A few days later…
"Grandpa, I promise that when I return, I will have the Sacred White Lotus to help cure Grandma," Cai said in a serious manner. "I will not let you down."
"I know, but also be careful," Maximilian replied. "The Sacred Dungeon is not easy to conquer. If it was, it had already been cleared several times already."
"Relax, we already got this in the bag."
"Hah… you never change do you?"
Maximilian helplessly shook his head before shifting his attention to Lux, who was standing not far from them.
"Make sure that Cai doesn't do anything reckless," Maximilian stated. "I will leave her, and my tribe's youngsters, in your hands."
Lux nodded. "I will do my best."
After Lux had fought with all the teenagers of the Rowan Tribe, including Xander, they finally realized how strong the Half-Elf was. Because of this, they no longer had any problems with him becoming their leader, and promised to obey his orders for the sake of their Tribal Chieftain.
"Let's go and conquer the Sacred Dungeon!" Cai declared.
""Yes!""
The Giant Platform at the center of the settlement started to glow faintly. This was the portable Warp Gate of the Rowan Tribe that allowed them to go to Elysium.
One by one, the teenagers entered the portal with Lux entering last. This was the first time he was entering Elysium through a Warp Gate and wondered if there was any difference between it and the Ring of Arondight that Eriol had given him.
A bright flash of light enveloped Lux's body, forcing him to cover his eyes.
When the light receded, he found himself in what seemed to be a settlement inside a jungle with trees that were several meters tall.
Several tree-houses could be seen in the distance, and those who dwelled in them were teenagers, making Lux understand that this was one of the Rowan Tribe's settlements inside the world of Elysium.
"The Hidden Domain is an hour away from here," Cai said. "Let us make haste. I'm sure that the other guilds are also there."
As if waiting for that moment, the Giant Manta Ray that Lux had seen in Barbatos Academy materialized above Cai's head.
Several other Manta Rays appeared as the members of the Rowan Tribe summoned their Beast Companions.
The Rowan Tribe was a Nomadic Clan, and they traveled over land, air, and sea. Because of this, all of them had Manta Rays as their first Beast Companions, allowing them to travel wherever they needed to go.
Lux and Keane mounted Cai's Manta Ray because they didn't have a flying mount of their own.
Keane, who was learning things about the world, wondered if he could also have a Beast Companion similar to Cai's Manta Ray and Lux's baby slime, Eiko.
"Of course you can have a Beast Companion of your own," Cai replied as she lightly nudged her Manta Ray to take off towards the direction of the Hidden Domain. "After this expedition is over, I can help you look for one if you like. The Manta Rays are our Tribe's exclusive mounts, so if you want one, I can ask Grandpa to give you one as a reward for helping me in this expedition."
Keane's interest was piqued after hearing Cai's words. For him, having a flying transport was great because it would allow him to go anywhere he wanted.
Preferably somewhere far away from the chatty Boar, who was making the peace he was looking for in life slip away from his fingertips.
As for Lux, he already had Jed. After taking in the blood of the Mutated Thunder Wolf King, it had evolved into a Rank 4 Thunder Warg King, which also allowed it to use Lightning Steps, allowing it fast movements on the ground, but lacking the ability to fly in the air.
Lux planned to look for a Beast Core that had the ability of flight, similar to Air Steps, which would allow the Half-Elf's mount to also traverse in the air.
As the small fleet of Manta Rays flew Northwards, Keane looked around him with a serious gaze. He was trying to look for differences between Solais and Elysium, but so far, he hadn't seen anything that stood out between the two.
"Just wait until we arrive at the Hidden Domain," Cai said with confidence. "It will be your first initiation here in Elysium, so you better do your best, Little Swordy."
"... How many times should I tell you not to call me Little Swordy?" Keane sighed because he had already given up on making the Boar call him by his name.
Now he had understood what Lux had felt when everyone kept on calling him My Daddy, instead of his real name, making him feel depressed.
