Ch. 261: Chapter 261 -270

Chapter 261 Souls That Burned Brightly [Part 1]

"Wow! What an unexpected turn!" a lady commentator who went by the name, Violet, said with excitement.

She had been personally invited by Bruno to become the commentator for the final match, but due to the fact that they feared the battle would be over in an instant, she was placed on standby.

Now that something unexpected happened, Bruno had given her the signal to do her job and hype the crowd that was watching the Final Match of the Lionheart Tournament.

"All of us thought that this will be an instant victory for Lux… I mean, My Daddy, but lo and behold, Cai has given us an unexpected surprise! Now, let's see what My Daddy will do to counter this change in the flow of battle!"

Lux stared at the four-meter tall Boar, who had taken an entirely different form from the one he was used to seeing.

Cai now looked more ferocious and intimidating like never before and the presence it radiated was that of a Rank 4 Field Monster that was capable of annihilating an entire adventurer party composed of Grade A Apostles if they were not careful with their approach.

"I know that you're still suffering from the backlash against your fight against Nero, but I will not show you any mercy," Cai declared. "Surrender now or face my might!"

Instead of answering, Lux summoned another Rock Golem by his side.

Orion, who was holding Lux, gently passed the Half-Elf to the other Rock Golem so he could fight against Cai with all of its strength.

When it came to individual strength, Orion was the strongest unit under Lux's command, if we were talking about pure raw power.

However, even the rock golem's strength was not enough to contend against a Mutated Rank 4 Field Monster alone.

With a resounding roar, Orion charged towards the Spiked Boar, who just snorted and charged at the Golem who dared to challenge its might.

Once again, Orion's hard fist collided with Cai's tusk, but this time, Orion was pushed back after exchanging blows with Cai.

It was clear for everyone to see that the Boar had surpassed the Golem in strength, and used it to its advantage.

"Giga Slam!" Cai roared as he smashed his tusk into Orion's body, sending the Rock Golem skidding a few meters away.

In response, Orion smashed the ground, creating Earth Spikes to jut off the ground, but Cai held his ground.

The Earth Spikes tried to pierce through Cai's tough fur, but it was of no use.

The form that Cai had taken was the Field Boss, Hildisvíni.

It was a monster that had a tough exterior, allowing it to shrug off most attacks below the Initiate Rank. Since the Rock Golem wasn't of the Initiate Rank, and neither was Lux, Cai was confident that it could beat them even if Lux were to summon two more Orions to fight it.

"Did you see that?!" Violet exclaimed. "I've fought against Hildisvini once back when I was still starting in Elysium, and I can tell you that even two parties of Rank A Apostles wouldn't be able to beat it easily.

"When our guild fought against it, we needed at least a hundred-men party to fight the Field Monster before we managed to bring it down. However, during that battle, more than half of us were grievously injured, which proved just how strong this Boar-Type monster is!"

Cai roared as it once again charged, only this time, it ignored Orion and headed straight for the Half-Elf, who was currently being protected by the second Rock Golem under his command.

However, before he could even arrive a dozen meters away from its target, Cai's body swerved all of a sudden as its charge changed direction. Instead of the Half-Elf, it was now headed towards Orion whose rocky hands were faintly glowing.

"Gaia Smash!" Orion used his strongest skill in order to blow the Boar, who tried to attack its Master, away and give it a good beating.

Unfortunately for him, Cai was not a pushover that everyone originally thought it would be.

"You're so annoying!" Cai roared as it also used one of its strongest skills in order to teach the Rock Golem a lesson. "Giga Impact!"

A resounding clap spread across the arena as the two attacks met. A moment later, Orion's arm exploded into rocky bits as Cai's attack continued its trajectory, smashing into the Rock Golem's chest.

With a triumphant Roar, Cai smashed the rock golem in half. But it didn't stop there.

"Grand Slam!" Cai raised both of its hooves at the same time and slammed it towards Orion's upper body, smashing it into pieces.

Everyone who was watching the battle cheered for they never expected Cai to be this strong. Even Judge Dredd, Bruno, and to a certain extent, Violet, couldn't believe that the Boar had hidden this Trump Card for so long.

"It's over," Gilbert, who was watching from the contestants platform, said. "Lux is going to lose."

His words carried a tone of finality, which even Nero couldn't refute.

The brown-haired boy, who hated Lux with vengeance, simply stared at the Half-Elf who had lost its subordinate and was left with no choice but to face Cai alone.

"Mumumumu!" Eiko, who was perched on Iris' head, gritted her teeth. In truth, she badly wanted to enter the arena to help Lux fight his opponent, but Vera had told her not to do it.

Eiko was Lux's Beast Companion, so by rights, she had the qualifications to aid Lux in battle. However, the Half-Elf had told the baby Slime that under no circumstances must she interfere with his battle because this was something he wanted to do on his own.

"I'll tell you one last time. Surrender!" Cai shouted as it glared at the Half-Elf who was being protected by the Rock Golem.

"No," Lux replied. "If you want to win then you have to beat me thoroughly first."

"So be it," Cai commented. "I gave you plenty of chances to surrender. Let's end this!"

Cai stomped its foot on the ground and charged towards Lux with steam coming out of its body.

"Grand Charge!"

The Rock Golem pulled its arm back then smashed its fist towards the Boar who was only a few meters away from it. However, before doing so, it tossed Lux to the air, to prevent him from getting hurt from the collision.

A loud sound of a boulder being smashed to pieces spread in the arena, as Cai completely obliterated the Rock Golem with a single strike.

It then looked up at the Half-Elf who was falling from the sky, and prepared to swat him away like a bug to end the battle.

The Sorcerer, Garric, who was charged with preventing anyone from dying in the tournament, was paying very close attention to the falling Half-Elf. If he deemed that Lux's life was in danger, he would not hesitate to teleport him away, even if the red-headed teenager would hate him for life.

When the Half-Elf was only dozens of meters away from the ground, a pair of strong, and chubby arms caught him mid-air, preventing him from falling.

Pazuzu, Lux's Demonic Defender had made his appearance to answer his Master's call to fight.

"W-What is happening?!" Violet stuttered after seeing the Demonic Defender's face, who was scary enough to make children cry if they saw him. "Did someone suddenly interfere with the match?"

Bruno, who was seated beside her, shook his head.

"That is a summon," Bruno stated. "It is a creature Lux summoned just now to aid him in battle."

Cai snorted before it crouched down, aiming its spikes towards the flying Demonic Defender who was holding the person that it wanted to defeat.

"Fury Attack!"

A barrage of sharp spikes flew towards the direction of the Demonic Defender with the intention of blowing holes on its body. Cai knew that this was its opponent's last hurrah, so it decided to end the battle without holding back.

Before the sharp spikes were to even touch Pazuzu's body, a blue Tower Shield appeared in front of it, and blocked the incoming projectiles that were about to hit his body.

Several seconds later, the Blue Tower shield started to crack, which showed just how powerful Cai's attack was.

Fortunately, only after the last sharp spike collided with his shield did the blue Tower Shield shatter completely.

Cai smirked because it could already smell its victory. But just as it was about to attack again, a ringing sound similar to two metal weapons clashing against each other reverberated in the arena.

"Huh?" Cai glanced to its side and saw several Skeleton Fighters, who were wearing armor attacking the side of its body.

A moment later, several arrows descended from the sky, creating clinking sounds, as they bounced off Cai's tough exterior.

"T-This…" Violet's eyes widened in shock when she saw another unexpected scene inside the arena.

Thirty five Skeleton Fighters, thirty Skeleton Grand Archers, and a Skeletal Rider, who was riding on top of a Nightmare made its appearance in the arena.

Lux had finally decided to use his full powers to fight his opponent, which made everyone, who was fooled into thinking that he was a Summoner, finally realize what his true profession was.

"Necromancer," the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy, Alexander, muttered as he looked at the skeletons that Lux had summoned to fight for him.

He then shifted his gaze towards his mother, who was seated beside Iris. Alexander had paid close attention to Lux for the past sixteen years of his life, and never once did he find out that his mother's adoptive grandson was hiding this kind of secret.

Sensing his gaze, Vera gazed back at him with a mischievous smile. Although she knew that Lux's opponent was very strong, her faith never wavered.

In her eyes, her grandson was the best, and she looked forward to how the Half-Elf, who was barely able to keep his eyes open, would fight against his opponent whose strength far surpassed the creatures under his command.

Chapter 262 Souls That Burned Brightly [Part 2]

"A Necromancer?" Cai narrowed its eyes as it gazed at the group of Skeleton Fighters that were attacking its tough hide with their steel swords.

Due to its tough fur, the Skeleton fighters' attacks were at most tickling Cai's body, making the Boar snort in contempt. With a simple swipe of its tusks, the skeletons around him were sent flying, losing a third of their lives in the process.

"Is this all you got?" Cai asked. "I can do this all day."

