Chapter 67: Chapter 143 – Reunion

Gazing around at the desolate, open terrain, the party slowly made their way through the flat dunes. Miria couldn’t stop gawking at the huge pyramids, shooting her gaze between the three towering structures in turns, stopping the longest at the one closest to them.

The fires at their top burned as strong as during the night and the flames of different colors could be easily spotted, especially in the dark red sky. The green, yellow, and blue tongues danced wildly in the wind present at their height, holding firmly against the violent gusts.

Ast’s party carefully descended the even crater, watching out for any signs of potential moving sands or spots with less stable footing. It took them around five minutes to comfortably reach the bottom and step onto the wide disc down there.

The sand and the hardened, natural formations of sandstone showed signs of research and excavation here and there. It was obvious that plenty of people had come here to investigate this place. Even Asterios felt like leaving such a wide-open area completely empty was kind of weird.

But, who knew what the constructors of the three pyramids had thought back then. They looked to be spread equally from each other, around the weird funnel in the ground. Perhaps something had been here in ancient times, or the crater was a result of some big event. Or, maybe, it was how deep people had excavated this place over the ages.

One thing was for sure; whoever came here, respected the place greatly. There was no litter, trash, or even leftover pieces of used-up equipment lying around anywhere in sight. There were traces of tents and shacks but the remains were tidied up properly.

Currently, only one wooden workshop stood alone on the semi-flat surface at the bottom of this crater. It seemed like not that many people were still willing to waste their time here, in the very middle of the Tri-Valor Valley. The pyramids most likely held more discoverable secrets in people’s eyes than this place.

Ast’s group headed straight for the archeological studio, hoping to find Radir inside. It was a little easier to walk here as the ground was more stable and tough. They could notice traces of someone focusing on certain spots at various points, but the sand quickly covered their efforts back after being left untouched for a day or more.

As they traversed the desert, a man left the hut with a hurried step, heading out somewhere. They were close enough to take notice of his red skin and a horn, which partially fit the image of Grea’s subrace of demons, Dahaka. He had shoulder-long black hair and wore a long, black coat.

“That could be him, Master!” Miria pointed at the person. “Should we follow him?”

“Yes, but let’s try to avoid looking hostile. A group of five walking straight up to a single person might be slightly anxiety-inducing,” Asterios replied.

Therefore, they continued closing on the man while making sure they weren't staring him down like some prey. It wasn’t that hard with Miria and Silvia acting like tourists, turning their heads around to admire the scenery. Selene clung to Asterios to give them a look of a close couple and he welcomed the idea.

Soon, the man seemed to arrive at the spot he had been heading for and laid a few bags down, kneeling beside them. He went to work on something at that place, which they couldn’t exactly see as he had his back to them.

Asterios and the rest of the team walked up to him while making some noise to notify the researcher about their presence. The man jerked and stopped removing the sand in front of him with a thick brush. He craned his neck to the back to peek over his shoulders.

“Hello!” Miria waved at him with a beaming smile. “Are you Mister Radir?”

She looked the most friendly out of them so they left the greeting to the cheerful panthergirl.

The man’s eyes widened a little and he raised himself in a flash, spooking everyone a bit with the sudden motion. He dropped the brush, turned around, and started dusting off his dark shirt and black leather coat.

Everyone could see him much better. He had a long, charming face. Just like Grea, his eyes had no pupils or irises and glowed lightly in a red hue. On top of his nose, a pair of round spectacles assisted his vision. A vertical horn poked proudly from the left side of his head. Naturally, he had a Third Eye too, currently closed.

He made a small, courteous bow with a wave of his hand. 

“Radir Asgeir, at your service.”

Then, he stepped closer to Asterios.

“Especially to you, m’lady.” He slowly reached out towards Selene’s hand, which lay on Ast’s forearm. “It’s an honor and grace to meet such an exquisite madam. Would you mayhaps be interested—”

Before he could make contact with her though, Ast’s palm appeared on the man’s chest and stopped Radir from moving any closer, interrupting his speech.

“I would advise you against—”

“With all due respect,” Radir, in turn, interrupted Asterios while glancing at him with one brow raised, “I think it’s the lady’s right to present her opinion on this matter, not yours, dear sir. Unless you are preventing her from doing so? Are you?”

Asterios raised both of his hands into the air while shaking his head and stepping aside. Selene’s arms slid off him and she crossed them under her chest.

Radir cleared his throat, smiled charmingly, and faced her again.

“Now, as I was saying, my lady, would you mayhaps be interested in accompanying me during my fascinating research? I assure you it can be very exciting.”

