Chapter 14: Aldric and Serena

Riding on Azreon, Chris headed in the direction of the scream he had heard.

It took them less than a minute to reach the area, and as they flew over the treetops, Chris immediately spotted the source of the commotion below.

There were two people in the middle of the forest.

One was a robust, burly older man with graying hair, while the other was a young woman with long black hair. She looked around Chris’s age and was unbelievably beautiful, but the worry on her face was impossible to miss as she watched the older man standing between her and two enormous black bears.

The situation was obvious even from above. The man was trying to protect the girl, but he was clearly losing.

His body was covered in wounds, and blood was dripping from several parts of him as he desperately held his greatsword in front of the young woman.

Chris immediately opened his System and scanned the creatures below.

[Black Bear - B-Rank - Level 40.]

[Black Bear - B-Rank - Level 40.]

Chris then tried scanning the two humans, but no information appeared.

He quickly understood why. Both of them were wearing oncealment bracelets around their wrists.

They were relatively common among adventurers and wealthy people, although they were still expensive enough that ordinary people couldn’t casually afford them. The bracelets concealed information such as one’s level and their name, preventing others from freely scanning them.

Chris himself had owned one when he first entered the Wilds, but after years of surviving alone, the bracelet had long since been destroyed.

He looked down at the two people again.

He normally wouldn’t bother involving himself in someone else’s problems anymore. The person he had been before entering the Wilds might have gone out of his way to help strangers, but years of surviving alone had changed him.

Still, this was different. It had been years since he had seen another human.

He wanted information. He wanted to know what had happened in civilization while he was gone, and perhaps these two could tell him something.

"Azreon, let’s help them. Attack."

Azreon immediately folded his wings and dived toward the ground.

The sudden descent startled the two people below, but before either could react, Azreon opened his mouth.

A torrent of flames erupted downward.

The two bears barely had time to look upward before the fire engulfed them.

*BOOM!*

The flames spread across the ground, swallowing both enormous bodies.

A few seconds later, nothing remained except scorched earth and ashes.

Chris looked down calmly.

After their latest evolution, both he and Azreon had become far stronger than before. Although Level 40 B-Rank beasts were powerful, catching them off guard with a sudden attack gave the two bears no chance to fight back.

Azreon spread his wings and slowed his descent before landing heavily in front of the two humans.

*THUD!*

The ground shook beneath his legs.

The older man immediately stepped in front of the young woman and raised his greatsword. The weapon was covered in cracks, clearly damaged during their previous battle, but he still held it tightly.

The young woman raised both hands as elemental mana gathered around her palms. She looked ready to fight despite the fear visible in her eyes.

Then a figure jumped from Azreon’s back.

Chris landed several meters in front of the dragon and calmly began walking toward them.

The two humans stared at him in shock. They had expected the dragon to attack again.

Instead, a human had simply jumped off its back and was now approaching them as though nothing had happened.

Chris raised one hand.

"There is no need to worry. I didn’t come to attack you. I just have a few questions."

The two lowered their guard slightly, although neither completely relaxed.

The older man kept his greatsword raised as he stared at Chris.

"What do you want?"

Chris shook his head.

"Hmm, is that how you treat someone who just saved your life, old man?"

The man’s stern expression remained for a moment before he finally lowered his greatsword slightly.

"I’m sorry, young man. Don’t misunderstand. These past few days have been very hard for us, and we have to be vigilant of everyone."

Chris glanced over them.

The older man was still bleeding badly, while the young woman had scratches covering her arms and face. She was also trembling slightly from exhaustion.

"Do you have any healing potions? If you do, it would be smart to drink them now."

The older man studied him for a moment before reaching into the air, and two bottles suddenly appeared in his hand.

Chris’s eyes immediately moved toward the man’s hand. There was a ring on his finger.

He recognized it instantly. It was a storage ring.

Chris had wanted one for years. Being able to store large amounts of supplies without carrying a heavy backpack would have made his life in the Wilds far easier, but he had never possessed the resources to buy one before entering the forest.

Storage rings were extremely expensive, and only wealthy people or powerful adventurers could normally afford them.

The older man handed one potion to the young woman before drinking the other himself.

As soon as they swallowed the liquid, the changes were obvious. Their wounds began closing almost immediately.

The cuts disappeared, the bleeding stopped, and within moments, their injuries had completely healed.

Chris narrowed his eyes slightly. The old man’s injuries had been quite serious. The potions they possessed were at least Rare quality, perhaps even higher.

The older man noticed Chris staring at his hand and immediately raised his greatsword again.

"Don’t try anything funny, young man. You might be stronger than us now, but I won’t go down without a fight."

Chris shook his head.

"You’re thinking too much, old man. I was only interested in the ring, not your possessions. Would you happen to have another storage ring? I’d like to buy it."

The older man stared at him in surprise.

"There is nothing to be surprised about. My equipment was destroyed long ago."

The old man looked at Chris’s hands and noticed that he wasn’t wearing a bracelet or a ring.

