Chapter 350

Ray was genuinely lost for words.

He wasn’t too surprised by the others’ actions, but Van’s completely threw him off.

Wasn’t he the exact same person who was radiating pure suspicion toward the girl, refusing to even let her hand brush his just yesterday?

How had he woken up with so much intense care and affection directed entirely at her?

Hearing that she was injured, Caster, Felix, and Chloe rushed toward her to check on the condition of the scratch.

"How did you get injured? What happened?"

Nebula blushed deeply at the sudden onslaught of attention while taking an involuntary, slightly uncomfortable step backward away from the crowd.

"No—it’s nothing. It happened yesterday when we were skinning the wolf. I accidentally nicked myself when using the ice dagger Trisha gave me to work with. It was all a complete accident."

Ray’s brows knit immediately, his mind replaying every millisecond of the previous day.

’Huh? When did that happen? I watched her the entire time, and there was no slip-up.’

"You should be more careful," Van scolded her gently, his voice full of genuine concern as he lightly blew on her cheek to soothe it.

"And now, we don’t have any medical cream to apply to a fresh wound," Chloe clicked her tongue in annoyance at their lack of supplies.

Kai and Trisha both lifted brows of utter confusion at the sudden, bizarre dynamics playing out right in front of them.

"I’m serious, guys, it’s really nothing. Let’s get back to the day’s agenda, please. I feel kind of uh... uncomfortable with everyone staring at me."

Sensing her discomfort, they all took a step back almost immediately, giving her space.

Ray watched all of this with calm, burning intensity.

His brows twitched in annoyance for a split second, and he pierced Nebula with a menacing, calculating glare.

The girl’s fingers twitched slightly.

She lifted her head to look directly in Ray’s direction, and then, as usual, she flashed him a calm, serene smile despite the prominent, heavy frown on his face.

"Good morning."

’Uh...’

Quickly blinking for a moment, Ray’s expression switched in the next instant, and he forced a warm, friendly smile onto his face to match hers.

"Good morning. Hope you slept well?"

The girl nodded gracefully. "Yes, I did."

Ray nodded back as he rose from where he was sitting, stretching his legs before making his way toward the center of the group.

Trisha calmly watched this brief exchange between the two before looking back at Chloe, who was just standing there with an uncharacteristically dazed expression.

Then she stared at Nebula, whose smile had turned much more subtle.

’So—something feels completely off here.’

Kai rose and walked over to where Van stood.

Leaning his back against the rough stone wall while facing forward, he leaned in toward the tech genius.

"Ar—are you feeling okay today?"

Van blinked confusedly for a moment, as if trying to process why he was even being asked that, before rigorously nodding his head.

"Of course I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?"

Kai lingered for a few seconds in deep thought, studying Van’s vacant but pleasant expression, then shook his head and pulled his back away from the wall.

’Maybe I’m just overthinking things.’

Gathering together around the center of the cave, Ray scanned the faces of the entire group.

«Ray... are you noticing what I am?» Elyon’s voice echoed urgently within his mindspace.

«Why does it feel like Van is acting like a completely different person? He was immensely suspicious of Nebula yesterday, and now—»

’I’m sure he is fine. No need to worry about him,’ Ray thought back, his tone deceptively dismissive.

Elyon faltered for a moment, his internal brows twitching in sheer exasperation.

He couldn’t take the silence anymore.

«Okay. That’s it! Tell me exactly what is going on in your head right now. The Ray I know would definitely not let anything happen to Van. If he was acting this weird, you would have investigated it immediately, but instead, you are totally calm?»

"...."

Ray gave absolutely no reply to the celestial.

Instead, he simply turned his gaze in Nebula’s direction, keeping his true thoughts locked behind a mental vault.

"So guys... what are we doing now?" Caster demanded as he gave a calm yawn, looking around at everyone gathered in the cavern to break the heavy silence.

"I don’t know about you all, but I’m also bored staying in this place for a while," Chloe uttered.

"I have a question," Ray spoke as he turned his gaze in Caster’s direction.

"Tell me something, why didn’t you attempt the Spire?"

"Nebula requested us not to...." Caster blurted out, then blinked in sudden confusion and scratched his head as if wondering why he had answered so honestly.

"Uh... she said we should look for the rest of you first before we attempt the Spire. Since the previous group failed even with their numbers, we could also fail woefully with just the three of us."

"Hm. I see... and what gives you the assurance we won’t fail like the group before us?" Ray questioned with a completely calm expression on his face.

Nebula quickly cut in, stepping forward to control the narrative.

"That’s because I saw you all fight during the emergency. And you all just said it yourself; we have two powerful werewolves in our midst. I have immense faith that we can definitely do this if we stand together."

Kai’s brows knit in deep suspicion as he looked over at Trisha, whose eyes flashed icy cold for a fraction of a second before calming back down to her usual distant stare.

Refraining from reacting outwardly, Ray looked at each of the other people’s faces for some time longer, reading the room with calculated precision.

Van. Caster. Felix. Chloe. Trisha. Kai. And finally, Nebula.

"Captain Jake...." Ray suddenly blurted out the name.

"Captain who?" Nebula asked with a raised brow, looking genuinely blank for a moment before she caught herself, thinking for a second or two before quickly nodding.

"Oh, yeah. The Captain. What about him?"

Ray’s lips twitched into a subtle, dangerous smirk.

"I just recalled some advice he had given us Aspirants one time.

He said that when we are on unfamiliar ground, we should first gather all clues, organize our thoughts, and make adequate plans before attempting to clear out a gate.

We should always do it together and as a cohesive team. He actually said it right before we left for the emergency mission."

Kai slowly turned his head in Ray’s direction, his mind racing.

’When did the Captain ever say that? He never did.’

Nebula shrugged indifferently, completely missing the trap.

"Yeah? He said that, so...?"

Ray nodded along smoothly, tapping his finger against his arm in a slow, rhythmic pattern.

"Anyway. After careful consideration last night—since I had to sit there and think long and hard—I have decided upon something. I know I’m not the official leader of this group, but I still decided to want to present this strategy to you all first."

He paused, looking at the expectant faces of each and every one of the people gathered in the cave.

"Well, what is it?" Chloe impatiently asked, crossing her arms.

"I want us to go explore the cave Nebula said she found tomorrow. Then, after gathering substantial clues from those journals, we can attempt the Obsidian Spire the day after."

Nebula’s face twitched violently for a brief moment, a crack in her perfect facade appearing before returning back to normal.

She looked at the boy, who was still grinning calmly at her.

"The day after tomorrow, huh? That’s... not a bad idea at all," Nebula agreed, though her voice carried a tight, subtle edge.