Robert noticed the gazes of everyone around him. He was a bit confused but soon realized his mistake after a few moments. His face flushed red as he cleared his throat in order to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
Adrian stopped looking at him before turning around and walking away in a specific direction. He had only walked for a few meters before a different voice spoke again. "Stop." A cold voice resounded again from his back.
'What now?' He asked in his mind. He didn't dare to give voice to his complaints in front of so many potential enemies. Adrian turned around to face the one who spoke.
It was the strongest member of the group and by the looks of it, their leader, Bryce.
"What were you going to do with the corpse of the boar?" Bryce asked as he kept staring at Adrian. The other members of the group shot questioning looks towards Bryce.
Wasn't he just obviously hunting?
"This boar couldn't have provoked you. Even if it's just a beast, your aura would have scared it away. The materials that can be obtained from it are negligible for someone at your level, so there must be some reason that you hunted it." Bryce explained calmly.
The others' eyes lit up as they reasoned Bryce's words.
Adrian's face darkened. He didn't expect him to be able to deduce the whole situation just from a few clues.
'Dammit, this is going to be troublesome.' He thought as he tried to find an excuse to explain his actions.
Bryce didn't fail to notice the change in Adrian's facial expression. Even if he was wearing a mask, he could still see the crease in his eyebrows. This just further solidified that his reasoning was on point.
Adrian finally spoke after being silent all this time. "Would you believe me if I said I was just hungry?" He asked. He didn't want to tell them his real reason so he just made up a lie from the top of his head. He only hoped that these disciples would believe him and let him leave.
Alas, things didn't go as he had hoped. Bryce released his aura of the ninth stage foundation establishment realm. He didn't speak again but his actions were enough to show that he wasn't joking around.
Adrian heaved a sigh at that sight. He knew that saying anything else now was pointless.
He cleared his throat before speaking again.
"I found a lake in a valley. I think there is something valuable at the bottom but I don't know what it is. I wanted to use the boar to lure out whatever was guarding it before deciding if I could face it or not." Adrian responded truthfully. Since he couldn't escape, he might as well tell them the truth.
In his mind, he was already plotting a way to use these disciples. He wanted them to defeat the beast. If he was alone, he wouldn't have been confident enough to deal with the beast but now with this squad, they definitely stood a chance. Since they took his bait from him, they could also actively replace it. Besides, everyone knows that live bait is better when fishing.
A cold smile appeared on his face in his mind as he sorted out his thoughts.
A glint flashed through Bryce's eyes as he heard Adrian's words. It seems they would be able to find something valuable today. He didn't believe that Adrian was lying to him. After pressuring him with his aura, only a fool would still dare to try to lie in front of him. Still, he didn't completely trust his words either.
"Take us there" Bryce limited himself to say before storing the corpse of the boar in his own storage ring. Since he now knew its use, there was no lint in leaving it there.
Adrian led them towards the direction of the lake. He could feel all the pairs of eyes on his back. They wanted to make sure that he didn't try to run away.
"What are we even fighting? Can't you tell us?" Robert spoke again after a few minutes of silence. He wanted to amend his previous mistake by asking a seemingly 'smart' question.
Adrian stopped walking as he shot an incredulous look towards the man. He didn't know if he was joking or serious.
He didn't speak but limited himself to stare at the rest of his companions with a complicated look on his face.
It was as if he was using his eyes to express his disappointment at their choice of teammate.
The rest of the teammates avoided his gaze seemingly embarrassed to be associated with such an idiot. Even Bryce, the fierce leader limited himself to a cough.
Daniel finally broke the awkward atmosphere by saying
"That's what the boar is for Robert."
Adrian just shook his head and continued on his journey without even answering him. The rest just followed him leaving the dumbfounded and embarrassed Robert behind.