Third person POV
After that, Russell said to Nathan, "Nathan-san, that was amazing…"
"What was that?" Adrian asked.
"That was an ability called Wolf Control," Nathan calmly replied back while looking at the dead bodies of the giant red snakes and their mother.
"Wolf Control?" Russell asked back.
"Yes, it was an S-ranked ability," Cassius replied back. "It allowed a user to control any species of wolves with your mind, and also, with your hands."
Russell and the others were amazed.
"Woah, an S-ranked ability…" Russell commented.
His mind then said, "I wished I could obtain an S-ranked ability…"
That wish would become true in the near future.
Nathan was a bit proud of his secondary ability. "Yes, amigos, that one is my secondary ability."
"Oh, it's a secondary ability?" Azalea asked.
"Yes, the Renad people tended to have magical and general abilities as secondary to their primary novel abilities," Cassius replied back. "The word Novel was used to describe abilities that were very new, radical, and novel in this world."
Russell and his friends got that.
Russell now knew that his Lightning magic was considered secondary to his novel abilities, Driver, Rampage, and Repairs.
After that, all of them moved on to the southeastern part of the forest. There the group battled more monsters until the entire forest was now monster-free. Russell and his party and group were happy that they managed to finish the quest just before sundown. Also after that quest, the group gained more points from defeating that bunch of snakes. Nathan had the most. Nathan was now at Level 32, with 8 more to go to be AAA-ranked. So, all of them returned to the town of Hadrianwood. There the group checked into an inn and had 3 rooms for themselves. The dragon family had their own, too.
Also, Cassius brought his horse to a horse stable near the inn to keep him from being exposed to the elements. And also, he gave him some food and water for this early evening. Luckily, the horse stable was free of charge, so Cassius didn't have to pay for its use.
And as his party was resting and settling down, Adrian lied down on the bed, exhausted from their long and difficult quest. "Man, that was so long and hard…"
"Yeah, it was…" Russell replied while taking off his necktie, bus driver's cap, and outer business suit of his bus driver's uniform.
John settled under a desk, yawning like a dog.
Azalea put her magical staff next to her bed and lay down on the comfy bed. "I can't wait to tell Denali-chan about what we and the others did."
"Yeah, I'm now imagining it, too." Russell lay down on the bed exhausted, "especially the look on the faces of the Elai party."
Azalea laughed at it. "Yup, those schmucks will be shocked to hear that we, the May party, did a great job in our quest."
"With the help of our friends, of course," Russell added.
After that, Adrian turned to Russell and asked, "Hey, Russell-kun, can we go and explore the town first thing tomorrow morning? I want to see the area where my childhood home used to be."
"Oh, okay, sure, why not," Russell answered back. "Me too as well since this is the place where I first woke up in this world."
"Woah, really?"
"Yup, that one actually happened, with me waking up literally in my bus."
"Wow, you and I had something in common in this town."
"Me too as well, Adrian-kun."
Azalea was happy to see that both boys grew closer as friends.
"Also…" Russell said to Adrian, "…you are skillful with your sword, right? I saw that."
"Oh, that?" Adrian replied back. "Yeah, I am, like a swordsman that is mid in strength and skill."
"Does your former party know that, too?"
"Yes, but they brushed it off because one of my ex-party members, Hans, is already a swordsman. So, they relegated me to an adventurer position in their party."
"Okay, I am going to question their system of designating members in various uses within their party because what those jerks did is absolutely stupid, for real."
"Yeah, it was." Azalea nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, I'm glad that you guys acknowledged my sword skills unlike them," Adrian said to them positively.
"Of course, you have a lot of potential outside of your usual occupation," Russell happily replied back. "Say, since I wielded a sword, how about we train as swordsmen, too?"
"Ha! Sure, that would be good, Russell-kun."
John is now fast asleep but hearing his party's conversation with his ears.
Meanwhile, in a room next to the May party's, Nathan was arranging the photos of their quest in the forest, while Cassius was settling down on his bed. "So, how's your picture takes?" the royal spy asked him.
"They're very good," replied Nathan back while putting his recent photos in a stack. "I was thinking about showing them to the guild as proof of our success."
"Ah, that would be a good one."
"Thank you, amigo."
Cassius was confused by the last word's peculiar spelling. "What?"
"That means friend in Spanish, my native language from my previous life."
"Oh…okay, that's nice."
With that, Nathan put his photos in his small knapsack and lay down on his bed to rest up before dinner time.
Later, at 7 o'clock, all of them went out to a tavern across the street from the inn. There they ate a good meal consisting of roasted meat, whole wheat bread, Caesar salad, some fruits, and some roasted mutton. For drinks, they have glasses of regular, clean, safe-to-drink water. All of them are having a good time. Russell, Cassius, and Nathan will be paying for the huge, delicious meal.
Meanwhile, at the royal palace, Taryn and Miles reported to the king and his son, the crowned prince, about Russell's whereabouts, as well as about the whereabouts of Cassius and Alder. The two royal family members were astonished to hear about Russell's recent achievements, including the one at Fernlay City. The two of them are also shocked to hear Cassius's report through Taryn about Adrian now in Russell's party and what his former party did to him. The king, a middle-aged man with brown hair and green eyes and dressed in his royal attire, was furious about what the Elai party did to Adrian, who was his adopted son. The crowned prince, a young man named Nicholas Passato, who had blond hair and green eyes and dressed in his royal attire, was disgusted by the details of it, especially about Elai, who was his childhood friend and lover.
So, both of them just thanked them for reporting to them, before dismissing them from their presence for the night. Taryn and Miles did so and left the throne room. After that, Nicholas expressed to his father how he felt so betrayed by Elai.
"I know, son," his father replied back in comforting him by patting his back, "we'll get to the bottom of this soon."
"She's a fake…" Nicholas replied while feeling so devastated and betrayed.
"It's okay, we'll take care of this."
After that, Nicholas stood up and left the throne room, going back to his bedroom to rest up and try to clear his mind. There the young man of royal blood tried to do the latter, but his mind kept on bugging him with good memories of him and Elai together as kids. This disturbs his sleep for half an hour, causing the palace's head butler, Roman Tarwick, who had heard his groaning from the outside in the hallway, to be concerned for his royal master.