Chapter 192 - travel

We finished eating and went to see the other facilities in the hotel.

Then I saw a movie theater, so I asked Luna to watch a movie with me.

She thought about it for a moment before replying, "Hmm, fine, but I’m the one who chooses the movie."

I looked at her two dimples and nodded. "Fine, but choose something bearable."

She became an angry hamster again and asked, "What do you mean, bearable? Are you saying I can’t choose a film?"

I coughed and waved my hand, but after thinking about it, I realized she might be right.

"Ah, maybe."

She stomped on my foot and went to the movie theater to look at the available options.

There was a variety of choices. Since this was a private theater, there was no waiting list. We could choose anything we wanted and play it whenever we liked.

The choice Luna made was something that even made me question myself.

It was an 18+ movie, but not the kind people might think. It was about brutal killings and a homicidal protagonist.

My eyes twitched as I pointed at the age restriction.

She just shrugged. "What are you scared of?"

"Oh, don’t tell me you’re too scared to watch this, Gray. Do you want some candy and a bedtime story?"

A visible black line appeared on my forehead.

"You... Fine! I was just worried you might get scared by the brutal action."

She laughed. "Oh, me? Scared by those things? Never!"

I realized that Luna wasn’t as simple as she seemed. I could only pray for the sake of her future enemies.

I was worried that my brutal ways might scare her, but judging from her expression, they only made her more excited.

Then we entered the theater.

However, as soon as I brought out the orange juice and popcorn, she reverted to the sweet little Luna who was simply adorable.

Then we watched the movie.

As the story progressed, the protagonist began brutally killing members of an organization.

I grabbed another handful of popcorn and ate while genuinely enjoying the film. Luna was watching it with just as much excitement, especially whenever the protagonist found a new way to kill someone.

She even came up with her own ridiculous methods.

If anyone heard those ideas coming from her, they would be terrified.

How could such a cute and adorable girl say things like that?

From the looks of it, she’d been hiding this side of herself from the world. I was glad she showed it to me, and I liked this side of her, too.

The movie’s plot twist was good. After hunting down the organization, the protagonist eventually discovered that its leaders were his own family.

Then Luna spoke excitedly as the film came to an end.

"The ending was amazing! He killed them all with explosives, and he died along with them!"

I laughed at that. "Hmm, the methods he used to kill those people were great, too. They give us some inspiration for the future."

Luna almost choked on her drink.

"You..."

I observed her reaction and laughed.

"Ahhh, look at yourself! You look like you’ve seen a ghost."

She seemed worried that I might actually use those methods or something.

Ahh, I can’t figure her out. Just a moment ago, her eyes were lighting up at the ideas, but the moment I said I might use them, she started acting like this.

Then I asked, "Oh, our little Luna, are you scared?"

She puffed out her cheeks.

"No! You’re the one who’s scared. It’s just that, in the future, we have to fight those alien beasts."

I smiled at that.

"That’s still a long way off. Before that, we need to graduate from the academy. Afterward, we can choose whether to stay in the kingdom or go to the front lines."

Luna nodded and said, "Let’s go to the front lines!"

I looked at her.

"But what about my lazy life?"

She just sighed.

"How about we split our time in half? Even if you go there, you don’t have to do much. I’m sure you’ll be incredibly powerful by then. Even S-Rank or SS-Rank monsters won’t stand a chance against you."

I nodded with a proud expression.

"I’m going to become as powerful as I can. Discovering new powers is really interesting."

She nodded and asked, "What element are you going to learn after reaching S-Rank?"

I fell into deep thought before saying, "Considering my current abilities, for additional elements, I’m thinking about Fire and Star."

Her eyes widened.

"Star?"

I nodded. "Yes, like my mom."

She looked at me in complete surprise.

"Aunt Seraphina can use Star Affinity?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Even I’ve only seen it for a few moments, but it’s amazing."

Luna’s eyes widened.

