Pain assaulted every fiber of Adam's body as he slowly tried to open his eyes. However, much to his dismay, he realized that he was only able to open his right eye. Something was impeding his left eyesight.
As he opened his eye, his vision was initially blurry, but a few moments later it focused. Along with his eyesight, came extreme pangs of pain that radiated all across his body.
"Ugghhh!" The teenager felt that remaining unconscious was better than having to feel this pain.
He looked around and saw a familiar sight that left him stunned. "This… How did I get here?!"
Everywhere he looked, all he could see was colorful eggs and baboons. This was exactly the place he had arrived at after exiting the Mushroom Forest!
Currently, he was lying down on a hammock situated on one of the thick branches of the towering banyan tree.
He tried to get off from the hammock, but it proved to be quite difficult than he thought it would be. It was difficult to control his injury-filled body. In the end, he could only forcefully turn sideways on the hammock, causing him to completely turn it upside down.
"Acccckkkk!" He fell face first on the thick branch underneath him, the injuries on his body seemingly worsening. "That was a bad idea."
Just as he was struggling to sit up, the annoying sounds of those mischievous baboons drifted into his ears.
"Kie! Kie! Kie!"
"Ki-kie! Ki-kie!"
"Kiiieeee!"
The baboons nearby gathered around him in an instant. Most of them seemed like they were little kids.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Some curiously observed him as if he was a rare specimen of nature, while others mostly pointed at him, laughing away, apparently finding the youth's appearance hilarious.
Adam grumbled, "What's funny, you monkey bastards?"
"Kie! Kie! Kie!" The baboons laughed out loud. Some even pointed their pink buttocks at him and taunted him.
"You…" Adam was speechless. "It's okay to make fun of others, but why show your butts in the process?"
He ignored them and observed the state he was in. Green bandages that seemed to be made from leaves covered his entire body, except for the area above his right eye and his mouth.
The youth was actually quite surprised by how his wounds had been dressed. It looked and felt quite professional if one could ignore the leaf bandages.
He turned to look at the baboons around him and asked, "This… who did this?"
Alas, all he received as a response was them flaunting their butts at him again.
Adam rolled his eyes and complained, "Forget it. Why did I even ask?"
The next moment, he turned silent as he recalled the battle that had caused him to be like this. Remembering that Rank 2: Fireball hurling at him, his body shuddered in horror.
With lingering fear flashing across his eye, he thought to himself, If It wasn't for what I managed to do in the nick of time, I'm afraid I would have truly died!
In that battle against Kevin, Jeffrey, and the rest of the Magi, Adam found himself at death's door more than once. If it wasn't for his skills as well as his quick thinking, he wouldn't have made it out of that alive.
Toward the end of that battle, after Adam had thrown the spear at Kevin, he had hurriedly retreated and grabbed the corpse of Grayson he had just killed.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Right before the Fireball had struck him, he had managed to shield himself with the man's corpse. If it wasn't for that, he would have had to bear the brunt of the rank 2 spell, and most likely die as a result.
But despite doing all that he could, he was still reduced to such a state. He could only thank his good fortune that he even managed to make it out alive.
He thought of the person behind all this, and his eyes narrowed. Kevin…
Adam didn't know whether he was dead or alive. But the very thought of him filled him with anger. He was silent for a long time and then shook his head, mumbling to himself, "I hope he died."
He then looked around, muttering in confusion, "But how did I get here anyway?"
The next moment, he thought of a possibility that shocked him. "It can't be—"
But before he could even finish speaking, as if to confirm his speculation, he heard a familiar voice drift into his ears. It was a voice filled with happiness as well as concern.
"MYUUUU!!!"
Valerian rushed from the distance and jumped onto the youth.
Adam was dumbstruck. "Val! It was indeed—aghhh!"
The young dragon cared not for the fresh wounds on the teenager's body. With tear-filled eyes, he buried himself in the latter's arms and sobbed loudly.
Adam ignored the pain coursing through his body and gently patted the little guy's back. "It's okay, Little Val. Everything's fine."
"Myu…" Valerian sniffled and put his tiny arms around the youth's neck. He sobbed for a long time.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Adam smiled gently and continued to pat the young dragon. His heart warmed knowing that there was someone who cared so much for his well-being.
As the two silently shared a warm moment, the surrounding baboons that had been viciously mocking him all this while had now, for some reason, stopped. They were standing respectfully as if they were in the presence of their superior.
"Huh?" Adam noticed this and couldn't help but ask, "What's with you guys? It's very strange when you're not showing your buttocks to me…"
"Wait, that doesn't sound right." Adam's body cringed at what he just said.
The next moment, the large baboon with the scar on his chest, the one that Adam had arm-wrestled a few weeks back, appeared in front of him. Moreover, the hunched-back old baboon was also present.
But everything felt strange. Very strange.
"Why are you guys acting so weird?" The youth was baffled.
Sensing his confusion, Valerian nervously sent a mental transmission to him. After Adam heard everything from the young dragon, he was instantly dumbfounded.
"EHHH?!!" The youth's eye bulged out of his socket. "Y-Y-You what?!"
Valerian lowered his head and made a sad face. Adam had told him time and time again never to transform into his true form. For if he did, endless troubles would find them. But in the end, he went against what the youth had strictly forbidden him to do.
The young dragon tightly shut his eyes, expecting to be heavily reprimanded by Adam. However, much to his surprise, the latter instead patted his furry little head and spoke with gratitude, "Thank you, Val."
Valerian raised his head and glanced at Adam. "Myu?"
Adam's eye reflected nothing but warmth and sincerity. "Thank you for saving me."
