Chapter 309: Tears of Wind and Blood in the Castle [PS Bonus - ]

Ryan watched in silence as the rift of the magic portal in front of him grew smaller and smaller. The intense, bright light connecting the massive dungeon to the village began to fold in on itself steadily and smoothly.

The portal rapidly shrank in a matter of seconds until it was the exact size of a small, glowing relic. The bright object stopped floating and descended slowly through the air, landing perfectly in the palm of his right hand.

Ryan felt the light weight of the relic and thought about his next steps.

’Once I return to Kowarre, I’ll send Lise to the demon king Rohan. I want to get that matter over with soon.’

Ryan calmly planned his next moves while holding the relic. Thanks to their magical connection, Lise immediately picked up on his thoughts.

The dragon smiled widely at reading his mind so easily and communicated directly with him through their mental link.

’Young master, it gives me great pleasure that you want to assign me new missions so soon. Does that mean you trust me a lot?’

Ryan ignored her completely. He didn’t change his serious expression or show any visible reaction to the sudden voice in his head. Ryan simply closed his fingers slowly around the relic and immediately stored it in his inventory to keep it safe.

"Is everything ready?"

Irina stared at him, waiting for an answer so they could finally move forward. Ryan nodded and turned around, looking straight toward the exit of the dungeon’s massive hundredth-floor room.

’Being ignored by the young master feels so good.’

Lise commented directly into Ryan’s mind once again. She showed a huge smile of deep satisfaction on her face upon seeing her leader’s distant and cold attitude. Ryan stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the room and glared at Lise with obvious annoyance in his eyes.

"Hey, you perverted dragon, stop using telepathy unless it’s for something important."

Lise let out a long sigh of resignation at being scolded by her leader in such a direct and sharp manner. She lowered her head a bit toward the stone floor, accepting Ryan’s order without any complaint or reproach.

"As you command, young master."

Ryan immediately looked away from Lise so as not to waste any more time. He looked back down the dark stone corridor that would lead them back.

"Let’s go."

The three of them prepared to leave the dungeon without saying another word. They walked in complete silence down the long, gray stone corridors until they finally reached the first floor of the immense place.

Lise walked a few steps ahead. An immense white glow completely covered her from one second to the next, and she immediately transformed into her dragon form.

Ryan and Irina climbed onto her massive back. Irina sat in the front, trying to get as comfortable as possible among the beast’s hard white scales. Ryan positioned himself right behind Irina to keep them both balanced. Lise pushed off hard with her hind legs, and they flew off.

She passed through the portal’s rift and soared into the sky, while they glanced back at the dungeon’s entrance

"Are you sure you don’t want to seal this dungeon, young master?"

Lise asked as she flew higher and higher into the sky. She flapped her large white wings powerfully.

"No, let’s leave it as it is for now."

Ryan answered completely calmly from the dragon’s back. He stared at the vast landscape beneath the clouds, which was left far below them as they advanced.

"Ryan..."

Irina called him softly by his name. The elf turned slightly to look him in the eyes as they spoke high above the ground.

"What is it? Tell me."

Ryan immediately noticed that Irina seemed to hesitate a bit with her next words. She looked quite nervous talking about that particular topic in front of him.

"Speaking of sealing the dungeon, a while ago I awakened a skill that’s supposed to help me locate dungeons. Kenia had been teaching me how to use it, but I haven’t mastered it yet."

’I see, so that’s what she had been hiding from me until now.’

Ryan analyzed this important new information in complete silence for a few seconds. He brought his face a little closer to Irina so she could hear him clearly over the loud, annoying roar of the wind.

"But if you’re telling me this now, does it mean you can detect a dungeon nearby?"

Irina slowly shook her head. Her long blonde hair whipped around from the wind.

"No. But I can detect the dungeon we left behind. In fact, it’s the only one I’ve managed to detect so far, perhaps because it’s at an advanced level."

Ryan quickly thought about the great possibilities that this new magic would bring them all in the near future. He knew perfectly well that Irina’s magical abilities had greatly improved lately due to the battles.

’So, maybe she lacks a bit more power? No, she progressed a lot during the battle, it must be a lack of confidence. Well, whatever the case, knowing about other dungeons will be very useful to us.’

"Don’t worry about it. When we get to Kowarre, we’ll figure out a way for you to master that skill."

Irina smiled brightly upon hearing Ryan’s supportive words. She nodded several times, feeling much calmer and extremely confident in herself now that she had his great help.

"Lise, I’m going to enhance your power. I want to get there even faster."

Ryan spoke loudly so Lise could hear him clearly over the wind. The immense dragon immediately grew excited at the thought of receiving her precious master’s magic

"Huh? I will receive my young master’s power? I could cry from happiness."

Ryan immediately granted her his enhancement skills so as not to waste time. His immense magical energy flowed directly into the white beast’s massive body. Then, he wrapped his arms around Irina from behind to keep her safely in place for the rest of their turbulent journey through the sky.

"Now, fly as fast as you can," Ryan ordered, and adjusting his arms around Irina’s waist, he whispered to her,

"Don’t fall."

Irina turned completely red from pure embarrassment at feeling Ryan’s strong chest so close to her back. She held tightly onto Ryan’s arms wrapped around her small waist so she wouldn’t fall. Lise felt the warm energy coursing through every part of her dragon body.

"In that case, I will fly with all my might."

A current of wind began to swirl around them. The magic spread from Lise’s body and slowly took the shape of a massive, transparent teardrop, completely enveloping them.

Irina looked at that strange magical structure with enormous surprise.

"What is this?"

Lise writhed with deep pleasure as she felt Ryan’s enormous magical power beating incessantly within her. Then, she spread her wings and launched herself across the vast sky, accelerating to a speed vastly superior to what they had reached during the trip from the castle.

"This way, the wind will flow around us instead of crashing directly against our bodies. The teardrop shape reduces air resistance, allowing me to fly much faster," the dragon explained.

"Teardrop?" Ryan asked with some doubt.

"Yes, young master, they are tears of happiness from feeling your power over my body," Lise exclaimed.

"What a pervert," Ryan murmured. But he smiled seeing how fast they were moving through the air right now. The vast snowy landscape passed like a mere white blur far below them.

He sincerely praised Lise for her great use and control of wind magic. Lise heard her master’s compliment and, in response to his words, flew even faster toward their destination.

After a short journey at high speed, they were already flying over the cold, snowy lands of the main Kowarre territory.

In the distance, they could clearly see the stone castle at the top of the mountain.

But there was something very strange that Ryan noticed from a distance before arriving. He closed his eyes for a second and focused. Ryan could only sense Alicia’s presence in the entire massive castle. Lise sniffed the cold mountain air and immediately spoke up to warn him.

"I think something happened, young master."

The strong, very clear smell of fresh blood reached the dragon’s sensitive nose directly. The group landed with a heavy thud on the castle’s large stone platform.

Alicia appeared before them, running quickly from the castle’s main entrance. She had a very worried look on her face.

"Your Majesty. I’m so sorry, the giant wolves escaped, and Helen and the others went to look for them. But Chloe was severely injured while feeding them."