Lux didn't answer Cai's taunt and simply used his skills to buff his Skeleton fighters.

"Improved Jade Body."

"Barbed Bones."

"Undying Fervor."

"Decaying Touch."

—-

When Lux upgraded his body constitution, the Immortal Dragon Conqueror Legacy, he gained several powerful skills alongside Dragon Scale and Dragon Heart, which were Undying Fervor, Corpse Explosion, and Decaying Touch.

—-

Undying Fervor [EX]

– Increase the Physical and Magical Damage of any Undying Creature under your command by 100%

– Increase the Physical and Magical Defense of any Undying Creature under your command by 100%

– Increase Health and Mana regeneration of any Undying Creature under your command by 100%

—-

Decaying Touch [EX]

– Has a 20% chance to inflict Decay on your target with every strike.

– Has a 10% chance to inflict Weakness on your target with every strike.

– Has a 10% chance to inflict Disease on your target with every strike.

Decay – Deals 100 True Damage every 3 seconds for 12 seconds.

Weakness - reduce your target's Physical and Magical defense by 20%.

Disease - decrease your target's attack speed, movement speed, mana regeneration, health regeneration, and evasion by 20%

– If Disease skill is active, increase Decay's True Damage by 200 every 3 seconds for 15 seconds.

—--

After receiving Lux's buffs, the Skeleton units under his command turned incredibly menacing.

The Skeletons grew barbed spikes on their bodies made up of bones. These spikes dealt 10 Piercing True Damage to anyone that attacked them.

Although 10 damage seemed like an insignificant number, the amount would still stack up every time any of them got hit, making them very thorny opponents.

Also, l their attacks were infused with Decaying Touch, which allowed their blows to ignore defense and deal true damage once it activated.

Just as Cai was feeling the pricklyness of its opponents, several ice arrows landed on its body, making it feel a chilling cold.

Ishtar, Lux's Skeleton Hunter, had finally arrived on the scene. Her appearance made the Boar's life extremely more difficult because. As a Skeleton Hunter, her abilities were perfect for hunting. Slowing the prey down before going in for the kill.

"Dammit!" Cai, who was being attacked on all sides, was starting to get angry. Although the damage that was being dealt to it was small, it didn't change the fact that the Skeletons were quite aggressive in their attacks, targeting the Boar in places that made it infuriated, like its eyes, ears, and nostrils.

"You won't beat me even with this much!" Cai shouted as it trampled, smashed, bashed, stomped, and bit the Skeletons that were attacking it on all sides, making them shatter into a pile of bones.

However, before the Boar could feel better about its accomplishments, Lux resummoned his minions again, causing Cai to roar in anger.

Summoning his ordinary minions didn't have any cooldown time, so it was fairly easy for Lux to continuously revive the ones that had been killed.

As for his Named Creatures, all of them had a five-minute cooldown, but this cooldown would start the moment they were summoned. Meaning, if Diablo were to be killed after his skill finished its cooldown, the Skeleton Rider could be resummoned again for a second time without any problems.

Seeing that there was no end to the Skeleton's madness, Cai decided to ignore them and just focused on attacking Lux.

The problem was that Lux was in the air, and aside from the Fury Attack, it only had one more ability that could hit targets that were out of reach. The only drawback was that this attack had a five minute cooldown time.

Cai was reluctant to use it because the possibility of Lux evading it was high, making its Trump Card useless.

"If you've got guts come down here and fight me!" Cai roared in a challenging tone.

Lux only smiled as if he found Cai's words funny.

Necromancers didn't usually engage in close combat. They would usually hide behind their Skeleton Armies and let the Skeletons do the fighting for them. The Half-Elf was an exception since he had been trained as a warrior long before he became a Necromancer, making him proficient in close combat and group warfare.

As if ridiculing Cai's attempt to force him to go down on the ground, two clones appeared on Pazuzu's shoulders and sat there.

A second later, the number of Skeletons that Cai was fighting at the same time tripled, but this time around, three more Rock Golems joined the fray, making the Boar almost spit blood in frustration.

"Damn it all!" Cai shouted when the Skeleton army charged at its body and hacked it with all of their might. A small hill made up of bones could be seen at the center of the arena, as the Skeleton Fighters covered the Boar's body, while repeatedly stabbing it with their swords.

"Don't underestimate me!"

A shockwave blasted away all the skeletons that had piled on top of the Boar whose body had turned completely red.

"Hyper Blast!

A silver beam of magical energy shot out of Cai's mouth and flew towards Pazuzu, who was hovering above the arena. The Boar had waited for the perfect opportunity to strike, while it was being gangbanged by the Skeletons that totaled to almost two hundred.

Seeing the beam of light approaching him, Pazuzu didn't even bother to use his shield to block. Instead, he used his skill, Madlad Rush, to fly as fast as he could to evade Cai's attack that was filled with its hate and frustration.

The beam passed a meter away from the Demonic Defender and easily destroyed the barrier that was set up in the arena.

Fortunately, the beam was shot upwards, so there was no danger of the audience getting hit.

After the attack ended, the boar was once again covered by countless Skeletons that relentlessly hacked it without fear of dying.

The glowing embers in their eyes grew in intensity, as if they were souls that burned brightly, which made Cai, who looked down on them earlier, start feeling intimidated by their dauntless attacks. Was it because they didn't fear death?

The clones that sat on Pazuzu's shoulders weren't being idle either. They used their range spells, Void Arrows, as well as Spinning Blades to make Cai's life more difficult.

Only the boar's angry squealing reverberated in the arena as its strength, health, will, and determination slowly deteriorated.

Nero, who was watching this battle, clenched his fist in anger. He had thought that Lux had fought against him using his full power, but the scene reflected in his eyes proved otherwise.

Even Gilbert, who thought that the battle was as good as over, sucked in a cold breath as the Skeletons relentless attacks overwhelmed the Rank 4 Field Monster, who could only be defeated by a hundred-men team that specialized in taking down Boss Monsters.

"I don't know about any of you, but I certainly don't want to be in the same arena as those Skeletons," Violet commented as Cai's desperate squealing reached everyone's ears. "I really hate fighting the Undead. Sometimes, it takes more than killing them to kill them permanently."

Gilbert, Natasha, Rainer, as well as the other Guardians of Wildgarde Stronghold, who had come to watch the tournament in Barbatos Academy, all had solemn expressions on their faces.

In their eyes, Lux was similar to a Raid Team that could take down high level Dungeons in order to gain resources, as well as kill the Boss Monsters—whose materials were sought after by merchants, blacksmiths, and even collectors, who would then buy them at a high price.

They didn't dare to think about what Lux could become if he became a Ranker in Elysium.

A Necromancer that had become a Ranker was a terrible opponent because they could summon hundreds, and even thousands, of Undead in battle.

The scary part was that those who died fighting them, would suddenly rise up from the dead and attack their former comrades, repeating the process over and over again.

There were still a few famous Necromancers in Elysium, and all of them held vast swaths of territories.

No one dared to fight them because they understood that before they could reach the Necromancer, they would have to face their Skeleton Summons, whose ferocity was far greater than the ferocity that Lux's skeletons were exuding right now.

Chapter 263 Glory He So Rightfully Deserved

Cai annoyance had long surpassed its limit. If in the past, it only felt tickled when it was being hacked by the Skeletons or pelted by their arrows, now, it was suffering for real.

The buffs Lux activated had turned his Skeletons into very thorny and nasty opponents, inflicting true damage, decay, and other status debuffs to the Boar, who was now losing its health points at a rapid pace.

The two enemies it was most wary of were none other than Diablo and Ishtar, two among Lux's Named Creatures whose strength had far surpassed those of his ordinary Summons. They had come to answer their Master's call and fight for his and his step-sister's happiness.

Diablo's attacks ignored defense, giving the Boar a world of pain each time the Skeleton Rider slashed his body. All of his attacks were infused with the Ethereal Element, making it ignore any kind of defenses.

Ishtar, on the other hand, would rain arrow after arrow to slow Cai's movements with the power of ice. The constant barrage was making it difficult for the Boar to have any breathing space, while it was being hacked, and shot at from all sides.

"Get off me, you damned Skeletons!" Cai shouted as it used its entire body to blow away the skeletons that were swarming it.

Some of them shattered, and some of them stood back up and continued to fight. With every Skeleton that died, Lux would summon another, making Cai feel as if it was facing a hopeless situation.

The worse matter that made it weep bitter tears was that with each Skeleton's death, it could feel Diablo's attacks getting stronger.

Diablo was wearing the Blackrock Legacy Set Armor, which gave him and his allies a massive boost in their overall offensive power. Cai had become hard-pressed enduring their attacks, which were now starting to take a toll on its body.

—--

< Warlord's Warcry >

– Increase the Physical and Magical Damage of all allied creatures by 200 Points.

