The morning sun cast a warm, golden glow over the town of Ironcliff as the group prepared their departure. Zane, Gloria, and Maria packed their essentials onto their horses and gathered near the main gates to bid farewell to the townspeople who had come out to see them off.
Joshua stood nearby with Mariana, holding her hand softly. He stepped forward and looked at Zane with an apologetic smile.
"Zane, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay behind for a while," Joshua requested, rubbing the back of his neck. "Mariana and I have been dating for a bit now, and we haven’t really had proper time together with everything going on. I want to make up for that."
Zane gave a light nod. "Take all the time you need, Joshua. Enjoy yourself."
With their goodbyes complete, the trio set off down the winding dirt trail. The first day of their journey passed peacefully without a single issue, allowing the horses to keep a steady pace while the countryside rolled by.
By the second day, however, the landscape shifted dramatically. As they reached the central path cutting through the rugged terrain of the Demon Mountain, the air grew noticeably heavier and colder.
Zane suddenly reined his horse to a slow walk, a subtle grin spreading across his face as he surveyed the ridge far ahead.
"Mmm... Wolves," Zane said calmly.
Maria and Gloria both paused, glancing over at Zane in confusion before turning their eyes toward the road ahead. The path looked completely clear to them, with nothing but open stone and scattered pine trees. Because the beasts were still a full kilometer away, neither of them could sense or see a thing.
It was only after riding forward for several more minutes that two large wolves finally came into view, pacing in tight circles in the middle of the dirt path.
Maria let out a long sigh, shaking her head as she adjusted the daggers at her waist. "It seems you’re as sensitive as ever, Zane."
"You can do it too, you know that, right?" Zane replied with a shrug. He turned his horse toward Gloria. "Hey Gloria, here’s your first lesson. Eat this."
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a fruit that radiated a soft, mesmerizing light. He handed it over to her. Gloria caught it carefully, staring at its smooth, golden skin. It had the distinct shape of an apple, but it emitted a sweet, divine fragrance that instantly cleared her mind.
"What is this?" Gloria asked, turning the golden fruit over in her hands.
"It’s called a Heavenly Fruit," Zane explained as he swung his leg over and dismounted his horse. "Whoever eats it will permanently increase their reawakening, upgrade their magic class, and boost their inner talent."
Gloria’s eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped. "A HEAVENLY FRUIT?! I’ve never even heard of something like that!"
"You wanted to become strong, right? Eat up," Zane said, reaching back into his inventory and tossing another one over to Maria before pulling out a third for himself. "You too, Maria."
Gloria hastily dismounted her horse and dropped to one knee, bowing her head in deep gratitude. "Thank you, my Prince!"
"Stop the formalities and eat it already," Zane said with a casual wave of his hand.
"Okay," Maria and Gloria replied together.
While the two women brought the fruits to their lips, Zane held his own in his palm and closed his eyes, speaking silently to the interface floating in his mind.
’I still remember having three original fruits, plus those twelve I looted inside the dungeon, making it fifteen total. Minus these three we’re eating right now, that leaves twelve left over. Twelve multiplied by 10,000 is 120,000... That’s pretty good,’ Zane calculated silently.
A translucent prompt flashed directly before his vision:
[DING!]
[HEAVENLY FRUIT MULTIPLIED: YOU NOW HAVE 120,000.]
"That is great," Zane muttered quietly to himself with a satisfied smile.
A split second later, Maria and Gloria took their final bites.
FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH!
A massive surge of dense, visible mana erupted from both of them simultaneously, throwing up a gust of wind that kicked up leaves and dust all around the trail.
Zane crossed his arms and looked at them both. "It seems your abilities have reawakened, right?"
"Yeah!" Gloria gasped, her hands trembling as she looked around the forest in absolute shock. "My magic feels completely refined... I can feel the vibrations of every small animal and insect moving in the trees. My eyesight has improved so much that I can clearly see individual leaves on trees a full kilometer away!"
