Chapter 195
Chapter 195: The Princess's Growth
The 10-day southern training expedition for Auréliane had finally come to an end.
Within the Magical Creature Rift, she had led the Demi-human unit to slay countless creatures.
The Demi-human unit had also shone brilliantly in this challenge that had originally belonged to Adventurers, letting the Adventurers witness the sheer power that Demi-humans were capable of.
Compared to humans, the wildness they had yet to fully suppress made them utterly fearless when hunting.
And their inherently pack-oriented nature made them far superior in coordinated combat.
The combat strength of the Demi-humans left many of the noble lords residing in the south deeply puzzled.
The Demi-humans who spent their days doing hard labor at home and wouldn't listen without a whip—they were actually this formidable?
Among the Adventurers, someone had already given this Demi-human unit a nickname, and it had spread.
【Wild Beasts】
At this moment, on the street, the First Prince stood with his troops lined up on both sides of the road.
Offering a salute to the unit departing down the middle.
Auréliane—as if the stars themselves revolved around her—smiled from within the procession and waved to the Adventurers, civilians, and soldiers who had come to see them off.
This training expedition had let far more people come to know Auréliane as a Princess of the Empire.
At only 15 years of age, she had been able to enter the depths of the Rift and fight Magical Creatures.
Of course, there were also those who believed Auréliane had only reached the 30th Layer of the Abyss by relying on her powerful Demi-human subordinates and the immeasurably capable guards by her side.
No matter who it is—when viewed from the public eye, there will always be voices of criticism.
Fortunately, far more people scoffed at such claims.
After all, those people had likely never even seen the Princess.
They had never set foot inside a Magical Creature Rift their entire lives—and didn't even dare fight the most basic, lowest-tier creatures.
The Beast Guild and the Demi-human unit cooperated together, and together with a vast sweep-force of low-tier Adventurers too numerous to count, they had conducted a 10-day Rift clearance operation.
The Princess's efforts had not gone unnoticed by many.
The Demi-humans donned their armor and mounted their horses. Gwen rode out ahead of the Demi-human unit on her White Horse, hooves striking yellow earth, leading the procession forward with a series of crisp, steady hoof-beats as they slowly departed.
Once Auréliane was gone, the once-lively street returned to its usual quiet.
Everyone loves a spectacle—but once the spectacle is over, naturally there aren't so many people left to linger.
The First Prince stood at the side of the street, watching them recede into the distance. When they finally disappeared from view, he withdrew his gaze as well, and led his troops back to the battle line.
Coming back to himself, the First Prince slumped into his chair.
He tilted his head back and stared up at the bright chandelier on the ceiling, silent.
"......"
Viktor's arrival had emptied out everything he had built up—thoroughly and completely.
Hearts and minds, strength, and even prestige.
Viktor had only appeared in the south for 2 days. On the 2nd day, he had left Godinlima with the Duke's daughter and returned to the Royal Capital.
But in just those 2 days, he had returned laden with achievements.
Slaying the black dragon. Saving the Duke's daughter.
Eliminating the crisis before it could fully take shape.
The Demi-human unit he had brought dominated every headline over those 10 days.
Even the most powerful Adventurer Guild in the south—the Beast Guild—had publicly declared its allegiance.
When the Beast Guild formally announced it was joining the Clavena Family as a vassal member—
For an instant, Aubeny felt as though the sky itself was collapsing.
As it happened, that very day, he had arranged to meet with the Beast Guild's leader, Hera.
When the First Prince asked her why she had chosen to join the Clavena Family—
He remembered it clearly: Hera had smiled with curved eyes, and those patterned, swirling eyes of hers had looked at him with an almost mesmerizing pull.
"Your Highness, we were only ever partners to begin with—I don't think you have any say in who I choose to follow."
"I simply want to pursue my own love. Is that wrong of me?"
Hera's words left the First Prince without a single thing to say in response.
Though other Guilds still existed in the Adventurer's Capital, the strongest—the Beast Guild—choosing to work under the Clavena Family would only cost the First Prince even more of his support base.
Viktor had taken every last achievement from him, all for the sake of elevating Auréliane.
The one thing the First Prince could take some comfort and relief in right now—
Was that Auréliane and her group had not discovered the secret he had hidden in the lower floors.
Concealed in the depths of the Abyss—Safirose.
***
At the same time—the 50th Layer of the Magical Creature Rift.
The colors around her were deeper and more saturated. From the red-violet earth, what looked like a creature fortress rose straight up from the ground. A massive black haze coiled near the castle, and flesh and blood oozed from its very walls.
Across this terrain, countless jagged trees and rocks were embedded in the ground in twisted, grotesque configurations.
Safirose stood in place, gripping a long blade several times the length of her own body.
Her entire form was covered in wounds that still bled freely—some cutting clean through her arm.
The black and white wings on her back now hung limply at her sides, dual-colored feathers drifting down continuously.
Before her stood an immense creature.
The Floor Guardian of the 50th Layer of the Magical Creature Rift.
【Goliath Giant】
Its 4 arms were similarly weakened, propped against the ground. One great axe in its hands was buried into the earth; the other was lodged in the enormous creature fortress.
Atop its colossal head sat a single enormous eye, rolling around in its socket before finally locking onto Safirose.
One of its lower legs had long since been severed—black blood spraying from the stump—and the other looked as though it had been twisted and snapped, the top of the foot pressed against the ground.
