《Trying to Make a Living in Another World with a Bottomless Appetite》


 Chapter 1

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Winters in Gainsborough were frigid. The city blanketed in snow so thick that the skyline was unrecognizable from afar.


    However, not even harsh weather could get in the way of Adventurers.


    Day in and day out, groups upon groups of adventurers set off for the Forest of Slumber in the east.


    ¡°Phew ~¡±


    George shook off the thin layer of snow on his steel pauldron. He tightened the grip on his spear and continued his trek into the depths of the forest.


    ¡°This place is colder than I thought. Do you really think that thing is here?¡±


    Standing beside George was a blonde girl wrapped up in layers. She was very pretty; looking adorable even in thick, unflattering layers.


    The girl¡¯s name was Celia. She and George, a young knight, had formed an adventurer¡¯s party together.


    Celia compared the surrounding terrain to what was on the map in her hand. Trying to determine her and George¡¯s current location.


    Upon hearing George¡¯s question, Celia did not answer immediately. Instead, she took out a white candle and placed it in a small tree hole.


    A ring of magic appeared below the white candle the instant it touched the tree.


    Under the effects of magic, the bottom of the candle began to melt and fuse with the tree.


    Then, a gentle light emerged from the tip of the candle.


    The Candle of Eternal Light was a magic tool that provided light in the wilderness by fusing with trees. They could also be used to mark trails.


    Such candles were quite popular among adventurers.


    After marking their trail, Celia looked at George and said,


    ¡°According to the information provided, the cave where the target is is just up ahead.¡±


    ¡°A fruit that can give people supernatural abilities. Does such a thing really exist?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it before. Do you think we¡¯ve been tricked?¡± George said, recalling the information they were given.


    Upon hearing his words, Celia too became a little uncertain.


    The Fruit of Gifts, that was George and Celia¡¯s purpose for this trip.


    Rumor had it that it was a fruit that could transform even an ordinary person, and change their fate.


    However, rumors were just that, rumors. No one could be sure if these fruits truly existed.


    After all, no one had seen them before.


    Despite that, every year, fake news about this fruit would spread.


    This was also why George and Celia might have been fooled.


    ¡°This forest is the starting point for many adventurers. Because of that, it¡¯s been explored by countless people. If The Fruit of Gifts really existed, someone would have found it a long time ago.¡±


    George¡¯s words were reasonable, but considering the person who gave the news¡­


    ¡°I know, but we¡¯ve been working with them for so many years now. They may be bad with pay at times, but I doubt they¡¯d actually try to trick us,¡± said Celia.


    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say.¡±


    Recalling how his life ended in his previous world, a complicated expression flitted across George¡¯s face.


    Sometimes, a person could be more ruthless because they are close to you.


    George had a secret. He was a transmigrator.


    His soul came from another world.


    And when his life in that world came to an end, he opened his eyes only to find himself in this new one. Welcoming his second life.


    However, George didn¡¯t tell Celia any of this.


    Some secrets were best left buried, forever.


    Noticing that George had all of a sudden fallen silent with a heavy expression, Celia assumed that he was worried. She quickly walked up to him and looped her arms around his and said,


    ¡°Hey, it doesn¡¯t matter even if this lead turns out to be fake. If it is, we¡¯ll just treat this as a vacation trip!¡±


    Walking along the tree-lined trail in the Forest of Slumber, Celia felt as if she had returned to her childhood.


    This place was also the starting point for her and George.


    At that time, both of them had just begun adventuring and were clueless about everything. But many interesting things also happened because of that.


    Amidst her light footsteps, hints of reminiscence and nostalgia seeped into Selia¡¯s eyes. She could not help but lament,


    ¡°Time flies huh. In the blink of an eye, seven years have passed. But this place hasn¡¯t changed at all.¡±


    The forest that they had to tip-toe through back then was now like their own backyard.


    It could be said that this place had witnessed their growth.


    George nodded, but just as he was about to respond, a wolf howled in the distance.


    ¡°Ah-whoo~¡±


    Along with the Wolf King¡¯s howl, several gray wolves appeared before them.


    The wolves glared at George and Celia with murderous glints in their eyes.


    ¡°The wolves are here! How nostalgic!¡±


    Watching the wolf pack emerge from the bushes, George suddenly recalled something. ¡°Do you still remember the first time we encountered the wolves, Celia? You tried so hard to pretend to be calm. Even though you were so scared that you were about to cry,¡± he turned to Celia and teased.


    Hearing George¡¯s words, Celia too recalled her past self. Instead of becoming embarrassed however, she retorted with her arms crossed and chin raised,


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t afraid! The wind was just too strong back then and sand got into my eye!¡±


    ¡°If you say so!¡±


    With a chuckle, George moved to shield Celia behind him. The spear in his hands began to glow with fluorescent light.


    ¡°Since the prey came knocking on our door, it¡¯s alright for us to take a break to deal with them right?¡±


    Eying the wolves, George¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed as he licked his lips and swallowed in anticipation. The upturn of his lips belied his excitement.


    Celia was unfazed by George¡¯s reaction. In fact, she had expected this the moment the wolves appeared.


    Taking a quick glance at the map in her hand, Celia ran over their plan in her head and calculated the time.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take a break then,¡±


    Celia agreed after confirming that they had plenty of time.


    The two of them were no longer rookies. Regular beasts like these were no longer a threat to them.


    ¡°One, two, three¡­ seven total?¡±


    George looked reproachful, seemingly dissatisfied by the number of wolves.


    ¡°That¡¯s too few! Totally not enough for a meal!¡±


    At that, George pushed off with both legs and charged towards the wolves, spear in hand.


    The moment his feet left the ground, George vanished from the wolves¡¯ sight.


    They were but regular wolves. They couldn¡¯t even see George¡¯s movements as he attacked.


    All they saw was darkness when George reappeared next to them.


    By the time the wolves could react, George was already pulling his spear from their dead bodies.


    By the time Selia had set up the iron pot and gotten everything ready, George had also finished cleaning up the wolves¡¯ bodies.


    Putting away the hunting knife, George sat down to rest.


    What came next was Celia¡¯s job..

 Chapter 2

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Celia poured all the meat that George had prepared into the magic pot. The seemingly small pot had a space extension spell inscribed on it and thus had a surprisingly large capacity.


    The meat cut off from seven gray wolves didn¡¯t even cause a splash when they went into the pot.


    Seeing the meat disappear into the pot in the blink of an eye, George couldn¡¯t help but sigh in disappointment. ¡°That¡¯s too little. I¡¯m afraid this amount is barely enough to pad my stomach.¡±


    The meat of seven wolves, if distributed properly, was enough to feed a family of seven.


    But due to his special constitution, this amount of meat was not at all enough for George¡¯s ridiculous appetite.


    Nearby, Celia did not hear George¡¯s sigh. Instead, she was stirring the soup pot with an intense expression.


    Not long after, the strong fragrance of cooked meat wafted out of the iron pot.


    Celia covered the pot with the lid the moment the smell reached her nose. In the same breath, the flames under the pot erupted, engulfing said pot.


    Transparent runes began to appear on the surface of the pot. The flames transformed into a barrier and enshrouded the pot, locking in the smell of the meat.


    Seeing this, Celia commented with great satisfaction,


    ¡°As expected of a pot from Claire¡¯s Alchemy Workshop. Such a joy to use.¡±


    Seeing that Selia had stopped, George said, ¡°Celia, I want to have a feast when we get back!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Celia looked at George in confusion, as if she hadn¡¯t heard him clearly.


    ¡°A feast, a feast! I want to eat the Volcano Giant¡¯s Charcoal Roasted Demon Ox Leg.¡±


    George repeated himself and looked at Celia expectantly.


    This time Celia understood, but she didn¡¯t go along with George¡¯s expectations. Instead, she refuted,


    ¡°No. We didn¡¯t get the reward from Sister Anna this time. We barely have enough savings to last us three days, much less feast at Volcano Giant.¡±


    Celia moved to sit beside George and comforted him gently, ¡°Just bear with it a little longer, okay?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    At this point, George could only accept the situation.


    Actually, in the beginning, his appetite wasn¡¯t this scary.


    But one fateful day nine years ago, when George had just turned five, everything changed.


    That day, he was sleeping soundly as usual. But when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a mysterious space.


    George could no longer remember what was in that space. There seemed to be some kind of power that prevented him from recalling.


    All he could remember were the three golden eggs that were placed before him.


    The moment George entered the space, information appeared in his head. Giving him some understanding of what was happening to him.


    Pick one of the three eggs, smash it open and he would obtain what was inside.


    What could be found in the golden eggs were not limited to tangible things. It could be a weapon, but it could also be an ability. Anything was possible.


    Opportunities like this would occur every five years. Until now, George had already smashed the golden eggs twice.


    Among them was the spear he used to kill the gray wolves. He got it from the egg he smashed when he was ten years old.


    As for the first egg he smashed, George had obtained from it a constitution that allowed him to evolve infinitely through eating. As long as he ate, his strength would grow.


    Part of the food consumed would be used to strengthen him, while the rest would be stored in his body as energy for evolution.


    And once the energy stored reaches a litmus point, George would evolve.


    As his body evolved and grew, so did his appetite.


    In just a year, his appetite grew so much that he ate more than everyone in the orphanage combined.


    Even so, the director of the orphanage did not kick him out.


    But George didn¡¯t want to burden the director or the orphanage.


    He knew that his appetite would become even more terrifying. Thus he had to find a solution on his own.


    And so, he made the necessary preparations. Then one night, when everyone was sound asleep, he left, alone. Leaving only a letter behind.


    Or that was how it should have been.


    Celia, who was close to him, noticed his strange behavior as he was making preparations.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you. If you don¡¯t let me, I¡¯ll tell the director.¡±


    Celia didn¡¯t trust George to venture out into the world alone and thus asked to accompany him.


    Just like that, the two of them left the orphanage together and embarked on their adventure.


    Back then, it took them nearly a year of preparations just to enter the Forest of Slumber.


    During that time, they picked up all sorts of odd jobs and learned a lot.


    Before they knew it, years have gone by. George couldn¡¯t help but begin to miss his childhood playmates, and the warm and gentle director of the orphanage, Miss Anna.


    ¡°Once this mission¡¯s over, shall we go back and visit the orphanage?¡±


    ¡°Sure. We haven¡¯t gone back in years. I miss everyone too,¡±


    Celia agreed with George¡¯s suggestion readily. She looked up, memories of her time at the orphanage appearing in her mind¡¯s eye.


    ¡°I wonder how everyone is doing?¡±


    ¡°Ding!¡± A crisp sound rang from the magic pot.


    Coming back to the present, Cellia got up and removed the lid from the pot. She scooped some of the soup onto a small plate and brought it to her mouth.


    The aroma from the crystal clear broth instantly filled the air.


    ¡°Tastes pretty good.¡±


    Nodding in satisfaction, Celia scooped the rest of the soup into a magic bowl.


    Just like the pot, this bowl also had space extension spells inscribed on it.


    Cellia had gotten all of these custom-made for George at a very high price.


    After emptying all the soup into the bowl, Celia turned to George and said, ¡°It¡¯s ready now.¡±


    Goeege took the magic bowl from Celia and looked at the clear broth within completely unsurprised.


    Since they were in the wild, Celia had chosen to use the magic pot to dissolve the wolf meat into a clear broth to save on eating time.


    Therefore, even though this broth looked like plain water, it actually contained the essence of the meat of seven gray wolves.


    George picked up the bowl of wolf soup and downed it in one gulp. He even smacked his lips after he was done, looking like he hadn¡¯t had enough.


    Celia was used to this as well. She took the empty bowl back from George, cleaned it with magic and returned everything back into their spatial storage.


    ¡°Alright, break time¡¯s over. Let¡¯s get going.¡±


    Having finished packing, Celia took out the map once more.


    ¡°If everything goes well, we should be able to head back to the city by nightfall.¡±


    George knew Celia disliked camping out.


    If possible, he too prefers to set off immediately. But unfortunately, in life, things often do not go as smoothly as planned.


    Especially when adventuring. Accidents were even more common.


    ¡°Hold up.¡± George placed one hand on Celia¡¯s shoulder and took out the spear from his back with the other.


    Sensing George¡¯s movement, Celia immediately reacted. She channeled magic into her fingertips and moved her hands rapidly through the air.


    Very quickly, a string of magic runes appeared in midair. Once Celia completed the spell, an invisible barrier enveloped the two of them.


    As this was happening, George had also confirmed the target¡¯s location. He stepped forward to shield Celia behind him.


    A middle-aged man appeared in the direction George was looking at, arms raised to indicate that he had no hostile intentions.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. I mean no harm..¡±

 Chapter 3

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    ¡®Don¡¯t trust the words of a stranger in the wild.¡¯ This was one of the most basic rules of survival for an adventurer.


    After all, no villain would have ¡®I am a bad guy¡¯ written on their face.


    The adventurer who had appeared before Goerge and Celia was a great example. On the surface, he looked like a kind and approachable uncle.


    His smile was friendly and amiable.


    Looks were deceiving, but fortunately George could sense malicious intent.


    Up till this point, George had completed two evolutions thanks to his unique constitution.


    After each evolution, not only did his physique improve greatly, he also gained powerful new abilities.


    During his second evolution, he obtained hyper-perception that allowed him to sense even unspoken intentions.


    George and Celia remained silent and unmoving.


    The middle-aged adventurer heaved a sigh of relief and smiled even more warmly at them.


    Very tentatively, he began to approach George and Celia. When neither of them showed any outward signs of rejection, he was relieved.


    He then saw George turn the tip of his spear away from him and towards the sky. Assuming that George had let down his guard, the man became even more emboldened and walked towards them in bold strides.


    ¡°What a cold day!¡±


    The man sneezed, shivering as if he really was feeling chilled.


    As he walked over, still smiling wildly, the man began to introduce himself, ¡°Greetings, my name is Gulf. Gulf Joe¡­¡±


    There was a flash of white light and Gulf¡¯s head slowly fell to the ground.


    The warm disarming smile remained on his detached head made for a jarring sight.


    George continued to brandish his spear. His actions just now were a feint to get the other party to get into attacking range.


    After taking care of the first enemy, George turned to Celia and instructed, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    With that, he swept his gaze across their surroundings and muttered,


    ¡°One, two, three¡­ Including the one on the ground, there are seven people in total. Hmph, seven scums.¡±


    Hearing George¡¯s voice, Celia gathered magic to her fingertips and began to write in the air.


    ¡°Spellcasting Lv.2!¡±


    Gulf¡¯s companions who were hiding in the shadows couldn¡¯t help but exclaim when they saw Celia¡¯s actions.


    ¡°Retreat!¡±


    The powerful spell was almost complete. But just as it was about to be casted, the spell suddenly collapsed and dissipated.


    Seeing this, the adventurers who were about to turn tails and run immediately stopped.


    They stood frozen on the spot for a moment before quickly reacting.


    ¡°Dammit, we were tricked!¡±


    ¡°That little b*tch, how dare she play us for fools!¡±


    ¡°Get them! For Gulf!¡±


    The surrounding trees shook as the remaining enemies emerged from their hiding spots, roaring.


    Celia looked around and counted in her head. There were exactly six of them. No more, no less. Just like George said.


    Seeing that all the enemies had emerged from hiding, Celia put down her left hand and waved her right.


    A string of runes appeared once again. This time however, when Celia¡¯s fingers came to a stop, the spell did not collapse. Instead, it transformed into a row of fireballs that flew towards the opposing adventurers.


    The fireball was huge and fairly hot. When it first appeared, the enemies were shocked.


    But they soon discovered that the fireball was not as powerful as they thought.


    In fact, some of the fireballs exploded like fireworks in mid-air before they could even reached their target.


    ¡°Hahaha. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen such a weak fireball.¡±


    ¡°What powerful magic you¡¯ve shown uncle today little girl. Thank you for broadening my horizons.¡±


    Their mocking laughter filled the air. Slowly, they approached Celia, malice bared for all to see.


    One of the adventurers walked towards Celia excitedly, his gaze fixated on her. Just then, he bumped into something with his foot.


    He looked down and saw a familiar, smiling face.


    He instantly came to his senses.


    ¡°Where did the other one go?¡±


    He shouted loudly, his sharp voice overshadowing everyone.


    Hearing his words, the others also came to the same realization.


    All of their attention was on Celia, so no one noticed when George, who had murdered Gulf, disappeared.


    At their comrad¡¯s reminder, everyone became alarmed. They looked around wildly, only to find that two of their own who were standing behind them had already fallen.


    George, the center of everyone¡¯s ire, felt the adventurers¡¯ eyes on him. He pulled his spear from a third target and looked at the remaining men.


    Plop!


    The sound of their friend¡¯s corpse falling to the ground struck them like a hammer.


    Who would have thought that in such a short period of time, they would lose half their men?


    Filled with panic, fear and anger, their eyes reddened.


    They could no longer deny that they had picked the wrong mark; messed with someone they shouldn¡¯t.


    But things were what they were. Now, if they wanted to live, they could only take the risk and give it their all.


    The remaining adventurers raised their weapons and charged towards George.


    It was right then that Celia, who was behind them, lowered her right hand. A string of runes flashed before her, indicating the completion of a spell.


    The next moment, the ground beneath the feet of the adventurers morphed into a swamp and swallowed them whole.


    ¡°Damn it, I can¡¯t move.¡±


    They struggled with all their might, but it only led to them sinking deeper.


    ¡°This woman was pulling our leg from the start!¡±


    The strength and scale of this spell all but proved the true level of Celia¡¯s magic.


    Recalling the failed Lv.2 Spell and the weak fireball, the pieces finally clicked.


    All of it was just an act.


    The remaining adventurers also came to the same conclusion lashed out in anger.


    ¡°Just you wait. When I get free, I¡¯m gonna kill you!¡±


    ¡°You little b*tch. You¡¯re never getting away with this!¡±


    All of a sudden, a large shadow loomed over them. It was George.


    The adventurers lifted their heads, and their gazes met with the cold tip of a spear. The threat of death instantly extinguished their flames of anger.


    At that moment, only fear remained in their hearts.


    ¡°No, no, please let me go. I promise I won¡¯t do it again.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t come any closer! Help, help, help¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really really sorry. Just let me go and I¡¯ll swear my loyalty¡­¡±


    Their despicable faces bounced off the shiny tip of the spear.


    George ignored their please. And like the grim reaper, he brandished his spear and ended their lives.


    Battle finally over, George sheathed his spear and turned towards Celia.


    At that, Celia put on her magic gloves and with practiced ease, began to clean up the battlefield using magic..

 Chapter 4

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    ¡°They¡¯re just some riff-raffs. What good items can they have?¡±


    George pouted.


    ¡°Easy for you to say. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re in charge of our finances,¡±


    Celia rolled her eyes at George. She then raised her hands in the air and channeled magic into the gloves to activate the runes on them.


    These gloves had only one function: to enhance the efficacy of the spell, Hands of the Mage.


    Countless invisible hands appeared in the air and dragged the adventurers¡¯ corpses together under Selia¡¯s control.


    Celia stood at a safe distance, controlling the Hands of the Mage remotely. Bit by bit, she took the items that looked useful from the adventurers.


    Dead adventurers weren¡¯t necessarily safer to approach. Sometimes, a dead adventurer was more terrifying than a living one.


    Many people suffered greatly at the hands of dead adventurers.


    As such, another common rule of survival among adventurers was: do not casually touch dead bodies in the wild.


    Sorting out their spoils of war, Celia started, ¡°Money¡¯s money no matter how little. Do you even think about how much your enormous appetite costs us? Thanks to you, I haven¡¯t had these gloves maintained for three months!¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t you also¡ª¡±


    Celia cut him off before he could finish.


    Garling, she asked, ¡°Can I compete with a professional?¡±


    Sensing that Selia was upset, George quickly put his arm around her shoulders and appeased,


    ¡°Yes yes, calm down. You¡¯ve had it rough.¡±


    Celia wasn¡¯t really angry. A little placating from George and her expression quickly returned to normal.


    Within moments, she returned her attention to their spoils of war.


    ¡°They were wealthier than I thought. Every single one of them had three magic scrolls, and they¡¯re all the amplification kind¡­¡±


    George regarded the plethora of items that Celia had neatly arranged on the ground with surprise.


    His gaze lingered on a few of the magical items for a moment. And George, keen as he was, swiftly noticed the black dots on them.


    Those black dots were remains of dried bloodstains.


    Clearly, many of these items had less than scrupulous origins.


    ¡°So many items¡­ They sure didn¡¯t hold back on the robbing.¡±


    George turned to Celia and asked,


    ¡°Take out the bingo book. A gang like this should have some kind of bounty on them, right?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Celia stopped what she was doing, pulled out the bingo book and began comparing the faces of the seven men with it.


    George didn¡¯t idle either. He picked up the gloves and took over Celia¡¯s job of collecting more spoils.


    Halfway through stocktaking, George held out an exquisite amulet to Celia.


    ¡°This amulet¡¯s the one you wanted from before, right?¡±


    Hearing George¡¯s words, Celia turned around and took the amulet from him.


    ¡°It is! It has the mark of Claire¡¯s Alchemy Workshop!¡±


    Celia looked at the amulet, pleasantly surprised. Channeling magic into the amulet, she drew a pattern in the air with her right index finger.


    The effect was immediate. Projected proudly in the air were the authenticity marks for Claire¡¯s Alchemy Workshop.


    Celia was delighted to see the mark.


    ¡°It¡¯s the real thing! How lucky.¡±


    After further verifications, Celia broke out in a huge smile, clearly very satisfied with the find.


    Seeing the bright smile on Celia¡¯s face, George couldn¡¯t help but smile too.


    ¡°From the looks of it, it¡¯s a recent purchase. The latest barrier amulet from Claire¡¯s Alchemy Workshop can automatically form a protective barrier¡­¡±


    Recalling the information about the amulet, Celia quickly realized that something was wrong.


    Coming to a sudden realization, she turned to look at George, who was smiling happily and said,


    ¡°Own up. Where did you get the money?¡±


    George looked at Celia questioningly.


    ¡°What do you mean? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Celia looked at George, who was still trying to play dumb and snickered.


    After living together for so long, there was no way Celia couldn¡¯t tell when George was lying.


    ¡°This barrier amulet has an auto-defense function¡­¡±


    George interrupted her before Celia could finish. ¡°Yes, but it still takes time for the barrier to be up fully, granted it¡¯s a very brief moment¡­¡±


    As he spoke, George patted his chest proudly, implying that he was capable of killing the enemy in that brief moment.


    ¡°I am well-aware of your abilities, and have no intention of doubting you.That¡¯s not what I¡¯m trying to say.¡±


    Celia looked on in amusement as George scrambled to explain himself. She held up the amulet and continued with a smile,


    ¡°But what you might not know is that the latest model of the amulet looks different before and after activation¡±


    George froze. He did not know this.


    Celia drew another rune and keyed it into the amulet.


    Looking at Celia¡¯s movements, George realized that the runes she drew this time were indeed different from just now.


    The amulet made a ¡°ding!¡± sound as it accepted the rune. Then, the emerald embedded in the barrier amulet turned pink.


    Once that was done, Celia fastsened the amulet on her waist in satisfaction.


    ¡°And that was the activation and binding ceremony for the amulet. This amulet has never been activated before. What do you have to say for yourself?¡±


    The adventurers they just took out weren¡¯t the type to buy a life-saving item and not use it.


    At this point, George figured there was no point hiding it anymore.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it¡¯s activated. I thought it can only be activated with this stone she gave me.¡±


    At that, George took out the binding stone he had just snuck into their pile of spoils.


    ¡°That¡¯s for ordinary people. Mages have faster and more efficient ways for binding and activation.¡±


    After taking the binding stone from George and confirming that it was authentic, Celia became even more confused.


    ¡°So back to the topic at hand. Just where did you get the money? The cost of the latest barrier amulet is enough for you to have a feast Volcano Giant.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t buy it with money. I previously accepted a request from Claire in private, and asked to change the usual reward money for this instead.¡±


    George briefly explained, glossing over the details of the request.


    ¡°I wanted to give you a surprise, but¡­ guess I got busted in the end.¡±


    ¡°You got acquainted with Claire behind my back?¡±


    Celia¡¯s reaction threw him for a loop.


    George watched as Celia¡¯s face grew tense, seemingly angry. He fell silent for a moment and said,


    ¡°Isn¡¯t your focus a little strange?¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± Celia tilted her head, her anger vanishing in an instant.


    Clearly, she was just pretending to be mad.


    She then lept towards George and threw her arms around his neck. Pecking him on the cheek, she said,


    ¡°Thank you, it made me very happy. Love you!¡±


    Wrapping his arms around Celia¡¯s waist, George let out a mental sigh of relief.


    Just as he thought he was off the hook however, he heard Celia¡¯s voice in his ear,


    ¡°But you still have to explain yourself about the whole Claire thing..¡±

 Chapter 5

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Claire Weiss, founder of Claire¡¯s Alchemy Workshop, was Gainsborough¡¯s renowned alchemy genius.


    Having received the Alchemist Guild¡¯s Medal of Mastery at the tender age of twenty, her magic and alchemy tools were highly sought after by people worldwide.


    Claire¡¯s extraordinary achievements, stunning beauty and great intelligence made her an idol amongst young men and women.


    Celia too was one of her fans.


    Many of the magic items she used were from Claire¡¯s Alchemy Workshop.


    However, Celia never for the life of her imagined that her partner would be personally acquainted with her idol.


    ¡°Speak! What¡¯s going on? How did you guys meet?¡±


    Celia¡¯s eyes seemed to glow with fanatic excitement.


    This was the first time George had seen Celia in such a state.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. I was picking out a present for you ¡¯cause I knew you liked Claire¡¯s products. So I went.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. And and?¡±


    Having entered a state of ¡®fangirling¡¯, Celia¡¯s eyes were brimming with curiosity.


    The spoils, the legendary Fruit of Gifts, none of that mattered to Celia right now.


    George had not expected this reaction from her.


    But it did look like he had dodged a bullet. He had no idea Celia liked Claire so much.


    Snapping back to reality, George went over their spoils again and said to Celia,


    ¡°I was inside Claire¡¯s shop. It just so happened that at the time she found a place that had the materials she needed and wanted to hire adventurers.¡±


    After confirming that there were no poisons or curses on any of the items, George put them away in his item box.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°And so I volunteered to accept the mission, and the reward for that mission is now on your waist.¡±


    With that, George confirmed that everything was in order and they could set off again. He turned to Celia and reminded, ¡°We should go.¡±


    Hearing this, Celia deflated a little. She wanted to hear more about Claire.


    Seeing this, George promised her, ¡°When we get back, I¡¯ll take you to see Miss Claire.¡±


    Claire usually stayed inside her workshop conducting all kinds of alchemy research. And as a general rule, did not entertain visitors.


    Therefore, even though Celia knew when Claire was in the Alchemy Workshop, she still could never meet her idol.


    Upon hearing George¡¯s words, Celia¡¯s mood turned for the better.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s move quickly!¡± She said excitedly.


    Putting away the bingo book, Celia took out the map and led the way.


    As they walked, Celia suddenly remembered something and turned to George and said,


    ¡°Those few guys are worth quite a bit. Put their bodies away too.¡±


    ¡°Okay, no problem.¡±


    George took out the body bags and began aligning them with the corpses on the ground.


    While George busied himself with the bodies, Celia returned to her normal self.


    ¡°Something must have happened between George and Miss Claire.¡±


    Calming herself down and recalling George¡¯s behavior from earlier, Celia noticed many things.


    She and George had grown up together. As such, she could tell with a glance whether or not George was being dishonest and or hiding something.


    Celia smiled warmly at George, who was putting away the now-filled body bags.


    ¡°How silly, there¡¯s no need for him to hide anything. Even if something really did happen between them, I wouldn¡¯t have minded.¡±


    Stroking the barrier amulet tied at her waist, Celia¡¯s smile deepened.


    ¡°All done?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Nodding, George walked over to Celia.


    Resuming their journey to find the Fruit of Gifts, the two of them ventured deeper into the forest.


    Owing to the weather, there were no dangerous monsters out and about in the Forest of Slumber at this hour.


    Even if any did appear, it would be some mild-mannered slimes.


    Out of boredom and curiosity, George asked Celia about the seven adventurers,


    ¡°How much were those people worth?¡±


    ¡°300,000 gold coins.¡±


    ¡°That much?¡±


    George didn¡¯t expect the bounty to be so high.


    What a great catch!


    The smile on Celia¡¯s face grew brighter at the mention of the bounty.


    ¡°A viscount¡¯s successor died at the hands of these people,¡± she explained to George.


    ¡°Ah, no wonder.¡±


    Celia then added,


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t ¡¯cause it¡¯s winter, they would have been dealt with by the Knights.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then we really got lucky!¡±


    Even if they didn¡¯t find the Fruit of Gifts today, this bounty alone would have justified this trip.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve reached Boundary River. According to Sister Anna¡¯s information, we just need to follow the river.¡±


    As the name suggests, Boundary River was a river that divided the boundaries between regions.


    On one side of the river was the Forest of Slumber, and on the other was the much more dangerous Forest of Awakening.


    George extended his perception in the direction Celia pointed at.


    A few moments later, he shook his head at Celia, indicating that there were no anomalies ahead.


    As the two of them moved towards their destination, three fully armored Knights appeared at the location they had stopped to fight.


    The Knight-Captain looked at the candles Celia had placed on the tree and said,


    ¡°The white candles were just put up today. Looks like they haven¡¯t gone far.¡±


    To the side, another knight touched the ground and turned to share his discovery with his teammates.


    ¡°There are traces of battle here. It would seem like a group of ignorant fools got dealt with.¡±


    It was clear from their words that they were very familiar with George and Celia.


    ¡°Is the lead this time reliable?¡±


    The last person in the group asked, his voice full of concern. He seemed hesitant about what they were about to do next.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to provoke a Saint candidate for no reason.¡±


    Hearing his words, the Knight who was squatting on the ground stood up and looked to their captain.


    Sensing the gazes of his subordinates, the Knight-Captain took off his helmet to look at his two subordinates and with said with great certainty,


    ¡°Even without the fruit, there must be clues of the fruit there. Master Harley¡¯s prophecy is never wrong.¡±


    After receiving a firm answer, the knight who had raised the question took a deep breath and said,


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then there¡¯s no helping it.¡±


    Although his words sounded resigned, the strong killing intent in his voice was bone-piercingly chilling¡­

 Chapter 6

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    ¡°How nostalgic. The first time we reached this place, we were totally exhausted.¡±


    It had been a few years since they last came to the Forest of Slumber. And now, being back at Boundary River made Celia incredibly nostalgic.


    ¡°Back then, I had prepared a map and everything but we still got lost.¡±


    At Celia¡¯s words, George couldn¡¯t help but also sink into his memories. He nodded in agreement.


    ¡°That trip was rough. We thought we had made sufficient preparations before we set off. But problems still cropped up one after another.¡±


    Reality proved that no amount of preparation was ever enough.Out in the wilderness, unexpected situations would always occur.


    ¡°Totally. To encounter such a thing right from the start was quite a huge blow for me.¡±


    Celia remembered how confident she and George had been when they first set off on their initial adventure. They had thought it would go swimmingly.


    But reality was cruel, and it taught them a painful but important lesson.


