After a few minutes of walking and chatting, the group finally reached their campsite. Valerius headed straight for his horse, untying his saddlebag and pulling out his weapons.
For the first time, the others got a good look at them.
Hakon's eyes lit up the moment he saw the longsword. "Oh… so this is the one? This is beautiful. As expected of my grandfather's craftsmanship."
Draven, who had been watching from the side, let out a huff. "Damn, even your weapons are top-notch. Just who the hell are you, really?"
Valerius smirked, spinning his dagger between his fingers. "Like I said, I'm nobody just a guy with some powers and cool weapons." He winked.
"Yeah, right." Draven rolled his eyes.
Grimwald, still carrying his share of the Reaper corpses, turned to Hakon. "So, Mr. Hakon, where were you headed before we found you?"
Hakon adjusted his grip on the dagger Valerius had lent him. "Me? I was on my way to a town in the kingdom of Aldoria it's called Redcliffe. My grandfather had a friend there, and before he passed away, he told me to seek him out. Supposedly, he'd help me become a proper blacksmith."
Grimwald's expression softened. "I see… Sorry to hear about your grandfather."
Hakon gave a small nod, his expression briefly shadowed before he shook it off. "It's alright. It's why I'm on this journey in the first place."
"So what about you guys?" he asked. "Where are you headed?"
"We're on our way to Velmora the capital of Aldoria," Valerius replied casually.
Hakon's eyes widened slightly. "Is that so? Redcliffe is on the way to Velmora. Would it be alright if I accompanied you?"
Valerius glanced around, then frowned. "I don't see your horse, though. That might be a problem."
"Oh, that's not an issue." Hakon reached into his pouch, pulling out a small metal device. "I'll call him right now."
Serephina's brows furrowed. "Wait call him? What do you mean?"
Hakon grinned. "Watch."
He pressed a button on the device.
A faint hum resonated from it, but otherwise, nothing happened.
Draven crossed his arms. "…What is that thing?"
Hakon smirked. "It's a gadget I invented. It has a mana crystal inside. Every time I press the button, it condenses a bit of solidified mana and sends out a wave traveling as fast as the sound. The receiver on my horse's neck picks up the wave and sends a mana pulse through his body, guiding him toward me."
Serephina blinked. "…You lost me at condensed mana."
"I press the button, my horse knows where I am, and he comes running," Hakon simplified. "I have to press it at regular intervals, though, in case he gets lost along the way."
Valerius' brain paused for a moment.
Did I just hear that correctly?
How is this even humanly possible to think of?
Grimwald tilted his head. "Brother Hakon… Are you sure that works? That sounds impossible."
Hakon grinned confidently. "It definitely works. That's how I trained him." He pressed the button again, sending another mana pulse.
A few minutes later
The sound of galloping hooves echoed from the distance.
A beautiful, well-groomed stallion rushed toward them, stopping just a few feet away from Hakon.
"See? Told you." Hakon smirked, patting his horse's side.
Everyone else just stared.
"…I don't believe this," Draven muttered.
Valerius let out a low whistle. "Damn. You're really something else, Hakon." He folded his arms. "As expected of the grandson of the best blacksmith I know."
Hakon flushed slightly at the praise, rubbing the back of his head. "Ha ha… Thanks."
"Well," Draven cut in, "since your transportation issue is handled, I don't see why not. You're welcome to ride with us until Redcliffe."
Hakon's face lit up. "Really? That means a lot. I won't forget this."
Then, he suddenly bowed his head slightly. "And once again, thank you for saving my life back there. I owe you all."
Draven waved him off. "You're making it sound too dramatic. Let's just ride."
Valerius stretched, cracking his neck. "It's already getting dark. We should find a campsite before nightfall." He turned to Coleen. "Coleen, if you please?"
Coleen nodded, pulling out her map.
"Hm… Found one. There's a river about three miles ahead. We need to divert from the main road at the next fork, ride for another mile, and we should hit a nice clearing along the riverbank. Should be a good spot, don't you think?"
Valerius nodded. "Sounds perfect. Everyone let's go."
With that, the group mounted their horses and set off.
After several minutes of silent riding, they arrived at their destination.
The full moon hung brightly in the sky, its silver light reflecting off the still surface of the river. Stars scattered across the heavens, clear and vivid against the night sky. The air was cool, carrying the faint scent of damp earth and grass.
"…Beautiful," Coleen murmured, looking up.
Serephina chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, it's pretty. But let's set up camp first. The sky isn't going anywhere."
