Arthfael finally returned from Gerhard's place after the man decided to meet Gerhard alone without being accompanied by his other friends. When Arthfael arrived, he saw Camilla immediately turn around upon hearing the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs in the inn.Camilla rushed towards Arthfael and hugged him, saying, "Ah, thank goodness you're back! I was worried something happened to you, Arthfael!" she exclaimed.Arthfael was confused why Camilla suddenly hugged him. His gaze turned to Ian and Zeke, who were both looking at him. They even simultaneously shrugged their shoulders, not knowing why Camilla hugged him like that.After hugging Arthfael tightly, Camilla finally let go and looked at him. The woman immediately inspected Arthfael's hand, making sure there were no new wounds."Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Camilla asked."No, he didn't. Maybe we should discuss this over a meal? Do you want to dinner outside? I heard there's a new restaurant nearby," Arthfael

Arthfael unsheathed his newly acquired Moonfall sword from its scabbard. Then, he threw the empty scabbard in a random direction and his eyes instantly sharpened.Seeing Arthfael getting serious, an old man named Gerhard immediately flashed a smile. Just like Arthfael, he also raised his sword towards Gerhard, fueling Arthfael's enthusiasm even more."I won't hold back in attacking you, Arthfael," Gerhard said."Thank you for that. It's what I expected," Arthfael replied.The two men, prepared and facing each other, finally began to prepare to attack. Eventually, Arthfael took the initiative and launched an attack on Gerhard.Gerhard quickly defended against the attacks aimed at him. He easily evaded and parried every strike from Arthfael. Despite his old age, he possessed considerable experience. One of his skills, the sword technique, had not been practiced in a long time.Gerhard's defense was impenetrable to Arthfael. Even when Arthfael attempted different techniques and attacked

The SS level monster named Naiadrex immediately attacked Arthfael with its water power, and as a result, Arthfael's body instantly became soaking wet. Not stopping there, the monster prepared a giant water ball to throw at Arthfael, leaving him staring at it in disbelief."Oh shit! Is he going to throw that at me?!" exclaimed Arthfael.He turned to look in Gerhard's direction, but unfortunately, the man had already disappeared and hidden somewhere. Arthfael could only avoid the attack as Naiadrex threw the giant water ball towards him."Focus on the battle in front of you and don't get distracted by anything else!" shouted Naiadrex, then threw the water ball towards Arthfael.Arthfael jumped to the other side, rolling and gasping for breath. He looked at Naiadrex, who failed to hit him with the giant water ball and seemed to sink into the ground.Now, Arthfael could only wait for the monster to reappear. He remained vigilant of his surroundings, remembering Gerhard's advice to focus a

The next day... As requested by Gerhard earlier, Arthfael arrived with Flare at the training grounds. The phoenix bird seemed very excited about the training session it would undergo with Arthfael. Especially in the past two weeks, Arthfael had only been allowed to train alone without inviting anyone else.Not only Flare wanted to watch Arthfael train, but also Camilla, Ian, Zeke, and Valentina. However, unfortunately, only Flare was allowed to train alongside Arthfael.Gerhard had his reasons for prohibiting Arthfael's friends from coming. The old man simply didn't want to disturb Arthfael's concentration during training. Moreover, according to Gerhard, Arthfael still had a long way to go before being ready to fight Venomweaver.Just like a regular training session, Arthfael arrived in the morning with Flare and they met at the hill where they usually trained. When Flare set foot on the spot, the bird momentarily stopped, sensing the aura of an SS-level monster nearby."What's wrong

Every muscle in Arthfael's body felt pulled from various sides after being continuously thrown and attacked by Neptunis. The training this week felt even heavier than before.If he were to fight Gerhard, Arthfael might only suffer minor attacks that wouldn't be fatally detrimental, but this time, facing the Naiadrex monster, his body seemed ready to shatter at any moment."Is your body still in pain?" Flare asked, flying beside Arthfael as they walked towards the lodging place."Yeah, that's right. My body feels like it's about to crumble and explode," Arthfael lazily replied.His legs felt tense, and it was even difficult to move them. Arthfael's steps became slower and slower."Do you want to try drinking my tears? It seems like it can reduce the pain in your body," Flare offered himself to Arthfael.Upon hearing that, Arthfael immediately stopped and looked at Flare with an incredulous gaze. Of course, he felt disgusted, even though phoenix tears could heal wounds, but he didn't wa