< Warlord's Presence >

Your presence in the battlefield inspires your allies and makes them do well in battle.

– 10% Increase to Physical and Magical attack to the Warlord and its allies.

< Bloody Fervor >

Your physical and defensive abilities increase with each slain creature in the battlefield.

– For every slain creature in the battlefield, your attack and defense points will increase by five.

—--

Warlord's Warcy, Warlord's Presence, and Bloody Fervor.

These three abilities that came along with the prided armor of the Blackrock Clan truly shone on the battlefield.

Diablo, who commanded the Undead Army, faced Cai head-on from time to time whenever it would use a powerful attack.

His Duel [EX] Skill kept interrupting the Boar from casting its hard-hitting spells, further infuriating it.

Even Iris, who wanted her step-brother to win, found Cai's current situation truly pitiful.

The Boar's curses, shouts, and squeals of pain were the only consistent things in the arena, as well as the one-sided beating that the Skeletons were giving it.

Five minutes later, Cai's misery intensified when Lux had once again summoned Orion, who was out for vengeance.

The Rock Golem was a Revenger. Once he was killed by an enemy, the next time he appeared, he would gain a massive boost in his stats, making those who killed him regret their decision.

—-

< Revenger >

– Regardless of what happens in the future, this Named Creature will be forever loyal to you.

– All attacks made by Orion will deal extra damage as his health decreases.

100% Health = Normal Damage

80% Health = Increase damage by 25%

60% Health = Increase Damage by 50%

40% Health = Increase Damage by 75%

20% Health - Increase Damage by 200%

– When Orion is killed by an enemy, he will add the name of that creature to his Revenge List. The next time he faces the same enemy, all of his stats will increase by 200%

– The Revenger ability will apply to all types of monster. For example, if he was killed by a Red Dragon, the next time he faces a Red Dragon, his overall stats would increase by 200% upon meeting the creature on his revenge list.

– If Orion is killed by the same creature again, he would gain an additional 10% stacking bonus to the overall increase of his Stat Points, whenever he faces the same enemy.

Note: Vengeance is always an option!

—--

Cai's massive body skidded several meters away when the Rock Golem charged at it and gave it a mighty kick.

The Boar cried out of pain, as it was helplessly swarmed once more by the Skeletons who were like Soldier Ants, storming the prey that they had targeted.

"You forced me!" Cai roared as it used its tusk to blow away the Skeletons that were swarming it.

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind enveloped its body, preventing any skeletons from approaching it.

"Third Gea–."

Before Cai could use its ultimate Trump Card, it felt its body surged forward. Orion had engaged it in a duel.

The Rock Golem clearly felt the threat that Cai was about to unleash, so before it could do anything, he decided to cancel the Boar's third transformation, preventing it from becoming more formidable than it already was.

At the same time, the two clones that were sitting on top of Pazuzu's shoulders opened their mouths as two orbs of magical energy appeared in front of it.

""Dragon's Breath!""

"Gaia Smash!"

"Bone Spear!"

"Tempest Arrow!"

Lux's clones, as well as his Named Creatures unleashed their attacks at the same time, converging on the Boar's body as it helplessly charged towards its doom.

A powerful explosion shook the entire arena, as Cai's body was blown away from the impact of the combined assault of Lux's Summons.

The blow was so strong that the Boar's entire body smashed through the barriers until it fell out of the arena, rolling a few times on the ground before coming to a complete stop.

The giant boar's body was smoking, as the Clerics immediately went to its rescue.

The crowd all stood up and cheered, as they gave the Half-Elf a thunderous applause that seemed loud enough to make the entire Coliseum tremble.

"The Champion of the Lionheart Tournament is none other than Lux Von Kaizer!" Judge Dredd shouted as he pointed at the Half-Elf that was being carried by the Demonic Defender in the air.

Lux's gaze never wavered as he stared in the distance. However, those who were paying close attention to him already knew that he had lost consciousness some time ago, long before the battle had ended.

Summoning Orion was the last thing he did before he finally succumbed to the effect of the Abyss Corruption inside his body.

His sheer determination to see the battle through to the end kept his eyes open, despite the fact that he could no longer see anything.

As the crowd cheered his name, the Half-Elf remained motionless, unmoved by anything and everything around him.

Iris had tears in her eyes as she looked at the red-headed teenager, whom she had loved since she was young, as her grandmother wrapped her arms around her in a gentle and warm embrace.

Eiko, who was perched on top of Iris' head, looked at her Papa with pride. She had always believed in him, even though the hearts of others wavered after seeing the near-hopeless situation the Half-Elf found himself in.

High above the stands, Gilbert and Nero clenched their fists with burning determination. Right now, the only thing in their minds was to surpass the Half-Elf, who was currently basking in everyone's cheers and adoration.

They hoped that someday, they would stand in the same place as him.

High above the Coliseum, Alexander stood with his arms crossed behind his back. He gazed at his unconscious step-son with a calm expression on his face.

Alicia, who was standing beside him, didn't know what the Headmaster was thinking, but deep inside, she was happy that the Half-Elf had proven himself in front of Iris' father. The latter cared for the young man in his own way, despite the harsh facade he wore whenever the two of them met in the academy.

With the light shining upon him, Pazuzu gently raised one of Lux's hands high up in the air. Although his Master couldn't hear the thunderous cheers around him, he felt like this was the appropriate thing to do.

Seeing this gesture, the cheers and the applause became louder. Everyone who had come to watch the Lionheart Tournament and witnessed Lux's undying determination, paid their tribute to the Champion and showered him with the glory he so rightfully deserved.

Chapter 264 Cai’s Plan

A week has passed since the Lionheart Tournament finished, and countless members of the young generation, who had witnessed and participated in the tournament, brought the news of the exciting matches that they had seen throughout the duration of their stay home.

The funny thing was that the Champion's real name was set aside, and his alias, My Daddy, was spread far and wide. From the highest slope of the northern regions, to the farthest desert of the West, My Daddy's name resounded as it was sung by the bards, who wanted to share his story and achievement to the world.

Instead of a handsome red-headed Half-Elf, the Barbs told the tale of a chubby teenager with hair as black as the night, and light-brown eyes that could captivate those who stared into them.

The chubby people who heard this felt proud, thinking that one of them took one for the team and showed those with great bodies that even fatties like them could do great things when given the chance.

As his fame spread to distant lands, not just in Solais, but also in Elysium, the Half-Elf was still soundly asleep inside Iris' room and still hadn't woken up from his comatose state.

Natasha, who was Wildgarde Stronghold's High-Cleric, had diagnosed that Lux would only wake up anywhere between seven to fifteen days, as his body had to take its time to recover from the backlash of forcing himself to remain awake despite the fact that he was already suffering from the Abyssal Corruption inside his body.

Eriol had also warned him that he might enter a comatose state for more than a month if he forced himself in the tournament, but Lux didn't back down, willing to pay the price in order to protect his step-sister's happiness.

Against all odds, he had succeeded. In truth, before the match started, he made a request to Judge Dredd to not stop the match even if he lost consciousness.

The referee agreed on the condition that he would not stop the match as long as he deemed that Lux's summons could still fight. However, Judge Dredd made it clear that the moment he judged that Lux was not in any condition to defend himself, he would end the match and declare Cai as the Champion.

Lux agreed to this condition because this was already the best compromise that he could make with the referee of the tournament.

Fortunately, before he lost consciousness, the match was nearing its end, allowing him to become the Champion with everyone's blessings.

Alexander had only visited him once in the past week to check his condition. Aside from that single visit, he no longer went to check on the Half-Elf, even allowing him to stay inside Iris' room, so his daughter could take care of him.

The blue-haired beauty was more than happy to take care of the Half-Elf, even going as far as to wiping his body to make sure he was squeaky clean.

Eiko, who had witnessed her Papa's performance, spent her days munching on the Beast Cores that they had acquired from defending Whitebridge City against the Beast Tide. Naturally, this wasn't enough to give her a full upgrade, but Iris was more than happy to feed her more Cores, allowing her to Rank Up.

Just like Lux, Cai had also entered a comatose state because of the power of the Half-Elf's Abyss Touch.

However, to the High-Cleric's surprise, the Boar's regeneration and recovery rate far surpassed anything that they had seen, leaving Lux in the dust.

It was like the Abyss Corruption didn't want to linger in its body and left it after three days.

After recovering from its injuries, the Boar didn't leave right away and stayed in Barbatos Academy to look after Little Swordy, who was still unconscious. It also wanted to wait for Lux to wake up in order to properly congratulate him for winning the Lionheart Tournament.

"Um, one more plate of bacon please. And another serving of pork chops," Cai said to the waitress. "Put it on My Daddy's Tab, thank you."

The waitress smiled and nodded her head. The boar kept eating like there's no tomorrow, so they had to consult the Headmaster, Alexander, whether they should allow it to continue eating the way it did everyday or not.

