Ezra gulped instinctively as he opened his mouth to breathe. The sudden drop disoriented him, causing him to splash around helplessly for the first few seconds. The freezing cold water chilled Ezra to the bone. It was as if he was swimming in a pool full of ice. His clothes were completely drenched by now, and the added weight dragged him down. Ezra looked around frantically, trying to locate the shore, but the only dry land around him were the steep rocky cliffs surrounding the lake. He knew there was no way he could climb the cliff faces without any tools, but staying in this water for too long was going to kill him for sure. To warm his body, Ezra started paddling with his legs and swimming across the lake. He went between the ragged cliffs and finally managed to find a piece of flat land. Passing between the rocky outgrowths jutting out of the lakebed, Ezra swam through the fluorescent reeds and dragged his body to the shore. Once on dry land, Ezra took off his jacket and unbu

The spirit of the defeated Basilisk returned to the sapphire ring lying on the ground, awakening it from its dormant state. Ezra slowly walked up the magic circle and picked up the ring. He slipped it on the middle finger of his right hand and held it up to admire its dazzling beauty. [Speckled Green Basilisk has been soul-bound.] [Spectral Companion tamed successfully.] As Ezra touched the ring with his thumb again, it teleported him back to his own world. Once Ezra was back in the basement of their mansion, Marlin’s cursed eye and mouth popped open. “I hate silencing spells!” Those were the first words that came out of Marlin’s mouth. He sounded more irritated than angry, but gradually calmed down when he noticed the ring glowing on Ezra’s finger. “Congratulations! It would appear that you have successfully completed the trial and got yourself a new pet!” Ezra did not miss the opportunity to hit back at Marlin for his previous taunts. “I suppose I am worthy after all. This

Aurelia did not want to stir any panic among the residents of Aranor as it would spoil the festive spirit, but she knew they had to act quickly if they wanted to save the children. Instead of informing Lord Sebastian or seeking the help of the town guards, Aurelia chose to rely only on Ezra. “I have a feeling this might turn into a monster hunt. I’ll get the horses ready and you can go and buy some potions and supplies in the meantime,” Aurelia said to Ezra before regrouping with the villagers outside the tavern. Ezra restocked on healing and magic restoration potions and also grabbed a few grapeshot bombs from the store. As the clock struck twelve, Ezra and Aurelia mounted their horses accompanied by the villagers. Together they headed out from the east gate of Aranor and rode hard down the snaking dirt road that passed through the tribal settlements. Although traveling in a carriage would have been a lot more comfortable, Aurelia ditched the luxury in favor of stallions because

Having dealt with the Drekavac Fledglings, Ezra started looking for the missing children. But all he found were old, rotting corpses that had been buried here many months ago. The Drekavacs had dug up some of the more recent mounds and pulled out the villagers whose bodies had not fully decomposed yet. However, there was no sign of any fresh kill. “Are you sure these creatures wanted to feed on the children?” Marlin asked. “What do you mean?” Ezra asked. “What else would they need the children for?” “Well, necrophages are known to feed on dead, decaying corpses. They usually do not like attacking the living,” Marlin replied. “These ones are different,” Ezra answered as he continued to look around the headstones. “Drekavacs like preying on the weak and helpless. They like feeding on the soft flesh of infants.” Ezra searched the whole graveyard for the children, but he could not find any clues that would lead him in the right direction. Suddenly, something clicked in Ezra’s head.

The Primal Drekavac pulled its lips back and bared its fangs at Aurelia, hoping to intimidate her, but she remained unmoved. Locking her eyes on her target, she fired her weapon. Bang! The golden orb decimated the Drekavac Fledglings within the frontal cone of Aurelia’s vision, but the Primal Drekavac survived, sustaining minor second-degree burns. “It looks like you are quite well-fed, big boy,” Aurelia smiled and holstered her gun. Before she could replenish her magic power, the Drekavacs standing around pounced upon her. Their razor-sharp claws were about to rip her open when she touched her rose-shaped pendant. Aurelia’s Spectral Companion materialized with a burst of white light, cocooning her inside a divine magic barrier. The Drekavacs, which had dared to pounce upon her, were vaporized in an instant, and the light emitted by the magic shell pushed the others back, dazzling their eyes. Blinded by the intense radiance, even the Primal Drekavac had no choice but to slowly b