Chapter 454: Heading to Duran

"It is about time. I hope things will go smoothly." Taking a deep breath, Eldrian climbed into the cabin once again. Nervous about actually talking to Cephaphyr again. 

The two hadn't talked once since their bonding, and Eldrian had no idea how to approach the subject. While Cephaphyr seemed to have accepted things, Eldrian just knew it was going to be awkward. 

Arriving at sunrise, Eldrian looked around and found Cephaphyr still sleeping near the spring. Smiling, he decided to meditate until his friend woke, which was around an hour later. 

"Are you ready to go?" Eldrian asked, and the little alicorn nodded in response. 

'Let me go say bye to my mom and dad.' Cephaphyr said after quickly forming a telepathic path between the two. 

'Sure, I'll wait here.' Eldrian said and watched the little alicorn go to his parents who were at the edge of the glade. 

'Make sure to be safe.' Zamia said, doing her best to not let her emotions overwhelm her. 

'Come back when you have time.' Agamemas said, 'You are always welcome here, this is your home.'

Cephaphyr didn't reply, he simple nodded and hugged his parents. The much larger alicorns completely hid his figure with their wings while they hugged. Finally, after a few seconds they separated and Cephaphyr returned. 

'All done?' Eldrian asked, and Cephaphyr nodded. Waving to Zamia and Agagmemas, Eldrian turned around and the two started walking. 

'Is it still fine if I- If you carry me?' Eldrian asked, finding the word ride weird and not wishing to use it. 

'Yes, but were are we going to go?' Cephaphyr asked. 

'I want to go to Kynigo and finally figure out the source of the undead's corruption. However, I would also like to try and get a clearer picture of the kingdom.'

As they reached the edge of the forest, Eldrian said, 'Let's first see how fast you are. I remember last time I almost had a heart attack from the shock.'

'Go ahead, I haven't flown at full speed in a long time.' Cephaphyr said, spreading his wings and waiting for Eldrian to climb on. 

Eldrian carefully climbed on and immediately tightened his legs around the small alicorn, 'Where should I hold on to?'

'No need, just keep your balance.' Cephaphyr replied as he started galloping, crossing a hundred meters in just a few seconds. In just a few more they were in the air. 

This time around, Eldrian wasn't assaulted by the wind as bad as last time. Instead, he could clearly tell that Cephaphyr had formed a sort of wind barrier around them. This allowed him to enjoy the sights and feeling of flying far more. 

Eldrian lost himself in this feeling, shocked when he saw the green grass appearing in the horizon after just a few hours. It was not even midday yet. 

'You really are fast!' Eldrian said in admiration, recalling how Ember had needed to go at full speed for almost an entire day. Yet, Cephaphyr had covered the distance with ease in less than half the time. 

Instead of replying, Cephaphyr spread his wings in pride. 'Where to now?' He asked, and Eldrian quickly thought of something. 

'Can you see this?' Eldrian asked, doing his best to share the map he had called up. Trying to picture it perfectly for Cephaphyr to use as a guide. 

'Yes, is that the map of the kingdom? Why is so much not filled in?'

'It gets filled in as I explore or I get access to maps, can you go to this city here?' Eldrian asked, mentally pointing to Duron. The first city he had come across, where the entire army had rested after exiting the chaos lands. 

Nodding, Ceph changed direction and Eldrian kept him updated with the map to make sure they were going in the right direction. After two more hours of flying they arrived at the city. 

The two flew directly past the first walls and landed before the gate of the second, shocking the centaurs who quickly flew into action and surrounded them. 

"Halt! Identify yourselves!" The captain shouted, his bow trained at the two. 

"I am Haru, a Chosen, and this is Cephaphyr, an alicorn. Feel free to use Observe to confirm this." Eldrian said, climbing off of Cephaphyr and holding his hands in the air.

The guard captain was sceptical, but Observe indeed did inform him that this was true. However, other than their name, race, Tier and level, he received no other information. Which concerned him, especially since he was the same Tier as Eldrian. 

"What are you doing here?" The captain asked, slightly nervous after using Observer. He had come to realize that it was very likely that his squad couldn't do much against the visitors. Especially once he realized that the small alicorn before him was a mythic beast. 

"I am looking for maps of Taurus. Ideally a large map showing the location of the cities, but a regional map focused on Duran would be fine too."

"What for?" The captain asked, slightly worried that this might be some kind of trick. 

"I am trying to get a better grasp on the situation the kingdom is in. I heard that Herglem has fallen. I hope to go there to confirm this and also see how bad the situation is."

"Why? Do you think you can make a difference on your own?"

"Of course not, but there also shouldn't be anything wrong with me doing so."

The captain looked at the elf before him for a moment before finally relenting. "Put down your weapons." He said to his men, before turning back to Eldrian, "There is a magic shop near the adventurer's guild."

"Both are on the main road, one of the two should be able to help you."

After thanking the guard, Eldrian entered the town. Deciding to walk while talking with Cephaphyr a bit. He also used that time to start digging into what a Zoe partner was according to game terms. 

After a bit of digging around, Eldrian found Cephaphyr's stats. They were lower than he had expected, but his little friend's armor and damage rating were just insane. 

[Cephaphyr Stats:]

[Magical Creature (Mythic) - Tier 3 - Level 22]

[HP: 1.5k]

[Mana: 1.9k]

[Stamina: 1.5k]

[Armor: 45]

[Magic Armor: 60]

[Damage (With feathers): 75 (315)]

'No wonder the goblins had stood no chance against him. I guess you would need a tier 4 weapon just to get through his armor.' Eldrian smiled as this was a great relief. 

He had at first been worried when he saw Cephaphyr only had five times as much HP as him, but the armor would make a massive difference. Sure, Cephaphyr might be hurt where he wasn't well protected, but even Eldrian didn't know where that was. 

However, the most shocking thing was that his feathers had a raw damage value of 75. This was more than twice that of Aoidos. Yet, Eldrian had combed his hands through them more than once and each time they had felt like normal feathers. No, they had felt even softer than normal feathers. 

'You're really strong Ceph.' Eldrian said, making the small alicorn smile on the inside. 

'Of course I am!' He said with pride. 

'Would you mind taking on your elven form for just a sec while we go shopping?' Eldrian asked as they finally reached the adventurer's guild. The walk having taken them nearly twenty minutes.

{AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support this novel on WN.}