As he reached out to bring a kiss onto the top of Selene’s palm, he was interrupted again.

Selene's eyes flashed with white radiance and four more tails materialized behind her back. Radir didn’t have time to marvel over them because a mysterious force suddenly crashed onto him from above, shoving him down onto all fours. He barely stopped his face from slamming into the sand, clenching his teeth while trying to resist the immense pressure.

She then stepped onto the back of his head and connected the two fated lovers together with the sole of her foot.

“The next time you try to covet me or any of Master’s mates, I will make sure you won’t be able to even think about approaching a woman ever again,” she threatened the man with a cold, mighty tone.

Selene took her foot away and withdrew the spiritual pressure she had been putting on him, returning to Ast’s side and entwining her arms with his again.

Radir lifted his face off the ground and spat a mouthful of sand. With a wry smile, he stood up, fixing his spectacles back onto their proper place.

“Well… I’ll surely keep that in mind…” he answered awkwardly.

Miria giggled quietly behind her furry hand while Asterios’ expression spoke ‘I warned you’. He then reached into his pocket and brought out the pendant Grea had given to him. Radir’s face immediately stiffened and his eyes locked onto the trinket.

“Where did you get that?” he asked in a calm but icy tone.

“From a teacher, and a friend. I think you can guess who. She’s doing fine at the academy,” Asterios replied.

Radir sighed in relief before smiling. He moved closer and patted Asterios on the shoulder.

“You should have said you are Grea’s boyfriend right from the start! I would have never thought about getting between her and her man’s harem,” he said, glancing at the girls present around.

“They are not with me. At least not all of them,” Asterios replied.

Then, a crimson gate rose from the ground next to him and Bryn walked out of it, instinctively stretching her wings once after stepping out before folding them back again. Everyone’s gazes turned to her.

“Did I choose the wrong time? You said I could come whenever I had—”

“Sweet gods and goddesses… An Angel…” Radir whispered in awe. His face snapped to Ast’s. “Is she too?”

“Well, no, she isn’t but—”

But, Radir was already gone and in the process of making a courteous bow in front of the Valkyrie.

“Greetings, my lady. Would you mayhaps—”

“Stay away, you foul creature, before I call upon the Sacred Light to purge you!” Bryn pointed the tip of her spear-staff at his neck.

Asterios smiled wryly. It was expected. Demons were still new to her, with the only example being Svertaniel.

“He’s a man, like me,” he informed her. “Just a different race. Don’t kill him, please. He is important to us.”

“Oh. My apologies, then, Master.” Bryn withdrew her weapon and nodded politely.

Radir glanced back at Asterios with beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.

“Are all the chicks around you bat-shit crazy?”

Asterios chuckled. “And look who's talking.” He then sighed and recollected himself. “We need your help. Grea sent us to you because she believes you could be able to solve our problem, or at least shine some new light onto it.”

“She did? That’s rare. Which broken-hearted widow do I need to bring back from the depths of depression?”

Asterios rolled his eyes. “Sealing Magic.”

“Oh. I guess I’m decent at that too.” Radir smiled while fixing his spectacles again.

“If you would like, I can connect us with Grea, allowing her to join us as if she was here. As long as you allow my familiar to access parts of your brain.”

Radir raised his brows at him. “That sounds intriguing. Let’s do that.” He nodded enthusiastically. “Actually, on a second thought, let’s maybe not—”

But, it was too late. He had already let Umbra into his mind and Grea popped up amongst the crowd.

*SLAP*

She immediately made a wide swing and smacked the man right into his face strong enough to almost topple him, shocking everyone greatly.

“Ow! What was that for?!” he cried out, rubbing his cheek.

Grea put her hands on her hips. “For hitting on my friend’s girl. I know you well. You did, right?”

“You can’t just assume I did something and come in hand-swinging!” Radir protested.

“Did you?” She furrowed her brows.

“I mean, I did, but—”

Grea raised her hand again.

“Ay, ay, ay, ay! I’m sorry!” 

Her father covered his face and quickly jumped to hide behind Asterios, peeking over his shoulder.

She sighed and glanced at Asterios. “Sorry about that. He’s irredeemable.”

“It’s alright. Selene has already informed him that they do not wish to leave my side,” he replied.

The fox lady chuckled softly, making Radir shiver a little.

Grea showed her thumbs up, laughing openly. “Good job. Just beat his ass whenever he gets too annoying or uncooperative.”

