Uninvited guests

Running through the streets with Lassie in his hands, Ryder would eventually come face to face with Brenna who was in a chariot. Apparently she had gone off in search of him when he sprinted off. Opening the carriage door, Brenna had a look of disbelief on her face when she saw Lassie unconscious in Ryder's arms.

"What happened..!?"

"There is no time. We need to get her treated right away," Ryder said with worry escaping his voice.

Entering the carriage, Ryder would lay her down for Brenna to inspect. The carriage rider turned the horses around riding towards the castle as quickly as he could.

Opening Lassie's eyes and checking her breathing, Brenna seemed to sniff something in the air. This caused her to turn to Ryder with an even more dumbfounded look than before.

"This is Vile scorpion venom! How did she come across venom as powerful as this!?"

Now having a clearer view of Ryder as well, she noticed his clothes were stained and toren all over. This only caused her concern to rise higher.

"What happened to you!? Were you attacked!?"

Ryder answered none of this questions though, as his eyes were glued to Lassie. Noticing this, Brenna kept quiet for awhile before attempting to cheer him up.

"Don't worry, we have someone in the castle who can take care of this. She is very good at what she does."

Holding onto her words, Ryder would exhale audibly before sitting down. Even though he did this, it was clear that he was not relaxed in the slightest.

Upon reaching the castle, Ryder hurriedly carried Lassie to a bed in the castle before laying her down. Not long after their arrival, a maid came over checking on her. From the way she inspected and casted spells on Lassie, he could tell that this was the person Brenna was talking about.

"So that is what happened.." Vienna stated after hearing an explanation of what happened from Brenna.

Sure she did not know the whole details; however, she still shared what she knew.

"She was poisoned with venom from a Vile scorpion. Seeing that there is no puncture wound on her body, it was most likely delivered in gaseous form. From what I have heard and the way Ryder looks, it is obvious they were attacked. But by who.."

Looking at Ryder who was still lost in thought, Vienna knew to well she wouldn't be getting anything out of him. In order to understand the situation better, Vienna decided to go find the scene were this had happened. This was an easy way to do this as rumors did travel fast.

"I won't be getting any information like this. It's best I go find out what happened for myself. I hope Lassie gets better."

Just then Vienna left the castle, leaving Lassie in their care. Brenna turning her gaze to Lassie, could not help but feel like this was only to cause more issues for them in the future.

"Friel, how is Lassie coming along?" Brenna asked trying to know her condition.

"To be honest, it is unbelievable that she made it this long. Vile scorpion venom is potent enough to make a grown dragons sick. If it were exposed to a normal human being they would die immediately; however, she had made it long enough for me to administer her an antidote. In short, she is going to be fine Lady Brenna."

Hearing the good news, she could not help but sigh in relief. Though the same could not be said for Ryder as he looked as tense as ever. The fact that he was unable to protect his fiancee was eating away at him. This was obviously something that would take sometime to get rid of.

"Master Ryder, you should go to your room and rest. It is quite obvious that you were attacked as well," Brenna suggested.

Taking a quick look at Friel, he was reluctant of going anywhere. That all changed when she assured him that Lassie would be okay. With slow steps, Ryder walked out of the room.

All the way to his bedroom, the thought of Lassie being in danger as a result of what he had done angered him. Opening his room door, he shut it hard as he entered, causing the guards nearby to change their expressions.

"System unlock all magic skills!" Ryder commanded.

[Unable to do so due to certain hindrances]

"What hindrances!?"

[Magical hindrances]

"How do I disable them!?"

[At your current state it is impossible to disable]

"Why!?"

[You are not at the recommended power level]

Driving his fist into the ground, the whole castle seemed to trembled. With his back and forth discussion with his system not giving him what he wanted, he felt pathetic inside.

"I am not at the recommended power level? More like I am too weak to do anything about it.." Ryder accepted right away.

Laying on the floor and looking at the ceiling, Ryder would eventually sleep off, overwhelmed with exhaustion.

Few minutes later, Ryder could be seen struggling on the floor still asleep. This would come to an end though when he awakened from his sleep. Jolting his upper body from the solid floor, Ryder rubbed his face in relief.

'It happened again,' Ryder thought to himself.

Hearing a knock on his door, Ryder got up from the floor before giving his permission. With Brenna entering the room rather quickly, Ryder knew something was up.

"Sorry to disturb you Master Ryder but we have a problem. Two members of the academy are here to see you."

Having a bad experience with these people, Ryder could not help but curse internally. After changing his damaged clothes, Ryder would go to meet this people downstairs.

From the distance, he recognized one of these people as trouble straight away. This was simply because he already had issues with him when they first met.

"Aha, Master Ryder. Sorry for the intrusion but we have some questions to ask you. My name is Neville Crest and that over there is Fanxaus Bane."

Turning to this individual, Ryder was greeted with a scoff from the beastman. Without responding, he would look at the two with an expression that told them he wasn't in a good mood at the moment.

"It is about what happened in the middle of the city today. We found Lynn Advans on the ground, dead. Many of our sources stated that you were their at the scene when that happened. Do you care to explain?"

Sighing out softly, Ryder would look at the two once again but this time with a cooler expression. At this point, he had no option but to speak to them.

"My fiancee, Lassie was attacked by Lynn Advans earlier today. As we speak she is being treated from the venom she had been poisoned with. I only did what any person would do in my situation, defend the who i care about," Ryder explained.

Just then, Neville took a glance at Fanxaus as if trying to confirm something. The large beastman would then take a few sniffs of the air before saying something.

"He is right, I can smell Vile scorpion venom in the air. I can also sense the aura of someone close by who has most likely being affected by it."

This shocked Ryder straight away but he did not make it visible. Now having the information they wanted the two turned around heading towards the exit.

"We hope Lady Lassie gets better. Have a nice day," Neville mentioned as he left the building.

Ryder now free of their presence proceeded to head towards the room Lassie was in. Brenna who had just heard the conversation from the sidelines couldn't help but have a bad feeling about this.

Being concerned about Lassie's health, Ryder did not realize what he had done. He had just opened a door wide open for the Academy to use against the low breeds.