"When did you see it?"

I put a finger to my chin and said, "It happened not too long ago. Do you remember when I defeated that green tea man and his mother came after me? Mom used Star Affinity to neutralize her. It wasn’t exactly Gravity."

Her eyes widened as she remembered. Her interest piqued, and she asked, "So, what kind of abilities does Star Affinity have, and how can we learn it?"

I smiled and said, "I asked Mom the same question at the time, but she told me to figure it out myself."

Luna laughed. "Serves you right!"

I just glared at her as we went to the hotel reception and checked out.

Our stay at the hotel had been fun, but we couldn’t stay cooped up in there forever.

Then we hit the road and began our journey toward Frostvale.

Luna and I both wore our cloaks, so we didn’t attract much attention.

We traveled on our own, exploring the places along the way. We saw many animals, such as deer and rabbits. Luna even caught a rabbit and petted it.

After that, we decided to increase our pace. Luna used her Lunar Energy and Light Affinity to create a new movement technique.

I used my Void Steps, and we moved like the wind.

We had both reached C-Rank, and if we were being honest, our strength was comparable to that of a B-Rank fighter.

Then we reached the Crownhart territory.

I looked at Luna and asked, "Do you want to enter the Crownhart territory and take a look around? We’ve never been there before."

She thought about it for a moment and nodded.

We entered the territory, but before we could go any farther, we heard an explosion.

We looked back.

Then I asked, "Hey, how about we take a look?"

Luna nodded, and we went to investigate.

It was a carriage that had been attacked by a serpent.

I sensed the energy surrounding the creature with my perception and confirmed that it was a high C-Rank monster.

We watched as the obsidian-like serpent attacked the carriage, forcing the people inside to retreat.

Then we saw a girl with raven-colored hair and black eyes emerge from the carriage. Terror was written all over her face.

Luna looked at the girl and then at me.

"How about we help her? Her guards don’t seem to be a match for the serpent."

I thought about it and nodded.

"So, what are we going to do? Are you going to take care of it while I watch with popcorn, or should I handle it?"

Luna said, "This isn’t the time for jokes, Gray. Let’s go!"

I just sighed as I gripped Eclipse and teleported toward the serpent.

I attacked its body with Eclipse.

Nothing happened. The blade refused to pierce its scales.

I looked at it.

Hmm, interesting. It’s in the process of becoming B-Rank, and this thing is still young.

I gulped as I imagined the older serpents.

How strong must they be compared to this one?

But before I could think any further, Luna attacked and cut into the serpent with her Ice Aura.

The serpent screamed as I went toward the raven-haired girl and looked around to make sure everyone was safe.

Then she looked at Luna, who was injuring the serpent, and hope lit up in her eyes.

She looked at me and asked, "Can you help us?"

I nodded. "Okay, that’s what we came here for."

I saw Luna freeze part of the serpent before calling out to me.

"Gray, don’t slack off! Come and help me kill this thing!"

I just sighed as I gripped Eclipse.

"Okay, okay, I’m coming."

I used Space Aura alongside Ice Aura and teleported toward the serpent, using Abyssal Energy to augment myself.

Then, with a single attack aimed at the spot Luna had already injured, I cut into the serpent.

My attack was clean, cutting through its scales like cheese, but it wasn’t enough to kill the creature outright.

So Luna rushed forward and plunged her sword into the serpent’s head.

The serpent was already in immense agony and didn’t notice her approach.

As soon as she thrust her sword into its head, she used her Ice Affinity. Ice spread throughout the serpent’s head, and it fell to the ground.

Luna, elegant as always, returned to my side.

I smiled at her.

"Hmm, nicely done. I tried to cut the serpent in two, but I’m not strong enough."

She smiled. "I’m sure you didn’t use all your power. Otherwise, it would have been easy for you."

I scratched my head and said, "A little bit, but I used most of it."

She smiled as we went to look at the black-haired girl.