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nFelix was disheartened, but Sylvester was strict with him. He genuinely liked Felix as a friend and didn’t want him to die an untimely death as a virgin. So, he forced him to sit down and memorise everything possible there.

nThis way, as long as someone didn’t completely overpower him, he’d always have a way out of a situation.

n“This will be the death of me. How do you expect me to remember all these?” Felix asked as he flipped through the pages.

n“It’s easy, Felix. Most of these are not even complex. Some are as simple as ‘You stepped on an ice sheet that covered a deep ravine.’ The scenario is simple, but it can have various implications. For example, are you fit, are you injured, what magic to use, and as such.”

n“Fine, I will try,” Felix grumbled. He sat down by Sylvester’s study table and started reading the pages silently.

nSylvester went out to see how his mother was doing since Isabella had gone to her classes to study magic and a unique course on administrative theory.

n“How are you? You want me to move you back to your room?” He asked Xavia while she sat in her wheelchair on the open balcony. She was looking outside at the sun and basking in its warmth. So he also dragged a chair and sat beside her. 𝒷𝒹ℴ𝓿𝓁.𝓬𝓸𝓂

nHer arms had thankfully become strong enough to push the chair, so her daily schedule was mainly about waking up, getting fresh, eating food, and then staying in the wheelchair to move around the house. Of course, the trainee Bright Mother, Anya, would also come from time to time.

n“I’m fine, Max. But I wanted to ask you something. When do you think we will be able to live without fear?”

n‘Is the pressure getting to her head? Or perhaps it’s the boring nature of staying tied to a chair.’ Sylvester felt worried for Xavia’s mental health.

n“I think the day I become the strongest being in the world; we will have some peace. After all, then there will be nobody who could trouble us. But why are you asking this, mum? Did you have a nightmare or something?” He asked and took her hand in his.

nShe looked down at his hand and caressed it slowly. “Dear, I am just wondering how long I can live naturally. You will likely live for hundreds of years, but I… I’m afraid I will never get to see that peace or live in it.”

nHonestly, Sylvester had no idea what to say. He didn’t want to promise anything, no matter how much he wanted things to go his way. Heck, he didn’t even know if he’d see the light of the next day, let alone the future.

n“Mum, I don’t know what to say. The fact is that, as of now, I’m extremely weak in terms of the real powerful people’s scale. There are thousands of people in the world who can easily stomp me, kill me. Anything could happen in an instant. Everything can blow to smithereens.”

nHe clenched her hand tighter and looked at the distant sun. “What we can do is live this moment to the best of our ability. After all, no one can see tomorrow. No one can ever know what’s to come. Who knows, it’ll be you who outlives me… Anything is possible.”

nShe sighed and shook her head firmly. “No, don’t say that. I don’t want to imagine that. The greatest pain a parent can feel is performing the last rites of their child. It’s a curse I don’t wish upon even my enemies.”

nSylvester chuckled and stood up to push her chair inside as he had to cook dinner in advance. “Hah, then you better give your all to get stronger. I will write down a training plan for you. Zeke can be a great training partner for you.”

nKnock! Knock!

n“Speak of the devil!” Sylvester opened the door and found Isabella and Zeke there.

nBut, there was a third person behind Zeke, standing silently and respectfully, bowing his head to Sylvester. “It’s a pleasure to see you, Lord Bard.”

n“Come on. We’re brothers for life! Come here and give me a hug. Also, call me Sylvester.” Sylvester rushed up and hugged the man nearly the same age as him. “So, what brought Augustus Steel, the famed exorcist, to this humble bard?”

nAugustus Steel was a good friend of Sylvester from the days of School of Dawn. Augustus was a boy who was talented enough to become a Grand Wizard one day in the future. But he did not care about any sides. He stayed neutral and rarely spoke with anyone. Still, Sylvester struck up a friendship with him. And now, Augustus was one of the only graduates of the class of God’s Favoured.

nThe brown-haired, black-eyed, and stoic-faced boy had grown into a fine man by now, as he appeared taller and stronger.

n“I brought some fruits for Mother Xavia.” Augustus forwarded a basket of fruits. “I heard what happened.”

nSeeing that, Sylvester felt much more optimistic about the man since even though he was a loner, Augustus had the decency to know how to act in different cases.

n“Thank you, Augustus. She’s getting better, albeit slowly. Come in. Felix is here as well.” Sylvester called him in and shouted for Felix to come and greet him.

nSoon, they all sat in the living room while Isabella and Xavia went to the kitchen to make some snacks. It was mostly Xavia teaching Isabella about everyday chores. Although destined to become queen, Isabella wanted to learn all that to stay humble and know the struggles of commoners. Though the truth was, in the Holy Land, she lived in more luxury than many nobles.

