A Dark Shadow

The two of them continued their journey for the rest of the day on foot.

Since they didn't want to be targeted by bandit groups they didn't take the caravan that they gained from killing Zalcon's group.

While it did make their journey considerably longer, it was still better than needlessly exposing themselves to danger.

Surprisingly Zen was able to able to travel the entire distance without a single complaint or groan.

He even had better stamina compared to other children their age.

Naturally, Arvell was pleased with this outcome.

The less they stopped, the faster they could reach their destination.

After hunting bandits for one and a half months Arvell was able to gather enough funds to pay for his tuition at sky sword academy.

The only thing he had to do was train for the next few weeks and be strong enough to be able to pass the entrance exam.

As the two settled down to go to sleep Arvell looked up at the starry sky.

'I was never able to appreciate how beautiful the night sky was until I was able to live in nature. The quiet environment gives a feeling of tranquillity and is quite relaxing.'

"SNORE"

Arvell cursed himself for speaking too soon and turned his head to face the snoring Zen.

"Haaa… There goes my peace and quiet," he lamented.

Arvell stood up and walked towards a nearby pond to escape from Zen's audible snoring.

He removed his shoes and dipped his feet in the cool water and marvelled at the sight before him.

The fluorescent insects in the surroundings illuminated the crystal clear water giving a feeling of ethereal beauty from the pond.

Arvell gathered some water in his hands and enjoyed a sip.

Lykos materialized beside Arvell and joined him.

While he couldn't feel the water his 'feet' were in, he could still see the wonderful sight Arvell was able to witness.

'It's times like these that you are able to see the beauty of nature. Only by stopping and taking a moment to enjoy times like these can we truly experience life.'

Arvell smirked.

'You sound like an old man, Lykos,' Arvell teased, 'However, I do understand what you mean. Small moments such as this are what make life worth living.'

Arvell decided to check on his status screen.

He had been neglecting it for quite awhile.

[Status]

[Status Information]

Name: Arvell Relas Vispia

Species: Nephilim

Age: 13 years old

HP: 140

STA: 91

DEF: 78

SPD: 79

PHYS ATK: 82

POWER STAGE: 1ST CIRCLE 2ND STAGE

BODY REFINING: 1ST REFINEMENT 1ST STAGE

AETHER: 120/120

NETHER: 100/100

Titles: 3rd Prince of Vispia (Exiled), Inheritor of the Nephilim's Legacy, Forever Alone?, Battle Maniac

Skills: God-Slaying Swordsmanship (SSS), Diplomacy (B-), Future sight (SS), Inventory (S), Temporal Manipulation (SSS), Warp (SSS), Rejuvenation (S), Undead Summon (S), Vitality Drain (SS), Alchemy (C), Hide Presense (C), Night-Vision (C).

In the past five months he had increased his Nether Body to the first stage of the first refinement, and increased his Aether Core to the second stage of the first circle.

Arvell found that dealing with the mental exhaustion that upgrading his Aether Core caused him, was far better than experiencing the mind-numbing pain that upgrading his Nether Body.

Due to this, his Aether Core level was a full stage above his Nether Body level.

Furthermore he had also learned swordsmanship from Lykos which better suited his new physique than his old imperial swordsmanship. Not to mention that he hadn't even completely learned it yet.

Arvell quickly found out that even the grade of the swordsmanship Lykos passed down to him was several times greater than the swordsmanship he used before.

It didn't even take a few moments before Arvell decided to throw away his old swordsmanship right then and there.

That decision proved to be a correct one.

Arvell was a little curious about the name of the swordsmanship.

Lykos laughed it off as the creator having a bad naming sense. However, the name did make the swordsmanship seem even more intimidating.

He also learned a bit of Alchemy and how to hide his presence as well.

Hiding his presence was important to survival in the wilderness, and learning Alchemy allowed him to brew poisons and elixirs.

Poisons like the one he used on Zalcon's bandit group.

He looked at his titles and sighed.

'Even the status screen think's I'm a battle maniac huh?'

Lykos chuckled lightly.

'You should have seen your face when you fight. You look like a demon. That creepy smile would give children nightmares… Wait… You did already tramatize those two kids who found your body…'

Arvell's body twitched.

