When he woke up the following morning, Dreu was surprised to see no breakfast waiting for him.

  Guess I’ll need to hunt for my food now…

  The young man walked into the courtyard where he noticed the front gate was closed. The gate was never closed, not even when he first arrived. The sight unnerved him as he struggled to get his bearings on the situation.

  “You have passed the final test of defeating eight velos single-handedly. While you still have much to learn on the path of both alchemy and smithing, I have taught you all that I can. As a reward for passing, you will be gifted the entire courtyard, its buildings and everything within. As for the raw materials, you will have to find those yourself. With a bit of luck, you might come across rare plants and materials.”

  Before Dreu could thank the being, everything around him vanished in the blink of an eye. He desperately tried to reach out but his hand no longer touched anything concrete. He felt himself floating for a while within the darkness, unsure what was happening next. He then found himself atop Olgron who had stopped before a forest. A cool breeze blew past him, reminding him that this was a very different place from whatever realm he returned from.

  You have woken up, Dreu? I’d suggest you sleep a bit more while we find a good place to set up camp.

  Dreu only had to look up to see the stars. The sight made him assume that only a couple of hours had passed since he fell asleep. Yet, he was certain everything in the other realm was real. His experiences were far too real for him to imagine them. Needing proof, the young man checked his prompt to search for anything that would support his case.

  < Jaded Bull Shield:

  Description: Much of this shield is made from the underworld bull armor, making it both strong and lightweight. The extra jade added to the shield only further strengthens the shield to better protect the user. While not ideal for shield bashing techniques, the shield doesn’t hinder the agility of the user and is perfect for those who rely on mobility to defeat foes. No traits or skills are detected from the shield. >

  This…this is proof that I wasn’t imagining things.

  After searching the prompt for a full minute, Dreu gave up on finding all the shields he made. He knew he had seven shields at one point but it wasn’t absurd to believe that the other six were confiscated. The being said the courtyard, the buildings and everything within were his, not everything he made. He then remembered the turtle and checked to see if the creature was in his roster now.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  < Lv 1 Aerial Jaded Turtle (Jaden):

  Description: This reptilian creature is an endangered creature due to its ability to produce jade weekly from its shell. Seen in both the underworld and the mythical realm, this turtle generally stays away from other beings and creatures as it prefers solitude. When engaged in combat, the turtle will hide in its shell and hope the predator loses interest in it. In terms of combat capabilities, this creature has none.

  Recommendations:

  -Befriending this creature will earn you jade weekly

  -This creature will avoid combat at all costs and, when threatened, will hide in its shell.

  Evolution:

  -???

  Skill:

  None

  Status:

  +50% defense from shell.>

  While he was relieved the turtle was in his roster, Dreu suddenly realized that he had nowhere to store the jade. He didn’t even know if the turtle produced jade while it was on his recall list and not physically with him.

  As long as Jaden is with me, then I won’t have to worry about running out of jade in the future. For now, let’s worry about setting up a camp.

  Dreu wished he knew how his footmen’s stamina never ran out. It would be very useful for his demonic creatures, especially the badgers who would be quite threatening if they could fight indefinitely. At the moment, he could see the honey badgers were all showing signs of fatigue. They had traveled a long distance to keep him and the children safe. Well, they and the duck. The young man almost forgot about Zraiw who kept quiet the entire trip and never made a fuss. Despite how the duck acted, it was able to gauge the situation and not get in the way.

  Let’s check out the cave over there.

  Olgron suggested as they reached a clearing in front of a cave entrance. Dreu trusted the honey badgers had already taken a sniff and wouldn’t have approached the place if there were smells indicating danger. After getting off, the young man massaged his sore muscles. He might have dozed off during the ride but his muscles were determined to remind him of how uncomfortable the ride really was.

  I will take a cart ride if I am given a chance next time.

  Olrgon took the lead as soon as Dreu got off. The young man was second while the other honey badgers followed behind him. The small group went a short distance into the cave before Olgron laid down. The other badgers did the same while Dreu summoned the bats to keep an eye. He had planned on keeping watch with them but, now that his adrenaline ran out, he couldn’t keep his eyes open. The young man knew very quickly that no amount of willpower could keep him awake.

  Get some rest now! The four of us can handle anything that comes here! If not, we’ll let you know.

  After thanking Bartok, Dreu found a place to lay down. As he got comfy, he reminded himself that it was nice to have his companions with him. He didn’t even know how he would begin explaining what happened to him.

  Regardless if they believe me or not, I need to talk to Zraiw to see if he can shed more light on where I was. The prompt said that the turtle can be found in the mythical realm so the duck must know something.