Red hesitated, looking over at his now ruined weapon.

Eiwin tried to comfort him. “We’ll get Goulth to craft you a new one once we are out.”

The boy nodded at her. The cleaver had been with him since he had escaped from the underground, and although the boy wasn’t necessarily attached to the weapon, he still lamented the loss of a good tool.

There was no point in dwelling on it, though.

The group moved down the room, with Reinhart leading the way. Narcha helped Eiwin walk along, while Red focused on his crimson sense and kept a close watch on their surroundings.

On the surface, nothing seemed to have changed. The boy could feel the air surrounding the group had changed as the seeds of resentment were planted. This mostly came from Narcha, who was glaring at Reinhart the entire time, as if expecting the man to turn around and attack them at any moment.

Red didn’t blame her for the cautiousness either. Now that the battle had ended, the boy had time to contemplate on what had happened.

‘He had another shield talisman.’

This, by itself, wasn’t surprising. If it was Red in his place, he would also keep things hidden in case his “comrades” tried to attack him. What made the boy suspicious was what had happened during the fight.

He saw Reinhart get battered by the monster - a clubbing attack that would have shattered Red’s bones had he been in his place. However, the man didn’t seem to be injured, and a few seconds later, he was already back on his feet and helping the boy against the parasite. Was the blow not as strong as the boy thought, or did Reinhart have something to protect or heal himself?

Red wasn’t sure. He had been too busy fighting for his life to observe what the knight was doing. This was a reminder, though, that Reinhart wasn’t one of their sect members and he had no reason to be honest or trust them. No matter how much he had helped the group, the boy doubted Reinhart would ever put himself in a hopeless situation for them, which meant the man still was confident about saving his own life throughout this fight.

He was almost certainly hiding something.

Red asked himself whether he was being too suspicious of the knight. After all, the man did save his life, didn’t he? However, the boy trusted no one at face value. Reinhart, in particular, had given him plenty of reason for suspicion in the past, and their alliance was nothing more than a matter of convenience, so Red doubted the man had saved them from the goodness of his heart.

Did this mean Reinhart would betray them? Not necessarily, but it didn’t inspire confidence in the boy.

‘At the very least, he seems intent on parting ways after this.’

It would be for the best, since Red wouldn’t need to monitor everything the knight did moving forward.

The group walked in silence through the empty ruins. They entered the corridor connecting the destroyed chamber, stepping over the corpses of the lizards.

The rest of the building was identical to where they had been earlier - cracked and ruined rock surfaces without so much as a hint of decor or symbols. Something seemed to change ahead of them, though.

“There’s a light ahead.” Reinhart said.

Narcha grunted in acknowledgement but didn’t respond.

The knight looked back at Red. “Tell me if you sense anything, will ya?”

The boy nodded.

They continued to walk further ahead until the source of the light became clear.

Lamps emitting white light were lining up the side of the hall, leading up further ahead to another room. Curiously enough, this section of the building didn’t seem damaged or worn down. It was almost as if they had crossed a line where the place had become protected against the elements and hadn’t fallen into a state of disrepair.

None of this surprised Red anymore, who was already numb to the strangenesses of this trial. The corridor continued for a few dozen meters more until they arrived at a large, open room. This chamber was just as well-lit as the corridor, with lanterns hanging off of pillars that lined up the sides of the spacious room.

In the center of the chamber, there was a raised altar, and on the center of this altar stood a large charred cauldron. The object by itself stood out in the seemingly pristine chamber, but what caught their attention was the round object above the cauldron.

It was a blue pill. It was floating in the air by itself and was emitting a soft blue light. The pill didn’t look remarkable in any way, shape or form, but the more Red looked at it, the more he felt something stir within his body. Then, a few moments later, he started to sense things.

First, it was the sounds. Waves crashing against the coast - a sea disturbed in the middle of a storm. Then came the visions. He saw the faint image of water streams floating around the pill in the air and yet never touching it. A tingling sensation hit his skin - the sign of a high condensation of Spiritual Energy in the air, all coming from the pill. A sense of craving came from within his body from a place Red had never felt before, begging him to consume the pill.

For some reason, the boy didn’t need any explanation to understand what this item was or what it did, and, from the looks of it, neither did his companions.

“It’s… It’s…” Narcha stumbled over her own words as she stared at the pill.

