“Make sure to eat on time, okay?” Rose said as she handed Keane a basket filled with sandwiches. “If you come back skinny like the first time I saw you, I’ll ignore you for a month.”

“Okay,” Keane replied as he took the basket from Rose’s hand and put it inside his storage ring. “Thank you. And please, take care of yourself too, okay? I know you have a lot of responsibilities, but don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Don’t worry, I know.” Rose nodded. “Come find me in our Ancestral Grounds when you return, okay?”

“I will.”

“Good. I’ll be waiting.”

The two then hugged each other, very reluctant to let each other go. However, both of them understood that they had responsibilities to take care of.

Under the cover of the forest, on the outskirts of the Rowan Tribe, Keane and Rose shared a kiss of farewell before returning to where the others were while holding each other’s hands.

The two of them only separated at the very last minute when they were nearing the Plaza, where everyone had gathered in preparation for the Tribe’s journey toward Barbatos Academy.

“Safe journey to all of you,” Maximilian said with a smile. “I pray that the next time we meet, all of you have emerged victorious and have learned a lot from your adventure.”

Lux and the others all nodded their heads to acknowledge Maximilian’s words. Cai had also returned to her Boar form with Fei Fei perched on top of her head, similar to how Eiko was perched on top of Lux’s head.

With one final wave of farewell, the Giant Manta Ray flew into the sky and headed East, where Barbatos Academy was located.

Xander would meet up with Lux at the Gate of the Domain of the Fallen because he still needed to assist with the migration of the Rowan Tribe.

—————–

Several hours later…

As the Giant Manta Ray flew peacefully in the sky, Lux noticed a flying ship in the distance. It was quite big and reminded Lux of the Viking Ships of his world.

“It’s a Barbarian Ship,” Cai said. “Are they perhaps heading to Barbatos Academy as well?”

“A Barbarian Ship? Do they perhaps belong to Einar’s Kingdom?” Keane pondered as he looked at the ship that seemed to be approaching them.

Gerhart, who was suspicious by nature, summoned a fan and held it firmly in his hand.

“Are you good friends with the Barbarians?” Gerhart asked. “I hope that this isn’t a Raiding Ship that is coming to rob us. I’ve heard that they were quite a menace back in the days when the Six Kingdoms were still at each other’s throats.”

Lux eyed the flying ship in the distance. Although he considered Einar as a trusted comrade at arms, he didn’t have too many interactions with other Barbarians to know if they were battle junkies or not.

“Everyone, be on your guard,” Lux ordered, taking the role of the leader of the group. “If they show any signs of aggression, don’t hesitate to fight back.”

Fortunately, before all of them could take out all of their weapons, a loud shout coming from the flying ship reached their ears.

“Hey! Long time no see!”

Einar Mordosk, the Barbarian Prince, shouted and waved his hand towards his companions whom he hadn’t seen for a long time.

“Fancy meeting you guys here,” Einar said before jumping off the flying ship and landing on top of the Giant Manta Ray. “Are all of you going to the Academy?”

Lux raised his fist at the same time Einar did. The two then exchanged a fist bump as a greeting, and this exchange made the Barbarian Prince laugh. However, his laughter was short-lived as he eyed the red-headed Half-Elf with an appraising gaze.

“So, you have reached the Peak of the Initiate Rank.” Einar grinned. “Very good!”

Lux smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Look who’s talking. Did you steal some Beast Cores from your Kingdom’s Treasury to also reach the peak of the Initiate Rank?”

Einar nodded. “Aye. Although I did hunt some Monsters, it was taking too long. That is why I asked my Father to give me a few Cores in preparation for our dungeon exploration. Don’t tell me you find fault in my method?”

“Of course not,” Lux replied in a heartbeat. “The stronger you are, the better. Besides, our team needs some additional hard hitters.”

Einar smirked before shifting his gaze to Keane, who gave him a brief nod.

“You’re still not at the peak of the Initiate Rank, but your aura is sharper than the last time I saw you, Keane,” Einar commented. “It seems that you don’t even need to draw your sword in order to cut people.”

Keane didn’t deny or affirm Einar’s statement. He simply smiled and acted like his usual self.

Einar didn’t mind Keane’s reaction because he had expected as much. However, when his gaze landed on Gerhart, the Barbarian narrowed his eyes as if seeing something he didn’t like.

“He’s coming with us?” Einar asked Lux. “Are you sure of this? Enlil and he might start a duel when they see each other. Also, the Rankers of the Elves will be there. What would you do if they decided to kidnap him then and there?”

Cai snorted. “They’ll do that only if they want to court death. My Grandpa won’t sit idly, and knowing him, he would also drag Iris’ father into joining him in trashing the Elven Kingdom. Gerhart is now one of our people. I’d like to see them snatch him under my watch!”

“Da Wei!”

Fei Fei glared at the Barbarian, which made the latter laugh out loud.

“Well, we’ll see if they court death at the Gate of the Fallen or not.” Einar raised his hands in surrender. “This is not my problem. I’m just saying that there might be trouble if we bring him with us.”

Lux who had remained quiet until now only nodded.

“I understand, but don’t worry,” Lux replied. “This is a crucial time for everyone. I’m sure that they will not make a scene when all the other Rankers of the different Kingdoms are there.”

Einar didn’t answer right away. Instead, he gave Gerhart a side-long glance before asking another question.

“But, what if they did do it?” Einar asked. “What if they didn’t care about saving face, and simply wanted to get rid of Gerhart, whom they consider to be a threat to their kingdom?”

“If it happens, it happens.” Lux shrugged. “Gerhart is aware of the risks yet he still chose to come with us. Since that is the case, we’ll just see if the Elves really want to court death.”

The red-headed Half-Elf’s tone carried a finality to it, so Einar no longer pursued the issue.

“Brother, dinner is ready!” a young lady with light-brown hair and green eyes called out to Einar from the Flying Ship. “Come and get some before it disappears!”

Einar chuckled as he waved at his younger sister, Fiora, who was about to turn eighteen years old in a few months.

“Well then, I’ll be back later,” Einar stated. “Dinner comes first.”

The Barbarian Prince then jumped back to the Flying Ship to join the others, who were about to partake in their early dinner.

The sun was setting in the West, and according to Lux’s estimate, there was only an hour left before sunset.

“Should we have dinner as well?” Lux asked.

“Yes!” Cai answered. “I’m hungry. How about you Fei Fei?”

“Wei~”

“Fei Fei said she’s hungry as well, so let’s eat!”

Everyone else agreed with the notion of having dinner, so they unloaded the food that the best cooks in the Rowan Tribe had prepared for them before they left.

They still had a long way to go before arriving at their destination, and if nothing unexpected happened, they would land near the gates of Barbatos Academy before sunrise the next day.