Chapter 208: Varn’s Hollow
The last class had ended, but Noel wasn’t heading back to his room.
Instead, he walked alone through one of the side exits of the academy, the heat of the day finally fading into a golden breeze. The towers of Valon stretched behind him, glowing orange in the dusk light.
The road ahead was quiet.
"I haven’t been there in months," he murmured, mostly to himself.
He looked down at the small shadow moving beside him.
"Noir."
The shadow pulsed once — then out of it leapt a small, sleek creature: Noir, in her default compact form. She walked calmly beside Noel, her ears twitching and nose sniffing the wind.
"It was the first place I hunted monsters," Noel continued, his voice quieter now. "Honestly... it helped. A lot. I just want to see how far we’ve come."
Noir didn’t speak, of course. But her tail flicked once, as if in agreement.
Varn’s Hollow wasn’t too far, but it sat outside the fortified perimeter of Valon. Past the cobbled roads, beyond the quiet farmlands and sparse watchtowers, the terrain became rough — a rocky forested region where low-tier monsters still roamed.
Noel ran once he cleared the last guard post.
With his Adept-level mana core, his speed was near inhuman. Trees blurred past as he sprinted with Revenant Fang strapped across his back and his pouch of supplies bouncing lightly at his hip.