Ch 53 - Beyond Lumeris
At first, it wasn't easy to convince Lena that Zeph would still be joining the expedition. Even though, from the very beginning, she had never truly intended to hide it from him.
In the end, though, there was no real reason for him to stay out of it. The expedition was tied to the Night Cavalry, to the night he had awakened and obtained his core, and to the catastrophe that had nearly consumed the city of Mekarion.
Over the next few days, Zeph devoted himself entirely to reaching his next goal by improving his control over his sigil. Little by little, he grew more familiar with every step of the process, refining his control and preparing himself to attempt activating the sigil through his own alternative method.
As usual, he sat cross-legged in meditation inside his room at three o'clock in the morning, while everyone else was still fast asleep.
He guided his mana with careful precision, controlling its flow as it left his body before directing it toward his head. At the same time, the sigil responded with a steady pulse across his upper back.
Moments later, the helmet began to take shape, although only the mask that covered his face had fully formed.
[Epic Grade Transformation Sigil: Night Cavalry has been activated!]
Zeph slowly opened his eyes, and a wide smile spread across his face beneath the mask. He had done it. Much sooner than Meriel had predicted.
He had finally succeeded. Now he only needed to focus on the next stage. With this breakthrough, he would begin manifesting the rest of the armor piece by piece: the chest armor, the gauntlets, the lower armor, and finally the greaves and boots.
And perhaps, if everything continued to progress this smoothly, he would even be able to manifest the sword separately, allowing him to wield the Night Cavalry's weapon at its full potential.
A few hours later, Zeph finished getting ready and stepped into the elevator. As it slowly descended, he glanced at the time displayed on his academy bracelet.
"Looks like I'm a little late," he muttered under his breath.
A short while later, he stepped out of the academy building and made his way across the academy grounds. Before long, he spotted several familiar figures already waiting in the parking area.
A few of them waved as soon as they spotted him. Most of them were dressed in the standard combat attire of Lumeris Hunter Academy, making it clear they had been prepared for this trip long before he arrived.
Zeph stopped in front of them. Lena, Madou, Suki, Hugh, and even Malon were all there.
"You all seem pretty excited this early in the morning, huh?" he said.
Lena greeted him with a warm smile.
"I think everyone is," she replied. "And I'm sure part of the reason is because you're joining the expedition too, Zeph."
Madou grinned and flexed one of his arms.
"I've been looking forward to this for a while. Staying inside the academy all the time is boring. I need some real excitement, and I've got a feeling this expedition is going to be a big one."
Hugh patted his stomach with a proud smile.
"I've put on almost fifteen kilos over the last three months. For me, that's fifteen kilos of extra strength."
Among all of them, Malon remained the quietest. He simply met Zeph's gaze without saying a word.
"Any thoughts about this expedition, Malon?" Zeph asked.
Malon gave a faint smile. It was barely noticeable, with only the corner of his lips lifting.
"I'm here because I don't want to miss the journey," he said quietly. "Something tells me that whenever you're involved, Zeph, something unforgettable is bound to happen."
Zeph let out a small chuckle before turning toward Suki.
"How are you this morning, Suki?"
The girl beamed brightly. Instead of answering, she raised both hands and pointed toward a large vehicle parked nearby.
"We're traveling in this! My father arranged a special vehicle for us. It'll be a comfortable trip. We've even got a personal driver and a butler to take care of everything along the way, so there's no way we'll get bored during the three-day, three-night journey."
Zeph followed the direction of her fingers.
It was a reinforced luxury bus. Its sleek black exterior was lined with thick armored panels, while the oversized off-road tires and heavy-duty suspension made it look more than capable of crossing rough terrain.
Every detail balanced comfort with durability, making it feel less like an ordinary passenger vehicle and more like something built for long expeditions through dangerous territory.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Your father arranged this?" Zeph repeated.
"Yes." Suki said. "I hope this is enough. At first, he wanted to send two vehicles."
Madou let out a low whistle.
"Yeah. Suki's family really wasn't holding back this time. They practically sponsored the whole expedition with a private expedition bus."
"Oh..." Zeph murmured as the others began boarding the vehicle. "I didn't know we'd be traveling that far."
"I figured you probably didn't know much about our destination either," Malon replied as he stepped inside.
One by one, everyone climbed aboard. Zeph entered last and glanced around the spacious interior. Near the front, Lena was seated in one of the aisle seats. She looked up when she noticed him and lightly patted the empty seat beside her, silently offering it to him.
Zeph nodded before taking the seat by the window on the right. From there, he watched as everyone settled into their own places.
The interior of the vehicle was far more luxurious than he had expected. The front section was arranged like a comfortable passenger cabin, with wide reclining seats and generous legroom. Toward the back, there was a lounge area with sofas gathered around a low table, along with a compact kitchenette stocked with drinks and snacks.
Storage compartments lined the walls, and the reinforced windows and sturdy interior made it clear the vehicle had been built for long journeys through dangerous territory without sacrificing comfort.
