CHAPTER 53: THE WAR THAT BROKE THROUGH

"Dead just like that?" Aella muttered, drawing everyone’s attention back to the present.

They stared at the location where the whole thing had transpired, still shocked that the man had been so easily killed.

"This is far bigger than we anticipated. We have to abort the mission and report to the school authorities." Arthur said solemnly, causing Aella and Jason to turn and look at him.

For the first time ever, Jason agreed with Arthur’s suggestion.

"This is honestly bigger than we expected and from this we can tell there are other terrifying forces at play."

Aella however shook her head, her eyes flickering with thought.

"Rather than just heading back to the academy to report, we should explore more and find out details pertaining to this. If we head back to the academy now and explain what happened, there’s a chance they won’t take us seriously."

"We should gather enough information before returning to the academy."

"But that’s too dangerous even for us." Arthur immediately rejected the idea.

No way in hell he was going to put his life in danger.

Aella smiled wryly and turned to Jason, seeking his opinion.

"To head and clear all the dungeons in the listed mission would increase our strengths greatly, but it’s still too dangerous for us for now."

Just when Aella was looking a little disappointed, Jason continued.

"Still, I feel continuing our exploration is better. With that we can discover more information about what’s happening and know if what happened here was a unique case or something common. After heading to the village next and clearing the dungeons there, I think we should head to the wasteland directly to clear the remaining dungeons since there are numerous dungeons there."

Jason’s explanation sounded reasonable even to Arthur.

His eyes flickered with calculation as his gaze drifted to Titan and Nephis through the corner of his eyes.

The main reason he decided to head out to explore the dungeon and gather information about the outside world was mainly to drastically increase the strength of himself and his summons.

Besides... as Arthur cleared more dungeons there was a chance he could obtain a celestial stone and summon the fourth calamity.

The fourth calamity.

The first calamity, Titan, was the main reason Arthur was so strong and his growth speed was increasing so much.

Then there was the second calamity, the little fox, which had been a little helpful.

And finally the third calamity, Nephis, who was extremely unique, even taking up a space in Arthur’s heart.

If he could obtain a fourth calamity, who knew what exactly it would be?

Arthur’s heart was filled with curiosity, and coupled with the fact that he wanted to increase his strength in case of any coming crisis... he could only reluctantly agree.

Nodding, Arthur glanced at Aella and Jason.

"Okay. We’ll follow along with the plan."

Aella’s eyes shone briefly and Jason nodded in return.

"For now, we’ll rest for the night while also planning out our next course of action perfectly." Aella suddenly said to the two.

Both of them nodded, though they knew that tonight there would be no resting since no one was certain of anything yet.

What if they were attacked again?

Arthur glanced at Titan and Nephis and nodded before sitting with the other two.

Titan towered over him like a silent protector.

His sword was embedded into the ground as he maintained a respectful knight’s stance, his golden eyes flickering with an eerie light under the night sky.

Nephis also sat beside Arthur and leaned closer to him before resting her head, while Aella and Jason sat down.

Arthur could feel a hint of warmth and a strange, soothing fragrance from Nephis’ body, causing his emotions to relax slightly from their tense state.

The three then entered into a discussion, making all sorts of guesses and plans for the night.

The night passed uneventfully after the whole situation of the previous day.

...

The next day soon came, and Arthur woke up to realise he was lying in Nephis’ arms.

The moment he stirred awake, he felt a soft feeling on his face and a slight, warm curve in his hand.

His eyes widened as he realised he was hugging Nephis’ waist while using her breast as a pillow.

"Good morning master." Nephis didn’t seem bothered by the situation.

Arthur however coughed awkwardly and immediately separated from her.

He didn’t even know when he fell asleep yesterday.

He just wanted to close his eyes for a bit to think about what to plan for his next course of action and suddenly he woke up the next morning.

Arthur was speechless at his body’s sense of alarm and danger.

Even in such a dangerous situation he could still sleep so soundly without a care in the world.

