For a few seconds, Julian stood without motion. On his face, shock and disbelief were mixed with fury, indignation... and fear.
Slowly, he raised his head and pierced the distant view with a hateful gaze.
"That scum..."
His voice was trembling with suppressed rage.
’So, to protect himself, he teams up with Lady Calyra...’
At first, Julian had believed that Ruvian was able to defeat twenty-five scholars because Calyra had helped him, since his summoned beast had mentioned that she was currently together with him.
However, the beast soon corrected that misunderstanding. Calyra had only approached Ruvian later, after the fight was already over, not before, and since then... the two of them had been traveling together.
Even so, Ruvian had still fought against a large number of scholars by himself. His summoned beast then explained everything that had happened in more detail.
’I see... so that damn commoner only fought against sixteen scholars. Not twenty-five.’
Still, none of that changed the most important fact.
Ruvian had defeated sixteen scholars by himself, including several Class A scholars. No matter how Julian looked at it, such a feat was not something that could be easily dismissed.
And learning that only fueled Julian’s rage even further.
A few moments later, Loden returned with the voidshard in his hand. His gaze shifted towards Julian’s eagle beast before he asked in a curious tone.
"Ho, that’s one impressive-looking beast. Mind if I pet him?"
"No. Try it, and he’ll tear your arm apart."
Loden merely smiled, his expression strangely calm despite the warning.
"Scary~"
Then, without another word, he tossed the voidshard towards Julian, who easily caught it with one hand.
Loden then glanced at the eagle again before continuing.
"By the way, you must have gained some new information about that boy, so what is he up to now? Did he change his whereabouts?"
Julian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at him.
’I hate how this creep always acts like he knows everything, but damn it... he was right.’
Still, Julian kept his annoyance from showing on his face.
"He’s cowering behind Lady Calyra now, hoping that staying beside her will somehow protect him."
Julian raised his bracelet and opened the map, revealing two dots moving together near the lake. One of them belonged to Ruvian, while the other was Calyra.
"Lady Calyra, huh?"
Loden’s playful smile faded slightly as he studied the map.
"Now that could be troublesome."
Hearing this, one of Julian’s teammates shifted his gaze towards him.
"If Lady Calyra is siding with him now, are we still going after him?"
The others also turned towards Julian, waiting for his answer.
Julian remained silent for a brief moment, his gaze fixed on the two moving dots. Then, he closed the map and lowered his arm, his expression turning cold.
"Of course we are still going after him, I have no intention of letting that commoner escape merely because he found himself someone powerful to hide behind."
Furthermore, he also had Loden with him. Julian had a strong feeling that the bastard had yet to reveal the full extent of his strength. With Loden and his squad, the five of them should be more than enough to keep Calyra occupied for some time.
*****
[Ruvian’s POV]
After walking for some time, the two of them finally arrived near the massive lake of the Vasta Waterfall. Ruvian and Calyra stopped near the shore, their gazes resting grimly upon the vast body of water before them.
"Are you sure you want to confront them here?" Calyra asked, glancing across the lake before looking back at Ruvian.
Ruvian simply replied.
"As we discussed earlier, Julian will most likely send Loden and his five members after you while he deals with me. So that’s exactly why I chose this place."
His gaze shifted towards the water. "Having such a large water source nearby will give you a clear advantage against them."
"I see, but even without one, I’m confident in my abilities." Calyra calmly raised her chin, a faint look of pride appearing on her face. "You’re not the only one who has grown stronger, Ruvian."
Hearing that, Ruvian’s smile widened slightly as he looked at her.
Honestly, Calyra wasn’t wrong, since only a few days had passed since the last time he inspected her [Runeheart]. Yet even within that short amount of time, it had indeed improved considerably.
===============
{}---『RUNEHEART』---{}
◇ Name: Calyra Arcanis
◇ Age: 18
◇ Spellcore: Tier 4
◇ Rank: First-Class Magus
◇ Magic Affinity: [Ice], [Water], [Spartial]
[Mana Resonance: (890/10,000)]
==[General Attributes]==
Strength: D+
Agility: D+
Endurance: C-
Vitality: D+ → C-
Perception: C+
==[Mage Attributes]==
Mana Control: A-
Casting Speed: B+
Magic Power: B+
Mental Strength: B+
Mana Sensitivity: A+
Mana Essence: [6,750/27,000]
==[Innate Blessings]==
- [Blessing of Naiara’s Reserve]
- [Cursed: Chalice of the Labyrinth]
==[Affinity Mastery]==
- [Ice, Pure Mana, Spatial (Advanced)]
- [Water, Sound (Intermediate)]
- [Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, Lightning (Basic)]
===============
’Well, not that much of an improvement, but for her... it’s a lot. Perhaps more than plenty.’
Calmly watching the lake, Calyra’s eyes moved across the water before she began to ask another question.
"There are a few Voidspawns in there, won’t they become a problem once Julian and the others arrive?"
"Don’t worry, they won’t bother us."
Ruvian answered without the slightest concern, which caused Calyra to glance at him for a moment. He simply kept his eyes ahead while silently calling out inside his mind...
’Right, Morvayne?’
[Indeed. Leave those creatures to me, Child.]
The moment Morvayne finished speaking, she silently cast a spell; an invisible wave spread out from Ruvian and flowed across the lake.
Calyra’s eyes suddenly widened slightly.
Her expressionless face finally cracked as her gaze snapped towards Ruvian, then towards the lake where the strange energy had disappeared.
’Isn’t that... Dark Mana?’ (+500 PP)
Her brows slowly drew together as she stared at Ruvian from the corner of her eyes. ’How?’ Before she could think any further, several dark shapes beneath the lake suddenly began to move.
The aquatic Voidspawns that had been swimming towards the shore abruptly stopped as if they had sensed something far more dangerous nearby, and within seconds, they began retreating towards the deeper parts of the lake.
Even the larger ones lurking near the bottom quickly followed, leaving the entire shore completely untouched.
Ruvian watched the dark shapes disappear into the depths and gave a small nod. ’Thanks for the help, Morvayne.’
Morvayne, meanwhile, quietly puffed her chest proudly within his soul. [Think nothing of it, Child. Driving away such lesser creatures requires little from me.]
──────── ✦ ────────
[Chapter 305: Here Will Do]
Plot Points= 52,500 PP
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