Cedric would have loved to stay and keep leveling up, but the thing was, the closer you got to the peak of a grade, the less EXP you received from killing beings lower than your level.

Not to mention, the beasts Cedric had been killing were only grade one. After reaching level fifteen, the EXP he received had dropped significantly. He was having to kill twice the number just to get the same results as before, and the more he leveled, the harder it got.

At this point, he barely received anything.

'It's frustrating…. I really thought I could at least reach level 19.'

To be honest, he just wanted to catch up to Leon. Leon was at level 19, and Cedric was so close… just a few hundred exp points away.

Anyway... regardless of that, Cedric was happy with his progress. He had really worked hard. Harder than anyone, to be honest. While Leon was at level 19 now, he must have been leveling up in a grade two region before getting to the grove. Plus, he was already at level 17 when he arrived in the first ring.

Cedric, on the other hand, started the first ring as a grade one, level 9. Now, he was one of the strongest dominants currently in the first ring. If that wasn't hard work, he didn't know what was.

In the meantime, Cedric decided to enjoy the hot spring. The screen in front of him disappeared and he leaned back, soaking in the hot water. His eyes dropped to Aika, who was sitting opposite him; she was tying a towel over her chest and another one over her hair.

Suddenly, Aika looked down and caught him staring at her. Then she smiled and tilted her head. "By the way, I hope you still remember our deal at the Baby's cradle?"

Cedric looked up from her perfectly sculpted body to her face, then he arched a brow because he didn't quite catch what she said. "Huh?"

Aika began to swim closer to him, still wearing that smile that, for some reason, was starting to creep Cedric out.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten." She touched his bare chest slowly, dragging her fingers until they reached his shoulder. "You promised me that you'd do anything I ask you to do."

Cedric's heart began to beat a little harder and sweat began to bead on his skin. He couldn't tell whether he was sweating because of the heat or the sheer proximity of her.

"Uh… did… did I really say that?"

Aika nodded, leaned on him, and held his cheek with one hand. "Yes, you did. I remember perfectly. You were like, 'If we get rid of these abominations, I'll do whatever you ask of me.'"

Cedric's eyes widened slightly. "Really? I said that?"

Aika giggled. "You know I can't lie to you."

Well, if Cedric had his head straight, he would have noticed the negative karma notifications. But the boy was far too distracted.

Aika brushed her thumb across his lower lip. "So, I hope you have not forgotten your promise to me." She leaned in until their noses almost touched. "I like guys who keep their word."

Cedric swallowed, licked his lips, and… folded. "Tell me then, what do you want me to do?"

Aika smirked and whispered into his ear, "I'll tell you when the time comes."

She then immediately leaned back, splashing him playfully with a bit of water, and returned to her side of the hot spring.

"Huh?" Cedric arched a brow. "And when is that supposed to be?"

Aika leaned back against her side of the spring and her expression immediately changed, becoming uncharacteristically cold. "I'll tell you what I want you to do when we get to the King's Paradise. And since you promised, you must do it."

Cedric frowned.

Aika tapped her chin as if trying to recall something. "What's that saying… Ah." She then looked at him seriously. "Your word is your bond."

It was quiet after that.

Cedric blinked a few times.

'Did I just get played?' he thought in disbelief as he stared at Aika, who had resumed splashing her legs in the water as if nothing had happened seconds before.

Cedric looked down at his uhm… persistent problem under the water, then sighed and looked away.

'By the way, what is it that she wants me to do in the King's Paradise?

…She made it sound like something important.'

Cedric thought about it for a bit, but since he couldn't figure it out, he decided to put it aside for later.

***

Later that night…

——

Before the night fully settled in, Cedric had long gone to sleep on the ground.

The only sounds in the cave came from the bubbling of the water in the natural hot spring a fair distance from where Cedric lay. Beside him, Aika sat in a meditative position, drawing in mana. Since Cedric had spent the majority of the previous night doing it, it was her turn tonight.

However, after a moment, she opened her eyes and pulled her legs to her chest, seemingly lost in thought.

Her eyes shifted to Cedric, who was sleeping so innocently, as if he didn't have a care in the world, then she forced a sad smile.

'Will you be able to kill her when you see her?' she thought as she looked away. Her smile disappeared and she sighed.

…After Leon told Cedric about the new lords of the first ring, Aika had already suspected they were the people who had gone missing from Seo-yeon's company.

But what really bothered her was that Leon had also said two more people were brought from Earth to replace the lords Celeste killed.

A suspicion began to grow in the back of her mind, and she started to wonder about something. If the people being brought here were all from Seo-yeon's company, was there a possibility that Seo-yeon herself had also been brought here?

This thought nagged her for a while, and eventually, several weeks ago, she went and talked to Leon privately to find out if she was right.

That day, she also discovered something else.

Something quite disturbing.

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