After finding another armor rabbit lair, Raia searched for some sturdy trees, punched it into smaller chunks, and sent it into the storage space.
Then, he did some small digging to the ground to look for some clay. He quickly found some took a good amount of lump for him to use outside.
As soon as he acquired what he wanted, Raia left the world inside. It was already noon of the next day when came out of his room.
He hurriedly went to the smithy to see his father. When he arrived at the smithy, Hauran was working on amber swords. He noticed Raia and spoke to him.
"Break the molds and furnish your tools. I'll help you assemble the fan after I finish this one." After that, he turned back to his work.
Hearing his words, Raia nodded and obediently did what Hauran said. He broke the molds and took out the casted irons then cut some of the unnecessary parts. The hammers, chisels, tongs and cooling tanks were all made of pure armor rabbit iron. There were also the parts of the fan that will be used to provide air for the forge.He used some of the machines in the smithy to polish the tools.
While he was working, Hauran walked to him.
"How was your advancement?" He asked Raia.
"It went smoothly." Raia replied.
"Good. Let's finish these works today so you can have more free time for yourself." Hauran suggested.
"Okay."
With that, the two began working together.
…
Like already his routine, Raia went to the world inside and cultivated at the last beast lair he raided.
After breaking through to the mid-2nd level Martial Spirit State, he exited the world to meet Aaron the next day. The two wanted to roam around Forzen before leaving a week later.
Raia noticed that Aaron didn't progress much in his cultivation.
He took out the mid-grade 3 pills that he received from them and handed it to Aaron.
"Here, take it. You need it more than me. I just wanted to advance to 2nd-level before the entrance exams and now that I got it, I wanted to give this to you."
With a puzzled expression, Aaron wanted to ask his friend questions then refuse the pills but was interrupted by Raia.
"Just take it, man."
"Alright. Thank you." Aaron replied. These pills could help him reach at least 8th level Martial Physique State. Although he won't reach it before the entrance exam begins, it was still good to have it with him to raise his cultivation steadily.
They went into a restaurant where they met with Faye, Caroline and Veronica. The three ladies were already there chatting happily without them.
After hanging out with his friends, Raia went outside to hunt some beasts in the forest.
He searched for a stronger beast to fight.
While he was fighting, he was not aware that a figure was watching him up in the air.
'Hoh...A 2nd level Martial Physique State with a combat power of a 6th level Martial Physique State. This kid is definitely strong.'
The old man flying in the sky was observing Raia with interest.
On the ground, Raia finished killing the peak-rank 3 beast. He could kill it easily but decided to play with it for a little while.
As soon as he sent the body of the beast into his spatial ring, he sensed a presence around and turned to see who it was. When he didn't find anyone around the forest, his suddenly sensed a strong spirit descending from above.
He lifted up his head only for his eyes to widen, while looking at the old man slowly going down to the ground.
'Strong! This old man is strong! For him to fly like that, at least he has to be Martial Master State!' Raia shouted in shock inside.
He also began to sense the strong spirit aura emitted by the old man and began to question if he really was only a Martial Master State. Even their Principal Ivan, who was at 9th level Martial Master State didn't have this spirit aura after all.
"I was just patrolling around and didn't expect to discover someone like you here. What is your name, kid?" The old man asked.
'Patrolling?' Raia asked himself. He was hesitant to answer the old man but in the end, gave his name.
"R-Raia Lyndon."
"Hmm..Raia Lyndon? Lyndon?..I will remember that. I am Victor Wolford, the Guardian of Rhost." The old man said.
"G-G-Guardian?!" Raia shouted in shock.
Of course he knew what the Guardian of Rhost means.
The government has a list of the strongest humans. There are the Pillars, Protectors and Guardians placed on top of that list.
The Eight Pillars, which were the first cultivators that worked hard to put the humans where they are standing today, were the most powerful ones. They were the ones that protect all of humanity. These eight were all at Solar State.
After Martial Master, the following states would be Core State, Earthen State, Lunar State then Solar State.
Protectors, on the other hand, were the ones safeguarding a solar system. Most of them were at Lunar State.
Lastly, Guardians are humans that are responsible of watching over a certain planet. They were considered the strongest being in the planet and are tasked to protect its inhabitants from any threat that could possibly fall on it. At least, they were at Earthen State.
Depending on the size of the planet, the number of Guardians may vary. The large ones could have at least three and the small ones, like Rhost, have only one.
And that sole Guardian is standing in front of Raia!
His heart was beating fast from excitement. According to what he knew, the Guardian of Rhost is at least a 8th level Earthen State. He was the most powerful existence he had ever seen.
Even some of the places were named after the Guardian. The capital city of Rhost, Wolford City and the top 1 university, Wolford Central Academy, are some of these places. It was done to honor the sacrifices they have done for the planet.
"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Guardian!" He bowed his head at Victor.
Victor laughed and asked him. "How old are you?"
"17."
"17? You are very strong for a 17-year old kid."
"Thank you."
"Are you going to the university?"
"Yes, Lord Guardian."
"Which one?"
"The Wolford Central University."
"Hoh..That place huh.. I know that you can enter that university so I won't say 'good luck' or something. Well, see you around kid. I will continue with my work."
With that, Victor flew into the sky and quickly disappeared.
Raia's brief encounter with him was astonishing. It was because Raia felt so much power from Victor and as he was imagining himself possessing that amount of power, he became more excited and motivated.
The smile never left his face even after on his way home.
…
At night, Raia informed his parents about what happened.
"What?! You met the Guardian of Rhost?" Hauran and Rose both shot up from their seats.
