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nEldrian looked at the dead goblin knight in shock, unable to accept it. The ending was just too simple for him to accept. He had fought so hard, with all he had. Yet what ended it was an arrow from Terlas, not him managing to finally kill the goblin.

nWhile it would not have been a solo kill, Eldrian felt it would have been really close to one. He had only received some help from Floyd, and a little at the start from Terlas. But he felt the latter only helped him recover since he had focused on helping Vivian at the start.

nHis thoughts reaching this point, caused him to snap out of it and rush towards Vivian.

"How is she?

" He asked Floyd as he kneeled and looked at her.

nShe looked really bad, even with Floyd having been healing her since the fight had started going their way. She still had many cuts all over her body and her clothes were almost no more. Only barely holding on in tatters which covered just enough to not call her nude. One would not be wrong to call it basically a bikini with some hanging fabric.

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"She is doing fine, but she is exhausted. Her wounds weren't too bad, but it will take her some time to wake.

" Floyd replied, relieving the last of Eldrian's angst. Floyd was still busy healing her, having only helped the others with some buffs. Rushing towards Vivian to stabilize her condition as soon as he could.

nHe might be able of resurrecting someone, but it did not always work. He also would only have a few minutes during which he would be able to try. It was much safer to save someone from dying in the first place.

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"Thank you,

" Eldrian whispered as he finally felt all the exhaustion rush into him, causing him to almost fall over. If he had not been kneeling, he would have fallen.

nGasping for air, he went onto all fours. His body shaking as the tax of the fight rushed into him now that the adrenaline was leaving his body.

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"What?

" Floyd exclaimed after examining Eldrian.

"You are almost as tired as her.

"

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"What?

" Eldrian replied softly, feeling that he was slowly losing consciousness.

"Shit...

"

nEldrian barely managed to say the last word as he fell down and everything became dark.

n...

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"Again?

" Terlas asked in a complaint as he joined the others around Vivian and Eldrian.

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"Seems like this is something common for him, I wonder why,

" Floyd replied as he stood up and look over everyone else.

nHe quickly stepped up and started healing Sabrea, who was also not in the best shape. She had many new wounds that her recovering ability could not even start to heal. Floyd estimated that she was around close to falling unconscious herself. Something which would really hurt the group, they had to get away from here.

nAfter making sure that she would not drop down, Floyd moved on to heal Cephaphyr.

nCephaphyr having ignored his own condition since he had seen Eldrian fall down. This had happened while they were still fighting, but only Cepaphyr and Floyd had know of it right as it happened.

nThis had distracted Cephaphyr enough to allow those he had been fighting to run away. No one chased, prioritizing their members over killing an extra goblin.

nYet this meant they were certainly not safe and had to move.

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"What now?

" Terlas asked, staring at the two who needed to be carried out. There was also the fact that they had no idea where to go. They could remember some of the caves and tunnels, but not the entire way. Having left this to Eldrian, something everyone regretted at this stage.

nAt the start, they had tried to make marks to follow if Eldrian died. But after the third battle, which had led them some distance away from known ground, they had given up.

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"Let's at least go to a different room. I worry if that the goblins might come back.

" Sabrea said, picking up Vivian as she did. She carried her, while Terlas threw Eldrian onto Cephaphyr.

n...

nEldrian woke up around half an hour later. Looking around in agitation he quickly cast Floga to give himself some light. Relieved to see familiar faces around him as soon as the flame came to life.

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"Is Vi-

" He started asking, stumbling over his words as he thought of the worst.

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"She is fine, and now that you are here. We can get out of here.

" Margit replied, only her and Floyd with the two who had been unconscious.

nThe room they were in was small, only three or four meters wide. It had two entrances, Terlas and Sabrea each kept watch over one of them.

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"Good idea,

" Eldrian replied, calling out the map to find the way back.

nBefore he could analyze where they were he heard Cephaphyr talk to him, 'You scared me, why did you fall asleep?'

nStopping what he was doing Eldrian smiled slightly as he turned to see Cephaphyr lying next to the wall of the room. 'I don't know, but I don't think it is a large issue. Let's get out of here.'

nAfter replying, Eldrian looked at his map again. Slightly shocked to see that he was in an unknown room. The path the group took to get here was blacked out.

nLuckily this did not cause a big problem, they were near to the places which were actually shown on his map. The group also knew how to get back to the room, having made sure of this. They had made marks on their way here. Just in case this was needed, Floyd having had a feeling that Eldrian's map only worked while he saw the area.

nFollowing the marks, they quickly returned to the room where they had fought to save Vivian. From which Eldrian took the lead. On their way out they did not encounter any new goblins. Those they had fought still lying as they were. All their gear still there, informing the group that no other goblins had come past. They would always loot anything they could.

nOutside of the caves the group did not rest, nor return to their temporary camp. Instead, they headed straight for the glade, Eldrian hoping to ask Zamia to ensure that Vivian was safe and fully healed.

nUpon reaching the glade, they were all surprised at the difference between when they had last been here and now. When they had left, just a few days ago, the place had been full of magical beasts.

nMany Unicorns, Pegasuses, and Alicrons had filled the area along with their young. The younger ones playing around, while the elders simply enjoyed the sun.

nNow instead the glade was empty, just a few Alicorns left. From hundreds to just under twenty.

n'I see you have found your friend.' Zamia said, leaving the group she had been part of. Everyone still here, was busy discussing their war plans. They no longer felt like holding up in their forest was a safe option.

nThey had thought that all the Kako leaders would avoid bothering them since doing so would lead to massive losses. While this was true for both sides, it certainly would not be worth it for the Kako. Alicorns were certainly not a race you wanted to bother, much like the saying; Don't wake a sleeping dragon. This also went for Alicorns.

nThey had been woken.

n'Yes! Luck, mostly.' Eldrian replied as everyone else left to give them space to talk. They could not hear and were not included in the conversation, but it did not bother them. They only wished to be allowed to return to their original mission. Having found Vivian, they now wished to head back.

n'Still, you have done what I had thought would take weeks... In just a few days.'

n'The caves aren't cleared yet.' Eldrian countered, feeling like this is an important fact.

n'That does not matter, it was a test. To see if you were determined. Continuing will not prove this any longer, it would just pit you against those far stronger than you.'

n'It might still actually show us how determined you are, but it would be too dangerous for those with you. Especially when you no longer have a true reason to do this.' Came Agamemas's voice, surprising Eldrian.

nLooking towards Agamemas, who was now standing next to his wife, Eldrian was even more shocked. The first thing drawing his attention was that Agamemas's horn was broken. The next thing was that his coat had turned slightly darker. It used to be pure white, now instead it had a tiny shade of gray mixed in.

n'We do not need to test you more,' Agamemas continued, 'We saw your potential in the two major fights you had. Managing to hold out so long against a Tier 6 Oni is certainly a great credit. Only those with extremely good fighting instincts would be able to do that. Yet you showed this again when fighting against the Tier 5 goblin knight.'

n'How?' Eldrian wished to ask how they knew of both. He was certain they had not been nearby.

n'That does not matter, the fact is that we deemed you to be worthy of bonding with Cephaphyr. But not now, not at your current Tier.' Zamia replied, instead of Agamemas.

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