"Myuuuuu!!" Valerian cried loudly as he tightly hugged Adam.

It had been a week since he was stuck inside the youth's spirit sea. Only today was he able to finally get out.

As the little guy's furry paws gently squeezed around Adam's neck, he sent a mental transmission full of sorrow.

'Brother, forgive me I wasn't there for you! I was so worried, myuuu!'

Adam gently patted the young dragon's head and comforted him, "It's alright, Val. It wasn't your fault."

"Myuuu" Valerian sniffled.

"But why couldn't you get out of my spirit sea, though?" The youth asked with a frown. "It's never happened before, has it?"

Valerian wiped the tears from his face, then glanced at Adam with a grim expression.

'I don't know what happened, but a week ago, your spirit sea suddenly descended into chaos and everything turned dark and gloomy.'

Adam's eyes narrowed. "Descended into chaos? Explain."

The young dragon nodded solemnly and continued, 'It felt like I was in the middle of a storm. The sea was churning massive waves all around me. And even the lotus was acting strangely.'

"Acting strangely?" Adam's heart skipped a beat. "What did it do?"

Valerian shook his head and replied with lingering fear, 'I'm not sure, but it kept trembling from time to time. I don't know what you did in the outside world, but your spirit sea has never been so turbulent. For a moment, I thought I was forever going to be trapped there.'

"Hmm, I see" Adam gently lowered Valerian and placed him on his lap.

Then, he started to stroke his chin and deeply ponder, Using my spiritual power to cast the spell truly had more drawbacks than I'd initially realized.

It had been a week since his confrontation with Kevin. Since then, he had been silently recuperating inside the Hexaclaw Panther's cave.

During this time, much to his surprise, he realized that he wasn't able to access his spirit sea. This greatly alarmed him. Although, for some strange reason, he was able to enter the mysterious space of the white lotus.

But thankfully, today he was finally able to visit his spirit sea. At the same time, Valerian was also able to come out of it.

Is this some sort of defense mechanism by the lotus? He thought to himself. How strange But thankfully, my mental injuries have already been healed.

His spiritual power had recovered faster than he had expected. He could only attribute this to the white lotus. His mind didn't feel as chaotic as it did a week ago. It felt fresh.

But most importantly, he now had full access to his spiritual power. Meaning, he could finally access his magic spells.

Thinking back to the time when he only had to rely on his magic combat techniques, Adam couldn't help but sigh, "A Magus without his spells is like a swordsman without his sword."

He then glanced around at the large chamber.

Ennea had mostly recovered and was playing around with Valerian. The two panther cubs were currently being breastfed by their mother on the other side of the chamber.

Throughout the entire time, the Hexaclaw Panther didn't approach Adam. She silently gazed at him from the distance.

Adam felt that she was most likely trying to resist the corruption and didn't want to come near him.

The youth conjured his grimoire and a feathered quill. Then, he started jotting down his experience when using spiritual power to cast the spell.

Although this came at a great cost to him, he believed that at certain perilous moments, it could become his greatest trump card.

However, the quill in his hand silently hovered above the pages of the grimoire.

Adam couldn't think of anything to write.

When he had used his spiritual power as fuel, he was under the threat of death and in an extremely desperate situation. He had only managed to do it instinctively.

"Damn it," the youth cursed under his breath. "I can't even recall that feeling."

He raised his head and glanced at the twin moons through the large clearing in the chamber. Selene and Luna were hiding behind a string of thick clouds, seemingly teasing him.

Adam glanced at them and smiled wryly, "Must I always be at death's doorstep to be able to use my spiritual power?"

He stared at the moons in a daze for a few moments. Then, he kept away the quill and the grimoire, sighing to himself, "Haa, forget it."

Then, he slowly got to his feet and made his way toward the other side of the chamber where the panther and her cubs lay.

Seeing him suddenly approach her, the panther went on high alert and got on all fours, threateningly growling at him.

Her cubs, however, cutely ran toward Adam and started circling around him in joy.

Seeing this, Adam chuckled. He then glanced at the mother panther, ignoring her threatening glare.

"My attack did quite a number on you, huh?"

Adam chuckled as he glanced at the panther's torso. That area hadn't completely healed yet and a few broken bones were still jutting out of the flesh.

The youth crouched down beside the panther. Then, he glared at her. "Sit down!"

"Grrr!" The panther growled in defiance.

Adam raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. "What's that? Wanna go at it again?"

The panther's body shuddered when she recalled that devastating palm thrust from the youth. In the end, she whimpered and obediently sat down.

"Good." Adam nodded. Then, he took out a bunch of healing potions and bandages from his earring.

As he started treating the panther, he began, "I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. Take good care of the kids, alright?"

The panther softly growled in acknowledgment.

"I'll leave enough food and water for you three. It should last you months," He spoke as he gently wrapped the panther's wound. "Refrain from going outside the cave. Things are about to escalate very soon."

The panther glanced at him deeply. A moment later, she nodded.

After treating her injuries, Adam took out a large amount of raw meat that he had prepared for himself for when he went out on missions.

He kept the meat in a corner of the chamber and cast certain spells on the containers, ensuring that the food didn't get spoiled. Then, he took out a dozen large barrels of water.

After making all the preparations and making sure that the panther and her cubs would be taken care of for the next few months, the youth finally went to sleep.

The following day, just as the sun rose above the horizon, Adam departed from the cave, riding on Ennea's back.

They walked around the large black crater, where the explosion that almost took Adam's life, had gone off.

He glanced at the crater with a cold expression, thinking of the repercussions he would have to face later. In the end, he shook his head helplessly and sighed.

"I did what I could. No need to dwell on the past."

Finally, Ennea, Valerian, and Adam made their way toward the eastern camp. Before entering the deep forests, Adam made the white fox stop.

He then turned around and glanced at the panther and her cubs standing at the cave entrance. Seeing that, he smiled warmly.

"Thank you

"And farewell."

The Hexaclaw Panther growled lightly. Meanwhile, her cubs seemed to be very emotional. It would appear that they had grown close to the youth in the time he had spent inside the cave.

Adam cast one final glance at them before turning back around and urging Ennea to dash forward.

As he moved through the dense forest, he turned his head and glanced in the general direction of Moon City.

"I hope you aren't late"