Update will be once a week from now on. My Online classes will resume in the following days.

Chapter 34

Back in the city one could see Rowley hacking and chopping off monsters followed by many others people doing the same. The guards had finally gotten their bearing and so did other Adventurers and Hunters. They were finally beating back the monsters but the monster’s number did not dwindle down as they seemed to keep coming from the hole. However, three distinct figure were in the thick of the Monster Tide. Rowley, he was followed by a small stocky man wielding a hammer along with another man who was expertly wielding a bow. Rowley had met up with them a few times to know who they were. The small bearded man was the Guild-master of the city while the archer was the head of the Hunter Association of the city.

Normally, he did hear that both of them had a competition over each other but in the battlefield, they fought together like a years old married couple having the perfect sync dance. Rowley’s face changed a little when having thought of that reference. Anyway, the short man was blowing the monsters away with his hammer from getting too close while the other one was shooting down projectiles and monsters far away with pin-point accuracy. The bearded small one did seem to be a little tipsy like a person who had downed a beer or two. Rowley made a face as he thought.

‘Who drinks this early in the morning?’

He slashed at another wolf from chomping his head off. He needed to conserve his strength and mana as packs of wolves seemed to be the majority of what the Tide consisted of. True, he was the weakest of all brothers but that was because his duty kept him in his home tending to the kids. Not that it was bad or anything, but he too needed a good fight once in a while. That is why he enjoyed when it was time to let it all loose in the battlefield. Rowley thought.

‘The pack seems to consist of sub-species, Thunder Wolf and Snow Wolf. I desperately hope I am wrong about the monster behind it.’

Just then a small column of fire erupted from the direction of the Ducal Mansion. Rowley turned his head towards the Ducal Mansion in worry.

“As expected! It was just a diversion! Alicia!”

As he was getting distracted, a wolf tried to bite his thigh before getting a stab at its head. Rowley snarled in rage as red aura activated.

[Berserk Lvl 4]

“FUCK YOU! DIE!!”

Then he swung around wildly, trying to carve a path out of the Tide. But the wolves were constantly harassing him with [Lightning Charge] to paralyze him or [Ice Bind] to restrict his movement. As he was not mentally sound, he got a few hits in. He was completely surrounded as well. Rowley thought bitterly.

‘What a rookie mistake to make.’

But then an opening carved out as the Guildmaster and the Hunter appeared, pommeling and crushing every monster in their way. The Guildmaster seemed to chide him.

“Oi oi! What a rookie mistake to make! Be calm, be cool! Keep a clear head, fool! Wow, that rhymed!”

He crushed another one with his hammer. Rowley sighed bitterly.

“The fire came from the Ducal Mansion. I believe they are in trouble. My daughter and the Duke’s daughter may be in trouble as well.”

The head hunter looked at him in sympathy as he shot down another wolf.

“Look. No use in getting out of this Tide unless we beat the leader. Otherwise, you will be surrounded. If you fall, in more time we will too. Then the city will be lost and so will be the remnants of the Duke house that may live. So let us end this Tide faster by working together. Also, I am sensing something big is coming.”

Rowley nodded in affirmation. He could feel goosebumps. The Guildmaster seemed to have a serious look while the Hunter tightened the bow in his hand. The wolves around them parted and ran away as they came face to face with not one but two monsters. Rowley’s eye twitched.

“No fucking way….”

The guildmaster sighed.

“I ain’t drunk enough for this shit.”

The hunter said.

“Of all the times to appear.”

On one side, there was a wolf almost as big as a small two-storied house. Its fur was grey with some white one as well. It had a horn that was as big as a sword and it was looking at them menacingly as it growled in fury of its dead pack.

[Raiju: The Thunder Wolf King]

[Lvl. 366]

An AA category monster. Beside it was a smaller but even more threatening wolf monster. Its stark white fur stood out even more. It was not looking at them in rage but had a calculating glint in its eye.