Coleen pouted slightly. "I was enjoying the moment…"
"You know where Valerius is," Serephina suddenly said, smirking.
Coleen blinked. "Huh?"
Serephina grinned. "Hot. Water. Bath."
Coleen paused then burst out laughing. "Ohhh, right."
Serephina laughed with her. "Just kidding. He went to tie the horses nearby."
Coleen, with her smile fading away. "Oh… right"
Meanwhile, Draven turned to Hakon. "Need help setting up your tent?"
Hakon shook his head. "It's not needed. I can manage." He then glanced at Draven. "Also please drop the honorifics. I'm probably younger than you."
"Oh?" Draven raised an eyebrow. "How old are you?"
"Twenty Two."
Draven smirked. "Yep, that's younger." He clapped Hakon on the shoulder. "Alright then just Hakon."
As they finished unpacking, Hakon looked around.
"Where's Mr. Valerius?" he asked.
Draven scoffed. "That's Valerius to you. He's younger than you, you know."
Hakon blinked. "Wait, really? He looks…"
"Older? Yeah, we all thought that." Draven smirked. "Anyway, like Serephina said he's just tying the horses."
As the campfire crackled and the scent of roasted Reaper meat filled the air, the group settled in for another night beneath the stars.
"I see. Valerius seems pretty capable, doesn't he?" Hakon said to Draven, glancing toward where Valerius had gone to tie the horses.
Draven chuckled. "Capable is an understatement. He's more skilled than all of us combined." He crossed his arms, then added, "Well… except maybe for you."
Hakon raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is he that impressive?"
Draven smirked. "You'll see soon enough." His voice carried a hint of pride, as if Valerius were his student instead of some mysterious traveler they met days ago.
Hakon laughed. "Well, now I'm curious."
A few minutes later, Valerius returned from tying up the horses.
"Thanks for setting up my campsite, Serephina," Valerius said as he approached.
"I didn't do it for free," she replied, cracking her knuckles. "Now get to it. Fast."
"Yeah, yeah, hold on…" Valerius muttered, stretching his arms before searching for a suitable spot.
After a few seconds, he placed his palm on the ground.
The dirt beneath his hand began to tremble then, in an instant, a cylindrical container of earth rose up from the ground.
Everyone turned toward him.
Hakon, who had no idea what was happening, frowned at the sudden commotion. He jogged over. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Just watch," Draven told him.
Hakon turned back toward Valerius, watching closely.
Valerius created a controlled fire beneath the container, then added two layers of compact earth to regulate the temperature.
Finally, with a smooth motion of his hand, he filled the structure to the brim with water.
Hakon froze.
His mind completely blown.
"…D-Did he just… use three attributes back-to-back?" His voice wavered as he stared at Valerius in disbelief. "Wait I thought his eyes were blue? What color are his eyes?"
Draven smirked. "That's the thing. His eyes are purple."
Hakon's mouth went dry. "You're kidding."
Draven shook his head. "And, yeah. He can use all five attributes."
Hakon staggered. "Wait five? All five?" He stared at Draven as if he had gone insane.
Draven nodded.
Hakon stammered, his thoughts running a hundred miles an hour. "But that's impossible. No human has ever wielded all five elements. Ever. The highest recorded was four, and that guy was literally called Humanity's Strongest Knight." He turned back toward Valerius, who was casually finishing up his second hot water bath.
"Then… what the hell does that make him?"
Draven let out a dry chuckle. "That's the million-gold question, isn't it?"
Hakon wasn't done processing, but Draven added another shocker.
"Not just that," he said, lowering his voice. "He also heals insanely fast."
Hakon blinked. "What?"
Draven leaned slightly closer. "Apparently, even if he breaks all his ribs or has his skull split open, he regenerates at an unnatural rate."
Hakon's thoughts were spiraling. Such a man exists? How had he never heard of him before?
While Hakon's mind was still spinning, Valerius straightened up, brushing his hands together. "All done, guys. One's for the men, the other's for the women. Don't worry there's plenty of space for everyone."
"Finally!" Serephina cheered. Without hesitation, she stripped to her underwear right in front of everyone, tossing her outerwear onto a nearby rock.
Hakon choked. "H-Hey hey what is she doing!?" He frantically covered his eyes with one hand while peeking through his fingers.
"Oh, that?" Grimwald laughed, patting Hakon's back. "Yeah, don't worry about it. You'll get used to it."
Hakon slowly turned his head, still in shock. "Used to it?"
Grimwald shrugged. "We all did."
