Chapter 267 - Bummed Ban
Ban instantly stood up and peeked outside of his tent upon hearing the sudden noise outside. He glanced to his right and noticed another tent, the one that was set up by Rila. Of course, as she didn't bring any sort of camping gear, he helped her set it up using some spare that he prepared just in case.
According to Rila, she usually doesn't bring such items as it would only make her visible during the night, and she said that she prepared to sleep above the trees or in an underground to avoid giving her location away easily. However, because there was a group of them, she thought that it wouldn't matter if she slept in a tent.
Beside her tent was her summon, a Sneaky Ostrich of the D-Master Level, the same level as her.
Ban then glanced towards the ten of Yakob and the others, and after confirming that the commotion did not originate from there, he no longer held himself back and decided to use the Skill, Echo Hearing, to better understand the situation.
The surroundings were dark and the luminous stones they used were already switched off by them.
He closed his eyes and immediately activated the skill. His hearing instantly increased, it was as though he was seeing with his ears. It was extremely helpful, even more so with this kind of dark environment and what you can see with your naked eye are limited.
Ten seconds later, he slowly opened his eyes, there was no longer any confusion and could be seen on it. From what he 'saw', he already had a guess as to what was happening.
At the same time, he took a glance to his right and noticed that Rila's tent was already partly opened. She must've noticed the commotion as well. Ban also noticed that although the ostrich was lying down on the ground, its eyes were actually partly opened, and upon a closer look, he could tell that it had also noticed the anomaly and was on high alert.
However, Ban ignored the two of them and closed his tent again. There was no danger, he already confirmed it.
And as if to agree with him, Rila's tent also closed almost the same time as him. It became still and serene again, an occasional roar of some nocturnal beast could be heard in their surroundings.
The commotion was actually caused by Yakob. From what he could infer, Yakob must have felt the pressure on his shoulder. The life of his two students and even his Young Miss was on his hands.
It was up entirely to him if he could gather the materials on time. He must have been anxious and could not sleep, and hence, he decided to return to the Falcon City immediately to gather the ingredients as soon as possible.
Of course, he could have also chosen to escape his responsibility, but from what Ban has observed so far, Yakob was not that sort of person. And it was clear to see that he truly valued his students and especially the Young Miss. He could tell it just by looking at the way Yakob was looking at Ciera and his students from time to time. He observed the same gaze from Kuys. It could not be faked.
However, what Ban could not understand as to why Yakob chose to leave them behind. First of all, Ciera and his students, although not yet in a dangerous situation, still needed a lot of care at the moment. They might lose control at any moment, and if they could not be provided with any food in time, the worm inside them might wreak havoc, and might harm their body in the process.
Did he not know the severity of the matter? No, he was aware of it, Ban knew of it, from the grave expression he has been showing. Of all of them except him, he was sure that Yakob was the second person who understood the severity of the matter the most.
Then, was it because he believed in the ability of his remaining student? Was it because he trusted Ban and Rila? Or was it because he doesn't have any other option? Or perhaps, was it because of all the reasons he thought of?
Ban layed down again, and put the 'sleeping' Eva on his chest again.
Tria was inside the Beast Tattoo at the moment. He did dare to summon her this time, for one, it was extremely clear to the person around him that he was not yet a Multi Realm Summoner. It would be impossible to tell them that he has a second summon, and in fact, he could theoretically summon more.
He was sure that they would question him about it. He was just afraid of having his secrets of possessing complete Books of Techniques and especially the existence of the system. He was not strong enough to protect himself yet, he was aware of this fact.
As for Rila, Ban was also still trying to figure out what he should use as an 'excuse' for having a second summon despite not being a Multi Realm Summoner. His head aches just thinking about it.
It was great that Rila was an ally, and it also helps that she did not question him about Rila. Of course, it still remains a problem if she will question him about it in the future.
There's no use thinking about it for now.
Instead, Ban closed his eyes and put his consciousness inside the Beast Tattoo to observed Tria and the Unknown Egg.
The other reason why he did not summon Tria was because he already gave her the Purmi Fruit that he set aside for her in advance.
With that, it was sure to increase her intelligence, and her chance of learning skills and her cultivating efficiency would also surely increase in the future with the help of the Purmi Fruit.
He had also already fed another Crocodile to the Unknown Egg, whose size remained unchanged. He could also feel a certain resistance from it when he fed it another crocodile earlier. Perhaps because it had already grown tired of eating the Mild Tempered Crocodiles and it wants another variant?
How picky! Ban was truly bummed by this leech that he was feeding. He just truly hopes that it would be an extremely useful Beast in the future.
He recalled his consciousness and decided to have a sleep.
Eva still did not want to cultivate for some reason. He on the other hand wanted to but with Eva on his chest, he decided to rest for now.
He was no longer in a hurry to cultivate anyway due to that 'hole' inside his Energy Core. He figured that it would only become a waste, so he decided to rest properly for now. It was also a rare opportunity knowing that Rila and her summon was outside.
It might not appear as if they were guarding him specifically, but he knew that if trouble comes, they would surely help. So he rest his worries and immediately descend into sleep along with Eva.
…
Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone.