Chapter 128: The Weight of Choices

"Just like Big Brother... you’re still into cupcakes."

Outside, however, Zishan knew none of what was happening currently in the Beast Nurturing Space.

They returned to the military grounds soon after. Ernest lowered Zishan and Ollie to the ground while Elinox landed near them.

Ollie was sleeping just as peacefully as before.

Zishan stared at him. ’Seriously? This kid is such a sleepyhead. I’m sure the sleeping spell cast on him or whatever Elinox did should have already came off.’

He had been carried outside the capital, protected inside a barrier, surrounded by Wyverns, carried back through the air, and somehow remained asleep through all of it.

Zishan decided that Ollie had acquired a Skill without telling him. There was no other reasonable explanation. Of course, he was just kidding.

He was about to check on Silvy again when Ernest spoke.

"Zishan."

The tone made him stop.

He turned around.

Ernest was no longer looking amused about the First Ascent. "You need to understand something about what happened today."

Zishan’s brows furrowed.

Ernest looked toward the capital behind them. "If you had remained stubborn earlier, what happened outside could have happened here."

Zishan followed his gaze.

People were moving around the military grounds. Farther beyond them were streets, houses, and buildings packed closely together.

"Olmost has many strong people," Ernest continued. "Dealing with a group of Wyverns isn’t impossible for the capital."

He paused for a moment and continued, "The problem is dealing with them without destroying everything around us."

Zishan became quiet.

His mind returned to the fight.

The Wyvern Lord alone had been Level 698.

There were several more above Level 400 and 500, and those things had not cared where their attacks landed whenever they fought.

Ernest had forced Wyverns out of the sky with Sound Mana.

Elinox had cut through several of them with one swing.

Then, she melted the rest with Light Magic.

That was outside the capital.

There had been no civilians anywhere near them.

"If those Wyverns came inside," Ernest said, "we would have fought them here. There would be no choice."

Zishan looked back at him.

Ernest’s face remained serious. "It wouldn’t be as simple as kicking them away. Stronger Wyverns would fight back, and killing them would require attacks powerful enough to kill them."

He gestured toward the city. "Now, imagine what happens around those attacks."

Zishan did, and his expression slowly changed when he pictured what that would actually look like inside the capital. There were buildings everywhere, people filling the streets, and families who would have no idea why several Wyverns had suddenly appeared above their homes.

"Even Noxi and I couldn’t contain everything we used earlier," Ernest continued. "Mana spreads. Attacks miss. The ground breaks. A single strike between people at our Level can destroy far more than the person being attacked."

Elinox stayed quiet beside them.

Zishan lowered his eyes.

Ernest had warned him earlier. He had been too focused on Silvy. All he wanted was to keep her outside because he hated the idea of hiding her whenever something came looking for her.

He had not really thought about what would happen if the Wyverns reached everyone else. He was being selfish.

His shoulders dropped and muttered, "I’m sorry."

Ernest stopped.

Zishan bowed. "I was being arrogant."

Elinox looked toward him.

"I only kept thinking about Silvy," Zishan continued. "I wanted her outside, and I got angry because those Wyverns were the reason I had to hide her again."

He stayed bowed for another second before lifting his head. "I didn’t think enough about everyone else."

Ernest said nothing.

Zishan scratched the side of his face. "What can I do to make up for it?"

Both of them looked at him.

Zishan noticed. "What?"

Elinox blinked. "You admitted it rather fast."

His brows rose. "What am I supposed to do? Pretend I wasn’t wrong?"

Ernest stared at him for another moment before shaking his head. "No."

Zishan waited.

"You don’t need to make up for anything."

"But—"

"No damage was done." Ernest’s voice became calmer, cutting off what he was about to say. "You recognized the mistake. Just remember it next time."

Zishan slowly nodded and said, "Okay."

Ernest looked at him for a moment longer. "The stronger you become, the more careful you need to be with the choices you make."

Zishan did not answer right away because he understood what Ernest meant. A few months ago, one stupid decision would have mostly ended with him getting himself killed, but that was no longer the case. He had Ollie now, and Silvy too, along with people around him who could easily get dragged into whatever he decided to do. If he kept getting stronger, then the consequences of making the wrong decision would only become worse.

Zishan sighed. "Yeah."

He looked away from Ernest, not because he was angry about being reprimanded, but because Ernest was right. ’Damn it...’

He only really wanted Silvy outside with him, and that was what made the whole thing harder to accept.

He wanted her sitting on his shoulder again, pulling his hair whenever she wanted something. He wanted her shouting Mama at Elinox and causing everyone nearby to look at the three of them like something had gone terribly wrong somewhere.

He only wanted her to explore the world with him.

Instead, Silvy had to hide from the world.

All because the moment she stayed outside for too long, some large lizards seemed to notice her existence.

Zishan’s hands slowly balled into fists.

’Even if I have to turn this entire world upside down, I’m finding something that can hide you from those dragons.’ The thought settled inside him. ’And once I do, I’ll find those fucking lizards and—’

Zishan stopped himself halfway through the thought and stared ahead for a while. ’Wait... why the hell am I already thinking about revenge?’

He did not even know what those dragons actually wanted from Silvy. The Wyverns had clearly been after her; that much was obvious after they chased them all the way out of the capital, but whether they wanted to kill her, take her somewhere, or do something else entirely was something Zishan had no way of knowing right now.

’Maybe there’s some kind of misunderstanding here...’

Zishan frowned at his own thought because even he was not fully convinced by it, though starting a personal war against an entire race of dragons before knowing what was going on sounded much more unreasonable.

’Yeah... misunderstanding first. Revenge later if they’re actually assholes.’ His eyes moved toward the sky. ’I’ll find out soon enough.’