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..”