Seeing Seran Again

This bell tower was very mysterious.

Even though it was located in the center of the city, there were rarely any people around.

The gift Yade had given Ogre was the qualification to enter this bell tower.

But...

The absurd part was that Ogre had inquired about this bell tower during his free time a few days ago—this place was actually the territory of the Church of Truth.

Ogre did not quite understand... How could Yade, a cleric of the Church of Dawn, have any connection with the Church of Truth?

Could that Cleric have defected to the Church of Truth?

“I'll go check it out in a bit.”

Although Yade had requested Ogre to go there after a month, Ogre wouldn't be so foolish as to actually wait a whole month before heading over. It was still highly necessary to scout it out first.

Previously, he had only made some casual inquiries. Now that he had some free time, he had to get a thorough understanding of things. After all, the person inside might become his new teacher.

This was also the only place Ogre could count on to help him become a formal Professional, aside from the Forbidden Elixir of the East.

Although the current Ogre already possessed strength comparable to a formal Professional, in the end, it was merely an 'errant path' built upon his innate talent.

Once the lightning body tempering ceased to be effective, Ogre would have to find a way to search for new 'food'.

He could not guarantee that every feeding would bring about such significant changes.

This method of strengthening was simply too lopsided.

Whether they were Knights or Martial Artists, once these two professions broke through the apprentice stage and entered the formal Professional stage, their physical enhancement would be all-encompassing without any particularly glaring shortcomings. It was completely unlike his current state.

He was a pure glass cannon—he had power and speed, but he would shatter at a touch. If it weren't for his ogre constitution supporting him, he wouldn't even have been able to make it this far.

But even with the support of his ogre constitution, some unavoidable defects had still begun to gradually surface on his body.

First, he lacked attack methods. Without the enhancement of battle qi or vital energy and blood, Ogre felt that even breaking an opponent's defense was extremely difficult right now. If not for that long spear with the added destruction attribute, he would have absolutely no way to deal with a Professional Knight.

Even with a weapon, Ogre still had to use his Combat Technique: Crush to deal fatal damage.

Second was the limitation of his physical constitution. This was also the primary constraint. He indeed had strength and speed, but they were entirely brought about by his muscles. Ogre's bones had not undergone corresponding reinforcement and matching training.

His biggest problem was not that his speed could no longer be increased, but that if he went any faster, his bones would fracture. If he did not resolve his bone issues as soon as possible, his path would essentially come to an end...

Lastly, there was another crucial point—Ogre could feel that his ogre constitution was becoming increasingly adapted to electrical currents.

This was not entirely a good thing. This meant that the strengthening from the lightning body tempering might not last much longer. The Heartbeat Drum, which relied on high-frequency electrical currents to stimulate his heart, would naturally be the same.

These were all issues that Ogre would have to face and consider in the future.

‘It seems that for my next feeding, I must prioritize compensating for my bone issues...’

While thinking, Ogre walked toward the mysterious bell tower.

As for whether anyone was tracking him right now, Ogre did not care in the slightest. If he wanted to, he had several ways to shake off those fellows.

“Ogre, why are you here...”

But to Ogre's surprise, he actually ran into someone he completely did not expect to meet—Serandic.

“Seran, you're healed!”

Looking at the fully recovered blonde youth, Ogre's immediate reaction was to feel genuinely happy for him.

But soon, Ogre sensed that something was off with Serandic—he could actually smell a very pleasant and somewhat familiar scent on Serandic.

Although Ogre could not recall what the scent was for a moment, he clearly remembered that his junior brother hated things like perfume the most.

“Ogre...” Serandic also flashed a smile to Ogre, and after a pause, he slowly nodded. “Teacher healed me... but I'm sorry, I can't go on adventures with you guys anymore.”

“What are you saying? It's a miracle that you've recovered.” Ogre habitually stepped forward, wanting to pat Serandic's shoulder. But he was dodged by Serandic.

Serandic opened his mouth as if to speak, but hesitated. In the end, he only managed to say, “Senior brother... Ogre, this is the last time I will call you senior brother.”

This made Ogre frown. “Seran... what on earth do you mean by that?”

“Ogre, I don't blame you. I'll entrust my dream to you from now on...” After saying this, Serandic put on his hood, intending to leave.

“Seran, what on earth happened to you!”

Sensing that something was wrong, Ogre took several quick strides and lunged forward, wanting to grab Serandic's wrist.

But upon contact, Ogre felt a sudden, massive force surge from Serandic's wrist, which actually prevented him from securing a grip on Serandic. The boy broke free from him.

‘What's going on?!’ Even if Ogre was slow, he should have realized something was wrong by now.

A Knight who had been heavily injured with fractured bones, even if healed by a Cleric, could absolutely not have grown so much in strength in such a short period of time!

“Ogre, this is the last time we'll see each other. I'm lucky to have met you here. But please, don't follow me, and don't look for me again... I beg of you,” Serandic turned around and said in an imploring tone.

This pleading act completely made Ogre stop in his tracks, no longer moving forward.

“Seran!” Ogre raised his hand, wanting to say something else.

But looking at the departing back, Ogre ultimately lowered his hand and did not give chase.

Looking at his reddened palm, Ogre's heart was filled with doubts.

“Seran... what on earth happened to him?”

...

“That was close... Whew.”

Only when he reached a corner with no one around did Serandic finally unable to hold back, opening his mouth to pant heavily.

As he gasped, two fangs extended from his mouth, but quickly retracted.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind Serandic: “Seran, you just went to see Ogre, didn't you...”

“T-Te... Teacher!”