Emery and Zach were called by the female grand magus, beckoning them to come over. When they arrived before her, she first looked towards Emery and without saying anything, put her right palm on his chest.
A confused look naturally appeared on Emery's face, but it quickly changed when he suddenly felt a foreign energy entering his body, probing through his meridians and also healing the injury caused by the fire spirit energy he recklessly devoured.
The process lasted for a minute, during which the three of them said nothing.
"Thank you, elder." Emery quickly said after his healing was complete.
"Hmm…" The grand magus looked at him, a thoughtful look on her face before saying, "Not only do you have the Devour ability, but you also have a messed up core… I am not sure whether its a fortune or a curse.."
Emery only nodded silently in response to the grand magus's words, as he already knew very well his condition. In fact, those words were arguably one of the best he had ever heard from those who analyzed his condition.
The grand magus looked at Zach and said calmly. "There is nothing to be proud of from beating up a wolf." She didn't say anything else, but from the look on Zach's face, it was clear that her point had been conveyed across.
Finishing what she first wanted to do, the female grand magus finally started to review Emery and Zach's fights.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEven though Zach won the fights, the grand magus apparently was not impressed with his performance. Gazing at the Dragon protégé, she shared what she thought as she watched his fights.
"All you do is familiarize yourself with the wolf's skills. Nothing more…" The grand magus said dryly, causing Zach's eyebrows to twitch. Regardless of his reaction, she continued her words. "..If it weren't for your bloodline upgrade, you would have lost to him in a few minutes."
Much to Emery's surprise, even though his body couldn't help but show various minor reactions to the criticism given by the grand magus, Zach still maintained his cool as he lowered his head and said, "Yes Master"
Then, without a pause, the female grand magus started to compare the strength they showed her to that of the Sword Saint and the monk whose now place number one. Her detailed explanation of the latter two shocked Emery as he heard them. It was as if she was there watching their duel in person.
The Sword Saint who had control over the elusive time, making him not only the fastest but also the one with the best techniques among them. The monk, on the other hand, possessed an limitless amount of energy to use.
As for Zach, the Dragon protege had the strongest raw power among the three of them. However, in the grand magus's eyes, sheer strength alone wasn't sufficient to face the monstrosity of those two standing at the top.
"You won't be able to beat any of them with your current state," she said matter-of-factly to Zach.
Afterwards, the grand magus turned her head and looked at Emery saying, "As for you.. You are second-rate in all of them. Second in raw power, second in technique, and second in spirit pool.."
Emery offered no rebuttal and accepted the assessment gladly as it was indeed the truth.
Due to the number of elemental affinity he had, Emery found himself brooding over many branches of the discipline throughout his journey, which eventually led him to his current situation where he could do anything but a master of none.
But then, with a faint smile on her face, the female magus spoke words that surprised Emery.
"Fortunately, young wolf, unlike this dragon which has almost reached its full potential, I see that you still have a lot to improve." She paused for a second to glance at Zach before continuing her conversation with Emery.
"I'll help you get stronger, and if Zach doesn't progress from this point on, I'm sure you'll beat him before two months' time has passed."
Those words of course made Emery happy inside. But on the other hand, once again Emery realized that there was no response from Zach. The Dragon protege still remained silent despite hearing such words from his own master.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the chance to ponder the oddity as the grand magus' voice sounded again.
"Now follow me."
The three walked out of the cave and upon returning to the open plain where Zach and Emery first fought, she jumped on top of the red Salamander. Seeing its master return, the dragon let out a welcoming roar.
However, the roar sent Emery over the edge as he subconsciously recalled the incident that happened in his first year where he witnessed firsthand how a similar-looking dragon chewed on the fat acolyte.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe grand magus quickly noticed Emery's unusual behavior and asked about it. "You had a bad experience with dragons, young wolf?"
Nodding his head slightly, Emery said, "I'm sorry, elder. It's just this particular kind.. I have seen a similar one in my first year at the academy."
The grand magus stilled for a moment before she realized what he meant and said, "Ah yes, you were there didn't you..? You saw the salamander belonging to the red demon.. Hahaha, I can't wait for the time to fight that elf again!"
Afterwards, the three of them flew into the air and headed in a certain direction. Contrary to expectations, the grand magus didn't lead the two of them out of the floating island. Instead, heading towards the center of it.
It took several minutes for them to arrive at their destination, where Emery could clearly see a huge dark pitfall that protruded deep within. Surprisingly, just flying above it was enough for Emery to feel pressure all over.
"Let's go in," said the grand magus before she dove in first, which was swiftly followed by the Dragon protege who was still silent.
Seeing the two were gone, Emery quickly jumped down and followed suit. His body descended into the pitfall and his vision was swiftly taken over by darkness. The fall continued on until what he thought was at least five miles deep, where he started to feel strange energy that made his landing much heavier than expected.
The dark cave they fell into has apparently a force that is five times stronger than outside, making any movement much more rigid and cumbersome.
With a quick sweep of Spirit Reading, Emery could also tell that the underground cave was filled to the brim with creatures. Dozens of ear-piercing shrieks resounded in the air, followed by many pairs of yellow eyes that shone eerily in the darkness.
A few seconds later, as his eyes somewhat adapted to the lack of light in this place, Emery was finally able to see what it was. They were giant black spiders with four pairs of razor-sharp blade-like legs. Every one of them were a powerful Legendary beast.
As if he couldn't see the hordes of bloodthirsty creatures around them, the grand magus said in a calm voice. "This place will help both of you, especially you young wolf." Turning to Emery who vaguely saw her figure in this lightless environment, she added her words.
"I will leave you two here for a week, after which I want to see another duel.. and please don't kill each other.. i don't want to waste my time"
It was as if the dozen creatures in this place knew about the grand magus's strength; as soon as she left, each and every one of them let out a deafening shriek before rumbling were heard as they all charged towards the two half-bloods.