16 Book 3 Chapter 12 (1/2)

Olivia jumped to her feet as soon as she woke up, only to look down in alarm. ”I feel great.”

She stretched slightly before cracking every part of her body, one after the other—fingers, wrists, shoulders, neck, back, toes, and hips. Roy's eyes snapped open at the sound. He pointed at Olivia. ”Hey, don't you know that's bad for your body?!”

”You keep saying that, yet I'm perfectly fine?” Olivia rolled her eyes.

Roy stood up and shivered. ”Yeah, well, it still gives me the chills.”

”Oh, this does?” Olivia held out an arm and twirled her wrist, making a crack with every rotation.

”AGH!” Roy covered his ears as he exclaimed. ”Is this a hero grade debuff skill?”

Suddenly, a crack louder than any other came from behind Roy. His face paled as he turned around, only to see Cheslov popping his shoulder in and out of its socket. Roy gasped. ”Y-y-you guys are driving me crazy!”

”I didn't know I joined a kids party,” Amara said as she stood up and patted her robe.

”Aren't you like 18 or something?” Cheslov looked down at Amara with a finger on his chin.

”19.” Amara raised her head proudly.

”You're all kids to me,” Cheslov said as he pointed at Roy, Olivia, Carly, and Amara.

”Uh,” Carly raised a hand. ”I'm 29.”

Everyone turned to Carly with expressions of disbelief. She was no higher than five foot two, had a petite frame, and a sheepish personality, yet she was older than most of them here?

Carly blushed at being the center of attention and turned to Peter with a pleading look. ”Guild Leader, please tell them.”

Peter scratched his cheek with a wry smile. ”I thought you were lying on your guild application. You, you're 29?”

Carly stomped her foot with tears in her eyes. ”You guys are bullying me!”

Everyone burst into laughter at the adorable sight.

Jason shook his head, a warm feeling in his chest. Feeling emotional, he pulled Roy and Olivia into his embrace. ”Thanks.”

”For what?” Roy and Olivia looked up in confusion.

Jason could only rub his nose. ”I don't know…”

Roy smiled as he wrapped his arms around Jason and Olivia. ”Without you guys, I don't know where I'd be. So for that, I'm grateful.”

Olivia felt complicated. Anxiety, hesitation and fear welled up inside her. Wolf taught her love wasn't something given but earned. But the feeling in her heart couldn't lie. In the end, she nestled her head in between Roy and Jason. These were her friends. Her family.

A few moments passed before Jason let go and coughed awkwardly. ”Uh, so what serums did you guys end up getting?”

Rare-grade Energy Enhancement serum

+30% Absorption speed of any type of energy.

”I was also thinking about that one,” Jason remarked. With this serum, he'd be able to gather and convert mana to battle energy faster. Battle energy was powerful, but his skills consumed too much too quickly. Thankfully he found that by using his hero grade meditation skill at the same time as energy conversion improved his speed multiple times over. After six months, he had over three thousand battle energy.

”This is the one I got.” Olivia shared next.

Rare-grade Elemental Enhancement serum

+20% Effectiveness of elemental skills.

”That suits you perfectly,” Jason commented. The skills Olivia learned from her master was darkness type.

”Ahem,” Cheslov butt in from the side. ”Guess what I got?”

”Gorilla serum.” Jason, Roy, and Olivia replied simultaneously.

A tear fell from Cheslov's eye as he sniffled. ”You guys know me so well.”

Rare-grade Gorilla Serum

Increase Strength by up to 30% at the cost of extra stamina consumption. Prolonged use will cause damage to the user.

By this point, everyone was awake. It took a few minutes to adjust to the changes in their body and share what serums they took.

”You're all awake, then?” A feminine voice came from nearby, startling them all.

Jason turned and found a slender woman leaning against the adjacent wall with her arms crossed. She wore a white military outfit with a short red cloak draped over her shoulders. Her black hair was short, no longer than a few inches, while her face was angular and sharp. She pushed off the wall and walked over with measured steps. ”Rowdy bunch, you are.”

Who's this? Jason was baffled and alarmed. Not only had he never seen or heard of this woman, astonishingly, he was unable to detect that she'd been watching them from only twenty feet away. When did she arrive? Just now or when they were unconscious? If this weren't the Sanctuary, a place known for being safe, he would have been terrified.

Ebba sent a message after using inspect.

(Field Boss) Commander Fox - Level 120

Health: 300,000/300,000