three?" he asked.

    "Good morning, husband. Yes, we are! Can you make us some potions to make it easier?"

    When they were in the Coldharbour family, they had heard that Arthur would make potions to help Shyvana, so they wondered if he could do the same for them.

    "Yes, I can. Now that you brought up the subject of potions, hear this out¡­."

    Jane and Wisa loved the idea of a shop, as they also wanted something to put their minds to it.

    "We can care for the shop, like selling and helping with the supplies. All you need to do is make the potions!"

    "Wannae with me to look for a good spot?"

    "Absolutely!"

    The three of them left their house early in the morning, stopping to eat in one of the many restaurants in the city and then returning to the renting agent.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "A shop? Yes, we do have some avable. Here, take a look at these."

    Arthur had some options, but he did not rush to choose it and went to all ces, analyzing the structure itself and the things around it! One thing he tried to look for was if there were other potion shops around the one he wished to open, and sadly, there were!

    In all the avable shops, it had other potion shops nearby, so Arthur could not gain the advantage in terms of location. He wanted to open his shop where there were no other potion shops. So, with how big the city was, most people would prefer the closest shop, as most had the same quality of potions.

    "This won''t do. I need to think about it the other way. My shop will not be like all the others. The quality will be way higher, and people wille looking for it, no matter the distance. That''s it!"

    He had a glimpse of an idea, one that people did not do in this world, and that was delivery! What was the most significant thing behind the delivery? An app!

    That the world did not have, but there were other ways to contact through magic, and it worked just fine! Arthur could even hire others to do the job for him in the future, making it more essible.

    "We will take the best shop, not caring that much if there are other potion shops around it. I have an idea. Hear this¡­"

    Arthur then exined the idea behind the delivery system. He had in mind to create magical fliers with some general information about his shop and a secret mark printed on them, too, so that the mages could link with it and send their message, which would be their order.

    Then, if they got at least one flier, the mages could keep asking for orders, making it like a QR Code.

    "This is a fantastic idea! No one ever thought about allowing people to order things that easily and then go and deliver them to them. How did youe up with his?"

    Although his wives saw Arthur as a genius, he knew where he got the idea from, so he was not that impressed by his aplishment, but it was nice that he found a way to implement it in the magical era.

    "You think? Well, it will take some time to implement it, and I will need the help of you two."

    Arthur also wanted to build a shop when the news about the vampires came in the Adventurers Guild. He felt it would take some time, and after he explored the shops in the city, he knew how vital mana stones were.

    He had few mana stones in the central continent, just like now. The treasures Arthur had were outdated, most of them at least. He only had a decent sword and some jewelry pieces; he still had to figure out their effects.

    But with money, he could buy better ingredients to make stronger potions, increasing his power. He could buy weapons, armor, and spell tomes too!

    "Ick spells! The only book I have is the dragon diary I found long ago, but its skills are weaker than tier 13 spells, so I''ll put them aside for now."Thought Arthur.

    Before, even without money, his strength could ovee his opponents, but now, Arthur was at a disadvantage against mages with simr power but better equipment.

    ? They decided to get the most centralized store in the middle of the city, making it easier for them to make the deliveries. But they first needed to clean up the ce, put some products in it, and make it look like a potion shop.

    "Frostpeak Potion Shop? I like it. It gives me old memories."

    Frostpeak Potion Shop was the name they chose, and on the first day, Arthur had a sign done, putting it in front of the store, attracting the attention of a few passersby, but they quickly forgot about it.

    "Another potion shop. It will go bankrupt in one month." They thought.

    No one believed the Frostpeak Potion Shop would seed, but Arthur knew for sure his potions would shock the city and the entire continent!

 Chapter 367 Thieves In The Potion Shop

    One week had passed since the day Arthur bought a small shop in the center of Rolmuth. That was where his potion shop would be, and since the day he bought it, Arthur and his wives spent hours of their day making it seed.

    The first step was to make it an excellent environment for anyone inside. Arthur nned a delivery system, but one still had clients who visited the shop in person, so everything had to be in order and clean.

    After the first week, the Frostpeak Potion Shop was ready to open! It had an open space for the clients to see the potions on disy and a menu of all the potion''s effects and prices!

    A counter where they could speak with someone who worked in the store, asking for information, and also where they would pay for the things they bought.

    There was also a bathroom if anyone needed it, and some areas where the clients were not allowed to go in: the underground alchemy room where Arthur prepared his potions, and it also worked as a storage room. And a room where someone would write down the orders and pack them for delivery.

    "This is it, husband. We will open the store, finally!" Wisa said as they looked at their store from the front.

    Arthur had yet to hire someone, as he knew it would take some time for his business to start having many orders, especially considering therge number of potion stores inside the city ¡ª shops that already had a reputation different from his.

    He changed the front sign from closed to open and sat behind the counter with his wives, waiting for the first client. The previous day, Arthur went around the city distributing the fliers he made, which contained the type of potions he sold and the way for them to make orders without having to go to the store.

    "No clients, it seems¡­."

    Jane and Wisa were sad after their first day of work. The sun was going down, and no one came into the store, and no one contacted them for a delivery service. Even Arthur, who expected that, was also down, as deep down he wished his shop would seed on its first day.

    "Some things do not work as we want." Thought Arthur, but as they were ready to get up from their chairs and close the shop for the day, the doorbell rang, and someone walked in!

    It was an older man who had a long white beard and hair. The wrinkles on his face were few considering his age, and that was the power of being a mage.

    Arthur sensed the man had the power of a rank two mage, which was his limit. Although it was lower than Arthur''s rank, it was still a considerable power in the demon continent.

    The man entered and nced around, looking at all the ss disys with potions.

    "Wee. How can I help you?" Wisa said, greeting the neer.

    It shocked the man that a rank two mage was greeting him when he entered the shop, and his first thought was that thedy was the shop''s owner, "the owner greeting me? What an honor!" he said.

    Arthur was behind the counter with his aura hidden, and only a powerful rank three mage or a rank four mage could see through him. He understood why the man would think that way, as rank two mages were often powerhouses, leaders of families, or owners of shops, like that one.

    "Well, this is not bad. Considering everyone is after me, keeping a low profile is good." Thought Arthur.

    The people who attacked the Coldharbour family were after him. Those who were investigating his bursts of madness were after him. His wives had kept a low profile, so if that man believed Wisa was the owner, so be it.

    "Haha, of course. An esteemed guest like you deserves the best treatment. Now, what can I do for you?"

    "My grandson will take a test to enter a magical school in a month, and you know, us humans aren''t the most talented among races, so I was looking for a potion to increase his power, but all the other shops only have low-quality potions that will do more harm than good. I came here after seeing your flier and wanted to check."

    What the man said was correct. Many races lived together in the demon continent, the humans weren''t inmand, and their overall talent was worse than many other races.

    Not only that, but usually, those bestial races also had powerful bodies, making it even worse for humans topare.

    "Yes, we have many different points, from a first circle mage to a rank three mage to use. What exactly are you looking for?"

    "What? Really? Do you have any potions that can increase the life span of this older man? I don''t see me reaching rank three even with the help of the most extraordinary potion."

    Arthur, behind the counter, came to greet the man too! Wisa was not the most knowledgeable person regarding potions and was not the one who brewed most potions there.

    "Hello, sir. May I suggest you two potions?"

    "Go on."

    "The first is for your grandson. What exactly is his level?"

    "Hum, he is a second circle mage."

    "I see," Arthur said, gesturing for the man to follow him to the disys.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "You should not look only for a quick power increase. When people are young, that is the best time to refine their talent, clearing up their path for future achievements. Here, look at this potion. This is known as an Elixir of Cleansing. It does purge the impurities inside the mana core, indirectly increasing the mage''s progress rate."

    The man was paying a lot of attention to everything Arthur said, and for some reason, Arthur gave him an air of mystery, one he could not pinpoint what it was.

    "There is also this one, the Draught of Secrets. It will boost the power of your grandson from the second circle up to the fifth! I suggest you give him this first for quick progress, then coupled it with the Elixir of Cleansing to expel all the impurities your grandson already has in his mana core and the new ones from the elixir."

    These two potions were not cheap for the general public, like someone beneath the rank one, but for a rank two mage, especially one with years of experience, it was cheap.

    Arthur showed the man the two potions, and the man checked them entirely to see if they were of good quality, and they were! Not only good quality, but the man had never seen better potions before.

    "I will take these two potions. Do you have something that extends my life span?"

    The first two options for the man''s grandson were cheap, only adding up to 120 mana stones. But a potion capable of extending the life span? That was something expensive, even for a rank two mage.

    They were expensive and rare too, and Arthur did not have many.

    "Yes, I do have one. The Giant''s sk. It is brewed with the blood of icy giants from the northwest mountains, and it can add up to 150 years for you!"

    "I want it!"

    The man was smiling, not caring about the price. He was getting too old and wished to be around to help his grandson in his early stages, so he needed that potion, no matter what!

    "This is a more precious item. Come, follow me."

    ~~~~

    "Did you see this potion shop? Let us look; it might have something useful for us."

    "Larry, we have a beast to hunt! Don''t you remember the number of dead bodies in that Lycan''s Lair? Or the human settlement? We cannot fool around."

    "Let''s go! It will be a quick stop, I promise."

    "Alright, but you will have to buy something for me."

    "Hehehe, of course, boss."

    Three men wearing light armor, a cape, and many weapons hanging on their waists and back went toward the Frostpeak Potion Shop.

    Hunters from the Adventurers Guild were looking to kill the beast, also known as Arthur. When the first moment of madness happened, Arthur killed many Lycans and humans. People wanted answers, and that''s why the Adventurers Guild acted and sent people to investigate.

    The guild sent some of their best, and without much problem, they found Arthur''s track and have followed him ever since. They did not get too close, as Arthur noticed them that way, and they had never seen Arthur''s true face.

    He looked normal, so the three hunters believed Arthur was no human but something else in disguise. The Frostpeak Potion Shop, newly opened in the capital, caught their attention, not because they thought Arthur was there ¡ª they had lost his track in the past week ¡ª but because they wished to buy anything which could help them in their hunt.

    "This is the ce?" One of them said, looking at the huge sign saying ''Frostpeak Potion Shop.''

    "It''s closed, unlucky. Maybe we should return here tomorrow?"

    "Tomorrow? No, I have a better idea. Why don''t we break in?"

    ~~~~

    Jane and Wisa had left the store moments before the three hunters arrived, returning to their rented house in a wealthy city neighborhood.

    Arthur stayed in the shop, closing it and entering his basement to craft some potions. The city had many guards, and crimes often happened in the poor areas of the city where no guards went, so Arthur was not that concerned about some breaking in, but going against his beliefs, he heard from downstairs a noise, like a window opening.

    "Who am I going to kill tonight?" thought Arthur, stopping his potion craft, putting on a ck hood, and going upstairs to check.

 Chapter 368 A Team Of Hunters, And More Problems With The Inheritance

    Arthur was down in his basement, brewing potions when he heard strange noises from the shop. "Thieves? In the middle of the city? Could they be the vampires?"

    He did not believe ordinary thieves would have the means and the courage to break into a shop in the middle of the city, with many guards patrolling and other citizens around to ask for help. That could only mean someone had the contacts to do things unharmed or the power to ovee the oversight.

    There was no way to be sure,  and only after meeting with the invaders would Arthur know who they were, so he also used his unique spell to change his appearance, and he returned to one he used a long time ago as the Elven Ruler.

    His long ck hair turned blond, and his ears shifted to pointed ones. The general appearance of his face did not change much, but it was enough to fool almost everyone.

    "Only someone who lives with me every day can notice the simrities!" he thought, going upstairs after doing the preparations.

    Each step he took made his heart beat faster, and even though he knew only a few people on the whole continent could fight against him, it was still scary to go without knowing anything.

    "The fear of the unknown, they say."

    When he went upstairs, he saw three men near the shop''s door, looking around at his disys. With a nce, Arthur could tell they were powerful, having mana waves of rank three mages.

    "Guards! Thieves!" Arthur yelled when he saw them.

    A bearded man took the front and said, "calm down! We are no thieves!"

    "No thieves? Aren''t you breaking into my shop?"

    The three men tried to scam Arthur to see his strength, but not a drop of mana emanating from him, so they thought Arthur was just a regr guy, probably a worker of the shop''s owner.

    "Yeah, about that, there is a reason for it."

    Arthur looked at them, waiting for the answer. He also wanted to know the reason for them invading his shop.

    "Look, you are a regr citizen, and this is no business for you. All  I can say is that we are investigating a beast in human skin, which is fierce!"

    "A beast in human''s skin? Ha, are you trying to fool me? I may look young, but an elf lives a long time, you know that, right?"

    "I am telling you. This beast destroyed a human settlement far from here, and we tracked it to this city. Look, we came here at first to shop, but we saw it was closed and thought about returning another day, but there were hints of that beast''s aura inside this shop!"

    The leader of the hunting group said many things to Arthur, as he believed it was just a regr citizen working in that potion shop. But, he was giving valuable information to the thing they were hunting!

    "Really? But no beast came to this shop today. Wait, now that you are saying this, there is something strange!" Arthur said as a brilliant idea came to mind.

    "What do you mean?"

    They got anxious and were thirsty for information. After the ''beast'' entered Rolmoth, they lost its track, and they only knew it was inside the city.

    "My boss bought this building to open the shop recently, and when we got here to clean it up and prepare for the opening, the basement looked as if someone was sleeping in there! Could it be the beast you are looking for?"

    "Really? Can we see it?"

    "Well, we cleaned everything. But I can talk with my boss to see if there is more to it. You know, I am but a mere employee. Is there a way for us to contact you?"

    "Hum, yes. We are staying in the Night''s Crow Inn so that you can look for us there during nighttime."

    "Good to know."<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    An awkward silence followed by a sentence, "We are sorry for breaking in. We are leaving now."

    After that, the three hunters left the shop, and Arthur only calmed down when they were far away.

    "That was close! They were all rank three mages! Even I cannot win against that!"

    It was good that the hunters did not realize Arthur was the ''beast'' they were looking for, all thanks to his great hiding spells.

    But Arthur knew it was just a matter of time before those three hunters realized he was the thing they were going after, so he had to deal with them as fast as he could, but how would he do that?

    ~~~~

    A week passed since the day those hunters broke into Arthur''s shop. During this time, the shop became more famous, and people started ordering things using the unique mark printed on the fliers!

    Before, Arthur nned to put Wisa or Jane as the owner of the shop so that he could stay hidden, but now, after those hunters broke in, he was afraid that could bring them trouble, so he decided to be the leader using his old identity as an elf!

    "Husband, do you know how we will deal with those three men who were looking for you?" Wisa asked while they were preparing the things inside the shop for the early opening.

    "I do, yes. I sent the news three days ago about hiring people to work here to take the orders and do the deliveries to make it easier for you two to take care of the shop while I leave the city."

    "You are leaving?"

    "Yes. I am ashamed to say, but I cannot win against those three men in a fair fight, so I will use alchemy to my advantage and brew some poisons."

    Arthur recently put a lot of his time into alchemy, and his mastery of it increased quickly. He wished to leave the city to look for specific ingredients for his poison and a potion he had in mind that could increase his power!

    "Poison is still a part of your strength, so don''t be ashamed."

    As the three were talking, three girls appeared in front of their shop, and Arthur noticed them by the window. Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva were there to give them news about the vampire movements.

    Jane and Wisa were the ones to greet them, asking for them to go in.

    "You guys hired an elf? He looks familiar, anyway. Can we speak in private? It is about that thing."

    "You can speak here. This elf is someone we trust." Wisa said.

    "Are you sure? Alright. There are some movements of vampires in the western part of the continent, but this is worse than we thought."

    "What do you mean?"

    Arthur was sweeping the floor, hearing everything.

    "We tried to get the mission ourselves, but they sent a lot of adventurers there. It looks like the vampire families are banding together, and what they aim for is still unknown, but there''s an army there."

    "What? Really?"

    "Yes. We will have to go there with other teams, so we cannot help Arthur with it, but he can still go there by himself if he wishes. Well, that''s all I have to share. Bye-bye!"

    From the looks of it, Arthur would be out of the city for longer than he thought.

 Chapter 369 Blood Monarchs Avatar Spell

    After Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva left the potion shop, Arthur and his wives talked privately about how they would proceed with the uing updates.

    "We want to go with you! It will be dangerous, so we have to be there to protect you!"

    "No! It would be best if you stayed here, caring for the shop and getting richer. The danger will not be the vampires, but me too if I get insane!" Arthur said.

    He did not like the idea of leaving them alone, as Arthur wanted to be around to protect them, but there was no denying that it would be too dangerous, and he needed to do it alone.

    "How long will you be out?"

    "I don''t know, but I will keep in touch. You two will be busy taking care of the shop, and if anything happens, you can send me a message. But first, before I leave, we need to hire some people to help you two."

    Arthur wanted to hire two people, one responsible for taking care of the orders and another for the delivery. Also, Arthur needed to brew as many potions as he could before leaving to ensure the shop had enough while he was away.

    "Shouldn''t we hire an alchemist too?" Wisa suggested.

    "I thought about it too, but our shop is famous because of our higher-quality potions. We cannot give up on that," he said.

    They could not think of a way, but a voice echoed inside his mind. It was from someone he knew very well.

    "Ikarus!"

    "Hello, brat! It seems I have to save your ass and probably sleep again."

    "What do you mean? Hey, I also spoke with Turquoise. He gave me his World Essence, but I still don''t know how to use it."

    "Turquoise? It''s been a long time since I heard about that bastard, but his World Essence? Why would he do that? Wait, don''t tell me he made a bet with you¡­."

    "How did you know?"

    "He is a betting addicted since ancient times."

    "¡­"

    "Anyway, I think I might be able to help you, not only with the alchemist problem but also with a way to get you stronger."

    "How?"

    "An Avatar!"

    "What? Why would a bald monk help me?"

    "Bald monk? An Avatar is a second body. You can make it look like anything, but why a bald monk¡­."

    "Oh, my bad."

    "So hear me out. There is a technique inside the Blood Monarch''s inheritance. You can create a second body and print it with some of your knowledge, like your alchemy mastery, so that will fix your alchemist problem. Not only that, but the avatar will have its mana core, and you can merge with your second body at any time to boost your strength, almost doubling it depending on the avatar''s level."

    Arthur could not believe such a spell existed. Wasn''t that defying life? That was beyond extraordinary.

    "There are ws, though. You can only have one avatar and print the knowledge but not give it power. You will have to train from zero. Also, there is no way of putting your bloodlines into the avatar."

    "I see. Like a weaker version of me."

    "Well, not exactly. You see, brat, think about it this way. If the avatar dies, then the only thing that can happen is you getting weaker for a few days, and that''s it. So, you can use the avatar to practice forbidden techniques, which can grant incredible powers but also have the chance of killing you in the process."

    "Are you telling me to use my avatar as an alchemist for my shop but also turn it into an experiment and maybe create a monster if things go wrong?"

    "When you put it like that, it sounds terrible, but that''s what I meant. Look, this might help you way more than you think."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I know your vampire wife is missing, and you want to rescue her. But even if you reach the level of a rank four mage, it might not be enough. You know that."

    "I do, but what''s your point?"

    "Remember when I told you you could make the avatar look like anything? You can turn it into anything too. Brat, I suggest you transfer your blood essence to the avatar and turn it into a vampire. Then, you can infiltrate inside the vampires while your main body reaches rank four."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I-I get it! This is an excellent idea."

    Ikarus came to help Arthur, like always. The avatar would fix the alchemist''s problem for the moment, but it would also serve as a spy for Arthur to go inside the vampire family that kidnapped Sybille.

    "But does the avatar have its consciousness?"

    "No. I cannot exin, but you two will be the same person, share the same thoughts, and you can control both bodies simultaneously like an extension of yours as if you split your mind into two."

    "This sounds crazy."

    "Yes, it does. So, do you want it or not? I can transfer you the spell, but it will hurt again, and you will have to survive without me for at least a few months."

    "Let me think about it."

    Jane and Wisa had noticed how strange Arthur was acting, but they had no idea it was because of Ikarus, who had returned. Arthur exined the idea behind the spell and wanted to know their opinion.

    "This is incredible! I think you should try and use it to help us find Sybille in the future."

    The two shared a favorable opinion, so Arthur epted Ikarus'' offer and got the spell from the Blood Monarch''s inheritance.

    "Prepare. This is a spell without the same tier, and it should be one of the best spells the Blood Monarch knows. Your mind will hurt a lot."

    "Do it."

    Arthur was prepared for anything, but when the pain came to his mind, it drove him insane! It was way worse than he had imagined. He went to his knees, putting both hands on his head to make it less painful. It did not work, and the pain made his heart stop!

    "Jane, do something!" Wisa yelled.

    ? Jane''s main element was lightning, so she stepped forward and used it to make Arthur''s heartbeat again! One time, two times, nothing happened.

    It worked when Arthur got hit for the third time, and he returned from the dead.

    ~~~~

    "I am back on Earth?" thought Arthur as he returned to his old room.

    "What happened?"

    Then, the entire building where he lived copsed, and when he looked up, Arthur saw a portal appearing in the sky, with monstersing out of it!

    "A dungeon portal? On Earth? How? What is the meaning of this?"

    ~~~~

    "Ahh!" Arthur screamed.

    When he looked at that portal, Jane brought him back, and he was again alive in that world.

    "You are alive!"

    Jane and Wisa could not hold their tears, and Arthur could not understand what had happened.

    "Visions after I died, or was it real?" he thought.

    "So, did it work? Do you know the spell?"

    Only after his wives asked him, Arthur remembered what his goal was, and sure thing, Ikarus was again sleeping after using his power to help him, Arthur now had a forbidden avatar technique, and he could not wait to create a second him.

    He had his n formed. For now, he created an avatar that would work as an alchemist while he looked for ways to deal with the hunters and find the second part of the inheritance.

    After that, Arthur would turn his avatar into a vampire, transfer the blood essence to it, and use it to infiltrate where Sybille was. While the avatar enters, his main body would do anything possible to reach rank four, and then the n of her rescue would ur.

    "I aming for you, bastards who took my wife!"

 Chapter 370 A New Employee, And The Avatar Is Done

    "Why do you want this job?" Arthur asked.

    "I lost my parents when I was young, and since then, I have been living in the streets, trying to look for opportunities, but people often don''t like, you know, people who live in the streets. But I recently started on my magical path and hoped tond my first job!"

    Arthur was interviewing a few people to hire, two to be precise. Jane and Wisa were getting all he needed to produce the avatar ¡ª as it was not an easy task ¡ª but even with it working as an alchemist, Arthur still required one person to get the orders and one to make the deliveries.

    "And what qualities do you have?"

    "¡­"

    She went silent, and after a few seconds, she said, "I am an honest person, and just like I am working hard to improve in my magical path, I want to do the same here, in this job¡­ Also, I heard the owner was also an elf, and you know, our life here in this ce is not great¡­."

    The girl who came looking for a job was an elf. She had pointed ears, like all elves, blond hair, and green eyes. Her skin was pale and wless, as if she had never aged.

    Arthur had the looks of an elf, which is why she went there looking for a job. He did not know at first, but elves were few there and suffered a lot at the hands of other races.

    It was rare to see a powerful elf, and an elf owner of a potion shop was even rarer.

    "You are hired. There are two positions avable, one to stay here and write down the orders and take care of the supplies, and another one simpler where you only need to deliver the potions."

    "I want the first one, if possible! Thank you! May I know your name?"

    "You can call me Arthur. Do you want to start today? I can show you how it''s done."

    "I am Alessia. Yes, please, show me how it is done!"

    "I will, but first, take your uniform," Arthur said, taking out a special uniform he had made for those who worked in the shop.

    He gave her a uniform and a few new clothes as she lived in the streets.

    "There is a bathroom there for you to change into. The sry will depend on how the sales go but expect at least 1000 gold coins a week."

    Gold coins were no problem for Arthur, and he had plenty of them. This is what people often used to buy ordinary things, but after you get to a higher level of power, the magical items would require mana stones.

    He could pay more than ten to her, but she was still weak and would not have a use for mana stones, and it could even bring her trouble, as others could try to steal from her.

    "W-What? Am I hearing this straight?" Alessa said, almost yelling.

    She could not believe the payment would be that high, especially for someone who had just got the job. She could get out of the streets and live decently with that money!

    "I know this is not that much, but as I said, it will increase with the sales."

    "No, that''s not it. For someone who lives in the streets, this is like a dream¡­ Thank you, Arthur," Alessa said, kneeling in front of Arthur.

    Arthur grabbed her by the arms and said, "you don''t need to do that. We are all equals here. Go change your clothes, and we can start your training."

    Alessa could not hold her tears of joy as she went toward the bathroom, changing into her new uniform, a robe mages often used but with a design printed on it, an elixir with an eye beside it.

    "How do I look?" she asked Arthur after getting out of the bathroom.

    "You look¡­ incredible," Arthur said, as he could not deny that the girl was beautiful.

    "Anyway, you will work downstairs,e."

    They both went downstairs, where the alchemyboratory was, as well as the storage and the room where Alessa would work, sitting behind a desk, writing down all the orders that came to her through the magical device Arthur created.

    "You see this mark right there, in the table? That''s the magical mark, and mages wille in touch with you through it, sending their orders. Then, all you have to do is hear them and write them down in this book. The shop closes at 6 pm, but we only ept orders till 4 pm. So, when the orders are closed, you can start separating them so that the delivery person can deliver them."

    It was not a hard job, and Alessa understood it quickly, starting her work right after Arthur exined it. She answered the first call with Arthur watching her.

    "Hello! This is Alessa from the Frostpeak Potion Shop. How can I help you today?"

    "Hello! I am looking for¡­."

    ~~~~

    "This is tiring, but it''s fun! I loved working here, Arthur!" Alessa said as she and Arthur closed the store for the day.

    "You did pretty well today. Here, Alessa, take this," Arthur said as he handed her a magical pouch.

    "What is this?"

    "Channel your mana in it."

    Alessa did as he told her, and when she looked at what was inside the magical pouch, she could not believe it!<novelnext></novelnext>

    "2000 gold coins? What is this for?"

    "A bonus for the incredible work you did today. You can keep the magical pouch too, but be careful to hide it well so that no way can steal it from you."

    "Thank you, thank you very much!"

    There were no words for Alessa to express how happy she felt, but one thing she could do was keep doing an incredible job while working in the Frostpeak Potion Shop.

    "There is an inn right there!" Arthur said, pointing at a nearby building, "you can stay there while you look for a house to rent now that you have the money for it."

    "I will. Thank you again! Bye, Arthur, see you tomorrow!"

    "Bye, Alessa."

    Arthur waved her goodbyes and then went inside his shop again. He waited inside for about one hour before Jane and Wisa came carrying two bags filled with magical ingredients.

    "Did you find the things we need?"

    "Yes!"

    "Good, let''s go!"

    ~~~~

    In the Frostpeak Potion Shop''s basement, Arthur drew a symbol using his blood, a circle with some runes he did not know.

    Jane and Wisa were there, too, putting some ingredients around the circle, as they were part of the spell''s ritual.

    "Ghost Heart, Harpy Oil, and Dusk Bloom."

    "Corrupting Blossom, Serpent Borage, and a Candied Bone."

    These were some of the ingredients needed for the ritual, but there was one crucial part: the avatar''s appearance and knowledge.

    Arthur decided to give the avatar everything he knew, taking out some critical parts in case it somehow got evil.

    "It is better to be careful."

    The avatar would have to start from zero,  all the way down as a first circle mage, and it would have no bloodlines and no system.

    But Arthur still believed the avatar would be extraordinary and could get stronger than his main body in the future, all because of the forbidden spells he wanted to practice.

    "I will give him the appearance I am using right now, an elf. So everyone who saw me in the shop will not get suspicious when I am out of the city."

    "But can he turn into a vampire being an elf?"

    "Yes, it can. Elves are the few races that can turn into vampires, like humans, and vampire elves are also known as Blood Elves."

    "I see. Well, so let''s do it!"

    They had everything ready for the ritual. Arthur took out a part of his hair and put it in the middle of the circle.

    "Now I will meditate with the spell, and you two keep chanting this."

    He gave them a piece of paper containing a chant in an unknownnguage, but Jane and Wisa managed to replicate it, even if they did not understand the words'' meaning.

    Arthur sat cross-legged in front of the magical circle made of his blood and did the spell''s chanting. It did not take long, and within five seconds, all the magic ingredients around the process flew toward the strand of hair Arthur put in the middle of the circle, mixing it and forming a prototype of a body!

    Then, Arthur''s consciousnesses made a copy of itself with only a few pieces of information missing, and it also flew toward the mixture.

    Boom Boom Boom

    The entire basement trembled, and then it wentpletely silent. After a few seconds, a body came from the magical circle and looked precisely like Arthur!

    "This is so strange! The avatar is not something else but an extension of myself, as Ikarus told me. How can my mind control two things at the same time?"

    Arthur could not exin the mystery behind the avatar spell from the Blood Monarch, but he could tell that the spell was extraordinary, and now he could be in two ces simultaneously!

    "Did it work? It is so strange to see the two of you!" Wisa said.

    "Yes, it did. The avatar is me, but I can think of two different things simultaneously, like having two minds! Mind-blowing, to say the least. But it does not have power, and I will have to train from zero; still, it is a fantastic alchemist, just like me, so our problem is solved!"

    Now Arthur could focus on finding the inheritance and dealing with the three hunters looking for him.

 Chapter 371 Ghost Town?

    Things were working out for Arthur, and now he had an avatar that could work for him as an alchemist and be helpful in the future. He wanted to leave the city as fast as he could to deal with the problems he had on hand, but first, Arthur needed to hire a delivery person.

    "Will they think badly of me if I only hire women?"

    Arthur announced he was hiring someone else, and Alessa, who was already working for Arthur, said she had someone to indicate, a friend of hers.

    "Sure. Call her here." Arthur said.

    The person Alessa had in mind was an adventurer who had always helped Alessa the way she could when she was in the streets ¡ª which was, like, the day before.

    "This is Ja. She''s a new adventurer who knows this city, so I think she could do the deliveries well." Alessa said.

    "I see."

    Ja was a tall, muscr woman who was not human but from the beast race, having a tail and two beast ears. Arthur saw few of these in the demon continent, so he figured they should live in a distant ce or were few.

    As for her appearance, she had a pretty face and an incredible body. Arthur noticed that her boobs were bigger than anything he had ever seen! But the most impressive thing was the enormous two-handed sword she carried on her back, and with the heavy armor she wore, it made her look scary!

    Arthur could tell she was not strong and only a fourth circle mage for now, but just like Alessa said, she had just started, so it was understandable.

    "I am Arthur, the owner of the shop and also the alchemist here."

    "Ja, nice to meet you."

    The two spoke for some time, and Arthur decided to hire her, as she looked knowledgeable about the city and had some power to protect herself.

    "I can finally leave! Wait¡­" thought Arthur.

    He was down in the basement preparing his things and seeing how the avatar worked with brewing potions. It was at that moment that he realized his blood avatar had ''bugged'' his inheritance!

    When Arthur made the avatar, he copied all of his knowledge and tossed it to the avatar. What happened was that the inheritance also went to the avatar, and it was not locked anymore!

    "When I try to think about it only using my mind, nothing happens, but when I try to think using my avatar too, I can ess the knowledge!"

    That was incredible! Arthur browsed through it and got to know a lot of techniques that would work for someone like his avatar, who had yet to start their magical path.

    "The forbidden techniques I was looking for are now avable for me! This is incredible!"

    Arthur could already visualize his avatar turning into a powerful mage, perhaps stronger than his main body, and then the two could merge, turning into an extraordinary being.

    Jane and Wisa came afterward, and Arthur exined the gains and talked about his next moves.

    "I''ll look for the second part of the inheritance to cure the blood essence problem and then pass the essence to my avatar. After that, I will turn it into a vampire and sneak into where Sybille is. In the meantime, we must ensure this potion shop keeps growing and gather all the allies we can to overtake the continent."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Don''t worry, husband, we will ensure this shop is the best in the continent."

    Arthur was happy to hear that and gave his two wives kisses and hugs. He also took out a magical pouch and said, "give this to Ja. I forgot about it. You know, for her usage but mainly to put the orders inside to deliver them."

    "No problems."

    He made hisst preparations and then left the city.

    ~~~~

    "There, the elf is leaving! Shall we follow him?"

    "Absolutely! I am almost sure he is the beast we are looking for, but based on our clues, it was not supposed to be an elf."

    "Could it be a shapeshifter?"

    "Could be. Anyway, let''s move before he gets too far away."

    ~~~~

    Arthur had a map in his hands, and he marked the area where the vampires supposedly were. It was far. He had never seen the whole continent on a map, and now he could see how big it was, even bigger than the central continent.

    "Should I get myself a mount? Or a carriage? A mount looks better." Thought Arthur as he made his way to the stables to get himself a mount.

    Mounts were not that expensive, so Arthur bought one, but sadly, all the flying mounts were too slow and would get tired soon, so it was worth it to get them; so he chose to get a golden-furred lion who was as big as a bus.

    He chose that one because of its bnced attributes. The lion could do well in all the environments, so it was better than getting a snowy-area-focused mount, for example. Arthur did not know what to expect in his journey, so getting a mount capable of any terrain was the best decision.

    Arthur jumped on the back of his mount, so his journey began! The lion started running on the road, and its speed was incredible, surpassing what Arthur had believed.

    The ordinary carriages would only see a shadow passing beside them, not able to realize what it was.

    ~~~~

    One month passed since Arthur left Rolmuth. He traveled through many types of ces, but now that he was getting closer to the area where the vampires were, he was being more careful!

    He put the lion inside his beast pouch and moved on his foot to attract less attention. There was a town close to where the vampires were but still far away, so it should be okay to go there.

    Well, that was what Arthur thought. The first strange thing he noticed was the silence as if everyone inside was dead, and when he went to the main gates and saw no guards, Arthur was sure something had happened inside that town.

 Chapter 372 From Hunters To Dragon Priests

    The vibe of that town was strange, and the silence made everything worse. What had happened in that ce? Arthur had no idea but strongly guessed the vampires were behind it.

    Sure thing; when Arthur got inside the town, he could see the dry corpses of humans, as if something had drained all of their blood. Vampires could drink any blood ¡ª if not poisonous ¡ª but they preferred human blood, which is why human towns and viges were the primary targets of those vampires.

    "Bastards. They are close to here looking for the inheritance but have the time to ughter a town! There is nothing for me to see here; I should leave," Arthur thought, but when he turned around, three people were looking at him.

    It was the three hunters he had met before when they entered his shop, trying to look for the beast. Arthur had sensed they were following a few days before that, which is why he never stopped walking to ensure they would not catch up to him.

    But why did Arthur stop now? Well, there was a reason for it. The vampires were gathering nearby and were an army! There was no chance for these three hunters to do anything, and as Arthur had the blood essence, he could get out of it if things went wrong.

    "I remember you three from the store! What are you doing here? Are you seeing this? Tell me, hunters, what beast can do this?" Arthur said, pointing at the corpses around him.

    The hunters were not stupid, and for Arthur to finally stop, something was happening that they did not know about.

    "This is the work of vampires, and we firmly believe you are one with a unique ability to change forms! Larry, send him the holy water!

    Vampires had weaknesses; the two main ones were garlic and holy water. Larry, one of the hunters, took out a ss filled with holy water, and with the help of his magic, the sk teleported and appeared right in front of Arthur in an instant, and it broke, washing him with holy water.

    They were expecting something to happen, but Arthur was alright, shocking the trio.

    "This is impossible. You were supposed to be a vampire! Larry, try the garlic!"

    Larry did the same thing, but instead of teleporting a sk of holy water, he teleported an entire garlic, making it hit Arthur in the head. Nothing happened again.

    Arthur knew well these were useless, as he was not a vampire, at least not yet.

    "Elf, what are you?"

    "I am a dragon; that is why I can shift forms."

    "A dragon? No, this is impossible. Dragons only live in the snowy mountains farther to the north!"

    That caught Arthur off guard. He was only trying to make fun of those hunters, but it seemed they knew about dragons living in the mountains in the demon continent!

    "What did you say? My siblings are living in the snowy mountains?"

    For a moment, Arthur forgot why he was there and only wanted to know more about the dragons.

    "Siblings? Cut the crap, no way you are a dragon!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Then, a shocking scene happened. The once frail elf changed utterly. His hands turned into sharp ws, and his legs the same. Two immense ck wings grew on his back, destroying some nearby buildings.

    Lastly, his face changed to that of a dragon, and his body was covered in ck scales. A majestic aura descended on the three hunters, kneeling, and they could not believe what they saw.

    "H-He- He is truly a dragon!"

    Arthur changed to his true form, but one way smaller to not attract that much attention, as vampires were nearby.

    He looked at the three hunters and said with an imposing voice, "do you believe me now? Tell me everything you know about the dragons."

    "T-There isn''t much. It is said that dragons live in the snowy mountains up in the north, and I know people who have seen them before. But they are not as strong as they used to be and have small numbers. B-But they still have the strength of rank four mages, and some even say they have the strength of rank five mages."

    "I see. Thank you. And about that beast you were looking for, it is not me, and I am tracking it too!"

    "What?"

    "Yes. The beast is a powerful rank four vampire, and it took my wife away, which is why I am here. For some reason, vampires are gathering around this area, and I am here to collect more information about them."

    "Now everything makes sense! This exins why you have some aura of the vampire. You met him before! We are so sorry to use you, lord dragon. Don''t worry. We three now will work as yourckeys in thisnd, spreading the word that the dragons are back and stronger than ever! We are Dragon Priests now!"

    Larry was beside his boss, Garry, and said, "Boss, are you sure? Now we will stop hunting beasts to spread the gospel of dragons?"

    "Of course. This has happened since ancient times and will strengthen both the dragon we worship and us. This is a win-win for us, Larry. Remember, we have been stuck in rank three for decades, and this is our chance to change things."

    Terry, beside the two, said, "I trust Garry. Larry, our older brother, knows what he is talking about. This lord dragon is already at rank 3, and he probably lost his power because the faith of the dragons ended, and they fell. But we can change it now, and if the lord dragon gets his power back, the dragons can rule this continent and stop the internal war that has happened since long ago."

    Arthur was watching everything and was trying his best to hold hisugh. "Larry, Garry, and Terry? Three brothers hunt monsters and now want to spread the gospel of the dragons. But why does this sound a lot like celestial energy? If I am not mistaken, the gods who used celestial energy were the ones that attacked and killed the dragons. Could the celestial energy belong to the dragons, but it got stolen by humans?"

    The more Arthur learned the more questions he had. But still, it was a win for him. Now he had three people under hismand, and they were willing to spread the word about him, so Arthur was sure that with more people worshiping him, the more power he would get.

    He turned to his human form and said, "I have many forms, but the one you saw, as a dragon, is the form that never changes, so you can recognize me from that if you doubt. My name, as any humanoid form, is Arthur, and my real name is cidusax, the Lord of Dragons."

    "cidusax? Like in the legend? I knew it! Your ck scales don''t fool me. Man, I am so excited to work as a dragon priest. I should get some new clothes and a staff. Yes, that would be cool."

    Arthur rolled his eyes and said, "anyway, nice to meet you, Larry, Garry, and Terry. Now, hear me out!"

    He then exined about the vampires and wanted to get the help of the new Dragon Priests.

 Chapter 373 Making The Continent Know The Dragons Are Back

    "So vampires are gathering here to seek an inheritance from an old powerful mage-vampire from thousand years ago?"

    "Correct."

    "And we, only four people, are going against thousands of vampires?"

    "Well, we are not looking to fight but to stay hidden and get all the information we can. Aren''t you three experts in this?"

    "Yes, that is true."

    Arthur talked with the three hunters inside that ghost town and shared some of the things he knew. He was not scared of them betraying him because the three brothers had made a pact to show their loyalty to Arthur, and now the part of his system that had the celestial energy changed!

    [Celestial Energy Upgrading...]

    [Turning into Draconic Energy]

    [Followers: 3]

    "I don''t know if this is good or bad. My normal followers changed, but it says it is an upgrade, then it must be, right? My system would not make me weaker." Thought Arthur.

    "So what do we do if we get the inheritance first?" Garry, who was the leader, asked.

    Arthur, who was now a divinity to the three brothers, said, "I will take it and keep it away from any vampire. Humans cannot guard this treasure, and it is up to me, a higher being, to do it."

    "Of course! That is understandable. It can only be safe in the hands of you, a dragon. Now, shall we bury everyone here before moving?"

    Arthur did not care about the corpses around him, but seeing how the three brothers wanted to bury them, Arthur helped. It was a way to cause them a good impression, and that was the key for him to get more people to worship the dragons.

    "Yes, let''s do it, and then we must move to see what the vampires are up to!"

    They got to work and buried all the humans who died, and there were plenty of them, which was a shame. The three brothers were enraged and wanted to make those vampires pay, but they knew it was not the time yet, as their number was way superior.

    After burying everyone, they left the city and went in the direction where the vampires were supposed to be. A group of vampires did not take long to pass through them, and they noticed Arthur and the brothers!

    "Humans! Attack!" one of the vampires yelled.

    They were a group of 10 vampires, but the strongest was only a rank two mage, so Arthur did not even need to move, as the three brothers killed all vampires without sweating.

    "Don''t worry, lord, we, the first dragon priests in ages, are here to protect you!"

    "Yes, vampire bastards! Here is our word and belief in the dragons!"

    Those vampires could not understand what these three humans were talking about. Dragons? These never left the mountains in the north; no one worshiped them anymore, as it was virtually banned in all continents!

    The bodies of vampires were scattered around. Arthur opened his mouth and used his fire breath to destroy all of them, turning them into ashes and making sure the other vampires did not see them.

    They kept going, passing through the forest, and the surrounding area changed from a vivid ce to a desert-like site, and from afar, Arthur and the three dragon priests could see an army of vampires!<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Look at how many tents! This is no regr army. Are you sure this is only for the inheritance?" Garry asked.

    Arthur did not tell before because he was unsure, but he said, "I heard rumors about the vampires trying to take over the continent and rule above all the other races. They want to get the inheritance and form alliances for their n."

    "So what should we do? We cannot go there, and what if there are rank four vampires there? You did not recover your strength, so we cannot win against them."

    Arthur entered a deep thought and then remembered Nykka told him the Adventurers Guild would send some teams there to look, so they were not alone, and allies should be nearby.

    "Are you sure? Then let''s move and look for them!" Terry said, and everyone agreed to it.

    ~~~~

    Arthur, Garry, Larry, and Terry looked for the teams of the Adventurers Guild but could not find them. They were in a desert area, so it would be easy to spot anyone on the surface, and that could only mean they were somewhere else!

    "Look, a cave. They are there; I can feel it," Garry said, pointing to a cave still a few kilometers away.

    They made their way there, but then a group of adventurers appeared to intercept them. Without a word, three men wielding swords dashed toward Arthur and shed, trying to kill him on the spot.

    It surprised him, as people usually talked first, but the human, the bull-man, and the tiger-man did not want to speak.

    Arthur easily dodged the three attacks, shocking them, as they had never seen an elf as strong as Arthur.

    "Calm down. We are no vampires, and we are here to help! Garry, show them your token."

    Garry took the lead and showed them the token that identified him as a hunter of the guild, a unique position above everyone else. Arthur asked him to do that because it was the fastest way for them to believe him, and Arthur was not part of the guild, so only Garry could do it.

    "Hunters? What are you doing here?" The tiger-man asked.

    "We are here to help investigate the strange vampire movements."

    "What about the elf?"

    "He is a dragon, and he is here to help."

    "A dragon?"

    The word spread to the cave, and everyone there could not believe a dragon had left the mountains. That could symbolize times were changing.

    Arthur and the three brothers spoke before going there and decided the best decision would be to tell everyone Arthur was a dragon. Unlike the other continents, dragons still lived in the demon continent, and many races lived together in the demon continent, so having a dragon, there was not impossible, but still rare.

    "With this, my identity will spread, and I can get more followers. Also, the other dragons in the mountains can join me!"

    After that statement, Arthur and the three dragon priests entered the cave to meet with the other adventurers.

 Chapter 374 Two Dragons Against An Army Of Vampires

    Once inside the cave, Arthur saw many adventurers, usual teams of three or four people from different races. Out of all of these teams, there was one Arthur knew well: Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva,  who were there too.

    They did not know he was Arthur, but they recognized him from the shop, as they had seen an elf when speaking to Jane and Wisa but never imagined they would meet that elf there again.

    Everyone kept looking at Arthur, Garry, Larry, and Terry, and no one spoke as if they were waiting for something. Sure enough, after one minute, someone came to talk to them, and it was the person in charge of all the adventurers there.

    A man who looked to be in his early thirties, with a scar on his right eye that came all the way down to his neck, a thick ck beard, and a curved sword was hanging on his waist.

    "Who are you? I heard there are hunters here," the man asked.

    Garry retook the lead, showing his identification, "yes, my two brothers and I are hunters, and we are here to help investigate these vampires."

    "I see. What about this elf?"

    "Elf is just one of his forms. He is a dragon, and we became friends. He is here to help us too."

    "A dragon! I thought I heard things when you said this outside the cave!"

    Dragons still existed in the demon continent, but they were still viewed as legendary creatures, and there was even aw that arrested or killed those who tried to hurt dragons. They were like historical beings that could not be touched unless you didn''t care about the consequences.

    "Well, I appreciate your help, but we have everything under control. We already know why the vampires have an army."

    "You do?"

    "Yes, I will tell you because a dragon is present, and I don''t like lying in front of it. They gathered an army to fight the beast that was guarding some inheritance. There are no rank four mages there, as this area has some fields that do not allow them toe near."

    "A beast guarding it!" thought Arthur.

    It was something he already knew, as he had read that in the diary, but what type of beast? If he remembered correctly, thest inheritance had a skeleton dragon there, so could it be the same thing here?

    "So what''s the n?"

    "We will let the beast fight the vampires, and both sides will lose, with the beast possibly dying. When that happens, we will finish off the vampires and get the inheritance."

    The man shared their n with the hunters and Arthur, as he did not believe they would get in his way. But Arthur could not let that happen! He needed to get the inheritance to cure his blood essence problem and put it in his avatar to make itplete!

    "I see," Garry said, leaving afterward to the corner of the cave to speak privately with Arthur and his two brothers.

    "What will we do now? There is no way we can match against all of these adventurers!" Larry said, looking visibly scared.

    "I think we need to get the inheritance while everyone else is busy fighting and then flee from this ce," Arthur said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yes, I had the same idea."

    That was their only chance, as the number of all the sides was way higher than just the four of them. Arthur and the three brothers waited inside the cave for the adventurers to move, and when it happened, they also left the cave.

    ~~~~

    There were around 150 vampires in front of an area covered by three mountains, just like the diary said. It was no longer a beautiful forest with tons of life, but a desert area, and the once majestic mountains turned into three small pieces of their true self.

    It made sense. Many years passed since the Blood Monarch was there, and looking for the ce, thinking it would look the same, was stupid.

    "You see them? They are waiting for the beast toe forward! The inheritance is supposedly inside a crypt, buried in the sand, but first, they must kill the beast!"

    Arthur was there with all the adventurers and was ufortable with the stares of Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva, who knew they had seen him elsewhere but could not tell where.

    At that time, they barely paid attention to him in the shop, so it was understandable they did not remember him. Then, while all of them were hidden, looking at the army of vampires and waiting for the beast toe and fight them, a voice echoed inside Arthur''s mind.

    He knew what it was. Something nearby was trying to contact him, and when he heard thenguage, he knew exactly what it was.

    "Dragon''s tongue!"

    "A brother here, in this desert, what a surprise. Can you help me?"

    "Depends. What do you need?"

    "Someone called the Blood Monarch trapped me in here to protect his inheritance, and I cannot leave; only after someone unlocks the crypt can I leave, but I must fight any intruders, as the Blood Monarch put a spell on me."

    "He enved you...."

    "Yes, pretty much. The destiny of our kind is not that great. I assume everyone else died a long time ago."

    Arthur clenched his fist and said, "no, our kind will not disappear like this! There are still dragons in the northern mountains, and I am your Lord, cidusax! There are also two more dragons on another continent, one trapped that we must rescue. We can rule again if we all get together and get our revenge!"

    "P-cidusax? Are you? Hahaha, this must be fate! Out of everyone who rescued me, the lord of dragonses in person!"

    "What do you need me to do?"

    "First, I must survive the uing battle against these vampires. Can you join me?"

    "Fight side-by-side with a fellow dragon to toast these vampires? I am in!"

 Chapter 375 Empty Blood Crystal Bait

    The army of vampires made their way toward the area where the inheritance supposedly was and started using their magic to toss the sand away, excavating the ce.

    It took them a while, but after one hour of doing that, a type of crypt appeared, still covered in sand, but they could see the entrance, which was an immense door! Fifty people could pass through it at the same time!

    Arthur was watching everything with the other adventurers, and when he saw the vampires getting close to the tomb, he knew it was his time to act. He whispered something in Garry''s ears, and he did the same with Larry and Terry, exining how the n would work.

    He then used his mental connection with the dragon and said, "you will give me the inheritance, right? I n to use it to track the Blood Monarch and kill him! He lives in the same ce as the other ''gods'' who destroy our race."

    "Yes. I will give it to you now! But you first need to get close to me, as the inheritance is inside a blood crystal, and if I toss it to you now, everyone will see it."

    "No problem."

    The three dragon priests were ready to help Arthur in anything, and they knew how the n would work.

    You see, even if Arthur, a dragon, were protected by thews of the continent, the adventurers there would still attack him after the battle with the vampires.

    They did not say it aloud, but they wanted the inheritance for themselves and were willing to do anything to get their hands on it. Greed was something powerful, and Arthur knew that well.

    So, he had another n: to give the blood crystal to the three dragons'' priests and make them run away from there. Arthur believed they were trustworthy and under a pact, so it would not be possible even if they wanted to betray him.

    Then, it started! One of the vampires went to the crypt''s door to open it, and when it did, the entire door crumbled to pieces as a gigantic red-scaled dragon came out of it!

    Its power? The peak of rank three, but being a dragon meant it was way stronger than all the vampires and adventurers there! But it was still only one against hundreds of enemies, so it was almost impossible to win, well, that if it did not have any help!

    When that dragon showed up, the leader of the adventurers involuntary gazed at Arthur and saw him jumping in the air toward the other dragon''s direction.

    Arthur''s body changed while he was in the air, growing to an extraordinary size, even more, significant than the red-scaled dragon, who had the size of a 20 stories building.

    Now, two dragons flew in the sky, and each time they pped their wings, lots of sand from the desert flew, and even some of the vampires could not withstand the force and went flying.

    One was all red with golden eyes, while the other was all ck with eyes that kept changing colors, and one had a unique color, too ¡ª his Emperor Eye.

    "Where are the other three hunters who came with him? Where?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    With two dragons appearing in front of them, like a legend, no one paid attention to Larry, Garry, and Terry, who were already on Arthur''s back, flying in the sky.

    "I don''t like people using me as a mount. Maybe if you three were girls¡­ Give me the Blood Crystal; I will use it to get the inheritance, and they will leave this battlefield to distract all the others."

    "Do you trust them?" Valethar asked.

    "They are Dragon Priests."

    "Oh, I get it."

    Valethar grabbed a tiny Blood Crystal with his ws. It was so small it was funny to see such immense feet holding it, and Arthur was not even sure how he did that!

    The three Dragon Priests got out of Arthur''s back and flew toward one of Valethar''s legs, where the crystal was, and they got it, returning to where Arthur was. Arthur touched the Blood Crystal, and all of it went to his mind, meaning it was now only an empty crystal, but it could still fool many of them.

    Then, Arthur looked at the three Dragon Priests and roared! The force of that roar was so significant the three brothers went flying; coupled with their flying spells, it made them so fast no one could see a thing!

    Now, one problem was settled. The three Dragon Priests were far from the battlefield, and they carried the empty crystal. No one was stupid, and some vampires and adventurers saw the three men flying away, taking a Blood Crystal, and they understood what it was!

    "Follow these three; they have the inheritance!" one of the vampires said.

    Only a few vampires left the battlefield to chase the three brothers as Arthur and Valethar breathed fire on the vampires, turning some into ashes in a second!

    They would not allow them to leave the battlefield, so they dived down to attack them with gigantic paws! With one strike, ten or more vampires turned into pulps of meat.

    There was still a problem. Almost all of the adventurers left to chase Garry, Larry, and Terry, and even though they did not have the inheritance, they could still get pissed and attack the three brothers ¡ª that if Arthur did not save them first, or if the adventurers caught them.

    "I believe those three are experts in flying and hiding." Thought Arthur, as he did not want to see his new Dragon Priests die.

    As for the vampires, they had a chance of winning if it was only one dragon, but two? That was impossible! Almost all the weaker vampires died in the first exchange of attacks, either mmed by dragon paws, eaten alive, or turned into charcoal by the fire breath.

    But there were still some powerful vampires among them. Fifteen peak rank three vampires! That was a force to reckon with, making Arthur and Valethar focus more on the uing battle.

 Chapter 376 Winning The Battle!

    Arthur had killed many vampires, and although their blood essence flew toward him, he was no longer getting mad! It turned out the second part of the inheritance only had one technique, the one to control the madness, and the rest was only good memories the Blood Monarch had, meaning it was an inheritance Arthur could fully possess without the help of Ikarus.

    Now with his new technique, which was a chant spoken in an unknownnguage, which created a Blood Rune on Arthur''s body, making it so that he did not go mad, it was easy for him to fight as the worries of turning insane were gone!

    Arthur and Valethar destroyed the vampire army until the point where only the rank three vampires remained, and those would be harder to kill.

    A blood spear flew, piercing through Arthur''s left leg, hindering his movements, and making it bleed like a waterfall. Valethar looked at him and said, "are you okay? These are strong vampires, it seems."

    "Yes, I am fine! They are strong, but we are stronger.

    The vampire that attacked Arthur was smiling, happy to see that his spell worked! Three more vampires were beside him, and they were allughing!

    That was the perfect chance for Arthur to make his move. He teleported, appearing closer to the vampires, who could not believe something as big as Arthur could be so fast!

    They did not have time to answer it, and a vast mouth went in their direction, eating four rank three vampires simultaneously! That was their end, as no one could escape cidusax''s belly.

    Valethar saw it and was shocked! Sure, he could also eat those vampires, but it would only be a normal bite, and the vampires could attack his stomach, making it worse. But Arthur? He was cidusax and had a unique devouring technique that had changed multiple times but worked just the same.

    "Where are we?" One of the vampires said, looking around, trying to understand the situation.

    It was dark, and even their vampire night vision did not work there.

    "We are inside the belly of that dragon. Quick, we must find a weak spot and attack it! What a dumb creature. I thought dragons were wise?"

    They believed Arthur had made a mistake, but after five seconds, their bodies started to wither, as if their essence was leaving their bodies.

    "What is this? What is happening?"

    That was the power of the Bloody Devour, the new and improved devouring skill! It devoured the blood essence of any living creature, killing them in the process and granting Arthur free attributes and other techniques from time to time.

    The number of rank three vampires diminished after those four got killed inside Arthur''s belly, so the fight was getting nasty for the side of the vampires.

    There was a vampire, who had yet to move, and was the person in charge of all the other vampires. The strongest vampire beneath the rank four, but even he did not believe it was a fight they could win, so he retreated with the other vampires.

    "The dragons will see! This is not your era anymore, and you will not rule the continent; we, the vampires, will!" the vampire leader yelled as he and the other survivors left the battlefield as quickly as they could.

    A victory! Arthur and Valethar had won an impossible fight, but now there was one more problem -- the spell the Blood Monarch ced on Valethar!<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arthur was there and was considered someone who got the inheritance, so Valethar had to attack him!

    "Lord, I cannot control the spell! Can you do something?" Valethar yelled before his right paw attacked Arthur, who was quick enough to defend it using his arm.

    "Yes, I can. There are some memories inside the inheritance. To make the spell stop working, I need to make you pass out. I am sorry, Valethar, but we will have to fight!"

    That was a fight no one could get in the way of. Arthur and Valethar exchanged paw attacks, and just the impact of it destroyed the surrounding area, and it was so loud those adventurers, who were already far away from the battlefield, could hear it!

    Valethar''s ws pierced through Arthur''s scales, creating a terrible wound. But Arthur would not take a free hit, and he did the unthinkable!

    Arthur merged all the essences he had: the fire essence, the ice essence, the lightning essence, the wood essence, the moon essence, and finally, the blood essence.

    All those essences fused on his ws, creating a rainbow of colors. That was one of the strongest attacks he could do, and when that palm touched Valethar''s chest, he crashed like a falling ne!

    His chest? Open, bleeding like a red waterfall! The impact of his body falling on the ground created a huge hole, and he was no longer awake.

    "A good thing I only used half of the attack''s power, or else Valethar could be in deep trouble," thought Arthur as he changed back to his elf form and used some of his healing spells to make Valethar''s wound stop bleeding.

    ~~~~

    "What happened?" Valethar said as he woke up and saw an elf putting some green mixture on his wound.

    "I attacked you, and you fell, passing out. The spell the Blood Monarch used is now gone, so you are okay. Can you change to a humanoid form too?" Arthur asked.

    "I can, yes, but not now. I need to heal more first."

    "I see. We fought well back then. Are you willing to go with me to the northern mountains in the future and meet with the other dragons?"

    "Absolutely! You have yet to go there?"

    "Yes, I only recently got to know there are dragons there. But first things first, we need to find the three dragon priests and save them from those adventurers. How long till you heal?"

    "Healingpletely will take some time, but I am good enough to fly. Hop on my back, and let''s go."

    A wounded dragon flew up in the sky with a blond elf on his back.

 Chapter 377 Dragon Mountains

    Arthur could tell where the Dragon Priests were because of their connection but also using his Emperor Eye, which was a heavenly eye to track down people.

    Valethar was still hurt because of the attack he received. However, he was good enough to fly. He was still in good condition to fight, all thanks to the healing spells Arthur cast, those of the wood element, and the mixture of alchemy ingredients he made, closing the wound and healing it more after each passing second.

    Before the battle even started, Arthur had told the Dragon Priests to move toward the northern mountains, as that''s where the other dragons were, and that would be the safest ce for them.

    Arthur sat cross-legged on Valethar''s back and pointed out a direction from time to time.

    "How can you track them so easily?" Valethar asked.

    He knew about the connection Arthur had with his Dragon Priests, but that was limited, but Arthur was tracking them down so quickly that it made Valethar wonder what the trick was.

    "That is a secret I cannot share. We are getting close now," Arthur said.

    "How do you know that?"

    "Look ahead."

    Valethar looked ahead and saw the adventurers flying, presumably chasing down Garry, Larry, and Terry.

    "What will we do when we find them?" Valethar asked Arthur.

    "You can fly faster than them even hurt, right? Let''s get the three Dragon Priests and fly toward the mountains to meet with the other dragons. I don''t believe those adventurers will cause problems there."

    That was the n Arthur had in mind, but there was one way the n could fail: if there were no dragons in the mountains! Arthur did not believe that was the case, but what if? Then he would have to flee somewhere else, but with Valethar hurt, the adventurers would catch up eventually. Or worse, stronger adventurers could go after them!

    "I understand."

    ~~~~

    "We are almost catching up to those three. Hehehe, the inheritance will be ours."

    Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva were there with the other adventurers, but they did not want to get that inheritance, and they disliked the greed in their eyes.

    They turned around to see if something was chasing them, as that was something they often did, and then they saw an enormous red dragon flying toward them, with a seemingly ordinary elf on its back!

    "Something is chasing us!" Nykka yelled.

    She disliked those adventurers who were driven by greed, but there was no way she would let them die for nothing. Different from them, she was a good person.

    When all the adventurers looked behind their backs and saw that dragon chasing them, they all wanted to scream and beg for their lives.

    It was scary; everyone knew how powerful dragons were, and they were the strongest race in the demon continent! No one wanted to mess with them, but they also wanted the inheritance, creating a stalemate.

    "Let''s keep chasing them! And if they go with the dragons, let''s kill them all! We have the higher number!" the leader said.

    Arthur and Valethar got closer and closer until they passed above them like a bullet. Arthur saw the three Dragon Priests flying away carrying a blood crystal.

    They quickly noticed Arthur ¡ª not that hard considering Arthur was on the back of an immense red dragon ¡ª so instead of running away, they changed directions, flying toward Arthur!

    It took them a few minutes to meet, and the three brothers hopped on Valethar''s back and could finally rest.

    "That was crazy! Did you see their killer eyes? Worse than many beasts I hunted!" Terry said.

    "Greed is the name of it¡­ Anyway, what is our n now? If we keep running away, more and more adventurers wille after us," Garry said.

    Arthur smiled and said, "we are going toward the northern mountains to meet with our friends!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    ~~~~

    The adventurers saw the three hunters hop on the dragon''s back, but that did not discourage them from chasing and made them work even harder to catch up with them.

    But, as they kept flying, they passed through the desert area, forests, rivers, and cities. As they kept going, and the distance between the two groups did not change by much, the leader of the adventurers had a bad feeling about the situation.

    "There''s nowhere for them to run, and with that dragon hurt, we will catch up eventually! Everyone, keep on going!" he yelled, increasing their morale.

    They had dismissed the idea of meeting with the other dragons, as those dragons never came out, and people often forgot about their existence. But when the leader of the adventurers saw those immense mountains, the tallest on the demon continent, with its peak passing through the clouds and their surface covered with snow, he remembered!

    "N-No way, right? Fuck, we will not get them¡­."

    "What do you mean, leader? The dragon is slowing down, and we are closing the distance!"

    "You don''t get it, do you? Of course not, you are young and don''t know about the world. You see those tall mountains there? This is where thest dragons live¡­ They are going there to meet with their kind, and there is nothing we can do to stop them."

    "What? Are there more dragons? Fuck!"

    Most adventurers did not know about these mountains and what creatures lived there, as they were too young! The dragons never left their mountains, only to catch prey to eat, but there was nothing in a radius of 1000 km, so no one went there in the first ce, so no one saw the dragons!

    If you are not seen, you are forgotten, so only the older adventurers knew the stories behind that ce, and the leader chasing Arthur was one of them.

    All of them stopped, and even with their greed, they were not stupid to go further.

    "We shall go back and speak with the higher-ups to see how we should proceed, but please, don''t get close to that mountain, or you will die!"

    Then, the adventurers turned around and left.

    ~~~~

    "They are not chasing us anymore!" Larry said as he looked behind and saw no one.

    "Well, that is obvious. We are in dragon''s territory now, and no one is stupid enough to chase us here," Garry answered his younger brother.

    At that moment, a dragon flew from the top of one of the mountains and intercepted Valethar.

    "Name yourself, now!"

    The dragon had a blue color and a power simr to Valethar.

    "I am Valethar, a dragon trapped in the desert, but now my lord has rescued me."

    "Your lord? Us dragons only have one lord, and that was cidusax a thousand years ago!"

    Arthur, who was on Valethar''s back, jumped and stopped mid-air.

    "cidusax? Yep, that is me!"

    Then, he transformed into his true form, that of a dragon! He went from a frail elf to a gigantic dragon, at least three times bigger than Valethar or the blue dragon in front of them!

    The aura he emanated was one of a lord, and the blue dragon recognized the ck scales, and deep down, he knew that aura belonged to his ancestor!

    "L-Lord?"

    Unconsciously, the blue dragon lowered his head in respect.

 Chapter 378 Dragon Valley, And Future Plans

    The blue dragon who came to see who the invaders were could not believe what was happening! He looked at the immense ck dragon, and there was no denying it was cidusax, their lord.

    Valethar was skeptical, not knowing if there would be dragons in that mountain, as he believed all of them had died long ago, but it turned out that was not the case, and some were still alive and kicking!

    "Please, follow me!" The blue dragon said as he flew toward the mountains, entering a cave.

    There were many caves on those mountains; the only one to ess them was by flying, as it was impossible to climb them. Arthur had no problem with that, and the three dragons flew toward the cave, entering a system of caves.

    Inside, there were many gold coins and other treasures, like mana stones, weapons, armor, and even a crown from a royal family. Dragons loved to store treasures like those inside their caves, and no matter the time, it never changed.

    "The only thing that changed is the number of treasures they have¡­" thought Arthur as he gazed at the pile of items with awe.

    The blue dragon led the way, and he said, "I am Thraxal. It is a pleasure to meet you two!"

    They kept going deeper inside the cave, and what caught Arthur''s attention was how well-designed it was, and the size of the tunnels was more than enough to fit all those gigantic dragons. If a human went there, then they would look like an ant.

    Their tour eventually stopped in an open room, and there, Arthur saw the other dragons lying on the ground with lots of gold items around them.

    One dragon looked more prominent than the rest and had a white color. It was in the middle of everyone, and that was the dragon Thraxal talked to first when he got there.

    "Selen, my queen, these are the ''intruders'' who came to our mountains. Dragons! Can you believe that? And that''s not the most extraordinary part, but this ck dragon is cidusax, our lord!"

    Selen was not the only dragon there. Around 12 adults and eight kid dragons, all of whom gazed at Arthur and Valethar when they heard Thraxal''s words.

    "This is impossible! cidusax is only a legend!"

    Those dragons had never met cidusax before, in person, when he was still around with the other dragons. Some dragons survived the first wave of attacks and eventually had kids who never saw those ancient dragons.

    All the dragons in the northern mountains of the demon continent were like that, new dragons who came to birth after the end of the dragon age. They did not know if Arthur was the real cidusax, but no one could deny the resemnce!

    They had never seen him before, but it did not mean legends were not passed down amongst the dragons, and there were some diaries still, so the dragons, being old or young, knew what their lord, cidusax, looked like.

    Selen was the daughter of high-ranking dragons, which was why she was in charge. She looked toward Arthur and said, "are you truly? I can see you look like him, but how can we be sure?"

    Arthur, still in his dragon form, knew it was time to act. He gathered all the essences he mastered in one attack, a roar! It would not cause them any harm but would show them the mighty of cidusax!

    The moment he roared, the entire mountain trembled, and the color of each of his essences appeared inside the cave and its aura!

    Yes, cidusax was known as the Lord of Dragons, the only dragon capable of wielding all essences, and also known as ''The Eater of Worlds.''

    Arthur did not have all the essences yet, but he had many of them, which could only prove he was the dragon he was saying he was.

    When those dragons heard and heard the roar, they all got their heads down, and some even kneeled.

    "I- I cannot believe it! cidusax is back! If it wasn''t for our small group, we could reim our glory¡­" one of the dragons said.

    They felt happy to see their lord back and sad, as it would be hard to change their current situation. Their strength was superior to all the other races, but they were few, and only if one or two of them reached rank four would they have a chance to do something, which would still prove hard.

    Selen was now confident Arthur was the real thing, so she asked, "why are you here?"

    "Adventurers hurt my friend, Valethar, and we came here looking for a ce to stay. Also, I only recently learned dragons are still alive, so I came to check." Arthur said.

    "You can stay here as long as possible until your friend recovers. Also, do you want to look around to see our houses?"

    "Houses? I thought you lived inside these caves."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sheughed and said, "we stay in our caves when hibernating in dragon form to make sure anyone who tries to trespass gets scared and runs. But we usually walk around in human form, and we live in the back part of the mountain, in a valley."

    Selen, still in his dragon form, changed to her humanoid form, a white-haired girl with eyes of the sea''s color and a body with perfect proportions.

    He did the same, changing to his humanoid form, which was his true self and not an elf. Arthur was not worried about the three dragon priests ¡ª if they would recognize him from the killing he did when he was insane ¡ª because they were now under his control, so there was nothing to worry about.

    Garry, Larry, and Terry went with Arthur and Selen, continuing walking down the tunnel, and reaching the back part of the mountain, in a beautiful valley!

    As for the other dragons, they stayed in the caves, taking care of Valethar, who was still hurt and now wanted proper care and rest.

    "This is gorgeous!" Larry said as he looked down to the valley and saw a dense forest covered with thinyers of snow, different from the snowy mountain peaks where the snow was unbearable.

    "I know, right?" Selen said, happy to see others liked her ce. "This is where we have our houses and cultivate magical nts here. Did you know they taste good and fill our stomachs?"

    "Really? There is the answer to why we never saw dragons flying around. You don''t even need to leave your valley to survive." Arthur said.

    "Correct, but we sometimes leave, in our human form, to get some supplies we need, and no one suspects a thing. Come, I will show you the valley!" Selen said.

    There was a path they made so that they could walk down from the cave tunnels to the valley. Arthur and his three Dragon Priests saw the beautiful scenery on the way down, and they were sure that valley was one of the prettiest ces in the demon continent.

    Selen was at the front, showing them exciting points of the valley and her memories of those ces.

    "That is where my brother and I fought one day, and he lost. He still cannot win against me, but he sure tries."

    "You see that small tunnel there? One day, centuries ago, a group of dwarves dug a tunnel in our mountain and ended up here. They weren''t excited, as they wanted a ce filled with ores. Imagine the face they had when they saw dragons in here! That was when the stories about us spread around the continent."

    "Dwarves? One day I want to visit their home. They seem like interesting people," Arthur said.

    As an RPG fan, he wanted to meet the dwarves of the demon continent and the elves, too, if possible, but thetter had so few people Arthur was not sure they had a civilization still.

    "We can go there one day. Look that is my house." Selen said as she pointed to a normal-looking cabin with many trees around it.

    "I know, it is simple, but it is not like we are masters of building, and it is more than enough. Do you see the trees around it? These are the magical trees I talked about!"

    Selen went near one of them, grabbed some red fruit that reminded Arthur of an apple, and tossed one to him, one to Larry, to Garry, and one to Terry.

    Arthur bit it, as he trusted Selen, and poisons would not work on him anyway, and what he felt were a sweet taste and a fulfilling sensation. He could sense it drove his hunger away, and it tasted delicious!

    "This is incredible! You lived by eating mostly fruits?"

    "Yeah, I know. We are not dragons who kill everything and eat meat all day, but this is less time-consuming, and a small portion of these magical fruits are way better than meat because we need a lot of meat to survive. But it is not like we don''t eat meat; we do, but not all day, you know?"

    It surprised Arthur that the dragons were so prosperous, and he wished to make that valley his new kingdom!

    "Selen, what do you think about us, dragons, rule again?"

    She thought before answering and said, "I would love it for us to return to our former glory, with cities and a kingdom ruled by us, but this is impossible, right?"

    "No, not at all! I n on reaching rank four soon, and with my help and the help of my friends and wives, we can restore our kingdom! Tell me, is there a race living near here?"

    "Well, there are dwarves in some mountains not that far from here."

    Arthur looked for a ce to share his word and make them worship the dragons again. The dwarven mountains seemed like a good ce to start, but first, he had to give the inheritance to his avatar!

 Chapter 379 Cult Of The Dragon, The Start

    "You will stay here, recovering, right?" Arthur asked Valethar, who was now in his humanoid form after restoring some of his strength.

    "Yes, and you?"

    One thing Arthur wanted to do first was to return to the city and give his avatar the second part of the inheritance and his blood essence so that he could start his n of living among vampires.

    So, he had to leave, and while doing that, Garry, Larry, and Terry had a job.

    "You want us to go into the dwarven mountains and spread the cult of the dragon?"

    "Correct. I will return here as soon as possible to help you."

    The three Dragon Priests did not need much time to think, as they quickly agreed to the request and felt like that was their destiny and vocation.

    "Don''t worry, lord. We will make sure everyone knows about your greatness."

    "Good."

    Arthur was happy about how things were going, and it was just a matter of fact for him to rescue his wife Sybille and get control of the demon continent, stopping the war for good.

    But, before he left the dragon mountains, Selen came to talk with him, and by the looks, it was important information.

    "cidusax, I need to talk with you in private."

    "Sure, lead the way."

    Arthur and Selen went to a ce without anyone around, and then she said, "I assume you lost your memories, right?"

    "Correct, unfortunately."

    She was talking about the memories of when cidusax was still alive. Although Arthur had a few dreams about it through the years, his memory never returned.

    "One of my ancestors lived with you back then, and there is a story passing down through generations. You stored our treasures safely, all the dragon techniques we had. Let''s go after it, or the dragons will never reach rank four."

    "Dragon techniques hid somewhere? Have any clues about it?"

    "I do. I don''t know if you are a genius, but it is said in the story that cidusax hid our things inside the Dream Realm, the ce those who destroyed our race control. He hid it inside enemies'' territory."

    The Dream Realm! One thing Arthur still needed to do inside was rescued another dragon, Nefion''s brother! So, he could do two things simultaneously, which was good.

    "Really? I know of a portal to the Dream Realm, but it is on another continent, and it takes years to reach it. Could it have another portal here?"

    "I hope so¡­. Look, your Dragon Priests are creating the Cult of the Dragon, and you are busy with other things, too, so I will look for more information about this."

    "I understand. Thank you, Selen, for believing we can still rise."

    "We will rise again, no matter what!" Selen said firmly, and then she left, looking to prepare for her journey of finding the lost dragon techniques.

    After ensuring everything was alright, Arthur also left, aiming to return to Rolmuth.

    ~~~~

    "Nykka, wake up; someone is leaving the dragon mountains," Yeva said, poking Nykka using her staff, waking her up.

    Nykka woke up in an instant and looked up to see a man flying, and when she saw his face, she knew who it was.

    "Arthur? What is he doing here?"

    "Wait, what?" Tarinne was also asleep, and she woke up when Nykka said that.

    Why were they there in the first ce? They parted ways with the other adventurers, who returned to the capital to discuss their next moves.<novelnext></novelnext>

    They disliked how greedy these people were. Also, the elf they saw looked simr, which is why they waited there to see if the elf woulde out, but instead, Arthur did!

    Wasn''t he supposed to be in Rolmuth, taking care of his potion shop? Strange, and that is why the three girls intercepted Arthur, seeking answers.

