Chapter 43: Master And Diciple

"Hmmm, he didn't show up today."

"Master, didn't he mention he was taking a break?" Skully, the skeleton butler, tilted his head in confusion as he watched his mistress, Eve. They were in the training ground.

"Did he?" Eve responded, walking toward the weapon racks. She picked up a black dagger and twirled it around her fingers.

She then added in a neutral tone, "That kid is quite good with the dagger. For an amateur, I'm impressed he could swing it like that."

"You're impressed?!" Skully exclaimed, his skeletal face showing surprise. Despite being reanimated, he had spent enough time with his master to know her personality well.

'She rarely gets excited about anything except when she's about to kill someone, and even then, it's more like a chilling detachment than true excitement. This is the first time her voice has sounded this normal when talking about someone else.'

Having stayed close to his mistress for so long, Skully had long become accustomed to her monotonous, emotionless voice. However, today there was a bit of life in her voice because… because of Arthur's son.

"How long did he say he'd be gone?" Eve asked, throwing the dagger. It whistled through the air and lodged itself deep into the wall, just inches from a skeleton soldier.

That fortunate skeleton gulped in relief. It didn't know if she was targeting it or the wall just now.

"Is Master perhaps missing that pipsqueak?" Skully inquired, his eyes lighting up as if he'd discovered something crucial.

"Missing him... not really... do I miss him?" Eve had an incredulous expression. She didn't miss the boy himself, but she did miss his hardworking and determined spirit.

Being a Beast Master was mentally taxing and could be draining; most people would quickly give up. However... 'His resilience reminds me of myself.'

Nox was the type to push himself to the limit, even when his body was hurting. This determination left a good impression on Eve. Additionally, the boy seemed very talented as well.

'He was able to perfectly utilize the dagger with just a few pointers from me. Is it because he's that man's son or something else? As if he was blessed by the gods?'

It was a fleeting thought, but little did Eve know that all of Nox's actions were heavily influenced by the blessing he had received from the pantheon of mythical beasts.

The beasts had gone all out because… because the boy was their hope!

"Master, Master, master?"

"Hmmmm?"

"I have been calling your name for two minutes now."

"I was thinking." 'I only asked if she missed him, and she's already lost in thought?' Skully pondered as he watched Eve leave the training room.

"Strange," he muttered.

***

The Holy Mountain had existed since time immemorial, towering as tall as Mount Everest back on Earth. Legends tell that this mountain was once a powerful sovereign-tier magical beast, a guardian that protected humanity from the forces of darkness, crushing them with overwhelming power.

After millions of years without any serious conflicts, only minor skirmishes between nations and races, the beast entered an eternal slumber, and thus, the mountain came to be.

Its age surpassed that of the entire human domain, including the far west continent and even the other continents. It stood as one of humanity's most important landmarks.

No one knew the name of this powerful beast, but because it had helped humanity in times of need and always took a just stance, old scholars named the place The Holy Mountain. Numerous statues of patron gods of each class were built there as a homage to the creature that had once acted as the supreme guardian of the world.

Of course, some people didn't believe this history and thought it was written by a bored scholar. How could a beast be so huge and side with humans? Wouldn't a creature of such power want to conquer the world? Why would it align with humanity?

"Maybe it didn't see humans as a threat. It would gain no pleasure from killing them, just as we wouldn't bother with ants," Nyx stated, staring at the colossal, table-shaped mountain from the window of the flying carriage. Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"What are you talking about?" Serena asked in confusion. They had been admiring the view just like several of the kids when Nyx suddenly said words she didn't understand.

"We'll be landing in the next five minutes. Everyone, get ready to disembark," Han warned as the flying carriage began to descend.

Nyx clenched her fist. 'I hope the goddesses accept my prayers.'

This sentiment was shared by all the kids. They had been happy, but now they were extremely anxious.

After all, the gods were very selective when it came to answering prayers, unlike the pantheon of mythical beasts... they didn't lack followers.

***

Amstrong Duchy.

In the countryside.

Shing! Shing!

Huff! Huff!

"One month now, he's been training nonstop without even eating. Is he still human or a monster?"

"I've never heard of even experts attempting something like this," an old servant with profound eyes said in amazement.

"Not even the duke was this strong at this age. He's as strong as those geniuses in the Capital," another added.

A group of servants wearing blue attire watched a white-haired boy furiously swing his sword through the air. Each strike seemed to split the very air apart, leaving a gust of wind to directly wash the faces of everyone who was secretly watching him.

Unlike the time he had visited the Cromwell Barony, there was something strange about the white-haired boy and that was the scorpion-shaped mask on his face. The mask had no slit for the mouth, eyes, or nose. Instead, there were four black strange tubes connecting from all those places into the back of his head as if penetrating his skull.

The mask looked out of place as if it was something that didn't belong to this world.

In a sense, it was true because this mask was found in a ruin in a high-level Dimensional Rift–

'I never thought this mask would be this powerful… to think there is something as powerful as this in the mortal realm?'

Item: [Mask of Reckoning (????)]

Description: [A sinister mask that rapidly replenishes the wearer's mana and grants formidable magical power. Each use drains a substantial portion of the wearer's life force, causing severe and irreversible damage.]

'The sacrifice is necessary because without it, I'd be crippled.' Aina's fierce face strangling a helpless Hendrix who was dangling in the air flashed before him and he held the hilt of his sword tighter, bending the iron with his bare hands.

'With this, I'll take my revenge… not only would I beat your children… I'll murder them in the tournament,' Hendrix thought with a cruel smile.

***

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