Chapter 146 - 146. Irregularity
It was the space-ring given by the Royal army.
It contained Nigel's share of the rewards as well as the gigantic "Breath" blessing.
It was needless to say that most of their gains from the inheritance were kept in there.
June's eyes lighted up and she smiled happily.
"You've really done it! Now our efforts in the sixth layer won't be wasted."
She kneeled next to Noah and picked the ring, inspecting it carefully.
After a few seconds, she nodded and her smile widened.
"Everything is here."
Noah finally relaxed and released a soft sigh.
He didn't have time to inspect the insides of the device since he was still stabilizing his condition.
He wasn't injured since his Demonic form had never been pierced during the encounter with the Cloud eagle but his mind still felt tired due to the effort.
He had gone all out while facing a rank 4 magical beasts after all, it was quite normal for him to desire a long and peaceful sleep.
Errol, on the other hand, didn't manage to rejoice and lowered his head to stare at the ground.
"Did you even think for a second about Nigel when you took his ring?"
Noah raised his gaze toward the tall youth, he felt that the atmosphere had become tense all of sudden.
"No, he was dead the moment that beast hit him."
"But you surely could have done something more! Don't lie to me, that power you used was at the peak of the cultivators in the first rank!"
Noah shook his head at Errol's complains.
"And yet I didn't even manage to scratch that thing, the heroic ranks are really something else. Also, didn't you run away too as soon as I gave the warning? It was Nigel's mistake that killed him and his hesitation almost lost us half of the value of our mission."
Errol was about to retort again when June stepped in the conversation.
"He is right, don't let your feelings blind you. You should be grateful that Vance managed to retrieve the rewards."
Errol trembled a bit and then he sat on the ground.
He released a loud sigh as he calmed down and took out a jar full of wine from his space-ring.
"I'm sorry Vance, I didn't mean to offend you. If I have to speak the truth, I would have never managed to jump at that creature even if there was a chance to save Nigel. I think I was angry at myself for being this weak and shifted the blame to you."
He poured the wine into three different glasses and handed them to Noah and June before raising his own in a toast.
"Please accept my apologies."
Noah raised his glass too and slightly smiled at Errol.
"Don't worry, it's fine. Actually, if it wasn't for the eagle's starved condition, I would have been the first to reach the exit."
Errol released a small laugh and emptied his glass.
June shook her head and laid on the terrain slowly sipping the wine.
Noah drank from his glass and raised his head to the sky.
'I would be lying if I said that I'm not disappointed by my performance. Rank 4 seems such a distant level.'
He had used everything in his arsenal and yet he didn't manage to leave any sign on the beast.
'I can't even face a starved bird, how could I even think about storming Balvan mansion?'
He repressed his thoughts and laid on the terrain behind him.
He knew that his growth was extraordinary already but he could not help to feel that it was still incredibly slow.
"What do we do now?"
Errol interrupted his line of thought.
"What can we do? We retreat."
June answered plainly before turning to one side and falling asleep on the ground.
Noah did the same and Errol shrugged his shoulders, finding a comfortable position too before falling asleep.
One day later, they reappeared on the top of the tower, outside the inheritance ground.
When they descended through the stairs on its sides, they were greeted by a concerned Preston.
"You stayed for three months in there, I'm eager to know how far did you go."
He then noticed that there were only three of them.
"Where is the other student?"
"Dead."
June answered the captain.
"Oh, I see. Why don't you come to my tent and explain everything in front of a warm cup of tea?"
The students immediately agreed to his offer and followed him in the biggest tent.
The encampment didn't change much during those months, the pit was a bit deeper and there seemed to be a dozen more tents but, apart from that, everything was as they remembered.
"It seems that an irregularity had happened in the seventh layer, even the previous Royal family didn't expect for a rank 3 magical beast to evolve."
Preston said after the students gave him a detailed report of the five layers that they explored.
"Don't you worry about your companion, his family will be rewarded for the honorable service that he performed. Yet, we have a problem now. It's not easy to put together a group with at least rank 2 cultivation without involving the Royals or the powerful nobles."
The inheritance ground still hadn't started to give spells and techniques for rewards, which meant that it went way deeper than they thought.
"I believe that if it wasn't for that irregularity, we could have cleared at least two more floors."
Errol spoke with confidence but Noah was of a different opinion.
'That wasn't exactly an irregularity but the usual behavior of magical beasts. There is a high chance to meet rank 4 creatures after the seventh floor.'
Preston nodded and reviewed all the details that he annotated during their explanation.
"It seems that there isn't much that you can do here anymore, it's better for you to return to the academy. We kept notes of each one of your courses so that you won't fall behind in your instruction. I will notify the academy, a carriage should arrive in two weeks. Just leave your space-rings here and feel free to act as you wish in the perimeter of the formation."
Noah's eyes lit up listening to the captain words and a shameless smile appeared on his face.
"You know captain, I think that I have an idea to better use our time here. It will also greatly benefit your troop."