    "Are theying? What will I say? Screw this; I will speak the truth." Thought Arthur as he slowed down to ensure the three girls caught up to him.

    He had seen them hiding ¡ª nothing can escape from his Emperor Eye ¡ª so Arthur was thinking about how to proceed with the situation before the girls even met him.

    A voice came from behind. It was Nykka.

    "Arthur, may I ask what you are doing here? You know this is where dragons live, right? Don''t you have a potion shop to take care of?"

    Arthur turned around, looked at them, and said, "I am a dragon. That is why I am here on this mountain. I am the same elf you saw the other day. Are you three willing to enter the Cult of the Dragon and rise above all others?"

    There was no way Arthur would lose the chance of inviting them to the Cult of the Dragon. He would not have to worry about them leaking his secrets if they epted it.

    The three girls were shocked; it took them some time to process the information they had received, and out of the three, Yeva was the first to do so.

    She flew closer to Arthur, took out her long mage hat, and said, "Yeva wants to be part of the Cult of the Dragon. Lord."

    Yeva bowed, showing her respect. Tarinne and Nykka were still thinking about it and could not understand why Yeva had epted it so quickly.

    "Yeva, let us think this through. Are you sure about this?"

    "I am certain of my decision. As a mage and historian, I want to be part of the dragon''s history, and I believe they had suffered unfairly."

    The three had been adventurers together since the beginning, and all of them had met Arthur before and knew he was a decent person. They believed he would not mistreat them, and they could not abandon their friend, Yeva, like that.

    "We also ept your offer and want to be part of the Cult of the Dragon!"

    Arthur was surprised, as he did not believe they would ept it so quickly without asking much about it.

    Did people like the dragons? He was starting to think there were two extremes to this: people who wanted to kill all the dragons and those who still believed in them.

    "Come closer," Arthur said.

    Yeva was the first to go. When she was in front of Arthur, he ced his hand on her forehead and channeled his dragon powers, creating a strange type of rune on her forehead that vanished after a few moments.

    "You are a Dragon Priest now, like the three you saw with me. I hope you can help me reim the glory of the dragons, and I can promise it will be your glory too."

    "I-I will!"

    When Arthur did that, a system notification appeared, and the tab where he could ess Celestial Energy, now called Dragon Energy, had a new option.

    <Cult of the Dragon: A cult that existed during the dragon age, said that those who cult the dragons are granted their powers and are known as Dragon Priests!>

    <Number of Dragon Priests: 4>

    Now, there was one crucial thing: the Dragon Aspect Meditation Technique! That was a skill the system gave Arthur and was meant to be given to all the Dragon Priests.

    The reason? With it, they would meditate and grant more powers to the dragons, and with it, they would also receive powers from the dragons, making both sides stronger!

    "There is another thing," Arthur said, cing his hand on Yeva''s forehead again and giving her the Dragon Aspect technique.

    She was bursting with happiness after understanding what Arthur gave her and said, bowing, "thank you, lord!"

    That was the start of a cult that would shake the continent, the world, and the universe!

 Chapter 380 More Followers, And Gossip

    Yeva could not wait to practice the new meditation she got with Arthur. She knew the contents of the technique and how far it could lead her, and the truth was extraordinary!

    The Dragon Aspect technique could make the Dragon Priests reach rank 6! Not only that, but they would receive the techniques from the dragons, thus making them stronger than ordinary mages!

    She dreamed of bing a powerful mage and making her dead parents proud, and with the help of the Dragon Aspect and Arthur, Yeva would make that happen.

    "What happened, Yeva?" Nykka said.

    "I am a Dragon Priest, and Arthur gave me the Dragon Aspect Technique! Nykka, Tarinne, this dragon spell can be used for us until rank 6! It was our dream, remember? To be strong."

    "Rank 6?"

    They could not believe Arthur would give them such a powerful technique! After hearing that, Tarinne and Nykka, who still had doubts, stepped forward to receive the Dragon''s Mark.

    No one would follow someone that did not give them any benefits and would only make their life harder. But Arthur? He would grant them many things, things they never thought possible.

    Nykka was the next. She received the mark, got the meditation, and bowed in respect. Tarinne was thest and did the same.

    Now, the more they practiced the meditation, the more power Arthur would get, and the Dragon Priests would get power too! It was a win for both sides, and the more followers Arthur acquired, the stronger he would be.

    There was another thing his system would do. There was a percentage of worship that would increase with the meditation. When it reached the maximum, both Arthur and his followers would get new dragon skills, meaning Arthur could recover his dragon powers without relying on previous techniques.

    That could mean he was building a new era of dragons, an age where they would get stronger than in the past and get their revenge!

    Anyone with the Dragon''s Mark could not betray the dragons, or they would die. That was the price of getting their powers, and most people were okay with it.

    "Are you three nning on doing something?"

    "I don''t think so."

    "Follow me, then."

    Arthur and the three girls returned to the dragon mountains. Why? Arthur had to give the meditation to Garry, Larry, and Terry, and he would send the three girls with them to spread the word.

    It was good that the adventurers were waiting outside the mountains, meaning Garry and his brothers had yet to leave, so Arthur did not need to go after them.

    They were preparing to leave when Arthur appeared, "yo, we have three more helpers. These three are also my Dragon Priests. This one is Garry, that one is Larry, and the other is Terry."

    "What is up with their names?" Nykka asked.

    "They are brothers."

    "Oh, I see."

    "Lord, this is incredible!"

    "Come here, you three; I have a technique to pass on. Also, there is another thing, and this is an order. The girls will go with you to see the dwarves, and if you do anything pervert with them or try anything¡­."

    "Lord, we would never do something like that, even if they weren''t fellow Dragon Priests. Rest assured, nothing weird will happen!"

    "Good to hear. Now,e here."

    The three brothers went in front of Arthur, one by one, and received their meditation technique. None of them could believe something like that existed!

    "Rank 6? Lord, isn''t this too overpowered?"

    Arthur rolled his eyes at that statement and said, "So, I will leave you to know each other, as I have things to do. Bye, everyone. Before I forget, use the Dragon Mark to speak with me if anything happens."

    Then, after giving the technique to everyone and making sure they would treat each other decently, Arthur left the dragon mountains again, and this time, there was no way to get in his way.

    Well, that was until he reached the capital.

    ~~~~

    Rolmuth was the biggest city where Arthur had his potion shop. Before, he used the sewers ¡ª the only weak spot he found ¡ª but now, it would not be possible.

    It seemed the people in charge of the city noticed the weak spot and increased its security, and now, not even Arthur could break through.<novelnext></novelnext>

    This meant he would have to pass through the main gate, and with the magical devices and the strong mages around, he would not be able to enter using another appearance.

    "Name?" a guard asked when it was Arthur''s turn to get inspected.

    "Arthur."

    "What businesses do you have here in the capital?"

    "I own a potion shop called Frostpeak Potion Shop. I was out seeking some specific ingredients for my potions."

    "What? No way you are the owner of that ce," the guard said, shaking his head from side to side.

    "Why is that?"

    "Well, that ce is the most famous potion shop in the city! Also, aren''t somedies the owners?"

    "No, I am. You can go fetch the documents while I wait here."

    Anyone that bought a house, a shop, or anything, had registered in the city, and the guards could look up if they doubted Arthur.

    And guess what? They did! Another guard came to keep watch on Arthur while the one who had spoken with him left to look for the documents proving Arthur was the shop owner.

    It took one hour, and when the guard was back, he could not be more sorry.

    "I am so sorry, Sr. Arthur. I made you wait here all this time¡­."

    "It is okay. You were doing your job."

    "Forgive me, please. Your shop is the best one in the city! Look, no one will bother you anymore, and you can enter and leave the city as you please!"

    "Thank you for that," Arthur said, smiling, and went inside the city.

    Everyone else who was around, waiting in line, was gossiping about him.

    "That is the owner of the Frostpeak Potion Shop? He is so young and handsome!"

    "Aren''t you married?"

    "Shh, shut up!"

    Arthur''s appearance quickly spread throughout the city, with people talking about how he looked, dressed, and behaved. In a matter of hours, almost everyone knew what the owner of the Frostpeak Potion Shop looked like, and some people disliked him.

    "That is the survivor of the Coldharbour family?" a man dressed in ck said to another one in a dark alley.

    There was one thing both men had inmon: their red eyes and sharp fangs.

    "Yes, we must start preparations to take him down here, inside the city."

    "Wouldn''t that be too hard? This ce is well protected."

    "Correct, and that is our best chance! A surprise attack."

    ~~~~

    The first ce Arthur went was his potion shop, which had a row of people in front, waiting to go inside to buy potions.

    They had been there the whole morning and had yet to know about the new hot gossip: the shop owner.

    So, when he passed through them, many of them were angry.

    "Hey, get on the line! You are just like everyone else here."

    Arthur just looked at those people and ignored them, passing through everyone and entering the shop, HIS shop.

 Chapter 381 Turning The Avatar Into A Vampire

    "The shop guards will take him down; just wait and see," one of the people in the line said.

    It was not the first time someone tried to cut the line and enter the shop, but they would get expelled and be a public joke every time.

    Some of the hired guards approached him and said, "you cannot skip the line and enter. Please,e back!"

    Arthur looked at them and said, "I own this shop. If you still want your job, then shut up."

    "W-What?"

    No one had talked to them like that, and before they tried anything stupid with Arthur, Wisa came to see what the fuzz was about, and then she saw her husband!

    "Guards, stop. He owns this shop!" Wisa said.

    When she was the person saying that, then it must be true! The guards thought about what would happen if Wisa had not intervened to save them¡­

    "This is looking good, Wisa. A row of people wanting to buy potions, and we even have people protecting the store," Arthur said as he hugged Wisa, and the two looked around the shop right after.

    The shop was not empty, and the people there now knew who the mysterious owner of the Frostpeak Potion Shop was, and they could not believe he was so young.

    "Are you the owner of this shop? I must say this ce is the best in the city and probably one of the best in the entire continent!" A youngdy said.

    "Thank you," Arthur said, nodding his head and smiling.

    It was nice to hear these things, but he knew the shop''s sess was because of his wives and not him.

    After he left, with the help of the two people Arthur hired and his avatar, Jane and Wisa turned the Frostpeak Potion Shop from nothing to the best ce in Rolmuth!

    Why did the mages prefer his ce over the others? Well, it was the ce with the highest quality potions, and everyone knew that after experimenting with one of his potions.

    "How are the two I hired? Doing well?"

    "Yes, they are! Well, we did increase their payment with how many clients we are getting, but they did notin about it, so that''s good."

    "Good. If things keep going like this, we must hire one or two more to sell to everyone in the shop and let the deliveries with Alessia and Ja."

    Arthur knew he and his wives would not stay forever in that city, as they had many things to do. He had one problem now; who will continue to make the potions?

    The avatar he made was down in the basement as they spoke, crafting potions like a madman, and their stock of potions was so huge it could make the shopst for four months withoutposing a single brew!

    But what would happen after these months passed? Arthur had to give his avatar new powers, turn it into a vampire, and rescue Sybille.

    "Husband, we can close the shop after we run out of options."

    "What? Wouldn''t that hurt our reputation?"

    "Not at all. It is normal for shops to close sometimes for vacation, which couldst a whole year. But we have an advantage: the winter! When we run out of potions, winter wille, and all the potion shops close because few ingredients can be harvested in the winter, you know, with snow covering every piece ofnd."

    "Really? Our luck is just getting better."

    Jane was selling some potions to the customers, so she could not participate in the conversation, so the three waited for night to speak after they closed the shop.

    Down in the basement were four people: Arthur, Jane, Wisa, and Arthur the 2nd.

    "So you went to a mountain with dragons, and you have an alliance with them?"

    "Yes, correct. If they ruled the demon continent, it would be better for us, and the war with the central continent will not happen."

    "You do have a point. You are their master so they will obey you, but what is up with this, Cult of the Dragon?"

    "Oh, right. Well, it seems there is a meditation technique, and the more my followers use it, the stronger I get, and some of my power will go to them too."

    "That''s dope."

    They talked about many things, but their real goal was to finish the avatar and send it to the vampire territory.

    "I can give it the Blood Essence and the other part of the inheritance without problems, but to turn it into a vampire¡­ I need Shyvana''s help, but how can we find her?"

    Arthur needed to turn the avatar into an actual vampire, and for that, he needed to find a vampire to turn it, but of course, it could not be someone random, and it had to be a powerful vampire and someone he trusted; thus Shyvana was the only option.

    But where could he find her? It would be an impossible task, considering the continent was immense, but then Jane said, "would you believe it if I told you Shyvana is here, in the capital?"

    "What? Why?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "She came to see us, but mainly to be an adventurer, and the guild''s main headquarters is here. She wants to find ways to increase her power, and traveling around the continent seems like a good idea."

    "So that''s the case! Can you two invite her to our house?"

    "No problem, husband."

    Jane and Wisa left the shop and went looking for Shyvana. As for Arthur, he remained there to give the avatar the inheritance and the Blood Essence.

    It was not hard to do it, and all he needed was to touch the avatar on the forehead. It hurt a little bit, but nothing harmed any of them.

    Now his avatar had the Blood Essence, all the knowledge required to contain the madness, and all the techniques from the Blood Monarch.

    After doing all he needed, Arthur and his avatar left the shop, closing it up and returning to the house he rented long ago.

    When he got there, Shyvana was already there, and when she saw an elf with them, she could not believe that elf was Arthur!

    "You n on going into the vampire territory as an elf? You can stay there, but if you want to infiltrate their castle and join their ranks, you must be a human vampire. Look, all you need to do is change the pointed ears, and that''s it," Shyvana said when she saw the elf.

    Arthur''s and his avatar''s features did not differ much, but it was enough so no one could recognize them.

    That was one of the reasons he made it an elf, to make it even harder for enemies to spot him, but it seemed vampires weren''t a fan of elves.

    "Really? Well, good thing this avatar spell is incredible. I can change the appearance of the avatar as many times as I want."

    Shyvana then smiled and said, "it is good to see you. All of you! Arthur, I know you are going there to rescue Sybille, but you must promise you will share all the information you get, and when the time of our revengees, you will let me go with you."

    Arthur could understand her frustration. Her family and friends were dead, and she wanted to get stronger for her revenge. If Arthur had the means to help her, he would do it, no matter what.

    "I will don''t worry."

    "Thanks. So, you want me to turn your avatar into a vampire? Let''s do it, as I have to leave in one hour," Shyvana said, showing her token of the Adventurers Guild.

    "Busy, aren''t you? Fine, let me change the pointed ears real quick."

    ~~~~

    The process of turning someone into a vampire was rtively simple. Shyvana fed Arthur''s avatar with her blood, and then the avatar had to feed on blood toplete the transition.

    "Now, there''s some important information. We usually drank the blood of humans, and if you feed from someone powerful in your transition, it can unlock your greater abilities. My father got me a rank two mage."

    Arthur heard that and had an idea which should work.

    "Does it need to kill it?"

    "No. Just a drop of blood is enough, and getting more does not seem to increase the bonuses of the first feed."

    "I see."

    The idea he had was to feed his avatar with his blood! He was still considered a human and a powerful one.

    Also, the only thing the avatar did not have was bloodlines, so giving his blood could grant the avatar some special abilities.

    "Let''s try this."

    Arthur grabbed a knife and a cup, filling it with blood.

    "Doesn''t the avatar already has your blood?" Shyvana asked.

    She was right about that, but the idea was to grant the avatar the blood of dragons and giants, and that was way better than anything the vampires could wish for.

    The avatar picked up the cup of blood, drank it, and then a pleasing sensation filled his body as his eyes turned red for a split second and then returned to green again.

    Arthur could feel the avatar''s body getting stronger and his affinity with the blood increasing even more, but it was still weak as it had never practiced anything.

    "If your blood grants you special abilities, then it will not happen immediately, so don''t worry about it."

    After Shyvana made sure everything was okay with the avatar, she said goodbyes to everyone and left. Now, it was time for both Arthurs to go on their journey.

    One, a dragon seeking to increase its power to rank four, and get as many followers as possible, as that was his army.

    A vampire who wished to join the vampire family that took his wife and rescued her.

 Chapter 382 [Bonus ] A Fight Inside The Potion Shop

    Shyvana left after making sure everything was okay with the avatar''s transformation. Jane, Wisa, and Arthur were still in the house.

    "So, what are our next steps?" Jane asked, sitting cross-legged on their couch.

    Arthur had his hand on his chin and said, "we need to start our moves, or else we may lose the extra time we got. First, we need to hire more people to care for the shop."

    Jane and Wisa would leave the city with Arthur, returning to the dragon''s mountain to get more followers, reach rank four, and end the war.

    While they were doing that, Arthur''s avatar would go to the vampires and get stronger there while also getting clues about Sybille.

    That was their initial n, and they hoped no problems would arise soon.

    "I believe we should keep Alessia in charge of the shop, and we only need toe here from time to time to see if everything is correct. She is smart and trustworthy," Wisa said, giving her opinion about Alessia.

    Arthur shared the same thought, Alessia worked well; she was an elf ¡ª a race known to be noble and follow ethics.

    Also, it would only be for a short time, as they nned on closing the shop when winteres, in four months or so.

    "Will we reopen the shop after winter?" Arthur asked.

    He was almost sure that would not happen, but he wanted to hear his wives'' thoughts.

    The shop was for them to earn more money and for Arthur to practice his potion-making skills, which he would focus on more now that he had nothing to worry about except reaching rank four.

    Arthur moved from side to side inside his house and said, "we earned a good amount of mana stones here, and the dragons have many of them, too, so we don''t need to worry about money. So let''s get the most precious ingredients, as I n on making potions inside the valley where the dragons live, drink them and meditate."

    Jane and Wisa were okay with the n, as the two wanted to get stronger, perhaps reaching rank four before making their moves.

    "Husband, you pack up the things we need to bring. Jane and I will speak with Alessia and hire more people."

    "Hire people in the middle of the night? Would someone do an interview thiste?"

    "Oh, you bet. People are desperate for jobs, especially in the Frostpeak Potion Shop. Also, I thought about hiring only one person, seeing the job will close when winteres. Is that okay?"

    "If you think only one person can sell the potions inside the shop, that''s okay. You have more experience than me on this so I will take your word for it," said Arthur.

    Arthur''s wives left the shop while he searched on the shelves, looking for all the crafted potions that could help him and the ingredients one could use to make more of these potions.

    There weren''t many of those. Potions that could help rank three mages reach rank four were extremely rare and expensive. As for the ingredients, Arthur also only had a few, but it would be enough for him to get rank four in the uing year or two, but his wives? For them to get rank four, too, he would have to find more of those ingredients, or else that would not be possible.

    "Let me get this, and that, and."

    Arthur was putting the things inside his magical pouch when he heard noises from upstairs again. It was like when the three hunters broke in and turned his friends.

    But, differently from before, the noises were silent, and Arthur only heard that because his hearing was that good.

    "These people are professional assassins. Who could they be? The vampires?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Vampires were the first option Arthur thought about, making sense as he went inside the city using his appearance when in the Coldharbour castle.

    "If this is the case, they watched me and waited for everyone to leave the shop, so I am all alone... Wait, my vampire body is still here, which means I need to kill!"

    The vampire avatar did not leave with Jane and Wisa, so Arthur had to finish those vampires before they discovered his secret.

    Arthur used his invisibility and hid behind some crates with a dagger in his hands. The sounds of footsteps entered his ears, and judging by how they sounded; it meant the vampires were going down the stairs, joining in the basement area.

    The good thing was the basement''syout, a tunnel with a door at the end, so the vampires could not go around and attack him.

    It was not a good spot for them, and in typical situations, there was no way the vampires would go there, but in that case, they did.

    They nned to kill Arthur while he was inside the city, which could only happen in some specific ces where there would be no guards, like inside the shop.

    An opportunity they could not miss but that would lead them to their downfall.

    Arthur put his avatar in front of the cauldron, mixing some ingredients on it, acting as if he was brewing potions. When the vampires opened the other, that was the first thing they saw.

    For a moment, they were scared they had messed up, and Arthur was not alone but with someone powerful, someone they did not sense before going in.

    It turned out that was not the case, and the only reason they did not sense the person brewing potions was simply that that person was too weak.

    Arthur''s avatar kept faking it, acting as if he was not seeing the vampires who entered ¡ª they had invisibility spells on. So they opened and closed the door so fast that ordinary people couldn''t notice it.

    They could not speak aloud, but it was a team of four vampires who specialized in assassinations and had worked together for years. There was no need for words, but they could also speak mentally.

    "Let''s go closer and check if that elf is indeed weak. We cannot suffer a sneak attack."

    The vampires approached Arthur''s avatar to make sure it was not a threat, but that was the worse decision of their lives. Arthur saw them from behind a crate and took the chance to strike like a snake pouncing on its prey!

    A shadow so quick not even the vampires could see it, wielding a dagger that shone with the moonlight, and it was as sharp as the teeth of a terrifying beast.

    Arthur shed horizontally with his dagger, and the head of two vampires fell to the ground, killing them in an instant. Those were the two weakest, who were at the peak of rank two, but the remaining two were already at rank three!

    "I must keep going and take full advantage of the surprise attack!"

    The two vampires quickly turned around to face Arthur, believing the elf brewing potions was not a threat, but they were again wrong.

    Although the avatar was weak inbat, it still had many memories from the Blood Monarch, and there were many sealing spells.

    Arthur''s avatar moved its hands, making hand signs like a ninja. It happened fast, and before the vampires could react, the entire shop was affected by a sealing spell, which would cut off the mana from everyone inside!

    The invisibility spells ended, and the two remaining vampires looked at Arthur and said, "you cut off the mana from everyone? So what? Spells were your only advantage. We, vampires, are masters ofbat, and our bodies are powerful!"

    Arthur looked at them with a mocking smile and said, "is that so? Are vampire bodies stronger than a dragon''s?"

 Chapter 383 Arthurs Vampire Journey Begins

    The two remaining vampires did not understand what Arthur meant with the whole dragon thing. There was no way for him to be a dragon. That passed through their minds when they dashed toward Arthur with fists ready to punch.

    Arthur was ready for it, and in a regr battle, he would be more careful when fighting against two rank three mages, but a fight about who had the stronger body? He was not scared about that!

    The first vampire came with a right hook, one Arthur easily dodged by ducking down, and then he twisted his body to kick the vampire in the belly!

    "Fast!"

    Everything happened so fast the first vampire did not have time to react as Arthur''s foot met his stomach.

    "Aggr!" the vampire yelled, flying away and hitting the basement wall.

    He spat blood, and the damage it did to him was not light, making them worry about whether they would win the fight.

    "Are you okay?" asked the other vampire, who could not believe his partner had gone flying like a dummy.

    Arthur saw it, yet another action he could take advantage of. Didn''t the vampires teach them not to talk about a useless thing duringbat?

    The other vampire looked at his partner for only half a second, but with Arthur''s speed, it was more than enough tond a clean punch on his face. It was so strong that the vampire''s fangs came out of his mouth, turning him into a fangless vampire.

    After the first exchange, the two vampires knew it would be impossible to win in meleebat alone against Arthur, so they dashed toward the avatar, grabbing it to act as a hostage.

    "A low blow," thought Arthur.

    He did not wish for his avatar to die like that, so he said, "what do you want?"

    When those vampires saw they had the upper hand with the hostage, the one who received the kick said, "we want to leave this shop alive, and then we will let go of this elf."

    The situation was not looking good for Arthur, and there wasn''t much he could do to turn the table.

    "Just let him go. He does not have anything to do with this," Arthur said.

    "Nothing to do with this? Wasn''t he the person who locked our mana? Now that I think of it, what kind of technique is this? I have never seen something like it!"

    They now believed the elf was not as simple as he looked, which made them think Arthur would not do anything and would let them go peacefully.

    Also, one of them said after realizing that "we want to change terms, we will leave this ce alive, and the elf wille with us."

    Arthur could not let them go, especially if they wanted to go with his avatar! They would certainly kill it to get the secret behind the techniques, which was something he could not let them do!

    "No, that cannot happen," Arthur said firmly.

    There was one move he could do, and seeing how close they were, it would not harm him.

    "The Void Step!"

    The ce did not allow anyone to use mana, but it was not amon spell but a technique from the dragons! It would take a lot more to stop it, so Arthur performed it without problems, disappearing from their sight.

    It happened fast, less than one second, and Arthur was already behind the two, grabbing their neck and exerting his incredible strength to crack them. They did not even see what killed them.

    "Now, where will I hide four bodies?" Arthur thought, cing his hand on his head.

    ~~~~

    Jane and Wisa went to talk with Alessia, who was happy with the promotion and could not believe it had happened so fast. They also looked for someone to hire and found a gorgeous girl who had worked as a saleswoman and looked like a decent person.

    Still, they would interview her by the morning to decide if they would hire her or not, so there was something else they needed to do.

    "What happened here?" asked Jane when they went inside the basement and saw Arthur cleaning the blood from the ground and walls.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He had a bucket and a broom with a rag.

    "Vampires. They came and died fighting me. I hope they don''t try anything with the other workers of this ce."

    It was not the first time someone attacked him inside his store. Arthur was someone who could defend himself, but what about the other employees of the shop? Who were weaker?

    "We should hire bodyguards to stay here at night too, and not only during the day. Most will attack at night anyway.

    "Correct. The shop has many customers during the day, so no one will be fool enough to try something."

    "Let''s look for it tomorrow. We need to clean this up before the shop reopens tomorrow..."

    ~~~~

    After cleaning up the shop, Arthur had to dispose of the bodies, and the sewers were the only ces he thought would be possible.

    It was easy to ess them as one of the sewer doors was right in front of his shop, and during the middle of the night, dodging any guards was not hard -- especially with Arthur''s speed.

    He tossed the four bodies inside the sewer and burnt them using fire spells. That way, no one would find the bodies, and the only thing in the sewers would be the smell, but the sewers did not smell good in the first ce, so no one would find it strange.

    "So, how was it?" Jane asked when Arthur got home, chuckling a little bit, remembering the hard times they passed in the sewers thest time.

    "It smelled like shit."

    Wisa was at the table eating her dinner, and she said, "you mean it smelled like dead vampires."

    "Haha, so funny, you two."

    "So, we will not leave tomorrow, as we have other things to do to ensure nothing happens in the shop or to the employees, but my avatar can still go," Arthur said.

    "Are you sure you want to send it being so weak? The journey could get dangerous."

    "Not if I travel with convoys of merchants who have guards to protect us. Also, the vampire family will suspect a powerful vampire. I need to arrive there being weak and enter their army."

    "Will they ept you?"

    "Yes, I think. Shyvana told me the vampire families ept people during the whole year."

    Arthur''s avatar would be called Akhur, the same name he used previously.

    While Arthur and his wives were chilling inside their house, Akhur left that night with only his clothing, a sword, and a small magical pouch.

    There were lots of convoys of carriages leaving and entering the city. As winter approached, it wasmon for people, and ces to store food, so the merchants had a lot of work to do, thus leaving the city constantly.

    Arthur went to one of these merchants, who was shouting in the city''s stable, "go, put those crates inside the carriage fast. We need to leave in one hour!"

    "Can I join?" Arthur asked.

    The merchant looked at him from head to toe and said, "can your slim body carry some crates? If yes, then you cane with us."

    "It seems like my work never ends..." thought Arthur as he joined the rest of the men who were putting the crates inside the carriages. They all had a face of despair, and Arthur could tell why after he picked up the first crate.

    "Heavy!"

    "..."

 Chapter 384 Feeding During The Night

    The task of filling the carriages with supply crates was not easy, and everyone involved was tired to the bones, but it was a way to get to ride along, which was what most were looking for.

    Arthur was there, helping too, and even though he had a skinny body, his strength was not something to make fun of, especially among weaker mages or ordinary people.

    There was a man beside Arthur, and when he saw how Arthur put the crates inside with ease, he said, "strong one, aren''t you?"

    Arthur was not feeling like talking to the man, so he just smiled and said a few words, cutting the conversation before it started. The man did not get sad about it, as it wasmon for adventurers not to mingle, and he was okay with it.

    The merchant expected the men to take one hour to put all the crates inside the carriages, but with Arthur there, it took them thirty minutes! That made the merchant happy, and he knew who was behind such a decrease in time.

    "Hey, you," the merchant said, yelling to Arthur, who went toward the man to hear what he had to say.

    "You can go in that carriage over there," the merchant said, pointing to a specific carriage amidst many, "that one is thefiest."

    Arthur was happy to hear that, as he did not enjoy traveling in carriages, especially bad ones. He looked at the merchant and said, "thank you for this."

    "Now, everyone, let''s move!" the merchant yelled, ensuring everyone went to their designated spots as they left the city.

    ~~~~

    Inside the carriage meant for Arthur, there was no one else, which was quite good. He never believed the merchant would give him that much of a perk just because he saved him thirty minutes.

    "I will notin about it and enjoy it instead," he thought.

    Arthur spoke with the merchant beforehand, asking him about the cities they would pass, and there was one close to the vampire family''s territory Arthur wanted to go. That was why he wanted to go with that convoy and not others who were also leaving the city.

    "So boring. I should meditate and increase my power on the way! Reaching the third circle should be fine," thought Arthur as he sat cross-legged and meditated.

    This time, he had to get the mana from the atmosphere and not from leveling up, which would make it slightly moreplex. Still, Arthur had a powerful meditation technique from the Blood Monarch, an existence that surpassed the dragons, so reaching the third circle was not difficult.

    Arthur could get stronger than that, too, if he wanted, but that would only make the vampires suspect him more. A vampire not attached to any family did not have the supplies one needed to reach higher ranks, like a decent meditation technique ¡ª most did not even have one ¡ª so Arthur could not go there being too powerful.

    The third circle was an okay level. Even without a meditation technique, a vampire could obtain that level after feeding many times throughout the years, so it would not make them suspicious of him, which was what he wanted.

    He started his meditation technique, following the chants he had inside his mind from the Blood Monarch''s inheritance, and Arthur felt the difference in his body almost instantly.

    Arthur was not even at the first circle, so after a round of meditation which took him six hours, he reached it! There were no signs the carriage would stop, so he kept going, adding up to twelve hours in total, reaching the peak of the first circle, almost the second.

    But, after that much training, he needed to eat! Arthur was not scared of feeding on others, as he ate people when being a dragon many times, so getting some blood was not a big deal.

    The carriages slowly stopped, and the merchant, who owned them, said, "everyone, we will camp out here for the day. No cities or viges are around, so we must camp!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Camping in the middle of the night, in a forest, this is the perfect chance for me to feed!" thought Arthur.

    They had tents if they wished to, but all the people opted to sleep inside their carriages, as it was safer that way, and if someone tried to sneak up to steal their goodies, they would know.

    Arthur was the one who had the advantage in that scenario, as he was alone in his carriage. "I can leave and look for opportunities. Surely someone will leave their carriage to get some fresh air, pee, or something like that!"

    With that thought in mind, Arthur waited inside his carriage, focusing on hearing everything happening outside. It was quiet at first, but then he heard footsteps leaving the area where all the carriages were, going into the nearby forest just beside the road.

    "My chance!" Arthur thought, putting on his dark hooded robe and following whoever was leaving the campsite.

    "Huh?" the man said, turning around to see if something was following him.

    "Am I getting scared of peeing in the forest?"

    The man turned to face the tree, but before he could do anything, a shadow came from above him, putting a hand on his mouth and sinking its fangs on his neck.

    Arthur did not hesitate to jump and bite the man on the neck, draining his blood. He had yet to learn a technique to mess with the minds of his victims, making them easier prey, as they would not scream and not remember the attack.

    But, he still did not know these techniques, so he had to feed old-fashioned by putting the hand on the man''s mouth so he would not scream and kill him in the process.

    With Arthur''s hunger, the man barely had time to fight, passing out in the first ten seconds and dying shortly after. Arthur did not feel bad for killing the man, as he killed others for way less, and now it was for feeding, making it even less painful.

    There was nowhere to put the body, like a river, to make it drown, so Arthur just put it beneath some bushes and hoped the beasts would eat the rest of it during the night.

    Then, he returned to his carriage, feeling more energetic and his hunger satiated.

    "I thought the blood would taste like shit, but it is not bad."

    Arthur was not sleepy, as vampires preferred to sleep from 6 am to 2 pm. So, he nned on continuing his meditation, but that would not happen as he wanted it.

    ~~~~

    "Michael? Where are you?" a man yelled in the forest.

    Michael was the man Arthur killed and was part of a mercenary group and was traveling with one of his friends, who went out to look for him after he did not show up.

    The man knew how to track and knew Michael well, so he found him! Well, he found his corpse behind a bush with marks of fangs on his neck and visibly dry, as if there were no liquids inside.

    Everyone knew vampires, and it was easy to tell when they attacked someone. So the man ran back to the camp and woke everyone with screams, "everyone, there''s a vampire among us!"

 Chapter 385 Hunter Cabin, Full Moon?

    Everyone sleeping inside their carriages woke up with the screamsing from outside, and the merchant, the owner of all the carriages, was the first toe out.

    "What happened? Why are you screaming in the middle of the night?"

    "A- A vampire! I saw my friend''s body behind a bush with fang marks on his neck, and he had been drained of blood!"

    "What? Tell me what happened."

    The man exined about his friend, who went to pee, and did not return, so he went out looking for him, and that is when he found him dead behind a bush in the middle of the forest.

    No one liked the idea of traveling with someone dangerous, and the moment they heard a vampire could be among them, everything was ready to look for it and kill it!

    If it was just a case of a vampire feeding on one of them, they could still talk and enter an agreement, seeing how vampires were typical in the demon continent and lived in peace with everyone else.

    But a corpse? Talking would not work, and the only way for everyone to have their peace of mind again was to find the vampire, and kill it, just like it did with the other member of the convoy.

    Arthur also came out of his carriage, like everyone else, trying to act as normal as possible, but he knew his time with the convoy had ended. Why? People had ways of identifying vampires, even those weak merchants and mercenaries, so they would find out about Arthur sooner orter.

    "I should have been more careful. Perhaps learning a technique to make the man forget and not kill the man... Well, I was hungry, and there was not enough time!" Arthur thought.

    The people of the convoy first went around the area, looking for clues about who had attacked and killed that man, and that was the perfect opportunity for Arthur to run away.

    Before they realized it, he was long gone, running through the forest, going toward the territory of the vampire family who took Sybille.

    "Wasn''t someone else with us?" the merchant said, yet he could not remember who was the missing person.

    There were so many problems inside his mind that he did not recall everyone who went to his convoy, and even if someone was gone, it did not mean the person was a vampire.

    The man who carried the crates with Arthur thought, "I will help you out this time, and if we meet again, I hope you retribute."

    Despite remembering who was the missing person, he did not say it and kept looking for clues.

    ~~~~

    When Arthur left the convoy, it was night-time, the perfect time for a vampire to go out and do the things he must. Arthur had increased speed during the night and was slightly weaker during the day.

    Also, he would get tired during the day and would have to stop to sleep, so Arthur made sure to travel as fast as he could during the night to make full use of his strengths and weaknesses.

    There were few beasts along the way -- Arthur traveled near the road, which meant it was rare to see other beasts, but in return, Arthur saw other people from time to time, and who knows, they could be worse than the beasts.

    The good part was that he was not on the road itself, and most people did not see him, and those who were stronger and noticed his presence did not mind him at all.

    Why would an official mage lose his time with a mere second-circle vampire mage? So, Arthur found no problems during the night, but when morning came, he had to stop and rest.

    But where? Arthur did not find any viges along the way, and he could not simplyy in the middle of the road and sleep, especially during day-time, when most of the adventurers traveled, and some of them could harm Arthur, who was not powerful.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "A vige? A cave? Nothing?"

    Arthur tried to look for anything, but there was nothing. If he saw a cave, he would sleep inside withoutining, but he did not find that!

    Until he spotted something. A tiny house in the middle of the forest, away from everyone. For a moment, Arthur feared it belonged to a powerful mage who would kill him immediately, but after he stayed and watched the cabin from afar, he noticed it was not the case.

    The cabin belonged to two hunters, a man, and a woman, who lived there instead of the craziness of the cities and were happy with the life they chose.

    If Arthur showed up out of nowhere without a reason to be there, they would get suspicious of him, which was not what he wanted. So, he had two choices, either find an excuse or sleep inside the house without anyone knowing!

    "It is too early in the morning, but I bet those who live there will leave the cabin soon," Arthur thought as he remained hidden, waiting for an opportunity.

    Just like he imagined, the hunters left the cabin after he had waited for one hour and a half. They had bows on their backs and went for another day of hunting for their daily meals and selling the animals'' fur.

    It was the chance Arthur was waiting for, so he went toward the house and looked for a ce to sleep.

    He opened the front door, looking inside the house to see what it looked like. It looked tiny from the outside, but it was not! The hunter''s bedroom was on the house''s second floor; to ess it, one had to climb adder.

    Arthur did not believe he could remain asleep without anyone noticing, and the kitchen and living room were also out of the question.

    "Is this what I think it is?"

    There was a trapdoor in the cabin, which led to a basement! Arthur was surprised, and that cabin kept surprising him the more he explored it.

    Arthur opened the trapdoor and went into the basement, where he saw many crates with animal furs, bones, and some fruits and vegetables the hunters stored there.

    "They will probablye here after the hunt to store some things, so I should hop inside a crate that already has things in it!" thought Arthur.

    He could not go where the food was, which meant the only option avable was the crates with fur in them. Arthur looked for the one that was the most hidden and went in.

    "This crate is spacious, and the furs make it soft, like an improvised bed."

    It was not a bad ce to sleep, and Arthur could finally rest.

    ~~~~

    Two hunters returned to their cabin after 5 hours of hunting! It was lunchtime!

    "Don''t you think we should have some fun before preparing our food? You know, we are alone in here," the woman said.

    "I agree entirely with you, and it will also help us keep our cools tonight, as it is a full moon."

    "Correct. A good thing we live in the middle of the forest," the huntress said, kissing the man as the two went up to their bedroom.

 Chapter 386 Attacked During A Full-Moon

    Arthur could not hear what the two hunters were saying as he slept inside a wooden crate covered with animal furs.

    Night time came, and the two hunters went to the basement, Arthur heard theming, so it was easy for him to avoid them. They did not look for crates, and apparently, they did not want to store any items.

    "What are they doing here?" thought Arthur as he gazed at them.

    It was not looking like the usual way hunters acted, and Arthur was sure of it when the man pulled out some crates, showing a path hidden behind.

    "What''s this?"

    The mysteriousness arose Arthur''s attention, so he got out from where he was hiding and followed the two hunters through a tunnel, leading to a room with a barricaded door and a magical formation, all of which to increase security.

    "Who''s there?" the man said as he turned around to see if someone was following them.

    He had not seen or heard anything but smelled something he knew very well.

    "Did you see something?" the woman asked after noticing the weird behavior.

    "No. My mind is ying tricks with me. I am sorry; let''s go!"

    They opened up the barricaded door and went inside. Arthur thought about following them, but it would be hard to keep himself unnoticed if he went there, so he decided to leave the basement as it was and continue his journey.

    The only reason he went there in the first ce was to sleep, and Arthur did not need to drink blood every day, so there was no reason to try to attack them.

    ~~~~

    "Do you think a vampire is inside our basement?"

    "Yes! We must chase him now that the full moon is here and our transformation is ready!"

    The hunters were talking behind the door, but the magical formation around it prevented Arthur from hearing anything.

    ~~~~

    "I should leave now, then," thought Arthur, turning around to leave the basement, but a loud bang entered his ears.

    He turned around, hoping to see what it was, and when he did, Arthur knew he was in trouble!

    "Freaking werewolves? Fuck!"

    The two hunters in that tiny little cabin lived away from everyone else, and Arthur now could tell why. They were werewolves, and when the full moon came, they turned into furious beasts, and the prey they loved the most was right in front of them: vampires.

    They weren''t that big, but the werewolves sent a different type of fear. So Arthur felt uneasy just by looking at their red eyes.

    After breaking through the barricaded door, they first did to gaze directly at Arthur, with their mouths salivating, dashing toward him with their four legs at an incredible speed.

    Arthur picked up some of the crates around the basement, throwing them behind him to act as a way to slow down the werewolves. It did work, but it only slowed them down a little bit.

    "What should I do?"

    There was still hope of leaving with his life, they were in the basement, and it would be hard for the werewolves to go through the tiny corridor.

    Everything in there was built to prevent them from leaving, and Arthur was sure they locked themselves during the full moon to not go out, killing everything.

    They were good people, it seemed, and Arthur wished he did not have to resort to fighting ¡ª to not hurt them, but because he also believed he would lose.

    Arthur left the basement, and when he did, he looked around the house for more things to block those werewolves'' passage. So he grabbed one of their shelves and tossed it in front of the basement door.

    It would not hold them for that long, so Arthur took the opportunity to leave the cabin and ran as fast as he could! The fear of having his body ripped apart by werewolves came straight from the TV shows and movies he watched back on Earth, and it creeped the hell out of him.

    Maybe that was why he was so scared when facing werewolves ¡ª childhood trauma.

    A young man with blond hair ran through the forest, repeatedly jumping from tree to tree and looking behind his shoulder, ensuring no werewolf was behind him.

    "It seems I escaped," thought Arthur, but when he turned around, the two werewolves were right in front of him!

    "Fuck!"

    Arthur disliked the situation, and even though they were close to the road, someone rarely passed by, so screaming for help would be useless.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Also, there was a chance the person passing by in the streets would be weaker than them, which would only bring more casualties.

    There was no choice. Arthur would have to fight, even if it cost his life! So he took out his magical sword ¡ª one of the few decent items his avatar had ¡ªand entered a fighting stance, waiting for one of the werewolves toe at him.

    The only advantage Arthur could think of was his intelligence. When someone turned into a werewolf, they usually lost their minds and did not think straight.

    Well, that was for the weaker werewolves, like those hunters who had the power of a sixth-circle mage at most. But, like the tenth circle and beyond, the stronger werewolves could keep their minds after turning, and most could turn even during regr moons, but they would be stronger in the full moon.

    One of the werewolves dashed toward Arthur first while the other circled around to attack him from the back. They were more intelligent than Arthur thought, and if the situation kept going like that, Arthur would lose.

    But there wasn''t much he could do. Only trees around him and a road where no one passed.

    "Come, you bastard," Arthur said, brandishing his sword.

    The werewolf jumped on him, trying to sh him with his ws. Arthur used the sword horizontally to block the werewolf''s attack, but that was only enough for one w.

    As for the other? Arthur did his best to jump away from the werewolf, but his body was not that strong, and his level was only of a second circle mage, way lower than the werewolf.

    The w hit him on his chest, creating a deep wound with three straight lines as markings ¡ª the nails of that thing.

    A lot of blood came from the wound, and Arthur felt weaker by the second. So while that was happening, the other werewolf circled around him, and now there was no other way for him to run.

    "Will I die here?" he thought, feeling bad about losing the avatar he had suffered to create.

    It was time for the other werewolf, the one behind Arthur, to attack. He was not using his ws but his sharp teeth, biting Arthur''s neck!

    Everything happened so fast that Arthur had no way to dodge, and it was clear the strength of those werewolves was way higher than his.

    Then, a carriage passed by the nearby road. If Arthur was still awake, he would see the emblem in the carriage ¡ª the one that belonged to the family who took Sybille and the same family Arthur was heading to.

    "What is happening outside? A vampire attacked by werewolves? He looks young, and his power is not that bad. Charles, go out and rescue that vampire. We will need all the soldiers we can," a woman with ck hair and pale skin said.

    Charles was the man responsible for driving the carriage, ady''s servant, and a vampire.

    The man had the power of a rank one mage, so he did not even need to fight, as the two werewolves ran away after sensing his power. They were stupid but not stupid enough to fight against a stronger opponent.

    Arthur was unconscious and thus did not see what happened and only came to his senses after six hours.

    ~~~~

    "Wh... where am I?" said Arthur, putting his hand on his head, as it was hurting like hell.

    His memory was a fuss, and he could not record what happened, which could only mean he passed out.

    "Did I die?"

    "Not yet, silly."

    When Arthur heard a voice, he jumped in, surprised! He was not alone and was so hurt he did not notice it.

    "What happened?" Arthur said, getting his torso up to face thedy who said those words.

    Arthur was lying on a couch with a nket on and was too weak to fully stand still.

    "I was passing by the road and saw two werewolves attacking you, so I saved you. I am Tessa Von Stein, and we are heading to the Stein family. Do you have any interest in joining it?"

    "Von Stein? Von Stein? Where did I hear this name before?" thought Arthur.

    His mind was still a mess, so he did not recognize the name for a second, but after five seconds, everything came to mind! It was the family who attacked the Coldharbour castle and took Sybille away! The ce where he was heading to!

    Arthur''s bad luck turned into something good, and he looked toward Tessa and said, "I wish to join the Von Stein family and do everything I can for it."

    Tessa giggled and said, "thene with me. I will speak with my dad, and then you are in. But remember, you must train hard and get stronger, or else others will get the better positions, and you will stay behind to die."

    "You don''t need to say that. I will get stronger and kill all of you!"

    That was only his thoughts as he was not stupid to say it aloud, and he only nodded with a bright smile!

 Chapter 387 Von Stein Family Territory

    The first few days of the trip had been alright for Arthur. Better than ever, as he was in afy carriage, not having to worry about the journey''s dangers.

    But something was different. Arthur was feeling uneasy and sometimes with the urge to throw up. Arthur did not know what it was until Tessa pointed out why that was happening.

    "They got you back then, right in the neck. You know, a werewolf bite is poisonous to us, vampires."

    Arthur did not know a bite from a werewolf was poisonous to vampires, but even if he did, there was no way for him to flee from the two werewolves.

    He thought he would die for a moment, but Tessa wouldn''t rescue him and ask him to join her family if that was the case.

    "Aren''t you scared?" she said, smiling.

    "I believe you have the cure, and I will have to work for it."

    There was no such thing as free lunch, so Arthur knew she would save him, but to pay for the cure, he would have to work under her family''smand and turn into a soldier.

    That was the only reason they were allowing him to enter in the first ce. Soldiers. The vampires needed it for their n of continent domination, and anyone with an average talent was wee in their families.

    "You are a smart one, aren''t you? The cure isn''t particrly rare or expensive, but I hope you can be my servant. I promise you I will treat you well."

    Arthur did not feel like it was a bad deal at all. Tessa should have high authority in the Von Stein family. Perhaps the daughter of someone important, like the family''s ancestor.

    It was better if he was with someone of that caliber rather than relying on someone else who could be worse. Also, an outsider would have a difficult time in there, so having someone like that would help him merge with the rest of the family, thus giving him more opportunities to seek information.

    He looked at her and said, "I will be the servant of someone either way and at least you saved my life so that I can live with that. I am Arthur."

    She seemed happy with the oue, so Tessa took a sk from her magical pouch and said, "here, drink this. It will cure your problem. After that, drink this, and then rest."

    Tessa gave Arthur two sks, one with the cure for the werewolf bite and the other with blood for him to feed. He epted both and drank, just like she told him to.

    After a couple of seconds, the biting mark on his neck healed, and he was not feeling the symptoms anymore. The potion had worked, and Arthur was now cured.

    As for the other sk, well, it satiated his hunger and wouldst for a few more days before he had to feed again. Now, all Arthur needed to do was rest until he arrived at the destination.

    ~~~~

    The Von Stein was the strongest of all vampire families and was one of the strongest among the other races too! The reason for it was that it was one of the few families that had two rank-four mages in it, turning it into a force no one wanted to mess with.

    It was one of the oldest families too, and Arthur was almost sure it was the family Sybille came from and the one responsible for locking her in that crypt.

    He still did not know why they did that, but it was not good. The Von Stein family changed throughout the decades, and it turned from a respected family that treated everyone well to blood-starved monsters that did want nothing more than dominate the continent and turn all the humans into cattle.

    After almost a month of traveling, Arthur arrived at the Von Stein territory, but unlike Coldharbour, where the cities had all kinds of people, it was different in Von Stein.

    The only habitants of the territory were vampires that shared the name Von Stein or wanderers who decided to live there. Of course, there were humans there too, but these were not there to live but to act as cattle, feeding all the vampires.

    It was a sad environment, but Arthur did his best to act like how an evil vampire would and did not say a word about it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "We will be heading to the castle first. My father is a duke here, and he has the power to get you at least a basic position in the army. You will have to work hard, increase your power, and maybe you can get promoted. Only time will tell."

    Tessas''s father was a duke. Arthur had done some research about the vampire families, and being a duke meant he was a rank-three vampire, which was strong.

    There was also viscount, which was the title given to rank-two vampires. The most impressive thing was that thebels weren''t given to someone with strength only but to those who did great things for the family throughout the years.

    "A duke? Doesn''t this mean he is impressive?" Arthur said, looking at Tessa with a face of shock.

    "Correct," she said, chuckling a bit.

    The Von Stein territory had three major cities, and some vigers scattered in a radius equivalent to a small country.  Arthur and Tessa reached the biggest city in the region. That was where the castle was, home to all the powerful vampires in the Von Stein family.

    A carriage symbolizing a duke stopped in front of the castle, and the guards quickly came to greet Tessa.

    "Lady Tessa, you are back! Please,e in," they said.

    Of course, the guards noticed Arthur was there but did not ask any questions, as Tessa had the authority to bring anyone she wanted to the castle.

    Wherever they passed, vampires would look at Tessa with admiring and fearful gazes.

    "Who is that blond vampire with her? Her new boyfriend?"

    The news spread so quickly that before Tessa met with her father, he knew she had brought someone with her. He was waiting, sitting on a chair, looking at the firece in front of him.

    It was one of the castle rooms where the high-ranked vampires lived, and no one could go there without permission.

    "Daughter, long time no see. Who is this one?"

    "Father," Tessa said, slightly bowing to her father, showing her respect.

    "Don''t need to do that. We are in private."

    Even though he was her father, Tessa treated him with respect in public, as he was also someone with a high position in the vampire army.

    "This is a vampire I rescued on the road from a werewolf attack. Can he join the family under my wings?"

    "A new servant? He does not look that badpared to all the other servants you came with, so no problem. Put him in the army under my squadmand."

    "Understood."

    With just a few words, Arthur was now considered part of the Von Stein family. Sure, he was a nobody in that castle, but it was a start, and now he could get more information about Sybille.

    "Now the fun is starting!"

 Chapter 388 Tessa Has Secrets

    "This is your room," Tessa said, showing Arthur where he would sleep under hermand.

    It was a part of the castle Tessa owned ¡ª one of the perks for being the daughter of a duke ¡ª and there not only was the ce where she lived, but the servants under hermand also had a room there.

    Of course, her room was way better than her servants, but it was still decent enough; at least Arthur liked it. There was a bed, a bathroom, and a firece, as vampires often needed fire to warm their bodies.

    There was no kitchen ¡ª for obvious reasons ¡ª and there was also a tiny room with a coffin in it in case Arthur preferred to sleep inside it instead of his bed.

    "You can rest and get used to the castle. But your training in the army will start in about two days. The castle is huge, and the courtyard around it is even bigger. The vampire army trains its soldiers in a field far from here. Anyway, in case you need to feed, thene and let me know."

    Tessa tossed him another sk with blood to keep his hunger at bay for the next week, and then she left.

    "When my training starts, I can finally meditate and work harder to get stronger!"

    Arthur could have reached at least the eighth circle with his avatar, maybe more, but was still in the second circle. The reason was to enter the family, as no one would hire someone powerful without good reasons, and they would surely ask him many questions before doing so.

    But a weak vampire? No one inside the castle was concerned about him, not even the duke who met him for a few seconds. For them, he was only another cannon fodder for when they tried to dominate the continent, and there was no way Arthur would turn into something more than that.

    It was the perfect spot for him, someone who wanted to get information and end with the family from the inside. Sure, they would soon know about him when he gets stronger, but Arthur hoped to have gathered some good information up to that point, and the most crucial part, make them trust him!

    Arthur wanted to get stronger fast and turn into a loyal soldier for the Von Stein family, granting him more ess to the needed information and no suspicion about him. It would be toote for the Von Stein family to realize he was a spy.

    "When they finally realize, I will destroy this entire family, and I, my wives, and the dragons will take control of this continent. But for now, let''s rest."

    The first thing Arthur did was jump on the bed and sleep for 9 hours straight. That carriage wasfy but way worse than a proper bed, and Arthur was not a fan of sleeping inside something that was moving, so for that reason, he was still tired.

    After waking up feeling refreshed, Arthur decided to wander around the castle and see what he could find. It was night, but the ce was vivid, with noises everywhere from vampires training, feeding, talking to each other, and doing all kinds of things.

    Arthur first looked around the part of the castle where he lived. There were other rooms ¡ª presumably for the other servants Tessa had ¡ª and an open area with some flowers and trees, like a small garden.

    On a bench sat Tessa, looking at the stars and writing in what looked like a journal. She quickly noticed Arthur was approaching her, so she said, "slept well?"

    He pointed at the bench and said, "can I sit here?"

    "Of course."

    Arthur also looked at the starry sky, "It was good to sleep in a bed after such a long time. Also, this castle looks gorgeous."

    "Right? I love it here, especially when the sky is like this. You know, most people never have the chance to appreciate how beautiful the night is," Tessa said.

    Arthur knew what she was talking about. On his main body, he also noticed how gorgeous the night and the moon were when he did not need to sleep anymore. Now that he was a vampire and was awake during the night, he also had the chance to appreciate the beauty of the night.

    Most races slept during night-time, and the night was viewed as a dangerous time when people needed to stay indoors for protection. That was a pity.

    "Are you busy, Tessa? I was hoping you could tour me around some castle areas," Arthur said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He could go around and look on his own if he wished to, but with Tessa, Arthur had better chances of going inside ces he had no authority to go yet.

    "I can tour you, sure. Where do you want to go first?"

    ~~~~

    Tessa first showed him where her servants lived and introduced some of them to Arthur, saying he could trust them, and all of them helped each other.

    Arthur met at least ten people, all of whom seemed friendly and willing to help him if needed. Sure, appearances could fool, and Arthur was not a young and stupid person to believe in everything, so he was still careful when around others.

    After that, Tessa showed him the general locations of the castle, where vampires often went: the library to increase their knowledge, the training rooms where one could meditate without disturbance and train with all kinds of weapons, and train their spells on dummies.

    Andst but not least, the ce where they could find the sks with blood. Any vampire could go there and get those, like free food. Arthur knew these sks came from the humans they had trapped in the castle''s dungeons, like cattle.

    Those sks weren''t things Arthur liked to have in his hands, and if he could, he would set free all of those humans, but that was impossible, and he still needed to eat, so it was better for him to get the sks then going out and killing somebody.

    That was one of the bad parts of being a vampire, but Arthur knew all of that before turning his avatar into one, and he had to endure it, as there was something bigger going on ¡ª save Sybille and not allow the vampires to start a civil war.

    "Or perhaps I should let them start a civil war and then strike in their vulnerable time to get the most of it," thought Arthur, but tossed it at the back of his mind, as that was a thing for the future.

    Then, while he and Tessa were walking around the castle, Arthur saw a trapdoor near the dungeon entrance.

    "Where does that trapdoor lead?" he asked.

    "Nothing important, but no one is allowed in there. And anyone beneath the rank three will die down there, so don''t think about it."

    Judging by what she said, it was a ce no one should go and thus had the potential to be where Sybille was.

    That, or something else, was down there, something only the higher-ups had ess to. The only way for Arthur to know was to get stronger.

    Then, someone came out of nowhere and approached Tessa.

    "Tessa, one of your servants, came back from his mission with some news for you."

    "Really?"

    Tessa then left, and when Arthur asked if he could go with her, she said, "this is not something for you. We can continue the tourter."

    She was acting all weird, which meant she was hiding something.

    "If someone does not want me to go, I will go!"

    Arthur already knew some basic stealth spells from the Blood Monarch''s inheritance, so it was the following time!

 Chapter 389 Mysteries In The Castle, And Dwarven Fortress

    Tessa acted weird and did not want Arthur to know anything about what the vampire had told her. That only made Arthur''s curiosity increase, and for that reason, he followed her.

    With Arthur''s power, following her would be impossible, but he was no ordinary vampire, and the inheritance from the Blood Monarch had many spells. Now that he had both parts of the inheritance, it was easier for him to learn such spells, especially with his blood essence.

    He was there to be a spy, so the first spells he tried to learn were the stealth ones, which came in handy in that situation. One was an invisibility spell, but instead of using only mana, it also used the user''s blood.

    The blood would make the spell stronger, but Arthur would get weaker as time passed. Other vampires knew those types of spells too, but the one Arthur had was an enhanced version made by the Blood Monarch, making it stronger and decreasing blood usage.

    "Where is she going?" thought Arthur as his body disappeared.

    Tessa left the area where she and her servants lived and went to a different part of the castle. The number of vampires passing by them decreased until no one was around anymore, only Tessa and a vampire who looked like a guard standing in front of a watchtower near the castle''s west wall.

    "Did someone follow you?" the vampire asked, looking behind Tessa to see if he spotted something odd.

    He looked toward Arthur for a second, but Arthur was quick to hide behind a tree; therefore, the man did not notice his presence.

    "No, I don''t think so."

    "Good. Come in. Your father is already there."

    She nodded and entered the tower while the guard stood at the same spot. Arthur wanted to go, but now it would be impossible.

    "No way I can pass unnoticed against a rank-three mage. The duke will find me, and that will be my end. I should leave this ce as quickly as possible!"

    Arthur turned around and left, returning to where he came from. No one noticed his presence; now, Tessa and her father were getting more mysterious.

    Were they trying to dethrone the person in charge of the Von Stein family? That would be hard, considering that person was a rank-four mage, way stronger than the duke.

    "Unless they also have a rank-four on their side...."

    Arthur had many questions, and even though he had no answers, he knew he would have them in the future. Why? He was under the duke''smand in the army, and if he turned into someone loyal enough, the duke would grant him higher positions. Maybe allow him to enter that tower and learn what they were up to.

    He returned to that bench where he found Tessa and waited for one hour, yet nothing. She did not appear, so Arthur returned to his room and meditated.

    With the help of his blood essence and inheritance, Arthur''s meditation went to another level, especially when meditating using the special chant the Blood Monarch created, allowing him to absorb mana way faster than ordinary folks.

    "I am a genius!"

    In a matter of three hours, Arthur jumped from the second circle to the fifth circle! If things continued like that, he was sure he would reach the rank of an Official Mage in one month, which was extraordinary. Not even his main body could increase its power that fast.

    The more Arthur used the powers of the Blood Monarch, the more impressed and scared he was. Who exactly was that person? All the memories inside the inheritance allowed his avatar to be a genius, and honestly, Arthur was confident in reaching rank four with that avatar in two years at most!

    There was also the Emperor Eye, which was one of the many Forbidden Eyes.

    "The Blood Monarch is powerful, and he had one of these eyes. Who are the other users? They are certainly at the same level or even higher! I''m such an ant, it seems."

    Arthur was happy with his training session and wanted to keep going, but a knock on his door made him return to reality.

    "Who could it be?"

    He got up and answered the door. It was a man wearing te armor and had a sword on his waist.

    "One of the vampire guards!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The guard looked at Arthur and said, "we are asking everyone in the castle if they saw something strange. Did you see something strange?"

    "Depends. Are you saying strange like what?"

    "Like someone talking in secret, maybe a group of people wearing masks and tunics?"

    It was a strange question, especially after Arthur had recently seen Tessa acting weird and meeting with people in private. Was the man referring to her?

    "He does not know who the people are, and that is why he is asking," Arthur quickly realized.

    "No, I walked around the castle three hours ago and saw nothing out of the ordinary. I have been inside my room ever since."

    Arthur was a master at lying to others, so the guard did not sense anything strange about his behavior.

    "Well, if you see anything, then let me know. I am sorry to bother you," the guard said, and then he left.

    The guard did not stop after asking questions to Arthur but did the same to all the others in the castle. It looked like whatever Tessa was doing in secret; was no longer aplete secret.

    Huge things were starting to happen in the castle, and Arthur had to get stronger to be part of them.

    ~~~~

    "The shop and the employees will be okay, husband, don''t overthink it," Wisa said.

    While Arthur''s avatar traveled to the vampire territory, his main body and his wives went to the dragon''s mountains to reim their past glory and take control of the continent, thus stopping the uing war.

    "I know, but what if the vampires tried it again, and after seeing I am not there, they will harm my employees."

    "We set magical formations there, hired guards, and even warned the authorities about the vampires. Alessia and Ja will be fine."

    After his wives repeatedly stated the facts, Arthur finally rxed as they made their way to the dragon''s mountains. There, he looked for his dragon priests, who had the mission of going into the dwarven mountains, and spreading the Cult of the Dragon.

    They were there, and there were not any dwarves around, which meant it was not that much of a sess.

    "What happened?" Arthur said.

    ? Garry, Larry, and Terry did not know how to face Arthur after their failed attempt.

    "Lord, the dwarves, did not believe in us, but I think if you go there, in person, and show them the dragons are back, they will certainly change their ways of thinking!"

    "Fine, why not? Show me the way then."

    Arthur left with his wives and the dragon priests, looking for the dwarven mountains, where the dwarves had a fortress, and the dwarf responsible for guarding the gate saw Garry, Larry, Terry, Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva.

    "You are all here again? Didn''t I tell you we are not interested in this dragon fairytale?" the dwarf said.

    Then, Arthur appeared from the skies in his dragon form, looking bigger than the mountain, roaring toward the dwarven fortress.

    "Fairytale?" Arthur said, as his breath made the dwarf guarding the fortress entrance retreat a few steps.

    "D-Dragon!"

 Chapter 390 New Dragon Priests, And First Day Of Training

    "D-Dragon?" the dwarf yelled as he fell to the ground, too scared to look Arthur in the face.

    People in the demon continent knew the dragons existed but rarely saw one. The dragons were like legends, so when the Dragon Priests went there to speak about the Cult of the Dragon, none of the dwarves believed in it.

    But now, the dwarf was seeing a dragon in person, which changed things entirely.

    "I-I thought you dragons were just myths, and those Dragon Priests were crazy¡­."

    Arthur''s sudden appearance caused an uproar in the dwarven fortress, and it did not take long for the dwarven king to appear with some guards.

    They froze when they set their eyes on Arthur, an immense ck-scaled dragon. It was hard to imagine such a creature was real.

    "I suppose you are the dwarven king?" Arthur said with a majestic voice.

    "You know ournguage?" the dwarven king said.

    The stories described the dragons as intelligent and wise beings, but no one met them to know whether those ims were valid. But now, the dwarven king was sure it was true.

    "Of course I do. Can Ie in so we can chat?"

    It took some time for the king to realize what was happening, but then he said, "yes, yes, please,e in. My fortress is your fortress."

    Arthur changed back to his human form ¡ª no way he would find a way to enter the fortress with his gigantic body ¡ª and then he followed the king to the insides of the fortress.

    Everyone inside gazed at him, and the word about a dragon knocking on their door flew fast, and there was not a single dwarf in that fortress who did not know about Arthur.

    "Is he a dragon? He does not look that mighty!"

    "Shut up. I saw his true form from the window. He is as big as this mountain."

    "As big as the mountain? No way this is true."

    "I am telling you. Look, the king saw the dragon and acknowledged him, so who are we not to believe it?"

    The tiny long-bearded men and the small strong women whispered to each other, gossiping about Arthur. Only some saw Arthur''s appearance, but all heard the roars that shook the entire fortress.

    And when they saw Arthur walking around with their king, they knew Arthur was the real deal and a real dragon! A being from the legends!

    The king showed them the fortress, which had been built inside the mountain, and was the home to the dwarves. They spent their time mining and forging the most extraordinary items on the whole continent.

    What impressed Arthur was how well-designed the fortress was, being safe and an excellent ce to live, and not feeling stuck inside a cave. They used magic to lighten up the area and some magical barriers so that the sun could enter the mountains and the fortress and make their crops grow.

    "This is a meeting room. I am sorry for not preparing some food and drinks beforehand. I hope lord dragon can wait," the king said.

    They did not know Arthur would show up, so it was understandable.

    "No problem. Let''s sit and talk first," Arthur said.

    All of them went inside the meeting room, and the conversation started.

    "Your ''Dragon Priests'' came a few days ago, and they spoke about ''Cult of the Dragon.'' We all thought it was some joke, as no one had seen a dragon before, but their ims were real."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arthur was staring at the king ¡ª a dwarf with a long ck beard and an axe on his back ¡ª and said, "tell me, king. Would you like to reach rank three? Rank-four? Or more, up until rank- six?"

    "I-Well, everyone wants that, but beyond rank four? Rank four is the limit of this continent! No one surpassed it since, well, the Demon Emperor, but he is long gone."

    "Didn''t my Dragon Priests tell you about my special meditation technique? With it, you can help me restore my past power, and you can also reach greater heights. Tell me, king, do you know about the strange vampire movements?"

    "Yes, I do. It seems these suckers n on taking control over the continent, and we will be doomed if that happens."

    "Correct. But don''t you agree it would be better for the dragons to take control instead of the vampires? We are righteous creatures, and we ruled over the world before."

    The king stayed silent, pondering what Arthur had just said. It was true. Between the vampires and the dragons, everyone would side with the dragons.

    The dragons seemed a better choice than the current leaders of the continent, who were only looking for war, and did not have the authority to unite all the races under one ruler.

    "Could you take control of the continent? I can sense you have yet to reach rank four," the king said.

    "Yes, I can, but with your help. Each new Dragon Priest means more power to me and more power to you. That is why I am on a mission to gather followers, revive the once mighty Cult of the Dragon from ancient times, and reim our glory. You and all the dwarves here can be a part of it. We dragons ept any race, but you have to have faith and have the goal to unite the continent. So stop the wars and the conflicts, and turn this ce into a better one for everyone."

    The way Arthur spoke like they would be part of something greater ¡ª they would ¡ª made them believe in it.

    After pondering, the king listened to every word and diligently said, "I will join the cult and spread the word to all the other dwarves."

    Arthur''s power increased significantly, and he got a fortress as followers. That was the beginning of his master n to turn into a rank-four mage while also gathering an army to fight the opposition.

    ~~~~

    "I am sorry for the other day, Arthur. I had some important things to attend to," Tessa said after seeing Arthur leave his room and head to his training.

    "No problem. Hey, did you see the guard asking around about strange things happening in the castle? What was that about?"

    It was just a test to see how Tessa would react, and even though she did her best to look normal, Arthur, being someone experienced, knew she became ufortable with the question for a few seconds and then returned to her usual self.

    "I did, yes. The guard also asked me, and I had no idea what he was referring to. Do you?"

    Now it was Tessa who was testing Arthur, but different from her, he was someone who could hide his feelings like a true master.

    "Don''t know either. Anyway, I will head to my training and do my best to impress you, father. Who knows, maybe I can get a better position in the future."

    "I am sure you will. Do you want to finish the tour another day?"

    "Okay. Bye-bye, Tessa."

    Arthur left the indoor area of the castle and went outside to an open field where the soldiers trained. It was night, but he could see everything clearly ¡ª one of the perks of being a vampire.

    It was his first training day, and the army was divided into rankings. Arthur was a new family member; thus, he would train with the low-ranked soldiers, who were vampires ranging from the first circle to the fourth.

    Arthur had meditated for three hours and had already surpassed all of them. Would his genius talent turn into a problem, or would it open his path to higher positions?

 Chapter 391 Vice-Captain Position, And Another Secret Meeting

    The number of vampires in the training area was astonishing. Arthur was among the low-ranked soldiers, and their number kept increasing as the night went on, and it was evident that the Von Stein family was increasing the size of its army to conquer the demon continent.

    All the low-ranked soldiers ranged from the first to the fourth circle, while Arthur was already at the fifth circle, meaning the uing training would be a stroll in the park for him.

    "Listen, everyone! We will start with a circuit. Remember, a strong body makes us vampires different from the rest, which can give us many advantages when fighting mages!" the captain said.

    Leonard Von Stein, someone under the duke''smand, was a rank-one vampire. One of the many captains of the vampire army, he was responsible for taking care of these recruits ¡ª no way someone as important as the duke would go there to train weak vampires ¡ª but it was still someone under itsmand, so if Arthur excelled in his training, the duke would know.

    And that was what he nned. So when all the vampires started the circuit, which consisted of running, jumping, and dodging attacks, he was the person in the front, faster than all the others. So it quickly got Leonard''s attention, who could not understand how a vampire could be better than the rest.

    "Isn''t he also a fourth-circle mage? How can he be so fast?" he thought, not knowing that Arthur was already a fifth-circle mage!

    Arthur had many things under his sleeves, and a spell capable of hiding his level was one of them. Not only that, but he was way better than the average vampire, who did not have ess to the legendary techniques from the Blood Monarch.

    He was doing so well in the circuit that the second-fastest vampire tried to attack him. A strain of blood quickly moved close to the ground, and it tried to tie up Arthur''s legs, thus making him fall while running. It did not work, as Arthur quickly reacted, side-stepping the attack and sending a smirk to the other vampire.

    "Are you this weak?"

    Leonard stopped it when everyone was tired and had no energy to continue the circuit, and Arthur was the only one standing.

    "Good job, everyone," Leonard said, then he looked toward Arthur, ", especially you. What is your name?"

    "Arthur, sir."

    Respect was one of the things these officers loved, the other one was to keep praising them.

    "If you continue like this, you will climb the rankings quickly. Nice work you did there in the circuit."

    Then a vampire, the same one who was the second during the circuit and also the one who tried to attack Arthur, said, "so what? It was just a stupid circuit. If he and I went to a one-on-one match, I would end his pathetic life!"

    Leonard was not happy with it. He fiercely looked toward the vampire and said, "first of all, you will only speak when I tell you to. Second, the circuit is not stupid. You are stupid. Now you want a match? Shut up and train first."

    He then moved toward the vampire instantly and punched his face. Blood came from the mouth of that vampire, and the only reason he did not fall unconscious was that Leonard did not use much of his strength.

    "Now, let''s start our sword practice."

    ~~~~

    "Man, Leonard is not joking. I am dying after this much training, jeez," Arthur thought as he returned to his room after the night practice and wanted to meditate a little before going to bed.

    Arthur walked through the castle halls, gazing at the servants who passed by him from time to time. Then, a voice came from behind, one he knew.

    "Captain Leonard! Is something wrong?" Arthur asked, treating the man with respect.

    "Haha, no, everything is fine. Look, Arthur, I want to talk with you for a second."

    It was strange for him to approach him out of a sudden, but Arthur did not mind and said, "sure."

    They went to the same bench Arthur had talked with Tessa before. It was a public area, but there were not many people around.

    "Arthur, you impressed me today, and there is something I wish to tell you. You see, there''s an empty spot for a vice-captain that I need to fill. I have one month to do so, and I wish you can take that position."

    "Really? What do I need to do?"

    "Well, keep working hard as you are doing, and reach the eighth circle in one month. That is my concern. Can you reach it in this short time?"

    Leonard needed to find a vice-captain, but no one caught his attention. The other vampires, stronger than the recruits, were all stuck in their levels, and Leonard did not see them as genius or people with prominent talent.

    Arthur was the only one that caught his attention, and he saw him as someone who could reach greater heights and even turn into someone important to the vampire army.

    "One month to get to the eighth circle? Yes, I can do that. Will I be the vice-captain then?"

    The n was to get higher positions, but Arthur did not think he would get promoted so soon. So what will the other vampires feel about it? Especially that one who hated Arthur to the bones.

    "Uh, yes. If you reach that level, then the position is yours. Anyway, that was what I came to talk with you about. I will let you rest now. Bye."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Leonard left after that, and Arthur could not hold his smile after he entered his room.

    "I am freaking awesome! I am already getting the vice-captain position on the first training day!"

    He was not concerned about reaching the eighth circle, as that would be easy for him, who had an extraordinary talent and ess to the strongest techniques in the world. On the contrary, Arthur believed he would surpass the eighth circle in one month and perhaps reach the tenth!

    With the excitement of getting a new position, Arthur did not go to bed soon and spent hours meditating, slowly increasing his power. He only stopped around 3 am when his belly was noisy.

    "I should get something to eat."

    Arthur left his room and went toward where one could get free sks of blood. But, along the way, something inside of him told him to get something fresher and not blood from a sk.

    "Should I¡­"

    The members of the Von Stein family had ess to a dungeon where humans were used as cattle. Before, Arthur would probably want to find a way to save them, but now? He could not care less about their fate, and his hunger wanted to drink directly from the vein.

    So, instead of going to the sk''s ce, Arthur changed his route and went to the dungeon. A guard there would see everyoneing in and ensure they all came out.

    Also, there were rules.

    "Are you here to feed? Remember the rules: don''t kill the humans, and don''t feed to the point of getting them too weak."

    Arthur nodded and went inside, walking through a small stone corridor. It was dark and wet, and the atmosphere was not great either. One could see vampiresing out of the dungeon with happy faces and the screams of the humans down there, begging to leave.

    It was not the best of ces, but Arthur kept going until he reached the room where the humans were tied and mind-controlled to act as cattle, unable to leave.

    They wore ragged clothes, and even after Arthur opened their cage door, no one left. The mind control was too strong, thus making it impossible for any of them to go against it.

    Arthur chose the healthiest human and plunged his fangs into its neck, drinking the blood directly from the vein. It felt good, and he wished to drink it until the human died but controlled himself to stop.

    "Killing a human cattle will give me a lot of trouble!"

    He was more worried about the problems that would follow, not caring about human life.

    ~~~~

    "He left his room and went to the dungeon. Should we attack him there?"

    "No way. The guard in front is a rank one mage, and he will feel the disturbance down there and end our lives. We should wait for a better opportunity."

