“Am I dreaming?”
Clyde sat up abruptly and rubbed his eyes. He was entirely oblivious to his injuries. He grimaced in pain due to the movement, but the ache in his body was not as severe as the shock in his heart.
When he first encountered Watson, he had only felt that that youth was mysterious. He had been unaware of the youth’s strength. He had even made a point of observing him. There were no changes in the youth’s combat aura. It was apparent that he had not trained. However, the youth could kill a monster that even he could not handle.
Was it not annoying to employ them as bodyguards when they were that powerful? Who was protecting whom?
It was not only Clyde, but Arthur and the others also struggled to get to their feet. Their faces were filled with surprise as they looked at the dark liquid that appeared on the ground after the evil eye monster exploded. It was particularly true for Arthur. Apart from shock, his eyes glowed with anxiety. He had not anticipated Watson, who he wanted to take hostage, to be so powerful.
Fortunately, the captain intervened just in time. If he was truly determined to forsake Watson, well, Arthur shivered subconsciously as he glanced at the liquid on the ground. He had the distinct impression that his fate would be no better than that of the evil eye monster in front of him.
“Nightingale, clean up the scene. The body fluid of that evil eye monster is too smelly.”
Watson clapped his hands casually after he crushed the evil-eyed monster with one foot. He turned around and moved in front of Clyde and the others, waving his hand at Nightingale. He helped them up and asked with concern.
“Are you okay?”
“Young Master Watson, who are you?”
Clyde felt a warm flow from Watson’s hands into his body once he stood up. It was the combat aura, which flowed like a river, healing his wounds and aiding in his recovery, that caused him to address Watson with the honorific title instinctively.
He was aware that the teenager in front of him was an elite stronger than him. He must be a silver-tier warrior, at least, and possibly even gold-tier. So young and yet so powerful meant that he was not an ordinary person.
“Please allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Watson, and I’m from the border. I’m here to enroll at the Royal Academy.”
“The Royal Academy?”
Clyde’s face lit up as he heard that. The Royal Academy was the finest institution in the kingdom. It attracted only geniuses under the age of eighteen and served as a focal point for the kingdom’s greatest talents. Many individuals wished to be a part of it. Given that the child in front of him was a freshman at the Royal Academy, his strength was unsurprising.
However, the boundary was the kingdom’s most isolated location. It had been a long time since a genius was admitted to the Royal Academy. Not even the City of Steel had such a talent, let alone somewhere from the border. Furthermore, based on his attire and manner, Watson appeared to be the descendant of great nobility, perhaps the border count.
He asked, “Are you related to the border count, Young Master Watson?”
“There’s no special relationship. We just live together,” Watson replied casually.
His inadvertent words sent a tremendous tsunami through Clyde’s heart.
He must have meant that they were very close.
Who else could live with the border count? Other than the maids and servants in residence, Watson could only be a relative of Sylvan. Based on his age, Watson was very likely to be Sylvan’s son.
“It’s not strange for the border count’s son to have such a talent.”
While Clyde was guessing, the other two adventurers shouted from the side.
“Hey, how long do you want to talk?”
“This area is still unsafe. I believe we should go now.”
“Indeed, it’s more important to go out first. Young Master Watson, do you have any way to take us up?”
Watson took no action in response to his words. He fixed his gaze on Nightingale, who was cleaning the ground. “Nightingale, that’s good enough. Please take us up.”
“Yes, Young Master Watson,” Nightingale responded respectfully.
She clapped her palm gently above her head at the passage. The tunnel collapsed with a loud boom as a result of the strong vibration. A massive hole punctured the ground, connecting it to the sky. Sunlight streamed through the hole, illuminating everyone’s wide-open jaws.
An adventurer’s voice could be barely heard from above. “Who are you? Why are you so unruly? Why are you stealing the monsters from the lower levels? If you are so powerful, don’t bully the monsters on levels lower than ten. Continue to the 30th or 40th level.” Everyone there exchanged glances when they heard that. They fixed their gazes on Nightingale and stayed silent for an extended period.
They were at least 100 meters away from the ground, but Nightingale had penetrated the ground with a single palm strike. What level of strength was that? Watson’s stomp on a gold-tier monster had been enough to shock them. However, at that moment, Nightingale’s action was even more terrifying.
When Clyde watched that scene from the side, he swallowed his saliva. His guess about Watson as the border count’s son was purely speculative. At that moment, he was positive that Watson was the border count’s son. Otherwise, which noble on the border would have such a formidable bodyguard?
..
Clyde and the others sat on the ground 20 minutes after exiting the underground maze, greedily enjoying the sunlight. There was a lingering fear as they reflected on their recent underground adventure.
The two adventurers from the Holy Sword Adventurer team, who had nearly averted death, continued to nod and express their gratitude to Watson, stating that they would inform their leader about the incident. Then, they limped away in unison.
“Everyone, the matter has been resolved. It is now time for us to leave! Kindly do not tell anyone about what had occurred in the underground city. After all, I am merely a student en route to the royal city. I am trying to avoid causing too much trouble.”
Watson gave Clyde and the others a wink. Just as he was about to lead Nightingale back to the carriage parked outside the basin, Clyde abruptly jumped up and walked in front of Watson, frantically extending his hands. “Wait, Young Master Watson! You saved our lives. We haven’t thanked you properly for such a big favor. If you leave, we’ll feel guilty.”
“That’s right, Young Master Watson. We received your money and assured you that we would escort you to the City of Steel. We haven’t done it yet. As adventurers, our credibility is paramount.” Annie rose to her feet, approached Watson, and hugged his arm. It was as though she were clutching a priceless treasure.
“Young Master Watson is only passing by the City of Steel. He won’t stay here for long.” Nightingale coughed and discreetly separated Annie and Watson.
“Then you’d require our assistance even more. We are very familiar with the city. We know where the best food is, where the most comfortable hotels and cheapest are.”
Annie rubbed her aching arm; she did not dare to be angry at Nightingale. Then, she continued to speak enthusiastically. “The best place in the City of Adventurers is the Golden Feather Pavilion. It is the ideal location in the city, where entertainment and rest are integrated into one. If you visit the City of Steel but do not see the Golden Feather Pavilion, it is the same as if you did not come! However, to enter the Golden Feather Pavilion, you should go to the Adventurers’ Association to do a strength assessment first, Young Master Watson. The Golden Feather Pavilion has one rule—the strong shall rule. It means the stronger you are, the better the treatment you will receive. A strong individual such as yourself will undoubtedly receive the best care.”
“The Adventurers’ Association? Strength assessment? What’s that?” Watson was a little puzzled.
“Haven’t you heard about that, Young Master Watson? The City of Steel is one of the largest gathering places for adventurers in the kingdom. Due to a comprehensive adventurer system in this town, anyone interested in forming an adventurer team must take a test at the Adventurers’ Association. Following the test, the association will assign a level nameplate to the team based on the result. For example, we are a bronze-tier adventurer team.”
Then, she took out a bronze nameplate from her chest; it was inscribed with a word—bronze.
“The adventurer and professional ranking systems are regarded as the kingdom’s two most powerful systems. Each citizen is required to take a test and register themselves. The nameplate issued after the test is equivalent to a person’s identity certificate. With that, not only will you receive preferential treatment in the City of Steel, but also in every city in the kingdom.”