Raia was startled. "Y-yes! I was amazed by how powerful he is!" He excitedly recounted the things that Victor asked him.
"Meeting a Guardian is a really rare experience, Raia." Hauran said.
"Yes. I actually want to meet him again." As Raia said that, Rose looked at him and smiled.
"Just perform good in the university. He will notice you that way."
"I understand." Raia nodded.
…
Back in their room, Hauran and Rose were sitting on their bed after helping Rome and Rina in their cultivation.
"I thought Victor was in seclusion to advance to the 9th level Earthen State?" Rose asked Hauran.
"That's what I was told. I'll ask Gran tomorrow after working." Hauran answered.
Then both of them took a blue tear fruit. After refining it, they took some beast crystals that Raia gave them and cultivated.
"How is your condition?" Hauran asked Rose after they were done refining the crystals.
"All of the minor damages of my aspects were gone and the major ones were starting to heal." Rose answered with a smile. "You?"
"Same as you." Hauran sighed. "I am itching to know where Raia got these fruits. It doesn't just repair my aspects but makes them even stronger."
"I know, me too. But let us just wait for him. In the meantime, we should make sure he is safe all the time." Rose said.
"Mm.." Hauran nodded. "Just until we recover our strength."
"I want to try something." He suddenly said.
He lifted his hands and pointed his finger in the air. He focused his spirit energy in the tip of his finger resulting it to light. He then wrote some runes in the air and when he was done, a minor sealing formation was created around the room.
"You can now write runes again." Rose smiled at his husband.
"Yeah. This is the best thing I can do for now but it is still a huge progress." Hauran stared at the tip of his finger and played with it in the air.
"My turn." Rose stood up and released her spirit aura. Her eyes and hair began changing into faint gold color as little golden lightning sparks formed around her body.
It lasted a few seconds before she returned to her original form. She made a deep breath before smiling.
"Good thing I managed to recover my physique before it completely disappeared." She was relieved that he was able to save his physique.
"Even though I lost mine, I feel that I can have a better body after I fully healed." Hauran close-opened his hand.
They continued cultivating until morning.
…
The following day, Raia went to see his father to give him the materials needed for the forge.
Hauran took it and said, "I got this, Raia. Go and cultivate."
Raia was a bit sorry for not helping so he was hesitant to leave.
His father tapped his shoulder. "This is the least I can do to help you so don't worry about it."
"Thank you." With that, he left the smithy to enter the world inside.
While working, Hauran thought in his mind, 'Yeah, this is the least I can do for now, Raia. At least let me do this to thank you.'
…
After work, Hauran and Rose left and went to the shop of Gran.
Seeing them enter, Gran closed the shop. While they were exchanging greetings, the door opened and a hooded man came in.
"Let's go to the back." He then led the three to his office at the back.
"Lend me some of your spirit energy." Hauran said to the hooded man.
The man placed his hand on Hauran's shoulder and sent some of his spirit energy to him. Feeling the energy, Hauran wrote some runes in the air and made a grade-5 sealing formation around the room.
"Thanks Victor." Hauran said to the hooded man who took off his hood revealing his old face.
"Victor! Long time no see, old man. I thought you were in seclusion? What happened?" Gran asked.
"The situation in the border is not doing good so all of the Guardians are told to be on alert." Victor answered them without hesitation.
"I am glad to see that you are both recovering from your injuries." Victor turned to Hauran and Rose.
"Right. I am still trying to find ways to recover fast but it seems that you beat me in that." Gran said then asked. "What happened?"
Hauran shook his head. "I'll tell you later."
"Victor, we heard you met Raia." Rose changed the topic.
"I did and I could say that he is a strong kid." Victor complimented. "Did he inherit both of your physique talents?"
"Not mine. I already lost mine when we gave birth to him so it must be Rose'." Hauran answered.
Victor turned to Rose.
"I am not sure about that. We are still figuring out his talent after all." Rose explained.
"I see." After thinking for a second, Victor asked. "So why did you call me here today?"
"I just want to ask you to protect Raia while he was away and we are still recovering." Hauran said.
"Sure. I can do that. As long as he is in Rhost, I will protect him. Of course not just him but everyone, as that is my duty." Victor assured.
"Thank you. As soon as we regained our cultivations, we will return to the army." Rose said.
Her words made Victor smile. "Having you two back will surely made a huge impact in our battles."
He then continued. "How long before you can fully recover?"
"Just give use two years. Until then, please protect Raia." Hauran said with a serious tone.
"Alright. You have my word. He will be safe." Victor replied.
Rose tapped Gran and said. "After we regain our strength, we will help you and the others to recover too."
"I'll never forget your words." Gran replied with a hopeful voice.
"But, Gran, I should ask how is business? Raia has been selling you loots worth hundreds of thousands. I think you should upgrade your shop now." Huaran teased.
"Hey! That kid is blowing our cover! I wanted to lay low but he kept on bringing that large amount of loot! When he asked me about where I was getting the credits, I just answered that it was my savings. Hopefully he believed it." Hauran exclaimed.
"Are you blaming my innocent son?" Hauran angrily raised his voice.
"No!" Gran shouted. "And what about you? That amber sword and dagger is getting some good sales. You should upgrade your smithy too!"
"What?! I found some good materials and I couldn't help myself from handling it! Don't blame me!" Hauran shouted back.
"Hmpf! Metal Maniac!" Gran shouted.
"W-What?! You Smog Fart!"
As the two were fighting, Rose and Victor were talking peacefully at one side.