Cedric's POV.

——

Actually, I was awake when I suddenly felt Aika laying on my chest.

I was a bit surprised because it was strange to see her act like this. It was even stranger that she didn't mind when I wrapped my arms tight around her and drew her into a cuddle.

I thought she'd get uncomfortable. There was a time when she wouldn't even let me stroke her head in her raven form; she'd usually bite my finger or warn me to keep my hands to myself. But now, she was actually leaning into me.

Well, I couldn't complain… cough, cough.

I liked this side of her, and wished it could stay this way.

***

…

..

.

Fortunately for the group, the night passed without any attacks, and as early as dawn, the party set off to continue on to the Saurian Outskirts.

From time to time, we came across a few ambushes from more of the goblins, but just like before, we took care of them quickly. During this time, I got to see what Audrey's regalia looked like as she had used it on one of the occasions when the number of goblins was a bit overwhelming.

Her regalia was a white aesthetic suit of armor with silver and gold leather accents. The armor was light and fitting to her skin, resembling more of a suit of specialized combat gear than an old-fashioned set of plate mail.

On the chestplate, the etched wings of an owl spread across her shoulders, and around her neck, a long golden cloak fluttered as she flew.

When she fought with us, it really made her look like some kind of valkyrie.

According to her, the regalia boosted her speed when she flew. It gave her a sturdy defense on the ground and an even sturdier defense when she was in the air. Also, her exclusive skill, Sleight of Hand, granted her the ability to dodge one lethal attack that she could see when its cooldown was over. But with the regalia, that skill could now be activated automatically. She no longer needed to manually activate it, and more importantly, she didn't even need to see the attack to avoid it.

And that wasn't even all the properties of her regalia.

Watching her, I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement, wondering what properties my own regalia would have once I finally unlocked it. But I was still a long way from level 15.

Currently, my exp for breaking through level 12 was at…

EXP: [8,030 / 10,000]

'Soon… I must get it… soon.'

***

Just like that, three days passed with us journeying through the vast stony plain. The journey was slow because of the large boulders we had to maneuver around, and we also had to be careful of ambushes by the goblins.

But by the end of the third day, the number of boulders began to thin out.

We also noticed that there were no more goblins ambushing us, which signaled to us that we were close to the Saurian Outskirts.

We decided to stop early, set up camp and have enough rest because once we got into the Saurian Outskirts, things were going to be really heated. Although the monsters there did not have any special abilities, their defense and strength were on a completely different level.

Unlike the goblins whom we had easily brushed aside, we would need to go all out when we were facing the Saurian beasts if we did not want to end up dying to grade one creatures.

Well…

'If any of us dies there, it's going to be really uh… embarrassing.'

The party made dinner quickly after which they settled for some light banter.

While I leaned against a boulder chewing on a blade of grass, I could hear Leon who for some reason was sitting beside me, grumble:

"Ahhh… I hate the night."

I looked at him, looked away, then smiled to myself.

"Ahhh… oh how I love the night."

Leon looked at me and let out a sudden, large smile that looked more like a smirk.

"Why? Because it hides your ugly face?"

I nearly choked on the grass I was chewing. Though I wasn't about to give up, so I smiled and replied.

"No. I love the night because it stops me from seeing that pathetic, punchable face of yours."

Leon bristled and looked away in defeat. But then he smiled and nudged me with his elbow.

"Pretty girl's here."

I looked up to see Audrey approaching where we were sitting. Leon wiggled his brows and added in a low voice, "Seal the deal, man. Get this in the bag already."

'What's wrong with this dude?'

Leon then stood up to give us space and went to join the others.

With the confused look on my face, I looked away from him to Audrey.

'Is he really shipping me with Audrey?'

Uh… to be honest, Audrey was indeed incredibly beautiful. But I didn't see her in that way. In fact, I didn't see us even in the future being anything more than friends.

But I could see why Leon would think that way. Audrey usually loved to come stay with me after every meal. She did not interact with the rest of the party as much as she did with me, and she would usually spend hours just talking with me alone.

Although I did not talk much, I did like listening to her talk about her past, her fears, and her dreams for the future.

It felt like I was the only one she could actually be herself around.

"Hey Cedric."

Audrey sat down beside me while adjusting her glasses.

When I returned her greeting, she let out a long, tired sigh. She kept rubbing her thumbs around each other in her lap. After a few seconds, she looked at me. "Uhm…"

She adjusted her glasses again and continued. "So, Leon told me that you would be staying back for a while after we all get our regalia."

'That brat!'

I hadn't told the others that I planned on staying back; I only told Leon, intending to break the news when it was actually time for them to leave. He just had to go and run his mouth.

'Tsk.'

I feel like punching him in the face.

I looked at Audrey, sighed and eventually replied, "Yes. I'll be staying back."

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