Chapter 139: Progress

As the four were getting to know each other, the dryads had returned. This time they were accompanied by a mortal woman.

The royals were puzzled about who she was, but the duo knew her all too well.

"Have you patched things up, Granny?" Ciaran asked sweetly. He had gotten a big confidence boost after his most recent power-up, but that only allowed him to better understand what was standing in front of him.

The others, even The First Prince, could only see a normal woman in her mid-thirties, but Ciaran was now capable of seeing a hint of her true self. He wasn't brave by nature, but there was seldom a time when he was this close to pissing himself off by someone's mere presence.

Mother Nature noticed his distress and was quite impressed.

" We have, in a matter of speaking. But you never stop with the surprises, do you? May I have a peek?" She asked politely. Ciaran looked at his Master, to which the man nodded, so he agreed.

She slowly walked to the boy and placed her hand on his chest. She intended to run a full diagnosis on him, without even being detected. To her surprise, both the boy and the wraith living inside him noticed her and were keeping tabs on all of her moves.

"Remarkable, you have done something truly amazing. Let's go, I will be participating in today's treatment. You two can stay here." She told the royals.

Veronica and Perseur wanted to bargain, but the Sun itself told them to back off and leave the old woman to her games. Hearing their God speak with fear and dread in his voice, the two were stunned but agreed nevertheless.

The dryads and the duo followed her, but unlike what they expected, they were not in the familiar pond Ciaran was used to. They had arrived in an unfamiliar mountain, where naturally formed hot springs were waiting for them.

"Welcome to my domain. No, I will not tell you what I mean, and you will not ask, figure it out alone." She said as she led the boy to the middle of the body of water.

The dryads got in as well and took their regular positions.

Verdania started cutting but to her surprise, there was no corruption plaguing Ciaran's soul, it had all been pushed to his body, and to the links. This made her job much easier, and the process much less painless.

Combining that with the special attributes of this place, and the healing provided by Eleftherios, it only took two hours for the third layer to be completely cleansed, and for the boy to even become Rank Three.

He hadn't earned his rank, more like stealing the memories and experience of others who have, but he wasn't all too bothered by it.

No one congratulated him tho, as they still had work to do. The fourth layer of the soul was also cleansed, but there were still traces left, which Verdania thoroughly cut off.

The pain was great, but Ciaran took it, already familiar with the process. And in fourteen hours, the fourth layer was cleaned up as well.

The dryads were just about to end it, when Ciaran lost control of his body, and the wraith manifested. It only appeared for a split second, before being sealed back inside by Nature.

Just a fraction of a second, and the boy was drained of all his power, and on the verge of death.

"Cunning little thing, too bad it had to deal with me," Nature said, as she took her guests to a building near the hot springs.

It was a small house that could barely accommodate them all, but it was neat and tidy. The dryads and Diana didn't care about it, as they were focused on the boy.

"Don't worry, the worst is over. Well… the worst of the things we can help him with. From now on it would just get easier and easier to suppress her. Don't worry, if he can't manage, I will be more than happy to help again." She said with a charming laugh.

Diana felt no malice from the woman, but she felt the distrust of her partner, so she never let her guard down.

The dryads were no longer hostile to their mother, but they weren't friendly either. Eleftherios couldn't even bring himself to look at her. He just tended to his disciple.

The atmosphere was awkward, but thankfully this time it only took the boy thirty minutes to wake up.

He felt his new body, and he sort of remembered what happened. He then stood up and thanked everyone involved.

"Ok, so are we finally going to have a talk on why you three are feuding or not?" He asked.

The dryads flinched, but the old woman just shook her head.

"After your third year, if you still care to ask, we will tell you." She said, and the next moment they were back in the Maze.

Ciaran cursed, and the rest sighed, no one wanted to spend a second more in that house.

The Archmage then went out and fetched the royals who were staying in the city waiting for their return.

"Now that we are done with that, let's brief you in. First of all, as you may have noticed, we are no longer restrained in our ability to interact with you. Second, you are still required to finish your ultimate task in the Tundra. Third, these two will be accompanying you to do so." The Master of the Maze said.

Ciaran took out his spear and tapped him on the shoulder with it. Eleftherios smiled and nodded.

"Yes, we are finally going to begin teaching you how to fight for real. Get ready to suffer." He said, but the boy just smiled and shook his head.

"You know that's not what I asked the old man. Now spill. Have you grown a pair, or are you still pretending?" The boy asked, and the fact he sounded like Nature did not sit well with the dryad.

Eleftherios simply lifted his hand and showed him a ring, and with an embarrassed cough, he ended the matter then and there.

The royals were confused, but Diana wasn't. Every thought and every inquiry that passed through Ciaran's mind, he shared with her. The moment he woke up, he answered her questions first, and even now he was explaining how and why he was messing with his Master.

She decided that it would be unfair for their relationship to be so one-sided, so she slowly went up to him, stood up on her tiptoes, and gave him a soft kiss, startling everyone there.

"Congratulations on ranking up Rony." She said as he instinctively hugged her waist.

The dryads were not accustomed to such intimate shows of affection, not publicly, and definitely not from their student. The royals were more open-minded, but this had just confirmed their fears, that it wasn't Ciaran that had to be watched.

Diana, planned to just give him a peck and leave it at that, but the boy was greedy, so he pushed in for a real kiss. She could have pushed him away, or she could have stopped him, but she didn't. She would rather scold him later than deprive herself of the sin right now.

When he was done, he let her go and looked at his Master.

"You can learn from me too." He said, earning himself a slap from Diana, and a beating from his Master.

As the dryad was beating up the boy, who now stood at one hundred and eighty centimeters tall (five feet and eleven inches). The royals took Diana aside and wanted to have a talk with her.

The First Prince wanted to start, but her flushed cheeks and shining eyes, answered his questions before he could ask them.

"Don't get pregnant, and we won't have a problem." Veronica had simply given up on subtlety.

Diana protested that it was only a kiss, and it was a reward for him breaking through the Third Rank. When she said that they looked at the boy, and noticed that he had indeed ranked up, and was profiting from all the advantages that brought him.

Ranking up not only strengthen your body, but it also pushed you to maturity. Usually, it isn't that noticeable in children, but then again, most don't reach the third rank before their fifties. Combined with his nature as a hybrid, the boy was maturing at an alarming rate.

Now that Veronica gave him a good look, she still didn't understand what her sister saw in him. Sure he looked mature, but he wasn't particularly handsome, and above all else, he was still a kid inside.

'Not that he ever shows it. Hell, he is more mature than my suitors.' She thought.

"Ok enough of your shenanigans boys, it's time we talked about your mission. It's simple really, you just have to talk with Ingrid and make friends." Verdania said startling Ciaran.