26: Arcane Society

"You've come at the perfect time. Bring that useless Orc's axe over here. I'm going to give that stone monster a new look."

The Female Dwarf struggled to stand. That previous charged blow had clearly exhausted the last of her strength.

"I can't lift it." Ronan looked at the two-handed axe, which was almost as long as he was tall, and shook his head.

"What the hell are you talking—"

The Female Dwarf was about to start cursing when he softly interrupted her. "Just rest for a while."

Ronan's gaze focused on the Gargoyle. The network of Spiritual Power around him continued to expand, and the red light at his fingertips grew brighter and brighter.

This sight gave the Female Dwarf a start, and she subconsciously closed her mouth.

At this moment, Ronan's Spiritual Power was rapidly recovering within the ritual technique.

He suddenly felt like a battery; his current charge jumped from 60% to 88% and was still rising.

He thought about pouring all his Spiritual Power into a super-strong "Scorching Ray" in a moment... then he shook his head, dispelling the thought.

The Gargoyle leapt high, flapping its wings as it flew toward the group.

"Get down!"

"Watch out!"

The Female Dwarf and the Grey Elf immediately warned the others.

Of course, they were mainly warning the Mage who was still standing there in a daze; the Orc had already collapsed because he couldn't hold on any longer.

Ronan stood straight, his Spiritual Power network already locked on.

The violent energy accumulated at his fingertips seemed to find an outlet, shooting toward the Gargoyle in the air.

The Gargoyle, which feared light and high temperatures, couldn't dodge in time. It was pierced directly by the red Ray and fell from mid-air.

Thump.

The Gargoyle's massive body smashed a large crater into the ground.

Everything around Ronan went silent instantly.

What happened?

The Female Dwarf and the Grey Elf both widened their eyes, their gazes shifting back and forth between Ronan and the fallen Gargoyle.

The Orc had no line of sight; he only heard a thunderous crash, and then the entire scene fell into an eerie silence.

"W-what happened..." He forced himself up and turned his head, seeing an incredible scene.

The Mage stood in place unscathed, while the Gargoyle that had been pouncing fiercely from the air had collapsed into a pile of stones, motionless on the ground.

However, the Gargoyle had not died just yet.

The crimson moonlight fell upon it, granting it a flicker of new life.

The fatal piercing wound in its chest began to repair itself, and the stones shattered upon impact were slowly reforming.

These movements naturally didn't escape the notice of the people present, let alone Ronan, whose Spiritual Power network was fully deployed.

Immediately following,

a thicker, more powerful red Ray blasted straight toward the Gargoyle's remains.

In an instant, all the wound repairs and limb reassemblies caused by the crimson moonlight were blown to pieces.

After this strike, the Gargoyle showed no further movement.

Even the fragments of Blood Slaves that had been squirming nearby stopped.

Ronan walked over to where the Gargoyle was. After confirming it was as dead as could be, he paced around the pile of rubble.

His gaze wandered downward, and he occasionally rummaged around, turning over small stones covered by larger ones.

After some tinkering, he finally found what he wanted: a stone sphere that was badly damaged but still had some shape.

This was the Gargoyle's core, an important material for submitting proof of the kill.

He hadn't forgotten that his sole purpose for coming to the old castle was to clear out the Gargoyle.

Although there had been a few surprises along the way, for Ronan, who judged success by results, it didn't matter at all.

Omit the beginning... omit the middle... the result is decent... okay, done!

He turned his head and said to the three of them,

"I killed this guy, so I'll take this material. Any problems with that?"

There was a moment of silence.

It wasn't that they disagreed with his plan, but that the three of them hadn't yet recovered from their shock.

"Of course, you can take the materials from these Blood Slaves yourselves. Is that alright?"

Ronan felt that these disgusting things probably wouldn't sell for much.

The three nodded dully, murmuring, "That's fine, that's fine..."

"By the way, how much time is left?"

Ronan had already guessed that the time they kept asking about was the countdown for everyone to return to the castle entrance.

The Blood-colored Crystals had a time limit for bringing them here.

The Female Dwarf finally regained some of her senses. She pulled a dial from her bosom and glanced at it.

"2 minutes..."

"Quick!" The Female Dwarf shouted to the other two as if waking from a dream. "There's no time left, hurry and get the materials."

With that, she rushed toward the Blood Slave corpse in front of her.

After fruitlessly trying to tear it with her bare hands, she turned and ran to the Orc, slapping him across the face.

"What are you staring at? Get to fucking work!"

The Female Dwarf snatched up the giant axe from the ground. Although he didn't know where she got the strength, she nearly stumbled.

"Right! Quick!" The Orc finally reacted, shouting twice before realizing he had no strength left at all.

So he immediately turned to the Grey Elf for help. "Ash Leaf, hurry up with a Restoration Ritual Technique!"

The Grey Elf also snapped out of it, but she shook her head.

"I don't have enough Mana. Find your own way."

"Mana?" Ronan keenly noticed the word and turned to the Grey Elf. "What is that?"

The Grey Elf was taken aback. "You're asking me?"

"Who else?" Two question marks practically popped up over Ronan's head. "Can't I ask?"

"With your level of power, is it interesting to ask me a question like that?" The Grey Elf's eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head. "So you killed a Gargoyle, big deal. Are you trying to test me?"

"Or..." The Grey Elf thought of another possibility, her face flushing. "Are you trying to hit on me?"

"What the hell?" Ronan was completely confused. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Mana is a type of energy formed by the transformation of Spiritual Power that can exist within the body, specifically used for casting ritual magic."

The Grey Elf said lazily, curling her lip. "Are you satisfied now?"

Ronan was still processing the information in that sentence when he suddenly felt a force pulling at him.

He knew that time was up.

In an instant, the four of them appeared at the entrance of the original abandoned castle.

"No, no, no, my materials..." Because she hadn't taken all the materials, the Female Dwarf's wails were heart-wrenching to hear.

The Orc collapsed onto the ground, finally able to truly catch his breath.

"If you've got nothing better to do, pay more attention to that senior who's out to get you. Just be careful."

As they parted, the Grey Elf gave a warning; it seemed she was truly concerned for Ronan.

Just as Ronan was about to explain properly, she turned back and said,

"By the way, if you have trouble or a mission in the future, you can find our Team 408. Within the Academy, our team is quite famous!"

Team 408... why does that sound familiar... isn't that the number of the Adventurer team I'm in?

Ronan was suddenly startled.

He looked up, but the three had long since departed and were nowhere to be seen.

Wait, she didn't mean the guild of the Adventurers Guild, but the Academy.

What kind of organization is that?

..."Leafy, it's not often I see you care about someone so much. Why weren't you more proactive and just state your feelings?"

Red Hammer, carrying a stack of high-value materials, asked Ash Leaf.

Ash Leaf remained silent, her eyes swirling with inexplicable emotions.

"I know, I know. When you truly like someone, no matter how excellent you are, you'll feel inferior in front of them."

Savage Stone acted like an experienced older brother.

"Scram." Red Hammer snapped at him, then turned to comfort her gently, "Don't lose heart, there's plenty of time..."

"Knowing he's in the Arcane Arts Society and knowing his codename 'Red Star', we're bound to meet again."

Ash Leaf nodded, murmuring, "Pity I didn't ask what his real name was..."