Chapter 445 445. BOUNCED

"You must be Aiden. The first-place winner," The expert spoke; floating downwards, pulling Noah out of his mesmerized state.

Noah nodded watching the man's figure settle in front of him before he allowed his feet to touch the beast's back.

"You should return into the carriage. We are about to take off. You don't want to wind up outside the carriage, or even worse, dead," the man commented ushering Noah into the carriage.

Noah nodded doing as he was told.

"I am Sir Olio, I would be considered a knight of the council like those of the royal family, but I'm at the level of commander. In all of this, I am the second the command. The first is Sir Glee," Olio explained with a light smile.

Noah arced an eyebrow as he swept his gaze over the man's attire He had the council's crest on him; A staff surrounded by flaming torches.

"I am Aiden, a C-rank member of the Divine lightning guild," Noah bowed, having long since noticed the man's power.

"Rise," Sir Olio beckoned. "Due to your special position, I am to be at your command before your caretakers arrive," the expert admitted.

Noah felt stunned but he simply nodded. He had not the galls to order a tier 4 expert around.

"I'll keep that in mind," Noah spoke, sitting.

Silence fell on them at that point, but Sir Olio broke it.

"I have to be honest seeing you from a screen is different from real life," the expert scanned Noah's features, marveling at how good-looking the man was.

Sir Olio himself was a man that looked to be in his middle ages. He had nice black short hair combed in an oily series of waves on his head.

A pair of intense and aged black eyes and blemish-less skin. He was above the average for looks, but Noah killed it when it came to looks. Probably the most beautiful man Olio had seen.

"Your words are too kind," Noah smiled with a tinge of acting. He had decided to take the polite route since it would be easier to not say certain things if they maintained a significant distance in terms of a relationship.

"No need for that. It's the truth," The expert saw through Noah's plan but he knew he wouldn't be able to close whatever gap existed between them.

Noah shrugged with a smile, then the beast carriage suddenly jerked.

Sir Olio's gaze sharpened.

"It would see I am needed. We are about to begin our trip. It would take about a day, so please be comfortable. Someone else will check up on you later," Sir Olio bowed, immediately exiting the carriage.

As soon as the carriage door closed, a grunt pulled Noah's attention from the exit, and his gaze fell on a gradually awakening Madison.

He stayed quiet wondering if she would actually wake up, but she didn't.

A sigh escaped his lips at that point and his eyes fell on the third person. A man.

The expert looked even older than Olio, he featured long grey hair which he allowed complete freedom on his head and shoulders.

The expert had power at the very peak of the middle stage.

The man's features were basic, and Noah didn't care about him.

The silence within the carriage felt deafening even if loads of sounds reached his ears from outside. He felt a level of loneliness that startled him.

He hated thoughts concerning that topic but he couldn't avoid it there. He felt isolated from all the events occurring outside there.

Noah waited many minutes before Madison finally woke up.

She noticed him and drew her breath. Noah wasn't sure whether she did it because of pain, or because of his new power.

"How?" She questioned him immediately she could speak. Her simple question confirmed to Noah that his power had caused that reaction.

"It's been a while, Madison," Noah smiled inspecting her alluring features. He took a moment to wonder why Sir Olio had not commented on his greatly increased power. He was only middle stage during the tournament after all.

She remained silent, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I see you've gotten stronger," Noah added with a soft smile. He had to be honest, her expression gave him joy.

"You too," she muttered unable to quickly process what was before her.

Noah glanced at her black attire and saw how it clung to her skin. Although she sat down, he could notice the soft features in certain places. She would need to stand to allow him to see the rest.

She looked as pretty as he remembered and of course her higher stage power.

"How have you been," Noah asked. His tone was a bit off, he wasn't used to such talks.

She noticed his struggle and decided to accept that he had reached the peak of the third during the time they had been away from each other.

"I have been good," she replied. "As you can see, also been busy."

Noah nodded unsure of what to say next.

"Where are we now?" she changed the topic, getting up to approach the carriage door.

"We are in a prairie. I don't know where it's located, but according to one of the officials we'll be leaving soon," he explained following her movement.

"So we don't get to check the place out," she clicked her tongue pushing the door open. But then the entire carriage jerked as a result of the beast's movements and she fell backward

Noah acted quickly, managing to catch her on time.

"This is why we were asked not to move about too much. You don't want to wind up dead." He explained with a blank expression.

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"Sure sure," Madison nodded, silently blushing.

Noah himself found their position awkward so he pulled her up. But then the carriage shook again.

The door slammed shut waking the sleeping man, and the duo stumbled and fell.

Noah found the young-looking lady laying on his chest and he furrowed his brows.

She tried to push herself up frantically, but the beast spread its wings. Further troubling the carriage.

Noah panicked, if they didn't situate themselves on their seats then they just might fly outside of that room.

Trying her best to stabilize her movement, Madison felt heat rush to her face. She could feel his chest since she lay on top of him.

The beast gently flapped its wings to prepare for take-off.

Noah clenched his teeth, muttering a curse. Madison still tried to get off of him but his instincts told him such would end up badly, so he wrapped his right arm around her.

She twitched in shock at the event.

Applying pressure on her waist Noah made sure they wouldn't separate from each other.

She might not have experienced a beast taking off, but he had.

Wanting to protest, Madison tried to push her body from Noah's but found her strength unable to affect his grip.

She was ready to speak when the beast finally flapped its wings with the intent of flying.

The world spun as Noah and Madison felt their figures crash into the carriage's ceiling, then back on the floor. They quite literally bounced from one spot to another.

Noah utilized his control over the wind to keep them from reaching the door.

The beast directly accelerated and it took a while for it to regain stability and allow them to sit.

The duo remained silent after what had happened. Hours passed before the silence was broken.