Chapter 344 - Vesta.

"...This is an opportunity for you, think carefully," the Elder pressed his voice.

He had probed all of their bodies except Ozul and he most certainly knew that they shouldn't let go of Blaze. That kid named Zier also had some special condition that he didn't know of. Not to mention, he even felt that Raven was special.

It was the norm to let go of the Beastkin since they need some time to understand their situation, so he didn't say anything when the Sovereign had rejected their offer, but seeing so much talent slipping away right in front of him!? He couldn't allow it!

He threw an accusatory glance in Ozul's direction.

Ozul had even refused to get his Mana Core absorbed in his body. But since the others had done so, he thought maybe he had a chance with them.

"If you're afraid that he will do something, fear not. You will be under my protection, and later under the protection of the palace! No one will dare touch even a strand of hair on you," he spoke with a confident voice, expecting them to rethink their decisions.

Unfortunately for him, he was greatly disappointed the next moment when he saw that none of them moved a muscle. 

All of them stepped behind Ozul and stared straight into his eyes without blinking.

The confidence alone surprised the Elder who couldn't help but widen his eyes.

'Their eyes didn't even waver for a moment! They are in a completely new world, all of them starting from scratch. Just what did this kid feed them?!'

It was only when he rationally thought about the situation did he remember that this strange kid whose face betrayed zero emotions or his thoughts hadn't allowed him to help him. Hence, he didn't know how special he could be.

'It is very likely that he is even more of a monster than these people. Their unwavering confidence in him would be justified then...' he rubbed his chin in thoughts.

While a tense atmosphere covered the whole area. People around them thought that the Elder must be too furious and was barely controlling himself to kill them on the spot. No one dared to think he was weak just because of his thin body. It was always these weak-looking old men who were the wolf in sheep's clothing. 

Just when everyone thought that the Elder would lash out at them, he sighed and turned around.

"Do as you like then. You will receive no help from us anymore."

Surprisingly, the Elder gave up after being lost in thoughts for a while. A few people sighed in relief. They were finally convinced that they had made the right decision. These people weren't unreasonable, so they could be hopeful about their future.

Only Ozul didn't think that the Elder had simply given up.

Although he couldn't sense his emotions, he had decades of experience in judging people.

'And if that's not the case, there must be some reason for them to not be forceful with us,' Ozul thought in his mind. 

Strong not taking advantage of the weak? It only happens in fairy tales.

He didn't immediately leave and waited to see what they would do.

The Elder moved towards the people who had accepted to join the palace and spoke with a lighter tone, "You have indeed all made a good choice. All of you should move inside. Escorts will arrive shortly and take you straight towards the palace."

Then he faced Ozul's team, Berk, and the Sovereign—the only ones who hadn't accepted their offers, and spoke in a harsher tone, "You can leave."

Before turning away again, he once again glanced towards Ozul but didn't say anything.

The way he looked at him, Ozul felt a sense of danger.

'sigh... It will be too troublesome if something happens because of this,' he internally shook his head at the circumstances. Even if he did have Mana Core, he couldn't have risked anything.

Those people back in the Broken Realm might have not found anything despite decades of studying his body parts, but he couldn't expect the same from this Elder. And he couldn't trust someone who he knew nothing about.

Now, however, he had aroused their suspicion and probably their anger as well. 

And that wasn't something he would be happy about considering their situation. They knew almost nothing about this place!

Just then, Berk decided to walk away. Before leaving, he also shot a look towards Blaze. Their fight was interrupted before, but now was not the time for a dual.

Finally, as the Sovereign saw there was nothing left to do, she approached Ozul.

Though just as quickly, Raven and Blaze stepped forward, completely shielding Ozul from any danger. This woman-... or Beastkin was dangerous.

Ozul didn't bother stopping them. He only stepped to the side and then took a step forward, coming shoulder to shoulder with Raven, who, together with Blaze, could barely control the twitch on her face. 

As the Sovereign came face to face with Ozul, she stared directly into his eyes, "I was named Vesta, remember it human... for we shall meet again... if you don't end up dying a vermin's death!"

"I shall crush your skull with my own teeth! Just you wait!" Vesta, the Sovereign of all Beasts in that Broken World, declared her convictions and proceeded in the opposite way as Berk.

She deemed unworthy of the direction chosen by a human, even if there was a visible exit of these training grounds in that direction.

Watching her walk away with unrestrained killing intent, Ozul could only sigh while shaking his head and muttering in wonder, "What did I even do to her? Is it because she is a Beastkin that she is so unreasonable? Are all Beastkin like that? Wait... since when did Beast's have names? Who could have named her?"

Ozul had pure curiosity towards this new term known as Beastkin, who he figured were the people who had transformed into humans but were actually Beast.

On his side though, two angry creatures could be seen covered in dark shadows glaring daggers at the back of the fiery red-haired woman. They were all too familiar with this killing intent and it wasn't even hidden.

Meanwhile, Zier quietly watched everything from behind, thinking about what his future would be like, 'Hope grandpa is alright... ha... I didn't even get to say goodbye.'

Just then, Ozul broke out of his thoughts and decided it was time as well.

"Alright. It's time for a whole new world..."

He marched forward with some excitement. Those memories about there being more worlds were all true!

And now he was walking on such a world. All he needed to do now was to get stronger!

. . .

As they walked out of the training grounds, Ozul did not notice two pairs of eyes following behind them in the shadows.

"Isn't this a little too big?" Blaze looked behind and noticed the walls of the training grounds stretching for what seemed like a hundred meters!

There was seemingly nothing important here either. The only important thing they had seen there was maybe the platform on which they were summoned. Besides that, there was nothing of value, yet the place was littered with guards!

"Maybe that platform was important," Ozul spoke his mind, surprising both Raven and Blaze. He seemed to be in a good mood.

"Where are we going now? We don't even know where we are currently..." Blaze looked around only to find himself surrounded by a few abandoned houses.

This time, he received no answer because Ozul had none. He hadn't planned so far yet.

"We don't even know what currency is used in this world and those stupid people didn't even give us any funds. Where are we going to spend the night?" Zier asked worriedly.

The star was setting and he didn't like the fact that they were randomly walking on a street with seemingly no place to head towards.

"What are these abandoned houses for?" Raven rebutted.

Most of them were destroyed to the point of no recognition but many still stood tall, seemingly in usable conditions. They, who had slept on trees all their lives found it better to sleep under a roof, no matter how tattered.

Though they didn't really feel like sleeping, she could tell that Ozul thought otherwise. He most likely wanted to sleep right this instant and think about everything after waking up.

Once he went to sleep, she decided to go on by herself and gather as much information as she could. He would have it easier if they had a basic understanding of their location at least.

Just as they were walking at their own pace, Ozul abruptly came to a halt.

Noticing his usual behavior whenever he sensed danger, Raven and Blaze both readied themselves for any possible outcome. Zier, noticing them, also put on his guard.

Ozul looked to his left and there was an alley shrouded in the shades. The star had almost set, so there was barely anything visible around them, much less the alley.

"Stay here. Come only if I say so," he ordered before walking towards that alleyway.

Albeit reluctantly, the trio did as they were instructed.

As Ozul walked into the alley, his back completely disappeared under the shadows as worry gripped the trio's heart.

Unlike them, Ozul was as calm as he was before. They had lost all their powers... did they think that he did too?

The only thing he had lost was the sensing of other people's emotions. Other than that, he still retained all of his powers, so he could still protect himself from minor things.

With confidence, he walked straight ahead.

Though the scene that met his lazy eyes caused him to take a step back immediately!

On the ground rolled the severed heads of that young man and the Elder!!