You are reading story Rise of the Weakest Summoner at novel35.com

“Well then. Should we move on to the main topic of our meeting?” Miria asked, hugging Ast’s other side.

“Right. I need to go back soon.” Grea turned her face towards her father. “There’s a deity-level Memory Seal inside my friend’s mind. Please, take a look at it, but DO NOT fuck with it carelessly. I don’t have time to carry my ass over there to collect your ashes and bring them back to Mom’s grave. If even that much would be left of you. Got it?”

Radir’s eyes sparkled briefly. “You are not joking?”

“No, I’m dead serious. As dead as you will be if you don’t heed my warning. It’s really important to my friend. So much so that I will agree to forgive two of your transgressions. That would reduce their number to just eight.”

The man’s eyes turned into saucers. “Shit. This is serious.”

“Even so, we are not in a rush. If you are working on something here, we are fine assisting with it if you spare us some time to look at our issue too while we are at it,” Asterios added.

Radir rubbed his chin, nodded at him, and walked up to his daughter.

“Any leads? Test results? Unique reads?” he asked.

“He didn’t let me get too close to it in fear I would get hurt so not that much. I’ve never seen anything more complex, even in all your books. Yes, including that one. That shit is just inconceivable. Well, technically, he himself is too since—”

She glanced at Asterios and he smiled with a faint nod.

“—he is most likely a True Dragon. Or part, at least.”

“HE IS WHAT?!” Her father shouted, covering his mouth quickly and muffling his next words.

He then looked around anxiously.

“Don’t worry. We are speaking through Ast’s familiar, in our minds. You didn’t make a sound there,” Grea informed him. “Not like anyone would believe you, anyway.”

“You never know! There are plenty of evil figures that definitely would! You can’t be sure they aren’t listening to me!” he waved his finger at her. “But, that makes things much safer. Good.”

“I didn’t expect you to react so strongly, though.”

“Ah, right. AH! RIGHT!”

The man suddenly turned around and grabbed Ast’s black vest, pulling their faces close.

“Do you have Eyes of the World?! Do you?!” he shouted while shaking Asterios. “Ow!”

Another smack landed on the back of his head this time and Grea pulled her father away.

Miria and Selene fixed Ast’s clothes with warm smiles and pecked his cheeks. He shook his head and chuckled at their antics.

“I don’t know what that is but does seeing in grayscale and being able to discern traces of colorful magic in all things fit the description?”

“Yes! YES! That’s exactly it!” Radir screamed in joy before turning to his daughter. “There’s no doubt he is a True Dragon! Their special vision is what differentiates them from Lesser Dragons besides the slightly different shape.”

“Even though that’s great to hear, I never took you for a fanboy of any kind of Dragons,” Grea replied.

“You don’t understand! This,” he spun around with arms spread wide and a jubilant smile, “I think this whole place is one giant puzzle made by, and solvable only by, a True Dragon! This is what I have been lacking all these years! You are the key to this lock!”

Everyone glanced at each other while Radir kept spinning and laughing maniacally. Grea just sighed while rolling her eyes and giving Asterios an apologetic smile. He smiled back at her, letting her know telepathically that it was all fine.

“So, you think Asterios can help solve the bottleneck in your research. Do you think you would be able to help with his issue too?” Silvia joined the conversation, asking calmly.

Radir stopped his celebration and faced them again. “There’s nothing definite in magic but I swear I will go to all lengths required to aid your master if he agrees to cooperate with me on this.”

Asterios wanted to correct him but received a mental message that it was fine. Since they were connected through Umbra, Silvia could talk to him and everyone else. She thought this could serve as a safe cover for her and it wasn’t necessary to let Radir know she was just an adventurer.

He saw no reason to argue and agreed to keep things as they were if she wasn’t bothered by it. Asterios then noticed Grea’s father looking at him with a somewhat pleading expression so he raised a brow at the man.

“Could you… take a peek at this place with your draconic eyes?” Radir asked.

“Sure.”

Asterios closed his eyes and focused for a brief moment. It was getting easier to infuse them with the scorching hot energy as he had practiced using it within most of his organs and body whenever possible.

After a few seconds, he lifted his eyelids, and immediately scrunched his face, covering it with both forearms.

“Master?” Miria called to him with a slight trace of worry.

“I’m fine. Just… blinded. There’s an unbelievable amount of mana here. I can’t look at it from so close. It’s like gazing straight at a three-colored sun.”

“So, I was right! Hahahaha! Suck it, idiots!” Radir started celebrating again.

“Master, if you require assistance, I can carry you into the air with no problem,” Bryn stepped closer and suggested.

