Volume 2 Chapter 4: Part 1: Adventuring

The next day, Onyx wakes up. So comfy. He stretches his arms into the air as he looks out the window. The sky is still dark outside. But Onyx didn't mind.

In his room, there's a large bed and a small table. All in all, it's a comfy room. Onyx gets out of his bed. Oh, I almost forgot. He wears the ring and injects mana into it, changing his hair back to navy blue.

Onyx walks downstairs, "Good morning, owner."

He can see someone moving around behind the counter. Hearing his greeting, the woman gets up from the counter. She smiles, "Oh, you're up, Onyx." Her light brown-red hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her body has curves in all the right places.

Another mature beauty.

That's what everybody would say if they looked at her. Her name is Mary, the innkeeper and master of the Crescent Moon inn.

"You should sleep some more. It's too early to be awake right now." Mary quips. Usually, the customers will wake up much later than this.

"It's fine. I'm a light sleeper." He's usually a heavy sleeper. But that all changed when he lived in the royal capital. It turned him into a light sleeper. Onyx would get up even before the sun had come up and trained.

"Let me help you with that." Noticing the goods next to her, Onyx walks and picks them up.

"Ahh, you don't have to do anything like this. I don't want to be a hassle." Onyx shakes his head,

"It's fine. This much is nothing." Onyx says as he carries the crates with one hand. Compared to his fight with the blood kongs, holding these crates is nothing.

"Thank you so much. You're such a good kid." If it had been another adventurer, they would just ogle her and keep eating their food.

"I wish my child would learn a thing from you." Seeing how mature and bright Onyx is, Mary can only shake her head.

Onyx scratches his face when he hears that. But then he asks, "Where is Ms. Rebecca?" Rebecca is Mary's daughter and works as a waiter for the inn.

"That child is still sleeping. Oh, speak of the devil." As Mary was going to say more, she and Onyx heard footsteps coming their way. It's loud and fast.

"Mom! Have you seen my under-" A maroon-haired beauty came running from the side? Before she could finish her sentence, she froze! Her expression turns blank as she locks eyes with Onyx and Mary.

Onyx smiles, "Good morning, Ms. Rebecca."

"Goodness. Aren't you holding onto your underwear right now?" Unlike Onyx, Mary raises her eyebrows, wondering what she meant.

"HHEEEEEEEEEEEE!" But Rebecca never answered them back. Rather she screeches as she runs away from the two! But how can Rebecca not? The only thing she's wearing is a nightgown that goes up to her knees.

What's more, she held onto some bright red underwear as she walked out.

"..." This was a sight for Onyx. He was stunned, speechless. This was a first for him. A girl screeched out for dear life as she ran away.

Well, this kind of scenario isn't the first. The same thing happened with Irene and him. But her reaction to it was,

Aww. Onyx, do you want to see my underwear?

The two's reactions were heaven and earth. Judging from how Rebecca acted, that should be the norm.

"Sorry about my girl. She's always a clutz at a time like this." Mary can only shake her head.

"It's ok. This isn't the first time Ms.Rebecca yelled at me." Onyx wry laughs. Just yesterday, when Stewart introduced him to this inn, the first person who greeted him was Rebecca.

"Welcome to-" The moment she made eye contact with Onyx, there was a pause. And then, she screeched out, causing everybody to back away and stare at them.

That was a whole ordeal Onyx and Stewart had to deal with.

"Yeah, sorry about this as well." Mary can only give him a wry smile. Remembering the scene, she didn't expect her daughter would scream out like that.

"It's ok. Anyways, where do you want me to put the crates?" Onyx's still carrying the crate in his hand.

"Ahh. Could you put those goods in the back of the storage room?" Onyx nods and begins to move the crates.

It only took a few minutes for Onyx to move all the boxes.

"Thank you so much, Onyx! It would have taken me twice the time to carry all these crates."

As Mary helped Onyx, she couldn't help but be surprised. He carried the same number of crates she was.

But his speed was double the time as well.

"As thanks, I'll double your portions for breakfast."

"Thank you, owner. Also, can I use the courtyards in the back?" Onyx woke up so early because his body wanted to train. Just moving crates was not enough.

Mary smiles, "Go ahead. You can use the courtyard. Just don't wreck the flowerbeds I cultivated."

"Understood." Onyx doesn't need to say anything else as he goes to his room and takes his sword out.

...

"Wow, you're up and early, Onyx?" As Onyx swings his sword, a familiar voice calls out to him. He turns around to see it's Stewart.

"I can say the same thing to you as well. Shouldn't you be resting?" Onyx smiles.

"You know me. I can sit still. And the injuries are almost healed. Those herbs you gave me really did the trick." For the most part, Stewart's injuries healed before Muriel and Etta got the potions. Those fruits Onyx gave him healed most of his wounds.

The only reason they are resting is mental fatigue.

"I see." Onyx smiles as he continues to swing his sword around. Seeing how focused he was, Stewart asked,

"Don't you get bored just swinging your sword?" Even when Onyx slept in their base, Onyx would practice swinging his sword there too.

"I'm the same as you. Practicing has become second nature to me. Not doing it for a day doesn't sit well for me." Boring isn't a word he can use; it has become a habit.

"I see. But how about you do something different for a change?"

"Hmm? What do you have in mind?"

"How about it? Do you wanna spar?" Stewart says with a grin on his face.

"Are you sure you are ok to spar?" Onyx gives him a weird expression. So that's why he got his sword.

"Of course. And besides, if I don't get some practice, my skills will rust. Even when we were coming back, I didn't do anything." Stewart was placed in the rear guard position.

But there was no monster coming his way.

All of them were going after Onyx. So he was just left there without anything to do. He couldn't stand it.