    Two vampires were spying on Arthur''s room and talked to each other the moment he left. One of them was someone Arthur knew, the vampire who tried to attack him during training.

    "Our chance wille, don''t worry. Arthur will not leave unharmed after what he did to me!"

    ~~~~

    Arthur felt refreshed after feeding, and now he wanted a nap. But things kept happening in the vampire''s castle, and everywhere he looked, something was odd.

    It was Tessa again, walking through the halls, looking behind her back and at every corner. Arthur could tell she would meet with someone in secret just by looking at how she acted; just like before, he followed.

    Why should he be afraid? Only a rank-three vampire could spot him after using his stealth spells, and Arthur did not think the duke would be in all the secret meetings, as that would be too suspicious.

    So, he followed Tessa hoping no rank-three mage would be there. She made the same path as the other time, but then she changed course and walked toward a library.

    Almost no one used that library, especially at that time of the night. It was empty, and the only person there was the vampire responsible for the library.

    "If there''s a secret passage here, how will Tessa use it without that vampire knowing?" Arthur thought, but then he understood how she would do it.

    It turned out the vampire responsible for the library was also someone Tessa knew, just like the guard from the tower.

    "They are inside already. Go in; I will close the library in ten minutes."

 Chapter 392 Another Dungeon Beneath The Castle

    The more Arthur followed Tessa, the more strange the entire situation became. She was the daughter of a duke, a rank-three vampire mage, yet that was not a motive for her to have so many contacts inside the castle and to act behind the back of the rank-four vampires in charge.

    She was plotting something, but for Arthur to know, he would have to learn more about the situation. But, with his current level, it would be hard to follow her through the secret passage in that library, but doable if he did everything correctly.

    "There has to be something," thought Arthur, looking at Tessa and the other vampire talking inside the library.

    Then, the vampire took out a robe with a mask from behind the counter and gave it to Tessa. It was a blue robe with a hood and a golden mask that covered the face entirely.

    It reminded Arthur of the Doom Order, but that order had disappeared long ago, which did not mean another type of order could not appear.

    "If that man belongs to it, he should have a robe himself!"

    Tessa put on her robe and mask and moved to a specific shelf in the library ¡ª Arthur made sure to watch her every move, especially the book she pulled for the passage to open ¡ª and then she left, entering the passage, which closed after she passed.

    The vampire in charge of the library cleaned up a little before closing, ensuring all the books were in the right ce, and nothing indicated that Tessa had been there. Instead, he kept constant watch around the area to see if anyone approached the library, yet no one except Arthur, who was already inside, hid behind some shelves.

    After ten minutes, the vampire closed everything and left the library, leaving only Arthur inside it. The moment the vampire left, Arthur went to look for the robe, not wasting any time.

    He looked behind the counter, but there were only some leather bags with gold coins, blood sks, and nothing more. Arthur grabbed all of it too.

    "Why not? I am poor in this secondary body."

    But the thing he was looking for, the blue robe and golden mask, weren''t there. It made sense, as no one would store something secret in in sight,  but Arthur would not give up after failing one time.

    Arthur looked everywhere and thought, "this thing will be in a ce no one would look for, like¡­ his underwear drawer!"

    A door in the library led to a room, or more like a house. It was where the vampire lived, and the only reason for him to leave was to eat, which Arthur guessed.

    So, there was not much time for him. He went inside the bedroom of that vampire and looked where the underwear was supposed to be. It was not fun to search, and there was even pink-colored underwear, "what is this?" thought Arthur, puzzled by the situation.

    Despite his torture, the thing he was looking for was there! A blue robe and a golden mask, precisely like the ones Tessa had ¡ª the only difference was the size of the blue robe.

    Arthur grabbed everything and even got himself some more coins and mana stones, which was nice, but then he heard a noise from the library.

    "Why is he back so soon?"

    The vampire in charge of the library had left only for five or ten minutes, which was not enough time for Arthur to search around the area and use the secret passage without anyone knowing.

    "Fuck, fuck."

    There were few exits to that house, and the vampire would notice him if he left using the same door he used to go in. Arthur had no choice but to hide beneath the bed or inside the drawer.

    "Why don''t they have windows? Wait, what''s this?" thought Arthur as he went beneath the bed to see a secret trap door.

    Where would that thing lead him? Maybe to his freedom, or perhaps to a dangerous area, but there was no time to think, as the vampire was approaching, and would notice something was off. Hell, if the man participated in the meeting, he would look for his robe to see it was not there!

    "Let''s go in and hope for the best!"

    Arthur opened the trapdoor and went down a woodendder into a wet, dark, stink dungeon.

    It looked simr to the dungeon where the humans were trapped, but there was no way a weak vampire like the librarian would have private ess to the dungeon just for himself. If it were the house of the duke, then Arthur would believe in it, but a librarian. No way.

    So it was a secret dungeon beneath the castle. That was intriguing, and it caught Arthur''s attention the moment he stepped inside it.

    "This ce smells like shit," he thought, moving in a tunnel, which had water dripping from the ceiling ¡ª brown water, that is.

    Arthur kept going until the walls beside him, which had nothing but rocks, now had some cells on them! So when he nced at those cells, the people inside of them looked like humans.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Human cattle? No, this is different¡­."

    "Wait, werewolves?"

    Werewolves! Arthur knew that was the case because he met two werewolves before reaching the Von Stein territory and could smell them. But what were they doing in there?

    Those werewolves were all rank-one, but in one of thest cells, which had the most security ¡ª Arthur could tell there were dozen magical formations in those cells ¡ª there were five rank-three werewolves!

    It was like a secret werewolf army beneath the castle, ready to take control of it when given the order. Arthur moved stealthily throughout the cells so no werewolf noticed him ¡ª as they were all sleeping ¡ª but by looking at them, Arthur could tell they were being treated decently enough, better than the human cattle.

    "What is happening here? Why are there werewolves beneath the castle?"

    Arthur was trying to find the answers, and then he noticed the tunnels continued, to other ces, reaching other parts of the castle. From afar, in one of these tunnels, Arthur heard two vampires talking to each other, walking toward his direction.

    "There is no way to hide!"

    With no other choice, Arthur put on the robe he had just gotten and the mask. Not only that, but he hid his power so that only rank-three mages could tell his level ¡ª a unique spell from the Blood Monarch, Nightveil of Blood.

    He stayed in that corridor, acting as if he was looking at the werewolves to see if they were fine. Then, when the two vampires saw him, they stopped talking, showing their respects.

    Arthur could not tell if they were man or woman at first ¡ª both vampires had the same blue robes and golden mask as him ¡ª but he could not understand why they suddenly stopped talking.

    "Did they see through me?" he thought, but it was the opposite.

    "Hello, sir! I assume you are a high member of our order. Are you here to see if the werewolves are healthy? We are doing the same, and we are sorry to bother you!"

    Those vampires were rank-one mages but could not see through Arthur''s Nightveil of Blood, meaning they could not see his power level! But, of course, that could only mean Arthur was at least a rank-two mage, a high-ranked member of their order, and one that rarely went down in the dungeon.

    Arthur was afraid they would recognize his voice, so he changed it a little bit, as it was customary for mages who wished to have their identities a secret.

    "Don''t need to worry about bothering me. They are looking healthy, especially the rank-three werewolves. Who is the one taking care of them?" Arthur asked, trying to get more information subtly.

    "Milton is the one taking care of our army. You know, the one who is in charge of the library. I think he is at a secret meeting now, but hees here every night to feed them."

    So it turned out the librarian was taking care of an army of werewolves!

    "I see. Anyway, I will be leaving now."

    The two vampires bowed as Arthur passed through them, and they made sure to open the path for him to pass. They did not suspect him at all, as their order had many members, and most high-ranked members had yet to show their faces.

    Only rank-one mages and bellow had to have their identities known. Rank two and beyond could keep it a secret if they wanted to, so that was why Arthur did not look suspicious in their eyes.

    He did not know that, but that was what saved his life. After he left the area where the werewolves were, Arthur looked for a tunnel that led to a way out ¡ª one that did not lead to someone else''s room.

    Arthur found one, which led to the forest outside of the castle. The passage was hidden, and no one could see it unless they wore the golden mask.

    "The mask is probably enchanted or something like that," he thought.

    The n of sneaking into the secret meeting was a failure, but Arthur still got some information, and now he knew two members of this secret order, Tessa, and Milton, the librarian.

    Not only the two, but there was that guard from the watch tower, which Arthur did not know the name, but still remembered his face, and also the duke.

    Why did they have an army of werewolves locked in a dungeon beneath the castle? Arthur knew the only way for him to find out more was after he entered the secret order himself, and to do that, he had to get better rankings, and the first step was to be the vice-captain of the squad under the duke''smand!

 Chapter 393 [Bonus ] Blue Rose Order

    One month went by in the blink of an eye. Arthur went to the training under Leonard''smand every day and kept improving quickly, making everyone around him astonished.

    Arthur''s name was getting more attention in the castle, especially after he reached the tenth circle in one month! Leonard wanted him to reach the eighth circle in that time, which was already pretty good, but the tenth? It shocked him so much that the duke went to the ceremony of Arthur''s new position as the squad''s vice-captain!

    That vampire, the one looking for ways to harm Arthur, could not find one as Arthur barely left his room during that month, focusing solely on his training. Also, what could he do with his power against a tenth-circle mage? He never imagined Arthur would increase his power in such a short period.

    "Congrattions on bing the vice-captain, Arthur," the duke said to him.

    "I am Duke Mikael, I think you have the right to know my name now," Mikael said.

    Mikael was a powerful vampire who had lived for two centuries! Even though he was old, Mikael looked like he was in his thirties, with a short beard and slick back hair.

    "I feel honored, lord duke," Arthur said with a bow.

    They exchanged a few words, but the duke said something that caught Arthur''s interest.

    "Tessa will look for youter to speak about some things," he said, and then he left the training area.

    Arthur did not know what Tessa would want to talk about, but it could be something about their secret order. That was precisely what he wanted, as it was the perfect opportunity to rescue Sybille!

    He had yet to discover where she was, but if someone were trying to create chaos in the Von Stein family, it would only be easier for Arthur to rescue Sybille while they were upied with something else.

    All the other vampires, who also joined the army with Arthur, could not understand how he had increased his power so quickly. Some even thought he was cheating or hiding his strength before he went there, which was not the case!

    The reason for his sess was the Blood Monarch''s inheritance! A man with an extraordinary talent that mastered the Blood Essence and was one of the most powerful beings in the universe!

    They felt jealous of Arthur, but there was nothing they could do about it, and now that he got the vice-captain position, their only hope was to increase their power and eventually get better positions in other squads.

    Leonard smiled as he said, "you surprised me, Arthur, I can see you surpassing me soon, which is good! I may have another position in the future, and I hope you can be the captain."

    Arthur got Leonard''s trust, which meant he would probably be the captain after Leonard left, and that was good! The two talked to each other for some time, drinking some beers in celebration, and then the two parted ways.

    Tessa was waiting for Arthur on that bench near his room where they would talk about something; something Arthur did not know yet.

    She waved at him, "I am here!"

    The two sat on that bench, and she was the first to ask, "Arthur, tell me, are you satisfied with the continent?"

    It was a tricky question to answer, considering Arthur was an outsider, and that question would decide if he would join their order.

    He had to think about it carefully, and given the short time he had to answer, his mind worked at full speed.

    "What does this secret order want? Think, think!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    There was an army of werewolves beneath the castle, meaning they were gathering some force to fight. Everyone knew that the vampires, more precisely the Von Stein family, wanted to take control over the whole continent ¡ª as they were the only family with two rank-four vampires, turning them into the strongest beings among all races at that point.

    So, if Tessa and the duke were gathering an army, that could only mean they did not want the current leaders of the Von Stein family to take control of the continent!

    "I believe the demon continent has failed as a whole. Many races live in it, yet almost all of them hate each other or act for their benefit. I believe the continent needs a strong ruler to stop the conflicts and give the peace all the habitants deserve. But, not everyone can take that role,"

    "It must be someone powerful, but more importantly, a decent person who thinks about the well-being of the citizens. It may be imprudent for me to say this, considering I am under the roof of the Von Stein family, but I''m afraid I have to disagree with how the leaders want to dominate the continent and turn races into cattle. So yes, we need a powerful ruler to act on behalf of everyone else, but that person cannot be evil."

    Arthur did not know if that would convince Tessa, but that was how he felt about the demon continent''s situation. He knew one person long ago who tried to unify the maind and start a peaceful rtionship with the other continents, like trading goods and exchanging information.

    When that happened, many of the powerful mages of the time gathered a force to trap that person so they could keep controlling the continent behind the curtains.

    The few rank-four mages did not want to give up their control over the rest of the continent and wanted to keep acting as the gods of the demon continent, controlling the general poption. Those were the same people that wanted to attack the central continent.

    Arthur wanted to stop that! If he could join a force with the same goal as him ¡ª make the demon continent a peaceful ce, and a civilized one with the rest of the world ¡ª he would join it.

    Tessa went silent for some time, but the more she looked at Arthur, the happier she was. That was precisely the answer she was looking for, and Arthur seemed to think about the situation the way she did.

    "Good, good. Tell me," Tessa said, looking around to see if someone was listening to what they were saying.

    After making sure there was no one, she went closer to Arthur, and he could feel her breath on his ears, "do you want to join a secret order who shares the same feeling as you?"

    Arthur nodded, and then she said, "follow me."

    They went to a ce Arthur knew very well, the library. There, Milton waited for her, still angry about the previous situation.

    "Tessa, did you find who stole me?"

    He was talking about Arthur, who not only stole the blue robe and golden mask but also a lot of his money.

    "No, but I will. This is Arthur, a new member of the Blue Rose Order."

    "Hey, I''m Milton."

    Milton was a bald skinny dude that gave chills down Arthur''s spine the more he looked at him.

    "Here, take this," Milton said, grabbing a blue robe and golden mask from beneath the counter.

    "This is yours now, but make sure no one else sees it."

    Tessa waited for Arthur to put on the new robes and mask, and then she said, "Come, let''s meet with the others inside."

 Chapter 394 Things Are Wrapping Up Fast

    Inside the dragon mountains, Arthur was meditating, focused on increasing his power. The number of Dragon Priests kept growing, and all of them were meditating using the Dragon Aspect meditation, making Arthur stronger, and they also.

    Wisa and Jane also focused on their training, meditating by the waterfall inside the dragon''s valley ¡ª near the small cabin they built for themselves, and for Arthur, of course.

    But only meditation would not get Arthur to rank four, there were more things to it, more specifically, alchemy!

    "Daydream Basil, Imperial Bark, and one Gorgon nd," said Arthur, putting some ingredients inside a cauldron and boiling it using his fire essence.

    Arthur brewed some potions for Jane and Wisa, which would help them reach rank three, which was why they were meditating near the waterfall! As for himself, the potion he needed to craft was way moreplex, and that is why he was alone in a room, and there were only him and his alchemy supplies.

    No one could go in ¡ª Selen was not there to order the dragons, but Arthur already had the same authority as her.

    "I need to focus on the fire, it cannot surpass a certain degree!"

    The process of crafting a potion wasplex, especially for one which would help a rank three mage. Arthur had to ensure the number of ingredients was correct, their order was right, and also not heat the cauldron beyond the capabilities of the ingredients.

    Those ingredients were resistant, so Arthur had to use his fire essence to its utmost, making the cave room get hotter and hotter, to the point that even Arthur wanted to leave, having sweat dripping from his forehead.

    "I have to keep going," he thought, finding ways not to give up!

    Time slowed, and it was finally over after heating the ingredients for a long time. The cauldron now had a purple liquid, which smelled strange, like something Arthur had never smelled before

    But how the liquid looked or smelled did not matter. What mattered was the effects it would cause on Arthur''s body and how much his power would increase!

    "Let me fill up some sks, hehe," he said aloud, looking like a crazy person, and it was a good thing no one was there with him to see such a thing.

    After he filled the sks with the liquid ¡ª around ten sks of potion ¡ª Arthur left the cave room and went to meet up with his wives.

    He passed through the beautiful valley, chatted with some dragons along the way, and Garry, Larry, and Terry. When he reached the waterfall where Jane and Wisa were, Arthur saw both of them focused on their meditation and did not want to get in the way, so he decided to look for his spot to meditate and test the potion.

    There was a cave behind the waterfall, hidden from sight because of the water, like those ces where people stored treasures in movies. That was the ce Arthur chose to meditate and test the potion.

    After sitting cross-legged on the hard floor, Arthur took out one sk from his magical pouch and looked at it thoughtfully. What if the potion did not work? Arthur was not scared about it being poisonous, as he believed no poison in that world could pass through his dragon resistance, but what if it did not work?

    There weren''t many types of potions that could help rank three mages, so if that one did not work, Arthur would have to look for other alternatives, which could not be there.

    "I hope it does," he thought, drinking the whole potion in one go.

    It tasted like shit and sent a burning sensation down his body, first through the throat and then the belly.

    "This thing is like magma or something," he cursed, closing his mouth, and hitting teeth against teeth.

    But, after all the bad things came the good ones. The potion sent a mysterious power throughout his body, something he had never felt! The fear Arthur had vanished, and it seemed the potion had worked!

    "Now it is time for a long meditation¡­."<novelnext></novelnext>

    ~~~~

    Tessa and Arthur walked through a tunnel ¡ª simr to all the tunnels in that castle ¡ª until they reached an open room with a wooden table and somefy chairs.

    Some others with the same blue robe and golden mask were sitting there, waiting for Tessa. She walked up and sat on the middle chair like the group''s leader, and then she said, "this is our new member; please wee him!"

    All the people at that table nodded toward Arthur as a sign of respect, and they did not ask who he was or what his name was. Everyone in the Blue Rose Order had the same goal, which was what mattered.

    "One of them is not a vampire, and¡­ what is this power?" thought Arthur as he scanned some of the people in that room.

    The person beside Tessa was not a vampire, but something Arthur knew very well by that point, a werewolf! Not only that, but it was one with the power of a rank-four mage!

    "You are wondering about the person beside me. Well, this is our helper in our n to stop the Von Stein family from taking control of the continent. We know this is not enough to face the two rank-four mages and presumably the others that wille from the alliances, but there is someone else on our side. You will know it in the future."

    Arthur did not say a word as he sat on the chair, facing Tessa, waiting for her to exin more about how that society worked.

    "The person beside me is the leader of one of the werewolf families, and this person is willing to help us stop the Von Stein family. But, before you ask, not me or this person will rule over the continent. For this, we need someone stronger and more capable. We have already found this mysterious ruler, so don''t worry about it."

    "I can see your strength is growing fast, and we still have some time left before our attack, so you better get more powerful by that point, or else you could lose your life in it. We met once every week to discuss our ongoing n and to help each other in general."

    Tessa exined the situation to Arthur, and he understood things entirely. Those werewolves in the dungeon were presumably the army that the rank-four werewolf beside Tessa had, and now it was the army of the Blue Rose Order.

    They were nning a sneak attack to take over the Von Stein castle and the rest of the territory afterward. That was a bold move but one Arthur liked.

    "An internal conflict is exactly what I need for me to take advantage of and take control over the continent myself!" he thought.

    After that, the actual reunion started, and Arthur did not say a word but listened to everything carefully.

    They spoke about the date their n would start ¡ª if things went well ¡ª and about the strongest vampires in the castle, as these were the ones they should worry about.

    There were around 50 rank-three vampires and two rank-four vampires, which was a powerful force!

    Their n would start in around one year, and Arthur had that period to reach rank four, not only as a dragon but also as a vampire.

    "Rank four in two of my bodies in one year? I can do it!"

    After the meeting was over and all of them returned to their rooms, something strange happened inside the castle. Guards moved from side to side, making it more noisy than usual.

    "What is happening?" Arthur asked one of the servants that were passing by in the halls.

    "Someone important is visiting us, with not-so-friendly behaviors¡­ I believe it is a rank-four mage too!"

 Chapter 395 Malak, The Demon Emperor

    The situation inside the castle was chaotic, with servants, vampire guards, and those with higher positions running around, gathering in front of the castle''s gate.

    Arthur saw many important figures ¡ª most he did not know, but he captured a glimpse of duke Mikael among these vampires.

    Everyone was scared to face a rank-four mage, so the strongest vampires inside the Von Stein family castle joined forces and waited for the mysterious figure.

    Arthur was not one of these ''strongest vampires'' of the castle, but he was still there, just like other servants and weaker vampires were also. Everyone wanted to see exactly who the mage was with the courage to look for a fight with the Von Stein family.

    "I share the same feeling, too," thought Arthur as he tried his best to squeeze himself through the crowd, getting as close as he could. It would be dangerous to be in that position if a fight broke out, but Arthur did not think someone would try something.

    The Von Stein family had two rank-four vampires, so it did not matter who the mysterious mage was. It would lose.

    "Call you leader here. I want to chat," someone said outside of the castle.

    When that voice echoed through the castle, people realized it was a man, a human man, but Arthur had more information about it than the others.

    "I know this voice¡­. Who is it?"

    It felt like shit for Arthur to know the voice but not remember who it belonged to.

    "Let me pass. Excuse me," Arthur said, pushing some of the servants to the side to better look at the person who just spoke.

    The servants would get angry at first but would keep their cool after seeing it was a vice-captain, someone with at least a degree of authority inside the castle.

    Slowly, Arthur found room to get closer to where the crowd was, and when he saw the man, he could not believe it! It did not look the same as he remembered, but it was clear who the man was.

    "The crazy man on that ind!"

    When Arthur got stuck on an ind, which heter discovered was a gigantic turtle, there was a man there, someone that named himself the ''Demon Emperor.'' Everything about that man was weird, and Arthur could not sense his power back then, and the man suddenly vanished.

    Only Arthur, Jane, Wisa, and Sybille had not seen that man. Then, after they broke the barrier, there was a chance the man had escaped after centuries locked in that ce, but as no one saw a thing, Arthur thought everything was nothing but some craziness in his mind.

    It turned out that was not the case, and that man, the same one he had seen on the ind a long time ago, was there in front of the Von Stein castle.

    One of the servants had said to Arthur, ''he is a rank-four mage too,'' but Arthur did not believe that was the case. He never saw a rank-five mage and thought there was no way someone like that was there, but something felt different about that man.

    He could be a rank-four mage, but he was different from the others, and Arthur had no idea why. After the man asked for the leader of the Von Stein family, he used his aura to scare away all the vampires who had the thought of challenging him and to call out the rank-four vampire before he lost his patience.

    A vampire came flying with a crimson robe, long nails, and long gray hair; its face looked old, as if it had been living for thousands of years. That was one of the two rank-four vampires, not the leader that always appeared in public, but the ancestor of the Von Stein family.

    "The strongest vampire, peak rank four! The other rank-four vampire is probably his son or something, and it is not as strong as this old vampire," thought Arthur as he analyzed that vampire.

    If they sent the strongest among the two, it could only mean the person screaming outside was not so simple. The ancient vampire looked at the man and said, "Mk Grand Phyloc, the Demon Emperor. How are you here?"

    There was a hint of fear in the ancient''s vampire voice, and when he spoke his name, some whispers could be heard. Few people knew that person ¡ª only the ancient beings were still alive to have met the men, meaning only the other rank-four mages could know Mk.

    "I escaped the prison you and the other rank-four mages architected long ago. Tell me, are you afraid of me?"

    "Afraid of you? Nonsense."

    "Really? Then let''s fight to settle things. Right here, right now."

    The vampire and Mk gazed at each other for a few seconds, but a fight did not break out.

    "Why are you here, Mk? What happened to you was long ago, and if you restrain yourself, we will not lock you up again."

    "Restrain me? I was ruling this continent, looking to get peace and a better life for everyone, yet you and all the other filthy rank-four mages did not want to lose your precious power, so you locked me up on that ind!"

    Mk yelled at the vampire, and as Arthur heard the things he had to say, he felt like it was simr to what the Blue Rose Order wanted to achieve.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Tessa said they had a ruler already; was it him?"]

    After Arthur thought about the possibility, he looked around to see if Tessa or someone he knew from the Blue Rose Order was there, like most of the castle was, yet there was no one. It was like Mk was there to distract the vampires¡­

    But the order had not said a thing about this in the meeting they had a few moments ago. Were they trying to keep a total secret, even for the members of the order?

    "I am only a low-ranked person here, so it makes sense they did not tell me everything."

    The vampire crossed his arms and said, "correct, that''s what happened! This continent is not a ce for a single person to rule. Maybe if you had the power to go against all of us, we would give you the leadership, but no, you cannot go against us alone! Are you looking for something else here? If not, then get the fuck out of here!"

    ~~~~

    "Are you sure it''s in here?" Tessa asked Milton, who was with her, breaking into a room no one should be able to go.

    "Yes, I am sure of it! Let''s go quickly while he is busy dealing with Mk!"

    Their n was something only a few members of the order knew about, as that was the only way to keep a secret from everyone; Mk was the person Tessa said would rule the continent after they dealt with the Von Stein family, but that was their n initially.

    Rumors spread throughout the continent, and Tessa had her contacts in many ces. The rumors said the dragons were back, and after Tessa heard such a thing, Mk went looking for the only dragon he knew, Selen!

    Selen had left the dragon valley to look where the dragons had stored the lost techniques from ancient times, just like she told Arthur. On her journey, she met Mk, someone from her distant past.

    "I want to rule the continent with you," Mk said to Selen.

    They were lovers once, and that is how he knew her.

    "I am afraid I have no saying in this. Our lost lord returned, and he is the person in charge now. You can talk with him if you want," Selen said.

    Mk came to know cidusax, the legendary Lord of the Dragons, was back, but he had lost his powers and was only at rank three for now.

    "I am working with someone to bring down the Von Stein family, the vampires who are trying to conquer the continent. I know an ancient friend with a treasure cidusax may like," Mk said.

    "Oh?"

    After that conversation, Mk decided to step away from the leadership and give it to the dragons again. The dragons ruled not only the demon continent, but the world and Mk knew they were a species known to be righteousnesses. Also, in the long run, the dragons would get stronger than him and have a better reputation.

    Tessa and Mk made a n; Mk had to distract the vampire while Tessa stole something from its room.

    They were looking for an item that would benefit cidusax, and it was inside the ancient vampire''s room!

    "Let''s go, Tessa; time is running short!"

    "Here, it''s here. I got it!"

    It was an ordinary-looking wooden box with nothing special about it, but Mk knew it was a treasure cidusax would not resist! After Tessa and Milton got the item they were looking for, they left the room and looked for a ce to hide it.

    ~~~~

    A loud bang echoed as a table was destroyed by an old vampire''s palm.

    "Where is it? How it''s not here?"

    "Father, calm down. Even if someone stole the item, they would not be able to use it; only the dragons have a way to open up the box."

    "Y-yes, you are right. And normal dragons cannot open; it must be a specific dragon who is not among us anymore."

    The duo father and son calmed down, but little did they know the dragon, who was supposed to be dead, was not, and a box that should remain closed would open up!

 Chapter 396 New Captain, And Conflict

    After the day Mk left the Von Stein family castle, the security got higher, and it seemed the two rank-four vampires had something on their minds.

    "Someone is trying to betray us. First is Mk''s appearance, which should be locked away; now, my treasure box is missing. There is no way this is normal."

    It was not the first time they suspected something was amiss inside the castle. Some time ago, they ordered some guards to keep a close watch on some people they were suspicious about and also to ask others if they saw something strange, yet it was not a sess, and they found nothing.

    But finding nothing did not mean there was nothing to see. They just had to look deeper. So, dark times arose in the castle, where everyone could be the culprit of something, even the weakest servant.

    Yet, out of all the suspects, there was a group that was the primary one: the recruits! Not many vampires came to the family recently, those only being the recruits they chose for their army.

    There was no denying that things started to look different inside the castle after those vampires appeared, and Arthur, unfortunately, was among those suspects.

    "I will let you off just because Leonard said a few words to me, but we will still keep a close watch on you," a rank one vampire said to Arthur after knocking on the door of his room.

    "Things are getting worse for us in the Blue Rose Order, but hey, it is what it is."

    They would have to take risks if they wanted a change, and Arthur was okay with it. Things were going well for him! Leonard came to talk with him one week after Mk''s first appearance.

    "I got a new position in the army, and I will be leaving the castle for now. Kiddo, I know about the Blue Rose Order, and I''m also a member, so we are in this together!"

    "What? Really?"

    "Of course. I called you today because you are the new captain!" Leonard said, putting his hands up high in celebration.

    Arthur had seen thating, but he was still happy after getting a new position and knowing Leonard was on the same team. He had been friendly with him since day one, and it would be a shame if they were enemies.

    "Where are you going? Is it a mission for the order?" Arthur asked, trying to get as much information as he could.

    "Correct, but unfortunately, I cannot tell you. I think you will eventually learn about it, but it is not up to me to tell you."

    "No problem. Just stay safe, friend."

    "You too, buddy, you too!"

    Leonard hugged Arthur, tapping his back, leaving the Von Stein castle on a mission Arthur had yet to know.

    "What is happening in here? Who exactly is Mk?"

    There were many questions but no answers for them, yet there was one thing Arthur could do instead of looking for impossible answers: train!

    He was now the captain of a squad, and for that, he had to be at least a rank one mage, yet he was just at the tenth circle.

    "Boring training time, yey!" thought Arthur as he returned to his room.

    ~~~~

    A man left the Von Stein castle, and anyone from the castle knew the man: Leonard. After leaving and walking for 100 kilometers, Leonard met with someone else, two people to be precise, Mk and Tessa!

    "Did anyone follow you?" Mk asked, not willing to take risks.

    "No. We are safe. Let''s move."

    They left on a journey to meet cidusax, and with them, the wooden box that was said to contain an item precious to the dragons, even more to their lord. No one knew exactly what it was ¡ª they couldn''t open it ¡ª but it did not hurt to try to befriend cidusax, as that would grant them a chance to fight against all the other rank-four mages, something that would be impossible for Mk alone.

    "How far are we from the dragon''s mountain?" Leonard asked.

    "Somewhat far, but hey, we are together, so let''s enjoy the trip!"

    ~~~~

    A loud bang and an aura spread throughout the castle! Some of the weaker servants were scared, while some of the powerful vampires were shocked!

    "Is that Arthur, again? How is advancing so fast?" the ancient vampire said.

    After Leonard left and Arthur got to know Tessa also did, he kept training using the blood techniques from the inheritance, and his power increased rapidly.

    To outsiders, he was a genius that reached rank one as fast as anyone, but the truth? Arthur was already at rank two but kept his strength hidden from everyone, even the rank four mages ¡ª they were powerful but could not see through the spells of the Blood Monarch.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I am getting strong fast, when will I reach rank three?"

    "Captain Arthur,e outside, please," someone said.

    What could it be? Arthur thought he was in trouble for being too talented or about the Blue Rose Order.

    But it was neither of these two things. Instead, he opened the door and stared at the vampire guard with an annoyed face, "what''s wrong?"

    "I-I am sorry to bother you, captain. But we have a conflict, and the leaders are sending some of our squads. Yours included," the guard said.

    "A battle? Exactly what I need to test my strength!" thought Arthur.

    "Against what? Do you know anything?"

    "No, sir. You and the other important figures are to gather in the main hall."

    It was understandable a guard would not know about these things, so Arthur did not mind and left his room, walking through the castle halls and meeting with the others in the central part.

    There, duke Mikael was, as well as some other captains from other squads, under themand of other dukes.

    Everyone looked at Arthur when he opened the double door of the main room, and the sound of an old door echoed inside. They all knew about him, and some envied his talent.

    Duke Mikael, who had a closed face while waiting for everyone to show up, had a bright smile when he saw Arthur but did not say a word.

    When the remaining captains arrived, duke Mikael, standing in front of everyone, said, "I am sorry to gather all of you thiste, but we have an important thing ahead of us."

    "The orcs attacked one of our viges near the border, and we need to go there and teach them a lesson."

    The vampires in that room whispered to each other, as orcs weren''t easy prey, meaning the fight ahead of them would be tough.

    "We will leave immediately. Each of you is responsible for your squad, and Captain Arthur will be the captain in charge of everyone. So please, captains, listen to him because if something happens, you will have to face me!"

    "Wait, what?"

    It took all of them by surprise, Arthur included. Never he thought duke Mikael would put him as the leader of all these captains, captains he did not know! That would surely cause conflicts.

    "Maybe it is a test for me?"

    That was the only thing Arthur could think of, as other captains had the position longer than him and were more suited to the job of a leader. Considering the duke, the previous captain, and Tessa, the duke''s daughter, were all in the Blue Rose Order, it had great chances of being a test.

    "Come at me, test, I will pass it like a breeze."

    After the duke said those words, he left first, leaving all the captains in a strange atmosphere in that room. The captains fiercely gazed at Arthur, and the only reason they did not attack was that they were still inside the castle, and there were rules.

    "So you are the one called Arthur?" a tall and muscr man asked, looking down on Arthur, treating him like a child.

    Unlike most vampires, the one in front of Arthur did not wield a sword but a giant two-handed axe.

    "Correct. Is there a problem?" Arthur said.

    The man looked at him for a moment before punching down right in his face. Arthur wasn''t scared of that move, as different from all the other captains, he was not a rank one vampire but a rank two!

    Also, his overall strength was even higher, considering he trained with the best techniques since day one. So, without much problem, he grabbed that man''s fist and then looked at his face, "it seems you are only big and not that powerful."

    When he heard that, it enraged him even more, and the man grabbed the axe from his back with quick moves and shed down, trying to cut Arthur in half. Of course, he would not allow such a thing to happen, so he kicked the wrist of the man, making the axe fall on the ground. After that, Arthur jumped and grabbed the man by the neck, exerting strength so that he could not breathe.

    The other vampires, who thought about doing something with Arthur, put their thoughts into the back of their minds and decided to wait for a better opportunity.

    As for Arthur, he let go of that vampire before it passed out, and then he said, "let''s move to not keep the duke waiting."

    They nodded and left the castle, meeting with the duke outside.

    "Why took you so long?" Duke Mikael asked Arthur, smiling.

    "He knows yet acts like this. What a test this will be¡­."

 Chapter 397 Teaching The Other Captains A Lesson

    The Von Stein family had another race''s territory nearby, near its border, the orcs. They weren''t known for having a good temper but never did act against the vampires ¡ª probably due to the fear of getting retaliated.

    But this time, they did. No one knew the reason behind the sudden attack from the orcs, not even the rank-four mages in charge of the Von Stein family, but they would not let them attack without striking back.

    That was why Arthur and the other captains left the castle, looking to fight against the orcs or find out why the attack urred. Duke Mikael did not go with them and only marked the spot on Arthur''s map, leaving him alone to deal with all the other captains ¡ª who were not trying anything yet, but they would, eventually.

    The funny thing was the new vice-captain of Arthur''s squad. It was that vampire who had a bad start with him on the first day of training, but it seemed like that was in the past, and the vampire wanted a fresh start ¡ª of course, he would; Arthur was his boss now.

    "I am Frank. Sorry for what happened between us. You don''t know how ashamed I am, and I will do anything to regain your trust and¡­."

    Arthur looked at the vampire, who came out of nowhere to speak with him.

    "Don''t mind my question, but who are you?"

    "¡­"

    It was better to be unknown than hated, and Frank was d Arthur did not remember him at all or that would bring him a lot of trouble in the future.

    Frank sighed in relief, thinking, "this is my lucky day!" as he returned to his carriage.

    Speaking of carriages, only the captains and vice-captains of the squads had one, while the rest of the vampires had to walk, but that was how it worked ¡ª those with higher positions had their perks.

    "This isfy, and I don''t need to worry about anything until we get there," thought Arthur,ying back on thefy red couch of his carriage.

    There wasn''t much to do inside, so Arthur read books and meditated in his spare time. None of the other captains would leave their fancy carriages to pick up a fight with him, so he enjoyed every second of peace, as he knew it would end as soon as the day came¡­

    "So what if you are the person in charge here? Are you going to stay there and watch while the rest of us work our asses to build a decent camping site for the day?" one of the captains yelled.

    It was not the man with the ax but a gorgeous woman with pale skin and ck hair. But, like the rest of the captains, she had the power of a rank-one mage, which was no longer a threat to Arthur.

    That was why he was chilling, sitting on the ground, drinking some sks of blood and wine, while the rest of the captains had to work with the soldiers to build a camping site for them.

    Arthur looked at her, sipping his ss of wine, and said, "yes, I will stay here while you and everyone else do the work."

    She was even more enraged after hearing that and said, "why did they choose you for the position? You are the youngest captain here. Did you lick the balls of the duke for the role?

    "You know why they chose me? I am the strongest while being the youngest. What about you? Did you lick someone else''s balls for the position of captain?" Arthur said as he got up to face thedy.

    He was sitting there not because he waszy or anything like that but because he wished to get them angry on the first day and resolve all the conflicts as soon as possible before the actual fighting began.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If the other captains saw that he was stronger than them, they would stop acting like idiots. So, Arthur did not feel like acting scared and wanted to challenge all of them.

    For him, it did not matter. Even if all of the captains worked together, they would not win against him, who was in a higher rank and had better spells.

    Thedy could not endure what Arthur had just said, so she took out her saber and dashed toward him. She cut her left palm, and the blood flew toward the weapon, covering it, and increasing its power.

    She was not the weakest among the other captains and was the fifth in terms of power. For that reason, all the other captains stopped what they were doing and watched the two exchange blows.

    "Who do you think is gonna win?" one of the captains asked.

    "I don''t know. Lady Agatha is not weak, but even though we dislike Arthur being our leader, he is still formidable, or else the duke would not grant him the position," a tall man answered.

    It was the same one with the axe that tried to attack Arthur, and now, unlike the others, he believed Arthur was powerful and respected his position.

    Not only that but he was ranked third among the captains, meaning he was stronger than thedy that was trying to attack Arthur. But everyone thought he was not using all of his power, as he attempted to attack Arthur inside the castle, yet that was not the case.

    "My two attacks were serious back then, yet he blocked them easily. Who exactly is this young man?"

    The saber was fast, aiming directly at Arthur''s throat, who, despite the eminent attack, did not look scared or anxious.

    "Is she really trying to hurt me with this?" he thought, casting one of his spells, the Blood Armor.

    A red substance that looked like blood covered his right palm, and Arthur grabbed the saber in mid-air! The captains that saw that could not believe it, and most thought Arthur would lose his hand or at least a piece of it.

    Thatdy captain also thought that and even smirked when she noticed what Arthur was trying to do, but contrary to everyone''s beliefs, Arthur easily grabbed the saber and grasped it tightly, not letting thedy move it.

    Then, he looked at her and said, "I could break this weapon of yours if I want to, but that would be bad as we have a battle. But you can heal even though we cannot repair weapons."

    "I-I can heal?" she asked, puzzled by the statement, but then she understood what Arthur meant as he punched her right in the upper part of her stomach.

    Blood came from her mouth, and the pain took over her body. One of the strongest captains of the Von Stein family lost with just one punch, which scared all the others who watched it.

    "What can he do if he fights seriously?"

    That was the thought of everyone present; deep down, they were not looking to pick up a fight with Arthur anymore. The tall man with the axe was even more impressed. He walked up toward Arthur and said, "I''m Magno. I am d someone as strong as you are in charge of everyone. You can count on me and my squad for anything," Magno said, extending his hand to Arthur.

    Just like Arthur intended, his mighty disy made the other captains befriend him, starting with the first one that tried to attack him.

 Chapter 398 Blood Monarch, A Demon

    The captains and the soldiers worked together to set up the camping site as quickly as possible ¡ª Arthur also helped, although in his time, working less than the others.

    His primary goal of making them attack him worked, so there was no reason for him to keep acting like azy leader who would not do a thing for his soldiers. That would make them see him badly, which was the opposite of what he looked for.

    Vampires did not burn with the sun, but that did not mean they didn''t need to sleep, and the perfect time for it was during the day ¡ª when their powers diminished, unlike night when vampires were stronger.

    Even though Arthur was stronger than them and had special abilities from the Blood Monarch''s inheritance, he still followed the same rules, and at that point, he also needed to sleep, like everyone else.

    They built uprge tents and ced many sleeping bags inside where the soldiers would sleep. As for the captains, they would sleep inside their carriages alone.

    Every time one tent was done and the soldiers went in to sleep, the atmosphere became quieter, with the only sound being the birds and the bugs within the forest. Arthur slept like a baby, not hearing anything and waking up in the night like all the others.

    "Let''s pack up and move!" Arthur said.

    Just like that, they kept traveling toward the area where the orcs had attacked, but soon something terrible would happen¡­

    ~~~~

    The day came like all the other times, and the soldiers had to prepare their tents to sleep. They wouldn''t ce these tents near the road but not that far from it.

    "This is a remote area; barely anyone passes through here," they thought, not believing something terrible would happen.

    It was quiet during the day, but Arthur suddenly woke up with screams and battle sounds, believing it was only a dream for a moment, but soon someone broke into his carriage and attacked him!

    The man who entered had a robe simr to that of a holy priest, and with a book in his hands, he cast divine magic, trapping Arthur in ce!

    Arthur had no chance to fight back, especially after scanning the man, seeing it was a rank three mage, one rank above him, which made the priest impossible to beat.

    "Come with me, demon," the man said, pulling Arthur from the carriage with a golden rope, which he cast to tie up Arthur.

    "Who are you?" Arthur asked as it was umon for the human race to act like that in the demon continent.

    "I am a Bishop from the Holy Church of Cleansing. I assume you are the leader of these vampires, right? The others are over there," the priest said, pointing to where the other captains were, all tied up, just like Arthur.

    As for the ordinary soldiers, well, they were dead by that point, but that did not make much of a difference to Arthur anyway.

    "What will you do with us?" Arthur said.

    The priest put all the other captains in a carriage, but Arthur had one just for him, and the Bishop was there to ensure he did not escape.

    "Lock you up, of course. Well, you can expect that for you; as for the other captains, they will die, eventually."

    "Why are you doing this?"

    "Why? Us humans suffered long enough in the hands of these creatures, especially you, the demons we call vampires. With all this shit going on, it is the perfect time for us to finally act and rule this continent, killing all these demonic races!"

    Arthur knew something like that would happen, but in the future, and by that point, there would be no way for the humans to take control of the continent.

    Humans wanted to dominate everything, as they were the race with the highest poption. That was true in Arthur''s old world and this one.

    "It seems this body is fated to suffer¡­."

    ~~~~

    They traveled for a long time, and with the shortage of blood, Arthur''s skin had turned pale and he looked as skinny as a mummy. Yet, unlike what he thought, his mind was still clear, and the desire for blood was manageable, different from the other captains, who wanted to break free and rip the priests'' throats.

    After traveling for who knows how long, the carriages stopped before a gate: the biggest human city and the ce where no other races could enter.

    "Oh, it''s you, Bishop, and¡­ What is this thing you are bringing? A demon?" the guard said as he looked toward the Bishop and then at the mummy beside him.

    The church was the most respected ce in that town, and they were the biggest power on the human side, the ones behind everything. So, it was not unusual for the guard to recognize the carriage from the church ¡ª they had a prominent symbol on it.

    "Yes, this one is a powerful demon. We must quickly go to the church''s dungeon and lock it in there."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Of course, Lord Bishop. Go on," the guard said, clearing up the path for the church''s carriages to pass.

    Arthur was not liking where that was going, and how the hell would he escape from prison?

    As they passed through the city''s streets, the citizens whispered to each other, "is that Lord Bishop? I wonder what demon he brought this time."

    "Why are you saying this? It''s like you want to meet with the demon!"

    "No, wouldn''t it be nice to force the demon to give you what you want?"

    "Shh, shut up! Are you like those worshipers of demons?"

    With Arthur''s capabilities, he could hear what they were saying, which gave him an idea of a way to one day escape from prison.

    ~~~~

    The carriages went to the highest part of the city where the Holy Church of Cleansing was, but they stopped, and the prisoners went into a dungeon.

    "Move you, little demon," a priest said to one of the captains, pushing them to their cells.

    Each captain had their cell, as it was best if they were separated to avoid any escaping ns. As for Arthur, he had a giant cell, away from everyone else, in the deepest part of the dungeon.

    "Why are they treating me like this? I am just a vampire unless¡­."

    Arthur was using everything he could from the Blood Monarch''s inheritance, and the more he looked at it, the more he was confident the Blood Monarch was not a vampire at all!

    Sure, he drank blood, as the vampires did, but it seemed like he was a superior being, while the vampires came after his existence, like a copy.

    A powerful enough holy priest would be able to feel Arthur was not an ordinary vampire and was more akin to a demon, and that is why they locked him up inside that cell.

    "It makes sense. The Blood Monarch is way more powerful than any vampire, and his techniques are strange."

    Now that Arthur had nothing else to do inside that dark, wet, and shitty cell, he took his time to browse all the Blood Monarch''s memories and found something interesting.

    Ikarus, the bluebird that saved Arthur, and was one of the strongest beings he knew, believed that the Blood Monarch came from the neighboring universe, the same ce where the ''gods'' came.

    These gods could use something called Celestial Energy and get devotees to increase their power, making them able to reach greater heights, more than what one could achieve using only mana alone, which made them so strong.

    Arthur also could use Celestial Energy, which then turned into Draconic Energy. It was as if the energy matched his body now, making it better than regr Celestial ¡ª as he was more a dragon than a celestial, although he had the skill ''Celestial Body.''

    But if the Blood Monarch came from the same ce, then could that mean he also had his own ''system'' of devotees? Arthur browsed through his memories, and after two days, he found what he was looking for!

    "Demonic Pact? Worshipers of the Blood Demon? What is this?"

    It was a spell, and the way the Blood Monarch got his devotees was different. While the others had devotees that would worship using special meditation techniques, granting more power to both sides, the Blood Monarch made pacts, giving what the other person wanted in exchange for their eternal loyalty, their soul.

    "This is the perfect thing, even better than the others! No wonder the Blood Monarch became more powerful than almost anyone!"

    There was no denial humans were the superior race and the ones in the highest position in the universe. Humans were also greedy, and it was easier to get mages to form a pact than abandon everything to worship something or someone.

    "But what''s this? Can I truly give what people want?"

    The strangest part about the spell was that it allowed Arthur to do things he felt like impossible. Like resurrecting people, not zombies, but the actual people! He could conjure anything the other part wanted.

    "How does this?"

    Arthur browsed more through the memories and understood how it worked. The soul was the essence of a person, and when someone made a pact, they would give their soul to the Blood Monarch. He would use the power of the soul to make impossible things, like resurrecting their loved ones or giving them other things which they felt it was impossible.

    "With this, I can entice some guards, and leave this ce! I don''t think all the priests here are saints, and surely some want something, and this demon here is ready to give them!"

 Chapter 399 Malak Meets Arthur

    "Captain Arthur, are you alright?"

    A voice came from the dungeon''s corridor, straight from the cell of one of the captains, the tall, muscr man who wielded the ax.

    "For now, yes. And what about the rest of you?" Arthur asked, sitting in the corner of the cell.

    "Some are still asleep, but none of us are dead. What do you think will happen to us?" he asked, but before Arthur could answer, one of the priests went inside.

    It was not the bishop but someone with a low rank in the church.

    "Dinner time for you, demonic creatures," the priest said, giving each captain a cup of blood to keep them alive.

    After that, the priest involuntarily gazed at thest cell, where the Bishop said no one should get close to it.

    "What demon is in there?" the priest thought, slowly walking toward the cell, passing through all the other captains.

    But, as he was getting closer, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder. It was the Bishop.

    "What did I tell you about going there? Leave it to me."

    "I-I am sorry, Bishop. I''ll return to the church and prepare our night session."

    "Good."

    The priest got out of the dungeon in a hurry, afraid the Bishop would get angrier at him for disobeying his orders.

    As for Arthur, he could only hear what was happening and wondered if the priest had been taken over by curiosity or if his pact technique was starting to take effect.

    "You know your situation isn''t good, right?" the Bishop said as he stopped right in front of Arthur''s cell, tossing a cup of blood, but differently from the other captains, Arthur only got a drop of it.

    Arthur grabbed the cup but did not drink it and said, "I know. But getting anxious will not help, and sometimes we must ept our fates."

    A poetic way to think. The only reason Arthur was not scared was that he had a n to escape from that ce, and also, it was not his main body that was trapped. So even in the worst-case scenario, Arthur would still live, which was good.

    "I see you are wise, expected from a demon whose words can entice the purest heart. I havee here to give you this tiny drop of blood. But, you know, it is not the time for you to die yet. Now, if you excuse me, I have things to do," the Bishop said, leaving the dungeon afterward.

    Arthur kept gazing at his back as he left.

    "I will get out of here, and you will see what''s good!"

    ~~~~

    Leonard, Mk, and Tessa made their way to the dragon valley. They wore cloaks and traveled without attracting too much attention, afraid someone would steal their precious item.

    "Look, that''s the mountain! But what are dwarves doing in there?" Tessa asked, pointing at the snowy mountains far from where they were standing.

    The dragon valley had new citizens: the dwarves! Arthur went there and showed them his mighty, converting them into new dragon priests, and they were now building a temple for worshiping the dragons!

    When Tessa and her group got close to the mountains, a red dragon flew toward them, intercepting them. It was Valethar, and he had recovered from the previous wound.

    "Who are you? What are you doing here?" he said, roaring.

    "H-How majestic," Tessa said, and for a moment, she had the urge to kneel in front of such a creature.

    Leonard felt the same way, and Mk was the only one who was not, as he was a rank-four mage.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Speaking of Mk, he was the one who took the lead and said, "we are here to speak with your lord. We came with gifts."

    Valethar felt the powerful auraing from Mk, and he was scared Mk was a threat to the other dragons, but before he could do anything, someone came from the mountain, flying toward them.

    It looked like a human with long hair that touched the end of his back,pletely dark. The man had toned muscles but did not look big, yet the power emanating from that young man was extraordinary.

    Mk, a rank-four mage, knew the maning toward them was not simple. And was someone Mk had met before!

    "Why is a human here?" Tessa asked.

    "This is no human," Mk said.

    That youth was Arthur, and Mk recognized him from when they met on the ind where he was trapped, and Arthur was the one who freed him!

    "Who are you? Wait, aren''t you that crazy old man?" Arthur asked.

    "Yes, my name''s Mk. I''m d you still remember me. This is Tessa, and that one is Leonard, vampires from the Von Stein family. So we have an important thing to discuss. Can we talk privately?"

    If Arthur did not know them beforehand, there was no way he would let someone enter just like that. Still, Mk was a rank-four mage, and even if Arthur denied his entrance, if Mk truly wanted, he could make his way through the dragons, and no one could stop him.

    "Follow me."

    ~~~~

    Arthur led them to the dragon''s valley, a beautiful ce that the humans usually did not have a way to see it.

    "This is gorgeous! I could live here," Tessa said, looking at the waterfall near Arthur''s cabin.

    Jane and Wisa were there, training, but Arthur did not bother them, as Mk said he wished for a private conversation.

    "This is where I live. Cozy, isn''t it? Please, sit," Arthur said, pointing at the wooden chairs around a table.

    They did what he told them to, even Mk, acting as respectfully as they could. Sure, he was stronger, but that would notst forever, as he knew dragons were not creatures to underestimate.

    "Now, tell me exactly what is going on here."

    Mk and Tessa told Arthur about the Blue Rose Order and how they wished to end the Von Stein family and give the continent to the dragons.

    "I still cannot believe you are a dragon. That never crossed my mind when we met," Mk said, drinking a mug of beer Arthur gave him.

    "Crazy, right? Why would you give the continent to the dragons to rule when you could rule yourself?" Arthur asked.

    "I cannot win against all the other rank four mages alone, especially after I lost my powers. After we are done here, I n on leaving this ce to look for someone I lost long ago...."

    The way Mk said, looking down at his mug of beer, reminiscing about things from the past. It touched Arthur, and he could tell Mk was genuinely looking for someone, just like Arthur, who still did not find Hiley.

    "I also have other ns for the future, but someone else from my race can rule this ce, like Selen or Valethar."

    Arthur then looked at the box Mk had in his hands.

    "What''s this?" he asked, pointing at the box, making Mk smile.

    "Honestly? I have no idea what''s inside, but legends say only the lord of dragons can open it, and it must be something good for you. Here, take it; this is my gift."

 Chapter 400 Jake Tried To Fool The Devil

    It was day outside, and Arthur slept inside his cell under the church. Then, a noise woke him up, and he knew precisely what sound it was.

    "Someone is opening a cell," he thought as he got up and tried to peek at the dungeon corridor to see who was getting out.

    A priest had opened the cell of one of the captains, and with the help of a spell, the priest tied up the vampire, pulling him out of the dungeon-like an animal.

    That was not a good sign, and Arthur knew the other captains were in danger, as the priests would start killing them, one by one, and only Arthur would remain.

    "This is not good. Wait, what''s that priest doing?" Arthur thought as he looked at the dungeon''s entrance.

    There were two priests, the one pulling out one of the captains and that same priest who tried to go toward Arthur''s cell, but the Bishop stopped him.

    "I will keep watching the door to make sure none of them try something," the priest said.

    "Sure. Be careful, Jake."

    The priest who had the vampire tied in a rope did not think Jake was acting suspicious, and it was normal for a priest to keep watching the dungeon''s door ¡ª they did shifts for it as well.

    But Arthur, who heard the conversation from afar, felt something strange about the situation.

    When that priest left, Jake slowly made his way toward the deepest parts of the dungeon, where Arthur was.

    There, he saw a young man with long blond hair and deep red eyes.

    "What are you doing here, priest? Isn''t this against the rules?" Arthur said, looking up toward the priest, smiling.

    "I-I"

    Jake was lost for words, and when he made contact with Arthur''s eyes, all he wanted to do was run away, afraid of the demon in front of him.

    "Do you want something, Jake? I can give you anything."

    A pact. Arthur wanted to get Jake on his hands, and then he would get his help to flee from that ce.

    "You can do anything? Are you serious about this?" Jake asked, putting both of his hands on the cell''s bars.

    Arthur scratched his long nails on the cell''s tiles, making a sound from a horror movie.

    "It depends. I am not the strongest demon, you know, but tell me, what do you want?"

    "There''s a girl here in this town. She owns a flower shop, and I am in love with her, but she''s not willing to date a priest, you know, this is against the rules¡­. And I cannot leave my duty, so can you make her date me?"

    "Are you willing to run away with her? You know people will discover you two are dating, and you are a priest," Arthur said.

    "Yes, I am, can you do it?"

    Arthur smirked and said, "yes, I can. But there are some conditions, you know."

    "Like what?"

    The biggest condition was that the priest would give up his soul and have to obey anything Arthur told him to for eternity, and his essence would grant Arthur power, and he would also gain power himself.

    But, if he said that, the man could get scared to death and move away from the pact. Jake only wanted a lover, and it was not like it was something impossible for him to give up.

    "You will have to help me leave. Please help the others in those cells if you can, but I am the priority."

    Arthur was not stupid. Some of the other captains were decent vampires, but they were not him! He would always think about his safety first, especially in a dangerous situation with a rank three mage, the Bishop, trying to murder him.

    "Okay, I can help you with that. So, how does the pact work?" Jake asked.

    "First, you will have to bring me something from her. It could be a piece of clothing, a strand of hair, anything. Then, we will make the pact, and she will do anything for you. Also, Jake, don''t act suspicious up there, and we never had this conversation before, right?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I understand."

    Jake nodded, returning to the dungeon''s entrance, acting like the guard he was supposed to be until someone else came to take the position.

    "Agatha and I will be together," thought Jake as he left the church area and went into Agatha''s shop in the middle of the town.

    Agatha was busy with many clients, and Jake took the opportunity to get ab that belonged to her. With it, not only he got an item that belonged to Agatha but also some strands of hair, which would help Arthur make the pact.

    "Should I go to the dungeon now? Or should I wait?" Jake thought.

    If he went there, people would get suspicious of him. No one wanted to get multiple shifts because watching the dungeon was boring, and the ce smelled like shit.

    It was a nightmare to any of the priests, and Jake had to wait until his turn again, which took him four days.

    ~~~~

    During these four days, the priests removed other captains from their cells, and those vampires never returned.

    Arthur was almost sure they were killing them, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it.

    And after four days, it was time for Jake to act as the guard of the dungeon, and when he was alone there, Jake went toward Arthur''s cell with ab in his hands.

    "I got this from Agatha," Jake said, giving theb to Arthur.

    "I need some of your blood," Arthur said.

    Jake did not like getting hurt, but if that got Agatha to love him, he would do anything. So he went closer to the cell and ced his right arm between the cell bars.

    Arthur poked it with his nails, and the blood fell on theb, and it was time for the pact.

    Strange words came out of Arthur''s mouth in a foreignnguage.

    "How am I speaking this?"

    Before, Arthur had no idea what thatnguage was, but after he started the chant, the knowledge entered his mind, and he now knew a newnguage, the one the Blood Monarch used to perform most of the chantings from his spells.

    "Is this thenguage from that other universe?" Arthur thought, but there was no way for him to get these answers.

    As he kept chanting, images of Agatha appeared inside his mind, and theb shone in a red light. Then, with his eyes closed, Arthur said, "say it aloud what you want."

    "I want Agatha to fall in love with me, and we will be together for eternity," Jake said.

    When he finished his sentence, a mark appeared on Jake''s body, right on his stomach. Two bat-like wings.

    Now Jake''s soul belonged to Arthur, and he got himself a new worshiper who would have to do his bitting for the rest of his life.

    "Done. Agatha is now crazy over you, and you must help me leave this ce."

    "Why would I do that? Now I have the girl, and you can remain here, so no one will ever know about this," Jake said,ughing like a maniac.

    "Kid, do you think you can fool the devil?" Arthur said coldly.

    Jake believed Arthur was speaking bullshit, but when he turned around to leave, all Arthur had to say was, "stop moving and get back here."

    It was like a mysterious force took over Jake''s body, and he did precisely as Arthur told him to.

    "Now, where were we? Right, you will help me escape."

 Chapter 401 Coliseum Fight

    Jake thought he would have the best of Arthur, fooling with him after getting what he wanted. Well, of course, things did not work like that, and now, he would have to obey Arthur forever or at least keep worshiping him to grant him more power.

    To help him escape, though, would not be an easy task, but Jake saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and there was something ahead of them that would help him with that mission.

    "There''s a festival that will happen in three days. No one will be here to watch the dungeon, but the Bishop is not concerned about it because your cells have magical formations, and all of you are weak without blood," Jake said.

    "I cane here during the festival and free you, and then you will have to leave this town as quickly as possible."

    Three days; by that time, Arthur was almost sure all the other captains would be dead, or at least 90% of them would.

    "It is what it is. The only way for me or them to leave is during this festival, so those who survive long enough will leave this ce," thought Arthur.

    "Make sure this works, ande here to warn me if anything changes," said Arthur.

    Jake nodded, returning to the dungeon''s entrance to avoid looking suspicious.

    ~~~~

    Three days passed, and things did not work as Arthur had nned. He was in deep shit, frankly. The festival Jake told him was going to happen, which was nice, as that would help him escape, but there was a catch.

    They built an arena in the middle of the town, and they would put Arthur and the remaining captains to fight against each other to entertain others.

    How did Jake not know about that? Arthur guessed they got suspicious of Jake, or he had a low ranking, and that''s why he did not know about their n.

    "Move, move!" the priests screamed, pushing the weak captains after they got them out of their cells, wrapped in a shiny golden rope.

    They first moved the captains, cing them inside a carriage with bars, simr to a cell, making sure none of them would escape. Arthur was thest to enter a carriage, and the Bishop went there to get him out.

    "Are you enjoying your time here? At least you will have some fun now with the fights," the Bishop said as he put Arthur inside the carriage.

    The carriage moved toward the central part of the town where a coliseum was, often used for warriors to fight against other beasts, but that day, in the festival, they would use it to make the vampires fight each other!

    Many people were already there, in the bleachers, waiting for the fights to start. Drinking, eating, andughing, enjoying their time, while people would kill themselves in front of them.

    "Humans are entertained by the strangest things," thought Arthur.

    Jake had known about this coliseum a few hours before they went there to pick up the vampires. So, even though he had a short time to prepare something, he still had SOME time.

    He was going on with a n to make sure Arthur would escape, but still, there would be no way for Arthur to avoid the fights, and he would have to kill or be killed.

    That was a shame, but Arthur would do anything to escape that ce, even if he had to kill the other vampires. Arthur was sure duke Mikael would understand the situation and nothing terrible would happen to him.

    They put all the vampires inside the coliseum, and the Bishop called out to them to fight one by one. Arthur was not among those people, and he guessed the Bishop was waiting for them to fight against him in the final fight.

    "Whoever wins this battle will have blood, and those who win the coliseum night, will be free!" the Bishop said.

    That was the only thing those vampires wanted: to flee from that ce, and if that was what the Bishop was offering to the winner, then they would do anything to win, even if they had to kill each other!<novelnext></novelnext>

    An intelligent move came from those priests, but Arthur was more concerned about the blood part.

    "If those who win the fight get blood, what about me? Will I have to fight them without blood?"

    Based on what the Bishop said, he would give blood to thosepetitors to make the fight more exciting, but he did not say a word about giving blood to Arthur, and Arthur was supposed to be their final boss.

    By the looks of things, he would have to fight them while being weakened, which would prove to be challenging, even for him.

    "Come on, Jake!"

    Arthur hoped the n he and Jake had in mind would work.

    ~~~~

    "Now, for thest fighter of the night,ing straight from the underworld, a high-ranking Demon!"

    "Aaaahhhh!"

    The crowd went crazy as Arthur went into the middle of the arena, facing a captain he remembered the face but never talked to. It seemed he would not be able to escape fighting, and the captain in front of him had received blood, meaning he was in a decent state, differently from Arthur, who looked like a mummy by that point.

    "The only reason I did not get Jake''s blood was that it would make things too suspicious," thought Arthur, regretting that for a moment.

    They did not give him any weapon, but his adversary, a male vampire, had a spear in his hands.

    "Why are they making this so hard on me? I thought the Bishop did not mean to kill me!"

    Arthur could not understand the reasons behind the Bishop''s acts, but that man was crazy, so it was understandable for Arthur to not understand him.

    As for the vampire in front of him, the moment the two were alone inside the coliseum, he dashed straight toward Arthur with his spear in hand, trying to pierce through him and end the fight as quickly as possible.

    "I am sorry, leader, but I will be the one to leave this ce alive."

    Arthur did not me him for having that thought, as he was looking to do the same! When the first got closer to Arthur''s belly, his mummified hand grabbed it, and he pulled the vampire closer to him by pulling the spear itself!

    "What?"

    The vampire did not believe Arthur would have that much strange considering how bad he looked, but that did not seem like the case, as he got punched straight into the face, flying to the other side of the coliseum!

    Also, Arthur was now the one with a spear, turning the fight to his side.

    "How? Wasn''t he supposed to be weak?" the Bishop said as he got up from his chair, shocked by the scene.

    Arthur smirked at the Bishop when he noticed his behavior and returned his gaze toward the vampire.

    "Now, I am sorry for doing this, but I will be leaving this ce today!" said Arthur, gazing at the vampire in front of him, preparing to end his life!

 Chapter 402 Problems For The Central Continent

    When the Bishop saw Arthur running toward the other vampire, ready to kill him, all he wanted was to jump into that arena and stop the fight, as things were not going by his ns, but he could not do that!

    For the people watching, it did not matter who won the fight. They wanted to see blood, death, and an exciting battle. They did not know who Arthur was or what he was. How the fight went was the only thing that mattered to them.

    Arthur moved from one side of the arena to the other in a matter of seconds, shocking the vampire, who still believed Arthur was a rank one mage, just like all the other captains.

    The Bishop himself could not see through Arthur either, but seeing how easily he dealt with him, he did not believe Arthur was powerful enough to go against him in a fight.

    "You don''t understand," the vampire said when Arthur was right in front of him with the spear piercing his stomach.

    "T-the Bishop, h-he''s nning som-something."

    Those were the vampire''s final words as he died in a bloody way, making the crowd excited!

    "Who is that? He moved so fast through the arena I could barely see!"

    "The Bishop said he was a demon, but what kind of demon?"

    "Can he make pacts? I want to be rich!"

    Just like that, the fight ended, and now the Bishop would have to end Arthur''s life in the shadows, diverging a little from his initial n, but he was not that concerned about it.

    "There is no way for him to run," he thought, but something weird happened.

    Multiple town points started to burn, and people screamed with terror! Not even the coliseum escaped from that, and some parts around it had mes as big as houses!

    "What is happening?"

    The town had many people in it, even outsiders who went there to participate in the festival, so the ce was crowded, and with a fire, people started to lose their lives!

    Arthur smiled and thought, "Jake did the first part of our n."

    While Arthur focused on surviving the arena fights, Jake went to specific points of the city to burn it, so everyone would focus on that, forgetting about Arthur for a moment, which would be his chance to escape!

    The Bishop looked at Arthur, and then he left the coliseum to go out and help the others.

    "He cannot pass through the barrier around the arena, so I don''t need to worry about it."

    That was what he thought; indeed, it would be the case if Arthur did not have a helper. Jake was a priest and an old ally of the Bishop. He knew how the man thought and how to pass through the barrier, so after the fires started, Jake returned to the coliseum and met with Arthur there.

    "Finally," Arthur said, moving toward the coliseum exit where Jake was.

    Some priests were still there and recognized Jake, yet they could not understand what he was doing there until a piece of the barrier was destroyed, allowing Arthur to leave the coliseum without problems.

    "Jake, what are you doing?" the priests yelled, but Jake did not listen to any of them and left the coliseum with Arthur by his side.

    "What should we do now?" Jake asked.

    The whole city was in chaos, and now it was the perfect opportunity for them to flee, but to where? Arthur knew he had to return to the Von Stein family to warn the others about the situation, not because he liked the Von Stein family, but because he still had to discover where Sybille was. The only way to do that was with the Von Stein family trusting him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But the Bishop surely knew from what family Arthur belonged, so going back straight toward the Von Stein family would be stupid, and the Bishop would follow them, not allowing their escape.

    "Do you know about a safe ce near here? A ce where the Bishop would not look for us while we wait for things to calm down?" Arthur asked while he and Jake ran away from the coliseum, going straight to one of the town''s exits.

    "I do know of a ce. Agatha, my lover, is, in fact, an elf. No one knows about it as she keeps her features hidden, afraid the humans will attack her. She''s waiting for us outside the city and knows of an elf settlement. Humans will never find it."

    That was an excellent opportunity! Arthur had already conquered the dwarves, getting them on his side, and now he could find where the elves lived. Then he could ally with them to fight against the Von Stein family and the other rank-four mages who wished nothing more than to harm the poption.

    "Let''s meet with her then," Arthur said.

    They kept moving away from the city and eventually found someone on the road waiting for them. It was a woman with blond hair, and she wore a long green robe and had a bow on her back. Agatha was her name, and her love for Jake had increased after the pact they made.

    "Who''s is this?" Agatha asked when she noticed Jake had someone else with him.

    "A friend of mine. He''s not a threat, and he wants to go there to meet up with the elves."

    "No way! It was hard for me to make them ept you, a human outsider. I cannot bring another one there."

    Agatha had spoken with her family and the rulers of that elven settlement, and they agreed to ept Jake after they saw he was a decent person. But two humans? They would never allow that!

    Arthur was not surprised by the situation, as he expected something like that would happen, so he pushed his hair away from his ears and showed them to Agatha.

    "P-Pointed ears, blond hair, you are an elf!"

    It was easy for Arthur to pass by an elf, as his avatar looked exactly like an elf but without pointed ears. So, all he had to do was use spells to change the ears back to that form, and then no one realized he was faking it.

    Agatha was not the only one surprised, as Jake was because he knew Arthur was not supposed to be an elf, but a freaking demon! But he could not go against Arthur''s word and had to obey him at all costs.

    "That''s the price I have to pay¡­." He thought.

    "Can I still go with you?" Arthur asked, already knowing the answer.

    "Well, I don''t see a problem for a fellow elf to go there. Let''s move before the other priests try to catch Jake!"

    Agatha only knew that they were after Jake ¡ª he had fled from his duties as a priest ¡ª but she did not see the youth with them as the reason the city was in chaos. He was a vampire, more akin to a demon, after knowing more about the Blood Monarch''s inheritance.

    Another journey began, with Arthur going straight to where the elves lived, but no matter where he went, problems kept following him.

    ~~~~

    A ce inside the Central Continent known as the Forbidden Forest. People did not go there, and for that reason, no one knew exactly what was inside.

    There, in the deepest parts of the forest, a portal opened up, and from it, someone came out! If Arthur were there, he would recognize that the person who came out was a vampire!

    "Is this the central continent? Hahaha, the portal worked! Let the war begin!"

 Chapter 403 Arthur Is A Necromancer!

    The trio of Arthur, Agatha, and Jake left the town, running through the forests, making sure to stay as far as they could from the main road ¡ª to avoid meeting others.

    "So you are an elf! Jake never told me about it," Arthur asked while they ran.

    "He did not know either," Agatha chuckled.

    Jake did not know she was an elf all that time. Still, Agatha did speak with her family and the other elves about him. After a long time, they finally epted him to live with them.

    Well, the first time she spoke, her family said no, and Agatha did not push it further, but after Jake made the pact, she felt an urge inside her to try more, which worked!

    "And what about you? What are you doing meddling with the humans?" Agatha asked.

    Arthur was fooling her with the identity of an elf, which would be hard to pass by, considering all the elves in the demon continent knew each other! There was nowhere to run, so Arthur decided to speak a somewhat truth.

    "I''m from somewhere else, not the demon continent. I came here by ident, passing through a portal."

    "Whaaaaat? Really?"

    "Yeah, crazy, right?"

    Jake and Agatha were surprised, as it was umon for outsiders to be in that ce.

    "Well, Jake will obey me no matter what, and the elves rarely betray each other, so I think everything will be alright," thought Arthur, hoping for the best.

    They were moving fast, but not fast enough! Arthur could sense someone was following them, and when he looked behind his back, it was some of the priests from the church!

    That was a bad sign, but the situation was not THAT bad. The Bishop, the only one Arthur was truly scared of, was not there, so he had to deal with those priests as soon as possible.

    "You two, keep moving. There are some people following us. I will deal with them."

    "But what if we get too far?"

    "I can track both of you easily, don''t overthink it. GO!"

    Agatha and Jake nodded as they continued to move forward. At the same time, Arthur stopped and hid behind some bushes, waiting for the enemies toe to him.

    "What are we chasing again?"

    "A freaking demon, so shut up and keep focus. We only need to follow the demon until we can message the Bishop."

    The priests did not intend to fight Arthur. Their only mission was to follow him and message his exact location to the Bishop, but that would take some time, and they had to keep themselves close to him.

    In their minds, even if Arthur was strong, he would not go against five priests alone, as that would be hard even for someone like him.

    That was precisely the advantage Arthur was looking for. He knew by experience that a surprise attack was the best there was! So, when the five priests passed by, flying in the sky, Arthur took the chance to strike!

    "I only have this spear, so be it!"

    Arthur''s only weapon was the spear he got from the battle in the coliseum, as he had lost everything else and was now with ragged clothes and dirt all over his body.

    He did not choose the target but tossed his spear to a random priest, piercing it through its heart with ease!

    "What was that?" One of the priests said when they noticed, one of them was falling down on the ground, dead.

    "Blood Devour!" Arthur said, immediately draining all the blood from the dead priest, turning it into a dried corpse.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Blood Simbioses!"

    The blood drained from the priest flew toward Arthur, nurturing his weak body and covering it, acting like armor! Arthur also moved his hand, making the spear return to his hand, and it also got blood around it, increasing its damage.

    With all of that blood around him, Arthur looked like a demon straight from the underworld, and even if the priests had the number advantage, they did not feel like it when facing Arthur.

    "I-I don''t remember it being this scary. Wasn''t it just a skinny young man?"

    Arthur looked at them and wondered what he should do next. They were still four, and he was only one. But there was another spell from the Blood Monarch''s inheritance that he had practiced a few times in the rats inside the church''s dungeon, which could work with that dead priest.

    "This is a forbidden technique even for the Blood Monarch, and I can only use it once every few days. But still, this will make the fight a lot easier!"

    "Dead Thrall!"

    Arthur pierced his own spear on his belly, making blood spurt from the wound, and all of that blood flew toward the dead priest again.

    The others could not understand what Arthur was doing.

    "Didn''t he drain the priest just now?" they thought, but when they saw what happened next, they could not believe it!

    That priest, dead a few moments ago, was now alive again, but as a zombie! Arthur''s blood had resurrected the priest for a few hours, making it so that he would fight by his side!

    "This freaking Blood Monarch was like a vampire, a blood magician, a demon, and a necromancer. It seems he knew all the evil spells," thought Arthur.

    Not that he wasining about it, as that was making his life much easier!

    "What is that? How is he alive again?"

    "T-The Demon resurrected the priest! What kind of power is this?"

    The dead priest looked almost exactly like when he was alive, the only difference being his pale skin and the wound from the spear toss.

    Of course, its intelligence was not the same as before, but it was still enough to help Arthur greatly in that battle!

    The first thing he did was to cast some buffs that the priests knew, those of the Light Element. It was funny to see a ''demon'' receive holy buffs.

    Another protectiveyer surrounded Arthur, giving him even moreyers of defense. After that, he and the zombie priest flew into the sky to face the others.

    Arthur instantly dashed toward one of the priests. They were prepared by it, but Arthur was so fast the priest did not have the chance to cast the spells he had in his mind, dying with a bloody spear pierced through his throat.

    Now the fight was three against two, and when the survivors realized their only advantage ¡ª their

    number ¡ª was vanishing, they wanted to flee!

    "Run! Fuck the Bishop, I will not die for him!" they yelled, flying away from Arthur as fast as they could.

    The dead priest managed to cast a magical rope in time, tying up the leg of one of them. Arthur jumped on that locked priest, aiming for the neck with his fangs, draining the blood from that man.

    As for the other two, Arthur couldn''t catch up with them. They had simr flying speeds as him, so it would be useless.

    Also, they were opposite where Arthur was going, so it was better to keep moving to meet up with Agatha and Jake and then erase his tracks so that the Bishop did not chase him.

    "Goodbye, zombie," said Arthur, deactivating the spell, making the priest dead again.

 Chapter 404 [Bonus ] Mysterious Key And Creature

    Arthur was a vampire and someone who trained with the special techniques of the Blood Monarch. So, tracking two people was easy, especially Jake, someone who had a mark after selling his soul to Arthur.

    He ran away from where the battle urred, going as fast as possible because there was a chance the Bishop would know about that and would go after him, which would be a disaster.

    Also, his fight with the priests did notst long, so it took Arthur fifteen minutes to catch up with Agatha and Jake, who were surprised to see Arthur there so quickly.

    "Are you done with the fighting? How many were they?" Jake asked, gasping his mouth.

    "Five, I killed three. Now, let''s keep moving, or else the Bishop has the chance to find us."

    They nodded and kept moving toward the forest, into a location humans never went to. Dangerous, mysterious, and also the home of the elves. Agatha was sure there would be no way for the church to find them there and reassured Arthur and Jake multiple times.

    "I hope that''s the case, or else we are screwed!" thought Arthur.

    ~~~~

    "So, what do you think about the gift?" Mk asked as he handed the box to Arthur.

    The moment Arthur touched the wooden box, images shed through his mind, and a pain stroke his head. It was like memories were being put inside his mind, but everything was hard to understand.

    He saw the image of a shiny key forged with dragon scales and enchanted with a specific spell from thousand years ago. The key once belonged to cidusax, but he lost it long ago, even before he stepped foot on that.

    Arthur saw some powerful mages with the key in their hands, locked inside a safe ce where no one could enter on a distant.

    "The Alliance that rules this universe! Why do they have the key?"

    Then, the memories stopped, and Arthur returned to his normal senses. He still did not know what was inside that box. Still, it was important for the dragons, and it once belonged to cidusax before the Alliance stole his key.

    "Thank you for this. I can help you with the Von Stein family if you help me with something, too," Arthur said, looking at Mk, Tessa, and Leonard.

    "Just say it, we will do anything we can to help you."

    "There is something I am looking for, a girl with pink hair, and she''s said to be in the Von Stein territory," Arthur said.

    He did not know if Tessa or the others had some information about Sybille. Still, there was no harm in asking, and based on the things he knew, she was supposed to be there in the Von Stein family territory.

    "Pink hair?" Tessa was in deep thought, trying to remember if she had seen someone like that, and after a few seconds, she recalled.

    "Yes, I remember someone with pink hair. A gorgeous woman! The two rank-four mages appeared with her one night, and no one saw her. I did due to coincidence, as I was on my balcony looking at the stars that time,"

    "But I don''t know where they went after that, but I never saw someone with pink hair leaving the castle, so I wonder if she is somewhere there. There are many secret passages not even I know."

    Arthur was unhappy that his question did not lead to any new information. However, he was sure they were still keeping Sybille inside the castle.

    "You will return to the castle, right? Can you three try to find clues about her? I need to take her out of that ce."

    "Of course! But what are our next moves?" Tessa asked.

    "Well, we need more power to fight against them, so I am focusing on reaching rank four and helping the other dragons reach it too! After that, we can go against them with no problems!"

    That was good news for them, and after they spoke more about their ns, Mk, Tessa, and Leonard left. So there was something else they had to do, and that was to look for Arthur!

    While they were there, speaking with the dragons, duke Mikael sent a message to his daughter, Tessa, exining that Arthur had left with the other captains.

    "They were supposed to go to a vige on our border. So please, go there to look for more information!"

    That was the message the duke sent her, so they left after speaking with Arthur in the dragon valley.

    Well, not all of them. Mk had other things to do, so only Tessa and Leonard went looking for Arthur.

    ~~~~

    "How far are we from the elven settlement? We have been walking for days," Arthurined, as he was starting to get tired.

    Agatha smiled as she looked toward a big tree in the distance, "we are finally here!"

    The forest around them was different, with the trees being way bigger than the average ones. Those trees were so big someone could live inside them.

    That forest was dangerous, and humans who went there often went missing. Agatha knew the reason behind it, not because of the elves, but because of a powerful creature that lived inside that forest, akin to a god.

    "Come, there''s a portal inside this tree," Agatha said, making a sign with her hand for Jake and Arthur to follow her.

    They did as she told them, and sure enough, inside the big tree was a green portal, just like the ones Arthur had seen in different parts of the world.

    "How can no one ever see this portal? I don''t believe no human tried to enter inside this tree," Arthur asked.

    "You are right, other races hade here, but the portal is only visible to elves or those the elves allow to enter, like Jake."

    Arthur was surprised at that statement, considering he was not a real elf. So was the Blood Monarch''s avatar spell that good it could fool a magical portal?

    "Good to know."

    Agatha took the lead to pass through the portal, but when it was Jake''s time, he was too scared to do so.

    "What if her family dislikes me? What if-"

    Arthur was not feeling like listening to that bullshit, so he pushed Jake toward the portal and followed him right after.

    Everything around them did not look like it had changed much, and they were inside a forest with big trees. Arthur had experience with portals, so he knew they did not travel a long distance.

    "Why is the portal so short?" he asked Agatha.

    "Well, the portal is only there, so we can cross a specific part of the forest where there''s a powerful creature living. We believe it is stronger than rank-four mages, as a long time ago, a rank-four elf vanished when it went to that part of the forest."

    "Really?"

    Arthur now wanted to know more about that creature, but that was too dangerous for a rank two mage like him. Even with his main body, it would be suicide if the beast was stronger than a rank-four mage.

    "Perhaps after I conquer this continent, I can go there to check," he thought.

    The trio made their way toward the elven vige, but when Arthur stepped inside, something opened its eyes.

    "Hum? This smells like that old man who I gave one of my eyes. Is he here?"

 Chapter 405 Dark Forest

    "Who are you?"

    A blonde elf aimed his bow at Arthur, Agatha, and Jake, who had entered their vige through the portal. But, of course, elves would be responsible for caring for the portal, so the moment they passed through it, the elves were already there.

    "I thought they would be friendly to us," thought Arthur, looking for ways to leave if the situation got worse, but then, one of the elves there recognized Agatha!

    "Agatha? Is that you?"

    "Uncle Aubron? You look so different!"

    It had been a long time since Agatha had visited the elven vige. Despite the elves barely aging, they sometimes changed their looks, hair, and beard, so Agatha did not recognize her uncle at first nce.

    When the other elves realized it was someone Aubron knew, they rxed their bows and stopped aiming at them. Arthur was also relieved by the situation, as he was worried those elves would attack him.

    "You cannot y with the elves," he thought.

    "Come, follow me; they will want to speak with you. But who are these two?" Aubron asked, pointing at Arthur and Jake.

    "Jake''s the man I have fallen in love with, and Arthur is a friend of his, an elf, who needed some help, so I did not see a reason to turn my back on him."

    The elves around did not look that happy to see more outsiders. Agatha was alright as she belonged to the vige, but the others? They had yet to know them better, and they only had heard some things about Jake, as it was a hot topic when an elf wanted to get together with a human.

    As for Arthur? Even though it was an elf, just like them, it was still an outsider, so the elves were still apprehensive around him.

    They walked through the vige, and all the elves kept looking at Arthur, Agatha, and Jake, whispering to each other.

    "Who are these three?"

    "That one is Agatha. I remember her, but what about the rest? Are they prisoners or trespassers?"

    Arthur could hear everything they were saying with his keen senses but kept quiet, walking with the others toward the biggest tree in the vige.

    That was the location of the vige''s biggest house.

    "Go inside. The chief will talk with you."

    They nodded and went inside the tree, just like Aubron told them to. A man was waiting for them, sitting on an oak throne.

    Arthur could not pinpoint what, but something felt weird with that man, and a bad feeling arose within. Also, the elf was a rank-three mage, which meant it was not an enemy Arthur could take on.

    "Agatha, who is this one?"

    The leader first asked her who Arthur was, as Agatha had spoken about Jake with him, so the vige chief was not worried about him.

    "This one is an elf, a friend of Jake."

    A feeling of dread did not disappear, and when Arthur heard the following sentenceing from the chief''s mouth, he knew things were not improving.

    "Throw him inside the forbidden area and let the beasts kill him," he said.

    Arthur was ready to flee when he heard it, but an imposing aura made him stop his moves. A rank-four mage, the elve''s ancestor!

    Someone sealed his power temporarily, enough time for the guards to toss him inside a dangerous area outside the vige, a ce that acted like a prison.

    "Please, don''t do it. He is not a bad person," Agatha yelled, trying to help Arthur out after everything he had done to help them, like fighting with the priests who came looking for them.

    Jake also tried to help him, but no matter what they did, the elves were not listening to it and tossed Arthur inside the dark forest anyway.

    Arthur had to watch powerlessly while the elves tossed him through another portal leading toward an area called ''Dark Forest.''

    The Dark Forest was home to powerful creatures and the ce the elves put their prisoners to rot and die, Arthur was tossed in there, and the portal closed.

    "Fuck! I escape a freaking dungeon to get locked inside a forest."

    With a deep breath, Arthur tried his best to calm down and analyze the situation. He did not believe in unbreakable prisons, and it would not be the first time he fled from such ces.

    But before he could think about anything, a huge frog jumped from a nearby river and attacked him using his tongue!

    "What is that thing?"

    Arthur sidestepped the tongue attack, and when he looked at the ground where the tongue hit, acid had destroyed everything!

    When the elves said it was a dangerous ce, they meant it. The frog was not the only creature that came after Arthur. Even the normal-looking birds tried to kill him.

    He dashed toward the frog and used his ws for ripping the frog in half. Arthur did not stop there and used his momentum to jump high and attack the birds sitting on a tree branch.

    Blood was all over him.

    "The frog, I don''t know, but bird blood cannot be that bad," thought Arthur, picking up the birds as he did not know what else he could eat.

    "I should look for a safe ce."

    Anyone who wanted to survive had to look for shelter, fire, and food. The shelter was the priority, as a vampire did not need fire, and food was not a problem; Arthur was a predator! So, he roamed around looking for a ce to stay, and sure enough, finding one was not a problem.

    With little effort, Arthur found a cave to settle in. Although he did not see any beast inside, he felt ufortable inside that ce, just like when he met with the elven leader.

    "It''s daytime, so I should get some sleep."

    There was no bed nor a coffin, so a rock was the way to go. Arthury there like a corpse, fallen asleep, waiting for the night toe, as it was the best time for a vampire like him.

    ~~~~

    A poke. Arthur felt a sharp object poking his belly, making him wake up. He looked up and saw three people, all of which were elves!

    They looked like shit, with their clothes torn apart, and it was evident they were not eating enough food.

    "Who are you?" one of them asked Arthur.

    Arthur was surprised, but after he remembered what that ce was used for, he realized they were other prisoners.

    "An elf threw me in here with no reason."

    "Was it the leader?"

    "Yeah, it was. Is there a problem?"

    "It happened the same to us, but we are from other elven tribes."

    "Oh?"

    Arthur thought the elf threw him inside the prison because he was an outsider. Still, these other elves were citizens from their tribes, yet their leader tossed them inside the Dark Forest, just like what happened to Arthur.

    "Is there something more to this?" he thought.

    "How long have you been here?"

    "Around three weeks. We built a tree house, and for now, our situation is stable, as we know how to survive inside this ce. Do you want toe with us?"

    These three female elves were there with him, inside a dangerous ce. Although they were apprehensive about letting him in, they also knew an additional force would strengthen their party.

    "Sure, why not?"

    Arthur and the three elves left the cave, and it seemed the situation was not as simple as he thought.

 Chapter 406 Slender Creature

    Arthur did not find it strange to see elves there, as it was a prison meant for them, but was surprised to see them alive! He knew few things about this dark forest. It was not a simple prison but a ce for them to execute the elves without needing to do it themselves.

    "This is your house?" said Arthur, pointing at a massive tree with a house on top.

    "Yes, it is. Come, it is not safe to be roaming around during the night."

    There was a rope made of vineing down from the tree, and each one of them used it to climb, and then they pulled the string so that no one could use it too.

    "I don''t think a monster needs a rope anyway, but I will not judge them," thought Arthur.

    Their house at the top of the tree was simple, all made with wood and the roof of leaves and other materials one could find in a forest. Arthur only saw one bed, and his mind ran wild at the thought of it.

    "Did you build these tools?" he asked, pointing at a table with some stone tools.

    A stone ax, a dagger, and a bow. Arthur was genuinely impressed by how many things these people aplished quickly. The fact that they were still alive surprised him, considering the ce had many beasts.

    "Yes, we did. Now let''s start the introductions. I am Aerith; Nice to meet you!"

    Aerith was the one who had the most authority there. She had blond hair, green eyes, and a wless face. What caught the most attention was her mysterious drawing on her forehead, the symbol of a tree.

    "I am Lenia, Nice to meet you."

    "And I am the most beautiful here, Cellica, Nice to meet you!"

    These three elves looked gorgeous, and now that Arthur was alone with them, he noticed their sexy clothes, showing a lot of their bodies. It could not be helped; they did not have ess to clothes in there, so they had to make their own.

    "I am Arthur, Nice to meet you."

    They looked him up from head to toe, and judging by the girls'' looks, they liked what they saw.

    "What did you discover to be here?" Aerith asked.

    A weird question and one Arthur did not understand. Discover? He had done nothing, yet the elves tossed him inside that prison, and Arthur would not eat this without fighting back.

    "I don''t get it. They just threw me in here, and I still don''t know why."

    "What? Really?"

    Arthur could see they were surprised by his answer, so he said, "and what did you discover? Is something wrong with the elven tribes?"

    "Yeah, about that. It started a few months ago. The leader of my tribe and the tribe of my new friends," Aerith then looked at Lenia and Cellica and smiled,

    "Our leaders started to act weird, leaving the vige asionally and having secret meetings during the night,"

    "I noticed it in my vige, and they saw it in theirs. That was the reason they threw us inside this ce to die. The strangest part is that there''s something to do with this Dark Forest."

    "Dark Forest? What do the leaders want with this ce?"

    "We still don''t know, but we will discover it! I know the leaders of the tribese to this ce periodically, and when that happens, we will know the truth!"

    The whole story looked convincing, but unlike the girls, Arthur did not see anything weird inside the vige. They seemed to dislike him, which was why the elves threw him inside that ce.

    Was it? Arthur started to have ideas, and it would not be impossible for them to sense Arthur would eventually find something odd about the vige.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If that were the case, they would want to deal with him as fast as possible, thus tossing him inside the Dark Forest to die while they kept doing what they were doing.

    "This whole situation is strange. I returned to the vige with two friends, and now look at what they did to me."

    "Wait, what? An elf came back to your vige too?" Aerith asked.

    Lenia and Cellica also shared their stories about that. It seemed an elf also returned to their viges with a human lover! Arthur''s case was the same!

    "This is getting too strange. Each vige has an elf with a human lover? What are they nning?"

    Although the chatting was good, nighttime would soone. For that reason, the elves exined to Arthur the strange things that happened inside the Dark Forest and the reason they were still alive: they were cautious.

    "There is a strange beast thates during the night. I saw it once. It only has one eye, and the beast has terrible sight, but it can sense things,"

    "During the night, we extinguish all the lights and keep ourselves inside this cabin. We heard that beast walking beneath us a few times, but it never came here, so we believe this is a safe spot, and it''s the best chance we have."

    The Dark Forest had that name because of that creature, which had the form of a wolf but with bigger limbs, making it look bizarre! Not only that, but the entire beast was made of a ck substance that looked like slime.

    Arthur now had an interest in that creature. Still, he would not be stupid enough to chase it, as the elves stated that  ''rank-four mages died inside this ce when they tried that, at least in the stories.''

    So, he felt like eating something and staying inside his cabin, perhaps gazing at the beast with his vampiric sight.

    "Maybe I can see things these elves cannot."

    The three girls ate various types of fruits that looked delicious but weren''t things Arthur had on his mind. Blood was the only thing that worked for him, at least in his avatar body.

    He could not drink it while in there, as they would see it easily, but Arthur would do that in the morning the following day.

    For those girls to build that many things in a short time and have food for all of them, they had to work separately, with each having their own task, so that the entiremunity flourished. So with that belief in mind, Arthur would go his own way the following day, doing his things, like drinking blood.

    "Good night, Arthur," they said, blowing the torches and going to sleep in their bed.

    Arthur did not have a bed for him, as they did not know someone new would appear, but he put some leaves and other materials to make the ground softer.

    ~~~~

    It was around three am. Arthur was a vampire, so sleeping during the night was not what he loved the most. However, he could still adapt to the situation, and after one hour of moving from side to side, he finally slept.

    But, at three am, his eyes abruptly opened. Arthur blinked a few times, and a question arose when his senses returned to normal.

    "Why did I wake up?"

    Arthur believed his trained body would only wake up if something dangerous was around. Hence, he slowly got up from his bed and went to a small hole in the cabin, which acted as a window.

    He looked down at the front, gazing at a distant tree. There, a humanoid shadow was. The thing had a short torso and long limbs, looking slender.

    It only had one eye, matching the description the elves spoke about.

    "This creature is creepy, but it should have a bad sight, right?" thought Arthur, breathing in relief, but when he blinked again, the creature was waving at him.

    A smile formed on that creature''s face, and Arthur''s body hair stood on the end!

 Chapter 407 Second Forbidden Eye

    "What the hell is that thing?" thought Arthur, exchanging gazes with the mysterious creature.

    The three female elves had spoken about the creature, so its appearance was something Arthur knew. Yet, it still gave him chills to look at it personally.

    But they had also told him about the creature''sck of vision, and it was clear that was not true! If the beast could see him there, then it had seen the three elves yet decide not to kill them ¡ª for some unknown reason, Arthur had yet to find out.

    "What should I do?"

    That thing just kept looking at him from afar with a creepy smile, and before Arthur could decide anything, a voice echoed inside his head.

    It was hoarse and not something one would like to hear.

    "Will youe here, or will I have to get you?"

    "..."

    Arthur could not exin, but the appearance and the voice of that thing and the smile were the most terrifying things he had ever seen! The creature came in touch with him via mental message, and Arthur was not stupid enough to try to run.

    "This thing is at least at rank four, but I think it is way higher!"

    Any creature Arthur could not see through had to be automatically at rank four. Still, it did not mean it could not be higher ¡ª he did not believe it as most things weren''t THAT strong on the he was in.

    So, without any other choice, Arthur jumped from the tree house, making little to no noise, and went to meet with the creature. The closer he got to the thing, the scarier he became.

    "But if it wanted me dead or the three elves, it would have killed already, right? So it must be something else," thought Arthur, trying to find words to calm his mind.

    He walked toward the creature, and the Dark Forest, which should have many dangers, had nothing. All the beasts knew who the boss was, and no one dared toe closer when that slender creature was out.

    Arthur felt the same way as the beasts and did not want toe closer to that, but unfortunately, that was not an option for him.

    The two got face-to-face, and the size difference was evident now that Arthur was right in front of that thing! The slender creature was as high as five meters, making Arthur look like an ant in front of it.

    "This is when I die?"

    Arthur calmed down and looked toward the beast, who only had one eye as the other was just an empty socket.

    "Will you kill me?"

    "Kill you? No, of course not! You are a chosen one!"

    From all the things Arthur expected to hear, that was not one of them.

    "Chosen? For what?"

    "For? No,  from! You have the Blood Monarch''s inheritance, right?"

    The secret Arthur tried to keep to himself was so easily found that he wondered what level of that creature was.

    "You made a second body using the avatar technique. Smart, well done. I know that because you don''t have the Emperor Eye!"

    "You also know about the eye? Who are you? Wait..."

    Now that Arthur was close to the creature, he noticed the strange eye it had, as well as the other empty socket. Could the Emperor Eye once belong to that thing?"

    "I know what you are guessing, and it is correct. The Emperor Eye was mine, and I gave it to the Blood Monarch. As for the other eye, I wanted to give it to him at the right time, but he vanished,"

    "Come with me."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Before Arthur could try anything, the creature picked him up, and the two vanished.

    ~~~~

    "What is this ce?"

    The creature brought him to a cave afterward, and it had many things inside, like armor, weapons, furniture, and a lot of gold. It looked like a dragon''s nest.

    "My home. I collect many things, especially from the elves and humans who crossed paths with me."

    "But why are you here? Aren''t you too much powerful for this small world?"

    Arthur wanted to know! A creature like that was powerful at a level he could notprehend, like Ikarus and Turquoise. Perhaps the beast in front of Arthur was even stronger!

    A minor like the one they were in was not enough to make the beast stay ¡ª even Arthur nned on leaving the world after reaching rank four.

    "Where do I start?"

    The beast had many things to share with Arthur, and for that reason, he sat in a chair he found inside the cave and listened to everything carefully.

    "Why am I speaking so calmly with this strange ass beast that looks as creepy as horror movies... am I getting insane?"

    "I am hiding from the Alliance."

    "Why? Aren''t the Alliance the ones taking care of our universe?"

    "Correct. But that changed when they got people infiltrated in there, from lower to high rankings,"

    "The Blood Monarch was not as bad as it seemed. You have his memories, at least some of them, and you know it! Sure he killed others, but what mage doesn''t do that? At least he did that to the deserving and not random people,"

    "The neighbor universe is way stronger than us. The Blood Monarch went there to get stronger and perhaps defeat them, but he never returned, and I don''t know if he''s alive."

    "If that''s true, why did he give me the eye? Wouldn''t that help him fight against them?"

    Arthur had a valid question and guessed the answer but wanted to hear the creature just to make sure.

    "They knew he had the eye, the Alliance, and they wanted to get it from him, so he hid it inside an inheritance on the he was born and fled to the other universe."

    "Brat, hear me out. There isn''t much I can do for you, and I also don''t know about many things."

    The creature did not know the whole story. It was trapped in there, so how could it? But now, with Arthur, there were some things the beast could do.

    "You have the Emperor Eye, right? It can see the energies, making all your spells better, but the main purpose of that eye is to find the others! With the Emperor Eye, you can track down the other Forbidden Eyes and get all of them for yourself! That''s the only chance you have to fight against those infiltrated inside the Alliance and also against the other universe, or else all of us will die!"

    ? Arthur already knew the Emperor Eye could track down other eyes, as his system told him. Still, the creature did not know about it, so he acted surprised after hearing it.

    "I can give you the Unseen Truth Eye, the one I still have. Use it to get stronger, and once you leave this world, look to learn more about the Alliance and find the Blood Monarch! Not for me, not for you, but for everyone! The neighbor universe wants to take control of us, and if they do, all your loved ones, and all the innocent people you know, will die!"

    "But why me?"

    "Honestly, there isn''t a grand destiny thing behind it. You are the only decent one I came across, and you already have one of the eyes, so why not? I could wait here longer for someone else that could be better, but that could take a long time, and we don''t have it."

    Then, the creature ripped his eye out and moved his other hand, making one of Arthur''s eyese out of his socket! A lot of blood and other liquids spurted, but it did not take long for the Unseen Truth Eye to enter the empty socket, making it all stop until an even worse pain came.

 Chapter 408 New Items

    The pain was terrible; it sucked, but Arthur had faced many hardships throughout his new life, so it would not kill him. It took him five minutes of so much pain he rolled on the cave''s ground while the beast just looked at him.

    After it was over, no system notification popped up ¡ª Arthur''s second body did not have it ¡ª but he could still feel the difference!

    His eye now had a different pupil with the shape of a star.

    "What does this eye do?" Arthur asked.

    "You will get better at it with time and practice, and also while your power increase, but the main thing about this eye is the future! You can see one second or half a second in the future while fighting, which can give you an edge! Also, visions about the future are not umon. Still, one cannot control that aspect, and sometimes the visions are too hard toprehend."

    "What? Is this powerful?"

    The power from the Unseen Truth Eye was incredible! Arthur did not think one eye was stronger than the other; they had their own strengths, weaknesses, and their powers differed a lot from each other. While the Emperor Eye had some supportive features, the Unseen Truth Eye was overpowered!

    Arthur was not expecting to get such a valuable thing from his ''prison,'' so he was delighted by it. Now his main body had one Forbidden Eye, his avatar another one, and when they merged, he would have both!

    "I need to find all the eyes if I want a chance?" Arthur asked.

    "Yes, you do. But don''t worry about it. With your Emperor Eye, you wille across others. It just takes time."

    "Now what? Will you get me out of here?"

    "Unfortunately, I can''t," the beast said, which made Arthur flinch.

    "I can''t free you personally, but it does not mean you cannot leave. If I use my powers to destroy the formations here, whatever is after me will find me, and then I will die."

    "Oh, right, I forgot about that," Arthur chuckled and then moved his gaze to the things the beast had stored inside.

    "You can take whatever you want."

    That was a sentence one did not speak to Arthur. He moved around as fast as lightning, browsing through everything the beast had inside its cave, and Arthur found some good stuff!

    There was a te armor and a red cape; Arthur could tell just by looking that these things were treasures, the cape being more valuable!

    "What are these? This mantle looks decent."

    "D-Decent? This is a legendary artifact that not even the Blood Monarch could use! He found it once a long, long time ago, and after not being able to use it, I kept it."

    "Really?"

    Arthur could see the mantle was valuable but to that extent? There was no way of him knowing it, and now all he wanted to do was try the cape and see if he could wear it.

    Sure enough, Arthur picked up the red mantle, attached it to his back, and instantly a connection grew between the two. It was like the dormant spirit of the cape woke up.

    "You can wear it? You are more special than I thought," the beast said.

    The sensation was weird. Arthur and the mantle could somehow understand each other''s feelings, but the cape could not speak to him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Do you know something about this cape?" asked Arthur, trying to learn more about the treasure now that he was worthy of wearing it.

    "No idea. I don''t even know where the Blood Monarch got this from, but it should be one of the strongest things one can find in this universe."

    Arthur sighed, unhappy to get zero clues about the mantle''s origins. Still, it soon vanished when he remembered all the benefits he had earned! There were a few other things, but only two caught Arthur''s attention: an ancient-looking spear with its crimson red de and a ring with a red stone.

    "Are you trying to get all of my treasures? I''ll only let you pass this time because you seem decent. The spear is a high-quality magic weapon, and you can use it until the seventh rank. The ring is still a mystery to me, so you must learn more about it, just like you do with the red mantle."

    There weren''t many other things that caught Arthur''s attention, and the beast was already kind enough to give him all that, so Arthur did not push. After that, Arthur spoke about the prisoner elves who went there to die, and that surprised him!

    "This is a new thing. The elves weren''t using this ce as a prison and started only a few months ago. I did not kill anyone who came here, and the ones doing it are the elves themselves!"

    "What?"

    "I saw them murdering the prisoners and collecting their blood. They must be doing some ck magic."

    Arthur and the beast spoke a little more, but it was time for them to part ways. He did not know the beast''s name, or perhaps it did not have one. There was a way out of that ce, a specific exit inside the Dark Forest.

    "But first, blood!"

    Now that the mysterious beast problem was over ¡ª the beast was friendly ¡ª Arthur could roam at night and get his needed blood.

    Not that the Dark Forest was safe, but Arthur moved around inside it, and the beasts kepting at him, trying to get a bite of his flesh. But, unlike before, Arthur now wore te armor with a mysterious red cape and had a spear in his hands!

    A weapon made a massive difference in a fight, especially one of high quality. Arthur pierced his spear through the beasts like it was nothing, killing most of them with one hit.

    He got hit from behind only one time by a surprise attack, but his red mantle moved on its own in time, protecting him!

    "This is awesome!"

    Arthur went into massacre mode, killing all the beasts that tried to attack him. After one hour, the beasts seemed to acknowledge he was not prey for them, and no one attacked him.

    He passed beside the beast, and they would do nothing, as if Arthur was a friendly beast, one they did not need to attack.

    "I am the lord of the Dark Forest! Sadly, I still cannot use my eye properly."

    The beast in the cave had told Arthur it would take a few days for him to get used to his Unseen Truth Eye, so using its powers would be hard. It was a shame, but Arthur could wait a few days, and there was something more important for him to do than practice his new powers: leave!

    Not just leave but take the three prisoners who helped him out of there and learn more about this ck magic the elves were practicing.

    "All the elven tribes are doing this, sending prisoners to this ce to kill. Why? Elves are kind and pure people who do not do this."

    Something or someone was making up the minds of those elves, and Arthur would find out!

 Chapter 409 Killing Some Elves In A Temple

    The blood from beasts was not ideal for Arthur, but he did notin and returned to the cabin before sunrise.

    When he returned, the three elves were still sleeping and looked fine, which was good.

    Arthur now knew it was not the beast who killed the elven prisoners but the elves themselves, trying to use their lives to practice ck magic.

    "I should take them with me through that portal the beast talked about; after that, they can do whatever they want."

    So, he went to his improvised bed and tried his best to sleep again, although it was almost impossible for him to do so.

    Morning came, and before Arthur woke up naturally, the three elves were already poking him.

    "What is this te armor and cool mantle? Where did you get this?"

    They did not have anything, as their belongings were stripped away from them, and the only thing they had was the clothing on their bodies, which was now all ragged after the constant fights with the beasts.

    So it wasmon for them to strange Arthur, who also had ordinary clothing the other day, and now looked like an army general. Also, one of his eyes had a strange symbol, and Arthur remembered only after the elves talked about it.

    "Right, I have to get myself an eye patch."

    There was no way around it, so Arthur told them as much as he could about what happened and said that the items were his before he went there, and the beast somehow got them back to him.

    Sure enough, Arthur did not share important information and told them only enough for the three elves to believe in him and follow him out of that ce.

    "What? Are the elves the ones doing it? Well, it makes sense why they were acting weird and sending prisoners here out of a sudden."

    The girls believed in him and were willing to follow Arthur to find that portal out of there, which was good. So they packed everything, ate something, and then left the tree house.

    "We will finally leave this ce, but I will miss our little cabin."

    "Agreed. This ce is a living hell, but I feel safe up there."

    They were all energetic, while all Arthur wanted was a bed. His night had been poor, and Arthur was used to sleeping during the afternoon, so he felt like shit.

    "How far are we anyway?"

    "I am not sure," Arthur answered.

    The beast had told him the general location, but Arthur did not know how far it was or if there were too many dangers.

    ? When the beasts saw the three lovely elves, for a brief second, they wanted to pounce and eat them alive, but then, they saw Arthur, and their bodies shook, and they ran away.

    After showing his power the other night, not a single beast wanted to test their luck by fighting against Arthur, and his presence there made the journey much safer.

    But that did not mean there wouldn''t be any dangers. So after they had walked for almost the entire day, and the moon was up in the sky, they reached their destination: a temple.

    "An abandoned temple?" one of the elves said as she walked toward it, but Arthur pulled her by her arm before she could do anything.

    Arthur made a sign with his finger, "shh!"

    At first, the girls did not understand, but when they looked toward the temple again, someone came out, patrolling around like a loyal dog.

    "Elves! What are they doing here?" one of the girls said.

    They knew the elves had something to do with killing prisoners to perform ck magic ¡ª Arthur shared that with them ¡ª but they did not know these people would be inside the Dark Forest.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arthur and the girls hid behind the trees, looking at the temple from afar, analyzing the power of those people.

    "Rank one mage patrolling, and inside presumably rank two mages," thought Arthur.

    He did not believe they would have a rank three mage inside a remote ce like that. Also, the elves weren''t mighty anymore, having their numbers significantly reduced. Still, the elven race had a rank four mage acting as their ancestor and protector, and the elves were more powerful than almost all races, and that was what made them relevant and survived until that day.

    "What should we do?" thought Arthur.

    The elves with him had the power of a rank one mage, and that was not enough to go against those elves inside the temple, meaning they would be in danger while fighting.

    Surely they could take on the ones outside who had simr power, but once inside? Arthur was unsure about what was inside, to begin with, so he did not want to risk it by going inside with them.

    So, the best thing to do was for him to go and deal with them alone.

    Arthur went closer to the girls and said, "I am sure there will be rank two mages inside, so that it will be dangerous for you. I will go first to ensure everything is alright, and then I will return to get you, okay?"

    "Are you sure you can take all of them alone? We might be of some help."

    "Don''t worry about me. Let''s hide you first."

    ~~~~

    With his memories, Arthur managed to create some magical formations to keep the girls hidden, although the formation was not that good as he did not have any materials to create a better one, and time was short.

    After ensuring everything was okay, Arthur approached the temple, flying using his red mantle!

    Arthur knew that the red cape moved independently and could make him fly faster than all the spells he knew while not using any mana.

    He was sure there were more things to learn about it, but that would not happen from day to night.

    An elf wearing a long robe was patrolling around the temple, looking to see if something strange was near it. It was looking out for beasts, as they did not believe any of the prisoners they put there would find that ce anyway.

    But one of the prisoners did! Arthur approached the elf from behind, using the Silent Footsteps of the Monarch, making so that his movements did not make any noise!

    A perfect spell for assassination, and before the elf had any time to react, a crimson-red spear pierced through his neck, killing the elf instantly.

    Arthur picked up that elf''s body and hid it inside a bush. As for the blood, well, it went toward the spear, making it stronger!

    "Now it makes sense why the beast said this weapon could be used up to rank seven. It is an evolving-type weapon!"

    The first elf was dead, and then Arthur went inside the temple, his red cape made him fly, and his spells made him invisible while not making any noise.

    That was enough to pass through the rank-one mages unnoticed, analyzing the perimeter inside the temple so that he would not be disadvantaged while fighting.

    Though it did notst, as when he arrived at the temple''s main room where the statue of a horned creature was, the rank-two mages inside noticed something was amiss.

    Not because they found Arthur but because one of their mages vanished while patrolling.

    "There''s no reason to keep me hidden. I will have to fight eventually, so why not pick one of them with a sneak attack?"

    Arthur made up his mind, tossing his crimson-red spear toward one of the rank-two mages. Due to his spells, it had blood around it, increasing its mighty!

    The elf could not react as the spear pierced his torso, making him fly toward the wall and attaching him to it.

 Chapter 410 A-A Demon!

    "Huh?"

    The elves inside the temple already knew something strange was happening outside after one of them went missing while patrolling. Still, they never expected the enemy to be right before them!

    "Enemy! Prepare for battle!"

    It was surprising how fast those elves entered a battle formation, none of which mattered because Arthur was there to fight to kill!

    He moved his hand, and the crimson-red spear in the elf''s torso flew back to him. Arthur looked back to the corridor where he came from, and all the rank-one mages were moving toward him, blocking his escape ¡ª not that he would need an escaping route. It was them who should be running away from him!

    "The real fight is against the rank two mages, but I cannot let the others get in my way," thought Arthur.

    There was no way the rank one mages would threaten him, but blocking their attacks while fighting against the rank two mages would be annoying, so Arthur wanted to deal with them as fast as he could.

    How would he deal with all the elves? Well, deadly spells were not something the Blood Monarch was short of. Arthur had mastered plenty since the first day he started to train with his avatar, and one of them would do well in that terrain.

    "Blood Tide!"

    Arthur cut his arm with his ws, and a few drops of his blood turned into a vast tide, like a red ocean made of blood! All the mages came through a corridor, meaning they had no way to run.

    The Blood Tide swept across them, and different from water, the moment the blood touched their bodies, they would dry out, turning into a mummy, and the blood from their bodies would increase the power of the tide, making it go faster and faster!

    "M-Monster! Demon!"

    They screamed after seeing how mighty the Blood Tide was, but nothing woulde to save them, no matter how hard they cried. It was bad luck that they came across Arthur, someone who did not care about their lives.

    "Well, you had iting by performing ck magic anyway," he thought.

    With just one attack, almost all the rank-one mages were dead. The few who survived fled, but Arthur would surely go after them after he was done.

    Now the real fight began against the rank-two mages!

    There were ten in total, and even though their number was far superior to that of Arthur, they were all scared after witnessing the Blood Tide.

    It was a powerful attack that should not belong to a rank-two mage ¡ª at least not an ordinary one ¡ª so they recognized Arthur as a threat to them.

    "Who are you? What are you doing here?" one of the rank-two mages asked.

    "Me? You should be the one telling me that! You are doing ck magic, so it is normal for a demon to show up eventually, right?" Arthur said with a smirk, sending shivers down the spine of those elves.

    "How do you know about that? And how did you enter this ce? Only those with permission can pass through the barrier! And you don''t look like one of the prisoners!"

    "Cut the talking, and let''s fight!"

    Arthur guessed they were talking to buy some time, and why would he give them that chance? So, he flew toward them with his red mantle, wielding his spear.

    The way he fought was akin to a warrior, and his speed would make the life of the long-ranged mages a problem.

    One of the elves started casting his spell the moment Arthur made his move, but he was so fast, flying using his red cape, that the elf could not finish his incantations before a spear pierced his heart, killing him instantly.

    "One down, nine more to go," thought Arthur, but when he was ready to go toward the next one, a vine came from the ground, locking his legs.

    "Now! Thorn Spear!"

    Many thorns came from the ground, merging, forming what looked like a giant spear made of thorns, flying toward Arthur as fast as lightning!<novelnext></novelnext>

    There was nowhere for him to run, as some vines had locked his legs, and if he focused on destroying the vines, he would not block the uing attack.

    So, Arthur put the crimson-red spear in front of his torso, using it to block the thorns.

    The attack''s impact was too powerful, but it was still something Arthur could block ¡ª all thanks to his spear of legendary quality.

    It still hurt, with pain flowing through his entire body, but Arthur did not get hurt, so it was a good sign.

    Yet, the elf who cast the thorns was not surprised and had a smile on his face.

    "You are dead now, demon!" he said.

    That first attack was just a decoy for the next one, which Arthur could not block. It came from behind his back, a green arrow twice the size of an adult human!

    "I am fucked!"

    Arthur tried to twist his body to face the arrow and block it, but it did not work, and the arrow pierced through his torso, obliterating his te armor.

    A lot of blood spurted from his torso, creating a mess inside the room of that temple. Arthur''s vision blurred for a moment, and his head became fuzzy. Things weren''t looking good for him.

    "What will you do now? Can you still fight hurt like this?"

    The one who shot the arrow was making fun of Arthur. He was right, though, because it would be hard for Arthur to win against nine rank-two mages while being that weak, but he would take as many as he could with him!

    "I will start with that one."

    With the blood Arthur lost, it was more than enough for him to cast multiple spells, and so he did!

    An armor of blood formed around his body, giving him ayer of protection now that his te armor was a wrecking mess. It also covered his spear, making it more deadly.

    "You cannot win with only this," the elf who shot the arrow said, but something strange happened.

    The nails from his hands and feet fell, and his skin started to itch.

    "What is this?"

    Arthur smirked and said, "only a curse. Don''t worry; I will not give you a quick death."

    The elf''s skin was itching so much that he started to rip it apart, trying to scratch it. But, as he did not have his nails anymore, it was not working as intended.

    "Help, help," he yelled, and one of the elves close to the man tried to do so, but then he also got the symptoms.

    When the other elves realized that, they went in the other direction, away from the infected ones, and they even used some of their spells to make sure the two infected elves could not move.

    The third symptom was bubbled on the remaining parts of their skin, which then exploded to destroy everything with only their muscles remaining.

    As for thest part of their terrible death, all the organs inside their body liquefied, and they threw them up!

    It was horrifying! Arthur was all hurt, but the other elves wanted to avoid fighting him after witnessing such cruel methods.

    "A-A demon!"

 Chapter 411 Eye Power

    After witnessing what he had done, the elves did not want to make eye contact with Arthur. No one could me them for that, as the thing in front of them looked terrifying -- their worst nightmare.

    Arthur knew he could notst long fighting, so he chose to keep going while his body still responded. So he flew toward them, wielding his spear, and pierced it through some of the elves before they got their senses back together and retaliated.

    More spells went in Arthur''s direction, and the remaining part of his te armor was destroyed, leaving his body unprotected.

    "Hahaha, die demon. Do you think a small demon like you can stop us? We practice dark magic, and there are many worse things than you!"

    The elves returned to reality, realizing Arthur was hurt, and they still had the numbers advantage, so there was no reason for them to act like afraid kittens.

    But, as the elves focused their gazes on the youth in front of them, one, a corpse, who once was a friend of these elves, moved slightly. It was first the tip of the toe, but after a few seconds, the corpse moved as if it had been resurrected.

    Arthur smirked and blocked the uing spells with his own, a blood barrier that moved around his body, blocking attacks from all directions.

    "Fuck. This demon is hard to kill!" they yelled, unhappy as their attacks were not working as expected.

    A mistake. Another one of them, who was at the back, got sliced like bread, all thanks to the reanimated corpse Arthur had just made.

    "A-A zombie!"

    It was funny how simple it was to stir panic. All Arthur needed was a zombie, and the elves turned cockroaches, running around in circles, not knowing what to do.

    "Let''s finish the job, shall we?" thought Arthur, dashing with his spear and killing all the elves he could find.

    Before long, all the rank-two mages perished, and only a few rank-one mages remained, but those ran away as fast as they could the moment their eyesid on Arthur, a demon.

    "Find the portal, and get the hell out of here."

    Arthur searched around in the main room of that temple, looking for the portal the mysterious beast had told him about but found nothing.

    "Of course, it is hidden, it is always hidden."

    But before he could find anything useful, someone came from one of the temple''s halls, walking directly toward Arthur.

    An elf. It was easy to tell it was one, but that was not an elf that should be there inside the temple.

    "Rank three."

    Not someone Arthur could deal with, at least not yet. Still, there was nowhere for him to run, meaning the only way to get out of that ce was to face the rank-three mage and win!

    The win was a strong word for that encounter, and Arthur believed that it would be good enough if he survived.

    "You did all of this? Impressive. I would think about recruiting you if you weren''t someone I had to kill."

    "Recruiting me? No thanks. Also, can you show me where the portal out of here is?" said Arthur with a friendly face, contrary to the surrounding area, which had many corpses of dead elves.

    "The portal? How do you know about it? Well, it does not matter," the elf said, taking his hands from his pockets, "you will die here."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arthur nervouslyughed and said, "aren''t their other ways for us to deal with this? Fighting is so brutal, is not?"

    "Why didn''t you think about this before killing everyone here?" the elf said, and the anger was evident in his voice as his tone increased mid-through the sentence.

    After realizing there was no way to avoid the fight, Arthur grasped his spear and prepared himself for what was toe.

    What if the man was a rank-three mage? The only way for him to leave that ce alive was to kill the man and win the fight, no matter the cost.

    A noble act, but the moment Arthur entered a fighting stance, the elf in front of him unsheathed his sword as fast as lightning, cutting Arthur from the right shoulder to his left leg. A lot of blood spurted from that wound, and Arthur was not in two pieces because of his powerful vampire body.

    The elf sheathed his sword and said, "you are still alive, Impressive, but you will die soon."

    With his two knees on the ground and little strength to keep going, Arthur truly believed that would be the end of his avatar.

    "W-What are you doing here? With the ck magic?"

    "Now that you will die, you can know about it. We found a crypt where a god died. Can you believe that? Hehehe, all of our beliefs were shattered after finding it, but then we discovered the truth after reading the god''s book!"

    "Are you here to stop us? I am afraid it will not happen."

    Arthur was surprised after hearing that. "A god? Could it be someone from the other universe that died here?"

    That was the only exnation, and if that was the case, then resurrecting another god would be stupid. But, of course, it could not happen, and Arthur also wanted that book which belonged to the god, as it could contain a lot of good information.

    And for those two things to happen, Arthur had to win, but it was deemed impossible. The elf in front of him finished his exnation and again attacked using his sword.

    But as the sword sh almost hit Arthur, someone clicked inside him, in the spot where his new eye was. The Unseen Truth Eye, which Arthur tried to use alone, was now starting to work!

    The scene where Arthur got shed by the sword appeared inside his mind, giving him a glimpse of what would happen, but that was not everything. When Arthur returned to reality, everything around him seemed to have slowed down, and the sword sh that was almost impossible to see before was now easy to dodge.

    "Incredible! This is incredible!"

    Arthur couldn''t believe that Forbidden Eye was that much powerful and useful inbat. Arthur sidestepped the sword sh using his remaining strength, shocking the elf before him.

    "How? You can barely move! Luck, this was luck!" the elf said, attacking again using his sword, but like before, Arthur glimpsed the future, and the things around him slowed down afterward.

    It looked easy, but Arthur''s eye hurt like hell every time he used its powers. The Forbidden Eye was not something Arthur could use as he wished, and after knowing that, he needed to finish the fight as fast as possible, but how?

    Arthur did not think his attacks would work against that man, only if he were a rank-three mage.

    "That''s it! I need to advance. Plenty of corpses are here so that I can use that technique!"

    The Blood Monarch had many techniques, and some were not to be lightly used, like the curses Arthur tossed on those elves.

    Among these techniques, he wanted to try one that would boost his strength fast, and that was the only way for him to win that fight.

 Chapter 412 [Bonus ] Die And Reborn Again

    The elf did not attack again, only looking at Arthur with a puzzled face, not knowing how Arthur had done what he did.

    While he had many thoughts about it, Arthur was more concerned about the technique he would use. It was insanity, and not many people would try that.

    "You need to die, and then the technique will activate. Your power will increase, and you have thirty minutes to kill someone with simr strength, or you will die."

    That was the description of the technique Arthur wanted to use. With it, his power would increase to rank three for thirty minutes, but he had to kill the elf before him, or else he would die.

    Not many people had the guts to use such a technique, and the fact Arthur was in a second body boosted his confidence, and it would not be the end if everything went wrong.

    "Others would not have that luxury," he thought.

    The technique was rtively simple to use, and all Arthur needed was to draw a symbol on his body, a rune, and then die.

    Because the elf was still recovering his senses after what Arthur did, it was easy for him to draw the rune without the elf noticing it, using his nails to carve on the flesh.

    "I don''t know how you did it, demon, but it does not matter. You will die now, and there is no escape!" the elf said, wielding his sword again, but this time instead of attacking from afar, the man dashed toward Arthur.

    Everything happened so fast that Arthur could not dodge, and his constant eye usage got him tired, especially with the wounds all over his body, which made everything more difficult. He did not have the luxury to use his Unseen Truth Eye again, and the elf cut both arms.

    A lot of blood and a lot of pain. Arthur had once lost one arm, but never two at the same time, and it did not end there; the elf also cut both of his legs out! Arthur became a torso with a head, and the elf maniacallyughed at it.

    "You see? There is no way you can win against me. " I will end your suffering," the man shed the final time, cutting Arthur''s head off.

    For a brief moment, Arthur''s connection with his avatar vanished, and he wondered if the spell had gone wrong and his avatar was now truly dead.

    Arthur was in the dragon valley, focusing on his training, and he was almost at rank four! He was close to it.

    "My lord."

    Valethar, the dragon Arthur helped, came to see him with the news.

    "What is it?" Arthur said, opening his eyes and staring directly at a red-haired humanoid.

    "Mk and thatdy that came to see you some time ago, remember? They are certain something is up inside the Von Stein territory, something about a portal that can lead to the central continent! I don''t know what this continent is, but something else exists. The girl you are looking for, Sybille or something, is in a dungeon beneath the castle, but no one can get as close as the rank-four mages guard it!"

    "What the fuck? What did you say?"

    ~~~~

    "I¡­am¡­alive¡­?"

    Arthur, who had his pieces all over the floor, recovered his conscience and the connection with his main body, meaning the spell seeded! It was a risk shot, but there weren''t many other ways for him to deal with that rank-three mage still gazing at Arthur''s body.

    "His eye looks strange. Is it a treasure?" the elf said, but although he thought about moving and checking, he stayed in the same ce.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Why? He could not tell why, but he had a feeling inside, one of danger. Sure enough, impossible things happened right before him after that!

    Each lost limb, be it the arms, the legs, or the head, moved toward the torso, connecting it once again, and all the wounds closed, too, like a miracle.

    That was not all of it. Arthur''s aura increased significantly, and he jumped from the peak of rank two to rank three, with simr power to his main body!

    "How? This is impossible! How can you still be alive and stronger? W-What demon are you?"

    The elf could not believe what he was seeing, and differently from before when he was all cocky, now fear was evident in his eyes, and all he wanted to do was run away from Arthur, who looked like a demon to him!

    Arthur got up from the ground with his body fully recovered, and he looked down, seeing the movement of his hands, "it truly worked? This technique is like a miracle, but there is a catch. I cannot lose time!"

    Sure everything it did was extraordinary, but there was a w. Arthur had to kill someone with simr power, like the elf before him, to resurrect. So he had thirty minutes to do so.

    A risky technique considering no one could know if the adversary had an emergency escape route, spell, formation, or item. The spell would be useless if the powerful targets vanished, and Arthur would die.

    With that thought in mind, Arthur grabbed the spear on the ground near him and dashed toward the elf. The blood from the nearby corpses flew toward him, surrounding his body like armor.

    Not only that, but his te armor, which had been destroyed during the fight, also moved and recovered itself!

    "It seems the armor is not as simple as it looks. I could see iting considering it belonged to the Blood Monarch."

    The elf saw Arthuring straight to him, and was quick to react, blocking the spear by shing it with his sword, deflecting the attack to the side.

    "You are stronger also!"

    Arthur kept attacking with his crimson red spear, piercing it multiple times, but the elf kept reflecting until the blood armor around Arthur moved away from his body, and it enveloped the elf''s arm, making it so that he could not block with his sword!

    The spear pierced through his right shoulder, creating a nasty wound. Blood was flowing from it, hitting the nerves, making it much harder for the elf to keep fighting the way he was.

    The man put his left hand on his right shoulder to stop some bleeding, but it was not enough. Arthur then drew some symbols on the air, runes made of blood, and many spears came flying from the temple''s roof!

    A torrent of spears made of blood! A powerful spell from the Blood Monarch, and with that many things hitting from above, it was hard for the elf to dodge!

    Sure he tried, dodging some of the spears, but once the first one hit, the others came right after! And Arthur was still before him, preparing more attacks, making it hard for the elf to dodge both from the front and the top!

    Arthur tossed his crimson-red spear, piercing through the belly of that elf. He put both hands on his stomach and looked toward Arthur with a face of despair.

    "H-How?"

    The elf could not believe what happened, and the fight that should be easy was thest one the man would ever fight.

 Chapter 413 Leaving The Dark Forest

    After the elf died horribly, Arthur went close to the body and absorbed its essence. That was what he needed to do toplete his technique, allowing him to return to the living world fully.

    His aura of a rank-three mage vanished as the elf turned into a mummy, and its essence went directly toward the rune carved on Arthur''s skin.

    It was just a temporary level-up, one Arthur lost afterpleting the technique, but he was not feeling down because of it, as it was a great spell that saved his life.

    "There are many corpses in here with blood. I should use them for training," thought Arthur, sitting cross-legged amidst an ocean of corpses.

    Although the level-up was temporary, the environment was still excellent for his training, and as the fight against the elves had not taken long, why not use some of the free time to practice?

    Arthur meditated using the chant the Blood Monarch created, a specialized technique for those who had his inheritance. As he did that, all the blood around him flew directly toward his body, entering his mana core to strengthen it.

    The feeling of ecstasy ran through his veins, and it was something he could not let go of. A vampire, like he was, could not deny his nature, and blood was a must!

    Each time a corpse turned dry, and its blood entered Arthur''s body through his mouth, he felt stronger and stronger and closer to the rank three.

    Arthur was already at the peak of rank two before that tough fight, and after experiencing rank three with his avatar, he got even closer to it. It was just a tiny step away from it, yet it would still take him some time¡­

    ~~~~

    Two days had passed since Arthur started his meditation. At first, he did not believe it would take that long, but then his notion of time got messed up, and Arthur did not realize that much time had passed.

    The moment he opened his eyes, the three girls waiting outside him stood before him, waiting for Arthur to stop his meditation.

    "You? I told you to wait inside the magical formation," Arthur said as he got up.

    He wanted to be mad at them but remembered his aplishment: rank three! It was impossible for him to feel down or anything of the sort, so no matter what happened, his mood would be unmoved like a mountain.

    "We did. We did wait for you for about forty hours. The temple was quiet, so we came here to check. Is it okay?" one of them said, looking down, avoiding Arthur''s gaze.

    "Yeah, yeah, it''s alright. I had to recover after the fight, so I did not return that quickly. Soe, we have a portal to find."

    The three girls nodded and parted ways, each searching inside a different temple room. They were looking for the portal, and although Arthur had seen many portals, he was not sure if that one would look the same as the other portals he had found in his travels.

    "Dust all over this ce. Why do these ck magician elves don''t clean? " Arthur could not stop his thought as he sneezed with the dust the temple had collected.

    There weren''t many different rooms in that temple, only a few where those elves slept, one where they did their rituals, and a library. Arthur did not care about where they slept, but the library and ritualistic ce were interesting.

    First, he had no idea what sort of ck magic these elves were doing, but it was not that bad.

    Why? If it was something that could destroy the world, then the beast Arthur met would have stopped them long ago.

    "Maybe the beast does not care? Also, the definition of danger for someone as powerful as that beast is questionable. Perhaps it does not care if this world ends?"

    With that thought in mind, Arthur looked around the library the best he could. So he browsed through the shelves, trying to catch an exciting book that might speak about what was happening inside the temple, yet he did not find it.

    "Only ordinary magic books¡­ Maybe they did not keep the evidence here, afraid someone would eventually take over this ce?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    If that was the case, then whatever was happening with the elves in that temple was way more mysterious and dangerous than Arthur imagined.

    They had gone through the trouble of keeping all the evidence away, meaning it was not ordinary, and Arthur should not take that lightly.

    "Let me take a look at the ritual area."

    Arthur left the library after finding absolutely nothing and went to the ce where the rituals of ck magic happened.

    There, he saw some runes he did not recognize and some symbols. Then, with deft moves, Arthur grabbed his notebook and copied everything he saw that he believed was necessary.

    "I found something."

    A scream made Arthur return to his senses, and after he finished copying, he followed the scream. It was one of the three female elves that he had met inside that ce, and one of them had found something umon.

    She was standing right in front of a table with some chairs, and Arthur looked at it and could not understand what she was doing there.

    "What are you seeing that I am not?" Arthur said with a puzzled expression.

    No matter where he looked, it was just a standard room where the elves presumably ate. There was nothing more to it ¡ª well, Arthur could not realize it.

    "It''s okay for you not to see it, but I am a trained assassin for the elves, so I know," one of the elves said, and then she pointed to the chair legs, "do you see the pattern of the dust? It means they were constantly pushing the chair and the table over for some reason."

    Now that she mentioned it, Arthur realized it! The only reason it was possible to see was because of how dirty the entire temple was, and the dust had umted all over it.

    "Let''s push the table to the side."

    It was just a standard wooden table with no magic behind it, meaning moving it to the side was easy. The table was close to the wall, and after they pulled it to the side, the stones on the wall moved, and a passage opened.

    "What mechanism is this?" Arthur thought.

    "Could it be dangerous?" one of the elves asked.

    "Well, the portal must be there, so let''s go," Arthur said and went forward, being the first to go through the secret passage.

    It was a narrow passage, but it was enough for them to pass without significant problems. At the end of that passage, there was the portal!

    It looked the same as all the other portals Arthur had seen, and he did not notice anything strange around the portal.

    "I will go first, and you follow me."

    Arthur went through the portal, his vision blurred, and his head was a fuzz. But nothing else happened, and he was out of the Dark Forest, just like the three female elves.

    "I am now a rank three mage, which means I have simr power to the chief of that vige. I should look for Jake and Agatha and find out what is happening here!"

 Chapter 414 Remember Who Taught You How To Fight

    They all passed through the portal, leading into a random forest part. Arthur did not live in the area where the elves lived, so he had no idea where he was, and not even the three female elves knew for sure.

    Speaking of them, it was time to part ways after they all got out of the Dark Forest. Not a sad departure, as no one got too attached, and their meeting was just a big coincidence.

    "It''s a good thing me and Jake are linked after he sold his soul. I can use the mark to find his location," thought Arthur, gazing at the surrounding area, trying to find the right direction, but no matter where he looked, everything was just foreign to him.

    After epting his fate of being lost, Arthur used the mark he had ced on Jake, sending him a message, briefly exining what had happened and what he found out about the elves.

    Arthur was expecting an answer from Jake, but it did not happen. But, of course, that could only mean something was blocking his mark usage.

    "He is in danger! At least the tracker is working, and I now know where that elven tribe is."

    The wind made Arthur''s long hair and red mantle move with it as he flew above the greenery beyond, feeling the breeze and hearing all the animals do their unique sounds, creating that atmosphere of being out in the wild, not knowing what to expect.

    With the help of the mark Jake had, finding him turned out to be an easy task, but of course, he was still far, and it would take Arthur one day to reach his location.

    "How should I proceed with this? Rescue him and Agatha and get out, or confront the leader personally?"

    The leader of that tribe was a rank-three mage, and although he and Arthur had the same level of power, Arthur believed he would get the upper hand and win against the elf.

    But what if there were others behind this? What if there was a rank-four mage? Arthur did not know everything behind this act of dark magic. He barely knew anything rather than the fact they were doing it.

    There were too many variables, and Arthur would have to take a risk. One thing that rxed his mind was that if everything wentpletely wrong, it was just an avatar, and his main body would still be safe.

    But that thought was slowly drifting away, and now Arthur cared a lot more about his new body; losing it would be painful.

    "I need to think like this is my only life," he thought.

    Still, in the end, he would do anything to help Jake, the first to be his ''servant'' after selling his soul. Why? Well, not because he was kind-hearted, but because he had a reputation to keep!

    Why would others sell their souls in exchange for things if Arthur did not even protect those who had to serve him for eternity? It was a thing of honor to him at that point.

    So with that thought in mind, Arthur flew toward the elven tribe he had first arrived, one that was not expecting his return¡­

    ~~~~

    A young man wearing the typical armor of the elven guards rushed into the tribe''s chief house and said, "Chief, someone is out there wielding a crimson-red spear and te armor! Could it be a mercenary looking for trouble?"

    When that guard appeared out of nowhere, the chief was chilling, eating some fruits, and having fun with his woman.

    "What? A warrior?" he asked, visibly displeased by the situation, both the arrival of a mysterious person and the fact that the guard interrupted him.

    "There''s more to it. I can''t tell you why, but the man who showed up looked familiar!"

    "Someone you know?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The curiosity took the best of the elven leader, and he stopped everything he was doing and went outside to meet the ''mysterious warrior with a spear and te armor.''

    He walked toward the vige''s entrance, and before he arrived there, many other elves looked at Arthur with surprised faces. Some remembered him from some days ago, and almost all did not know why their leader tossed him into the Dark Forest anyway.

    "If the leader did it, it must have a good reason."

    That was their thought, and little did they know their leader was not someone good.

    The moment the leader''s eyeid on Arthur, he could not believe it! He had personally ordered them to toss Arthur inside the Dark Forest; no one ever escaped that ce!

    "You! How? How are you here?" the chief yelled, and the veins of his forehead popped off!

    Arthur escaping was something that questioned his authority in the tribe.

    "Our leader cannot even lock a prisoner?"

    If the others started having those types of thoughts, then eventually, others would try to use that to fight for the position of tribe''s leader, and that was not what he wanted.

    With a deep stare at the leader, Arthur said, "surprised to see me here? I also thought those elves doing their ck magic, and blood rituals would kill in there. A good thing I am a tough person, right?"

    Whisperings started around the tribe, and most wondered what Arthur was talking about.

    "ck magic?"

    Although most of them did not know or did not have evidence about ck magic, they knew something was off sometimes with their leader''s decision, but they did not question it and tried their best to believe it was the right choice.

    But now that someone was there, questioning their loyalty, then they had other thoughts in mind. What if their leader was truly doing something evil beneath their noses? Elves were a kind race and never considered doing ck magic.

    That went against everything the elves believed, and an usation like that was harsh.

    "What nonsense are you talking about? Did you go insane while inside that forest? Speaking of which, I shall take you to it again!" the elven leader said, sweat dripping down his forehead.

    Arthur could see that, as well as the others around him. Their leader was nervous when Arthur touched that subject, meaning it could be true! The leader only had the final word when the others still believed in him, but the moment their trust was broken and the entire tribe was at risk, they would do their things.

    So, one of the oldest elves, respected by everyone and the advisor of previous leaders, said, "what this young man is saying should be investigated. Violence will not happen; he must stay in our vige to help with the investigations. If something as evil as ck magic is found, the current leader, Ardreth Prestris, will be imprisoned."

    More whispers and the leader was angrier than ever.

    "What are you talking about? I am saying what will happen here, not you, old man. Your time is long passed!"

    The older elf who just spoke went silent, and he looked at the tribe leader and yelled, "yes, I am old and retired, but that does not mean I cannot kick your ass, boy. Remember who taught you how to fight!"

    Then a powerful aura spread around the area, one close to rank-four. When the leader felt that, he tossed away the thought of picking up a fight, and now was more worried on how to escape the dry situation he was in¡­

 Chapter 415 Rank Four!

    The elves in that tribe could not stop talking about the mysterious youth in their tribe and the usations toward their current chief. It was not something that had happened in a long time, and for the first time in many years, the position of the tribe''s chief could change before the chief''s retirement.

    Arthur was happy with the development ¡ª not having to fight against multiple enemies ¡ª but he was still careful toward the older man who had the power of a peak rank-three mage.

    Why? No one could know the man was trustworthy; perhaps he could be part of the dark magic. Then, after the first encounter, everyone else returned to their businesses, and only Arthur, the chief, and the older man remained.

    The trio walked together throughout the tribe and went toward the biggest tree around, the location of the tribe''s chief house. Once inside, Arthur was the first to speak, "do you know where my friend is? Agatha''s boyfriend or husband, I don''t know."

    "You mean Jake?" the chief said, sitting on his throne made of fine materials, "he left with Agatha two days ago."

    The way the chief spoke made it look like that was the truth, and Jake had left the tribe with his new lover, Agatha. But Arthur was not easily fooled, and he had the help of his mark, which said Jake was near the tribe, somewhere, hidden, and the chief was once again lying.

    Arthur smiled and said, "is that so? Do you know to where?"

    "U-uh, they did not tell me or anyone around here. It was their honeymoon, so we cannot disturb it."

    That was the worse lie Arthur had ever heard, but he still acted like a foolish youth, believing in the nonsense the man in front of him was saying. He could not share the information about his mark ¡ª it was his trump card to find Jake ¡ª so he sealed his lips and did not ask further questions.

    The older man sat in a chair, sipping some tea made of a leaf that only grew in the nearby forests, an exquisite leaf the elves sold to other ces.

    "Shall we talk about this dark magic stuff? Young man, what can you tell me about it?"

    "Well, where can I start? First, the chief of this vige tossed me in the dark forest without a motive, and don''t tell me because I am an outsider; all you need to do was ask for me to leave this tribe and not act like an idiot,"

    "Then, when I was inside the dark forest, I met some elves from other tribes, and they also said it was happening in their tribes, with chiefs tossing people into the Dark Forest with no apparent reason and plotting in the shadows,"

    "I had no idea it was about ck magic until I found a temple inside the Dark Forest and fought against some elves there. They told me about the dark magic, thinking I would lose the fight. Haha, here I am!"

    The older elf was listening to everything while sipping his tea and analyzing Arthur''s bodynguage, trying to see if what he was saying was the truth. Ardreth, the tribe''s leader, was nervous after hearing what Arthur said.

    Could it be possible for the youth in front of him to kill everyone in the temple? If that was the case, Arthur was not as simple as Ardreth had imagined.

    Also, before Ardreth could say anything, the older elf spoke, "I will send some of my people to investigate this. Don''t worry; they don''t have any attachment to this tribe, so Ardreth cannot interrupt this. In the meantime, you can stay inside the tribe, and I will keep you informed of anything new I find."

    After that, Arthur and the older man left, and someone showed Arthur a small cabin above a tree where he could stay while the investigation was happening. He exined to the older elf exactly how to find the temple and warned him to be careful with the chief.<novelnext></novelnext>

    This older elf gave Arthur a vibe of being someone he could trust, but he still acted carefully around the man before finding more information about him.

    And speaking about finding more information, that was precisely what Arthur would do once night arrived, and in the meantime, he sat cross-legged inside his small cabin at the top of a tree, meditating while waiting for the time toe.

    ~~~~

    The peaceful dragon valley shocked the entire demon continent. It was a day like any other, and the dragons, who often stayed indoors just sleeping and eating, were focused on their training and were working together with the dwarves, who left their mountains to live with the dragons!

    It turned out the dragon mountains had plenty of ores to extract, more than any other ce in the demon continent ¡ª no one was crazy enough to mine the ores before with dragons flying around.

    That day, inside the valley, something extraordinary happened. Arthur was meditating near the waterfall after having sex with his wives, as he did every day, and with the help of his new dragon priests, who were granting him power, he finally did it!

    The moment his existence passed from rank three to rank four, the whole mountain trembled with it! Arthur, who was in his human form, changed to his dragon form without activating it, and the clouds above the area turned ck, pouring down a heavy rain with thunders and a mighty wind along with it!

    It was like the end of the world, and the dragon known as the eater of worlds was finally restoring some of its former power! The dragon mountains and valley weren''t the only ces affected by the current change. All the powerhouses inside the demon continent felt the powerful aura spreading throughout the continent!

    There was no denial. No matter if they were at the same level as Arthur, now rank four, a dragon was still a dragon, an existence they could notpare to!

    All the other dragons flew up together with Arthur, and when they looked at the mighty ck-scaled dragon, they bowed their heads down, and although they saw Arthur as their king, now, it was official!

    The first dragon in ages to achieve the rank four after all the terrible things that happened to his race! It was a mark on the history of the dragons.

    Arthur roared and looked toward his fellow dragons, and his booming voice echoed inside the valley, "I am the first one to reim some of my past glory, but I will not be the only one! You, all of you, will fly  along with me, and together, we will take back what is ours!"

    "For the glory of the dragons, we will show them how mighty we are!"

    The other dragons roared in response, and the adrenaline took them over! It was just the first step, but it was still important for them to take!

    After the rain clouds disappeared and all the dragons were calmer, Arthur sat inside his cabin, thinking about his next moves.

    "I will visit the Von Stein family now; let me see if they can stop me!"

 Chapter 416 A Trip To The Von Stein Family

    "Husband, are you sure you want to go there alone?" Jane asked, cuddling Arthur''s head.

    "Yes. You two need to focus on reaching rank four. You are close, right? After that, we can fight side-by-side against the other rank four mages. Before that, it is too dangerous!"

    Arthur wanted to have his wives near him, but he would confront two rank-four mages, and both Wisa and Jane were almost reaching rank-four, but they weren''t quite there yet. So it would be best if he went to the Von Stein family alone.

    "We should focus on our training, Jane. After reaching rank four, we will have enough power to fight against anything on this!"

    After a brief conversation, it was settled. Arthur would be the only one leaving, and Jane and Wisa would stay inside the dragon valley ¡ª one of the safest ces in the entire continent ¡ª focusing on their training, trying their best to reach rank four as fast as possible before the big war started.

    "Now let me check my stats," thought Arthur.

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Bloodline: Dragon (Legendary cidusax), Monlog Giant]

    [Rank: Official Mage (4)]

    [Level: 150]

    [Health: 140000/140000]

    [Mana: 0/0]

    [Spiritual Force: 400]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 1014]

    [Agility: 939]

    [Vigor: 934]

    [Wisdom: 1178]

    [Charm: 936]

    [Free points: 235]

    Each of his attributes had increased by 300 points after he reached rank four! Not only that, but he still had some free points to use, and with his Spiritual Force higher, all of his spells were way stronger!

    Also, the moment Arthur leveled up to the next rank, he could within his bloodlines strengthen themselves, and that would only bring him even more benefits, benefits he still had to find out!

    "I am feeling good! My power will increase even more after I merge with my avatar, and I will have two of the Forbidden Eyes, and the one with my avatar is awesome to use while fighting!"

    Before leaving, Arthur said goodbyes to his wives, giving them hugs and kisses, but he also warned the other dragons and dwarves about what he would do. No oneined about it; they all knew the war was inevitable.

    "Stay safe, husband."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You too."

    For the first time in a long time, Arthur left the dragon mountains, and surprisingly, those adventurers who were seeking the inheritance a long time ago were still nearby, hiding, waiting for the chance to speak with one of the dragons. Yet, they never left until Arthur did!

    He flew in his human form for about 500 km before seeing the first town in the distance, but before he could even reach it, some adventurers came flying from the nearby area, stopping right in front of him.

    Some wore robes and had staffs in their hands, while others had weapons like swords, bows, and axes. It was like a party of an RPG, and Arthur could not wait to see what they would do.

    "Stop right there, dragon! We know that you possess something that should not be yours, so please, give it to us without a fight!" one of them said.

    Arthur gazed at each of them, and when their eyes made contact with his, they trembled with fear. Those adventurers were rank-three mages. Not a weak party, of course, and they could do almost anything in the demon continent, but facing Arthur was not one of those things.

    If he were still at rank three, perhaps there would be problems facing that many at the same time ¡ª there were around 14 adventurers in front of him ¡ª but now that he was at rank four? There was no way they would pose any threat to him at all.

    He looked at them and said, "are you trying to stop me with only this party? What non-sense. Also, I don''t have this thing you are talking about."

    "Nonsense? You might be a dragon, meaning you are way more powerful than the average, but we are fourteen adventurers versus only one dragon. How can you win against us?"

    Arthurughed out loud and said to the person that had just spoken, presumably the leader of the party, "only one dragon? How can I win against all of you? Well, what about being at rank four?"

    Before the adventurers had time to react, Arthur spread his aura, and they could barely breathe! It was rare for anyone to feel the aura of a rank four mage, as they usually kept quiet inside their territory, but the aura of a rank four dragon? That was something they had only heard in legends!

    If the dragons still had their past strength, they would indeed be ruling not only the demon continent but all the other continents, but that was not the case anymore. The dragon had lost most of their kind after the gods attacked, and although a few of them survived, their powers weren''t the same, and all of their techniques had been lost.

    But after Arthur returned with the identity of cidusax, the once lord of the dragons, all the dragons recovered their will to get stronger and reim what belonged to them.

    The adventurers, ready to pick up a fight with Arthur, bowed before him after feeling his aura, showing their respect for someone who was way more powerful than them.

    "Y-You reached rank four! The first dragon to do so in ages! T-This will change the entire continent!"

    They weren''t fools. A new powerhouseing into y, especially it being from the dragon race, would shake the entire continent, and now that almost everyone was against the Von Stein family, who were mistreating others, especially the humans who they saw as cattle, they wished the dragons to make those vampires learn their ce.

    "Impressive, right? So, as I told you, I don''t have the inheritance anymore. Can I go, or will you try something against me?" Arthur said, crossing his arms in front of that group of adventurers as if he was saying, ''dare to try something.''

    "N-No, of course, you can go. We are so sorry to bother you. If you wish anything, you cane to the Adventurers Guild and speak with our master. She will dly help you with anything you want."

    "She? Who is she?" Arthur asked.

    He had never heard about the leader of the Adventurers Guild, as it was not only in the demon continent but in all the others too! Although Arthur was sure the leader of one in the demon continent was not the same, each continent had its own rules.

    "We don''t know how she looks, but we know she is powerful! I will try to send her a message about you. If you excuse us, I will not take more of your time."

    Arthur was curious about the mysterious leader of the huge Adventurers Guild, but he would look for that after he paid his visit to the Von Stein family.

    Nothing would stand in his way, and there was no way the Von Stein family would leave the battle unharmed. They were not only harming the other races, but they had done something personal to him, and for that, they would pay with their lives!

    "Sybille, my love, I aming for you!"

 Chapter 417 Showing Them Who The Boss Is

    The Von Stein family territory was somewhat far from the dragon valley, but with the speed Arthur now had, it was not a big deal to him! He kept using his teleport spells ¡ª he did not need to wait for others to catch up with him, so there was no reason to hinder his speed ¡ª and arrived at the Von Stein territory within two days.

    When he got there, no one knew who he was, and he looked like a human, meaning the vampires were not fond of him.

    "What are you doing in front of the castle, huh? We are getting your blood tomorrow, not today!" the castle guard said arrogantly.

    Arthur found it funny, considering he could turn that vampire into nothing with just one hand.

    "I am looking to pay a visit to the leader of the Von Stein family," Arthur said.

    "Someone who wants to speak with our leader? Who do you think you are?"

    The vampire then unsheathed his sword and pointed it toward Arthur, "if you leave now, I will not throw you into the dungeon and turn you into a blood source!"

    Arthur could not believe a random guard from the castle had said that to him. Was that treatment only because he was a human? The Von Stein family seemed to be getting worse by the day, but it was a good thing Arthur was there to stop them.

    "Look, weak little inferior being. I will not kill you because I am in a good mood right now but speak with me like that again, and I will make you wish you were dead! Now, pass the message to your leader that the lord of the dragons is here to chat with him. If he does not wee me, I must destroy your castle, rats."

    Only a few beings could have the air of superiority, and the majestic lord of the dragons was one of those beings. So when the guard heard what Arthur said, he believed it was a joke, but after seeing Arthur''s serious face, he started questioning his thoughts.

    "Could he be telling the truth? If so, then I am screwed!" the guard thought.

    He could not be certain Arthur was indeed a dragon, but there was no reason for him to push the subject further and act more like a douchebag when there was a chance of the youth in front of him being a dragon. Why risk it? So, the guard swallowed his pride and went inside to warn the Von Stein family leader about Arthur''s arrival.

    "Leader," he said as he rushed inside the room where the leader usually stayed.

    Only a few vampires had the authority to go inside to speak with him; a simple guard was not one of those people. But if something huge happened ¡ª like the arrival of a dragon ¡ª the guard had the authority to warn the leader.

    "What is it? If it is unimportant, you will be punished; you know that, right?"

    "I-It''s important! A youth is in front of the gate and ims to be the lord of the dragons. He said he would burn this castle down if you don''t wee him!"

    "What? This youth has guts," the leader said, leaving his room and going straight to the castle''s gate.

    The leader did not believe the youth in front of his castle was the lord of the dragons, just like the guard did not, but there was still a tiny chance he could be, and for that, there was no need to take the risk.

    "But what if it is the lord of the dragons? Who does he think he is? I am the leader of the Von Stein family, and the dragons don''t have a saying in this continent anymore," he thought.

    Dragons were the superior race, not only in the demon continent but in the itself, but that was long ago! Despite the dragon''s greatness, they did not have many of them left, and most of their treasures and techniques were lost. Also, he thought no dragons would reach rank four without resources. They were powerful, but they demanded specific ingredients to get stronger, which would be impossible for them now.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The vampire stopped in front of the gate, and when he looked at Arthur, he could feel something was off. Why? No one heid his eyes on could escape his scanning, and no matter how he looked at Arthur, it was just an ordinary youth with no manaing out of his body.

    "This is impossible. Not even rank four mages can escape from my eyes. Could he be¡­ rank five? No, that''s impossible for this world."

    "Who are you?" the leader asked.

    Arthur smiled and said, "didn''t the guard tell you this?"

    "He told me a story about you being the lord of the dragons, and don''t get me wrong, but I don''t trust his wordspletely. Who are you?"

    The atmosphere between the two got strange, and it was like the leader of the Von Stein family would attack him at any second.

    "Telling you might not work, so why don''t I just show you?" Arthur said.

    At first, the other party did not understand the meaning behind those words, but then everything became clear in the next few seconds. The frail body of the youth turned into a mighty ck-scaled dragon as giant as the castle the vampires were living in! Its roar echoed in the surrounding area, and when that guard who mistreated Arthur heard it, he dropped the sk of blood he was drinking, and his entire body trembled with fear!

    "N-No way!"

    Not only he but all the others inside the castle heard it, and when they went outside or looked through the castle windows and saw that immense ck dragon, looking as big as a mountain, staring at them, they could not believe what they were seeing!

    Some of them only heard stories about the dragons, and no one had seen one in person, and those who did, well, they had never seen one as immense as the one standing in front of the castle.

    "I-Impossible."

    The Von Stein family leader saw the same thing as everyone else, yet he did not believe his eyes.

    Arthur looked at him, who was like an ant in front of a tree, and said, "I hope you can invite me in for a conversation."

    After that mighty disy, the leader would invite him, "pardon me. I am the lord of this castle, Harker. Please,e in."

    Arthur returned to his human form, smiled, and slowly walked toward the castle''s gates, going inside without anyone trying to stop him. Harker, a rank-four mage, personally walked along with him, going toward his private section in the castle.

    Once there, someone else was waiting for them. An older-looking vampire, which was ancient. It was the other rank-four mage of the Von Stein family and one that was even stronger than Harker. Arthur was at a disadvantage there but was not the slightest worried about it, as he believed in his strength.

    "Now, shall we start our meeting?" Arthur said, choosing one of the chairs in the meeting room without asking.

 Chapter 418 [Bonus ] Dragon Dominance

    "Why are you here, if I may ask?" the ancient vampire said, analyzing Arthur from head to toe.

    Harker, the leader in name, was not the rank four mage Arthur was more concerned about. Instead, the ancient vampire in front of him was the real problem. He was the ancestor of the Von Stein family, and although Harker was the leader, he was not the one in charge.

    "I am only here to know you better and speak in a friendly tone. We, the dragons, are returning to the big shots of this continent, so it was normal for us toe to see the strongest," Arthur said, tapping his fingers on the table.

    He was not necessarily lying, but he was there to find out where Sybille was, but the only way for him to do that was in the shadows, with the Blue Rose Order! So Mk was out doing his things, but Tessa, Leonard, and Mikael should be returning soon, and the werewolf army they had underneath the castle would be helpful if Arthur wanted to attack the Von Stein family from the back.

    "Is that so? No interior motives or things you want from us? Speaking of which, something valuable that belongs to me is missing, and it is said to be a treasure of the dragons. May I know if you have it?"

    Arthur quickly recalled talking about the treasure Mk gave him, which he did not have the key to open, but it was indeed something incredible as the Alliance was the one with the key.

    "No, I don''t have this treasure of yours, but what if I did? If it belongs to the dragons, then I should have it! If you find me, I will dly ept it as a gift," he said, causing the ancient vampire to burn angrily.

    "Haha, of course, I will do that. I can see you met my son, Harker. I am stair. And you?"

    "You can call me cidusax. Now, how is the n for the central continent''s invasion going? The dragons now are a part of it too."

    "Oh?"

    stair was surprised to see that Arthur knew about the invasion. The dragons had lived in seclusion from the rest of the continent, so most of them did not have the information as the other races had.

    "It is doing pretty good. We, the Von Stein family, have a personal portal which we are using to send our army to start attacking some viges of the central continent, trying to get as much territory as we can," stair said, and the moment he did, Arthur''s heartbeat increased.

    It was not a surprise to him the topic of the portal, but he did not know they were using it already to send troops! What if the people he knew were in danger? That made his mind uneasy, and he wanted to return to the central continent as fast as he could, but Arthur could not, as there were still things he needed to do.

    "Really? That I did not know about. Do you want me to send some of my dragons to help you?"

    Arthur hoped to send someone trustworthy, like Valethar, to take care of the people he cared about the most in the central continent, not allowing them to get hurt, but then stair said, "there is no need for it, thank you." Which broke all of his ns.

    Still, he did not get angry about it ¡ª at least not in front of the two vampires ¡ª and continued speaking with them as typically as possible.

    "I see. I hoped to stay here for a few days to get to know you better and see the continent''s current situation. Would that be a problem?"

    The way Arthur spoke made the two vampires narrow their eyes, and it was not a request they could refuse. If they did, a war against the dragons could ur, which was not ideal in their current situation.

    Dragons were still an unknown piece in the board, and the Von Stein family did not know the extent of their powers, so picking up a fight with them was not a good idea. What if they had more than one rank-four dragon? Then the Von Stein family would vanish from the map in a day!<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Of course. No problem at all. You can stay here as long as you like. Harker will guide you to your room," stair said.

    Arthur smiled because he already knew they would ept his presence there, and now, it was only a matter of time before he found Sybille and the attack on the Von Stein family to happen.

    ~~~~

    The first night inside, the elven tribe came, and with it, Arthur left his cabin during nighttime, looking for more information about what was happening inside the elven tribes and where Agatha and Jake were.

    Before leaving his tree house, Arthur used his senses to look around, and sure enough, many elves were trying to act as normal as possible, but Arthur knew they were spies sent there to keep an eye on him!

    One pretended to care for his garden while the other drank something at a table near Arthur''s house. Only a stupid person would not notice their gazes directed at him from time to time.

    The lights of his house were still up, and because of that, they knew he was inside, presumably doing something to pass the time. So, Arthur turned it off and appeared on the house window with something simr to a pajama. When the spies saw that, they understood he was going to bed but remained looking at his house, even if Arthur was asleep.

    When Arthur first arrived in the tribe, and they instantly tossed him inside the Dark Forest, the elves did not have much contact with him. Thus they did not know he was a vampire! So it was only normal for someone to sleep during the night, and when Arthur did that, they did not see it as strange or unusual.

    But that was only part of his ns! After closing all the windows, Arthur changed back to his te armor and red mantle, but he also put on a long ck hooded cloak to hide his armor and cape, as these would get too much attention.

    Arthur used his stealth spells, making his body invisible, and after that, jumped through the back window of his house with agile movements, with no one noticing a single thing. He knew Jake was still nearby, and if he was there, then Agatha should be too, but where?

    "Usually, they are inside underground dungeons, but I don''t see any entrance around here," thought Arthur, jumping through the trees so high no one could see him, even if they could see through his invisibility spell.

    It was a pain in the ass because Jake was locked in a ce that made his mark useless, so they could not exchange messages. Arthur was feeling hopeless, but when he looked down from the tree top, he saw two elven children whispering to each other.

    "Are you sure you heard that? Screams?"

    "Yes, I did. What if the forest spirits took someone? We need to help them."

    "But we are only kids. Can''t we let this to the adults to handle?"

    The kid who heard the screams had the face of someone who wanted to go on an adventure, so the other kid, his friend, decided to go along.

    "Fine. Let''s investigate these screams, but we must return before it gets too dark."

 Chapter 419 Apocalypse (1)

    "What are these kids doing sote?" thought Arthur, looking at them from the top of the tree.

    He heard the brief conversation between the two kids, with one speaking about hearing screams, and the first thing that came to his mind was Jake and Agatha.

    So Arthur followed these two kids during the night, and no one noticed a thing. So if powerful mages could not feel his presence, how would two kids?

    They moved outside the tribe, inside the nearby forest where the elves usually hunt or the kids used it to y hide-and-seek. The kids moved like they knew the forest well, but it was still easy for Arthur to follow them, considering their slow movements and his keen senses.

    The kids stopped in front of a specific tree, and one of them said, "this is the ce. I heard screamsing from this tree! I know it sounds crazy, but I am telling you the truth."

    Now that the two kids were there, the screams had stopped, making it look like the other kid was making things up.

    "Let''s get back home. It iste, but you can show me tomorrow, okay?"

    "Okay¡­"

    Arthur watched from above as the two kids returned to their vige, and although there were no screams at that moment, Arthur knew that kid would not tell lies. Something was wrong with that tree, and he would find out.

    So, he descended from the tree top, and went in front of that specific tree, trying to hear something simr to a scream, just like the kid said. But nothing happened.

    "Let''s see if there''s something different with the tree then," thought Arthur, moving around that gigantic tree, trying to see if there were any marks or strange things about it.

    Nothing. The tree looked exactly like a regr tree, and even after opening up a small hole in it and going inside, it still looked like a normal tree.

    "No, this can''t be right. What am I missing here?"

    No matter where he looked, the tree looked like a regr one with nothing weird.

    "Could the kid mistake the tree? Everything looks the same here, and it''s dark, so that might be the case."

    Arthur was too focused on that tree, but as he looked around, he noticed something weird. Some trees formed a circle, and inside the circle of trees, there were no other trees; it was in! And the tree the kid said he had heard screams from was one of the trees that formed the circle.

    "Maybe it is not the tree, but what is in the middle of the circle."

    With that idea in mind, Arthur went toward the exact ce that should be the middle of the circle, and then he used his hands to dig. Considering his body''s power, digging was not difficult for him, but everything would be easier if he knew how to control the earth.

    At first, nothing happened, and Arthur dug just ordinary soil, but that changed when his hands hit something more robust. A rock, and one that looked like the walls of a dungeon!

    "They built a dungeon underneath this forest? But where is the entrance? I don''t think I am using the right one," thought Arthur as he saw a small trapdoor near the cobblestone wall he could use to get inside.

    He did not know that the trapdoor was the emergency exit of the dungeon in case something happened, and he was using it as a way in.

    "What are you doing here?" a voice came behind him.

    Arthur was so focused on finding what was in the middle of that strange circle that he had been careless with his surroundings, not thinking someone could show up.

    No one should show up indeed, but the person who spoke behind him was one of the people watching his house in the elven vige, and for some reason, they found out he was not there! Or it was just a coincidence for that man to be there at that time, but either way, Arthur would have to deal with him, or else things would get out of hand.

    Without overthinking, Arthur turned around and dashed toward the man in ck, wielding his spear, trying to kill him as fast as he could. It surprised the other party, not because of the sudden attack, but the power behind Arthur''s strike!

    The elf tried to block it, casting a wooden spell that created a wall of vines, but the crimson-red spear cut through it quickly, and the only reason the elf did not get hit was that he was fast to move out of the way, avoiding the spear.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Whoa, you are powerful, I thought you were just a rank two, not a rank three."

    "No talking, more fighting."

    "You will not win against me. Perhaps you can kill me, but all the others wille here and know about you at that time! Haha, you los-"

    Before finishing his sentence, a sword passed through the elf''s chest. He looked down and could not believe someone had sneaked up on him.

    "How? Who are you?"

    He fell to the ground, lifeless. Even Arthur was surprised to see that, but everything became more apparent when he saw the person who attacked the elf.

    "Leonard! How did you find me?"

    "Brat, are you telling me I am useless?"

    "Leonard! How are you rank three?"

    "Breaking through the rank 2? Just a few weeks apart, and you are getting dumber."

    "¡­"

    "Let''s go; we must leave this ce. Big things are happening, and you don''t even imagine! I had recently visited the dragons. Crazy, right? They are gigantic and majestic and superior, ha. I wish I were a dragon¡­."

    "Anyway, we need to return to the Von Stein family."

    "I still have things to do here. Two people to save, to be more precise, and uncover why the elves are doing ck magic."

    "ck magic? The elves? No, no, no, everything makes sense now! Arthur, we have a huge problem!"

    "Problem? Why is that?"

    "The Von Stein family! They are using a portal to send troops to another continent to start a war! But this is not the worse part. They are also doing ck magic, and I bet they are working with the elves then."

    "What? Do you know why they are doing this?"

    "Yes, I do, and that is where the problem is. They want to open a  temporary portal of the Dream Realm and get all the beasts out to destroy the entire world!"

    ~~~~

    Arthur''s main body was inside the Von Stein family castle, and he left his room to explore it, perhaps finding more about Sybille''s location. At that time, he looked up in the sky and saw how the clouds moved in strange ways, and a gigantic portal of orange color opened up in the sky!

    "What is that?"

    It was happening as his avatar spoke with Leonard, so he quickly realized it was a portal leading to the Dream Realm!

    Everyone was looking at the sky, trying to understand what was that portal which covered the entire sky, but then, many beasts flew out of it, and some had the aura of a rank four mage¡­.

 Chapter 420 Apocalypse (2)

    The portal was visible in the demon continent and the entire world! People all across the globe could see it in the sky, and it was customary to think that it was the end of the world they knew.

    "We are all dead! The end of times is near!"

    They yelled from different ces, in othernguages, but their perception was the same. It did not look like a good situation, and even Arthur, someone confident in his strength, was scared!

    "Leonard, the portal¡­ they¡­ they already opened it!" Arthur said, pointing at the sky with his right finger.

    He did not want to admit it or recognize what was happening before his eyes, but there was no denial. The portal Leonard was talking to opened, and they were toote to stop it.

    "Fuck. What should we do now?" Leonard said.

    Arthur calmed down after a deep breath, "we should first get my friends who are trapped down here," he said, and Leonard nodded in response, agreeing with whatever Arthur was suggesting, even though he did not know who these friends were.

    "They are down there? Let''s go now; this is the best opportunity. The dungeon guards will surely go outside to see what is happening, so we have a chance."

    It was the same thought Arthur had in mind, so he and Leonard went inside the dungeon, using the small entrance he had found a few minutes before their conversation after digging it.

    A tiny one and each one had to go separately, which hindered their movements by a little, but nothing that should get in their way. The world was ending, after all, and the elves were not concerned about guarding some prisoners.

    "Are you sure they are here? We have other things to do with this whole end of the world thing."

    "I am sure, trust me. Also, do you know how to stop this portal?" Arthur asked.

    While his avatar was there, his main body was inside the Von Stein family, and if they were the ones who started this mess, then indeed, their territory would have the answer on how to stop it.

    Also, his main body was the only one at rank four ¡ª his avatar was still in the third rank ¡ª so it was not like he could win against the horde of beasts using his avatar.

    "I am unsure, but the Von Stein family is behind this thing, so we have to return to the castle and stop this before the situation gets irreversible. I bet Tessa, her father, Mk, and the entire Blue Rose Order are already thinking of a way to stop this."

    "I hope they are because there is no reason to kick the Von Stein family out of themand chain if there''s no world to rule."

    Leonard did not say a word afterward, and both focused on finding Jake and Agatha. So, they sneaked inside the dungeon''s tunnels, looking everywhere for Arthur''s friends, and although the jail was big, there weren''t that many prisoners around.

    A handful of cells with elves Arthur had never seen, and two of them he had, Jake and Agatha. They were in separate ones, and they could not hold their tears when they saw Arthur.

    "Arthur! You are here to save us?" Jake said, kneeling on the damp harsh dungeon floor, with his clothes ragged, especially in the knee parts.

    Not only Jake but all the other prisoners there saw Arthur as their savior, and they all asked for help.

    "Please, get us out of here! The elves are insane and practicing some weird stuff. We did not do anything, only seek the truth, and look what they did to us?"

    Arthur did not know if he should believe in these other elves, but Jake, who could not lie to him after selling his soul, said, "they are speaking the truth, Arthur. This is a prison built only for those seeking answers who disagreed with how the elves were acting!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    He looked at all of them and said, "Alright, everyone. I know you are happy to leave this prison, but something is happening outside! A huge portal opened up in the sky, and beasts came from it. We can safely say this could be the end of the world, and I will not let you die inside this ce like rats."

    Arthur then opened up each cell, yet all the elves inside were still shocked, trying to process the words they had just heard.

    Some of them believed it was only a joke, and of course, that was what everyone on the wanted to believe in, but the facts right in front of their eyes were pointing to something else, and when all of them went outside, seeing the portal with their eyes, they believed in Arthur''s words.

    "This¡­ The world is truly ending!"

    ? They all ran away from that forest and dungeon, going as fast as they could, looking for their families. Agatha wanted to do the same, and Jake went with her.

    "Are you sure you don''t want toe with me? You know you have to obey me," Arthur said when he and Jake were alone.

    "I know, I know, you are my master, and I will do anything for you, but before that, I need to keep Agatha safe, her family safe. Can I do that? Also, if the world is ending, a powerhouse like you should be in the battle, not worrying about me!" Jake said, looking at Arthur with fiery eyes.

    "All right. You shall go, but if this world does not end, you must keep serving me, understood? And keep that love of yours safe, will you?"

    Jake smiled, "you betcha," and then he left, running away with Agatha, looking for her family.

    All the elves left, leaving only Arthur and Leonard in there, who knew exactly what their next moves should be.

    "We have to return to the Von Stein castle, now!" he said, jumping up high and flying away with magic''s help.

    Arthur did the same, but he flew using his red mantle, and when he passed by Leonard, he grabbed him by the arm, "we don''t have much time; we have to go faster!"

    Leonard did not have a saying in that as Arthur increased his speed using his red mantle,  and the two vanished on the horizon.

    ~~~~

    The massive portal in the sky was even more significant when looking at it from the Von Stein family castle ¡ª that was its origins, after all.

    Arthur looked at it, and with the help of his avatar and the exnation given by Leonard, he knew the answers to stop whatever was happeningy in the very castle he was in.

    "I must hurry," he thought as he wandered around in the castle, trying to look for answers, yet before he could do anything, the two rank four mages appeared before him.

    Harker and stair, the two rank four vampires who took care of the Von Stein family. Judging by the look on their faces, they weren''t there to say hello, or ask how Arthur''s stay was going.

    "cidusax, may I ask what you are doing?" stair, the ancient vampire, asked.

    Arthur looked at him and smiled, "don''t you see? You are the ones who opened up this portal, and I am the one looking for a way to stop it."

    When he said that, both parties went silent, staring at each other with hatred.

 Chapter 421 Who Are You? What Are You?

    The tense atmospherested for some time, yet no one moved. Despite being powerful vampires, Harker and stair knew the dragons were not the type of beasts one could go against, especially if they were in a simr level of power.

    They did not know Arthur''s true power, and suddenly starting a fight there would not benefit any of them.

    "You were the ones who opened up the rift, right?" Arthur asked, but he was almost sure that was the case, as Leonard was the one who told him that.

    "No, we did not," stair said.

    That silence repeated, and Arthur''s mind worked at full speed to understand the situation. The way stair spoke made it seem like it was the truth. Arthur saw no strange reactions, even with his keen dragon senses. But, despite all the information he had, it seemed the ancient vampire was telling the truth.

    Arthur looked at him and said, "this is impossible. Everyone knows your Von Stein family is trying to take over the demon continent, and guess what? A rift that brings the end of this world appears right above your castle. What a coincidence!"

    Harker, beside stair, took the chance and said, "you may not believe in us, but we are telling the truth! You are right about us wanting to get control over the demon continent and wage war against the central continent, but we did not start the apocalypse. We did not open that rift!"

    "How can I believe you? What proof do you have for me?"

    Only a stupid person would believe in just the words of a liar. Arthur knew these two in front of him were not good people, and he would only trust the terms of those who were. But that did not mean they could not convince him after sharing truthful information that could prove their point.

    The vampires thought awhile, and then stair said, "we have proof. There is an order called The Blue Rose Order, and we have captured some of its members, with one being a duke here. We believe they are the ones behind this. Follow me; I will show you."

    Arthur frowned after hearing that. He knew about the Blue Rose Order, as he was a member! But they never spoke about opening up a portal that would bring beasts to their world, as that was just something for crazy people to do.

    They casually walked inside the castle, not caring for the screams outside as some of the beasts who came from the portal were on the ground now, and a fight was breaking out. That was happening worldwide, but not a single rank four beasts hade out of the rift yet, so all the rank four mages needed to do was move their hands a little bit, and all the beasts would die horribly.

    stair took the lead, and they eventually reached a dungeon area that Arthur had never seen before, hidden behind a secret passage inside the room where both Harker and stair lived.

    It was a secret ce guarded by many magical formations, which even Arthur would have to take some time to break through.

    There was a staircase behind the secret passage ¡ª like all dungeons ¡ª and it led to a ce with many cells and some prisoners.

    Mikael, his daughter Tessa, and some other members of the Blue Rose Order that Arthur had yet to know.

    "These are the ones I told you about, those who are in some kind of secret order, trying to take over this castle and this world, it seems," stair said.

    But when stair and Harker looked at Arthur to see how he was reacting to all of it, Arthur had his gaze on something else instead of someone else.

    A man in another cell was lying on the ground, visibly dead. What shocked Arthur was the appearance of that man. It was someone he knew.

    "Leonard!!!???"

    ~~~~

    "Hahaha, this old man finally did it!"

    An old man left his personal space with a joyful smile.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Father, did you reach it? Rank 4, I mean?"

    "Of course I did! I cannot wait for that brat, hum, lord of dragons to see my aplishments! I can speak with him now that my power has increased!"

    Nefion had trained every day since Arthur had to leave the central continent. It was impossible for others in that continent to reach rank four without proper techniques, but for Nefion? It was not.

    He was a mighty dragon who had lost his power a long, long time ago, and he was slowly getting it back! It was a matter of time before Nefion was again at the highest rank possible for his race, the dragons!

    He and Eleonora were preparing to rejoice after that aplishment, yet something strange appeared in the sky, which caught Nefion''s attention immediately.

    Others may not know, but when Nefionid his eyes on the rift in the sky, he knew it was the Dream Realm!

    "I-I know that ce. I went there once a long time ago; this is not good."

    "What is it, father? Are we in danger?" Eleonora asked as her breathing became irregr, and she was getting nervous at the sudden appearance of a rift in the sky.

    "Not now, sweetheart; we need to contact Arthur, NOW!"

    Nefion could establish contact with Arthur with his new powers, but that would still require some preparations. That is why he and Eleonora went on that mission as fast as possible before the situation became impossible to ovee.

    ~~~~

    Arthur was flying with Leonard, carrying him along as his red mantle could fly faster. But, as his main body saw Leonard''s body inside that cell, Arthur''s avatar stopped mid-air and created some distance from Leonard.

    "Huh?" Leonard said, looking toward Arthur.

    "What happened? Are you alright?" Leonard asked, yet got no answer. Arthur just stood there, looking at him, trying his best to see through that disguise, yet it was impossible, no matter how hard he tried.

    "You are not Leonard. Who are you? What are you?" Arthur said as he grabbed his crimson-red spear and pointed it toward Leonard.

    "What? What do you mean? I am Leonard. Please, put the weapon down, and let''s talk," Leonard said, gesturing for Arthur to put his weapon down, but he did not listen.

    "Cut the crap, and tell me who you are, now!"

    After a brief moment, Leonard started tough like a maniac, "how did you discover I am not the real Leonard?"

    Then the person in front of him reverted its appearance, and when Arthur saw it, he could not believe his eyes. So that person was someone he knew long ago, someone he thought was dead!

    It was Captain ridge! One of the first influential pirates Arthur met was when he got lost in the archipgo. He remembered that time on the ind when everything was destroyed after the fight with the Doom Order, and ridge was supposed to be dead!

    "I am ridge, you do not know me, but you will. Tell me, do you believe in demons? I thought it was only stories, but when I was almost dying on a desert ind, one of them came to talk with me, giving me power. It saved me! And now, my task is to bring the end to this world!"

 Chapter 422 [Bonus ] Beatrice Neel

    The shock Arthur had was hard to hide, as ridge was someone who had been a part of his life, his journey, but for him, it was someone he would never see again ¡ª ridge was supposed to be dead.

    But now he had resurged from the ashes and was responsible for opening up a rift in the sky, with beasts from the Dream Realming out of it!

    "You are the one who opened the rift, right?" Arthur said, and his precise guess impressed ridge.

    "Not bad. You seem smarter than the others, but unfortunately, you have to die," ridge said as he moved his right hand, and a spectral sword appeared in his hand.

    Arthur did not like where the situation was going, especially considering that ridge was likely to be a rank four mage, which his avatar could not go against at that moment.

    "Will this be the end of my avatar?" thought Arthur as he tried to devise a solution, but there was none.

    If his main body were there or could go there using some method, Arthur would have a way to circle his dire situation, but that was just a pipe dream. There was no way his main body would appear there, and no one was around to save him.

    "Any final words?"

    "I¡­"

    "Helloooo? Can you hear me? Helloooo?"

    A voice inside Arthur''s mind was telling him something in hisst moments. At first, he believed it was just a hallucination, which wouldn''t be surprising as he would face his end in a few seconds, but the more that voice spoke, the more alive it became.

    "Who are you?" Arthur said inside his mind.

    "Finally! I have been trying to contact you since we met, yet you did not hear it. Are you deaf or something? You must know my voice is tired after yelling so much, and this situation is not good. I could have died, and that would be dangerous, really, really dangerous. It would be best if you thought more about my life. You see, I may be an ancient ring, but I am alive, and I was once a mighty creature before I died. Anyway, these are just stories. Also, why is this person in front of us looking like he is about to kill us? We are fine, right?"

    "¡­"

    Arthur''s first impression of that creature was that it talked too much. It spat a lot of nonsense in just a single sentence, but he tossed that judgment to the back of his mind and said, "who exactly are you? The red ring I got inside that cave?"

    "Correct, yes, correct. I was in that cave for many years, unable to speak with anyone! That dumb beast inside that ce thinks too highly of himself because he has the power of a rank seven mage. Bullshit. If I was in my prime, I could end his life in just one blow."

    "Kill a rank seven mage with one blow? Who are you, if I may ask."

    The sound of someone clearing their throats before speaking echoed inside Arthur''s mind, which was funny, and then the ring said, "I am not from this universe, but from a distant one, where people are strong and not weak like you. I am princess Beatrice Neel, the one and only."

    "What? This is too crazy. And why is everything around us so weird?

    Arthur looked toward ridge and noticed he was standing there, still as a statue. Not only him but everything around him seemed to have stopped, which was crazy to think about.

    "I froze time so that we could speak more freely. My current power is a joke, so this can onlyst for about 3 minutes, and if you try to attack him, then everything will return to normal."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "So, how did you end up inside this ring, and why are we only talking now?"

    Beatrice went silent for some time, and it took her a few seconds to gather enough courage to say it.

    "I¡­ I died back in my universe. It was a disease, and no one found the cure¡­ my father put my essence inside this ring so that one day he could resurrect me, yet somehow the ring fell into this universe like a falling star. And as to why we are talking to each other, this is the strangest part¡­."

    "Why? What do you mean?"

    "My father put me inside this ring before I died, in my final moments, and he said only those who have our blood will talk to each other,"

    "I¡­I had a brother; at least, my family told me about him. He was older than me but was gone before I was born. They said he died, but I bet something else happened to him, and considering how we can talk to each other, it must be you!"

    "No, no. You don''t understand; this is impossible."

    How could Arthur be her brother? He was a dragon named cidusax, and that was only his avatar. Could Beatrice''s brother be a dragon? Or maybe have the blood of the Monlog Giants?

    "I know what you are thinking, Arthur. You are special, and I heard about a prophecy about something exactly like you in my universe. And I know we are brothers. Not me and this avatar you use, your dragon body called cidusax, or your giant bloodline. I can feel all of it. The person who is my brother is you, Arthur, the one who came through a portal from yet another universe, one that is not this, not mine, but another one!"

    "I¡­I¡­"

    It was too much information for him and a crazy one. Arthur was not surprised Beatrice could know all that, as she said she was someone powerful from a universe more powerful than Arthur''s. Ikarus also could feel these things in Arthur, so it was not that big of a surprise.

    But Arthur being her brother? The ce he lived his entire life was called Earth, and he did not have parents back there. His life was miserable also, so that day he slept and woke up inside a new world, that was the best moment in his life!

    "But I never asked myself how I ended up here, and why¡­ and I never found my real parents either¡­."

    After Beatrice told him those things, his curiosity grew, and he could not tell why, but he believed in her! It was like they had a connection, like they were indeed siblings!

    "So, big bro Arthur, what is happening to your world, and why is this person trying to kill you?" Beatrice asked.

    Arthur returned to the reality he had to face and said, "this person is ridge, someone I thought was dead, and now is a rank four mage. I believe he is the one who opened up this immense rift above our heads, which is a rift to another realm, one where beasts live, and now that they are getting out, it is only a matter of time before this world ends."

    "I can help you win against this man, but I don''t know how to stop this rift. You will have to figure that out, brother."

    "You can help me win against a rank-four mage?"

    "Huh? Why are you saying as if a rank four mage is a big deal."

    "¡­"

 Chapter 423 Phoenix Bloodline, And Battle

    The evidence was clear, and Arthur believed Beatrice was telling the truth about everything! How did he end up on Earth, then? That was something Arthur needed to figure out on his own.

    "Does your help require a price or something?" Arthur asked.

    She had offered her help, but seeing how mages and other creatures always took advantage in a world like that, Arthur wanted to ensure he would not end up selling his soul or something worse.

    "It does, yes. You will have to see me as your sister BECAUSE I AM, and if you can, help us return to our universe, as I believe it is where you and I can discover more about ourselves."

    "Only this? I ept your terms."

    "Good, good."

    "But before you do anything, what kind of power does our family use? Are we special in a way?"

    "Fire, that is our element! Not a normal fire, though, and we have a legendary bloodline, which kept us in the top ranks back in my universe. The Phoenix Bloodline!"

    "P-Phoenix?"

    "Correct. A bird that can conjure the hottest mes in all universes, and it can be reborn from the ashes! An immortal creature. And yes, before you ask, even with the Phoenix Blood, which gives me incredible healing capabilities, I still almost died of disease and had to keep myself inside this ring to survive. I am afraid that was not a simple disease, and someone was behind it. I will grant you some of my powers now, boosting you to rank five. It willst long enough for you to kill this man and close the portal before it is toote."

    Beatrice did not want to talk about the disease that attacked her body, which was understandable considering she almost died or died if you think about it. Not being able to leave that ring was the same thing as dying.

    Arthur did not ask her further questions and waited for her to use her powers to increase his strength to rank five! He did not know how he would feel, as even his main body was just at rank four, but it would surely be unforgettable.

    Time around them seemed to have returned to normal, and ridge, who was in front of him wielding a spectral sword, dashed toward Arthur, trying to end his life with one clean cut.

    But, before he could get close to Arthur, mes appeared all around him, and a bird scream echoed in the demon continent!

    "What is this?" ridge yelled, flying back to avoid the mes circling around Arthur like coiling snakes.

    The mes and the bird''s scream were not the only things, but the aura around Arthur exploded like something ridge had never seen before!

    He was at the peak of rank four and was confident in winning against all the other rank-four mages in that world -- there was not a single one at the peak, which gave him confidence.

    But Arthur? ridge could not see the level of the youth in front of him, which was terrifying.

    "What did you do? I saw your level before, rank three. This is impossible, haha. It is only an illusion trick. Nice try, brat."

    ridge came to the conclusion that whatever Arthur was doing was just a trick and that he did not have the power he seemed to have, so, tossing the fear to the back of his mind, ridge dashed once again toward Arthur, dodging the me serpents along the way, trying to find an opening to sh him with his spectral sword.

    He did find one, and the spectral de shed Arthur''s left arm, cutting it out! That gave ridge hope to win the fight and more belief that Arthur was only doing an illusion, but then, a punch came right into his face, and he went flying with a broken nose.

    "This power... it... it feels amazing! I feel like I can do anything," thought Arthur.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ridge hit him only because he was still lost, trying to readjust his body to the sudden increase in power. There was a massive difference between ranks three, four, and five. Rank five was a whole new world.

    As for the arm Arthur had lost? Well, it was not a big deal. It flew back to where it belonged, and the wound healed in seconds. That was the power of the Phoenix Blood!

    "Sis, I should have the Phoenix Blood too, yet I never felt a difference, and my fire spells are ordinary, and honestly, I am not that good with fire."

    "Yes, this is strange. Your bloodline is locked for some reason, and we need to find out how to unlock it, if possible. Now, concentrate! Remember that the battle against this man is nothing, and your true goal is to close the rift in the skies before it is toote."

    She dragged him back to reality. Sure, the fight was easy, and that is why Arthur was not worried, but the fight was only the start of things.

    There was a massive rift in the sky that he had to close, and Arthur had no idea how to do it.

    "H-How? Your arm, it..."

    ridge had his hand on his nose, which was broken, and bleeding a lot, but he was still watching Arthur''s every move, and he saw that arm flying back to where it belonged, healing in seconds!

    Rank four mages could do that, but it would take a long time to heal, at least one month, but Arthur recovered in seconds! It was not normal, and ridge thought for a moment about something, but it was so crazy he did not believe it.

    "He can''t possibly be at rank five, right? No, I am overthinking this. There are no rank five mages on this, only in the higher realms," thought ridge.

    "Any final words?" Arthur said as he adjusted his stance.

    "Final words? Why are you so confident in winning? You must know I am the strongest rank-four mage in this continent!"

    Arthur vanished. ridge blinked, and then Arthur was no longer there. Then, he blinked again, and Arthur was right in front of him, and not far away, like two seconds ago.

    "Fast!"

    A crimson-red spear pierced ridge''s belly, and blood came from the wound. Arthur took his hand away from the spear, letting it on ridge''s stomach, and then using both of his arms, he grabbed ridge''s two arms and ripped it out!

    "Aggggrrr!"

    ridge screamed in pain, and his face distorted because of it, yet something inside Arthur made him rejoice in that situation. Not that Arthur was a bad person, no, he helped those who were important to him or were not harming him, but anyone else? If someone was on his way, he would do anything to stop that person, and nothing would make him feel bad about it.

    "I will repeat it, anyst words?"

    "I-I fucking hate you, bastard! Even if you win against me, there is no way to close the rift! I cannot close it myself! Only someone mighty can do it, and even if you are powerful, there is no way you are a rank-five mage, so we will meet in the afterlife soon!"

    "Is that so?"

    Arthur smiled and then used his palm to cut ridge in half, grabbing his spear before it fell on the ground.

 Chapter 424 Battle Against A God (1)

    The fight ended, and Arthur was the one who won it. He was unsurprised at that oue, as though he had never seen a rank-five mage before. Arthur knew it was an existence no one on that could go up against.

    "How can we seal that thing on the sky?" Arthur asked Beatrice.

    She looked at it, analyzed it, and then said, "you can fly up there and try to merge the two sides of the rift into one, therefore closing it. Arthur, you will have to rely on the power I am giving you, as that is the only way for you to do it."

    Arthur had heard ridge say the only way for him to close the rift was to have the power of a rank-five mage, which he did not believe Arthur had. But he did and seeing as it was temporary, Arthur flew up toward the rift right after he killed ridge.

    While he was going up there, another voice echoed inside his head.

    "Old Nefion? How are youmunicating with me? Haha, how are you, old man? I miss you," Arthur said inside his mind.

    It was hard for him to hold on to the tears, as Nefion was someone important to him, like a grandpa, and it had been a long time since they had seen each other.

    "Brat, I reached rank four, so I can talk mentally with you. Yes, you heard it right, the first dragon to reach rank four."

    "Grandpa, I reached it too. And right now, I am at rank-five, but it is temporary."

    "..."

    "..."

    "..."

    "Old Nefion, are you there?"

    "..."

    "Brat, this is not fair! Anyway, did you see that rift in the sky? You probably did, as you are not blind. How can we close it?"

    "I am working on it! Focus on protecting the people of the central continent. Also, there are other dragons here, Nefion, and we are preparing to take over this continent and the world. Our race will rule again and do right for everyone."

    "What? Are you serious? Haha, this is incredible. We can make this world a decent ce like it was long ago. Anyway, I will go back and protect everyone I can, and I am counting on you to close that freaking rift. See ya, and message me if you can after this ends. Also,e back home, too, brat. Everyone here wants to see you."

    Nefion then stopped talking inside Arthur''s mind and went to do other things, like protecting those who could not defend themselves.

    "Who was that?" Beatrice asked as she had heard the entire conversation between the two.

    "A dragon, and someone I see as my grandpa. Now, let''s close this rift."

    Arthur flew at a fast rate with the help of his red mantle. It got even quicker now that he was a rank-five mage, and that meant the treasure could only be used at its full extent once Arthur got stronger, which would take some time.

    In the meantime, Arthur''s main body, inside the Von Stein family castle, was trying to find where they were holding Sybille as a prisoner. Sure, he could go up and merge with his avatar to increase its strength, but that was not necessary, and as everyone was in total chaos, it was the perfect chance for him to find where Sybille was.

    So, he left that dungeon where he saw Tessa and went intoplete stealth mode, using his shapeshifting spell to turn into a minor bug, flying around in and out of the castle.

    stair and Harker, the two rank four vampires, were busy trying to fend off the horde of beasts attacking the weaker vampires and the other citizens of their territory.<novelnext></novelnext>

    That was happening everywhere and not only there, so everyone was busy fighting except Arthur.

    Arthur went toward the room where the rank four vampires lived, where he found a door with multiple magical formations, presumably where Sybille was. At least, he hoped so.

    "This will be hard to crack, do I have enough time?"

    There was no way for him to know how long it would take him to open that door, but what if it took him a long time? Then the rift could be closed during that time, and the rank four vampires could return and see him there.

    So, what could he do? Well, there was something he could do, and that was to devour all the magical formations using his devour skill.

    Now that he was at rank four, every power he had as a dragon increased, and perhaps he could devour the magical formations, but that also had dangers.

    If the power of the magical formations were too much for him, he could die.

    "That is a risk I can take for Sybille, and I still have my other body, so yeah, let''s do it. Also, there is no way a magical formation will stop the lord of dragons," thought Arthur as he stopped before the door.

    The door was red, with golden symbols carved on it and drawings. Arthur did not know what they meant, but he was not there to find out. He looked at the door, and his stomach expanded, and his mouth turned into one of a beast, all ck like a ck hole.

    Then, the mana, the core that kept the magical formations working, went directly toward his mouth, and the burst of energy made him fly across the room, hitting the wall and falling unconscious.

    ~~~~

    When Arthur got too close to that rift, some rank-four beasts came out, trying to eat him alive. One was a gigantic Octopus with wings, and the other was a spider, but it had human arms instead of legs.

    It was disgusting and scary, but Arthur still had the holy mes of the Phoenix around him, and all he did was move his right hand, making the fire attack those two beasts, turning them into ashes.

    "This feels good. How long can I reach rank five on my own?" Arthur asked.

    "I don''t know, but probably a long time. I suggest you train another avatar with the Holy Meditation Technique of the Phoenix. It is powerful, and if you want to enter my universe, you must have at least one bodypatible with it."

    "What? Another avatar? Soon I will have more bodies than fingers."

    "Well, it is not a bad thing to do. They can all train simultaneously and merge together to form one powerful existence. Avatars are the strongest things there are in the universe."

    "Look, this is something for another time, now I have to close this thing."

    Arthur liked the idea of creating another avatar to train with the technique from his family, and he already had ns on merging the current avatar with his main body and keep it that way, so he would have two Forbidden Eyes in the same body, making it a lot more powerful.

    So if he did that, having another avatar moving around in the universe sounded like a good idea.

    But first, he had to close that rift, and the moment he was really close to it, something else came out to face him.

    This time, it was not a rank-four beast, it was not a beast at all.

    "A-A god?"

 Chapter 425 Battle Against A God (2) - Beatrice Took Control

    A god was standing right before Arthur, looking at him with fiery eyes. It was someone from the other universe, the same one Beatrice came from.

    "Well, look what we have here," he said, surprised to see someone like Arthur there.

    "Who are you?"

    "Me? I am someone from another world, another universe. Do you believe in me, or do you find it crazy?"

    "I know you are from the neighbor universe, but what are you doing here?"

    "Huh? Do you know about that ce? Well, let me tell you something more interesting. I am from a ce called Earth. You probably never heard about it, but it is a in a faraway universe, not this one or the one you are talking about."

    "..."

    That was a revtion that took Arthur by surprise. Then, as they were called, the gods went to that when the portal opened, the same portal Arthur used to get to that ce.

    He guessed they were there because of it, but the portal closed right after Arthur was sent to that world, so the gods left.

    Arthur did not know why these gods wanted that portal, but now everything made sense! So if they were from Earth, just like him, perhaps they wanted to return home?

    "Don''t be quiet. You are also from that ce, which is why you are so impressive. You see, we are not actually gods but just powerful mages. We took over the Alliance in this universe and are nning on taking over the other universe too, but that one is hard; the mages there are more powerful than us. So anyway, despite liking you, and you are like a brother to us, I will have to kill you now."

    The god in front of Arthur knew about many things, and he also knew Arthur was from Earth, just like them! So it made sense, as it was no secret Arthur came from that portal, and all of them did, so it was an easy guess for them to make.

    Arthur was the only one that did not have that information and was virtually surprised after hearing that they were all from Earth, like him.

    "Aren''t you being too cocky? I can tell you only have the power of a rank-five mage like me. This body I am seeing is not your real one, right? You are only projecting it here."

    "Correct. Smart one, you are. But either way, this is a peak rank five body, superior to you, and I know all the best techniques, so you will lose. Now, let us fight."

    The man before him had a youthful face and a blue bow on his back. He was akin to perfect when it came to facial features, and his blue hair was quite different from what Arthur usually saw.

    With quick moves, the man took his bow and shot an arrow toward Arthur faster than anything Arthur had ever seen. It was not a physical arrow but made entirely of mana, making it more powerful.

    "Can I dodge it?"

    Arthur was not confident in doing that, but then something happened. Now that his power increased significantly because of Beatrice, his Unseen Truth Eye also got more powerful, meaning Arthur could see up to two seconds in the future!

    That may seem small, but two seconds was enough for him to prepare each time and avoid the arrows; it filled the gap between their strengths,  meaning Arthur could dodge beforehand.

    So he saw exactly where that arrow would hit. Not only that, but he saw the man cing his hands on the bowstring, preparing the arrow. Arthur was dodging it before it was even released toward him!

    Arthur moved as agile as a snake, dodging the first arrow with ease, shocking the god before him, who did not believe that was happening.

    "How? That arrow was faster than your reaction speed. I know it for sure."<novelnext></novelnext>

    The god could not believe it, so he shot more and more arrows. That first one had a blue color as it was only mana, but the god started adding some elements, so he shot me, lightning, ice, poison, and anything else you can imagine.

    Yet Arthur could see up to two seconds in the future, dodging the arrows and flying around using his red mantle.

    "How? How are you doing this? Impossible, impossible," the man said, but then he looked at one of Arthur''s eyes and realized something.

    "Wait, I have seen this before. Isn''t that one of the Forbidden Eyes? How do you have it?"

    The god was inplete ecstasy, not believing Arthur had one of the legendary eyes, things that even the other universe ¡ª which was way more powerful than Arthur''s universe, the one Beatrice came from ¡ª wanted to have.

    Arthur disliked the situation, although the eye had saved his life, now the god in front of him knew he had the eye, making everything moreplicated.

    "Well, at least I can still merge this avatar with my main body, and this god will not see through my appearance," thought Arthur.

    He could dodge all of the enemy''s attacks, at least the ones so far, but Arthur did not see an opening to strike back until Beatrice spoke inside his head.

    "Can I take control over this body for a moment? You have the power but cannot use our family''s spells, as you never trained in them. If you allow me, I can do it for you."

    When Arthur heard it, he was first worried about it, as even though Beatrice was his sister, he still had to know her more, but there was no other choice!

    The god before him could notnd his attacks on him, but he could not either, and time was not his ally at that moment. So Arthur had to end the fight quickly to close the rift, and the power Beatrice gave him would end, so that was another reason he had to end the fight as fast as possible.

    "Fine. Do it."

    When he said yes, his mind was still there, seeing everything Beatrice was, but his body was now hers to control. There was the image of a girl behind his back now, one that even the god could see.

    "She looks familiar to me somehow, but I cannot remember," the god said, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember where he had seen Beatrice before.

    "It feels good to have a body again, although it will onlyst a few moments. Big bro, you will have to resurrect me in the future, or I will kick your butt."

    She kept dodging the arrows, just like Arthur was doing before she took control, but while doing that, Beatrice wrote magical symbols on the air using the tip of her fingers, and before long, a giant ming bird came flying from the sky.

    "A Phoenix? This is impossible!"

    The god knew what a Phoenix was, as he had gone to the universe where there were two Phoenixes, but how could it be there?

    Fear took over his body, and sweat dripped from his forehead.

    "Will I win?"

    That was the doubt he now had inside his head; he had never believed that would happen.

 Chapter 426 Closing The Rift, And Finding Sybille!

    Beatrice was not there to y, and the Phoenix she conjured flew toward the god, opening its beak and sending mes like a methrower. Those were not ordinary mes but from a legendary being known as Phoenix.

    Even the god, a powerful mage, feared that creature and those mes. So he removed a sk from his pouch and broke it, creating an instantaneous blue shield covering everything around him. It all happened fast; surprisingly, that blue shield came in touch with the holy mes of the Phoenix and did not break.

    Arthur, who was only watching everything after Beatrice took control of his body for a few seconds, was also surprised.

    "What is that liquid? How can it form a shield so strong?"

    "That is a type of ore we can find in my universe. Pretty rare, and I don''t see him having more of it. So, I have to attack again!"

    She was not fooling around and sent another powerful attack toward the god, not allowing him to retaliate. This time, the Phoenix pped its wings, sending a ming tornado! The attack was so hot that even the ground, far down from where they were fighting, was set aze.

    "I don''t think I can defend this, so let''s attack too!"

    The god had experience inbat, and after seeing there was no way he could defend the ming tornado using a magical shield, he decided to send an attack of his own.

    He had an arsenal of arrows he could shoot, and the best one for that asion was a water-type arrow, which he did.

    A giant arrow made entirely of mana, with its size akin to a spear, the water essence enveloped the arrow, making it more powerful and adding its element.

    It did not end there, as the god aimed his bow up high, and kept shooting more and more arrows, just like the first one.

    A barricade of arrows collided with the ming tornado, and the explosion was so intense the clouds in the sky moved away, and the sky started raining balls of mes!

    Everyone in the demon continent and all continents could see the impact of the two attacks, and they wondered what was happening.

    Only Nefion guessed it could only be Arthur, who said he would close the rift.

    "That brat is powerful," Nefion thought as he killed the beasts trying to attack the Ouroboros School and Odemore.

    Beatrice and Arthur could not see how the god was, as the impact of the spells blocked their vision, but they got hurt.

    Arthur''s body had three arrows on it; one pierced the leg, the other at the chest, and one at the shoulder. It was bleeding a lot, and as it was a magical attack, it also hindered his healing speed, making it even worse.

    "Did we win?" they thought, and when the particles of fire and water vanished from the air and they saw the other party, they sighed in relief.

    The god was all burnt, from head to toe, and pieces of his skin were falling off--a disgusting scene that gave them peace of mind.

    "It is only a projection of his main body. Sure he will get hurt, but he will eventually heal, and I am sure he wille after us when he has the chance," Beatrice said, reminding Arthur it was not a fight they won.

    Sure the avatar would not cause them trouble, and they would have a clear path to close the rift, but he woulde back in the future, and who knows if Arthur would have the power to stop him when that timees.

    "You, wait for me; I will get you one day," the god said as his body fell from the sky, dead.

    Beatrice returned to the ring, again giving Arthur control of his body. When that happened, he felt the pain from the arrows stuck in his body.

    "Ouch! It hurts. Did you do it so that I feel the pain?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Me? No, of course not. Why would I do that to my brother?" Beatrice said, chuckling.

    Arthur rolled his eyes and pulled the magical arrows from his body. It was incredible that the arrows did not vanish after the god died, as they were created using his mana.

    "Maybe because the main body of the god is still fine?" thought Arthur, seeing that as the only exnation for that.

    He took them out individually, and the pain was harsh each time.

    "Fuck it. Will the Phoenix power heal my wounds?" he asked Beatrice.

    "Probably, but be quick. I don''t know how long you will remain at rank five, and you must close that rift before it ends."

    Arthur nodded and flew closer to the rift after taking out the arrows. His wounds were still bleeding, but after a few seconds, the bleeding stopped, and the injuries were healing quickly, visible to the naked eye!

    The Phoenix had many extraordinary powers, but its healing and resurrecting capabilities were its signature powers. Arthur saw its power in action, and even he, who had two other bloodlines, a system, and a vampire avatar, was surprised.

    "Now, how should I proceed with this?"

    He looked at the massive rift before him, with beastsing out each second. Those beasts looked at him but did not attack, not even the rank four ones. They could sense his power and knew facing someone as powerful as Arthur was stupid.

    "Let''s see if it works."

    The only way Arthur could think of was to try to grab both parts of the rift and merge them, so he did! His arms did not have the length for that, but there was nothing that mana could not do. Two massive ming hands, made with the holy fire of the Phoenix, were enough to close the rift.

    Each hand grabbed one part of the rift, and then Arthur used all of his strength to pull both parts toward each other. He gritted his teeth, and his entire body hurt. Some of the beasts saw what he was doing and decided to send their attacks toward him!

    But Arthur was quick to react, creating a me barrier, blocking the uing attacks while also trying to close the rift. Each part of the rift was slowly getting closer until, eventually, both parts touched each other, and the rift itself merged without Arthur having to do anything else.

    "We did it!"

    Arthur rejoiced himself, but when the rift closed, an explosion urred! It was unlike anything Arthur had ever seen, and all the beasts near the rift turned into ashes, dying on the spot.

    The explosion wave hit Arthur on the chest, sending him flying, hitting the ground, and creating a massive hole, but he was severely hurt and lost his conscience.

    ~~~~

    "It is gone, we are saved!"

    Everyone around the did not know how the rift closed, but it did, giving them hope and happiness. If the beasts kepting out, there was no way they would survive.

    Arthur was inside the Von Stein family, and after breaking the magical formations on that door, he went down a staircase, entering a closed cobblestone room with someone in the middle.

    "S-Sybille!"

    But before he could try to free her, a voice came from behind his back, "you are right where we needed you. You feel for our trap!"

 Chapter 427 [Bonus ] Future Problems

    "What?" Arthur said as he turned to face two vampires looking directly toward him: stair and Harker.

    "We knew you were trying to look for her, as we tortured Tessa a few days ago and got that information from her. So, we acted dumb, and now you are right where we want you," stair said, smiling.

    Arthur should have seen thating, but they acted so well, and with the rift problem, he had other things inside his mind, which led him to that mistake.

    "Why are you certain you can keep me inside this ce?" Arthur asked, moving toward the exit, but a barrier stopped him before he could reach it.

    "This room is old and is said to trap rank four mages easily. You will remain here as long as we want, and while you are there, no one can stop us from taking over the continent. See you, cidusax."

    After the two vampires left the room, Arthur tried to use his devour skill to destroy that magic barrier that was stopping him from going, yet it did not work. Instead, he wanted to attack it using all his powers, essences, and even the powerful Moon Essence he now had a firm grasp on, yet it did not work either.

    It did not matter what attack he tried to break the barrier; nothing seemed to work, and he was trapped there. But, despite everything going wrong, Arthur still found Sybille, which was good.

    He moved away from the barrier and went closer to where she was, wrapped in chains, not moving an inch. She was not awake either, and no matter how hard Arthur tried, she still did not wake up.

    "Maybe the magical formation is doing that to her. The only way to wake her is to destroy everything, which is now impossible for me," thought Arthur.

    ~~~~

    The power of the rift''s closure was incredible, and it hit Arthur directly, sending him back to the ground with his body hurt in all parts. He stayed on the floor, wounded, for an entire day! No one was around that area to save him, and only after one day did he wake up again!

    "Fuck! My body hurts everywhere," he thought after waking up.

    "Also, my main body is trapped in that ce, and the only way for me to save both my body and Sybille is by getting this avatar to rank four, at least."

    It was the only solution he could find, as his main body tried to destroy the barrier for an entire day, yet it did not happen.

    "But first, I need to recover from these wounds."

    The power Beatrice gave him had vanished when he was not awake, and now Arthur was only a rank three mage and not a rank five. Also, without the help of the Phoenix blood, his healing speed was not as fast as it was, so he still had many wounds even after staying still for one day.

    "Beatrice? Sis?"

    Beatrice forgot to tell him she could not always be outside the ring, speaking inside his mind. She had to return, as the ring kept her alive. Arthur guessed that was the case, and there was no way she was dead, considering the ring was in perfect condition, so he tossed the thought to the back of his mind and slowly got up from that massive hole the impact created.

    It was hard for him to move, and his right leg was slightly bent to the side, broken like one of his arms. But even though it was almost impossible for him to walk, at least fast enough, Arthur could still fly using his red mantle, and both the red cape and his te armor were in perfect condition!

    The red mantle did not suffer from the impact, different from his armor, which got destroyed, but it reconstructed itself, as that was one of the reasons it was an incredible treasure.

    "My spear is also alright, so this is good. Now, first of all, let me see what that god had," thought Arthur as he flew toward the body of that god, which was not that far from where he was.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was all burnt, but one thing was still intact: the magical pouch! That magical pouch was not ordinary, considering it survived the mes of a Phoenix, so Arthur dly took it but could not open it.

    "Well, I will figure that outter. Now I need to find a ce to stay and recover."

    With the help of his red cloak, Arthur flew away from that ce and looked for a vige or something of the kind, and he did find one.

    "Where is everyone?"

    Arthur only saw wooden houses with their roofs, windows, and walls with holes, and the trees around the vige, the fences, were the same. There were some corpses on the ground, which had missing pieces ¡ª beasts had probably gone there to eat during the night.

    "I closed the rift as fast as possible, but many people still died¡­."

    There should be other viges or even cities who share the same fate, in all the different continents¡­. Arthur hoped the people he cared about were still safe.

    "With Nefion there, everyone should be alright."

    He was not worried about the safety of Jane and Wisa. Nothing could enter the dragon valley with that many dragons and dragon priests around. It was like an imprable fortress. Also, his wives were almost reaching rank four when he left; perhaps they had already gotten it.

    "I need to go there and speak with them using this avatar. But first, I need to recover and reach rank four."

    Even if his wives tried to contact Arthur''s main body, it would not work because of the magical barrier around the ce he was currently trapped, so they would have to wait for his avatar to go there, bringing them the news.

    Anyway, Arthur looked around the vige to see if any survivors could still be hiding inside their houses or the stables, but no one was there. He only saw corpses, and because of it, the ce was starting to smell bad.

    "I should give them a proper burial."

    It was a small vige, so it did not have many people, and Arthur would have to get rid of the bodies, or else the smell would be unbearable, so he buried all the corpses in an open field the vige used as a cemetery before everyone died.

    After that, he looked for the house with the best condition and sat cross-legged inside it. The first step he had to take was to recover his body, but he believed only natural recovery would not be enough, and he would have to gather some nts to make some poultices.

    But, after he sat inside that house, his head ached. At first, it was only a minor pain, but it grew into something almost unbearable, and then both of his eyes turned white as he rolled them upwards, and images appeared inside his head.

    "What is the mission?"

    "I want you to go to this small here and find out about this mysterious rift that appeared. Also, we have some clues indicating that the slender creature is there, and we need to get the Unseen Truth Eye from it."

    "Understood."

 Chapter 428 Healing Process

    After Arthur saw those images and heard what they were saying, he passed out again. The pain in his Unseen Truth Eye was too much and in his head.

    He was already hurt, to begin with, so losing his conscience was inevitable. Arthur woke up after two hours, and the bright sun had already gone away, and the moon shone in the sky.

    The empty vige had no movements; the only sounds outside were those of animals and the beasts that lurked in the shadows, looking for a night snack like Arthur.

    "My head¡­"

    Arthur''s head was still fuzzy, and it took him a few moments toprehend what had happened and understand clearly what he had seen and heard.

    "A glimpse of the future, like that slender creature told me. Speaking of it, they are going after him! I should get back and warn him."

    Because a lot of time had passed since the battle against the god, Arthur''s concerning wounds had healed, and now all he had to do was create a few potions and poultices to recover his bodypletely.

    Where could he find the best herbs to use for these two things? With the elves, he also had to go back there to speak with that slender creature again and help Jake and Agatha. He did not see a reason not to go, especially now that he wanted to look for a way to increase the power of his avatar to save his main body.

    "Maybe that creature can help me somehow. I hope so," he thought, getting up from the ground and leaving that empty, destroyed cabin.

    His body was not that bad, but it was still not in perfect condition, and Arthur was not confident in winning against another rank three mage, especially an elf, which was stronger than the average mage.

    So even though Arthur wanted to use the herbs and the things he could find in the elven vige to heal his wounds, he was not willing to go there bluntly and expect them to give him everything he needed and not attack him. And he was also getting close to discovering the truth about the ck magic, and the elves ¡ª at least those in the upper ranks ¡ª wanted him dead.

    "Right, I can contact Jake!"

    With the help of the mark on Jake''s body, Arthur sent him a message now that he was not inside a ce that blocked it and asked him to bring him some specific herbs for the treatment of his wounds. He also told Jake to meet him far from where the elves were, as that was not a good thing to do.

    "Lord Arthur. I cannot get you those specific herbs because I am no longer in the elven vige. I, Agatha, and her family left that area, and we live on a fishermen''s ind. Can you get here? There''s a big city near, and we can surely get you things to treat your wounds."

    That was the message Jake sent him back, and he also told him the location of the said ind, so Arthur moved from the destroyed vige and went east. Also, he wanted to get in touch with Wisa and Jane, but only his main body could use the mark to send their messages, which was not possible then.

    "I don''t want to risk going there in the dragon valley all hurt and the dragons attack me or don''t believe in my words. I should recover first and maybe reach rank four."

    Arthur wanted to warn the slender beast. That was his n initially, but his body condition was poor to go there, and the elves around that area would attack him on sight. So, recovering was his priority; after that, he would look for the slender beast.

    "Let''s hope whoever ising here takes some time. Also, what level is that person? I can safely assure it must be higher than rank four, so the entire is in danger."

    So many problems were happening simultaneously, and Arthur could not deal with them in his current state. His main body was trapped with Sybille, someone he had wanted to rescue since a long time ago, and it was impossible.

    He had to warn the slender beast about the vision he saw, yet it was not possible. And there was also the fact he needed to reach rank four as fast as possible to deal with those problems.

    If that was not enough, then there was the personing to his, and that person surely was way more powerful than him and any other mage on that. So how could they win against that person if that person wanted to destroy his world for the Unseen Truth Eye? More importantly, what would happen to him after that person discovered that he was the one in possession of the eye?<novelnext></novelnext>

    "My life sucks at the moment," Arthur sighed as he made his way toward the ind where Jake was.

    ~~~~

    "You are finally here," Jake said as he left a small cabin with a beautifuldy by his side, Agatha.

    The ind they were living on was 700 km from the coast, but that was not a big deal for Arthur, as his flying speed was incredible, especially with the help of his red mantle.

    "Where are the things I asked you?" Arthur said.

    "Rx, they are inside our cabin. You can stay with us. Also, please don''t act like a weirdo here because almost no one is a mage, and they don''t like weird things happening inside their ind."

    "A ce with no mages?"

    "Yes. No one born inside this ind had the talent for magic, and the most strange thing is that there are no powerful beasts around here, only normal fishes."

    "That is indeed strange."

    A dangerous ce like the demon continent had beasts lurking everywhere, especially on the ocean. The ocean was even moreplex than thend, and the fact that everyone on that ind was safe there, even without the help of magic, was incredible.

    It was like something else was protecting them, or that ce had a secret to it that piqued Arthur''s interest.

    "Alright. Let''s go to your cabin and give me the herbs."

    Jake nodded, leading the way to where he lived with Agatha. Agatha''s family was also there, but they were living in another cabin, separated from them.

    "Here they are! I went to the big city nearby myself to get you this."

    "Good job."

    There were many herbs, but most had a healing property, which Arthur needed. So he grabbed all of them and went to a remote part of the ind where no one was.

    "I don''t want to live in the same house as Jake and Agatha, who are certainly having a good time on this remote ind. Also, no one can see me creating potions because that is weird."

    Arthur found a decent ce to stay, with mountains covering his surroundings and a clear ocean view. He was not carrying alchemy utensils, but that did not mean it was impossible to create them, and he did make a cauldron with the help of y and mana to make it harder.

    Not the best thing to have, but the only one Arthur had.

    "Let''s heal and start doing what I need to before that mysterious person arrives here and kills everyone."

 Chapter 429 Succubus Attack (R-18)

    Dragon Honey and Shy Blossom. Jake got two herbs with healing properties for Arthur, and he was now mixing the two to form a powerful potion to help aid his healing process. Unfortunately, his tools weren''t the best, but it was enough to create such a potion.

    "Let''s put this Shy Blossom first and make sure the temperature is nice and steady," said Arthur aloud as he put the first herb inside his y cauldron and did his best to create a decent me. Unfortunately, the fire was not the best attribute of his avatar.

    Anyway, the process was rtively simple because the potion was not hard to make in the first ce, and Arthur had all the time in the world on that remote ind to make the potion. So the entire process took him four hours, creating a yellowish liquid which Arthur put in an empty sk and drank fearlessly.

    If he did not trust his creations, then who would? There was nothing poisonous in the mixture, so even if the healing potion did not work, it would still not harm him.

    "Now I need to rest," he thought, sitting on a rock, looking at the ocean waves and feeling its breeze.

    It was peaceful there, and for a moment, Arthur forgot about all his problems, but that soon vanished, and his worries returned. A calm ce was not enough to make his mind like that.

    "Huh?"

    Arthur felt the wounds healing way faster than before, and sitting on that rock, he sensed someone watching him. Then, with just a nce, he found the person hiding behind a tree. It was someone who lived on that ind. Someone who did not have the gift of magic for some reason.

    "Now that I remember, this ce is strange. How can no one here have the talent for magic? It is rare but not to this extent."

    Something felt off about the ind, and Arthur had nothing better to do, so he decided to explore the ind. As for the person spying on him? Arthur acted as if he had not seen a thing and kept minding his business.

    The woman followed Arthur around, and he wanted to fly or vanish, but he remembered what Jake told him about not acting weird in front of those people, so Arthur decided to travel usually.

    He even faked a fight against the boar, acting as if it was hard for him to deal with the creature. That was not even the worst part; thedy following him saw the fight and was impressed by it, gaping her mouth as she witnessed Arthur deal with a boar alone.

    "These people are easily impressed, it seems."

    Arthur explored the ind, walking through the beach area, asionally stopping for some rxing time, but returning to his exploration afterward. It looked like his exploration was not bearing fruits, but that changed once he walked into a specific area of the ind northwest of the vige.

    When Arthur put his feet there, he noticed his aura diminishing, as if someone or something was draining his mana. Because of his incredible power, whatever it was could not win against his aura, so he was fine even though his power went from peak rank three to mid-rank three.

    "What could be causing this? It could exin why everyone else here does not have the talent for magic. Something is draining their mana the moment they are born."

    It was only a guess, but it did not sound entirely crazy. Arthur had to investigate further to be sure, but that was a start. So he looked toward the suspicious area and suddenly passed out.

    ~~~~

    Arthur opened up his eyes and found himself inside a cave. He tried to get up, but the power of his body was non-existent, as well as his mana! He was just an ordinary vampire who did not know any magic.

    "What happened?"

    It was hard toprehend the situation, and as Arthur looked up, he saw someone staring at him, a woman. She had only a tiny piece of cloth on her tits, and she had nothing covering her pussy.

    What caught his attention was how she had a tail and bat-like wings.

    "A subus?"

    "Oh? You are up?" the subus said, looking at Arthur''s body, licking her lips.

    "What do you want with me?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The subusughed at it and said, "don''t worry, I will not do you harm. It is just that it is not always a man with mana whoes here, and this is the best sex there is. Now,y still and let me do the job."

    She removed Arthur''s pants and gently massaged his balls using her soft fingers. Then, she grabbed his dick and put it all inside her mouth.

    It had been a long time since Arthur had sex, and now it felt good with a subus doing whatever she wanted with him.

    "I am sorry, wives, but this is not my fault," he thought.

    The subus'' wicked lips were extraordinary. It seemed that with each suck, she could push Arthur''s cock even more profoundly, driving himpletely insane with pleasure.

    Not to mention her skillful tongue, licking every part of his cock. And, of course, the subus'' secret weapon, her saliva!

    Subus'' saliva could bring more pleasure to any man, and Arthur was no different. Even without his strength, Arthur slowly moved his arms up to the head of the subus and pushed its head down.

    "Suck it all, slut," he said, moaning lightly with that indescribable pleasure.

    The subus smiled, and her pussy dripped with a crazy desire to sit on Arthur''s erect cock.

    She looked up at him, not stopping for a second to put his cock deep down her throat, "You don''t even have to ask. I will suck everyst drop of cum out of you."

    "AH!"

    And at that moment, Arthur could not hold back, cumming inside subus throat, relieving all that tension his body was feeling.

    Even after that feat, however, his penis quickly became erect again, which surprised even the subus.

    "Looks like you were the right choice. Could you roll this little pussy over here?"

    The subus teased Arthur every moment, believing that he would not be able to get up after having his strength sucked out, but that was not the case. So Arthur stood up, grabbed the Sucubbus by the arms, and said, "Now you''re going to get on all fours and take a lot of cock."

    "Ahhh," she moaned.

    Arthur then got her on all fours and inserted his erect cock inside Sucubbus'' pussy, entering something wet, hot, and soft.

    The moment Arthur''s penis entered the subus pussy, her eyes rolled back, and never in her life had she felt a penis as hard as that one.

    "Is he human? What is that?"

    She was already surprised by the hardness, but little did she know that her pussy would suffer much more in Arthur''s hands.

    The penis went in and out at a fantastic speed, not stopping for a second!

    "Yeah, fuck, fuck more!"

    She screamed as her breasts swayed, and Arthur spanked her white ass, leaving a red mark.

    "Our night is just beginning!"

 Chapter 430 If You Dont Listen To Me, You Will Die!

    Their evening had just begun. The Sucubbus was on all fours, her ass aimed up high, and Arthur thrust his cock hard into her holes, both of them.

    "That''s it, just like that," she cried, moaning with pleasure as she felt that hard thing go in and out.

    As a Subus, she was used to being the one in control, and by having a different time with Arthur, the pleasure she felt increased even more.

    The sound of Arthur''s thighs pping against her ass was loud and brought an extra hard-on. The two spent hours changing positions, some of which the Sucubbus had never seen before!

    And no matter how much time passed, no matter how much the Sucubbus'' pussy and ass were destroyed after hours of receiving a thick cock, Arthur still seemed to be able to keep going. That made her worry, "He''s going to make me unable to walk!"

    Arthur did that and came several times in the Sucubus'' ass and pussy. He wasn''t worried about her getting pregnant - that was impossible for her - so Arthur just plowed ahead, destroying everything in his path.

    After an indeterminate amount of time, the Sucubbus could not continue, and Arthur was victorious.

    "So, what are you doing here?" he asked, looking at her beautiful naked body lying on the ground, unable to stand.

    "I live here. What else would it be? Even though the inhabitants have no mana, it''s still a safe ce for things like me, and it''smon for adventurers to pass through this ind trying to uncover its secrets, and if you ask me, I think it''s a waste of time."

    "A waste of time? What do you know of this ind?"

    From the way she spoke and expressed her feelings, Arthur was sure she knew something about the ind, and it would do him no harm to ask.

    "Well, when I came here, the ce was the same: children and adults who got a bit of mana would have it stolen for some reason,"

    "Don''t pretend you don''t know where the secret of this ind lies. Remember this: I found you there."

    "But don''t you know anything more? Better yet, do you know what is happening in that ce?"

    Arthur already knew where on the ind the thing was, but he had no idea what it was and if it was safe to go there. The Sucubbus had found him close to that ce, so he did not believe she was ignorant of the situation.

    She looked at him, bit her lips a few times, and said, "I think it is a legendary nt..."

    "A legendary nt? Are you making fun of me?"

    Things like legendary nts sounded like a joke, and Arthur had never seen one, so why would it be there? Magic nts and herbs had properties, and incredible potions could be created when the right nts were mixed.

    But a legendary nt? Arthur did not believe such a thing existed - at least not on their small, where hardly any powerful magicians lived.

    "You asked for my guess, and this is it. People worldwide tell stories about legendary things like creatures, items, and nts. The situation here is strange, and I believe there is a legendary nt that sucks the mana from everyone and stores it."

    The Sucubbus believed that. Arthur watched her facial expressions throughout the speech and found nothing strange. She was telling her truth, and it was not as if the chances of a legendary nt on this ind were zero. It was unlikely, but not impossible.

    "All right. Are you going to stop me from searching again? We had a good time together, and I don''t see you as someone who harms others. But I have things to do, and if you get in my way, I will kill you."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arthur had a clear vision of his ns, none of which included spending his days fucking a Sucubbus.

    "I will not bother you anymore. Thanks for the night," she said.

    He nodded and left the cave. When Arthur got out, he had no idea where he was at first, but with a simple flight using his red cloak, Arthur found his general location and flew towards where he had been before the Sucubbus attacked him.

    There was no need to act like an average person then because it was already night, and no one would see Arthur flying around the ind. Just to be sure, he cast an invisibility spell and made his way to the area that was the center of all the mysterious things happening on the ind.

    It did not take him long to reach that ce, especially now that he was flying with his red cloak instead of walking like an average person. The moment Arthur set his feet near that ce, he felt the mana in his body move around as if it had lost its control.

    Not only that, but his level also dropped a bit, but it was nothing to worry about, and it would recover as soon as he stepped out of that ce.

    "The Sucubbus said that many adventurers havee here to uncover the secrets of this ind, but no one has seeded. I don''t think only weaker magicians havee here, so it''s safe to assume this ce is dangerous."

    Arthur had a lot of experience, especially in exploring different parts of the world, so there was no way he would rush off to a mysterious ce before carefully analyzing the surroundings.

    This part of the forest was like any other, a forest that was not dense and easy to travel through - there were no vast bushes or thorns everywhere, which relieved Arthur.

    But there was no denying that something strange was happening there, and the first thing Arthur noticed - despite the mana drain - was that there were no animals in the area, like birds, snakes, spiders, boars, or any other ''normal'' animal.

    Arthur knew that he would not find any magical beasts on the ind because everyone back in the vige, including Jake, said there were no such things on the ind.

    "I remember seeing other animals. I even fought a boar. Could they be afraid toe here? That should not be the case if it is just a mana-draining nt. So this could mean..."

    If the animals had no mana for the nt to drain, they would be free to roam this area, but seeing that this was not the case, Arthur grabbed his crimson spear and went into focus mode, not missing anything that happened around him.

    He moved forward through the forest, slower than before and with more attention. Although he looked around every corner, Arthur saw nothing - he was looking for other beasts or things that could kill smaller animals.

    Then, suddenly, everything around him turned ck as if a veil covered his vision.

    A voice echoed in the area, "We meet again.

    It was someone, or rather something Arthur knew!

    "Knowledge Seeker? What are you doing here?"

    Arthur remembered that thing he saw back then, a creature that knew everything, from him being someone from Earth, and many other things.

    If it was there, the situation was not as simple as it looked.

    "Hello, cidusax. I knew you woulde here, so I am projecting my presence here. You are in danger, both of your bodies, and if you don''t listen to me carefully, you will die!"

 Chapter 431 Knowledge Seeker, And Legendary Star Plant

    Arthur felt a chill crawl up his spine as he saw the giant, floating eye before him. Its rings of tentacles seemed to move in unison, waving menacingly toward him. He could feel its heavy and oppressive gaze as it looked upon him with tacit knowledge. The Knowledge Seeker hade to share its secrets.

    Arthur was taken aback by the Knowledge Seeker''s ominous words. He mustered up the courage to ask for more information, determined to uncover the truth behind the statement. Then, with a steady gaze, he asked, "What exactly did you mean by that?"

    "You have a vital destiny ahead of you, and it falls to me to ensure that you reach it safely - I''m here to alert you of any obstacles in your path. Why? That is for you to determine, for the future belongs to you alone."

    Arthur''s brow furrowed in confusion as he attempted to make sense of the Knowledge Seeker''s words. Was there something he was alluding to that was beyond hisprehension? Could it be rted to the vision he''d had a few days prior, one of someoneing to take away his Unseen Truth Eye? All these questions raced through Arthur''s mind as he asked, "What do you mean by that? I don''t understand... I had a vision a few days ago about someoneing here to take my Unseen Truth Eye. Is this what you are talking about?"

