The Gamer's POV-Chapter 260: Pompous Blowhards

"How long has it been?!" he asked, rubbing his stomach, which was cramping with a slight, insistent pain. He then looked to the side where a screen appeared:

[3 Days]

"Ah... I ended up using three days for my evolution."

Of course, staying without food or water for three days should not have been a problem. He was a Grade Three, after all, and could easily survive for a week, or perhaps a little longer, without food.

But the thing was, evolving used up vast amounts of stored energy as the body underwent a complete cellular reconstruction. That was why it was hitting him so hard.

"God, I am hungry." Looking back to the screen, he asked, "What is the time?"

A different screen appeared to the side:

[07:34 PM]

"Great. Those guys should be eating dinner by now."

Quickly, he reconnected with all his ravens as he rushed out of the room. He began making his way towards Audrey’s chamber, which was where the party had decided to gather tonight for dinner.

As he moved, the sudden flood of sensory data from his ravens hit him. He could see through dozens of eyes at once, catching glimpses of different parts of the sunken city.

When he eventually arrived at Audrey’s door, he banged thrice, only to hear Evelyn’s irritated voice. "What bastard is trying to bring down the door? Sod off!"

"Open up, Eve, before I lose my dignity and eat the damn door."

"What? Is that Ced?" A second later, she added, "Coming big, bro!"

The door opened to reveal Evelyn, who was wearing just a small tank top and a pair of silk sleep shorts. Her hair was a mess of tangled curls, and she held a chunk of half-eaten meat in one hand.

"Wow, look who’s back." She turned and yelled to the others. "Guys! Boss is back, but he looks awful!"

"When has he ever not?!" Leon yelled from the inside.

Cedric didn’t pay attention to that comment as his focus was on the meat in Eve’s hand.

"Can I have that, please?" he asked.

"Here." She smiled, holding the piece to his lips. As he clamped his teeth onto it and pulled it from her fingers, she hooked an arm through his and guided him inside. "Congratulations on advancing. Now come on. There’s only a bit of meat left, so hurry before Audrey finishes it all."

Cedric stepped hurriedly into the room to find the others seated in a circle on the ground. Celeste was among them, which likely meant she had returned from her sanctuary earlier than expected.

What he did not see, though, was food.

No, wait, actually he could see Leon. The man was hunched over, hurriedly stuffing all the final, succulent strips of roasted meat into his mouth in an attempt to finish the entire hoard before Cedric could claim it.

"Leon, you absolute animal!" Cedric cursed.

Leon lifted his head and grinned spitefully.

Then, his eyes widened as Cedric immediately jumped him.

He tackled Leon, and the two of them began struggling over the final piece of meat. Leon tried to shield the food with his body, so Cedric gripped his neck, choking him until the other man’s eyes went wide.

"Drop it! Drop it right now!" Cedric hissed.

With a muffled cough, Leon let the rib fall while tapping Cedric’s arm. Cedric snatched it up instantly, not even bothering to sit back up before he began to eat.

Ino, who was chuckling, tucked a lock of her silver hair behind her ear. As she stood, she said, "I will go make you some more food before you actually die of hunger."

Cedric turned around, and gave her a thumbs up. "Tfank huu."

Audrey spoke through her giggling, "You are even better than your sister was when she came back. Do you know she would have almost eaten your raven had Dion not stopped her?"

Cedric stopped chewing for a second and looked over at Celeste.

Celeste’s eyes went wide. She shook her head and raised both hands in a defensive gesture. "No. That’s a lie."

Cedric squinted at her.

"I swear, that’s a lie. I would never do such a thing."

Cedric looked to the side. "Is that true, Hugin?"

A feather appeared, then puffed into a raven. It began shaking its head vigorously and let out a series of offended caws, flapping its wings toward Celeste as if to point her out as the culprit.

"Okay. I’m sorry!" Celeste blurted out, her shoulders slumping. "I was so hungry. I’ve never felt that hungry, and... it just looked so plump."

Cedric smiled, exhaled and leaned back. Then he said, "Ah... I’m suddenly craving ferret for dinner."

