Asher, Adam and Noah talked for some more time and joking with each other, they all went to their rooms.

Asher also reached his room, fell onto his bed, and muttered, "Time to prepare for a sea journey, I guess. I could probably fly there, but still, I should enjoy everything I can. Sadly, there are no pirates in this world, or maybe I would have become a bounty hunter or the King of Pirates," before falling asleep.

After a week.

Things in the Academy remained normal, except for the daily teasing Adam directed at Noah after finding out the name of the girl. During class, while Adam was teasing Noah, both of them were caught by Professor Elisa and had to spend one lecture outside of class, along with some punishment in the form of a deduction of merits that could affect their reports—and that was serious for them. It was serious for everyone except Asher, obviously; his merits were already in the negative due to his continuous behaviour in class. He didn’t care about anything unless it risked getting him expelled, and the Academy couldn’t exactly expel him for those things.

Meanwhile, in the Church, according to Solarius’s instructions, some members of the Church were trying to find a healer who met all the requirements mentioned in the letter by the mad scientist.

...

Westvale

It was a small town, away from the developed cities.

Most of the population of the town were mundane people who did normal jobs; some were farmers.

It was a peaceful town. It was not under any Noble, but instead was managed by the branch of the Church present in the town.

Most of the members of the Church were also from the town, so everyone was friendly with each other. There were some forests around them, also inhabited by beasts, but most of these were low-rank and hardly posed any danger or disturbed the population of the town.

And even if some did, they would be killed by the Cultivators present in the town, or those from the Church.

In one of the forests near the town.

A group of four people were fighting against a Platinum 1-star rank beast. The beast was a ten-meter-long snake. All four of them were in their forties—one woman and three men. Two of the men had Platinum 1-star cultivation, and the other two had Platinum 2-star cultivation.

The snake had thick silver-grey scales and glowing green eyes, and it moved fast for its size, coiling and lashing its tail to try and crush its attackers.

"Watch its tail!" the woman shouted, thrusting her hand forward as mana surged from her palm, sending sharp stone spikes up from the ground beneath the beast. It reared back with a hiss.

One of the Platinum 1-star men rushed in and slashed at its underside with a mana-infused blade, drawing blood. The snake shrieked and whipped its tail around, striking the other Platinum 1-star cultivator and sending him back.

"Hold the formation!" one of the Platinum 2-star men shouted, stepping forward. He channeled mana into his spear and thrust it toward the beast’s skull.

The snake dodged at the last second, and the spear only grazed it. Enraged, it lunged.

That was when the second Platinum 2-star cultivator, distracted by his fallen comrade, reacted a moment too late. The snake’s fangs sank into his forearm before he could pull back, and venom spread into his blood instantly.

He gritted his teeth, yanked his arm free, and slammed a mana-charged fist into the beast’s head, finally killing it.

For a moment, no one spoke.

"You alright?" the woman asked, rushing over to check the bite mark, which was already swelling.

"Stings like hell, but it’s not too serious," he said. "We should get moving before it spreads further, though."

"Can you walk?" one of the Platinum 1-star men asked.

"I can walk. Let’s not waste time talking about it," he replied, already heading toward the tree line.

The woman nodded and followed. "We’ll send someone back for the beast later. Getting you to a healer matters more."

The group moved quickly through the forest, the injured man’s steps growing heavier as the venom spread, but the town, and the Church branch within it, wasn’t far now.

After some time, they reached the front of the Church branch and were just about to enter when a car stopped, and two people stepped outside. They were members of the Church, judging by their attire.

They looked at the group, and then one of the men asked, "Who is in charge of this branch now, and why isn’t he replying to our messages?"

The woman thought internally, ’Why are you even asking us that?’ But sensing that both of them were Master rank, she replied respectfully, "This Church branch is under Master Lucifer now, after he broke through to Master rank a month ago. He’s just... a little unique."

The two men exchanged a glance at that last remark.

"Unique how?" the second man asked.

"You’ll understand once you meet him," the woman said carefully, choosing not to elaborate further. "For now, we need to get my companion inside—he’s been bitten by a venomous beast and needs treatment."

The man glanced at the bite mark and said, "Platinum venom, not fatal but shouldn’t be ignored either." He stepped aside. "Go, we will talk to your branch head ourselves."

The woman nodded and hurried inside with her group, while the two men stood there, still wondering what "a little unique" meant.

The group went inside to get their companion treated and find Master Lucifer.

Inside, the branch looked normal, a few Church members walking around, some healers tending to minor injuries. One of the members guided them toward the back where the treatment rooms were.

"Master Lucifer, we have an injured cultivator, Platinum venom," the member called out, knocking on the door.

"Bring him in," a voice replied from inside.

Just then the two master rank member from other branch also entered inside.