"So, how did you change so much?"
"In what term?"
"Appearance, demeanor, power—everything about you us different from two weeks ago."
Humming to myself briefly, I say, "Well, the journey was amazing."
Tsun-Tsun looks at me in disbelief, and I just shrug my shoulder lightly. Gazing at my right furtively, I find Genelos looking at the top of my head weirdly.
He looks like someone who has just seen something he shouldn't. Eventually, he notices my furtive gaze on him, so he immediately turns his eyes away from my head and pretends as if that has never happened.
'Luxia, is that idiot able to see you?'
'I am not very sure,' Lucia says unsurely. 'I feel like he is directly looking at me, but I also feel he can't see me.'
'Give him a middle finger.'
'Huh? Why should I do that?'
'Just do it,' I say calmly.
Genelos knows what a middle finger means, so if he can see Luxia, he will show some reaction. Observing his response carefully this time, I don't see him react at all, which means it is safe to say he can't see her.
I am sure, though, he can feel her presence since he even bothered to scrutinize the top of my head before.
"Ah, by the way, I have some 'souvenirs' for you guys."
"Eh, these guys get souvenirs too? Am I not your only partner?!" Genelos exclaims.
"Shut it, Idiot! I will give you more than the others."
"Woohoo! Sucks not to be me, huh?" Genelos sneers.
It is honestly amazing that a Wyvern can be that expressive. Although the others express themselves well, Genelos is just different; he is like a human child trapped in a body of a Wyvern.
Shaking my head lightly to put the thought aside, I take out the "souvenirs" for the Wyvern—it is Taurone meat. Although it is not as big as the gigantic drumsticks they usually eat, the Wyverns still rejoice at its appearance.
"A high quality meal!" Tsun-Tsun exclaims enthusiastically.
"Ah, indeed, this will be the highest quality meat we have ever had for the past five years."
Unlike Cursed Creations, Wyverns don't have to be afraid of the trace of Divinity in Taurone meat. In fact, the thicker the Divinity contained in their prey's blood, the more nutritious it becomes for them.
I ate Taurone meat almost everyday throughout my journey with the Conquest Troop. Although the trace of Divinity in the meat slightly burned my inside like an alcohol from time to time, it tasted absolutely heavenly.
Whenever I ate it, my troop mates will just look at me like I ama a madman. Unlike me, even though they are stronger than me, they don't want to risk getting poisoned by the very faint trace of Divinity in the meat.
Munch!
"Uhyo! It tastes better than ostrich meat!" Genelos remarks. "I am so glad to be able to eat many of it!"
"Hmm... Brat, I rarely thank anyone, but I have to thank you for this. This is simply luxurious."
It was a little bit tedious to obtain the meat and I even found myself asking why I had to even bother to do it for them, but looking at how happy the Wyverns are while eating it makes the effort worth it.
Why is it even worth it? Because, they are my first friends in this world.
No matter how close I am with Valeria and Millonia, the Wyverns were the first bunch to hear my honest thoughts and rants. Peanuts don't shed their skins—I will never forget them even though I already have a considerable amount of friends now.
Clack!
The moment the door of the stable is opened, I swiftly put on my mask, and whip my head to its direction. I don't even know why I feel the need to wear it—maybe, it's because the mask helps me a lot in battle and times of danger.
"Oh, Layland. So, you are the one who has snatched my beloved Wyvern from me!"
Looking at the cheerful Orc standing in the doorway, I blink my eyes in slight surprise. I didn't expect to encounter the friendly Orc senior in this place.
He is just as cheerful as usual. Even though I can feel the pain in his voice when he talked about his Wyvern, he still smiles at me.
"Ah, so you are one of the incompetent owners of these guys," I blurt out.
"Kuhak! That stings my heart greatly!"
The Orc grabs his chest, acting as if he is really hurt by my words. He immediately stops doing it the moment he notices me not giving any reaction, and clears his throat to make the situation less awkward.