He then looked at Chris more carefully.

Chris knew he was scanning him, but he didn’t care. At most, the man would be able to see his name and level.

The old man’s expression changed slightly.

"Your name... Chris Averian. It sounds familiar. Have we met before, young man?"

"No. I’m sure we haven’t. You must be mistaken, old man. I’ve been traveling through the Wilds for years on my own. It has been years since I last saw another human."

The man’s eyes widened.

"You... you survived alone in the Wilds for years?"

"Yes."

The older man remained silent for a few seconds. Clearly, he had never heard of anyone surviving alone in the Wilds for so long.

Chris had intentionally said it that way. He didn’t particularly care if the man eventually discovered who he was, but there was no reason to reveal anything unnecessarily.

The older man then looked past him at Azreon.

"Is that your beast?"

"Yes. This is my partner, Azreon."

Chris turned toward the dragon.

"Buddy, say hi."

Azreon lifted his head.

*ROOOAR!*

His roar shook the surrounding trees.

The older man and young woman immediately took several steps backward. The girl’s face went pale as she stared at the enormous black dragon.

Chris laughed.

"Hahaha... there is nothing to worry about. Azreon won’t attack you without my permission."

The older man stared at the dragon for several seconds before his eyes widened.

"THIS! THAT IS A DRAGON?!"

Chris raised an eyebrow. He had expected the old man to discover it through his System eventually, but he hadn’t expected him to recognize it so quickly.

"Oh... you know about dragons, old man?"

The old man shook his head.

"I don’t know much. I’ve only read about them in some ancient texts. It was said that Dragons were the strongest Mythic-rank beasts, but I never believed they still existed. I’ve never seen one with my own eyes before."

"What!? Grandfather! That’s a Mythic-rank beast?"

The young woman looked completely stunned.

Mythic-rank beasts were creatures most people only ever saw in ancient books and records. Although some still existed somewhere in the world, the average person could go their entire life without seeing one.

"Yes. That’s a Mythic-rank beast."

The old man nodded slowly, his guard dropping even further. If Chris and the dragon wanted to kill them, there was little they could do about it.

"Impressive. You understood your situation faster than I expected."

Chris glanced between the two of them.

"But don’t worry. I have no intention of attacking you, as I already said. I only want to ask a few questions and, if possible, buy a storage ring and some of those bracelets from you."

The older man thought for a moment before nodding.

"Okay, let’s talk. Follow me."

He turned around and motioned for the young woman to follow.

She hesitated for a moment, glancing between Chris and Azreon before following her grandfather.

Chris and Azreon followed behind them.

The young woman turned around several times as they walked, curiously looking at Chris and then at the enormous dragon behind him.

Chris noticed but didn’t pay much attention to it.

After several minutes, they reached the cave Chris had spotted earlier. They entered, and the older man pointed toward a fallen log near one side.

"Please sit. Let’s talk."

Chris sat down without hesitation.

Azreon approached and lowered himself beside him, resting his enormous head on Chris’s lap.

Chris smiled slightly and began patting his head.

The young woman watched the scene quietly.

Just moments ago, she had been terrified of the enormous dragon, yet now it was lying beside Chris like an enormous pet. The contrast was difficult to understand.

The older man sat across from Chris and rested his damaged greatsword against the cave wall.

"My name is Aldric."

He gestured toward the young woman.

"And this is my granddaughter, Serena."

Serena gave a small nod.

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. You can call me Chris."

Chris continued gently stroking Azreon’s head.

"I’m sure you have questions, but I’ll ask mine first."

Aldric nodded.

"Go ahead."

Chris leaned back slightly.

"First, how long have you been in the Wilds?"

Aldric’s expression became more serious.

"About a month."

Chris’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Just a month?"

"Yes. We entered the Wilds with a group of guards and several flying beasts. We were attacked by some powerful creatures a few days ago."

"What kind of creatures?"

Aldric shook his head.

"I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like them before. They were large, winged serpents. They were incredibly fast, and their bodies were covered in hard scales. They were too strong."

Chris’s expression changed slightly.

"Amphitheres?"

Aldric looked at him in confusion.

"You know what they are?"

Chris nodded slowly.

"Just a little."

He immediately remembered the old fortress and the diary he had found there. The old soldier had written about those creatures, but apparently their species had become unknown to the rest of the world.

Aldric nodded.

"We lost everyone except the two of us."

Chris remained silent for a moment.

"What were you doing this deep in the Wilds?"

Aldric hesitated.

Serena lowered her eyes.

"We came here looking for something."

Chris noticed the hesitation but didn’t press them immediately. Instead, he asked another question.

"What about civilization? How is everything?"

Aldric looked at him strangely.

"Why are you asking that?"

Chris shrugged.

"I’ve been away for a long time."

"How long?"

Chris looked toward the cave entrance.

"Years."

Aldric stared at him. Again, that stunned expression appeared on his face.

Chris didn’t explain further. There was still a lot he wanted to know, and for the first time in years, he had someone who could actually answer him.