Chapter 354

After a long night of joy and celebration, everyone left the area and either went home to sleep or went to a bar to drink some more . Jackob and Anastassia had already gone to their room, so did Lucy, Arthur, and Saly .

The couple had infinite Stamina so they weren't tired but the little girl was fast asleep . Surprisingly, Lucy also fell asleep after snuggling next to Arthur for some time .

Contrary to them, Arthur didn't go to sleep but went to the rooftop of the High Tower only to find it a woman with a dark red-hair staring at the starry sky, which was slowly but surely vanishing and being replaced by a far off light that came from the rising sun .

"Congratulations on finally becoming a woman! Hahahaha"

Arthur's words startled Anastassia, who fiercely turned around only to find him slyly grinning at her . The woman snorted and turned her head away to hide her slightly red face .

"Shouldn't you be with your husband?" Arthur added .

Still staring at the night sky, she retorted

"Shouldn't you be with your wife instead of bothering me here?"

"I should but I need you to do me a favor first . "

Anastassia furrowed her brows and shifted her attention to Arthur, who appeared next to her . He sighed as he gazed at the far horizon with an absent look for quite some time .

After snapping out of his daze, he retrieved an object from his storage and showed it to her . The object was a special pendant, its chains were jet black and its bail was a big purple crystal .

"What do you need me to do?"

Arthur handed her the necklace and then retrieved a creepy looking cane with a skull on its top then said

"I need you to guard these two things and . . . . "

He thoroughly explained what to do step by step . He didn't need to repeat what needs to be done like with Gutcha because he knew Anastassia is someone who never disappoints him .

" . . . Alright, consider it done but . . . . why do you need such a large quantity?"

"One must be ten steps ahead of the enemy . "

Arthur turned around and left, leaving Anastassia alone . After the long talk with her, he returned next to his wife and daughter and peacefully fell asleep only to wake up a few hours later .

Like always, they had breakfast with Sonia, Mary, Robin, and Rey, who was brought back to Astria . The sly boy had an explosive increase in power as Arthur granted him access to Dark Magic but the portion was less than Gutcha's since the kid was human thus having a more fragile body than a pigolo .

Rey was also given a staff that was accumulating dust inside Arthur's storage . He forgot from whom he got it but it boosted damage done through Blood Magic and had a decent Mana Regen effect . It was suitable for Rey, who became able to defeat Saly on his own .

Although it seemed unfair to Saly who trained and cultivated daily to be surpassed by Rey, who was granted power directly . Arthur still believed that his daughter's way of gaining power is way better . Furthermore, Dark Magic didn't suit her and it has a negative effect on one's behavior, especially on a kid .

Rey was an exception since he was willing from the very start and gaining power is only means to an end for him . The kid became too attached to Robin and only wanted to protect her .

"So I heard you're planning to open the Nemia Academy again?"

As they were eating breakfast, Arthur curiously asked Sonia, who was momentarily startled by his question before calmly answering .

"Yes, there is an abundance of disciples who are not proficient at harnessing Qi and are more suitable to be mages so it would be better to educate them properly as to maximize their potential and increase our military power . "

"Good good!"

Arthur nodded his head continuously in approval . Despite the unfortunate events that happened in the past Nemia Academy, it was still a useful experience and building it again in here would bring many benefits .

"Saly, how about it? Want to enroll?"

The little girl who was busy stuffing food in her mouth shook her head fiercely in denial, clearly not wanting to go to any school for a while . Neither Arthur nor Lucy tried to force her to go since they'll be gone and she'll be alone and the last thing they want is forcing her to do something she doesn't like when they are absent . It's better for her to whatever she likes until they come back .

Moreover, she's going to say in Astria as it is safer and because Saly said she wants to go exploring this world . With the wolf and lizard on her side, there is a very low probability that she'll be in danger or she gets hurt .

Speaking of Arthur's servants, the red-haired youth, Swain, was still in recovery . Arthur couldn't even use the Book of the Damned or the Death Golem separately . The blow from the White Tiger was clearly too much and even a period of five years wasn't enough to completely heal Swain . Nonetheless, he's still alive so with enough time, he'll surely come back .

The fusion was never complete with only the book and the golem, it needs three entities which are Randuin, the book and the Death Golem and only then would the true potential of the book be revealed .

***************

A week passed since the wedding and it's finally the day for the couple's departure . Everyone was present to bid them goodbye . The only missing person was Lissandra, who, apparently, left the sect a few days before the marriage occurred . Arthur didn't pay it too much thought since the woman got what she deserved and is now but a mortal . Whatever she decides to do is her own choice .

Currently, the little was trying not to cry as she tightly hugged her mother . After spending more than a minute embracing her mother, she jumped to her father and did the same .

"You promised to come back in less than six months . . . don't forget that!"

She reminded Arthur as he patted her fluffy ears and gave her a warm hug . The farewell was kept brief as it's not their last meeting . Very soon, Arthur opened a tunnel that led to the Green-Leaf world and with one last glance at his daughter and the others, he and his wife departed . . . .

***************

Ten days after the couple left Astria . Gutcha, who was silently cultivating inside the secluded cave under the High Tower finally woke up from his long meditation . He stretched his body and looked at the two large boxes with amazement . He didn't know what materials they are made from but they were surely expensive and precious as they were smooth but very resistant to any kinds of energy .

With a helpless sigh, he bent and put the two boxes on his back resulting in a painful groan coming from his mouth . They were inexplicably heavy despite their size and with them on his back, he could barely walk .

Although it was a hard challenge, he gritted his teeth and left the cave in silence . Thirty minutes later, he stood at the rooftop of the High Tower and put down the two boxes to take a few breaths of fresh air . He recuperated for five minutes then put the two boxes on his back again and used the device given by Arthur to go to the Green Leaf world .

The trip was short and in merely a few minutes, Gutcha found himself standing in the middle of an empty and desolate desert .

It was night-time so the weather was chilly and with the addition of the two boxes on his back, it only made his condition worse .

The pigolo persevered and clutched the ropes that were binding the boxes to his back . With slow yet steady steps, he advanced forward until his figure vanished, leaving nothing but his footsteps which were soon covered by the ever-so moving sand . . .