    ¡°First we got lost, then we ran out of food. Now that I think back on it, that was also the time we got closest to dying.¡±


    Back then, there was no such thing as item boxes. So matter how much they tried to pack, they couldn¡¯t pack enough food for George.


    The Constitution of Infinite Evolution gave George infinite possibilities.


    But its side effects also stripped George of any normalcy, forcing him to constantly fight for survival.


    If he didn¡¯t, he would be devoured by his own endless hunger.


    It was both a blessing and a curse.


    George wasn¡¯t upset about this however, nor did he blame the mysterious golden egg system.


    In fact, he was rather satisfied with his current life.


    Even though he had to give it his all every day just to stay alive, the days were also very fulfilling.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there. If the information given to us is good, there should be a cave nearby.¡±


    Celia took a look at the map, then at their surroundings to find the cave in question.


    George stopped and looked around as well. He could already see the silvery white mountain range ahead.


    They were almost out of the Forest of Slumber. If they walked any further, they would reach the barren Boneyard Mountain Range.


    ¡°As expected, this cave is not so easily found.¡±


    Celia looked around but didn¡¯t see any caves. She was unsurprised by this however.


    If it was that easy to find, then they wouldn¡¯t have been sent on quest. Someone else would have found it already.


    ¡°Alright George, you¡¯re up.¡±


    ¡°A cave right? I got you.¡±


    Closing his eyes, George struck the ground with his spear which produced a crisp sound.


    ¡°Hyper-perception, full release.¡±


    George focused all his attention to perceive the entirety of his surroundings.


    In an instant, a physical map, with him as the center, gradually formed in his mind.


    As the map continued to expand, beads of sweat appeared on George¡¯s forehead.


    In this moment, George was like a game character trying his hardest to explore and eliminate all the shadows on a map.


    Within seconds, George was sweating profusely.


    In this state, George was like a human radar. However, he was also at his most vulnerable.


    In this state, George could not move his body. And not only did this expand huge amounts of mental energy, he must also remain undisturbed by the outside world.


    Even after the state of hyper-perception, depending on the duration he spent in it, George would experience varying degrees of exhaustion. Which would in turn affect his combat ability.


    As such, George rarely used this ability.


    It was too dangerous and left him far too vulnerable.


    Beside him, Celia watched George nervously. The more time passed, the more worried she became about his condition.


    ¡°Why was it taking so long? Were there no caves around?


    Was there a problem with the intelligence or did we go to the wrong place?¡±


    A minute passed. And Celia, seeing George drenched in sweat, wanted to stop him. But interrupting him would cause even more harm, so she didn¡¯t want to do anything rash.


    Time trickled by, and George¡¯s hair seemed to turn a shade paler with each passing second.


    Roar!


    An earth shattering roar pierced the sky, and accompanying it was a black shadow that was approaching them at sonic speed.


    [Lv. 0 Magic ¨C Far Sight]


    Celia raised her head and channeled magic into her eyes, causing them to glow pink.


    Her vision of the black shadow gradually grew clearer.


    Whatever it was had a total of three pairs of wings, two large and one small. The largest pair of wings in the middle had a sharp claw on each wing-tip.


    Celia could tell bythis prominent feature alone, what the true identity of the shadow was.


    ¡°A Chiropteragon! Why would there be one of these nearby?¡±


    She cast a glance at George who had yet to open his eyes and moved to shield him behind her.


    Damn it, he really knew how to pick the best time to be out of commission..


    Celia stared intently at the approaching Chiropteragon and recalled what information she could about it.


    Chiropteragon were a sub-dragon species with bat characteristics. An adult Chiropteragon could easily destroy a city with its terrifying strength.


    This was the first time she laid eyes on a real Chiropteragon.


    Channeling magic into her fingertips, Celia moved her arms swiftly through the air.


    Moments after, a transparent magical barrier began to expand around them.


    Boom!


    The expanding barrier caught the falling Chiropteragon.


    The barrier shook violently. Celia gritted her teeth and waved her arms again.


    This time sending an intense wave of compressed air sped towards the Chiropteragon.


    Celia didn¡¯t stop there.


    After the wind came fire.


    Balls of scorching flames flew towards the torrential air currents, instantly transforming into a flaming tornado that trapped the Chiropteragon within it.


    This was Celia¡¯s specialty.


    Combining two low-level spells together to create something more powerful.


    Roar!


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    As the Chiropteragon howled in pain, Celia threw out the next spell.


    [Lv. 0 Magic ¨C Silence]


    The Chiropteragon¡¯s voice instantly vanished.


    The Chiropteragon that was wrapped in flames opened its mouth at Selia, but nothing happened.


    For a moment, the Chiropteragon even forgot its anger and looked at itself in confusion.


    Then, it finally seemed to regain its senses and began beating its wings furiously.


    The vague outlines of magic runes started to appear on its burning body.


    Seeing this, Celia¡¯s heart sank.


    Although the Chiropteragon was only a sub-dragon, the dragon¡¯s blood was strong in their kind.


    Therefore, it was able to use Dragon Blood Protection to increase its magic resistance, like it was doing right now.


    Just like that. ordinary magic had become useless against the Chiropteragon. There was nothing Celia would do now.


    ¡°Huff! Huff! Huff!¡±


    Loud panting sounds emerged from behind Celia.


    Having sensed the situation at hand, George did not continue with the hyper-perception. He released the state of perception and opened his eyes.


    ¡°Leave the rest to me.¡±


    George pressed his hand into Celia¡¯s shoulder and walked past her, spear in hand. The magic runes on his spear glowed brightly.


    ¡°Is everything all right?¡± Celia asked, worried at the sight of George panting.


    Turning his head, George smiled brightly at Celia.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. And I also found that cave..¡±

 Chapter 7

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Sensing the threat coming from George, the Chiropteragon shrugged its shoulders, retracting and extending its neck with great force.


    Roar!


    After it activated Dragon Blood Protection, Celia¡¯s silencing spell naturally lost its effect.


    Finally free from its silenced state, the Chiropteragon vented its displeasure towards George.


    Although Celia¡¯s attack did not cause any substantial damage, the arrogant drake still felt humiliated.


    Looking at the furious Chiropteragon, George gripped his spear tightly and took a deep breath to calm himself down.


    ¡°Haaaaah¡ª¡±


    George exhaled slowly. Staring down the Chiropteragon, the corners of George¡¯s lips took an upward turn, as did his fighting spirit.


    Sensing George¡¯s combativeness, the Chiropteragon clawed at the ground with its sharp claws. Leaning forward, it began exuding a powerful pressure.


    The force from the pressure was almost palpable. Behind George, Celia shrank in on herself.


    Dragon Pressure..


    ¡°It even has Dragon Pressure. George, be careful. This Chiropteragon is close to evolving into a true dragon.¡±


    All sub-dragon species had the potential to evolve into true dragons. But the process was extremely difficult.


    Sub-dragons that were able to achieve this were considered exceptional existences.


    Ceilia never thought that the first sub-dragon they ran into would be one of these exceptional existences.


    She didn¡¯t know if they were lucky or unlucky.


    George¡¯s smile didn¡¯t falter at Celia¡¯s cautioning.


    ¡°Even better then, no?¡±


    He would not be far from his third evolution if he consumed this Chiropteragon.


    At the thought of this, George could feel excitement bubble up within him.


    It was almost as if they had received the same signal, George and the Chiropteragon launched their attacks at the exact same time.


    George flew towards the Chiropteragon like a speeding arrow.


    In contrast, the Chiropteragon stayed put, gathering strength while waiting for George to get close.


    Right before the two collided, the Chiropteragon opened its mouth.


    Roar!


    This roar was different from the previous ones. This was a true Dragon¡¯s Roar that contained the might of a dragon.


    A powerful shockwave swept toward George, stopping his advance.


    But that wasn¡¯t the end of it. An invisible sonic projectile slammed into George.


    Boom!


    Roar!


    The Chiropteragon let out another Dragon¡¯s Roar and then began emitting strange vocalizations from its mouth.


    In the back, Celia, who was worrying over George, heard the sounds the Chiropteragon was making and exclaimed in shock,


    ¡°Dragon Tongue! How is that possible?¡±


    Magic flowed into her fingertips. And with a wave of her hand, lines of magic runes appeared in midair.


    Her attack magic might have been rendered useless, but she still had defensive magic.


    Although the ones she knew weren¡¯t very high-leveled, by stacking them, they would still offer pretty impressive protection.


    Roar!


    The air trembled violently, sending the ground in front of the Chiropteragon flying. Then it released an intense sonic wave from its mouth.


    Through the intense sonic waves enhanced by Dragon Tongue magic, the outline of the Chiropteragon was reduced to a flickering shadow.


    In the face of such a powerful attack, all Celia could do was cast one magic barrier after another.


    ¡°This attack is close to evolving into Dragon¡¯s Breath¡­ George!¡±


    Celia¡¯s worried voice reached George¡¯s ears, but his smile did not waver. In fact, despite the dire situation they were in, he was still in the mood to give his spear a fancy twirl.


    He aimed his spear at the Chiropteragon. Pure white light began to gather at the tip.


    George looked straight ahead. And the moment the ground in front of him split open, a beam shot out from the tip of his spear.


    The Chiropteragon¡¯s shadow was penetrated in an instant. The beam spread out beyond that, canceling out the sonic waves as it went. Just like that, George had neutralized the Chiropteragon¡¯s attack.


    But George wasn¡¯t finished yet.


    The beam cannon that broke through the Chiropteragon¡¯s sonic attack continued charging towards the drake without losing an ounce of momentum.


    Faced with an incoming beam cannon, the Chiropteragon gave up on conserving energy. It kicked its legs against the ground, hard, and launched itself towards George like a cannonball.


    Draconic Runes shimmered on its body, creating a protective barrier around it.


    The beam cannon landed on the barrier and transformed into streams of light that scattered in all directions.


    George¡¯s spear continued to emit light, so much so that it turned white completely..


    George assumed a throwing posture.


    The Chiropteragon and George locked gazes. Their respective figures reflected in the others¡¯ eyes.


    Having locked on to his target, George hurtled his spear towards the Chiropteragon.


    Boom!


    His spear sailed through the air in a flash of white light and then upon impact vanished into thin air.


    The shockwave from the explosion swept outwards, causing the surrounding trees to shake violently.


    Celia put her hands in front of her and lowered her head. She could barely keep her eyes open.


    After taking several steps back, Celia finally managed to steady herself. Putting her hand down, she quickly looked up.


    There were no signs of the Chiropteragon in front of George. There was nothing but destruction. The ground looked like it had been turned inside out..


    ¡°Did it escape?¡±


    He closed his eyes and extended his senses briefly. And upon confirming that the Chiropteragon was indeed gone, George let out an internal sigh of relief.


    When he opened his eyes again, he was met with Celia¡¯s worried gaze. George shot her a relaxed smile, indicating that he was fine.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry. But it¡¯s such a pity that I couldn¡¯t leave the Chiropteragon¡¯s body behind,¡±


    George said regretfully.


    Compared to his own injuries, George was more concerned about the Chiropteragon. After all, his third evolution was dependent on it.


    Celia said nothing. Face serious, she reached out and ran her hands up and down George¡¯s body, checking for injuries.


    George shut his mouth and let her examine him.


    He knew that she wouldn¡¯t stop worrying if he didn¡¯t let her do this.


    After careful examination and confirming that there were indeed no major issues, Celia finally calmed down.


    Just in case however, Celia took out a stamina potion from her storage ring and brought it to George¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so wasteful,¡±


    George refused the potion. Stamina potions might seem commonplace, but not all stamina potions were made equal.


    The bottle in Celia¡¯s hand was purchased from Claire¡¯s Alchemy Workshop and was of the highest quality.


    High-grade items were expensive and should not be squandered casually.


    Pushing the potion aside, George spread open his fingers. Silvery white light gathered in his hands.


    When the light dissipated, the long spear that had vanished earlier reappeared in George¡¯s hand.


    A mysterious inscription on the spear flashed once and disappeared as if it was never there.


    George had received this spear from smashing a golden egg on his tenth birthday.


    It was a sealed spear, its true name a mystery.


    Currently, the only ability it had displayed was to convert George¡¯s stamina into light.


    Since the spear also had the ability to return to George at will, it became his main weapon.


    As for the seal, even George didn¡¯t know how many layers of seal his spear was under.


    But he did give it a cool-sounding name:


    The Sealed Spear of Light, Noxkaius

 Chapter 8

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    In the end, George did not drink the stamina potion.


    However, in order to put Celia¡¯s mind at ease, they decided to rest for a while before continuing.


    Celia took the magic pot out again and placed the food she had prepared inside.


    George sat next to her, quietly watching her work.


    While the two of them were enjoying their afternoon tea, the three Knights were standing at the spot where George had fought the Chiropteragon.


    The Knight-Captain looked at the battlefield with a grave expression on his face. He looked at the blue-haired knight on his left and asked with concern,


    ¡°Barron, how¡¯s your Chiropteragon?¡±


    The knight named Barron shook his head. Eyes shining he looked at the captain and asked in an agitated voice,


    ¡°He¡¯s fine. More importantly Albert, what was that?¡±


    ¡®Fine¡¯ did not mean ¡®uninjured¡¯.


    If Barron hadn¡¯t used the power of the contract to recall his Chiropteragon in time, he would have bid his partner, whom he grew up with, goodbye.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything about this candidate being so powerful.¡±


    Faced with Barron¡¯s question, Albert responded dryly,


    ¡°That¡¯s why he¡¯s a Saint Candidate and you¡¯re just a Temple Knight.¡±


    Despite his words, Albert was just as shocked as Barron was.


    Although Barron¡¯s Chiropteragon was still underage, it wasn¡¯t something a fourteen-year-old child could hold its own against.


    In a one-on-one situation, even he would have to make considerable effort to win.


    He genuinely couldn¡¯t figure out how George pulled it off.


    ¡°You really can¡¯t underestimate any of the candidates. Not a single one.¡±


    Barron fell silent for a moment before he looked at Albert and asked,


    ¡°What should we do now?¡±


    Albert didn¡¯t respond immediately. Things had exceeded his expectations.


    The whole point of sending out the Chiropteragon was to avoid exposing their presence.


    After all, the other party was a Saint Candidate whom the higher-ups were paying close attention to. If anyone found out that they were the ones who made a move on him, even if they did get what they came here for, it would all have been for naught.


    But from the looks of things, sending out the Chiropteragon might have unintentionally saved their lives.


    This Saint Candidate whom the Divine Temple had never interacted with was rather terrifying, to say the least..


    He thought for a moment, then looked to his right and asked the third Knight,


    ¡°Gared, where are they now?¡±


    Sensing the gazes of his companions, Gared raised his head and extended his senses for a moment before replying,


    ¡°They¡¯ve stopped. They seem to be resting.¡±


    Gared could see from his extended vision that George and Celia had set up a bonfire and a metal pot.


    Just when Gared was about to look away, a bright light covered his vision.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Gared covered his eyes with his hands, his face contorted in pain.


    Seeing Gared¡¯s reaction, Albert¡¯s expression turned solemn. Barron walked up and asked with concern,


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been discovered. And Peg is on the verge of being seriously injured. What should we do?¡±


    Albert felt pressured by the looks from his two companions. Albert tightened and loosened his grip on his sword. He was torn.


    In his reverie, Albert heard an old, powerful voice.


    ¡°Change may not be a good thing.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong, Master Harley. I¡¯ll prove it to you. I will change my destiny. I will become stronger.¡±


    Just like that, he made up his mind.


    He will obtain the Fruit of Gifts. He must. He had put his entire life on line for it. He could not give up just like that.


    Albert looked at the two people in front of him and started laughing abruptly.


    ¡°This may not be a bad thing. That cave is filled with danger. So we¡¯ll let them scout the path for us.¡±


    On the other side, a white pillar of light dissipated in the air.


    Sensing the commotion caused by George, Celia immediately came to his side and looked around nervously.


    ¡°What is it, George?¡±


    ¡°Seems like someone¡¯s onto us.¡±


    Light coalesced in his hand forming Noxkaius. Gripping his spear in his hands, George looked up.


    Celia followed the direction of George¡¯s gaze, her eyes glowing with a soft pink light.


    The sky was clear as all nearby clouds had been scattered by George¡¯s attack earlier.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡±


    George took another look at the empty skies, blinked and said,


    ¡°Maybe I was just imagining things.¡±


    ¡°No, I believe in George¡¯s judgment. If you think someone¡¯s onto us, then someone must be onto us.¡±


    Celia had absolute faith in George¡¯s senses.


    Considering George¡¯s statement, Celia said in a serious tone,


    ¡°Now that I think about it, something felt off about that Chiropteragon from before. For a Chiropteragon to appear in a place like this? It¡¯s unthinkable. We should be more careful moving forward.¡±


    George thought Celia was right and nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    If there were dragons near the Forest of Slumber, then the place would not be considered the go-to place for new adventurers.


    ¡°Let¡¯s quickly depart once we¡¯re done eating.¡±


    Celia held a bowl out to George.


    ¡°Here, this is yours.¡±


    George turned his gaze back to the bowl of soup Celia was holding out. He took the bowl from her and downed it in one shot.


    ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing.¡±


    George¡¯s sudden statement earned him a side-ook from Celia.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Being targeted by someone. It may not be a bad thing. If the Chiropteragon was sent by someone, then we might run into it again.¡±


    George¡¯s eyes lit up towards the end of the sentence.


    It was clear that he couldn¡¯t forget about the Chiropteragon that was close to evolving into a true dragon.


    Celia, who knew George well, was unsurprised. She smiled and followed his lead.


    ¡°It¡¯s indeed a pity. We can¡¯t let it escape next time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never had dragon meat before.¡±


    ¡°Yes, dragon meat. It¡¯s only a sub-dragon now but I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll become delicious in the future.¡±


    Celia¡¯s words reignited the excitement in George. He couldn¡¯t wait to go all-out against the Chiropteragon again.


    He looked at the empty bowl in his hand and salivated as he thought about the bat-like dragon. He handed the empty bowl to Celia.


    ¡°Another bowl!¡±


    Celia, who had planned on keeping the bowl, froze for a beat. But she quickly recovered and replied with a smile,


    ¡°Coming right up.¡±


    Their break soon ended, and the two set off yet again. This time, George led the way.


    ¡°This is it.¡±


    Whoosh!


    George brought Celia to a stop under a waterfall. He pointed at it, or rather, behind it, and said,


    ¡°This is the only cave in the vicinity.¡±


    Hearing George¡¯s words, Celia traced her fingers in the air.


    Upon the spell¡¯s completion, a barrier formed under the waterfall and slowly began to expand.


    The waterfall parted, split in half by the barrier, revealing what was hidden behind it.


    To Celia¡¯s surprise however, there was no cave behind the waterfall. Just a pile of strange rocks.


    Doubt flashed through her mind, but she didn¡¯t question George.


    Just as George was about to reveal the answer, Celia moved her arm and cast another spell.


    This time the barrier expanded from within the pile of rocks. Sweat beaded on Celia¡¯s forehead as she poured more magic into the spell.


    With her efforts, the rocks were soon pushed to the sides.


    Rumble!


    Boom!


    The rocks either rolled to the sides or fell to the ground.


    As the rocks deviated from their original location, the cave that they had been searching for appeared before them.


    Job complete, Celia wiped the sweat off her forehead and said to George with a smile,


    ¡°Let¡¯s go..¡±

 Chapter 9

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    After entering the cave, Celia took out a white candle and lit it.


    Since there were no plants in the cave, they could only use the white candles by lighting them normally.


    After placing the candles, Celia observed the cave with the help of the candlelight.


    George noticed this and flexed the hand that was holding Noxkaius briefly.


    The darkness was instantly dispelled and the entire cave became clear as day.


    Seeing this, Celia turned to George and said,


    ¡°Quit wasting your energy.¡±


    George smiled reassuringly Celia.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know my limits.¡±


    George then looked past Celia and into the depths of the cave. Assessing the direction of the tunnel, he said,


    ¡°From the looks of it, this place leads directly into the interior of Boneyard Range.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, there should also be an entrance at Boneyard Range.¡±


    At that, Celia paused, then continued anxiously,


    ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t this place be discovered long ago?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Boneyard Range is prone to earthquakes, so there are often landslides and the like. So even if there is an entrance there, it¡¯s very likely that it¡¯s been buried.¡±


    It was a sensible explanation, but Celia quickened her pace regardless.


    However, before long, they saw light coming from the end of the tunnel.


    ¡°George, look! There¡¯s light!¡±


    ¡°Be careful. Maybe there really is someone here.¡±


    Sensing that there might be something up ahead, George immediately pulled Celia behind him.


    Passing through the tunnel, what greeted them was a vast, bright cavern.


    On the walls of the cavern were all kinds of glittering, translucent ores they couldn¡¯t name. The ores emitted a colorful light, illuminating the entire cavern.


    Swish~


    A gentle breeze blew past, and the sound of leaves rubbing against each other could be heard.


    Patches and patches of trees appeared before George and Celia.


    Whoosh!


    Rushing rivers could be seen forming a net of Intricate tributaries that wove in and out of trees.


    Who would have thought that there would be another world hidden under this massive mountain range?


    ¡°There¡¯s an underground forest here?¡± The sights before her gave Celia quite a shock.


    ¡°It feels like we¡¯re in another world,¡±


    George said, admiring the magnificent, dreamlike world before him.


    Celia¡¯s attention was suddenly drawn to a very special tree.


    ¡°George, look! That should be what we¡¯re looking for.¡±


    George looked in the direction that Selia was pointing at. And there, amidst the forest, stood an enormous tree that towered above the rest.


    Apart from being much taller than the other trees, the tree itself was emitting a dark green light. It was also surrounded by white mist..


    It stood out so much that they couldn¡¯t have missed it even if they tried.


    ¡°If the Fruit of Gifts really exists, then it¡¯s gotta be there.¡±


    George nodded in agreement.


    He turned away from the tree and took a look at his surroundings. They were in the upper half of the cavern, a considerable distance away from ground level where the tree was.


    There were no roads connecting the two sections.. To get to the forest below they would have to either fly over or jump down.


    George thought about it for a moment, then moved to hold Celia by the waist.


    Sensing George¡¯s movement, Celia understood what he wanted had in mind wrapped her arms around him.


    ¡°Hold on tight.¡±


    With that, George leapt into the air and descended to the lower-levels in free fall.


    In George¡¯s arms, Celia began casting magic barriers to protect them both.


    George tightened his hold around Celia. ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± he said.


    ¡°Just to be safe.¡±


    Celia knew what George meant, but she didn¡¯t stop what she was doing.


    Just as the two of them were about to crash into the ground, George turned his right hand so the tip of Noxkaius was pointed towards the floor.


    Light bloomed around them.


    Then, a light beam shot towards the ground.


    Boom!


    Using the recoil from the beam, the two of them landed safely.


    George put Celia down and looked around. They didn¡¯t notice it when looking at it from afar.


    But now that they were actually in the forest, George and Celia realized that this forest wasn¡¯t your average forest


    Every single tree that surrounded them was extremely tall. At least ten times taller than the ones they usually saw.


    And it wasn¡¯t just the trees. All plant-life here were much larger than those on the surface.


    Being in this forest made it feel as if the entire world had become bigger, and them, smaller.


    ¡°George, do you think we¡¯ve arrived in the territory of the giants?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Maybe there really are giants here.¡±


    This forest was unexplored territory for them. They knew nothing about this place, which meant anything could happen.


    Ceilia knew this as well. Which was why she took out two bottles of the precious stamina potion and made sure each of them had one on hand, just in case.


    Having completed preparations, the two of them continued deeper into the forest, towards the giant glowing tree..


    ¡°George, look at how big this Ruro Fruit is! And it¡¯s not even the biggest one. That one is even bigger. Oh my god. George, this place is like paradise for you.¡±


    Ruro Fruit was what apples were called in this world. Be it in flavor or in appearance, there were no differences between the two.


    He looked in the direction that Celia was pointing at and saw a large number of Ruro trees.


    They had no idea what caused this, but every single Ruro Fruit on the tree was enormous in size and looked absolutely delectable. Even from below the tree, they could smell the rich fragrance of the fruit.


    George swallowed, hard. Even though he had just eaten, he felt hungry again.


    Seeing this, Celia suggested,


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a break first. I need to replenish my magic anyway, and you should eat to replenish your strength too George.¡±


    Celia had some understanding of George¡¯s constitution and knew that he could become stronger by eating.


    Therefore, if George was to eat all the fruits here, he would grow stronger. Which would make the rest of their journey a little safer.


    One of the rules of survival for adventurers was: To ensure their own safety as much as possible. Adventurers should never put their own lives at risk. After all, you only had one life.


    Thus, it didn¡¯t matter even if it slowed them down a little. It was worth it if George could become stronger.


    George did not refuse this suggestion. Instead, he aimed Noxkaius at the fruits on the tree.


    Next, fine laser beams shot out from its tip.


    The laser beam pierced through the branches and the Ruro fruits fell onto the ground one after another.


    Once the fruits were on the ground, George and Celia finally got a better sense of the actual size of these fruits.


    ¡°They¡¯re huge!¡± Even though she had already said it once, Celia couldn¡¯t help but exclaim again upon seeing the fruits up close.


    A single fruit was the size of a millstone. It was basically impossible for an adult to hold a second one after taking a first.


    ¡°I can finally have a full meal¡­¡±


    Looking at the fallen Ruro fruits, George smiled happily. He then opened his mouth and pounced at the fruits gleefully..

 Chapter 10

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    The taste of the gigantic Ruro Fruit was sweeter and more fragrant compared to ordinary Ruro Fruits. The juices were plentiful and the texture was crisp and refreshing.


    While George was gorged on the fruits, Celia sat down to meditate.


    She¡¯s been casting one spell after another on their way here. Even though they were mostly simple, low-level spells that consumed very little magic, they really added up.


    At this point, Celia had less than 10% of her magic left. If she did not recover soon, she would become a burden to George.


    Thus, even if she didn¡¯t see the Ruro Fruits, Celia would still have suggested that they stop and rest up.


    The lively atmosphere died down yet again and the forest returned to its usual tranquil state.


    Only the occasional chewing sound from George could be heard.


    The gigantic Ruro Fruit was large enough to feed a family of three for a whole day, but it was devoured by George in an instant.


    George¡¯s stomach was like a black hole. No matter how much food he ate, he could immediately digest and absorb it.


    He might eat fast, but he digested even faster.


    With a forest full of fruits, he no longer needed to hold himself back and could eat as much as he wanted.


    When Celia opened her eyes again, she couldn¡¯t tell how much time had passed.


    The concept of time seemed to not exist in this forest. It felt as if even her perception of time was dulled.


    This feeling made Celia uncomfortable. She took out her magic timer and checked the time.


    ¡°Three days have passed! How did I meditate for so long?¡±


    Surprised by how long she had meditated, Celia quickly stood up and shook off the leaves covering her body.


    She looked around and realized that George was nowhere to be seen.


    All she saw were large patches of bare trees.


    ¡°George!¡±


    She called out. Instead of staying where she was, Celia set off in search of her partner.


    The path was covered in fallen Ruro tree branches and leaves. As a result, every step she took was accompanied by crisp crunching sounds.


    All these fallen branches and leaves were casualties of George¡¯s Ruro Fruit harvest.


    ¡°Looks like he ate quite a lot. I wonder if he¡¯s full this time?¡±


    As Celia swept her gaze over the now-barren fruit trees, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder if George was finally satiated after having so much to eat.


    Having lived together for so many years, no one knew better than Celia the pain George had suffered over the years.


    The feeling of never being full and always being tortured by hunger was not something an ordinary person could endure.


    ¡°George!¡±


    Following her shout, Celia heard movement from a nearby pile of leaves.


    She turned to look and noticed something odd. Celia moved her fingers through the air and immediately a breeze formed and swept all the leaves away.


    What emerged was George, asleep and content.


    Celia walked closer and couldn¡¯t help but stare at George¡¯s unguarded expression as he slept.


    It had been a long time since she last saw George like this. The last time she saw this side of him was back at the orphanage.


    Back then, George¡¯s appetite wasn¡¯t this big. In fact, he was no different from the average person.


    Then one day, his appetite suddenly grew exponentially. George grew hungry very quickly, and enduring the torment of hunger became a daily affair for him.


    Because of this, even when he fell asleep at night, before long, he would be woken by his hunger. Then, he would have to go to the kitchen to find something to eat.


    Seeing George sleep soundly for the first time in so many years, Celia held her breath so as to not disturb his sleep. Instead, she moved to lay down beside George.


    Meanwhile, George¡¯s body was undergoing a tremendous change. Even he did not expect himself to undergo a third evolution just from eating all the Ruro Fruits in the vicinity.


    George fell asleep peacefully with an unprecedented sense of satedness.


    During the process of evolution, George¡¯s body would exude an inexplicable pressure.


    Other than Celia, every creature that approached George would experience this anxiety-inducing pressure.


    Thanks to this pressure, all the snakes, insects, beasts, and even monsters in the forest subconsciously avoided the area they were in.


    Meanwhile, Albert and party stood outside the waterfall, exchanging uneasy glances amongst themselves.


    ¡°It¡¯s been three days and there¡¯s still no movement inside.¡±


    Barron frowned at the motionless waterfall, sounding worried.


    Behind him, the Chiropteragon that had disappeared previously reappeared. Its aura was much weaker than when it first appeared.


    Petting his partner, Barron looked at Albert, who was resting with his eyes closed, and voiced his assumption.


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ve already left?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not entirely impossible. Boneyard Range isn¡¯t far from here. If there¡¯s an entrance there, maybe we¡¯ve been waiting here for nothing?¡±


    A short distance away stood Gared. He was also stroking his partner, Peg. A large, handsome white eagle.


    Despite their words, Albert didn¡¯t look worried at all.


    He had already obtained rather detailed information regarding these questions from Prophet Harley.


    There was only one way in and out of the cave. All they had to do was wait patiently at the exit.


    Over the last three days, they had rigged the entire area around the waterfall with all kinds of traps. Albert was confident that could put those two into an eternal slumber the moment the two of them exited the cave.


    However, he didn¡¯t tell this to his two companions.


    Snapping out of his thoughts, Albert asked Gared,


    ¡°Gared, how¡¯s Peg recovery coming along?¡±


    ¡°Her injuries have stabilized and there¡¯s no longer any threat to her life.¡±


    Stroking Peg¡¯s feathers, Gared¡¯s lips curled into a gentle smile as he looked at his partner.


    In response to Gared¡¯s feelings, Peg returned his gaze with an equally gentle one.


    ¡°If it¡¯s just basic investigation, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    Albert nodded and said to Gared,


    ¡°Alright then. Get Peg to patrol the area above Boneyard Range, but no putting herself at risk under any circumstances.


    ¡°If anything happens, report back immediately.¡±


    Then, Albert turned to look at Barron and said,


    ¡°Barron, I¡¯ll get ready and go in to check on the situation in a bit. I¡¯m leaving you in charge during my absence.¡±


    Three days was indeed rather long. During this time, Albert¡¯s patience had been worn down considerably. He desperately wanted to know the situation inside.


    ¡°Yes, Captain.¡±


    Gared and Barron had no objections to Albert¡¯s orders.


    They were indeed unsuited for combat in their present state.


    As a Dragon Knight and Aerial Knight respectively, their true strength could only be displayed when they were with their partners.


