Chapter 70: Ranks

’It knows me? It said someone told it about me, is it Yenna? Are they close? What the hell happened?’ Her whole world was spinning from the pressure and her voice was stuck in her throat. She had no excuse, one wrong move and it could be the end of her.

“Are you not?” Jia got up, rethinking her approach. “Hmm, this is so annoying.”

’Yes, please just leave.’ She thought, her heart beating loudly. She really did not want to deal with this.

“Your heart is beating pretty fast.” It leaned in again, its eyes piercing through her. “So you are her, or is it the other girl over there? No, something tells me it is you.” It grabbed her by the hair, pulling her mere inches from its face. “Are you Jolly? Answer truthfully or you will die.”

Jolly nodded, her whole body trembling. ’Dammit, is this punishment for my sins?’

“So it really is you, huh… My name is Jia, and I have met both Yenna and Vell. They are good humans. Vell might be rough around the edges, but Yenna… she is pure. So why… why did you treat her so badly?” She backed off, shoving her against the tree.

“Wait, please, I can explain. The person she told you about, that was not me. I had corrupted mana inside my body which was used to control me. I did not treat her badly by choice, I do not even remember treating her badly… it is not my fau-… it is my fault she ended up the way she did, I am sorry.” She finally accepted it. Even though she was being mind-controlled, she still had to accept what she did.

“Why are you apologizing to me for? Look, I do not want to get between your drama, I just wanted to confirm if you are really her. It is not like Yenna told me everything about you two, it was just bits of what she felt. I do not know what you did, but you must be twisted to have done it to someone like her. Well, whatever, get out of our forest, my queen has no time for weaklings like you.” She turned to leave, but Jolly could not lose this opportunity.

“Can I please meet them? We came all this way looking for them… please?”

Jia stopped mid-step, her back to Jolly. The air around them was still, heavy with tension. A faint rustling of leaves filled the silence as Jolly clung to her hope.

“You want to meet them?” Her voice was sharp, almost mocking. She turned her head slightly, just enough for Jolly to catch a glint of her piercing gaze. “Why? To beg for forgiveness? Or to make excuses?”

“…I need to explain myself,” she said, her voice trembling but determined. “Yenna deserves to know the truth, and Vell… he deserves to know I mean no harm. I do not want to run anymore. I want to fix this—if it is even possible.”

Jia tilted her head, scrutinizing her with an unreadable expression. “Fix it? Do you even know how deep her scars are? Do you have the slightest idea what your actions—or your inactions—did to her?”

Jolly bit her lip, her head dropping. “No,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I do not know. But I want to. I need to try. Even if it is too late for forgiveness, I need to face her.”

Jia let out a sharp exhale, somewhere between a scoff and a sigh. “You are not going to find redemption with a half-baked apology and some teary-eyed plea. But…” she trailed off, tapping her clawed fingers against the bark of a nearby tree. “Fine. I will give you a chance. A single one.”

Her heart leaped. “Thank you—”

“Do not thank me yet,” Jia cut her off coldly. “They are not even here, you are going to have to wait until they come back. In the meantime, you can both stay with us.” She turned to continue walking. “Pick up your friend and follow me, and remember one thing, do not show disrespect in front of the queen.” Her expression showed that if they did not follow her words, she would cut them down without a second thought.

’Will this be okay? When master overheard Yenna telling me about Jolly, I could sense a deep hatred filled with bloodlust coming from him. Is there something more to the story that even Yenna does not know? I hope this is not a mistake.’ She thought as they made their way back to their base.

Back in the dungeon.

The duo has been hunting monsters for what felt like days now, their strength has risen higher than they expected, and their teamwork has also improved. But it is not only them, his beasts have also been leveling up.

“Alright kids, that is enough for today, let us head back.”

“Coming, dad!” Two girls said at the same time. They ran towards him, looking like twins, from the outfit to the purple hair, everything about them was identical, but Vell knew who was who. They hugged him, looking up at him with happy expressions while Wren watched from the back, looking jealous.

“Nice work, let us go eat, I am starving,” he said, patting their heads with a happy smile on his face. ’Yeah, this is nice. I did not expect them to evolve when they woke up, all my kids are full of surprises. Though,’ He looked at Wren with a knowing smirk, “someone seems a little left out. Come here, Wren.”

Wren crossed her arms, pouting slightly as she walked over. “I am not jealous or anything,” she muttered, though the slight blush on her cheeks betrayed her.

He crouched down, pulling her into a hug. “I know, but you are still part of this family. Do not ever forget that.” She softened up, hugging him tightly.

Yenna watched them from afar with a smile while carrying a large monster. “Hey, we need to get moving, this is a dangerous section, remember!” she yelled, disturbing their moment.

He looked over at Yenna and chuckled. “Alright, alright, we are coming. You sure that thing is not too heavy for you?”

She smirked, effortlessly tossing the massive creature onto her other shoulder. “Not even close. You are forgetting who taught me to handle these.”

“Fair enough,” he replied, standing and beckoning the girls to follow. “Let us move, kids. Yenna is right—this place is not exactly picnic-friendly.”

As they walked, the twins, Mira and Sia, chattered excitedly about the day’s hunt, comparing who landed the bigger strikes. Wren stayed close to Vell, her usual aloof demeanor cracking just a bit as she listened in.

“Do you think we will find anything stronger next time?” Mira asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“Stronger or not, you will still need to keep your heads on straight,” he reminded them. “Strength is not everything if you do not know how to use it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sia waved a dismissive hand, “but come on, Dad. We handled today’s hunt like pros!”

He smirked. “Sure you did, but do not forget you have got others watching your backs. Teamwork is what got us through, not just brute force.”

“Kayy,” they said happily.

Current party ranks:

Vell – High Apprentice

Yenna – Mid Apprentice

Wren – Mid Apprentice

Mira – Low Apprentice

Sia – Low Apprentice

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep