"Liana."

"Liana."

Liana turned around from the front and looked at Nolan who was farther behind, with a brow arched up.

He gestured for her to come back, his expression serious.

"You guys should carry on," she said to the others, slowing down so Nolan could catch up to her.

Selena looked at them, then looked away. She tried to hear whatever they were saying.

"What?" Liana asked in a hushed tone.

"Lesson two," Nolan said, his tone as low as hers.

"What? What do you mean lesson two? There was a lesson one? All you did was tell me how to hold a sword better and fix my footing. What a 'great' lesson." Liana glared at him, crossing her arms.

Nolan looked at her like he wasn't even listening at all before continuing. "Keep everyone close when you get to the clearing. Do NOT split the team, no matter what happens or what you see. I'm being completely serious right now, Liana."

Liana's expression became serious, her curiosity picking up. "What's wrong? Is there something dangerous here? Tell me."

"Make sure to keep Maximus in place. Don't let him go anywhere. I'll be back," Nolan said.

"Where are you going?"

"To help us," he replied, slowing his pace.

Liana watched him disappear behind a tree, moving between them.

Selena suddenly heard the hushed conversations stop and turned around. She looked around, not seeing Nolan, then her eyes landed on Liana. "Where is he?"

"I have no idea," Liana replied blankly, hastening her pace to go back to the front. "Alright everyone, we're sticking close. No one leave the group."

'Mhmm, she definitely does not like me,' Selena thought, chuckling lightly.

"Maximus," Liana called.

The quiet man who was at the side turned to Liana. "Yes?"

'I wonder why Nolan wants him close,' Liana thought, before speaking out loud. "Why don't you come closer? You seem a bit isolated from the team."

For a split second there, Liana could swear she saw a hint of worry in his expression before he smiled and waved. "Oh, n-no it's fine. I'm good here."

"Come on," Liana smiled, shaking her head. "Come stand close to me here."

"Really. Y-you don't have to—"

"I insist," Liana cut him off, her eyes narrowing a fraction. Whatever the reason was for Nolan's orders, she just knew this Maximus guy was hiding something.

… …

Nolan—now far from the group—started running forward, trying to reach the point where they got ambushed in past lives, before they got there.

The woods grew darker as he got in, the canopy of branches, blocking off the light.

"Add all unassigned points to stamina," he voiced.

[STA - 13]

He ran as fast as he could, hoping he didn't run out of stamina before even fighting.

Nolan suddenly skidded to a halt as a figure stood in front of him. The problem with this place had always been one: Though there were low-grade demons around, it was still D-rank demons' territory.

For some reason, the guild had never said anything about this part of the kingdom. He also forgot to inform them about it.

But would they have done a thing? Who was to trust in this world now?

The D-rank demon in front of him tilted its head to an unnatural angle, staring him down. Nolan didn't break eye contact. "Do you really want to keep on staring?" he said, walking closer to it.

It didn't move—not even an inch—as he approached it, still boring its gaze into him.

"Still as stupid as ever," Nolan muttered. Getting close enough, he quickly lifted his hand.

[Switched Ability!]

[Ice Affinity > Light Embodiment]

A beam of light shot out of Nolan's hand, landing on the demon's face. It shook its head, then it looked back at where Nolan was—one eye burnt—but there was no one there.

SLASH!

Its blood sprayed from the back of its knees and it went down on them, swiping aimlessly behind its back.

A silhouette moved under the hand, slashing its elbow.

It growled and snapped its head to the side, finally spotting Nolan. It swiped and Nolan's eyes widened.

[Switched Ability!]

[Light Embodiment > Ice Affinity]

Just in time, he made a chunk of ice erupt from the ground and he stepped on it, launching himself spinning in the air.

The demon's slash swiped the air while Nolan hovered over its head, hand drawn back.

When it looked up, it could see Nolan's eyes letting out a faint blue glow as his sword soon descended, swiping at its head.

Nolan landed with a soft thud behind it—back turned on it—breathing heavily. "When facing me, you're the one who's not supposed to look away."

The demon's head split in two and it crashed forward.

[+100 Exp Obtained!]

[Exp points: 100/800]

Truth be told, if it wasn't for his abilities, he was no match for D-rank threats with his current level and stats.

Nolan caught his breath and started running again.

He needed to continue, because there were about six D-ranks in this woods, and he just took down one.

Though now he had a lot of variables in the team—the likes of Liana, Cedric, Alexander and Selena—who weren't originally members of the Cerulean Guardians in past lives, he didn't know how they would fare.

But he definitely wasn't losing them here.

… …

Meanwhile...

Liana and the team continued their walk and soon, some low-grades ambushed them.

"Everyone stay close!" Liana yelled, drawing her sword, though half her focus was still on Maximus who was acting uneasy.

Alexander turned around to find Nolan but did not see him. "Where does Master always go off to?" he muttered.

"Nolan's not here again?" Cedric said, also looking back. He sighed and shook his head, drawing his sword as well. "Always does what he wants."

The low-grades attacked and they started fighting them.

Selena however, wasn't even focused on the low-grades. She looked further into the woods, and could see a pair of red eyes watching them.

Then she grinned.

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