Chapter 220: Leaving The Village

Because of consuming the Spirit Orb, the soul power William had used against the Crawler had recovered to some extent.

But it was still far from full recovery.

Since he couldn’t use the Time Star Codex to recover himself, the only way for him to recover his soul power was to rest properly.

Although it still wouldn’t recover the small amount of Aether Energy he had used earlier, recovering his soul power through rest was possible.

For a moment, he wondered whether he should enter the Time Chamber to rest or just stay outside.

He glanced at the little girl playing with the Crawler and, after some thought, decided not to use the Time Chamber for the time being.

On the one hand, he didn’t want to bring someone he didn’t fully trust inside the Time Chamber.

At the same time, he wanted to see whether the Crawler Army he had seen earlier was the only one moving towards Varhan City or whether there were more Crawlers.

If he entered the Time Chamber, he would miss everything that happened outside, which might affect his so-called Trial in some way.

’Eva, I am taking a short nap. If something happens, immediately wake me up. And if things get dangerous, then directly pull me inside the Time Chamber.’

’Alright,’ Eva responded calmly because, as a spirit, she didn’t need to sleep or rest.

’Thanks for your help.’ William thanked her and leaned against a boulder, closing his eyes.

William was already mentally tired because of all the events that had happened to him, and since he had also used up most of his soul power, it took him only a few seconds to fall asleep.

Eva kept her eyes on their surroundings, occasionally watching the girl playing with the Crawler.

’This girl seems like a normal child, but I still can’t shake off the strange feeling that she isn’t real...’ Eva looked at the girl, who suddenly bit the Crawler’s back for no reason but was unable to bite through its tough skin.

Seeing her silly action, Eva sighed and shook her head.

’Forget it. As long as she isn’t dangerous, it’s actually good for William. In this kind of gloomy environment that even affects one’s mind and soul, living alone for a long time isn’t good.’

Time passed, and around fifteen minutes later, the girl finally got bored of playing with the Crawler and slid down from its back.

She looked around and, seeing William sleeping, trotted over to him, looking at him curiously.

Eva thought about waking William up upon seeing the girl approaching him, but after hesitating for a moment, she decided to observe first.

’I can’t sense any hostility from her, so it should be fine.’

The girl soon reached William and sat down on the ground in front of him, staring at his sleeping figure.

As she looked at him for a few seconds, she couldn’t help but let out a yawn and smack her lips.

Her head bobbed down, and after a minute, she couldn’t take it anymore and crawled over to William, lying down on the hard ground while resting her head on his leg.

The instant the girl laid her head on his leg, William instantly woke up.

He was about to swing his leg away, thinking that some kind of insect or small animal had climbed onto him.

But he stopped at the last moment when he saw a head full of black hair resting on his leg.

He looked at the sleeping little girl and was speechless for a moment.

’Couldn’t she have slept on the soft blanket I had laid out for her...’ He thought as he looked at the blanket he had taken out earlier for her.

Shaking his head, he stretched out his hand and grabbed the blanket.

He laid it out in front of him, then lifted the girl, placed her on it, and wrapped it around her to keep her safe from the cold.

Once he was done, he shifted his attention towards the slave Crawler and issued another command.

"Patrol our surroundings. If you notice any danger, immediately inform me."

The Crawler nodded in acknowledgment, and its body lit up with a brown light as it sank underground.

Using Eyes of Insight, William took a look and could see the Crawler’s energy signature moving underground, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

William stopped using Eyes of Insight and, after taking one final look at the sleeping girl, leaned against the stone and closed his eyes again.

Soon, he once again fell asleep, and Eva continued to watch their surroundings.

As William slept, without him or Eva noticing, a very faint silver light flashed around the girl for a brief moment.

The next instant, even in his sleep, William felt his mind calm down considerably. It was as if the power of the Trial Realm that had affected his mind and soul earlier had weakened to some degree.

Time continued to pass, and when William opened his eyes again, he was surprised to see that it was already bright outside.

He looked at the girl and saw that she was still sleeping beside him.

’Eva, how long did I sleep?’

’It’s been over nine hours.’

William fell silent upon hearing her, as he hadn’t expected to sleep for such a long time.

’Must be because of using up all of my soul power...’ He thought inwardly, and after confirming that all his soul power had recovered, he stood up and stretched slightly.

Just then, he sensed something, and his eyes narrowed.

He walked out of the village and saw four dead bodies of lizard-like Crawlers outside.

These were Crawlers that he hadn’t killed.

Suddenly, the ground in front of him shook slightly, and the slave Crawler emerged from underground, looking at him with its tongue hanging out.

"You were the one who killed them?"

The Crawler nodded and looked at him expectantly, waiting for praise like a dog.

’They must have come here while I was asleep...’ He thought inwardly and nodded at the Crawler.

"Good job."

The Crawler was overjoyed to hear the praise, and even more saliva trickled down its mouth.

William’s eyes twitched when he saw this, and he turned his head away, not wanting to look at its disgusting face right after waking up.

He shifted his gaze in the direction of Varhan City and took a deep breath.

’It’s time to move.’