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C1361

Four days had passed since Emery left for the rescue mission. Most of his time throughout all four days had been in the lotus position, absorbing the thick mist he devoured from the dark elves, which proved to be more of an overwhelming process than he initially thought.

With the layers and layers of energy he had to thoroughly absorb into his spirit core, he had practically little to no time to do anything else. For all four days, he locked himself in his cabin to train with barely any breaks.

[Spirit Absorption]

Fortunately, his undivided focus on the energy absorption process allowed him to assimilate a large portion of the thick mist, which subsequently allowed him to receive another tremendous boost in spirit force.

[Your spirit force has increased.]

[Spirit Force: 1840 (1914)]

The tedious process gained him an increase of 74 points of spirit force. Even in his physically and mentally exhausted state, he was able to feel the increase in power running through his veins, restoring his energy at a noticeable pace.

His dark core was currently brimming with a massive amount of power; the top bottleneck of his cultivation was almost within arm's reach.

Emery couldn't help the look of satisfaction on his face.

His training however was stopped by an announcement from the captain of the ship to gather out in the ship hangar. With this, he finally came out of his room to find out what it was about. Upon stepping out, a pair of pleasantly surprised golden eyes quickly greeted Emery.

"You're finally out! I thought you were dead already," the owner of those eyes jested.

"Yes, good day to you too, Silva."

While it wasn't that big of a ship, the fact that the first person he met outside his room was her again shouldn't be a mere coincidence.

After the brief greeting, the two went toward the hangar to find that they were about to change ships. According to the captain, as they were about to cross the border, they would board a large cargo ship belonging to the neutral factions.

Headmaster Delbrand, who was nearby, noticed that Emery had once again advanced to a higher level. As soon as all of them were done transitioning over, the headmaster decided to call everyone together at the huge hangar.

Of course, by 'everyone', the headmaster was referring to all of the acolytes aboard.

Olivier the Sword Saint, Eeshoo the Nephilim protégé, Atlas the half-machine acolyte, Anzi the Inhuman, and the divine monk whom everyone was still uncomfortable around, Mahinder.

After making sure that everyone was present, the headmaster stepped up. He mentioned that the details of their mission would be briefed upon reaching their destination as some intel still needed to be updated, but the main reason he gathered them here was to work on their teamwork.

"We will be arriving at our destination in three days, use the remaining time to learn to fight together."

Upon hearing the headmaster's instruction, the normally quiet Eeshoo was the first to speak.

"Headmaster, how could we work together with him? We don't trust him."

The Nephilim protégé had a hint of protest in his voice, but it wasn't as if it was without basis.

In order to work together properly, they would need to have a certain level of understanding regarding their allies. The idea of having to work together with the person responsible for the destruction of the academy was just unfathomable.

Meanwhile, the subject of their conversation simply chanted prayers with his eyes closed. This response did not better their view of him, and instead irked the others even more.

Headmaster Delbrand sighed, but he still spoke to ease their worries.

"Rest assured, whatever possessed him before is already gone, Grand Magus Aurora and I have made sure of it. We also have confirmed that he didn't know anything and was not involved in the elven plan."

Despite the headmaster's words, their expressions didn't loosen at all. It was clear that the explanation was insufficient for Eeshoo, and the others felt the same.

"Headmaster, wasn't it a supreme magus–level spirit soul? How are you so sure that it's completely gone?" Eeshoo once again spoke.

It was a brazen question only a top-faction genius like him probably dared to say, regardless,it had the others' full support.

"My apologies, Headmaster, but I came here to save Master Cross. I can't have someone like him jeopardize the mission!" Anzi expressed with determination.

The silence bore a certain amount of pressure on the headmaster. However, contrary to their expectation, what followed was a female voice filled with suppressed irritation.

"Why can't you all just trust your elder and shut up!?" Silva stepped up and approached the monk.

"Traitor or not, we need him for the mission. Without him, all of you might as well say goodbye to the mission and your prince or princesses."

The white-haired girl's words effectively silenced the two, but they simultaneously gave the Inhuman, who dared not say a bad thing to the headmaster, a target to lash out against. Not to mention, she was a half-blood, one Anzi hated the most.

"And who the hell do you think you are? What right do you even have to be here? You're just a half-blood, know your place!"

Upon hearing his arrogant remark, Silva's previous slightly-irritated expression turned into a calm smile.

"I am Silva Ouroboros of the Ouroboros serpent clan. But of course, there is only one way to effectively introduce myself." She looked toward the headmaster and, upon receiving his permission, took out her white sword. "Now, who would like to test my strength?"

Without waiting for the others to respond, the white-haired girl raised her sword and pointed it toward Anzi.

"What about you, ugly face? Or are you scared?"

Facing the unconcealed provocation, Anzi couldn't hold back his amused chuckle. The next moment, the Inhuman unhesitatingly stepped forward and casually took out his sword. He started to transform as dark green roots began to cover his body followed by the black liquid turning him into a three-meter inhuman.

"Even if you're very proficient with the light element, I won't lose to a little girl like you!" he confidently said.

On the other hand, Silva's smile disappeared as she watched Anzi transform. Her widened eyes were filled with extreme shock and disbelief, and even her usual calm demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

Her horrified expression brought a mirthful grin to the Inhuman's face.

However her expression didn't come from being afraid of Anzi's power, it quickly turn into a smile as she said.

"I'm sorry, I was really surprised… I didn't think it was possible for someone to look so horrendous."

To be continued