"Vahn, what are you, exactly?" Narvim couldn't help but ask. "Are you really human? No, it's hard to say you are still human at this point."

Although he couldn't exactly tell how strong Vahn had become, he sensed multiple sources of power from his body.

While these sources of power weren't strong individually, it was another matter once they were combined.

Even if Vahn's strength wasn't comparable to dragon lords yet, it had already diverged from the natural path most humans took.

It was difficult to categorize his strength according to their standard power system.

"What do you mean, Lord Narvim? I am me. Don't you already know that?" Vaan vaguely responded with a smile before suddenly adding, "Well, I suppose you could say I am a human that is not like other humans."

"He's right about that," Khaleesi suddenly joined the conversation and said, "Vahn's not just a human; he's also a Soul Master, and logic doesn't follow Soul Masters."

"So, let's leave it at that. Everyone has a secret or two they want to keep to themselves. Since Vahn doesn't plan to share, we shouldn't pry," Khaleesi stated shortly after before shifting her attention back to Vaan.

"Now that you have the Fire Spirit Body, I would highly doubt it if you said you weren't interested in the Trial by Fire. When do you plan to challenge it, Vahn?"

"I did plan to challenge the Trial by Fire after I absorbed the Bloodvein Ganoderma," Vaan admitted his original intention with a nod before saying, "However, my strength has grown too much. I need some time to adjust to my strength."

Even though the Peak-Rank 4 Bloodvein Ganoderma mainly raised his fire affinity, he still got 200 points of strength out of it.

Thus, any other fire-attribute magical plant with strengthening properties would have very limited effects on him.

Nevertheless, after the dragon lords listened, Narvim immediately revealed his interest.

"You need some time to adjust to your new strength, huh?" Narvim muttered before suggesting, "If that's the case, then there's no faster way of adapting to your new strength than through sparring."

"How about a spar with me, Vahn?" Narvim volunteered shortly after.

"Sparring with you?" Vaan glanced up at the ninth dragon lord's huge body and smiled wryly, "My strength might have risen swiftly, but I haven't forgotten my place. There's too much of a power gap between us."

"I'm afraid you will just swat me to death with a single attack, Lord Narvim," Vaan added.

He might be able to touch the threshold of Rank 5 in his Lycan Transformation state, but the ninth dragon lord was somewhere at the peak of Rank 5.

Although it was only the difference between levels of the same rank, Vaan wouldn't be surprised if the gap was even greater than the difference between Rank 0 to Peak-level Rank 4.

There was a reason why Rank 5 was called the Transcendent Rank; it was on a whole different level of power.

"You don't have to worry about that, Vahn. I will suppress my strength down to Peak-level Rank 4. If something really did happen to you, do you think I could face my daughter?" Narvim mentioned before adding, "Besides, I'm quite interested in your body."

".."

Vaan and Khaleesi both gave Narvim a weird stare, causing the latter's smile to stiffen with a blank look.

"Wait.. It's not like that. Fuck, I'm serious. It's not like that!" Narvim cussed with a reddening face as his blood pressure rose.

He swore such a misunderstanding would be the death of him one day.

"Hahaha.." Vaan chuckled and knowingly said, "Don't you just want to beat me up for teasing you? What makes you think I will agree and give you that satisfaction, Lord Narvim?"

"Damn, brat. You're really testing my patience here," Narvim impatiently stated and asked, "Would you rather be beaten by another dragon or me? You should know that the younger dragons don't look at humans favorably after what happened recently."

"True," Vaan smiled.

If he had to spar with a stronger opponent, an experienced dragon with great control and on good terms with him, like the eighth dragon lord, was the best choice.

There was a higher risk of accidents if he sparred with other Peak-level Rank 4 dragons.

Just when Narvim thought Vaan would agree to spar with him, the latter replied, "Kukuku, I still don't want to spar with you. I'd rather ask Senior Jergag."

"Tch!" Narvim clicked his tongue.

..

..

..

Ninth Peak, Guest Building.

After Hester had ample rest, she woke up in an unfamiliar yet familiar environment; it was the room she had selected in the guest building.

However, she didn't have any recollection of returning to the room on her own.

'How did I..?'

While she was wondering, the ninth mountain peak suddenly shook with unnatural tremors and caught her attention.

Although the strong tremors startled her, she didn't think anyone in the Black Rose Kingdom could challenge the dragons.

Thus, she didn't believe the sound of battle outside was due to the dragon clan being attacked.historical

'I should check it out,' Hester decided to be nosy.

With such an uproar, she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep anyway.

Nevertheless, the moment she hopped out of bed and stood on her two feet, she was amazed by how light her body felt.

The increased rate of natural mana absorption made it feel as if the world itself was giving her its blessings.

"Ah, that's right. I successfully advanced. I'm no longer a Senior Witch but a High Witch!" Hester clenched her fist with joy and excitement.

The feeling of success was exhilarating.

However, she couldn't have done it without the help she received during the critical moment. She had to repay her benefactor.

"Now that I'm a High Witch, I should actually be able to help Vahn now—" was what Hester initially thought.

Alas, the moment she arrived at the source of the unnatural tremors, she was immediately stunned by the scene that unfolded before her eyes.

Vaan and Senior Jergag traded blows for blows. Each time they clashed, the air seemingly exploded, and the ground trembled.

She had seen Headmaster Astoria in action, but even her power paled in comparison.

"I've fallen far behind again," Hester sighed dejectedly.