    "An intruder ising to take the eye. They won''t stand a chance against the creature from the cave, but neither does it. You must go there to say a warning before someone more powerful shows up and finishes the task. Don''t wait; do something now, or the beast will be doomed,"

    "And there is more! The astral ne revealed your secrets to a party of mages, not precisely a formidable crew, so you''ve got a shot at oveing them. But the other? There''s no way you''ll ovee that one."

    "So you''re telling me," Arthur uttered, his jaw set with determination, "there''s no way I can fight against this beinging after the eye? No way I can emerge victorious?" He was not ready to ept defeat before trying.

    "You can still aplish everything you have dreamed of in this world a€" and reim your main body to be as powerful as ever. However, achieving victory over that person is not possible. The best course of action I rmend is to make the most of the time you''ve got here and ensure you do all you need before your departure. Don''t worry; there''s more than enough time!"

    Arthur struggled to ept the truth from the Knowledge Seeker. No matter how hard he tried, he seemingly could not prevail against the sinister forceing for the eye. "I understand," he stated tentatively. "But what will happen to everyone here if I leave before that person arrives?"

    "Have no fear," replied the Knowledge Seeker. "There are regtions protectings like this one from direct attack, but you must still be swift in fortifying your power and ensure you are well-hidden after your departure."

    "What else do you know?" The Knowledge Seeker was an infrequent guest, so Arthur had a hundred questions burning in his throat. He opened his mouth to speak them, but before he could utter one word, the eye disappeared, and the dark veil evaporated, leaving only an eerie stillness in its wake.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arthur had a sense of dread within as he remembered his conversation with the Knowledge Seeker. Somebody wasing to take the Unseen Truth Eye, and they had enough power to render their confrontation hopeless.

    He knew he had to warn that beast in the cave of their arrival, but he never imagined it would be someone this powerful! The Knowledge Seeker made it crystal clear that there was no way for him toe out on top in that fight, so the best thing he could do was flee the. Would he? Absolutely!

    "I can''t win against them, but I can get stronger and reim my body - and then I can stop the Von Stein family. The Knowledge Seeker mentioned a weaker mageing for me, too. So I better be more powerful fast, or else I''m at risk of being beaten by both." Arthur thought resolutely.

    With bated breath, Arthur banished all his worries to the back of his mind and focused all his energy on finding the mythical herb! The Knowledge Seeker had been a deterrent for the local wildlife, but the little creatures began creeping back into the forest now that it was gone. "I''m sure it''s safe here," he mused, treading cautiously through the vegetation in search of any unusual specimens which may or may not be the mythic nt he wanted.

    Arthur was growing increasingly frustrated as he scoured the environment, searching for anything that could be useful. His worries began to climb as nothing seemed to fit the bill, and he had almost given up when a glimmer caught his eye. Nestled amongst the other nts, it was - an enormous nt with blooms like stars twinkling in the sun. "How can it be that nobody noticed this before?" he wondered in amazement.

    The nt was so majestic and colossal that Arthur found it odd that no one had seen it before, whether they be local vigers or outsiders seeking to discover the ind''s hidden wonders. The Sucubbus even could find it if she wanted, yet no one did. "Could it only appear at certain times?" pondered Arthur, for this seemed like a possible exnation for the events before him. However, he was not disappointed to be the first one toe across the nt - he was ecstatic - yet there was still an ominous aura around the whole scene, so he proceeded with caution and kept his gaze directed not only on the nt but on the surrounding area as well.

    Arthur took determined strides towards the nt, and with every step, his magical power lessened until it had been reduced from a third rank to a fraction of its previous strength. There was no mistaking; this must have been the nt the Sucubbus had warned him about: the one that slowly sapped away mana from any ind inhabitants over time, storing it in its very roots. Such a treasure trove of energy could make any mage astronomically more powerful if they were lucky enough to find it! Arthur''sst thought as he approached the nt was an earnest prayer for a safe oue.

    "Come on,e on," Arthur growled, inching closer to the nt. Though nothing seemed suspicious, his unease grew until something suddenly snapped him out of his trance! A giant root burst from the earth, shattering the ground beneath him and trapping his leg, immobilizing him as it hoisted him up into the sky!

    With lightning speed, the rootshed out at Arthur''s body, mming into the trees, rocks, and ground with relentless purpose - aiming to cause as much damage as possible. Thankfully, his armor provided a shield of protection, allowing his robust physique to withstand the impact of the blows - sparing him from bing nothing more than a mangled mess.

    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 432 Avatar Rank Four!

    Arthur gritted his teeth and clenched the hilt of his crimson-red spear, determined to take down the menacing root threatening to end his life. It seemed unyielding at first, but after four ferocious strikes, he broke through. The root was slowly healing in front of him, and just as he thought it might be too powerful for him to ovee, his gaze shifted to a beautiful flower not too far away, and his courage was reignited.

    He knew what he had to do - retrieve the flower and use it to get back his body, Sybille, and finally free himself from the tyrannical rule of the Von Stein family. He had to act fast before the powerful individual from another came to kill him. With a grave sense of urgency, Arthur strengthened his grip on the weapon in his hands and used a cut to his arm to magically boost the power of his spear. His jaw set with determination, he charged back into battle with renewed vigor.

    Arthur darted forward, his red cloak zoned out behind him like a second skin, propelling him to speeds far beyond that of a mere human. The root lunged for Arthur''s leg, but Arthur deftly evaded its grasp with a heron''s reflexes and a serpent''s ferocity. His spear dripped with the power of newly spilled blood, and as it struck the root multiple times, each sessive strike more fierce than thest, the wounds it inflicted no longer could heal. Laughing manically, this time at his foe''s expense, Arthur watched as the root disintegrated before his very eyes.

    Arthur felt a rush of exhration as the root, which had been standing in his way for so long, finally yielded to the fierce strikes of his spear. Its lifeless remainsy scattered on the earth, and the path to the legendary flower he sought to lie before him shimmered invitingly in the morning light. His jaw dropped in awe, and his heart filled with wonderment. Could it be true that his dreams wereing true? Doubts and worries rushed through his mind: would this flower be able to help him? How was he supposed to take it with him? But such questions were soon forgotten, reced by eager anticipation. Then, taking a deep breath, he began walking toward the glorious flower, eager to see what its power would bring.

    Arthur was ready to experience the incredible energy of the flower. Excitement coursed through his veins as he slowly extended his arm, and the instant his fingertips brushed against the petals, a vital force surged through his body, undoing any damage done.

    Never had he felt such potency, and the power that had dissipated while near the flower was now replenishing with a newfound vigor.

    "This is incredible!" He eximed in awe.

    Arthur''s fate shifted drastically when his power jumped from rank three to rank four, thanks to a flower he encountered on an ind he had visited for healing purposes. Even more remarkable was that his strength continued to surge, eventually reaching its peak in rank four! The shimmering light that filled the area made the entire experience even more beautiful and magical.

    Arthur was no stranger to grasping a powerful level four mage rank, so he wasn''t overly shocked when his power suddenly skyrocketed. "I must alert the slim creature in the cave right away," Arthur mused as he sprinted towards Jake and Agatha''s vige. He consciously kept his magic at bay since he knew the vigers had no love for magicians, but he reached them quickly, using only his physical strength.

    Jake and Agatha watched with shock as Arthur stepped through their door. He looked different - the moonlight glinting off his body made him seem almost supernatural.

    "What happened to you? You look... more powerful." Jake eximed, staring in awe at his friend.

    Arthur smiled. "It''s a long story. I came here to say goodbye and thank you for the herbs you got me. Stay safe, you two."

    With that, he was gone in a sh, racing toward the beach and then leaping into the air. They watched with their mouths open as he flew away from the ind, growing smaller and smaller until he vanished into the night sky.

    Jake and Agatha exchanged nces, wondering who this mysterious figure had just visited them was? What had he been through that had granted him such power?

    Only time would tell what secrets Arthur held within himself - but for now, all left was a lingering sense of wonder.

    Arthur soared through the sky faster than any mage before him. His red mantle billowed wildly behind him as he disappeared, bing only a passing shadow in the eyes of those who watched. He was now a rank-four mage, and with his powerful speed, anything seemed possible.

    His destination was far away, but Arthur had stopped at the Dragon Valley beforehand. He wanted to look for his wives, and the thought of finally seeing them filled him with excitement and anticipation.

    As Arthur glided closer to his destination, he could hear the distant rumble of dragon roars below. The valley hid in the corner of the world few knew existed, yet its presence drew him closer.

    Arthur stepped into the Dragon Valley with a sense of awe, gazing wonderfully at the magnificent creatures surrounding him. Then, as he looked up to admire a majestic dragon, he was surprised when it spoke.

    "Who are you?" the dragon demanded. "And what is your business here?"

    Arthur straightened and gave the dragon his best bow. "My name is Arthur," he replied. "I''m looking for two people - Jane and Wisa. Will you please call them for me?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The dragon paused, then nodded slowly. "Very well," it said before spreading its massive wings and taking off into the sky.

    Arthur watched as the dragon flew away, feeling relieved and excited. He hade so far, and was one step closer to finding Jane and Wisa. Arthur couldn''t wait to see what would happen next.

    They were overjoyed to see Arthur and rushed to greet him with open arms. His face was tired and his eyes held a deep sadness, yet he still gave them a reassuring smile.

    "It''s good to see you," he mumbled as they embraced him.

    Their tears flowed freely, and in that moment they finally realized why the dragon bowed to Arthur''s orders- because he had the power of a rank four mage. In such desperate times, with their leader cidusax vanished, Arthur''s power must have been too great for the dragon to resist.

    For days, the two of them had waited for news from their husband, but never in their wildest dreams did they expect it toe in such a fashion. Yet here he was, standing before them - a symbol of hope of brighter days ahead.

    "Come, let''s talk inside," Wisa and Jane said, apanying Arthur to their small cabin inside the valley.

    The dragons did not ask further questions, and just let the three of them do what they wished.

    Inside the cabin, Wisa was the first to ask, "what happened to your main body?"

    She knew that if it was possible, Arthur would have sent them a message, so if he did not, then something was wrong.

    "A trap inside the Von Stein family. My body is there, incapable of leaving," Arthur said, making his wives worry, but then he proceeded, "there is a good thing to this, though. My body is there with Sybille, and now that this avatar is also a rank four mage, we can go there and save them!"

    Wisa and Jane exchanged looks of understanding as they followed Arthur into their small cabin in the valley. They knew something must have gone wrong for him to be resorting to sending an avatar, but they didn''t ask questions.

    Once inside, Wisa spoke first. "What happened to your main body?"

    Arthur sighed and exined, "I was trapped by the Von Stein family. My body is there, unable to leave."

    Despite the grim news, a spark of hope lit up in Wisa and Jane''s eyes. "But on the bright side," Arthur continued, "my body is also with Sybille, and now that this avatar has achieved rank four mage status, we can go back there and save them!"

    The trio was filled with newfound determination. With a n in ce, they discussed the details of their mission, each eager to spring into action. They did not know what dangers they might face or what sacrifices it would take, but they were united in theirmon goal - to save their loved ones.

    "But before we do this, we must go to another ce, a cave in the Elven forest. There''s a beast there, the one who gave me this eye," Arthur said, taking off his eye-patch, and showing them his eye, which had the symbol of a star on it.

    "I saw, and future problems areing for us. We must leave this... I will exin everything on the way."

    Wisa and Jane were still lost by the sudden information, but they knew Arthur knew what he was doing, so without further questions, the trio left the Dragon Valley.

 Chapter 433 Netherbeast, And Provocation

    On their way there, Arthur exined the two threatsing his way and how they did not have the power to win against them.

    Wisa and Jane were also rank-four mages now, but even if all of them acted together, they still had no means of oveing the menace that woulde. So their best course of action was to flee the -- they would have to leave either way if they wanted to pursue the magical path to its fullest.

    "So this beast in the cave gave you another incredible eye, and it said you must get all the eyes if you want a chance against the other universe?" Wisa said.

    "Pretty much it, yeah. The eye in my main body can help me track the others and get them while increasing our power. This other universe is idle now, but clues indicate that they might attack us in the future, and in our current state, we don''t have the power to contend against them."

    It was always about an interest,nd, resources, or just wanting to showcase their superior status. Arthur knew the other universe would attack eventually, but he did not know when and how powerful they were.

    "I need to get power!"

    The three flew as fast as they could toward the Elven forest, which was far, but not a big deal for their incredible speed.

    Arthur hoped that the Knowledge Seeker was telling the truth when he told him the menace would take some time to arrive. He counted on that time to make what he needed before leaving the.

    In no time, the scenery surrounding them had bigger trees than before, and everything was greener and healthier as if men did not touch the area with their filthy hands.

    That was because they did not, as the area belonged to the Elven race, who lived in many small tribes inside the forest, doing their best to keep the peace, not meddling with the business of other races.

    "So, how do we get inside this area?" Jane asked as she yed with her purple hair, giving Arthur a teasing look.

    "We should try the same path I used to get out of the ce," Arthur said, moving closer to Jane and squeezing her tits.

    "We can have a good time after finishing this task," he said, not having the strength to resist the temptation.

    "I want to fuck your main body, as it looks more handsome, and it feels more like you."

    Arthur could understand their point of view, so he did not get frustrated about it, and had an even stronger fire to get his main body back, as well as Sybille, and get rid of the problems that were keeping his sleep away.

    So with steady steps, they moved toward the area where the portal led Arthur after he left the temple.

    It was not hard to find it, and the portal was still there, with no elves around acting like guards. Which was a good thing, so Arthur and his wives passed through, leading to the insides of a construction.

    That was the temple where Arthur killed everyone. Differently from before, the temple barely had any sounds, and the atmosphere was like a graveyard.

    "Let''s get out of here and find the cave," Arthur said to his wives, who were analyzing the surrounding area, trying to see if any danger was lurking in the shadows.

    After hearing what he said, they nodded and moved out of the temple, hastening their steps to find the cave as quickly as possible.

    Arthur knew the ce well, and with his power beyond what it was previously, no beast dared to attack him, and there were no elves around either, making it a stroll in the park.

    "There, that is the cave," Arthur said, pointing to a cave entrance.

    "I don''t feel anything extraordinary about the ce," Wisa said.

    That was understandable, considering the slender beast was way more powerful than Arthur could imagine. Others would have found it by that point if it were that easy to sense its presence.

    "Let''s go inside," he said, as he went first, and his wives followed closely behind.

    The ce looked the same as Arthur remembered, with many things scattered around the cave.

    Some of these things were treasures, others just useless items the slender creature stored for some reason.

    Arthur was not there for those things, as he had already received the most valuable items from the beast. He was there to speak with it, and the beast did not take long to appear after they went inside the cave.

    "You? What are you doing here, brat? I believe you have more important things to do," a hoarse voice came from the depths of the cave, and soon after, a horrifying beast slowly walked toward Arthur and his wives.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It looked the same as Arthur remembered.

    "I am here for something vital. First of all, do you know the Knowledge Seeker?" Arthur asked.

    He guessed that the two creatures knew each other, as it wasmon among beings of higher realms, and sure thing, the slender creature became flustered after hearing the name.

    "Did you speak with it? That bastard vanished long ago, and he was some ancient knowledge I would like to get."

    "I did, yes, and he sent me here. You see, these two people areing here, one from my vision..."

    Arthur exined everything, telling what he saw in that vision, not missing a detail, as that could help the slender beast.

    "Are you sure about this? If this is the case, I will have to leave this ce."

    "Who is this personing here? Stronger than you?"

    It was hard for Arthur to believe that the human going there was more powerful than the slender beast, but it seemed like it until he got the exnation.

    "No, of course not. That man is only a rank seven mage, useless trash. But if I kill him, more powerful people behind him will get the warning, and they will find me, which is troublesome. So fleeing is the best option. I will leave the like you, except I will do it tonight."

    "..."

    A rank seven mage was trash for the creature, so Arthur could not evenprehend its power level.

    After warning the slender creature about it, he asked for guidance on leaving the world and what he should go to.

    "Now that you are a rank four mage, you can jump directly into the main where the Alliance is. Sure, it is more dangerous there, and rank four mages are not that impressive, as they have mages all up to the ninth rank, but it has the best resources for you to get stronger,"

    "As for leaving, well, I had a vision about you before we even met a while ago, and I saw you met someone from the Monlog Giant family. They live on that too, so you can free that person and go together there. Just tell him that the Netherbeast is your friend, and if he tries something, all of his lineages will die."

    "So you are the Netherbest then? Aren''t you scared they will speak about you, or I will get in trouble because I know you?"

    "Correct, you should not tell about me with anyone, but the Monlog Giant family have a pact from long ago, and if any of them try to speak about my whereabouts, they die. Cool, right? Anyway, I will be taking my leave now."

    The Netherbeast left the cave, taking all the treasures with him. Arthur and his wives hadpleted one of the things they had to do, and now, it was time to get his main body back!

    They returned to the temple and used the same portal once again. Then, they flew toward the Von Stein family as fast as they could, not stopping momentarily.

    ~~~~

    Arthur was inside the room with Sybille, who was still alive but had yet to wake up but was alone there, unable to send messages to anyone.

    But he was relieved! The magical formation around the room could not cut his connection with his avatar, so he knew it had reached rank four and wasing to rescue him.

    "Thinking about the day you will leave this ce?" A voice came from the staircase, and an ancient vampire appeared.

    "It is you, mummy stair."

    Arthur joked about stair''s aged appearance, and it was evident it was not something he liked.

    "I have been gathering information about you and found out you recently appeared from nowhere in this continent,ing from the sea,"

    "So I got more information about you from the troops I sent to the central continent, who are taking over some of the cities,"

    "I just came here to warn you that your homnd will belong to me like this continent. It does not matter what you try. I will always seed!"

 Chapter 434 Battle Against The Von Stein Family (1)

    "How should we proceed with this?" Jane asked, and it was the same doubt Wisa had in mind.

    They could rush in and fight against the two rank-four vampires, and they would win, but at what cost?

    Arthur did not want his wives to be an unnecessary danger, and who knows, maybe the two vampires had greater power than he imagined, and if they lost the fight, all would be over.

    It was not worth the risk, so a decent n was what they aimed for, but how? They needed a decent distraction, as that would open their path toward the room where Arthur''s main body and Sybille were.

    "Right! How did I forget about that?"

    With a glimpse of inspiration, Arthur recalled the werewolves that were underneath the castle,  ready to attack when the time came.

    Tessa and some other members of the Blue Rose Order were in the cells, but not all of the members and Arthur hoped one of them was still down there, taking care of those werewolves.

    "Right, that rank-four werewolf leader I saw at that meeting was not in the cell. Is it still in the castle?" Arthur thought.

    The only way he could find out was to go into the dungeons.

    "How can we get in without them seeing us?" Wisa asked.

    It was a valid question, and Arthur proudly said, "with the help of my secret spell and by using a secret passage within the castle."

    The Blue Rose Order had many secret passages inside the castle, and Arthur wanted to use one to reach the werewolves underneath the castle.

    How do he and his wives enter the castle without anyone seeing it? Well, the spells from the Blood Monarch were there to do just that!

    A spell called Blood Veil was enough to pass through unnoticed by the two rank-four vampires of the Von Stein family, considering they did not get too close, or else no spell would save them from being spotted.

    "A little of blood here, and that''s it," said Arthur in a low tone, cutting his arm to perform the Blood Veil spell, making him, Jane, and Wisa vanish from thin air.

    Arthur circled the castle, moving toward the back area as the security there was lower, and it was far from the room where the rank-four mages usually stayed.

    They made sure not to step in the wrong ce close to a cliff, as any stone falling would get the attention of the vampire guards, who moved above the walls and watched every corner from the top of the watchtowers.

    Still, the guards couldn''t see invisible beings, like the current state of Arthur and his wives, so even though the guards nced toward them asionally, they did not see or sense anything suspicious.

    Getting inside the castle unnoticed went smoother than they had expected, and in no time, Arthur was getting inside one of the watchtowers, an abandoned one.

    That watchtower was the first location where Arthur saw a secret meeting of the Blue Rose Order, and he guessed that all of these locations connected each other through tunnels that led to the underground cells where the werewolves were.

    It was a guess, but Arthur was almost sure of it, so he and his wives went inside the watchtower, feeling like it was the right call.

    There was no guard there, so the ess was easy, as all Arthur had to do was open the door and go inside.

    "Let''s move carefully and watch out for any strange movement. You never know if the vampires are watching us," Arthur said, and his wives nodded in response, moving along with him through the watchtower as swiftly as they could.

    The insides were just like any other tower, with a room where the beds were and a staircase up to the building.

    There was also a room with sks ¡ª it was like the kitchen of the vampires, where they stored blood.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But, different from the other watchtowers, that one had a small trapdoor hidden behind a shelf.

    Even if one dragged the shelf away, they would not see the trapdoor ¡ª it was invisible, hidden by a specific magical barrier.

    Arthur knew about that because he was part of the Blue Rose Order, and its members had a way in, a chant that would make the trapdoor visible if spoken aloud.

    He did precisely that, and as soon as he finished, the trapdoor appeared before his eyes.

    "Cool!" Wisa and Jane muttered with amazement.

    The trio went through the trapdoor, and ventured through the wet tunnels of the dungeon, hearing the sound of water dripping from the ceiling and the bugs crawling up the walls.

    Its narrow corridors took the breath away, and anyone inside would feel trapped, asphyxiated by walls that looked as if they were binding together, closing them into a cage of stones.

    "What exactly are we looking for here? You mentioned werewolves," Wisa asked, as she had cast a ball of light to brighten their way.

    "Correct. The Blue Rose Order I am part of wants to take down the Von Stein family, and they had a werewolf army down here, which is what we are looking for," Arthur answered, exining some basics about the whole thing.

    As they ventured deeper into the tunnels, they reached an area, one that was familiar to Arthur, as he had gone there before.

    There was someone there, near the cells, giving food to the werewolves, who did not have bright smiles.

    "Who are you?" the person asked.

    Arthur could not see who it was because of the mask, but he quickly said, "I am also a member of the order, and I am here to help you attack the Von Stein family. Tell me, are you the werewolf who''s rank four?"

    ~~~~

    They left the dungeon and went to a private room where the masked person from before lived.

    Arthur was correct about his assumption, and that person was indeed a rank-four werewolf who was eager to start the battle.

    "So that is where the others are. I hope Tessa is okay. I am Caitlyn, you?"

    "Arthur, Wisa, and Jane. Look, we don''t have that much time. We must act! Can you and your werewolf army take the lead to create a distraction? I need to rescue some people here, in the castle."

    Caitlyn frowned and said, "you want me to take on two rank-four vampires alone?"

    "For a brief moment only, the person I am rescuing is also a rank-four mage, and it will help us against the two vampires."

    She thought for a while before finally agreeing to what Arthur said, "I will free the werewolves and gather everyone. We will attack, and you make sure to rescue that person ande to help me!"

    "I will."

    It was a sess! Caitlyn returned to the dungeon to do what she had just said while Arthur and his wives were preparing their n to free his main body and Sybille.

    The magical formation trapping them was impossible to open from the inside but not impossible from the outside, and that was what Arthur was counting on. So they had to break that barrier with the power of three rank-four mages: him, Wisa, and Jane!

 Chapter 435 Battle Against The Von Stein Family (2) - Rank Five Mage!

    The Von Stein family castle was running as usual, with the vampires mistreating others and the servants cleaning each part of it, making sure there was no dust for the rank-four mages toin about, especially stair, who was an annoying ancient vampire.

    But despite the ordinary looks, the situation there would be far from it.

    Werewolves appeared out of nowhere, transformed like savage beasts, ripping apart any vampire they met inside the castle.

    The two rank-four vampires quickly reacted, appearing at the castle''s front gate and fending against the werewolves easily until Caitlyn showed up!

    "A powerful one you are, Harker; let''s work together and get her down!"

    While the castle was in chaos, and the two rank-four vampires were facing Caitlyn, Arthur and his wives moved stealthily throughout the court, arriving inside the room where Arthur''s main body was.

    There, they came across a barrier that was impossible for Arthur''s main body to destroy, but it had to be possible for them, or else the entire n would go down the drain.

    Separated by the barrier, Arthur''s two bodies were facing each other, one helping the other!

    The Emperor Eye could see the energies in the atmosphere and the connections of that magic barrier.

    Now that his avatar was on the other side of the barrier, Arthur exchanged information between the two, one seeing the intricate mechanisms of the barrier. In contrast, the other tried to crack it open.

    Wisa and Jane were beside Arthur, and seeing how focused he was, they did not get in his way and acted as guards, preparing to attack anyone that showed up to destroy their ns.

    Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and Arthur was almost cracking the barrier, but at that moment, someone showed up.

    It was Harker! Seeing how two rank-four vampires were too much for Caitlyn, one returned to protect the room where Arthur was in as Harker felt something terrible would happen, but he could not exin what it was.

    "Who are you? How dare you trespass here!" Harker yelled, his ws growing in size, looking like sharp talons from a beast.

    He did not think straight, believing there was no chance the two before him were rank-four mages -- these were rare and usually stayed inside their territory.

    But he was wrong! Wisa stepped forward and blocked the w attack using her sword, sending Harker to retreat a few steps.

    "What?"

    In the meantime, Arthur managed to break the barrier, freeing his main body and Sybille too! Well, Sybille was still asleep, but it was a start.

    Harker watched everything unfold right before his eyes, but he did not have the power to stop it! A terrible feeling to have, one of being useless, but Arthur did not care how he felt!

    "Why are you freeing that person? Aren''t you a promising vampire from our family?" Harker said as he looked toward Arthur, recognizing him.

    It was funny, considering he did not know the dragon he had trapped and the vampire before his eyes were the same person.

    "Shut up and die, Harker. Your family will crumble, and you can do nothing about it!"

    "Wisa, Jane, please take Sybille to a safe ce."

    Arthur''s two bodies would go to battle, but someone still had to care for the unconscious Sybille.

    "Send us a message if you need help in the battle," Jane said as she and Wisa left the room with Sybille in their arms.

    Harker tried to stop them, but Arthur quickly reacted and blocked him with his crimson spear.

    "How are you already at rank four? Impossible! You were at rank one not that long ago!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    He could not believe his eyes after noticing the strength Arthur now had, as it all seemed impossible for any person. It was like the feats of legendary book characters, yet it was happening right before him!

    Arthur giggled and said, "it is a secret. Now, do you want to die by my vampire''s hands or my dragon''s hands?"

    "What?"

    Harker frowned his eyebrows, and for a moment, he did not understand what Arthur said, but then a crazy theory formed inside his head, one that he did not want to believe.

    "No, this is even more impossible than your rapid ascension to power. No, I-"

    "This is the truth. We are the same person. Seeing that you don''t want to choose, I will fuse my bodies, and you will die anyway, okay?"

    Arthur had a bright smile, and he was feeling good! If his guesses were correct, fusing two rank-four bodies would give him something close to rank-five, or perhaps rank-five!

    That was a power capable of winning against anything from that world and power not that weak when he eventually left the.

    Anyway, his two bodies went close to each other, and with a simple chanting inside his head, both bodies merged. The general appearance was that of Arthur''s main body, that of a dragon, but he now had all the abilities from his avatar, be it the Blood Monarch Inheritance, blood essence, or being a vampire.

    Also, he had two forbidden eyes, the Emperor Eye and the Unseen Truth Eye!

    When the fusion happened, a st of energy came from Arthur''s body, destroying everything around him! The castle room where he was once locked did not exist any longer!

    It was so powerful that Harker flew away, hurt by the explosion, before the fight started.

    "NOOOOOOOOO!"

    He yelled after feeling an extraordinary aura emanating from Arthur, one that his meager power could not fullyprehend. It was that of a rank-five mage!

    "Rank-five early stage, not bad, not bad," Arthur said as he moved his arms and legs, readjusting to his new power and body.

    stair, who was starting to win the fight against Caitlyn, also felt the aura and saw the explosion, "what is happening?" he thought, flying away from the fight.

    Caitlyn let him go, as she was losing the fight anyway, "at least that person kept the promise. But what is this power? It does not feel like a rank-four mage at all!"

    "Harker. What happened?" stair asked as he stood beside Harker, gazing at the youth before them, one they knew, Arthur.

    But the aura waspletely different from before. "He is a rank-five mage now. We are all dead, but it is okay. We lived countless years, and it is time to die."

    "What are you saying?"

    Harker had already given up, "there is no way he is a rank-five mage, Harker. So please stand up and fight with me! I will show you we have a chance of winning," stair said as he dashed toward Arthur, trying to prove his point.

    He threw a ball of blood in mid-air that was not meant to attack but to act as a decoy! Arthur''s vision was obstructed by it, and stair took the chance to attack him from the back!

    Harker was watching everything, and for a brief moment, he believed they had a chance of winning, but the next moment crushed all of his hopes.

    Arthur saw everything in slow-motion, and using his fists, he hammered stair down, making his body turn into a bloody pulp.

    Body parts flew everywhere, and the mighty stair, an ancient vampire and leader of the Von Stein family, was dead.

 Chapter 436 [Bonus ] Blood Pact With The Von Stein Family

    Harker did not have any thoughts of trying to face Arthur in a one versus one fight, especially after he saw how stair ended.

    He knelled, and looked at Arthur with teary eyes, "please, spare us! Me and the Von Stein family will work for you forever."

    Arthur looked at him with a smirk and said, "add a blood pact, and then we can discuss this."

    "Of course, of course. I can make a blood pact to prove my loyalty," Harker said, sighing in relief after seeing that Arthur had showed him room for a conversation.

    "Well, not only you, but the pact must include anyone from the Von Stein family. An eternity of serving me, or dying right here. What do you say?"

    "This..."

    The only reason Arthur even considered doing that was because he would soon leave the, and having a powerful ally to work for the dragons, and any of his allies, was just too good to pass.

    "Or you rather die?" Arthur said, moving his hand slowly toward the grip of his crimson-red spear.

    "No, no. I ept, I ept!"

    "Good."

    After dealing with both rank-four vampires, Arthur flew above the castle, and stopped all the werewolves who were still attacking the nearby vampires.

    Caitlyn also helped with it, as she saw how mighty Arthur was, and did not want to get herself in trouble.

    That was the power of being powerful. No one wanted to make Arthur angry, and anyone in that world would do anything he asked.

    "You are quite impressive, huh," Caitlyn said.

    "Ordinary, I would say. If you excuse me, I have things to do now," Arthur said, vanishing from her sight in just a second.

    It was easy for someone like him to find Wisa, Jane and Sybille, who was already awake when he got there!

    "Sybille," he said, moving toward her, who had her back against a tree, resting.

    "Husband!"

    Their huggedst a long time. Jane and Wisa were watching it with a bright smile.

    "Why weren''t you waking up before?" Arthur asked.

    He had stayed with her for quite some time inside that room, yet she never woke.

    "I believe it had something to do with the chains, or the magical formations there. Anyway, I am well now," she said.

    Arthur wanted to stay there with his wives, but there were others things he had to do. First was to make a blood pact with Harker.

    "I, Harker, leader of the Von Stein family, swear to obey anymands, not only me, but all of my descendants, and any other leader of the Von Stein family."

    Harker said a lot of words, and cut his arm to give his blood to Arthur, finishing the blood pact. Now he would have to listen to any word Arthur said, and doing otherwise would make him die horribly.

    Not only him, but anyone from the Von Stein family had to obey Arthur, or they would die. That was a powerful pact, one that no one would want to make, but Harker did not see any other way out of that situation, and it was still better than dying.<novelnext></novelnext>

    After the pact was done, Arthur looked at Harker and said, "I heard you sent some troops to attack the central continent. I have friends there, so this shit must end. So, where is the portal you are using to send the troops?"

    Harker felt a shiver running down his spine when he looked at Arthur and heard what he said, "I am sorry, master. Here, follow me, I can show you the portal. Also, we did not send that many troops there, so you can kill everyone. Also, they did not start the attacks yet, so you can rx."

    "Oh, really?"

    stair had said to Arthur that his troops were attacking the central continent already, but was only to make him pissed, and worried.

    They move through the castle until reaching an area where only the two rank four vampires could enter, and there was the portal, inside an ordinary-looking room.

    "This is it."

    Arthur knew Harker was speaking the truth, so he passed through the gate with no prior preparation, and it went smoothly.

    In one second he was inside the Von Stein family castle, and in the other back at the Forbidden Forest, close to that small vige were he met Elena.

    "This ce looks the same," Arthur said as he looked around in the forest, trying to find where those vampires Harker talked about were.

    It did not take long for him to do so, as he found them inside a cave, waiting for their new orders.

    "I am d they did not attack, as Elena''s vige would be the first target," thought Arthur, walking toward the cave slowly.

    "Who are you?" one vampire in the front area said as he saw Arthur approaching their cave.

    They did not understand how someone would be that dumb to go there, and they thought it had to be someone from the nearby vige, who wanted some adventure and entered a forbidden ce.

    But that was not the case, and when their eyes met Arthur''s gaze, they felt a surge of bowing to him, as if he was their natural king.

    "You useless piece of shit. I am the ruler of this world now, Arthur, a rank five mage. Your shit family is already my ve, so get your asses out of this cave, ande with me. I will let Harker punish because I am not feeling like getting blood on my clothes," Arthur said in an imposing tone.

    The vampires there were surprised by the words for a moment, but then thought it was only a joke.

    "A rank five mage? This is impossible," they thought, but then with a wave of his hands, Arthur killed one of them.

    After that, Arthur activated the power of the blood pact, and asked all the vampires to follow him, and that time, it was impossible for them to say no.

    It was like an invisible force was making them do that. All of them moved toward the green portal inside the Forbidden Forest and returned to the Von Stein family castle where Harker was waiting like a loyal dog.

    "Master, how you do you want me to punish them?" he asked Arthur, bowing.

    "Just do what you feel it is the best. It is not like they did anything. Also, if they had attacked any vige, I would wipe your entire family and territory out of this world, so be warned," Arthur said as he left the room, leaving those vampires shaking their legs with a deep fear.

    Arthur went to look for Sybille, Wisa and Jane, who were chatting with each other, happy to be reunited again.

    "What is our next move?" they asked Arthur the moment they saw him.

    "We should return to the Dragon Valley to exin the situation to the dragons, as they are the ones who will rule this ce after we are gone. And we also need to help Sybille reach rank-four before we leave," Arthur said, looking at Sybille with a smirk.

    "I know exactly the best training method," he said.

 Chapter 437 Start Of The Sex Season

    The road to the Dragon Valley was smooth, and no trouble appeared on the road, such as bandits or adventurers who were not afraid of death.

    Sybille stayed close to Arthur, Wisa, and Jane all the time, afraid that she would be taken away again. Arthur would not let that happen, even if he had to die to prevent it.

    "Is this ce really full of dragons? That''s awesome," Sybille said as she looked at a majestic mountain in the distance.

    Arthurughed and said, "Of course. We have a cozy cabin down in the valley. You''ll love it."

    The three walked toward Dragon Mountain, and sure enough, a dragon appeared to see who was approaching.

    "L-Lord cidusax! You have returned!" The dragon said, surprised and happy at the same time to see his superior return.

    And at that moment, a celebration broke out on the mountain. Not only the dragons but also the dwarves who already lived there joined the party, drinking mugs of beer and shouting, telling their miraculous story in the mines.

    "Once the exit closed behind me. I thought I was lost inside, but a beautiful woman came and saved me. Then we went back to my ce and hehe."

    "And I guarantee that this woman was taller than you, Sigurd."

    All the dwarves around burst outughing, and even Arthur, who was passing by, couldn''t resist.

    "These guys are hrious," he thought.

    A gentle hand grabbed Arthur''s right arm. It was Sybille who looked at him innocently and said, "I''m a little tired, but I understand you should join this party for a while. Can Ie to our cottage with Wisa and Jane?"

    "Of course," Arthur said, and gave her a warm kiss.

    Jane and Wisa took care of Sybille and led her to the log cabin near the waterfall in the valley.

    To be honest, Arthur wanted to get out of this crowded ce as well, since parties weren''t really his thing, but he was the leader of everyone present and he was supposed to stay at the party until the end, or at least a big part of it.

    It was a total bore, but Arthur used the party to talk to the dragons and exin everything that had happened.

    "Selen. I believe you will be the leader again," Arthur said, looking at a beautiful silver-haired woman.

    "Do you really have to go?"

    Selen was the best candidate, since she had been the leader of the dragons before Arthur arrived. She had just returned from her journey, which had been a partial sess.

    The task was to find the lost books of the dragons. Selen found some.

    "Yes, and I am counting on you to keep everything in order. Here, take it."

    Arthur held out his hand and gave Selen the authority tomand Harker and all other included in the Blood Pact.

    This way, even when Arthur is gone, Selen will control them.

    "Thank you," Selen said.

    "It was nothing. If you''ll excuse me, I''ll go back to my hut here in the valley."

    "Of course."

    With hurried steps, Arthur passed dragons and dwarves and entered the beautiful valley where he had once lived.

    There, in a log cabin, three perfect women were waiting for him. Well, Sybille was already asleep when Arthur arrived, snoring like a baby.

    It was strange to see her sleeping through the night. Sybille was a vampire, after all.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "She must be so tired that she doesn''t care about anything," Arthur thought, stroking Sybille''s pink hair.

    Wisa and Jane were still awake, but in meditation. They didn''t want to be left behind now that Arthur had reached rank five.

    "Well, I think I''ll take a nap."

    Arthur had taken some beer from the party. He left his hut, sat at the top of the waterfall, and drank heavily that night.

    Various thoughts about what the future would bring, and of course, immense worry about the forces that were looking for him.

    "I hope everything turns out well..."

    After drinking all he could, Arthur returned to his cabin and slept beside Sybille.

    ~~~~

    The next morning would be the new start of a training season, more focused on Sybille, who wished to reach the level of everyone else.

    When Arthur woke up in the morning, no one was inside the cabin anymore. He gazed through the window and saw his three wives training near the waterfall.

    "Hello beautifuldies," Arthur said.

    "Husband! You were sleeping like a rock. Nothing ever changes," Sybille said, chuckling.

    Arthur rolled his eyes at that and gave each one of them a warm kiss to start the morning. Then, he said, "I will make breakfast."

    The valley they were in had many nts, fruits, vegetables, and, of course, animals. Arthur did not find it difficult to put his hands on some ingredients for a breakfast, the only exception being Sybille, who could eat normal food too, but it must had a sk of blood together with it, or else she would not get satiated.

    Arthur could find no one to get the blood from. It would be strange for him to show up and ask for the blood of a dwarf, so he gathered various types of blood from animals and tasted them to see which one was better.

    After that, Arthur prepared the vegetables, cleaning and cutting them, and cooked the meat. For him, someone who could use many magic, it was easy toplete the task.

    A minor fire spell would cook the beef wlessly, and there was plenty of water from that waterfall for him to used to clean the vegetables, or better, he could cast his own water too!

    "This training is harsh," Sybille said after they stopped for a break.

    "We know, but this is the only way for you to get more powerful quickly. Also, your talent is even better than ours, so you will be okay," Wisa said.

    They all left the waterfall and went to a table that was set just outside their cabin. There, above the table, lied many types of foods, bringing joy to the face of everyone present.

    Wisa, Jane, and Sybille ate as if they did not have food for days ¡ª which was the truth.

    Arthur just watched everything from the side, getting a bite or two, but not eating that much, as that was not something he needed.

    "This is delicious!"

    Sybille also drank the sk of blood Arthur got for her, and she liked it! Well, Arthur was almost sure she would, as he had tasted the blood himself ¡ª he was a part vampire.

    When the eating and drinking were over, they all returned to their cabin for some rest before heading back to training. Arthur found it was the best opportunity for them to train even more in other ways, like having sex.

    "I miss this," Sybille said.

    Arthur hugged her, giving her a kiss while he pped her ass. Wisa smiled at that, and said, "girls,e on, let''s undress our husband."

    The three girls undressed Arthur, tying him up on the bed. Sybille was the first to go down, rubbing the cock with her hands, preparing to suck it.

 Chapter 438 Three Months Of Intense Training (R-18)

    The moment Sybille''s tongue touched Arthur''s cock, an immense sensation of pleasure coursed through his body, making him moan in a low tone.

    "Take it easy, my love. We''re going to take superb care of you today," Sybille said, spitting on his cock and taking it deep down her throat.

    Wisa didn''t stay still, going towards Arthur''s head, putting her pussy in his face, "suck it," she said.

    Jane did a great job of sucking the balls, putting both inside her mouth.

    *Glub *Glub *Glub

    It was a boiling moment, and Arthur loved every second, as did his wives, who moaned, especially Wisa, who was getting a skillful tongue in her pussy.

    "Fucking yummy. You suck really well," she said, moaning, her legs shaking and her eyes rolling back.

    Arthur was tied up - he could break free at any moment, but he didn''t want to.

    Sybille, who was focused on deep throating, now craved a cock deep inside her pussy. It had been a long time since she had felt her husband''s warmth.

    For this reason, she stopped sucking and said, "Fuck my pussy now."

    With agile movements, Sybille straddled Arthur''s cock in a position known as Cowgirl. Sybille''s hips moved rapidly, and with each movement, his cock seemed to go deeper.

    "Oh!"

    Wisa, who was having her pussy sucked, heard these screams of pleasureing from Sybille and couldn''t contain herself, having even more orgasms. "fuck"

    Jane was also going crazy, watching that scene on the side, touching her clit.

    "Jane,e here," Wisa said.

    She walked towards Wisa and handed her pussy on a tray for her to suck. Arthur was sucking Wisa, Wisa was sucking Jane, and Sybille was riding his dick meanwhile.

    They kept that position for quite some time, and the moans echoed inside the cabin! It was a good thing they prepared a magical formation a long time ago that shut the sound, or else every dragon and dwarf inside the valley would hear their screams!

    "It is my turn now!" Wisa said.

    She wanted to ride, just like Sybille was, so they changed positions. Wisa rode like a queen, and after that, it was Jane''s time.

    The warm sensation of their pussy was something Arthur loved! Each time a different one was swallowing his cock, the sensation was distinct, but still wonderful!

    Jane, Wisa and Sybille kept changing turns, riding on the cock until one could not take it anymore, and then the next would assume the mantle until the other rest.

    It was their way of punishing Arthur, and it was working! Even he, who had a lot of endurance, was finding it hard to keep going after hours and hours.

    His three wives kept using his dick throughout an entire day, sucking it, riding, and putting their pussies on his mouth to suck.

    Arthur lost the count of how many times he gave them a creampie, and it got to where he could not take it anymore, which was when his wives could not take it either!

    "Ahhh, my pussy needs a rest. Fucking hell, Arthur. Did your dick got bigger?" Sybille said as she fell on her bed to sleep.

    Wisa and Jane followed her lead, sleeping as well. And Arthur, who was someone who did not sleep very often, also went to bed after the 24 hour bed time with his wives.

    "My friend," he said, looking at his dick, "you will recover from this, and we will get our revenge!"

    ~~~~<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arthur and his wives slept for many hours, so many that he himself was surprised to go to sleep during the night, and wake up during the night of the next day!

    "My goodness. Am I an old man to sleep that much? It''s unthinkable that someone sleeps more than I do..." thought Arthur, looking over to see his three wives sleeping like rocks stuck to the ground.

    "It''s not possible..."

    With sneaky steps, Arthur left his hut and went to the nearby waterfall, looking for a ce to rx.

    The only sounds he could hear were of crickets, owls, and the other unknown magical beasts that inhabited the valley.

    Most of the dwarves were still awake, eating and drinking, but Arthur''s hut was far away, so none of them came into his vision, and the only thing he could see was the starry sky.

    "Sybille needs to reach rank four as soon as possible, and then we need to go to the central continent."

    That was Arthur''s thought, and by coincidence, he heard a noiseing from his hut. And it was none other than Sybille, who was once again entering meditation, seeking to improve her strength as quickly as possible.

    Arthur was sure that with thismitmenting from Sybille, it would not be a problem for her to reach the desired level.

    And in this same routine of sex, training, and leisure, three months passed.

    The situation with the Von Stein family had stabilized, and the Demon Continent seemed to return to an era of peace, with no talk of invading other continents.

    In fact, the opposite was happening! Trade agreements were being created, especially with the Central Continent, which viewed Arthur with good eyes.

    "Finally peace..."

    Anyone, of any race, was breathing a sigh of relief in various corners of the Demon Continent, happy with the new situation the ce was in.

    They couldn''t say for sure who brought all this about, but many already knew that dragons were the ones in charge, and not one person seemed to disagree!

    "Dragons are fair, wise, and majestic creatures. I see this as a breakthrough for our continent," a salesman told a customer who was looking for a magic sword to buy in a small store in a small town.

    After three months of intense training, Sybille had finally reached rank four, creating an explosion of energy within the valley, this which was contained by Arthur, who possessed much higher power.

    "I did it! I did it!" cried Sybille, jumping for joy.

    Only she knew how much effort was put into that goal, and finally seeding in said task, Sybille felt unable to hold in her inner happiness, wanting to hug Arthur, Wisa, and Jane.

    "I knew you could do it!" Arthur said, stroking Sybille''s silky hair.

    It was a moment of great happiness, but time was not something they had to spare, and for this reason, soon after Sybille was consecrated as a rank four vampire mage, Arthur and his wives left the valley, and headed for the central continent!

    Under normal circumstances, the journey would be long, even with Arthur having unmatched speed, but thanks to Harker, who had somehow opened a portal to the central continent, all Arthur needed was a few words.

    "Of course, my lord. Please use the portal as if it were your own," Harker said, bowing his body with respect.

    Arthur looked at him and said, "But the portal is mine. Isn''t it?"

    Harker broke into a cold sweat for a moment, "Of course. Only someone as majestic as you can have a portal like this."

    "That''s right," Arthur said, walking over to the portal and using it, with his wives by his side.

 Chapter 439 Returning To The Central Continent

    Arthur''s first move upon reaching the central continent was to check the nearby vige, and see if what the vampires said was true.

    He hoped so, or else Harker would have a real problem to face.

    They moved through the woods of the Forbidden Forest, pping the bugs that tried to bite their necks, and avoiding the bushes which looked harmless, until someone stepped on a poisonous thorn.

    The only good part was that the vige was near to the portal.

    "Finally! Those bugs were killing me," Janeined as she panting after leaving the dense area of the Forbidden Forest, enjoying the fresh air!

    There was a muddy road right after they left the Forbidden Forest, with a sign saying no one should go inside.

    If Arthur wanted to find the vige, all he had to do was follow the muddy road, and that was precisely what he did.

    This time, though, he did not use his red mantle or his incredible spells to fly, but walked, and enjoyed the fresh breeze, and the surrounding greenery that looked like it came straight from a painting of how beautiful it was.

    "This ce is dangerous and beautiful, like my wives," whispered Arthur, but his wives heard it, lightly punching his arm.

    Arthur caught the attention of the vigers, as they wondered who was that guy with a te armor and a red cloak, looking like a general of the army.

    Out of fear, or maybe respect, the vigers answered all of his questions.

    "Did you see or hear something strangetely? Like, perhaps near the Forbidden Forest?"

    "N-No, sir, not at all. No one goes near the Forbidden Forest anyway, and the vige looks the same as usual," a man said.

    Not only him, but anyone who had simr answers, meaning nothing happened to the vige, just like Harker said.

    "Good, good."

    Despite talking to strangers, there were two people Arthur wished to talk to, but that would take too much of his time, and maybe worry them for no reason.

    "Maybe I wille back here with Elena to talk with her parents," thought Arthur, moving away from the vige with his wives.

    The word about him spread fast, and the citizens of the Central Continent wondered who was that mysterious person who looked fierce, and in a different level of power.

    It spread so much that Arthur came across some mages during his way to Odemore, and those mages wished to duel him to prove their value.

    "If I win against this famous person, then my fame will skyrocket!"

    That was the thought they had in mind, one that was foolish. No one had the slightest of changes of winning against Arthur, a rank-five mage.

    "Take my Firestorm!" A mage yelled, casting a spell only rank two mages could.

    An extraordinary level of power inside the Central Continent, yet Arthur made the mes disappear with a single wave of his hand, shocking anyone that saw it.

    "I yield, I yield!"

    Arthur did not attack any of those mages directly, as he was not a madman who would create a trail of corpses throughout the Central Continent, but he still made sure they acknowledge his power, and all the mages gave up after realizing he was beyond their league.

    After doing those things, his fame spread even more inside the continent, and everyone wanted to know his identity.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Only three days passed, and Arthur was finally back at Odemore! There, he stopped right in front of the school''s barrier, near a small structure where a person responsible for not letting any strangere close to the school was.

    Arthur saw the man walking toward him with a worried face. The man was a rank one mage, and what bugged him was that he did not sense anyoneing, meaning their strengths far surpassed his own.

    "Hello. May I know what business you have here?" the young mage asked.

    He wore a long ck robe with the symbol of a dragon, and was looked youthful for a rank-one magic, meaning it had decent talent.

    Arthur did not say a word, but pointed to a statue that was far away from where they were. The youth followed it, and it took him a few seconds to realize that the statue had the same face as the man before him!

    "A-Are you the founder and ancestor of his school? The protector of the Central Continent?"

    The youth could not believe it! Arthur was once known as the protector of the continent, and the strongest mage it ever produced, yet he vanished a long time ago.

    Some people around the continent still remembered him, but many of his statues vanished throughout the years, but there was one that did no: the one inside Odemore!

    Why? Well, Arthur was the one who built the school. The Odemore before him was not the only one with a statue of him, the other one in the other continent also had one.

    "That''s me. I will go inside, if you excuse me. Also, these three are with me," Arthur said as he walked passed the young mage, crossing the barrier with no problems.

    Not even his wives, who were already at rank-four could do that, and Arthur was the one who had to open a passage for them.

    The young mage looked at that, thinking, "he is even more impressive than the stories! His power is unfathomable!"

    Every student inside Odemore saw when Arthur arrived there, and soon everyone was gasping for air, looking at someone who they thought was only a legend in the Central Continent, told to the kids for them to have someone to chase as their goal.

    No one truly believed all the stories they heard, yet now that Arthur was in the same space as them, they could not deny he had something different, like an aura no one could match.

    Out of all the students, Elena recognized Arthur the moment she saw him, running straight at him for a hug!

    Elena was that student he brought along to the One Hundred Thunder School, and it was now studying in Odemore. Laura was there too, and she also recognized Arthur!

    Both girls were at the rank-two, which was quite good considering Arthur had been away for less than a decade.

    Also, they looked almost the same from when they met. Elena looked way older now, an adult, but she did not look old, having a perfect skin, and Arthur was sure she would keep that appearance for a long, long period.

    "Perhaps even forever if she keeps increasing her power, which I hope it happens."

    The directors of Odemore, those Arthur put in charge, were not there. Theo and Kai were not there too, and in a quick conversation, Arthur discovered they were not in the central continent anymore, and no one knew what they were up too.

    "What about Sully?" Arthur asked Elena and Laura.

    "It is said to be with Kai, but no one can find him. Some say he left this world, but no one is sure about it."

    They knew a few things, but not a lot. Arthur was a little worried about the whole thing.

    "Nefion should know more about this," thought Arthur as he left Odemore after seeing everything was alright.

    His destination? Ouroboros ind to speak with old Nefion, and Eleonora!

 Chapter 440 Increase In Stats, And Old Friends

    While Arthur was on his way to the Ouroboros school, he took the chance to check up on his status, which increased by a lot after reaching rank-five!

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Bloodline: Dragon (Legendary cidusax), Monlog Giant]

    [Rank: Official Mage (5)]

    [Level: 200]

    [Health: 210000/210000]

    [Mana: 0/0]

    [Spiritual Force: 505]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 1340]

    [Agility: 1150]

    [Vigor: 1246]

    [Wisdom: 1488]

    [Charm: 1109]

    [Free points: 485]

    The attributes were incredible, with all of them surpassing 1000 points!

    Arthur had 485 free points to use, but he still did not use it.

    "I will leave this, and I still don''t know what attributes will I need the most in a foreign ce. I should just wait and see!"

    The destination of which Arthur would take after he left the was still unknown to him, so he opted to save his points for the time being.

    He was not concerned at all, as no one on the could face him.

    "I am the only rank five mage here," thought Arthur, flying across thends, reaching the Ouroboros School in no time.

    There was a vige with a harbor, and just like always, a student had been assigned to taking care of the area.

    Arthur could tell just by looking at the man''s expression that it was a pain in the ass, but different from the other times, Arthur just flew across the vige, straight toward the Ouroboros ind.

    Why would a mighty mage like him, who also knew the leader of the Ouroboros school, travel using a slow boat?

    For him, it was way better to just fly, and when Arthur got close to the school, mages appeared high in the sky to stop him.

    They were all youths, all rank-one, except for one who was already at rank-two.

    "Who are you? Speak it now or we will kill you?" the youth who was rank-two said.

    It was a man with short ck hair, and green eyes, with a scar on his right eye.

    Arthur could not hold his giggle at hearing what the man said, making him even more angered.

    "What''s funny, huh? This is the strongest school on this continent, so you better humble yourself!"

    More and more mages appeared in the sky, gazing at the mysterious people who arrived without prior announcement.

    No one there had the power to see through them, but there was someone who knew who Arthur was.

    "Arthur? Sister?"

    A gorgeous blond haired woman with a wless skin, looking like a doll of how perfect she was.

    "Eleonora!"

    She had changed a lot during those years. Eleonora had a more mature look, which made her look even better, but the most extraordinary thing was how much her power increased in that short period!

    "Peak rank three?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arthur knew rank three mages were rare in the central continent, and for the other students around them to not fear Eleonora''s presence meant they did not know she was that strong!

    "Old Nefion probably made her hide her strength. Is he doing the same?" thought Arthur as he looked at Eleonora, who came running straight toward Jane for a hug.

    "I missed you, sister!"

    Both Jane and Eleonora could not hold their tears of joy, and all the other students from Ouroboros could not understand what was happening.

    After hugging Jane, Eleonora hugged Arthur, and then Wisa and Sybille hugged.

    "May I know what is happening here? Who do you think you are to speak with outsiders without my permission?" the rank-two mage said with an arrogant tone.

    "Oh? They also don''t know Eleonora is Nefion''s daughter?"

    If they knew that, no way that mage would act so rude to her. Arthur wanted to punch the man in the face, but restrained himself.

    "Please, call Nefion, and shut up, worm," Arthur said.

    The youth had his face all red, burning with anger as he said, "what did you say?"

    Then he opened up his palm, and a ray of shadows flew toward Arthur.

    That was a spell only a rank two mage could cast, meaning the youth was trying to attack Arthur for good!

    "Useless," Arthur muttered, blocking the powerful spell using only his right hand!

    He did not cast any protections, nothing. The power of his body was more than enough to block that spell, sending terror to anyone who saw it.

    "W-Who are you?" the youth said after seeing his spell vanish as if it was nothing.

    The mage was scared and could not hold his shaky legs. He could not even keep an eye contact with Arthur, afraid he would die out of a sudden.

    "Just call Nefion."

    Arthur could storm through the barrier, but he did not want to upset Nefion, and even warm the school''s barrier. If he did that, then they would have to fix it, and resources too!

    So, he waited for Nefion to show up, which did not take long. An old man with a long white beard flew toward Arthur, giving him a hug, and then a p at the top of his head.

    "Why didn''t you send me a message first? Now you had to stand here like an idiot. Come on," Nefion said, making hand signs for Arthur and his wives to follow him through the school, straight to the main building where his personal room was.

    "Don''t mind my students. They are just kids," said Nefion as they went inside his personal room, the same one Arthur had visited once.

    "I know, I know. How''s things going, anyway?"

    "Pretty good. As you can tell, my daughter reached peak rank three, and her dragon powers are awakening! She can also turn into her dragon form now, although it onlysts for a limited time."

    Nefion spoke about Eleonora with clear pride in his voice, happy to see her grown in strength.

    "But what about you? I cannot feel your power, yet I should because we are both rank-four, right?"

    That question was exactly what Arthur was waiting. The perfect time to boast about his achievements.

    A silence fell down on that room, and the bright smile of Arthur made Nefion lost his mind with the possibility.

    "Y-You are rank five? This is the first time in ages that a dragon recovered much of its strength. This is¡­ this is a time to celebrate!"

    Nefion was not jealous. He was happy that the dragons were returning to their peak power, and for the first time in ages, a dragon returned to rank five!

    Well, on that, that is. There were still vampires on the biggest where the Alliance was, and those had superior strength.

    Yet, none of them ever had the power of cidusax. It was only a matter of time before Arthur to recover that power and surpass it!

    "A party tonight. What do you say? Drinks, beautifuldies, and- "Nefion felt three intimidating gazes aimed straight at him.

    "Oh, right? No beautifuldies, only your three wives, hehe."

    Jane, Wisa, and Sybille nodded in approval after hearing that. As for Eleonora, she could onlyugh at the situation.

    After their conversation was over, every single student of Ouroboros knew about the party, and even the one responsible for taking care of the harbor returned to take part.

    It was a time to rx, as Arthur would have to free George soon, and he hoped things would work out¡­

 Chapter 441 That Many Mages?

    The Ouroboros school had a feast that night, with a lot of food and drinks.

    Everyone loved it, especially the students who were often busy with learning magic, or outpleting missions. It was rare for them to have a time to rx, and do other things not rted to magic.

    "Give me another drink!" ady asked the bartender behind the counter.

    Arthur also enjoyed the party. Not because he liked to eat and drink, but because Nefion was the one who organized everything, so there was no way Arthur would flee from such a party.

    "What happened to Theo and Kai? Do you know something?" Arthur said.

    Nefion chugged a cup of beer, and said, "they left his, I am sure of it. Also, I have a feeling they are up with something evil."

    It shocked Arthur, as he had never imagined they would do something like that. Was it his fault? He could not help but to think about that.

    "No. I did everything I could."

    There was no reason for Arthur to put the me on himself. Theo and Kai were the ones who chose that, not him.

    "What are your next moves?" Nefion asked.

    "Me? Leaving the is the only option. You know, someone from the Alliance ising to get something from me, so I need to run."

    "Wait, what?"

    The things were happening so fast that Arthur forgot to share about the two forces that wereing for him. After Nefion got to know about it, there was a clear path inside his mind.

    "We need to help Eleonora reach rank-four, and we can all leave this. I don''t want her getting caught in this mess," Nefion said.

    "Alright. I know someone who can help us with that, but you will have to increase Eleonora''s power as fast as you can. Can you do that?"

    "Yes. Give me one month at most," Nefion said confidently.

    Arthur believed him and was surprised to see Eleonora improving so fast. Her talent seemed to be bigger than his own, and maybe if Arthur did not have his system, then Eleonora would surpass him.

    They talked in the corner, away from everyone else, and settled with their ns. After that, both Nefion and Arthur returned to the party, enjoying everything it offered!

    Students made a huge campfire right outside of the main building. They sat around it, drinking their beer and wine, telling stories about their adventures.

    "Once I fought against a horde of 15 Crystal Scorpions at the same time and won!"

    No one knew if the stories told about the firece were real or not, but that did not change the fact everyone present loved to hear them.

    Arthur was not different, sitting on afy couch, on a personal balcony inside his room in the main building, looking at all the youths from above, hearing to what they had to say.

    "This wine is incredible! Did you taste it, darling?" Jane asked, sipping on a ss of wine.

    "Darling?"

    On that balcony, Arthur was lost in thoughts, not even hearing what Jane said. He did not know why, but he had a bad feeling within.

    "Is my head ying tricks?" Arthur thought.

    He only returned to his senses after Jane cuddled his hair. "I am sorry, love. I was overthinking things."

    "It''s alright."

    Jane then shared her wine with him, which was extremely good, just like she said. They all sit on that balcony, enjoying the harm feeling of the campfire, and the happiness all the students of Ouroboros had.

    ~~~~

    It was past midnight. The number of mages enjoying the festivities diminished by the second.

    Arthur was still on that balcony, but his wives were already in bed. That strange feeling had yet to vanish.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The only exnation he found was his Unseen Truth Eye, which was trying to warn him about something, but there was no vision, nothing.

    "I should just go to bed."

    He got up from the balcony couch and went to his bed.

    ~~~~

    When the next morning came, Arthur left Ouroboros, and his wives stayed there.

    Jane wanted to spend more time with her sister, Eleonora. Wisa and Sybille also stayed to rest, and make sure nothing bad happened to the school.

    They also wanted to help Eleonora reach rank-four.

    As for Arthur? He had to free George, and he did not know how that would turn out, so bringing others with him might cause them trouble.

    What did he need to free George? Official Mages, the stronger the better.

    George had said he needed rank 1 mages, but the number was unknown, so it was better to look for more powerful ones to speed up the process.

    But he could bring no one. Killing innocent people would ruin his reputation, and that was not something he wanted to do.

    "I will soon leave this, so I want to leave with a sympathetic portrait."

    The area where George was locked was far away, near a town with an endless mist. Arthur took three days to reach there, even with his incredible speed and teleports.

    Once Arthur got there, he looked for mages in the surrounding area. He had a ck cloak and a mask covering his face so that no one knew his identity.

    Of course, Arthur looked for mages who performed evil actions, like necromancers, killers, thieves, or anything of the like.

    Those types of people were not that hard to find. Arthur had three rank 2 mages by the end of that day, leading them toward the ce where George was.

    "Why are you doing this to us? We might be awful people, but we don''t deserve death!"

    They could only attribute their kidnapping to all the evils they had done throughout the Central Continent.

    Arthur led them to the room where George was, wrapped with vines that were draining his vitality. He was not awake, but that would soon change.

    "Don''t worry. I will do it quick."

    "W-"

    With his spear, Arthur beheaded the three mages in less than one second. All of their blood, mana core, and anything that had vitality on it flew toward the vines.

    The vines absorbed it, meaning they were no longer using George''s life force. In just a few seconds, he was awake once again.

    "Arthur. Why did you stop contacting me? I was asleep, so I don''t know how much time it passed."

    Arthur could not tell he was worried if George would keep his word or act against him.

    "Things happened. I need your help to leave this, and I hope you don''t try funny things, like going back on the deal. The Netherbeast is my friend," Arthur said.

    When George heard the same, his body shivered, and his eyes were wide open! He knew there was no way Arthur was lying because the Netherbeast did not share its name with anyone.

    "I-I will not. After you free me, we can all leave this and go to the biggest where all the powerful mages are."

    "Good. How many mages do I have to kill?"

    "Hum," George stopped for a few moments, making some calctions, "around 200 mages if they are all rank 2, or 500 if they are rank 1."

    "¡­"

 Chapter 442 Leaving The Planet For Good

    The number of mages Arthur had to kill caught him off guard. He knew it would be a decent amount, but that many?

    "I see. Well, it might take a few days for me to get the number, but don''t worry about it."

    There were two paths he could take. The first being killing way more rank one mage, and the other less but only rank two.

    Arthur would kill only evil mages, so for him, it did not matter if they were ranked one or two. Hell, if an evil rank three mage appeared out of nowhere, Arthur would kill it too!

    He was focused on getting that task done, as it was the only way for him and his wives to leave the before the two forces that wanted him arrived.

    So, after speaking with George, Arthur set on a journey to kill as many evil magicians as he could. Of course, he had a long ck robe with a hood, and a mask to cover his face.

    Arthur also used elements he barely used, like ice, for example, trying his best to keep his identity a secret from everyone.

    Within just a few days, stories about him traveled across the continent, and wanted portraits of him were scattered all over the continent. Its bounty increased every day, and if things continued like that, Arthur would be the most wanted person in the central continent''s history.

    It was a good thing that after five days chasing evil mages and killing them inside the room where George was, Arthur was done with it!

    The vines, who wanted enough life force, got satiated after many corpses, releasing George''s body.

    "Finally! I cannot believe this is truly happening," George said, knelled to the ground.

    Arthur was ready to fight at any moment, staring at George, who had yet to make a move. The situation was tense, but dly, nothing happened between the two.

    "So how can you get us out of this, anyway?" Arthur said.

    "You will see. Now, can you gather everyone?"

    ~~~~

    The moment they were waiting for finally arrived. Arthur, Jane, Wisa, Sybille, Eleonora and Nefion would leave the!

    Everyone was excited about it.

    "Where is this mechanism you talked about?" Nefion said.

    After Arthur and George returned to Ouroboros, Eleonora had already reached rank four, which was incredible.

    So, all of them were ready to leave the! Also, before leaving, Arthur went to Odemore to check that bloodline fruit he nts a long time ago, and it had yet toe to surface.

    "This fruit is way more powerful than I thought. I will keep it here for the time being," thought Arthur.

    They all then left the school, following George through the sea, straight to a ce he said the mechanisms would be.

    Arthur did not know what those mechanisms George talked about were, that until they finally reached the desired location ¡ª a small ind in the middle of the ocean.

    ? There, they saw strange balls of metals, ced on the ground.

    "This is like a traveling device powerful mages use. It can also multiple to a few more metal balls, so that is why you are seeing more than one. Each one of you hops inside one, and you will understand how it works. After that, just follow me!" George said.

    It looked like a spaceship or something. When Arthur got close to it, the metal moved, opening a small passage. The interior of the metal ball had something like a small couch, and nothing more.

    That was one reason only powerful mages could leave the. They would have to endure not eating, or going to the bathroom, and weak magicians could not endure such things.

    George was the first to fly off with his metal ball, controlling it as if it was an extended limb.

    "When you get inside, it will automatically connect with you," George said, transmitting a mental message to everyone.

    It happened just like he said. The moment Arthur got inside the metal ball, the door behind him closed, and his mind connected to the thing, allowing him to control it fully. The same with everyone else.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I am controlling a spaceship using my mind! This is cool!"

    They first flew for a few minutes to get used to the thing before following George to outside of the.

    Excitement grew inside everyone, and as they got higher, the got smaller and smaller.

    The sensation of being in the outer space was strange. It got harder to breathe, but the mana inside Arthur came out to protect him, creating a type of barrier around his body, making it all return to normal.

    "Are you alright?" Arthur said.

    Even though they were in separated metal balls, it was still possible tomunicate mentally, and that was precisely what they did.

    "Yes, I am. Husband, do you have any idea how far is the we are going?" Wisa asked.

    "Not at all."

    The same way Arthur could send messages to his wives, he did that to George, "how long will it take us to reach this? Is it dangerous?"

    "This device we are using is one of the best means of transportation, but even with it, it will take us one month. As for dangers, well, it can happen, but it''s rare," George said.

    "A month? Less than I expected," thought Arthur.

    After a long time, Arthur had finally left his, aiming to reach a new ce with endless possibilities. That was what he hoped for, but things would not work as he expected.

    They flew across the stars, meeting other mages along the way, but none of those mages tried anything to harm the metal balls. But before reaching the desired, something happened.

    Two powerful mages were fighting in the space, casting powerful spells, some of which would be enough to destroy a! George warned them to be careful, but it was not in time!

    A spell hit Arthur''s metal ball, as well as the one belonging to his wives¡­

    "Arthur!" Nefion yelled.

    He wanted to rescue Arthur, who was falling down from the sky like a meteor, straight toward a, yet George stopped him.

    "No, don''t go. It is suicide! We must leave and return in the future. These metal balls have limited fuel too!"

    Nefion and Eleonora could not believe such a thing was happening.

    "Arthur¡­ please be okay¡­"

    ~~~~

    The metal balls were falling fast toward a near to where the two mages were fighting.

    It was impossible for Arthur, or his wives to stop it from hitting the''s surface.

    A loud bang echoed when the metal balls hit the ground, creating a massive crater, destroying all the trees and making all the animals flee from the area.

    Arthur passed out, just like Wisa, Jane, and Sybille.

    ~~~~

    "Father, look! Starsing from the sky!" a kid said,ying on the grass with his father beside him.

    The father, though, could tell the things falling from the sky were not stars.

    "Stay here with your mom. I will go look," he said, leaving the small vige, walking straight to the ce where the metal balls were.

 Chapter 443 I Will Become The First Dragon God

    A minor called Loothea. It was closer to the biggest in the universe, home to the Alliance, and where Arthur nned to go first, Idretera.

    George had said idents could happen, yet were as rare as phoenix feathers. It never crossed Arthur''s mind that something like that would happen to him, but it did.

    Was there a way for him to prevent the oue? No, not at all. The two mages battling in the space were powerful, and it was just unlucky for Arthur to be there at the wrong time.

    "Ah, my head," Arthur said, cing his right hand on his head, feeling the blood that was falling down from a wound he got at the back of his head.

    He was alive, which was a good thing, but Arthur was still hurt after the fall, and it was still unknown what was the condition of his wives.

    Arthur gathered his strength, moving his body as slow as a turtle, opening up the door of the metal ball. The first thing he did was to look around, and the looked rather simr to the one he came from.

    "It makes sense.s have to be like this to have life, and as far as I know, mana is responsible to make thes habitable."

    Different from the world, he came from wheres had to have a certain distance of the sun for it to contain human life, in that universe, that was not the case.

    The mana controlled the temperature and all the gases that were essential to life, meaning any, being it distant from the sun of that universe or not, could have people living in it.

    "Please, be okay."

    Arthur went to check the other metal balls around him, which belonged to his wives. He opened up all the three doors, and noticed that Jane, Wisa and Sybille were unconscious, yet still breathing.

    There were no visible wounds either, so they should be alright. He sighed in relief after noticing that. The only reason he was the only one awake was because he was in a higher realm, that''s all.

    Then Arthur sensed someone approaching. It was a man wearing handmade clothing, simr to those of vigers. He also had a dagger and a bow!

    What caught Arthur''s attention was that the man had the power of a tenth circle mage, which was basically an ant whenpared to Arthur.

    "This is way closer to our destination, yet it seems this ce is not that developed," thought Arthur.

    The man got closer to the metal balls, and he had a million thoughts inside his head.

    What were those things? He had never seen it before, and only after a few seconds did he notice Arthur and his wives.

    "These people aren''t simple. I cannot sense their mana at all," the man thought.

    He had a feeling that they were powerful mages, and powerful mages were rare, so the man went closer to Arthur and said, "hello? Are you alright?"

    Arthur acted surprised. "is someone there? Please, help me."

    "How many people are there? Only you?" the man asked.

    "Me and three more. Please."

    The man was alone, so it would be hard to help everyone. "can you hold on for about ten minutes? I will return with more people to help."

    "I-I can."

    After that, the man left, returning to his small cabin. He was a well-known person in the vige, so it was easy for him to get some help from others.

    They returned to the ce where Arthur was, and instead of only one person, they were in five!

    Each one of them helped one of Arthur''s wives, taking them back to their vige.

    Arthur had the help of that first man that arrived. "I am Victor."

    "Arthur, nice to meet you."

    Victor looked older, like someone in his thirties, with a thick ck beard, and a long messy hair. He was also quite muscr. Arthur could tell he was someone who did manual jobs, like cutting wood or hunting.

    The vige he lived was not that far from where Arthur had fallen. They crossed a small forest, and then a river, finally reaching the vige!

    It was right beside the river, with around 18 houses in total made of wood.

    A simple life, yet they did everything on their reach to help Arthur.

    Arthur, Jane, Wisa and Sybille all went to Victor''s house, which was one of the biggest inside the vige.

    There, a gorgeous woman was waiting for them, alongside a small little girl.

    "Husband, what happened? Tracy told me you went looking for stars," the woman said.

    "Emily, help me! I found these people nearby, and they seem hurt," Victor said.

    Emily quickly understood the situation, preparing some wet towels and a bed for Arthur and his wives.<novelnext></novelnext>

    They had some free space in their house, which was quite impressive for someone living in such a small vige.

    "This room belonged to my boy, but he left to join the army two years ago. So, you can use it for now," Victor said.

    Arthur could not express how much grateful he felt toward the man.

    He was not that hurt, but his mana core was a mess, and it would be hard for him to use his mana, meaning Arthur was not at an ideal spot for battling.

    Also, his wives were still unconscious, which made everything harder. It was unlucky that he fell on that, but also lucky that he fell close to such good people.

    "Thank you for helping us. I will repay this," Arthur said.

    "Don''t think about repaying, but recovering. I did not do this for prizes," Victor said, leaving the room afterward.

    It was night, and for the first time in a long time, Arthur felt tired, and his eyelids could barely keep themselves open. He got up from his bed, giving a kiss to the head of his wives, "please, wake up soon."

    Then he returned to his bed, falling asleep in a few minutes.

    ~~~~

    Everyone in that vige was talking about the mysterious people that Victor rescued the other night. It was rare for them to have any visitors.

    "Could they be fallen gods? It would be nice for our vige to get some blessings," one viger said.

    "Impossible, right?"

    They all tried to guess what was the identity of Arthur, and although he was not a fallen god, he would soon be one for that!

    "Good morning," Emily said the moment she saw Arthuring out of the bedroom.

    Arthur had a youthful face. Although many years had passed since his arrival at that universe, his appearance did not change mage. A perk of being a powerful mage.

    Emily''s son, the one that went to the army two years ago, was also young, so the youthful face of Arthur reminded her of her son, and that is why she was so caring.

    "There''s some rabbit meat and a vegetable soup. Please, sit, and eat something," she said.

    With a sleepy face, Arthur said, "good morning, Emily. And thank you."

    Arthur sat at the table and ate. After he merged his avatar with his main body, he got the perks of being a vampire, but not the weaknesses, meaning he did not need blood to survive anymore.

    Still, absorbing the life essence of others would still grant him some perks, but eating normal food was not something impossible for him, and it actually tasted good.

    While he was eating, a little girl came to see him. It was Tracy.

    She was only 11 years old, and she was curious about the identity of the youth inside her house.

    "This is Tracy, my daughter. She is cute, isn''t she?" Emily said.

    Arthur did not say a word, and then the door of their house opened. It was Victor, returning with some more meat for the family. Beside him, there was an enormous wolf!

