Way of the Knights

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"Fifteen minutes is the limit huh…" Raven murmured as he saw the seal he created shattering on Kyrie's hand. 

Honestly, this time frame is a bit too short for his liking. It would've been nice if the seal lasted for at least an hour or two, that way it can be used for emergency. Fifteen minutes was way too short for people at his cultivation level to restore the energy they lost and the fatigue they accumulated. 

"This result is already terrific, Young Lord!" Kyrie said as she went back inside the formation. "If you can somehow place this seal into a material that could imprint the seal even without your personal interference, then fifteen minutes is already plenty. That's enough for anyone to activate the escape seal in order to retreat to Greece." Kyrie mentioned, having mixed feelings about this event. 

Seriously, this Young Lord of hers was too capable. This was his first visit at this place and he already deduced a way which allows him to resist the Curse of Wrath, this was simply too fantastic! At the same time, she was also feeling nervous since the more brilliance her Young Lord displays, the potential threat he imposes to his competitors rises. 

Just by being a 'Chosen' already places him in a very difficult position. Because he's weak, he will be intentionally targeted by the others. What if his competitors heard about his accomplishments this early? Wouldn't that place him under their radar sooner? It's even highly possible that they will join hands in order to take him down. 

If that happens then…

Kyrie doesn't even want to think about it. 

"Meh." Raven uttered, "Far from enough, if it had been at least an hour then I'd feel the same. Fifteen minutes is too short for me."

"No rush, though." Raven shrugged as he took out some dried rations from his spatial ring and ate them. "I already have an idea how to improve it. For now, I'll just focus on the mission." 

Kyrie nodded, satisfied with his way of thinking. She then simply stood there unmoving because there's really nothing else to do. 

She isn't tired nor does she need to recover her energies. Sitting on the ground would be stupid, she didn't want singe her buttocks. Unlike Raven, she didn't bring any furniture with her and he isn't inviting him to sir either so, stand it is. 

"This heat is really something else." Raven muttered as he felt himself sweating.  action

Asphodel was really hot. Even with his enhanced physique and all, he could still feel the heat coming out of the ground. This place is no different from the mouth of a volcano, in fact it's even worse. 

Being here made him realize as to why Inner Disciples can't stay here for long. He penetrating heat is just too much. It saps away energy fast. Raven wasn't even doing anything and he's sweating. 

Raven suddenly stood up and hummed. He then unceremoniously began shooting one seal after another towards the formation. This sudden action of his didn't escape Kyrie's eyes. 

Seeing how his turned into a blur as he shot one seal after another caused Kyrie's eyes to twitch. 

'I-Is he, modifying the array while it's active!?' Kyrie thought incredulously. 

Kyrie was no stranger to formations. In fact, she had ample knowledge about it since she could tell that Raven was precisely doing what she just thought. 

Seriously, her Young Lord was just full of surprises! It had to be known that what he's doing is something that even some Formation Grandmasters can't do. But just by looking at his seemingly disinterested expression, she got an impression that his actions were as easy as turning a palm for him. 

How could she not ne shocked? This Young Lord of hers is just simply an evil-doer!

Kyrie tried to discern what kind of seals he's forming but she couldn't, additionally she could tell that no matter how hard she tried she wouldn't be able to decipher them right away. Raven's speed of shooting out seals didn't give her that chance either, therefore she didn't even bother. 

Instead, she just remained silent and waited until her Young Lord was done. 

After a few minutes, something happened that caused Kyrie's body to shook. 

'I-Is it…it's getting colder!?' She once again though incredulously. Her gaze at Raven turned increasingly hotter as time passed by. 

'How is this possible!?' She exclaimed inwardly, she tried to feel the temperature around her once more in doubt but the fresh breeze of winds couldn't lie. 

'It truly was getting colder! How can this be!? How!? How did he do it?' She once again exclaimed. 

As if the experimental seal and the array being able to block the curse earlier wasn't enough to shock her into speechlessness, he just had to add this. Seriously, what's up with this guy? How was he raised? 

No one, and Kyrie meant, NOBODY ever succeeded in doing this before. If someone did, then she would've already known about it. Which is why she's confident that no one has ever succeeded before. 

Asphodel had been located inside Mount Olympus for god knows how long. The irritatingly hot environment of this place left many people with a lot of bad impressions before and the trend always continued that way.  Many tried, searching for a way to at least bring some comfort into this place but no one succeeded. 

Yet here he was - Raven that is…just casually modifying the array and succeeding in the area where everyone else failed. 

As time passed, Kyrie's shock grew even more. The fresh breeze of air eventually turned into winter breeze without the actual snow. She was shocked to see that the ground beneath her was cooling down as well. She even crouched down to touch it and found out that it's not as hot as before. 

Anybody could step in this soil barefooted and won't have to worry about being singed anymore. This was simply too outstanding!

Moments later, Raven finished modifying the array he had and smiled in contentment. He closed his eyes and felt and inhaled the cold air around him. 

"Much better…" Raven muttered while stretching his limbs. He then faced Kyrie and saw the dull look on her face, causing him to ask: "Are you okay?"

"In all honesty, Young Lord? No, I'm not." Kyrie shook her head and looked at Raven intently.

"Wait what? What's wrong? You don't like the cold? Want me to tone it down for you?" Raven asked while frowning. 

"It's not that Young Lord. It's just…" Kyrie felt like doing something but eventually sighed and asked: "I didn't know you can do…this. I mean, all of this." She said while gesturing at the formation and the slowly transforming environment within it.

"Don't you know that many tried to do this before to no avail? Yet you did, quite easily too. Honestly, I don't know what to say."

"Ah!" Raven finally understood what she's referring too. He scratched his nose and said: "Well, isn't it great? At least with this we can comfortably rest properly and take it easy. As for the details…well, that's secret for now. Don't worry, we'll profit from it in due time."

Kyrie puffed her cheeks slightly and felt somewhat discontented. Either way, it's not like Raven wasn't willing to tell her anything, in a way she knew why he's not telling her yet. Like he said, they'll profit from it later either way so there's no reason for her to feel anxious. 

"Take your time Young Lord." Kyrie advised. "You have 20 years of freedom so I suggest to take things slowly. I mean, this is all good and all but if you got discovered then…"

"My competitors will surely raise their vigilance…that I know, you don't need to tell me twice." Raven finished her sentence for her. He knew this and understood where she's coming from. "Well, if you don't start telling everyone then no one will know right? For now, this is just a whimsical action from me. Either way, it shouldn't be that bad."

Raven had a carefree expression on his face. Of course he understood that keeping a low-profile for now will eventually allow him to gain more advantages in the future, but at the same time what's going to happen will happen anyway, there's no need for him to hold himself back too much since it wouldn't be good for him mental state. 

"For now, let's just focus on the matter at hand. If they discover it, then they discover it. If they don't then, yay! Either way, I'm fine with it. Right now, instead of thinking about these things, how about we rest? The air is cool and all, this should allow us to sleep peacefully."

"You rest, Young Lord. I'll stay up and guard you." Kyrie suggested. 

"Are you sure?" Raven asked. 

"Yes."

"Okay. If you change your mind however, feel free to rest. The formation is strong enough to conceal us. You don't have to worry about anyone finding us out." Raven then pulled out a tent from his spatial ring. 

"I understand, Young Lord. Please have a good rest.." Kyrie acknowledge and she sat on ground and marveled at the fact that her buttocks weren't singed.