[Fenrir: The Ice Prince (Not Matured)]

[Lvl. 338]

Though it was not stronger than the Raiju, it had still years of growth left. Also its plethora of abilities made it quite a nuisance. The Hunter sighed and asked in a fake surprise.

“Really? These two were fighting for dominance over an area for so long. How come they are all buddy-buddy right now?”

Rowley shook his head.

“Don’t know and don’t have the time to find out. Pick your poison. You two will be a team and me alone against one of them. Choose fast before they attack.”

The Guildmaster sighed.

“We will take Fenrir. The Raiju has a huge level advantage over us so take the lightning fucker with you because frankly you are the strongest among us. Knew there was something going on with the dead-beat useless brothers of Elcot house. Who knew there were some hidden cards within the place but my lips are sealed.”

Rowley frowned before nodding as he walked towards the Raijin looking at him furiously. Frankly, it seemed to be especially pissed at him.

[Rowley    Lvl 344]

And the Guildmaster and the hunter headed towards the other calm looking white wolf.

[Guildmaster    Lvl 323]

[Hunter        Lvl 302]

Then Rowley thought it would be better if they were not in the city area as the fight would decimate the structure of the city. He ran away from the city walls and into the forest. As expected the Raiju was quick to follow him. Rowley looked back at the wolf as its eyes were red and it seemed to breathe heavily.

‘Was it on some kind of Drugs?’

Back in the city, the Guildmaster and the Hunter were trying to distract the white wolf. The Guildmaster raised his hammer and yelled.

“Hoohah!”

[Empower]

[Raise Strength, Vitality and Condition by 13% for a short period of time.]

Red particles lighted up and entered his body giving it a red glow as well as buffing him up. His chest and arm grew bigger and tore the cloth he was wearing displaying his scarred yet impressive muscle and chiseled abs. The head hunter shook his head as he too used a skill.

[Focus]

[Simple skill that increase the chance of hitting the target by 30%]

His eyes started to glow blue as he stood further behind the Guildmaster with his bow drawn towards the wolf as he let loose of the arrow. The arrow flew towards the wolf, hitting true to the target. He clicked his teeth in annoyance as the arrow fell off harmlessly, dealing less damage than hoped. The Guildmaster laughed at that. However, the wolf seemed to shake its head. It gritted its head as if in pain and then red mist formed out of its nose as its eyes turned red. It turned feral as it growled. The Guildmaster stopped laughing and gave the head hunter a look.

“Oh shut up.”

Then the Guildmaster without any delay launched himself at the wolf. The ground he was on caved inward and cracked as he poised in midair to hit the wolf. As if sensing something wrong before, it instinct saved itself from getting hit by immediately jumping back.

“No you don’t!”

The hunter immediately used a skill.

“[Platform]”

A whitish blue rectangular shaped platform appeared behind the Guildmaster. The Guildmaster used it as a launching pad and used it to further speed himself towards the retreating wolf. The wolf growled and howled.

[Icicle Wall]

The icicles appeared between it and the Guildmaster. The Guildmaster immediately used his hammer to destroy it but the momentum was lost and the wolf launched its counter. It proceeded to gather mana in its mouth to use a [Frozen Beam] attack.

“Shit!”

The hunter, who was running towards them, swore as he jumped and pulled the strings of his bow hard towards the wolf.

[Sonic arrow]

The man released the string and the arrow shot forward, breaking the speed of sound in an instant. He got pushed back by the force. The wolf stopped gathering mana and turned its body in an impressive aerial maneuver as it dodged the arrow. The arrow destroyed quite a few houses and monsters before it got destroyed by its own sheer force. The wolf looked at the hunter as a white magic circle appeared beneath it.

[Ice Shards]

Then from below it, many ice shards launched towards the sky and it targeted both the Guildmaster and the Hunter who were in the area. The Guildmaster then started to destroy the shards that were targeting him while the hunter performed great feats of agility by dodging them. He then shot an arrow which he took out from the [Storage Box] towards the wolf. He used a skill.

[Splitting Arrow]

[Splits any arrows, which is the target, into separate arrows. The attack power is divided into how much it is split.]

