Not needing to be told. She knew she had lost. While being the case, there was a sparkle in Saleh's eyes. Having no chance to make contact with her, he was amazed.

Jessica now had a wry look at the man she didn't think would be that difficult to deal with.

She wasn't being overconfident. For the past few days, she sat by the fire unless she answered nature's call.

After getting bored, Saleh came back with meat. Having good technique, combined with what appeared to be a wide array of spices. The food was delicious.

On a side note, Leo and Everblood had been talking on and off. While being told to stop bullying, Saleh. Two of them had long conversations of varying topics.

This was why she was so surprised by Saleh. He didn't have much experience fighting other people. A bandit here or there didn't give any good experience.

While outside dungeons, creatures had intelligence. Those at Grade E weren't at a level that could help him cope against her.

Ultimately, she had lost to someone her own age. This was a first. Coming at a terrible time. Looking at Everblood, he didn’t have an expression she could glean anything from.

Even though this held true, she had a feeling he planned this devastating blow intentionally. Timing couldn't have been any worse.

Jessica didn't really have plans to go after the old man since their last talk. Now she worried she might accidentally come into contact with him.

Never had she felt like such a burden before.

Instead of sitting down, she moved past the fire before standing in front of Everblood.

"Where do you plan to go next?"

A hint of approval could be seen deep within his increasingly gentle gaze, "Back. Now that I have returned the favor. There isn't any more reason to stay in the south."

"Why...?" Jessica, herself, didn't know how to ask the question.

Being astute, Everblood seemed to be able to read her mind, "Why did Everwater give you her proxy vote?"

Seeing her nod, he continued, "You saved her daughter. Alongside her granddaughter. My disciple, you see, is a bit strong-willed. She stays off the continent so as to not go crazy and cause mass devastation."

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Seeing her look away. Following her gaze, his vision landed at the distant Saleh, and he spoke again, "The two of you go well together."

Sensing her glare. He gave her a dissatisfied look, "Your styles. He has been trained systematically. You have no semblance of stability. Together, it makes the two of you a devastating combination."

Opening her mouth, she was about to argue. However, with more thought. She had nothing to say. She didn't completely understand.

Not being familiar with Everblood, she wasn't clear of his intentions. The last thing she remembered was speaking to Izic.

It was clear the old man had made a deal with him to protect her. Therefore, the fact she was here now meant Everblood wouldn't cause her harm. For the time being, at least.

The following day, they picked up camp and left. Not stopping in a town, she wasn't unfamiliar with this style of traveling. Though, Saleh was constantly complaining.

Leo was pretty quiet. She knew he had some type of conversation with Izic. Unsure of what happened, she also didn't ask.

Now used to conversations. Saleh became the perfect travel companion. Neither of the two wanted to talk. Everblood's status was too high.

He wasn't unapproachable, yet Jessica couldn't bring herself to have many conversations with Saleh.

Mainly, Saleh talked, and she listened quietly. Sometimes, she didn't even listen. Saleh wasn't slow. He understood that between the lines, something had happened.

When she stopped listening, he would move away. Having a place to vent was glorious for him. If he talked teacher's ear off, all that would be waiting for him was punishment.

There were many scenes, from forests, to distant cities, along with many rivers. Before this, Jessica hadn’t traveled the north much. There wasn’t that much there to begin with. Not before coming into contact with the separation line between the north and south.

If they were moving through the dwarf territory, this might not be that big of a deal. There were only two main paths connecting the north and south. A small path in the middle, connecting to Mercury City. Secondly was the forementioned path in dwarf territory.

Everywhere else was a forbidden zone of beasts and danger. A natural deterrent that neither north nor south tried to break done. Many theorized it was the reason the north and south could enjoy any peace.

As the land opened up, she was able to see rivers that were much larger than those in the south. Not being unique to the north, she had seen a few far and between. Only they were near the southern coast, opening up as they made contact with the ocean.

Having moved for a number of days. They had stopped and took a rest. Saleh had become quieter. Jessica could feel a shift in atmosphere she couldn’t place. Saleh to this point had been enjoying every minute of freedom.

Since her arrival, outside of him practicing alone. She hadn’t seen Everblood teach him once. With the shifting air around them, she felt the answer to this would be answered soon.

Since they were staying for a few days. Jessica for the first time joined Saleh for practice. As a battlemage, Jessica didn’t have the qualifications to join his training specifically. Even though she could sort of understand what he was doing, she didn’t know the concept behind it. Copying it would offer her little if any progress.

Instead, she brought out her dagger and started to stretch before going through her own set of movements. She expected Saleh to watch, having created it herself, she wanted to say something only, what could she say?

“Hey, stop watching me move my body?” Her movement exercise was exactly that. Movement designed to get accustom to random assortment of movements. Therefore, when battle came, she wasn’t limited in her actions. Not only could she do strange movements, they felt more natural, allowing her to connect different movements together.