The color drained from Celeste’s face and the ferret on her head immediately ran down, disappearing into the collar of her shirt to hide.

"You wouldn’t!" she uttered, shifting away from him.

Cedric chuckled and waved his hand dismissively, while rubbing Hugin’s head. Then he said, "By the way, when did you get back?"

"This morning," Celeste said, brightening as she settled back into her spot. She raised her left hand, and a spark of flames danced across her skin. The flames formed a small, intricate ring on her finger before disappearing again, as if it were never there.

Cedric couldn’t read the words on her ring when it appeared as it was in a foreign language, but the presence of the ring meant she had completed the test and was now a Minor Lord.

He smiled and said, "Congratulations on the advancement."

Celeste smiled back, showing her dimples.

At that moment, Dion spoke up. "Shouldn’t we, like... do something to celebrate? I mean, we now have three Grade Threes in our party. Three! That is like three-quarters of all the Grade Threes available."

"Yeah. I think we should," Audrey agreed, leaning forward. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"The princess has evolved?" Cedric asked when he heard the tally.

Dion nodded. "Yeah. She came back yesterday morning."

"Listen, listen," Evelyn said, dropping onto the ground beside Dion and putting one arm over his shoulder. "We got to see her summon and Leon’s knight fight yesterday at the training grounds during the session. And I’m telling you bro, it was insane! I was so hyped the entire fight."

The glint and excitement in her eyes as she spoke about it made her look like she was ready to jump back into the arena herself.

"Oh..." Cedric leaned forward, his curiosity piqued. "I bet her summon wiped the floor with Leon’s clunky knight, right?"

Evelyn shook her head quickly. "No. Leon’s knight won. Have you seen her powers? It is crazy, bro. She can literally manifest any non-living thing she imagines. Can you even imagine that? Anything."

Cedric rolled his eyes enviously.

’So that’s the one he chose to bring to life first.’

He was not surprised. He knew about the abilities of Leon’s Knights of Retribution, and all of them were absurdly powerful. Rather than surprise, he felt a heavy sting of envy because that specific brand of power was one he had once loved and wished to have.

At that moment, Leon poked him in the shoulder with a smug grin plastered across his face. "Are you jealous? I know you are. I can see it in your face."

"Tsk." Cedric pushed him away with his elbow.

’Maybe I should have my Aman kill that knight and take its power,’ Cedric thought, as he watched Leon continue to gloat.

Leon chuckled, clearly enjoying the reaction. "I bet my knight can also bully your messy heap of a summon. Whatever it is."

Cedric turned to him, and his eyes grew half-lidded and cold. "Don’t test me."

"Eh?" Leon arched a brow and smirked arrogantly. "Is that a challenge?"

Cedric went quiet and just stared cautiously into Leon’s green eyes.

Evelyn, on the other hand, practically began bouncing in excitement. "Oh, don’t just talk about it!" she chirped, her eyes darting between them with a manic glint. "Fight! I really want to see what your creature looks like in action!"

"No," Cedric replied calmly as he looked away, avoiding the chaotic trap Evelyn was luring him into.

It was not that he lacked confidence in his high elf’s abilities; it was just that unlike Leon’s knight, who had been alive for almost a month and had likely been refined through countless sparring matches, the elf had only existed for a few hours.

Also, Cedric had not even seen her in action himself. So there was no way he was going to let Athena duel when he wasn’t sure of her victory. He was a very proud fellow, and the last thing he needed was to have his summon lose to the knight of this pompous blowhard.

"My summon is busy preparing for the battle in three days," Cedric added in a flat, dismissive voice. "It would be a poor use of her time to exhaust her for your amusement."

Leon leaned closer to Cedric. "It’s not a waste of its... her time. A duel is a training exercise. Who knows. I bet there’s lots she could learn from my knight."

’Has this bastard always been this competitive?’ Cedric thought as he stared at Leon without saying anything.

Seeing Cedric’s silence, Leon’s smirk turned into a challenging grin. "Of course, you’re welcome to refuse if you’re just afraid. It’s okay to be unsure of your own summon. Honestly, I’d be hesitant too if I were in your shoes."