"We owe you a debt," Marcus continued seriously. "If you hadn’t intervened when you did, Kai would be dead. Possibly all of us."
Levi waved off the thanks dismissively. "You had it handled. I just... expedited things."
That was a lie, and everyone knew it, but it was the polite thing to say.
Lyra laughed, a surprisingly lodic sound given the circumstances. "Expedited? Brother, this guy just one-shot a Four-Star Fiend Grade beast that we’ve been hunting for three hours!"
She turned to Levi with sparkling eyes. "That technique you used at the end—the one with the dark energy—what was that? I’ve never seen anything like it!"
"A personal technique," Levi said evasively. "Nothing special."
"Nothing special?" Ren, the ice twin, shook his head in disbelief. "Brother, that attack could have killed a low-level Fiend Warrior! And you’re only... what, Level 6 Genetic Soldier based on your aura?"
Levi didn’t respond, which the others took as confirmation.
Marcus studied him with sharp, analytical eyes. "A first-year Elite Class student from Crimson Sun Academy, capable of killing Fiend Grade beasts solo. I’ve heard rumors about this year’s trial examination—soone with F-rank talent claiming first place through mysterious ans. That wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?"
Levi’s expression remained neutral. "I don’t know what you’ve heard."
"Right." Marcus smiled slightly, clearly not believing the deflection but choosing not to press. "Well, regardless of rumors, your strength speaks for itself. Thank you again."
He approached the beast’s corpse and began to harvest materials—the scales, claws, teeth, and most importantly, the Fiend Grade core from near the heart. Each component was worth a significant amount of money.
"This beast is worth at least two million credits when we sell everything," Marcus explained as he worked. "Under normal circumstances, we’d offer you a share since you delivered the killing blow. But I’m guessing you’re not interested in dragging beast parts through the wilderness?"
Levi shook his head. "Keep it. I don’t need the money that urgently."
That was mostly true. He’d sent 150,000 credits to his family, and he still had nearly 30,000 Chaos Points remaining from his trial examination rewards. When converted to standard credits, that was 300,000—more than enough for his imdiate needs.
"Then at least let us repay you in so other way," Lyra insisted. "You saved my brother’s life, and probably all of ours. We can’t just let that go."
She glanced at Marcus, who nodded slowly.
"Where are you headed?" the leader asked.
"Redwood Village, then back to Crimson Sun Academy," Levi replied.
Marcus’s eyebrows rose. "Redwood Village? That’s about 200 kiloters northeast from here, right?"
"Roughly."
"That’s in the sa direction we’re going," Marcus said thoughtfully. "We’re headed to Whitehaven City, which is about fifty kiloters past Redwood Village. If you don’t mind the company, we could travel together."
He paused, then added with a slight smile, "And actually, there’s sothing near Whitehaven that might interest you. An opportunity, if you’re willing to take so risk."
Levi’s eyes narrowed slightly. "What kind of opportunity?"
"A Golden Wyvern," Ren spoke up, his voice carrying barely suppressed excitent. "It just gave birth to two cubs three days ago. Normally, a Golden Wyvern is way too dangerous to hunt—they’re usually Level 7 or 8 Fiend Warriors at minimum."
"But this one is different," Kai continued, his voice still slightly weak but growing stronger. "Giving birth weakened it significantly. Our intelligence suggests it’s dropped to about Level 2 or 3 Fiend Warrior strength temporarily."
"And it’s protecting newborn cubs," Marcus picked up the explanation, "which ans it can’t afford to chase threats too far from its nest. It has to stay defensive, not offensive."
Lyra practically bounced with excitent. "Golden Wyvern cubs! Do you know what those are worth? They have the potential to evolve into actual dragons! Each cub could sell for over a hundred million credits! Maybe more!"
Levi absorbed this information silently. A Golden Wyvern, even weakened, was still incredibly dangerous. But if the intelligence was accurate, and if they had a solid plan...
"You said ’two’ cubs," Levi pointed out. "How were you planning to split them?"
"Originally, we were going to try to capture both and sell them, splitting the profits four ways," Marcus explained. "But after seeing your strength..." He t Levi’s eyes directly. "If you help us hunt the wyvern and secure the cubs, we’ll split it evenly. You take one cub, we take the other. Each party gets approximately fifty to seventy million credits worth of value."
It was a generous offer. Suspiciously generous, actually.
Levi’s expression remained neutral. "What’s the catch?"
"No catch," Marcus said. "Just honest calculation. The wyvern is too dangerous for us to handle alone—today’s fight proved that. Even weakened, a Level 2 Fiend Warrior Golden Wyvern would slaughter us. But with you..."
He gestured at the headless Four-Star Fiend Grade beast.
"With you, our chances of success increase dramatically. Maybe to fifty-fifty. Those are odds worth taking for a prize this valuable."
Levi considered the offer carefully.
On one hand, it was risky. Golden Wyverns were legendary creatures with powerful bloodlines. Even weakened, fighting one would be dangerous, potentially fatal.
On the other hand, a Golden Wyvern cub...
If he could raise it properly, it could beco an incredibly powerful companion. And even if he chose to sell it, seventy million credits was life-changing money. His family would never have to struggle again. He could buy any resources he needed for cultivation.
And honestly, Levi was curious. He’d been fighting beasts for two days now, but all of them had been relatively straightforward. A Golden Wyvern would be a real challenge, a real test of his current capabilities.
"How far is the nest from Whitehaven City?" Levi asked.
"About thirty kiloters into the mountains northeast of the city," Ren replied. "It’s in a dinsional zone classified as Level 4, so we’d need to be careful of other threats besides the wyvern."
"And your intelligence about the wyvern’s weakened state—how reliable is it?"
Marcus pulled out his holo-watch and displayed a holographic image. It showed a massive golden reptilian creature, easily forty ters long, with wings that could blot out the sun. Majestic, terrifying, and powerful beyond asure.
"This was taken four days ago by a aerial surveillance drone," Marcus explained. "You can see here—" He zood in on a section of the image showing the wyvern’s side. "—these discolored patches on its scales. That’s a sign of extre energy depletion. Giving birth to creatures with dragon bloodlines takes enormous toll on the mother’s cultivation."
He swiped to another image, this one showing two small forms curled up near the larger wyvern.
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