Chapter 19: Another Favor

Chris let out a small sigh of relief when he saw the System’s information.

Level 45. At least the serpent wasn’t stronger than him.

He tightened his grip around his sword and locked eyes with the enormous beast, carefully watching the green smoke surrounding its body. Even though its level was lower, the poisonous cloud made the situation far more dangerous than a simple difference in strength suggested.

The serpent suddenly lunged forward.

Chris’s expression changed as the enormous body shot toward him with shocking speed. He immediately moved to the side, barely avoiding the serpent’s jaws as they snapped shut where his body had been only a moment earlier.

The serpent’s body passed close enough that Chris could feel the ominous presence coming from the toxic cloud surrounding it.

’I can’t let that touch me.’

His instincts were screaming at him to keep his distance. Even with his higher level and stronger body, something told him that allowing himself to collide with the toxic cloud would be extremely dangerous.

The serpent quickly turned around and attacked again, its movements far faster than Chris had expected from a Level 45 beast.

He jumped backward while swinging his sword through the air, creating enough distance to avoid another strike before raising his free hand.

Several crimson fireballs appeared around him.

"Let’s see how you handle this."

He released them all at once.

The fireballs flew toward the serpent from different angles, but the beast moved with incredible speed, twisting its body and slipping between the attacks as if it had already predicted their trajectories.

Most of the fireballs missed completely, exploding against the ground behind it.

However, two of them grazed the green toxic cloud surrounding the serpent.

The crimson flames immediately tore through the smoke, creating several openings before the cloud quickly began filling them again.

Chris’s eyes narrowed.

’Fire works.’

His fire elemental mana could damage the toxic cloud, but the problem was getting close enough to attack the serpent itself.

The beast lunged again.

Chris immediately fired another group of fireballs, aiming directly at its path rather than at its body.

The serpent twisted away from the first attack, but one of the fireballs struck the toxic cloud directly, tearing a hole through it.

Chris immediately slipped through the opening and swung his sword toward its body.

The serpent moved before the blade could reach it.

*Clang!*

His sword only managed to scrape across its scales before the beast twisted away and disappeared into its own toxic cloud.

Chris quickly moved backward as another attack came from his side.

The serpent’s head emerged from the smoke, jaws wide open.

He ducked beneath the attack and rolled across the ground, barely escaping the poisonous cloud before getting back onto his feet.

’This thing is too fast.’

The serpent turned around and attacked again.

Chris didn’t try to block it. He fired another fireball directly at the incoming head, forcing the serpent to change direction.

As the flames tore through the toxic cloud, he immediately moved through the opening and avoided the attack by slipping past its body.

The fight continued like that for several minutes.

Chris couldn’t land a proper attack, while the serpent couldn’t catch him either. Every time it attacked, he avoided its jaws or body while using his fire elemental mana to tear openings through the poisonous cloud.

The serpent was simply too fast.

Even when Chris predicted its attacks, the beast could change direction in the middle of its movement, forcing him to react almost instantly.

From a safe distance, Aldric watched the battle with a serious expression.

"His movements are extremely disciplined."

Serena looked at him.

"You think so?"

Aldric nodded.

"He isn’t trying to overpower the beast. He’s constantly watching its movements, keeping his distance and using whatever advantage he has instead of taking unnecessary risks."

He watched Chris narrowly avoid another attack before firing a group of fireballs into the toxic cloud.

"I’ve seen many young fighters with more raw strength than experience, but I’ve rarely seen someone his age with that kind of survival instinct."

Serena continued watching the battle.

"He’s been living in the Wilds for years. I suppose he had to learn."

"Perhaps, but surviving and actually developing that kind of discipline are two different things."

Another attack came.

Chris jumped backward, but his landing was slightly slower than before.

The serpent noticed.

Its movements became more aggressive as it continued attacking, clearly realizing that Chris was beginning to tire.

Chris breathed heavily as he moved away from another strike.

’It’s working.’

His body was becoming slower. His breathing was becoming heavier.

His movements weren’t as sharp as they had been at the beginning of the battle.

The serpent seemed to believe it had finally found its opportunity, but that was exactly what Chris wanted.

He had been waiting for the beast to become confident enough to attack without hesitation.

The serpent suddenly lunged toward him, moving even faster than before.

Chris remained where he was for an instant longer than he normally would have, allowing the beast to believe that he couldn’t escape this time.

The serpent opened its jaws and charged directly toward him.

At the last moment, Chris twisted his body and jumped upward.

The serpent passed beneath him.

While rising above its body, Chris extended his hand and released a powerful fireball directly downward.

The crimson flames struck the toxic cloud and tore a large gap through it.

Chris immediately dove through the opening.

His sword flashed as he descended.

*BOOM!*

The blade pierced deep into the serpent’s body.

Chris landed on its back and immediately pulled the sword free.

"Azreon!"

A roar echoed from above. Azreon had been circling the area throughout the battle, waiting for the right moment to intervene.

The dragon immediately dove toward them.

Chris jumped from the serpent’s back just as Azreon reached it.

A massive stream of crimson flames erupted from the dragon’s mouth and engulfed the serpent.

*BOOOOM!*

The Green Serpent released a terrifying shriek as flames spread across its enormous body. The toxic cloud surrounding it suddenly disappeared.

Chris landed several meters away and immediately rushed forward.

The serpent tried to raise its head, opening its mouth as if preparing to release another cloud of poison, but it didn’t get the chance.