Alexander's answer was crisp and firm.

"Put it on My Daddy's Tab."

After getting the go signal, the restaurant inside the academy treated Cai like a VIP, making the latter extremely happy to be able to eat for free.

In truth, they were also happy to host the First Runner Up of the tournament. Cai had not only become a mascot of the Lionheart Tournament, but also a celebrity. As the first runner up, the Boar had fought with everything it had, surpassing everyone's expectations.

"Cai, can I please have your autograph?" a pretty lady with blonde hair and green eyes asked the Boar who was munching on some bacon strips.

"Of course," Cai replied as it dipped its hoof on one of the sauces in the table and pressed it on the scroll that the pretty girl was holding.

"Thank you very much!"

"No problems. I love all of my fans."

The pretty girl giggled before kissing the Boar's cheek, leaving the restaurant with a smile. Half an hour later, Cai left the restaurant looking very satisfied as it strolled around the academy unhindered.

The students who saw it greeted it, and Cai returned their greetings with a polite greeting of its own.

'I wonder when Little Swordy and My Daddy will wake up,' Cai mused as it walked towards the training area of Barbatos Academy. 'I plan to invite them to the Rowan Tribe to see my Grandpa, so that they can get permission to enter the secret Dungeon that belongs to our faction in Elysium.'

'The slots are limited, so I need to bring strong fighters with me in order to clear it. I need to make sure that those other guilds from the six kingdoms will not be able to get the good stuff.'

One of the prizes given by the Tournament was a special badge that allowed the Champion to enter a special Dungeon that opened once a year in Elysium.

This Dungeon was controlled by the Six Kingdoms that supported Barbatos Academy, and they could only send a limited number of people inside it every year.

Usually, only the strongest Guilds that were loyal to them would be able to enter, but this year, they made a special exception for the Champion, and would allow him to bring an entire party inside the Dungeon that would open in exactly two weeks.

The Rowan Tribe was also given a limited number of slots to enter the Dungeon. Their quota was twelve people, and Cai wanted to drag Little Swordy and My Daddy onto its team, making its faction a powerhouse that could challenge the other Guilds that would also enter it alongside them.

'With Little Swordy and My Daddy, I'm sure that we can challenge the Hell-Mode of that Dungeon that no one has conquered in the past,' Cai thought.

When the Secret Dungeon was discovered, the Six Kingdoms found out that it would only allow Grade A Apostles and below to enter it. Because of this, they only sent their best candidates to challenge it, but up till now, no one had managed to clear the Hell-Mode of the dungeon located inside the Special Domain.

Even clearing Normal Mode required a great sacrifice. More than 98% of the Guild members who attempted to clear it would not reach its end, making it an extremely difficult Dungeon to deal with.

However, Cai had complete faith in its two unconscious comrades. In its eyes, even if it were to face the Four Kings and the Five Overlords in the Special Domain this year, it would have nothing to fear.

After all, with two powerful friends by its side, it could walk in the Special Domain with a smug look on its shameless face.

 

Chapter 265 It’s Her First Time, So Be Gentle With Her

The chirping of the birds could be heard in the background as Lux slowly opened his eyes.

Nine days had passed since the tournament's conclusion, but only now had he regained his consciousness after his battle with Cai.

The first thing the Half-Elf saw was a blue-haired beauty sleeping soundly beside him. Iris was hugging him like a body pillow, and her soft, sound asleep breathing reached his ears.

Lux looked at his step-sister's sleeping face that he hadn't seen for quite some time. At that moment, a thought passed through the red-headed teenager's mind, and that was none other than that he wouldn't like anyone else to see this side of her, wanting to monopolize it for himself.

As Lux's gaze wandered down his body, he noticed his baby Slime, Eiko, was sleeping on his chest.

As if sensing that her Papa was awake, Eiko sleepily opened her eyes then looked at Lux once before yawning and closing them again.

Clearly, she was still sleepy that even seeing her Papa recovered and awake didn't deter her from going back to sleep.

The Half-Elf smiled after seeing this and lightly patted the baby Slime's head, which made the latter subconsciously rub her head against his hand.

After petting the baby Slime for a while, Lux glanced at the ceiling and tried to piece together the memories he had during the battle.

The last thing he remembered was summoning Orion to help Diablo and the others fight against Cai.

He had no memories after that, making him feel a cold chill run down his spine.

'Did I lose?' Lux thought as a tinge of anxiety started to grow inside his heart. 'Should I kidnap Cai and roast it in an open fire?'

Various thoughts about different methods of silently erasing the Boar from the world formed inside his mind. Although he didn't have any grudge against it, for Iris' sake, he was willing to dirty his hand and feed the boar to the fishes if he had to.

Just as these thoughts were starting to form, he felt a soft, delicate hand caress the side of his face and gave it a light pinch.

"Good morning, Lux," Iris said softly.

The young lady's gentle touch, as well as her voice filled with happiness, made Lux's heart skip a beat.

This was not the first time that Iris had called him Lux instead of brother, and yet, this time around, the way she said it felt different to him. It was as if there was another meaning behind it, instead of the usual playful endearment that Iris often used in order to get his attention.

"Iris, who won the tournament?" Lux asked. His heart was beating wildly inside his chest in both anticipation and fear of the answer that she would give him.

Originally, Iris planned to tease the Half-Elf and tell him that Cai had won the tournament, but after seeing how serious he was, she decided to not give the latter more worry as she moved closer to kiss his cheek.

"You won," Iris replied after she planted a kiss on Lux's right cheek. "You are the Champion of the Lionheart Tournament."

At that moment, Lux felt that a stone had disappeared from his chest. The anxiety he initially felt vanished without a trace. He then hugged the young lady in front of him, making the baby slime who was sleeping on his chest, fall off, and get sandwiched between him and her mama, who was also hugging Lux back.

"Ma!"

"Pa!"

Eiko said as she squeezed herself upwards to appear between Lux's and Iris's faces, making the two giggle.

As if thinking of the same thing, Lux and Iris kissed Eiko's left and right cheeks, making the baby slime giggle.

"I'm glad you woke up today, Lux," Iris said, no longer calling the red-headed teenager in front of her Brother, like she used to. "This is the best birthday gift ever."

After hearing her words, the Half-Elf opened his eyes wide. He had no idea what day it was because he didn't know how long it had been since he fell unconscious. The realization that he was able to wake up on the same day as Iris birthday made him thank his lucky stars.

"Happy Birthday," Lux said as he caressed her face. "I'm sorry, I haven't prepared anything for your birthday. What would you like to have as a gift?"

Iris smiled happily after seeing that Lux had taken the initiative to make a gesture of intimacy with her.

Lux had also done this several times to her in the past, but this time felt different. This simple act of touching her face allowed her to feel his rugged hands, which had grown hard through training. It warmed her heart and made her happy.

"You already gave me the best present by winning the tournament," Iris replied. "But, if you really want to know what I want then…"

Iris moved closer to whisper something in Lux's ear, making the latter's face turn as red as his hair.

The blue-haired beauty found this reaction quite funny, so she looked at him with a smile on her face.

"Okay," Lux replied half a minute later. "Let's do it tonight."

Iris' face reddened after hearing Lux's reply. The moment someone turned sixteen in Solais and Elysium, they were already considered young adults, which meant they were eligible to marry.

Both worlds were filled with danger, so the minimum age for marriage was lowered in order to prevent the population from declining. Naturally, this rule wasn't set in stone. Anyone could marry even if they were in their 20's and even 30's, but no one would give a hoot to anyone marrying each other as long as they had come of age, which was sixteen years old.

Lux and Iris stared at each other with passionate gazes.

The baby Slime, who stood between them, subconsciously thought that her parents were planning to do something intimate, so she crawled on top of the bed canopy, looking down at two with a curious look on her face.

"Let's have Grandma look after Eiko tonight," Iris said as she moved closer to Lux.

"Good idea," Lux replied, as he too moved closer to the young beauty who had already wrapped her arms around him.

The two fondly stared at each other for a few seconds before Iris closed her eyes.

Lux knew that, as the man, he should be the one to take the initiative, so he closed their distance and pressed his lips against her soft, pink lips, giving iris a short, yet passionate kiss that made her heart skip a beat.

When their kiss ended, the two gazed at each other for a while and smiled.

"One more time?" Lux asked.

This was the first time he kissed Iris' lips, and for some reason, he felt the urge to give her another one.

"Un," Iris shyly nodded her head in reply.

Just as the two were about to kiss each other for the second time, a knock came from the door, almost making the two of them jump off the bed in shock.

"Iris, good morning," Vera said as soon as she entered the bedroom. "Breakfast is ready, do you want to…"

The old lady wasn't able to finish his words due to the scene in front of her.

Lux was halfway off the bed, with his head already touching the floor. Iris, on the other hand, was hugging his body, clinging to his waist as if trying to prevent him from falling.

