Chapter 40 Training Groups - I Can't Sleep
“Ancia…I’m here…” Skark staggered down from a luxurious carriage, looking weak and listless.
"What's wrong with you?" Ancia was startled by his listless appearance. Skark was usually strong and energetic, and she had never seen him so weak before.
She probed her magic into Skulk's body, who was crouching listlessly by the wall, and everything was normal.
“He gets carriage sickness.” A familiar, haughty female voice came from the carriage. Princess Eve stepped down on a footstool and glanced disdainfully at the pale-faced Skark.
"Pfft." Ancia laughed out loud, but quickly suppressed her laughter under Skalk's resentful gaze.
“You’re still laughing at me… I’ve been riding in carriages for half a month… Only Eve’s carriage was slightly more comfortable.” Skulk rested his head on Ancia’s shoulder and rubbed against her.
Even its upright ears drooped down; it seemed to be in real pain.
"Did you thank Eve?" Ancia ruffled a strand of her dark red short hair, amusing both of them at once.
"I said it..."
"Who needs to thank that kind of thing!"
Ancia was overjoyed. After laughing, she said to Eve seriously, "Thank you, Eve. Thank you for taking care of Skark on the journey and for signing up to participate in the Monster Mountain Trial as a princess."
“If this weak orc wasn’t your friend, I wouldn’t have let him onto my carriage.” Eve raised her chin. “Don’t worry too much about the training. I just don’t want my grades to fall too far behind yours. This time, I will definitely kill more monsters than you.”
"Really? But this time we're in the same group, so the number of monsters we kill is shared." Ancia said with a smile, pleased to see Eve clench her folding fan in anger.
"What about me? Am I in the same group as you?" Skark finally recovered and regained some of his energy.
“Yes, there are also Heligaluo and Erlan, making a total of five people,” Ancia counted on her fingers.
"Teaming with that puppet... what's with that look on your face? Fine, I won't say anything more." Princess Eve habitually mocked Heligaluo, then reluctantly shut up after Ancia's warning glare. She noticed the star on Ancia's chest had turned into three. "Wait, when did you get to three stars?"
“Just yesterday.” Anciya’s face showed no pride or complacency, and her tone was calm. “A five-star wood mage, a four-star fire warrior, a three-star light mage, a three-star priest, and a two-star wind mage—our team is fully equipped and can venture deep into the central part of the Monster Mountain Range. My healing spell has been upgraded to a high level, which is enough to barely protect you in the Monster Mountain Range.”
"Right now, she has the lowest star rating," Eve said, turning her face away and biting her lip. "I won't hold you back."
Ancia smiled. "I know. You should rest for a bit. We'll set off into the Monster Mountain Range this afternoon. There aren't any comfortable rooms there, only tents and campfires. It might be tough for you, so be prepared."
Eve nodded solemnly.
*
The knights of the Holy See have established a temporary camp outside the Monster Mountain Range. They are the defense line of Red Maple City and will guard it until the monster tide ends.
Gracia's teams also set up camp near the camp, and the academy provided them with travel tents.
"This is the most highly rated tent among adventurers. It's sturdy, durable, and won't break even if it's torn apart by low-level magical beasts." Skark had been an adventurer before entering Gracia, so he was very skilled at setting up tents. He quickly set up his own tent and even had time to help Ancia and Eve.
Five tents are arranged in a small circle, with a campfire still burning in the center. Groups of tents are scattered throughout the campsite.
Upon returning from the central mountains, Bishop Bohr immediately came to Ancia to express his gratitude. "Lady Ancia, thank you for your help to His Holiness the Holy Son. Although this matter involves confidentiality and your achievements cannot be made public, the entire Holy See will never forget your good deed. The friendship of the Holy See will forever remain with you."
Ancia waved her hand, "I just wanted to save my friend, and I've already accepted the thank-you gift, there's no need to be so formal."
Bishop Bohr shook his head. “You have saved not only His Holiness the Holy Son, but also His Holiness the Pope and all future Holy Sons and Daughters. Are you really not considering joining the Holy See? The Light seems to favor you exceptionally.”
Ancia sighed and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, I have a shallow sense of responsibility and no respect for the God of Light. I am really not suitable to be a saintess."
If Bishop Bohr persists, Ancia can only say that she is attracted to beauty and cannot abide by the doctrines of the Light.
Fortunately, Bishop Pol did not press the matter further, but his expression was full of regret. "Alright, there is one more thing I need to tell you and His Holiness the Holy Son." He became serious, "There seem to be traces of high-level demons in the depths of the Monster Mountain Range. You must be careful when you are driving away the monster tide in the middle of the mountain range."
Heligalo nodded slightly. "Understood, Jess. Inform the other members of the Vatican and Gracia's teachers about this."
Jess: "Yes, Your Majesty."
“If it’s just a high-level demon, there shouldn’t be too much to worry about. The teachers’ strength is all above that of high-level demons.” Anxi said this, but she was secretly concerned about the matter. As her mental strength attribute continued to increase, she had a premonition of possible dangers. “I have a feeling that something else will happen.”
“Your hunch might be right. There are signs that the monster tide is breaking out ahead of schedule, and high-level monsters are entering the Monster Mountain Range in an unusual way. These strange phenomena are overlapping, and it’s probably not a coincidence.” Heligalo was good at dissecting intelligence and also noticed the non-accidental characteristics.