However he knew the only reason for this was the promise and assurance of safety brought about by Titan and Nephis who was beside him.

Standing up and covering his boner, Arthur coughed once more and smiled.

"Thanks for the night..."

Nephis’s cheeks slightly turned red as she heard Arthur’s words and her heartbeat quickened in anticipation.

However, unable to continue the topic with his summon, Arthur turned to notice Jason and Aella staring at him with speechless expressions.

Aella was staring at Arthur with a strange expression on her face and Jason was also looking with a strange hint of jealousy.

’Not my fault you didn’t awaken as a summoner.’ Arthur commented in his heart, then flashed them a nonchalant smile.

"What’s the plan for the morning?"

Aella pondered for a bit before replying, "If we’re all set, we can begin heading to the village next."

Arthur hesitated briefly before interrupting the two who were standing up.

"I have to go through my morning routine first before we head out. In the meantime you guys can grab a meal or something. I’ll be back in roughly an hour."

After Arthur finished speaking, he was already running in the opposite direction.

Nephis disappeared, blending into his shadow, meanwhile Titan instantly used his space element and appeared beside Arthur.

As Arthur raced, Titan followed behind him like a silent protector, using his space element to keep check on Arthur at all times and scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger.

Aella and Jason were dumbfounded.

"Truly shouldn’t have brought him here." Jason commented with a casual shrug as he sat on his butt.

"Still can’t deny his usefulness so far." Aella said and also sat beside Jason as the two fell silent and could only wait for Arthur.

...

More than an hour passed when Arthur finally returned once more, his strength having increased by a slight margin again.

And his elemental attribute was gradually approaching the 20 mark and he would soon increase the grade of his elemental attribute.

In a good mood, Arthur returned to the two who were seated on the ground and waiting for him.

Sweat was trailing down his bald head as Arthur glanced at them.

"Now we can continue."

Jason sounded exasperated as he asked curiously, "Is it really necessary for you to do such exercise? You’re a player, it won’t even be beneficial to your body in the long run."

"You won’t get it." Arthur shook his head in pity and didn’t reply.

Jason was bewildered.

Right. It was his fault for even asking.

He couldn’t care less anyway.

"Let’s head to the destroyed village."

Aella changed the topic, sensing that a conflict between the two was about to erupt.

"Okay." Arthur and Jason answered simultaneously and glanced at each other.

Jason snorted and Arthur just rubbed his bald head, glaring at Jason.

Aella giggled in a lady-like manner and immediately led the way for the two.

"The ride there will take us until dusk, so when we reach the outskirts of the village we’ll rest for the night before entering the destroyed village in our peak state."

Feeling her words were reasonable, Arthur and Jason didn’t refute it.

The trio got onto their horses and continued on their way.

As they exited Jaell State, they noticed only a few people on the outskirts, a stark contrast to the crowd they had encountered while coming here.

Pleased, they greeted them with a wave along the way, to which most of the people waved back.

...

After leaving Jaell State they had to pass through a slightly deserted forest due to wild beasts before finally crossing an overhead stream and getting to the village section.

When they reached the overhead stream, they noticed a bridge there and after crossing it, they located an inn used to welcome guests visiting.

Lodging, they immediately settled in without hesitation.

Aella stayed in a single room herself and so did Jason.

Meanwhile in Arthur’s room, Titan stood opposite Arthur’s bed like a soldier ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

Then on the bed was Arthur... and Nephis.

Just as Arthur lay down to rest, he sensed someone materialise and crawl up to him.

"Master... Can I sleep with you?" Nephis sounded slightly shy as she asked.

Arthur was dumbfounded by the question.

Sleeping with a beauty...

He hesitated for only an instant before nodding and patting the bed beside him.

"Come and lay down."

Nephis seemed happy as she jumped onto the bed and leaned in closer to Arthur before hugging him.

In the warmth of her embrace, Arthur didn’t know when he drifted off to dreamland.