Since the holidays weren't over yet, they weren't in a hurry to return to school. They bade each other farewell in the city centre before going their separate ways.
Locke was the most popular person in the team at the moment. Billie and Daenie both invited him to their house to thank him personally, but he rejected them all.
He waved goodbye and sat in the carriage. He could only rest for two days after returning home.
Sleeping in a carriage and sleeping on a bed were too different. No matter how luxurious Angelina's carriage was, it couldn't compare to the comfort of his own bed.
He got out of the carriage and instructed the attendants to move the things in the carriage. Looking at the crystal scorpiondrake that was a whole size bigger than before, Locke complained, "Did you feed it too much?"
He had planned to bring Angie along for the trial this time, but he did not expect the mission target to be a spirit body like the Ghost. Angie's sharp claws and venom had almost zero lethality against the Ghost, so he let it stay in the space equipment and take a nap.
The black pearl on Angelina's neck had a shockingly large internal space and could even contain living creatures. Locke was envious of it. Angie had been living in it for the past few days.
"No, Angie's still growing." Angelina ignored Locke's complaints and called out to her familiar. The scorpiondrake ran over at her beckoning.
Compared to the ferocious Locke, the scorpiondrake preferred Angelina because she never hit it.
"How much longer is it going to grow?" Speaking of which, it had been almost half a year since Angie hatched. It had grown from knee-height to the size of half a person. It was a huge change and it was still growing. Locke didn't know where its limit was.
"I'm not sure. Most major monsters grow in size as they level up." As the descendant of a high-ranked major monster, Angie was a low-ranked major monster when it was young. It would probably be one or two hundred years later when it reached adulthood. By then, it would have the strength of a high-ranked major monster. If it had the chance to advance further in the future, it would reach the level of its parents and become a high-ranked major monster. However, that would take at least five hundred years.
Time was nothing to major monsters. Scorpiondrakes had a theoretical lifespan of 1200 years, but it was too long for humans. Angelina and Locke wouldn't wait for Angie to grow into a high-rank major monster.
On the way back, Angelina purposely took a detour and picked up some poison-type major monster meat. She also bought some low-rank major monster crystal cores from several major cities at a high price for Angie's rations.
As for Angie, her body had doubled in size. This was all because she had eaten so much along the way and had too much nutrition.
From its appearance, the little scorpiondrake could no longer be called a little scorpiondrake. The cyan scorpiondrake was as tall as a human, and no one would associate it with the word 'small'.
Everyone in the mansion knew about Locke and Angelina's return. The captain of the capital guards, who was now the head of the mansion's guards, personally went out to welcome them.
Of the two shadow guard captains, one was out on a mission, and the other was also in the mansion. However, they were hidden in the dark, so they didn't show up.
As for the casters and nobles who used to be part of the envoys' entourage, except for Nolan and the other two casters who stayed to protect Angelina, the rest had gone out to do their own things. Casters like them weren't lacking in money, so they could live a good life in Princeton.
Viscount Cage rarely stayed in the mansion either. Like the other nobles, he came to Aomar to gain experience. Being the head of the envoy was just one of the reasons why he was enrolled in a school in Aomar.
Although it wasn't as good as the imperial academy, it wasn't too far off from the school that Locke had found for Kristin, Lia, and the others.
After the holidays, Locke returned to his previous life of studying and training.
As the only mid-rank Knecht in his class, he was in the limelight.
That's right, he didn't choose to study until Year 3. There were many knight training courses that required him to explore them one by one. In just half a year, he had only learned a little bit.
Of course, he didn't spend his time with a group of low-rank Knechts and beginner-rank Knechts every day.
The mission hall, which was located in the centre of the academy, was finally open to Locke.
Since mid-rank Knechts were considered experts in Aomar, some of the less difficult missions could be completed by the students.
The difficulty of the missions varied. For example, the mission that was as difficult as the holiday trial was relatively easy. As long as a balanced team was formed, it wouldn't be difficult to complete the mission.
There were generous rewards, but there were also stingy ones. Basically, there were no free rewards. Be it a Lehrling or a Knecht, they had to make their own choices.
In order to make his studies more fulfilling, Locke took on three missions in the first week of school.
"You don't lack money. Do you really have to work so hard?" asked Angelina casually as she lay lazily on the chair and read a book in the room.
Locke, who was staring at Angie, flicked Angie's head. Ignoring its angry fangs, he stood up and said, "I think adventuring and fighting are more suitable for me to improve."
Although Locke had suffered a lot of injuries during the last mission, he felt much better than learning all kinds of skills in school every day. He could clearly feel that this was the fastest way for him to improve his strength.
"Then wait until I become a low-rank Lehrling before you leave," said Angelina.
Locke nodded without thinking too much. He knew what Angelina meant. He didn't mind having a low-rank Lehrling join him while he was on a mission.
Half a month later, Angelina became a low-rank Lehrling.
Unlike when Locke broke through, there was only Locke and a few guards outside Angelina's meditation room.
When the door of the meditation room opened, Locke, who had always been sensitive to the outside world, immediately felt a wave of mental power that was not weaker than Joaquin's.
Angelina, who had been promoted to a low-rank Lehrling, didn't look much different from before. The only difference was that her eyes were brighter and unforgettable.
"Why are you always staring at my eyes!" Angelina seemed to be a little embarrassed by Locke's stare. She blushed and punched Locke.
"I didn't expect that advancing in strength could make someone even more beautiful." Locke, who had always been uncouth, actually made a teasing remark. Angelina was delighted to hear it.
"Nonsense." Angelina was overjoyed.
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