Chapter 295 Escape

[Third Person POV],

Seeing as the rocky hill rapidly crashed down as dust slowly rose to the air, Ace waited for a while to confirm something but seeing as he still hasn't received a notification from the primordial chronicle that the monster in the den was slayed, Ace knew that for now, they still weren't out of danger.

If the monster in the den had died, then Ace would have received a notification from the primordial chronicle now that he had received the primordial records of whatever monster it was since his alchemy items had a hand in killing the huge mutated rats.

"What a cockroach-like creature", Ace muttered as he turned to look at Andrew Dawn's men who still had their eyes fixed on the cloud of dust in the distance.

Seeing this, he opened his mouth to speak as he addressed them in a relatively loud voice.

"Let's move now guys. Time's not on our side", Ace said as Andrew Dawn's men who heard this immediately came to their senses and they immediately carried who they were supposed to carry in their back and repositioned them properly before they moved away from the location they were in quick tides.

Caleb carried the wind mage and the man who was tagged as fast carried Andrew Dawn in the end as the earth mage was left to the last man to carry.

Ace found the arrangement reasonable since it should be the most capable person that should be in charge of carrying Andrew Dawn in case something were to happen.

For example, the man who had helped Ace to throw his explosives in the den was currently the most capable person in their group because if something unexpected was to happen and it required them to escape fast, it was only the man who could still ensure that his speed was still fast enough to escape with the king.

Ace could not and would not carry Andrew Dawn if something unexpected was to happen as he had his own life to keep and his current state was already as bad as it could be.

The only reason he was still following Andrew Dawn was because of two things.

One was to ensure that nothing happens to Andrew Dawn since he appears to be related to the completion of the dragon phantom quest and the other was that he still had his gold coins to collect from Andrew Dawn for assisting in the den during the battle against the mutated rats before the issue relating to the dragon phantom even appeared.

Either way, it wasn't like he was going to lose anything from following Andrew Dawn since it was even a little more dangerous for him to move around alone.

After all, there was no way for him to be sure that if the rat queen ends up escaping from the rumbles of the rocky hill, what assurance did he have that if he left on his own, the rat queen will not target him?

Apart from the rat queen targeting him, Ace was not even in the mood or condition to even have another battle with any monster.

After all, he had completed his job quest now which meant that he didn't have to actively hunt monsters as he did in the past and now focus on things that he wants to do like concocting different types of pills and so on.

Of course, before he could do this, he first had to evolve to rank one but the situation of things he was currently in didn't give him the feeling he even had time to communicate with the primordial chronicle to evolve.

In any case, the main goals of Ace now were to completely escape from danger, heal, finish whatever business he had with Andrew Dawn issues, head back home to the alternate dimension and then evolve.

These were the things Ace had a business with but first, he had to resolve the current situation in front of him which was to move as far as he could from the rat queen.

Thankfully, it seems like his idea of collapsing the den when the rat queen was still in it before it could come out was a really good plan as there was no new or old monster who attacked them on their way to move away from the den.

In other words, their Journey was smooth as they moved further and further away from the den until one of the unconscious humans in the group suddenly awoke.

But the one who awoke among the unconscious men was not Andrew Dawn which was what Ace wanted but the wind mage which was also understandable that he would be the first to awaken given that he was the first to collapse.

"Where is this?", The wind mage muttered in a slightly audible voice that Ace and the others were able to capture.

Since the wind mage just woke up, he was still slow to react and realise that he was being carried by someone but when he finally realised that something was strange with the was he body moved and saw that he was being carried by someone, he was about to resist but due to the fact his body was now ridiculously weak from the backlash he was suffering from taking the berserk pills, his struggles were not hard to control.

Fortunately for Caleb, he didn't have to keep up with the resistance of the wind mage for long when he finally realised that it was his colleague who was carrying him but when Ace thought that the wind mage would continue to stay awake, he subconsciously fell asleep again.

"He must still be very weak to even stay awake", Ace muttered as he removed his focus from the wind mage and Andrew Dawn men who tried to check the wind mage pulse for Caleb to check whether the wind mage was awake or not and not dead.

Unlike the others, Ace was not bothered since he was aware that it was the backlash from taking the berserk pill that was still in effect so after the others also confirmed that the wind mage just fell unconscious and nothing else, they returned their focus to the road.

After a few more minutes from walking, one of Andrew Dawn men suggested that the group should at least take a rest before continuing to which nobody refuted as they continued to walk a little further for a location that could work as a cover for them and when they finally found a cave, they entered it and immediately collapsed on the ground after the ones that had people on their back placed them on the ground.

Ace also collapsed on the ground with blue in his arms as he rested his back on the rocky wall og the cave.

The others also did the same as him after carefully placing their unconscious comrade on the ground as nobody spoke and just kept quiet as they focused on recovering their energy.

What none of them including Ace was aware of was what was currently appearing to Andrew Dawn.

Right now, Andrew Dawn was not fully unconscious as he was in a semiconscious state while he battled with something in his consciousness for dominance.

*******

Andrew Dawn stood on a rocky cliff overlooking a vast, fiery landscape in his dream. The sky was dark with billowing smoke, and the ground cracked with molten lava. Suddenly, a massive red dragon with scales that glowed like embers emerged from the flames, its eyes burning with fury.

Seeing another dragon similar to the ones he had been battling with for a while in this dream state, Andrew Dawn first took a deep breath as he clenched the sword in his hand and with a roar, Andrew Dawn got ready for another round.

"Again!!!"

Without hesitation, Andrew drew his gleaming sword and charged towards the dragon. The dragon unleashed a torrent of fire, but Andrew rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the flames. He slashed at the dragon's leg, but the creature's scales were thick, and the sword barely made a scratch.

The dragon retaliated with a swipe of its enormous claw, sending Andrew tumbling backward. He quickly rolled to his feet, dodging another burst of fire, and leapt onto a nearby boulder to gain a better vantage point. Andrew spotted a crevice in the dragon's armour near its neck and, with lightning-fast reflexes, he sprinted towards the beast, narrowly avoiding its swiping claws.

With a mighty leap, Andrew vaulted onto the dragon's back, gripping his sword tightly. He drove the blade into the dragon's vulnerable spot with all his strength, causing the creature to roar in pain. The dragon thrashed wildly, trying to shake Andrew off, but he held on tenaciously, striking at the same spot repeatedly.

The dragon's movements grew weaker, and its roars turned into pitiful groans. Andrew's persistence paid off, and with one final, powerful thrust of his sword, he dealt the decisive blow. The dragon let out a final shriek, its body collapsing to the ground, defeated.

"Ah" "Ah" "Ah" "Ah"

As Andrew Dawn continued to pant, a sudden roar resounded in the area as Andrew Dawn immediately had a helpless expression on his face.

"Does it not end?" He muttered as he gripped his sword tight and prepared for another battle.