"Does Etta know about this?" The moment Onyx mentioned her name, Stewart's expression dropped a peg.

"She must never know about this." Onyx steps back from him. His expression was soulless, devoid of life. Just looking at it was enough for Onyx to understand what kind of punishment awaited him.

"Either way. I want to have a spar with you!"

"With me?"

"Mmhmm mmhmm." After watching Onyx fight with the guild master, who wouldn't be excited? That fight was just brilliant.

Like the others, it lit a fire in his heart.

Stewart wanted to fight Onyx. He wanted to see how far he could go against him.

"Alright, I don't mind." Hearing his words, Stewart jumps over the fence and gets his sword ready.

"Also, make sure not to destroy any of those flower beds. Mary's going to kill us if we do that."

"Don't worry about that. You don't think I don't know about this?" Living here before, Stewart understands how much Mary values her flowerbed. Just thinking about it was enough to make him shiver.

"Onyx, don't ever touch those flower beds. Trust me, don't end your life like that."

"...Understood." Onyx doesn't want to question it. He raises his sword and points it at Stewart, "Ready?"

"Always." Stewart brings up his sword and dashes towards him! Onyx raises his sword up and blocks his blow.

He didn't budge at all. Then, Onyx pushes him away.

What force! Stewart knew about Onyx's strength from his fight with Oliver. But he didn't expect something like this. His hands are shaking as he grips his sword.

There's no technique or skills to what Onyx did. He just pushed him away with pure power.

He's stronger than Barett. That's the only thought Stewart has in his mind. When comparing their strongest member, Barrett, Onyx is a notch above him!

Thinking this, Onyx slashes towards Stewart's ribs. It's a quick snap. But Stewart quickly dodges the blow by rolling away.

You're not getting away! Onyx was going to chase after him.

But he doesn't need to.

Stewart's the one to retaliate as he charges at Onyx, and a fury of stabs comes flying at Onyx!

Onyx pulls back and dodges all of his strikes with ease. But Stewart isn't done as he swipes down at Onyx's legs, making him fall to the ground!

Then, the assault came raining down on Onyx again. Well, it was. Onyx quickly jumps out of his range and swings wide to push Stewart away.

Speed type? No, maybe an all-rounder. Speed and power: Stewart might be a cut lower than Onyx. But Stewart was much more balanced, making things a bit more tricky.

Onyx smiles. But he disappears from his position. Appearing right in front of Stewart, Onyx slices vertically at his body! But Stewart realizes this and takes a few steps back, away from the sword's range.

Gotcha! Stewart slams his blade down at Onyx, destroying everything around it.

But that's what Onyx wants. Onyx grabs Stewart's arm, twisting his body; he drops Stewart to the ground. A second later, a sword is pointed at Stewart's throat.

"Looks like I win." Hearing his words, the only thing Stewart can do is wave his hand up in defeat. Onyx gets off of Stewart and extends his hand to Stewart.

Stewart grabs his hand and gets off the ground, "You beat me so easily."

Stewart isn't mad at all that he lost. With how he fought with the guild master, there was no way he could beat Onyx. But it was a little frustrating to lose so quickly.

But Onyx shakes his head, "Not true at all. I beat you because you didn't know what kind of moves I got." Fighting someone you don't know will make the opponent cautious. Onyx just used this to his advantage to take Stewart down.

"Anyways, you shouldn't be so focused on me. Look over there." Onyx gives a wry smile as he points at a smiling Mary. But that smile wasn't showing any light.

Instead, it's like a ticking time bomb!

"Mary, why are you here?!" Stewart's voice was full of surprise. But it's nothing compared to the stuttering overshadowing it. Mary's aura is just that imposing!

"I've been here when the two of you started to spar." With Onyx's help, she finished her work faster than she anticipated. Because of this, she went out to look at the two sparrings.

"Stewart, it's been so long since you came here. And the first thing you do when you come back is break my courtyard?" Maria's smiling just brought shivers down Stewart's spine.

Stewart looks around, and there he sees the aftermath. The flower beds are safe and out of harm. But the other parts of the courtyard took a beating of a lifetime!

"Fix up the courtyard by the end of the day. Or do you want me to tell Etta about what happened here?"

"Yes! I'll fix it up!" The second option is a death wish! Stewart nods like a bobblehead. But then he notices something wrong, "Onyx, where are you going?!"

"I'm going to eat my breakfast," Onyx said like there's nothing wrong.

"But you blew up the ground as well!"

"Not true. My sword never touched the ground."

"Huh?"

"He's right, Stewart. Onyx was only throwing body slashes at you. His sword never touched the ground." Being on the sideline, Mary saw everything. Onyx never used moves that would hurt the ground and continue to attack Stewart's upper body.

"..." Seriously?! Now that he hears it, Stewart realizes Onyx never actually smashes his sword on the ground. But now, he just looks at Onyx in shock. This guy is a monster. Not only did he lose, but he lost by a large margin. Onyx only gives him a smile and a gusto pose,

"Good luck."

...

"Ughh." After a few minutes, Stewart came back into the inn. There, he slams his head down on the table.

"Good job out there." Onyx smiles. But that's the worst thing to do now.

"You left me out there to do it myself!" Stewart gives him a resentful look. Fixing the ground was like a puzzle game. He had to piece together rocks to make a flat floor.

"It's not my fault. You were the one who broke the ground." Onyx shrugs his shoulders. Before he can say anything else,

"Your food's ready!" Mary comes from the kitchen and places the two large plates in front of them. Each one was stuffed full of food.

Huh? When did I order this? Stewart looks down at the plate of food handed to him. And then he looks up at Onyx, who gives him a smile,

"My treat. Now let's eat." Hearing Onyx's words, Stewart looks at him like a saint!

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