Chapter 21: The Unscathed and the Unwavering

Rex stood at the edge of the arena, his heart pounding simply from witnessing the magic runes swirling across the sky.

Was this truly an attempt to kill Black Rose?

He lowered his voice, turning to instruct the three women in his squad.

“If Black Rose actually dies later, we are to act as if we saw nothing, understand?”

The three women nodded in unison.

Unless Black Rose escaped the spell’s range before it was fully cast, which would mean forfeiting the assessment.

Yet Elara remained motionless, neither dodging nor evading, standing her ground.

The magic runes solidified, and the spell activated.

A torrential gale poured down upon Elara, engulfing her completely. The members of the Thundercloud Squad watched from outside, dumbfounded.

Every so often, a powerful gust would lash out, whipping up grass and pebbles that stung their faces.

‘The Guild Master is serious?!’

Rex’s mind raced. Even if Shadow Strike allowed one to merge into shadows, it wasn’t true invisibility; one could still attack the shadowy form directly.

In this situation, he could only imagine two ways to survive: either by resisting with even stronger defensive magic, or by possessing a higher affinity for magic to withstand it head-on.

But how could Black Rose possibly possess either of those?

Another possibility was an exceptionally effective defensive magic item, but that seemed equally unrealistic.

‘Going easy on her? Impossible.’

Just seeing the dust billow and the strong winds howl and rip through the open ground, accompanied by deafening roars, made his palms sweat and his heart race with trepidation.

This was the true power of an S-rank expert.

“Captain, Black Rose, she’s… dead…”

Before the words were fully out, another squad member quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Did you forget? Act like you saw nothing.”

The silenced member realized her mistake a moment too late and quickly fell silent.

The spell lasted a full ten seconds, churning up a massive cloud of dust.

Sevia raised a hand, conjuring a gentle breeze that swiftly dispersed the smoke and debris.

Elara emerged from the dissipating mist, standing in place, covering her mouth and nose as she coughed, utterly unharmed.

Rex’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“What?!”

(д)ﾟﾟ

The three women shared the exact same stunned expression.

‘Could Black Rose truly be a hidden master, keeping her strength concealed?’

Rex struggled to overcome his shock, forcing himself to maintain his composure and calm.

He quickly came to a conclusion—Elara must possess an incredibly potent defensive magic item.

“Stop making such a fuss, you’re so uncultured.”

Rex reprimanded the three women with displeasure, feeling their lack of insight was an embarrassment to him.

“Does the Captain know what happened?”

“Of course!” Rex raised his voice, teasing them with a cliffhanger.

“What is it?”

Seeing that the three women’s attention had returned to him, he slowly revealed, “It’s merely a defensive magic item of no low grade.”

“Captain is so amazing/knowledgeable/smart!” the three women praised in unison.

“It’s merely an external aid, after all.” After saying this, he cast a sidelong glance at Elara. “Only true personal strength is reliable.”

“Indeed.”

Sevia commented. She was aware of the magic Elara had acquired, having access to the scroll purchase records.

“Thank you, Guild Master.”

Elara replied, though her tone lacked the respect one would show an elder, carrying instead an undertone of reluctant dissatisfaction.

At least the attacks the Guild Master would use in such a situation were useless against her ‘Void遁空术’ spell, unless there was high-level magic capable of tracking through space or locking onto life forms.

“Bring on the third move.”

“You’ve passed.” Sevia stated indifferently.

She put away her form and turned to leave. She hadn’t walked many steps before dropping another remark: “Have Bai Zhi come take her A-rank assessment later.”

****

Back at home, Hilvyn was, as expected, not there.

Elara changed out of her clothes and quickly cleaned herself.

Sevia’s magic had left her covered in dust.

Elara lay on the bed, instinctively rolling to the side where Hilvyn usually slept.

She leaned close to the pillow and sniffed.

‘So fragrant… an intoxicating scent.’

She closed her eyes, immersing herself in Hilvyn’s lingering scent, feeling her tense body and mind finally relax.

‘Ugh, so tired. These past few days have been exhausting.’

Her mind had been constantly on edge, first with the Hyena Squad, then the escort mission she’d hoped would be a relaxing trip, and now the assessment.

One thing after another, a continuous cycle until just now, when she finally had a moment to rest.

The moment she relaxed, her senses seemed to dull.

“Ma-as-ter~ are~ you~ a-sleep~?”

A familiar voice suddenly chimed in her ear.

“Wah—” Elara startled, her drowsiness completely vanishing.

“Why didn’t I hear you come in?”

Hilvyn innocently pointed to the door. “Master, you clearly forgot to close the door. When I came back, I thought we had a thief in the house.”

Elara rubbed her forehead. It seemed she was too tired and had forgotten to close the door.

“When did you get back?”

“Just now.”

“Did you eat lunch?”

“Not yet. Let’s go eat together.”

‘I can’t shake the feeling…’

Elara watched Hilvyn tidying the room for a moment. The scent had changed.

No, it hadn’t changed.

“To celebrate Sister breaking through to A-rank, lunch is on me today!”

Hilvyn pointed to the menu on the wall, sweeping her small hand grandly. “Order anything you want!”

Elara was amused and teased, “Are you treating me with my own money, hmm?”

There was no fault in her words, as Hilvyn, by rights, was her s*ave, and a s*ave’s earnings belonged to their master.

“Hehehe…” Hilvyn, exposed, giggled foolishly to cover her embarrassment.

“Alright, alright, I’ll treat you today. Buy whatever you want to eat, but don’t waste any.”

But who could fault Elara for spoiling her? If Hilvyn called her ‘Sister,’ Elara would genuinely, subconsciously treat her like a younger sibling.

The only flaw was Hilvyn constantly calling her ‘Master,’ which broke the illusion.

Now, Elara also possessed a modest fortune, with over 1200 gold coins in her purse.

She remembered when she first arrived in Windchant City, she had no family, yet she was free from her former body’s constraints and felt a renewed drive.

Fortunately, her talent was good, and she had advanced to B-rank adventurer. The rewards for B-rank quests were generally sufficient for her expenses, with some left over.

She had been quite frugal with food, clothing, and entertainment, saving a considerable amount of money until she bought Hilvyn.

But buying Hilvyn had been the right decision. In such a short time, she was already close to earning back the cost. Previously, equipment and potions accounted for a significant portion of her expenses, but with Hilvyn’s addition, those costs, especially for healing potions, had been saved.

The dishes were successively brought to their table.

Hilvyn eagerly scooped a large spoonful of Windchime Fruit Jam, thickly spreading it onto a piece of dry, hard-baked bread. She then placed a soft slice of bread on top to hold the jam in place, before thickly coating the other side with Honeybell Melon Jam.

She took an impatient, huge bite.

“You really love eating this, don’t you?” Elara propped her chin on her hand, smiling as she watched her eat.

Hilvyn’s mouth was full. “Mmm-mmm-mmm…”

“Swallow before you speak.”

“Mhm-mhm-mhm.” (Nods) (Chews, chews, chews)

Hilvyn took a gulp of Windchime Flower Tea, washing down the food in her mouth.

“Because this was the first meal Sister brought me to eat. It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

In the cage, there had been no jam for her to spread; everything was merely to ensure survival.

Even after eating many things far more delicious than roasted bread, Hilvyn still cherished this simple treat.

Upon hearing this answer, Elara fell silent for a moment, then picked up a piece of roasted bread and, imitating Hilvyn, spread jam on it.

She handed the finished piece to Hilvyn’s plate.

“Then eat more.”