Lucian was a little disappointed.
He wandered around to familiarize himself with the city, and when it was time, he stopped by the market to buy groceries before heading home to cook.
By the time he returned, night had completely fallen.
After cooking and eating, Lucian went back to scrolling through videos.
Time passed as he watched intently, until a sudden explosion erupted near his home.
Startled, Lucian rushed to the window and looked toward the sound.
“A natural gas explosion?” He frowned at the flames soaring into the sky.
After a moment’s thought, Lucian decided to check it out.
He grabbed his saber and hurried outside.
The neighborhood where he lived was an ordinary residential area.
The explosion had drawn plenty of onlookers.
Some of them, like Lucian, were heading toward the site, and every one of them carried a weapon.
It seemed they all had the same idea: they hoped to run into a demonic beast.
Lucian completely suppressed his aura and kept to the dimly lit areas, so very few people noticed him.
He silently approached the site.
Before he even got close, he heard the sounds of fighting and quickened his pace.
The explosion had occurred in a small park where elderly people and children usually spent their time.
The park wasn’t very large, only about the size of ten standard football fields.
When Lucian arrived, he saw a group of people besieging a Minotaur nearly three meters tall on a basketball court.
The sight stunned him.
The Minotaur wore armor and wielded a gigantic axe.
“A Minotaur?”
Wasn’t that a monster from Greek mythology?
An actual Minotaur!
Seeing that the crowd couldn’t bring it down, Lucian quietly retreated.
More and more people joined the fight, all hoping to carve up the Minotaur.
Several people had already been injured, yet the monster was still handling them with ease.
Its strength was obvious.
This wasn’t a fight the current Lucian could take part in.
He withdrew to a deserted spot farther away and continued watching.
Because of the explosion, more and more people were arriving.
Lucian could already hear sirens, so the patrol team would probably be there soon.
If the crowd still couldn’t bring down the Minotaur by the time the patrol team arrived, they would lose their chance altogether.
Since Lucian couldn’t join the fight, he might as well use the opportunity to learn in secret.
There were plenty of participants, mages and martial artists alike.
It was too good a learning opportunity to pass up.
Activating the Eye of Revelation, Lucian carefully observed every technique used in the battle.
If he could copy a few more Talents, even better.
Good or bad, he would take them all.
Unfortunately, he didn’t acquire any new Talents.
Had the Eye of Revelation rejected them?
The subtle impression left Lucian baffled.
Could his eyes actually dislike certain Talents?
Or perhaps those people hadn’t clearly demonstrated their Talents.
Kato and Yukinoshita, in contrast, had displayed theirs directly in front of him.
As Lucian considered the question, a familiar figure entered the edge of his vision.
Asuna…
He was a little surprised to see her.
Did she live nearby too?
She had actually come to investigate.
Lucian hesitated but didn’t go over to greet her.
He kept his aura concealed and continued studying the battle.
He could leave her alone for now; he wasn’t about to interrupt his study of all that magic.
His mind was already filling with a wealth of magical knowledge.
The sensation of knowledge pouring into his mind was addictive.
At the moment, he had no interest in finding out whether Asuna lived nearby.
“Gaaah!”
Just as Lucian was concentrating, a faint sound came from the shrubbery beside him.
It instantly snapped him out of his thoughts.
Lucian turned toward the noise.
By the dim light of the park lamps, he spotted a small creature lying in the bushes.
It was doing its best to hide, as though terrified of being discovered, its whole body curled up in the narrow strip of greenery.
Lucian’s eyes lit up at the sight, but he quickly calmed himself.
Was there only one?
Or were there several?
And what kind of demonic beast was it?
Although he knew something was hiding there, he had no idea what sort of creature it was.
After a moment’s thought, Lucian remembered Asuna and quietly left the area.
With no information, finding someone to back him up seemed like the safer choice.
Asuna was here, wasn’t she?
The two of them should be able to handle it together.
Asuna was watching the crowd besiege the Minotaur from the edge of the park.
Truthfully, she wanted to join the fight.
But too many people were already involved, and every one of them wanted to kill the Minotaur and claim its magic stone.
The scene had become somewhat chaotic.
If she rashly jumped in, she would probably draw everyone’s ire, so she could only suppress her eagerness.
As she watched, someone suddenly tapped her shoulder.
Her hair stood on end.
She instinctively sprang away, her right hand immediately reaching for the hilt of her sword.
“Lucian?”
Asuna froze when she saw who had touched her.
She hadn’t expected it to be him.
“Follow me.” Lucian gestured with the saber in his hand, then turned and left.
Asuna frowned, but after a moment’s thought, she followed.
She quickly caught up and looked at him in confusion.
“Lucian?
Where are we going?”
“I found a demonic beast over there, but I don’t know how many of them there are.
Let’s work together and take it down,” Lucian quickly explained.
Asuna’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Okay!”
Her voice was eager.
She had never fought a demonic beast before, and now she finally had the chance.
At the same time, she was a little nervous, afraid they might encounter one she couldn’t defeat even at full strength.
Lucian led Asuna back to a corner of the park.
As they arrived, he softened his footsteps, silently set his scabbard aside, and drew his saber.
Asuna immediately understood that they had reached their destination.
She quietly drew her sword and crept after him on tiptoe.
Once they were close enough, Lucian glanced at Asuna and indicated the creature’s location.