The two had flushed expressions on their faces, and one of the strings on Iris's one-piece night-wear had slid off from her shoulders, creating a scene that could easily create a misunderstanding.

"Breakfast can wait," Vera said with a sweet smile on her face. "The two of you take your time. I'll make sure that no one will disturb you. Eiko, come, let's have breakfast together."

"Nanma!"

The Slime happily jumped off the bed canopy and landed on Vera's hand with a look of anticipation on her face. The food served in the academy tasted good, so even though they were not Beast Cores, Eiko still loved eating it.

"Lux, this is Iris' first time so be gentle with her." Vera reminded the red-headed teenager. "I'll look forward to meeting my great grandchildren a year from now."

Vera then gave the two teenagers a wink before slowly closing the door. For some reason, the lock that was supposed to only be accessible inside the room turned by itself, locking the door completely.

Clearly, Vera didn't mind if her two grandkids tumbled on the sheets for a few hours. She was even eagerly anticipating holding her great grandchildren a year or two from now.

Lux and Iris, who had been staring at the locked door for a few seconds, shifted their gaze to each other and smiled helplessly.

Both of them knew that their Grandma had misunderstood the situation, which was why she left the two of them alone to continue whatever they were doing.

As if losing the tension on their bodies, Iris' grip on Lux's waist loosened, making the Half-Elf slide off of the bed completely.

The two then stared at each other before chuckling at this unexpected turn of events.

"Today is a busy day, and I know that the preparations for my birthday party are well on their way," Iris said as she stepped down from the bed and crouched beside the Half-Elf, who was still lying on the carpeted floor. "I'm sure that Father would like to see me at the breakfast table to talk to me about a few things in regards to the festivities that will be held later tonight."

"Yes," Lux replied as he reached out to place his hand behind Iris' head to slowly pull her closer to him. "We still have time for one more kiss before you go, right?"

Iris nodded. "Un."

The two then kissed each other for the second time before Lux reluctantly left the room to let the blue-haired beauty change her clothes.

Although he had now been officially recognized by Alexander as Iris' fiance, he still found it inappropriate to stay inside her room while she changed her clothes.

After leaving Iris' room, Lux walked down the hallway and headed towards his room.

Today was his step-sister's… no, Fiance's birthday, so he decided to spend the rest of the day looking for an appropriate gift for her.

Although Lux was still adapting to the sudden change in their relationship, he was looking forward to the future when the two of them would be officially married. Afterall, they had already received the blessing of Iris' father, Alexander, whose opinion of Lux had changed after he became the Champion of the Tournament that was held in Barbatos Academy.

Chapter 266 There Are No If’s In This World

Lux had just left Iris' residence in the Academy when a Boar "accidentally" met him when he was about to look for a gift for the blue-haired beauty, who was going to celebrate her birthday today.

"Oh, there you are, My Daddy," Cai said with a smile. "What a coincidence, I was looking for you."

Lux blinked as he looked at the Boar, who seemed to have gotten chunkier since he had last seen it. Little did the Half-Elf know, the prize money, which he had won as the Champion of the Tournament, was being used to pay for the food that the Boar had kept adding on his tab.

"Where are you going?" the Boar asked. "Are you planning to visit Little Swordy? He just regained consciousness this morning as well."

"Uhh… why not?" Lux thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea to visit the skinny swordsman, who he considered as an acquaintance after spending some time together during the tournament.

The Boar chatted non-stop with Lux all the way to the infirmary, telling him about a particular Dungeon that bordered the territories where the factions of the Six Kingdoms belonged in Elysium, which would open in a few days.

According to the Boar, the entry to the Dungeon was highly restricted, so only the guilds that had received the approval of the Six Kingdoms would be allowed to enter its Domain.

"So, I was wondering if you and Little Swordy can join our Rowan Tribe in conquering the Hell-Mode of the Dungeon," Cai said. "Naturally, it will not be for free. If you do this for me, my Grandpa, who is a Saint, will owe you one favor."

Lux's curiosity was piqued after hearing Cai's words. Aside from Alexander, the Rowan Tribe Elder was one of the remaining Saints in the territories that belonged to the Six Kingdoms.

This was why the Rowan Tribe held great prestige, allowing them to move unhindered to the various territories that belonged to these nations.

Seeing that Lux seemed to favor the idea, the Boar decided to throw one more bone at the Half-Elf to make him agree to its request.

"Um, are you perhaps looking for a gift for Iris?" Cai asked. "Actually, I have the perfect gift with me. I was planning to give it to her after I became the Champion of the tournament. But since I didn't manage to win, I'll hand this gift over to you. Trust me when I say that this gift can never be bought with any currency in the world. It is one of a kind, and you will not see anything like it ever again."

Lux could tell that Cai wasn't making things up in order to bring him over to its side. After careful consideration, getting the favor of a Saint was already a wonderful thing. Although Alexander was his step-father, they weren't particularly close, so he didn't have the guts to ask the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy for any favors.

The Elder of the Rowan Tribe, on the other hand, was said to have a very good personality. Because of this, even Alexander allowed Iris to visit the Rowan Tribe in order to participate in their annual celebration as the representative of the Academy.

The gift that Cai had wanted to give to Iris if it won the tournament would surely be something special. Because of this, the Half-Elf was quite tempted to bite into the offer that was being dangled right in front of him.

"I'll decide after I see this gift of yours," Lux replied after thinking things over. "If it's good then I will join your team in exploring the Hell-Mode of the Dungeon."

"Alright! Make sure not to break your promise, okay?" Before the Boar could say other things, its body trembled, making its face look pale.

"Um, you go and visit Little Swordy first," Cai said. "Visit me in my room later. I need to do something first."

Cai didn't even bother to wait for the Half-Elf's reply and briskly strutted away, not even looking back at the bewildered Half-Elf, who looked at the retreating Boar in confusion.

'I guess I'll visit Keane first,' Lux thought before heading straight towards the Infirmary where the Skinny Swordsman was said to be staying.

—---

"How are you, Keane?" Lux asked as soon as he entered the room.

"Better since Cai is not here," Keane replied. "I swear that pig will be the end of me."

Lux chuckled as he dragged a chair to sit beside the swordsman's bed, giving him an appraising look.

"Congratulations on becoming the Champion," Keane said with a smile. "When I first saw you in the Qualifying Matches, I never thought that you would actually be the last one standing in this tournament."

"Thank you," Lux commented. "If you hadn't been weakened to the point of near-collapse, I'm sure that you would have been a strong contender for first place."

"There are no if's in this world," Keane said firmly. "Cai was meant to become your opponent in the final match. Although I didn't want to say this, there was a high chance that even if I wasn't injured that badly, Cai might have still won against me if it used its Trump Cards without holding back."

Lux nodded his head in agreement.

Even he didn't expect Cai to be so formidable. Perhaps if its last trump card had fully activated, Lux, as well as its summons, might not have been able to stand up against its Third Form.

"What are your plans after this?" Lux asked the skinny swordsman, who—in his eyes—was quite mysterious.

"The first thing I want to do is escape as far away from Cai as possible so I can attain true peace."

"Goodluck with that."

The two warriors gave each other a knowing smile before giving each other a bitter smile.

"You are going with Cai to the Dungeon?" Lux asked.

Keane nodded. "I just want peace. I can't attain it if I'm going to be stuck with it for life. How about you? Are you going?"

"Yes," Lux answered in a heartbeat.

"With you around, I think it is now possible for us to clear the Dungeon," Keane stated. "I'd also love to see how you fight in your peak. I wasn't able to get the opportunity because I was out cold."

Lux smiled, but still gave the mysterious swordsman assurance that he would do everything in his power to clear the Hell-Mode of the Dungeon, which was widely known to have crushed the Six Kingdoms' hopes when it came to being able to explore the secrets hidden inside its depths.

Chapter 267 Forever By Your Side

"I think it is somewhere around here..." Lux muttered as he walked down the hallways, heading towards Cai's room in the academy.

He had been talking to Keane for half an hour, but the Boar still hadn't returned, prompting the Half-Elf to look for it.

Keane had told him which area its room was, as well as Cai's room number, so Lux decided to go and find the Boar himself to ask for it to show him the gift it had been talking about earlier.

"Ah, this must be it," Lux glanced at the room with the number sixty-nine on it and opened the door without even bothering to knock.

Since the Boar was an annoying character, he planned to annoy it as well.

The moment the Half-Elf entered the room, he came face to face with a naked, beautiful young lady, with long brown hair who was brushing her hair at the moment.

She had sun-kissed skin that was radiating youth and life, and Lux's gaze landed on her well-shaped breasts for a brief moment before forcefully shifting his gaze back to the beautiful young lady's face, which wouldn't lose to his step-sister, who was now his fiance, Iris.

