Chapter 24.5

Clack. Clack. Clack. The rock tower was being built up, one rock at a time. It did not take that long. Even Taylor had completed this part pretty easily. However, Cage, who had not come into the central area and had instead waited outside the eye of the storm, suffered quite a bit. This central area, like with all ancient powers, was somewhere that a person could only enter on their own. “It’s easy.” Cale picked up the last black rock and gently put it on top of the rock tower. It was at that moment. Flash! The black rocks slowly turned white. At the same time, Cale got up and looked around. The wind was slowly dying down. “...Huh?” Cale ignored the confused voice of the dragon and waited until all of the wind died down. He then crossed his arms and listened to the old man’s voice. He had no choice. - I tried to fight with them. However, I did not know that I was so weak against pain. They were not people who served the lord. I only realized that after we all went our separate ways and I ended up alone. The words of the old man caught Cale’s attention. He then recalled the words of the owner of the Indestructible Shield. ‘The people in the Forest of Darkness who called themselves servants of the lord only gave me terrible food.’ He had a bad feeling that he had learned something he shouldn’t have learned about. He had an odd feeling that the things he just heard were things that he should not tell anybody else about in his entire life. Cale started to frown even more as the old man continued to speak. That voice was something only Cale could hear, thus making the dragon hesitate while looking at the silently standing Cale. - I piled the rocks. I piled them up hoping that I could turn back time, hoping that I could be happy. But then I destroyed it. - I hated my selfish self for thinking about my own happiness after betraying my comrades and running away. “Sigh.” Cale let out a long sigh. This old man really was frustrating. Cale started to speak in frustration. “It is human nature to be selfish.” The old man’s voice disappeared for a moment. ‘Is it over?’ Cale started to smile thinking that the old man was finally getting to the end. However, the sobbing voice continued once more. - Ahem. My older sister said the same thing. She was a really wonderful older sister. She was more reliable than anybody else. Ah, my older sister. Sob! ...The old man was crying. “I’m going to go crazy.” Tap Tap. Tap. Cale was impatiently tapping the ground with his foot. Cale did not want to keep standing here like this. After crying for a while, the old man showed his thanks. - You, the one with the familiar power. That rude personality of yours makes me think of my older brother. I am very envious of how rude you are. And, finally, the old man said the final words that Cale had been waiting for. These were the same final words the old man had said to Taylor. - Break it. Then you will, ‘overcome,’ your limits. Cale started to smile and instantly kicked the rock tower without any hesitation. Tang. Crumble. Boom! The white rocks flew away to hit the ground and the wall. The dragon that had been watching Cale flinched and stared at Cale as if he was crazy. However, the following scene made the dragon gasp. “Wow.” The broken rock tower. A white light floated up from underneath the rock tower. Ooooooooong. The gentle vibration that pulsated throughout the cave could be felt under Cale’s feet. At that moment, the light rushed toward Cale. Cale reached his hand out to grab the light. The moment he grabbed it, the light shot toward Cale’s heart like an arrow. The light arrow pierced through Cale’s heart before flashing and disappearing. “Huuuuu.” Cale let out a deep breath. He then lowered his head to look under his shirt. The fancy shield tattoo that was over his heart had disappeared and had been replaced by a red heart. Cale could immediately feel the new vigor inside of his body. This vigor from the, ‘Vitality of the Heart,’ would make the shield even stronger. He would also recover at a much faster speed than normal people, even when he got injured. Unlike the shield, which was a superpower, this was more apart of the physical strengths of the human body. This regenerative strength was so strong that it managed to last since the ancient times to be passed down like this. Cale brought forth the shield again. “Just as I expected.” Cale started to smile. The pattern on the shield had changed to a heart. The only difference from the tattoo on his chest was that it was silver and not red. He then returned the shield, before immediately starting to walk. “You.” Cale had walked toward the dragon, that was pretending like nothing was going on and instead kept staring up at the sky. Cale just continued to stare at the dragon that was crouched down on the ground. He then stoically asked the dragon, as if he was throwing a rock into a lake. “You want to come with me?” “...You are so weak that you need protection. But I do not like humans.” The dragon answered, that way before starting to turn invisible. It had used its invisibility magic again. Cale just snorted at the disappearing dragon. “What a fickle punk.” He was also fickle for asking the question after telling the others to ignore the dragon, but this dragon was just as bad. However, he could not just ignore the dragon after it had jumped out earlier to try to save him. Cale looked around the cave, which no longer had any wind storms raging about, before turning around and heading out of the cave. Of course, he had to crawl back out as well. He returned the vines back to their original spots, and covered up the cave entrance properly. He then turned around and started to speak while walking away. His gaze was directed toward a grassy area. “I can see you standing on the grass.” He could see four imprints on the grass, each one representing one of the dragon’s four paws. These paw imprints then quickly disappeared. The dragon had flown up into the sky. Cale shook his head. ‘I guess my family grew in the end.’ Cale could not help but let out a deep sigh. It was obvious that the dragon would continue to follow him in that invisible state. Just why was this dragon such a noob when it knows ancient magic like invisibility? Cale had thought that all dragons were intelligent, but that seemed like it might not be the case. After walking back down the mountain, Cale could see Choi Han’s judging expression. Choi Han looked at Cale silently, before finally asking. “Did you... roll around the mountain?” ‘Shit.’ The wind had made his hair a mess, and his clothes were dirty after crawling across the rocky and sandy cave entrance. Cale sternly responded to Choi Han. “Yes. I rolled around.” Choi Han looked toward Cale with concern. Cale just avoided the gaze. That night, Cale told the kittens to deliver a message. It was a letter that was created with magic, which made it impossible to determine the handwriting of the writer. “Make sure they don’t see you.” The letter was the new hope for the priestess Cage and the Marquis’s eldest son, Taylor. ***** Something similar to the English proverb of trying to break a boulder with an egg.