“I can do it too.” Selene joined.

“It’s alright. I need to practice flying anyway.” Asterios affectionately patted the fox lady’s head, fluffing her ears gently. “You don’t need to overexert yourself. I know it’s still hard for you to fly using spiritual energy.”

“Mmmmmm… I can make stairs too, but as you wish. Take Bryn with you, just in case.”

He nodded and the girls stepped back. The Valkyrie hadn’t yet seen Asterios fly so she wasn’t sure what was happening but followed everyone, curiously watching her master.

Asterios focused once more and slowly brought out his wings. It was still as painful as ever as they formed. He hoped it would get more bearable in the future. He couldn’t imagine Dragons suffering much worse torture each time they changed shapes between their true form and a humanoid one.

Bryn gasped seeing the draconic wings sprout from his back. She felt a bit uneasy at first from their dark colors and general vibes, but they quickly captivated her with how vastly different they were from hers. She had never seen anything like them.

Grea and Radir were stunned. The man’s jaw rested almost on the very ground from the shock. She hadn’t heard about Asterios having wings yet, quickly making a mental reminder to watch herself around Tina as she really didn’t want to spoil her the surprise.

Svertaniel marveled over them too but he had already heard about this from the girls and even witnessed Asterios practicing bringing them out a few times. He really wished to have something like that. It would have fit him greatly if only they were pure black or dark purple.

After making a few test flaps, Asterios nodded at everyone and launched himself into the air, kicking up a lot of sand with the gust of wind he created. Bryn quickly soared after him, getting ahold of her brief daze.

Turning his face up to the sky, Asterios opened his eyes and carefully lowered his gaze until the pyramids entered his sight. He didn’t want to get blinded by the blinding amounts of mana again. The Valkyrie soon caught up to him and they ascended together.

Flying high enough, they stopped side by side. Their wings flapped regularly to keep them up in the air. His were louder while hers made much softer and lighter sounds. Bryn couldn’t stop staring at Ast’s wings and comparing them to her own.

Asterios looked down at the ground far below them. He still winced. It was so damn bright. But, he could now make out a lot more.

Three colors dominated the view. Each pyramid emanated the same hue as the flame coming from the giant brazier at its top. So, green, yellow, and blue streaks of highly condensed mana riddled the area.

Amongst the chaotic mix of these energies, he could notice some patterns here and there. Some of the blocks making up the pyramids seemed to have symbols over them. There was certainly something more to these structures than it met the eye.

Additionally, the more he stared at the even, bowl-shaped crater in the middle, the more details he picked up. It looked like each pyramid was connected to the disc on the bottom by weird runic paths or something similar.

It was hard to examine because, even with his draconic eyes, the thick sand partially obstructed whatever it was down there, allowing him to spot only parts of it. Shallow trenches filled with energy in three colors clearly ran towards and around the plateau. 

There was no doubt. Radir was right. The middle held more importance than people thought.

“I don’t think I can figure any more out of this,” Asterios said. “Let’s go back.”

“Hm? Ah, yes. Let’s,” Bryn answered, blinking a few times.

“Anything wrong? Did you notice something?”

She shook her head. “No, Master. It’s only a desert to me, with three big buildings. I was just… looking at your wings. They are so different from mine.”

“They supposedly are draconic. There aren’t any Dragons around in your realm, are there?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, I apologize if they make you uncomfortable or anything. They aren’t as beautiful as yours. Perhaps even a little scary and repulsive to someone with such magnificent, soft, feathery wings.”

“B-Beautiful?” A very faint blush surfaced on Bryn’s cheeks. “They are nothing special… And yours aren’t ugly. They are different but it doesn’t mean they aren’t beautiful too. I think they suit you, Master.”

He smiled at her. “Thank you. Also, you are free to call me by name if you’d like. No pressure there. Miria loves using that so she does so a lot.”

“I’ll have it in mind, then. Asterios is a splendid name. I appreciate you giving me a choice as your contracted familiar.”

“You are welcome. I try to be as accommodating to my companions as possible. And, you are one as well.”

They nodded at each other with warm smiles.

“Now, race to the ground?” Asterios raised a brow at Bryn.

“A valkyrja never turns down a challenge!”

And they dove down at the same time.

 

You can find story with these keywords: Rise of the Weakest Summoner, Read Rise of the Weakest Summoner, Rise of the Weakest Summoner novel, Rise of the Weakest Summoner book, Rise of the Weakest Summoner story, Rise of the Weakest Summoner full, Rise of the Weakest Summoner Latest Chapter