Chapter 72: Awakened To A Surprise

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Awakened To A Surprise

The three quickly got to work.

Just like before, Sylphie was the most skilled.

Her control over wind had become incredibly delicate.

Thin streams of compressed wind sliced neatly through the Frostfang Tyrant’s body without damaging the valuable materials underneath.

She looked almost like an experienced craftsman.

Damon watched carefully before trying it himself.

A blade of wind formed around his fingers.

Slice.

It worked.

Just...

Not as neatly.

The cut wasn’t bad.

It simply lacked Sylphie’s precision.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I’ve still got a lot to learn."

"Crii."

Sylphie proudly nodded.

Freya helped where she could, pushing larger pieces aside and holding them steady whenever Damon asked.

"Little to the left."

She nudged it.

"Perfect."

"Good girl."

Her tails wagged proudly.

Working together made everything much faster.

Before long, they had recovered everything Damon wanted.

The Tyrant’s Aether Core.

Its claws.

Its fangs.

The crystal growing along its back.

Its hide.

Even the frost crystals embedded within its bones.

Thankfully, most of the important materials had survived the battle.

Damon carefully stored everything inside his storage bag.

The corners of his lips lifted.

"I’m getting richer every day."

Freya and Sylphie immediately sat down in front of him.

Both stared at him without blinking.

Damon blinked back.

"...Right."

"I almost forgot."

He scratched his head awkwardly.

"Sorry."

"You two earned this."

He opened another storage pouch.

The delicious smell of snacks immediately spread through the chamber.

Freya practically buried herself inside.

Sylphie wasn’t much different.

Watching them eat so happily made Damon laugh again.

"You really only think about food."

The two completely ignored him.

Nearby, the Frost Lynx quietly watched everything.

Its eyes kept drifting toward the snacks.

Then back to its unconscious master.

Then back to the snacks again.

Damon noticed.

"You haven’t eaten in a while either... have you?"

The Lynx immediately looked away.

Acting as though it hadn’t been staring.

Damon smiled.

"So you’re pretending now."

He took out another small pack.

"This one’s for you."

He gently placed it a short distance away before walking back.

The Lynx didn’t move. It simply stared at the snacks.

Then at Damon.

Then at its master again.

It looked almost guilty as if eating while she was unconscious would somehow be wrong.

Damon understood.

"I won’t force you."

"They’ll still be there."

With that, he sat down once more.

Freya and Sylphie had already noticed what he’d done.

Both stopped chewing at the same time.

They stared at him.

Then at the Frost Lynx.

Then back at him.

Damon immediately felt two questioning emotions through their bond.

He smiled helplessly.

"I know."

"I’ll buy you more later."

The promise was enough.

Both happily returned to their feast.

Damon shook his head.

"They’re impossible..."

He smiled as he leaned back against a broken crystal pillar.

The battle was over.

His companions were safe.

And like that, the new zone felt peaceful.

Damon slowly closed his eyes and began circulating Aether through his core.

Every breath recovered a little more of his strength.

The space became quiet.

Only the sound of gentle breathing and the occasional crunch from Freya’s snacks echoed around them.

Then...

"Gasp!"

The sudden gasp pulled everyone’s attention.

Damon’s eyes snapped open as he looked over immediately.

Freya lifted her head from the snacks, while Sylphie stopped chewing altogether.

Across from him, the young woman suddenly sat upright, breathing heavily.

Her pale blue eyes darted around the chamber in confusion, searching every corner.

The moment she noticed Damon and the two unfamiliar spirit elementals, her whole body tensed.

She instinctively tried to enter a fighting stance.

Only...

She was still too weak.

Her hand instinctively reached toward her waist before she realized her weapon wasn’t there.

She frowned.

"What..."

The memories were still blurry.

Her breathing became uneven as she tried to remember.

Before Damon could speak, the Frost Lynx hurried to her side.

It gently rubbed its head against her shoulder.

A soft growl followed.

Not one of warning.

One of reassurance.

The young woman blinked.

She looked at the Lynx.

"You... you’re alright?"

The Lynx nodded before glancing toward Damon.

Its meaning was obvious.

They’re not enemies.

She looked between Damon and the Lynx several times before the tension in her shoulders slowly disappeared.

"...I see."

Then the memories returned.

She remembered the Frostfang Tyrant.

The desperate battle.

Her shattered ice shield.

The pain.

Then...

Nothing.

Her hand instinctively touched the wound on her side.

It was gone.

Her eyes widened.

She quickly looked around the frost zone

The battlefield was still recognizable.

Broken crystals.

Scorch marks.

Deep craters.

Signs of an intense fight.

Then...

Her gaze landed on what remained of the Frostfang Tyrant.

Or rather...

Its remains.

Most of the valuable parts had already been harvested.

Still, she immediately recognized the enormous corpse.

The beast was dead.

She stared silently for several seconds.

The battle scars covering its body were fresh.

Many of them clearly weren’t hers.

Slowly...

Everything began to make sense.

"...You defeated it."

It wasn’t really a question.

More like she was saying it out loud to convince herself.

Damon smiled.

Since she had already pieced things together, he decided to walk over.

As he stood, the thin layer of ice around his boots cracked apart.

Freya stretched before trotting after him.

Sylphie happily fluttered onto his shoulder.

The three stopped a short distance away.

Caelia quietly watched them.

The closer they came, the more surprised she became.

The young man casually shattered the lingering frost without effort.

His companions looked completely at ease inside a place filled with freezing Aether.

Her eyes naturally drifted toward the two spirit elementals.

A Nine Tailed Lightning Fox.

A Sovereign Roc.

Both were creatures she had only ever read about.

Seeing even one was almost impossible.

Yet...

This young man had two.

Who exactly was he?

Then there was the Frostfang Tyrant.

She had personally fought it.

She knew exactly how terrifying it was.

Yet somehow...

He had defeated it.