The arrow spilt into 10 and proceeded to annoy the wolf. As it just stood there and took it head on. As expected it did not do any damage but then the hunter grinned.

[Arrow Trap: Lightning Nox]

[Lightning Trap. Paralyzes Foes. Use it with the skill [Splitting Arrow] for greater effect.]

The ten arrows that were falling down suddenly hovered and formed a circle with the wolf in the middle. Then it glowed into balls of lightning and zapped the wolf as it yelped in surprise. The Guildmaster then grinned as well he jumped towards the paralyzed wolf.

“[Herculean Strength]”

His arm carrying the hammer glowed and he swung the hammer. The wolf got blasted away destroying houses and making huge gouges on the ground. Luckily the citizens had already been evacuated further in. The wolf got up shaking as it bristled in rage. It turned its eyes on them as it howled.

“AWOOOOH”

Its body was glowing white.

[Frozen Wasteland]

The area they were in turned cold as the black clouds emerged and instantly changed to a small snowstorm. The wolf catered its surrounding to have an advantage against them. It was one of its most annoying skill. It buffed its [Ice Magic] while limiting its enemy’s [AGI]. It looked at them and instantly used magic.

[Ice chains]

Many huge chains made of ice formed and struck towards them. The Hunter clicked his tongue in annoyance and as he stood and used the earlier skills.

[Sonic Arrow] * 10

The ground beneath him caved in as huge sounds of arrows breaking the sound barrier was heard many times as well as shattering noises of the icy chains. The Guildmaster didn’t remain idle as he too used a skill. His earlier buffs were lost as he started to turn red and big.

[Unique Job skill: Flame Giant Transformation]

[Transform oneself to a Fire Giant. An Ancient civilization studied the Fire Giant clan extensively, allowing them to harness power of the degraded Fire Giant. STR increase by 50%, VIT increase by 20%, CON increase by 10% and AGI decrease by 30%.]

He turned his body from 4 foot 10 to 20 foot 10 giant. Fire covered his whole body as his [Stat] took a massive increase and the hammer grew in size alongside him. He ran slowly towards the wolf as the wolf gathered mana on its mouth.

[Frozen Beam]

A white ray of frigid cold beam shot towards him. The Guildmaster couldn’t dodge or rather wouldn’t dodge because it was aimed right at him and the ray was in straight line. Meaning it would even destroy a lot more houses behind them that still had people. As he took it head on with his arm in front of him, that arm gradually turned ice blue, snuffing out the flames. The Guildmaster shouted at him.

“OI! Do something.”

The head hunter sighed and replied.

“All right.”

He took out a bag from his [Storage Box] and scattered some of its content in the air. From inside many seeds were scattered. He used a skill.

[Unique Job Skill: Blessing of the Forest]

[Has the ability to grow seeds into giant Treemen to aid in battle. The quality of the seeds used determine the quality of Treemen. An Ancient Civilization living in the forest was blessed by the Spirit of the Forest allowing them to harness the power of Nature. Three types of Treemen: Pure Offensive, Pure Defensive and Hybrid with watered down ability of both]

A wide brown circle appeared with a radius of 10m. The seeds from earlier quickly germinated and grew into big trees of at least 10m high. Then the tress began to produce a hum sound as it began to shake and got out of the ground. It started to twist and turn until it resembled giant man. It looked at the Head hunter for the command as he pointed out to the wolf.

“Restrain”

The tree men nodded as they all proceeded to run towards the wolf. The wolf saw them coming and stopped attacking its [Beam] and casted another skill.

[Frozen Icicles] * 15

Bigger icicles appeared and started to pelt the Tree man. Some of them got destroyed into small pieces but they reattached itself back together and started to charge towards the wolf. The giant man whistled at the sight.

“Oi couldn’t you have done this earlier?”

The head hunter replied bitterly.

“Look at me! The drain is enormous. Just casting it took 2/5^th of my mana and when it heals, that too drains the mana. I’d rather bombard the bitch but no, you just had to transform and attack head on. Those seeds are fucking expensive!”

