Chapter 605: He’s Special

Julius and Caldrus walked back to the camp in silence. Caldrus didn’t even mention anything about Julius joining the sect as an honored guest. The man was similarly stunned by what he had seen. The old man looked at the cheerful Drasil on Julius’s shoulder with a look that bordered on fear and fascination.

It was only when Drasil returned to his soul that Caldrus spoke.

“Are you sure he’s a life spirit?”

Julius furrowed his brows. “Pretty sure. Why?”

“You know that life spirits shouldn’t be able to do stuff like that, right?”

“He’s special.”

Caldrus opened his mouth to respond, but must have thought better of it. Instead, he shook his head and turned away, mumbling quietly to himself.

Truth be told, Julius was just as stunned by what Drasil did. The physical strength of the little spirit was not normal, not for someone his size. While Drasil had always been a bit abnormal, this was completely different. He could understand why Drasil consumed so much mana and was smarter than normal spirits, but smacking a peak Tier 3 monster into oblivion was totally different.

The only one who didn’t seem surprised was Seraphyne.

“Did you know?” He asked her in his mind.

“I told you he wasn’t normal.” She replied with a sigh.

“I knew he wasn’t normal. But this is a little…” Julius trailed off.

“It might have something to do with how deep you two’s connection is. I know that Drasil is constantly absorbing your essence, which makes sense considering how much of your mana he consumes.”

“So you are saying that he is taking on some of my own properties?”

If that were the case, would Drasil slowly change over time? Did his ruinous aura or his new authority affect Drasil in any way? And if so, was it in a good way?

“Maybe. I’m not an expert; that is more of a question for my father if you see him again. But I know that Drasil is also absorbing that treasure you gave him, that might be speeding up the process,” Seraphyne hypothesized.

Julius didn’t know what was going on with Drasil or in what direction, but it was pointless to worry unnecessarily. From what he could tell, Drasil was healthy and happy. That was all Julius cared about, and he would continue to support the little guy in all of his endeavors, even if that meant Drasil turned into a fist-slugging juggernaut.

***

It had already been two days since Drasil slapped the shit out of the fish. But they were still in the forest. The forest they were currently in was massive, with several large towns scattered throughout the area. Apparently, these woods were called the Brightwood Forest. He somewhat remembered that Lily told him something about this region, but he couldn’t remember what exactly that was.

These towns harvested the forest’s large natural resources to support themselves. That meant they often encountered large groups of people despite the area’s dense nature.

However, the group they encountered was much larger than the ones they had encountered so far. So large that the road was blocked by all of the people. Julius knew that the city of Oakrest lay up ahead. It was one of the major cities in the area, and it was odd that there was a backup of people so far away from the city’s walls. Julius couldn’t help but wonder if something happened.

With no other choice, they stopped the carriage and exited to see what was going on. Loreyn went over and spoke with various people, returning after about ten minutes.

“So what’s going on?” Cassandra asked with a curious look on her face.

“From what I gathered, there has been an unusually large presence of monsters in the area, and a horde of these monsters attacked a lot of travelers up ahead. It’s not only this case, either, but there have also been many other reports of attacks along the forest. Some people believe that it is the result of some kind of rift outbreak,” the woman responded, but there was a worried frown on her face.

“What else is it?” Cassandra asked, also noticing the look on Loreyn’s face.

“I did extensive research into the surrounding territories and regions, such as this travel route. I know for certain that anything near this route is constantly monitored for any new rifts and managed with care. They are well protected. Therefore, an attack that is so close to Oakrest is alarming on many levels,” Loreyn noted, rubbing her ear in thought.

“Maybe they got lazy and forgot to manage the rifts. It would make sense after what we have seen from the Empire so far,” Shin stated with a scoff.

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Julius saw Maya glare at Shin warningly, before looking over at him with an apologetic expression. Julius waved her concerns away. He didn’t really mind that Shin was badmouthing the Empire. He didn’t really care all that much, and the teen had a point. The Empire hadn’t really proved itself to be the most competent at governing itself. Julius’s own circumstances and the attack on the Capital showed this.

“No, I don’t think that’s the reason. It’s not just those from the Empire who use this route. There are many merchants who rely on this road being safe, and they wouldn’t let their route be compromised due to laziness, not if it would cost them a lot of money,” she said to Shin patiently.

“What are you saying? You think this isn’t an accident?” Cassandra questioned.

“I mean, it’s possible that it is. But considering the scale, I highly doubt it. I can understand one or two instances occurring, but from what I learned, there have been a lot of attacks lately.”

“You think it’s connected to the attack on the capital?” Maya asked.

“Perhaps. But according to the local I talked to, these issues have been happening for a while. But it has only recently become a huge issue. Which is why I don’t think it’s just laziness. If it were, then it would have already been handled by the region’s lords or various merchant groups.”