Chapter 31: Growing Strong
Sera just lowered her head, her thoughts in turmoil. She knew that if James became a knight, Zerek wouldn't waste a single moment to get rid of him—but she couldn't allow him to walk straight into what felt like a certain death trap.
Dread filled her eyes. She wanted to beg him not to go, to stop him somehow, but the words caught in her throat and refused to come out.
And before she could say anything—
"May I say something?"
Leo's calm voice cut through the tension like a knife.
Both James and Sera turned as Leo approached them.
"If you will allow it, I want to come with you on the hunt," Leo said, meeting James's gaze directly.
"No," James replied flatly.
"You have just awakened, and treants aren't something you can handle yet. I will deal with it myself."
Leo didn't back down; instead, he responded with a reason.
"Trust me. If you give me some time, I will grow strong enough to fight alongside you. And… I owe you. For everything you have done to protect Lily."
James studied him for a moment. "And what if you don't reach the desired level of strength?"
"Then I will follow you anyway," Leo said as a matter of fact. "Whether you know it or not."
A chuckle escaped James. After a brief pause, he nodded.
"Fine. But do your best to grow strong in this short time. I will have to leave on the thirteenth day." He let out a soft snort.
Sera watched the exchange with a complicated expression on her face. To be honest, she felt relieved that at least a trustworthy person was going to be with James in the quest, but the dangers ahead were more severe. In the end, all she could do was silently pray for their success.
Soon after, James and Sera decided to close the restaurant for the time being.
Later, Leo and Lily finished breakfast and walked through the marketplace together.
"So, what should we do now?" Lily asked.
Leo thought for a moment. "You should probably get registered at the Beast Hall."
Though it was rare, some people had managed to awaken their talents in the wild due to natural causes, so there was a provision in Beast Hall for them to get registered—but to filter out the disillusioned claims from people who think they have awakened, the fee was high: one silver coin.
Since there was no direct way to determine the type of talent an individual possessed, the applicants had to either tame a beast under the hall's supervision or present one they had already tamed.
After that, the hall would proceed to examine the individual's mana signature, checking for any criminal records or any new false identities, before assessing their soul rank and the strength of their beast.
Only then were their titles assigned.
This was exactly what happened with Lily.
"Ohhh… you managed to tame a spirit-type beast, and to top it off, you also have a rare-ranked soul. You're quite lucky," the examiner remarked as he conducted the tests.
The reason he said she was lucky was because spirit-type beasts allowed their masters to gather more mana in their bodies, and having more mana meant unrestrained freedom of using skills, which gave an undeniable advantage in a battle.
Once everything was done, Lily received a copper badge that marked her being a knight, along with a monthly stipend of five silver coins.
"So, what will you do now?" she asked.
"Me?" Leo shrugged lightly. "I will go on a hunt for wild beasts… I need to get strong enough before James calls me for his quest."
Lily nodded.
"Then I will also start to train. I need to get used to this new strength." She said and drew Arnold's sword.
Unlike Leo, whose system allowed him to use all the strength points he had without a need for training, others needed to train so that they could properly control and use their newfound power.
"But I will do everything I can to grow stronger before we leave with Master James," she added firmly. "I don't want you to face that danger alone—not when there's a possibility of ambush." Lily made her statement, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"Fine, but I will personally make sure you're strong enough," Leo said, flicking her forehead.
Lily gave a cute pout, then muttered.
"I won't be able to be with you for a while… right?"
Leo turned to face her.
"I mean, we will have plenty of time later."
"I wanted to continue where we left off earlier…" she said softly, her cheeks turning red.
Suddenly, Leo's expression turned serious. Then in a deep voice, he said.
"I can hear them."
"Hear what?" Lily asked, confused.
"I can hear the wild beasts… they are calling me. Bye. I will see you later."
Before she could respond, Leo darted straight towards the city gates.
"LEO! Hmph… bastard."
Despite her words, her lips curled into a faint smile as she turned and began walking toward the restaurant.
"I will see where you run tonight."
_____
Rustle… rustle…
A grey wolf burst into view, panic written all over its face as it ran frantically, whimpering.
In the next instant, a shadow shot out from the bushes and clamped down its jaws over the wolf's neck, ripping its throat apart. The beast convulsed on the ground for a moment, gurgling, before going completely still.
Direwolf (mid 1-star) Killed – 4 XP
Level 9 – 796/818
"Good job, Shyra," a voice called.
Leo stepped out from the darkness beside the wolf corpse.
He crouched down and quickly extracted the mana crystal, slipping it into a pouch that was already stuffed full with many more.
He glanced down; two more such pouches hung from his belt, equally packed.
"Looks like this is it, huh…" he muttered.
He had been on the hunt since the morning, ever since running away from Lily.
Most of the beasts he encountered were low to mid 1-star, with the occasional high 1-star ones. He intentionally collected the core and mana crystal from the beasts, leaving their bodies behind.
"Ahh man… I really need some kind of inventory skill. I am losing my money here; those corpses could have been sold for a good price," he grumbled with a grimace.
Meanwhile, he also discovered that the cores of beasts that were lower or in equal rank to Shyra were digested by her immediately.
Then, he saw her ripping the core out of the wolf's body and was munching on it.
The very next moment, Shyra lunged and bit down hard on his arm.
"AHHH!" Leo screamed.
But then—
Chain Bond – 100% → Blood Bond – 1%
Status update!