The head hunter felt like crying. The Guildmaster just shook his head as he followed the treemen to attack the wolf. The wolf on the other hand was getting harassed by the treemen which sprouted many tendrils to ensnare the wolf. While they lacked the offensive power, they had enormous vitality and sturdy defense. The wolf couldn’t continue to bombard it because it required mana to maintain the [Frozen Wasteland]. Then out of nowhere the Guildmaster jumped from behind the treemen. As the huge treemen had nearly surrounded it, the wolf could not see the smaller fire giant. He smiled in anticipation.

“[Herculean Strength] [One-point strike] [Empower] [Earth Buster] [Iron Hammer] [Giga Impact]”

By using all this skills, his hammer shined as he struck the Fenrir down on its snout. For a second nothing seemed to happen then all of a sudden a shockwave was released that destroyed the already destroyed houses around it. The impact nearly got the treemen to be flung in the air. Even the head hunter who was resting nearly a hundred meters away could feel the impact. The wolf’s head was bloodied as it was forced down, creating a huge crater where it head had impacted and then the remaining force caused it to bounce in the air as its hind leg were floating in the air. In the air it flipped repeatedly, causing blood to sprayed around before finally crashing into some poor sob’s home far away.

It did not get up for some time. The Guildmaster asked.

“Is it done? Tricky opponents are harder to deal with and we have yet to get notification from the [Voice of the World].”

After saying that the house it fell down was shaking as the wolf got out from it. The head hunter clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“It’s vitality is amazing, to even be alive after taking such a blow.”

The Guildmaster replied.

“Well, it is a monster that would one day be even SSS rank.”

The wolf shook his head once then twice as clarity returned to it. Its eyes were no longer red as it howled.

“Awooh!”

Fearing it was calling its pack, they tensed a bit. The wolf pack along with the monsters that were causing havoc arrived. They readied themselves for the inevitable last stand but was surprised when the monster ignored them and ran out from the hole of the wall and into the forest. The injured Fenrir bowed its head and ran away from the city. The Guildmaster and Hunter looked at each other in amazement. The Guildmaster sighed.

“Well, that’s that. I guess we were lucky it didn’t use all of its skill”

The head Hunter agreed.

“There was quite a few close call. But even we did not use all of our skill. It was not a drawn out battle anyway. Fenrir did not want to battle; it was as if it was forced to battle. It acted only after hostile intention was enacted against it. The Raijin on the other hand was clearly raging.”

The Guildmaster replied.

“Likewise, the level of intelligence of Raijin is lower than of Fenrir because its potential is a lot weaker as well. It could not resist whatever was causing it to go mad.”

The head hunter sighed, undoing his skill, the tree men looked at him and nodded before turning to dust.

“Well, it was a massive loss for me. My valued tree seeds and a trap arrow were lost. And you my good friend were next to useless.”

The Guilmaster grinned, not minding the sarcasm.

“Well, I did land the finishing blow so that counts for something.”

The head hunter seemed to be annoyed.

“Well I thought Direct-combat retards such as yourself were supposed to distract the thing. Most of its attention was on me and I basically had to save your ass.”

The Guildmaster shrugged.

“It is an intelligent monster after all. You will get you tree seeds back……”

The head hunter quirked an eye.

“What? The miser is actually giving something?”

The Guildmaster continued.

“…..for a price.”

The hunter sighed miserably.

“Once a miser, always a miser.”

Rowley Pov

Rowley had skedaddled from the city and into the forest. The Raiju ran towards him with palpable bloodlust and fury. As Rowley was moving to and fro between the trees, the Raiju was clearly decimating whatever was getting in its way. He jumped from the branch as seconds later the tree got destroyed as the Raiju came destroying everything it its way. He jumped from the branch and into the air as the tree he was on was destroyed in an instant. The wolf tried to chomp him off in midair but he slashed the mouth and got away to safety. He looked towards the direction of the mansion.