Not long after everyone had settled in, the engine rumbled to life. The reinforced bus slowly pulled away from the roadside before accelerating onto the highway, carrying them toward the beginning of their expedition.
The journey was going to be much longer than Zeph had expected. According to the schedule, it would take them three days and three nights to reach their destination.
“This expedition is part of a mission assigned by the Academy,” Madou explained.
By then, everyone had settled into their seats around one of the tables, enjoying lunch while chatting as the vehicle continued down the road.
“Normally, this mission would only be assigned to a team of at least five Rank 2 Guardians,” he continued with a grin. “But since Lena, Zeph, and I have already cleared a Tier 2 Rift before, they gave us permission to bring along four Rank 1 Apprentices. So yeah, that's why there are six of us here. Three strong people and three deadweights.”
“Don't forget, none of you would've made it to the destination without me,” Suki shot back with a small laugh.
“I like that confidence, Suki.” Madou laughed.
“But...” Zeph said, glancing between them. “Is it really that far?”
“It’s not really about the distance,” Malon replied. “The problem is that some of the areas we'll be passing through aren't safe to travel through at night.”
"So we'll be stopping at a few cities along the way, spending the night there, and continuing the trip the next morning."
Suki tilted her head.
"Are we sure we won't need to book hotels for the whole journey?"
Lena smiled. "If you want to stay at a hotel, Suki, we certainly can. But honestly, I think this vehicle is already comfortable enough."
"Exactly," Madou agreed. "Suki, this isn't a vacation. Once we reach the expedition area, we'll even be spending nights out in the wilderness. It won't be easy."
Suki shot him an annoyed glare.
"Do you think I reached Level 17 by sitting around and letting my level go up on its own?"
"Didn't you?" Madou replied with a grin.
Suki huffed and tossed a grape at him.
Madou casually opened his mouth and caught it.
"Thanks, Suki. That throw was pretty accurate."
The others couldn't help laughing at the exchange.
The journey continued at a relaxed pace. The seats were surprisingly comfortable, easily reclining into a position that made it effortless to take a nap. Beyond the reinforced windows, the scenery gradually shifted into endless stretches of untamed wilderness. The peaceful landscape gave the trip a quiet sense of calm despite the dangerous expedition that awaited them.
"The roads we'll be taking are generally safe," Lena explained. "Most of them have already been secured and protected by the Union's infrastructure."
"Yeah," Malon added. "We're lucky this expedition is still on the same island. We don't have to cross into another Union."
No one knew what the team was actually thinking, because they had not even bothered to tell Zeph any details about the place they were heading to. All they said was that it was not a rift. Surely they were not keeping everything secret just for the sake of a surprise.
He truly felt like a complete stranger in this expedition.
Several times, they passed through walled cities and stopped in one of them for the night. This was the first time Zeph had ever traveled this far, especially by land.
Along the way, they came across several groups of monsters in the surrounding areas. As usual, though, most of the ones they encountered were only Tier 1.
Hunters stayed fairly active, hunting down any monsters that wandered too close to populated areas. Even if a few managed to escape, it was still rare for them to attack settlements first.
Mostly because the loud noise of the convoy and the constant activity around the roads frightened them away.
After all, most Tier 1 monsters were simply ordinary animals that had been exposed to mana until they awakened a mana core of their own. From there, they gradually evolved into monstrous versions of their original forms.
That was why it was not unusual to run into creatures like wolves, wild boars, bears, deer, and many other familiar animals that had transformed into monsters.
This mana phenomenon did not only affect animals. Some plants experienced it as well. A number of them awakened into monsters after developing mana cores within their bodies.
Even so, no matter how far they traveled, the monsters they encountered in the outside world were still completely different from the ones that lived inside the rifts. The creatures within the rifts were far more dangerous and far more terrifying than anything commonly found beyond them.
At least, that only applied to places that were close enough to human settlements to be monitored with ease. There were still countless regions that had never been explored, along with places known only to higher-ranked hunters. No one really knew what existed in those forgotten lands, or what kinds of monsters might be waiting there.
The world had become far too vast and mysterious. No one truly understood what was happening around them anymore. Not the rifts, not the Awakeners.
All people could do was survive and keep growing stronger before the next threat arrived.
Yet in the end, just as Malon often pointed out, those standing at the highest ranks, the rulers, and the leaders of powerful factions were more concerned with strengthening themselves.
They kept building the power of their own groups until they reached the point of trying to destroy rival factions, all so their side could remain the strongest.
In a world as chaotic as this, where an apocalypse was constantly waiting just around the corner, humanity still found the time to fight among themselves. It was as though they had forgotten who their real enemy was.
They had even forgotten who they were supposed to protect.
“This is already the third day,” Zeph said as morning arrived, the sunlight streaming through the windows and filling the cabin with a warm glow.
He turned toward Lena afterward. The moment he looked at her, he noticed that her face seemed a little paler than usual.