Chereads / The Grand Beast Master And Divine Lord Of Necromancy / Chapter 27 - Chapter 27: A Walk Into Shadows

Chapter 27 - Chapter 27: A Walk Into Shadows

The sun was starting to set as the day was coming to a close, casting a bright orange glow that spread over the horizon, adding a strange, but comforting warmth. Today's training session was over, with many kids starting to go home.

Chris and Elara walked together as they moved to their homes, "Chris," Elara started, her voice soft and carrying a hint of concern "When you become an adventurer, will i see you again?" She asked as she looked at him with a sad expression.

Chris, sensing her worry, lit up a small smile as he spoke "Of course you will, I'm not going to be gone forever. I still have a mother and friends I care about, so I will be back to visit regularly." Chris said in a reassuring tone.

Elara's face brightened up as she let out a small sigh of relief, causing Chris to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"That's reassuring," Elara said as she looked up at the sky, admiring the white clouds before turning back to face him with a determined expression "But don't think that you and I are done yet, we may be friends, but we are still rivals, understand?" She said with a confident smile.

Chris nodded, feeling a strong sense of camaraderie between them, despite their rivalry. "Understood." Chris replied.

As the two continued to walk, Elara noticed a small bench and grabbed Chris's hand "Let's sit there for a little bit." Elara said as she began to drag Chris with her and sat down on the bench, waiting for him to sit down as well.

Chris looked around the place, still noticing the children going home to their families. "Don't you have to go home? I sure do, and all the other kids have to as well." Chris told Elara, but she ignored him and began to pat the spot next to her.

A reluctant sigh escaped Chris's lips as he gave in and sat next to her. "So," Chris started, looking at her "Is there a reason we're currently seated here?" Chris asked, his tone not too pressing to intimidate her.

Elara nodded, "Yes, there is. I simply wanted to talk to you, before you leave." Elara said, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"I wanted to ask you, where are you going to begin your journey?" Elara asked Chris, raising her brow, her expression a little curious.

Chris closed his eyes as he began contemplating, there were a few towns very close to the village.

Most of the traders and vendors came from neighbouring towns, at most it would take about 3-4 hours of walking to reach the village. Some of these towns had adventurer guilds, some smaller than others, and some larger and more influential.

"Stone Bridge" Chris replied, nodding to himself. The town of Stone Bridge was a town that had the largest adventurer guild in the area, apart from the Royal Capital's guilds. To get to the town the journey would be long, and the path would be dangerous.

When you reach the town you would have to cross a giant bridge made of stone, that stood high above a massive lake, rumours had it that strong monsters lived inside the lake, and would kill many people that would try to cross it.

Hence a bride was built to prevent the deaths of people that would come to visit the town, now renamed Stone Bridge.

"Stone Bridge!?" Elara gasped in surprise, her eyes wide in shock. Her hands gripped the shoulders of Chris, her expression serious and her tone full of worry

"It's too dangerous, the journey would take you at least a week to reach that place, not to mention the monsters you would have to face. It's too risky, maybe choose something else." Elara said, silently hoping that Chris would change his mind.

But Chris's resolve was firm and his decision wasn't going to change, "I understand your concern, but don't worry. I know the rumours about Stone Bridge and the duration of the journey, the monsters would might cause me some trouble, but it's nothing I can't handle. I'm much more powerful then what you think me to be."

Chris said as he gently removed the grip of Elara on his shoulders, Elara let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, don't make me regret this." Elara said, her shoulders slumping.

Chris laughed as he placed a hand on her shoulder, shining a bright smile "Don't worry, you won't regret it. Instead you'd be grateful for letting me go, when i reach Stone Bridge, I'll become a famous adventurer, and my name would spread out through these lands." Chris teased with a grin.

"Yeah yeah, sure Chris." Elara rolled her eyes, letting out a small yawn "Today has been quite the busy day, i think i'll go and get some sleep. See you tomorrow Chris." Elara said as she walked off, though a small part of her was worried, she decided to brush it off and trust her friend with his decision.

As Elara left, Chris continued to watch her walk away, until she wasn't visible anymore. Though he had only known her for a little while, Elara was now a important friend to him, just as important as little Mia.

'Guess it's about time i go home too' Chris though as he began to walk towards his home.

"Chris!" A young, cute voice called from behind him.

Chris turned around to see a young girl, about his age and a bit shorter than him. The girl looked to the ground nervously, fidgeting with the hem of her dress

"Sorry to bother you, but i need your help with something." The girl said as she lifted her gaze to meet his.

Chris's body tensed up reflexively, he didn't understand the sudden notion of his body, but he knew something really suspicious was happening. There was also the fact that the girl knew his name, but he had never seen her at the training grounds, so she definitely wasn't an Awakener, at least one he didn't know of.

'Maybe she just heard my name from one of the Awakened children or something, after all, i kinda became the small celebrity along with Elara after the Awakening Ceremony.'

Chris thought to himself, he couldn't judge a person's intentions just from meeting them.

"What do you need help with?" Chris asked, his tone polite.

The girl's expression turned to that of hurt as she clenched her heart, her eyes looking away from his for a moment.

Her breathing also became a bit funny, almost like she was struggling to breathe. Chris noticed these changes and became a bit worried, he didn't understand what was happening, but he also couldn't just ignore it.

"H-hey, are you okay?" Chris asked his voice carrying a lot of concern as he gently grabbed her shoulders, looking her in the eye.

"I-i'm fine..thank you." The little girl stammered nervously, a drop of sweat rolling down the side of her face. "Please, follow me." The little girl said as she began to walk away, Chris stared at her, his thought clashing with each other as he tried to make sense of the situation.

'Sigh, come on, this isn't the time to just stand here. She might seriously need my help.'

Without anymore thoughts to hold him back, Chris quickly caught up to the girl. As the girl continued to lead him through the village, they passed by the village gates and exited the village grounds. Chris questioned her about where she was taking him, and she explained that she was going towards the Dark Woods.

Apparently she had lost a precious necklace from her mother after she and her friends were playing there, despite the village lord's warnings. Chris felt a bit of anger at her stupidity, but quickly calmed down after realizing that she was just a kid, unlike him, a reincarnated teenager.

"Let's find that necklace and get out of here before we get into trouble." Chris said to the girl and she just simply nodded.

They walked through the forest and began to search for her supposed lost necklace, the girl suggested splitting up and Chris agreed, as there no more monsters to cause potential harm to them, but before she went, Chris told her that if she got lost she must just call for him and he would rush over immediately.

Chris then began to search harder for the necklace, his eyes scanning every surface it laid it's gaze upon. After about 30 minutes of continuous searching, Chris started to feel tired and decided to try again tomorrow.

"Maria!" Chris called for the young girl, "Let's try this again tomorrow, it's starting to get late." But he got no response, which made him worry.

His heart was starting to beat faster and faster as Chris began to run through the forest, frantically looking for Maria. The dark bark of the trees, added with the impending darkness that loomed over them as night time was approaching, made Chris even more anxious.

Suddenly, he spotted Maria in the distance, his eyes widened as a huge sense of relief washed over them. Impulsively he rushed towards her, his feet pounding against the ground as he approached her.

"Maria! There you are, i was worried sick-" As Chris was about to express his relief of the situation, a strong blow landed square on his cheek, sending him sprawling onto the ground.

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