“I been running away for quite some time now…. But I can’t help but worry about the mansion….”

[Discharge]

It seemed that the wolf was getting a bit impatient as its horn shined and shot out a beam of Electricity. Rowley dodged it but the trees behind him weren’t so lucky as they fell over. Then Rowley used a sword skill.

[Wind Blade]

The wolf didn’t even bother to dodge as the skill did hardly any damage. Then [Draconic Bloodline] Activate!

Rowley [Lvl 344 -> Lvl 379]

The Wolf did not seem to react to his increase in level. Further making it seem like it was in an artificially induced state. It was not normal that a monster tide would form so fast in the first place. Also everybody had a different level of increase when using the bloodline power. His attack suddenly grew stronger and faster. When the wolf tried to bite him, he simply caught the snout with his bare hand and flung the wolf over. The wolf rolled over and destroyed some trees in the way but got up without any visible injury.

Monsters had superior prowess when compared to humans of the same level. It was an undeniable fact that when subjugating a monster, a party of similar ranked Adventurers were called. It was not only for insurance but also as a precaution because the monsters were just as deadly. Even rage induced monster such as the Raiju was dangerous but somewhat predictable. The monster did seem to give up as it pounced at him. Rowley just sidestepped and attacked at the same time. The sword felt like it had hit the monster as some blood could be seen in the sword. It provoked yet another frenzy as the wolf as he started using the tip of the horn to discharge bigger bolts of lightning at him.

[Lightning Strike]

It required Rowley to predict where the horn was pointed at because honestly, lightning was really fast and it hurt when it hit. But the most annoying factor was that it had certain chance of paralyzing you if it did hit. Oops, he just dodged another strike. The wolf was not giving him a breathing room as it continued trying to strike him again and again. Every time he dodged he tried to come in closer and closer. The wolf seems to have limited repositories of skill in use. Or it was simply too angry to use it. It howled.

“Awoooooh!”

[Lightning Armor]

Rowley’s eye twitched, as he jinxed himself.

“Fuck!”

It was the innate skill of the Raijin. Clad in lightning, its agility took a massive increase. The wolf appeared before it in an instant as he crossed his blade in front of him to block the charge by instinct. He found himself flying 200m away crashing into the woods and eventually crash into a big piece of rock.

“Ow…”

Before the rock he was crashed into tilted and fell over.

“Gonna feel that one.”

Before the wolf appeared charging at him from the distance from the corner of hi eyes. He leapt from the wreckage as the wolf leapt at him from the distance. He readied his swords and then suddenly the wolf was blasted away from him in midair. He quirked an eye in surprise before in astonishment as Aaron appeared. He greeted Rowley.

“Hello Uncle.”

Rowley smiled carefree as if a burden had lifted from his heart. If Aaron was here, then it meant that the trouble in the mansion was dealt with. Aaron was not the kind of boy who would run away from trouble. Also the monster did get sent away quite far from that strike.

“Yo Aaron! How everything in the mansion?”

Aaron face turned grim.

“I came fast but the guards were almost annihilated. It was the [Cult]….”

Rowley’s face too turned grim as he asked in worry and apprehension.

“What about….”

Aaron nodded.

“I came in the right time, saved Alicia and Fii-chan before they would be hurt more. I left the mansion after I checked everything in the perimeter. Then arrived at the city. A section was turned into snowy land but the Guildmaster and the Head hunter had repelled the Fenrir. The Fenrir took the rest of the posse and left the city when I arrived. After asking them they said you were leading the Raijin away….”

Rowley sighed in relief.

“Yeah, I did. You do know the Raijin have the most collateral damage due to its attribute….”

Aaron grimaced as he looked at the Raijin who were looking and snarling at them.

“Yeah, lightning is the most destructive one, also one dangerous habit of the Raiju….”

Rowley nodded.

“Yeah, questions later. First we need to fend this monster off and so your level…….. what the hell? Anyway I will ask later.”

