As the sun lowered its gaze to the orange glow of evening,

Rion strode past the Redwood trees and climbed his way to his cave.

After stepping inside the cave, his eyes instinctively shifted towards the square hole that was being brightened by the sunlight pouring down the cracks.

His breath hitched, and he walked towards it. His heart began to beat faster as the expectations bloomed within him, and he knelt beside it.

Nearly a month had passed after he let the purple smoke in the square hole, and now was the time for him to check if his hypothesis was right or not.

Fwoosh!

Golden aura flames flickered around his hands, and he placed his hands on top of the stone slab that worked as the lid for the square hole.

Darkness flooded his vision as everything except the lid disappeared from his senses, and he focused all of his mind on forming a thin layer of golden aura beneath the stone slab.

A warm breath escaped his lips as he finished forming the thin layer and pulled off the stone slab.

The purple smoke that was settling at the bottom of the hole jumped towards the opening, but just as it neared the thin film of the golden aura, the smoke turned back as if frightened from touching it.

He watched it with curious eyes and looked deep into the smoke. To his disappointment, there were no crystals, but all of the smoke was swirling at the centre of the base, similar to how it moved in a core.

"The hole is acting like a core, but it has yet to form a crystal..." he mumbled, and another thought appeared in his mind, "What if the crystal is just too small for me to see with my naked eyes?"

To check if his conclusion was correct or not, he channelled his aura into his eyes, and his vision sharpened; everything became so clear that he could even see the small bugs that were rolling on the ground and the fine dust particles that floated within the cave.

He squinted his eyes and focused on the heart of the smoke only to be left disappointed once again.

"There is nothing... or even this is not enough to see that crystal."

He dismissed the aura and heaved a defeated sigh. He picked up the slab and covered the hole with it before he stood up and turned back to leave with a frown etched on his face.

"Should I use cores of higher grades?" He mumbled while making his way out of the cave.

The smoke within grade one and two null cores was too thin, so logically he could fasten the process with the use of grade three or above null cores.

"But I can't go to the purple fog forest..." His frown deepened.

Due to the incoming kareth wave, five squad leaders continuously watched the edge of the forest, making it hard for him to leave the camp without anyone finding out about it.

"I'll get them during the wave."

He took one final glance at the square hole, stepped out of the cave, and made his way back to the camp.

A few days passed as his squad helped others in their routine patrols.

During this, most squads found out that the members of Rion's squad were very strong and dependable.

Yuura's speed made it easier to exchange information, let alone his mastery over daggers.

Dora's flawless archery reaped the lives of any hornless or one-horned kareths that dared to step beyond the forest.

Tarun's insane agility and strength crushed even the hordes of the hornless and one-horned kareths.

While Kahrun's persistence saved the squad members who were supposed to fall under the abhorrent limbs of two-horned kareths.

Yet, the only question that filled everyone's mind was:

How strong is their leader?

Whenever anyone asked his squad members, the only answer they received was:

Tarun: Even multiple of me won't be able to defeat him... that monster doesn't even sweat.

Yuura: My slow legs wouldn't be able to keep up with Him.

Dora: He'll just throw the arrows back at me...

Kahrun: Nah, I'd die.

The others obviously didn't believe them and failed to understand why they were exaggerating his strength to such a stupid degree... he wasn't even sixteen years old, after all.

"Are you not scared about them leaving your squad?" Kuro asked while cleaning his axe.

Rion, who stood a few steps away from him, smiled and answered with a shrug, "Scared? What for? They would be the ones losing on a great squad leader, not me."

Kuro sneered, "Is that what you tell yourself all the time?"

His smile cracked, and his eyes turned heavy as he mumbled tiredly,

"Those who live by strength have one common issue, they begin to see those above them as a figure to follow or revere...

Yuura, who once saw me as the kid who had helped him, now sees me as someone he is supposed to follow forever.

Kahrun, who once saw me as a friend, now sees me as someone born for greatness.

Tarun, who once saw me as nothing but a toothless brat, now seems as the next sovereign..."

Kuro listened to his words and asked, "What about the last one?"

He smiled slightly and muttered, "Well. She still sees me as the same... I guess."

For the first time, the corners of Kuro's lips arched up into a smile, and he said, "You seem to have forgotten that you are a god's descendant and the sovereign's son... they revere you because for them you are above and the closest thing to a god. Even if you are still too young for such a role."

Rion's expression darkened, and he thought, 'They think of me as a god when all of my abilities are just a facade. Their expectations are lifting me too high and making me feel odd... No matter what I do, they never see my wrongs.'

Bum-bum... Bum-bum...

The sound of drums echoed within the campsite, and Kuro said.

"Let's go."

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