The Elven Cultivator

After leaving the hilltop, Anton and the two girls naturally fell into step, walking side by side along a winding, tree-lined path.

Morning light filtered through the gaps in the leaves, laying a dappled golden carpet on the ground.

Romance carried her War Axe, her steps light as she hummed an unknown tune, completely immersed in the joy of becoming a Wind Whisperer.

Eleanor, by contrast, was much quieter.

She walked at their side, her gaze flickering toward Anton from time to time. She looked like she wanted to say something but held back, her emerald-green eyes swirling with complex emotions.

"Anton, what was that warrior skill you just used?" Romance asked, making a few motions with her hands and clicking her tongue in amazement. "It's so powerful! Even a Dragon Beast as tough as the Rift-Spine couldn't withstand a single blow."

Hearing this, Eleanor also looked over, her curiosity piqued.

The astonishing power of that sword strike was still vivid in her mind, having left a deep impression.

The Silver Moon Race possessed many Crystal Stones that held visual recordings of Magical Combat Skills being performed. Eleanor had watched them out of curiosity, but none of those skills had felt as brutally powerful as the one Anton had just displayed.

"It's called the Divine Sun Sword Skill," Anton answered casually.

Eleanor was taken aback.

'Divine Sun Sword Skill?'

'What a strange name.'

Romance, however, was used to it. After all, the two warrior skills Anton had taught her before also had rather unique names.

She just figured Anton had a peculiar sense of style, which was why he gave his skills such odd names.

"Could you modify that Divine Sun Sword Skill into a version that can be used with an axe?"

Romance sidled up to him, a cajoling smile on her face.

Anton glanced at her and said with a wry smile, "We'll see. Depends on my mood."

"Pleeease?" Romance moved behind him and, standing on her tiptoes, began to massage his shoulders with extra effort. "If you put in a little work for me, I'll grill you some meat another day."

Anton enjoyed the young woman's massage for a moment before nodding slowly. "I'll say this upfront: the power will probably be a bit weaker."

'He didn't actually have the ability to convert the Divine Sun Sword Skill into an axe technique. However, it would be easy to find a Fire Attribute axe skill that looked more or less the same.'

'Of course, a top-tier martial art would be out of the question. He'd have to pick a second-rate one and modify it into a skill that could be activated with Magic Power.'

"I don't mind!" Romance beamed, her eyebrows arching in delight.

'In her eyes, any skill from Anton was bound to be incredible.'

Anton thought for a moment before adding, "You should find a chance to give the Wind-Thunder Art and the Locking Scale Skill to the Elder Council."

'He'd actually been thinking about this for a while. He planned to continue modifying more martial arts and give them to the Clan's talented Warriors to train with, thereby strengthening the Clan as a whole.'

'The stronger the Clan became, the more resources they could gather for him, which would make his own path of cultivation much smoother.'

'A win-win!'

Romance, of course, had no objections and immediately nodded in agreement.

Hearing this, Eleanor, who had been listening on the side, finally processed what was said. She asked in astonishment, "Anton, those two skills Romance just used... you created them?"

While watching Romance's battle earlier, she'd thought the two skills Romance used seemed unfamiliar, as if she'd never seen them before.

She had just assumed they were new skills developed by one of the Clan's combat instructors; she never imagined they were Anton's handiwork.

Before Anton could speak, Romance jumped in. "That's right! Anton created them. Pretty amazing, huh?"

The look in Eleanor's eyes grew even more complicated.

'He can even develop new combat skills...'

'Is there anything he can't do?'

Eleanor subconsciously began to take stock of her own talents.

'My talent for cultivation is good, but not as good as Anton's.'

'Talent for potioneering? Not even close.'

'Creating new skills? I've never even considered it.'

'Alchemy...'

'That's right, Alchemy!'

A thought stirred in Eleanor's mind.

Not long ago, she'd heard Master Darian mention that Anton had recently decided to study Alchemy and had borrowed a number of introductory books from him.

Anton's talent for potioneering was indeed astonishing, but Alchemy and potioneering were two completely different fields.

'He can't possibly be a prodigy at that, too, can he?'

'That would just be too ridiculous.'

Although she had given up on competing with Anton, Eleanor still felt a subtle sense of balance restored within her.

At least in this one area, she was finally ahead of him.

When they reached a fork in the path, Anton parted ways with the two young women, heading straight for the Eternal Tree.

The other two would have to wait until their living quarters were assigned the next day before they could enter the area of the Eternal Tree.

Eleanor stared in a daze in the direction Anton had gone, until a slender, fair hand suddenly appeared and waved in front of her face.

"Stop staring. He's long gone."

Eleanor turned to see Romance watching her with a wide grin.

Her smile was teasing, but held no malice.

"You should probably give up, you know."

Eleanor blinked. "Give up what?"

"You've always seen Anton as a rival, haven't you?"

Romance took her War Axe off her shoulder and propped it on the ground, her tone as casual as if she were commenting on the weather.

This time, Eleanor was genuinely surprised, her eyes widening slightly. "How did you know?"

She thought she had hidden those feelings well. Other than Laila, she had never mentioned them to anyone.

'How did Romance know?'

"Just a guess." Romance grinned. "Every time Anton's around, your eyes linger on him for a long time. The way you look at him is different from how you look at anyone else. It's like you're trying to measure up."

"Also, whenever you hear about something Anton has accomplished, your expression always gets a little... resentful."

Eleanor was at a loss for words.

She never expected that Romance, who always seemed so carefree and devil-may-care, could be so sharp and observant.

The emotions she thought she'd hidden so well had apparently been obvious to others all along.

"You're certainly observant," Eleanor couldn't help but remark.

"Of course," Romance said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Anton is the most important person to me. I can tell in a single glance if someone has their eye on him."

Eleanor fell silent. 'How can she say something so embarrassing with such a straight face?'

"You're right. I did use to see Anton as a rival. I wanted to surpass him."

Eleanor pursed her lips, a bitter, self-mocking smile appearing on her face.

"But after today, I've given up."

"The gap between me and Anton is just too great. I'll never be able to catch up to him in this lifetime."

Romance studied Eleanor's expression for a moment, then nodded, certain she was telling the truth. She patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. "Don't be too discouraged. That guy Anton is a monster. It's perfectly normal for an ordinary person to not be able to compare to him."

She looked at Eleanor, her tone growing more serious. "You're very talented yourself. Just focus on improving, and one day, you'll be incredibly strong too."

Eleanor was taken aback for a moment, then a faint smile graced her lips.

"Thank you, Romance."

"Don't mention it." Romance casually slung an arm around Eleanor's shoulders. "We're going to be on the hunting expedition together, so we're teammates now. We've got to look out for each other."

"Right. We'll watch each other's backs," Eleanor replied with a smile.

She suddenly realized that this seemingly carefree girl was actually far more perceptive than most people.

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