"S-Sorry! Wrong room!" Lux hastily closed the door and backed down the hallway.

A few seconds later, he looked at the room number again to make sure that he hadn't made a mistake. After seeing that the number of the room was indeed sixty-nine, the Half-Elf took a deep breath before knocking on the door to make sure that he wasn't just hallucinating on things.

"Cai? Are you there?" Lux asked.

"Um, just a minute." Cai's irritating voice replied from the other side of the door, making Lux breathe a sigh of relief.

Half a minute later, the door opened revealing the chatty Boar with brown fur, and hazel colored eyes.

"Cai, are you living with a young lady in this room?" Lux asked as the Boar welcomed him inside its room without any fuss.

"Young lady? There's not one," Cai answered. "I'm the only one staying in this room. Ah, but let's not talk about that for now."

Cai then summoned an ornate box out of thin air and presented it to Lux.

"If you join my faction for the upcoming dungeon expedition, I'll give you this as an added bonus to my Grandpa's favor," Cai said with a smug look on its face.

Lux took the ornate box from its hands and opened it.

Inside the box, golden rings with runes written on their surface appeared. Their craftsmanship was amazing, and even if Lux was training to become a Blacksmith and not a Jewelsmith, he could clearly tell that a master had made this set of rings with utmost care and devotion.

"Beautiful..." Lux muttered as he stared at the rings before shifting his attention to the smug-looking pig, who acted as if he was the one that made the rings itself.

"But of course!" Cai replied. "I begged my grandfather to have these rings crafted for me so that when I married Iris, I could present these to her as my wedding gift. Amazing, right?"

"Yeah. Your grandfather is amazing." Lux nodded his head in agreement. "So you made these rings because you thought that you were going to win the tournament from the very beginning. What a cheeky and chunky pig you are."

"Pig? Excuse me! I'm a Boar," Cai snorted. "You uncultured swine. Also, I was confident that I would win the tournament, so I had these wedding rings prepared in advance. So, what do you think? Will you join our faction when we do our dungeon expedition?"

Lux didn't answer right away. He then picked up one of the rings and took a closer look at it. Although he didn't know what language had been used to transcribe the runes, inside his head, several words appeared as if automatically deciphering the meaning of the runic texts.

"Forever by your side."

The words were cheesy, but for some reason, Lux didn't dislike them. In fact, it even held some kind of binding power that made the Half-Elf feel that these rings weren't that simple.

"Do these rings have any special properties?" Lux asked. He had tried to use his appraisal skill, but the only information he saw on the ring was a bunch of question marks.

Lux wasn't unfamiliar with this experience. There had been several times when he was unable to appraise the stats of strong monsters who were more formidable than he was.

"Of course, they have," Cai replied "My grandpa does jewelsmithing as a hobby, and he is very proficient with it. Listen here, okay? Those rings have three special attributes.

"The two people that wear those two rings are able to talk with each other as long as they are in the same plane of existence. Meaning, if you and Iris were both on the same continent, you can talk whenever you like. The same can be said with Elysium. As long as both of you are on the same continent, talking to each other is not a problem.

"The second ability of the rings is to know exactly where the other person is. Regardless of where they are in the world, you will be able to find them with the help of this ring.

"The last ability of the rings is quite unique. They prevent any kind of mind-affecting spells--Charm, Fear, Confusion, or other effects that could affect the state of mind--to take hold of them. It also gives a small resistance against the power of Abyssal Corruption, and slows its effects from spreading inside the body.

"Just so you know, very few items are able to effectively mitigate the effect of Abyssal Corruption. This ring is one of them. Ah, my grandfather said in passing that as long as you wear this ring, you can also enter places with dense miasma without worrying about getting harmed by it. Quite amazing, right?"

Lux nodded his head in agreement. This item was like the cellphone from Earth that allowed people to talk over long distances, as well as find their location through GPS tracking.

The immunity against mind-affecting spells, slow down Abyssal Corruption, as well as complete resistance to Miasma, were simply too good to be true.

'As expected of a Saint,' Lux thought as he returned the ring inside the ornate box. 'Whatever they make is truly formidable.'

Cai, who could tell that Lux was quite satisfied with the gift it had prepared for Iris, felt happy inside its heart. In truth, the reason why it was able to give Lux the ornate box without a second thought was due to the fact that it knew how Iris felt about the red-headed teenager in front of it.

To a certain extent, Cai was Iris' best friend. Perhaps, it was the only real friend the latter had aside from the Beast Companions that protected her at all times.

This was also why, when Cai learned about Alexander's decree to marry off Iris to whoever became the Champion of the Tournament, the Boar made a declaration in front of its Grandpa in the Rowan Tribe.

"I won't let Iris marry someone she doesn't love!" Cai had shouted back then. "If it comes to this, I'd rather marry her myself than let another person make her life miserable!"

Cai's grandfather repeatedly told the Boar that it would be dangerous for it to enter the tournament, but the Boar was dead-set on leaving, with or without its Grandpa's permission.

Because of this, the Saint of the Rowan Tribe had no choice but to help the Boar assimilate the power of strong Monsters to add to her "Gear Art".

Cai's Grandpa scoured the regions of the Six Kingdoms to find a suitable upgrade to Cai's Beast Form, and happened to meet two powerful creatures by chance.

One of them is the Mutated Field Monster, Hildivisni, and the other was an Initiate Ranked World Boss, which proved how much the Saint doted on the cheeky Boar, who wouldn't take no for an answer.

After gaining these two powerful forms, Cai's confidence soared to the heavens, making it ask its Grandpa to forge wedding rings for it and Iris after it became the Champion of the Tournament.

"Okay, I will join your faction for the dungeon expedition," Lux said after closing the ornate box in his hand. "When do we leave?"

"Um, I just contacted Grandpa a little earlier, and he said that due to some kind of phenomenon, the opening of the Domain has been delayed to two weeks from now. However, the Guilds chosen to be the representatives of the Six Kingdoms are already making their way to the Hidden Domain's location.

"I think it will be best if we leave four days from now and head to my tribe, so you can talk to my Grandfather about the favor you want from him after we clear the Hell-Mode."

Lux smiled because the Boar was talking as if they already had the Dungeon in the bag. If the other guilds of the Six Kingdoms, as well as the guild that represented Barbatos Academy, couldn't clear it, then it meant that its difficulty rating was quite high.

Even so, Lux had to admit that the prospect of challenging such a Dungeon was quite tempting for him.

After talking with Cai for a bit more about their journey to the Rowan Tribe, Lux left the room to prepare for the evening celebration party that would be held in the Event Hall of Barbatos Academy.

Chapter 268 Either We Go Hell Mode, Or We Go Home!

After putting on the expensive clothes that Vera had left in his room, Lux looked in the mirror and sighed.

In front of him was a handsome Half-Elf with short red hair and green eyes, who would easily pass as a celebrity back on Earth. Sometimes, Lux wondered how differently things would have ended in his past life if his looks had been as good as this.

Truth be told, Lux would sometimes think that he was in a dream. There had been more than one occasion when he said to himself that if everything was a dream, then he didn't want to wake up.

Fortunately, he was clear that this was his new reality, and he had decided to live this life to the fullest.

Just as he finished brushing his hair, a knock was heard from the door, and his Grandma Vera looked at him with a smile on her face.

"My grandson is really handsome," Vera complimented as she walked towards Lux to take a closer look at him. "Are you almost done?"

"Yes, Grandma," Lux replied. "I can go anytime."

"Good. Iris will take a while before she can finish her preparations, so go ahead and go to the Event Hall."

"You're not coming with me, Grandma?"

Vera shook her head. "I'm going with Iris later. You're the Champion of the Tournament, so there are many people who want to meet you. If I were to go with you, wouldn't they think that I'm a third wheel or something?"

Vera's teasing tone made Lux smile. He knew that his grandma didn't like mingling with strangers that much and preferred the company of those she knew, like the Guardians of Wildgarde Stronghold and her family in Barbatos Academy.

"I'll see you later," Vera said as she fixed the non-existent creases in Lux's robes. "Several ladies might approach you later. Although you are already Iris' fiance, having more grandchildren is best."

Vera gave Lux a wink before leaving the room. The Half-Elf knew that his grandma wasn't joking when she said that she wanted more grandchildren. Although he now had Iris, having more than one wife was very normal in Solais and Elysium.

This was especially true for High-Ranking nobles, as well as people who had a very high status in society.

A few minutes later, the Half-Elf walked through the spacious hallways that led to the Event Hall. Along the way, he met several people, and most of them gave him greetings as he walked past them.

Lux also returned their greetings because it was the polite thing to do. Now that he was known as the strongest youth in his generation, he had to set a good example in order to not tarnish his and his Grandma Vera's reputation.

When Lux entered the large doors of the Event Hall, the Master of Ceremonies shouted his name, causing countless eyes to glance in his direction.

