As they approached the inn, they saw Chitose standing by the gates, her face pale with worry.
"Dad! Alistair! Are you okay?" She ran to them, checking for injuries.
"Sorry for worrying you. I just meant to take a look and lost track of time," Alistair said, feeling genuinely guilty.
"It's fine as long as you're safe. Did Dad have to rescue you?"
"Rescued? Hardly," Takai interjected, trying to smooth things over. "This brat is tougher than he looks. By the time I got there, he'd already secured the source."
Takai knew that for Alistair to grow, he needed to maintain his confidence. He also saw that Alistair had a peculiar "connection" to the Talisman that even he didn't possess. When Takai had tried to move the Talisman years ago, it had repelled him with a violent mana-surge. Alistair, however, had plucked it like a ripe fruit.
"You really solved it? You're that strong?" Chitose's jaw dropped.
"Just a bit of luck and the right tools," Alistair said. He wasn't about to act superior in front of a man whose mana pool was deep enough to drown a village.
"Luck or not, thank you. This thing has been a ticking time bomb for our family," Chitose said softly.
"Enough talk! I missed dinner to find this kid. I'm going to train him until he drops. Look at those arms—too thin," Takai joked, slapping Alistair's back and nearly sending him face-first into the dirt.
"Uncle, you're a literal juggernaut. I'm a mage! I don't need to be built like a tank," Alistair complained.
"Nonsense. I can see it in your bones—you've got a warrior's constitution. You get stronger with every fight, don't you?" Takai said with a glint in his eye. He had noticed Alistair's physical baseline had jumped significantly after the skirmish with the beasts. To a combatant, that trait was more precious than gold.
Inside his room later that night, Alistair sat with the azure Dragon Talisman. How do I absorb this? He decided to put it aside and check the new notification from his system.
"What?! [The Collector]?!"