Nova stood in place, his eyes fixed on Maelor as he thought, 'Judging by that look, he must've seen the tiger disappear. If so, he's probably wondering what's happening, hence his current reaction. Since this place seems to have no knowledge of trial takers or portals, they might not even believe me, possibly even hunting me down, thinking I possess some sort of treasure. Although I'm not afraid of fighting, even Senna, going up against hundreds of thousands of people is another matter altogether. The easiest way is to kill him…'

Just as Nova's thoughts were spiraling, turning darker and darker, Maelor's voice rang out. "W-Who are you? How did you kill that tiger so easily?"

Putting on a casual smile, Nova walked toward him and said, "I've spoken with your elder. When you meet him, you can ask who I am. As for the tiger… well…" He stopped in front of Maelor and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm just stronger. Isn't that obvious?"

Maelor stared at Nova in awe. He instinctively nodded and said, "Can you teach me?"

"Teach me what?" Nova asked. 'Does he want to know how to make a tiger disappear into thin air?'

This time, Maelor nodded solemnly and said with conviction, "You're the strongest person I've ever seen. I want to become as strong as you. It doesn't matter what I have to go through, as long as I can reach your level, and eventually surpass you."

Nova stared at him, trying to discern whether Maelor was lying, hiding the true reason behind his request, or speaking the truth.

Seconds passed, and Maelor's solemn expression began to falter, just as Nova opened his mouth.

"Before I answer that, I have a question for you. If you answer honestly, I might help you."

Fire seemed to blaze in Maelor's eyes as he silently stood there, waiting for what he believed was the most important question of his life, one that could decide whether he remained an average knight or became the strongest.

Nova noted Maelor's composure and silently praised him. Then he asked, "Don't you have any questions about where the tiger went?"

Taken aback by the question, Maelor steadied himself and said, "You reduced it to dust, so I don't have any questions about it."

Nova internally facepalmed. 'Seriously? How could I have worried about such a blockhead? Reduced it to dust? Maybe if I took my sweet time using the fire particles I have stored, I could've cooked it, and that's about as far as I could've gotten.' Then a realization struck him. 'Wait… does that mean he wants me to teach him because he thinks I can reduce things to dust? What a subject.'

Despite his jumbled thoughts, Nova's face remained a mask of calmness. He gave Maelor a nod and said, "Good judgment, and good eyes."

Maelor's face lit up at the praise, and he blurted out, "Will you teach me now?" He tried to cover his mouth, but it was too late, the words had already escaped. His elders had told him not to be pushy, as it would only fuel people's dislike of him, and he had usually managed to control himself. But in moments when something felt too important to pass up, he couldn't help but revert to his old self.

"Now I have something important to do, but I can offer some pointers when I return to Larmida. What do you think?" Nova said.

Maelor tried to hide his excitement, but his voice betrayed him. "I agree! You can find me at the Areza family estate. As soon as I return I'll immediately notify every guard that someone might come looking for me."

'How thoughtful of him,' Nova thought. Then he said, "For now, go meet up with the group of geniuses waiting inside the forest in that direction and wait for me there. I still have something left to do here."

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Maelor slowly nodded and, without another word, sped toward the direction Nova had indicated.

Nova watched him go, took a deep breath, and muttered, "And another problem solved." His eyes drifted back to the large rock. "The true reward is there."

With swift steps, he approached the massive rock that made him look like an ant. Seeing nothing from the current side, he circled around until he found a small fissure.

After staring at it for a minute, Nova thought, 'Better be safe than sorry.' He readied himself for any possible outcome before sticking Dreadscape into the crack. He waited, imagining an even stronger beast than the tiger might be inside, guarding the true reward. But when nothing happened, he exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Guess I was overthinking it," he muttered.

Nova took back the spear and noticed that the spearhead was slightly coated with some kind of white liquid.

'This must be the bone tempering liquid,' he thought. Curious about its effect, he dipped a finger into the liquid and held the drop up to the light. It was a bright white, almost sparkling, completely free of impurities. Despite its harmless appearance, Nova hesitated, just for the briefest moment, before touching it with his tongue.

At first, there was nothing. Just a faint, pleasant coolness that slowly spread through his body. He licked his lips, unimpressed, and muttered with a frown, "Did I risk my life for this?"

But then the coolness sharpened. It burrowed into his bones, attempting to drill through them, though the quantity was too small to succeed. Still, its effect was undeniable.

Nova, feeling as if his bones were about to be punctured, stared at himself in amazement. "One drop and it almost broke through my bones… If I were weaker, I could've died from that." He chuckled dryly. "Imagine killing the king of beasts only to die from a drop of liquid. I would've been the butt of the joke even in death. I need to be more careful in the future."

Inhaling sharply, he thought, 'If the liquid breaks all my bones and someone arrives to steal it, I'll have no way to defend myself. I can't consume it here. It's best if I return to Larmida and slowly drink it in a safe place. But first… I need to collect every last drop of it.'

With a wave of his hand, Nova summoned a wind blade that cleanly sliced through a section of the large rock, careful to leave the small fissure and the surrounding space intact. Dust swirled in the air before settling, revealing a small basin, roughly the size to hold a large water bottle's worth of liquid.

Seeing the contents of the rock clearly, Nova raised an eyebrow in surprise. "With this much bone tempering liquid, I'm curious to see how strong I can become." He smiled slightly. "I just need something to hold it, I can't uproot this rock and risk damaging the liquid."

Nova opened his Inventory and searched through it, but couldn't find a single container suitable for the liquid. Frustrated, he continued looking, but still came up empty-handed.

Dejected, he mindlessly rifled through his Inventory and that's when he noticed a possibility. But he hesitated. 'It has some dirt on it, and I need to reforge it because of the holes. But aside from my boots, this is the only other option I have.'

He pulled out the helmet he'd received at the army camp and studied it for a moment.

"First, I need to keep the form intact. Then I can smelt it to close the holes. Earth particles, along with the ground itself, will do for the mold."

Earth mana particles swirled around his arm as he carefully poured them into the helmet, letting them seep into every hollow without altering its shape. Once it was fully filled, he summoned a gust of wind and carved a hole in the ground, slightly larger than the helmet itself and deep enough to fully accommodate it, then he placed it inside.

He put both of his hands on the edges of the opening and channeled fire mana particles into it. The earth around the pit glowed red-hot, the heat pressing against his skin almost instantly. The molten warmth seeped through the earth particles in the helmet, fusing it whole and closing every cavity.

The process took several minutes. Finally, Nova stopped channeling fire mana and doused it with water particles. Sizzling sounds filled the air, and vapor rose from the pit until everything settled.

"It should be done," Nova muttered. He dispersed the earth mana particles and picked up the helmet, curiosity glinting in his eyes as he inspected the end result.

When he brought out the helmet, he could instantly see that it was now whole, and a bright smile spread across his lips. Without wasting a moment, he walked back to the large rock and poured every last drop of liquid into it. Having experienced the effect of even a single drop, he made sure nothing was left behind before storing the helmet in his Inventory.

Having accomplished his main objective here Nova stretched lightly and said, "That was more exhausting than fighting the tiger. I need to get back to those geniuses before they start making a fuss again."

He turned to walk back, but a commotion from the direction he was heading froze him in place.

"Why did I have to speak?" he muttered.

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