The Half-Elf just smiled as he walked with confidence. After encountering so many hardships in Elysium, as well as fighting in the Lionheart Tournament, he didn't feel any pressure even with thousands of people looking at him.

Some looked at him in respect, awe, and admiration.

Others, jealousy and envy.

There were people who looked at him with contempt, but they were merely outliers. Lux didn't mind because their thoughts didn't matter to him.

He was the Champion of the Tournament, and he didn't need to prove himself to anyone in the Event Hall.

While Lux was scanning his surroundings, he inadvertently saw Cai pushing a trolley into the buffet area. The Boar was taking a bit of every meat dish it came across, while completely ignoring the vegetable dishes.

Not far from it was Keane, who held a small plate filled with vegetables and fruits.

Unlike Cai who liked meat, Keane preferred fruits and vegetables. Although the mysterious swordsman could eat meat as well, he would choose to eat fruits and vegetables as long as they were available.

"Ah, My Daddy. Come here and join us," Cai said as soon as it saw Lux, who was already walking in their direction. "You look good in that suit. As expected of someone who is a member of our Secret Organization, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

Lux wanted to say that he was not a part of its not-so-secret organization, but he knew that Cai would completely ignore any words of rebuttal, so he decided to not waste any of his breath trying to correct the Boar, who had taken Second Place in the Tournament.

"Can you eat all of that?" Lux asked as he gazed at the piled up meat dishes on Cai's food trolley. "You really are a pig."

"Shut up," Cai replied. "I'm a growing Boar, so this is only normal. Just look at Little Swordy. All he's eating is fruits and vegetables. That's probably why he looks so skinny. I've been pestering him to eat some meat, but he just tells me to mind my own business."

"That's right," Keane said. "Mind your own business."

Cai snorted. "See? How stubborn. You should talk some sense into him, My Daddy."

"It's Lux," Lux commented. "Stop calling me My Daddy."

"But you are My Daddy, no?"

"I am not your daddy."

"Tsk."

Lux felt really helpless because Cai was not the only one who referred to him as My Daddy. Even the people who had greeted him earlier called out to him as "My Daddy," instead of his real name, Lux, which made the Half-Elf regret choosing that name to hide his identity.

Just as the three of them were about to go to the table that was reserved for the Elite 4 of the Tournament, Gilmore, as well as a few of his cohorts walked up to Lux, Cai, and Keane, who held plates filled with food.

"All three of you are going to the Sacred Dungeon, right?" Gilmore, one of the Four Kings, asked in a tone that was only audible for those who were close to his vicinity.

"Yes," Cai answered before Lux and Keane could even reply to Gilbert's question. "They are coming with the Rowan Tribe's delegation."

Since Lux and Keane had already agreed to join its Faction in the Dungeon Expedition, it made sure to tell Gilmore that the Blondie Swordsman couldn't poach its two VIP guests from its team.

"I see," Gilbert said in a slightly disappointed tone. However, the other party's disappointment didn't last long and was quickly replaced with determination. "It seems that all of us will be competing in the fastest clear in the Normal Difficulty. Let me make things clear, I will catch up to the three of you soon. In the next tournament, the one who will win will be me."

After saying his words, Gilmore and his entourage left, leaving a confused looking Lux and Keane behind.

Seeing their reactions, Cai could only chuckle.

"No one knows what we are planning to do," Cai explained in hushed tones. "The Normal Difficulty is already hard to clear, and not many are even able to clear it."

"In the ten years since the Sacred Dungeon was discovered, the Normal Difficulty has been cleared only two times, and only a handful of warriors were left each time that happened. We're not like those weaklings. Either we go Hell Mode, or we go home!"

The Boar had a serious expression on its face, which was very different from its happy-go-lucky attitude.

"But, why do we need to go clear the Hell Mode instead of the Normal Mode?" Lux asked. He didn't mind going to Hell Mode because he already promised to go, but he was curious why the Boar was so adamant in challenging the hardest difficulty setting of the Sacred Dungeon.

Cai didn't answer right away, but its expression turned extremely sad for some reason. Only after the three of them were seated at their table did it start to talk about the reason why it wanted to challenge the Hell Mode of the Sacred Grove.

"It's because according to an ancient text, a certain flower blooms inside the Hell Mode of the Sacred Domain," Cai explained. "That flower can cure many illnesses, including the Purple Plague."

Lux and Keane both looked at the Boar in disbelief because they knew that the Purple Plague was the plague that erupted more than a hundred years ago during the Hundred-Year-War.

It was a plague that wiped out entire kingdoms, and was said to still have no cure, even to this day.

Chapter 269 I Wish This Moment Can Last Forever

"A cure for the Purple Plague," Keane muttered.

The Purple Plague, as the name suggests, changed the skin color of its victims to purple. Its victims wouldn't get a quick and easy death, but a slow and excruciating one.

If someone was afflicted by this disease, they would immediately be killed, and their bodies would be burned to prevent the disease from spreading. It was said that only Saints were immune to this disease, which meant that the chances of surviving it were extremely low.

"Your Grandma has the Purple Plague?" Lux asked with concern. "Is that the reason why you wanted to challenge the Hard Mode that badly?"

Cai nodded. "That's right. Normal Mode doesn't have this flower, so I can only go to Hell Mode in order to find it. Challenging the Normal Mode is just a waste of time and resources. The Rowan Tribe has pooled everything we have for this upcoming event, so we wanted to bring as many strong warriors as we could with us to ensure our expedition's success."

Lux remained silent for a few moments because he knew that if it had been Vera or Iris infected with the Purple Plague, he would also go to hell and back in order to find the cure for them.

It didn't matter how dangerous it was. He would certainly go all out to make sure that both of his loved ones were cured of their diseases.

"Okay." Lux nodded. "I will help you."

"Count me in as well," Keane commented from the side.

Cai bowed its head respectfully at its two comrades. "Thank you. It doesn't matter if we don't clear the Dungeon. All we need to do is find the flower and the Rowan Tribe will forever be grateful for your help. My Grandpa will certainly do his best to accommodate any of your requests as long as it is within his ability."

Lux and Keane nodded. If what Cai said to them was true, then the Rowan Tribe, especially Cai's Grandpa, would be truly grateful to them and gain his favor.

The favor of a Saint was an extremely precious thing, and since Cai only wanted to retrieve the flower that would cure its Grandma, and not clear the Dungeon, the difficulty of the mission was decreased by a good margin.

As long as they found the flower, they could leave the Dungeon using a special item that the Six Kingdoms had made to help ensure that their talented warriors didn't lose their stats, should they face the threat of being killed by the Bosses that they would face within the Sacred Domain.

After telling its friends the true reason why it was desperately asking for their help, Cai felt as if all the pressure it was feeling suddenly disappeared. Because of this, its appetite doubled as it ate all the dishes it got from the buffet area with renewed vigor.

Half an hour later, the lights inside the event Hall dimmed, until the light disappeared completely.

A moment later, the soothing voice of a lady reverberated within the darkness as she introduced the coming of the birthday celebrant, Iris.

The lights illuminated the right stairs of the Event Hall, where Iris would be appearing shortly.

A mellow music started to play in the background as the Academy's Orchestra played the opening tune for Iris' entrance.

Half a minute later, a young lady, who wore a pure white dress, appeared at the top of the stairs.

Lux's eyes widened in shock when he saw the blue-haired beauty walking down the stairs with an angelic smile on her face.

Her long blue hair was tied up into a princess braid, and the pure-white clothes made her look pure and innocent. She was so gorgeous that all the men couldn't stop themselves from staring at her.

Deep in their hearts, they envied Lux for snagging this angelic beauty for himself and making her his fiance.

Nero, who was looking at her from the distance, clenched his fist tightly. From the first time he saw Iris, he had already fallen in love with her, and this was one of the reasons why he hated Lux with a vengeance.

Even after losing to the Half-Elf, his love for the blue-haired beauty remained. His only regret was that he wasn't the one who would be marrying her in the future, but the red-headed teenager, who had won against him during their battle in the Semi-Finals.

Nero acknowledged that he lost to Lux in a battle of strength, but that didn't prevent him from keeping his feelings towards the young lady who was now celebrating her sixteenth birthday.

An age in which most ladies among the noble families were engaged to other nobles, strengthening relationships and bringing about a cooperation that benefited both sides of the family.

Iris had everything in the world—a loving grandmother, a doting father, as well as a dependable fiance, who had won the Tournament for her sake.

It would not be an exaggeration to call her the happiest young lady within the Six Kingdoms at this moment because she would be able to marry the person that she had loved the past few years of her life.

As Iris walked down the stairs, the light followed her every step.

"May we please call upon My Daddy to give the birthday celebrant the first dance of the night."

When Lux heard what he was called, he scratched his cheeks within the darkness before walking towards the light, where the beautiful young lady waited for him.

