Chapter 272: Chaos Star

"Ah, I can’t do this anymore!" A young, feminine voice sounded inside the private training room.

A young masculine voice responded, "Just a little more! Push a little harder!"

"Can’t we just do this tomorrow? I think it will be easier by then!"

"No! We can’t miss this opportunity! It’s on the verge of forming already, and delaying it might have some bad effects!"

"Arghhh—-"

"Grit your teeth! You can do this! I believe in you!"

At this moment, outside the private room, the others were still training respectively.

The sounds coming from Regis’s room were so loud to the point that, even with soundproofing, their voices could still be vaguely heard from the outside.

Killian, who was facilitating the training of warriors, swordsmen, and the like, could not help but glance at the source of the sound.

He raised his brow as a knowing smile appeared on his face, "Oh, looks like they’re really going at it, huh?"

Whoosh!

’Danger!’ Alarm bells rang in his mind as he tilted his head instinctively.

Swoosh—!

Killian then saw a Magic Missile going past his head before heaving a sigh of relief, "Whoa, that’s close—"

Unexpectedly, the cheeky smile on his face disappeared as he saw the magic missile take a turn in mid-air as it drove itself towards his forehead.

Thud!

"Ah!" Killian involuntarily gasped as he caressed the bump on his forehead while looking in Pandora’s direction, "What was that for!?"

However, Pandora did not pay him any attention as she merely glanced at her students with a slight smile.

"That’s how you do it."

""""Woah!""""

Lesfera, Vanessa, Brutt, and Perto all had amazed expressions on their faces as their eyes shone.

Once again, Killian’s voice sounded from the other side of the main training hall, "Hey!"

"Tch." Pandora glanced at him with a glare before going back to teaching the others.

’Scary...’ Killian felt goosebumps all over his body as he shook his head, "She’s really weird. I can never get used to—"

Swoosh—!

Feeling the fluctuations of energy behind him, he immediately drew his sword and cut the magic missile in one smooth motion.

Killian and Pandora’s eyes met at this moment.

This lasted for a moment as fighting spirit burned in both of their eyes.

However, just as their fighting spirit reached its peak, the former closed his eyes before bowing, "I’m sorry!"

***

Inside the private training room...

Regis and Marzana’s faces were both filled with satisfaction as they both stared at the latter’s chest.

More specifically, the singular black, three-pointed star that seemed to be a tear in space itself due to its unusually black color.

It was the star made of chaos energy.

A Chaos Star.

After a few moments of silence, Regis spoke with a smile, "Congrats on entering the Early Stage of One Star Realm."

"T-This... Is this really it...? I can’t believe... Hic..." Marzana’s eyes shone with disbelief before tears began to run down her face involuntarily.

Her sudden tears caught Regis off guard, "Uhhh... Are you okay?"

Unfortunately, the elven girl seemed not to have heard him as she continued sobbing quietly.

’Why did she suddenly cry... Did I do anything wrong?’

After a few moments of thinking, Regis ultimately decided to sit beside her quietly without moving even a finger.

It had already been around five days since they had started this training session.

Every day, not only Marzana, but also the parties Vanta, Exemplar, and Gotun, diligently went to train in the underground training hall punctually without missing a day.

So far, everyone progressed leaps and bounds.

And even with the seemingly monotonous routine, they were all able to enjoy it as they slowly became closer to one another.

One such example was Regis and Marzana.

More than five days ago, they would never have imagined that they would be screaming in front of each other’s faces as they tried to control the chaos energy.

This was especially true for Regis.

Thinking back to the time when he first met her, he could not help but smile, ’In the past, I would not even be able to imagine me screaming on an elven royalty’s face.’

Even though the reason was not malicious and he did not have any bad intentions, just the thought made him chuckle inwardly.

"I-I can’t believe it... Hic..."

Marzana repeatedly muttered the words ’I can’t believe it’ in between her sobs.

She could not help but shiver as the images of her past flashed in her mind.

