An awkward silence lingered between the four.

’I can’t force him to reveal his secrets. But that sword... It can turn out to be the turning point for our escape from here.’ Emily was busy strategizing.

Leon, meanwhile, was thinking totally differently. ’If even she can be tempted by this sword, then what about others? And what if that other person decides to snatch it from me? No. I can’t use this sword unless it’s absolutely necessary. I have to increase my strength before I am worthy to flaunt its might. Until then, I have to depend on other methods. Like that ice affinity, for instance.’

"What should we do now? Are we going to follow the road ahead? But if those monsters are lurking in the path and plan an ambush, we won’t be able to defend ourselves. We have already lost the element of surprise." Sol finally broke the silence and asked.

"We don’t know why those monsters actually left. At least for now." Emily looked at Leon while saying that.

Noticing her gaze, Leon looked away as if he were trying to avoid direct confrontation with her.

"So we will be hiding in the forest for now. After one day, we will start moving again, but won’t take the direct route to Harold’s place." Emily explained.

"That sounds like a plan. Let’s leave this place then. We can’t be sure that the monsters are not bringing any reinforcement." Sol said. Though younger than Leon, he was thinking more strategically.

And that was expected, actually. He was the heir of the famous Flemming family after all.

Leon and Noah didn’t object to any of the plans and only nodded in agreement.

After that, they took a left turn and started walking. They followed the same formation again. Emily at the front, Leon at the back and the other two in the middle. Every now and then, Emily would steal a few glances at Leon. Leon didn’t notice it. Nor did Sol and Noah.

But Sol looked taken, deep in thought. ’Why did sister act like that? Was that sword really that capable? Or had she misunderstood something? This Leon guy’s magic doesn’t sound that great. He might only be a F or, at best, an E-Class knight with that type of ability. He’s resourceful, yes, but what’s the use if he can’t utilize those resources properly?’

Sol didn’t say it outright or didn’t look down on Leon, but he had no high opinion of him either. It wasn’t contempt but being practical. Yes, Leon was helpful and seemed a man of character. But how could those abilities help in a situation like this?

They continued to walk for a long time before finally reaching a forest. "We should hide here for tonight. We will start tomorrow morning again."

Soon, they found a place at the foot of a small hill. ’This hill will guard us from the cold breeze from one side. And it would be easy to keep an eye on without the tension of being attacked from the back.’ Emily thought while looking around.

Soon they settled in that place. But Leon didn’t sit or lie down.

’If I do it right, I have a chance to reach the C-Class level by tomorrow morning. With one more level up, I can be at more ease.’ Leon walked toward Emily.

"Can I go for hunting and join you guys tomorrow before leaving?" He asked.

Emily looked puzzled. "You want to go hunting now? Shouldn’t you take rest so you can give it your all tomorrow when we will be needing help?"

"I have my reasons. I don’t think it will be a problem."

"You’re not planning to run off and hide now that things are getting dangerous, are you?" Emily asked.

"I will be back before you leave tomorrow. If I am alive that is." Leon gave no further explanation.

Emily stayed quiet for a while. Then she spoke. "Okay." She didn’t say anything else and started setting up the place.

Leon walked out of the forest in hurried steps. "If I can hunt enough beasts, I should be able to reach the C-Class level. Even the guard of a path was an S-Class monster. Who knows what kind of danger is waiting at Harold’s place? And while I am at it, I should practice my magic. I will keep some monster cores in storage as well so that I can replenish my Qi if I need to." Leon whispered as he kept walking. "System."

[Yes, host.]

"How do I use my elemental affinity to use magic. Do I also need some techniques to do that? And do they also have grades? Because I am already on a loan at the moment."

[Host needs to learn how to channel Qi through veins that are used to cast magic. After that, the host only needs to comprehend one spell properly to learn and be able to cast the next spell.]

[For each elemental affinity, there are different spell books. But the books don’t cost much because they’re the same for each affinity and are easily available. The host can buy the cold element’s spell book for only 1000 spirit coins.]

"Good. Now, that’s the kind of generosity I expect from you. Give me another 1000 spirit coin loan and the spell book with it."

[Sure, host.]

[Loan confirmed.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

Leon took the book as its tip emerged from the panel.

He was still inside the forest and sat under a tree. ’I hope I am not ambushed while I am studying this.’

He opened the first page and started reading it. The content wasn’t too difficult. It took only ten minutes to understand the basics.

He stood up and tried to channel his Qi. And that’s when lines crept into his forehead.

"Damnnn! Understanding it and executing it are on a whole different level." He cursed but kept trying.

His right hand was raised. "Ice ball." He shouted, focusing on the Qi inside his body. But nothing happened.

He tried again but still nothing. After trying it for almost 1 hour, he finally felt the change. He could feel the temperature of his Qi lowering drastically as it entered through particular veins. He felt as if small needles were pricking him from under his skin.

And then... Something shimmered before his palm. It was like white mist, that dispersed as quickly as it had started to gather.

Leon focused deeper. That white mist turned into a small, white-crystal-like object. The more Leon focused, the more it grew bigger.

And finally, an Ice ball was hovering in the air before him. Leon looked ahead at a particular point in a tree as if he were aiming.

The next moment....

Whoosh!

The ice ball shot out and struck the tree hard. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Bam!

The aim wasn’t perfect but Leon had done it.

Right then, a notification popped up in the panel before him.

[Congratulations, host. You have learned the 1st spell of Ice affinity.

Qi consumed: 100

Comprehension level: .1%]