Aldred was wearing his Golden Battle Gear. He just got powerful armor so of course he had to try it. Swinging his spear forward, he shouted: "Dragon Lightning!"
A lightning struck the wall.
"Hmm. Why is there no dragon coming out? That's just ordinary lightning. Let's try something else. Twin triple headed dragon lightning!"
Another ordinary lightning struck the ground.
"Where is my twin dragon?"
Mareona hit his head. "You need to master the element first before you can use flashy skills, silly."
Aldred sighed. "What a disappointment."
If any adventurer heard that, they would strangle Aldred for mocking such a legendary piece of treasure.
Aldred morphed the gear back into a stick and kept it inside his inventory.
The dice on their waist made a click sound, and the arena below their feet shook before it rose into the ceiling. The ceiling opened slowly like a gate, revealing the cloudless blue sky.
It reminded Aldred of the hunger game where people are about to enter the arena to get some supplies and weapons before running away to survive.
When the arena reached the top, Aldred felt freezing cold all over his body, but then his skin started to burn. It was extremely cold and extremely hot at the same time.
Aldred quickly conjured water shield to protect everyone and felt much better. Sophia and Mira casted their spells as well. He summoned Bella to conjure some water and ice shield for everyone.
"What is happening? Why is the temperature so hot and so cold here?" Aldred asked.
"This is the upper part of the mountain," Maverick said. "If my numbers are correct, we're currently 55 kilometers (34 Miles) in altitude.
Aldred widened his eyes. "55 kilometers?"
Holy shit! Didn't that mean he was currently in the mesosphere?
His throat started to feel the burn and the air seemed to be thinner as it became harder to breathe.
Damn! The magic shield did not solve the lack of oxygen in this place. Aldred also felt his blood was boiling. The pressure in this place was so low that liquid boiled at normal body temperature.
'This is no place for human life!'
Suddenly, Maverick and his subordinates fed them another pill which reduced the effect significantly. Aldred gasped for air as his blood turned normal.
The water shield that protected them was bubbling and vaporized bit by bit. Aldred continued to add more water to thicken the shield.
"Thank you, Maverick," Aldred said.
"No problem."
"I feel bad," Aldred said. "You helped us a lot with your pills otherwise we wouldn't be able to keep going."
Maverick smiled. "It is me who should be thanking you. Without you, I would never reach the upper part of Mount Fargon. All I did was stay in the background while all of you fought, so I am glad that I can help you."
Aldred's eyes lit up. He liked this guy because he was humble and grateful unlike most people he knew. This type of person was rare so Aldred would like to help him more.
"If you need my help just tell me," Aldred said. "I don't have much yet compared to you, but I am sure I can help you with something in the future."
Maverick was all smiles. He felt like Aldred liked him and he smelled a great opportunity to become his ally in the future.
Aldred sighed. He would really like to do something for him to repay the gratitude, but the man was a noble so he had Diamond Ranks as subordinates and an exponential amount of wealth and treasures.
How could Aldred help someone like that?
Aldred shook his head and decided to think about it later.
Mira approached him and handed him the ring. "Thank you for saving me."
"It's weird, Mira. Don't thank me. You're family now. We don't use words to express our thanks."
Aldred put the ring back in his inventory.
"Where did you get that?"
"The empress gave it to me." Aldred then recalled what the empress had told him. "Uhh... I shouldn't have used that."
"Why?"
"I don't know. She told me something bad will happen if I use it, and only use it if necessary. The situation was necessary though."
"She said that?" Mary asked.
"Yes. So I am very worried now."
"We will face anything that appears," Mary said.
Aldred nodded and summoned the tents and supplies. He conjured another water spell as it was about to vaporize. The water was now in the same dome that protected the entire camp.
Bella helped to improve the shield.
When Aldred entered his tent with the others, he looked at the green arrow on the dice which was pointing to this place.
"I guess we have to wait again," Mary asked.
"Yeah," Aldred tiredly slept on her thigh.
Mary smiled and caressed his head. She kissed him. "You've done enough for today."
Mareona, Mira, and Sophia gave him a kiss as well.
Bella decided to join them and kissed Aldred.
Mareona was curious. "Aldred did not order you to kiss him, but you can do that?"
"I am capable of showing affection to my master."
"What about harming him?"
"That type of thought cannot enter my mind. So harming him is out of the question. Not only am I not capable, I cannot even think about the action. But sometimes I can do things that he might not want me to do. But the event is very rare, like that time when Velobra killed Henry.
"What?" Everyone asked.
"Velobra can feel anything Aldred feels. His emotions are tied to us, but some of us act upon those emotions differently. Velobra wasn't the calmest type of beast, so when he saw Henry, he went for the kill."
"No wonder I didn't see him around," Mareona said. "He was killed by Nicky."
Sophia stared at her. "But you cannot harm Aldred in any other way?"
"No, I cannot."
Sophia was worried that Aldred might get more human undead in the future. Humans had a habit of betraying other humans, so she was very worried for his safety.
Glancing at Aldred, she felt he was too vulnerable when he was asleep. Somebody had to protect him when he lays down to rest. If only she was powerful enough, she would gladly take that role.
Mary was glad to hear Bella's answer. She didn't want Aldred to be betrayed by his own undead. The reason for her concern was that the undead she had seen before never retained their personality.
They were empty shells of hideous creatures, but Bella was as beautiful as ever in her real form. And she wasn't empty, but full of personalities, and seemed to care about Aldred. That made her wonder if the undead was 'alive' or not. Aldred's power was still a mystery to her.
Aldred snored which disrupted their conversation. Saliva trickled from his mouth. His hands tried to grab something in the air. "Mom, milk. Give me milk, mom."
Mary and the others looked at each other and giggled.
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