Chapter 119: Awkward

Adam followed Aurelius as they made their way out of the cavern. He turned back, squinting.

‘That strange aura is still present.’ He noted quietly.

What he failed to realise was that the screech that had called forth the bloodthirsty army of beasts did not come from the Deathstinger; it only looked like it did.

Stepping over the burning and dead carcasses of the beasts, the duo exited the cave tunnel, the light of the sun momentarily blinding them.

Aurelius continued walking as he approached a relatively spot free of ground cover. With a muffled groan, he sat down and let out a tired sigh. Although the bleeding had stopped, the stinging pain lingered.

With some difficulty, he took off his jacket and put it aside. Appearing in his hand was a small vial containing a greenish-blue serum, which he gulped without hesitation.

Putting the vial away, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes to cultivate.

Adam stood a few meters away, observing everything. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His partner’s change in demeanour made him feel like shit. What had been a comfortable atmosphere before now felt awkward.

‘Maybe I’m overthinking things.’

He shook his head and looked around. The entrance of the cave was littered with a few dead beasts, the scent of blood heavy in the air. But there were no beasts in the vicinity.

‘It still wouldn’t be advisable to cultivate,’ he thought and glanced at Aurelius. ‘And I can already feel my body and Spark levels recovering.’

Glancing at a tree nearby, Adam approached it and swiftly climbed to one of the steadier branches and sat down, his back against the stem. The position gave him a direct line of sight to Aurelius and the surrounding area.

Time slowly passed as the sun continued moving across the sky. A few hours passed in relative silence before Aurelius opened his eyes. It was long past noon at this point, but there was still time to continue the investigation.

The beast master clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling the flow of his recovered essence. Most of his wounds had healed as well, the serum doing exactly what it was synthesised to do.

It wasn’t as effective as having a healer on hand, but it got the job done. Pulling out a damp cloth, he carefully wiped his face and exposed skin, cleaning off the blood. Once done, he looked around for a moment, searching for Adam.

“I’m up here.”

Raising his head, he found Adam perched on the branch of a tree. Seeing him brought back the scene of him tearing through the beasts like they were nothing.

‘I never thought I would ever feel this way.’

The realisation made him feel uncomfortable and self-conscious. But he could help it; he had truly felt like a fool.

As Aurelius rose to his feet, Adam jumped down from the branch and calmly approached, his expression nonchalant. He had thought about it and had come to the realisation that people were emotional and complicated.

Logic did not always apply.

He might have acted to save his friend when things went south, but that did not mean Aurelius saw it the same way. After all, if he was that capable, why did he wait that long to act when he could have ended things long before things reached that point?

This was an experience he would take as a lesson.

“We should move quickly before it gets dark,” Aurelius said as he approached the cave entrance.

“Mm.”

Adam accepted the proposal and followed after the beast master. There was no warmth in the boy’s tone like before. Aurelius was truly bitter about what he had revealed so far.

The first had been when they had been making their way through the Lianas field, and the second being what he did in the cavern. Aurelius’ emotions had been in turmoil at the time, but Adam did not think it would evolve into deep envy and anger.

The uncomfortableness of the situation pressed down on him like a physical weight, making every step they took louder than they actually were. They walked past the carcasses and dried blood, soon reaching the cavern.

Landing inside the cavern filled with a mixture of aromatic and disgusting scents, Aurelius made his way toward the passageway the Third Realm Deathstinger Scorpion had been guarding.

Adam followed behind the beast master a few meters away, one of his guns in his hand. As they carefully continued past the point the Deathstinger had stood for some minutes, they heard faint echoes of something dripping ahead.

“Must be water.”

Aurelius muttered as they both leaned slightly forward and closer to the uneven walls, watching their steps as they approached. That strange aura grew stronger the more they pushed forward, prompting Adam to raise his guard to the utmost limit.

The echoes of dripping water continued to get louder as they pushed forward, eventually coming to a stop before what could only be described as a small haven.

“Beautiful,” Adam muttered to himself, taking in the scene with a smile.

The blue hues of the luminous crystals cast a beautiful reflection across the surface of the rippling lake, adding an ethereal feel to the surface.

No.

It felt more like the water itself radiated the blue light, lighting the space in a wondrous shade of light blue. Water dripped from the stalactites above, the ripples gently spreading across the surface.

The bottom of the small lake could even be seen, revealing the small but thriving ecosystem. And beyond the small lake, on the other side, was a wide passageway leading into another chamber.

“Look…”

Following the direction the beast master pointed, Adam spotted a piece of damp and bloody meat several meters away. He furrowed his brows and thought, soon making the connection.

“Livestock.”

Aurelius was already on the move, slowly making his way around the reflective lake. Not wanting to be left behind, Adam quickly followed, his guard still raised. He was keen enough to understand that Aurelius was keeping his vocabulary short and necessary.

He did not mind.

Aurelius crouched over the piece of livestock, observed it for a while before moving. As Adam approached the piece as well, his head snapped toward the passage ahead, his sensitive hearing picking up the sound of ragged breathing.

Narrowing his eyes, he carefully approached with his gun raised at the ready, moving towards the other side of the cavern opening. He looked over the Aurelius for a moment, noticing that his attention was entirely on what was ahead.

‘This is getting awkward.’

I haven’t been seeing any support or thoughts lately… Makes me sad /_