"Delicious!" Lux said as he ate the food that Ali and Ari prepared. "You two are amazing."
"I know, right?!" Valerie puffed her chest up as if she was the one who prepared the soup that they were currently eating for breakfast.
For her, Ali's and Ari's achievements were also her achievements since the two of them were her handmaidens.
"This soup is really good!" one of the Kobolds exclaimed as he happily drank the bowl of soup. "And the bread--it's so soft! I've never eaten bread this soft before!"
"Indeed! This is the best breakfast I've eaten in my life!"
"I wish someone in the Kobold's Nest would specialize in cooking. Eating grilled food everyday is getting boring."
The Kobolds praised Ali and Ari, which made the two handmaidens smile from ear to ear. They had prepared a large pot of soup for everyone, so there was more than enough to go around.
Even Gerhart, who had eaten many delicious things in the Rowan Tribe, agreed that the soup was indeed quite delicious. Perhaps the two handmaidens had used high-quality ingredients in order to bring out such a rich and yummy flavor that suited his taste perfectly.
After the sumptuous breakfast ended, all the Kobolds returned underground to resume working on their duties. Since Lux was planning to look for a Transcendent Flame, they decided to keep looking for rare ores and metals underground in order to prepare for the future.
"Cethus, I'll be leaving the Outer Reaches again," Lux stated. "Keep watch on my Guild Headquarters for me."
The Dragon Born, who had just finished his meal, narrowed his eyes at the Half-Elf who was planning to leave again after staying for only a day.
"I'm not here to watch your Guild Headquarters all day," Cethus replied. "The Dragon King has ordered me to watch over you--not your Guild."
"Even if you say that, you can't come with me," Lux shook his head. "The place I am going to go to is very far from Karshvar Draconis. If you wander off on your own, the possibility of you not being able to return here is very high."
"Nonsense! Do you think I am a child that will easily get lost? I'm going with you and that's final!"
"..."
The Half-Elf looked at the determined Dragon Born with a frown. It was not like he couldn't bring Cethus with him to the Kingdom of Gweliven. As long as the Dragon Born was in his party, he could take him to the Dwarven Kingdom without any problems.
That was how he brought Cai and Keane to Leaf Village, but taking Cethus wasn't the problem.
The true problem was that he didn't have any obligation or reason to bring the Dragon Born with him in the first place.
"If you don't bring me with you, I will vandalize your Guild Headquarters!" Cethus stated.
"... Are you a kid?" Lux sighed. "If you really vandalize this place, I will complain to the Dragon King and have you replaced."
Cethus was about to say more, but after hearing Lux's words, the retort he was about to say became stuck in his throat. Even so, he wanted to go with Lux because he had a feeling that when the Half-Elf returned to the Outer Reaches, he would become stronger than he was now.
The Dragon Born wanted to know how the Half-Elf increased his rank so fast, and for this reason, he wanted to accompany him to raise his rank as well.
"Don't even try to sneak away without me." Cethus glared. "I will make you regret it!"
The Half-Elf crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the Dragon Born from head to toe.
Cethus was an Intermediate Ranked Initiate, so his fighting ability was decent.
Lux was only at the Initial Stages of the Initiate Rank. If he was compared to Cethus on Rank alone, the Dragon Born was stronger than him. At least, that was true when it came to their combined stats.
However, if the two were to fight, the Half-Elf could wipe the floor with the Dragon Born's face due to how disgusting he was in one-on-one battles.
The reason? Necromancers don't do one-on-one battles!
"Bring him along," Gerhart, who was listening to the conversation at the side commented. "I'm also curious to know how strong a Dragon Born is."
The green-haired Half-Elf never thought that Lux would be bringing him to the Floating Kingdom of the Dragon Race. A day ago, he was shocked at this discovery, but now, he had come to terms with it.
Lux had warned him to not offend the citizens of Karshvar Draconis because it might cause complications later on. Gerhart knew that he still didn't know the rules of the Dragon Race, so he decided to obey Lux's orders.
But, he was also very curious. He wanted to know how strong Dragon Borns were. He had heard about the Dragons, but the Dragon Borns was a new knowledge to him.
Because of this, he wanted to gauge the difference in strength between him and Cethus.
Cethus snorted and gave the green-haired Half-Elf a side-long glance.
"You might be an Initiate like me, but the difference between a filthy mongrel and a Dragon Born is like Heaven and Earth." Cethus sneered. "This is why I dislike those that come from the Lower Realm. All of you are delusional creatures."
Gerhart shrugged because he didn't take Cethus' words to heart. He didn't believe that the Dragon Born would walk away unscathed if the two of them fought a life and death battle.
It was at that moment when an idea popped up inside the Half-Elf's head, which made him laugh internally.
For him, this was a good opportunity to bring Cethus' arrogance down a peg, and it would also allow him to see what the Dragon Born was capable of.
Since Cethus wanted to go with him so badly, then he would give a condition. And if the Dragon Born couldn't meet the condition, then he won't let Cethus go with him.
"Cethus, you want to go with me, right?" Lux flashed the Dragon Born a devilish smile, which made the latter feel that something wasn't right.
"Yes," Cethus replied despite the weird feeling he was getting from the Half-Elf.
"Perfect! Since that is the case, how about you fight me?" Lux answered. "I am a Necromancer, and you are a Dragon Born. I only take strong individuals with me on my journey. If you can beat me then I will allow you to accompany me, deal?"
The Dragon Born narrowed his eyes after hearing Lux's proposal. Truth be told, he also wanted to fight the Half-Elf to teach him a lesson.
'This is a good opportunity to make Lux more obedient to me.' Cethus chuckled internally.
'This is a good opportunity to make Cethus obedient to me,' Lux laughed in his heart.
The Half-Elf and the Dragon Born chuckled as they looked at each other, which made Valerie stare at the two of them as if they had a few screws loose in their heads.
Gerhart, who heard Lux's proposal, found this a very good opportunity to gauge Lux's strength as well.
He had suffered grievous injuries during the Lionheart Tournament and had to escape to the Rowan Tribe to recuperate.
The green-haired Half-Elf heard a few weeks later that a fellow Half-Elf had won the tournament, which made him very interested in Lux.
Now that an opportunity had presented itself to the green-haired Half-Elf, he wouldn't let it go. It wasn't easy for him to personally witness his Guild Leader's strength, so he would definitely watch Lux's and Cethus' battle without fail.
