Chapter 157: Going Back
Lucian looked at both Adrian and Renelle, returning with surprise evident in his eyes.
He had sensed Adrian’s rank before he left, and the prince was certain that the butler was only at C rank, so how was he back at B rank in just an hour?
He didn’t get the chance to ask anything because the next second, a sound from the distance pulled his attention towards it.
All the survivors, as excited as they had been moments earlier, immediately went on guard as they heard the sound.
"Relax," Darius spoke up, "that’s just our way out of here."
The group of survivors was confused for a moment, but a second later, a large beast less carriages...that didn’t really look like one, could be spotted.
Buses.
"What the hell is that?" One of them asked in surprise as they looked at the approaching vehicles with disbelief.
The machines were enormous.
Each one was constructed from black reinforced metal and covered in glowing blue lines that run across the surface like veins.
Unlike normal carriages, no horses or beasts were pulling them.
Instead, the buses moved entirely on their own while releasing a deep mechanical hum which was what reached them first.
Around the front of each vehicle were thick layers of armored plating, clearly designed to ram straight through beasts if necessary.
The survivors stared at them as though they were looking at artifacts from another world.
Which, in a sense, they were.
These buses had only recently been completed by Alvíss under Adrian’s direct orders.
But that was for later, right now, the group had to get out of here.
The lead bus slowly came to a halt before the group with a loud hiss.
PSHHHHH—
Steam escaped from the sides while the blue lines dimmed slightly, and a moment later, the door folded open mechanically.
The survivors instinctively stepped back.
Save for Renelle’s and Lucian’s group, the rest here had never seen such machinery, so their wary reactions were understandable.
Out of the open door stepped the same man who had welcomed them into the Frontier,
The commander.
The man had an expression of disbelief on his face as he looked at the group before him, he then turned towards the small group of second and third years, noticing that one was missing.
But that would be handled when they were giving reports, besides, there was also the fact that he was thinking of sending a message back to the academy reporting the group as dead since it had been more than a month and they hadn’t returned.
So the fact that they had returned with only one missing was a relief.
For now, he focused on the group of spirit mages that had been thought dead for five years and yet, here they were.
At first, he thought that reports about the two groups sent the deepest into the wild lands were still alive was nothing but a prank, but it turns out, they really were alive.
For a brief moment, the commander simply stood there in silence and his sharp eyes swept across the exhausted survivors one after another.
Many instinctively stiffened under that gaze alone.
Even after five years trapped in the Black Sea Dungeon, they could immediately tell what kind of man stood before them.
"Welcome back," was all he said before turning towards the buses behind him and adding, "Get on, we’re going back to base."
With that, the multiple other spirit mages that had alighted with him helped the survivors into the buses, especially the injured ones.
Elias, the kid Adrian had hired, was basically drooling as he stepped closer to the buses.
The workmanship on these magic tools were something he had only seen once, and it was in the blueprint Adrian for the submarine Adrian had given him.
Which meant his new boss probably had a hand in this.
"I can’t wait to start working for him," he muttered with a grin before walking into one of the buses.
The survivors were filled with awe as they stepped into the buses, realizing that the seats were not as hard as carriage seats.
Most immediately fell asleep the moment they settled in.
Aqua’s and Renelle’s team were led to a single bus, separate from the ones the survivors had gone in.
"You guys never told us how you also went into that dungeon," Darius asked as he looked at Aqua.
"A cave," She muttered, placing a hand on her chin, "we got trapped in one and had no choice but to go deeper, and that’s when we discovered the texts on one of the cave walls."
"What about you guys?" Aqua asked, looking at him, "Because we definitely didn’t expect to meet another team inside the dungeon."
"Well..." Darius scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he said, "I might’ve placed a hand on a wall I thought was moving and got pulled in...my team followed after."
"So it was your fault?" Aqua asked as she settled into the seat.
"I guess," Darius shrugged as he sat beside her.
"Why are you sitting here?" She asked again, a frown on her face, "Your team is all the way over there."
"Adrian and Lady Renelle need some alone time," he answered, "after all, they had been apart for a month."
"...."
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked, noticing how she was looking at him.
"It’s just surprising that an idiot like you has even the littlest bit of EQ," she said before leaning on the window, "it truly is surprising."
"Hey!" Darius retorted, "I’m not an idiot."
"Whatever you say."
Meanwhile, Adrian and Renelle finally settled into their seats, with the butler looking sleepy.
Since his breakthrough was only to return him to his previous B-rank, he didn’t have to go through any tests nor did he gain any new skills.
All he had to do was absorb the mana from the core which Noctis ate.
A process that exhausted him, since mana for a breakthrough was supposed to be slowly built up until it reached a certain threshold.
"Sleep," Renelle told him as he pulled his head to her shoulders.
Adrian didn’t bother arguing, as he immediately closed his eyes and darkness took him, much to Renelle’s satisfaction.
***
Instead of a dream, Adrian opened his eyes in Noctis’s realm, standing directly in front of it.
It was still in its cat form as it looked at him before saying,
«We have something to discuss.»
