"Well, I guess we better get going as well," Ace said as he and the others watched helplessly as Lauriella and Milianna rode on Elise to fly to the peak.

Using some of the vines by the trees at the foot of the mountain, Ace strapped his glaive to his body so he could use both hands during his climb.

"You guys ready?" Ace asked as he prepared to lead the way. "Kil? What's wrong? Why aren't you moving?"

Killian was the only person who hadn't moved since Lauriella left. He simply stood still with his eyes closed and his fists clenched.

"I…

I don't want to climb with you!" Killian said softly as if he feared how Ace would respond.

"Huh? Did I do something wrong?" Ace asked whilst wondering how he offended the only person he considered a friend in this world.

"It's not that," Killian answered as he looked at the ground.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Ever since we met, I feel like you've always been the one to carry me. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything you've done for me, but if I keep following you like this, the distance between us will only get bigger." Killian explained as he looked his friend in the eyes. "I need to do this on my own to prove to myself that I'm not just dead weight."

Ace didn't know what to say at first. Since he decided to take Killian as his friend, he would never see Killian as dead weight, no matter what, but at the same time, he could also understand where Killian was coming from.

Seeing the unyielding light in Killian's eyes, he knew that all he could do was respect his friend's decision.

"I'll see you at the top then, friend," Ace said encouragingly before turning to begin his ascent.

Lance didn't say a word during their exchange, but he couldn't have been any more proud of the young orphan.

Killian was one of the most talented children he'd ever seen. Not including Ace, Killian may well be the most talented youth from Wushan town, or at least equal to the two Baruch brothers. As much as he wanted Ace to excel, he didn't want Killian to be relegated to Ace's shadow, where he'd be forgotten. He wanted Killian to shine just as brightly in the future, but for that to happen, Killian needed to learn how to stand on his own two feet.

He knew this was something Killian needed to figure out for himself, but he expected it to take years.

"Good luck Kil," Lance said, patting the child on the shoulders before following behind Ace.

With Lance and Ace's encouragement, Killian, who had just been worrying about how his only friend would take his announcement, felt more determined than ever.

Just as he was about to start his climb, he heard Alissa's sweet voice enter his ears.

"Do I have to go as well, or can I climb with you?"

Turning his head to face the silver-haired girl, Killian merely shrugged as he also used the vines to strap his axe to his back. "Up to you."

Alissa had tried everything to get closer to Killian, but he remained as indifferent as ever. He was never antagonistic towards her, but he never warmed to her either. Not the way he warmed to Ace, Milianna, and Lance anyway.

'Stinky, blind, simpleminded oaf.' Milianna thought to herself as she frustratedly followed behind Killian.

Kannal, who had watched everything silently like a fly on the wall, couldn't help but smile wryly upon realising he appeared to be a mere side character in the group.

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Ace, who was the first to begin his climb, could only watch helplessly as the distance between him and Lance grew wider and wider.

When Ace first saw Lance closing on him, he tried to climb faster so as not to be overtaken. He may have matured a lot over the last eight years, but his competitive side temporarily got the best of him. Unfortunately, the two-rank difference between them wasn't just for show.

Lance merely smirked as he quickly overtook his crush's son. He knew he shouldn't feel so proud for being faster than a child, but Ace was too much of an anomaly. He better than anyone understood that, it'd only be a few years before Ace surpassed him, so he wanted to enjoy these small wins as much as possible until then.

After four hours of climbing, Ace had climbed over a kilometer and still couldn't see the peak. After climbing for another couple of hours, he noticed another youth who appeared to be nine or ten climbing at a slow but steady pace.

The boy had long black hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of big black eyes that radiated pure darkness.

Using his [Observation], Ace could tell that the boy wasn't just an early rank two warrior but also a peak rank one Mage.

'This Yin-Yang Pavilion really does only recruit the best of the best, don't they?' Ace thought to himself as he passed the youth, who merely gave him an indifferent glance before focusing back on his own climb.

