Novel Full Chapter 413: Anything
After Elion vanished from the trial, the spirit remained floating in the empty chamber. For a long while, it said nothing. It was bewildered, shocked, and filled with an almost unbearable sense of unwillingness.
The boy had taken far too much.
The spirit could have let most of it slide. Yes, Elion had chosen many rare treasures. Yes, several of them were valuable enough to make ancient powers shed blood. Yes, his reward haul was far beyond what any ordinary Aspirant should have been allowed to obtain.
But those things were still acceptable. The real problem was that, despite all of the spirit’s silent hopes, Elion had chosen that as well.
The spirit’s tiny body of light dimmed miserably. It really felt like crying now.
Surely, the moment its mistress discovered that thing was gone, she would snuff out its little life without hesitation.
Why?
Why did that damned boy have to possess such good eyes for treasures!?
Why could he not have been distracted by some flashy sword, a useless crown, or a grand-looking artifact that only existed to impress ignorant young geniuses?
No, of course not.
He had somehow managed to pick out one of the most ordinary-looking, but also the most valuable treasures in the entire chamber while standing there completely naked and grinning like a fool.
The spirit grumbled to itself for a while longer, its glow flickering between anger, grief, and despair. Eventually, there was nothing left for it to do.
The space it floated in vanished as well, and this version of the trials came to an end. With a heavy, soul-deep sigh, the spirit sent a message back to its main body.
A tragic, devastating report informing it of the loss of a supreme god treasure. Alone in the fading darkness, the tiny blob of light could only tremble silently as it imagined its mistress’s reaction.
...
Elion’s eyes snapped open.
At first, his vision was blurry, the world around him nothing more than a haze of indistinct shapes. A few seconds later, his sight cleared, and his senses returned. His ears were immediately assaulted by a loud yelp.
Elion groaned, "What now...?"
He blinked several times and looked around, trying to identify the source of the chaotic sound.
The first thing he saw was Maya.
She stood a short distance away, shielding her face and eyes with both hands. At least, she was pretending to. Judging by the very obvious gap between her fingers, she was still very much interested in whatever she was trying not to look at.
Elion stared at her before he glanced around. Oddly enough, he was standing.
He had not been conscious a second ago, which meant he had simply appeared in this place after leaving the trial, placed upright as though the trial could not be bothered to let him land normally.
Elion gave Maya a casual smile and raised one hand in greeting, "Hello."
Maya’s body went stiff the moment she realised he could see her looking. She quickly turned her head away.
Elion frowned. He wondered why she was acting so strangely, but he understood the reason when he looked down at himself.
He was still naked, "Curses," Elion muttered under his breath.
He quickly moved one hand down to cover his dangling bits, his face twisting with a mixture of annoyance and resignation.
Of all the ways he could have returned, he had to appear in front of someone without a single thread of clothing on his body. In a way, he should have expected this.
He had been naked when he left the trial, after all. This was clearly a lack of oversight on his part, but he also couldn’t just guess the circumstances of his appearance.
Elion cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uhm... would you happen to have a spare set of men’s clothes?"
Maya slowly turned her head toward him, "No, you shameless bastard!" she screamed. "Why would I walk around carrying men’s clothes!?"
Elion’s brow twitched, ’Fair enough.’
Maya immediately looked away again and crouched down, shielding her eyes with both hands as though the sight of his naked body had somehow tainted her vision. Her face and neck had turned so red they could have passed for red skin.
Elion sighed and glanced around.
They appeared to be standing inside a cavern of greenery. Thick roots spread across broken stone floors, and vines crawled over fallen walls that had long since been swallowed by the surrounding forest. The ruins were old, but not entirely unfamiliar.
Above them, rays of bright sunlight pierced through the dense ceiling of leaves, scattering golden beams across the moss-covered ground.
It was daytime.
Elion narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied the collapsed stone walls, "Is this the Demon King’s castle?" he asked.
He could somewhat recognise the structure, even though most of it had been destroyed. The greenery must have been the forest slowly spreading into what had once been Demon territory.
Maya nodded.
Even though Elion was not looking directly at her, his newly sharpened senses still caught the motion.