    Without the help of their partners, they were only slightly stronger than your average Knight..

 Chapter 11

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    When Celia woke up a second time, it wasn¡¯t from a pleasant dream. No, what woke her was the uncomfortable heat.


    She quickly got up and moved away from George¡¯s side. Celia looked at George, whose skin had turned red, with morbid fascination.


    George¡¯s body was emitting large amounts of steam.


    A terrifying amount of heat radiated from his body. The temperature in the surrounding air rose sharply, forcing Celia to protect herself with magic.


    The plants around George, be it grass or fallen leaves, also began emitting heat.


    As the temperature rose further, Celia sensibly retreated to a safe place.


    She knew that this was just the beginning. The real terror had yet to come.


    ¡°This is scarier than the last time. You¡¯re becoming stronger again, George.¡±


    Observing George¡¯s condition, Celia looked around warily.


    But she soon discovered that there was no need for her to be on guard because there wasn¡¯t even a single bug in sight.


    ¡°Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t seen any wild beasts or monsters since we got here. Does this forest just not have any?¡±


    She quickly suppressed her doubts however, and focused on George.


    Even though she only looked away for a brief moment, the temperature around George had already risen to a point where it was visible even to the naked eye.


    Fwoosh ~


    Flames engulfed George, and the leaves and grass too self-combusted. Scorching flames began to spread in all directions.


    Celia was prepared for this. She moved her fingers through the air, and upon completing the spell, a magic circle appeared with George at its center.


    The Barrier of Defense was the advanced form of the barrier spell. It was superior to the regular barrier spell in terms of both strength and scale, and thus offered greater protection.


    This was one of the few intermediate spells Celia knew.


    Enveloped by the defensive barrier, the fire no longer ran rampant.


    All she had to do now was wait patiently.


    Although he was engulfed in a sea of flames, George didn¡¯t feel any heat.


    In fact, he felt wonderful.


    The evolution process was not a painful one. Quite the contrary; it was very pleasurable.


    As far as the subjective experience was concerned, George found it more pleasurable than any form of entertainment he had ever known.


    Mentally and physically, George could feel himself growing stronger.


    It was an addictive process.


    Once the evolution ended, George opened his eyes with a look of longing and regret.


    Stretching languidly, George took note of his present condition. His energy was depleted and he was feeling peckish. But otherwise, he felt better than ever.


    Looking around, George noticed the charred ground and chuckled.


    ¡°Big commotion this time huh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve picked some fruits for you. Once you¡¯re done eating, quickly put on some clothes. We¡¯re leaving.¡±


    Without him noticing, Celia had already got the magic pot set up.


    The aroma of fruits from the magic pot caught George¡¯s attention.


    He reached for the pot subconsciously but was immediately stopped by Selia.


    ¡°Put on your clothes first.¡±


    ¡°What does it matter? I still have armor on don¡¯t I?¡±


    Despite saying that, George obediently accepted the clothes from Celia.


    George removed the charred armor, and the moment it landed on the ground, the armor cracked into many pieces. This saddened George somewhat. He felt as if someone had broken his favorite toy.


    Celia passed the magic bowl to George after pouring soup into it and said,


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be sad about?¡±


    Ordinary armor was useless to George. It was decoration at best.


    Magical armor on the other hand was actually useful, albeit also more expensive. But George would rather spend that money on food.


    After draining the bowl of apple juice, George said,


    ¡°It just feels like a pity. I like how that one looked.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I relate.¡±


    Celia didn¡¯t know what was so nice about a suit of armor.


    After scooping a bowl of apple juice for herself, Celia¡¯s eyes scrunched up in satisfaction.


    ¡°Delicious!¡±


    Savoring the sweet and sour taste of the apple juice, she couldn¡¯t help but exclaim,


    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve tasted Ruro Fruits that¡¯s this delicious.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve eaten most of the Ruro fruits in this area, I wonder if there are more elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°You want to get more?¡±


    Hearing George¡¯s words, Celia was a little surprised. But it made sense if she thought about it.


    ¡°Might as well.¡±


    They were already here. It¡¯s not like that divine tree in the center of the forest was going to go anywhere. They could investigate it any time, there was no hurry.


    If that was the case, they might as well take the time to make proper preparations that¡¯ll help make the investigation go smoother.


    ¡°Do you think if you ate all the fruits in this forest, you¡¯ll evolve again?¡±


    ¡°If we add the Chiropteragon from before to the menu, it shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡±


    Even though he had just evolved recently, George still couldn¡¯t forget about that Chiropteragon.


    ¡°That quickly?¡±


    George¡¯s answer surprised Celia.


    She remembered George telling her that after every evolution, the energy required for the next evolution would be much greater than the previous.


    Having just undergone an evolution, Celia had thought that even with all the fruits in this forest, it would take at least a few more years of amassing energy before he could evolve again..


    George wasn¡¯t surprised by Celia¡¯s reaction. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel it?¡± he said with a smile.


    At Celia¡¯s puzzled gaze, George continued,


    ¡°In addition to its size, the energy contained within each Ruro fruit here is also quite astounding.


    ¡°If we¡¯re talking about potency, they¡¯re just as good, if not better than the stamina potions we¡¯ve got.¡±


    Stamina potions could rejuvenate and even strengthen the user. But they were also highly addictive.


    This was especially true for low-quality stamina potions. They had little potency but very strong side-effects.


    But the Ruro Fruit, being a product of nature, was more gentle on the body and did not have such side-effects.


    Upon hearing George¡¯s words, Celia gave herself a once-over and was surprised to find that her magic store was not only fully-replenished, but had even grown in size.


    She had been maintaining the defensive barrier until George finished his evolution. By right, it was impossible for her magic power to be at full capacity.


    Celia exclaimed in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re right!¡±


    ¡°Yea, so we should level up around here first and then go investigate our target.¡±


    After this evolution, George¡¯s perception had become even more terrifying. He had a feeling that if they went deeper now, they would most likely encounter danger.


    ¡°If even the Ruro Fruits are so magical. I suspect that the monsters living in this forest would also be much stronger than those outside.¡±


    As such, just to be safe, they should level up first before proceeding. They could not afford to be careless in unknown territory.


    Adventurers must never risk their lives. You only live once!


    Meanwhile, Albert had also successfully passed through the tunnel. And when he saw the ethereal scenery before him, he couldn¡¯t help the surprise that colored his face.


    ¡°So this is what the mountain range looks like on the inside!¡±

 Chapter 12

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Unlike George and Celia, Albert had prior knowledge about this place.


    He had learned about the underground forest and the giant divine tree in the center from Master Harley in advance.


    However, once he was there in person, the scenery still took his breath away.


    Once he was inside the forest, Albert dusted the dirt off his body.


    Unlike George, Albert did not possess something as convenient as Noxkaius. Thus, he did not jump down the way George did. Instead, he had to slowly climb down the cliff.


    Klonk


    Boom!


    Just as Albert was about to set off for the central region, strange sounds emerged from behind him.


    It was the sound of falling gravel.


    The moment he heard the sound, Albert, experienced as he was, instantly knew that something was wrong. He quickly drew his sword and turned around to defend himself.


    Clang!


    Thanks to his well-trained physique, Albert managed to raise his sword just in time to block the attack before it landed on him.


    With the help of the light coming from the glowing rocks on the cave wall, Albert was able to see what had attacked him.


    It was a huge serpent made of rocks.


    The reason why he did not discover its existence in time was because the serpent had blended into the surroundings.


    The serpent¡¯s tail collided with Albert¡¯s sword, producing hissing sounds and even occasional sparks.


    Sensing fearsome force from the attacks he parried, Albert chose not to fight the monster head-on. Instead, he used the monster¡¯s strength to move backwards and put some distance between himself and the monster.


    A Rock Serpent?


    Albert did not escape immediately. The biggest taboo when out in the wild was to expose your back to monsters.


    That would be extremely dangerous.


    Albert bent his legs and stared unblinkingly at the Rock Serpent. But internally, he was thinking about something else.


    Why were there still Rock Serpents here?


    Logically speaking, monsters that like to ambush its prey near the entrance like the Rock Serpent should have already been taken care of by George¡¯s party, who came in first.


    But this Rock Serpent did not look like it had seen any battle.


    Did the two just happen to not meet?


    It wasn¡¯t entirely impossible. But what kind of luck did they have to avoid the attention of seven Rock Serpents?


    The wall behind the previous Rock Serpent rippled and warped. And from it, six more emerged.


    The situation had taken a turn for the worse. Although Albert had many questions, he couldn¡¯t afford to think about them right now


    He needed to think of an escape plan.


    There was no way he could defeat all seven Rock Serpents by himself. Escape was the only option.


    While Albert was caught up in his thoughts, the seven Rock Serpents attacked. Mouths wide open, they launched numerous mud shots towards Albert.


    Thankfully, Albert had predicted the movements of the Rock Serpents the moment they opened their mouths.


    Clearing his mind to focus on the battle at hand, Albert charged forward. He closed the distance between him and the rock serpents with great speed, leaving only his afterimage behind him.


    Moving at high speeds, George was able to hide or dodge the serpents¡¯ attack before it could hit him.


    Boom!


    The mud shots hit the ground loudly, splattering everywhere.


    However, the splatters of the mud shots only lasted for less than a second before turning into tiny pebbles.


    Rock Serpents. One might think, just by looking at the name, that they were pure earth-type monsters.


    But in actuality, they were a species of multi-element monster adept at using water and earth magic.


    Their specialty was controlling transmutational mud that could solidify at will.


    Behind Albert, strange rock pillars began appearing one by one, sealing off his path of retreat.


    But all these were all within his expectations.


    The Rock Serpent closest to Albert swung its tail at him as he approached.


    At the same time, a faint glimmer of light suffused Albert¡¯s sword. He parried the serpents¡¯ attack fearlessly.


    Although the light was faint, it was fatal.


    A simple upswing followed by a flash of white light.


    Then, brownish-red blood spurted from the wound and onto the ground, instantly solidifying.


    The blood of the Rock Serpents had the same characteristics as the mud it spew. Anything that touched either substance would become petrified.


    Therefore, the moment the tail was severed, Albert quickly moved aside before the spray of blood could catch him.


    ¡°Of all the things to run into, it had to be the Rock Serpent. What awful luck.¡±


    Unlike Barron and Gared, Albert specialized in swordsmanship, he was what one might call a ¡®pure Knight¡¯.


    All of his strength came from his martial arts training that started when he was young.


    As a result, he found it very difficult to deal with the monsters like the Rock Serpent, which could restrain him in close combat.


    Not to mention dealing with seven of them at once.


    Inside a grand hall, a gaunt man with pointy ears and sunken eye-sockets sat in the main throne.


    In the depths of the empty sockets, where the eyeballs would normally be, were two eerie dots of red light.


    The man slowly raised his head, and with no other movements from him, two viewing portals appeared in the middle of the hall.


    The left portal showed a man and a woman happily harvesting, cooking and eating fruits.


    Most of the time, it was just the man eating. The woman only took a bite or two occasionally.


    The gaunt man wasn¡¯t very interested in what was happening in the left portal.


    All his attention was focused on the right portal.


    ¡°Another intruder?¡±


    The gaunt man¡¯s lips twitched, seemingly forming a smile, as he enjoyed the scene of Albert fighting against the seven Rock Serpents.


    How many years had it been since someone visited this place?


    George and Celia¡¯s arrival was already a big surprise for him. He hadn¡¯t expected another one to show up.


    ¡°Curious knight, are you here to save those two children?¡±


    It was inevitable that the man thought this way. The probabilities of two separate groups of people barging into this place was inconceivable.


    But he also didn¡¯t eliminate that possibility entirely.


    ¡°Or¡­ is he aiming for this place as well?¡±


    Upon considering that possibility, the gaunt man¡¯s indifferent tone cooled several degrees. The frigid tone of his voice was like piercing winter winds, and it caused the temperature of the entire hall to plummet.


    A layer of frost quietly appeared on the ground.


    ¡°Come to think of it, the fruit is about to ripen. It¡¯s not entirely improbable that some prophet somewhere made a prediction about this.¡±


    His eerie voice reverberated in the hall. The gaunt man minimized the image on the left and expanded the portal that Albert was in.


    ¡°Oh hardworking knight, if you are really here for the fruit, hehehe¡­¡±


    At that thought, the gaunt man suddenly started laughing. Compared to his previously chilling voice, this laughter was unexpectedly hearty.


    Hearty, and with a hint of anticipation..

 Chapter 13

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Somewhere in the forest, the following conversation was being played out:


    ¡°Where is that guy now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I heard that the food in yet another area¡¯s been cleaned out .¡±


    ¡°Damned demon, are you trying to kill us all?¡±


    ¡°Where did they come from? Who¡¯s gonna stop them?¡±


    ¡°If this continues, we¡¯ll all starve to death.¡±


    ¡°All the food in my territory is gone. My clansmen are starting to go out of control.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, those who didn¡¯t attend the meeting probably didn¡¯t make it ¡¯cause they¡¯ve already started fighting amongst themselves.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely true. I heard that other than those two demons, another demon have also entered the forest.¡±


    ¡°The serpents by the river are fighting him. I heard that many of them got injured.¡±


    ¡°Damned demons, are you trying to destroy our home and our world?¡±


    ¡°Are the serpents guys alright? Do they need help?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact situation, but it feels like the demon the serpents are fighting aren¡¯t as terrifying as the other two.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Perhaps this is an opportunity. We can defeat the demons one by one and protect our home.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. We must act before all our food is wiped out.¡±


    ¡°Great! Since no one has any objections, let¡¯s start with the lone demon!¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    As the meeting came to an end, the entire forest seemed to come alive, and all the monsters began to move.


    At the same time, on the other side of the forest, George paused his eating and looked around in confusion.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? It feels like the whole atmosphere in the forest has changed. Something¡¯s coming.¡±


    George narrowed his eyes and looked around vigilantly. His gaze lingering on every spot that looked like an enemy could appear from.


    Noticing George¡¯s unusual behavior, Celia came to his side immediately. The tip of her index finger flickered with magic, ready to cast a spell at a moment¡¯s notice.


    However, after a long period of stalemate, the expected attack did not come.


    George closed his eyes and a 3D image appeared in his mind¡¯s eye.


    Strange, there were no enemies. But what was this feeling then?


    After some thought, George explained to Celia,


    ¡°There are no enemies around, but be careful. I can feel the forest¡¯s malice towards us.¡±


    Celia nodded to show understanding. Then after a moment of thought, she asked,


    ¡°Is it because we¡¯re consuming too much?¡±


    However, after the question left her lips, even Celia found her thinking preposterous.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡± George thought the same way. How could eating a couple fruits provoke the wrath of the entire forest?


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s strange that till now we haven¡¯t seen a single monster.¡±


    Since the fruits here were so rich in magic, by right there should have been quite a number of powerful monsters in this forest.


    But till now, George still had not seen a hide nor tail of any monster.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Celia agreed. She thought for a moment and she took out a round disc.


    She injected magic into the core causing the disc to transform. In the blink of an eye, a mechanical bird appeared in front of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s that petty noble¡¯s scouting bird.¡±


    George took one look at this little bird and the face of a stingy bastard came to his mind.


    Under Celia¡¯s control, the mechanical bird disappeared into the forest.


    Mechanical birds were very useful to normal adventurers as they could scout ahead and give warnings.


    But to George who possessed strong perception abilities, they were useless.


    As such, their mechanical bird was usually left gathering dust inside their storage space.


    However, the current situation was different. He had sensed something, yet nothing happened.


    At times like these, the mechanical bird came in handy.


    As the figure of the mechanical bird disappeared into the forest, George also didn¡¯t dwell on the source of the malicious intent and continued to enjoy the sumptuous fruits.


    Soon, the sound of chewing was heard again.


    If Albert knew of George and Celia¡¯s current situation, he was sure to feel very bitter.


    ¡°Huff! Huff! Huff!¡±


    Labored breaths escaped Albert¡¯s lips.


    His chest heaved up and down violently, and the sword in his hands was chipped in many places.


    His once-handsome silver armor had also become dull and tattered.


    In short, he was in dire straits.


    Ever since he arrived at this place, Albert had been fighting, fleeing, fighting, and fleeing. There had been no time for him to rest at all.


    If it weren¡¯t for his strength and tenacity, he might have already died.


    But even so, given his current situation, it was only a matter of time before he succumbed.


    Surveying his surroundings, he noticed that there were more enemies than just the Rock Serpents he encountered at the beginning. Be it in terms of species or numbers.


    What was going on with these monsters? There had been no end to them since a while ago.


    Although Albert had first-hand information of this place, he still couldn¡¯t understand what was going on.


    That said, Master Harley wasn¡¯t omniscient. And even if he was, he would not tell Albert everything he knew in detail.


    As such, he was very puzzled right now.


    ¡°If I¡¯d known that the monsters in this forest were this aggressive, I would have brought Barron along.¡±


    Even while he was thinking, the monsters did not stop their attack.


    The Rock Serpents launched mud shots to provide long-distance support while the other monsters seized the opportunity to block Albert¡¯s escape route.


    ¡°Damn it.¡±


    Seeing this, Albert took a deep breath, and an invisible ripple spread out in all directions.


    This time, Albert did not attempt to avoid the dangerous transmuting mud of the Rock Serpents Nor could he.


    All the paths around him were sealed off. The only thing he could do was face them head-on.


    ¡°Upon the spirit of my sword do I swear, I will never retreat!¡±


    The moment those words left his lips, a powerful aura erupted from Albert.


    The two Gale Wolves charging at the very front were blown backwards as if struck by the impact.


    Then, holding his sword tightly in both hands, Albert slashed at the transmuting mud of the Rock Serpents.


    The mud solidified and hardened the moment it came into contact with the sword, but it had no effect on Albert or the sword in his hand.


    Ga ga ga!


    The sword pierced through the mud with an ear-piercing sound, and a large amount of gravel fell to the ground.


    ¡°Ha!¡± Albert let loose an enraged roar, and a terrifying power erupted from his body. Aiming directly ahead, he brought the sword down in one mighty slash.


    Boom!


    Sword energy flew out as an extension of the sword and sliced towards the monsters in front of Albert.


    Sensing danger, the monsters scrambled to get out of the way. As they broke formation, a gap appeared in the encirclement.


    A chance!


    Albert didn¡¯t continue to fight. Kicking off from the ground with both feet, he launched himself towards the gap with astonishing speed.


    When the monsters regained their wits, Albert had already vanished.


    The monsters roared as they turned around to give chase.


    This scene too, was witnessed by the gaunt man in the big hall.


    He tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne. A hint of nostalgia flashed through his eyes as he looked at Albert


    ¡°The Knight of the Oath. How ¡°An Oath Knight.. How nostalgic!¡±

 Chapter 14

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    ¡°How persistent. It¡¯s time they learned to give up.¡±


    Breathing heavily, Albert looked behind him with a hard expression.


    Not far from him, a hoard of monsters was fast approaching. Smoke and dust billowed behind them as they closed in on him.


    Some of these monsters Albert recognized, others he didn¡¯t.


    Among the monsters he could recognize, Albert was surprised to find that many of them were natural enemies. But for some reason they were working together to attack him.


    Albert felt a chill down his spine as he looked at their hostile and murderous gazes.


    With a shudder, Albert gathered his wits.


    Albert gripped both his hands tightly around the hilt of his sword that was stuck into the ground for support and stood up shakily.


    Sensing how badly his physical condition had deteriorated, Albert once again uttered,


    ¡°Upon my sword I swear¡­¡±


    At his words, his sword began to glow. The light seemed to infuse Albert with vitality and he stood up straighter.


    Pulling out his sword, Albert pointed it at the emerald divine tree and shouted,


    ¡°I will not fall until I reach my destination!¡±


    Light burst forth, and a surge of power flowed from the sword into Albert¡¯s body.


    Rejuvenated by this power, Albert was once again combat-ready.


    However, he did not choose to fight. Albert knew that he could not face all of the forest¡¯s monsters alone.


    Albert held his chest, face pained.


    Hang in there. I will absolutely not retreat!


    His firm conviction reactivated the previous oath, and another burst of power surged into Albert¡¯s body.


    Strengthened by the buff from dual oaths, Albert disappeared in the blink of an eye. When he reappeared, he was a good seven hundred meters away.


    Oath Knights were able to exchange oaths for all sorts of incredible powers.


    The more severe the oath, the stronger the power gained.


    Although the oath gives power, the knight is also bound by the oath.


    Once an oath takes effect, Albert is required to abide and fulfill said oath.


    Now that Albert had pledged to never retreat, he must forge ahead steadfastly. If his will wavers, he would suffer the backlash of the oath.


    Thus, be it for the sake of achieving his objective, or for the sake of fulfilling his oath, Albert had to set off in the direction of the divine tree no matter what.


    The mechanical bird watched Albert and the monsters disappear into the distance. Then tilting its head, the mechanical bird flew in the opposite direction.


    ¡°How¡¯s things?¡± George asked upon noticing the return of the mechanical bird.


    Celia channeled her magic into the mechanical bird, turning it back into a round disc.


    Following which, a projection appeared on the disc. Celia¡¯s eyes glowed pink with magic as she quickly browsed through the scenes in the projection.


    After a long while, Celia closed her eyes and put away the disc.


    ¡°There are no monsters nearby.¡±


    Hearing Celia¡¯s voice, George swallowed the fruit in his mouth and turned to look at her.


    Once she had put away the disc, Celia turned to explain to George,


    ¡°The monsters seemed to be attracted by something and are all moving towards the tree.¡±


    ¡°I see. This probably means the fruits of that tree are about to ripen huh.¡±


    George looked towards the emerald tree.


    ¡°Everything makes sense now.¡±


    With that, he continued eating.


    ¡°What do you plan to do?¡±


    ¡°Wu num gu wu gaw ~¡±


    ¡°Swallow your food first.¡±


    Gulp! George swallowed the fruit in his mouth, then looked at Celia and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine even if we give the Fruit of Gifts a miss. We¡¯ve already gained more than enough from this trip.¡±


    George felt that they had no reason to force their way through the hoard of monsters there.


    Compared to joining the fight for the fruit, it made more sense to stay and eat all the fruits in this area while the monsters were not around. They could level up and hightail out of this place.


    Growing stronger was the way to go.


    Celia felt the same way, so she didn¡¯t raise any objections.


    From start to finish, Celia didn¡¯t mention a word about Albert.


    It was as if this person did not exist.


    On the other side of the forest, with his life in danger, Albert had unleashed 1000% of his potential.


    The surrounding scenery flashed past him as the glowing emerald tree slowly grew larger and larger in his field of vision.


    When his intended destination was finally in sight, Albert couldn¡¯t help the excitement that filled him.


    Perhaps it was the surge of emotions, Albert felt himself pick up the pace.


    Behind him, all the monsters stopped in their tracks when they saw Albert enter the area around the emerald divine tree.


    The monsters stopped and stared,then looked at each other in a very human-like way. None of them knew what to do next.


    ¡°All of you, fall back.¡±


    A weather-beaten voice suddenly sounded in mid-air.


    The monsters seemed to know who the owner of the voice was. As soon as he finished speaking, without any hesitation, they immediately started retreating. Scattering like birds.


    ¡°Phew, they¡¯ve finally left?¡± Sensing the hostility and killing intent behind him dissipate, Albert let out a sigh of relief.


    It seemed like he hedged his bets correctly this time.


    Albert was about to take a break when a sudden force dragged him into an unfamiliar hall.


    So fast!


    Before Albert could even react, he was already inside the grand hall.


    Albert looked around. Intertwining plants and vines covered the hall. Through the gaps between the vines, Albert could vaguely see the former glory of this hall.


    Turning around, Albert looked calmly at the gaunt man seated at the head of the hall.


    His gaze lingered on the gaunt man¡¯s pointed ears for a moment and couldn¡¯t help but speculate.


    Elf or demon?


    The man admired Albert¡¯s composure.


    As such, he took the initiative to speak up


    ¡°Welcome.¡±


    After confirming that the man before him was real, Albert put on a solemn expression. Performing a proper Knight¡¯s Salute, Albert introduced himself.


    ¡°Pleased to meet your acquaintance sir. I am an Oath Paladin under the Radiant Saint Hall¡­ ¡±


    The gaunt man had no patience for Albert¡¯s lengthy self-introduction and cut him off abruptly,


    ¡°Just your name will do. I know the Temple better than you do, Oath Knight.¡±


    Albert was taken aback at first, but immediately replied,


    ¡°Yes. My name is Albert. Thank you very much for your assistance, my lord.¡±


    ¡°You may call me Bremont. I¡¯m not a lord. Just a tomb keeper,¡±


    The gaut man, Bremont, responded casually.


    ¡°I was wondering if Lord Bremont had seen a man and a woman? That man is actually a saint candidate for the Divine Temple¡­¡±


    It was obvious that Albert was planning to use Bremont to locate George¡¯s party.


    However, before Albert could finish speaking, a huge image that appeared in mid-air caught his attention.


    In the image, a beam of light shot up into the sky, then towards them..


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    Albert looked questioningly at Bremont, who did not respond. Instead, he just stared intently at the white light wordlessly.


    Albert wasn¡¯t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt nostalgia and sorrow emanating from Bremont..

 Chapter 15

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Let us rewind time back to ten minutes ago, when Albert was still being hunted down by monsters.


    Clack!


    There was a crisp sound, following which a faint magical wave entered her consciousness.


    Sensing the familiar wave, Celia took out her magic timer excitedly.


    George, sensing the commotion coming from Celia¡¯s side, lifted his head from the large fruit he was eating.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Celia didn¡¯t respond immediately. Instead, she double-checked her timer first.


    After confirming the time, she took out her item box.


    Then, an exquisite-looking armor appeared before her.


    It was a Black Dragon themed armor.


    The entirety of the armor was pitch black, with dark red lines that looked like blood vessels on the surface. If one looked carefully, they would discover that these lines were formed by tiny inscriptions.


    It was a genuine and genuinely expensive magic armor.


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    The instant George laid eyes on the armor, it captivated him.


    After showing the armor off to George, Celia smiled and asked,


    ¡°How is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too cool.¡±


    Looking at the armor, he felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. He turned to look at Celia and asked in an uncertain tone, ¡°Is this the legendary magic armor made by sacrificing a hundred black dragons!?¡±


    ¡°As if. This is just a replica.¡±


    Celia rolled her eyes at George, then explained,


    ¡°I bought it from a fallen noble. Although it¡¯s a replica, it¡¯s said to be made from real dragon scales.¡±


    Celia presented the armor to George and said,


    ¡°Happy birthday, George!¡±


    ¡°Birthday?¡± George raised his head and looked at Celia in confusion. The next moment, the scenery around him changed.


    The armor and Celia disappeared, replaced by three golden eggs.


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what¡¯s going on. It¡¯s been another five years. Time really flies.¡±


    Five years had passed in the blink of an eye, and it was once again time to smash a golden egg.


    ¡°I wonder what it will be this time.¡±


    Looking back and forth between the three golden eggs, George muttered to himself,


    ¡°The first time, I picked the middle one. The second time, I picked the left one. So this time¡­¡±


    Just as George turned to look at the golden egg on the right, he noticed from the corner of his eye movement from the egg on the left.


    ¡°Am I seeing things? Did the golden egg just move?¡±


    George was puzzled. He stared closely at the golden egg on the far left.


    The egg was completely normal and unmoving. But just as George was about to look away, the egg trembled again.


    Right before his eyes.


    This time, he was one hundred percent certain that the golden egg had moved.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually moving. Could it be that there¡¯s a living thing inside?¡±


    Looking at the egg on his left, George couldn¡¯t help but feel curious.


    What could be inside?


    George thought for a while and raised his hand. A tiny golden hammer appeared in it.


    Tiny hammer in hand, George reached out to smash the golden egg on the left.


    Just as the hammer was about to touch the egg, George stopped short.


    ¡°Wait a minute. No, I can¡¯t smash this.¡±


    If there really was a living creature inside, wouldn¡¯t it mean that there would be one more mouth to feed in the future? One more person fighting him for food?


    At the thought of this, George quickly moved the golden hammer away and eyed the other two eggs.


    However, right at this moment, the golden egg suddenly began moving. Perhaps the egg had sensed the tiny golden hammer moving away. Its movements were even more aggressive than before.


    It was as if the creature inside the golden egg was trying to jump out and was swinging wildly inside the shell. The movements caused the egg to tilt forward.


    Because George only moved the golden hammer away slightly, the golden egg successfully touched the golden hammer with that tilt.


    Crack!


    The instant the golden hammer made contact with the surface of the egg, George knew that things were about to get bad.


    He wanted to change his mind, but the moment the crack appeared, the other two golden eggs disappeared from this mysterious space.


    Now that things had come to this, he had no other choice but to crack the golden egg open fully.


    ¡°Right then. Lemme see what this mischievous little fella inside looks like.¡±


    The shell of the mashed golden egg turned into golden dust and dissipated into thin air.


    A white egg, accompanied by a flash of white light, appeared in front of George.


    Subconsciously, he moved to hold the egg with both hands.


    Ping Ping!


    In that moment, George felt what seemed like a living pulse.


    As he tuned into this pulse, George felt all distracting thoughts in his mind vanish and he entered a meditative state.


    The pulse in the egg gradually synchronized with George¡¯s heartbeat. The moment the two completely fell in sync, George was startled awake.


    When he returned to his senses, everything before him had gone back to how it was. Celia was still showing him the birthday gift she had prepared for him.


    Celia seemed to have noticed George¡¯s abnormality and asked in puzzlement,


    ¡°What are you thinking about? Hurry up and try it on.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡±


    George responded and adjusted his mental state immediately.


    He put on the armor that Celia had prepared excitedly


    ¡°It feels fantastic. This must have cost a lot.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that expensive. It¡¯s about the same as your monthly food expenses.¡±


    George nodded in surprise and said,


    ¡°It¡¯s cheaper than I thought.¡±


    Celia knew that George had no concept of money, but she still couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes.


    ¡°Yes, maybe other people¡¯s monthly food expenses aren¡¯t much, But your monthly food expenses were a whole other story.¡±


    Rumble!


    The sound of something falling came from below them. Celia looked down and asked in surprise,


    ¡°Where did this egg come from?¡±


    Celia picked up the patternless white egg and could feel distinctively, the warmth coming from within it.


    When she turned to look at George, she suddenly remembered something.


    ¡°Oh yea, this is your third five-year.¡±


    George never kept the golden eggs a secret from Celia, so her words didn¡¯t come as a surprise to him.


    ¡°What egg is this?¡±


    ¡°Dragon egg. But I¡¯m not sure what kind of dragon. One thing¡¯s for sure though, it¡¯s very mischievous.¡±


    Upon hearing George¡¯s words, the dragon egg in Celia¡¯s arms shook as if to express its dissatisfaction.


    ¡°Look, it seems to understand,¡± Celia said in amazement.


    Hearing this, George, who had just put on the armor, looked up.


    The dragon egg shook violently again and again. Until finally, it turned into a white light and flew into the sky.


    ¡°It flew away. Is it angry?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    George shook his head. He then reached out to the connection between him and the dragon egg.


    What he felt from the egg wasn¡¯t dissatisfaction, but desire.


    ¡°It¡¯s attracted to something there.¡±


    George¡¯s gaze travelled past the white light in the sky and finally landed on the treasure tree in the middle of the forest. George immediately understood where the dragon egg was headed.