Aaron readied the spare sword in front of him while Rowley readied his as well. The lightning clad wolf, following the regular mindless pattern, leapt at them. It was clearly slower than before. They looked at each other and nodded. Aaron jumped to the side while red aura began manifesting on Rowley as his armor struggled to contain his increased muscle.

[Berserk Lvl 4]

[Increase STR by 20% (+5% every level) but has the chance of inflicting Confusion to oneself as the more amount of time the user uses. One with a strong ‘will’ can ignore the ‘confusion’]

He stopped the paw on the track by striking both of his sword on the paw to the ground. As Rowley had higher level of [STR] than it, he was able to stop it. The earth on the opposite side of him cracked as the force generated from the strike. He grinned.

“Got you….”   

Then he rotated in preparation as he kicked the airborne wolf right on the side of its face towards Aaron. The wolf flew towards Aaron as Aaron had halted at a distance. His kept his left shoulder towards the incoming wolf as he looked at it. His face impassive as he readied his sword in front of him. His feet were wide apart from each other, left before the right, as he crouched a bit. His sword tip then turned downwards, touching the ground. He closed his eyes as he had already activated his [Draconic Bloodline]. As the Wolf flew above him, he suddenly opened his eyes as his sword, which faced the ground, did a vertical 360 degree. The left an afterimage of his sword.

[Flash Strike]

[A fast sword strike that require quick precision and focus. Instantly increase the [STR] by 150% for that one strike. The user must have a clear state of mind and must be highly skilled in the way of the sword. Often compared to [Iaido Strike], this version is often done without a scabbard to pull the sword out from.]

Blood gushed out from the side of the wolf as it broke few more trees before it stopped. It wobbled as it howled in pain and fury. Aaron had sliced its stomach horizontally. Its face contorted as mana gathered in its mouth.

[Lightning Beam]

A lightning gathered in its mouth before shooting a beam of powerful lightning at them. Rowley and Aaron escaped left and right as they charged towards the injured wolf. The skill left a scorching and burning forest where it landed.

[Lightning Bullets]

Balls of lightning appeared hovering on its back, numbering hundreds. It shot towards them and kept on replacing it. It seemed that the wolf was intent on killing them. Aaron and Rowley dodged left and right, as the world around them exploded in brilliant light. As they got closer and closer, suddenly they sped towards the injured Raijin!

[Haste] * 2

They reached the Raiju but instantly stepped back.

[Lightning Field]

A dome of lightning erupted with the Raiju in the center. Raiju this time had gone completely mad. It deployed every strong electrical attacks in its disposal as many circles appeared. Rowley shouted.

“Holy Fuck… Run away from GROUND ZERO!!”

[Lightning Bullet] [Lightning Pillar] [Lightning sphere] [Lightning Burst] [Azure Lightning Blast] [Lightning Pin Missile] [Lightning Ray] [Hammer of Might] [Thunder Trigger]

Balls of Lightning blasted the surrounding, pillars made of lightning erupted from below, big balls of lightning exploded, grounds blasting from below, cones of lightning forming in the surrounding before blasting into the surrounding and tearing the nearby foliage, etc. It was mayhem and chaos all around as they both dodged left and right. They could not run away because that meant showing their back to the onslaught of magic attacks so all they could do was dodge while looking at the trajectory. Then came the attack that most dreaded from the Raiju. Its own ultimate suicide bomb attack.

[Judgement: Kamikaze Blitz]

The Raiju turned completely white as arcs of lightning surrounded its body. Aaron and Rowley looked at each other before sprinting away in their fastest speed. Then at a distance they could see a huge blast which made a huge sound.

*KABOOM*

Even the sun lost their splendor when the core of the Raiju exploded. The Raiju was dangerous because of this very reason. Once they declare themselves to be a lost cause, very often they go out with a suicide attack. But as Rowley and Aaron were outside the blast radius they were affected only by the shockwave. As the explosion had finished, the land was nothing but a scorched wasteland. Rowley and Aaron sighed in relief.

“It was a short but intense battle. Thought we’d get caught in that last big one…”

Aaron nodded as well.

