System's POV
chapter-468

"Master! Did you see that?!" Derek exclaimed as soon as he removed his Neuro-Link. "Did you see how awesome I was?!"

"You call that awesome?" Thirteen rhetorically replied in disdain. "You're already proud when you've only solo-ed two Rank 3 Alpha Monsters?"

Derek wasn't fazed by the teenage boy's words of ridicule. On the contrary, the smile on his face became wider as he walked toward his Master and patted his shoulder.

"Great things start from small beginnings, Master," Derek stated. "Isn't that what you said? Today, I took a small step into becoming the Sword Saint."

Thirteen sighed. "Fine. Although that's an extremely small step, a step forward is still a step forward. Congratulations future Sword Saint."

"Huzzah!" Derek did a fist pump after receiving Thirteen's recognition.

The other members of the Hero Party, who had just finished their final assessment, all had smiles on their faces as they walked toward Zion, who had his arms crossed over his chest.

"Fourteen minutes and fifty seconds," Thirteen said as soon as all the members of the Hero Party had gathered in front of him. "It took you that long to defeat the Three-Horned Minotaur as a party. You were ten seconds away from failing your final assessment. So you barely passed this time."

Thirteen even showed them the stopwatch in his hand to prove that he was keeping watch of their Clear Time.

"But a pass is still a pass," Thirteen stated. "Congratulations. You are now more deserving of your title as the Hero Party."

Thirteen clapped his hands, and soon, Rianna, Viola, Sharon, Louise, Remi, and Rhia also clapped their hands to congratulate the Hero Party.

"Since you have succeeded in this endeavor, tonight, we are going to hold a party," Thirteen said.

The members of the Hero Party also cheered after hearing Thirteen's declaration. But his next words cut their happiness short.

"And tomorrow, all of you are going to return to your families," Thirteen said in a serious tone.

"E-Eh? Master, didn't you say that I can stay and continue my training?" Derek, who suddenly felt like he was an abandoned puppy, looked at his Master with a pitiful gaze.

"Calm down." Thirteen raised his hand to prevent the Swordsman from physically hugging his leg. "You have been training here for a month, and the Winter Solstice is only twenty days away.

"This also means that in twenty days, you will not be able to see your family for an indefinite period of time. As such, it will be best if you all return to spend some time with them.

"Although I am certain that all of you will be able to survive in Solterra, they will still feel anxious as they wait for your return. So, while you're still here. It is best to spend some time with your families."

Thirteen's words made all of them realize that they had indeed forgotten about the Solstice due to their everyday training.

Fortunately, the teenage boy reminded them that they had families waiting for them, so they no longer insisted on staying in the Leventis Residence.

"Since I have trained all of you, I have a favor to ask," Thirteen said. "Three days before the Solstice, I want all of you to come here. I made a special program that will be broadcast live to the entire world.

"Since you guys are the Heroes of the young generation, I want all of you to lift the spirits of the Wanderers who would once again risk their lives in Solterra. This is especially true for those who would be experiencing their First Wandering.

"Perhaps your show of strength will give them encouragement in their darkest hour. After all, all of us are Wanderers, no?"

Erica, who had been touched by Thirteen's speech, wasn't able to stop herself from hugging the teenage boy and pulling him close to her embrace.

"Thank you," Erica said softly. "I'll be back three days before the Solstice."

"Mmm, you do that," Thirteen, whose face was pressed against her chest, lightly tapped Erica's back, signaling her to let him go.

But as soon he was freed, he was yet again pulled into another embrace, this time in Rianna's ample bosom.

"I'll also come back here before the Solstice," Rianna said.

"Um, you don't need to do that," Thirteen replied as he also tapped Rianna's back repeatedly to let him go.

Derek, who wished he could switch places with his Master, could only look in envy. Just like Shana, Rianna was also a very beautiful lady.

Sometimes, he wondered if they were really sisters. They were both beautiful, but while Rianna had black hair, Shana had red hair.

"Sister, Zion is unable to breathe," Shana grabbed hold of Thirteen's body and pulled him away from Rianna's clutches.

"Hahaha! Sorry about that." Rianna smiled mischievously. "I just got a bit emotional with his speech earlier."

Thirteen, whose face was now resting on Shana's chest, was wondering if he could sue these girls for sexual harassment.

Do they really think that he would feel anything if they pressed their soft breasts on his face?

"Okay, everyone calm down," Roland, who had a frown on his face, said as he lightly tapped Shana's shoulder. "You can let go of Zion now, Shana."

"Ah!" Shana, who didn't know what took over her when she saw Zion being hugged by Erica and Rianna, hastily let him go. "Sorry! My sister is a bit too much, so I might have used too much force to pull you earlier."

"It's fine," Thirteen replied before immediately taking a few steps back when he saw Viola, Louise, and Sharon move toward him through the corner of his vision.

"Tsk!"

"Tch!"

"Awww~"

The three Valkyries who lost their chance to hug the teenage boy clicked their tongues and sighed in their heart.

Shana lightly patted her chest as she looked at her Sisters in the Valkyrie Division.

'I knew it. The Zion Virus is too strong,' Shana thought. 'Even Erica seemed infected by it now.'

Thirteen, who had no idea what Shana was thinking at the moment, asked everyone to talk to their families first and inform them that they would be returning to their homes tomorrow.

The Leventis Family had a few private jets, so Thirteen planned to ask his Grandmother to let them use two of them. That way, the Hero Party could return home at the fastest time possible.

Rianna, Shana, and Roland, lived in the Sirius Continent, while Derek and Joshua lived in the Cygni Continent.

Erica's home was in the Aldebaran Continent, so she could easily go home through a thirty-minute helicopter ride.

"It will be a bit less lively here once they're gone in the morning," Thirteen said as he lightly patted Remi's head. "If you want, you can take a day off from training tomorrow and sleep in a bit."

Remi, who had also undergone spartan training alongside the Heroes, nodded in agreement.

Although Thirteen had catered her training routine into something she would be able to accomplish, it didn't change the fact that it was harder than their usual training.

Remi felt a sense of rivalry with the Hero Party, especially since her brother had personally taken part in their training.

Because of this, she requested if her brother could give her the same training, which Thirteen agreed to. However, he downgraded it a bit to prevent her from suffering serious injuries.

Rhia, who had also enjoyed the daily races in the mountainside while riding on Albion's back, would surely miss them as well.

After parting ways with everyone, Thirteen returned to his room.

As soon as he closed the door, a sigh escaped his lips as he leaned his back on it.

The month-long training also took a toll on him. Aside from Roland's and Joshua's training, he participated in the training of the other Heroes, as well as in the training of Rianna, Viola, Louise, and Sharon.

Saying he was exhausted was an understatement.

"Fortunately, they have grown competent enough to at least kill that Three-Horned Minotaur," Thirteen muttered as he slowly sat on the floor, his back still leaning on the door.

After taking a few deep breaths, he closed his eyes and meditated in order to gather a bit of strength for the celebration party that would be held in a few hours.

He couldn't show the Heroes his exhausted state because it would only dampen the joyous celebration that they would be having later.

Perhaps, his exhaustion had finally caught up to him. Thirteen fell asleep while sitting on the floor.

Tiona looked at her Master with a gentle gaze before lightly nudging the side of his face with her head.

A moment later, she summoned her clone and they both used their levitation ability to carry their Master to the bed so that he could have a proper rest.

Once that was done, Tiona covered Thirteen with a blanket and coiled on his chest.

Although she knew that a few hours wouldn't be enough for her Master to recover his strength, she would allow him to sleep for as long as she possibly could.