    ¡°Looks like our trip¡¯s coming to an end..¡±

 Chapter 16

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    A white ¡®meteor¡¯ flew towards the emerald tree.


    When the dragon egg was about to fly up the tree, an invisible barrier blocked its path.


    The next moment, the dragon egg disappeared and reappeared before Bremont and Albert.


    The dragon egg struggled to break free, shaking violently in midair.


    Seeing this, Bremont said,


    ¡°Be patient. Just wait a little longer. It hasn¡¯t ripened yet.¡±


    The peculiar vowels reverberated throughout the hall. Albert¡¯s expression remained unchanged outwardly, but internally, he was stunned.


    Dragon Tongue. Wait, so this was a dragon egg?


    There was a dragon egg in this place?


    He couldn¡¯t understand what Bremont was saying.


    But thanks to Barron, who was a Dragon Knight, he could at least tell what language it was.


    The dragon egg seemed to understand what Bremont was saying and quickly quietened down.


    Albert looked at the floating dragon egg for a while. After making sure that there was nothing unusual about it, he turned to look at the viewing portal suspended in the air.


    In the image, George was leading Celia through the forest.


    At first, Albert was relieved to see that George and Celia were safe.


    After all, he was a saint candidate, it would be best if nothing happened to him.


    But Albert soon noticed something strange.


    Why did the two of them look completely unharmed? Were they that powerful?


    Were they so strong that they could remain unscathed even when attacked by a hoard of hostile monsters?


    After watching for a moment, Albert became even more confused.


    However, what puzzled Albert the most was that George and the others did not encounter any monsters along the way.


    At first, Albert thought it was just sheer luck, but he soon realized that things weren¡¯t as simple as they seemed


    George was heading in the same direction he went.


    In other words, George should have encountered the retreating monster hoard head-on.


    Even if this candidate had excellent perception and was able to avoid incoming monsters in advance, when faced with a large number of monsters, he would inevitably still run into some.


    However, no matter how long he watched, no monsters appeared before George.


    What was going on?


    Seeing Albert stare at George, Bremont wrongly assumed that he was worried about George and piped up,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the monsters in the forest can¡¯t get away from him fast enough. No monsters will attack him.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Albert looked at Bremont, puzzled.


    ¡°It seems that you don¡¯t really understand your Saint.¡±


    Albert failed to notice that when Bremont addressed George, he did not refer to him as a saint candidate. Instead, he addressed him directly as a Saint.


    Albert responded to Bremont¡¯s question composedly,


    ¡°You are correct. Before my arrival here, the higher-ups have not made contact with this saint candidate.¡±


    There was something very wrong about what Albert had said, but Bremont wasn¡¯t bothered.


    Because Oath Knights couldn¡¯t lie.


    Therefore, when it came to secrets or sensitive information, Oath Knights would usually deal with it by concealing the truth.


    Bremont¡¯s aged voice echoed in the hall.


    ¡°In the eyes of the monsters of the forest, he is a walking calamity. The managers of the forest call him ¡®The Demon of Gluttony¡¯,¡± he said to Albert.


    ¡°Demon of Gluttony!?¡± Albert was very surprised. He couldn¡¯t figure out why this special saint candidate would be given such a title.


    What had he done?


    However, Bremont¡¯s next statement surprised Albert even further.


    ¡°I completely agree with this title.


    ¡°Come to think of it, this is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen anyone eat that much.


    ¡°I see shadows of the Demonic Beast Holbrador in him. Holbrador is a beast said to be capable of devouring everything.¡±


    There was a rare inflection in Bremont¡¯s tone, it was clear that he was genuinely surprised.


    Towards the end of his speech, there was a tinge of nostalgia in Bremont¡¯s voice, as though he knew this Demonic Beast personally.


    Bremont tapped his finger on the armrest and the image in the portal changed.


    The screen split into two. Both screens depicted the same place, but at different time periods.


    The image on the left showed a tree bursting with fruits. But the one on the right was completely bare, even the leaves had thinned considerably.


    ¡°This is the original appearance of this area, and this is what that area looks like now.¡±


    Bremont zoomed in on the two images sequentially and explained the situation as Albert looked on.


    After hearing about George¡¯s ¡®achievements¡¯, Albert didn¡¯t know what to say.


    It was hard to tell from the image, but Albert knew how enormous those seemingly normal trees were.


    And so it goes without saying that the proportionate-looking fruits would also be equally enormous.


    But all of these fruits had ended up in the stomach of the saint candidate. Albert was speechless.


    Albert looked at Bremont in disbelief, even his voice had become distorted


    ¡°This was all done by the saint candidate?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. From a human¡¯s perspective, this isn¡¯t just shocking, it¡¯s unthinkable isn¡¯t it?.¡±


    Upon receiving an affirmative response from Bremont, Albert couldn¡¯t help but begin to doubt. ¡°This was done by a human? Could he be¡­¡±


    ¡°Oath Knight, you should know why Saints are called Saints.¡±


    Hearing the doubt in Albert¡¯s voice, Bremont¡¯s voice became noticeably more stern, almost reproachful.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s most definitely a human. I can guarantee you that.¡±


    It was then that Albert finally noticed the way Bremont addressed George.


    Saint? Why did this lord keep addressing this saint candidate as ¡®the saint¡¯?


    Could it be that in his eyes, this candidate was qualified to become the Saint?


    Or was it that the idea of saint candidates was nonexistent to him?


    Albert was more inclined to believe in the first theory. He also had faith in the judgment of this powerful being who seemed to have lived for a long time.


    Realizing this, Albert¡¯s expression changed.


    It would seem that he had to adjust his attitude towards this candidate.


    While Albert was lost in thought, Bremont spoke again,


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing his outrageous performance is likely due to his constitution..¡±


    Just as Albert was about to say something, the hall suddenly began to tremor.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Albert looked left and right, and suddenly discovered that there were no doors in this hall.


    The tremors had caused many branches and leaves to fall. Due to this, Albert saw even more details of this hall


    Amidst these gaps between the vines, Albert was surprised to find that the walls of this hall were made up of some kind of metal.


    A frightening thought suddenly occurred to Albert.


    It was as if the entire hall was this man¡¯s coffin..

 Chapter 17

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    As they got closer to their destination, the gigantic divine tree grew larger and larger in George¡¯s vision. George was laser focused, his senses on full alert for any monsters that might appear around him.


    However, even when the destination appeared in sight, the monsters he was expecting did not appear.


    ¡°It¡¯s so peaceful. There are no signs of monsters at all.¡±


    George deliberately slowed down his pace and scanned a few places he had sensed danger from.


    Keeping his years peeled, he could hear faint and suppressed breathing sounds from those places


    George was certain that there was something there, and there was a high chance that that ¡®something¡¯ was monsters.


    However, for some reason, these monsters did not attack them.


    There were even monsters who were hiding in other places that had fled in the opposite direction as soon as they sensed George¡¯s gaze.


    This phenomenon puzzled George. He had no idea what caused this.


    George told Celia his discovery,


    ¡°Strange, the monsters seem to be avoiding us.¡±


    ¡°Avoiding us?¡± Celia looked around in confusion. After observing for a while, she noticed hints of this.


    Like how some bushes would rustle gently even though there was clearly no wind.


    Although Celia did not have George¡¯s impressive perception abilities, even she could tell that there were monsters hiding in those bushes.


    The same question surfaced in her mind. This was the first time she experienced being avoided by monsters.


    It¡¯s biological instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. However, most demonic creatures were extremely aggressive. Even if they were very weak, the most they would do is not attack.


    She had never heard of any monster taking the initiative to hide.


    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know why, but it¡¯s true. It¡¯s strange. We should still be careful.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, maybe it¡¯s because the place we¡¯re going to is very dangerous?¡±


    George nodded in agreement.


    According to veteran adventurers, monsters living around dangerous areas would behave abnormally.


    These monsters had completely different mannerisms from their counterparts in other places.


    While George and Celia were talking, the monsters were also discussing.


    ¡°The demon seems to be going to find the great one.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! With that great one taking action, the problem will be solved.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that this year is going to be difficult. That demon ate all the food in the area I¡¯m responsible for.¡±


    ¡°Me too. It feels like the forest is going to fall into chaos again if this goes on.¡±


    ¡°What a headache. Why is there such an insidious demon in this world?¡±


    Although their suffering had finally come to an end, George and Celia had left behind a forest with only half of its usual food supply.


    In the face of this cruel reality, the monsters couldn¡¯t find it in them to be happy about George¡¯s departure. Instead, they were filled with uncontrollable sorrow.


    Buzz!


    While both parties were caught up in their own thoughts, something unexpected happened. An emerald green halo started rippling out from the divine tree.


    The earth began to tremble and an indescribable pressure blanketed the entire forest.


    George felt the pressure press down on him, weighing his body down. He immediately looked at Celia.


    ¡°Everything okay?¡±


    There was undisguised concern in his voice. Even he, who had undergone three evolutions, felt this pressure. How badly would Celia be affected?


    Feeling George¡¯s concern, Celia was happy but still glared at him out of the corner of her eye.


    ¡°How weak do you think I am? It¡¯s just some pressure. There¡¯s no way I won¡¯t be able to handle it.¡±


    Although she said that, her abnormally red face was not convincing at all.


    It was obvious that Celia was just putting on a strong front.


    The pressure continued to build, getting stronger and stronger. So much so that the surrounding trees had begun to collapse.


    That was how terrifying the pressure was.


    A commotion could be heard from either side of the tree.


    With this turn of events, the monsters hiding from George couldn¡¯t bear to stay hidden any longer.


    All of them emerged from their hiding spots and ran in the opposite direction of the emerald tree.


    Roar!


    A deafening roar filled the air.


    George and Celia looked in the direction of the roar. They were not far from the emerald tree, so they could clearly see the white mist that surrounded the tree.


    George wasn¡¯t able to observe the mist too carefully when he was looking at it from afar. Which is why he hadn¡¯t noticed that the white mist wasn¡¯t fog. It was the soul of a Titan Dragon.


    Due to the emerald tree¡¯s influence, these Titan Dragon Souls that had laid silently here for god knows how long had awoken.


    Ferocious roars erupted from their jaws one after another, echoing throughout the entire cave.


    Mixed into these roars were ancient, solemn-sounding syllables. If one listened carefully, they would also be able to hear an elegant melody resonating from the ceiling of the cave.


    As the melody became more and more intense, the tree began to emit a dense, fruity aroma.


    Just the smell alone left George and Celia feeling refreshed.


    However, they soon realized that something¡¯s not right. The scenery before their eyes suddenly changed, and they saw countless people fighting and shouting on a battlefield.


    All kinds of magic and skills clashed and mingled, creating a majestic light show in the air.


    George and Celia subconsciously held their breaths as they watched the epic battle, utterly captivated.


    However, when they tried to focus on the details of the battle, they realized that they couldn¡¯t see anything.


    It was bizarre. Everything was happening right before their eyes, yet they couldn¡¯t see anything clearly.


    But the more things were obscured, the more they tried to focus, pouring all their attention into trying to understand and commit every moment before their eyes to memory.


    The two of them stood rooted to the spot, as did their counterparts in view portals that were in the grand hall.


    The image in the portal showed the two of them, eyes lifeless and still as a statue.


    Seeing the state George and Celia were in, Albert couldn¡¯t help but ask,


    ¡°What¡¯s going on with them?¡±


    ¡°In the past, this place was once a battlefield. That battle was extremely intense, and it continued for a thousand years. It went on for so long that even the land itself remembered the scene.¡±


    Bremont¡¯s voice echoed in the hall, overshadowing the trembling of the surrounding halls.


    He then briefly explained to Albert,


    ¡°The rich fragrance of the fruits born on this land had the power to immerse people inside that memory.


    ¡°The memories of the land? Battlefields of the past?¡± Albert had many questions, but he didn¡¯t doubt Bremont¡¯s words.


    Bremont was a powerful elder who had clearly lived countless years; there was no need for such a person to lie to him.


    Who knew Boneyard Range had a past like this?


    But Albert didn¡¯t care for ancient secrets, so he listened without much thought.


    Compared to these long lost secrets, Albert was much more curious about George and Celia¡¯s situation..


    ¡°If the saint candidate and his friend remain in this state, what will happen?¡±


    ¡°They will die..¡±

 Chapter 18

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    His calm voice was frigid like the north wind, eliciting within Albert an indescribable terror.


    It was the feeling of death.


    It was a simple sentence, but Albert felt as if he had just experienced death.


    When he came back to his senses, he was already sitting on the ground, panting heavily.


    Albert stared at Bremont in abject fear, his body instinctively backing away.


    It was then when Albert felt a sharp pain in his body. His throat bobbed uncontrollably as he coughed violently.


    Pshhfft!


    Oath Knights must never break their oath.


    But just then, Albert had broken his oath. He became afraid and flinched. And as a result, he collapsed in agony


    Cough cough!


    Albert¡¯s body was already exhausted and riddled with wounds. Now that he was suffering from the backlash of the oath, he was unable to resist and fell to the ground.


    Bremont was disappointed by Albert¡¯s state.


    He did not have the slightest awareness that he was the instigator of Albert¡¯s predicament. Nor could he care less about Albert being on the verge of death.


    He tapped his armrest lightly and Albert disappeared from the hall.


    ¡°Such a pity. His will isn¡¯t strong enough. Looks like he still needs more training.¡±


    His words seemed regretful, but his tone was abnormally calm. It was completely devoid of inflection, and there was not the slightest hint of regret.


    After sending Albert off, Bremont turned his attention to George and Celia.


    On the Memory of the Battlefield¡­


    As he dove in deeper, George realized that he had unknowingly changed from being a spectator to a member of the battlefield.


    Light blossomed. It was a treacherous battlefield, so George used the full power of Noxkaius without holding back.


    George had no idea which side he belonged to, but when enemies appeared, there was a feeling that told him if they were enemies or allies.


    Light was usually a gentle and illuminating force


    But George¡¯s light was violent.


    With the power to annihilate everything, George¡¯s light erased his enemies from this world.


    The area surrounding George was instantly cleared out.


    Just as George was about to heave a sigh of relief, a black shadow flashed past and charged at him.


    A gust of sharp wind alerted George.


    Gripping Noxkaius tightly in both hands, George turned to meet the blow.


    Clang!


    He blocked the man¡¯s attack.


    As the two weapons clashed, George finally saw this opponent¡¯s face and the weapon he was using.


    His opponent was, like him, an adept pole-arm user.


    His opponent¡¯s weapon was a huge spear that had dense barbs that covered both ends. It glittered with magical inscriptions and looked oddly dangerous.


    The moment they clashed, an intense smell of blood washed over George¡¯s senses. The smell was emanating from the opponent¡¯s side.


    George could almost see the countless victims who had died under the enemy¡¯s weapon by this smell alone.


    The cries and wails of these victims echoed in his ears, tormenting George¡¯s eardrums.


    At the same time, George¡¯s opponent also saw George¡¯s appearance clearly. And his sinister smile faltered.


    George¡¯s immature appearance clearly caught his opponent by surprise.


    But he quickly recovered.


    This was a battlefield. Elderly or children, men or women, none of that mattered here.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such a young child to be sent to battle. How pitiful. Let me free you.¡±


    ¡°You talk too much!¡±


    George¡¯s muscles tensed as he used all his strength to parry the opponent¡¯s vertical strike.


    Power was something that George was extremely proud of.


    After a total of three evolutions, George was extremely confident in his physical strength.


    However¡­


    ¡°Was this guy really human?


    ¡°Why was he so powerful?¡±


    George¡¯s expression gradually turned feral. Under the opponent¡¯s increasingly excited gaze, George¡¯s eyes gradually emitted a bloody glow.


    ¡°Ha!¡± With a shout, George planted both feet firmly into the ground and forcefully pushed his opponent away.


    There was a burst of light and George kicked off with both feet, putting some distance between him and his opponent.


    ¡°Hahaha, interesting!¡±


    After being pushed away, the man did not become frustrated. Instead, he laughed happily and continued to charge towards George.


    The long spear in the man¡¯s hand was covered in barbs and a bloody aura.


    George did not want to receive such an attack from such an ominous weapon.


    Casting his dice, George made a throwing gesture and Noxkaius flew out of his hand like a shooting star.


    Unleashing its full power, Noxkaius transformed into a concentrated beam of light and charged at the opponent.


    ¡°To have such power. This must be the power of your spear.¡±


    The man immediately saw through the secret of George¡¯s attack. There was no fear on his face, and the bloody aura surrounding the spear in his hand grew thicker and thicker.


    The man swung his spear and took George¡¯s all-out attack head-on.


    Feeling the power behind George¡¯s attack, the man said greedily,


    ¡°Young divine weapon user, with your crude technique, that spear is wasted on you.¡±


    ¡°That has nothing to do with you.¡±


    George¡¯s voice resounded from across him. Hearing it, the man sensed something was wrong.


    Light particles emanated from the opponent¡¯s body, and by the time the man realized the root of the problem, it was too late.


    As the light engulfed him, George¡¯s opponent realized that his body was slowly dissipating.


    ¡°This light! It¡¯s impossible, impossible, how could such a divine artifact exist? This is no longer a divine artifact, this is¡­¡±


    Accompanied by an indignant cry, the man¡¯s voice disappeared. His body disintegrating into light particles due to Noxkaius rays.


    Looking at the spot where the man had disappeared, light condensed in George¡¯s hand, reforming Noxkaius.


    The man was undoubtedly very powerful. George would freely admit that he was inferior to him.


    The battle only turned out the way it did because of misdirection.


    Making use of the opponent¡¯s ego and confidence, as well as their lack of understanding of his abilities, George was able to use the power of Noxkaius to successfully annihilate and purify this enemy..


    But George didn¡¯t think he could win against that man in a one-on-one battle had they both known each other¡¯s abilities.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to leave.¡±


    The threat of death from that battle sobered George up.


    Looking at the surroundings that had become blurry again, George was no longer as captivated nor persistent as before.


    The scene in front of him continued to expand outwards as George¡¯s consciousness gradually returned.


    When the scene before his eyes became clear again, what he saw before him was the emerald tree, but completely transformed.


    A gentle halo flickered from the top of the tree, and each dragon soul had transformed into a drop of precious jade that circled the tree.


    What caught George¡¯s attention the most was the palace located at the base of the tree. It looked as if it had merged with the tree¡¯s stump.


    The palace was surrounded by thick tree trunks, but George could still feel the majesty and grandeur of the palace..

 Chapter 19

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    George heard Celia ask from beside him. He pointed at the palace and said,


    ¡°There¡¯s a palace under the tree over there.¡±


    Looking in the direction that George was pointing at, Celia¡¯s eyes glowed pink, magnifying everything in her field of vision.


    She quickly found the palace that George was talking about.


    ¡°How strange. Did I see wrongly? There doesn¡¯t seem to be a door.¡±


    George activated his hypervision. His eyesight became camera-like, zooming into and focusing the target in the distance


    Soon, every detail of the palace was exposed to him.


    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s true.¡±


    Based on the architecture and design, George was certain that the side he saw was the front of the palace.


    However, there were no windows or doors on the facade of the palace.


    From a distance, it looked like a palace, but upon closer inspection, it looked more like a sealed box.


    No, perhaps it was more appropriate to call it a coffin.


    This type of architecture reminded George of the countless tombs he had learned about.


    In order to help the deceased rest in peace, all entrances to the tomb would be sealed once the owner was buried.


    The current situation felt very similar.


    Furthermore, in this world, the funeral rituals of many races involved burying the deceased under trees, allowing the trees to absorb nutrients from the corpses.


    As if realizing something, George suddenly turned to look at Celia. Meeting Celia¡¯s curious gaze, he asked out of concern,


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Celia tilted her head as if wondering why George said that.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I came back to my senses before you did. What could have happened to me?¡±


    George was surprised.


    ¡°How impressive! How did you do it?¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Celia smiled but did not tell George the reason.


    Looking at Celia¡¯s Reticence, George came to an understanding.


    ¡°From the looks of it, now¡¯s not the right time to talk about it huh.¡±


    George trusted Celia and believed that she must have a reason for not telling him.


    Thus, he did not push her into explaining anything to him.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll leave it be for now. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Celia smiled sweetly in response and took the initiative to wrap her arms around George, so he could carry her towards the palace.


    At the same time, in the grand hall inside the palace, Bremont observed George and Celia through the view portal as they returned to normal.


    His voice echoed in the hall.


    ¡°Who knew that even I would misjudge people sometimes.¡±


    His attention was not on George when he said this. Instead, he was focused on Celia, who was standing beside George.


    George breaking out of the memory was still within Bremont¡¯s expectations.


    But for Celia to not lose herself in the memories of the battlefield, and to break free even faster than George did. That surprised Bremont somewhat.


    Scarlet light flickered in the sunken eye sockets. And within the light was the vague reflection of Celia¡¯s figure.


    He had initially assumed that she was just an ordinary human girl, but who knew she had such a well-hidden secret to her?


    A long-forgotten desire for knowledge arose within Bremont.


    He became curious as to what was so special about Celia that allowed her to get away safely.


    While he pondered away, George and Celia had arrived at the palace entrance.


    Almost at the same time, the dragon egg that had stayed silent suddenly became restless.


    It was as if it had sensed George¡¯s approach.


    Noticing the dragon egg¡¯s movements, Bremont gently raised a finger.


    ¡°Go!¡±


    The next moment, the dragon egg disappeared from the hall.


    On the other side, George was studying the coffin-like palace when he suddenly felt a familiar presence enter his range of perception.


    It was very sudden, as if it had suddenly appeared.


    The dragon egg flew around George once before transforming into a streak of white light and charged toward the treetop.


    The entire process was so fast that George didn¡¯t even have time to greet it.


    ¡°That little rascal.¡±


    George looked helplessly at the dragon egg in the sky, but he couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°Is it okay to let it go?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, let it be.¡±


    George wasn¡¯t very pleased with the dragon egg¡¯s reckless behavior.


    But just now, when the dragon egg appeared, George could clearly feel how happy the dragon egg was to see him.


    Just like that, all the displeasure George felt disappeared in an instant. .


    Thereafter, he felt its excitement through their connection and understood what the soon-to-be hatchling was thinking.


    The reason why it had acted on its own was so that it could hatch faster and finally meet George.


    Given this reasoning, George couldn¡¯t stay mad at the dragon egg even if he wanted to.


    George said to Celia with an slight air of fondness and relief,


    ¡°Let us go up too. Maybe the Fruit of Gifts is up there.¡±


    ¡°Fruit of Gifts, I haven¡¯t heard that name in a long time,¡±


    A sweet voice suddenly said. But George moved to carry Celia and continue their ascent as if he hadn¡¯t heard the voice..


    Celia too retained a neutral expression. However, George seemed to sense something and looked at her questioningly.


    The latter immediately relaxed and smiled at George.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your little boyfriend can¡¯t hear me.¡±


    The owner of the voice seemed to have noticed Celia¡¯s reaction and reassured her in a teasing tone.


    Despite finding the situation amusing, the owner of the voice continued to explained,


    ¡°The communication between us happens through our consciousness. So only the two of us can hear it.


    ¡°So no matter how strong your boyfriend¡¯s perception abilities are, there¡¯s no way he can sense me, who resides inside your mind. ¡±


    Celia looked at George and heaved a sigh of relief after confirming that he did not know about the voice.


    Placing her head on George¡¯s shoulder, Celia couldn¡¯t help but recall the scene from the battlefield.


    Like George, Celia had no idea why she ended up participating in battle.


    However, unlike George, Celia¡¯s battles were close-calls after close-calls.


    Had she lost focus even for a second, she might not have made it back.


    As most of the magic she had mastered were low-level spells, she was severely lacking in destructive power.


    Despite such circumstances, she was still able to defeat enemies one after another by relying on her mastery of magic, and her understanding of the battlefield and her opponent¡¯s psychological state .


    Such outstanding performance attracted the attention of a wandering spirit on the battlefield.


    And that spirit was Dionmya, the self-proclaimed ¡®greatest and most beautiful Goddess of Magic in all of history¡¯.


    Celia was very grateful to Dionmya for saving her. It was thanks to Dionmya that she could continue to stay by George¡¯s side.


    However, after establishing a contract with her, Celia also came to understand that the spirit¡¯s existence was a huge nuisance.


    While Celia was thinking about her future plans, Dionmya spoke again.


    ¡°So your goal is the Fruit of Gifts. If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s no hope for you guys..¡±

 Chapter 20 - Fruit of Gifts

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Dionmya¡¯s words caught Celia¡¯s attention.


    She responded to Dionmya for the first time,


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    The moment she responded, everything in front of Celia seemed to screech to a halt.


    Everything around her was still moving, but in Celia¡¯s eyes, everything from George¡¯s movements to the falling leaves, had become abnormally slow.


    Immediately after, the scenery before her changed.


    When she came back to her senses, she was already in a garden.


    ¡°Come this way.¡±


    Celia looked over and saw a beautiful woman with silver hair and blue eyes waving at her.


    The woman was dressed in classic mage robes. The style of her robes was so retro that Celia wondered if she had been sent back in time by magic.


    ¡°Dionmya, this place is¡ª¡±


    Celia addressed the woman by name while looking around with a puzzled expression.


    Dionmya welcomed her with great enthusiasm. She waved her arm, and Celia felt herself flying uncontrollably the woman


    The chair moved out automatically, and Celia was thusly plopped down from across Dionmya.


    ¡°This is your mindscape.¡±


    Dionmya poured Celia a cup of black tea as she explained.


    ¡°My mindscape?¡± Celia took the black tea from Dionmya¡¯s, expression confused.


    ¡°Yes, I made some modifications.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    Looking at her own reflection in the tea, Celia immediately understood.


    She had been pulled into her own mind by the woman across her.


    With this in mind, she hurriedly looked up and asked Dionmya,


    ¡°What about my body outside?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the flow of time here is different from the outside world.¡±


    Dionmya¡¯s expression remained the same, and she made no visible actions. But a water mirror appeared in midair.


    When Celia looked at the water mirror, ripples appeared on the surface, and she saw her reflection change.


    The scene reflected in the mirror was no longer herself but George.


    The George in the mirror was as still as a statue.


    However, Celia quickly realized that this wasn¡¯t the case. It wasn¡¯t that George was motionless, he was just moving very slowly.


    Beside her, Dionmya patiently explained,


    ¡°Even If you stayed here for a whole day, not even a minute would have passed outside.¡±


    Dionmya vanished the water mirror and elegantly took a sip of black tea before saying to Celia in a playful tone,


    ¡°If you¡¯re willing, you can stay here for an entire year, provided that you can last that long.¡±


    ¡°I understand the situation now. So why did you pull me here?¡±


    ¡°To explain things to you of course, didn¡¯t you want to know more about the Fruit of Gifts?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Celia immediately sat up straight and listened attentively to Dionmya¡¯s lecture.


    ¡°Do you know what the essence of the Fruit of Gifts is?¡±


    Dionmya was obviously not one to keep people in suspense.


    Celia had just begun thinking when Dionmya revealed the answer.


    ¡°The essence of the Fruit of Gifts is another person¡¯s life. The Fruit of Gifts is a person¡¯s life, condensed into fruit form. Anyone who eats the fruit will then receive the other person¡¯s knowledge and abilities that they¡¯re compatible with.¡±


    Dionmya was very pleased with the surprised look on Celia¡¯s face.


    She continued, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s nothing to be surprised about. If you think of it receiving an inheritance that¡¯s being passed down, it¡¯s quite easy to understand.


    ¡°This is why, a long time ago, the Fruit of Gift had another name: ¡°The Inheritance of the Strong.¡±


    ¡°The Inheritance of the Strong?¡±


    ¡°In theory, even the death of a talentless chef is able to produce a Fruit of Gifts.¡±


    Dionmya took a sip of her black tea and continued to patiently explain to Celia,


    ¡°But reality is, all the known Fruit if Gifts come from powerful individuals who are at least of Legendary status.


    ¡°That¡¯s why this name came about.¡±


    After the short lecture, Celia now had a much clearer understanding of the Fruit of Gifts.


    After digesting this information, she looked at Dionmya in puzzlement.


    ¡°But what does this have to do with our current situation?¡±


    Dionmya didn¡¯t hurry to answer her question. Instead, she responded with an enigmatic smile.


    She passed the pastry on the table to Celia, who shook her head and pushed it back.


    Dionmya didn¡¯t mind this. Instead,she picked up her fork and knife and dug into the rejected pastries.


    ¡°Mmmm, delicious.¡±


    Closing her eyes, Dionmya savored the soft, delicate texture of the cake.


    Then, she looked at Celia and asked,


    ¡°Are you really not going to have some? It¡¯s delicious.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood.¡±


    Deep down, Celia was anxious to find out what was going on and why the woman before her said that there was no hope for them


    But Celia didn¡¯t let that show on her face. Instead, she held her temper and raised her hands under Dionmya¡¯s curious gaze.


    ¡°Since this is my mindscape, I should be able to create anything I need.¡±


    Concentrating hard on the imagery in her head, Celia aimed her hands at the small round table in front of her.


    Seeing this, Dionnya had a vague idea about what Celia was trying to do. Her lips curled into a smile, and she couldn¡¯t hide her admiration and satisfaction towards Celia.


    ¡°Just as I expected. She¡¯s intelligent, flexible and talented.¡±


    After some time, changes finally appeared on the small round table.


    The space on the table became distorted and the table became filled with even more snacks.


    It didn¡¯t stop there. A small cabinet filled with various snacks and desserts appeared beside the small round table.


    ¡°Help yourself,¡± Celia said, her voice sounding weak and tired.


    Clearly, conjuring these was not easy for her.


    Hearing Celia¡¯s words, Dionmya happily reached out her hand.


    ¡°I shan¡¯t stand on ceremony then.¡±


    ¡°So this is the dessert people are eating nowadays. It¡¯s so delicious!


    ¡°This one too! They¡¯re all too delicious.¡±


    After a long while, Dionmya finally finished her meal. Celia also managed to recover a little.


    Celia looked expectantly at Dionmya. The latter wiped her mouth contentedly then said to Celia,


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t figured out the crux of the problem after such a long time?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Celia looked at Dionmya in confusion, uncertain as to why she¡¯d said that.


    Seeing that Celia still hadn¡¯t understood what she meant, Dionmya sighed inwardly.


    ¡°As expected, the moment it¡¯s something related to that young man, this silly little thing would become exceedingly clumsy.¡±


    Picking up a delicate pastry, Dionmya explained,


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Cake.¡±


    ¡°Besides that?¡±


    Besides that¡­


    ¡°Stupid, this is human food.¡±


    Dionmya had given such a big hint. If Celia still couldn¡¯t comprehend what she meant, then she would have to consider changing her apprentice.


    Celia frowned and thought for a moment. Combining this with the information about the fruit of Gifts Dionnya had explained at the beginning, she suddenly had an epiphany.


    ¡°I get it! Despite its name, the Fruit of Gifts isn¡¯t something just anyone can eat. The user must be compatible with the fruit.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

 Chapter 21 - From the Ashes of Annihilation! The Sacred Dragon of the End!

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Once they climbed onto the tree, George realized that the tree was larger than he had initially thought.


    If this cave was a whole new mini-world that resided below Boneyard Range, then this tree would be a mini-world within a mini-world.


    Its branches were so thick that just one George was standing on was able to hold up an entire village on its own.


