After engraving marks on the two of them, both groups left in different directions to continue their search for food and shelter.

After leaving their initial position, Adam and Noah moved toward a tall mountain peak to observe the surroundings better.

While moving toward it, Noah said with genuine gratitude in his voice, "Thanks, you saved me. If I had gone with that madman alone, I am sure I would have gone crazy halfway through the journey."

At his words, Adam looked at him with confusion and said, "I was not saving you, I was saving myself, you idiot."

Noah was confused by Adam’s response and asked, "What do you mean?"

Adam slowed down a little and said, "It’s normal you don’t know because you are not a noble, but Aria Velmora is not normal either. In every social gathering of nobles, I have never even seen her talk normally, whenever she would talk to any noble she had that cold expression like she looking at a garbage rather than a human being, I was just scared of going alone with her,"

Noah just looked at him for some seconds and shook his head. "I don’t think she is like that, she seems normal to me."

Adam looked at Noah as if he had just said something unbelievable.

Noah scratched his head and said, "I don’t know, she talked normally always during the training, eating food and even explains things properly."

"That is because Asher was there," he said seriously. "Her mood becomes slightly better around him for some weird reason."

Noah opened his mouth to answer but suddenly stopped.

He thought about it carefully for few seconds and then realized something.

"...No," Noah admitted.

Adam immediately pointed at him and said, "Exactly."

"Velmoras are the scariest out of the three families. Their mind-type spells are terrifying. Sometimes I wonder why she is even talking to that lunatic, but I am sure she is just studying his mind so that in the future she would be able to kill him after he becomes too annoying. I am sure of it. That must be the reason she approached Asher in the first place."

Noah stared at Adam for few seconds before saying, "You nobles really imagine terrifying things so casually."

Adam crossed his arms and replied, "I am being realistic."

"No, you are being paranoid," Noah corrected immediately.

Adam ignored him and continued speaking seriously, "Think about it carefully. Asher constantly annoys her, acts without any respect, and says whatever comes into his mind, yet she still keeps talking to him."

Noah nodded. "Yeah?"

Adam narrowed his eyes and said, "That is exactly why it is suspicious."

Noah looked completely unconvinced.

"I still think she just finds him interesting."

Adam immediately shook his head. "Impossible."

"Why?"

"Because nobody can stay interested in that idiot for long without losing their sanity."

As they were talking about these things, they suddenly sensed another presence in their surroundings.

It was the presence of a beast.

The moment both of them sensed the presence, their expressions changed instantly.

Adam immediately stopped walking and placed his hand on the sword hanging by his waist while Noah also unsheathed his sword cautiously.

The surrounding forest suddenly became silent.

Even the sound of the wind felt strangely faint.

Noah lowered his voice and asked, "Where?"

Adam slowly looked toward the dense trees on their left side and answered quietly, "There." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The next second, the bushes shook violently.

A massive beast slowly walked out from the shadows of the forest.

It resembled a black panther, but its body was nearly three times larger than a normal one. Dark golden patterns glowed faintly across its body while sharp claws dug into the ground with every step.

The pressure leaking from its body alone made both of them tense instinctively.

Noah’s face stiffened slightly. "...Gold Rank 1."

Adam’s expression immediately became serious.

The beast stared at them silently with its glowing golden eyes before releasing a low growl that shook the surroundings slightly.

Noah tightened his grip on his sword and muttered,"What a bad luck we have to encounter a gold rank beast from the start."

Adam ignored him completely.

His focus was entirely on the beast.

The next second, the beast disappeared from its position.

Boom!

The ground exploded where it had been standing a moment earlier.

Adam’s eyes narrowed instantly.

"Move!"

Noah immediately jumped sideways while Adam coated his body with wind mana.

A sharp gust exploded around him as he swung his sword forward.

Clang!

The beast’s claws collided against Adam’s blade, creating violent shockwaves in the surroundings. Wind mana burst outward from the collision and cut several nearby trees.

Even then, Adam was still pushed backward several meters.

His arms trembled slightly from the impact.

"So strong..." he muttered.

The beast landed smoothly on the ground before lunging toward him again.

This time Noah slammed his hand onto the ground.

"Earth Bind."

Mana surged into the earth instantly.

Multiple stone pillars erupted from the ground beneath the beast, trying to trap its movements.

The beast reacted quickly and jumped backward, but one of the stone pillars still struck its leg slightly.

A shallow wound appeared on its body.

The beast released an angry growl.

Adam immediately took advantage of the opening.

Wind gathered around his sword rapidly.

The mana around the blade became sharper and more violent.

"Wind Edge."

He swung his sword forward.

A compressed blade of wind shot toward the beast at terrifying speed.

Boom!

The attack exploded against the beast’s body and threw it backward through several trees.

Dust filled the surroundings.

Noah looked slightly surprised. "You were hiding that spell?"

Adam kept staring at the smoke seriously. "It is still alive."

The next second, a powerful pressure burst out from inside the dust cloud.

The beast slowly walked out again.

This time several injuries were visible on its body, but its eyes had become even more ferocious.

The beast suddenly slammed its claws into the ground.

The earth cracked apart as the beast rushed toward them again like a black blur.

Adam immediately enhanced his speed with wind mana while shouting, "Noah, block its path"

Noah nodded instantly and raised both hands.

Massive walls of earth erupted from the ground one after another, forcing the beast to slow down and destroy them.

Noah looked at the beast, which had already suffered so many serious injuries yet still refused to die, and then looked at Adam before saying, "It’s going to be a long fight."

"Yeah."