Chris stepped forward and drove his sword straight through its head.

The serpent’s body began rolling across the ground. It slammed into the earth again and again, throwing dirt into the air as it twisted violently in its final moments.

Chris stepped back and watched carefully, keeping his sword ready in case it suddenly attacked again.

The serpent continued moving for almost another minute before its body finally stopped.

Chris remained still for a few seconds before slowly lowering his sword.

’I really shouldn’t underestimate wild beasts this deep into the Wilds.’

Even though the serpent’s strength was lower than his, fighting it had been far more difficult than he expected.

Its speed alone had forced him to spend most of the battle simply avoiding its attacks, while the toxic cloud had made getting close to it extremely dangerous. Without his fire elemental mana, he wasn’t sure how he would have been able to create an opening.

And that was only one beast.

’There could be countless others with abilities like this.’

He walked toward the serpent’s head and crouched beside it before using his sword to remove the beast core.

After putting the core away, he stood and looked toward Aldric and Serena, who were still waiting at a safe distance.

Azreon landed beside him, giving a quiet roar as Chris approached.

"You two can come over now."

Aldric and Serena carefully made their way toward them, both looking at the enormous dead serpent.

Serena stared at its body for a moment before looking at Chris.

"That was a lot more dangerous than I expected."

Chris nodded.

"Yeah. Its level wasn’t that high, but its abilities made it difficult to fight."

Aldric looked at the destroyed area around them before turning toward Chris.

"You handled it well. You never rushed in, even when it looked like you had an opening."

Chris glanced at the serpent.

"I couldn’t afford to. If that poison touched me, the fight could have ended very differently."

Aldric nodded in agreement.

"Your ability to recognize danger and adjust your fighting style is impressive."

Chris didn’t say anything to that, instead looking toward the cave.

"We should get the flowers and leave before something else comes looking for this beast."

Aldric immediately nodded.

"That sounds like a good idea."

Chris turned toward the wooden box where he had placed the poisonous plants earlier. Walking over to it, he lifted the box from the ground and brought it back to Aldric before handing it to him.

Aldric carefully accepted it and immediately stored it inside his storage ring.

"Thank you. I truly mean it. Without your help, Serena and I might not have made it this far, and we certainly wouldn’t have been able to obtain these flowers."

Chris shrugged.

"You don’t need to thank me that much. You already paid me to do this, and honestly, helping you was mutually beneficial."

Aldric nodded, but instead of saying anything else, he remained silent for a moment with his head lowered.

Chris noticed his hesitation.

"What is it?"

Aldric took a breath before looking up again.

"I would like to ask you for one more favor."

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of favor?"

"I want to ask you to help us return to the country."

Aldric’s expression became slightly embarrassed as he continued.

"I wouldn’t ask if I had another choice, but with my current condition, traveling back with Serena would be extremely dangerous. I’m much weaker than I used to be, and if we encounter another powerful beast on the way, I don’t know whether I can protect her."

Chris remained silent as he considered the request.

He didn’t want to return to the country yet.

It had already taken him years to get this far, and now that he had Azreon and a completely new path ahead of him, he didn’t want to waste months traveling back just to escort two people home.

If they traveled on foot, it would take at least a couple of months to reach the country, especially with Aldric’s weakened condition and Serena’s health. Losing that much time was something he couldn’t afford.

Things would have been different if Azreon had already reached Level 40 and evolved again. At that point, the dragon would likely be strong enough to carry all three of them while flying, but for now, that simply wasn’t possible.

Chris looked at Aldric and shook his head.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t help with that. It would take months to get back, and I don’t have that much time to spare."

Aldric lowered his head again, clearly understanding what Chris meant.

"I understand. I shouldn’t have asked you for such a large favor after you’ve already done so much for us."

Serena also looked down, her expression slightly embarrassed.

She knew how much Chris had already helped them, from protecting them against the Horned Serpents to finding the poisonous flower they had spent so long searching for. Asking him to spend several more months escorting them home felt like too much, especially when he had his own goals to pursue.

Chris looked at the two of them. Normally, he wouldn’t care much about the problems of strangers.

After spending years alone in the Wilds, he had decided not to involve himself in other people’s lives. There were too many dangers around him, and worrying about everyone he encountered would only get him killed.

But these two were different.

Aldric had once been his hero. When Chris was a child, he had heard countless stories about the legendary General Aldric and the battles he had fought. Those stories had made him respect the old man long before they ever met.

Serena was different, but he had also grown to respect her after spending these days together. Despite her weakened body and the pain caused by the poison, she had continued moving forward without constantly complaining or asking others to carry her.

Chris remained silent for a moment, thinking about it. There was one way he could help them without abandoning his own plans.

He looked toward Aldric.

"I might be able to help you after all, but there’s a condition."

Aldric immediately raised his head.

"What condition?"

"Azreon needs to get stronger first."

Chris glanced toward the dragon standing beside him.

"When Azreon reaches Level 40 and evolves again, he should be strong enough to carry all of us while flying. Once that happens, I can take you both back to the country."

Aldric stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding.

"I understand."

Serena also looked toward Azreon, her expression becoming slightly brighter.

"So we just have to wait until he reaches Level 40?"

Chris nodded.

"Exactly."

Azreon gave a quiet roar beside them, as if he understood that he had just been given another goal.

Chris looked toward the forest ahead.

"Until then, you two can stay with me, but you have to follow my instructions."