Chapter 121 - Mid-Class Exploration ( 1 )

Although Cyril is an S-Rank Awakened, it doesn't mean that he's invincible against sneaky attacks.

It means that he can still be killed by a gun if he's unprepared with his Aura or perhaps, he doesn't wear an Artifact that is capable of protecting him automatically.

"Hmph!"

As soon as he noticed the pressure, he immediately reacted and covered his body with his A-Rank Aura…

Since he recognized that the pressure was only hitting him and doesn't even have a killing intent, he easily concluded that this sudden attack wasn't meant to kill him but to test his abilities…

Well, he had no choice but to do what they want since if he's also making his own team, he would similarly conduct a couple of tests to ensure that he's recruiting the right person.

Even though this is just a temporary team he's joining, learning more about their teammates is indeed still important.

"Oh?"

Sylvian was awed by Cyril's reaction speed. The pressure that he released wasn't from his Artifact or his own power… It is the defensive ability of the Turtle Blade Array that he arranged within their base.

'He didn't even panic after being suddenly attacked… He only appeared to be annoyed that someone is messing with him… Impressive… I didn't know that the Association managed to recruit a guy at this level. I wonder what family did he come from.'

Sylvian immediately thought that Cyril's background wasn't simple. He heard that Cyril was in the same batch as Myrtle after all.

Since this young man has incredible control with his Aura in such a short time, it only means that he received proper training before and after his Awakening.

Snap!

Sylvian snapped his fingers and the people controlling the Array halted its defensive capabilities.

"Sigh~ What was that?" Cyril asked without any hint of annoyance. He remained composed as he looked at Sylvian.

The man has the same bronze skin as Andre. As a matter of fact, the five others within the room have similar skin. Cyril could only guess that they are practicing the same Martial Arts or using the same Artifacts that affect their skin.

"I'm sorry for that, Mr. Cyril… I was just curious about your skills. If you feel offended, I will give you this as a gift. I hope that you forgive my rudeness just now."

Sylvian didn't seem to be flustered at all as he pulled out a ring from his pocket.

"This ring is called Smoke Ring… This is only a Rank-C ring but can be very useful in case of emergency… Once activated it can create a smoke explosion allowing you to turn any situation to your advantage… As for the caster, the smoke would only hinder your vision for about 30 percent…"

The silver ring in Sylvian's hands appears to be quite simple. It doesn't have many designs engraved on it aside from a white line surrounding it.

"Smoke Ring… It's my first time seeing it."

"Haha… No wonder. There are only 50 or so Smoke Rings discovered as of yet. And I'm the one who managed to discover them."

"Then this is actually quite precious, Sir Sylvian." Cyril hesitated.

"It's fine. Just think of it as my sincerity." Sylvian replied.

Cyril sighed as he realized that it would be too rude if he refused the first gift she'll receive from this man.

He received the ring with both of his hands and wore it on his left index finger so it could fit.

He briefly used his Aura to inspect it and didn't find any malicious Aura coming from it.

As for the Smoke Burst ability, he didn't dare activate it inside this room.

"How was it?" Sylvian asked.

"I don't have any Ring Artifacts so I guess this has arrived in time for me."

"Great… I would normally test you a bit more but I guess that's already enough, as long as you have your own weapons, there shouldn't be any problems..."

"That's quick…"

"Yes… I only have a few more things to discuss before the exploration."

Sylvian said as he gestured for Cyril and Myrtle to sit in front of him.

"Serve them some tea and light snacks… We still have plenty of time to waste."

"Yes, boss…" One of the female members of the New Frontier Team replied.

Their room was quite big and it's filled with various treasures and tools for leisure and for exploration.

"Myrtle and Cyril, I want you guys to listen carefully… Though this is a temporary team, this is still the New Frontier Team I created so people are expecting some results… From the five exploration teams who will enter later, two of them are from our team and the other three are from the Silver Swords."

Sylvian then continued that although there's no conflict between their teams, the Silver Swords were quite aggressive people and they always wanted to prove themselves to be better at swordsmanship.

Soon, the 12 members of the participating team gathered together and conducted some combat practice…

The Centaurs can be very unreasonable after all. So they have to learn how these Centaurs fight and how these creatures can be killed.

Finally, after several hours of practice and training, the time to visit the Awakened Association arrived.

When they entered the room of the Crystal Room of Awakened Association, they were told that the three other teams have already entered.

"Let's go!"

Sylvian no longer hesitated as he ordered everyone to enter.

Unsurprisingly, Cyril's team was led by Sylvian and there are two other official members of the team. It means that there are three newbies and three experts in one team.

"Cyril, Myrtle, and Luna… I forgot to mention, but you guys can just voice out your opinion during our Hunt for the Bead Artifact. There's no way I would be able to notice everything. So I would need all your help." Sylvian said with sincerity in his eyes.

Luna is the third newbie invited here.

"Understand!"

"Alright…"

"Thank you!"

The three replied as they finally had a chance to observe the Arcane World.

'Ugh… This is quite gloomy…'

The mid-class Arcane World they entered was quite gloomy indeed as the sky almost turned dark purple! They can even see that it is about to rain making this place a bit too unlucky!