The moments when her family found out about the strange black energy that plagued her body...

The moments where she kept her head low, overwhelmed by the scornful gazes of the elves...

The moments where even her very own family looked at her with disgusted eyes...

...

One by one, each of the painful memories that she longed to forget appeared in her mind, as if wanting to drown her.

The memories of the past began to affect her thoughts.

’Would they love me now that I’m not useless anymore...?’

’W-What if they still hate me...’

...

As negativity filled her mind, Regis, who was beside her, looked at her with an observant gaze.

’What’s happening to her...’

Even though she did not show any outward change, he could clearly feel the negative emotions that were plaguing her.

After all, one must never forget that demonic power feeds on negativity itself.

Ironically, the demonic power that was the amalgamation of all the world’s dirt was also the very energy that was most sensitive to negative fluctuations.

Regis sensed the elven girl’s worsening condition as the look in his eyes became serious.

After a moment of thinking, he suddenly stood up.

And it was not the kind that was careful— he coughed and stomped his feet on the floor roughly.

This action startled Marzana, who flinched a little at his sudden actions.

She looked at the young man before her in confusion.

"Get up. I’ve done my part of the deal already— it’s time you do yours."

After the initial surprise, the elven girl slowly stood up as well, using her hand as a pivot on the floor.

The look in Marzana’s eyes was still dim, as if she were overwhelmed due to the number of thoughts she was having.

Regis looked at her and noticed her downcast gaze.

He hesitated for a moment before slowly patting her shoulder, "You were able to overcome something that no elf could have overcome."

"E-Eh? W-What are you sayi—"

Marzana became confused again at his sudden words, her mind unable to keep up with the ongoing events.

But before she could speak, Regis cut her off, "You were able to solve something even the Queen of Elves and the World Tree themselves weren’t able to solve."

"Hey, that’s disrespectfu—"

"So don’t worry, and stand proud. You’re amazing, don’t you know that?"

His words were like a gong in her mind that seemed to have chased all the thoughts that caused her to overthink with a loud bang.

’H-How did he know...’

Marzana was further filled with confusion.

Even though she did not utter even a word, not to mention trying her best to keep her expression the same...

Strangely enough, each of Regis’s seemingly senseless words resonated with her.

"Hic..."

The emotions that she had hidden deep within her heart seemed to burst out at this moment.

"I-I’m just worried that my family—"

"So what?"

"B-But—"

"Why would their words matter?"

"B-Because—"

"You’re my teammate right now."

"W-What—"

"You’re the party leader of the fifth party of our corporation."

Had it been during normal times, Marzana would surely have been angry when Regis kept interrupting her.

However, strangely, she felt comforted by it right now.

Seeing the change in her complexion, Regis smiled, "That’s right. As of this moment, you are not an elf: You are not a member of the royal lineage: And you are not the cursed black sheep of the family."

Brilliance could be seen deep within his blood red eyes.

"As of this moment, you are the party leader of the fifth party under our corporation."

Marzana’s downcast eyes seemed to be infected by the shining brilliance as her mood was inevitably lifted.

Gradually, the darkness in her eyes was replaced by something else.

It was unknown to her, something she was not aware of.

However, she could feel it.

And so, with a smile, Marzana asked, "Then where do I begin?"

Seeing her depression improve, Regis smiled as well.

"Well, in the past few days, we’ve been on the look out on suitable candidates for the fifth party, but we still haven’t found even one. So for starters, you need to find your members."

"Hmmm... I don’t believe that you can find one even with connections to the Midas Merchant Organization..."

Marzana thought for a moment before continuing, "Unless your standards are very high..."

"That’s the case..." Regis coughed, "But don’t worry, as the party leader, you can decide based on your own standards."

"Then you mean that I can choose anyone, right?"

"Even non-humans?"

"You don’t have to worry about that."

Hearing Regis’s response, a couple of thoughts seemed to arise in Marzana’s mind, making her lips curl into a smile.