    And the one under his feet wasn¡¯t even the biggest one.


    ¡°This tree is huge, and so beautiful!¡±


    Celia got off George and stomped on the tree. Then she tried to take a few steps forward.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Now isn¡¯t the time to admire the scenery.¡±


    George was puzzled by Celia¡¯s actions. Rather than the scenery, he was more concerned about the dragon egg.


    George calmed himself down to focus on his connection with the egg. Everything seemed fine. The dragon egg seemed to be doing well.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure everything will go smoothly. Haven¡¯t you noticed? There are dragon souls all around. They won¡¯t trouble a dragon hatchling.¡±


    Celia could tell that George was anxious and worried. This was the first time she¡¯d seen him like this, and Celia decided that this side of him was both unfamiliar and refreshing.


    ¡°Say, in the future, if you have kids, will you be all awkward and fretful like you¡¯re being right now?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± George blushed. He turned away and looked around.


    Around them, streaks of white dragon souls flew toward the treetop.


    They seemed to have noticed George was looking in their direction, and a dragon soul with a pair of shimmering blue eyes returned his gaze.


    When their eyes met, apprehension filled George and he subconsciously tightened his grip on Noxkaius.


    However, the other party had no intention of attacking. This made him heave a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Relax, if we were a threat, these dragon souls would have attacked us already.¡±


    Compared to George¡¯s nervousness, Celia was much calmer.


    ¡°There are some things I can¡¯t tell you yet because it¡¯ll be very troublesome,¡±


    Celia¡¯s voice sounded behind him.


    George turned to see Celia smiling serenely. Her smile was so beautiful.


    Sensing George¡¯s attention, Celia tilted her head playfully and winked her left eye at him.


    ¡°But I can tell you some things.¡±


    George listened quietly.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need the fruits at the top. To be precise, they¡¯re not suitable for us.¡±


    Following which, Celia briefly explained the nature of the Fruit of Gifts, giving George a general understanding of the fruit.


    ¡°The Fruit of Inheritance huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think that¡¯s why the dragon egg is attracted to it.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Are you still planning to go up?¡±


    ¡°Whether it¡¯s to witness the birth of the child or to take the Fruits of Gifts, I want both.¡±


    Celia started, then thought of something, George¡¯s confident smile reflecting in her beautiful eyes.


    ¡°What am I going to do with you? Are you so confident that your body can handle it?¡±


    ¡°This body is the body of infinite evolutions. It¡¯s a constitution that normalizes miracles.


    ¡°So nothing is impossible for me.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s continue then.¡±


    Given George¡¯s speed, they soon reached the top of the tree.


    ¡°It¡¯s gorgeous!¡±


    The crown of the tree was adorned by fruits that were twinkling like stars.


    The fruits had a sparkling and translucent surface and were emitting radiance. There were also vague figures of various dragons under the translucent skin.


    George, who possessed exceptional senses even found a Chiropteragon Fruit of Gifts.


    ¡°There are this many Fruits of Gifts!? If you eat them all and successfully evolve, I can¡¯t even imagine how big your appetite¡¯s going to become.¡±


    After each evolution, George¡¯s appetite would multiply. And Celia couldn¡¯t help but imagine how George would be if he evolves a few more times. As she did, her expression turned peculiar.


    George also thought of this problem and expressed his hesitation,


    ¡°Should I restrain myself? I don¡¯t think I can sustain myself even with my current appetite.¡±


    For some reason, George felt that if he went on like this, one day he would end up consuming the whole world.


    Thinking of this, he couldn¡¯t help but feel disheartened.


    He hoped that in future evolutions, he would end up with complementary traits.


    Ideally, complementary traits that could compensate for his bottomless appetite.


    After all, evolution is the name of the game. What sort of evolution would it be if it did not improve his shortcomings?


    Idealistic thinking is nice and all, but reality was, he had no control over his evolutions.


    This put him in a passive position.


    ¡°Come on now, don¡¯t think too much. No matter what happens in the future, I¡¯ll always be by your side.¡±


    Noticing George¡¯s mood, Celia wanted to slap herself for making such a misstep.


    Hearing her words, George felt slightly better, but he was still worried and possibly even a little¡­ afraid.


    Buzz!


    Just as the atmosphere turned bad, a loud commotion in the sky caught their attention.


    The dragon egg was spinning slowly in the air. With every rotation, a dragon soul would wrap itself around the dragon egg.


    The roar of dragons echoed in the air. All the deceased dragons present were cheering for the birth of this new dragon.


    The fruits that were on the tree automatically detached themselves and flew towards the dragon egg.


    The fruit surrounded the dragon egg like stars surrounding the moon.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°The dragon egg looks like it¡¯s going to eat all the fruits.¡±


    ¡°You silly thing, the Fruits of Gifts were extremely rare even in our era. There¡¯s no way there are as many fruits as you see.¡±


    Dionmya¡¯s lectured in Celia¡¯s head.


    George, who couldn¡¯t hear Dionmya¡¯s voice, looked at the dazzling scene in front of him and took a wild guess,


    ¡°Maybe the true Fruit of Gifts is the fusion of all of these fruits.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Your little boyfriend¡¯s surprisingly bright.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Celia responded proudly as she heard Dionmya praise George, subconsciously puffing up her chest as she did.


    Beside her, all of George¡¯s attention was on the dragon egg, so he didn¡¯t notice Celia¡¯s adorable behavior.


    Only Celia¡¯s teacher, Dionmya, saw. And she couldn¡¯t help but find the performance of her silly little disciple amusing.


    It was right then, when an intense light radiated from Noxkaius that was in George¡¯s hand.


    Sensing the powerful energy fluctuation, Celia looked at him in surprise.


    ¡°What are you doing, George?¡±


    George raised Noxkaius high in the air and stared intently at the dragon egg in the sky.


    ¡°It¡¯s telling me it needs this.¡±


    Hearing George¡¯s words, Celia immediately realized what was going on and turned to look at the dragon egg that was covered by dragon soul and fruits.


    ¡°It¡ª!¡±


    Before Celia could finish, George threw Noxkaius at the egg.


    The spear transformed into a beam of light and charged towards the dragon egg.


    Boom!


    The dragon egg absorbed the beam that had the power to annihilate anything and everything. Then, a powerful suction force erupted from the dragon egg.


    Light, fruit, dragon souls, all transformed into pure energy and flowed into the dragon egg.


    The dragon souls did not resist this phenomenon. Instead, they became even more excited.


    The Melody of Dragons reverberated in the treetop, growing more intense by the minute until¡­


    The dragon was finally born.


    Crack!


    Roar!

 Chapter 22 - The Holy Dragon Siluca

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    When everything focused on a single point, a violent energy wave exploded.


    Powerful shock wave exploded outwards, radiating with pulses of energy fluctuations.


    The shock waves crashed into the rock walls as they swept through the entirety of the mountain¡¯s cavern system.


    Thanks to Dionmya¡¯s warnings, Celia was prepared for this. But her barrier was still too fragile.


    Even though she had stacked multiple barriers together, in the face of these shock waves, her barriers were no different from flimsy pieces of paper.


    ¡°George!¡±


    Just as Celia was about to be blown away, George leapt from the ground and caught her in the nick of time.


    However, George¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t much better.


    The impact of the shock waves still exceeded his capacity to stabilize his footing.


    His feet sunk into the tree trunk, leaving two deep ravines on the tree.


    ¡°Young divine weapon user, with your crude technique, that spear is wasted on you.¡±


    For some reason, the words of the pole-arm user he fought previously flashed through George¡¯s mind.


    Crude?


    At that moment, George seemed to understand something. He reached out his hand and summoned Noxkaius.


    Then, as his stamina was sapped from him, light bloomed once again.


    This time however, things were a little different. Previously, George always used the light to attack, but this time, he was using it to defend.


    Noxkaius¡¯ light had the ability to annihilate everything.


    Thus, if he wanted to use this light for defense, he¡¯d have to mould it well.


    At that thought, George closed his eyes and began to visualize.


    Noxkaius stood between him and the shock waves and an unprecedented curtain of light fell before him.


    When the shock waves struck the curtain of light, they disappeared without causing so much as a ripple.


    The shock waves disappeared as Celia, riding the flow of the aftershock, landed on a tree trunk.


    ¡°Not bad. This child has more potential than I had imagined,¡±


    Dionmya¡¯s voice rang in her head as Celia sat on the tree truck, trying to figure out what was going on.


    Turning around, she looked at the light screen protecting the two of them from the attacking shock waves as Dionmya¡¯s words finally clicked for her.


    ¡°Oh! It can be used this way too!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I was too ignorant in the past. It seems like even without undoing the seal, Noxkaius still has a lot of potential for me to develop,¡±


    George reflected while looking at the spear in his hands.


    Recalling everything that had happened before, he had to admit that how he was using the spear before was indeed too crude and simple.


    Because of the seals on the spear, whenever he wanted to increase his power output, he would place his focus on how to remove these seals. This in turn caused him to neglect developing control over said power.


    But the light released by the spear was similar to magic and had great potential for development.


    If research went well, he might even be able to develop a new kind of magic that was unique to him.


    However, this was all in the future. Even if he were to develop it, George didn¡¯t think he had the necessary knowledge to do it alone.


    Buzz!


    As the last of the shock waves ended, George dispelled the light screen. He, along with Celia, turned to look at the cracked dragon egg in the sky, eyes full of anticipation.


    Roar!


    ¡°What a mischievous little fellow. It already can¡¯t contain itself.¡±


    Even before hatching, the hatchling¡¯s cries could be heard coming nonstop from inside the dragon egg.


    Crack!


    Following the appearance of the crack, a small dragon head emerged. It then started chewing on the shell of its egg.


    After consuming the entire eggshell, the energy that was holding the hatchling up in the air disappeared. Right after, the hatchling could be seen trying to flap its tiny wings with all its might.


    The small dragon continued to flap its wings vigorously, but its body continued to sink.


    The hatchling seemed to have noticed this and flapped even harder. Its claws were clenched tightly and its fair skin was stained with a layer of pink due to the excessive force it was exerting.


    Seeing this, George smiled and walked up, placing his hand under the young hatchling.


    When it landed on George¡¯s hand, the young dragon opened its eyes and tilted its head to look at George. Then, it let out a cheerful sound.


    George caressed the little dragon¡¯s soft and tender skin. As it had yet to grow scales, its skin felt very soft and comfortable to the touch. He was so fond of it that he couldn¡¯t stop his hands from moving.


    The hatchling also enjoyed George¡¯s petting and would let out happy cries from time to time.


    Looking at the adorable young dragon, George couldn¡¯t help but fall in love with it.


    He smiled and said,


    ¡°Welcome to this world. Please take care of me, little one.¡±


    ¡°Roar!¡± As if understanding what George meant, the little dragon mewled even louder.


    Beside him, Celia¡¯s eyes were also darting back and forth on the little dragon.


    All girls were weak against cute things. Despite this, she did not interrupt George¡¯s interaction with the young hatchling.


    Only after the two had a chance to play around for a while and bond did Celia finally interject,


    ¡°Speaking of which, we should give the little one a name. How about we name it Siluca?¡±


    Hearing Celia¡¯s suggestion, George let out a heartfelt praise,


    ¡°Sacred Light? That¡¯s a good name.¡±


    Roar! Roar!


    ¡°Looks like the little one is very satisfied with this name. Alright, you¡¯re Siluca from now on then.¡±


    The little dragon, no, Siluca, expressed its joy.


    After this little naming episode, it also began looking at Celia with a much friendlier gaze


    Roar!


    ¡°Siluca!¡±


    Roar!


    ¡°Siluca!¡±


    Roar!


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    ¡ª


    ¡°¡­¡±


    A cool breeze swept past, stirring up large amounts of yellow sand.


    On the ground, a disheveled figure moved.


    ¡°I mustn¡¯t give up.¡±


    Albert, who had been sent away by Bremont, was now lying on a desolate patch of land.


    There were all rocks of all shapes and sizes around him. He could not see any greenery whatsoever.


    Just a glance and Albert knew the name of the place ¡ª Boneyard Range.


    ¡°I can¡¯t die here. I can¡¯t die yet¡­¡±


    His conviction grew firm and a force welled up within him.


    It was feedback from his oath.


    As long as he stuck to his oath, the oath would give him strength.


    Even if he had broken the oath before.


    Albert tried to not think about George or what had happened before.


    He had to do his best to stay firm.


    ¡°I mustn¡¯t back down, I mustn¡¯t yield¡­¡±


    As his wavering conviction began to settle, Albert¡¯s condition also improved


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    Just as Albert was standing up shakily, an eagle¡¯s cry from above caught his attention.


    ¡°Is it Peg?¡±


    It was a hawk that had an illusory quality to it. It was the same magical beast Gared had used to monitor George and his friend.


    It was Aerial Knight Gared¡¯s Contract Beast, Peg the Mirage Hawk..

 Chapter 23 - Chaotic Monsters

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    By the time Barron and Gared reached him, Albert¡¯s state had improved considerably.


    This was what made Oath Knights so terrifyingly formidable. As long as they were not completely dead, they had a million and one ways to stay alive.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Barron and Gared rushed to Albert¡¯s side.


    Barron immediately took out a healing potion and handed it to Albert.


    Gard¡¯s eyes darted to Albert.


    ¡°What serious injuries¡±


    Albert¡¯s situation shocked Gared. From the numerous wounds, he could tell the sort of grueling battles Albert had endured.


    However, Gared soon discovered that even though these injuries looked daunting, they didn¡¯t really affect Albert.


    The injury that had debilitated Albert wasn¡¯t external, but internal.


    ¡°This injury¡­ you broke your oath?¡±


    With narrowed eyes, Gared immediately noticed the true culprit that put Albert in such a miserable state.


    Barron looked at Albert in surprise.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Barron could not imagine what sort of situation could cause an Oath knight to break their oath.


    Especially one as seasoned as Albert.


    Gared then added,


    ¡°And from the looks of it, it¡¯s a Permanent Oath you broke.¡±


    An Oath Knight¡¯s oath was divided into Permanent Oaths and General Oaths.


    Normally, after fulfilling an oath, the power bestowed upon the Oath Knight would also disappear. But correspondingly, after the oath is fulfilled, there was no need to worry about being bound by the oath.


    On the other hand, there was another type of oath that, under normal circumstances, can never be undone. And that is the Permanent Oath.


    The power bestowed upon an Oath Knight from a Permanent Oath would never disappear, but its bind on the Knight was also equally permanent.


    Generally speaking, Oath Knights rarely made Permanent Oaths. Although doing so would increase their strength, to spend their entire life bound by an oath was not something everyone could accept.


    Albert was mentally prepared for this when he made the oath.


    Just as he had pledged, he would neither retreat nor yield.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Albert waved his hand with a complicated expression as he looked at the ground beneath his feet.


    If nothing unexpected happened, it should be very lively down in the cavern right now.


    Albert emptied the stray thoughts in his head and forced himself to focus.


    He sat down on a rock while supporting himself with both hands. He then looked at Barron and Gared and said,


    ¡°But the situation inside is indeed a little complicated.


    ¡°Master Harley¡¯s intel was correct. The Fruit of Gifts was indeed in there, but it would seem that it has nothing to do with us anymore.¡±


    Even if Albert didn¡¯t say anything, Gared and Barron could tell.


    ¡°Yea, I can tell. The situation inside must be quite dangerous.¡±


    It was then that Barron thought of George. He looked at Albert and asked,


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, what about the saint candidate? If you¡¯re already like this, doesn¡¯t that mean that he¡­¡±


    At Barron¡¯s reminder, Gared too recalled that there was a saint candidate in that cavern.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous for him if he¡¯s still in there. Should we go in and rescue him?¡±


    Previously, they were enemies because they were after the same prize and were in a competitive relationship.


    Now that there was no hope of them obtaining the Fruit of Gifts, they didn¡¯t mind rescuing George.


    Because it was their duty as Holy Knights.


    At that, Gared paused and looked at Albert.


    ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯m very curious as to why you¡¯re here. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any entrances nearby.¡±


    Albert, not wanting to tell them too much about what had gone on down below, ignored Gared¡¯s question.


    The more he recalled what had happened thus far, the more he felt that Boneyard Range was tied to far more complicated things.


    As such, it might not be a good thing to tell his two teammates too much.


    As for the rescue operation Gared brought up, Albert thought for a moment and then shook his head.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that for now.


    ¡°They don¡¯t need our concern.¡±


    Albert was speaking from the bottom of his heart. Albert had no idea how strong this saint candidate had to become in order to become something that even monsters innately feared.


    In any case, the candidate was definitely stronger than him. At the thought of this, Albert felt rather depressed.


    The other party was only fourteen, at most fifteen years old!


    Albert didn¡¯t know what to say.


    After some thought, he said,


    ¡°We can¡¯t say that we didn¡¯t gain anything from this operation. At the very least, we¡¯ve proven that this saint candidate is the real deal.¡±


    Although Albert hid it well, Gared and Barron have been with him for far too long.


    They immediately realized that something was wrong with Albert.


    Gared valued his camaraderie and thus did not like to have anything hidden from him. He frowned and finally asked,


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    He had no intention of infringing on people¡¯s privacy, but he was worried that whatever Albert was hiding would affect those around him.


    If that happens, then it wouldn¡¯t just be one person who was in danger, but everyone present.


    However, before Barron cut in before Albert could reply,


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it when we get back. The way Captain is now, it¡¯s better to get him treated first.¡±


    He knew where Gared was coming from, but there were some things that couldn¡¯t be resolved just by asking.


    If a person didn¡¯t want to say something, they wouldn¡¯t say it even if you forced them. Much less if that person was Albert, someone who was both more powerful and of a higher station.


    Compared to Gared, who tended to be more emotional, Barron was the rational sort.


    Of course, the other reason was that he was very worried about Albert¡¯s current state.


    He looked like a sword that had lost its edge.


    He could tell that Albert must have suffered quite a blow.


    Then there was Albert¡¯s physical condition.


    Indeed, his situation had stabilized and his life was no longer in danger.


    But that was also all there was to it. In order for Albert to truly recover, he still needed to return to the temple to receive proper treatment.


    Hearing this, Gared shut his mouth and ceased his questioning.


    Self-consciously, he walked over to Albert and placed one of his hands on the man¡¯s shoulder.


    Truth be told, he wasn¡¯t any less worried than Barron was.


    Just as they were about to depart, the Mirage Hawk in the sky began to cry out. Gared was stunned for a brief moment, but he quickly recovered and activated vision sharing with his contract beast


    When he received the scene that the Mirage Hawk saw, he hurriedly said,


    ¡°We have to leave this place quickly!¡±


    ¡°What did you see?¡±


    ¡°Monsters. Many red-eyed monsters are rushing over from the other side of the mountain.¡±


    ¡°What!¡±

 Chapter 24 - Apostle of the Demon God

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Red-eyed monsters. At those words, Albert couldn¡¯t help but recall the chaotic battle he had once been through.


    He had encountered red-eyed monsters once before during an escort mission by the border.


    No matter what kind of monster it was, all of them had red eyes.


    At that time, an investigation was carried out to find the cause of the monsters¡¯ mutation. Albert remembered that¡­


    ¡°This is bad. There are Apostles of the Demon God nearby. We have to inform the Divine Temple about this.¡±


    Peace and tranquility never lasted long in this world. Chaos, terror, and disorder were the unchanging theme of this world.


    In the beginning, there was no magic in this world, much less other power structures.


    Absolute oaths were the only theme and essence of this world.


    However, at some point in time, many spatial fractures appeared. It was an invasion from another world, and it changed this world beyond recognition.


    Thus began the battle between civilizations from different worlds.


    Amongst them were the Apostles of Demon Gods who came from a world of chaos and destruction.


    Their appearance brought disaster to this world.


    ¡°Hurry up and run. If necessary, Gared, Barron, leave me behind and go on ahead by yourselves.¡±


    Albert gripped the shoulders of the other two, hard, with both hands and said solemnly,


    ¡°We have to bring this information back at all costs.¡±


    Gared and Barron were stunned by Albert¡¯s actions.


    Looking at their Captain, they realized that things might not be as simple as they thought.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°What does Apostles of the Demon Gods mean?¡±


    Gared and Barron were both young knights, so they did not know about the war that had happened on this land.


    They did not know about the Demon God.


    Albert thought for a moment and decided to brief the two of them.


    ¡°The Apostles of the Demon Gods are enemies of humanity. In the past, under the leadership of the Demon Gods, these apostles invaded mankind and attempted to occupy this land.¡±


    Albert shrugged and said,


    ¡°As you can see, humans won. And the most obvious change left behind by that war, do you know what it is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s magic,¡± Albert said before either of them could answer.


    Gared and Barron were astounded.


    These days, magic was a primary branch of cultivation. As long as one was willing to work hard at it, they would definitely be able to gain some kind of achievements in the field.


    It wasn¡¯t just empty talk. Historically, many great sorcerers were mediocre, even clumsy and awkward in their youth.


    However, after continuous hard work and practice, they eventually became great sorcerers who were well-respected.


    There were even a few who were still alive till this day.


    That said, they did not expect that there to be such a big secret behind the field of magic.


    As they carried Albert quickly towards town, they pricked up their ears to listen to Albert talk about the past.


    ¡°Be it the Demon Gods or their Apostles, as the progenitor of magic, high-level spells and spellcasting were instinctive to them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s terrifying.¡±


    All of the mages who could do what Albert just described were well-known legends.


    ¡°Hence, every Apostle is equivalent in power to a Great Sorcerer. This was only the tip of the iceberg however, because their most terrifying power comes from their bloodline¡­¡±


    At that, Albert seemed to have thought of something. But he quickly shook his head and pushed away the distracting thoughts to prevent his will from wavering.


    Even so, he still felt a mouthful of blood well up from within.


    It was the backlash from his oath.


    ¡°I hope we won¡¯t encounter any Apostles this time.¡±


    The only response he got from the other two was silence. It wasn¡¯t hard for them to tell, based on the flush on Albert¡¯s face, his current condition.


    An enemy that could make Albert cower in fear must be an enemy that was strong beyond their imagination.


    It was then that Albert began regretting coming to this place. He looked at the two men beside him.


    They were both young men with great potential, the future pillars of the Divine Temple.


    The Temple had entrusted the two of them in his care because they trusted him. But he had failed the Temple. For his own selfish desires, he had put these two in danger.


    ¡°If it comes down to it, I will do everything I can to send these two back to the Divine Temple in one piece.¡±


    While Albert and the others fled, George and Celia were playing with the newest member of their party, Siluca.


    ¡°Mommy, is the food not ready yet?¡±


    George sat cross-legged, playing with Siluca¡¯s wings as the newly-hatched dragon sat in his lap.


    Hearing George¡¯s words, Siluca raised her head and chirped in agreement.


    ¡°Roar!¡°


    ¡°Coming. Food¡¯s coming!!¡±


    Celia glanced helplessly at George, who was playing around with Siluca.


    She stirred the pot with the ladle in her hand, and soon the aroma of the food wafted out. At that, Siluca¡¯s chirping became even more cheerful.


    In the cozy atmosphere, everyone wore a blissful smile on their face.


    With the help of the magic pot, the soup was soon ready.


    Celia handed the bowl to George, who lifted it to Siluca¡¯s mouth first.


    ¡°Here, try it. Do you like it?¡±


    Magic pots can extract and prepare the essence of ingredients.


    Therefore, the food it made could be considered a form of pure energy devoid of any impurities.


    Siluca stuck out its tongue and took a tentative lick.


    Upon its first taste, Siluca put on a complicated expression.


    It looked at the soup in front of it as if it simultaneously wanted to avoid it but also continue drinking it.


    ¡°Do you like it or hate it?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because the soup¡¯s too hot?¡±


    George¡¯s first instinct was to reject Celia¡¯s conjecture.


    It seemed ridiculous to think that a dragon would be afraid of heat.


    ¡°No way, it¡¯s a dragon!¡±


    Despite his doubts, George still channeled magic into the bowl to adjust the temperature of the soup.


    Soon, the steam emitting from the soup disappeared and was replaced by cold air.


    Feeling the change in the soup, Siluca leaned over in delight and kept lapping up the soup.


    ¡°Huh, you were right.¡± George was surprised.


    Celia commented deep in thought,


    ¡°Even though it¡¯s a dragon, it¡¯s also weaker than we¡¯d assume since it¡¯s a newborn.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    With that, the three of them continued their meal together and enjoyed a moment of peace.


    ¡°It seems there¡¯s no time for you guys to keep relaxing.¡±


    Upon hearing Dionmya¡¯s voice, Celia¡¯s expression changed slightly before returning to normal.


    ¡°What is it, Master?¡±


    ¡°A troublesome fellow has arrived.¡±


    Knowing that Celia didn¡¯t understand, Dionmya launched into an explanation.


    ¡°It¡¯s an Apostle of the Devil. You can think of them as a powerful monster that¡¯s physically strong and also terrifyingly good at magic..¡±

 Chapter 25 - The Apostles Attack

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    In the tunnel where George and Albert had passed though came a new guest.


    Dressed in pitch-black armor with sporadic sparks bursting from the joints.


    Dull, heavy metallic sounds reverberated through the tunnel with every step they took.


    On the surface, they looked like a fully-armored dark knight. Their head was covered by a helmet, making it impossible to see their true appearance.


    ¡°Was this where the energy fluctuation came from?¡±


    The helmet seemed to have been specially processed as the sound coming from inside was obviously distorted.


    ¡°According to Clark, there should be a seal here too.¡±


    Standing at the end of the tunnel, the Black Knight admired the colorful fantasy world beneath the mountain range.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite pretty.¡±


    The Black Knight seemed stunned by the mini-world before her.


    The light here was not constant. As time passed, the color of the light would change.


    Some colors would mix together, giving birth to new colors, while others would refract into multiple colors.


    The Black Knight quietly admired all of this.


    She did not let the scenery distract her from what she came here for however.


    ¡°I can sense the aura of a high order Apostle and Demon God. There doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem here.¡±


    After confirming her location, the Black Knight stepped forward. There was clearly no foothold in front of her, but the Black Knight acted as if she didn¡¯t realize this and continued walking forward.


    A miraculous scene occurred. The Black Knight stood in mid-air as if there was solid ground beneath her.


    The Black Knight descended downwards as if there was an invisible staircase before her.


    The moment the Black Knight reached the bottom, a large number of Rock Serpents emerged, throwing themselves at the Black Knight without care for their own lives.


    If Albert were to see this, he would definitely be very surprised. If this was the group of Rock Serpents he had gone up against, perhaps he would have died right from the start.


    Large amounts of transmuting mud landed on the Black Knight¡¯s body. The mud quickly solidified, encasing and holding the Black Knight in place.


    The Black Knight did not react and remained unmoving like a statue despite being bound and subjected to such wrath.


    But the attack of the Rock Serpents wasn¡¯t over yet. The energy within the mud began to corrode the Black Knight.


    The material of the Black Knight¡¯s armor began to slowly turn into rock.


    ¡°There¡¯s also a corrosive effect to the attack? Not bad.¡±


    A dull sound came from within the armor. Then, sparks emerged from the joints of the Black Knight¡¯s armor and when they touched the rock on the surface, the rocks instantly melted.


    It was as if they were placed in a high-temperature environment.


    Meanwhile, the Rock Serpents did not cease their attack. After confirming that the Black Knight was sealed away, the Rock Serpents¡¯ bodies flickered with earth-colored magic and a solid rock armor covered their bodies.


    This was their other skill [Rock Armor]. This armor had extremely high defense that even standard mythril weapons could not break through.


    Next, streams of water gathered and attached themselves to the underbelly of these Rock Serpents.


    This was the third skill of the Rock Serpents, [Torrent Protection]. It had the ability to eliminate negative status effects while increasing their speed.


    With the support of these two skills, several fully armed Rock Serpents charged towards the Black Knight.


    Boom!


    The layer of rock encasing the Black Knight exploded the same moment the Rock Serpents struck the knight.


    Sensing the force of the attack from her amour, the Black Knight praised from beneath her helmet,


    ¡°The strength is acceptable, but this is far from enough.¡±


    Inscriptions appeared on the surface of the black armor. With her as the center, a powerful concussive force emanated from her body.


    Boom!


    Instantly, all the Rock Serpents around the Black Knight were sent flying.


    However, this attack did not break through the Rock Serpent¡¯s defense.


    The Rock Serpents shook their heads to shake off the attack. Then they immediately raised their heads and bore into the Black Knight with baleful eyes.


    ¡°Nice look.¡±


    The Black Knight extended a hand and aimed it at the Rock Serpent. She flexed her hand downwards slightly and a black halo, accompanied by sparks, spread across her body.


    ¡°Go berserk!


    ¡°Embrace the color of chaos and become a servant of Yshtal. Fight to death for our eminent cause.¡±


    As though they were prepared for this, the Rock Serpents spewed out transmuting mud once again, erecting walls on their own bodies.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡±


    The seemingly tangible halo of light pierced through the stone wall and onto the Rock Serpents.


    Crumble!


    The stone wall collapsed, revealing the Rock Serpents behind it.


    Their crimson eyes filled with madness and savagery.


    ¡°Ssss ~¡°


    All the Rock Serpents that were touched by the ring of light now had crimson eyes. They charged towards Yshtal again.


    But this time, they stopped a short distance from her.


    Then one by one, they all bowed their heads in submission.


    Though their eyes were clearly filled with madness and a deep-seated desire for destruction, these Rock Serpents were surprisingly obedient.


    ¡°Is it going to be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Quite. To be honest, at your current level, to have reached this place unscathed is already unbelievable enough.¡±


    Celia knew that this was a subtle reminder from Dionmya about how weak they were.


    Celia wasn¡¯t bothered by that however. In fact, she took their weakness for granted. After all, they were still so young.


    Their temporary weakness wasn¡¯t a big deal.


    The most important thing was to survive.


    As for why they were able to arrive here successfully, Celia had some ideas about that.


    The image of Albert being chased by a demon flashed through her mind, and Celia mentally expressed her gratitude to Albert before getting up to pack.


    Conveniently, George and Siluca had finished their meal at the same moment, so they weren¡¯t surprised by Celia¡¯s behavior.


    ¡°Alright, once we¡¯re done packing, let¡¯s leave this place. We don¡¯t have much money left. So I¡¯m going to exchange the supplies we don¡¯t need for money today.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    George placed Siluca on his shoulder.


    ¡°Come, let¡¯s go home!¡±


    Roar!


    ¡°Is it okay to be so showy?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Though Siluca looks like this, it¡¯s strong.¡±


    George understood Celia¡¯s concern, but he didn¡¯t care. He petted Siluca¡¯s head and turned to smile at Celia and said,


    ¡°If some bad guy comes, Siluca will give them a nasty surprise.¡±


    Seeing how confident George was, Celia smiled back. But she couldn¡¯t help but think of Dionmya¡¯s figure.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, she said, ¡°I still think it¡¯s better to tone things down a bit. If we can attract less trouble, we should.¡±


    The reminder stunned George for a moment, but he didn¡¯t insist on his opinion.


    He turned to look at Siluca, who also turned to look at him.


    ¡°Roar?¡°


    ¡°Mommy seems to be jealous. So you¡¯re gonna have to take one for the team. Sorry buddy.¡±


    Roar!

 Chapter 26 - The Reason for Becoming an Adventurers

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    As they made their way out, they did not run into the battle she was expecting.


