Surprisingly enough, Kai and Talitha talked longer than either intended.

Kai mentioned that Abigail helped heal his wounds earlier, which was the reason he was far better now. And in the process, she also got a blessing from her Patron God. It was exciting news for Talitha.

He could tell from her reaction alone how much she adored Abigail.

And though he said he had forgiven Abigail earlier, in truth, he hadn’t fully forgiven her. That betrayal almost killed him. Had he not completed the quest from Perion and gained the Inner Strength of Stone, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat Matilda.

Now, seeing how Talitha spoke of Abigail, that last anger was shed away.

Talitha recounted her little sister’s clumsiness with fond exasperation. Back when they were still on the surface, on the day of Abigail’s birthday, their parents had taken her to her favorite restaurant, which was in another city.

It took four hours to get there.

Bursting with excitement when they arrived, Abigail had charged at the door.

She pushed with all her might against a door that was clearly marked ’pull’.

It didn’t budge, and her face met the glass hard with a solid thud. Both passersby and diners inside erupted in laughter as she slammed the glass door so hard that it vibrated. And because of embarrassment, she ran back to the car and cancelled the day.

In the end, the family ended up buying a cake and celebrated her birthday back home.

Even Kai laughed at the story.

Not so much because of the story, but because of Talitha’s enthusiasm as she recounted it.

Considering how awkward things had been since she’d become his servant, needing to even constantly avoid each other and walk on eggshells, it was a relief to shed that tension between them finally.

And honestly, talking with Talitha was surprisingly easy.

Perhaps because she was older and outgoing, but striking conversations with her were easy.

She is the type of girl who gets along with anyone.

Moments later, after talking with Talitha for over an hour, Kai finally lay back on his bed and closed his eyes. Later tonight, he would return to the Fire Swamp again to mine—but before that, he hoped to enter the House of Night first.

Just to get some clarity from Noxian.

"Deep Slumber..."

Kai’s mind drifted into the dreamland after he made sure to wake up in about ten minutes.

But as opposed to entering the House of Night, he woke up again.

[You have gained 5 exp.]

"Tch..." He clicked his tongue in displeasure. "Unlucky."

Since he failed to enter the House of Night, Kai grabbed the Blood-phantom Scimitar and went to change into his uniform. Talitha saw this and immediately told him to freshen up—while she prepared his uniform.

Once he informed her that he might not return today, he headed straight to the Aerial Stable.

Kai went out through the main entrance of the dormitory building after checking Bree’s room.

Outside, a student bumped into him.

And to Kai’s surprise, the student seized him by his bicep, holding him in place without even turning to face him. "Listen carefully," He whispered, eyes darting nervously for any prying eyes. "If you want to form a new group, you’d better hurry."

Before Kai could process the words, the student had already slipped past him.

Looking back, he watched the student entering the dormitory as if nothing had happened.

"I’d better hurry?" Kai frowned. "Why?"

Making use of the Nigh-phantom again, Kai made his way to the Aerial Stable.

He found Matilda already waiting on the far side, in a secluded area, mounted atop a Pegasus with the moon hanging directly above her. Its pale light traced the edges of her silhouette, and her golden eyes shifted toward him the moment she sensed his approach.

Since she was waiting for Kai, the Nigh-phantom isn’t as effective against her.

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Just about ten minutes. Come on, Dorian and Bryan had already gone ahead."

Kai grabbed hold of the saddle and mounted the Pegasus.

"What about Bree? I knocked on her door earlier but couldn’t find her."

"Didn’t come across her either."

Not even wasting a second, Matilda tapped the Pegasus with her heel, and it launched.

Behind, Kai looked back at the Aerial Stable with a frown.

Is she with Alex?

Kai clicked his tongue but decided not to mind about it; he had things to do.

Along the way, Matilda seemed to be quieter than usual.

"You’re quiet tonight. What’s wrong?"

"Oh, I had something in my mind."

"Something...?"

"Actually," Matilda looked over her shoulder—deciding that Kai would need to know about this even though she didn’t really know what was happening. "Just earlier, when I was eating in the cafeteria, I heard students talking about making a new group. Many of them are talking about making a group."

"Huh..." Kai’s eyes flickered as now everything clicked. "Someone is trying to stop me from making a group."

From what Matilda said and the student who bumped into him earlier, he was quite sure that someone was trying to stop him from making a new group. Kai didn’t know exactly who the person was, but someone was definitely pulling strings in the background.

"How did you get to that conclusion?"

"A student bumped into me earlier."

Kai told Matilda about what happened earlier.

Kai wasn’t sure why the student had told him—it almost felt like he was trying to help. But one thing was clear: it was a warning. He needed to hurry, or the group quota would be filled before he could claim his place.

