Chapter 60: A Cartload Of Gifts

Arion felt the gazes of admiration and envy being showered upon him and could only smile to hide his awkwardness.

Even he didn't know that Aslan and Zixin had prepared such a big surprise for him.

He felt elated since his determination to become a legitimate Dreadslayer skyrocketed after undergoing a terrible experience under the onslaught of those Dreadlings.

He realized how inexperienced and weak he was against the Dreadlings, most of all, how close he was to losing his life forever. He knew that if he died for real next time, then he wouldn't be reincarnated with his memories or anything remotely like that.

The freak event of an old man appearing before him and offering him his Origin Blood was not something that happens twice. Even that incident was not something he was supposed to survive, especially when Aldress was holding evil intentions of taking over his body.

Now that he got a precious second chance, he had no intention of wasting it and wanted to make sure he can survive in this world and enjoy his life with Mei, the most beautiful person in every sense he had ever met in his lives.

And most of all, to live his life on his own accord without having to look behind his shoulder every minute.

He slightly bowed towards Aslan and Zixin while crossing his palms together, "Thank you, seniors, for bestowing me with such a great opportunity. I can't express my thanks enough."

Zixin patted Arion's shoulder and said, "No need for such formalities. This is something you deserve and the least we could do. I am looking forward to taking you in as my disciple. It has been a long time since I last trained someone. But to train a young hero like you is a dream come true for this old man."

"Likewise," Arion smiled as he slightly bowed again.

Zixin Siu was rumored to have graduated from a Mythical tier school which was quite a great achievement for someone who had his roots in a very small ward like the Fok Grove Ward, which was located in a small village.

And later on, his future achievements of even becoming a Champion only increased the halo behind his name for being quite the Dreadslayer expert. He was even summoned by those superior to him for various battles that took place far away from the Rimefall Village.

So to get trained by someone who was so well trained, knowledgeable, and experienced like Zixin was a dream come true for any aspiring Dreadslayer in the Rimefall Village.

"So, Arion, do you really want to participate in the second trial of The Ironheart Test? Or enter a Rare tier school? But do remember that the second phase test of The Ironheart Test is no easy matter but an event where many youngsters die. Not everyone has a good chance of making it. But whether you can make it or not is not something I can tell now. So you can decide whether you want to or not." Zixin said in a serious tone.

He then continued, "But no matter your decision. I will train you to the best of my ability."

Arion felt quite in a dilemma since he didn't want to risk his precious life without reason, but at the same time, that would mean that he might lose out on getting the best teachings and resources that could help him keep himself alive in the future when fighting Dreadlings.

Mei unconsciously brought her hand close to her chest, understanding the dilemma Arion was having since she was also feeling the same.

Arion glanced at Mei and then looked at Zixin as he asked, "I have time to think about it, right?"

Zixin smiled slightly, "Of course. Don't worry about it now. You have more than one whole year ahead of you before The Ironheart Test starts. And in the meanwhile, I would be training you no matter what your choice is going to be. I can only train you enough to help you walk the road to being a Dreadslayer. After you join a school, whatever tier it may be, you will have to depend on yourself since the teachers there will only tell you what you need to know, but the rest we will have to do it by ourselves."

'Whew, it seems like these schools are quite strict and tough,' Arion was feeling excited and nervous about the whole idea of joining a training school. But at the same time, he was worried whether Mei would be able to come with him in case he joined a school.

He decided to ask Zixin and Mei about those things later since the function resumed, and many took turns talking with him and thank him.

However, one thing that Arion realized was that The Ironheart Test was a test with cut-throat competition since every single one who would be participating would be literally fighting for not only their future but also their lives.

By the time the function was coming to an end, the depressed ones were feeling a little better after eating Yaro's refreshing and tasty food while also getting encouraged by their fellow dwellers.

Even Ina's father, Rolan, had his face looking a little brighter compared to how pale and ashen his expression looked before. He also received condolences from Aslan and Zixin personally since they had once worked together in the past and had a sort of friendship.

Cayden and the other youngsters came forward towards Arion and said, "Congratulations, Arion. We are so happy for you that you passed the first phase. And now, even if you decided to take part in the second trial, with Old Zi's training, I bet you would have a good chance."

"And we will follow your lead and catch up to you," Nena said in a low voice while timidly looking at Arion as Silvi nodded along.

"Yeah, we will do just that and hope that Ina will feel happy for us from the River of Life," Alv said with a complicated expression.

Arion knew that the River of Life was nothing but a word that symbolized the place where the dead went.

Apparently, after dying, the souls drift through the River of Life before proceeding to their next life.

However, Arion only considered this as a part of people's mythology, just like the ones he heard about in his previous life.

"I will be waiting," Arion smiled and then asked, "Where is Bari?"

Alv's smile stifled as he said, "He was feeling sick and went home early."

Cayden and the others had complicated expressions as after what happened that day, except Alv, they hadn't tried to talk to Bari since they couldn't bring themselves to.

They remember Ina's face every time they try to go talk to Bari, and Bari also seems to avoid them. So their friendship had become quite tense.

Arion inwardly sighed but didn't mind much since this wasn't his business. He was sure they would sort it out among themselves later.

At least, Cayden and Nena didn't reveal the truth. Otherwise, he had no idea how Rolan, Ina's father, was going to react and if he would do something to Bari.

Meanwhile, Arion saw Shun easily mingling in and acting like a cute boy while winning the favors of the adults.

'That kid sure knows how to act well,' Arion shook his head, wondering who Shun really was. He felt that Shun was hiding something, but there was nothing he could do if Shun was insistent on keeping it to himself.

Soon the gathering ended, and Arion was shocked to see that everyone had helped him arrange the gifts he received into a small trolley, allowing him to easily take them back to his home.

He couldn't help but get a bit excited, wondering if there were any goodies inside these gifts that could benefit him.

Right after reaching home, Arion was eager to open his gifts. However, he kicked Shun to his room when he said that he wanted to check out those gifts as well.

Arion couldn't help but worry that Shun might sneak in some gifts for himself, so he made sure to open them after Shun went back to his room.

Mei also sat down along with Arion to help him open up the gifts, "Which one do you want to open first?"

Arion looked around and saw a brown case which Silvi's parents had given him and decided to open it since he felt that it might be a good one, "Hmm, let's open this one."

Arion slowly opened the brown case, and a glimmering light escaped from the box, reflecting in his eyes.

After getting a good look at what was inside, he saw that it was a small glass vial with shimmering blue liquid.

Mei raised her brows and said with an astonished expression, "Wow. That is the Vial of Blue Petals!"

Seeing Mei's astonished expression and her happy smile, Arion was even more interested as he asked, "What does it do?"

Even he could tell that this vial was nothing ordinary but something special.