    When she and George made it out safely, Celia couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Look how scared you were,¡±


    Dionmya teased Celia, her tone carefree.


    Celia wasn¡¯t bothered by Dionmya¡¯s teasing. She had too many questions that needed answers.


    ¡°Master, why?¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to ask why it¡¯s been so peaceful the whole way?¡±


    The question was written all over Celia¡¯s face. Forget Dionmya, even George could see the doubt on her face.


    However, George did not question her. Instead, he thoughtfully left some space for Celia to think.


    He knew that Celia would tell him if it was necessary so he was in no hurry.


    On Celia¡¯s end, she dumped all her questions out at Dionmya,


    ¡°Yes, didn¡¯t Master say that the Devil¡¯s Apostle was attacking? But there was nothing along the way.¡±


    ¡°But of course. That guy won¡¯t hold you guys back to fight with him, with the insignificant battle prowess you guys possess.¡±


    The matter-of-fact tone surprised Celia. But she also caught some of the useful information from Dionmya¡¯s words.


    ¡°That guy?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t possibly be thinking that I¡¯m the only one capable of existing till now around here right?¡±


    Dionmya¡¯s words caused Celia to lapse into silence because, as a matter of fact, that was what she thought.


    But from the look of things, her thinking was too simplistic.


    ¡°It¡¯s true, there were few who were more powerful than me in the past. But there were still many who were luckier than me.¡±


    Setting aside Dinomya¡¯s prideful boasting, Celia found much useful intel from her words.


    After understanding what Dionmya meant, the first thought that came to Celia¡¯s mind was fear.


    Almost subconsciously, she reached out for George.


    However, Celia stopped herself before she actually raised her hand.


    The potential danger of this operation was greater than she had ever imagined.


    If the slightest thing had gone amiss, both her and George¡¯s lives would have been in danger.


    The thought of having taken George on a mission so risky left her feeling shaken, even though they were safe now.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s all over.¡±


    Celia took a deep breath and calmed herself down. But she still couldn¡¯t shake the self-blame.


    For most part, she placed George¡¯s safety above all else.


    Therefore, she could not accept the fact that she had placed George in such a dangerous situation.


    ¡°In that case, there should have been quite a few people like Master on the battlefield. Why didn¡¯t I see them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably inaccurate to say that you didn¡¯t see them.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Celia¡¯s heart tightened. Then, she heard Dionmya say,


    ¡°Do you remember the copper coffin you saw earlier?¡±


    The sealed metal palace flashed through her mind and Celia asked in surprise,


    ¡°You mean that palace?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s an old friend of mine inside. Judging from the hatchling¡¯s condition, he¡¯s probably awake.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Celia couldn¡¯t care less as to what that person had done to Siluca. She was too busy drowning in self-loathing.


    Although this all started because a client tried to pay off a debt using intel to make up for a late payment, she was the one who agreed to the trade.


    Which made her the instigator of this operation. As such, she felt extremely guilty.


    Perhaps noticing Celia¡¯s intense inner turmoil, Dionmya said,


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Stop thinking about unnecessary things. You don¡¯t have to worry so much anymore.


    Also, a gentle reminder. This is your subconscious. If you continue chatting with me here, your little boyfriend¡¯s gonna get worried.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Celia suddenly raised her head and looked at George, just in time to meet his worried gaze.


    ¡°George.¡±


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, everything¡¯s fine now. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Celia gathered her emotions quickly and led the way.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back now. I think you¡¯re probably missing Volcano Giant¡¯s Charcoal Roasted Demon Ox Leg, right?¡±


    ¡°You want to eat that?¡±


    She took out her storage box and gestured to George,


    ¡°Of course! We had a bountiful harvest this time, so we don¡¯t need to worry about food supplies for a while.¡±


    Celia did not forget to nick a few (many) of the large fruits from the forest on her way out.


    She only stopped when both their storage box rings ran out of space.


    At Celia¡¯s reminder, George too remembered the current situation and immediately let out a radiant smile..


    ¡°That¡¯s great. Siluca! We¡¯re in for such a treat when we get back!


    ¡°Has Daddy ever told you? The Charcoal Roasted Demon Ox Leg at Volcano Giant is the best there is. It¡¯s the best Demon Ox Leg Daddy¡¯s ever eaten.¡±


    Roar!


    Although Siluca was a newborn, its ability to learn went beyond their imagination.


    While it couldn¡¯t speak the human language due to biological limitations, Siluca was already fully capable of comprehending human speech.


    Hence, when it heard George talking about food, it couldn¡¯t help but drool.


    It¡¯s brilliant emerald eyes were filled with yearning.


    ¡°Roar!¡°


    Looking at how impatient Siluca was, George smiled and pressed a finger against its mouth.


    ¡°No Siluca. You have to learn self-control. No being impatient. And no trying to get your try by acting cute.¡±


    Seeing the now-pouting Siluca, Celia couldn¡¯t help but comment wryly,


    ¡°Seriously, Siluca has completely become a foodie thanks to you. If this keeps up, I feel like we won¡¯t be able to satisfy both your appetites even if we worked our butts off every month.¡±


    ¡°If the pay for being an adventurer is not enough, we can just change jobs.¡±


    George thought nothing of it. He looked at Celia and said,


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we became adventurers because we like adventuring.¡±


    That was true. But Celia seemed to have forgotten their original intention of becoming adventurers.


    Everything was for the sake of survival.


    The only reason why they risked their lives to become adventurers, taking on various missions, was because the monthly pay they earned as adventurers was enough for them to live off of.


    They couldn¡¯t do so with other occupations.


    However, things were different now. After all these years, both of them had developed various expertise. They had also grown up. Many occupations that were restricted to them due to their age were no longer so.


    They could absolutely switch to safer and more profitable professions.


    Of course, they could also take on several professions at the same time. As long as they could earn enough money to support themselves, that was enough..

 Chapter 27 - Calamity Rises, the Beast Tide Surges

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Indeed, they became adventuring as a means of survival, so they could lead a better life in this world.


    At this thought, Celia looked back and realized she had changed a lot.


    Perhaps it was because everything had gone too smoothly for them that she had lost much of her sense of danger.


    Even though their strength was clearly not at the level where they could be completely at ease.


    ¡°Come to think of it, given our present situation, it does seem like there¡¯s no need for us to keep adventuring.¡±


    After this incident, Celia was inclined to find a safer career.


    With this in mind, Celia asked George,


    ¡°Any good ideas George?¡±


    George was played with Siluca with his fingers as he responded,


    ¡°Nope. I¡¯d just take it one step at a time. This sort of thing is still your forte Celia. As you know, I only pay attention to what¡¯s in front of me. I never think about the future.¡±


    Ever since he started living with Celia, George had left most of the decision-making to her.


    He trusted that things would turn out fine if he left it to Celia.


    So, gradually, in some ways, George had given up on thinking. He was more inclined to follow Celia¡¯s orders and be responsible for the doing.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean George had no thoughts at all.


    Many solutions appeared in George¡¯s mind when he heard Celia¡¯s question.


    However, George didn¡¯t mention any of them.


    This was a habit that George had developed a long time ago.


    Even if he had a solution, he wouldn¡¯t say it. This was both his way of being considerate of Celia, as well as his way of training her.


    ¡°Come on, we can think about this at a later date. Even if you wanted to change jobs, there¡¯s no rush,¡±


    George said calmly.


    ¡°Although being an adventurer is a high-risk profession, it also pays well. There is no need to give it up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. We can figure out something that makes money on both ends.


    ¡°For example, how about tutoring? Didn¡¯t we rescue a few nobles before?¡±


    ¡°Are we going to become tutors for their children? We¡¯re not qualified enough. That, and age is also a problem. As for expertise, you¡¯ll probably be fine, but I¡¯ll pass. My abilities can¡¯t be taught to others.¡±


    Being a teacher was indeed a viable profession, but it wasn¡¯t suitable for the two of them at the moment.


    Age aside, even if the nobles accepted George as a tutor, he had no idea what to teach.


    His strength depended on his outstanding physique, as well as Noxkaius. Any adventurer with an average amount of experience under their belt could teach the techniques of adventuring better than he could.


    As for Celia, it was a more viable option for her. The spell-casting techniques and experiences she had amassed over the years were all valuable things to share.


    However, the problem was that Celia knew very few spells, and the few she knew were all low-levelled ones.


    Technique and know-how for low-level spells were not something the nobles would be interested in.


    On a whole, tutoring was a completely unfeasiblepath for both of them.


    After being rebuked by George, Celia also came to the same conclusion.


    Seeing that she was about to fall deep into thought again, George quickly interjected,


    ¡°We¡¯ll think about it later. More importantly, maybe we should think about how to deal with these monsters.¡±


    Celia raised her head and only then did she notice that they were surrounded by monsters that were staring them down with red pupils.


    These monsters were not high-leveled and possessed only one attribute and had few forms of attack.


    Under normal circumstances, there was no threat to George.


    However, it was clear that this was not ¡®normal circumstances¡¯.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I sense anything? What¡¯s going on with these monsters?¡±


    Magic power burst forth from Celia¡¯s fingertips, and layers of barrier quickly shielded them.


    Celia looked at the monsters in confusion. When she turned around and saw Siluca, her confusion grew further.


    The general rank of monsters in this area were not high.


    Usually, these sort of lower-rank monsters would choose to escape immediately should they sense the presence of a monster of a higher order. Even if the monster of a higher ranking was actually weaker than them.


    However, in the face of Siluca¡¯s dragon¡¯s might, these monsters displayed no intention to retreat whatsoever. They merely exercised greater caution.


    ¡°Be careful. These monsters have probably been bewitched by the apostle and have gone berserk, making them immune to mental attack on some level. In this state, monsters lose their sense of fear and become deranged.¡±


    Dionmya¡¯s piped up just in time to answer Celia¡¯s questions.


    While she was explaining, a few burly gorillas had begun charging towards them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave Siluca to you. I¡¯ll deal with them quickly.¡±


    George moved Siluca from his shoulder into Celia¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Rawr rawr!¡± Siluca shouted unhappily, as if saying it wanted to fight too.


    However, George immediately rejected her request.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to fight right now. Just stand aside and watch.¡±


    Rawr!


    ¡°Objection overruled.¡±


    With that said, George picked up Noxkaius and turned to look at Siluca.


    ¡°There won¡¯t be a chance for you to do anything anyways.¡±


    Buzz!


    George raised Noxkaius high into the air, and a halo of light burst forth from within, transforming into an energy wave that spread outwards.


    The red-eyed gorillas that were approaching at a high speed were sent flying the moment they touched the halo.


    Under the illumination of this light, the red-eyed gorilla dissipated like particles of sand and disappeared into thin air.


    Seeing George¡¯s attack, the scene of Siluca¡¯s birth appeared in Celia¡¯s mind.


    ¡°This is¡­ the shock wave from that time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, George has always been like this. He always picked things up the fastest. No matter how hard I try, all I can do is try to keep up with him.¡±


    Evidently, the scene before her left a huge impact on Celia.


    While Celia was wallowing in self-pity, George had finished off all the monsters and beasts around them.


    ¡°Celia, why don¡¯t we have another meal before we head back?¡±


    Hearing George¡¯s words, Celia raised her head in surprise. Seeing that George had already started to prepare the bodies of the monsters and beasts, she immediately started laughing.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Hearing her energetic laughter, George, who was dealing with the corpses, smiled.


    There were some things he just wasn¡¯t able to communicate to her with words. All he could do was to use his actions to prove how much he relied on her.


    To convey how much he needed her, and how she wasn¡¯t as useless as she thought she was.


    After all, deep down, Celia was very sensitive and had a strong inferiority complex.


    Underground World


    ¡°How persistent. There¡¯s no end to these monsters.¡±


    The Black Knight looked at the monsters surrounding her, seemingly displeased.


    Behind her stood countless demonic creatures with crimson eyes. They had all become her slaves.


    ¡°Go! Kill them all!¡±


    At her command, a battle of epic proportions broke out.


    Boom!

 Chapter 28 - The Value of Information

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    ¡°Master, will consuming the meat of a monster that¡¯s gone berserk cause any problems?¡±


    While cooking, Celia suddenly realized that these monsters had not been in the right state of mind. They had all gone berserk.


    Faced with Celia¡¯s worries and doubts, Dionmya explained in a timely fashion,


    ¡°Yes, but not for your little boyfriend and that dragon hatchling.¡±


    Dionmya looked at George, who was playing with Siluca and pondered.


    ¡°Although I can¡¯t tell what kind of constitution that kid has, based on his performance thus far, ordinary abnormal statuses and factors can¡¯t affect him at all.¡±


    George¡¯s appetite reminded her of many people she had met.


    However, none of their conditions were as exaggerated as George¡¯s.


    It was truly bizarre. How did he survive for so long with such an absurd constitution?


    Thinking of this, Dionmya became very curious about George.


    As for George¡¯s constitution, Celia didn¡¯t tell Dionmya everything she knew.


    She gave her master a brief introduction but feigned ignorance about everything else.


    Of course, Dionmya, having lived so long, could naturally tell that Celia was hiding something.


    But she didn¡¯t care.


    She¡¯d be more worried if Celia was someone who could be coaxed to give up everything with just a few words.


    Their current situation was for the best. While they trusted each other, they were still on guard.


    After obtaining Dionmya¡¯s assurance, Celia was finally at ease.


    ¡°What happened to those monsters? If all the monsters in this forest are affected, will the city be attacked?¡±


    ¡°That depends on how many monsters the Apostle has affected.¡±


    Dionmya wasn¡¯t very sure. Since she was currently just a spiritual entity, the role she could play was very limited.


    ¡°However, one thing is for certain. The situation won¡¯t get better from here.¡±


    Looking Celia¡¯s solemn expression, Dionmya thought to herself,


    Since I¡¯ve decided to be a good teacher, I should at least teach her something properly.


    I¡¯ve got to take the responsibility of being a teacher seriously.


    After some consideration, countless spells flashed across Dionmya¡¯s mind. The most suitable magic to deal with the current situation would be¡­


    Soon, Dionmya found the answer. She said to Celia,


    ¡°Let me teach you a spell, the Cloud¡¯s Eye.¡±


    ¡°Cloud¡¯s Eye? As in the spell for creating a new field of vision?¡±


    Celia had heard of this spell before. It¡¯s a spell that used magic to create the magical equivalent of a third eye.


    It was called Cloud¡¯s Eye because this eye could be controlled and moved around freely, as if the clouds in the sky had become your eye.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since you¡¯ve heard of it, this makes things much easier. There¡¯s a high chance that there are still berserk monsters nearby.


    ¡°This spell can help you discover the location of these monsters so that you can get out of harm¡¯s way in time.¡±


    Celia nodded thoughtfully at Dionmya¡¯s words.


    She handed George the bowl of soup she had prepared first then said to him,


    ¡°George, the monsters just now seemed abnormal. I suspect there might be more of them nearby.¡±


    ¡°Not anymore. Don¡¯t you trust my perception ability?¡±


    ¡°No, I meant farther away.¡±


    George put down the bowl of soup in his hand. He looked at Celia and asked a question that had nothing to do with what Celia had just said,


    ¡°You know what happened to those monsters?¡±


    ¡°Mm. They¡¯ve gone berserk. There¡¯s someone behind this. And I suspect that there are more berserk monsters that have gathered.¡±


    Upon understanding the situation, George responded positively, ¡°Understood, I¡¯ll look into it after I¡¯ve eaten.¡±


    George didn¡¯t ask what was the cause, but that didn¡¯t mean Celia wouldn¡¯t tell.


    ¡°Hmm, actually, this information could fetch a good price.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    George had no objections.


    If the berserk monsters had banded together, then they could pose a huge threat to adventurers who were out on missions.


    When that time comes, this would mean that any information on berserk monsters would fetch a good price among adventurers.


    Also, if these monsters were moving towards the city, then they would threaten the lives of the residents.


    Which means this piece of information would fetch a good price from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    Of course, an entity as large as the Adventurer¡¯s Guild wasn¡¯t someone they could deal directly with.


    Regardless of the situation, all they had to do was sell the information to professional intelligence dealers.


    This means that they would only receive a small cut.


    Even so, that cut was likely to still be quite impressive.


    Underground World


    What was a tranquil and dazzling world was now overcast with gloom and doom.


    The Black Knight stood on a small hill made of monster corpses.


    Corpses of monsters were strewn everywhere the eye could see.


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t enjoy this kind of one-sided scenario.¡±


    As she spoke, she turned around to look at some of the monster corpses and couldn¡¯t help but recall what had just happened.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why are these monsters able to escape my control?¡±


    Just now, when she ordered the monsters to attack, the monsters that she thought had gone berserk and turned to attack her.


    As if she was their sole target.


    Yshtal compared the intensity of the two attacks she had endured and still could not understand.


    The attack she was subjected to earlier was clearly much stronger than the first round of attack she received. This meant that the monsters were indeed under her influence.


    Even so, they did not listen to her commands.


    There was something strange about that.


    Thinking of this, Yshtal put away her contempt. She only survived this long as an Apostle not due to pride but due to caution.


    If the original monsters here didn¡¯t work out, how about this?


    A large amount of sparks burst forth from Yshtal¡¯s body. These sparks did not dissipate into the air but instead condensed together.


    The sparks successfully formed a ring of fire, and then transformed into a magic circle that then floated into the air and began to expand. Covering every area that had monster corpses in it.


    After expanding to a certain size, the orange magic circle stabilized and began to glow.


    Immediately after, all of the demon corpses beneath Yshtal¡¯s feet began to melt and combine.


    Glug glug!


    Under Yshtal¡¯s magic, the blood of the monsters began to evaporate and their bones turned to ash.


    Roar!


    An unpleasant, ear-piercing roar reverberated through the forest.


    The roar seemed to be the amalgamation of the cries of many monsters. Ordinary people would likely be completely fear-stricken or even literally scared to death hearing such a screech just once.


    The ash on the ground began to move, and bloody mist in the air began to flow. They coalesced and reformed, weaving together under Yshtal¡¯s control.


    The ashes condensed into snow-white bones, and the bloody mist attached themselves to the bones, turning into flesh and tendons.


    Bones reconstructing and flesh re-knitting, a new life was being created..

 Chapter 29 - Information Broker Anna Khloesner

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t you want to learn magic anymore?¡±


    Celia¡¯s actions puzzled Dionmya.


    From the exchange George and Celia just had, Dionmya caught an interesting detail¡ªGeorge had exceptional perception abilities.


    ¡°No, of course I¡¯m happy to learn more.¡± It wasn¡¯t that Celia didn¡¯t want to learn Cloud¡¯s Eye, but she knew that learning was a gradual process.


    She wasn¡¯t so talented that she could learn a spell instantly.


    After telling Dionmya these thoughts, the woman fell silent.


    Just when Celia thought she could understand, Celia heard her say casually,


    ¡°But I can assist you with it if you need me to.¡±


    Celia fell silent for a moment. One way or the other, she had underestimated Dionmya.


    She had not expected the woman who was only a spiritual entity to still be capable of many things.


    Was this what a powerhouse that had survived since ancient times was like?


    After some thought, Celia said,


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. George¡¯s perception is more effective than Cloud¡¯s Eye.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. We can slowly familiarize ourselves with one other.¡±


    Dionmya didn¡¯t dwell on it any longer. After all, they were still in the early stages of getting to know each other.


    Dionmya¡¯s generosity and openness made Celia feel ashamed. To be fair, she had a great impression of the woman.


    No matter what her motive was, it was a fact that Dionmya had saved her.


    It didn¡¯t make sense for her to treat the woman like this.


    However, this thought vanished the moment she looked at George.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After obtaining the information they wanted, Celia brought George to a special place.


    It was a news agency.


    The guards at the entrance of the news agency immediately made way for Celia.


    Obviously, this was not her first time here.


    As soon as she entered, a tall woman with navy blue hair and glasses stepped out.


    A pair of small black wings could be seen sticking out from the woman¡¯s lower back.


    Swaying behind her as she walked was a small black tail with a triangular tip.


    The woman was pleasantly surprised to see Celia.


    ¡°Celia, it¡¯s you. It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    ¡°Miss Sienna, still beautiful as ever.¡±


    Celia stepped forward and gave the woman an intimate hug.


    ¡°Is Sister Anna here?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s actually in her office right now. Go look for her inside.¡±


    Sienna adjusted her glasses, then looked at George through its blue-tinged lenses.


    The latter happened to be interacting with Siluca, and thus, when sensing Sienna¡¯s gaze, George merely nodded politely at her.


    Seeing George return her gaze, Sienna looked flabbergasted and smiled brightly in response. Her tail swished wildly behind her, an indication of how excited she was.


    However, her excitement soon turned into disappointment as George was dragged away by Celia.


    As she watched George disappear from view, Sienna couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh.


    Under Celia¡¯s lead, the two of them walked into an office.


    And on the main seat sat a charming and sophisticated-looking woman.


    She had her head lowered and was frowning as looked over the documents on the table.


    Upon hearing the door open, she said neutrally,


    ¡°Welcome.¡±


    ¡°Sister Anna, long time no see.¡±


    The woman looked up in surprise when she heard Celia¡¯s voice. A smile spread across her face when she saw the younger woman.


    ¡°Celia, it¡¯s been a while. Have you lost weight?¡±


    Anna stood up and quickly walked over to Celia to give her a big hug.


    ¡°I¡¯ve missed you so much.¡±


    While hugging Celia, she cast a glance at George, who was standing behind the young mage.


    George smiled at her and returned his attention to Siluca.


    Anna¡¯s gaze lingered on Siluca for a moment before she released Celia and asked,


    ¡°By the way, where did you two disappear to? For such a long time too. I haven¡¯t seen you guys in almost a month.


    I almost thought you guys had left the city for good. ¡°


    ¡°No, we just got slightly delayed.¡±


    Celia replied calmly, thinking back to their latest operation.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m glad you¡¯re both okay.¡±


    As Anna spoke, she took out a tea canister from her drawer.


    Seeing this, Celia moved to help, but was stopped by Anna.


    ¡°So why did you guys come here? Is there something you need?¡±


    Anna asked while putting on tea.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just visit you without reason?¡±


    Anna rolled her eyes at Celia¡¯s response.


    As if these two would visit her if they had nothing going on.


    ¡°Oh please, I know you guys too well.¡±


    While Celia was chatting with Anna, Dionmya also learned through her disciple, what kind of person Anna was.


    Anna was a famous information broker, and not only that. She was a unique and unconventional information broker.


    Ordinary information brokers had hidden bases that could be easily moved in the event they needed to make a quick escape.


    However, Anna was different. She set up her base in the middle of a busy commercial street.


    Not only that, she had set up a massive news agency.


    Dionmya was unfamiliar with the concept of newspapers, but she at least knew of the thing based on Celia¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°If possible, could you get me a newspaper to read later?¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± Celia was happy to satisfy Dionmya¡¯s curiosity.


    Receiving Celia¡¯s affirmative reply put Dionmya in a good mood.


    ¡°Celia, if possible, it¡¯s better to not reveal any information about that place.¡±


    After learning that Anna was an intelligence agent, Dionmya came to understand the purpose of Celia¡¯s visit.


    She didn¡¯t stop Celia but merely gave the young girl some advice.


    ¡°That place is tied to too many things. It¡¯s easy for something to go wrong if you aren¡¯t careful.¡±


    Since she¡¯s said her piece, Dionmya felt that she had done everything she could. As for whether or not Celia would listen to her advicewas entirely up to the young mage.


    ¡°I understand, Master.¡±


    Of course, the final outcome was one that Dionmya was very satisfied with.


    Although she was explaining things to Dionmya on one end while simultaneously entertaining Anna on the other, Celia appeared completely normal and unstrained.


    She looked at Anna who was making tea and said,


    ¡°There were some hiccups, and we didn¡¯t manage to reach the location you gave us.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Anna paused for a moment and asked,


    ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    Celia nodded and said, ¡°The situation inside the Forest of Slumber isn¡¯t too great.. Actually, the danger level there is almost comparable to the Forest of Awakening¡­¡±

 Chapter 30 - The Coming Crisis

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Taking the freshly brewed tea from Anna, Celia blew on it first before taking a sip. Then she put down the teacup and asked,


    ¡°Have you heard of red-eyed monsters, Sister Anna?¡±


    Anna was taken aback by Celia¡¯s question. She knew that Celia wouldn¡¯t speak without thinking, so she thought seriously.


    ¡°Red-eyed monsters? I think there are many monsters with red eyes, no?¡±


    Red Eyes alone was too broad a characteristic.


    Far too many monsters had red eyes. She wasn¡¯t sure which one Celia was referring to with her question.


    Celia wasn¡¯t surprised by her answer and so she continued,


    ¡°What do you think could have happened for all the monsters and beasts in the Forest of Slumber became red-eyed?¡±


    Hearing this, Anna¡¯s expression turned serious. She could tell that Celia was about to get to the meat of the matter.


    In that moment, many thoughts flashed through her mind. Why would Celia ask such a question?


    That would mean many red-eyed monsters had appeared. But where? It must be the Forest of Slumber.


    That left what characteristics red-eyed monsters possessed.


    ¡°Is it an infectious disease?¡± Anna asked, tone tentative. ¡°Or some kind of¡ª¡±


    Her guesses didn¡¯t matter, she only tossed them out to continue the topic.


    What mattered now was whether or not Celia knew the cause behind the situation.


    ¡°The cause is still being investigated.¡± After some deliberation, Celia decided that, to avoid trouble, it¡¯s best to not say outright that the situation was man-made.


    ¡°Are there any symptoms after a monster contracts red-eyes?¡±


    ¡°They go berserk, and will attack all non-berserk entities indiscriminately.¡±


    Upon hearing Celia¡¯s question, Anna paled. She stared at Celia for confirmation.


    ¡°Is this for real?¡±


    ¡°Would I lie to Sister Anna?¡±


    Celia¡¯s rhetorical response calmed Anna down.


    Indeed, given her relationship with Celia, there was no reason for the younger woman to lie to her.


    If all of this was true, then all those new adventurers were in for tough times.


    ¡°This is indeed important information.¡±


    Having understood the situation, Anna conveyed her heartfelt gratitude to Celia,


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡±


    Celia took a sip of tea and said to Anna,


    ¡°If you want to thank me, thank me later.¡±


    Anna immediately caught on from Celia¡¯s response that there was more. She quickly sat up straight to listen attentively.


    ¡°George went to the Boneyard Range to investigate. There, he found a large number of berserk monsters trying to make their way over the mountain. And the direction they¡¯re moving towards? It¡¯s here.¡±


    This news was even more serious than the previous one. It left Anna thunderstruck.


    She turned to George and asked urgently,


    ¡°How many exactly?¡±


    ¡°A lot,¡± George said without looking up.


    Anna was clearly dissatisfied with this answer. She continued to probe,


    ¡°Can¡¯t you give me a specific number?¡±


    George didn¡¯t respond.


    Seeing how George was acting, Anna looked to Celia for help.


    The latter nudged George¡¯s arm.


    For Celia¡¯s sake, George looked up, thought for a moment, and gave a general estimate, all whilst holding Siluca.


    ¡°At least five thousand.¡±


    ¡°Five thousand? If you add all the monsters in the Forest of Slumber to that number¡­ That¡¯s not good.¡±


    To have that many berserk monsters running amok, if not handled properly, things could become very very bad.


    The biggest problem here was still the five-thousand odd invading monsters. Had they all been monsters from the Forest of Slumber, Anna wouldn¡¯t have gotten this anxious.


    But external monsters represented the unknown. The unknown meant that there could be stronger monsters amongst them, which made things potentially perilous.


    At that thought, Anna couldn¡¯t sit still any longer.


    She stood up and said to Celia,


    ¡°I need to meet with the Lord Mayor immediately.¡±


    With that, Anna strode out the door with haste.


    ¡°Celia, did you happen to prepare a Recording Crystal?¡±


    Halfway down the hall, Anna seemed to remember something. She turned around, and just as she did that, Celia produced a green crystal.


    This was the Recording Crystal Anna had mentioned earlier.


    Aside from the crystal, Celia also took out many other items that could verify the authenticity of the information.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve gotten all the necessary things ready.¡±


    Seeing the confident look on Celia¡¯s face, Anna knew that she had been had.


    ¡°Looks like you came prepared. If that¡¯s the case, how does this number look?¡±


    Anna gestured a figure at Celia.


    Then, she seemed to have thought of something and looked at George, who happened to glance over at the same time.


    Their eyes met, and Anna hurriedly explained,


    ¡°I know that there were problems with the funds previously, but it has been resolved now.¡±


    Celia raised an eyebrow, but didn¡¯t show any further reaction.


    Although Celia didn¡¯t react, there was someone else who couldn¡¯t sit still. Dionmya decided to pipe in and join the fun.


    ¡°Who knew your little boyfriend was so popular?¡±


    She sized up Anna then asked Celia,


    ¡°Both the lil¡¯ succubus outside and this halfling before you are eying your little boyfriend. What are your thoughts?¡±


    ¡°Sister Anna¡¯s a halfling?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I can sense the aura of a Dryad from her. There¡¯s probably a Great Dryad among her ancestors.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Celia¡¯s reaction piqued Dionmya¡¯s curiosity. She asked,


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you even a little bit worried?¡±


    ¡°Worried about what?¡± Celia countered. Then she realized what Dionmya meant. She looked at George with a confident smile.


    ¡°Worried that George will be snatched away?


    ¡°He won¡¯t.¡±


    Celia responded with such utter confidence that Dionmya couldn¡¯t help but wonder about their past together.


    In the same breath, Celia walked to Anna and handed the older woman all the items she had prepared.


    ¡°I believe you, Sister Anna.¡±


    Because of where she stood, Celia just so happened to block George from Anna¡¯s vision, forcing Anna to look at her.


    Anna looked at the younger girl before her with mixed feelings. She took the items from Celia and smiled.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    After putting away all the evidence and information into her storage ring, Anna took out a blank form and handed it to Celia.


    ¡°If there¡¯s no problem with the price, take this form and get the money from Sienna later.¡±


    Celia looked at blank form then at Anna in surprise.


    However, after some thought, she quickly realized the crux of the matter, and also came to believe what Anna said about ¡®trouble with funds¡¯ more.


    ¡°Do you need our help?¡±


    Hearing this, George, who was teasing Siluca also looked up in solidarity.


    However, Anna couldn¡¯t see this from where she was standing.


    She waved her hand and rejected the offer,


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. It¡¯s already been resolved.¡±


    Before leaving, Anna asked Celia, ¡°So do you guys have any plans?¡±


    ¡°Volcano Giant!¡±


    It was the first time George had taken the initiative to answer Anna¡¯s questions. Anna also finally made peace with things when she heard George¡¯s answer.


    ¡°That sounds very you. Then I shall take my leave first..¡±

 Chapter 31 - Volcano Giant

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Although the name of the Volcano Giant had the word ¡®giant¡¯ in it, it was actually a restaurant run by dwarves.


    The owner of the shop, Khlausovus, was a peculiar dwarf.


    All the adventurers in the area affectionately called him ¡®Ol¡¯ Lasov¡¯.


    But ¡®Lasov¡¯ meant ¡®midget¡¯ in Elvish.


    Therefore, if anyone addressed him by that nickname in the wrong tone, Khlausovus would react violently.


