However, Moss’s beautiful reunion with his parents was short-lived. The following morning, Moss packed his luggage and said goodbye to his parents before leaving.
After seeing Moss off, Moss’s father, Ray, immediately called his father, Lloyd. Ray called Llyod to tell him beforehand that Moss would be in Black Panther City soon, even though he knew his son wanted to surprise Lloyd.
Ray did that because he knew Lloyd would be disappointed if he didn’t make adequate preparations for his grandson, who spent a lot of effort visiting. If Lloyd couldn’t make the necessary preparations, Ray would have to face Lloyd’s lectures.
“Hey, Dad. How’ve you been? I have some good news for you!”
Ray dared not call his father when Moss participated in the professional competition because he feared his father would worry too much.
Lloyd was worried when Moss awakened his knight class and almost went to White Deer City to persuade his grandson otherwise.
“What’s the good news?” An emotionless voice came from the other end of the call.
“Moss is heading to Black Panther City to conquer a Mystic Realm and is coming to visit you after that. He didn’t tell you because he wanted it to be a surprise,” Ray said. However, Ray didn’t tell his father that the Mystic Realm was three stars.
“Oh?! That’s great! Thanks for telling me!”
“All right, got it. I’ll hang up now. The phone bill isn’t cheap.”
Ray revealed a smile when he heard his father’s joyous tone.
…
Meanwhile, Moss, who had just arrived at the bus stop, suddenly received a call from Mill. “You haven’t gotten on the bus yet, right Moss?”
Moss quickly replied when he heard Mill’s anxious tone on the other end of the call, “N-No, not yet. What’s wrong?”
Mill’s hurried tone came from the phone, “Moss, my family verified that the Mystic Realm you mentioned is indeed a new one. Also, according to a reliable source, the Mystic Realm will open twelve to twenty-four hours earlier!”
Moss frowned, looked at his watch, and said, “Does that mean the Mystic Realm will open at noon?!”
“Yes!” Mill hastily replied.
“Then it’s already too late to take the bus!” Moss realized the seriousness of the matter.
“Stay where you are, Moss. I’m in my family’s car, and we’ve already left the house. I’ll meet with you after I pick up the rest of our team.”
Moss was a little anxious a moment ago but revealed a mysterious smile after hanging up the phone. A moment later, two black limousines carrying the five members of the new Team Moss sped toward the Arabesque Mountains southeast of Black Panther City.
After that small interlude, the other four members felt the influence of Mill’s family.
“Wow, Mill, your family’s car is so luxurious. There are five of us here, but there’s still a lot of space!” Alan said.
Although Alan’s family was also well off, there was still a gap between his and Mill’s family. Also, Alan’s family gradually marginalized Alan and his mother. But Alan was used to it.
“It’s great that we’re riding in a comfortable luxury car like this!” Baylon was sincerely excited.
Baylon was the only person besides Moss to come from a low-income family. He again realized how lucky he was to become teammates with Moss and the others.
Meanwhile, the usually quiet Bass remained silent. He was the grandson of the Black Earl archer family, and they placed high hopes on him.
Still, after experiencing the Red Earl great swordsman family’s influence, he saw the gap between his family and Mill’s. Bass felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier.
“It’s good that you are all enjoying yourselves. It happened so suddenly, so thank you all for understanding.” Mill was embarrassed by what the others said, especially when she saw Moss smiling at her. Therefore, Mill hurriedly put two sentences together, which she wasn’t satisfied with.
There was a two-minute silence in the limousine after Mill finished speaking. Mill took the initiative to speak when she noticed how silent the others were, “S-So, should we give our team a name?”
“That’s a perfect suggestion, Mill!”
“Our school only addressed us as Team Moss and Team Mill when we participated in the professional competition. It wasn’t as nice when compared to the Super Whirlwinds and Crimson Fires.”
“Our team names didn’t even match our performance at all!” Alan passionately echoed the others’ words. Then he suggested a name, “Why don’t we call ourselves the Little Dragon Gods of White Deer High?!”
“To think that you came up with such a ridiculous name.”
“That doesn’t roll off the tongue now, does it? That’s not creative enough!”
…
Then Mill suggested they call themselves The Guardians. She chose that name because Moss was their core member, who was a knight. Knights were also the first class to exist and the embodiment of humanity’s desire to protect each other. Everyone readily agreed to their new team name. Thus, The Guardians were born.
Since then, the atmosphere in the limousine had become increasingly lively. The five youngsters also opened their hearts to each other.
Time flew by amid joy and laughter, and unbeknownst to them, the limousine had arrived at the Arabesque Mountains range southeast of Black Panther city. Their car parked directly in front of the Mystic Realm entrance.
The Guardians didn’t want to expose the Mystic Realm entrance, so Mill arranged for the two limousines to park elsewhere. Meanwhile, Moss’s admiration for Mill increased when he saw that.
“Wow, this place is secluded!”
“That’s right. Only a few come to the Arabesque Mountains. Even hunters and herbalists rarely come to such a desolate land.”
“Also, this cave is very hidden.”
After a series of oohs and ahhs, The Guardians became even more impressed by Na’er and Elroy’s ability to obtain information.
“There’s still an hour before the Mystic Realm opens, so let’s enter the cave and discuss our plans.”
When the rest of the team finished removing their equipment from one of the limousines, Moss waved his hand and led everyone into the cave.
During that time, five to six teams led by the Thunderbolt Squad from Black Panther City and various teams from other cities who knew about the three-star Mystic Realm also rushed over.
Although the Mystic Realm was quite hidden, it was a three-star Mystic Realm, and it would attract many people’s attention when its whereabouts leaked.
…
There were many people in Black Panther City’s market. Although it was a town, it was the largest market in Black Panther City.
Llyod was strolling around with his hands behind his back, carrying a basket full of joy. Then an older gentleman in a well-dressed yellow shirt saw Llyod smiling.
“That’s strange. What makes an arrogant and stern man like yourself smile?” out of curiosity, Michaeli approached Llyod. “What brings a miser like you to the market today, Lloyd?”
“Hahaha. My grandson is on his way to conquer a Mystic Realm. Then he’ll visit me after that. I want to make some preparations for his appearance!” Lloyd said to his long-time nemesis, Michaeli.
“What a coincidence! My grandson is leading the Thunder Squad to a new three-star Mystic Realm. How many stars is your grandson’s Mystic Realm?”
Lloyd paused when he heard that. He realized he didn’t know how many stars Moss’s Mystic Realm was. Michaeli noticed Llyod was silent, so he assumed Llyod’s grandson was going into a two-star Mystic Realm and that Llyod was embarrassed to admit it.
“Lloyd, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about if your grandson is going to a lower-level Mystic Realm. I’ll treat you to a mean in my house when my grandson conquers the three-star Mystic Realm.” Then Michaeli proudly left without waiting for Llyod’s reply.