Athena returned within a few minutes and revealed a narrow-eyed gaze.

“Did you find anything?”

Athena shook her head and waved the tip of her wings in the air as if describing her findings.

Sherrine, the divine artist, sharply followed each of Athena’s gestures and turned to Zephyr. “She might be drawing a building. I’m not entirely sure. Why did she not find anyone there? I can still feel the mana…”

Zephyr opened the map, which he seemingly neglected until now. Using the chicken/cockatrice mark on the map to find their current location, he trailed his finger along the path Athena took. His finger stopped on a new mark. A broken building resembling an ancient tower.

“Athena, did you find some building?”

Athena confirmed with an enthusiastic nod and pointed her wing in the direction.

The map had no explanation on the building mark.

“Let’s check it out before making any judgment.”

“Yeah, we can’t do anything from here.”

The couple followed Athena to the location.

The trees thinned out and the forest opened up to a series of weather-worn store pillars covered in dead clumps of grass. Half-crumpled buildings, cracked blocks and stones broken by meandering tree roots. At the forefront of these ancient ruins, a pair of horned wyverns stood as its guardians. The only concern was their form; they were made of stone.

“Golem?” Zephyr muttered. “The location book has no mention of any ruins.”

“I don’t sense any mana from them. What I felt seems to be…” Sherine’s gaze descended to the ground. “Under the ruins…”

“A dungeon?” Zephyr frowned at his own words. An ancient dungeon should be common in a fantasy world with the Blessing Towers and the Chronos Chamber. “Probably the leftover of some old civilization. Arlette should know something about it.”

His only problem was the noise. Last time she answered his yell. But that was the yellow zone, where the highest level enemy could be crushed with his bare hands. In the red zone, he hesitated. His shout might anger some dragon lord and create the future he hated to see.

‘If only I had a spell to see what’s down there and eliminate the uncertainties.’

Sherine made an anguished face, sensing his internal struggle. She clenched her fists and bit her lips. It was her responsibility to help him out in situations like as he couldn’t be bothered to learn spells that won’t be useful in the fighting tournament.

The ridiculous powers she inherited were useless when it came to truly supporting her champion’s growth. It was unacceptable. She couldn’t go on like this as his lover and his sworn companion.

‘I must expand my arsenal… I must learn new spells.’

Zephyr reached a conclusion that brought a sigh out of him. “You know what, let’s forget about these ruins and focus on magic beasts.”

The ancient ruins were a gamble he wasn’t willing to take. He might encounter some high-level magic beast down there or he might get nothing at all and waste his precious time. The time which would be better spent killing magic beasts.

Sherine revealed a comforting smile as if her anguish vanished. “Your decision is correct.”

Sherine’s support surprised him a little. He expected a little pushback from the dragoness since she loved to explore new places.

‘She is prioritizing my safety over her desires. So cute of her.’

“Sherine, tell me what you really want. Explore the ruins or do the boring monster grind with me.”

Sherine shook her head. “I’m fine with anything.”

“I’m not talking about settling for what I want. My question is what you want. Tell the truth.”

Letting her compromise wasn’t his goal. He wanted a long, fulfilling relationship with her; to do that, he had to keep her happy. She couldn’t be happy if she started suppressing her desires to make him happy. Dragons should be true to their desires, not holding back.

“I… want to explore the ruins,” Sherine buckled under his determined gaze and revealed her true desires. “We can’t go until we’re sure it’s not the Brood Queen’s secret base in the forest.”

He stroked her head for being honest. “It wasn’t hard, right? I promise we’ll come back here after we’re done with the Chronos Chamber.”

Sherine made a happy smile. “I’m hyped to be inside the Chronos Chamber.”

“Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts.”

“Um…” Sherine nodded.

Zephyr checked the map again. Arlette marked the magic beasts but the map lost its credibility after the time he spent in the Red Zone. The magic beasts constantly moved about the forest, fighting each other for food and just to devour the other for evolution. The stronger magic beasts like wyverns stayed in a territory, protecting it to death.

‘Wyverns, Treant Lords, Cockatrice, Veil Witch, Dark Crowing, Twined Hound.’

He recalled all the monsters known to reside in the Great Forest of Selanai. Wyverns were considered the strongest magic beasts in Selanai due to their distant relationship to the dragons, and the fact they stayed in a group of over fifty. For Zephyr, the wyverns served as a minor threat as spotting a wyvern’s lair would be easy. Lone predators like Veil Witch and Twined Hounds posed a bigger threat. The Great Forest of Selanai thrived with these predators.

“Wait, Zephyr. Someone is coming.”

Sherine shook his shoulder and made him aware of a figure approaching the ruins. A man drenched in red, carrying a bloody greatsword in a single hand. He was wearing torn remains of a robe filled with claws and other attack marks. He could only see his side profile from his position, barely allowing him to see the ruby eyes flickering like gems.

“It’s blood,” Sherine said, narrowing her eyes. The unpleasant feeling came over her; the same repulsiveness she felt from the blood in the caves. “It might be using the Brood Queen’s magic…”

“No way. He is a magician—”

Athena flew past him, nearly becoming a blur. With a great speed, she closed the distance between her and the bloodied man as if she was possessed by something. Her claws stretched, aiming for the man’s neck.

She looked to end the man’s life in an instant.

LordHeaven

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