The moment Lux stepped into the spotlight, he knelt in front of Iris and kissed the back of her hand like a knight in shining armor. Countless girls couldn't help but sigh in their hearts.

When the handsome Half-Elf, and the blue-haired beauty stood side by side, the words, "a match made in heaven" appeared inside their minds.

"May I have this first dance, My Lady?" Lux asked. Although the announcer had already said that he would be her first dance, he still decided to do things formally and asked Iris' permission to dance.

"It will be my pleasure," Iris replied with a smile so sweet that it could rot anyone's teeth.

The two started to dance to the slow and romantic music playing in the background. Countless eyes watched as the two of them gracefully stepped across the dance floor.

In truth, Iris and Lux had danced to this song countless times in the past. They could dance it even if they had their eyes closed, but tonight was a special night, so both of them gazed at each other lovingly, making the young men and women, who were watching them, feel the urge to have a lover of their own.

"Are you happy right now?" Lux whispered in Iris' ears when the song was about to finish.

"Very happy," Iris replied. "I wish this moment could last forever."

Lux smiled after hearing her words. In truth, he felt the same, but the two of them knew that this was not possible.

Even so, at this moment in time, they held each other's hand and gave each other a knowing glance. Both knew that when the party was over, they could no longer go back to their old relationship as step-siblings because they decided to move forward together.

Iris lightly squeezed Lux's hand, and the latter returned her gesture, making her giggle. In her heart, no one could replace the handsome Half-Elf, who would soon make her his woman for life.

Chapter 270 This Is Not A Dream

The party dragged on for the rest of the night. Lux and Iris found themselves talking to a lot of people because of their statuses.

Lux was the Champion of the Tournament, so it was normal that many people would want to talk to him to form connections.

Iris was the princess of Barbatos Academy and her father was a Saint, so befriending her could make anyone feel that they had a pillar to lean on to.

Surprisingly, Cai and even Keane, also found themselves being talked to by many people, including many high ranking nobles.

The Skinny Swordsman found himself hard-pressed because he was surrounded by many beautiful ladies, asking where he lived or what his hobbies were.

Lux and Cai watched this scene from the side with amused expressions on their faces. Clearly, Keane had no idea how to mingle with the opposite sex, seeing that he looked like he was having an anxiety attack, just by simply talking to the ladies who found his mysterious identity quite attractive.

"I'm so proud," Cai said while munching on some steak. "Our little Keane has grown so much. The time I spent raising him wasn't in vain. Um~ I'm going back to the buffet area. I ran out of food to eat."

Lux smiled at his two companions, whom he had met in the tournament. He didn't enter the Tournament to make friends, but in the end, the persistent Boar still managed to stick to him through thick and thin, while dragging Little Swordy along the way, like a kite flying on a string.

Nero, who was also meant to sit on their table, stayed with his Guild Members for the duration of the party.

Vera stayed with Iris most of the time, but she also mingled with her friends in Wildgarde Stronghold. Gilbert, Natasha, and Rainer talked to her about a lot of things, but the important matters were kept on hold.

All of them knew that this was not the place to discuss such matters, and they would talk in private when they returned to Wildgarde Stronghold.

Alexander, Iris' father, talked to the dignitaries, high-ranking nobles, as well as members of the Royal Families from the Six Kingdoms.

As the Saint who sat at the head of Barbatos Academy, he was often sought out by these influential and powerful people, keeping him busy all throughout the party.

Finally, midnight struck, and the last dance for the night was about to commence.

Lux stood up and walked steadily towards Iris' table to ask her to dance. The two of them had already agreed that he would be Iris' first and last dance for the night.

The moment the two stepped onto the dance floor, the other guests followed with their partners.

The last song was a very slow and romantic one, allowing couples to take it easy and dance in a more intimate manner.

Iris rested her head on Lux's shoulder, while both of them swayed slowly for the last song of the night.

"I feel like I'm in a dream," Iris said in a voice that was only loud enough for Lux to hear. "This is not a dream. Right, Lux?"

"No," Lux replied before sneakily planting a kiss on her head, making it look like he was just whispering something in her ear. "This is not a dream."

"I'm glad."

"Mmm."

As the two danced in each other's embrace, Vera, Alexander, and Alicia watched from a distance.

"Iris looks so happy," Vera commented as she gazed at her two grandchildren. "So, when will the marriage ceremony be held?"

Alexander didn't comment, and simply kept on looking at his daughter who was dancing with Lux. Naturally, Lux's sneaky kiss didn't escape his eyes, but he didn't say anything about it. His step-son had proven himself worthy of his daughter, and he had already decreed that whoever became the Champion would become Iris' fiance.

Since that was the case, what was the point in getting in the way of their love?

Alicia, who stood behind Vera and Alexander, was smiling. As someone who handled Lux's registration in the tournament from the shadows, she was quite satisfied with how things worked out.

Of course, there were times when she doubted Lux's ability to win the tournament, but after the event was over, she felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

"I know that Iris is still young, so you are worried about her," Vera stated without even turning her head to look at her son. "Don't worry, although I want to hold my great grandchildren right away, I know that childbirth isn't an easy thing. I'll wait until Iris turns eighteen for that. I worry for her health as well, you know?"

Alexander briefly nodded his head in agreement. He didn't have a problem with this arrangement and decided to leave things in his mother's hands.

"Give this ring to Lux," Alexander said as he handed a ring with a red gem embedded in its center. "Make sure he puts it on before he retires for the night."

Alexander didn't wait for Vera's reply and went back to his seat, with Alicia following close behind him.

Vera chuckled as she watched her son go before looking at the ring in her hands. She knew what this ring was because it was a ring mostly used by members of the Royal Family. Its main function was to prevent the user from siring children with women whom their family didn't approve of.

In short, this ring was an artifact that acted as a contraceptive, preventing Lux from getting Iris, or any other young lady pregnant.

"Well, I guess this will have to do for the time being," Vera muttered, "But I have a better one prepared for this occasion."

Vera placed the ring inside her storage bag, and took out another. This ring almost looked exactly the same as the ring Alexander had given her, but with one major difference.

It was the color of the gem embedded in its center. The one Alexander had given her was red, but the color of the gem in Vera's hand was purple.

This was a special artifact that their family had kept as an Heirloom, and was passed down the male line of the family.

This ring was called Everlasting.

This also had the contraceptive property, but had one unique feature added into it.

Any lady who received the seed of the man wearing this ring, would only be able to give birth to that person's child. This ring was one of a kind, and there was no other ring like it in the World of Solaris.

Alexander had used it at one point in time, and now, it was Lux's turn to inherit it.

'I wonder how Alex will react if he sees this tomorrow,' Vera mused. She was already looking forward to what her son would say the moment he saw the ring on Lux's hand, which previously belonged to him.

After the last dance ended, Iris headed to the platform meant for making announcements and thanked everyone who had come to celebrate her birthday with her.

Alexander also took this opportunity to officially inform everyone that Lux was now Iris' fiance, and they would get married as soon as his daughter turned eighteen, which was still two years away.

All the ladies cheered and clapped their hands before glancing at the Half-Elf who was called up to the stage to stand beside Iris.

The young men, on the other hand, felt so envious of Lux. Some even cursed him and hoped that he would be unable to get it up, preventing him from making a move on the lady of their dreams.

Naturally, Lux didn't know what these bastards were thinking. If he knew, he would definitely send Orion after them, so that the Rock Golem could give all of them a good beating.

Half an hour later, the guests left the Event Hall one by one.

Lux and Iris left using the secret passage that was meant for this occasion, preventing them from having to deal with the crowd when they were supposed to leave.

When they had finally left the venue, the two walked hand in hand through the hallways of Barbatos Academy and headed straight towards Iris' private residence, which was in the inner and most protected area of the academy.

As the two walked, Iris could feel her heart beating wildly inside her chest. She was feeling very nervous and excited at the same time.

Tonight will be a special night for the both of them, and the emotions swirling inside her chest made her think that her heart was beating loud enough for the Half-Elf who was walking beside her to hear.

What she didn't know was that Lux was feeling the same.

The red-headed teenager didn't have any experience when it came to making love with women, but he had watched enough of those kinds of contents back on Earth to get an idea about what to do on their first night together.

When the two arrived in front of Iris' room, the young lady summoned one of her guardians, the White Tiger, Hanz, to guard the door that led to their room.

Lux chuckled after seeing this scene, making the blue-haired lady blush. Clearly, Iris didn't want to be disturbed on her special night, so she decided to make preparations.

Eiko was staying with Vera for the night, so there would be no one to disturb the two of them.

When the two entered the bedroom, Iris turned around to give Lux a hug. The Half-Elf hugged her back, and the two of them stared at each other.

A minute later, Lux lowered his head to give Iris a passionate kiss on the lips. Only the sound of kissing could be heard inside the room, marking the beginning of an unforgettable night that they would share together.