Chapter 45: Few Days Of Peace

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Few Days Of Peace

Damon almost laughed.

"Hey."

He scratched beneath her chin.

"You’ll always be the first."

Freya remained stubborn.

He continued patiently.

"You’re the one who gave me a path in this world."

"You’re my first partner."

"We’ve fought together."

"We’ve almost died together."

"We’ve grown together."

"No one can replace that."

Freya’s ears twitched.

Seeing that she was listening, Damon pressed on.

"Besides, who says having another teammate is bad?"

"You’ll have someone younger to bully."

Freya looked at him.

"Squee?"

Damon quickly corrected himself.

"Ahem."

"I mean, guide."

"You can teach the little spirit"

"You’ll be the big sister."

"You’ll be the big sister."

That finally made her hesitate.

Damon secretly smiled.

His experience from watching his old roommate John desperately apologize to his girlfriend had apparently become useful.

Although...

John’s solutions usually involved locking the door and disappearing for hours.

Damon wisely ignored that part.

Instead, he brought out his trump card.

Snacks.

Freya’s eyes lit up immediately.

"Squee!"

"Yep."

"I knew you’d surrender eventually."

He laughed and handed them over.

As expected, her resistance weakened further.

Then she noticed the Lightning Ores scattered nearby.

Her eyes widened.

Without waiting, she happily ran toward them.

Her six tails wagged cheerfully behind her.

The previous unhappiness disappeared almost instantly.

Damon shook his head.

"I was worried for nothing."

"I really have no experience dealing with angry women."

Freya ignored him completely.

She sat among the Lightning Ores and slowly absorbed their essence.

Crackles of silver lightning danced around her body.

Her expression looked utterly blissful.

Seeing her like that, Damon smiled.

"Much better."

Eventually, he lay down with his hands behind his head.

He simply watched Freya enjoy herself.

It was peaceful.

No battles. No blood.

No life and death struggles.

Just quiet.

And so, minutes passed.

Then hours.

Once she was full, Freya happily returned and entered the second core again.

Damon immediately resumed his work.

He wasn’t planning to waste this opportunity.

He had no idea how long he could stay inside the floating ruin.

Sooner or later, others would find this place.

Which meant he needed to make the most of every moment.

He hoped to push the growth of both spirit elementals as far as possible before leaving.

And so, another round of cultivation began.

His second core released Aether slowly.

The Gale Seed responded almost immediately.

Pulse.

Pulse.

The dormant Wind Core Spirit absorbed the surrounding Wind Ores once more.

The closer its connection with Damon became, the faster it absorbed the elemental essence.

Meanwhile, Freya rested comfortably inside the second core while continuing to receive its nurturing effects.

Whenever she felt hungry, she would absorb Lightning Ore, further stabilizing her growth.

And just like that, their days settled into a quiet rhythm.

Cultivation.

Rest.

Growth.

Bonding with Freya.

Then cultivation once again.

Hours became days.

And days quietly slipped by.

Inside the floating ruin, while the outside world was beginning to stir...

Damon remained completely unaware.

Yet with every passing day...

His white core grew stronger, and his Aether veins became sturdier.

Freya continued to mature. While they slowly awaited the moment the Gale Seed would finally awaken.

*****

Outside Tempest Hollow, the atmosphere had become completely different.

What started as a rescue operation had slowly turned into something much bigger.

Every family had set up camps around the distorted zone. Flags fluttered in the wind, guards patrolled day and night, and trusted healers stayed ready at all times.

This time, nobody was careless.

Treasures were handed out.

Protective artifacts were distributed.

Even healing potions, things that many Elemental Users could only dream of owning, were given to those considered trustworthy enough.

Everyone knew one thing.

The floating ruin was real.

And nobody intended to miss the opportunity.

Of course...

No family trusted another.

In the Frostfall family camp, an elder calmly gave instructions.

"Move tomorrow."

"But Elder, the Azure family is preparing to move today."

The old man simply smiled.

"Then let them."

"They can clear the path for us."

Meanwhile, in another camp, the Azure family had received different information.

"The Frostfall family already found the route."

"We cannot lag behind!"

And so they moved first.

Only to discover later that the information had been intentionally leaked.

By then, the Frostfall family was quietly laughing inside their camp.

This sort of thing happened almost every where in the camps.

False routes.

Hidden scouts.

Secret bargains.

Families pretending to cooperate while secretly plotting against one another.

Some groups rested during the day and moved at night.

Others built camps openly, only to sneak away after midnight.

A few even staged fake battles to distract attention.

There were several occasions where two squads accidentally crossed paths.

Everyone smiled politely.

Everyone greeted each other.

Yet their hands never left their weapons.

Nobody lowered their guard.

The atmosphere was strange.

No one wanted war.

But nobody wanted to lose either.

Days passed.

As they moved deeper into Tempest Hollow, the dangers became less severe.

The low rank monsters had mostly been exterminated.

C rank beasts were gradually being hunted down.

And every family contributed.

At least on the surface.

But everyone understood.

They weren’t here to save Tempest Hollow anymore.

They were here for treasure.

They were here for opportunities.

And eventually...

After several days of outsmarting one another...

They found it.

The floating ruin.

Everyone who saw it froze.

Even the experienced Elemental Users were stunned.

"What..."

"It’s actually real..."

The ancient structure floated high above the storm clouds, surrounded by violent currents of wind.

It looked like something from legends.

Soon, excitement replaced their shock.

Without wasting time, the various squads began climbing.

And once again, the race began.

Whoever reached the top first would gain the greatest advantage.

Meanwhile...

Inside the treasure chamber.

Life had become surprisingly peaceful for Damon.

Cultivate.

Feed the Gale Seed, while monitoring Freya’s growth.

Eat. Sleep. And repeat.

Compared to the constant life and death battles outside, these days felt almost relaxing.

Thanks to all the supplies he looted earlier, food wasn’t a problem.

Though...

They would soon have another mouth to feed.