nOutside, Sylvester spoke with his good friend. He had already smelled his emotions. It was full of hope and doubt. But about what? That was the real question.

n“So, how can I help you?” He asked.

nAugustus was not a man who smiled very much. Although he was only a year older than Sylvester, his demeanour had stayed that of a grown, traumatised adult from the day he joined the school. But the strange thing was, Augustus’ family was quite normal—a simple family of traders, well off in any way possible.

nAugustus forwarded a file. “I know as God’s Favoured candidates, we are meant to compete with each other. But you’re the best expert in bloodlings I know of, so I hope you can help.”

n“Nonsense!” Sylvester exclaimed. “Who even cares about that? We’re friends, and friends always help each other. Let me read this report, and you tell me what’s the problem at the same time.”

nSylvester tried to stay good to people like Augustus for one reason only—Talent. Like the rest of God’s Favoured candidates, Augustus had high possible talent. That meant that even if they didn’t become true God’s Favoured, they were destined to become a Guardian of Light. And Sylvester knew that he’d need the support of these Guardians in the future.

nSylvester read the report diligently and listened to Augustus as well. “How are you sure it’s a bloodling?”

n“Because they are known to hold enough mental capacity to plan something like this. What else can it be if not it? It’s a case of a single village in the middle of nowhere that decided to pray to the evil bloodling for protection. Baroness Martha of that area had requested the church to deal with it. Initially, the job was to check on it only. But then my entire team got killed, and I could not exorcise the evil.” Augustus revealed.

nSylvester hummed and thought about it. “Well, if it’s a bloodling, then the Light Magic is its bane.”

n“That’s why I’ve come to you, Sylvester. You’re the strongest Light Wizard that I know. Do you think there is any way to kill this thing?” Augustus asked politely.

nBut what Sylvester couldn’t understand was why Augustus was even taking such a tough job. “This is likely an S-Grade assignment. So why are you taking it?”

n“To improve myself. I’ve been stuck in my Master Wizard rank’s fifth level for a while now, and I need to push myself.”

n‘Lies! Why is he lying? But I don’t smell any hatred or negative emotions towards me, so this isn’t a plot. But why is he lying to himself then?’ Sylvester sensed a great many things.

n“Well, that’s good. But there is no one universal way to kill a bloodling. Every Bloodling is unique and has different powers and weaknesses. For example, some could be restricted to water, or some could be afraid of fire. So the best way to kill a bloodling is first to analyse it and then improvise the attack to kill it. Or, if you’re as strong as a Grand Wizard, then you can just wave your hand,” Sylvester advised truthfully.

nBut simultaneously, he kept a keen eye on Augustus’ expressions. ‘Confusion, but he has no fear. This is amazing.’

n“Thank you for the advice, Sylvester. I will return to gather more information.” Augustus stood up to leave.

n“Wait!” Sylvester had other, more selfish, plans. “I will come with you. I enjoy killing bloodlings; they are good boosters to one’s abilities.”

nOf course, Sylvester’s main goal was to push Augustus to take his name out of the race to become God’s Favoured. That was Sylvester’s only way to clear the hurdle for his promotion. Because once he’s finalised as God’s Favoured, nobody in the world would be able to object to his achievements and promotion.

n‘I only have to make him feel how insignificant he is in front of my power. I believe he’s smart enough to know when to back down.’

n“You would? But why?”

nSylvester walked closer to him and patted his shoulder. “For the glory of the lord, of course. I am still a Grand Crusader, although the Crusade will soon be called off. So, it’s my duty to hunt down the bloodlings. But I will have to take permission from the Pope first, so I hope you can wait a week.”

nAugustus showed a rare smile and agreed. “I think I can wait that long, Sylvester. I will see you in a week then.”

nSylvester didn’t ask him to stay and let him leave. By then, Felix also decided to head to his dorm room and study the documents in peace.

nAfter that, Sylvester quickly went to do his cooking and returned to the room to pack his items for the day’s training with the Pope. Sadly, Sylvester couldn’t take Miraj with him.

n“Chonky, you stay a good boy and keep mum safe, understood?”

nMiraj stood on his hind legs and saluted. “Aye, Aye, Maxy! Big mum is my duty. But I’m bored… When do we go on another adventure?”

nSylvester caressed Miraj’s head and grinned. “In a week, we will go on bloodling hunting again. Though I hope I find some sparse skygems this time as well. Like when we killed the bloodling near… Sphynx Town.”

n“Why? Are they tasty?”

n“You don’t remember? We even vomited after licking it. But they are extremely durable and even better absorbers of solarium. Just imagine if I can create a magical armour out of it—I will be invincible.”

nA

/N: Skygem was first mentioned in chapter 124.

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n700 GT = 1 Bonus chapter.

n1 Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.

nApe Together Strong

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