    "A magical beast? He tamed it? Wait, no. This is a familiar!"

    Arthur remembered that the first time he arrived at that universe, mages had familiars beside them, but as they got stronger, those familiars returned to the mage''s mana core.

    He did not know, but his had lost the techniques to control the familiars to fight beside them. That was not the case for most of the more advanceds.

    "Rufus!" Tracy said, running toward the wolf to hug him.

    "They have their familiars to fight beside them, strange. Could this mean magic be more advanced here?" Arthur thought.

    "You are awake? Eat. You need to recover your strength, and you can help me with the farmter," Victor said.

    Victor knew Arthur wanted to repay him somehow, and maybe helping him out for a while with nting, taking care of the animals, and hunting would be more than enough.

    "I will, absolutely," Arthur said, smiling, happy to repay some of the kindness he received from that family.

    He finished his breakfast, with Tracy sitting beside him. She wanted to speak with him, and after a long time, she said, "I heard rumors from my friends. They say you are a fallen god. Is it true?"

    Arthur almost choked on his breakfast. He was not something like a fallen god, but he had a tab in his system that allowed people to worship him, and that gave him an idea.

    "This is the perfect opportunity to make them worship me, the new dragon god!"

 Chapter 444 A Helping Hand

    "Me? A fallen god? No, I am just an ordinary person," Arthur said.

    Tracy had a disappointing look. She was hoping he was something like that to have someone to change the fate of their vige, a forgotten ce.

    But, Victor, who was there with them, knew that what Arthur said was not the truth.

    Someone that came from the sky? How could it be an ordinary person? Maybe it was not a fallen god, but it had to be someone powerful.

    Arthur wanted to take the time there for a sort of vacation, away from fights against powerful mages, killing, and people chasing him across the universe.

    He wanted to help in the farm, and maybe create a cabin of his own.

    "This is a time to stabilize my power, and maybe get this to worship me! I see this as a good way to reach greater heights in the future!"

    There was no reason for Arthur to not make everyone worship him! His system gave him such powerful skill, like the gods that had the celestial energy.

    That was a good way for him to reach a level of power capable of leaving that universe to fight against the genuine threats.

    "A shame¡­ I was hoping you could help me be a mage¡­" Tracy said, looking down.

    "Oh? I can help you with that, yes," Arthur said.

    "You can?" Tracy said, forming a bright smile, and almost jumping out of her chair.

    She dreamed of bing a mage, and she was at the age where people had the first signs they would be mages!

    Tracy had almost one hundred percent chance of being one because both Victor and Emily, her parents, were mages!

    Both tenth circle mages, which was not that great, but not that bad either.

    "Can you truly help my daughter?" Victor asked.

    "Of course, but first, help in the farm, right?"

    Arthur did not have a family back at his universe. Now, he had wives, and for a split second, he saw Tracy as a little sister, someone he would protect at all costs.

    "I never had a brother or a sister¡­"

    A sadness came when Arthur thought about the past, but it quickly vanished as he remembered all the good things he had in his life, mainly his wives and friends.

    Victor still had to build up some trust in Arthur to have him acting as a mentor for his daughter, but there was no denial that he had a good first impression of him, especially how he helped him out in the farm during the early hours of the morning.

    "This is the part where we nt things to eat, and that part over there is where we nt some magical herbs. A few are rare, but most of them aremon magical herbs," Victor said, first pointing to where the food was, and then where the magical herbs were.

    Arthur knew how to take care of normal nts and magical herbs; the water, killing the small bugs, and also the perfect spot for each herb.

    Well, at least the magical herbs he knew from his. With a quick nce, Arthur noticed that all the herbs were unknown to him.

    So, he said, pointing at the normal nts, "I know little about magical herbs, so let me handle these."

    Victor had nothing against it. He was more than happy to have any help at all, so even if Arthur only cared for the normal nts, it was good for him.

    They spent the morning watering nts, ripping off the wild grass that grew nearby, and also killing the bugs that were trying to eat the nts.

    It was incredible how a time working together was enough to make two men friends. Arthur felt like he had known Victor for ages. Victor even said he wanted to drink in the vige''s bar at night.

    Emily, who was inside the house with Tracy, heard it. She looked through the window and said, "isn''t he too young for a drink?"

    ? "Really? He looks old enough for me," Victor said, looking at his wife afterward, "don''t tell me this is a tactic to make me stay at home?"

    She gigged, saying with irony, "of course not."<novelnext></novelnext>

    They were just messing with each other. Arthur could rte to that, and it was clear both of them loved each other.

    "How you two met each other?" Arthur asked.

    "I met her at the magical school when I was a soldier. The army often sends soldiers to act as guards, and I was lucky to meet her there," Victor said.

    "And what about this wolf of yours, Rufus?"

    "Don''t you know about familiars? We have a summoning ritual to invoke them. The type of familiar we get is set when we get our mana core. After that, learn some spells to control them," Victor said.

    That first part about the ritual was something Arthur knew, as it was how he arrived in that universe.

    But the mages merged with their familiars after they reached the first circles. It was like they did not have familiars at all!

    It was not a problem for Arthur, Jane, Wisa, Sybille, Nefion and even Eleonora. Why? They weren''t ordinary mages to begin with!

    Arthur had many bloodlines and a system, and he was basically a full dragon at that point, not even resembling a human.

    Jane and Wisa also had the Monlog Giant bloodline, and soon Arthur wanted to share his dragon bloodline with them too!

    Sybille was a vampire, and Eleonora a half-dragon. Familiars were things only the normal mages used.

    "I did not know about that," Arthur said.

    After a while, the sun was getting too hot for them to endure, for Victor to endure, at least. It was also close to lunchtime.

    "I think it is enough for the morning," Victor said, cleaning the sweat in his forehead.

    "Agreed."

    They gathered some potatoes that were ready to get into the lunch table. Emily dly epted them, pilling the potatoes, preparing to cook it in a pot.

    Victor had his dagger on hands, cleaning the meat he got from his dispenser.

    "There are some magical runes to make the foodst longer," Victor exined.

    Arthur only nodded. Victor did not know what things Arthur knew, and what things he did not, so he exined everything to him, not caring if he knew it.

    There wasn''t many things for Arthur to help in the kitchen. The ce was also small, so he would get more on their way than helping.

    He went to the room to check his wives again, who were still sleeping. Arthur did not know how long that wouldst, but he hoped they would wake up soon.

    "They look healthy, at least, but aren''t walking up," Arthur thought, giving a passionate kiss to each in the forehead, again.

    Arthur returned to the living room, waiting for the lunch. Tracy was there, with an exciting look.

    "Can you show me some magic? Mother and father never show me," she said.

    "What kind of magic?" Arthur asked.

    "What kind? Show me some of your element! Mother knows water spells, and father earth ones."

    "I see. Well, there is something. Tracy, how you feel about flying?"

    Tracy had her eyes wide open after hearing that. Victor and Emily, who were in the kitchen yet listening to their conversation, stopped everything they were doing.

    "He can fly?"

    They could not believe it!

 Chapter 445 Tell Me The Truth

    "You can fly? You are joking, right?" Tracy said.

    Arthur could not understand why they were so shocked. A mage like Victor and Emily, who were at the tenth circle, could fly too!

    Was there something he was missing?

    "Why is it so strange that I can fly, Tracy?" Arthur asked.

    He knew her parents were listening to everything from the kitchen, but Arthur asked Tracy, who was before him, then leaving to speak with her parents.

    "Dad told me that only powerful mages can fly! He said something about rank three mages, which are rare around here, I guess," Tracy said, trying to remember the information she had heard from her father.

    "What?"

    After hearing it, Arthur was quick to realize what was happening. The same way his did not have the spells to control the familiars, this did not have flight spells avable for everyone!

    That information widened his horizons. He knew Idretera, the biggest where the Alliance, George''s Monlog family, and the dragons were, had all the spells avable.

    It was like being the major library of knowledge, and the rest of thes had pieces of it, but not the full content. So basically, Loothea, the Arthur currently was, had fewer flight spells, and only powerful mages had ess to them, or could use them.

    Also, based on what Tracy said, rank-three mages were rare. Was this ce weaker than his previous? Was he, someone at the rank-five, the strongest mage?

    There was no way for him to know that, but it was nice to know he had the advantage of flight against weaker mages. That would make his life a lot easier.

    "Well, big bro here can fly. Wannae?" Arthur said.

    "Yes, yes," Tracy said as she jumped with joy.

    By that time, Victor and Emily left the kitchen, going to the living room as well.

    Victor was the first to say, "can you really fly? Aren''t you joking with us? Please, don''t give my daughter false hopes."

    As a father, he could see how excited Tracy was to fly, so he did not want for it to be a lie, as that would only make her unhappy.

    Emily thought the same way.

    "You can trust me, alright? Also, if you want to fly too, I can bring you," Arthur said.

    They discussed for some time, and Tracy won after saying many times that she wanted to fly.

    "Alright, you can go, but you two must fly somewhere else, and not here in the vige. People will see it, and ask too much questions," Victor said.

    He also volunteered to show them a suitable spot, somewhere no one went. Arthur agreed, and after they ate their lunch, they left.

    Emily wanted to go too, but stayed to take care of Jane, Wisa and Sybille.

    Arthur did not feel good about leaving them alone, even if it was only for half an hour, but it was for a good cause.

    Why? Well, Arthur would not only fly with Tracy to make her happy, but he also wanted to return to where he fell, and hide the metal balls, as that was his only way out of the.

    Another important thing was the trust. If Tracy saw how mighty he was, it would be easier to make her follow his guidance, aka practice using the Dragon Meditation Technique, and be another Dragon Priest that would increase Arthur''s power.

    That was the only way for him to be the Dragon God he wanted to!

    "Follow me through this path. It will lead us to a valley, so the mountains will cover you while you fly, and no one will see a thing. The only downside is that you cannot go that high," Victor said.

    Victor was trying to hide the fact Arthur was possibly a powerful mage, and Arthur agreed to it.

    "I don''t want to bring this family trouble. They took care of me and my wives," he thought.

    Tracy was the only one that disliked the idea of not flying that high in the sky.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You said this now, but the mountains around this valley are tall. It will get scary," Arthur said.

    They followed through a path. There were no roads, nothing. It had only vegetation.

    "Isn''t it dangerous? I mean, there could be magical beasts, right?" Arthur asked.

    Victor was the one leading the way, alongside Rufus, his familiar wolf. "Yes, and no. There are beasts around here, but most of them are weak, so you should not worry about it."

    "I see."

    Arthur knew little about the world, so it was understandable from his point of view to be asking such things, but Victor? He saw Arthur as more mysterious by each passing day.

    Someone who could cast spells only rank-three mages could, yet knew almost nothing about familiars and the surrounding area. Someone who fell from the sky.

    Victor had many questions, but only tell you give him the answers he looked for.

    They were walking through the forest when a magical beast appeared. It was not one of the weak ones Victor mentioned, but a beast capable of fighting against tenth circle mages!

    For a moment, Victor felt a sense of dread, afraid the beast would hurt his daughter, Tracy. He was already regretting bringing her there, but then he remembered Arthur was there!

    The humans may not know, but a magical beast could recognize one of its kind. Arthur had his aura hidden, and his body was not at its correct weight ¡ª he was a dragon that weighted a lot!

    But with just a thought, his bestial dragon aura leaked, and the beast, which looked like a big fat rat with teeth as long as 1 meter, trembled.

    It could sense the majesty emanating from Arthur, and it lowered its head, as if Arthur was his king.

    Arthur then made usage of another perk he had for being a dragon;municate with those beasts, mentally.

    "Yo, rat. Were you trying to attack me? No, right? This would be insane."

    "It was never my intention. You keep your aura hidden, so it was impossible to tell you were a beast! How powerful are you? Only powerful beasts can assume the appearance of a human," the rat said.

    "Aren''t you asking too much?"

    "I-I am sorry."

    The enormous rat trembled once again, afraid Arthur would end his life right there.

    Victor was beside Arthur, watching everything,municating mentally with Rufus, trying to understand the situation.

    "Rufus, can you tell me what he is doing?"

    "I have a guess, but it is impossible. That would change everything."

    "What do you mean, Rufus? Spill it out."

    "I-I believe he ismunicating mentally with the rat. That could only mean he is a beast in human form, as mages do not understand thenguage of monsters, at least not the mages I know."

    Arthur finished speaking with the rat, sending it away. Then, he turned around to look at Victor, who had Tracy behind his back, wielding his dagger in abat position.

    "Who exactly are you?"

    "What do you mean? Why are you acting like I am an enemy?" Arthur asked.

    He could not understand what had changed. Could Victor know he talked with another beast? No, that should be impossible.

    "Tell me the truth. Are you¡­ are you a beast?"

 Chapter 446 Accepting A Beast, And Thief

    Victor wanted to know if his daughter was safe. A beast teaching her? A beast inside their house?

    He asked first, not because he was a kind guy, but because Arthur was too mysterious for him. If Arthur was truly a beast, it had to be one way too powerful for someone like him.

    Hell, Victor was certain few mages on the entire could win against such beast. What was he supposed to do?

    Arthur looked at him, and there was no way to lie, not to such a kind person.

    "If he hates me, and asks me to leave, I will do it," Arthur thought.

    "Victor, I am a beast," Arthur said, making the other party quiet.

    Victor had a look of slight fear, but Tracy seemed to be alright. She was not scared of some beast, and even if Arthur was one, so what? He had treated her and the others well, better than some humans who called themselves nice people.

    "But I am no ordinary beast, that is. Have you ever heard of dragons?"

    "N-No, I haven''t. I don''t think there are beasts called that here, and seeing how you fell from the sky. It is understandable."

    "I can promise you my kind is wise, righteous, and I will do nothing else than help you," Arthur said, bowing his head a little, trying to act more benevolent.

    He truly did not want to part ways with that family. They were helping his wives, taking care of them, and it was a good ce to hide while he learned more about the world.

    No one would look for him in such a small vige, at least he hoped so.

    Victor was lost in thoughts, and after a few seconds, he sheathed his dagger. "It is not like I can win against you, anyway."

    Tracy walked away from Victor''s back, and she said, "can you be my familiar? No? Can you show me your true form? Please, please!"

    "Sweetie," Victor said, "he cannot be your familiar. He is way too powerful. But I guess he can show us his true form."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Arthur saw nothing wrong with that. "Alright, I can do that, but we must find an open area. There are too many trees around here."

    "There is a in area right in the middle of this valley. We can go there," Victor said.

    After that talk, everything returned to normal, and Victor was not acting too suspiciously about Arthur. There was nothing he could do about it if Arthur was evil, so what was the point of worrying that much?

    Victor had saved him and those girls, there was no denial about that, so his heart wanted to believe Arthur would do nothing to harm him or his family.

    They were already deep inside the valley before that first confrontation, so it only took them twenty minutes to reach the in area.

    Tracy got tired along the way, hoping on her father''s back, "so much better," she said, rejoicing after not having to walk anymore.

    "This is the ce," Victor said.

    Arthur looked around, seeing if the space was enough for his actual body, and apparently it was! The in area was massive, and was there, in the middle of the valley, for no apparent reason.

    "Alright. This area is enough. You two won''t be scared, right?"

    "T-This area is enough?" Victor looked around, seeing the in area that was bigger than his entire vige.

    "He can''t be a beast the size of a mountain, right?" Victor thought.

    Arthur only smiled and then changed from a youth human to a massive ck dragon! Everything happened instantly, causing the shock of Victor and Tracy.

    They looked at those ck-scales, deep eyes, with one having the symbol of a star, and pping wings that sent trees away with the force. It was majestic, a scary yet beautiful looking beast.

    Victor had never seen something like that before, and for him, it was the most extraordinary beast he had ever seen.

 Chapter 447 A Terrible Teacher Has To Teach

    ?

    "Found something?" Victor asked.

    Arthur was visibly irritated, but once he returned to the cabin, saw everyone there, his wives, he calmed down a little.

    "Someone stole it, but they can''t use it, so its alright. I will find the person in the future," Arthur said, sitting on a chair.

    Emily and Tracy were already asleep. Victor stayed awake to wait for Arthur.

    "Someone did that? That sucks. Look, Arthur, there is something I want to ask you," Victor said.

    The two were alone in the kitchen, speaking in the middle of the night.

    "Sure. What''s wrong?"

    "Tracy. She will get her familiar soon, and when it happens, I will send her to the magic school. I know it''s a lot to ask, but can you take care of her? At least until she understands how this world works, and is safe inside the school," Victor said.

    He had a pledging look, one that was hard for anyone to turn down.

    Arthur liked Tracy. He saw her as a little sister, so when Victor asked that, he felt it was alright.

    "I can, yes. This magic school is where? Please tell me it is in the capital, or the most important city."

    "Yes, it is. Why do you ask?"

    "The mage who stole me. He has to be a powerful one, so the best ce for me to look for the person is in the capital," Arthur said, exining his thought process.

    Victor ced his hand on his chin. "it makes sense. Anyway, I will go to bed now. Thanks for taking care of my daughter."

    "No problem. Good night."

    "Good night."

    Only Arthur remained in the kitchen, sitting on the wooden chair, alone in the dark. He had troubled thoughts, and his concern about his wives was increasing by the minute.

    When would they wake up? That was what Arthur wanted to know, but it was impossible at that point, and it made him worry.

    "I should stay with them," Arthur thought, leaving the kitchen, and going toward the bedroom where his wives were.

    They were in the same position as before. Arthur went close to kiss them, and also check their breathing and vitals.

    Everything looked perfectly fine. "It is only a matter of time, I hope."

    Arthur was not tired, so instead of sleeping, he remained by their side during the entire night, making sure no one came to harm them. With him there, not a single person had the power to harm Jane, Wisa, or Sybille.

    "Good morning. Are you wake already?" Tracy said, passing by the hallway, seeing Arthur near his wives.

    He did not even sleep. That was why he was awake so soon. "yes, I am a morning person. But what about you? Shouldn''t you sleep more?"

    "I tried, but I am too anxious! My guts are telling me this is the day I will summon my familiar," Tracy said.

    When Arthur heard that, an idea popped into his mind. The n he had was to make anyone he could on that to practice the Dragon Meditation Technique.

    Why? That would grant them dragon powers, which turned it into an appealing technique for mages to practice, but it would also boost Arthur''s power at the same time.

    He knew it was impossible to change the summoned familiar, but that did not mean he could not summon a better one

    "What if Tracy practice the Dragon Meditation Technique? Can she have a better familiar?" Arthur thought.

    It was only a guess, but one there was no reason for him to not take. Arthur look for Victor and Emily the moment they were awake, and exined the technique he had.

    Arthur left out the part where he would be the one getting a lot of benefits, but said it was a technique from his race, and one that might grant Tracy a better familiar.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Victor was the first to answer, not too worried about it. "You can teach her."

    "Victor!" Emily said.

    She was beside him, and although she trusted Arthur, it was dangerous to ept a technique from a stranger. Some techniques would bring more down sides than benefits, and that was not what she wanted for their daughter.

    "Darling, this is a dangerous world. We both know that. If we can strengthen our daughter, we should take it!" Victor said.

    Emily then entered a thinking process, remembering how cruel the world could be, especially to a child like Tracy. Never would she want her daughter to suffer, or even worse, die.

    "Alright. But if Tracy gets any side-effects, we will stop the training," Emily said, and both Victor and Arthur agreed to it.

    If it was a random person, Arthur would not care for the side-effects, but Tracy was a child, a little sister. There was no way he would harm her, especially after everything their family did to help him and his wives.

    After they talked about the subject, and decided it would be a good idea for Arthur to train her, then the training started at that very morning that Tracy woke up sooner than the chickens.

    She was blooming with happiness, running around inside the cabin, and eating her breakfast as fast as she could. After she was done, she looked at Arthur and said, "can we go training now?"

    Arthur rolled his eyes at that and said, "you know you have to wait for me to finish my breakfast, regardless of how fast you go, right?"

    "Oh, right¡­" Tracy chuckled, sitting beside Arthur, waiting for him to finish.

    "I have never seen someone so excited to have a ss with me. Does she know I am a terrible teacher? Ah, there is no need to be thinking about that," Arthur thought.

    He wanted to enjoy his breakfast, but with Tracy staring at him, it was difficult. So Arthur finished quickly too and went outside with Tracy.

    Victor was there too, as he insisted on apanying them on the first day of training. Arthur saw no reason to say no, and the trio left the vige, going into a remote area, a waterfall not that far from the vige.

    On the way there, Arthur looked at Victor and said, "after you see the technique and how good it is, would you like to practice it too?"

    "Me? Why would I do that?"

    "To reach rank one and beyond. It can help you get there, even without resources or genius-like talent."

    Victor grabbed Arthur''s arm, and the sudden movement caught him off-guard. "Can it truly help me reach those ranks?"

    "Yes, it can. Look, I was thinking about it after you asked me to take care of Tracy. I will do that, but all of us know I cannot keep doing forever. But if you and Emily get to rank 1 or 2, you can move to the capital and look out for her," Arthur said.

    He still wanted to go to the capital with Tracy, take care of her for a while, maybe enter the same school as her as a professor, to have some fun time. It was his vacation, after all.

    But eventually Arthur would leave, and it would be better if Victor and Emily were strong enough to protect her.

    "Please, teach me and my wife! I will be eternally grateful to you!"

    "Alright. But let''s start her training first," Arthur said, pointing at Tracy, who was already far from them.

    She did not stop moving for a second, and the two, who were lost in a conversation, did not notice it.

    "Tracy, we areing!!!"

    ~~~~

    "What is this thing?"

    A metal ball was inside aboratory on the tallest floor of the mage tower. An old man was staring at it, not knowing what to do.

    "I can feel this is impressive. Let''s hope the owner does note here to get it¡­"

 Chapter 448 Nothing To Worry About

    They arrived at the waterfall after walking for thirty minutes. Tracy could not wait to start her training, and Victor could not wait to see the results, as he wanted to practice the meditation too!

    Victor was leaning against a tree, near the water pool the waterfall formed. He was looking at everything that was happening, eagerly waiting.

    "Tracy," Arthur said, "I will pass the knowledge to your head. It will feel strange at first, but after a few seconds, you will understand it."

    "Pass the knowledge directly to her mind? Arthur is stronger than I thought," Victor thought once he heard it.

    It was not something the weak could do, especially if one wanted to pass the knowledge without hurting the other party.

    For Arthur, though, it was a piece of cake. He ced his hand on Tracy''s forehead and passed down the Dragon Meditation Technique to her.

    A tattoo of a dragon appeared on her forearm, meaning the transfer was a sess! Everything happened fast, and in less than five seconds, Tracy had the entire knowledge of the technique!

    "Father, I have the knowledge! It says this technique can make a mage go up to rank 6, at most. Is that high or not?" Tracy asked.

    When Victor heard it, he almost choked with his own saliva. Was it high? It was the highest Victor has ever heard!

    "Arthur! Is this serious? Up to rank 6?" Victor said.

    Arthur smiled, proud of himself. It was nice to have his technique praised by others, "of course. I told you I am awesome. Now, Tracy, let''s start the training, shall we?"

    Tracy nodded. There wasn''t much for Arthur to teach her, to be honest. They both found afortable ce to sit cross-legged, and then Tracy practiced the technique, mentally doing the chants and the breathing techniques described on it.

    The only thing Arthur could do was to check if she was doing it correctly, and maybe help her channel the mana to the proper ce.

    She did not have a fully developed mana core yet, and that was another experiment Arthur was doing.

    Would his Dragon Meditation Technique help her build a different core, one that was more powerful than the average one?

    That was something he looked for, and for that reason, he ced his hand on her shoulder, helping her channel the mana to the right ce, which was on her belly, right where the infant mana core was.

    Every time Tracy breath using the proper exercises and the chants which were exclusive for that meditation technique, she could feel the mana from the surrounding area gather inside her!

    But this mana did not flow to the right ces. It was aplete mess, and if Tracy was not careful, the amount of mana she gathered would be significantly more than what her mana core supported.

    And that was why Arthur was there, guiding the mana, making sure he never absorbed more than what she could chew.

    Victor watched everything, and although he was not an extraordinary mage, he knew what Arthur was doing.

    "The things he can do are impressive. Every time he surpasses his previous achievement!" Victor thought, as he stared at their training from afar.

    "Is it working, teacher? I can feel something warm on my belly," Tracy said.

    "Yes. This warming feeling is the mana, empowering your mana core. Keep doing what you are doing," Arthur said.

    She nodded, closed her eyes, and returned to the meditation. Arthur remained by her side, taking care of any problem that may arise. After two hours of meditation, Tracy reached the first circle!

    It was a fast pace if one considered Tracy had never trained before. Victor was even more surprised.

    "First circle in two hours? This is better than any meditation technique I have ever seen!"

    Victor was still incredulous after hearing that the technique Arthur passed to Tracy could turn a mage into a rank 6 one. It seemed too good to be true, but after he saw how fast his daughter was improving, Victor believed in it!<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Let''s stop for the day. I think you will have to do the summoning ritual to get your familiar, right?" Arthur said.

    "But I want to train more!!!" Tracy said,ining.

    She liked the feeling of having an increase in power.

    "Training too much will do you more harm than good. Remember that, and one day you will be as strong as me!" Arthur said, cuddling her hair.

    Tracy remembered how powerful Arthur was, so she believed him!

    "Okay!"

    After training for two hours, they returned to their vige, meeting Emily, who had finished making dinner.

    "Rice, chicken and vegetables. Good," Arthur thought, filling a bowl.

    The first thing Tracy told her mother during lunch was how incredible the technique was, and how she reached the first circle in two hours!

    Emily had a face of disbelief when she heard it, moving her gaze to Victor just to see him nodding, agreeing to what Tracy had said.

    "It is true. She is in the first circle already. Impressive, right?"

    She could still not believe her daughter had increased her power so rapidly. Emily and Victor sat to talk in private, and they both agreed to practice the technique too!

    "He can pass it to our mind with just a touch. He is way more powerful than we imagined, Emily. You did not see it, but his true form is majestic!"

    Victor had shared with Emily that Arthur was a beast, but he was the only one that had seen Arthur''s true form. Tracy had seen it too!

    Emily could only imagine how it was and hoped that one day she would see it, too.

    "But there''s something off. How can he be a friendly magical beast? I thought they only wanted to kill things," Emily said.

    "Well, the stronger a beast is, the more intelligent it is. We don''t know how powerful he is exactly, but if he had lived a long time, then it is understandable that he has feelings of his own, and ns."

    What Victor said was correct. Weaker beasts had lower intelligence, and could only remain in their beast form, but as they got stronger, they would get wiser, and eventually have the power to transform into human form.

    Arthur was the same, but he was more friendly than an ordinary beast because he was human too! Although he was seeing himself as a beast first, and then a human.

    While they were eating, someone knocked on the door of their cabin. Victor did not overthink it, as he and Emily were the strongest mages, so it wasmon for the other vigers toe to them, asking for help.

    "Kennedy, is something wrong?" Victor asked.

    The man knocking on the door was someone he knew very well, a ninth circle mage who had been a friend of his for many years.

    "Victor, we have problems! There is a horde of goblinsing in our direction! I don''t think we have enough manpower to fight them!"

    Kennedy said, gaping for air as he exined the situation. While he was on the verge of copse, Victor was as calm as a river on a sunny morning.

    He knew Arthur was there, and they had nothing to worry about.

 Chapter 449 [Bonus ] Moonlight Slash, A Weaker Version

    The entire vige turned upside down in seconds. Everyone was doing their daily chores, with nothing out of the ordinary happening in the vige.

    It was the same busy day they always had, with people hunting, fishing, taking care of the farm and animals. Some handled smithing weapons, others to tailor clothes, and a few had to remain in the vige''s walls, looking out for any threat that maye their way.

    Kennedy was a hunter, and that is how he saw the group of goblinsing their way. He was looking for a deer for his family to have something to eat, and that is when he saw the goblins marching toward them.

    He was quick to return to the vige, warning everyone! But out of everyone who lived there, Victor was the strongest, and he had to be the one helping them defend the vige against the goblins.

    "Come with me! You and Emily," Kennedy said.

    "We will get our weapons, and we are going. Just wait for us in front of the main gate!" Victor said.

    Kennedy nodded, and he noticed Arthur, who was sitting, eating as if nothing was happening. There was not a single sign of worry on his face, which made him wonder.

    "Is he crazy, or wants to die early?"

    Arthur, though, could not care less about an army of goblins. He saw those things as inferior beings.

    "Victor, can you deal with those goblins?" Arthur asked after Kennedy had left.

    "Honestly, I don''t know. Each goblin is akin to a sixth circle mage, but their leader is a tenth circle, just like me. Depending on their number, it will be a hard fight for us," Victor said, looking down, as if he was ashamed of being too weak.

    What would a legendary being like Arthur think about him? A human that could not protect its own vige against goblins.

    "I don''t n on helping directly, only if things getplicated, like vigers with a chance of getting hurt. But I will give you something," Arthur said.

    He had his magical pouch, which had many items that he gathered through his journey. A few of those items could be used by someone like Victor, who was not that powerful.

    "What should I give him?"

    Arthur browsed through his items. "what is your principal weapon?" he asked Victor.

    "I usually use a bow or a dagger."

    "Right, that dagger!"

    There was a dagger which Arthur had used to break the barrier back when he was trapped on that ind, which turned out to be Turquoise''s back.

    It was made of excellent materials, almost unbreakable.

    "I have an idea, but I don''t think I should do it with such good people," Arthur thought.

    "Take this dagger, but return to me after the fight. It is sharp, almost indestructible, and you will feel its secret power," Arthur said.

    The dagger still had some of his moon essence on it, turning it into something like an enchanted item. Victor did not have the knowledge to use the moon essence properly, but a fraction of it was more than enough to deal with a group of goblins.

    "Alright. Thank you for this. Will you watch the fight?" Victor asked as he grabbed the dagger, looking at its shiny de.

    "Yes. I will wait for you by the gate."

    In a moment, Arthur was standing in front of Victor and Emily, but in the other, he vanished, appearing in the watchtower near the vige''s gate.

    "What?"

    Victor blinked a few times, yet Arthur was nowhere to be seen.

    "That was cool!"

    ~~~~

    Kennedy ran as fast as he could after he left Victor''s house, straight toward the main gate.

    The wooden watch tower near the gate was the ce he often went, as he also did some work as a guard in his free time.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    When he got there, gasping for air, he saw someone. It was the same youth that was inside Victor''s house.

    "How? How are you here?"

    Arthur was sitting on the wooden chair the guards often used, looking in the direction where the goblin army wasing.

    He could see it from kilometers. Their numbers were around 200 hundred, which was way more than the number of warriors the vige had.

    "Oh, it is you. Thank you for warning us about the goblin attack," Arthur said as he turned around to face the man.

    "Who exactly are you?" Kennedy asked.

    "Would you believe me if I told you I am a god?"

    "Bullshit."

    "Right. Maybe yourck of faith is the reason you are so weak," Arthur said, returning his gaze to the goblin army.

    Kennedy was enraged. No one in the vige could make fun of him, so when Arthur was looking the other way, he grabbed his sword and shed it down on Arthur, right in the head!

    He was confident that even a rank one mage would get hurt by such a surprise attack, especially if the mage did not have enough time to cast a barrier, yet the moment the sword touched Arthur''s head, nothing happened!

    It was like Arthur''s body was a solid rock.

    "Do you think a mage like you can hurt someone like me? Funny."

    Kennedy tried to attack once again, thinking that it must be some sort of spell that blocked his first sword attack.

    But this time, Arthur moved his hand, grabbing the sword. He looked at him with his deep eyes and said, "I will not break your weapon because you will need it for the fight, but try this again, and you will be dead."

    Then he let go of the sword. Kennedy was shaking with fear.

    "Who exactly is this friend of Victor? Could he be a god?"

    Doubts appeared inside his mind, and he was d that Arthur did nothing serious to him, only seeing his surprise attack as jokes.

    The two of them remained there, in silence, until Victor, Emily, and some other vigers that could fight appeared.

    They made a battle formation in the front gate, with some being up at the vige walls to shoot their arrows. Some were in the front with their shields up high.

    Arthur remained there, watching everything from the side.

    After twenty minutes, the first goblin entered their sight.

    "Everyone, prepare for battle!" Victor yelled, trying to raise the morality of the others.

    But when they saw the number of goblins, not a single one of them believed they had any chance.

    Victor was not stupid. He could tell they were scared, and he knew he had to be the one doing something.

    "I will feel its power, that is what Arthur said," Victor thought.

    He grasped the dagger and felt the power within. It was not like anything he had ever felt.

    "Let''s see how this works!"

    Something was telling him to perform a horizontal sh. Victor could not exin, but it was as if the dagger was talking to him!

    Victor entered a fighting stance and shed the dagger! When he did that, a horizontal silver sh came out of the dagger, moving toward the goblin army rapidly!

    That was the Moonlight sh, and it killed half of the goblins, slicing them into pieces, creating a bloody scene of goblins parts, organs, and blood, a lot of blood!

 Chapter 450 The First Part Of The World Domination Plan

    ?

    The attack Victor performed was way less powerful than the ones Arthur could do, but that did not mean they were weak.

    With just one sh, many goblins died, reducing its army to half.

    "What was that?" Kennedy said.

    He and all the other vigers could not believe Victor had such power hidden within! They had never seen him do anything close to that.

    "Maybe we can win this battle?"

    The once scared troops were now with hope, not scared of the goblins anymore.

    Arthur, who was sitting on that same chair, watching everything from the watchtower, was surprised.

    "I thought it would take him longer to do the attack. Not bad."

    It shocked not only the vigers but the goblins, especially the one who was in the tenth circle.

    Out of all the goblins, it was the one who had some intelligence, so it knew the fight ahead would be a difficult one.

    The goblin knew that, yet it wanted to keep going! Going back would only make the rest of the goblins see him as weak, and their goal was to take over the vige!

    "We can win the fight. Everyone, stay in formation," Victor said.

    They had the advantage near the vige''s walls. Leaving the area to face the goblins would make that advantage vanish, which would be a dumb move to make.

    Arthur knew Victor could only perform that attack once, so he still wondered if the vigers would have what it takes to win the fight.

    Well, they would win regardless because Arthur would help them, but could they win without his help?

    That was what he wanted to know, and when the goblin army came shing with the vigers, the ones who were at the front, blocking the attacks with their shields, were the ones who had to endure the most!

    If the number of goblins was slightly lower, then the fight would be an easy one, but with that many goblins, they could circle around the vigers who had the shields, and attack them from the back!

    Arthur saw how a goblin did that and shed his sword toward a viger who did not have a way to block it!

    "I cannot let anyone die," Arthur thought.

    He vanished from the watchtower, appearing next to that viger who was getting attacked.

    "What?"

    The viger couldn''t understand how someone got there out of nowhere, but he remembered Arthur''s face, as did the entire vige.

    It was not every day that an outsider when there, that''s why.

    Arthur moved his finger toward the goblin''s head, and when it touched it, the goblin died, having its life essence drained by him.

    After that, Arthur appeared in front of the vigers, and he moved his hand, casting a wind that made all the goblins nearby to fly.

    He used mana to make his voice louder and said, "I did not n on helping, only if things got bad. But this fight is too boring... I wanted to have some entertainment, yet this sucks."

    Arthur aimed the palm of his hand toward the goblin army. He had many essences to use, many spells, but seeing how he did not want to destroy the surrounding area, he cast one of the wood element!

    "Blooming Forest!"

    The ground shook, and within seconds, roots emerged from underneath, piercing through the goblins!

    It killed them from the inside, destroy all of their organs. Then, the root used those nutrients to form a tree, and the once in area near the vige turned into a forest!

    Everything happened so fast, the vigers were still in a state of shock.

    Victor had to be the first one to speak, saying, "this man I rescued is way more powerful than I thought, and-"

    Before he could finish, Kennedy was already on his knees, looking toward Arthur as if he was a god!

    "He told me he was a god, but I did not trust him, but now I do! A god finally came to this ce to help us!"

    Kennedy was not the only one. All the other vigers who saw what Arthur did were on the ground, kneeling.

    "Please, ept our offers! Tonight, we will make a feast!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    When Arthur saw all of that, an idea popped inside his mind, one that would make everyone practice the Dragon Meditation Technique, even those who did not have faith in him.

    "Hehe, this will be the perfect n to get stronger."

    ~~~~

    That night, everyone from the vige celebrated. There were many foods, drinks, and people ying instruments around a massive campfire built in the middle of the vige.

    The kids were running around, ying, and gazing at Arthur from time to time.

    "We were the first to say he was a fallen god, but the adults did not believe us, and now what?"

    "Right."

    Arthur was there among them, but was not feeling that great. His wives had yet to wake up, so that was making him unhappy.

    "They will wake up, you know," Victor said, sitting beside Arthur near the fire.

    "I know, but when?"

    "..."

    Victor had no words to make Arthur feel better, and he was careful to not make him more unhappy saying the wrong thing, so he just kept quiet, and offered Arthur a cup of beer.

    "Thanks," Arthur said, gulping the beer in one go.

    The two spent the night drinking, and Victor shared many of his stories while he was still an aspiring mage who traveled the world.

    It was a good thing to hear those things, as it widened Arthur''s horizons about the unknown he was.

    "I''ll go back to the cabin," Arthur said.

    He wanted to check on how his wives were doing, but before he did anything, a woman came running toward him.

    "Please, help my son!" the woman said, more like begged.

    It wasdy Marylin, who had a son that one day got sick for no reason, and now it does not have enough strength to leave their bed!

    She did not have the money to pay a decent doctor, and the mages in the vige did not know what her son had.

    But now that Arthur showed up, it gave Marylin hope! If there was someone who could heal her son, that had to be the so-called god.

    "What is wrong?" Arthur asked.

    He was new in the vige, so he did not know about her story.

    "It''s my boy. He is sick. Please help him! I will do anything you want."

    Arthur had his n, and thatdy would be the first part of it.

    "Show me where he is."

    Marylin could not believe something like that was happening. She nodded and showed Arthur where their house was.

    It was small, just like all the others in the vige, but Marylin''s husband died, so he had to take care of her son alone, which made everything harder.

    When they got there, she said, "don''t mind the mess. Here, this is his room."

    She showed her boy''s room, and there Arthur saw it, a boy who was lying on the bed, sleeping.

    Arthur could tell the kid was bad. He had a fever and could not move the lower part of his body.

    "Poison?"

    That was the first guess. But either way, Arthur would not heal the boy for free!

    The first part of his n was starting!

 Chapter 451 Wives Awake

    ?

    What did Arthur need for his dream of bing a Dragon God? Worshippers!

    That was the key, making it possible for him to reach greater heights than normal mages.

    But he couldn''t just go to anyone and say, ''hey, worship me.'' It would be stupid, and people would see him as crazy.

    Now, after he got the power of the Blood Monarch, there was a way to ovee that, which wasn''t hard.

    The heart of all living beings wants something, and if Arthur can give it to them ¡ª of course, not everything, as he''s not overpowered ¡ª that would make them worship him without problems!

    "Marylin," Arthur said, shifting his gaze from the boy to her eyes, "it is a powerful poison¡­."

    Marylin''s breathing pattern was irregr, and she said, "can you heal him?"

    The thing she wanted to know was not what kind of poison it was, how her boy got it, or anything of the like. Marylin wanted to know if Arthur could heal her boy, as that was all it mattered to her.

    "Yes, I can, but are you willing to do anything for your boy?" Arthur asked her.

    She quickly responded, "of course, I am willing to do anything!"

    That was the phrase Arthur needed to hear. So he moved his hand forward for her to shake it. She did not quite understand but did it nheless.

    Her soul was already in Arthur''s possession when she did it. "If it was old me, I would feel bad for doing this, but now? Screw this shit."

    Some say power changes people, and Arthur believed it was not quite the case with him anymore.

    "Truth is, I am getting farther and farther from being a human¡­."

    Arthur went close to the bed; all he had to do was touch the boy, and the poison dissipated!

    The evesting fever vanished, and although the boy was still asleep, he was not as pale as before.

    "Done, he is healed."

    Marylin knelt and said, "thank you, thank you. You are the savior of my boy, and I will be eternally grateful to you!"

    He tapped her shoulder for her to get up, saying, "you don''t need to do this."

    Arthur left her room afterward, the first person on that who sold their soul to him.

    Would it mean they would go to something like the underworld after they died? Probably not, but it meant they had to obey Arthur until their deaths, and considering most living beings lived many years, some even thousands, it was a sort of punishment.

    But none of them thought about it. They wanted the thing deep in their hearts and would sell their souls if necessary.

    "Now, after I get everyone in this vige to sell their souls to me, I will make them practice the Dragon Meditation Technique!"

    That was his n. They would have no choice but to practice the technique, and no one would regret it either! Arthur was sure it would be way better than the other techniques they had there, and while they got more powerful, he would, too, gain free attributes from each person that practiced the technique!

    "This ce is way quieter now."

    Everyone in the vige was going to bed. Arthur returned to Victor''s house, and when he got there, to his surprise, his wives had to wake up!

    "Jane! Wisa!? Sybille!" Arthur said, moving toward them for a hug.

    "Husband¡­"

    They were still somewhat nauseous and did not know exactly where they were.

    "What happened? Are we on the biggest in this universe?" Jane asked.

    "No. We had a crash, and we are currently on a weaker far from the one we wanted to go to. I''m d you are okay!"

    Arthur kissed his wives, who were slowly getting back to reality, with Arthur filling them with all the news.

    They all slept together in the same bed that night, and when morning came, they would move out of the vige.

    ~~~~

    "You want to live in the nearby woods? Why?" Victor asked.

    "They are awake now, and many people living here will not be ideal. I don''t want to make your life harder. But don''t worry, my cabin will be nearby, and we will continue with Tracy''s training."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Arthur would not return to his word and would help Tracy go to her magic school.

    "I will have everyone here worshiping me by that time, and her school is in the biggest city around here, meaning it has a lot of candidates to sell their souls!"

    Victor nodded, "Alright, you convinced me. Do you want any help building the cabin?"

    It was nice of him to ask, but Arthur could control most elements, so moving his hand and creating a house was not a problem for him.

    "No need. I will go find a ce now," Arthur said.

    "See youter!" Victor said.

    Tracy was already awake early in the morning, so she saw Arthur leaving and heard the entire conversation, so she was not worried about him leaving them.

    "See youter, uncle Arthur!" Tracy said, waving her little hand.

    It was cute, and Arthur liked her, so he waved back, leaving the vige afterward.

    While walking through the woods with his wives by his side, Arthur thought about his n and wanted to change some things.

    "I don''t mind sharing the Dragon Meditation Technique with those who proved worthy, but I can''t give it to everyone. Is there a way for me to get power from those who sold their souls to me?"

    He browsed through the memories he got from the Blood Monarch, filtering all the things that did not fit his criteria.

    Many things were inside his mind, so it took him a few minutes, but he finally found something! Two incredible techniques, to be precise.

    One ritual was passing a message to anyone that sold their soul, no matter the distance! The other one was a ritual he could pass on to his followers.

    "A ritual for them to do for me? Sacrificing things with mana, and some of that mana wille to me?"

    The idea was slowly turning into him creating a secret cult or something like that. It was kind of evil, and the Dragon God turned into something like Demon God.

    "Not that I dislike beingbeled as a Demon God, that makes my enemies fear me more."

    He wanted to be the Dragon God, but there was no denial; the techniques from the Blood Monarch were more powerful ¡ª it made sense, as he went to the other universe where all the most potent beings were, and the dragons did not achieve that level of power.

    The Blood Monarch was superior, and Arthur was starting to use his techniques more, but still not dismissing his dragon techniques entirely.

    "If I grow stronger, all my techniques will get more powerful, be it normal spells, dragon spells, or the demonic spells from the Blood Monarch. But, in the end, all that matters is power."

    While he was lost in his thoughts, Wisa, Jane, and Sybille found the perfect ce for them to build their cabin: the top of a mountain.

    "This ce is gorgeous!? Look at the view we have from here. We can see the entire vige!"

    It was one of the few mountains near the vige, and when Arthur was up there, he could see everything, especially with the help of his Forbidden Eyes.

    He could even see Tracy through her house window, eating her breakfast. And Marylin finally left her house with a boy walking beside her, catching the attention of everyone in the vige.

    There was a muddy path from the mountain base up to the top, and Arthur loved the area ¡ª although it would be a temporary home for them.

    With a wave of his hands, a wooden cabin appeared out of nowhere! That was the power of his magic of the wooden element.

    "Creating houses is so easy with this."

    Not only the house, but Arthur created the base of all the furniture, with the only exception being the bed itself ¡ª he could not sleep on a freaking wood ¡ª but Arthur had these things inside his magical pouch, so it all went well.

    It was not thefiest of ces, but better than living in a house with others. Why? Now that his wives are back, Arthur wanted some time in private, and so did they because the moment they were alone inside the house, Jane, Wisa, and Sybille had dirty things in mind.

    "It has been quite the time since ourst fuck, husband. I hope you are still as good as you were," Wisa said.

    Arthur looked toward his wives, who took out their clothes, showcasing their gorgeous bodies before his eyes.

    The bouncing boobs and the sight of their wet pussies made Arthur''s manhood as hard as a rock.

    It was finally time for him to have sex again with his gorgeous wives, all at the same time!

    "I will enjoy myself tonight!" Damian thought.

 Chapter 452 Holes For Choosing - (R-18)

    ?

    Arthury on the bed with his face facing up, and his wives were all over him, kissing his torso, cock, balls, and neck.

    The sensation of their soft lips was incredible, and before long, Sybille was sucking his balls, putting them all inside her mouth.

    "I love this!"

    Wisa grabbed Arthur''s dick and aimed it at her pussy, "I will ride now!"

    When his manhood went inside her cave, the sensation was one Arthur could not describe. The walls of her vagina were squeezing his dick, increasing the pleasure.

    "Fuck. I love your pussy, darling," Arthur said.

    Wisa moved her hips, and her boobs bounced up and down each time, Arthur moved his body up and sucked her nipples.

    "Ahh!"

    Sybille was dly sucking the balls, and Jane watched everything by the side, ying with her pussy. The hot moans of three gorgeous girls echoed inside the cabin, and they went all out!

    No one should be nearby, so why hold it? Wisa rode the dick as fast as she could, putting it deep inside her pussy, and rolling her eyes with the pleasure.

    "My turn, my turn!" Jane said.

    Jane yed with her pussy while watching Wisa ride the cock, and that made her excited! She wanted to ride too.

    Wisa smiled, "you can have it too! Our husband has plenty of energy for all of us, right?"

    "Hell yeah!"

    She went to the side and let Jane ride the cock, while she yed with her pussy, watching the scene.

    "Fuck this little pussy, fuck it!" Jane said as she moaned each time the manhood pierced her pussy.

    After that, Sybille wanted it, and they took turns, and Arthur would taste one pussy for ten minutes, and then another one, and another one!

    "There''s only one rule, girls. We must orgasm before switching, and the one that makes our husband cum is the winner," Wisa said.

    Arthur had no saying in it. He was lying on the ground while his wives were making bets about who would make him cum.

    "I can endure this all day," Arthur thought.

    He was right. The girls took turns for about an hour and a half before realizing it would not work! They had orgasmed many times, yet Arthur''s dick was as hard as a rare magical ore!

    "Girls, what should we do? He is stronger than us," Wisa said.

    Arthur got up from the bed, looking at his wives, who were already sweaty, making their bodies even hotter, "what will you do? You mean what I will do with you now."

    He grabbed Wisa, putting her in a full nelson while standing, then his manhood went toward another hole.

    "Fuck! My asshole!"

    The manhood slowly entered her asshole, and before long, Arthur was pounding her like crazy! He would not take it lightly.

    Jane and Wisa saw everything and heard the sound of the ps as Wisa''s butt hit Arthur''s tights. It was freaking hot.

    Wisa rolled her eyes, and her smile was concrete, proving she loved being fucked that way, harder. Arthur kept going until her asshole could not take it anymore.

    "Ah, husband, you turn me, a proud mage, into a slutty in bed."

    Her entire body tingled after having multiple orgasms, yet Arthur was not done with her. "You know it is time for your pussy to receive the same treatment."

    Arthur grabbed Wisa, locking her in a full nelson again, but this time, he was lying on the bed while doing it. His manhood went inside her wet pussy, and before long, Arthur was pounding on her.

    Sybille and Jane chuckled, "I cannot wait to receive the same treatment."

    The two did rock scissors paper to see who would go next, and Sybille was the winner.

    "Lame," Jane said.

    Arthur kept fucking Wisa for thirty minutes, and then she did not have enough energy to have more orgasms. It was her limit.

    "Who''s next?" Arthur asked.

    Sybille went first and received the same treatment.

    "Ahhhh, my tight asshole! It feels so good!"

    "Yes, fuck it harder! My ass and pussy will swallow your dick, husband."

    "Ahh."

    Then Jane went to get demolished.

    "This is too good! I missed it so much!"

    But just like any man or beast, Arthur reached a point where he could not hold it anymore. So he called for his three wives, who knelt and opened their mouths, waiting for the cum.

    Wisa used her hand to rub the dick, "give it your milk to us, husband."

    "Ahhh!" Arthur moaned.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    A massive load of cum, more significant than any other Arthur had given his wives before! It went inside their mouths, hair, faces, and boobs.

    They smiled and licked each other, drinking the cum, not wasting a single drop.

    ~~~~

    Arthur and his wives slept like babies during that night. They barely had any energy after fucking for so long, so it was understandable.

    Also, the quietness of the ce was just something that made the sleep way better.

    They barely needed any sleep, having that much power, but it still felt great, and that would result in better magical training.

    "Where are the metal balls we used to get here?" Jane said.

    When she said that, Wisa and Sybille remembered it, looking toward Arthur for the answer.

    "Someone stole it, but they probably can''t use it, so we should not worry. Honestly, I am not that quick to leave this. This can be our vacation; maybe we can increase our strength a little more."

    Arthur wanted to try his n of getting everyone''s soul. It was ambitious, and he was confident the Alliance would not let him get free power like that.

    "Everything must happen in secret¡ªa cult. I wouldn''t say I liked the Doom Order back then, and I am doing something simr now. Screw it. I need power!"

    His wives were not concerned about it and liked the idea.

    "We were so focused on the training to reach rank four, so it is a good time to set back and slowly increase our power, or else it could detriment our future," Wisa said.

    They were all on the same page, which was great.

    "I will go to the vige to help Tracy with her practice. Also, her father asked me to take care of her while she enrolls in the magic school, and I will do it,"

    "The school is in the capital, so we can get much information there and build some influence."

    "Good idea."

    Arthur kissed his wives as he went down the mountain toward the vige. He wore a brown cloak and went down like any normal being would, without teleporting or flying.

    "The feeling of being probably the strongest being on the is nice."

    While Arthur was walking down the mountain, he heard screamsing from the insides of the wood.

    "Someone out here so early?"

    With just a thought, Arthur''s body vanished, and he teleported a few times, appearing near the scream''s source. He hid behind a tree and saw it, a beautifuldy wielding a small dagger.

    She had a basket in her left hand, filled with many herbs, and Arthur did not recall her from the vige.

    A blue wolf with a horn was in front of the woman, growling, preparing to jump on her and rip her body into pieces.

    He moved the palm of his hand, and the wolf stopped. It was like it was frozen in time, unable to move.

    "Huh?"

    The woman did not understand what had happened until she spotted a youth walking toward her.

    "Don''t be scared. I live around this area, and when I heard the screaming, I had toe to check."

    "Are you the God people are talking about in the vige? I never saw you, but you must be."

    "Oh? You heard about me?"

    Arthur was surprised that his fame had spread so quickly. He healed Marylin''s son yesterday, so the word must have spread.

    "What are you doing out here, alone?" Arthur asked.

    "I''m Delphine; nice to meet you, god," Delphine said, kneeling.

    "My home is not the vige but a cabin in the woods. I go to the vige once a month or so, and maybe that is why you never saw me there."

    Arthur could tell she was around 19, yet she had started her magical path not too long ago, having the power of a third-circle mage.

    "What are these herbs for? Are you an alchemist?"

    Delphine chuckled, "yes, a project of one. I sell a few terrible potions tomon people, which gives me enough money to keep going."

    Whatever Arthur asked, she answered it without lying. Delphine did not think she could lie to a god.

    "I see. Would you like something from this wolf, like the pelt?"

    "Hum, yes, that would be good."

    Arthur waved his hand again, and the wolf''s neck broke, meaning the rest of the body was intact for Delphine to use.

    "I will go to the vige now. Wannae with me?"

    Delphine never thought she would have the chance to walk with such an incredible figure, so of course, she said yes, and the two walked toward the nearby vige, with her carrying the wolf on her shoulders.

 Chapter 453 Everyone Knows Him

    Chapter 453 Everyone Knows Him

    The two walked through the forest, with Arthur taking his time to look at the surrounding area and appreciate the vegetation and the living beings.

    Delphine carried the dead, magical beast on her shoulders, and although it was a little heavy, she did not want to bother someone like Arthur for such a small matter. Still, Arthur noticed it and ced his hand on her forehead, granting her a buff.

    A bright light covered her body for an instant, and Delphine felt her body more powerful, and the once heavy beast was not as heavy as before.

    "Whoa!? What did you do?" she asked.

    "A minor blessing. Nothing to be impressed by," Arthur said.

    Arthur had learned many spells, and such a small thing as improving the body of a weaker mage was no problem. Now that he was rank-five, he could do anything with weaker mages, a different realm!

    "But I am impressed still! How can you be so powerful? Actually, how old are you, exactly?"

    Delphine had put in her head that Arthur had to be someone old, at least a thousand years, to be that powerful, and no matter what he tried to say to her, she would remain faithful to her beliefs.

    "Older than you think," Arthur said, followed by a question, "why are you living nearby, yet still outside of the vige? Isn''t it safer inside?"

    "Yes, it is, but I like the peace of the woods, and it is better for my alchemy experiments," Delphine said, smiling as she talked about alchemy.

    It was clear that she loved alchemy, yet she was not talented enough in the field to have the means of leaving that ce. Overall, she was not gifted as a mage, having only the power of a third-circle mage.

    "She is a good candidate to ask for power," Arthur thought.

    "I want to see your potions someday if you let me," Arthur said.

    "Of course, you can go to my hut anytime!"

    They kept walking until finally reaching the vige, and when they did, everyone looked toward Arthur.

    Everyone knew at that point he had miracle healing powers ¡ª Marylin''s boy, who was almost dead, was now blooming with health!

    Arthur said nothing about his healing prowess to be kept a secret, so Marylin shared it with the vige.

    Also, even if she did not, people would still see her boy walking again, and that would raise questions.

    Some vigers want to speak with Arthur and perhaps ask for assistance but decide not to.

    They did not want to bother him and would only go to him if he allowed it. It was the right call because no one loved having many people chasing them, asking for favors.

    "The n is set, and now people will want things, meaning I will have souls."

    "Arthur!"

    Only a few people in the vige dared to speak with Arthur, and one of those people was Tracy, who was yelling his name when she realized he was back in the town.

    "Tracy! How is your practice?"

    "Good so far, Dad wants your help to start practicing the technique too!"

    Arthur had promised to help Victor and Emily with the technique and would not break his promise.

    Delphine was still beside Arthur, surprised after realizing the little girl talking had magical power! It was rare to see someone that young with it.

    The most shocking part for her was that Arthur was helping her practice, which exined many things! Only with the guidance of powerful beings would one reach such a level in a short period.

    Not that Delphine was thinking lightly of Tracy. Of course not. She knew Tracy had a better talent for magic than her, but there was no denying Arthur was the key to her sess.

    "Sure, I will go to your house in just a few moments," Arthur said.

    Tracy was a kid, but she understood Arthur had other things to do, so she nodded and returned to her house.

    "She is lovely, right?" Arthur said, and Delphine agreed to it.

    "Why didn''t you go with her?"

    "That''s because I am apanying you with your wolf problem, and you said you would show me your hut."

    Only one person was skilled enough to take the pelt of a magical beast, old Jin.

    He had the means to take and preserve the pelt, yet old Jin did not know how to craft any items using magical beast pelts.

    "Only in the cities will they know how to do it," he said.

    Delphine was d enough to take and preserve the pelt.

    "One day, I might go to a decent city," she thought, but that idea seemed distant.

    While old Jin took out that wolf''s pelt slowly and precisely, Arthur kept staring at him, watching his movements.

    Arthur was not a stranger to old Jin, which made his task way harder, as he was nervous.

    "All done. Did you like it?" Old Jin asked, delivering the pelt to Delphine, yet he looked at Arthur from the corner of his eyes.

    "toward that direction, around 3km."

    She pointed toward the direction, and Arthur nodded, cing his He knew the pelt was for the girl, but Arthur was the one he had to please at that moment and seeing how Arthur did not say a word, old Jin sighed in relief.

    After they finished the pelt, it was time for Delphine to show her small little hut near the vige, so they left again.

    But although Arthur wanted to walk and enjoy the atmosphere, Victor and Tracy were waiting for his return for the training, so he wanted to find the hut as fast as possible.

    "No more walking for the day. Tell me the direction of your hut and how many km."

    He asked the general location of the hut, and Delphine answered, "toward that direction, around 3km."

    She pointed toward the direction, and Arthur nodded, cing his hand on her shoulder.

    "What are you d-"

    Before she could end her sentence, they had both disappeared from the vige, traveling 3km in less than one second.

 Chapter 454 [Bonus chapter] A New Lady Under His Wings

    Chapter 454 [Bonus chapter] A New Lady Under His Wings

    One second ago, Arthur and Delphine were in the vige, now 3km away, close to Delphine''s hut. She knew he was powerful, but teleporting was incredible, something she believed only mighty beings could do.

    "Is this the right direction?" Arthur asked, looking at the surrounding area, which was all green.

    "Uh, yes. It is close to here. We can walk the rest of the way," Delphine said.

    Arthur did not mind walking a little; most of the way was done in one second, so walking 150 meters was not a big deal!

    Delphine led the way, moving past the muddy road, walking inside the forest, through the bushes and the trees. Her hut was well-hidden, and ordinary people would never be able to find it!

    "This is the ce! Pretty, right?"

    The hut entered its sights. It was all made of wood, but many vines were hanging on the walls and roof, making it look gorgeous and simr to a witch''s house. What caught Arthur''s attention was the roof, which was rounded, different from the ones he was used to.

    "Pretty ce," he said, waiting for Delphine to move first.

    He did not want to be rude by barging inside her house without her going first, so Arthur waited by the side while Delphine opened the front door, and both went inside.

    All the furniture was also made of wood, and countless books were Delphine.

    "Let me get a potion for you to see," Delphine said, moving toward a scattered around the house, and herbs too! It was not the cleanest of ces, but that messy look was the identity of an alchemist like Delphine.

    "Let me get a potion for you to see," Delphine said, moving toward a staircase that led down.

    The underground area was her basement and where she brewed her potions. Arthur sat on the chair in the living room, waiting for her, who did not take long to be back carrying a sk.

    It was a sk with a greenish color, not appealing to the eye, but Arthur learned not to judge it before trying it.

    "Here, this is a healing mixture I made," Delphine said.

    She went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, made a small cut in her left arm, and then gulped the potion afterward. Before long, her scratch had vanished, and she seemed alright.

    "Not that good of a potion, but it is a start, I know many other recipes too!"

    "Can I see you brewing a potion?"

    Delphine got a little anxious but decided to say yes, and they both went to the basement area.

    There were many alchemy tools down there. Unfortunately, these tools were not the best ones could have ¡ª money was a problem for Delphine ¡ª but these tools were not shit either.

    They were decent enough for someone at her level. She went to the basement area beside the alchemy tools, grabbing some herbs to brew a potion.

    Then, Delphine turned on the cauldron using her hand. Her main element was fire, which made it easier for her to practice alchemy.

    She tried her best to control the mes, cutting the herbs and putting them inside the cauldron. Arthur watched everything by the side, and although he did not know the properties of the nts she was using, he could still tell she was messing up a little with the temperature.

    "Some of the ingredients are losing power. If she can learn how to control the me better, then her potions would increase in quality by a big margin," Arthur thought.

    The process took around thirty minutes, and when she was done with it, Delphine smiled, showing Arthur the sk she had made.

    "This is a potion to give one peace of mind, try it out!"

    Arthur gulped the sk in one go. He did not think Delphine would try to poison him, so there was no need to concern about the potion''s true power. Also, even if she wanted to, it would be impossible.

    Arthur felt his troubled thoughts moving away when the liquid went down his stomach. It was a good feeling, and perhaps it did not make that much of a difference because of how sharp his mind was.

    "This is a good potion. Can you tell me more about the ingredients? Also, I have a few pointers for you¡­."

    ~~~~

    She dly shared all she knew about the nts, showing them to Arthur so he could link their appearance to their effects.

    For someone like him, it was an easy task to remember these things. His memory was beyond perfect, and in less than one hour, Arthur knew all Delphine knew about the nts.

    Of course, he wouldpensate her, and he did so by sharing his knowledge about the mistakes she made during the brewing process.

    "I see," Delphine looked down, "if only I had enough talent to attend a magic school. I heard that Tracy is way younger than me and is going."

    A wave of bad feelings stroked her. Arthur looked at her and wondered if it was okay to help her too!

    He already had Tracy to take care of, and now someone else?

    "Well, if I help her be a decent mage, then Tracy would have someone to take care of her," Arthur thought.

    But he could not share the Dragon Meditation Technique, so Arthur wanted to change that to something from the Blood Monarch.

    Why? Well, it seemed more assertive at that point, and why not turn into a Demon God rather than a Dragon God?

    "A Demonic Dragon God? Cool!!! Wait, I also have a giant bloodline and a dormant phoenix¡­."

    He touched Delphine''s shoulder and said, "I can help you with that."

    She looked up, staring at his face, confused. Why would someone as mighty as Arthur help someone like her? Who did not have any talent whatsoever?

    "You know I am training Tracy, right? I will apany her to the city and care for her while she gets used to school. I don''t think getting a spot for you in the same magic school would be a problem for me."

    "Would you do that for me?"

    Delphine could not hold it as she hugged Arthur. He felt her soft boobs on his chest and wondered if it was okay to do that.

 Chapter 456 Dragon Egg?

    <h4>Chapter 456 Dragon Egg?</h4>

    "Really? What''s the catch?" Delphine said.

    She did not believe Arthur would create a powerful meditation technique for her in exchange for nothing. It had to have something.

    "No catch, but I hope you can stay by my side and perhaps take care of Tracy. You know I won''t be in that magic school forever," Arthur said.

    Of course, there was a catch. She would sell her soul to him, and her constant practice of the technique would grant him more power. Of course, Delphine would also have to obey every order, but Arthur would not ask her to do crazy shit, that is.

    "Can you give me the technique now?"

    Delphine had been stuck in her level for quite some time, so she was eager to finally get her hands on a decent technique, as those were only for wealthy mages from noble families or those with heaven-defying luck.

    "Calm down; I still have to create the technique, remember? Don''t worry; you will get it soon enough."

    They remained in that location until the sun was gone and the moon shone brightly in the sky. Arthur gave Tracy and Victor many pointers and helped them channel their mana better.

    Victor was so happy on the way back, "I am finally making improvements after such a long time! Emily will be proud of me. Hehe, of course, all thanks to you," he said, looking toward Arthur with a praising look.

    Once they returned to the vige, it was time to prepare for Tracy''s ceremony, which was something private; only the kid''s family could participate.

    Despite that, Victor, Emily, and Tracy wanted Arthur to be there, which was not a problem for him. He wanted to see it, even if they had not asked him.

    Delphine, though, returned to her cabin, excited to eventually get her new meditation technique and perhaps be a powerful mage.

    "Grab that herb right there," Emily said, pointing toward a sk with a herb in it.

    It was customary for them to prepare tea for the person about to get a familiar. ording to studies, it would rx one''s mind so that the person can connect with the familiar better, bringing it from another realm.

    Arthur did not know if that was true but watched everything and helped them prepare the tea. Everything happened at the back part of their house, in the forest.

    Tracy was a little nervous, watching her parents prepare the things for the ritual, and she had no idea what to expect! She wanted something powerful but also a familiar that would be there for her for the rest of her life.

    She could not stop in a single ce, and Arthur had to go there, putting his hand on her tiny shoulder, "don''t you worry. With me here, there is nothing that can hurt you."

    He was not even joking when he said that. It seemed to have worked as Tracy calmed down, returning her breathing to normal, "right. With you here, nothing can go wrong!"

    When everything was done, Tracy sat with her parents around her, who put torches forming a circle, and Tracy was right in the middle of that circle with a bowl in her hands.

    The bowl contained the tea they had just prepared, and Tracy drank it! Her mind rxed, and she sat cross-legged, trying to connect with the other realm with the help of her meditation technique!

    Arthur watched everything from afar, trying to let Tracy concentrate without having someone too close, yet he noticed she was struggling to connect with her familiar.

    "Maybe it is because the familiar is too powerful?" Arthur guessed.

    Victor and Emily noticed it, too, shifting their gazes to Arthur, hoping that he could somehow help her.

    With a nod, he walked toward Tracy and gently ced his index finger on her forehead, trying his best not to disturb her. Then, using his superior power, he helped her channel the mana into the right spots and connect better with the other realm!

    It seemed to work, as Tracy was no longer sweating, and her face returned to normal. She was once again rxed, which was the key to her sess. Maybe Arthur''s help with the channeling was not the most important part, but his presence! Tracy had a feeling that with him around, nothing could stop her!

    Then, out of a sudden, a portal appeared before Tracy!? She did not see because she had her eyes closed. Arthur looked through the portal, and he saw it!

    Tracy''s familiar was close to the portal and slowly moved out as if an attraction force was pulling him from that mysterious ce.

    It was not a baby familiar, which was often what came from the portal. Rufus, for example, was a tiny wolf when Victor got him.

    What Arthur saw was an egg. The egg was shiny and stopped before Tracy.

    She opened her eyes, expecting to see some creature, yet when she saw the egg, Tracy did not know if she shouldugh or cry.

    Arthur went close to the egg, cing his hand on it, trying to sense its energy, and once he did, the shock was all over his face.

    He looked toward the unhappy Tracy and said, "this familiar of yours is from the same race as I am, so it will be extraordinary!? Be happy, Tracy!"

    Tracy had a smile on her face after hearing what Arthur said, "are you serious? Mom, Dad, did you hear this?"

    She was not the only one that was shocked. Arthur now knew that his Dragon Meditation Technique could make those who practice having a dragon familiar!

    "Are they alive anding from another realm, or does my technique create new dragons?"

    Arthur did not know the answer to that question, but if it was thetter, that was a huge change!

    Dragons were powerful, yet not many of them existed. If Arthur could find a way to create more dragons, then that could be game-changing!

    Of course, dragons could reproduce themselves the normal way, yet it often did not work, as they were somewhat infertile, and their growing speed was as slow as a turtle.

    "And I cannot get birth to anything too."

    Tracy hugged the egg, "I will take good care of you until you hatch!"

 Chapter 457 Liquor Store Owner

    <h4>Chapter 457 Liquor Store Owner</h4>

    The moment when one got familiar was an important one. Everyone always expected a small little creature, one that would instantly connect to the mage, turning into a partner for life.

    But with Tracy, it was different. What came from the other realm was an egg, a dragon egg! Arthur was certain of it as he had seen it!? There was no denial.

    "How long will it take to hatch?" Tracy asked.

    She would leave for school in a month, and by that point, Tracy wanted her familiar to be around, just like everyone else!

    Arthur wanted to give her the answer, but that was not within his reach, "I don''t know, but all we can do is take good care of it."

    Victor and Emily were jumping with happiness! Others may see what happened to Tracy as a misfortunate, but they knew how incredible Arthur was!? If the dragon from their daughter''s egg had a simr power to him, the path for her would be incredible!

    They extinguished the torches and returned to their house, which was right there. Tracy slept with her familiar that night, trying to make the egg hatch as soon as possible, yet nothing happened during that night.

    Arthur returned to his cabin and told his wives, "I will have to leave for some time, maybe one week. Can you take care of Tracy and her family?"

    It happened suddenly, "what is wrong? Did something happen?"

    Something had happened on his way back to his cabin that night. Arthur sensed something. At first, it felt like nothing, but then his head hurt, and he had visions about those who were after him!

    For some reason, they found their way to that and knew he was there!

    But his friends, who were supposed to find him first, were nowhere to be seen. That concerned Arthur, and he did not know what to do!

    He was certain of one thing, though: to leave the vige and lure those who were after him before they arrived there and killed everyone!

    "I have a problem, but please promise me you will stay here,y low, and protect everyone. Those who were after me are getting closer, and I will lure them away,"? he said.

    They wanted to stay and help him, but when they saw Arthur''s face, it was clear that the situation was beyond their reach, and even Arthur had no idea if he would leave that encounter alive!

    "Understood."

    Arthur kissed them and quickly left their cabin, moving as farther as possible from the vige, trying to erase any trace of him being there! Jane left the cabin right after, going to the vige to warn Victor and his family about the situation.

    Before long, everyone from the vige knew they had to keep a low profile and not touch Arthur''s identity until things returned to normal.

    "What should I do? I think I have a few days before they arrive here," thought Arthur.

    The people who were going there were the ones who wanted one of his Forbidden Eyes, the same that warned him about their arrival through the visions.

    Arthur did not know if he would have the power to face those people, but there was one thing he could do: hide.

    He changed his appearance to that of an old man with a long beard and changed his clothes to those of regr people.

    After that, he aimed to find a remote ce and a way to ovee the threat.

    "How can I get stronger? Even if I meditate daily, increasing my power will take some long years!"

    That was something Arthur had to find out about at another time. He kept flying across the country, finally stopping in the biggest city, the same ce where Tracy would attend school.

    Why? Well, it was the best ce for him to find ways to get more power, and it had too many people! The capital was immense, making it almost impossible for those chasing him to check everyone, especially if he found ways to hide among the crowd.

    Also, he would still be close to Tracy if she needed him.

    ~~~~

    "The person who stole the eye is in this shit? This ce is close to our hometown, yet we never came here. I did not know it existed," a middle-aged man wearing a long robe said.

    "It does not make any sense. This was not here previously; no one could see it from afar. Strange," the other man said.

    They had left their metal balls ¡ª the same ones George gave Arthur ¡ª and were staring at their surrounding area.

    "We cannot feel his presence, only if he gets close enough, and if by any chance he knows we are close to getting him, then it will be even harder to find him."

    "Yes, but not impossible. Let''s move."

    ~~~~

    The capital had the name of Jinther, built by the legendary mage Jinther, who fought against a powerful demon, and his battle created the valley where the city was located.

    Many people went there. Some wanted to see its festivals, others to enjoy the beautiful scenery around the city, as it was home to the tallest mountains in the country!

    Some went there to look for opportunities, be it a job offer, opening a store, or chasing their dream of attending the biggest magical school in the country!

    Almost everyone had at least the power of a first-circle mage, which was nothingpared to the big dogs inside the city, like the current country king or the advising mage of the king.

    The magical school also had plenty of talented students, and their teachers had the power of Official Mages! Not only that, but the mage''s guild also had those who had reached the Adamantium rank, which was incredible, and their position made others envy them.

    Amidst all these incredible figures was an old man who came to the city one day through the same straight line everyone had to endure at the main gates, and within two days, the old man opened up a store inside the city, selling liquor!

    Yes, it was called ''Old Nefion Liquor Store!''. Arthur decided to use that old man''s name, as no one knew him by that name anyway.

    He arrived at the city just like everyone else, trying not to catch any attention and looking as ordinary as possible. Arthur''s aura was that of a sixth-circle mage. Not strong, and neither too weak, the perfect bnce.

    "Nefion, how''s the store going?"

    Arthur decided to settle in a more calm and more remote area of the city where most people who lived had family or were old enough to be grandpas!

    The one talking with Arthur, for example, was Jonathan, an old man who owned an alchemy shop beside Arthur''s store, and they quickly became friends.

    It was normal for an old man to have other old people as friends, so Arthur did just that, trying to mingle with the ce the best he could!

    "Pretty good. People around here love a good drink, right?"? Arthur said,ughing.

    "Hahaha, you betcha. Want to y some table games in the parkter?" Jonathan asked.

    "Sure thing."

    Arthur''s store had a few clients, even in his first days, but nothing too extraordinary. Ordinary people or weak mages would buy liquor at such a store.

    All the important figures were busy doing other things and shopping in the better stores near the center of the

    His store was made of wood; the only things inside were a counter where the customers paid and shelves upon shelves with bottles of liquor. Of course, Arthur had some special liquors hidden, which only premium customers could have, exactly like how a normal store would work.

    Arthur went to the basement area where his safe was and used his magical powers to contact his wives, who were still near the vige.

    "Keep training Tracy and protect everyone till the day she leaves toe to the school. I am here, hiding inside. I n to get more power, but it will take some time, and we might have to stay hidden here for a while like ordinary weak mages. Also, bring Delphine too!"

    The n was simple:y low with the identity of a weak mage owner of a liquor store and slowly get more followers of his new demonic cult, increasing his power until those looking for him finally find him.

    Arthur knew it would probably take a while for them to find him, as he was good at hiding, and these people were rank six mages at most, maybe lower than that, peak rank 5. They did not have the immensurable strength to find him instantly.

    "The slender beast said thoseing from me weren''t that powerful, but the ones behind their backs were, so I also need to find a way to kill them without warning those inmand."

    After giving the message to his wives, he went upstairs, ready to put the closet sign on his store, yet a new customer came right before it closed.

    It was a youngdy with two guards following her closely behind. Arthur could tell that one was not the ordinary mage who came to his store but someone from the nobility.

    "Who is the owner of this ce?" thedy said arrogantly.

 Chapter 458 First Soul in the City- Success!

