Chapter 126: Search Continues

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Search Continues

Damon opened his second core and released him.

The Frost Qilin appeared beside him.

Damon crouched slightly.

"Can you feel it?"

Shiro sniffed the air.

His ears moved.

Then he looked deeper into the Frostveil Expanse.

Damon’s eyes lit up.

The Spirit Origin had nurtured Shiro.

His connection to Damon had also changed him.

Now Shiro was extremely sensitive to both Ice Elemental essence and Aether.

If the Zone Heart contained a concentration of stable energy unlike anything else in the zone...

Shiro should be able to find it.

Damon stood.

"Then let’s see if I’m right."

Shiro looked ahead.

A thin layer of frost spread beneath his paws.

Then he began moving.

Damon followed.

Caelia looked at him.

"You already have a plan?"

Damon smiled.

"Not exactly."

He looked at Shiro disappearing into the distance.

"I’m just testing a guess."

And if he was right, they had just found their first real lead.

They searched the Frostveil Expanse with Shiro beside them, following every trace of pure Aether and Ice Elemental essence they could find.

It sounded simple.

It wasn’t.

They searched for days and still found nothing.

Whenever Shiro sensed something that seemed different, they followed it, only to discover that the trail eventually became too weak to continue.

Still, they didn’t stop.

They were already spending most of their time inside the Distorted Zone, so they used the opportunity to hunt the beasts they came across.

Damon also made sure to collect their useful materials.

After watching him harvest another beast, Caelia gave him a strange look.

"We already have enough."

Damon looked at the materials in his hands.

"Enough is a strange word."

"You don’t even need most of that."

"Maybe."

Caelia stared at him.

Damon smiled.

"The more, the better."

She shook her head.

"You really don’t know when to stop."

"I know when to stop. I just don’t see a reason to yet."

That answer somehow made even less sense to her.

But she eventually stopped asking.

They spent more time together as the days passed.

Sometimes they talked while walking.

Other times they simply moved through the zone in silence.

There were even days when they decided not to return to the mansion and camped inside the Distorted Zone instead.

It allowed them to cover more ground.

Yet somehow, they still didn’t seem any closer to finding the Zone Heart.

After a while, even Damon started wondering if they were chasing the wrong idea.

"What if Shiro can’t actually find it?" Caelia asked one evening.

Damon looked at her.

"Then we’ll find something else."

"You say that like it’s easy."

"It isn’t."

Caelia laughed.

"At least you’re honest."

Damon shrugged.

"We’ve already come this far. I’m not giving up just because the first idea didn’t work."

Caelia nodded.

"Same."

Even if their theory was wrong, they would still discover something by searching.

That was enough reason to continue.

And they were finding other clues.

The Aether in certain parts of the Frostveil Expanse was becoming more unstable.

It wasn’t as bad as the area around the passage, but the difference was clear.

They also found groups of beasts gathering in those places.

The creatures were more violent than usual, but none of them were strong enough to threaten Damon or Caelia.

That gave them another opportunity.

Training.

Damon used the fights to teach Shiro how to apply his Arts.

Caelia did the same with Snow.

She knew Ice Elemental techniques far better than Damon did, so she helped both of them understand their Arts better.

Damon, however, focused more on the battle itself.

He taught them how to read their opponents.

When to attack.

When to hold back.

How to force an enemy into a position they didn’t want to be in.

And most importantly, how to make every ability useful in a real fight.

His gamer instincts helped, but it wasn’t only that.

He had already fought enough battles to understand how quickly things could change.

An ability wasn’t strong simply because it looked powerful.

It needed to work when things went wrong.

Shiro was learning quickly.

Snow was as well.

And Caelia also picked up a few things from Damon.

"You really think about battles differently," she said after one fight.

Damon looked at her.

"Is that a compliment?"

"Maybe."

"I’ll take it."

She smiled.

Their training made the long exploration much less frustrating.

Whenever their search led nowhere, they fought.

Whenever they weren’t fighting, they cultivated.

And whenever the spirits trained hard, Damon rewarded them with snacks.

That part never changed.

Freya and Sylphie were always happy about it.

Shiro had also become much less shy about asking for them.

Damon noticed the change and found it funny.

"You’re getting comfortable."

Shiro looked away.

Damon laughed.

"That’s fine."

The days continued like this.

Damon and Caelia also cultivated whenever they had time.

It was during one of those sessions that Caelia finally understood Damon’s current rank.

She didn’t ask.

She simply felt it.

The Aether around Damon moved far too quickly when he cultivated.

She watched for a while before finally opening her eyes.

"You’re a Lord."

Damon glanced at her.

"Yeah."

"When did that happen?"

"While at the mansion."

Caelia stared at him.

"You didn’t tell me."

"You didn’t ask, you’ve never asked."

She was silent for a moment.

Then she shook her head.

"You’re really something."

Damon smiled.

He wasn’t surprised anymore.

His cultivation speed had always been strange.

Even Caelia, with her Violet Core, couldn’t compare to how quickly he absorbed Aether.

Instead of feeling discouraged, however, she became more determined.

If Damon could grow that quickly, then she needed to grow faster too.

The resources they had gained from the battle helped.

Caelia began cultivating more seriously than before.

Sometimes, Damon even had to stop her.

"That’s enough."

"I’m fine."

"You’ve been cultivating for hours."

"I can continue."

Damon looked at her.

"That’s exactly why I’m stopping you."

Caelia frowned.

"You sound like an old man."