"Se... Senior! I-I'm sorry! Forgive me if I disturbed your matters," said Lord Sam with a trembling voice, nervous as he considered the possibility of what had actually occurred.
The noise they made might have disturbed that senior, causing him to become angry and intervene. Lord Sam assumed that it was impossible for that person to be associated with Theodor's group, as he believed such a thing was certainly out of the question.
But no answer came to their ears, making both Lord Sam and Frank grow increasingly anxious.
Meanwhile, those in Theodor's group felt a last flicker of hope for survival, a few more moments before they froze to death, though they, too, shared the same assumptions as Frank's group.
Aaron, who had closed his eyes and refused to witness his own failure in saving Theodor and his troops, could only hope for the best while focusing all his thoughts on forming the Black Hole Technique he had never learned before.
The Natural Energy within Aaron's body responded to the instruction and formed Black Holes in random places to protect Theodor's soldiers, likely because Aaron had not directed it properly.
Aaron's artificial Black Hole manifested due to his passive ability, which turned out not only to protect himself but also others. This might have been connected to Aaron's current level—Master Level, or Level 3, where anyone who had reached that stage could manifest their power.
On the other hand, Aaron was shocked at seeing the result of what he had imagined, so much so that he might not have noticed even if a frog had been shoved into his wide-open mouth.
'That technique... it seems I really created my first technique just by thinking it,' Aaron thought, drawing conclusions about both the technique and the Avatar he had summoned with nothing more than thought.
"Blergh."
Amid the silence, Aaron was brought back to awareness by a voice he recognized.
He turned toward the sound, but that moment of happiness, hidden beneath his shock, was immediately replaced by deep worry, which quickly turned into rage erupting without warning.
It was Theodor's voice, vomiting a mouthful of blood. He had sustained serious injuries from Lord Sam's previous technique, as shown by the many needles embedded in and even piercing through his body.
Theodor's body now resembled a porcupine, and it was clear he wouldn't survive much longer.
That happened because Theodor had been positioned at the front of his troops, making him the closest one to the enemy. So when the Thousand Needle Technique was launched, he had been struck before Aaron's Technique and Avatar had appeared.
"Theodor!" shouted Aaron, deeply worried, immediately rushing to him.
Although they had only known each other for a very short time, Theodor was the first sincere person who had helped him in ages.
So instinctively, he didn't want someone like that to just disappear.
Aaron ran straight toward Theodor. Even though he had managed to save hundreds, there were still dozens who shared Theodor's grim fate.
Aaron quickly tried to use his active skill—Energy Sharing—simply by thinking about it. The skill activated immediately, transferring both his natural energy and soul energy because Aaron knew he must not transfer only one type; doing so might accidentally hurt or even kill Theodor more quickly.
But due to using both energies simultaneously, the intimidating Fire Gorilla Avatar began to vanish slowly, as if blown away by the wind.
Seeing this, Frank and Lord Sam felt relieved, believing the powerful figure they feared had disappeared and wasn't aligned with Theodor and his group.
"That boy… I feel like I've seen him before… Oh, I remember now! He's the kid Theodor carried on his back while they were searching for Fire Mushrooms! Turns out Theodor was hiding a young alchemist..." muttered Frank, remembering the moment he had seen Aaron for the first time, though he hadn't paid much attention back then, as he had been focused solely on striking a deal with Theodor.
"A young alchemist like this must come from a place that forbids killing him outright… Wouldn't it be better if we just captured the kid? An alchemist is an incredibly valuable asset, Lord! Maybe we could get something for him or use him for ransom from the group that wants him back," suggested Frank, seeing a potential opportunity before him.
Lord Sam didn't deny it. He immediately began preparing a technique to incapacitate Aaron.
The attack resembled lightning crackling around Lord Sam's hand, though the energy was much weaker than his Thousand Needle Technique—only strong enough to paralyze a Warrior.
He was unaware that Aaron was on the same level as him—Level 3, or what they called Master.
When the lightning attack was fired, a streak of blue light shot swiftly from Lord Sam's hand toward Aaron's body.
But what was supposed to happen did not happen, leaving Lord Sam puzzled. The power he had released should have been enough to knock out someone who appeared to be just an ordinary human.
"What happened, Lord?" asked Frank.
Lord Sam, equally confused, seemed lost in thought, prompting Frank to fall silent and look equally contemplative.
Then suddenly, Lord Sam began to display strange behavior, something that disturbed Frank's focus.
"What is it, Lord?" he asked.
It was odd to see a Master sweating and deep in thought amid a battle that was clearly already theirs. Even if the battle had been interrupted by a high-level expert, the outcome still favored them. That expert had only given a warning or whatever it was—just to stop the fight from bothering him any further.
With that line of thinking, Frank grew confused at Lord Sam's strange and gloomy behavior.
"He looks like a normal human or at most a Warrior. But… an alchemist couldn't possibly be just an ordinary human… But I also can't clearly sense his level or confirm it's only Warrior Level. That… can only mean one thing…" Lord Sam said, trailing off, swallowing hard.
His hair stood on end, and cold sweat slowly crept down his back. Frank, realizing what he meant, grew even more anxious. It could only mean one thing—this boy was far stronger than Lord Sam. And maybe… just maybe… it wasn't a coincidence that the Avatar and Black Holes had appeared to block Lord Sam's attack.
"You will pay for this!"