The group continued moving.
The next two Waymarks they found were not as easy. It was almost as if Aevrienne knew Naomi now had all three Waymarks, so she was making the others work for theirs.
Not that Lucian and the others minded.
Lucian actually preferred it that way. He was getting the feeling that this was a little too easy and any normal novel reader smart enough to analyse the situation would know that this wasn’t exactly a good sign.
If something seemed a little too easy, that meant something bad was about to happen.
So when a pair of independent Hunters appeared in front of them, trying to force Naomi to surrender her Waymarks, Lucian was actually glad.
And he moved.
However, in the end, Hunters were still Humans. Compared to a monster like Lucian, they weren’t exactly his match.
He defeated one of them before he even had the chance to swing his sword. Isolde took care of the other one.
"Witness the Prison of the Thousand Screaming Stars!"
She announced, trapping him inside a circle of floating cards.
The Hunter stared at the six cards surrounding him for a good few seconds, then, he glanced at Isolde and—
"They aren’t screaming."
"Heh."
Isolde only grinned.
"You wouldn’t understand.
Final Forbidden Art."
She then waved her hand. The cards glowed brightly.
"Merciful Judgment of the Wandering Witch!"
With that, the second Hunter was eliminated as well.
"You didn’t let the power inside you run rampant, as expected of you."
Lucian nodded.
Lord Whiskers sighed at this point.
He was wondering if he should stay with Naomi instead, but the instant he remembered the way Lucian glared at him the last time he tried to move to Naomi, he quickly dropped the idea.
The Waymark the second Hunter lost went to Isolde. No one complained.
Lucian didn’t really care about the Waymarks. Sabine decided she would take the next one instead.
Since Naomi was guiding them, the Relic Hunter knew that they would reach the next Waymark fairly quickly.
And she was correct.
About thirty minutes later, they were once again standing in front of another Waymark. Only this time, the Waymark was being guarded by a large, serpent-like supernatural creature.
"Ten silver says I destroy it before Lucian reaches it."
Isolde announced loudly the instant she saw the Trial Monster.
"Twenty says you stop to name your spell and I defeat it first."
Lucian was the first to participate in the bet.
He didn’t even have any silver on him.
But he was rich~
He had thirty million. He could buy all the silver he wanted, not to mention he wasn’t planning on losing in the first place.
"You dare use my commitment to presentation against me?"
Isolde narrowed her eyes as she glared at Lucian.
"I dare."
Lucian nodded.
"The bet’s on."
Isolde’s eyes shone.
"Sure."
Lucian’s eyes glowed as well.
The creature, having had enough of their shenanigans, charged towards them.
Isolde raised her arm.
"Then witness, O heavens, the—"
But before she could finish, Lucian disappeared and—
BOOOOM
The creature crashed into the wall a moment later, broken into countless pieces.
Isolde remained in her pose, a little shocked because this was actually the first time Lucian had used his strength against an entity that wasn’t a weak Human and...
She couldn’t see any difference.
’How is he so strong?’
She couldn’t understand.
Blood-Altered Humans weren’t supposed to be this strong.
Wrath Demon-Class Blood-Altered Humans might be somewhat close, but a Desire-Class...?
Strength wasn’t even their strongest suit.
’Or was it the Trial Monster that was weak?’
That could be a possibility as well. Since they were with Naomi, it could very well be that Aevrienne didn’t want them to encounter too strong a Monster, fearing that Naomi might be eliminated.
"You owe me twenty silver."
And while Isolde was thinking all this, Lucian grinned at her.
Isolde’s mouth twitched.
"I... I..."
She wanted to try and refute the bet.
"The bet’s on.
Those were your words.
It couldn’t possibly be that a being who holds such great power is planning on going back on her word, could it?"
"O-Of course not!"
Isolde nodded.
Her hand then moved inside the little pouch she was carrying. She counted twenty silver and as she did—
Slap
Lord Whiskers slapped her.
"Shh! I’ll return them to you, promise."
Isolde whispered.
The cat raised her paw and gestured something. Isolde widened her eyes in disbelief.
"You want interest!?"
She couldn’t believe it.
The cat raised both her paws and Isolde was now even more surprised.
"Fifty percent!? Have you lost your mind!?"
She screamed out loud.
Lord Whiskers only shrugged and looked away. Isolde’s mouth twitched.
"Take it or leave it...?"
Her body trembled in anger.
"Ten percent it is then."
But seeing that she had no other choice here, she gave in. She took the silver and gave it to Lucian.
Lucian took it. He, however, was more interested in the cat itself.
’No wonder she’s a Lord.
She must be filthy rich.’
He noted in his head not to mess with Lord Whiskers, or he’d be in the same state as Isolde. The rest noticed the cruelty of the capitalistic world as well, then, once it was done, the group continued moving.
They encountered two more candidates. This time, Lucian took care of them again. Isolde lost five more silver in the process.
Sabine used the chance to get close and comfort her. Isolde glared at her, her body shivering.
"Your gaze makes me feel... different~"
She spoke with a blush.
Isolde’s mouth twitched.
"I can see the bond between you two developing~"
Lucian chuckled.
"There is no bond!"
Isolde screamed, taking another sip in anger. Lucian laughed, Sabine tried to hold Isolde’s hand, and Isolde threatened to throw wine at her.
Naomi watched all three of them with a flat expression.
"How did I become the sane person in this group?"
Lord Whiskers made a small sound from Isolde’s shoulder. Naomi glanced at the cat and—
"You are the same as them."
The cat looked offended.
Lucian laughed again.
The group moved. Sabine continued to share everything she knew. They reached another long corridor. This one was wider than the others.
And the next instant—
Lucian’s expression changed.
"Be careful, someone’s here.
Someone strong."
He spoke with a solemn look as he sensed the strong presence and just then—
"I had hoped this Trial would be free of your kind. Seems like demonic filth has a way of finding every battlefield."
A disgusted voice was heard.
The group turned and their eyes fell on a large figure stepping out of the darkness.
A figure that Sabine instantly recognised.
Rhydan Greyfang, Son of an Alpha.