Shadow Monarch in Tensura

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Back in Ruberios

Five months passed in the blink of an eye as we traveled through the entire western part of the continent. I even managed to get a good amount of new books I haven't had the chance to read in Ruberios.

I could probably find them in the library, but if I want to create my own private library, I need to start somewhere.

But I missed the Holy Empire. I haven't been there for half a year and am excited to see Aiden and Mai again.

They undoubtedly must have improved a lot since the last time we saw each other. I even heard rumors about two blonde prodigies at the church. While I haven't seen many other trainees, I assume they were talking about Aiden and Mai.

Then there was also talk about me, a kid who is the disciple of the Holy Emperor himself, especially now that I'm also the student of the hero. I actually don't enjoy being in the spotlight, mostly due to some people in the church being annoying to deal with.

But speaking of Chronoa, during our travels, we have been going around and dealing with more slave traders and other stuff like helping small villages, and I have gotten a few more human shadow soldiers in my arsenal now.

Now in retrospect, I should have turned the three slave traders I had killed when I arrived in this world into my shadows, but at that time, I didn't want to see them again, even if they were in the form of shadow soldiers.

Bringing forth my status, I smiled, seeing how much I had progressed in just six months.

_____

Name: Cale Valentine

Titles: Adopted Prince

Level: 13 (161,700/204,800 EXP)

Magicules: 304,575

[Stats]

Strength: 209

Vitality: 204

Agility: 209

Intelligence: 209

Perception: 209

Remaining Points: 34

_____

With my current strength, I would be around Demon Lord Seed level. While the Voice of the World didn't announce anything and I didn't go through an evolution, I can feel I have obtained the Demon Lord Seed after my magicules went passed 200,000.

But even with my new strength, I still can't land even one blow on Chronoa during our spars. Seriously how much stronger is she, and how long will it take me to reach that level? Years? Decades?

I sighed. I still have a long way to go before becoming one of the strongest in this world. Even if I said I'm currently around the strength level of a Demon Lord Seed, I would still be weaker than Claypot.

Then all the different skills could change the battle, from skills that could control the very laws of nature to skills like mine that make me a one-person army.

I walked through the city, heading towards the church. While I haven't been here for half a year, the city hasn't changed. The market square was still bustling with life, and the smell of fresh bread spread from one of my favorite bakeries.

"Come on, let's go before they sell them all!" Came a voice I recognized.

Turning to my left, I saw Mai, Aiden, and a girl I hadn't seen enter the bakery, so I followed after them.

"Three blueberry tarts, please," Mai said excitedly, almost jumping.

"Make it four, and I'll pay for everything," I said, and they turned around.

Mai's eyes widened, "Cale, you're back!" she shouted and hugged me, "The note said you would be gone for a while, not half a year."

"Hahaha... Sorry, I didn't expect to be gone for so long." I replied with an awkward laugh before looking at the girl with them, "Sorry I haven't seen you before. I'm Cale."

She looked nervous. "Oh... I'm Megan. Aiden and Mai have told me about you."

"Speaking of stories, you are the hero's student, right?" Aiden asked, "The rumors said it was a boy around ten years old with black hair and gray eyes."

"Yeah, my new teacher was the hero..." I replied awkwardly, scratching the back of my head.

"How was she? Did you get her autograph? Is she here in Ruberios? Can I see her?" Mai bombarded me with questions.

I chuckled, "No, she isn't here, and I didn't get her autograph."

"Here you go, four blueberry tarts." The baker said, handing us them.

I put my hand in my pocket, opened my inventory to take out some money, and handed him a gold coin.

His eyes widened, "T-Th-This is too much," He stuttered, "I can't take this."

"You always made our favorite bakeries, so don't worry," I told him, but in reality, the gold coins were the only ones I had left.

During our travels, I earned a lot of money selling the monster parts my shadows killed, but I spent all my bronze and silver coins, leaving me only with golden coins.

So while paying around $1,000 for four small blueberry tarts is a lot, I can't pay less.

After paying, we left the bakery and found a bench to sit on while eating.

"So, what have you been doing while I was gone?" I asked and took a bite of the blueberry tart.

"Pfff..." Mai held in a laugh looking at me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"No, nothing, it's just your eyes had stars when you took a bite."

"It's good, and I haven't had any for almost half a year..." I said, crossing my arms, "But has something new happened while I was gone?" I asked again.

"Just the usual, training and such," Aiden said with a sigh, "How about you? You must have lots of stories to tell us."

I thought for a moment before answering, "We started with her training me in swordsmanship and fighting monsters for a whole month, and then we went to Blumund to take an adventurer test so I could easily travel between different kingdoms."

"Yeah, we heard you became an Advanced-Rank adventurer... You could probably already be as strong as the captains." Mai said.

"I still have a long way to go," I answered honestly.

Mai muttered something I didn't catch, "Did you say something?" I asked

"Oh! Umm... I said I'm envious of you..." She chuckled, "You got to travel the whole continent while I was stuck with the devil training me..."

"Don't worry. You will soon get to travel the continent yourself."

"Ummm... yeah..."

After we finished catching up, we returned to the church, where Louis informed me Mom wanted something from me.

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Authors Note:

Thank you for reading this chapter.

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