Chapter 46: Guests at the Door

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Guests at the Door

Damon looked toward the Gale Seed.

The little Wind Core Spirit had completely filled itself.

It rested quietly among the Wind Ores, pulsing occasionally.

It reminded Damon of Freya before she evolved.

Honestly, he felt there was something emotional involved.

Over the past few days, he had tried several things.

He talked to it.

Spent time beside it.

Fed it Aether through his second core.

And whenever Freya finished absorbing Lightning Ore and completed her nurturing, she would happily spend time with the Gale Seed.

Surprisingly...

The Gale Seed seemed to enjoy it.

Whenever Freya approached, its pulses became stronger.

The two had somehow developed their own connection.

Damon found the sight amusing.

"You’ve already become siblings before it’s even born."

Freya proudly raised her head.

"Squee!"

The Gale Seed answered with several happy pulses.

Damon chuckled.

"I’ll leave the babysitting to you."

Freya wagged her tails proudly.

She seemed very pleased with the title.

Still, Damon wasn’t in a hurry.

He simply continued doing what he could.

And honestly...

He had another reason to smile.

Freya had grown quickly again.

Eight tails now.

Only one tail remained.

Yet she showed no signs of slowing down.

If anything, her growth had accelerated.

The room itself was simply too perfect.

Aether Crystals.

Elemental ores.

Pure Aether.

Everything here was countless times better than the unstable Aether outside.

Even Damon felt the changes.

His white core had become much stronger.

His Aether veins had widened further.

His body had improved again.

His senses had sharpened.

Even his strength had increased noticeably.

After finishing some drills, Damon smiled.

"I only need one final push."

"I’m close."

Very close.

The next rank wasn’t far away.

And the feedback from Freya’s growth only made the changes more obvious.

Sometimes, Damon wondered how ridiculous things would become when she finally reached the ninth tail.

Meanwhile, the Gale Seed pulsed happily.

It seemed to understand Freya’s joy.

Their connection with Damon had made it smarter.

And somehow...

It had begun forming its own bond with Freya.

Whenever the Gale Seed pulsed happily, Freya became happy too.

She would circle around it proudly, cheering it on.

"Squee!"

Pulse!

"Squee!"

Pulse!

Watching the two interact had become one of Damon’s favorite things.

But then...

Freya suddenly froze.

Her ears stood up.

Her expression changed.

Damon noticed it a second later.

His enhanced senses quickly caught it.

Someone was here.

His eyes narrowed.

And then...

A smile slowly appeared.

Not fear. Not worry.

But a sly smile.

A dangerous one even. The kind that made people nervous.

"Heh."

"So they’ve finally arrived."

Meanwhile...

Outside the treasure room.

Several groups had reached the ruins.

They had already seen enough horrors to make their blood run cold.

Bones.

Broken weapons.

Blood stains.

Deep claw marks.

And the remains of battle everywhere.

The walls were covered with destruction.

Some areas had melted, while the others had collapsed entirely.

Every step made the Elemental Users more uneasy.

"What happened here..."

"Those scouts..."

One man swallowed hard.

"They never stood a chance."

Those who knew about the guardians became even more cautious.

Battle formations were quickly arranged.

Nobody dared act carelessly.

Because they knew.

The two High B rank beasts should still be inside.

Just then... Creeeak

Everyone froze.

The sound was soft.

But inside the silent ruin...

It sounded terrifying.

Every hair on their bodies stood.

Weapons were raised immediately.

Sweat dripped down several faces.

Even the experienced Elemental Users held their breaths.

Because...

The door leading to the treasure chamber had moved.

And slowly...

Very slowly...

It opened just a little.

Creeeak...

A gap appeared.

Darkness greeted them.

Nobody moved or even breathed.

They stared at the opening as their hearts pounded violently.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

And for some reason...

An inexplicable chill crawled down every person’s spine.

The moment the stone door creaked open even more, every Elemental User inside the ruined hall froze.

Their hearts tightened.

The broken walls.

The dried blood.

The countless battle marks.

The remains of scouts.

Everything around them constantly reminded them that something terrifying had lived here.

No one dared breathe loudly.

"Get ready!"

A middle-aged man from the Frostfall Family barked immediately.

"Shield users to the front!"

"Archers, stay behind!"

"Don’t attack recklessly!"

At the same time, another captain shouted.

"Wind users spread out!"

"Healers stay in the rear!"

"Watch the ceiling!"

But the families weren’t truly united.

Everyone had their own arrangements.

The Calloway squad quietly gathered together.

The Dawncrest Family shifted to the left.

The Graymoon Family kept their distance from everyone else.

No one fully trusted anyone.

Even while expecting danger, they were still guarding against one another.

And then...

The door opened just a little more.

All eyes focused.

Some tightened their grips on their weapons.

Others prepared Arts.

Someone even swallowed nervously.

Then...

Step.

Step.

A small silver fox slowly walked out.

"..."

"..."

Silence.

Everyone blinked.

The terrifying guardian they had imagined...

Was this?

The fox was beautiful.

Silver fur. Bright eyes, with eight elegant tails swaying gently behind her.

And honestly...

She looked adorable.

Someone almost laughed.

"That’s what scared us?"

"Hahaha!"

"Seriously?"

A few people relaxed immediately.

Some even let out embarrassed coughs.

They had nearly scared themselves to death over a cute little fox.

But inside the chamber, Damon merely smirked.

Typical.

Humans.

Fear one moment, Greed the next.

Exactly like he predicted.

Meanwhile, Freya lifted her head proudly.

Her steps remained slow and graceful.

Just as Damon had instructed.

Majestic.

Confident.

Almost arrogant.

And slowly...

Crack!

Tiny arcs of lightning appeared around her.

Then another.

And another.

The air suddenly became heavier.

The laughter gradually stopped.

Some people frowned.

Then somebody’s eyes widened.

"A spirit!"

"It’s a spirit elemental!"

Everyone’s breathing stopped.

Spirit elemental?

Another person stared at the eight tails.

His voice trembled.

"Eight tails..."

"That thing is priceless!"

Greed exploded immediately.

Forget treasure. Forget ores. Forget the ruin.

The fox alone was enough to drive anyone mad.

"Capture it!"

"Don’t kill it!"

"Careful with the tails!"

"It belongs to the Dawncrest Family!"

"Bullshit!"

"Our Graymoon Family saw it first!"

"Move!"

And the earlier caution disappeared completely.