“Your birthday is almost here, Lux,” Gerald, the Commander of Wildgarde Stronghold, said with a smile. “Time sure flies. Back then, you were a sickly brat who fainted almost everywhere. Now, look at you! You look as handsome as I had been when I was your age. Hahaha!”

Lux smirked before drinking the tea that was offered to him by Natasha, who looked at Gerald as if he was delusional.

“After your birthday, the campaign to conquer the Gate of Famine will begin,” Natasha commented. “Have you made your preparations?”

“Yes,” Lux nodded. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Rainer, who was seated across Lux, put his teacup down on the table before sharing his thoughts.

“This time, things will be more serious,” Rainer stated. “I heard that you instructed Cai, Keane, and Xander to sell their quotas to the Skystead Alliance, Xynnar War Pact, and the Six Kingdoms.

“The representatives of Barbatos Academy will be led by Henrietta, while Val’s and Einar’s quotas will be used by their own respective factions. The Barbarians have decided that they’ll take this last gate seriously, and form a team centering around Einar as the leader. Val will be using his own quota to bring his Guild Members. It seems that everyone is making sure to seriously go all out with this last gate.”

Lux nodded. “Malcolm was also able to clear the Dungeon this last time, so the Skystead Alliance will have five additional slots open. All in all, the Skystead Alliance will bring 11 people, including Malcolm, on this expedition, while the Six Kingdoms and Xynnar War Pact will have five members each.”

Gerald blew his smoking pipe before looking at the Half-Elf, whose presence had changed considerably since the last time they met. Right now, the current Lux was giving off an aura of confidence that he hadn’t seen in a long while.

There were many confident teenagers who believed that they were the strongest members of the young generation, but there was something different with Lux’s confidence that made Gerald believe that he was currently one, if not the strongest member of the young generation.

“Are you worried that the Vahan Empire will pull something during the conquest of the Last Gate?” Gerald asked as he gave Rainer a side-long glance. “I believe that Nero will be participating this time as a representative of the Vahan Empire.”

“Good for him,” Lux replied. “Also, I’m not too worried about whatever shenanigans they’ve planned to do this time around. If they get in my way, I’ll just beat the crap out of them.”

Rainer scoffed. “You spoke with great confidence, and I believe that you have what it takes to back it up. However, Lux, remember this, you mustn’t be too overconfident. Underestimating your opponents is a very foolish move.”

Lux nodded his head in agreement with Rainer’s words.

“That’s right, Sir Rainer,” Lux replied. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

There was a slight tension in the air, which made Gerald and Natasha frown. Fortunately, the Cleric of the Stronghold was sharp and knew what she had to do, engaging Lux in a new topic.

“By the way, are you planning to sell your Quotas to the other factions?” Natasha inquired in order to change the subject. “It seems that the Skystead Alliance, Xynnar War Pact, and the Six Kingdoms are willing to pay a high price for the quotas in your possession.”

Lux didn’t answer right away and instead, drank all the tea in his cup before placing it on top of the table.

“I don’t plan to sell my quotas right now,” Lux replied. “I plan to bring a few people with me to the Dungeon.”

“Is that so?” Gerald puffed some white smoke from his pipe. “It seems that you’re also taking this campaign seriously. Who will you be bringing with you?”

“Friends,” Lux answered in a heartbeat. “Reliable friends.”

He had already planned to bring Gerhart and Cethus with him into the Domain of the Fallen. As for the remaining slots, he decided to give them to Barbatos Academy, so that Henrietta could bring more of her Guild Members inside the Dungeon, giving them more options when it came to forming their teams.

“Friends,” Natasha asked in a teasing tone. “Girlfriends? Have you already asked for Iris’ permission?”

Lux chuckled after hearing Natasha’s question. Although his Fiance was very open-minded, he wasn’t the kind of man who would actively look for a new lover as he journeyed through Elysium.

“I’m bringing men with me,” Lux replied. “One of them is Gerhart. I’m sure all of you are already familiar with him.”

The three Guardians of Wildgarde Stronghold nodded their heads. How could they possibly forget who Gerhart was?

His performance during the tournament was something that no one had expected.

An hour later, Lux left the Keep of the Wildgarde Stronghold and met up with Gerhart at the North Gate.

“Are we going to head to Barbatos Academy now?” Gerhart asked as soon as he saw Lux walking in his direction.

“No,” Lux replied. “We will pick up Cai and Keane in the Rowan Tribe first. I’m sure you also want to visit Sir Maximilian, so we’re headed there first.”

Gerhart felt happy when he heard that they would stop by the Rowan Tribe before going to the academy. There were so many things that he wanted to tell the Patriarch of the Rowan Clan, especially the things he experienced during his journey.

Although he had no family, the green-haired Half-Elf had treated the Rowan Tribe as his second home. This was why he was quite excited to see them again.

Two days later, Lux’s Thunder War King, Jed, landed in the Plaza of the Rowan Tribe, where he was met by an excited Cai.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you’re going to visit us?” Cai asked in a disgruntled tone. “We could have prepared a feast to celebrate your arrival, you know?”

“Da Wae~” Fei Fei, who was on top of Cai’s head, greeted Eiko.

“Fei Fei~” Eiko greeted her back, making the two Baby Slimes giggle.

“We wanted to give you guys a surprise, and it seems that we were successful,” Lux replied as some of the young men and women of the Rowan Tribe began to gather at the plaza to see the Half-Elf whom they had heard so much about from Cai and their friends.

“By the way, where is Keane?” Lux asked as he scanned his surroundings. “Is he not around?”

After hearing Little Swordy’s name, Cai wryly laughed before making a gesture for Lux to follow her.

“It will be much easier if you see him yourself,” Cai explained. “You see, Little Swordy changed a lot after you left.”

Lux wondered what this “change” was and his curiosity got the better of him. He hadn’t seen the skinny swordsman for a long time, and seeing how Cai was acting so mysterious, the change that she was talking about must be quite significant.

While Gerhart went to look for Cai’s Grandpa, the red-headed teenager and the boar went to the forest together, in order to spy on their friend, who was starting to find the peace that he was looking for in his life.