Chapter 129: The Spoils of Victory
"Hahaha! Did you see Rachel and Leopard’s faces after what you said?"
Darius was in an exceptionally good mood, much like everyone else aboard the shuttle. Laughing, he patted Terio on the shoulder, earning a faint frown from the youngster, who clearly disliked being touched.
Silas sat silently in the middle. Cher occupied the seat to his right, Lara to his left, while Alfred sat beside him. Across from them were Darius and Terio.
"I only did what Silas asked me to do."
Terio’s voice remained calm, but his thoughts were anything but.
Following Silas’s plan had benefited him far more than he had expected, yet he couldn’t stop recalling his conversation with Darius back at the mine.
His gaze shifted cautiously between the two.
’Do they both know my secret?’
’Did they tell the others?’
’Or is Darius the only one who knows?’
He had no answer. Asking directly would only risk exposing himself if they were merely testing him.
’If Darius was bluffing all along... I’ll kill him.’
That strange conversation continued to haunt him.
Darius had never said anything outright, yet every hint had struck unnervingly close to the truth.
"You won’t regret joining our team."
Lara chuckled.
Ever since Terio had dropped that bombshell, she had been struggling to contain her excitement. More than anyone else, she understood what his decision meant.
Only moments earlier than the revelation, Cher had been losing her wager against her father.
Now, she was winning it.
Her eyes drifted toward Silas, who remained as composed as ever. She still couldn’t believe he had planned all of this so far in advance.
Cher looked at him as well, her expression quiet.
’I thought he intended to climb back to the top through the coming missions.’
’I never imagined he had already prepared everything beforehand.’
’The future missions will only cement our advance.’
The realisation stirred unfamiliar emotions within her. Gratitude was only a part of it, admiration occupied the rest.
The shuttle landed a few minutes later.
"This is our team’s private training platform."
Lara and Darius naturally took it upon themselves to show Terio around.
"I rented a floating platform for my own team as well."
Terio’s casual remark came after nearly ten minutes of walking through the place, bringing the conversation to an abrupt halt.
Lara and Darius exchanged awkward glances.
"Let’s stop fooling around."
Cher cleared her throat before turning toward Silas.
"We survived the last mission and accomplished our objective, but that doesn’t mean we can afford to lower our guard."
Her eyes narrowed as she recalled what awaited them.
"In two weeks, the Bubbles will open, and we’ll be deployed outside the academy once more. This time, we won’t be back for at least a month."
The cheerful atmosphere gradually faded. Everyone understood what those words implied.
The academy’s protection would no longer exist. They would be stationed in the outside world, defending another location against whatever awaited them.
"We’ve made plenty of enemies," Cher continued. "We should expect them to retaliate."
’Especially my father.’
’He has never accepted defeat.’
Cher didn’t know what else she could say to make them understand the importance of what she had just told them. Before she could continue, a hand landed on her shoulder.
It was Silas.
"Let’s leave the serious discussion for tomorrow."
He stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the group.
"First, there are a couple of important things we need to do..."
"We’re throwing a party?"
Lara’s eyes lit up. The three squirrels behind her turned toward him as well, as though they had understood every word.
"Let’s have a barbecue!"
Darius raised both hands enthusiastically, already imagining the feast.
"I’ll cook," Alfred said, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. "I like cooking."
Silas cleared his throat before things drifted even further from what he had intended.
"That... wasn’t what I meant..."
"Do you want me to invite my teammates first?" Terio asked, misunderstanding him completely. "I can send my shuttle to bring them over."
Even Cher looked at him in confusion.
’They only want to eat.’
Silas sighed inwardly. Then he remembered everything they had endured over the past few days, and his resolve softened.
"Fine," he said with a helpless nod. "We’ll have a barbecue, but while we’re eating, we’ll also go over everything we gained from this mission."
"Yes!"
Lara didn’t wait for another word. She ran off with her three squirrels, all four of them hopping around excitedly, making enough noise to fill the quiet platform.
Meanwhile, Alfred and Darius began preparing the fire pit, while Terio joined them, casually pulling neatly cut logs of strangely shaped wood from thin air.
"They really are just kids."
Cher walked over and stopped beside Silas.
"We live in a harsh world."
Silas quietly nodded.
"People our age should be worrying about school, friends, and having fun, not surviving life-and-death battles every other day."
He turned toward her, unsure how to respond.
"Back at the orphanage..."
He paused for a moment before speaking in a calm voice.
"I never had as much fun as I did when we were at the mine."
Cher’s heart tightened.
She had wanted everyone to begin training immediately, convinced there wasn’t a moment to waste. Now, hearing those words, she couldn’t help questioning herself.
Unlike him, she had grown up with lavish parties, family outings, and countless carefree days with friends. Judging from the others’ reactions, they had experienced the same.