    <h4>Chapter 458 First Soul in the City- Sess!</h4>

    The youngdy had guards, meaning she was an important figure. Arthur could tell that just by looking, especially after she said that sentence in an arrogant tone.

    "I''m here, miss. How can I help you today?" Arthur said as he returned from the basement and stopped behind the counter.

    "Are you the owner, old man?"

    It was funny to see the girl speaking with him like that, as he could turn her into a meat pulp with just a thought, "correct, I am. What do you need, miss?"

    The two guards with her kept staring at Arthur, trying to see his level, and they rxed afterward.

    "A weak old man," they thought.

    Perhaps due to Arthur being too weak, the guards did not see a reason to stay inside the store, "we will wait outside for you, miss," they said, leaving the liquor store afterward.

    The girl did mind that, as she could also see Arthur was weak, even weaker than her, a seventh circle mage and a genius in the magic school.

    "I''m looking for the best liquor you have, and I don''t care if it is expensive," she said.

    Arthur slowly went down, trying to reach something behind his counter. All of his movements were slow, trying to fit the identity of an older man to its fullest.

    "Here, miss. This is the best liquor I have! Only 80 gold coins!"

    That money was not low for a liquor bottle, yet the girl paid Arthur without saying a word, and then she moved toward the liquor store door. Arthur quickly scanned her body, and he could tell she had some problems in her veins that were affecting her mana flow.

    "Should I tell her? No, not now. What would I gain with this? It could even bring me problems," Arthur thought, so he let her leave and said nothing.

    "Miss, everything alright? The man tried something?" one of the guards asked when she left the store.

    For some reason, the girl felt strange, as if someone had seen through her just now.

    "Could it be the older man? No, that''s impossible?"

    "No, Lenroy. He tried nothing. Now let''s return home!"

    The days went the same way, but Arthur had to start doing his movements! His identity was Nefion, the liquor store owner, an average mage who was too old for anything, yet that changed with the passage of days.

    Arthur spread rumors around the city about someone who could get anything one wanted. At first, no one believed it, but when the first client came to the liquor store and left it with what he wanted the most, the word spread quickly.

    A fat man entered the store and waited near the counter until Arthur showed up, "how can I help you?" he said.

    The man looked at him and hesitated momentarily before saying, "I want the special one."

    That was the code Arthur created for them to ask for his other services, basically making them sell their souls for things in exchange.

    Arthur looked at the man and said, "follow me."

    They went toward the basement, where Arthur pulled a few crates, showing a secret tunnel leading to a room with plenty of magical formations to make it invisible to curious eyes, just like his store was.

    "Before we start this, there are a few things I need to tell you. First, after you get what you want, you must get other clients to me, but only those you trust! Everything that happens here must remain a secret, like a secret organization. Understood?"

    The man only noticed the altar behind Arthur, which looked much like a demonic cult, yet the man was not scared! He knew only demons or gods could give things to people, and there was no way it was a god.

    "Of course. Now, I-" the man hesitated again and was a little shy to ask it, but then he said, "can you make me muscr and increase the size of my penis?"

    That was thest night Arthur imagined someone would ask, at least in a magical world like the one they were in. If it were Earth, that would not be out of the question.

    "Are you sure you want this?" Arthur said.

    He wanted to make sure, as the satisfaction of his clients meant more clients, and more clients meant power to fight against those who were after him.

    "I am sure of it!? Can you do it?"

    "Sure. How muscr do you want, and how bigger?"

    The man exined exactly what he wanted, and after that, the two shook hands, and Arthur''s demonic spell activated, making the man''s soul go directly at him as he absorbed it.

    Then, with just a thought, the man before him changed entirely, shifting from a fat man to a muscr one that looked like a bodybuilder, and something happened down there as his pants were no longer holding his friend.

    "I-It worked!? I cannot believe it!"

    The man was jumping with happiness!? He wanted to believe it would work, but only stupid people would blindly believe in such a thing!? Many people had heard the rumors, yet no one went there to check it, and after one day, everyone forgot about it!

    Only he had the guts to go there and try. Perhaps he was brave or desperate to escape his current situation. Either way, the man went there and became Arthur''s first client!

    "Remember what I told you. Bring someone you trust, and this person will not share this! We must keep our cult a secret. Remember, if you disobey me, a demon, you will die horribly."

    Arthur said in a creepy tone that made the man, jumping with happiness, remember that he got what he wanted through not-so-good means.

    Even if he wanted to share what happened down there, it was impossible because Arthur had full control over his soul, and he had to listen to his everymand.

    "Now let''s get ourselves a stream of souls and be so powerful. Those after me will be running for their lives, afraid of the Demon God Arthur!"

 Chapter 459 Casino, a Demonic Place for a Demon Cult

    <h4>Chapter 459 Casino, a Demonic ce for a Demon Cult</h4>

    The first soul was now under Arthur''smand. He checked his status screen and decided it was finally time to see how he was doing.

    "Let''s use all of these free points too!"

    [Name: Arthur Willians]

    [Bloodline: Dragon (Legendary cidusax), Monlog Giant, Phoenix (Divine)]

    [Rank: Official Mage (5)]

    [Level: 210]

    [Health: 230000/230000]

    [Mana: 0/0]

    [Spiritual Force: 510]

    Attributes:

    [Strength: 1440]

    [Agility: 1250]

    [Vigor: 1346]

    [Wisdom: 2023]

    [Charm: 1209]

    [Free points: 0]

    Just like always, Arthur used everything in wisdom, as his divine body would slowly increase his other attributes with time, so there was no need to put it there.

    Also, his dragon cult spread quickly on his hometown, and a notification popped before his eyes.

    <Cult of the Dragon>

    <Dragon Priests: 6200>

    <+100 to all attributes>

    The current state of his attributes was incredible, and now one more thing was showing inside his system.

    <Demonic Energy: 0>

    <Souls: 3>

    He only had three souls upon that point, but it was a start, and Arthur was sure that number would increase over time, and he would take over the city before anyone noticed it!

    Also, after checking his status and looking through the window of his liquor store right before closing it, Arthur saw something different.

    <Level: 20>

    <Average Attributes: 87>

    "The system is now calcting the level of others, not only mine! Well, it is useful, but not at the same time. I can sense someone''s strength based on their mana, but looking at numbers is good too!"

    Arthur was happy with the progress of his attributes, but he still did not know if those searching for him were rank six mages or peak rank 5. If it were thetter, going up against them would not be difficult, and Arthur certainly would manage to do that in one year or two.

    But rank 6? That would still take some time for him to reach.

    "Let''s just hope for the best, right? Like always."

    The house where Arthur lived was not far from his store. He wanted to live inside his store, but that was not something people do, and what he wanted at that point was to blend in and look normal.

    It was not a big house simr to the others around the area, but it was still made of stone that looked more durable than wood. The ce was no longer a small vige but the best city in the country, and even the poorer areas were still quite good.

    Arthur went to his bedroom, sat on the ground, and checked with his wives to see how they were doing, "we will leave with Tracy and Delphine in two weeks."

    "Two weeks, hum. I should have enough time to get more souls and start building a secret ce for my cult," Arthur thought.

    The money used on that was different, at least for the normal stuff like buying ces and buying normal items. But there was an exchange ce where one could exchange the mana stones for gold coins, which Arthur had plenty of.

    That was how Arthur got himself enough money to buy a house and a store, exchanging one mana stone! With only one, his life inside the city turned out to be pretty good, and he still had many more mana stones inside his magical pouch, but he did not exchange it.

    Why? His identity was that of a weak mage. There was no way he would have that kind of money, and exchanging it too often may cause others to investigate him, which was not what he wanted.

    After getting up to date with his wives, Arthur picked a bowl and cut his arm, putting his blood inside the bowl. He performed one of the rituals he got, chanting words in anguage that sounded a lot like demonic stuff.

    Then, the blood inside the bowl showed an image of a muscr man. It was the one who asked not to be fat and have a bigger dick. He sold his soul, and now it was time for him to pay up!

    "This is your demon lord. Remember your task, and find people for the demonic cult. Please don''t spread the word too much, or else the guards wille looking for us. Also, soon we will have another meeting ce, not the store, but I will message you the location after it is done."

    The man was shocked by the sudden voice but soon did what Arthur told him. He couldn''t resist too.

    "Let''s look for a new ce to buy."

    Arthur then locked his house and left. He wanted to look for a ce for his demonic cult to meet regrly, and the best time to search for it was during the night, as Arthur was invisible to anyone there!

    His level was way higher than everyone; they would only see him if he wanted them to.

    The city streets had plenty of people, even during nighttime. None of these people paid attention to an older man with a long beard who walked slowly through the city, gazing at its surroundings to see any ces for sale.

    "I should get it in another neighborhood, not the one where my store and home are," Arthur thought.

    After looking all over the city, Arthur found a good ce! It was an area with casinos and night houses!

    Why was it a good ce? Many people went to those locations, and the ce was still packed even during thete night hours. It would make it harder for the authorities to notice something off when his cult meets.

    A group of people gathering around a desert area would be too suspicious, and Arthur was not that dumb.

    There was a building for sale, a big one. It was once a casino that unfortunately lost its customers to the others in the area, who provided better services and a nicer environment.

    "I can start a casino here and have something underground for my demonic cult. Nice."

    Arthur fixed the location of the building inside his mind and returned to his home. He would buy it the next day and start another business in the city!

 Chapter 460 Creating a Technique for the Demon Cult

    <h4>Chapter 460 Creating a Technique for the Demon Cult</h4>

    Arthur returned home and did not sleep but focused on creating his meditation technique! There was one inside the memories of the Blood Monarch, which he started using some time ago; the ''Ancient Blood Demon Technique'' was its name.

    He couldn''t share such a technique with Delphine or the other members of his cult, as they were incapable of practicing it!? That technique was solely for the one with the Blood''s Monarch inheritance, so Arthur dismissed the thought of sharing that.

    But it could still serve as a base for him to create a new one. What he needed was something with a simr effect to the Dragon Meditation Technique, meaning the users who practiced the technique would also grant power to the creator, which was Arthur.

    He wanted to merge the two techniques so that the members of his cult practiced something darker while giving him more power. But, of course, it would work both ways, and Arthur would grant some of his powers to the users, but it would still benefit him.

    That sounded simple yet was difficult, especially for Arthur, who, despite having an incredible level, never created a technique of his own! The Blood Monarch had made numerous techniques throughout his life, and some were recorded inside Arthur''s memories, inspiring his creation.

    The moon came and went, and Arthur was still lost in his research, with papers scattered around his residence, making the ce look like the cave of a mad scientist. He made some progress in one day, but nothing too extraordinary, yet Arthur believed he would finish the technique before his wives and Delphine came to the city, so everything was happening at the right time!

    Although his mind was tired, Arthur had a liquor store to run, so he did not even bother cleaning the room, leaving his house, crossing the street, and reaching his liquor store in no time.

    "Nefion, good morning," an older man taking care of his garden said.

    "Good morning, Steward. How are the nts? Are they growing with life?"

    "Ha, you betcha. The pile of shit from Northern Horned Bufalloes was quite good, and the nts are growing like never!"

    Everyone knew each other in that street, and one of the few people not groomed old like Arthur''s current appearance was Helio, a middle-aged man who moved in recently with his family. His son, Jeran, would study in the same school Tracy would go to.

    It was a quiet street with many amicable people, so it was easy to feel at home and make friends!? So Helio, for example, went to Arthur''s store regrly, and his son already saw Arthur as part of the family.

    "Grandpa Nefion! Good morning," Jeran said, running toward Arthur for a hug.

    Jeran was ten years old and a lovelyd with short ck hair and hazel eyes.

    "Jeran, why are you so energetic this morning? Ahh, don''t hug too hard, or the backs of this grandpa will break," Arthur said.

    Helio was the one who spoke for his son, "it is his first day of school, can you believe it? Time goes so fast."

    Arthur did not know the magical school''s sses for new students would start so soon. Of course, Tracy would only be around next week, and she would miss some things.

    "Really? Little one, work hard to make grandpa and your father proud," Arthur said, cuddling Jeran''s hair.

    "I-I will!"

    After speaking a little with the two, but not too much as they were busy, Arthur made his way to his store, changing the sign from closed to open and sitting on a wooden chair behind the counter, waiting for the first customer.

    Arthur was not only sitting there being useless. Instead, he was thinking about everything he did during the night hours and trying to devise new ways to finish his new meditation technique as fast as possible.

    During the entire morning, not a single person came to his store. Instead, everyone seemed busy, as the magical sses had just started, meaning most parents were busy with their kids.

    Arthur did not mind it, though, as his store was only there for him to blend. It generated a low ie every month, so there was no reason to feel bad about it.

    Arthur decided to close the store, as he left the area and went to talk with someone.

    "Are you sure you want to buy that ce? It was once a casino that went bankrupt," ady said.

    "Yes, I am."

    Thedy was responsible for selling thend, and although she saw what Arthur was doing as a bad idea, she still made the paperwork and did not ask further questions.

    "You can do whatever you want with your money, old man," she thought.

    Arthur then went to another building that specialized in reforming and sentencing. He hired many men to make the building decent again and put all the casino machines there.

    As for the underground area where his cult would meet? Arthur sent a message to the first man who sold his soul to him, and he would have to act as the supervisor for the working team Arthur hired and build a decent ce underground.

    "If it looks decent, then I will give you something. If it is trash, then you will make me pissed."

    That was what Arthur said to the man mentally, and sure thing, within twenty minutes, the man was there, taking care of the new workers, and starting his underground project, doing everything he could to make the casino work.

    "You are Kalen, right? You are the first member of the cult, so act like a responsible person, and do everything perfectly."

    "I will; don''t worry about it, Lord Demon."

    With the casino taken care of, Arthur returned to his liquor store and spent the rest of the week trying to create a mediation technique for his followers. Sure thing, after one week, one day before his wives, Delphine and Tracy arrived in the city, he seeded it!

    It was nighttime when Arthur created the technique.

    "Impossible for me to test it. Kalen should be working in the casino. I told him to work his ass off to make it decent, so he can''t sleep right now; it is only 1 am."

    Arthur went to where the casino was, and just like every day, the streets had plenty of people visiting the night houses and ying games to lose all of their money.

    Another thing that attracted people was the restaurants in the area, which were quite good. So once Arthur arrived at his casino, no one worked on it.

    People did not work 24 hours a day, so it was understandable. But to his surprise and happiness, Kalen was still working independently, creating the underground area hidden in a prohibited room inside the casino.

    "Lord Demon! What brings you thiste?" Kalen said as he turned around and faced Arthur, surprised to see him there.

    "The ce looks decent. Good for now," Arthur said sternly, making Kalen d he had put effort into creating a decent ce.

    "Of course, it looks decent. A Lord like you deserves the best we can offer!"

    "Hmph. Anyway, I have a technique for you that I will distribute to the cult members. Practice with it, and tell me the results tomorrow."

    "A technique? For me?"

    Kalen kneeled on the ground and bowed to Arthur a few times, just like a servant would do to its master. However, he still could not believe someone as powerful as Arthur had granted him a technique.

    "I will practice this with my heart and soul!"

    Arthur then wandered inside the building, seeing its insides. It had a counter where the people would get the tickets to y, and all the machines were already there, neatly ced in the best positions, using the space the best they could.

    There was also a room where the money was, bathrooms, and a secret entrance to the underground area.

    The casino was entirely white and made of fine marble, and there were many long rugs and beautiful luminaries to make it look like a ce for the rich.

    It had more than one floor, but Arthur had nned on using the second one for his things, so it was still under construction.

    "How long will it take for the underground area to be finished and the casino to start working?" Arthur asked.

    "The underground area will finish in around four days, but the casino might take seven to start running," Kalen said.

    "Not bad."

    Arthur was pleased with the speed of his workers, especially Kalen, who surprised him with how much effort he put into that. Perhaps the soul link made him do those things, or maybe he was just scared or loyal; either way, he was doing it, and that was what mattered.

    "Jane, Wisa, Sybille, Tracy, and Delphine should arrive tomorrow. Delphine will be my cult spy inside the school, but maybe I can get myself to work there too? Well, I shall see it in the future."

    ~~~~

    "Where did you get those things?"

    One of the men chasing Arthur throughout thes, looking for his Forbidden Eye, asked a mage, who was scared to the bones.

    "I-I found these metal balls near a vige, but I don''t know what these things are or what they do!"

 Chapter 461 The Strongest Mage

    <h4>Chapter 461 The Strongest Mage</h4>

    The next day was important for Arthur, as his wives and friends would arrive in the city, and he had to see them!

    Many people had to wait in line to enter the city, especially with the magical school starting the sses, meaning people from everywhere in the country were going there with their sons and daughters.

    Arthur waited by the city''s gate, and when he saw his wives, they walked toward him, trying not to act suspicious. They knew what he looked like ¡ª he had told them via mental messages ¡ª but Tracy was surprised to see Arthur looking that way!

    "Grandpa! Hahaha, grandpa!" Tracy said, hugging Arthur as she kept joking about his appearance.

    All the people around did not see it as strange and did not bother with a child hugging a grandpa. That wasmon.

    Delphine was there too, surprised only for a second by Arthur''s appearance. She knew he was someone with a higher power than all the other beings on the, so it was normal for him to change his appearance, even if it sounded incredible to ordinary mages. So for Arthur, it was not a big deal.

    "Let''s go. I have a house for us to stay," Arthur said, leading the way to his house, the same one near his liquor store.

    It took them almost thirty minutes to reach where Arthur lived. Not because it was far, but because the city had too many people thest few days, making walking there a pain in the ass.

    When Arthur arrived in his neighborhood, the older people who knew him were surprised, "are these your grandchildren?"

    "Hahaha, you bet. The little one is attending school, so I''ll take care of her now."

    "That''s lovely, Nefion!"

    No one found it strange and asked further questions, as they had their things to care for.

    Tracy had been stunned the entire time she arrived in the city because it was the first time she saw something grand and houses that looked decent, not the wooden cabins she was used to in the vige!

    Delphine had once traveled through some cities to sell her potions and buy some ingredients, so she was not that impressed, but still, that city was something else!

    "Can I use any room?" Tracy asked.

    Arthur''s house had plenty of rooms, yet he only used one, "yes, choose any room you like, but not mine. Delphine too."

    The two went out and found themselves nice rooms with a bathroom, too, and both were happy with it! Although the two knew it would onlyst for a day, as they would have to live inside the magical school''s dormitory when their sses started, they did not think about it and enjoyed their time.

    Speaking of sses, Delphine went to talk with Arthur in private, as she wanted to know how the meditation technique he would give her would go.

    "I will have an answer by night, don''t worry," Arthur said.

    She did not bother him with more questions and did not beg for the meditation technique either. Delphine was d Arthur was even thinking about possibly giving her something that valuable.

    Then, they all sat in the living room and shared everything that had happened thest few weeks, getting up to date with the gossip and the news.

    Tracy''s dragon egg had yet to hatch, but it was showing signs of life already, which was good! Also, Emily and Victor, Tracy''s parents, were increasing their power. Both were now close to reaching the Official Rank of mages, all thanks to the Dragon Meditation Technique Arthur gave them!

    Their power had been stuck at the same level for a long time, as they only meditated with their low-grade technique, and both had stopped their adventures years ago, settling down to take care of their family.

    Arthur was happy to make a change in their life, and the more time passed, the more he saw Tracy as a sister he never had.

    "Are you excited for tomorrow?" Arthur asked.

    Just like the son of Arthur''s friend, who had started his school days the other day, Tracy would start hers the next day, and there was no way she was not anxious about it. Arthur would if he were in her shoes.

    "I am! Will everything be alright?"

    There was no way for Arthur to know that, but he wanted her to feel safe, and she was safe because he was there to ensure it, "yes, Tracy. Don''t worry about it. You have an excellent talent, and you can always ask me if you have any doubts about magic."

    For a moment, Delphine felt jealous, as Tracy was just a kid, yet she already had someone incredible to support her. So many people would do anything to get that.

    "Not that I am not getting any help from him, too. I should not act like this," Delphine thought.

    Arthur did not open his liquor store that day, which was unnecessary. "No one will find it strange, considering they think I am spending time with my grandchildren."

    He only moved during nighttime to check with Kalen to see if he was still working his ass off to make the casinoe to life, and sure thing, he was! Arthur also wanted to know about the meditation technique results.

    "Husband, while you take care of your store and secretly a cult to get more power, what can we do?" Wisa asked as she was in bed with Arthur, Jane, and Sybille.

    They wanted to help, and Arthur could understand that.

    "Maybe you three can enter the school as teachers or other positions, like one working in the library? I want to get some samples about the spells of this, so this is a good opportunity. Also, it should be peaceful there for you to meditate and grow in power too."

    "Good idea. We will get ourselves a position tomorrow."

    Despite all of them wanting to have a good time in bed, there were children nearby, so they decided not to that day, even if it was hard.

    When morning came, Tracy ate breakfast and went to the magical school with Arthur''s wives.

    He wanted to go there too, but it would not be a good idea, as he tried toy low the best he could.

    "So are you saying this technique works?" Delphine asked.

    Arthur checked with Kalen the other night, and the technique worked fine.

    "Yes, but only if you desire power more than anything. Will you do anything for it?"

    That was the critical question to make sure Delphine sold her soul to him, and sure thing, she said, "I will do anything for power!"

    After that, a handshake and a hand on the forehead to pass the technique to her,pleting all the necessary steps. After getting that much information inside her head, she had to sit down, but it did not take her long to readjust her body finally.

    "This is incredible! A technique like this one is legendary! I don''t think there is something with a higher tier in this country."

    Delphine did not know all the techniques of the world she lived in. Hell, she had no idea Arthur came from another, so it made sense for her not to be sure if the meditation technique Arthur gave him was the strongest there was.

    But Arthur knew it!? There was no way a minor like that one had better techniques than the ones he had or the one he had just created.

    Having passed down the technique to Delphine, she also went to the magical school to study, the same one Tracy and Arthur''s wives went to.

    Everyone had something to do, and he did, also.

    "Open my liquor store it is!"

    The day was busy for Arthur, who was not seeing many clients the other day.

    "My son is going to be the best one, a genius, haha," a man said to another, sitting around a wooden table, drinking some liquor Arthur served them.

    His liquor store not only sold closed bottles to its customers but now had many tables for them to sit and enjoy drinks there, like a bar.

    "I should hire someone to cook something for the clients."

    Arthur decided to implement that kind of thing so that people stayed inside his shop more, thus gossiping about something. So he needed information to ensure nothing would get to him unnoticed.

    "Did you know? The strongest mage in the country will visit the magic school tomorrow to wee all the new students."

    "Really? You mean Hen, the divine swordsman?"

    "Oh? Of course not. I mean M, the Fire Blossom."

    That sentence caught Arthur''s attention immediately. The strongest mage in the country? He had to meet that person to see what his level was.

    Sure thing, it was easy to get a part-time job in the school, like helping clean up the courtyard for a day, and that was what Arthur aimed for.

    "Let''s see if the mages here are decent or just trash," he thought, pouring drinks non-stop to all of his clients, who kept increasing by the second.

 Chapter 462 Troublemakers in the Shop

    <h4>Chapter 462 Troublemakers in the Shop</h4>

    The liquor store was busy the entire day, and even when night came and Arthur wanted to close it out, clients were stilling! That made Arthur think of one thing, "I will have to hire some people to work here."

    It would be necessary, or Arthur would have to spend much time inside the store, which was impossible! And he had a casino to run and many souls to get.

    "Also, running a demonic cult is not easy, right?"

    After a few customers went inside, Arthur moved toward the front door and changed the signing that said ''open'' to the one that said ''closed.''

    That would not make the customers leave, but at least it would keep the new ones out, as Arthur was not running a 24-hour shop. Perhaps if he were using the shop to earn money, he would work his ass off, but that was not his case, so he didn''t need to keep it open untilte.

    Thest customers inside the store drank for thirty minutes, but no one wanted to leave after they got drunk, pissing Arthur off.

    "Nefion, old man, just stay quiet and let us drink, right? After that, we will get some of your liquors for free!" one of them said.

    These men were not middle age but young people that were probably students from the nearby school who had time off and went there to cause problems.

    Why would they go there if not for problems? The bigger liquor stores had plenty of security, which was not the case for Arthur''s small shop.

    Of course, there was no way for them to know that the small shop was the most secure ce on the, as it was the home of the strongest being.

    Arthur sighed after hearing that, saying, "will it be like this?"

    He did not want to cause problems for them. They were just dumb young, weak mages who were not thinking straight.

    Theyughed, getting up from their table, "will it be like this? What? HAHA, you are saying that you have any chance against us. Get to your ce, weak sixth circle old man!"

    All three young men were tenth-circle mages with the decent talent to have a shot at reaching the rank of an Official Mage. That was why they did not see Arthur as a threat, but that was their mistake.

    Arthur slowly walked toward them and punched each one in the face, making their white teeth fall from their mouth, and a lot of blood came with it!

    Three punches, all of which happened so fast they did not even see Arthur move his hands!

    "W-W-W-What?"

    After that, Arthur kicked the belly of each man, sending them flying away through the front door of his shop, falling unconscious on the street.

    "Trashes."

    He closed the front door of his shop and aimed his palm at the building, activating all the magical formations he had ced on the first day of buying the shop. It was enough to keep all the trespassers away, up to rank-four mages!

    "Even if these three bring up their entire family and friends, they will never break my formation."

    Arthur returned to his house, which was close to his shop, and once there, his wives were already waiting for him.

    "Why did it take you so long in the liquor store?" Jane asked.

    "People are causing trouble after getting drunk. Common thing, right? Anyway, how it went with the positions in the school?"

    He wanted to know if his wives had gotten themselves a position in the school, as that was important for him to get his hands on the spells of that world, and also for him to get himself a part-time job for tomorrow, as he wanted to meet with the so-called strongest mage of the country.

    "It went well. Wisa and I are the new teachers, and Sybille will take care of the library. All we had to do to get the positions was show them a power of a rank-two mage, which is quite impressive around here," Jane said.

    "Really? Do you think I can get a cleaning job for tomorrow or something? I heard in my store that the strongest mage ising to the school, and I want to meet him."

    "Cleaning? Yeah, it should be possible."

    It was not like that was an incredible job. Many different people got a simr position, and Jane had seen at least 30 other people cleaning all the courtyard and rooms of the school.

    Arthur was pleased by it and talked with his wives during the night hours, trying to get as much information about the school as possible, like itsyout and power structure. He wanted to know precisely the level of his world so that no more problems woulde his way.

    Well, he had a troublesome problem as people were looking for him and wanted him dead, but that was the only problem he wanted, and nothing more.

    ~~~~

    An older man went inside the Sky Dragon Magic School the following morning. No one knew him, and no one wanted to, as he was just an ordinary mage that posed no threat to the powerful mages of the college.

    The man was Arthur, who spoke with one of the managers and got himself a cleaning job that barely gave him any payment, but he was not there for the money, so he had noints about that.

    Nothing happened during the morning, at least nothing interesting. Arthur cleaned the courtyard, shoving away the nearby trees'''' dead leaves and cutting some of the wild grass that grew there.

    Some students passed by him, making fun of his looks and weak power.

    "How can you be so old yet so weak?"

    Usually, older people had to be stronger, as they had practiced magic for more extended periods, yet Arthur was not among those people, at least not to the eye of the weak students who could not realize how mighty his power was.

    Arthur endured it, saying no words. He only wished to see the strongest mage in the country, and that person arrived in the afternoon!

 Chapter 463 Phoenix Trial?

    <h4>Chapter 463 Phoenix Trial?</h4>

    The strongest mage in the country was a woman wearing a long ck robe that showed her slender pale legs and a tiny part of her bust. A dark hair that one may confuse with the darkest night and brown eyes that shone with the hot sun above their heads.

    Delicate facial features and an appearance of a 23-year-old woman, but Arthur knew it had to be more, as it wasmon among mages to keep their youthful appearance if they were powerful.

    "M!"

    They said their name before she evennded a foot in the school, Arthur saw M flying on a massive sword, her hair hasty with the wind, just like her clothes. She looked gorgeous and much like a hero from a story; at least, Arthur thought so.

    She jumped from the sword when she got close to the ground, and then the sword changed to a standard form, a smaller one that she could use to fight.

    An older man came to see her when she arrived at the school. Arthur guessed it was the school''s principal, and he looked old with a long beard, just like him!

    "Principal Irric, long time no see," M said, smiling.

    Arthur was not far from the two, cleaning up the rock path that went through the school, swiping his broom, making it look fresh. He wanted to see their level of power, and sure thing, both were rank-three mages, but M had the upper hand, being someone close to the peak of rank-three.

    "Weaker than the mages I found in the demon continent," Arthur thought.

    <Level 120>

    <Average Attributes: 700>

    <Level 115>

    <Average Attributes: 800

    Interestingly, the weaker principal had a higher level, yet M, even with a lower level, had more attributes than him.

    That meant she took her time to evolve and did not rush through the levels, creating an unstable frame. Also, the principal was old, so that might affect something.

    "Let''s talk inside," Irric said, leading the way.

    The two moved toward the main building with all the students, whether inside the ssroom or not, gazing at them with awe eyes. All the girls wanted to be like M, and the boys recognized Irric''s strength, but they did not want to be older men.

    Arthur kept looking at them, thinking about whether he should follow them. No one could see him, be it mages or magical formations, if he wanted.

    "Should I hear their conversation? For the strongest mage to be here, something must be happening. Also, now that I remember, the guys in my store called her Hen. Is it her surname, first name, middle name, or just a nickname?" thought Arthur.

    The people in the shop were yet to getpletely drunk, so Arthur believed they had spoken actual words. Could it be that the woman before his eyes was not the same person the guys back at the store were thinking about?

    That increased his curiosity even more, so Arthur decided to drop his broom in a corner and follow them, invisible. No one noticed that an older man who had the job of a cleaner had vanished from thin air.

    Arthur passed through the school''s courtyard, reaching the main building, and then up to the principal''s room. Irric opened the door for M to go inside first, and Arthur took the opportunity to teleport to the corner of the room, entering before M moved one inch.

    Each sat on a chair, staring at one another for a few seconds, before Irric said, "is it true there''s a phoenix trial in the Deepwater Archipgo?"

    "I think so, yes. My party and I found it months ago, yet only rank-three mages have the power to get near it, and no one passed the first level of the trial¡­."

    "Are you sure it is a Phoenix? This is a legendary creature we are talking about. I remember a messenger from our strongest said there are no Phoenixes there."

    "I know, and I am happy that you did that. We are certain this is something like a legacy left by a Phoenix, but we cannot share this with anyone, especially to others, or they will send their powerful mages to get it from us."

    "You don''t need to tell me that. Are you certain our weaker mages cannot try to pass this trial?"

    "Maybe it can work if we protect them, so they get inside, but it might be hell for them if it is difficult for us. At least we are already certain you cannot die inside, at least not on the first level."

    The two talked about something extraordinary, and even Arthur, standing still in the corner hearing everything, could not believe it. A Phoenix? That was his bloodline!? Arthur had discovered that some time ago from someone that had said she was his sister!

    If there was someone that could go and see if it was indeed a Phoenix trial, then that person was Arthur! So he was seeking power to face the uing threat; perhaps that was a good chance for him!

    They talked to each other about this trial yet did not say its location. But M said she would leave tomorrow, and Arthur would have to follow her.

    "I have to get some people to work in my liquor store then because I will be leaving tomorrow!"

    After that, Arthur quietly left the magical school, and no one noticed his presence. He also put a magical tracker on M to ensure she would not leave during the night.

    Then, Arthur posted that he was hiring in the building where mages went to get jobs, and sure thing, some people came to his store!

    He wanted to hire four people, two for the morning-afternoon period and one for the night shift. The liquor store had turned into a bar, so it was starting to remain open tilte hours, so it was necessary now to have someone working the night shifts.

    Most of the people who came looking for the job were men, and Arthur hired three of them and one woman.

    All decent young people, not those who made fun of older adults. They treated Arthur well, but he was certain that was only because he was their boss¡­.

 Chapter 464 Dauting Feeling of Being Chased

    <h4>Chapter 464 Dauting Feeling of Being Chased</h4>

    After each passing day, the number of students running down the streets increased, and Arthur was believing there was only one school in the entire country. That would exin the amount of people there.

    With the recent additions to the liquor store, Arthur had more time to enjoy the time with his wives, and also explore the city!

    "Nefion! Early vacation after the young blood came to your shop? Haha, you deserve some time off," an older woman said.

    "You betcha. Their back does not hurt when crouching to get a bottle of liquor," Arthur said jokingly.

    Almost everyone in that neighborhood knew him, and most were older people, so they understood each other well.

    No one found it suspicious that Arthur was no longer spending his day inside the liquor store. The words spread quickly, and everyone at that point knew about the newly hired people who were working in his shop.

    In fact, the number of customers kept increasing after he turned it into a bar, with drinks tillte at night, and even some snacks. A hot spot in the neighborhood.

    What Arthur was more worried about was his casino, which would soon start running, and now the Phoenix Trial he heard about back in the school.

    M had a tracker on her so Arthur knew exactly where she was, so he walked fearlessly in the city, not having to think about either she had gone away or not.

    That until he checked on his casino to see the undergoing construction. Arthur was talking with his workers when the tracker on M activated as she was leaving the city.

    "She is already leaving?" Arthur thought.

    There was still time for him to go look for her. His speed was way superior to hers, and that was not even counting his teleport. So Arthur still had time to go see his wives, who were already at home after a tired day working in the magical school.

    "Are you already leaving? Will you take a long to return?" Sybille asked, as she tightly hugged Arthur and kissed him.

    "I don''t know how far this trial is, but I will leave an anchor here to teleport back and see you."

    They spent some quality time together with lots of hugs and kisses, but Arthur could not let M go too far, or even worse, found out about the track, so he left the city after saying goodbye to his wives.

    Also, they would be in charge of checking the liquor store from time to time to see if the new employees were doing the right thing and not stealing his money.

    M flew on a blueish sword as big as two people, going straight toward the ce where the Phoenix Trial would happen. She did not want to lose time inside the city, and only went there to warn the principal.

    "Why do I feel this strange thing inside of me?" M thought, looking down over her shoulder.

    She had a feeling of someone following her, but no matter when or where she looked, there was no one.

    "Is my mind ying tricks on me?" she thought.

    Arthur followed her from far away, a distance she could not see him even if she tried her best, yet he could see her clearly with the help of his Forbidden Eye.

    "Impressive. Her guts are telling her there is something wrong, yet her power is incapable of noticing me."

    They flew through verdant forests full of life to isted mountains whose peaks touched the soft clouds of the starry sky.

    M was restless, staring back every five minutes, trying to understand the reason for that harrowing feeling within her, but try as she might, the answer couldn''t be found.

    Those harmless birds became dubious shadows, and the sudden movements of the rabbitsing out of their burrows became a hindrance to her heart.

    Such simple things were scaring her, and as much as M tried to convince herself that no one was chasing her, the feeling was too real to ignore.

    The three days she spent like that were horrible, nefarious, and her nights of sleep caused her more tiredness than they restored her energy.

    "It''s driving me crazy," she thought for a moment, almost giving up on her journey.

    What kept her going was the Phoenix Trial, and of course, the beautiful fishing vige that had entered her vision after a few more days of travel.

    "I''m finally here!"

    The test was on an ind in the archipgo to the east of the maind, and that fishing vige was the closest to it.

    In normal circumstances, M would go directly to the test, but her days had been horrible, and she spent a few days inside the vige, resting properly before continuing.

    A few moments after she entered the fishing vige and rented a cozy room in the vige''s only lodging, Arthur also appeared, flying over the ce.

    Since they were so close to the ce, he wasn''t worried if she would notice his presence, and Arthur even rented a room in the same ce she was.

    "It''s not like I have a lot of options right here."

    By the morning of the other day, M noticed an elderly man sitting at a table in the restaurant''s corner. That fishing vige had several elderly people, so she was not surprised that the person was there, but what caught her attention was the clothes of the elderly, very different from all other people.

    "How strange," she thought, cing spoons full of soup in her mouth, throwing that old man''s face to the back of her mind.

    M rested for a few days, and without exception, she exchanged nces with that mysterious old man every day, at least once. However, every time her aura swept the old man, he seemed to be just a normal person, with nothing special.

    She was already forgetting that until she overheard a conversation while walking the muddy streets of that fishing vige.

    "Did you notice those two outsiders who arrived together? The pretty youngdy and the old man. Why are they here?"

    The conversation between those two fishermen brought the answer M sought, and her gaze no longer saw that old man as an ordinary person, but as the reason for her nightmare-filled nights.

 Chapter 465 [Bonus chapter] The Good or Bad Way

    <h4>Chapter 465 [Bonus chapter] The Good or Bad Way</h4>

    The coincidence was too much. M traveled all the way to a distant fishermen''s vige on an ind, and the ce had few visitors during the entire year and two at the same time never happened before!

    That was why all the vigers had questions, trying to figure out the identity of those two who arrived at their vige, yet they asked no questions.

    They were weak, and the weak had to endure the powerful. No one knew the identity of both M or the older man, but considering they arrived on the ind by flying, they must be people to not be messed up with.

    M was also on the same boat as the vigers, as her mind had many questions and fears about the uing older man.

    For that reason, she stayed in the vige for a few days without doing anything, just eating and sleeping. She wanted to see if the older man following her would do anything different, yet he did not.

    Arthur stayed in the same room during the days and was not in a hurry to go to that Phoenix Trial, not that he knew its location.

    Without any other options, M gathered enough courage to speak with him, as that was the only thing she left to do.

    "Excuse me," she said, stopping before Arthur''s table.

    He was not surprised by her showing up there ¡ª that was only a matter of time ¡ª so Arthur looked up, staring at her, and said, "Yes?"

    "Only yes? Weren''t you following me since I left the city?" M said.

    She sat on the empty chair, staring intensely into his eyes.

    "I don''t know what you are talking about. My parents were born in this vige, so Ie here asionally."

    "Bullshit. Spit it out! Or I will have to use my strength to get the answers I need, and hear me out when I say this; no one can win against me!"

    She acted all brave and with evident pride. Arthur did not me her. If one considered only the mages from that, she was one of the most powerful, yes.

    But against Arthur? It was like a kid trying to fight an adult in a boxing match. She would fail, and just hearing her say that made Arthur chuckle.

    "What is funny?" M said in an angry tone.

    Seeing her acting like that before, a being that could destroy her existence without much trouble, was cute, but Arthur would not do that.

    "First, don''t try to fight against me, or you will lose. So, can we talk in a more private ce?" Arthur said.

    The severe tone he had sent a shiver down M''s spine, and for some reason, even if his sentence sounded absurd, she believed in it.

    "Where?"

    "Why the hurry? I am eating here."

    M rolled her eyes at that and wanted to punch Arthur. She was unsure if he had enough power to go up against her ¡ª only a few mages on that could do that ¡ª but she decided not to risk it, and seeing how Arthur only wanted to talk, doing that was not a problem for her.

    She waited for him to eat, and after they were done with it, both left the vige, walking up further into the ind.

    Arthur walked all the way like an average person, and that enraged M, who was not used to doing that, and it would only waste their time.

    "This is enough, no? Why did we leave the vige to speak?"

    They had walked to the other edge of the ind, theplete opposite of where the vige was. Nothing around them reminded them of human civilization, only vegetation.

    "I think it is. We don''t want anyone hearing our conversation about the Phoenix Trial, right?" Arthur said with a terrific smile.

    When M heard that, she froze. How did he know about the Phoenix Trial? That was a well-guarded secret almost no one knew about, and she only spoke about it inside magical formations to avoid anyone overhearing it.

    That was another proof that the older man before her was not as simple as he looked.

    "Phoenix Trial? I don''t know what you are talking about," M said.

    "Look, I am trying to help you with this. Do you want to leave this ce with your life and try the Phoenix Trial again? That can happen, or I can just get the answers I need from your head, killing you in the process. Your whole idea of protecting the secret will only result in you dying."

    Arthur was being honest with her. There was no way he would leave the ce without knowing where the Phoenix Trial was, as he was, trying to learn more about his Phoenix Bloodline. That was a ce he had to go, no matter the cost.

    M stared at him and said nothing, trying to see if he was joking, yet Arthur''s expression remained the same.

    She quickly ced both palms together, casting a quick fire-type magic. Fire came from the ground around Arthur, going all the way up, turning into a cage of fire, locking him in ce.

    "I am a rank three mage, and this is a rank two spell. You cannot escape from this," M said proudly.

    M was one of the few rank-three mages on that, and that was the highest level they had reached. Arthur admired her because that was not an easy rank to achieve. But the difference between her power to his was still worlds apart.

    Arthur touched the fire with his hand, and nothing happened. His body power and resistance to the fire were so great that a weak spell could not hurt him.

    He walked forward, passing through the wall of mes, leaving the cage without much effort.

    "I will say once again. We can do this in a good way or the bad way. How do you want it to be?" Arthur said.

    M lost all hope after that.

 Chapter 466 Information About the Phoenix Trial, and Kai

    <h4>Chapter 466 Information About the Phoenix Trial, and Kai</h4>

    A rank-three mage casting a rank two spell. That was a power not everyone could go up against, yet Arthur stopped it as if it was nothing.

    M did not know what to do! If the man she faced was so powerful, then what was the reason to keep fighting? What was the reason to hide anything?

    "Did you calm down? Despite you trying to kill me, I don''t want to hurt you," Arthur said as he cleaned the dust from his clothes.

    "I-I don''t understand. I know all the powerful mages, yet I have never seen your face before. Who are you?" M asked.

    Arthur had many appearances, and the one he was recently using was that of an old man. He looked at her and said jokingly, "I am a dragon. Would you believe that?"

    "A dragon? Bull shit. These are beings who can go against rank 7 or 8 mages. A fable," she said, dismissing the idea of Arthur being a dragon, as it sounded absurd.

    "Let''s talk about things that matter. What can you tell me about the Phoenix Trial?" Arthur asked.

    The only reason Arthur followed her for that long and lost his time in a fisherman''s vige in the middle of nowhere was because of the Phoenix Trial he heard about.

    "How do you know about this, anyway?"

    "I am the one asking the questions here, remember?"

    M wanted to go against him, but every time she remembered how easily Arthur destroyed her spell, she stopped thinking about it.

    "I found the ce of the trial by ident a few years ago."

    "How did you find it? Who told you about it? I don''t believe someone would go to this forsaken area for no reason."

    Arthur saw how most of the people there weren''t mages, or were weak ones who could barely do a thing. Also, based on the conversations he heard inside the vige, outsiders were rare, almost non-existent.

    So he couldn''t believe M went there and found something no one else knew about, especially if it was something extraordinary, like the Phoenix Trial.

    "I grew up here, that''s why. I came to spend a few days for my father''s burial, and found it while exploring one of the many inds around this area," M said, looking down, doing her best to hold the tears.

    With just a look, Arthur could see she was telling the truth ¡ª M did not look like the type of person who would fake such emotion.

    "Makes sense. So tell me, you said you tried toplete the trial, right?"

    "Correct."

    "Why did you fail?"

    Arthur would overtake the trial soon, so getting as much information as possible from someone who had witnessed it was one of the best things he could do.

    "It''s hard for someone like me. Not that I am weak, but the Phoenix was a being from a higher realm, and the humans who took the Phoenix Trial were way more powerful than both me and you," M said.

    What she meant was the ancient mages who were way more powerful than the current ones. It wasn''t hard to find rank five and rank six mages, and those were weak.

    The situation was so intense that the twelve primal gods were still alive and roaming thes, yet could not fully destroy the mages who had the power to rival them!

    But everything went downhill for some unknown reason, and the mages of the current eracked the strength ¡ª a good thing the primal gods weren''t around anymore.

    "Your key element is fire, right? One has to have the fire element to take the trial?" Arthur asked.

    "Yes. The trial is basically an endlessbat. You know, the Phoenix is a being with incredible healing powers, therefore it can fight almost forever without getting tired. That''s the goal behind the trial. Test one''s endurance and perseverance to get the bloodline."

    "Get the bloodline? Tell me more about it."

    "Legends say that if a personpletes the trial, then the Phoenix will grant the person a few drops of its blood, giving the bloodline to the mage, as well as other information that might be useful to a new heir. But I do not know if that''s true or not, but I hope it is. That''s the reason I am trying toplete the trial in the first ce," M said, sharing all the information she had with Arthur.

    Arthur was not looking for a few drops of the Phoenix Blood. ording to his sister, he came from the royal bloodline of the Phoenix, and was basically a pure blood, a Phoenix himself!

    But his bloodline was locked, and Arthur was not hoping to unlock it so soon, yet a chance to find more answers came after he heard M''s conversation.

    ''Maybe I can unlock my bloodline, or at least get some answers on what to do next! My sister is asleep and I don''t think she will return so soon,'' Arthur thought.

    M told him everything she could, afraid that Arthur would take her life, and after their conversation was over, it was time to think about their ns.

    "We can move together to the Phoenix Trial tomorrow. I''ll give you some time to visit your father''s tombstone, and prepare," Arthur said as he moved back to the vige.

    "Another thing, M. Can we enter the trial together and help each other reach the end?"

    "I think, yes. Nothing ever stated that we had toplete it by yourselves. But we will have to probably share the Phoenix Blood if something like that happens."

    "I see. Well, meet me here tomorrow, alright? And don''t think about trying to leave without me¡­"

    M was not stupid to that point, so she nodded, letting Arthur return to the vige. She took another direction, one that lead to the graveyard where her father was,

    ~~~~

    ''Interesting. After I am done with this Phoenix Trial, I need to get the metal ball back and leave this for good.''

    ~~~~

    In an unknown temple, one in a high mountain.

    "Lord Kai, how are we with the primal summoning?" a ck-robed man asked.

    "Everything is going ording to n. In no time, the banned dragon will return, bringing chaos! Hahaha!"

    If Arthur was there, he would recognize that Kai was the person who was once his disciple¡­

 Chapter 467 Arriving at the Phoenix Island

    <h4>Chapter 467 Arriving at the Phoenix Ind</h4>

    The vige looked the same every day, with nothing new happening. Arthur stayed in the same inn he had been thest couple of days, chilling before leaving.

    M did the same after visiting her father''s tombstone. Arthur was not the slightest concerned about her running away ¡ª he would notice her departure, and she had no chance in terms of speed.

    It was early in the morning when M and Arthur left the ind. M had a massive sword she always used as her transportation, and Arthur followed along.

    "Be careful not to fall from it," M said as she increased the speed of her flying sword.

    For her, it was quite fast, the fastest she could muster, but for Arthur, it was as slow as a turtle. But she was the only one who knew the path to the Phoenix Trial, and Arthur was not feeling like rushing there either!

    "So why do you want to take part in the Phoenix Trial?"

    "Me? I just want the experience, and who knows, maybe finish it. What about you?"

    There was nothing better to do than talking, so Arthur used the chance to not only know more about M, but maybe get more intel from her.

    "It''s¡­plicated."

    "We have a lot of time. That if you want to tell me."

    "It''s for my personal health but more for my sister," M said, stopping a few seconds before continuing.

    "I have a twin sister, and we both have a disease that not even powerful mages can heal¡­. She''s not a mage, so with her weak body, she''s in bed right now. My future is not that different from her in a few years, so I want the Phoenix Blood to heal me and her."

    That was not the reason Arthur was expecting to hear. The blood of the Phoenix had incredible healing capabilities, and if the disease M spoke about was something not even powerful mages could heal, then maybe the blood of a Phoenix was her only option!

    A noble act, one that Arthur recognized. He wouldn''t risk his life for her toplete the trial and get what she wanted, but if it turned out his help allowed her to get some drops of the blood, he would not be mad about it.

    "I believe anyone can achieve things with proper motivation, and you surely have one."

    "Thanks, I guess. But tell me, how can you be so powerful? You destroyed my me spell as if it was nothing!"

    Arthur chuckled at it, "I told you, I am a dragon, so weak spells of humans cannot hurt me."

    "Right," M thought it was a joke, but she noticed the serious face Arthur had and wondered, "Are you serious?"

    He shrugged his shoulders, "Who knows? Maybe this is a lie, or maybe this is the truth. What do you think?"

    "I think you are not simple, and way more powerful than the strongest mage on this, meaning you have to be from somewhere else, but travelling from to requires a lot of power¡­"

    The more M thought about Arthur, the more scared she was! Who exactly was that old man? She felt like she did not have the power to get those answers unless he shared them with her.

    "Maybe one day I will tell you something, only if I trust you enough. Anyway, how far is the trial?"

    "We can get there in 5 hours at this speed."

    "5 hours? Not bad, not bad."

    ~~~~

    They flew above the endless ocean until they saw a tiny ind in the middle of nowhere.

    It was far from everything else, and the powerful beasts living in the deep ocean and the skies were enough to make anyone stay far from it.

    The area also had terrific waves, so ships sinking was a normal urrence ¡ª not that any ship would go that far into the ocean.

    "This is the ce. Come, I will show you."

    Arthur analyzed the ind, and different from M, his perception was way superior, so he could tell the familiar aura inside the ind, one that certainly belonged to the Phoenix.

    ''Maybe it is because I? have the bloodline, so I can sense it?'' Arthur thought.

    They descended from the sky, stopping in a small cottage, one that looked abandoned.

    "This is not the best of ces, but it''s the house I am living in.

    "Did you build this ce?" Arthur asked.

    "Yes, I did. You can enter the trial, leave, and do it as many times you want, so I made a house here considering I would spend a lot of time here."

    The cottage was all made of wood, not that big, but decent enough to fit two people. It had all the tools one needed to live, but it needed some repairs.

    M had spend a time away, so the roof had moss hanging from it, and a few small creatures used the cottage as their home ¡ª and it had a lot of dust.

    "We will not pass the trial on the first try, right? So let''s just clean this ce first, and go there tomorrow," Arthur said.

    He was not eager to try it, but to explore and learn more about it beforehand.

    They spent two hours cleaning the ce and make it decent for them to live again, and by that time, it was already gettingte with the sun leaving the sky.

    Arthur and M sat around a campfire right outside of the cottage.

    "You enter the trial without your body, so dying there has no consequences, but you still get tired, and there are a lot of monsters there. Like a pce, pass the floors toplete the trial," M exined.

    It differed from what Arthur expected, and one thing M said made everything harder than it should be.

    "Your power is locked inside that ce, meaning even the weak monsters are difficult. Strategy and skill are more important."

    Arthur was expecting a ce he would use his superior power to ovee everything, but based on what M said, that would not happen.

    ''But I need toplete it¡­''

 Chapter 468 First Step of the Phoenix Trial

    <h4>Chapter 468 First Step of the Phoenix Trial</h4>

    The trial was not something Arthur expected. He never imagined his current power wouldn''t matter inside of it, but that did not discourage him, no.

    He was a person who reached his current status by hard work and skill ¡ª a bit of luck too ¡ª so there was no way he would back down on trying.

    ''This trial may have the answer I am looking for. Also, dying inside has no penalties as well.''

    "So, do you want to go there tomorrow morning to try out? We can spend the night here," M said.

    She had cleaned her cottage because of that, and there was no need to rush. The trial would remain there for who knows how long.

    "Fine," Arthur said as he got up from his chair. "Is there something for us to eat or should I get something?"

    M shook her head. "There''s nothing¡­ But you can stay here and let me get it. It is not good for an older man to go out sote."

    Of course she was kidding. Even if that appearance was the one Arthur had for good, he wouldn''t get sick by going outside! A powerful mage did not need to concern himself about these types of things.

    "Funny. Wait here."

    Arthur was surprised that she could joke about him. Maybe M felt safe, thinking that Arthur wouldn''t try to hurt her after the time they spent together. A bold thought.

    Anyway, they needed food, and it was Arthur, the one who went to get it. The task wasn''t a difficult one ¡ª the ind was untouched by man, meaning the fauna and flora were abundant ¡ª so Arthur got a few fish and some unknown fruits.

    ''This view is incredible,'' Arthur thought, staring at the ocean shining with the moonlight.

    He sat there on a massive rock on the ind''s coast, seeing the full moon and the fishes jumping in and out of the water. It was a moment of peace, one that he rarely had with everything happening.

    ''I should return.''

    "What did you get us? Fish and fruits? Ah, not the best, but it will do," M said.

    "If youin too much, then you will get nothing and will starve."

    "Fine, calm down. I was just kidding."

    Arthur raised his aura slightly, yet it was more than enough to make M shiver, afraid of the older man before her. He had been quiet during the journey, and thest time M witnessed his power was two days prior to that.

    She kind of forgot how powerful he was. Arthur kept his powers hidden and seemed like a harmless older man.

    But she was wrong!

    ''I should be careful with him, or else I could die¡­'' M thought as she went to the kitchen to prepare the fishes.

    They eat their dinner around a campfire to warm themselves ¡ª it was cold, but not that Arthur needed any of that. Hell, he did not even need to eat, but did it because it tasted good?

    After that, they went to bed. The cottage M built only had one room as it was meant for her only, so Arthur had to sleep on the couch.

    "Are you sure? You can use the bed and I use the couch," M said.

    "No need, thanks. Rest well for tomorrow," Arthur said.

    "You too."

    They turned off all the lights and went to bed. Arthur also slept that night because he wanted the time to pass faster, and in no time, birds were singing outside.

    "Let''s go!"

    The first thing they did in the morning was to leave for the trial, which was on the other side of the ind, but not something that would take them too much time; it was a small ind and both of them were powerful mages that could travel between points at a fast pace.

    A massive door of fire with a seal on it with the image of a Phoenix. It was hidden inside the depths of a cave, with nothing around it, not even bugs! The animals couldn''t get near it as the temperature was too high.

    Arthur felt the heat the moment they stepped inside the cave. Not only the heat, but something inside of him called.

    ''Is it my bloodline resonating with the door?'' he thought.

    "This is the ce. All you have to do is touch the seal on the door, and it will automatically teleport you to the trial area," M said.

    She knew all of that because it was not the first time she was trying it. M was like a veteran of the trial, yet despite many tries, she never seeded it.

    "Alright. Let''s touch the seal together," Arthur suggested.

    M nodded, and both of them walked toward the massive door made of fire. It was hot there, but not something powerful mages couldn''t withstand, especially the two who had incredible fire affinity.

    They moved their hands together, touching the seal, and the moment it happened, their bodies stopped in ce, and their eyes closed.

    Their bodies remained inside the cave, touching the seal, but their minds were elsewhere.

    "Where are we?" Arthur asked.

    He scanned around and found himself inside a small house in an unfamiliar ce, somewhere he had never seen before.

    The only familiar thing was M, who was right beside him.

    "Based on what I know, the trial is like memories, and this one is the first we have to pass."

    "And what happens in this memory?" Arthur said.

    "You will see in three seconds."

    Arthur waited for the three second mark, and sure thing, the roof of the house they were staying got demolished by a creature, and the vige was in chaos.

    It was a beast attack, and both M''s and Arthur''s goal was to survive it. That wouldn''t be a hard task if Arthur had his powers.

    "Damn it. I am too weak right now!" Arthur said after realizing his body was as weak as a rank 1 Official Mage.

    "Stopining and let''s move!" M yelled.

 Chapter 469 You Look so Beautiful

    <h4>Chapter 469 You Look so Beautiful</h4>

    M had taken the trial before, so she knew what to expect: a beast attack.

    The beasts were of all kinds, but most were fire elementals, and their power was equivalent to that of a rank 1 Official Mage.

    This was the same power that both M and Arthur had inside the trial. M could feel the difference, as she was much weaker than her real self outside of the trial.

    Arthur felt it even more acutely. He felt as if he was naked! But he knew he had to endure it if he wanted to find answers about his Phoenix Bloodline.

    "So, how do we survive this? Is there a n?" Arthur asked.

    He swallowed his pride and asked for guidance from someone who had already endured the trial. But unfortunately, M did not have as much experience as Arthur thought.

    "I-I''ve never survived more than three days..."

    They left the starting point, which looked like a vige, and ran into the forest. The other humans inside the vige fought against the beasts, but almost all of them perished.

    Arthur could not care less about their lives; he was only thinking about saving his own.

    "Will the beasts follow us?" he asked.

    "Yes. They will track us down until we are dead. I tried to fight against them for three days, but it didn''t matter how many I killed, they never stoppeding," M said.

    It was not aforting thing to hear, but if M had survived three days on her own, then with Arthur there they would survive for even longer, at least twice as long.

    ''Will that be enough for us toplete the first part of the trial?'' Arthur wondered.

    Anyway, M took the lead and showed Arthur a cave. A ce with only one entrance, one of the best locations to fight against a horde of beasts.

    "They can onlye through the cave entrance, so we have to hold them here," M said.

    Arthur thought it was not a bad n, and he would try to follow it to see if it would work. M sat down on one of the rocks inside the cave while Arthur moved towards the cave entrance.

    "What are you doing?" she asked, staring at him from afar.

    "What do you think? I''m cing some magical formations to help us fight the beasts, obviously."

    During their escape from the vige, Arthur had done his best to think of ways to seed in the first part of the trial. With his power locked at the first rank of an Official Mage, it would be difficult to use his more powerful spells and so on.

    But there was one thing that was not limited by one''s power, sort of. Arthur had plenty of magical formations he could create while being a first rank mage, yet those formations had a power above the rank one!

    That was his trump card, something that would help him deal with the beasts! M got up from the rock and watched all of Arthur''s moves up close, trying to learn a thing or two, but that was not what happened.

    She was shocked! All the drawings in the air, on the ground, all the runes, everything was just something she had never seen before!

    There were two main reasons for that: Arthur''s knowledge about magical formations was way above hers, and the formations he knew were from another, so how would M know a thing about them?

    M was utterly shocked. "How do you know these things?" she asked.

    Arthur looked at her like a master looked at a bad disciple. "How do you think? I study!"

    M chuckled. "It makes sense you had plenty of time to study looking as old as you do!"

    It was just a joke, but one Arthur took to heart. He got up, and an astonishing scene happened! Arthur changed his appearance to his normal self, a tall, handsome youth with a muscr body and long ck hair.

    "W-W-W-What?" M''s cheeks turned red.

    She was close to Arthur when the change happened. So close she could feel his breathing.

    "This is the real me," Arthur said. "The old man''s appearance was just to fool some people, like you. Your joke made me show this to you. Happy?"

    "My joke? Why do you go around looking like an elder when you have such a perfect face and body and look so beautiful?"

    M only realized what she said after speaking it aloud. Maybe the time she had spent with Arthur had made her more close to him, and after seeing his true appearance, she let that slip.

    "I''ll let you do the formations alone," M said, walking out of the cave.

    "Where are you going?" Arthur asked.

    "We need to eat and fill our needs, so I will go get us food, water, wood for the campfire, and so on. The n is to stockpile because the number of beasts will increase after each day," M exined.

    Her exnation made sense, and it was something they had to work on before the beasts arrived. Either way, Arthur was sure she also wanted to leave to not stay with him after saying what she said.

    ''Tsk, these youths¡­''

    Arthur remained there, cing manyyers of magical formations. Some to help them hide from the beasts, but most of them were offensive ones!

    He wanted to kill as many beasts as possible, as that could possibly be the only way to pass the first stage of the trial.

    M returned to the cave carrying a basket she made using vines and a log. It was filled with water, and inside the water were fishes!

    She also had another log just like that one, but it was meant for water alone, the one they would drink.

    "This is our food and water. I gathered the wood for the campfire as well! All we need now is water for showering, but the beasts will onlye tomorrow, so we can still shower tonight in the nearby river."

    The idea about showering in the nearby river was nice, and Arthur could not wait for it!

 Chapter 470 Sex by the River (R-18)

    <h4>Chapter 470 Sex by the River (R-18)</h4>

    They had gathered all the needed supplies for them tost a few days. That is considering they do not perish fighting the beasts in the following day.

    So, with that idea of trying their best not to spend the resources, Arthur and M decided to shower, not using the stored water, but the nearby river.

    "This feels so good," Arthur said as he took out his clothing, jumping in the water.

    The only thing he had on was his underwear, and M could not help but stare at his muscr body, and how handsome Arthur was.

    ''Wasn''t he an old man a few moments ago? What am I thinking?'' M thought.

    It was strange when one thought about it, but Arthur said that his young self was his real self, and M trusted him.

    She took out her clothes as well, with the only parts remaining being her panties and her bra. It was not a bikini, suited for showering, but it was not like M could choose.

    Arthur nced at her by the corner of his eyes, seeing her gorgeous body! M was a finedy, and the only thing holding Arthur were his wives.

    ''Would they like M?''

    He had troublesome thoughts, but the idea of having to fight for his life during the next few days with little to no rest made the urge of having something that night way higher.

    M was acting strange around him too. Red cheeks, could barely talk, and Arthur caught her looking at his body, almost salivating. It was clear that she wanted something.

    The bra M wore was ck, yet Arthur could still see the tip of her nipples, hard as she looked at him.

    "Is something wrong?" Arthur asked, swimming closer to her.

    "N-No, not at all. I just hope we can finally seed in this trial. That''s all," M said.

    She was trying to act like she was not feeling horny near Arthur inside that river, yet both of them knew deep down how they felt, and what they want.

    Arthur moved even closer to M, grabbing a strand of her hair, "Your hair is so soft."

    The atmosphere between the two changed, and M who still had doubts if she should do something or not decided to act first, moving her lips closer to Arthur''s! It was unlike her to do something like that, as she only had kissed someone else one time before, but she wanted to do it with Arthur!

    M knew the trial was not a ce where they could die ¡ª at least not in the first part that she knew ¡ª but despite that, she believed she would never see Arthur again after their time in the trial, so why not enjoy it?

    Their tongues met, and Arthur felt M''s soft lips touching his, and their bodies colliding, warming one another. Time seemed to stop as they kissed each other, and M felt things she had never felt before.

    Arthur as well! He knew it was wrong, yet it felt right with her. He promised himself that it would only happen once!

    The kiss turned into something else, and in no time both were taking their clothes off ¡ª what remained of it ¡ª and sweeping their hands on each other''s bodies. Arthur felt M''s soft boobs while she felt her muscr body.

    "You''re so handsome it feels like you are from another world!" M said, as she kissed Arthur''s neck.

    "You wouldn''t believe it!"

    M pulled Arthur by the hand, leading him out of the river toward a nearby tree. He leaned against it while M grabbed his cock, and started sucking it!

    She licked his dick, from the head to the base, even putting his ballsack inside her mouth!

    "Ahhh," Arthur moaned.

    "Give all of this to me! Whoa, it is so big!" M said, widening her eyes in shock.

    Arthur''s dick was massive, and M wondered on how she would feel after their night was over.

    ''I need to suck it well or else it will destroy my pussy,'' M thought as she grabbed the dick, putting it all the way inside her mouth.

    The sexy sounds of M choking with Arthur''s dick traveled across the nearby area, but no one was there to hear it. No one was there to hear what would happen to M next.

    "Ahhh, go harder!"

    M grabbed the tree where Arthur had leaned against using all of his strength, while Arthur was right behind her, moving his hips, piercing his cock inside her pussy.

    Arthur felt the walls of her vagina engulfing his dick, eating it! The humid yet warm ce made his head spin, and a feeling of ecstasy coursed through his body.

    They kept going on that same position for a few minutes, and when Arthur got tired of doing the same movements, he let M ride on him!

    The reverse cowgirl position! It was a hard one, yet the sight of M''s big butt bouncing before his eyes was beautiful! A scene that he would pay anything for!

    He tried, yet could not hold it! Arthur had to p her, and M loved it, "Yes, p this ass! Make me your whore!"

    She was really enjoying her moment there with him, and Arthur could not let her down! He fucked her, and did not stop. M orgasmed over and over again, squirting a few times too, but that did not mean Arthur stopped!

    "T-This whore wants to drink your cum too!"

    M got on her knees, opening her mouth and sticking her tongue out, waiting for Arthur''s huge load of cum! He gave what she wanted, not only on her mouth but on her face and boobs too!

    "So much milk!!!"

    She delighted herself, drinking all of it, not letting a single drop.

    After they showered for good and returned to the cave, both of them acted as nothing happened. M was shy, and Arthur felt guilty of doing that.

    "Let''s rest before the fights tomorrow, right?" Arthur said.

    "R-Right."

    M went to bed, while Arthur remained awake, thinking about the uing fight.

    ''Will I seed in this trial?''

 Chapter 471 Fighting Against the Beast Horde

    <h4>Chapter 471 Fighting Against the Beast Horde</h4>

    Arthur woke up in the morning to the sound of strange noises outside. The sounds were faint,ing from far away, but Arthur''s keen senses allowed him to prepare himself.

    "M, wake up," he said, shaking the sleeping woman awake. "The beasts areing."

    "What? Where?" M asked, quickly getting to her feet. She looked around, but there were no beasts in sight, and it was still early in the morning.

    "The beasts usuallye in the afternoon," she said. "Why are you awake so early?"

    Arthur remained motionless, listening to the sounds getting louder. "I''m sure they''reing," he said. "Could this time be different from the other times you took the trial?"

    M''s eyes widened in fear. "They''reing now? How? Why? This is not how it was supposed to be!"

    Arthur put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "We''ll have to face them either way," he said. "Calm down."

    M took a deep breath and nodded. "Right. You''re here with me now. I''m not alone."

    Arthur smiled. "That''s right. We''re in this together."

    The two of them stood at the entrance to the cave, ready to face whatever came their way.

    "Here theye!" M yelled.

    The beasts emerged from the forest, running towards the cave. There were many different kinds of beasts, including three-headed monkeys as big as trees, lizards with wings, and even a frog with human limbs.

    "Whoa, that frog is scary!" Arthur said.

    Arthur could feel that all the beasts were at the same level of power as him, Official Mage Rank 1. It seemed that everyone''s power was locked in that level, but despite everyone having the same, their power differed greatly.

    M, for example, was also at rank 1, but her power was much lower than Arthur''s. He had more knowledge than her, as well as his bloodlines and his system to help him. There was no way she would be able topare to him.

    "What should we do?" M asked.

    She entered a fighting stance, grasping her sword with one hand and drawing the magical symbols for a spell with the other.

    Arthur, however, was not worried. He did not even move. All the magical formations he had set up at the entrance to the cave were there for a reason.

    When the beasts got close to the entrance, a barricade of lightning fell from the sky, hitting the beasts and turning a few into charcoal.

    "What''s this? Your magical formation is this powerful?" M asked, widening her eyes in shock.

    It was the first time she had seen a rank 1 mage produce so much power. Every time she saw Arthur, he seemed to shock her even more. She was starting to wonder who he really was.

    "I think the magical formations will stop the beasts today, and maybe tomorrow too, depending on how manye," Arthur said. "But after that, we will have to fight."

    Arthur sat down cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes. He began to focus his energy, preparing for the battle that was toe.

    M remained in a fighting stance for a few minutes, watching the beasts in the entrance trying to get to them only to get destroyed by the many different magical formations Arthur had ced beforehand. She only sat down after being sure the formations would stop all the beasts.

    "How did you learn all of this?" M asked as she sat beside Arthur.

    "Study, of course. There is no such thing as a heaven-sent talent. Everyone needs to practice and work hard," Arthur said.

    M was touched by Arthur''s words. She had been seen as one of the greatest mages on the, and after reaching that level, she had cked off and not looked to improve, thinking it was just something impossible to achieve. But Arthur proved her otherwise! A fire ignited inside her with the same intensity as the one she had when she first started her magical training. She was excited to continue her journey and practice hard after finishing this trial.

    They continued living their normal lives inside the cave, using the stored food and water to fulfill their needs. M was a little scared about sleeping, but Arthur kept himself awake to give her a good night''s rest.

    Two days passed. That was the amount of time the magical formations had given them. After that, it was time for them to fight!

    A stream of beasts dashed toward the cave. Arthur was already prepared, and had called M beforehand as well! With his bare fists, Arthur punched the beasts as they came, breaking their bones!

    "Ahhh!" M yelled as a massive wolf jumped toward her.

    Arthur quickly intercepted the attack, grabbing the wolf by the neck, biting on his neck, and ripping a chunk of meat from it! A savage and gross scene that made M tremble.

    "I cannot forget how scary he is!" M thought.

    M cut the beasts using her crimson-red sword made of volcanic ore, and cast a spell called Fire Lotus, sending flowers of fire toward the beasts, burning them!

    The explosions made the cave tremble, and after a few minutes, many corpses were scattered inside the cave! M was breathing heavily, tired, yet Arthur was as steady as a mountain.

    They survived the first wave of beasts, and Arthur looked as if nothing had happened! That was the benefit of his system, and his dragon and giant bloodlines. His resistance was beyond that of a normal mage!

    It did not matter if it was the Phoenix Trial, Arthur would not lose to it!

    Another beast wave came after a few hours, and another one, and another one¡­

    Each time, the power of the beasts increased, and it looked as if it would never end, until the seventh day.

    By the seventh day, M was tired, not having the strength to fight anymore. She onlysted that long because Arthur was there to help her!

    On that day, there was no beast horde, but a single creature came walking toward them. It was a humanoid one, and its face resembled Arthur''s.

 Chapter 472 Fight Against a Clone

    <h4>Chapter 472 Fight Against a Clone</h4>

    They stared at the uing figure from a distance, not believing their eyes. How was that possible? It was something with Arthur''s exact appearance.

    That should be impossible!

    "What''s that?" M said, retreating a few steps.

    She knew damn well how powerful Arthur was. Could that clone have a simr strength? If so, then that was an enormous problem.

    Arthur stared at his other self, noticing some strange things. First, the clothes that clone wore were different. He thought about his sister who had the Phoenix Bloodline as well.

    Were those the clothes from that ce? Also, his hair was that of a deep red. It wasn''t ck, but it was close to it. Like red-wine.

    "M," Arthur said "Stay here for a while. Let me handle this."

    Arthur left the cave, meeting up with his clone outside. He was expecting a fight to instantly broke out, but the clone actually spoke!

    "You''re Arthur Neel, right?"

    Neel was the surname of his sister, Beatrice. Arthur still did not know what was happening! He was an ordinary person from Earth who ended up being a mighty dragon called cidusax, yet he was someone with the Phoenix Bloodline. How could he be all of that at the same time?

    "Correct. And who are you?" Arthur asked.

    "A personification of the Phoenix. This is a trial, after all. If you win against me, you''ll go to the next level. Are you prepared?"

    "You bet!"

    Arthur would not back down after going that far. A blood aura formed around his body, simr to a living being. It was one of the many powers he had from the Blood Monarch, as he was focusing more on that.

    The clone dashed toward him, creating a fire sword to use it against Arthur! Arthur did the same, creating a sword of blood. The speed of both was astonishing, and M, who watched everything from afar, could not follow their movements.

    That made her realize how weak she was whenpared to Arthur, and now the clone. They were on apletely different realm of power.

    But the clone, no matter how powerful it was, it stillcked when facing Arthur. Since the first sword sh, it was the clone who retreated, while Arthur remained unmoved like a tall mountain.

    With more and more shes, the difference in power became clear. The clone did not have the power to face against Arthur. And Arthur was only using the power of his body, and not his necromancy spells, blood spells, or even his unique dragon attacks.

    The clone stopped using only body power and instead, tossed a massive fireball. It was so hot even M, who was far from the fight, felt the heat.

    But Arthur? That was child''s y against him. He could stay and it wouldn''t damage him because of his Dragon Fire Body. But instead of staying still, he activated his devouring skill!

    The mouth of a dragon appeared before him, eating the fire ball like it was a snack.

    "Impossible," the clone said, "Only the legendary dragon could eat this¡­"

    Legendary dragon? Arthur got even more confused. He knew the clone was referring to cidusax, but at that point, Arthur was certain the Phoenix was an even more powerful creature.

    Why was it so surprised? Or was cidusax even greater? There were so many things Arthur did not have the answer for.

    "Impossible? Not for me!"

    Arthur vanished and appeared right in front of the clone. He did not attack using the blood sword, no, but clenched his fists, punching the clone''s guts. His power was his strongest point, and considering his massive status, it was too much for the clone to handle.

    It went flying, destroying all the trees along the way, creating a massive hole in the ground. The clone did not move anymore.

    "Did he win?" M thought.

    Then, their surrounding area changed. They were no longer inside a forest, but inside a type of coliseum.

    "Great. More fights, like always," Arthur said as he moved closer to M.

    He waited a few seconds, realizing nothing wasing their way.

    "The trial is probably giving us some time to rest. Let''s rest, then."

    The clone wasn''t that strong, but Arthur had his power locked, so if the level of the enemies increased while his own remained the same, then that would get troublesome.

    "What was that talk between you two? I heard something about a legendary dragon or something."

    "Correct. I am a legendary dragon."

    "¡­"

    "What''s a dragon?" M asked.

    "Imagine a massive lizard the size of your with wings, ck scales, that devourss to get stronger. That''s me."

    "¡­"

    "Maybe you are that, but you increased your mighty, right? There''s no way you are the size of a, and that you eats."

    "How did you know?" Arthur said, giving her a thumbs up, "I actually made me smaller not to make you feel like an ant."

    "¡­"

    M''s world shifted so much in just a few days she spent with Arthur. First she got to know Arthur was not an old man but a handsome youth. Then she got to know his power was just way beyond hers, and now he was actually a creature the size ofs?

    Only a few number of people would have the mind to take that information and not freak out. M was freaking out, but because she was in a trial she had to ovee, she tried her best to keep it cool.

    They remained inside that coliseum, resting for a while, that until a statue came flying from the sky! The impact created a massive hole in the ground.

    Arthur stared at the statue, and he could already tell that statue alone was more powerful than the clone he fought moments ago.

    But then, more and more statues came from the sky, stopping in the coliseum. The total was around 8, and all of them had a different type of weapons.

    They were made of stone, and were massive, around 5 meters of height. Their eyes were red like fiery mes, and the moment they saw Arthur and M, they walked toward them, making the ground tremble with each step.

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