Chapter 121: Anonymous Article

"What if you fight them one at a time?"

Adam narrowed his eyes at that suggestion. He could not believe the beast master was this desperate. Was a Griffin all that impressive? Perhaps he could not understand Aurelius, as he wasn’t a beast tamer himself.

But the real question was...

’Am I willing?’

Adam did not know the correct answer. He turned his gaze to the cavern across the tiny lake, mulling over the suggestion. While it was possible to do, each fight would still leave him weakened.

’The best option is to fight all three at the same time. And it might be the hardest fight I’ll have to date.’

The threat of death was very real. And he would definitely sustain injuries during the fight. This brought him back to the same question.

Was he willing?

Turning to look at Aurelius again, Adam looked into the boy’s emerald and determined eyes. The look in his eyes told him everything he needed to know.

"You will do this yourself even if I refuse, won’t you?"

Aurelius looked away, staring in the direction of the cavern ahead. "Fighting those three beasts you mentioned is a hard no. I’m not that stupid. But if there’s a way to get to that Griffin, I’ll find it."

"Then let’s do that instead." Adam proposed, drawing the boy’s attention. "From what I saw, those three aren’t willing to leave the Griffin or whatever that thing is alone. So pulling them away will be challenging. But..." he sighed.

Aurelius slightly turned his head, his excitement causing his heart to race. He knew the monstrous Adam had something up his sleeve. "What do you have in mind, Adam?"

Staring Aurelius in the eyes, Adam answered. "I might be able to block them behind a compressed air wall for a time."

Aurelius’ eyes widened as a smile bloomed across his face. That could work!

"How long?"

"How long do you need to tame that thing?" Adam asked back.

"Hmm..."

The smile on Aurelius’ face slowly receded as a thoughtful look appeared on his face. Since the Griffin was at the peak of the Third Realm and injured, the process could take as little as a minute to as long as five minutes.

That was not factoring in the resistance the creature would put up. Looking back into Adam’s eyes, he swallowed imperceptibly and asked, "Can you hold them back for three minutes?"

"Three minutes?" Adam was slightly taken aback.

That was how long he could keep overdrive state going when he wasn’t actively fighting something. Fighting took a lot more out of him, allowing him to keep it up for about a minute. It was a long shot at best, as the numbers never truly stay that way during a fight.

And no matter the outcome, he would suffer severe backlash to his mind. Would he still be willing? Adam already knew the answer to that.

A moment of silence settled between the two, broken only by the rhythmic echoes of water dripping into the small lake.

"Let’s take a break first. I’ll need to be at my peak." Adam said after a while.

"That’s a good idea."

Aurelius agreed without hesitation, glancing across the lake again. He couldn’t push too much, knowing he was the one asking Adam to take a risk.

He turned to Adam, the look in his eyes portraying gratitude and something else. "And thank you," he added.

Adam nodded and turned around, making his way out of the cavern. Resting so close to that chamber could be dangerous should those reconsider.

Aurelius, on the other hand, did not move. His attention had returned to that cavern across the lake. Although he had not actually seen the creature, he wholeheartedly believed what Adam told him. Even if it wasn’t, a creature with that kind of description could not be so simple.

’Soon...’ he thought to himself with a small smile and turned around as well. He too needed to be in the right frame of mind to raise his chances.

As for whether Adam could truly hold those three back... Well, he would have to trust the boy. After all, he was the one pushing for it. The thought of dying did not really cross his mind, as he had his own means, and he suspected Adam had one as well, maybe two.

***

Four hours passed in a blink.

The sun was now on the horizon, a shadow casting over the relatively silent forest. With so many beasts already killed, there was barely any wandering around, not to mention wandering into the cavern.

Adam spent most of that time cultivating to recover his spent Spark, the rest being used to come up with a plan of action. There were no other passageways besides the entrance through that glistering cavern.

Their options were limited.

Adam went ahead to provide more details about the creature to Aurelius, giving the beast master the assurance that the creature was exactly what he was going after. As for the injuries sustained by that divine creature, Aurelius told Adam not to worry about it.

"There’s something you should know, Adam," Aurelius spoke after they brought their planning session to an end.

"There is?" Adam turned around, his brows slightly raised.

"Mm." Aurelius nodded, retying his hair. "While you were cultivating, I took a look at the academy’s page and found something interesting."

Adam tilted his head.

"An anonymous person has published an article telling the world about your secret."

Aurelius stated vaguely, staring at Adam for any telltale signs, but found only curiosity in those eyes. Left internally disappointed, he added, "Said person or group wrote that despite your apparent Realm, you have the power to go toe-to-toe with any Third Realm expert."

Adam narrowed his eyes, his focus turning inward.

The beast master silently observed his monstrous partner. He already knew this much, so the article did not surprise him. What got him curious was the person or group behind it.

"How is the academy responding to it?" Adam’s focus returned to the beast master.

"It’s divided as anyone would expect." Aurelius shrugged. "It’s reawakened the argument around how you survived that assassination attempt on academy grounds."

"Is that right..." Adam muttered absentmindedly.