Beside her, Maria’s figure blurred slightly, her presence almost entirely fading into the surrounding shadows. "Me too," Maria said, her voice sounding as if it were coming from nowhere. "My assassin skills and stealth abilities have improved at least tenfold."
Zane smirked, looking between the two of them. "Yeah.... Yeah.... Yeah, I get it that you’ve gotten strong. Now, can you defeat these monsters, please?" He pointed up ahead toward a steep hill where more growls were beginning to echo.
"Right!" they shouted in unison.
Gloria immediately unslung her bow, pulled back the string, and focused her newly enhanced mana into the shot.
FWOOOSH! BOOOM!
An arrow wrapped in a howling wind element shot forward like a cannonball, blasting a massive hole straight through the front pack of wolves and shattering the ground behind them.
"Wow! So strong!" Gloria cheered, staring down at her bow in awe.
GRRRR!
From the side brush, a massive dire wolf lunged directly at Zane, its jaws open wide as it soared through the air. Before it could even get within a foot of Zane..
FWOOOSH! BOOM!
A flash of steel flickered, and the wolf was instantly sliced cleanly in half by Maria, who reappeared right beside it before dropping back into the shadows. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Dozens more wolves flooded out from the surrounding forest, but Maria and Gloria coordinated effortlessly, wiping out wave after wave without Zane having to step in even once.
Watching them finish up, Zane let out a soft sigh. "Gloria, you’ve definitely gotten strong. Your control over mana and aura is solid, and your accuracy is incredible. But moving forward, you need to learn how to materialize your wind element directly into magic arrows and aura arrows without relying on a physical bow. Since you’re not good in close combat, being able to construct bows and arrows instantly out of raw mana will save your life in the long run."
Gloria wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and nodded earnestly. "Okay! I will work hard!"
"It’s getting late now. Let’s keep moving," Maria said, stepping out from stealth and sheathing her daggers.
"Yeah, let me just finish things up here, guys," Zane said, reaching into his inventory and bringing out his katana.
He placed his hand on the hilt, resting the scabbard low against his right hip, and took a deep, steady breath.
"SWORD DRAW: WORLD SLASH!"
FWOOOSH! BOOOM!
A terrifying arc of pressurized energy tore across the landscape. The remaining monsters waiting at the top of the hill along with the entire upper half of the hill itself were sheared completely in two, leaving a smooth, terrifying cut across the horizon.
Maria stood frozen, her mouth hanging wide open in pure shock. ’What kind of a monster is he...?’ she thought to herself.
"Well, that is that. Let’s go," Zane said casually, snapping his katana back into its his inventory.
Gloria swallowed hard, staring at the leveled hill. ’Just like that...’ she thought. ’I still have a very long way to go.’
By the following afternoon, the trio reached the base of a quiet mountain valley where an old, crumbling castle stood isolated from the rest of the world.
Zane walked through the overgrown courtyard and pushed open the heavy wooden doors to retrieve his hidden belongings. Inside a sealed chest, he gathered three leather-bound diaries that had belonged to his mother, along with several ancient spellbooks and advanced technique manuals he had stored away years ago.
After packing the books into his inventory , Zane stepped back outside and looked up at the stone towers.
"This castle saved my life when I was six years old," Zane said quietly, taking a long look at the structure. "This might be the last time I ever visit here. Well... this is farewell." He slowly pulled the heavy iron gates shut behind them.
"So, where are we heading now?" Maria asked, turning her horse back toward the main road.
"Well, I am going to the Royal Academy," Zane answered with a smirk.
Gloria looked at Zane from the side, a small, exasperated smile touching her lips. ’What is even the point of going to an academy when you’re already that ridiculously strong?’ she thought to herself.
After riding their horses through the countryside for a few more days, the giant stone walls and towering arches of the city of Valeria finally appeared on the horizon.