The giant's massive body had been pierced through with a deep hole, blood pouring out in waves, and countless other wounds covered the rest of its limbs.
That sky-blotting frame began to sway and totter. Its head drooped.
BOOM! It crashed to the ground completely.
The red, fleshy earth split open into a colossal fissure—like the gaping maw of an abyss—and dragged the giant's corpse down into it.
Only a single item remained, glowing faintly on the ground.
In that moment, Safirose let go entirely. The long blade in her hand gradually dissolved into the air.
She dragged her nearly broken body forward, bent down, and picked up the item the creature had dropped, turning it over in her hands.
It was a hollow-looking orb—a red-violet light flowing within its shell.
But this time, she did not swallow it.
Instead, she tucked it away and hooked it at her waist.
She patted her side, as if showing off her spoils.
The materials selectively kept from countless fallen creatures—now all hanging at her waist—knocked together and produced a bright, crisp rattle.
Safirose dragged her injured body forward, step by step, heading up toward the higher floors of the Magical Creature Rift.
***
Jixu's shop received a strange customer.
When old Jixu opened his shop door, he found a customer draped in an enormous cloak.
Beneath the hood and the glare of the sun, he couldn't make out the customer's face.
Once the customer stepped inside, Jixu got a proper look at the strange figure before him.
Judging by the build... probably a woman.
But the massive cloak concealed the back portion of her figure, making it look somewhat oversized—as though she were carrying 2 enormous things on her back.
Jixu recited the phrase he'd repeated more times than he could count:
"Buying, or selling?"
"...Selling?"
The other party's pronunciation wasn't quite right—even the enunciation seemed somewhat labored.
But people like that were common enough in the Adventurer's Capital. Jixu didn't pay it much mind. He simply puffed his pipe and tilted his chin at her.
"Fine, let's see the goods."
Accompanied by a series of loud clanks and thuds, a pile of Magical Creature materials were shoved unceremoniously onto the table.
At first, Jixu hadn't thought much of it—puff puff, drawing on his pipe, exhaling ring after ring of smoke.
But the moment he got a clear look at the materials, his eyes went wide. Even the smoke he'd inhaled couldn't make it out properly—it ended up escaping through his nostrils instead.
"Stop, stop! Lady, stop throwing things!"
He hurriedly tossed his pipe aside, pulled on his gloves, and carefully gathered the creature materials to one side—handling them like priceless treasure, eyes lit up, magnifying glass in hand as he examined each piece closely.
"Careful now, these are all precious goods."
He kept his head down as he looked—but the more he examined, the sharper his intake of breath became.
"A Magnetic Beast's horn? Not bad, not bad..."
"Hiss... this is the heart of Timek, the 20th Layer's Floor Guardian? This is a rare find indeed!"
Jixu's words had barely finished when that unnaturally-patterned voice came again right after:
"In total... how much."
Jixu looked at the faceless woman before him and felt a flicker of genuine respect.
Whoever had managed to collect these materials was undoubtedly a formidable powerhouse.
He didn't dare lowball someone like this and risk offending her. He looked through everything, then extended one hand and gave a gesture in front of her.
"They're precious, but the quantity is on the low side."
"About—this much."
He spread his palm flat and held up 5. The woman before him gave a small nod.
"I want to... leave... here, and go to a... city more prosperous than this."
"Is there... a way?"
The voice was somewhat halting, but compared to before, the enunciation had already become considerably clearer.
Jixu picked his pipe back up, took a draw, and exhaled a smoke ring.
"Ah, Miss—you're looking to develop somewhere better, so you came to ask if I have any connections?"
"You've come to the right person."
He said this with a genial smile.
"If you don't have a team behind you, with your level of ability, you'd be better off heading to the Royal Capital to make your mark. Guaranteed to be more comfortable than staying in a backwater place like Godinlima."
"The Adventurer life isn't made for people."
An Adventurer works themselves to the bone every single day—still not as good as attaching yourself to one of the noble lords.
Did she not know that even the Beast Guild had joined the Clavena Family and was planning to make their exit?
Sticking with the nobles—now that was the way to eat and drink well.
"Miss—your money."
"50,000 Geo in total. Here you are."
He said this as he retrieved a pouch of Geo from the cabinet.
"You know what the Magic Train is, yes? Take this money to the counter right now, buy a ticket, and within 1 day you'll be in the Royal Capital."
The woman pocketed the coin pouch, pulling it beneath her cloak—
But all at once, a gust of wind blew the shop door open, and swept past the woman's cloak, knocking her hood down to reveal her pale, white face.
In the sunlight, it looked far whiter than any case of malnourishment.
Those green eyes—like a serpent's pupils—snapped tight all at once. The 2 vertical slits narrowed to 2 thin lines. Those strange eyes seemed to carry a mesmerizing pull, and the shopkeeper stood frozen in place, pipe in hand, momentarily entranced for a full second.
Yet while captivating, they also filled Jixu with a profound and bone-deep sense of danger.
The woman before him, however, appeared entirely unconcerned. She pulled her hood back up and gave Jixu a small nod.
A burst of air pressure surged beneath her feet. Her body flashed.
In the blink of an eye, nothing remained but a rising cloud of dust.
When Jixu blinked again, the person before him had long since vanished from his sight.
He blinked. Then blinked again. Standing there, dumbfounded.
"What the hell, I must've gotten up too fast."
"I think I just saw a Magical Creature come into the city to sell stuff."