"…Is that so?" Hakon hesitated before sighing. "Well… doesn't hurt to try, I guess…"
Still flustered, he walked behind the men's hot water bath and used it as a shield while quickly stripping.
Once he was ready, he carefully stepped into the water
And the moment his body submerged in the perfectly heated bath
His soul ascended.
And then returned.
"Oh… God…" Hakon whispered, completely melting into the water.
Hakon leaned back into the hot water, his body completely melting into the warmth.
"Hah… hah… Now I get it," he sighed in pure bliss. "I finally understand why you guys don't even hesitate to do something as embarrassing as this in front of each other. Nothing and I mean nothing is worth overthinking when this exists."
Draven and Grimwald chuckled knowingly, while Valerius simply closed his eyes, arms resting on the edge of the bath.
"You really are amazing, Valerius," Hakon added, still sinking deeper into relaxation. "How does it feel being able to use all the attributes?"
Valerius hummed, thinking. "Hmm… let's see…" He tapped his fingers against the water surface.
Then, with the most serious expression, he said, "Very hungry, I guess."
Hakon blinked. "…Hungry?"
"Yeah," Valerius sighed. "I get hungry fast. Maintaining this much mana burns through energy like crazy, so I have to eat a lot just to keep up." He shut his eyes again. "It's honestly the worst part."
"I see…" Hakon nodded, deep in thought. "So even you have a drawback, huh? But then… how do you even fund your appetite? Do you just hunt monsters?"
Valerius lazily nodded. "Yeah… Recently, I made about ten platinum coins after hunting a Lycan, so I don't think I'll need to worry about money for a while."
The bathwater rippled slightly from Hakon's sudden movement. "You hunted a Lycan?" His voice shot up in excitement. "Your group is amazing!"
Grimwald and Draven exchanged a glance before shaking their heads.
"Brother Hakon…" Grimwald sighed dramatically. "That's where you're wrong."
Hakon frowned. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"There is no group," Draven smirked. "Valerius killed the Lycan alone with his bare hands."
Hakon froze. "…What?"
"Yeah," Grimwald chimed in with a smug grin. "We watched it happen. He brutalized that monster knocked its teeth out with his fists."
"B-But… a Lycan is a catastrophe-level monster," Hakon stuttered. "How is that even possible?"
Draven chuckled. "That's what we've been asking ourselves." He turned his head toward Valerius, but
"…I think he dozed off."
The group turned to look at Valerius.
Sure enough, he was leaning back against the edge of the bath, arms spread out, head tilted slightly to the side. His breathing was slow and steady.
"Tch," Draven sighed. "Well, whatever. Let's start cooking. Once it's done, we'll wake him up."
About an hour later, everyone had left the water and dried off.
Draven got the fire going, Grimwald skinned the Reapers and hung them over the flames, and Serephina and Coleen leaned back, gazing at the starry night sky.
Hakon sat nearby, tinkering with one of his devices, occasionally glancing toward the sizzling meat as its rich aroma filled the air.
Then
A sudden shift.
Valerius stirred. His nose twitched.
His eyes fluttered open.
A moment later, he stepped out of the bath, lazily stretched, then effortlessly placed his hand on the ground collapsing both stone tubs in an instant, as if they had never existed.
"Oh," he muttered, glancing at the fire. "You started cooking without me?"
Draven smirked. "You looked way too comfortable. We figured we'd let you sleep and just wake you when it was done." He tapped his temple. "Guess nothing escapes those impeccable senses of yours, huh?"
Valerius chuckled as he dried himself with a controlled gust of wind before putting his clothes back on.
As he adjusted his cloak, he caught Serephina staring at him arms crossed, an amused glint in her eyes.
"Hey, Draven," she suddenly called out, turning toward him.
"Hm?"
"Why don't you get in shape like Valerius?" she asked teasingly. "I mean, you're not out of shape, but look at him his body tone is perfect for a man, don't you think?"
Draven snorted. "Oh, yeah?" He cracked his knuckles. "Then why don't you work out and get your waist as thin as Coleen's over there?"
Serephina froze.
Draven smirked, sensing victory. "I mean, not saying you're fat or anything, but a thin waist is fitting for a woman, don't you think?"
Both Valerius and Coleen snapped their heads up.
"Hey! Why am I part of this conversation?!" they both said in unison.
The group burst into laughter
Except for three people.
Coleen and Valerius were both mildly annoyed at being ogled.
Serephina, on the other hand, sat there arms crossed, pouting.
Hakon, who had been watching from the side, simply smiled.
What a happy bunch of people, he thought to himself looking forward to his travel with his new companions.