He pondered for a moment, then quickly made a decision: "The monster tide has not officially begun yet. I will write to His Majesty and request that three more bishops and four knight orders be dispatched to support Red Maple City in advance, just in case."
The Holy See of Light has only ten regional bishops, plus Bishop Pol who is stationed here, and the Knights Order of Red Maple City. This defensive configuration is strong enough to deal with the monster horde.
After Bishop Pol and his men left, Heligalo saw that Ancia was still uneasy and comforted her, saying, "The reinforcements will arrive as soon as possible, so don't worry too much."
Ancia suddenly had a thought, "What if... I mean... what if it's not just high-ranking demons that appear in the Monster Mountain Range?"
"You mean the Seven Demon Generals under the Demon King?" Heligalo's expression turned serious. "Once the Demon King and the Demon Generals appear outside the Monster Mountain Range, their strength will be weakened, and they will not easily leave the Abyss."
The last time the Demon King led his demon generals to appear outside the Monster Mountain Range was twenty years ago when he attacked the Augustine Empire. The empire, together with the Church of Light, orcs, and dwarves, resisted the demons, who retreated to the abyss. Both sides suffered heavy losses.
The Seven Demon Generals correspond to Pride, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Wrath, and Lust, respectively. They possess the power to control extreme evils, and when weakened, their strength is comparable to that of a Magister.
The Demon King, on the other hand, is the Lord of the Abyss. As the supreme ruler of the demon race, he is the source of dark power and his strength far surpasses that of the Seven Demon Generals. Even when bound by the laws, he fought against the Pope and three patriarchs simultaneously in the last great battle and still did not suffer a defeat.
"I hope I'm just overthinking it." Ancia shook her head. "Let's not think about things that haven't happened yet. It's getting late, let's go back to camp."
Gracia's students were divided into two groups for training, one for daytime and one for nighttime, according to their job positions and schedules. Ancia and her group trained during the day, while the assassins and dwarves were more accustomed to the night.
Before entering the Monster Mountain Range, Eve had heard about the nearly three-month training. However, even though she was mentally prepared and brought plenty of food and potions, the pampered princess still suffered a lot in the Monster Mountain Range.
Leaving aside the mosquitoes, Eve poured the insect repellent potion around the tent three times, and then around the other tents as well, enjoying the insect-repelling service as well.
Unfortunately, Skalke, with his sensitive sense of smell, kept sneezing amidst the rich floral scent.
To prepare for the rapidly dropping temperature in the mountains, Eve put on a thick shawl beforehand and sat in a spot not too far from the campfire to keep warm.
Unable to stomach the meat broth simmering over the campfire, Eve brought out meat floss and cheese bread specially made by the palace chefs. Thanks to a preservation magic, it could be stored for a long time.
Eve overcame all the difficulties one by one, but at night, she discovered the most fatal problem.
Ancia was resting in her tent when suddenly a crowned figure appeared on the tent and stood hesitantly in front of it for a long time.
"That's kind of scary," Ancia said helplessly as she lifted the tent flap. "What's wrong, Your Highness?"
Princess Eve tugged at the pillow that had been provided with the tent, her voice barely audible, "...I can't sleep."
Ancia looked at her amusedly, "Do you need someone to tell you a bedtime story?"
Eve's face was flushed, whether from the firelight or from shyness, it was hard to tell. "No! Um... the bed and pillows are too hard, I can't sleep."
She turned out to be a princess and a pea. The pillow, blanket and mattress provided by the academy were a complete set, but the quality that adventurers were used to was too rough for a princess.
Ancia followed Eve into the fragrant tent. Fortunately, she remembered how Lulu used housework magic and learned a few tricks from Lulu with interest.
"A magic spell to make pillows and bedding soft. Alright, now you can sleep, Your Highness." Ancia took out her staff and earnestly cast a housework spell on Eve.
Eve lay down, her shoulders hunched in discomfort, but she said nothing.
"Still not working?" Ancia scratched her cheek, looking somewhat troubled.
"It's alright, I... I can drink an energy potion." Eve sat up. "You should go and rest too... Thank you."
The last two words were so small they were almost inaudible.
Ancia shook her head. "There's still a long time before you start training. You can't keep relying on energy potions to stay awake all the time."
She turned and walked out of Eve's tent, leaving Eve sitting there with her head down.
"Get up a bit." Ancia came back, carrying her own mattress, and also brought pillows and blankets.
Eve stood up blankly, watching Ancia put the two mattresses together, then put on a blanket, raising the bed considerably.
Ancia cast her housework magic again, lying down directly on the new bed and patting the empty space beside her. "Come and sleep, you should be able to sleep now, right? If not, I really can't help you."
“…Here she comes.” Eve walked over clumsily, lay down next to Ancia, smelled Ancia’s scent, and quickly fell asleep.
This was the first time she had ever been so close to a girl her own age.
Eve vaguely thought that Ancia wasn't so bad after all.
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Author's note: Eve's feelings for Ancia are not a yuri relationship, but a subtle friendship between girls who are jealous, yearning, and want to be friends, or even if they are not friends, but hope that Ancia shines brightly in the distance.
And then there's a date with Hurley, the young couple are so sweet [cat emoji]
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