Chapter 107: I Told You It Was Comfortable

Declan eventually arrived. It took him longer than Julius expected, but to be fair, Julius had gotten there much earlier than planned. Declan had told him that he had to take care of a couple of things before making his way over, but Julius wanted to see the area beforehand.

Julius was at a small cafe having a delicious breakfast sandwich and latte when he sensed Declan with [Spatial Perception]. He had chosen the nearest cafe to the main street that he knew Declan would arrive from. He was also very lucky that the cafe was a place that sold tasty food.

He sent a small probe of aura in Declan’s direction. It wasn’t that big or noticeable, but he knew it was enough to catch the man’s attention. Declan’s aura abilities were very good and as expected caught onto Julius’s probe with ease.

The vice-captain immediately turned and headed right toward Julius’s direction, spotting him right away. When he walked up to Julius’s table he pulled a chair out and sat next to him. Declan noticed there was a latte and muffin on a plate in front of him and looked at Julius with questioning eyes.

“Yeah, I got you a latte and a muffin just in case you wanted something before we go,” he told Declan. Julius wasn’t inconsiderate, he had gotten something for Declan as well. He had a feeling that Declan would show up soon and had been prepared for his arrival. It was the least he could do for the man since he was coming all the way out here and cleared his very busy schedule to help Julius.

Declan reached over for the mug, attempting to pick it up, but Julius stopped him before he could. With a quick application of fire mana, Julius warmed the latte and muffin up. The previously lukewarm beverage now had steam emitting from its surface.

Declan observed as Julius did that little work of mana. He tentatively picked up his mug and gave it a soft sip, testing the temperature of the drink. Declan let out a satisfied sigh and raised his eyebrows in the realization of what Julius had just done.

Truthfully, it was gratifying to see that Declan had appreciated the gesture as well as the deeper implication of the mana control it required. Declan was skilled enough to understand that what Julius had accomplished was more difficult than he had made it seem.

Most people wouldn’t think twice upon seeing what Julius had done. They would more than likely believe it to be a simple feat of magic. However, they would be wrong. Heating up a liquid wasn’t that difficult on its own. However, regulating the amount of fire mana and heat to be the perfect drinking temperature was not easy.

It required a delicate touch and strict control over one’s mana. Not enough heat and the drink wouldn’t get hot enough. Too much heat and the drink would become a scalding mess that would be too hot, even for a Tier 4 like Declan to drink comfortably.

Just because Tier 4s had more robust bodies didn’t mean that they couldn’t perceive temperature like regular people. It didn’t damage them like it would a Tier 1, but it still didn’t feel good for something really hot to touch their delicate tongues. Declan knew of this and tilted his head in recognition of Julius’s efforts. Julius just smiled at the man, mentally patting himself on the back on a job well done.

As the two of them were finishing up their drinks and food, they talked about the rift and how Declan believed Julius’s strategy should be.

“It says the rift is a forest-related environment, this could pose several issues with other people, but I think it fits you well. Your perception skill should be able to pick up any lifeform in the vicinity, so the trees and foliage should not be a big issue unlike for other parties. Unless there is some sort of stealth variant you won’t have to worry much about ambushes. Still, keep an eye out just in case. You never know what can happen in a rift. Most people die not from a powerful enemy, but because they were caught off guard.” Declan took the time to remind Julius of the rift’s details and ensure that he wasn’t going in with too much confidence.

Julius promised that he wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks while he was there. This wasn’t the troll rift and he wasn’t going to make so many reckless choices this time. This rift was about showing Declan that Julius could be trusted with delving alone. After all, Declan couldn’t always be with Julius.

As much as the man wanted to watch Julius like a hawk, he realized that he needed to trust Julius to take care of himself. That wasn’t to say that he couldn’t prepare him the best that he could before then.

Declan understood that Julius was much stronger than his Tier 2 status would indicate. He also knew that Julius had a really good healing skill. These were the main reasons why he had even considered getting the rift pass for Julius.

After they left the cafe and were about to get to the rift location, Julius took out the black mask he had just bought. His actions grabbed the attention of Declan who was walking next to him.

“What is that?” Declan stopped and watched as Julius put on the face covering.

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“Hmm?” Julius asked as he shifted the mask around his face so that it sat comfortably on his face, just over the bridge of his nose, leaving only his eyes exposed.

“Why are you wearing something so ridiculous? You look like you are about to rob someone,” Declan said in an exasperated tone.

Julius gave himself a quick lookover and couldn’t blame Declan for saying that. He was already wearing all black and the black mask made it even more over the top. He indeed looked like a robber.

“If you are trying to be inconspicuous then you are failing miserably,” Declan told him.

Julius shrugged his shoulders at Declan. “I’m not going for inconspicuous. I am going for nobody to see my face. I don’t care if I look weird while doing it,” he told Declan.

Declan just stared at him with a face of disbelief.

“Plus, this thing is really comfortable. Like seriously comfortable. Here try it.” Julius took it off and handed it over to Declan, urging him to try it on for himself.

Declan just held the thing in his hands and looked at Julius with a deadpan stare.