Chapter 246: Chapter 246 - Promise
The walk through the scorching hot desert was relentless.
Though it had barely been a few minutes since they’d started walking, sweat had already begun to soak their clothes.
Only Feng had it easy, floating atop his emerald cloud a few yards ahead, his eyes calmly scanning the horizon.
After several more minutes, its ears suddenly twitched.
’’A pack of fifty D-ranks ahead,’’ Feng said without turning around. ’’Approximately one mile away.’’
Theo stopped for a second, then nodded.
’’We’ll go around them.’’
Without a single complaint, the group gradually altered their course.
Not long after, Feng spoke again.
’’Ten more on our left.’’
’’Ignore them,’’ Theo said, walking on. ’’If they get close, we can quickly take care of them.’’
Owen let out a long sigh, swiping the sweat off his forehead.
’’How many damn creatures are in this desert?’’
’’Far more than this,’’ Feng replied calmly. ’’I’ve merely kept you updated on everything within roughly a one-mile radius.’’
It paused for a moment. ’’Plus, we’ve been really fortunate to avoid the stronger ones.’’
Owen immediately fell silent.
His expression shifted into something ugly as he kicked the sand.
’’Damn desert,’’ he cursed quietly. ’’Wish we got out of here already.’’
At the same time, Theo couldn’t help but glance at Feng.
’’Can you sense B and A-rank creatures accurately too?’’
’’Yes,’’ Feng answered. ’’Though the range is significantly shorter at my current strength.’’
Theo fell silent and nodded slowly.
’’Makes sense,’’ he said. ’’Also good enough for me.’’
Without Feng, they would’ve probably already exhausted themselves fighting groups numbering in the hundreds.
Another long silence followed as no one wanted to waste their energy speaking.
Well, everyone but Owen, that is.
’’Hey, Theo,’’ he called out loudly.
’’Hm?’’
’’How the hell did you end up getting that horse?’’ Owen asked, pointing at Feng.
Feng’s brows furrowed right away.
’’I am not a horse,’’ it said, staring at Owen. ’’I am a noble Galehorn Unicorn.’’
Owen stared at it for a moment.
’’Ah,’’ he said, completely unimpressed.
Much to Feng’s infuriation, Owen turned back to Theo straight away.
’’Anyway,’’ he said. ’’Where’d you get it?’’
Theo couldn’t help but laugh.
His gaze turned away from Feng as he shook his head.
’’Always straight to the point, huh?’’
Owen simply shrugged.
He pointed at Feng once more.
’’That... something-something unicorn flies, talks, has crazy senses, and can change its shape at will.’’
Owen looked Theo dead in the eyes.
’’I want one too.’’
Even Jim, Lyra, and Iris subtly looked over.
Truthfully, they had also been wondering the exact same thing.
Theo smiled helplessly as he scratched his head.
Before he could answer, a wave of wind washed a ton of sand straight into Owen’s face.
Owen stumbled back several steps, sand getting into his mouth, eyes, and even beneath his clothes.
’’Pff! Pff!’’ he spat repeatedly, desperately trying to get the sand out of his mouth.
Owen blinked several times before rubbing both eyes.
’’What the hell?!’’
Feng calmly looked away as though nothing had happened.
’’A rather unfortunate gust of wind,’’ it said indifferently.
’’Bullshit!’’ Owen shouted, pointing at the little unicorn. ’’You did that on purpose!’’
Feng slowly turned its head back toward him.
’’Stop your bold accusations,’’ it said calmly. ’’A horse would never be able to do this.’’
Owen’s face twitched.
Slowly, he raised a clenched fist toward the little unicorn.
Feng merely looked at him calmly, another faint breeze already gathering around its cloud.
Remembering the mouthful of sand he’d just swallowed, Owen slowly lowered his fist again.
"I’ll let you off this time," he muttered quietly.
Feng didn’t respond, already looking ahead once more.
None of the other three wanted to get involved in the exchange, their breathing already heavy from the heat.
Unlike Owen, they didn’t have a fire element and therefore had a better tolerance for the temperatures.
Theo couldn’t help but chuckle faintly.
’’Now then,’’ he said, scratching the back of his head. ’’As for your question...’’
Everyone’s attention shifted back to him.
"The truth is... Feng is the result of a very recent experiment.’’
Jim raised an eyebrow right away.
’’What do you mean by experiment?’’
Theo fell silent for a moment, unsure what to actually say.
Finally, he just settled on the same half-truth he’d told Elise only... he had twisted it a bit.
’’I can’t explain it in much detail since Elise did almost all the work,’’ he said slowly. ’’But I managed to gain a single permanent summon without having the element.’’
He glanced at Feng for a moment.
’’Honestly, neither of us actually expected it to succeed either.’’
Jim’s eyes widened even further.
’’Are there no drawbacks at all?’’
Theo shook his head with a smile, making a zero with his thumb and pointer finger.
’’None. It’s just like the summoning element, but you can only have one.’’
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
’’If word gets out about this,’’ Iris slowly said, ’’the entire world would go crazy...’’
Jim and Lyra nodded in agreement.
It was simply unbelievable.
’’Now my question,’’ Owen said, pulling them out of their daze. ’’Can we get one too?’’
Theo’s smile only grew larger, slowly turning into a grin.
’’Yes,’’ he said, nodding once. ’’That’s the plan... once we improve the process, of course.’’
For a brief moment, the group simply stared at him.
Then Owen’s eyes lit up with excitement.
’’Seriously?!’’ he shouted, wrapping an arm around Theo’s neck. ’’That’s fucking awesome!’’
Theo laughed as Owen nearly dragged him sideways.
’’Easy,’’ he said, prying Owen’s arm off his neck. ’’It’s still going to take some time.’’
’’Who cares?’’ Owen replied with a huge grin. ’’As long as it happens eventually, I’m happy.’’
Jim immediately nodded as well.
’’I’m looking forward to it,’’ Iris said gently.
Only Lyra remained silent for a few seconds, staring at Theo hesitantly.
’’Would it also work for me?’’ she asked seriously. ’’I already have the summoning element after all...’’
Theo turned to her right away.
’’Of course it’ll work for you too,’’ he said. ’’Don’t forget, Elise also has the summoning element.’’
Lyra’s eyes lit up as well, gratitude flashing through them.
And just like that, the group continued on in high spirits for a long time.
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