    The average dwarf worked mainly in the fields of adventuring, forging and gem trading.


    But Khlausovus was different.


    Like all dwarves, he liked working up a good sweat and enjoyed being among minerals and ores.


    But his method of doing so was very different from his fellow dwarves.


    His preferred location to work up a sweat wasn¡¯t beside a forging furnace, but next to cooking furnaces, that and ovens.


    He liked good food, especially charcoal-roasted foods.


    Of course, his repertoire wasn¡¯t limited to charcoal. He liked to use rocks to cook up delicious foods too.


    Therefore, one could find all kinds of exotic meat dishes at Volcano Giant.


    That¡¯s right, there were no vegetarians here. Everyone who visited this joint were true meat supremacists.


    Every single person here was a meat-lover.


    For them, meat and wine were indispensable in life.


    Of course, George wasn¡¯t of drinking age yet, so Ol¡¯ Lasov would not and did not allow George to drink.


    As soon as he saw George come in with Celia, Khlausovus beamed.


    ¡°Heya, George! How many oxen are you having this time?¡±


    The other customers also became quite enthusiastic when they noticed George¡¯s arrival.


    ¡°George, long time no see!¡±


    ¡°Yo, isn¡¯t this George? I was talking to Martha about you yesterday. Said you might have left the city.¡±


    Many familiar faces smiled at George.


    But more than smiling faces were¡­


    ¡°Aw, George, I just started to eat. You came at such a bad time.¡±


    An adventurer holding a meat skewer the size of a mace stood up.


    He took a bite of the meat skewer and said to Ol¡¯Lasov while chewing,


    ¡°Boss, quick, gimme another ox.¡±


    As soon as he said this, the guests at the other tables all started raising their hands one after another, as if they had discussed this beforehand.


    ¡°And two pigs.¡±


    ¡°Yes! I want more meat too.¡±


    ¡°And here!¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡±


    ¡­


    These people had all witnessed George¡¯s terrifying appetite.


    Many of them had experienced the pain of missing out on good food because of George.


    Thus, the terror of George became known and everyone learned that the moment George arrived, food would disappear.


    It wasn¡¯t so bad for customers who were told that there was no more food when they stepped into the shop. The ones who suffered the most were diners who were in the middle of their meals and had not had their fill yet.


    The feeling of wanting to eat but not being able to eat was too torturous an experience.


    George couldn¡¯t be more familiar with the scene before him. Ever since he cleared out Volcano Giant¡¯s stock of ingredients, the entire city came to know his name.


    After that, every restaurant in the city would welcome him warmly when they saw him. As for the customers, aside from those who came to watch the show (aka George eat), the other diners would quickly top up their orders while they still could.


    Not including buffet restaurants of course.


    Not that anyone in the city dared to open a buffet restaurant thanks to George.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with ten.¡±


    George said to Ol¡¯ Lasov. No one batted an eyelash at that number.


    It was probably more accurate to say that they wouldn¡¯t be surprised even if they heard an even more ridiculous number from George.


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± Ol¡¯ Lasov grinned. After all, which owner didn¡¯t want business?


    However, Ol¡¯ Lasov still couldn¡¯t help but lament,


    ¡°Though it¡¯s only been a few days since I last saw you, it seems like your appetite has grown again huh.¡±


    If asked what was the most ridiculous thing he¡¯d ever seen in his life, Khlausovus would definitely say that it was the speed at which George¡¯s appetite grew.


    Basically, every time George visited the restaurant, his appetite would have multiplied since his last visit.


    With regards to this, whenever the matter was mentioned, George would act as he did now; boasting loudly with his chest puffed and chin raised,


    ¡°My growth is faster than the speed of light!¡±


    ¡°This is the one aspect I wish you would slow down on.¡±


    To the side, Celia rubbed her forehead resignedly and began to calculate how much clearing out Volcano Giant would cost them this time.


    ¡°Hahaha, indeed. If you become an even bigger glutton, I fear that even the entire city¡¯s food reserves won¡¯t be enough to feed you,¡±


    The adventurer who was eating meat skewers said while enjoying his food and drink.


    ¡°Pops, you¡¯ve got enough oxen stockpiled this time?¡±


    If someone had asked him this question during any other occasion when George wasn¡¯t around, Ol¡¯ Lasov would have replied confidently,


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. We¡¯ve definitely got enough to satisfy you.¡±


    However, when George was around, Ol¡¯ Lasov¡¯s response was much more hesitant,


    ¡°It¡¯s no¡ª, it¡¯s not easy to say.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, Pops is scared.¡±


    Ol¡¯ Lasov¡¯s reaction immediately caused the entire hall to be filled with laughter. They normally wouldn¡¯t get to see such a cute side of this small old man.


    ¡°Not joining in the fun of teasing Ol¡¯ Lasov?¡± George looked around and saw a customer from a different table waving at him.


    ¡°George, come sit here. I¡¯ve already finished my battle.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much. How¡¯s the food, Ward?¡±


    ¡°Very good. You know better than me how the food here is. Oh yea, recently, they just released a new stone barbecue dish. I think you¡¯re gonna like it.¡±


    George¡¯s eyes lit up. He turned around and shouted to Ol¡¯ Lasov,


    ¡°Ol¡¯ Lasov, the new dish, I want it!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, kid. You¡¯ll get some.¡±


    Ol¡¯ Rasov, who was already up to his neck in with work rolled his eyes at George.


    ¡°More like, even if you don¡¯t order it, you¡¯ll still end up getting some anyways.¡±


    George¡¯s terrifying appetite meant that his entire stock would get cleared out. Given that, he doubted that George would miss out on tasting his new creation.


    ¡°If there are any other new dishes, please serve those first.¡±


    ¡°Gotcha.¡±


    Once he received an affirmative response from the old man, George sat in his seat and watched as the waiter cleared the table in front of him.


    Beside him, Celia giggled at George while holding Siluca.


    Siluca, who was in her arms, looked left and right, eyes brimming with curiosity.


    However, it would occasionally bark at George, as if it wanted to return to his embrace.


    George, whose attention had been completely taken up by food, had no time for this.


    This was also why Celia took Siluca into her arms when they entered the restaurant. She was afraid that George would accidentally mistake Silica for food..

 Chapter 32 - Preparation for War

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Gainsborough Castle Conference Room


    Gainsborough¡¯s mayor, Byrne Custer, was a lean and handsome middle-aged man.


    When he received the information Anna had gotten from Celia, it had ruined all of Byrne¡¯s good mood.


    He tried his best to suppress his fluctuating emotions.Sure he had the looks, but that was all there was to him.


    Everyone in Gainsborough knew that their Lord Mayor, Byrne, was a useless trophy Mayor.


    But Anna knew that these were all pretense. A lot of his pathetic behavior was feigned.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t as if he had amazing ability either.


    In Anna¡¯s opinion, Byrne was someone who had already given up on themselves and had completely let themselves go, but still had a morsel of ability.


    It was very contradictory, but if one knew about Byrne¡¯s past, they wouldn¡¯t find it so conflicting.


    ¡°The Recording Crystal can¡¯t be faked, but¡ª¡±


    Right now, Byrne was being more serious than ever. Although he was a hedonist, he could still recognize when things mattered.


    ¡°It¡¯s just too hard to believe. There were no signs, no omens.¡±


    Beside him stood the representative of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Herona, who looked at Anna and asked,


    ¡°Did you find out the cause? There must be a reason for such a large-scale berserking event.¡±


    Anna shook her head.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t found any relevant clues yet, but we can deduce that it¡¯s most likely man-made.¡±


    Herona had thought that it would just be an ordinary meeting, but things were turning out to be more tiresome than she imagined.


    All Herona wanted to do was go home, she did not enjoy such occasions. But she had no choice. Her father was the president of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    Out of a sense of responsibility, Herona adjusted her mindset as best she could, then asked Byrne,


    ¡°Have you informed the people at the Divine Temple?¡±


    Upon hearing the words ¡®Divine Temple¡¯, Byrne frowned. It was obvious that he did not have a good relationship with them.


    There was even a time when the two parties were very unhappy with each other.


    ¡°Do we have to inform them?¡±


    Herona replied matter-of-factly, as if she had not seen Byrne¡¯s pained expression,


    ¡°Of course. This is no small matter. We need to consult their opinion.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I understand. I¡¯ll send someone to inform them this instant.¡±


    After thinking about it, Byrne knew that what Herona said made sense and finally chose to compromise.


    But he quickly corrected himself,


    ¡°Scratch that. Just bring the information and all this evidence over to them. Let¡¯s see what their reactions will be.¡±


    As he spoke, he pushed the Recording Crystal and other items on the table towards Anna.


    If possible, he did not want to see the faces of people from the Divine Temple.


    ¡°What do you guys think?¡±


    Herona and Anna naturally had no objections. All that mattered was that members of the Divine Temple knew about this issue.


    Seeing as neither of them had anything to say, Byrne put his head in his hands and began to think.


    ¡°First things first. Putting defensive measures in place is a must. Then, we must hire the adventurers to aid the city guards in eradicating the berserk monsters.¡±


    Towards the end of his speech, Byrne paused. Anna could tell that it was because he was reluctant to let his men undertake such a risky task.


    However, this was a situation that could easily turn into monsters attacking the city instead of the other way round. So no matter how reluctant Byrne was, he couldn¡¯t afford to machinate anything.


    After all, he too had nowhere left to go besides the City of Adventurers.


    Recalling the information about Byrne, Anna chuckled inwardly.


    On the side, Herona looked at the Recording Crystal that Byrne had pushed to Anna on the table and said,


    ¡°There¡¯s very little information we can gain from the images in this video.


    ¡°I think we need to arrange for a scouting team to gather more information first. It would be best if we can bring back one or two live samples.¡±


    Byrne considered Herona¡¯s suggestion for a moment before nodding in agreement.


    ¡°Indeed, that is for the best.¡±


    Having said all that, he looked at Herona and asked,


    ¡°Then, do you have any suitable candidates?¡±


    As soon as those words left his mouth, it was clear that their Lord Mayor Byrne did not want to send anyone from his own army out as scouts.


    Herona could empathize with him. His reaction was also well-within Herona¡¯s expectations.


    If he didn¡¯t want to send any men, that just means that he would have to make up for it in other ways.


    For example, money.


    Not to toot her own horn, but the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was comparable to the Lord¡¯s army be it in terms of talent or manpower.


    Therefore, Byrne need only pay more money and provide more resources for support and backup.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got people in mind.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Divine Temple of Light Gainsborough Branch


    ¡°What a lively city. Don¡¯t you think?¡±


    A white-haired girl walked over to the windowsill and looked at the gentle sunlight outside. A beautiful smile appeared on her face.


    Dressed in purple robes that were paired with a white cape adorned with gold borders, the girl simultaneously embodied the elements of mystery and holiness.


    Beside the girl stood a solemn-looking knight.


    Hearing the girl¡¯s words, the knight responded monotonously,


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget our mission, Saintess.¡±


    Seemingly dissatisfied with the knight¡¯s answer, the Saintess frowned and looked at her knight with displeasure.


    ¡°Why does it matter? The candidate we¡¯re after is a celebrity in this city.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s been a long time since he last appeared.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s away on some kind of mission. A place like the Forest of Slumber isn¡¯t dangerous anyways.¡±


    After a brief debate, the knight looked at the Saintess who was determined to not do any proper work. He frowned and pondered how he could persuade the holy maiden before him.


    It was then when a knight dressed in silver armor walked over to them.


    ¡°Report. The Chosen One has returned and is currently dining at Volcano Giant.¡±


    Hearing this, the Saintess¡¯ knight, Clayton, tossed a look at the Saintess beside him.


    He seemed to be saying, ¡°See, he¡¯s returned.¡±


    Upon hearing the knight¡¯s report, Saintess Vanessa pouted. Happy times always passed so quickly.


    But what¡¯s coming would come, she couldn¡¯t avoid it even if she tried.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I also planned on visiting this Volcano Giant place today.¡±


    These words made Clayton¡¯s mouth twitch. ¡°We¡¯re here on a mission, not a vacation.¡±


    ¡°So then, what do you want to do, You Holiness? Do you want to go make contact right now?¡±


    Clayton¡¯s urging made Vanessa feel even more reluctant. She turned around unhappily.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait a little longer.¡±


    ¡°Saintess!¡±


    ¡°I know I know, I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Holiness, there are guests outside looking for you.¡±


    Another temple attendant entered the room. Beside him stood an old gentleman dressed in elaborate clothes, who had his head held high.


    When she saw the guest, Vanessa¡¯s eyes lit up and she hurried over.


    ¡°Let¡¯s deal with this person first.¡±


    Upon hearing Vanessa¡¯s words, Clayton sighed helplessly.


    ¡°Your Holiness, you can¡¯t keep running away like this¡­ Sigh!¡±

 Chapter 33 - Saintess Vanessa

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    ¡°Greetings, Your Holiness. I¡¯m Bucky Custer. I was entrusted by LordByrne to give you something important.¡±


    ¡°Something important?¡±


    Vanessa looked at Bucky curiously. She then saw him pull out a green crystal.


    ¡°A Recording Crystal?¡±


    Clayton walked forward and took the Recording Crystal from the man. After examining it and ensuring that there were no problems, he held the Recording Crystal in front of Vanessa.


    Despite having confirmed its safety, Clayton did not let his guard down.


    The Recording Crystal began casting its projection in Claytons¡¯ hands.


    When red-eyed monsters of all shapes and sizes appeared before her, the smile on Vanessa¡¯s face vanished.


    The monsters in the image were the perfect embodiment of ¡®berserk¡¯.


    There was no audio, only video. But even Bucky who had never watched the video before shuddered in fear.


    The knights and attendants of the Divine Temple on the other hand had quickly schooled their expressions back to normal after the initial shock. Fully displaying the quality of training those under the Divine Temple underwent.


    It was immediately obvious which side was superior.


    Vanessa stared at the monsters in the projection then at the person who brought the Recording Crystal over.


    ¡°When did this happen?¡±


    Bucky was also shocked by the contents of the video. He had only been instructed to deliver the crystal and knew nothing of the details.


    He had never expected the video within the Recording Crystal to be this terrifying. Moreover, the Saintess seemed to have deemed it to be a dire situation.


    With that thought in mind, Bucky couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous. Had it been his younger self, he would still have possessed some capabilities, being Byrne¡¯s butler and all.


    But now, he was just an old gentleman whose intellect had been eroded by comfortable days.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Your Holiness. My master only instructed me to send the items over and didn¡¯t say anything else.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Having stayed in this city for some time, Vanessa knew that the Lord Mayor was exceedingly average and also wasn¡¯t on good terms with the Divine Temple.


    ¡°Alright, I understand. You may leave.¡±


    ¡°Understood Your Holiness. I bid the Saintess Good Day.¡±


    Bucky was unsettled, his initial amazement at seeing the Saintess had all but vanished.


    ¡°From the looks of things, could it be that a beast tide was coming? Should I pack up some valuables and run away with milord?!¡±


    Vanessa didn¡¯t know what Bucky was thinking about, nor did she care. She only wanted to know more about the red-eyed monsters.


    ¡°Investigate who the Lord Mayor was in contact with today. I want to know where he got this information.¡±


    ¡°It shall be done!¡±


    At Vanessa¡¯s words, the knight who had been kneeling on the floor immediately got up and left.


    Then, Vanessa ordered the attendant standing beside her,


    ¡°Write a report of what you just saw and send it to the higher ups immediately. And I mean this instant. Tell them that there are suspected traces of the Devil¡¯s Apostle.¡±


    ¡°It shall be done!¡±


    When Vanessa and Clayton were the only ones left in the room, a smile returned to Vanessa¡¯s face, and she said to Clayton,


    ¡°What say we head to Volcano Giant? It just so happens that I haven¡¯t eaten the food there before.¡±


    However, Clayton, who had just been urging Vanessa to meet George, suddenly changed his tune and said,


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter when we meet the saint candidate. The Devil¡¯s Apostle situation is far more important. I beg Your Holiness to please reconsider your priorities.¡±


    His words displeased Vanessa, and she shot Clayton a disgruntled look.


    ¡°How can you be like this? You just told me not to forget my mission here. Now that I¡¯m going to complete that mission, you want to stop me again.¡±


    Clayton remained unfazed and he responded with a straight face,


    ¡°That was a moment ago, this is now. The situation has changed.¡±


    Looking at the stubborn and rigid man before her, Vanessa couldn¡¯t help but feel stifled.


    ¡°Saintess, please stop thinking about running away. What must come, will come. Please accept reality.¡±


    ¡°I understand. So let¡¯s go. We¡¯re going to the Volcano Giant now.¡±


    Clayton frowned as Vanessa continued to insist on meeting George instead of dealing with the red-eyed monsters.


    However, he was only a Guardian Knight. He could advise or even give suggestions, but he had no authority over the Saintess¡¯ decisions.


    It was not his place to stop what Vanessa had decided on.


    ¡°Your Holiness, then what should we do with the red-eyed monsters?¡±


    Vanessa waved her hand nonchalantly.


    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Let us go take a look at this saint candidate of ours. It¡¯s perfect, we can form a party with him and put him to the test.¡±


    Just as Vanessa was getting excited, Clayton reminded her very opportunely, ¡°Please note that we don¡¯t have the right to administer candidate tests.¡±


    Vanessa looked at Clayton testily.


    ¡°How are you so wearisome? Of course I know that. But if I say I do, I do.


    In the first place, why don¡¯t I have the right to test him? I am the Saintess, the fianc¨¦e of the Saint-to-be.


    Although it¡¯s just a pre-selection, it¡¯s possible that the word ¡®candidate¡¯ will be dropped from his title. He might be the final Saint.


    As the wife, I have all the right in the world to inspect my spouse.¡±


    To sum it up, it didn¡¯t matter what anyone said. She was the Saintess, she could be as willful as she pleased.


    When Vanessa got like this, not even Clayton had a good way of dealing with her.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Seeing Vanessa walk out willfully, Clayton did not hesitate and followed behind her silently.


    No matter the situation, Vanessa had the final word.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Boneyard Mountain Range


    What was usually a deserted and desolate mountain range welcomed some long-awaited hustle and bustle on this day.


    A large number of crimson-eyed monsters were making their way across the mountains and straight for Gainsborough.


    ¡°Ah-whoo~¡±


    A lone wolf looked at them, alarmed. Without thinking, it turned its tail and ran away.


    However, just as it turned around, its pupils contracted and its eyes widened. Wisps of red spread across its eyes like spiderwebs.


    When it howled again, its eyes were completely red.


    A violent roar came from its mouth.


    It quickly joined the demonic monster army, becoming an insignificant cannon fodder amongst their ranks.


    A pale, spindly man sat on the back of a red-eyed Kodo Beast and looked in Gainsborough¡¯s direction with equally crimson eyes.


    ¡°Gainsborough was it? I¡¯m a little nostalgic. The home of the King of Adventurers.¡±


    The man looked down again.


    ¡°What exactly is Yshtal doing? Why hasn¡¯t there been any news yet? Could something have happened?¡±


    Then, a spot of red appeared on the barren ground and with it, the entire mountain seemed to come alive. Cracks appeared everywhere, from which large amounts of red liquid flowed out. It was as if the mountain was bleeding.


    Seeing this, the worry on the man¡¯s face disappeared.


    ¡°It seems like we have indeed encountered a rather prickly situation¡­ Just like we planned..¡±

 Chapter 34 - The First Meeting Between the Saint and the Saintess

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Whenever George fully entered the state of eating, he became an eating machine and lost all sense of his surroundings.


    A huge bite of meat, a big glup of soup, rinse and repeat.


    Celia was of course completely used to this.


    Celia looked at Siluca whose small mouth was gaping open and couldn¡¯t help but tease,


    ¡°Is Daddy¡¯s appearance scaring you?¡±


    Roar!


    Celia couldn¡¯t tell, because she was human, but Siluca, with its animal instincts, could clearly sense the threat George posed in this state.


    Especially since Siluca possessed exceptionally sharp senses, it experienced the intimidation from George even more keenly than it otherwise would.


    It was the kind of intimidation those at the top of the food chain exuded to those beneath them.


    Siluca was scared. But more than that, she felt lost.


    If George hadn¡¯t signed a contract with Siluca while it was still an egg, which wound their fates tightly together, it was highly likely that Siluca would have ran away then and there.


    Although she couldn¡¯t see Siluca¡¯s fear, Celia was worried that George¡¯s current state would scare the young dragon. So she kept stroking Siluca¡¯s nape and massaging it.


    Perhaps it was because of Celia¡¯s comforting, but Siluca did eventually settle.


    As George ate, everyone in the Volcano Giant subconsciously lowered their voices.


    There was an unwritten rule in the Volcano Giant, no, in the city of Gainsborough.


    If you saw George eating, keep quiet and whatever you do, do not disturb him.


    If you found George eating alone without his companion, then be even more quiet. If you value your life, never disturb George when he¡¯s eating.


    Once George was immersed in eating, he became a true predator.


    This was not a joke.


    There was once an unfortunate incident that happened in Gainsborough. Back then, George and Celia were both fresh off the boat, nameless and inexperienced rookie adventurers.


    Naturally, there were people who didn¡¯t see eye to eye with George and wanted to pick a fight with him.


    After all, bullying rookies was the hobby of many scumbags.


    Many people witnessed this incident, and if these witnesses were still alive today, they¡¯d probably regret not taking the initiative to put a stop to things


    Ding Dong!


    ¡°This is the place, Clayton.


    ¡°Boss, I¡¯d like to place an order!¡±


    The doorbell rang, and with it, the alarm bells of all the customers in the restaurant. Everyone immediately turned to look at the person who was chewing on a roasted demon ox leg.


    George.


    But George didn¡¯t have any strong reactions. He continued concentrating on the beef leg in his hand.


    At the same time, everyone, including the boss had been cooking, looked over with a frown.


    Typically, after George enters eating mode, whichever shop he was in would put out a signboard that said ¡°George is In¡± at the door.


    The whole point was to warn incoming guests to be careful when they came in to not make too much noise.


    Some shops would even refuse new customers once George has entered to avoid trouble. Since all their stock was taken care of anyways, why not just close the shop for good?


    Ol¡¯ Lasov sighed. As George hadn¡¯t visited for a while, he had forgotten to take down the doorbell while the younger man ate.


    But still, something¡¯s not right. There should be someone standing guard by the door.


    Gainsborough, being the City of Adventurers, received many out-of-town folks on a daily basis. So, just to be on the safe side, once the sign was hung up, there would be kitchen staff assigned as last-minute guards to stop people from entering.


    However, once these two newcomers came in, Ol¡¯ Lasov noticed that he couldn¡¯t see the hide nor hair of said kitchen staff.


    What was going on?


    Filled with these doubts, Ol¡¯ Lasov looked over. And with just a glance, he knew why his kitchen staff didn¡¯t dare to stop these visitors.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to stop them. He was too afraid to.


    Because the visitors were none other than Saintess Vanessa and her Guardian Knight, Clayton.


    Setting aside whether or not the two kitchen staff outside knew who the two of them were. Their outfits alone meant his staff wouldn¡¯t have dared to even make contact with them.


    Come to think of it, he had indeed heard that the Saintess had arrived at Gainsborough¡¯s Divine Temple a while ago. This was probably her.


    Ol¡¯ Lasov could sense from their considerable aura that they weren¡¯t weak. He thought for a while, took a look at George then said to Vanessa,


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but all our food today has been reserved for that person.¡±


    Vanessa wasn¡¯t bothered by the rejection. She looked at the assistant behind the Ol¡¯ Lasov who was busy processing ingredients and said,


    ¡°But I see you have plenty of food, can¡¯t we get some too?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s a matter of principle. First come, first serve. That customer has already asked for it.¡±


    ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll foot his bill so give me some of his meat.¡±


    Hearing the commotion, Celia also looked over. She frowned and looked at Vanessa, who was chatting with Ol¡¯ Lasov with slight puzzlement on her face.


    She didn¡¯t know their identity, but she could tell that the two of them were from the Divine Temple.


    Why were the people from the Divine Temple here?


    Since she had nothing better to do, Celia began to think about Vanessa¡¯s motives. From the looks of it, it seemed like she came here to eat.


    And in reality, it seems like she did come here to eat.


    There was too little information for Celia to figure anything out.


    However, if she added one more condition, then there was another possibility Celia could think of.


    If she had an ulterior motive and wasn¡¯t food, then who would her target be?


    Was she here for George?


    Various possibilities kept appearing in Celia¡¯s mind, but she rejected them all.


    She casually took a piece of meat from George¡¯s table and brought it to Siluca¡¯s mouth.


    Roar!


    Siluca took a big bite of the meat and tried to wolf the food down much like George was doing.


    It seemed that the dragon hatchling was more adaptable than Celia had expected. After confirming that George had no intention of eating it, Siluca relaxed and even began to imitate George.


    Siluca held the meat Celia fed it with both paws while the image of George eating reflected its eyes.


    Seeing Siluca break out into a smile, Celia took another piece of meat from George¡¯s table and this time, fed it to herself.


    If there was anyone in this world who could get away with stealing food from George, it would be Celia.


    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll just go ask him.¡±


    Seeing that Vanessa was about to disturb George, Ol¡¯ Lasov dropped the food he was preparing and hurried forward to stop her.


    ¡°Wait, Your Holiness!¡±


    Unfortunately, Ol¡¯ Lasov was behind the counter. There was no way he could stop Vanessa in time.


    ¡°Hello, are you interested in sharing a table?¡±

 Chapter 35 - Out of Control

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    When Vanessa walked towards George, everyone had their hearts in their mouths.


    Even though everyone¡¯s heard of how terrifying George could be, those who had witnessed it were no longer around. Thus, though nervous, everyone was also a tiny bit excited.


    They really wanted to see for themselves what would happen if George was disturbed.


    However, nothing happened.


    George continued to eat his meat as if he hadn¡¯t heard Vanessa¡¯s voice,


    gnawing on the last of the roasted Demon Ox¡¯s legs.


    George¡¯s lack of response did not lead to everyone feeling relieved. They had a feeling that the show was only about to begin.


    After all, George still had Celia beside him, and Vanessa also had not done anything drastic.


    But what would happen next was hard to say.


    Vanessa sat down directly across from George.


    Seeing Vanessa¡¯s actions, Celia remained expressionless. She was now certain that the woman was here for George.


    As for the reason, she did not know.


    But after thinking about it, there was only one possibility, and that was the information she had sold to Anna.


    If they wanted to know more, wanted more detailed information, then everything made sense.


    Just as Celia was about to say something, Vanessa spoke first.


    This time, not only had she made a sound, but she even touched George¡¯s food.


    Pa!


    George, who had been eating, suddenly dropped the Demon Ox Leg he was eating, and with his still-greasy hand, gripped tightly onto Vanessa¡¯s arm.


    His other hand was raised in the air.


    Upon seeing this scene, Clayton was shocked.


    Amidst his surprise, he thought to himself reproachfully, ¡°Such speed!¡±


    When a spring was wound too tightly, it would need to be relaxed.


    George was the same way. It was fine when they were out in the wild, but when they were eating at a restaurant, George would let go of his self-control and release some of his tightly-suppressed hunger.


    Under these circumstances, George¡¯s intellect would remain eroded by hunger until he had finished all of his food, making him very dangerous.


    George in this state was like a wild beast.


    Should his meal be interrupted, George would reveal a terrifyingly brutal side to him.


    His face was clearly covered in grease and he looked very unsightly, but no one laughed at him.


    An atmosphere of terror blanketed the Volcano Giant.


    Siluca, who was nibbling on the meat, froze. Then, she threw the meat away and jumped into Selia¡¯s arms, shivering in fear.


    The expressions of everyone present changed as they felt the pressure he exuded. George¡¯s imposing aura alone was able to stun these seasoned adventurers, to the point where they couldn¡¯t even move.


    The situation caused everyone to lose their minds. Fear began to spread within them.


    ¡°The stories were true.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that incident to be true.¡±


    ¡°Customers, see what you¡¯ve done.¡±


    ¡°My god, you knew this would happen and you still did it?¡±


    ¡°Temple Trash, are you guys crazy?¡±


    ¡°Quickly, someone think of something, we don¡¯t want to die yet!¡±


    ¡°Damn it, George, George, it¡¯s me, it¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°Stop shouting, do you think you¡¯re Celia¡­¡± One of them started, then stopped mid-sentence. Realizing something, he quickly called out to Celia, who was next to George.


    Everyone in Gainsborough knew that if anyone could bring George back when he lost control, it would be Celia.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Celia, quick, tell him that we mean no harm.¡±


    ¡°Celia, do something, quick! If you don¡¯t stop him now, it will be too late.¡±


    Celia remained unmoving despite the anxious shouts around her and made no move to dissuade George.


    Her eyes were fixed on Vanessa. Her instincts told her that since she dared to provoke George then she must be counting on something.


    In any case, should something really go wrong, Celia just had to put a stop to it.


    Celia threw George a look of deep sympathy. She knew George¡¯s constitution and understood the reason for his condition.


    It made her dote on George that much more. Always wishing that he could enjoy himself as much as possible, and be able to ease the suffering of that insatiable hunger whenever he could.


    Sure, thanks to this special constitution, George had become incredibly strong. However, in Celia¡¯s eyes, this was a terrifying curse that he might never be able to free himself from.


    At the thought of this, Celia¡¯s heart ached.


    Hence, she would never forgive anyone who dared to disturb George¡¯s meal, even if that person was herself.


    On the other hand, Vanessa was surprised to see that despite the violent aura he was exuding, George¡¯s face was expressionless.


    She was not the least bit concerned for her own safety. A happy smile spread across her face, as if she had discovered an interesting toy.


    Upon seeing this smile, Selia¡¯s impression of Vanessa hit rock bottom.


    Now she really wanted to see why this woman was so fearless.


    The inscription on Vanessa¡¯s clothes shimmered and a stream of power flowed into George¡¯s hand.


    In an instant, George¡¯s hand was pushed away and Vanessa regained her freedom.


    Light began to converge. Beads of silvery light flecked with gold specks coalesced in George¡¯s other hand.


    Noxkaius had responded to George¡¯s summons, and upon absorbing his energy, provided him with a vast amount of light energy.


    Across the room, Clayton drew his sword and shielded Vanessa behind him the moment she broke free.


    ¡°Your Holiness, please don¡¯t do such reckless things in the future,¡±


    Clayton turned to admonish the saint.


    Just as he finished his sentence, a beam of light shot out from the tip of Noxkaius.


    But Clayton continued to look at Vanessa as if he hadn¡¯t seen the incoming beam, almost like he was awaiting her response.


    Boom!


    An intense blast of air rippled across the room, blowing away all the surrounding food and tables.


    Seeing this, George ceased his attack and opened his mouth wide.


    Then, a terrifying suction force appeared above George¡¯s head.


    There, above George¡¯s head, was a small black dot. It was also the origin of the terrifying suction force.


    As time passed, the black dot continued to expand.


    Feeling the force behind the suction, everyone present subconsciously grabbed onto something to secure themselves.


    Affected by this suction force, the food that was about to land on the ground began flying towards the black dot on George¡¯s head.


    ¡°How interesting.¡±


    As the food and sawdust flew into the hole, the smoke from the explosion dissipated, revealing Vanessa and Clayton who were unharmed.


    Looking at the black hole above George¡¯s head, Vanessa became more interested in him..