“Well, no wonder they are known as ‘Suicide Mutts’. Also Lightning Attribute are akin to glass cannon with weaker defense to offset their extreme offensive capabilities. This was my first time fighting them.”

Rowley replied.

“Well, they evolve from Lightning Wolf Kings to the Raiju when they reach Lvl 300 so they are rare. But don’t let it fool you, their attacks are extremely dangerous and this one was not in the right state of mind. Otherwise, it’d give us a massive headache. Anyway let’s go back to the Mansion, I am worried sick…..”

Both of them returned to the city. The hole in the wall was covered up by [Earth Magic]. They had gone to check the condition of the city. People were already back to reconstruction as they had suffered no real casualties. Many wounded and the southern sector of the city partially destroyed but other than that, there was no actual casualty. It seemed that Rowley and some guards had help keep the Monster at bay long enough for them to organize proper defense. Also the monster had left after the Fenrir had left.

After returning to the mansion, they fortified it with the remaining guards. Rowley immediately left for his daughter. Aaron on the other hand, took the clone’s corpse and as he promised decided to bury it in the sacred forest. He still felt bad about the fate of the clone. He walked carrying the body and after half an hour he walked to what appeared to be an open field. In the center of the field was a lone tree on top of a small hill. This was one of their favorite spot as in when spring arrived the flower bloom was beautiful. He dug a big hole nearby and carefully laid the body inside. He took the [Storage Ring] from the hand that remained to collect any helpful intel. He tried to look inside the ring by injecting his mana. He was surprised that it actually worked.

‘How? [Storage Ring] are bound to the user through the [Mana Signature]. Only mass produced one don’t need it. This is definitely a mass-produced version. But someone like her, why would she use it? No need to fret over and let’s see what is inside.’

Inside there was only one piece of paper which was burnt at the sides, possibly by fire. It seemed to be a research note he had seen in his time in the Academy.

‘What is this?’

He took it out and tried to read the title.

“Project: Swallowed Sun”

He read on.

“Reason of Cloning [The Saintess]…..”

Aaron narrowed his eyes at that as he read on.

“’The number one reason that the cloning had gone was due to the reason of sudden and drastic increment in level of the [Saintess]. The [Demon King] was estimated 750+ while the heroes were around 500-600. Due to the massive difference in level, the first time they faced was met with utter defeat against the [Demon King]. But shortly after the [Saintess] was seen going after the [Demon King] and managed to defeat him in few minutes. Her level was estimated to be almost 800-900. The cause for the level of increase is unknown but only one suspicion i.e. her [Unique Skill] Devour. Therefore, it is hypothesized that it has something to do with the Temporary/Permanent increase in Level. The project has been given the go and production will start soon. Cloning is a new field and not much research is in the [Archive] so many clones are expected to be a failure before some new ones which may produce better resu…...’”

That’s is when the content ended. He looked at the back but it did not contain anything else. The fire had burnt it and it seemed the clone salvaged what she could. Aaron bowed once more before heading back. All the event happened and it was already evening. Rowley and the others asked Aaron and Fiore to move in to their branch family mansion which was unaffected by the chaos. Later when it was time to sleep Aaron could not get the clinging Fiore to stop clinging to his arm. Aaron asked.

“Fi-chan….. it is time to sleep. You share the same room with Alicia so don’t worry.”

But Fiore did not say anything but pouted indignantly. Aaron sighed and said wearily.

“Fii-chan….”

She shook her head and said quietly.

“……I want to sleep with you today.”

Aaron sweatdropped.

“I am afraid it is not possible.”

Fiore then became teary eyes as she asked weakly.

“Is it because I am not you real sister? Do you hate me too, Aaron Nii-san?”

Aaron’s eye twitched at that before giving up.

“All right, all right. You can sleep in my bed.”

Fiore beamed at that before wiping away her tears. Aaron sighed as he was getting led on by a little kid intentionally or not. That night Fiore did not let Aaron go to sleep on the couch and clung to him all night.

Thanks for reading