"You'll get used to it," Lux commented as he tapped Keane's shoulder, making the latter mutter that he didn't want to get used to it.
Almost an hour later, they finally arrived at a canyon, with a deep gorge at its center.
"Is the Hidden Domain inside it?" Lux asked with a frown.
Cai nodded. "It was accidentally discovered when one of the students of Barbatos Academy fell on it and discovered the existence of the Hidden Domain. Knowing that the Academy didn't have the manpower to gather as many resources from the Domain, Sir Alexander decided to share the news to the Six Kingdoms and the Rowan Tribe.
"In return, the academy will get 10% of any resources that the other Factions gain whenever they enter the Hidden Domain. The Kings and my grandfather signed the agreement, and since then, the Six Kingdoms, Barbatos Academy, and the Rowan Tribe have ensured that the Hidden Domain would remain hidden from the other factions in Elysium. Also, this place is a neutral area, and no adjacent kingdoms can own it."
"No adjacent kingdoms can own it?" Lux tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Um, I don't really understand. But my Grandpa said that the God of this World created several Neutral Areas in Elysium, preventing anyone from staking their claim on it," Cai replied. "No settlements can be built in it because anyone who's tried has suddenly found themselves attacked by Argonaut and Dreadnaught Ranked Field Monsters.
"Also, the strongest mortals that can enter this area are Initiates. They simply don't have the strength to fight against Monsters of such rank, so the Elysians have left this land alone, giving us the opportunity to take advantage of it."
While Cai chatted with Lux and Keane, its Giant Manta Ray took the lead to enter the deep gorge, with the other manta rays trailing behind it.
After fifteen minutes of darkness, Lux saw faint blue lights at the bottom,
"Those are the lights of glow worms," Cai explained. "It means that we are near it."
True to her words, a path appeared at the bottom of the gorge that was spacious enough for two mammoths to easily walk side by side on.
The path was glowing with a blue light due to the countless glow worms that were sticking to the walls of the gorge, illuminating the path in front of them.
A moment later, they arrived at a very spacious clearing that was the size of three football fields merged together. At the far end of this spacious clearing was a giant silver gate that was shut tight.
Waiting outside of it were hundreds of teenagers, who belonged to the Six Kingdoms and Barbatos Academy.
As soon as Cai's Giant Manta Ray landed, countless eyes glanced in their direction.
Lux, Cai, and Keane were members of the Elite Four that had survived the Lionheart Tournament.
Everyone present on the scene instantly recognized them. However, no one dared to approach them, with the exception of one person.
"You're finally here, Lux," Iris said as she walked towards the Giant Manta Ray with a smile.
"I'm here, Iris," Lux replied as he jumped off the Manta Ray and opened his arms wide so he could embrace his fiance in his arms.
However, just as the two were about to hug each other, they found themselves hugging the body of a Boar, who stepped between the two of them at the last second.
"Um, can the two of you not show your PDA here?" Cai asked as she pushed Lux away with her snout, before nuzzling Iris, making the latter giggle. "Have some delicacy. We didn't come here to watch the two of you make out. You can do it when the two of you are alone, okay?"
Lux, who had been pushed aside, sighed in his heart as he looked at the boar who had given him a very strong urge to spank her.
Iris on the other hand, covered her lips as she suppressed a chuckle, while listening to Cai's complaints about how she and Lux should conduct themselves in public.
The Half-Elf could only roll its eyes at Cai's shamelessness before pushing it aside to give his fiance a hug.
Iris hugged him back, making those who were watching the two of them click their tongues in irritation. Several of the young men had a crush on Iris, including the members of her own guild who were about to accompany her inside the Sacred Domain.
Although they had long accepted that the apple of their eyes had already been eaten by someone else, the lingering feelings they had for her still remained.
This was especially true for Nero, who was looking at the two of them from afar.
Although he had a calm expression on the surface, inside his heart was a fire that threatened to engulf everything that belonged to the red-headed teenager who was currently hugging the young lady of his dreams in a tight embrace.