“A Parting Sea Pill.” Reinhart said.

This was the dream item of most cultivators. A pill that could open a person’s Spiritual Sea, no matter how poor their talent might be, and allow them to breakthrough into the Lesser Ring Realm. It was such a rare and precious item that not even cultivators already in the Lesser Ring Realm could afford it, and only the strongest organizations in the world had the method and means to produce it.

And yet, here it was. A genuine Parting Sea Pill, right in front of them.

It all felt like a dream. At least, until they heard the sound of hurried footsteps.

Reinhart was dashing straight at the pill.

“Wait!” Narcha panicked and chased after him, dropping Eiwin on the floor.

The woman was too late, though.

Reinhart jumped over the cauldron and grabbed the pill. Immediately, all the otherworldly phenomena disappeared. Rage seemed to build up inside of Narcha, though, as she unsheathed her saber without hesitation and got ready to attack the man.

Red noticed that Reinhart was fishing something out of his pocket as he retreated. The boy had an awful premonition.

“Narcha, be careful!” he tried to warn the woman.

Narcha hesitated upon hearing the boy’s words, noticing Reinhart’s movements.

The man pointed the talisman at her. “Not one step further!” the item was already glowing in an orange light as the knight’s fingers hovered over one of its lines.

The woman froze in her tracks, glaring at the man. Both she and Red recognized the talisman the man was holding. It was another fireball talisman, similar to the one he had used in the forest against the demon and to the one Red had just used against the parasite.

Reinhart looked over at Red. “Don’t reach for that bow, kid. You know better than me what will happen if I activate this talisman.”

The boy frowned, but stopped moving.

Narcha raised her saber towards the man. The woman was trembling with anger. “If you activate that talisman in here, you won’t escape unscathed.”

Reinhart smiled. “Maybe, but what about your companions? Do you think Eiwin could survive the flames in her state?”

“I’ll kill you!” Narcha gritted her teeth.

The knight laughed, waving the talisman at her face. “Will you really?”

The warrior seemed on the verge of losing her mind, and her trembling intensified.

“Miss Valt!” Eiwin interjected.

Her companion’s words, which always seemed to have a calming effect on Narcha, seemed to fall on deaf ears at that moment. The woman seemed on the verge of attacking Reinhart, regardless of the talisman the man was holding.

The knight, however, continued to smile. “Come on, Narcha. There is no need to be this angry. I don’t want to fight, I just want to negotiate.”

His words gave Narcha some pause. She glared at the man with a hateful gaze. “Give me the pill.”

Reinhart frowned. “Is that what you call a negotiation?”

Narcha gritted her teeth, but Eiwin chose that moment to interject again.

“What do you want from us, Mister Reinhart?” the younger woman asked.

Reinhart smiled at her. “See? It’s always easier to speak with reasonable people.”

Eiwin frowned and repeated the question. “What do you want?”

The knight shrugged. “It’s simple, really. I’m willing to give this pill to you for a certain price.”

Narcha’s eyes widened in shock. Still, that did nothing to assuage her anger. “You expect us to believe that after you tried to get one over us, you bastard?!”

“Now, don’t say that.” Reinhart shook his head. “I just had to take the initiative. After all, if you had gotten your hands on this pill first, would you have been willing to listen to me?”

“So what?!” Narcha still seemed skeptical. “You’re just willing to hand over a priceless pill like that and not use it for yourself?!”

“I didn’t say I was just handing it over. Of course, I would love to keep this pill for myself, but… Let’s just say there are things I care about more than cultivation.”

Red felt at that moment that Reinhart almost had a sad expression as he said that. Still, it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.

“As long as it’s within our Sect’s capabilities, we can repay you in any way you want, Master Reinhart.” Eiwin said.

Reinhart laughed. “Now, don’t be ridiculous. We both know that your entire Sect’s treasury wouldn’t be enough to exchange for a pill like this.” he looked at Narcha. “And to someone like you, this pill is more precious than any kind of valuable, isn’t it?”

Narcha’s eyes twitched. “Just tell us what you want, you fucking bastard!”

“It’s simple. I’m not willing to do an exchange with your sect, but I am willing to do an exchange with the three of you… I need you to do something for me, though.”

The knight’s smile disappeared as he took on a serious expression.

“Help me kill Hector, and I will give this pill to you.”