"Well, I am Kruff, so please call me by name from now on. I bet you have been referring me as Senior for all this time."
'Eh, this guy—Telepath?! I need to improve the security of my mind, so he can't read it again,' I thought to myself.
"Hahaha. I am not a Telepath." Kruff laughs lightheartedly. "But, I have a really good instinct. It is more like a premonition, but it is right most of the time."
"Interesting... Now, do you have any premonition about what is going to happen now?" I quirk my eyebrow.
"Hmmm... Let's see. You are going to—"
Clank!
"Aha, I knew it! You are pretty sly, aren't you?"
Kruff really has a good reaction time and reflex. Although it doesn't seem impressive if you consider how long he has been a Warrior, blocking a petal of [Senbonzakura] is an entirely different matter.
He didn't use any Mana to detect the petal. He just simply took out his machete and swung it to the side before the petal even managed to cut him.
He doesn't look like he knew what he cut, which proves his claim even further. He really has a good instinct.
"Please don't take offense to this, but what exactly is that Spell of yours? None of us could see what you did when you shredded those Elves to pieces."
"First and foremost, it is called Skill—I made it myself. It doesn't require any incantation or anything—it purely relies on Mana processing—so it is entirely different from Spells."
"Ah... Demons are too smart. I don't really understand what you are talking about." Kruff scratches his head awkwardly.
"Don't worry, you don't need to." I was my hand lightly. "My point is, why should I tell you about it?"
Widening his eyes in realization, Kruff ponders to himself. During his pondering, I turn around to look at the Wyverns, and find Genelos already missing.
It is not uncommon for Genelos to hide himself from anyone but me—he is, after all, still playing dead—so I ignore the fact. I motion the others to go back into their cage too, and they immediately obey.
"I have a proposal. What about an equal exchange? Since my curiosity is killing me, I will teach you the way to hone your instinct in exchange for the explanation about your Skill?"
"I don't see it equal in any way."
"Don't you want to still be able to detect your enemies without Mana? Don't you want to guess what the other party has in their mind without invading their mind? Don't you want to be able to stay alert even when you are just chilling?"
"You can do all of those? I bet it's because how long you have spent your life in the battlefield," I reply sceptically.
"Do you know what they call me? The Flawless Orc. Do you spot any scar on my body? You don't, do you? It's because ever since the day I join the army, I have never been injured—not even once! Do you know why?"
"You are lucky?" Kruff shakes his head at this answer, prompting me to sigh. "Huuh... Your instinct?"
"Exactly! I already have a good instinct even before I joined the army!"
I don't find Kruff's claim ridiculous. It's, after all, a Magic World where anything can happen, but I am not too sure if he is not messing with me.
His Mana flow was steady and unchanging while he was talking about his ultra instinct. This indicates either he is telling the truth or he is a good liar.
His face doesn't indicate he is lying, but I am not a facial expression expert, so I can't tell for sure.
"Tomorrow," I say. "I will tell you how my Skill works tomorrow, so you can immediately teach me how to hone my instinct afterwards."
"Deal!" Kruff immediately grabs my hand and shakes it vigorously. "Then, see you tomorrow at the Training Field!" He runs away and slams the door shut.
Bam!
"What did you even come here for?" Shaking my head slightly, I put the thought aside. "I guess it's time for me to leave too, huh?"
The Wyverns have turned quiet. I don't know about Genelos, but the others, being the lazy-ass they are, must have fallen asleep due to the good meal they just had.
I mutter a small goodbye, and exit the stable quietly as I don't want to disturb them. When I am outside, I am greeted by Valeria much to my surprise.
"You had a fun time?" She asks.
"A bit short; but yes, it was fun."
"Good, now let's go to our room."
"Our?" I quirk my eyebrow. "The room is ours?"
"Yes. We are going to sleep together from now on." Valeria nods her head simply, then quirks her eyebrow lightly. "Do you find it dissatisfying?"
My answer is, of course, "What an honor!"
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