'You have a talent for terrorizing children Arvell! Although it pains me to see you go down this route, I will support your life decisions! I will still treat you the same no matter what sick tendencies you have~'

Lykos had a teasing smile on his face as he acted like a doting mother who found out her son became a delinquent.

'What the hell do you mean? You know very well that the incident was out of my control!' Arvell snapped.

(WOOSH)

Suddenly the two of them heard a loud gust of wind and the two of them looked up.

A large black creature was blotting through the air surrounded by a series of lights.

(BOOM BOOM BOOM)

The lights in the air exploded releasing large plumes of light in the air.

Arvell quickly removed his feet from the lake and grabbed his shoes.

He sprinted towards a nearby shrub and took cover.

He once again raised his head to the source of the noise.

Numerous dark figures were chasing after the black creature as they assaulted it with light attacks.

Arvell wasn't able to make out what or who they were correctly due to them flying quite fast in the darkness of night.

However from what he could tell the black creature was being hunted by the black figures.

After waiting for a few minutes to see if they would come back, Arvell went to find Zen.

The flying creature and the figures didn't seem to notice him, and if they did they simply weren't bothered to deal with him.

Either way, it was good for Arvell.

Unfortunately, he couldn't assume their intentions, thus it was still better to find another place to stay for the night.

Any one of the beings he saw today would be able to effortlessly kill both him and Zen.

Leaving his life at someone else's mercy was something Arvell never wanted to experience again.

'Lykos what was that?'

As he walked back to his campsite Arvell tried to ask Lykos if he had any idea who those 2 figures were.

'I wasn't able to get a good look at the creature, but it looked to be some kind of wyvern. However, it was far too strong to be a normal wyvern. My best bet is that it's some kind of mutated high-ranking wyvern.'

Arvell's eyes opened wide

Wyverns were rare beast lizard-like beasts that were classified in the early-middle fifth rank.

Something like that would need the power of a team of at least five mages of the fifth circle to subjugate.

Only sixth circle mages like Arvell's father could hope to beat a late-stage wyvern in a one-on-one fight.

Since Wyverns had wings and used fire at long ranges, body-enhancement mages who can't fly or jump high were practically just cannon fodder for them.

'What about the people following it?'

'I counted about ten people, and they appear to all be from the seventh to ninth stage of the fifth circle.'

If Arvell didn't see their magic with his own eyes, he would have doubted Lykos's claims right then and there.

He stopped to look back up at the sky.

From the direction they were travelling, the earlier group appear to be heading towards the Elantrya-Vispian border.

The same direction that Arvell was going.

'The Country of Vispia has only a few late fifth circle mages. Something is suspicious here… Could they be Elantryan?'

Lykos pondered for a moment before responding.

'From what I saw when I was in Elantrya, that isn't the case. Unless the mages from both countries are working together, the ones we saw earlier should be part of an outside force.'

Arvell frowned.

'Something big is happening… However, it's best if we try to stay out of it. Needlessly sticking my head in something that isn't my business isn't my thing. Furthermore doing it here is just suicidal'

'If it was concerning you that would be another matter, but this has nothing to do with you. Just keep your distance from them. We still don't know their intentions,' Lykos Agreed.

"HEY ARVELL! WHERE DID YOU GO?," A loud voice shouted.

Arvell immediately reached for his sword, but after taking a second to recognize the voice he lowered his guard.

"Sorry about that Zen. I went to take a walk."

Zen stepped out from behind a tree and patted some leaves off of his clothes.

"More importantly, what was that loud noise earlier?"

"I didn't see what happened, but it appeared to be some mages hunting some kind of monster."

Arvell decided to hide the information about the wyvern to avoid unnecessarily worrying Zen.

Due to their aggressiveness and might, Wyverns were an object of fear for many.

If someone as powerless as Zen were to come across a wyvern, he would be killed before he could even scream.

"Are they still here?" Zen fearfully inquired

He nervously looked around, as if expecting a terrifying creature to jump out of the bushes and attack him.

"They seem to have left, but we should still relocate."

Arvell turned around and looked over his shoulder.

"Come on let's get going."