Theo cleared his throat lightly before stepping out of Iris’s embrace.
"Sorry," he said, slightly embarrassed.
Iris smiled faintly before tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"It’s alright."
After a moment, Jim casually walked over.
’’Good job,’’ he said, all smiles once more. ’’Honestly didn’t expect this crazy plan to work.’’
’’Who would’ve thought a Silver Core could actually defeat a B-rank...’’
Theo scratched the back of his head lightly.
’’It wouldn’t have been possible without you all.’’
Jim immediately shook his head, even waving him off dismissively.
’’Don’t undersell yourself,’’ he said. ’’The two of us barely did anything.’’
Before Theo could even respond, Jim slung his arm over his neck and began steering him away.
’’Come on,’’ he whispered. ’’We need to have a word.’’
Theo’s brows furrowed as he stared at the blond-haired young man.
’’What?’’ he asked, confused.
’’Don’t bullshit me,’’ Jim continued. ’’I need to know how you and Owen did it.’’
Theo’s brows only furrowed further.
’’What the hell are you talking about?’’
Jim didn’t even hesitate.
’’How did both of you pull your girlfriends?’’ he asked, frustrated. ’’Seriously, you have to teach me.’’
For a moment, silence fell between them.
Theo slowly raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Jim.
’’You really want to talk about this now?’’ he asked, baffled. ’’After everything we just went through?’’
Jim rapidly shook his head.
’’No, no, no,’’ he said. ’’I just want you to promise to teach me later.’’
Theo’s mouth slowly fell open.
They were standing in front of a giant King Cobra carcass. And that was what Jim was thinking about?
’’Whatever,’’ he replied, shaking his head. ’’You’ll just have to ask Owen later.’’
Jim let out a deep sigh, his head immediately dropping.
’’Is there not one thing you can tell me?’’ he asked desperately.
Theo paused for a moment, contemplating.
’’Actually,’’ he said, a small smile growing on his face. ’’Both me and Owen found our girlfriends on the battlefield.’’
Jim’s head snapped up.
It was as if light shone through his eyes for a moment.
’’Noted,’’ he said, letting go of Theo right away.
’’If you want more advice, you’ll have to ask Owen later,’’ Theo added, smirking. ’’He’s much better with these kinds of things than I am.’’
Jim paused for a moment, then immediately nodded.
’’Understood.’’
With that, Jim gave Theo one last firm pat on the shoulder before walking off.
Theo watched him for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
"What an idiot."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Shaking his head lightly, he turned back to the King Cobra’s corpse once more.
A massive hole had been blasted deep into the back of its neck.
The area around the hole had been completely scorched black.
’I’ve really brought the power of the Divine Lightning Storm’s Silver Core stage to another level,’ he thought, satisfied. ’It’s finally getting to the point where I can freely manipulate the lightning’s shape once it’s in the air.’
Though it’d been a hit-or-run situation, he still believed it’d been the perfect decision.
Normally, the fusion attack he’d used during the university competition would’ve been his strongest spell.
But that would never have worked.
Against the King Cobra, he needed to concentrate the damage on a single area.
’Anyway,’ he thought, still smiling. ’Let’s dig out this core.’
...
After a few minutes, Theo reappeared by his friends’ side.
His clothes were completely soaked after washing the blood off.
Iris and Jim had long since joined Lyra, who was watching over the unconscious Owen beside the buggy.
’’Is everything done?’’ Iris asked lightly.
Theo nodded with a smile.
’’I got its core,’’ he answered calmly. ’’Now we can move on again.’’
Lyra glanced up at him for a moment.
’’Thank you,’’ she whispered, still holding Owen’s hand.
She was nowhere near the confident and loud woman she usually was.
But that only made Theo’s smile grow wider.
’’No need to thank me,’’ he said, chuckling softly. ’’He’s been my best friend for years too.’’
He paused for a moment.
’’Also, don’t worry too much about him. He’s always pulled through shit like this.’’
Lyra didn’t say a word.
Instead, she glanced back down at Owen before quietly nodding.
Seeing Lyra calm down slightly, Theo nodded once to himself.
He immediately turned to the others.
’’Alright,’’ he said firmly. ’’Let’s get moving.’’
Jim stretched his arms over his head before climbing into the driver’s seat.
’’Gladly,’’ he groaned. ’’We might still be able to reach Cairo before sunrise.’’
Theo, Iris, and Lyra carefully slid Owen’s stretcher back inside the buggy.
Moments later, the engine roared to life beneath them.
The buggy slowly pulled away, leaving behind the countless Cobra corpses scattered across the desert.
Theo took one last glance at the enormous King Cobra lying motionless in the sand.
Finally, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his core for a moment.
’It has improved once more,’ he thought, glancing at all the golden specks. ’It won’t be long before I reach Gold Core at this rate.’
It felt like every battle where he utterly exhausted his core allowed it to grow even faster during its recovery.
’Especially the last two battles,’ he thought, glancing up at the rags hanging off the buggy’s ceiling. ’I’ve never seen such obvious increases before.’
With a soft sigh, he opened his eyes once more.
...
Time quietly passed as the buggy raced across the desert.
Most creatures avoided the vehicle wherever it went, likely sensing the faint traces of blood still on Theo and the others.
Before long, the group passed over one massive dune.
’’There,’’ Jim pointed, a glimmer of light flashing through his exhausted eyes.
Just beneath the rising sun, a massive city slowly came into view.
’’Cairo...’’ Theo muttered, his eyes widening slightly.
Lyra’s eyes immediately lit up as she tightened her grip around Owen’s hand.
Even Iris stirred awake at the sound of their voices.
At long last, they had reached Cairo.