"What an odd choice for the trial to drop us here," he muttered.
"Put some damn clothes on!" Maya screamed at him again.
Elion sighed once more, "It is not that I have suddenly developed a dislike for clothing," he said. "Nor have I become an exhibitionist."
Maya’s shoulders stiffened.
"I simply do not have anything that fits." That was the unfortunate truth.
Maya remained crouched with her hands over her face, "Then make something!"
"With what?"
"I don’t know! Leaves! Vines! A curtain! A dead demon’s remains! Anything!"
Elion glanced around the ruined chamber.
There were indeed plenty of vines. Unfortunately, the thought of walking around wearing nothing but forest plants was somehow even more humiliating than being naked.
He frowned, "Absolutely not."
Maya snapped her head toward him, caught another glimpse, and immediately screamed again before covering her eyes, "Stop standing there like that!"
"I am not doing this on purpose."
"You are still doing it!"
Elion pinched the bridge of his nose.
For all the impossible trials he had endured, this was apparently the problem waiting for him upon his return. He needed clothes.
"Well, let us see if the system has anything useful," Elion muttered to himself as he called out the system panel, only to nearly suffer a heart attack when a familiar voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
[Hello, Host.]
"The fuck!"
The words slipped out before he could stop himself. Elion immediately realised he should not have said that aloud, but thankfully, Maya seemed too busy trying not to look at him to notice his slip-up.
His eyes widened slightly, ’System? Is that you?’
[The one and only.]
Elion’s brow twitched. With that kind of snarky response, it was definitely the system.
’Where were you after dropping me into the bloodline trials? You just up and vanished on me.’
[Oh, you know. Taking a short vacation.]
Elion frowned.
That was not an answer, and something told him the system was not going to spill the full truth even if he pressed it.
[Do not be like that, Host. I never hide anything from you. It simply took more resources than expected to teleport you into the trials, as well as to bypass the trial spirit’s initial participant selection. So I took a short nap afterward.]
Elion narrowed his eyes; he was not entirely convinced. Still, after a moment, he sighed and accepted the explanation for now.
’Well, it is good to have you back, my trusty partner in crime.’
[Unfortunately, I cannot say the same. I am sad to say you were not missed, Host.] Elion could almost swear he heard the system release an exasperated sigh.
His brow twitched again.
’It is odd that you seem more and more sentient with every day that passes.’
[I believe we have already discussed this, but it is merely your imagination.]
Elion stared blankly at the panel. Quite clearly, there was no winning this, so he decided to change the subject.
’Well, as you can see, I became much stronger while you were on "vacation." I also got bigger. So tell me, do you have anything appropriate for me to wear in the system store? Something nice, plain, simple, and not too eye-catching.’
[Of course.]
[One set of clothes coming right up.]
Elion blinked as a new notification appeared before him.
[Recommended Purchase: Adaptive Casual Outfit]
[Grade and Type: Rare enchanted apparel]
[Description: A simple black-and-white outfit designed to adjust to minor changes in body size and physique. Durable, comfortable, self-cleaning, and resistant to ordinary wear and tear.]
[Price: 800 System Points.]
Elion stared at the price before moving his gaze to look at the description.
’That cheap?’
[Would you prefer I increase the price?]
’No.’
[Wise.]
Elion accepted immediately, and a folded set of clothes appeared in his hands a moment later. Simple black trousers, a fitted dark shirt, a lightweight coat, and plain boots. Nothing flashy, and exactly what he had asked for. Elion quickly dressed himself.
Maya, who had still been crouching nearby with her face covered, peeked through her fingers again. This time, she seemed relieved to see that he was finally wearing something.
"You had clothes this whole time?"
Elion adjusted the collar of his shirt and smiled, "I had access to clothes."
"That is the same thing!"
"It really is not, but you wouldn’t understand."
Maya glared at him.
Elion ignored her and stretched his arms lightly, testing the fit of the outfit. The fabric adjusted almost instantly, settling comfortably against his taller frame.
He nodded in approval, "Not bad."
[You are welcome, Host.]
’Do not ruin the moment.’
[I would never.]
Elion sighed, but he smiled. He had missed this irritating voice.