 Chapter 36 - Classes of Strength

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Facing George, who was becoming increasingly violent and terrifying, Clayton looked at Vanessa and asked, ¡°What should we do?¡±


    ¡°Calm him down. I don¡¯t want to ruin such a good restaurant either,¡±


    Vanessa said with a smile.


    ¡°As you command.¡±


    Her calm tone made Celia very uncomfortable.


    Her words sounded as if George was nothing to her.


    However, Celia didn¡¯t show it.


    Curious and a little suspicious, she continued to observe the two personnel from the Divine Temple.


    ¡°Master, are they very strong?¡±


    Celia asked Dionmya as she held Siluca tightly in her arms, her eyes not leaving Clayton and Vanessa.


    To her surprise, there was no response from Dionmya. She waited for a brief moment, but there was still no response.


    ¡°Master?¡±


    Puzzled, Celia called out again,


    ¡°Master?¡±


    Finally, after many calls from Celia, Dionmya¡¯s voice finally sounded in her mind.


    ¡°I¡¯m angry. I don¡¯t want to respond.¡±


    Her tone was sulky and indignant, which confused Celia. She had no idea why her master was suddenly throwing a tantrum.


    ¡°Huh?¡± In her confusion, Celia exclaimed out loud, but everyone¡¯s attention was on George.


    That and the commotion on George¡¯s end was greater, so no one noticed Celia¡¯s exclamation.


    ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong? Why are you angry?¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    ¡°Master!¡±


    However, no matter how much she called out to Dionmya, there was still no response.


    After a few more unsuccessful attempts, Celia finally gave up.


    By this time, George and Clayton had gone a few bouts and exchanged several blows.


    As expected of a Knight from the Divine Temple, his strength was indeed extraordinary.


    As much as Celia didn¡¯t want to admit, watching Clayton¡¯s movements, and how he was able to faintly overpower George with them,she had to admit that the other party was stronger. For now.


    It was common knowledge that in a berserker state, one¡¯s combat ability would explode, and their strength would increase exponentially.


    Thus, at this moment, George¡¯s power output was already stronger than in his normal state.


    But even so, Clayton was able to deal with him without breaking a sweat.


    As expected, these two were definitely not your average knight and priestess.


    Given their strength, they would be considered to be among the best even in Gainsborough.


    Celia compared Clayton to the most powerful man she¡¯d ever seen in her life. The memory of the monster she¡¯d fought on the battlefield flashed through her mind unconsciously.


    For some reason, this thought appeared in Celia¡¯s mind,


    ¡°In terms of aura, George¡¯s opponent might be weaker, but in a real battle, both sides should be evenly matched.¡±


    ¡°Geez, such high praise. He¡¯s just a Silver Knight.¡±


    Dionmya, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke up. She sounded very unimpressed by Clayton¡¯s strength.


    Dionmya¡¯s words were both surprising and unexpected.


    ¡°Just Silver? I thought he was at least a Bronze.¡±


    The strength classification in this world was based on names of the ores that were commonly used.


    From bottom to top, they were: Rock, Black Iron, Silver, Bronze, Mithril, Gold, Purple Gold¡­


    Among them, the Gold class was also known as the ¡®Legendary¡¯ class. When one reached this level, it meant they had undergone metamorphosis on an existential level, and even their bloodline would evolve and sublimate.


    It wasn¡¯t just their own strength that would be augmented, their descendants would also receive increased power.


    In Celia¡¯s opinion, this extraordinary knight probably possessed a Golden Bloodline, and thus had Bronze class strength.


    But Dionmya dismissed that speculation.


    Celia didn¡¯t start doubting her master just because of a difference in opinion however. Having faith in Dionmya, she went along with the woman¡¯s comment,


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen Silvers before. Why does this knight give me a different feeling from them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just because of his identity and training method. His calmness is giving you the illusion that he is very strong.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± At Dionmya¡¯s explanation, Celia nodded her head, her worry easing.


    ¡°If he¡¯s only Silver, George won¡¯t lose.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re that confident?¡± This time, it was Dionmya¡¯s turn to be surprised.


    She hadn¡¯t only been focused on the battle itself. She was observing the fighters. And Clayton not only possessed skillful swordsmanship, his physique, being a Silver, was also at the peak of what mortals would achieve.


    The transition from Silver to Bronze was to go from mortal to supernatural.


    Based on Dionmya¡¯s perception, Clayton was about to complete this transformation. His strength was, to be precise, at the peak of Silver class.


    Or perhaps even above Sliver class and below Bronze.


    Meanwhile, George on the other hand, if it weren¡¯t for his spear, Dionmia feared that he would have been defeated during their first exchange.


    There was no other magic in George¡¯s body apart from the energy generated by his daily meditation.


    Although George¡¯s physical fitness was extraordinary, he had not undergone any professional or systematic training. He had no idea how to use the magic within him for combat.


    At this point though, even if he could cast a spell, Clayton wouldn¡¯t give him the chance to.


    With just a glance, Dionmya knew why the battle had dragged on for so long. If it wasn¡¯t for the growing black hole above George¡¯s head restraining Clayton, the young man likely wouldn¡¯t have lasted this long.


    However, even in such a situation, Celia still believed that George could win.


    Seeing as Celia didn¡¯t seem to be faking it, Dionmya wondered where that confidence came from.


    ¡°Even Bronze would find it hard to win against George.¡±


    After hearing Celia¡¯s words, Dionmya couldn¡¯t help but feel bewildered. What had she missed or overlooked?


    As she pondered this question, Dionmya continued,


    ¡°You think very highly of your little boyfriend. However, if he at least used that mysterious divine spear of his, there wouldn¡¯t be such a big gap in strength between him and this knight.¡±


    Divine Weapons were indeed powerful, but they were not invincible. Most Divine Weapon users were at most only invincible against those of the same class. Or at best, they could challenge those in the next highest class provided the gap between them wasn¡¯t too great.


    For example, it was possible for a peak Rock class to defeat a regular Black Iron class fighter.


    From Rock to Silver, people were still within mortal range. From Bronze class onwards, people began to transform.


    From there on, the difference in strength between each class became considerable.


    There was no way George could go up against a Bronze class and walk away in one piece like Celia said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not because of Noxkaius. You don¡¯t understand George¡¯s terrifying, practically cursed body.¡±


    ¡°His body?¡±

 Chapter 37 - Georges True Strength

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    Boom!


    The shock waves from the collision crashed into the restaurant¡¯s walls.


    The expression of Ol¡¯ Lasov, who was hiding behind the counter, darkened. His precious restaurant!


    At this moment, no matter how noble the status of Saintess was, Ol¡¯ Lasov¡¯s impression of her was as poor as it could get.


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided. Next time, I¡¯m putting up a sign that says, ¡®no Divine Temple people allowed.¡¯


    Damn it, did this woman not understand human language?


    Of all the places she chose to provoke George, it had to be here.


    Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t place the blame for this incident on George.


    He practically watched George grow up. He and George could be considered life-long friends despite their age difference.


    Since their relationship was so tight, naturally the blame for all the losses he¡¯d incurredfell on the Divine Temple.


    Boom!


    The new round of bombardment stirred up more dust in the restaurant. Ol¡¯ Lasov turned to his staff and hollered,


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Quick, take the guests outside.¡±


    Boom!


    The pots and pans on the kitchen counter were blown to the ground, and Ol¡¯ Lasov too was hit by several small plates.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Shaking off the broken pieces of crockery from his head, Ol¡¯ Lasov stood up and led his staff to evacuate the customers.


    ¡°Hurry up and leave before anything happens!¡±


    Almost all the customers here were adventurers, so the battle didn¡¯t scare them.


    However, as they watched the fight intensify, they began to worry about being hit by stray attacks.


    Tsss¡ª


    There was another exchange of blows, and this time Clayton was sent flying backwards. He stumbled for many steps before regaining his footing.


    Compared to before, Clayton looked a little worse for wear.


    But even at a time like this, Clayton¡¯s face remained expressionless. He was like an ice-cold puppet, loyally carrying out his master¡¯s mission.


    An invisible force burst forth from Clayton¡¯s body.


    Combat Aura. It was a special power that could be awakened within warriors through systematic training of the body and unique breathing technique.


    It was one of the Three Universal Systems of this continent.


    ¡°Hiss!¡°


    The rhythm of Clayton¡¯s breathing began to change, and specks of golden light emerged from his body and floated in the air.


    The moment these specks of light appeared, they began circling Clayton. And under his control, they flew onto the sword in his hand.


    Having been infused with Clayton¡¯s Combat Aura, his sword became coated in a golden light that emitted a majestic force.


    Everyone could feel a heavy pressure on their chests.


    It was as if there was a mountain pressing down on their chest, making it difficult to breathe. Their hearts began beating rapidly under this pressure, causing them great discomfort.


    As if sensing the threat Clayton posed, George did something that no one expected. He released Noxkaius.


    He then tensed all the muscles in his body, causing his shirt to burst open. Terrifying heat radiated from George¡¯s body, and the pieces of clothing that were flying in the air spontaneously combusted.


    The air suddenly became scorching hot.


    While still maintaining the black hole above his head, George¡¯s muscles bulged and his body expanded. It was as if something was about to emerge from his body.


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    Everything that was happening to George were blows to Dionmya. As the most powerful being present, she saw more than everyone else.


    She originally thought that he was just a little brat who relied on a divine weapon and had an outstanding appetite. Who knew that she only saw the most superficial aspects of him.


    ¡°No way, this young man has the bloodline of a giant?¡±


    In Dionmya¡¯s eyes, George had become a furnace that was constantly releasing terrifying amounts of heat.


    The area closest to George had already begun to melt.


    ¡°Nope, George is 100% human.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me this is a human?¡±


    ¡°Yep, he¡¯s a human.¡±


    ¡°For him to be 100% human, then the only possibility is for either one or both of his parents to have ancestors who have surpassed Gold class.¡±


    Bloodlines could be passed down. If one¡¯s ancestors had a Golden Bloodline, then when the bloodline was activated, the strength of the one who activated it would be astounding. They might even awaken magical powers.


    Celia hadn¡¯t been exposed to supernatural bloodlines, so she didn¡¯t know much about them. But Dionmya was different.


    She could tell the difference between someone with a supernatural bloodline and someone without.


    She was one hundred percent certain that George did not possess such a thing, so she asserted,


    ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible. It¡¯s definitely not a supernatural bloodline. There¡¯s no such aura in this young man¡¯s body.¡±


    If it wasn¡¯t some supernatural bloodline, then there was only one answer. Dionmya looked at George with eyes filled with a burning desire for knowledge.


    ¡°All of this can only be attributed to George¡¯s constitution. What kind of constitution is capable of achieving this?¡±


    If Dionmya had to evaluate George in his current state, then her only assessment would be that a Demon God of Flames was living in his body.


    ¡°I take back what I said before. If it¡¯s George as he is right now. With just this terrifying physique, he could take on a Bronze, no, even a Mithril class.¡±


    At this, Dionmya paused. She looked at George, who was still spewing heat like a volcano. Dionmya added,


    ¡°Of course, this is under the pretext that he could become stronger.¡±


    In just a short while, there were already bystanders who started to catch fire.


    ¡°Help!¡±


    ¡°Quick, defend yourself with Combat Aura.¡±


    Ol¡¯ Lasov hurriedly reminded everyone as he saw what was happening to his customers.


    ¡°Use your defensive equipment.¡±


    Upon hearing these words, many people finally came to their senses and hurriedly summoned their powers and or activated tools to defend themselves.


    When the flames on their bodies finally dissipated and they were able to successfully resist the scorching heat, they all glared daggers at Vanessa.


    ¡°Damn it, I didn¡¯t expect to suffer such a huge loss just from eating out.¡±


    Like Ol¡¯ Lasov, none of these people blamed George.


    The smile on Vanessa¡¯s face did not falter when she felt the antagonistic stares.


    Although she couldn¡¯t care less, she also knew that things would get troublesome if this dragged on.


    While she got to enjoy the power and benefits brought about by her status as the Saintess of the Divine Temple, she also had to be careful not to cause the temple any trouble.


    Especially since the Saintess was considered the face of the Divine Temple.


    ¡°Stand down, Clayton.¡±


    With these words, the glowing sword that was about to strike suddenly dimmed.


    Clayton dispersed the power he had gathered on his sword and sheathed it without paying any attention to George¡¯s movements.


    However, George, who had lost control, wouldn¡¯t stop just because Clayton stood down.


    But Vanessa wasn¡¯t worried, because she knew there was someone who could make him stop.


    ¡°George..¡±

 Chapter 38 - Dialogue

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    With just one word, George, who was about to turn Volcano Giant into an actual volcano immediately stopped.


    His rationality returned in an instant, and the ambient temperature gradually returned to normal.


    A hint of clarity flashed through George¡¯s eyes. Upon returning to normal, he surveyed his surroundings and immediately understood what had taken place.


    George looked at Ol¡¯ Lasov who was covered in dust and said sincerely,


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Ol¡¯ Rasov. I¡¯ve caused you trouble.¡±


    Seeing that everything was finally over, Old Lasov heaved a sigh of relief.


    He stood up and wiped his face briefly. Hearing George¡¯s apology, he quickly shook his head and said,


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, child.¡±


    At no point did Ol¡¯ Lasov think about blaming George. He looked at George with a gentle expression, then at Vanessa, who had been smiling all this while, with a scathing one.


    ¡°All I can say is, some people are too rude, so rude that it makes people wonder if their identity is a disguise.¡±


    Even when insulted like that, the smile on Vanessa¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade. Her gentle smile seemed to heal everyone who saw it.


    However, the anger in Ol¡¯ Lasov¡¯s heart was not so easily appeased.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Ol¡¯ Lasov turned his head and instructed his staff,


    ¡°The few of you, quickly get up and help clean up. We¡¯re waiving everyone¡¯s bills today.¡±


    The second half of the sentence was directed at the customers in the restaurant.


    Upon hearing Ol¡¯ Lasov¡¯s order for everyone to leave, the customers also didn¡¯t hang around any longer and walked out of the door.


    Before leaving, they didn¡¯t forget to bid George goodbye.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving now, George.¡±


    ¡°Bye George.¡±


    Like Ol¡¯ Rasov, none of these people held a shred of anger towards George.


    Every crime had its perpetrator. They had no intention of blaming George for the terrible situation they got into.


    Instead, all these people, subconsciously or consciously, glared at Vanessa in either dissatisfaction or anger.


    The grudge had been cemented.


    Vanessa wasn¡¯t the least bit bothered by all this. The unchanging smile on her face made Selia, who had been observing her all this while, if there was anything that could get her to stop smiling.


    Her smile was pretty, it also became too much after a while.


    Besides, Celia didn¡¯t know if her smile was genuine or if it meant something else.


    Meanwhile, George was still saying goodbye to adventurers he was familiar with.


    ¡°That was fierce dude. I really wanna know, how did you become so powerful?.¡±


    ¡°You just need to eat as much as me,¡± George replied seriously.


    Of course, everyone thought he was joking.


    However, there were also people who believed him. After all, George¡¯s appetite was too abnormal. Yet, he did not become obese despite his gluttony.


    Therefore, some of the smarter people present guessed that maybe George really was able convert food into energy and use it to become stronger.


    The one who asked the question shrugged resignedly and gave up.


    ¡°Then forget it. I think I¡¯d go bankrupt before I become stronger, even if I only ate one-tenth of what you eat.¡±


    Even if he did believe George¡¯s words, there was nothing he could do besides envy him.


    After all, George¡¯s appetite was simply too terrifying. He could genuinely die from overeating if tried to eat as much as the young man.


    Of course, there were also some who thought they could get lucky, and started to think about how they could start to eat like George.


    If eating more could make them stronger, perhaps it was worth giving it a shot.


    Although it wasn¡¯t possible to reach George¡¯s level immediately, they could take it slowly.


    Some people were tempted, but they didn¡¯t show it.


    Others tried to change the topic by downplaying George¡¯s words as a joke.


    ¡°Hahaha, if you want to imitate George, I advise you to forget it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. One person¡¯s way of getting stronger may not work for another.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going now, bye George!¡±


    ¡°See you next time!¡±


    ¡°Bye.¡±


    After bidding farewell to these people, George turned to look at the instigator of this chaos.


    ¡°May I know why you are looking for me?¡±


    Looking at Vanessa and Clayton, George was 100% certain that he had never seen them before.


    Neither he nor Celia had any contact with the Divine Temple in their day to day activities.


    Just then, Celia walked over to George with Siluca in her arms.


    ¡°Is this about the red-eyed monsters?¡±


    Vanessa turned her head to look atCelia, and was inwardly very surprised to see the well-behaved Siluca in the young mage¡¯s arms.


    A newborn dragon, and a pure-blooded one at that.


    It seemed like a lot had happened to these two while they were away.


    Curious about what had happened to George and Selia, Vanessa nodded and admitted frankly,


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Her gaze fell on Celia, and information about her flashed through Vanessa¡¯s mind.


    This woman was born and raised alongside George. She was his confidant and the person he trusted the most.


    Celia, the Mage Adept.


    ¡°She looks smarter than I thought.¡±


    Looking at Celia, Vanessa briefly explained,


    ¡°The appearance of this kind of monster means that something big is about to happen¡­¡±


    ¡°An Apostle of the Devil.¡±


    Celia interrupted her just as Vanessa was about to explain the severity of the matter.


    Clayton turned his head and stared at Celia, hard.


    According to their intel, these two shouldn¡¯t know that name.


    George quietly stepped between Clayton and Celia.


    It was as if he was saying if Clayton wanted to lay a hand on Celia, he¡¯d have to get past him first.


    The somewhat harmonious atmosphere became tense again.


    Vanessa looked at Celia and nodded with a smile, as if she didn¡¯t feel a thing.


    ¡°You know even this? Could it be that you¡¯ve already ran into one?¡±


    George was completely unaware of all this, so he handed things off to Celia.


    The latter admitted, ¡°I sensed one, but never saw it in person.¡±


    Sensed one? George¡¯s expression belied nothing, but inwardly, he lapsed into thought. He suddenly understood something.


    At the same time, Vanessa looked back and forth between George and Celia and responded, still smiling,


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. Sure enough, coming here was the right thing to do.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± said Ol¡¯ Lasov¡¯s voice piped up from the sidelines.


    Sensing the hostility in his tone, Vanessa¡¯s smile did not falter. Instead , she turned to the dwarf and bowed slightly in apology.


    Then, she looked back at George and Selia and said,


    ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere else. This isn¡¯t the place to talk.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Then we¡¯re off, too, Ol¡¯ Lasov.¡±


    ¡°Mm..¡±

 Chapter 39 - The Army Approaches

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    ¡°Once we cross this forest, we¡¯ll reach Gainsborough, but before that¡­¡±


    Standing beside Boundary River, Clark looked in the direction of the Forest of Slumber and a joyous smile spread across his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to retrieve what belongs to me.¡±


    Under Clark¡¯s control, all the monsters closed their eyes and laid down to rest.


    Clark on the other hand, walked towards the other side of the river with his back facing the Forest of Slumber.


    His target was the Forest of Awakening, which was several times more dangerous than the Forest of Slumber.


    As soon as he entered, Clark felt his presence being locked onto by several entities.


    Clark chuckled when he felt the gazes on him.


    ¡°Hohoho. These monsters sure grew up well. After rearing you lot for so long, it¡¯s time for you to serve me.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, scarlet energy surged from Clark¡¯s body and spread out in all directions.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Divine Temple Gainsborough Branch


    Under Vanessa¡¯s lead, George and Celia entered the Divine Temple for the first time.


    They knew very little about the Divine Temple. They only knew that it was humanity¡¯s largest force on this continent.


    Arriving at a conference room, the attendants of the Divine Temple served them snacks and tea and made themselves scarce.


    ¡°Please make yourselves at home.¡±


    Vanessa sat down across George and Celia. She held out her hand and gestured for them to relax.


    Beside him, Clayton stood against the wall, faithfully executing his duties as her Guardian.


    Since the host had said so, George and Celia relaxed a little.


    George picked up his teacup and eyed the tea within. The light-red liquor emitted a rich but non-pungent fragrance.


    He felt refreshed just from smelling it.


    The most important thing was that George could feel magic in the tea.


    This was clearly a high-grade product brewed using potions and likely had special effects.


    Since most of their money was spent on food, this was the first time George and Celia had come into contact with such high-grade goods.


    George brought the tea to his mouth, and as the light-red liquid flowed into his body, the magic within dispersed itself in his body. It left him feeling rejuvenated.


    The more energy something contained, the more it would help to alleviate his hunger.


    After drinking the tea, George was surprised to find that this one cup of tea was almost as effective as the seven wolves he had eaten in the Forest of Slumber.


    ¡°This is an alchemic tea that has the effect of lifting one¡¯s spirit. I like to drink it in the afternoon,¡±


    Vanessa shared enthusiastically, seemingly pleased with George¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°If you like it, I¡¯ll get someone to send you some when we get back.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± George shook his head in response.


    Although it was effective, it wasn¡¯t enough to bribe George.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business.¡±


    George didn¡¯t plan on participating in the upcoming discussion.


    After the short exchange earlier, he could tell that of all the people in this room, he had the least understanding of the situation.


    Therefore, there was no need for him to speak.


    After hearing George¡¯s words, Vanessa cut to the chase.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start from the Apostle of the Devil. An apostle of the Devil is also commonly known as the Apostle of the Demon God.


    ¡°The power of the Apostles depends on the strength of who they serve. The Apostles of powerful devils can be even stronger than the average devil.¡±


    After a brief introduction, Vanessa said to them,


    ¡°So, I was wondering if the two of you could provide more information about the Apostles?¡±


    Even though she said that, most of Vanessa¡¯s attention was focused on Celia.


    George had no intention of participating in this discussion, she got that much.


    On the other side, upon sensing Vanessa¡¯s gaze, Celia didn¡¯t rush to answer. Instead, she reached out for her teacher in her mindscape.


    ¡°How is it, master? Do you know anything?¡±


    ¡°What do you take me for? In my current state, being able to sense them is my limit. Unless the other party appears in front of me, I won¡¯t know anything else.¡±


    Dionmya answered Celia in a slightly disgruntled tone. She was second-guessing her decision to save Celia.


    Ever since she saved Celia, apart from the initial gratitude, the young mage only ever contacted her when she needed something.


    What did Celia take her for?


    Celia, who didn¡¯t know the internal dialogue happening in Dionmya¡¯s head, responded with a cool,


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Right then, Dionmya¡¯s agitated voice rang inside her head.


    ¡°Did you just say that I¡¯m really useless?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    Stunned, Celia quickly cast away all stray thoughts in her mind. She had almost forgotten that her teacher was currently residing in her consciousness,and could easily deduce her thoughts.


    It was like the woman could read her mind.


    ¡°At least show me some respect. I¡¯m your teacher, after all.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes. You have my utmost respect, master, and I am very grateful to you for saving my life.¡±


    These were Celia¡¯s heartfelt feelings.


    However, just like how Dionmya was starting to nitpick on Celia, Celia also held some small grudges against Dionmya.


    ¡°That aside master, why do I feel like you¡¯re becoming more immature? You don¡¯t feel like someone who¡¯s lived for a thousand years or more.¡±


    Celia did not forget what happened at Volcano Giant.


    She still remembered Dionmya¡¯s sudden tantrum and how she ignored her.


    It could only be said that both sides lacked communication.


    It was unclear what Dionmya thought about the things Celia was referring to. After a moment of silence, Dionmya replied,


    ¡°¡­We can talk about that another time. There are a lot of things involved. It¡¯s pointless to talk about them now.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Celia was surprised and confused by Dionmya¡¯s response as she couldn¡¯t figure out how the two matters were connected.


    However, since Dionmya had put it that way, she tactfully stopped talking about it.


    It was so unfair. Dionmya could read her mind, but she couldn¡¯t read hers.


    After some internal grumbling, Celia quickly returned to normal.


    Since Dionmya knew nothing, Selia wouldn¡¯t pretend to know either. She answered truthfully,


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we only know so much. Sorry we can¡¯t be of more help.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is all within my expectations.¡±


    George and Celia looked at each other in confusion.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Vanessa smiled, but she showed no intention of answering their question..

 Chapter 40 - The Forest of Awakening

    Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios


    The Forest of Slumber.


    In order to deal with the impending crisis, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and Anna had each sent out a team of scouts.


    Meanwhile, Byrne, as the Lord Mayor, provided the resources.


    ¡°Did you find anything on your end?¡±


    Cusosith asked his subordinates while scanning the surroundings with his eagle-sharp eyes.


    His voice rang out from the ear studs of every member.


    These ear studs were a magic tool for transmitting sound.


    And were standard equipment for adventurers.


    ¡°No.¡±


    Despite investigating for a long time, they couldn¡¯t find any useful information.


    Be it the adventurers sent by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild or the intelligence investigators sent by Anna, all of them were very familiar with the Forest of Slumber.


    It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that the Forest of Slumber was their backyard.


    Thus, if they said they didn¡¯t find anything, then they really didn¡¯t find anything.


    Hearing their response, Cusosith heaved a sigh of relief. This was good news.


    If there were no abnormalities, it meant that they still had a lot of time to prepare.


    ¡°Who knew something like this would happen?¡± Cusosith was Anna¡¯s subordinate, her right-hand man.


    He had seen the images in the Recording Crystal and understood the seriousness of the situation.


    Just the thought of large numbers of berserking monsters made his scalp tingle. It didn¡¯t help that these monsters were advancing towards them.


    God knows how many people would die at the hands of these monsters.


    Just as Cusosith was about to deliver the next set of instructions, a hurried voice came through his comms.


    ¡°Wait. Something¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Cusosith responded immediately. The other party also reported what he saw without delay.


    ¡°Report. Capitan, I¡¯m currently in the Nine-Eyed Spider¡¯s nest and the whole place is empty.¡±


    ¡°Empty!?¡±


    The Nine-Eyed Spider was no stranger to Cusosith. It was one of the more dangerous monsters in the Forest of Slumber.


    It was one of the toughest monsters that new adventurers encountered in their early days.


    Compared to normal monsters, the Nine-Eyed Spider was an extremely rare mental-type monster.


    Recalling the information about the Nine-Eyed Spider, Cusosith immediately realized something.


    As a mental-type monster, its senses were much keener than other monsters of the same level.


    If the Nine-Eyed Spider¡¯s nest was empty, it could only mean one thing. They had sensed danger and decided to leave the Forest of Slumber.


    ¡°Captain, what do you think?¡±


    Cusosith did not answer the question. Instead, he checked in on the team members who were exploring other places,


    ¡°The rest of you, stay sharp. Do you see any wild beasts or monsters? Normal or red-eyed?¡±


    ¡°No captain.¡±


    ¡°Nothing here either.¡±


    ¡­


    Upon hearing their reports, Cusosith took a deep breath and said,


    ¡°Not finding anything is the worst case scenario. It looks like the monsters and beasts in the Forest of Slumber have all ran away after sensing the impending danger.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Most people¡¯s first reaction was disbelief.


    After all, it was winter now. Many wild beasts and monsters could just be hidden away in their nests, hibernating.


    ¡°This is the truth.¡± Kusosi didn¡¯t care what his team members thought. But instead of lying to himself, he¡¯d rather assume the worst and be prepared for it.


    ¡°Roland, you head back first and report the situation to Miss Anna.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± The investigator named Roland was the one who was in the Nine-Eyed Spider¡¯s Den. After hearing the captain¡¯s words, he immediately turned around and ran towards Gainsborough.


    ¡°Is that necessary?¡± Even at this point, there were still members who expressed their doubts.


    ¡°Very necessary. The disappearance of wild beasts and monsters is a warning that danger is imminent. If we ignore it, we might put the entire city¡¯s inhabitants in danger,.¡±


    Cusosith explained patiently, all while silently noting down the hotheaded newbie who dared to question him.


    Recently, there were too many newcomers who were eager to show off. It was time to catch one and make an example out of him.


    ¡°But what if you¡¯re wrong?¡± That person still refused to give up.


    ¡°All the better, no?¡± Cusosith said in response.


    As soon as he said that, everyone was stunned. Some of the more experienced veterans immediately understood what Cusosith meant.


    To the baffled rookies, Kusosi said this,


    ¡°I¡¯d rather be wrong.¡±


    The hotheaded newbie kept his mouth shut after that and the investigation continued.


    Just as everyone was about to enter the Forest of Slumber to investigate further, a voice rang out.


    ¡°Boss, Terry is missing.¡±


    Upon hearing this, a few investigators who were quite close to Terry immediately started paging him.


    But no one responded.


    ¡°We¡¯ve lost contact with him.¡±


    Cusosith¡¯s heart sank. That which must come, would come. Losing people was a common occurrence in all dangerous investigations.


    As the leader of these people, the only thing he could do was to make sure that their deaths were of some value.


    He could not, would not let them die in vain.


    ¡°Which direction is he in charge of?¡±


    ¡°The direction of Boundary River.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Cusosith ordered,


    ¡°Bring back the news that there might be a problem at Boundary River.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    ¡°The rest of you, listen up. We¡¯re going to head towards Boundary River together.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    Upon receiving a response, Cusosith immediately changed directions and headed towards the river.


    After some thought, he said,


    ¡°Be prepared to not make it back.¡±


    The other investigators were taken aback by the captain¡¯s words. Then they got a hold of themselves and said,


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us.¡±


    ¡°Everyone dies at some point. We¡¯re prepared for this.¡±


    Even the greenhorn who was questioning Cusosith earlier expressed conviction.


    ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s just a matter of dying early or late.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Gainsborough South Gate


    ¡°It¡¯s just going to be us four?¡±


    George looked around, his gaze sweeping across Vanessa, Clayton, and Celia.


    During their little tea party at the Divine Temple, Vanessa made a request to George and Celia, inviting them to accompany herself and Clayton to where they had spotted the red-eyed monsters to find out more information.


    Considering the threat posed by the Devil¡¯s Apostles, George and Celia decided to agree to her request.


    However, to George¡¯s surprise, only the four of them were on this mission.


    He had thought that Vanessa would bring along more Temple Knights.


    To this, Vanessa¡¯s explanation was,


    ¡°If we¡¯re just heading there to understand the situation, having more people would just get in the way. Furthermore, with our strength, even if we were discovered and got into a dangerous situation, we¡¯d be able to escape easily.¡±


    Upon hearing her words, Celia nodded thoughtfully and echoed,


    ¡°Indeed. In such a situation, mode people would only be a burden.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, we¡¯re probably the third batch of scouts.¡±


    ¡°The third batch?¡± This stunned Celia for a moment before she caught herself again.


    ¡°Does this mean that the guild and the Lord Mayor each sent a team?¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Vanessa chuckled, her sweet laughter tinged with mockery.


    ¡°No, with the way Lord Byrne is, I don¡¯t think he¡¯d send a scout.


    ¡°I see. So it¡¯s Sister Anna?¡± Celia nodded to herself. As Gainsborough¡¯s largest intelligent broker, Anna had her own investigation team.


    Once Celia understood the situation, Vanessa turned to the two of them and said,


    ¡°Therefore, apart from collecting information, if necessary, we must also provide backup for our fellow investigation buddies!¡±


    ¡°Got it, then let¡¯s go!¡±


    With that, George, Noxkaius in hand, turned around and led the point while Clayton rounded out the rear..