At that point, making a new group would be way harder.

Or even outright impossible.

"Do you know what he looked like?"

"I didn’t get quite a good look, but he looked normal. Black hair, not that tall, lean."

"In any case, if someone really is trying to sabotage you, they’d be encouraging other groupless students to form their own groups—racing you to the quota." Matilda’s brows dipped further. "That means it’s someone with influence. Someone who can tweak the requirements."

"The Chancellor?" Kai uttered, that was the first person that came to mind.

"No, too high-profile."

"Let’s not think about that and focus on gathering the ten thousand mana ores."

Regardless of the person behind this, it doesn’t matter.

Right now, their focus should be on gathering the mana ores.

Upon arriving at the Fire Swamp, Bryan and Dorian were already there waiting for them. Both looked like they were getting along well, and frankly, Kai had already expected this. One is a moron, and the other is gay.

A perfect mixture of color.

Took you long enough," Dorian said, jerking a thumb toward Bryan. "He was just telling me about the fireball rain. Said you sprinted for the nearest pool like a terrified little bitch. I should have seen it with my own two eyes!"

Kai raised a brow and then turned to look at Bryan.

Like a child caught red-handed, Bryan turned away, pretending he hadn’t seen Kai at all.

"If anything, the little bitch is him," Kai sneered.

Dorian blinked and tackled Bryan, "You fucking lied?!"

"Hey, man... It’s only for fun! No hard feelings!" Bryan resisted desperately.

Both rolled and wrestled in the mud like two cats fighting for food.

"I can’t believe these two are going to be a part of our team," Matilda exhaled lightly, almost embarrassed to be in the same group as these two. But then again, it was Kai’s decision in the end. "Should we split?"

Just as Kai was about to answer, the mighty sound of wings flapping reached his ears.

He looked over his shoulder and saw a Griffin descending.

And on it was none other than Bree.

"Sorry, I’m late." She dismounted the Griffin and landed firmly on her feet. As usual, she wore the academy uniform, but now she’d added gloves, the same shade as her eyes and hair. "I got caught up with something."

"Caught up with something?" Matilda tilted her head. "Like what?"

"Just a bunch of mind your own business."

"Heh. And how did you know we’re here? None of us informed you."

"A hunch?" Bree cast her a smile. A sweet one, but it looked wrong somehow. "Any more odd questions?"

"So, you stalked us?" Matilda sneered; she could easily read Bree.

"Alright, let’s not waste more time," Kai stepped in, cutting through the rising tension. "We’ve got a mountain of mana ores to mine and no time for squabbles. We will split into two groups and get started."

He gestured toward Matilda, "She’s with me." And then to the others. "The three of you stick together. Bryan will show you how the Fire Swamp works. Stay on the outskirts—don’t even think of venturing into the inner area. That’s where the Star Beasts gather."

Before Kai could turn, Bree raised a hand like a student asking a question.

"Remind me again, why are you automatically with Matilda?" She asked.

"I’ve teamed up with Matilda several times already—so our chemistry is better. We can two men fine," Kai answered without stuttering, as if the answer was obvious. "And besides, our abilities matched."

Matilda can stall with her physicality and even tank attacks with her shield.

He, on the other hand, can deal the finishing blow.

For the other group, Bryan and Dorian could fight independently, and Bree is a support. Their abilities also matched, allowing them to venture more safely through the Fire Swamp without being cradled by Kai’s experience or Matilda’s.

Bree’s lips twitched, and her eyes shifted to Matilda.

She didn’t say anything, but her gaze alone clearly signaled Matilda to say something.

Say something so she could stick close to Kai.

However, Matilda only turned around and walked on ahead, ignoring her completely.

’Isn’t she the one who told me I didn’t need to worry about her getting close with Kai?’ Bree’s eyes twitched, the sting of betrayal catching her off guard. ’I thought we had an agreement in this, Matilda. Apparently not.’

Not too far away, Matilda stole a glance at Kai.

"You’re fighting with Bree?" She asked curiously.

"Fighting? No, not really." Kai shrugged; what happened between them that night was more of a misunderstanding. And besides, he really does not have a second to waste. Not after learning about what was happening in the background, "Why?"

"Just not expecting you to decline her when she obviously wanted to pair up with you."

"She... She can be a handful at times."

Kai flashed Matilda a small smile, a telltale sign of not wanting to elaborate.

But Matilda caught it wrong.

"Oh, right... I forgot. Only I knew about that golem, huh?"

"And there’s also that, yes. Let’s focus."

"Alright. We need to go further than last time, anyway."