After passing the dark-haired youth, Ace only climbed for another half an hour before reaching a path leading to the peak that seemed to coil around the mountain.

Though he'd been climbing for almost seven hours, Ace was nowhere near his limits. As soon as he reached the path, he immediately started running at a fast but steady pace. But after only 10 minutes, Ace's brows furrowed slightly.

It was only slight at first, but the further he ran, the heavier his body became.

'Is the gravity increasing?' He wondered. 'They really aren't trying to make this easy for us, are they?'

Though it sounded like a complaint, a grin suffused his lips as he relished the challenge.

After another 90 minutes, Ace was forced to slow to a brisk walk under the ever-increasing gravity.

Three hours later, Ace's body was drenched in sweat, and he was walking extremely slowly, but he sighed in relief when he noticed that the peak was only a few hundred meters away where a burly brown-haired man with a thick – almost Nordic – beard was sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Ace guessed that he was another of the instructors at the Pavilion and the increase in gravity was his doing, but with his current fatigue, all he cared about was completing the climb.

His whole body felt like lead, yet he continued to drag himself forward one step at a time. It took 15 whole minutes to walk a mere 200 meters, which only went to show just how intense the gravity was, but as soon as he passed the bearded instructor, the gravity disappeared.

There were over a dozen people watching as Ace collapsed on the ground, but all of them were taken aback as Ace suddenly roared with laughter.

It was only when a familiar voice entered his ears that he stopped. "What are you laughing at, brat?"

Turning his head slightly, Ace saw Wukong, who thankfully looked to be completely recovered from the terrible burns he had suffered a few weeks ago.

"I just became a late rank two warrior," Ace proudly declared. "Ooh, and you owe me a gift seeing as I won our bet."

"After almost two weeks apart, the first thing you try to do after all this time is fleece this king?" Wukong asked disdainfully. "Where are your manners, you snot-nosed brat?!"

"I would've asked you two weeks ago, but you decided you'd rather take a nap than pay up." Ace quickly retorted.

"Who was taking a nap, you little shit? Come here!" Wukong said as he picked Ace up from the floor and put him in a headlock.

"Ow!

Do you mind?" Ace shouted, his body too fatigued to fight back – not that he would be able to even if he was at his best.

"No, this king doesn't mind!" Wukong snorted as he delivered Ace a noogie.

"I'm sorry about little Kong; he still hasn't finished maturing mentally," Lauriella said helplessly to Milianna.

But Milianna didn't seem to mind her son being manhandled in the slightest. In fact, it brought her no small joy knowing how close Ace and Wukong had gotten.

Whilst Lauriella was accompanying Milianna and Lance, Mathias was floating in the skies above the mountain, and beside him was a giant phoenix that was coated in black flames carrying two people on its back.

On the left was a noticeably tall and fair-skinned woman with long silky blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and broad yet feminine shoulders. She wore a tight-fitted armoured silver corset that showed off her bust and curves, a white leather skirt and a pair of katanas strapped to her back.

Beside her was a tall, dark-skinned man with light brown eyes that looked almost golden under the light of the sun. He had long dreadlocks elegantly tied in a ponytail, wore a plain white robe that swayed gently in the wind and had what appeared to be a glaive split into two parts strapped to his back.

"So that's the boy you mentioned?" The blonde woman asked.

"That's him, master," Mathias answered politely. "According to Kong, he has no affinity to any of the seven laws."

"You should know better than anyone; that doesn't mean he has no affinities at all," Arianna said calmly.

"I know, but even if it turns out he doesn't hold any affinity to the four edicts either, his talent as a warrior still makes him a worthy student for the pavilion," Mathias added.

"An eight-year-old at the late stage of the second rank is impressive but not unheard of. But if you add his bloodline ability and the fact that he's comprehended one with the glaive…

Little Kong was right; he may well be the most talented child I've ever come across." Arianna said. "What about you, Aiden? What do you think of him?"

"Me? I'm just looking forward to seeing him in action." The dark-skinned man said with a hint of a smile as he looked down at Ace bickering with Wukong.