’How...’
’How did you spend your whole life without knowing any of that?’
She looked at him, countless emotions welling inside her, too heavy to put into words.
’Protecting the outpost.’
’Fighting the dragon.’
’Those were the happiest days of your life?’
Her thoughts drifted to her own childhood, to the latest years her father had made unbearable. She had always believed she was the unluckiest girl in the world.
Yet standing beside Silas now, she found herself silently shaking her head.
’You had it far worse.’
Silas, oblivious to the thoughts running through her mind, simply watched his friends enjoy themselves.
’I’ve never even been to a barbecue before.’
At first, he remained on the sidelines, quietly observing everyone as they laughed and worked together. Everything felt unfamiliar, yet strangely comforting. Before long, he found himself joining in, helping prepare the food and watching the meat slowly roast over the fire.
A few hours later, everyone gathered around the flames with full plates in their hands. The barbecue turned out far better than any of them had expected. Between bites, they joked, laughed, and exchanged funny stories, while Lara and Darius took turns telling ridiculous tales they had heard over the years, filling the place with laughter that had been absent from their lives for the past week.
The atmosphere around the camp was too good for Silas to ruin, yet there was something he had to settle before the barbecue ended.
He had already discussed it with Cher. At his nod, she stepped forward and took several items out of her storage ring.
Twelve crystal bottles filled with shimmering orange liquid appeared alongside a sword and a short staff, instantly drawing everyone’s attention. Even among the weapons, it was the bottles that held every gaze.
"These are bottles of dragon blood." Silas looked around before his eyes settled on the stunned Terio. "We forgot to tell you. Back at the mine, we fought the dragon and managed to obtain them."
’Holy moly...’
Terio’s mind went blank.
He had expected them to show off a few high-grade Mana Crystals at most, never something this absurd.
Unable to stop himself, he glanced at Darius.
’So this was what you were hinting at?’
’This is why you said joining Silas’s team would bring me closer to my dream?’
He cleared his throat, finally abandoning the cautious attitude he had maintained since joining them.
"So..." he asked carefully, "are these only for the people who fought the dragon?"
’Please say no.’
Silas didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at everyone else. One after another, they nodded, Darius first among them.
"Of course," Silas finally said. "You’ll get one as well."
Terio nearly sighed in relief.
"We have twelve bottles altogether, which means two for each of us. From what I heard, though, a person can only consume one bottle per grade. The second won’t work unless you naturally advance first."
"Come on, give one for me, one for my babies."
Lara instantly shouted, while the three squirrels moved their heads closer to Silas, wanting to lick his face. Yet he barely stopped them while everyone laughed.
"I’ll drink mine now," Darius pointed to one bottle.
"Can I drink the two right away?" Alfred asked, "Or will I explode?"
"You..." Silas had to stand up and glare at the three squirrels to let them stop what they were licking him. He then tossed one bottle to each member of the team.
"As for the rest..."
The remaining six bottles landed in Cher’s hands, and she quietly stored them away.
Seeing that made everyone feel a little disappointed.
"So we’ll just drink only one bottle for now?" Alfred asked, staring at the bottle in his hand as though it might disappear.
"I don’t think that’s a good idea," Cher replied. "We should rest for a few days first."
Everyone turned toward her.
"The dragon blood doesn’t only strengthen us or help us evolve. It also has powerful healing properties. If we consume it while we’re still exhausted or injured, much of its effect will be spent repairing our bodies instead of pushing us forward."
Understanding dawned across their faces. Waiting a few days was the smarter choice.
Silas tucked his own bottle into the academy backpack resting beside him. It was still packed with Mana Crystals left over from the mission.
’No one asked for either the backpack or the crystals back.’
’And I’m certainly not volunteering to return them.’
’I’ll need every Mana Crystal I can get.’
"What about the staff?" Silas asked. "Or the sword?"
"I’ll take the staff."
Terio spoke without hesitation, immediately attracting everyone’s attention.
"I’m not going to use it myself," he added awkwardly. "I have... a friend. She might be able to help us in the future, but she’s never had a decent staff like this one."
The group’s eyes met in silent amusement, noticing how unusually nervous he sounded.
"Go ahead," Lara said with a chuckle. "It’s just extra loot anyway."
"Then the sword should stay with Silas."
Darius spoke before anyone else could. He picked up the sword and placed it in front of Silas, who accepted it without argument.
No one objected.
"That reminds me."
Silas rose to his feet and looked toward the small building on the platform that served as the team’s resting building.
Then he turned to Darius; his expression had become serious.
"You and I have quite a bit to discuss."
He gestured toward the building before heading there.
"So... shall we?"
"Tsk!"
Darius had no other way out of this but to follow.