Chapter 301: Protecting the Phoenix Flame, Advanced District Housing

"Where’s Celeste?" Emilia asked the moment Leon stepped out of the destroyed restaurant without the phoenix girl beside him.

Leon stayed silent for a second before lowering his gaze toward the small flame resting carefully in his hand.

"Mathilde’s strike was too strong," he sighed. "Celeste didn’t survive it."

Emilia’s eyes widened immediately.

Unlike Leon, Celeste didn’t possess absurd combat power capable of tanking attacks from a level 100 NPC, and unlike Emilia, her constitution wasn’t heavily boosted through a title.

A direct hit from someone like Mathilde was simply too overwhelming.

Then Emilia finally noticed the small flame flickering weakly in Leon’s palm.

"Oh..." she muttered softly before her expression twisted in anger. "That bitch killed Celeste!"

"Luckily she’s a phoenix," Leon answered while staring at the flame carefully. "So she should revive just fine."

He paused briefly, "We just need to be careful."

That was the real issue. Leon had already realized he couldn’t place the phoenix flame inside his [Storage Space].

He had tried earlier, but the system simply rejected it entirely.

Which meant Celeste’s flame either had to remain in someone’s hands or be physically hidden somewhere.

And neither option made Leon feel comfortable.

"I have to take the [Awakener Lord]’s special test tomorrow," Leon continued while walking down the street beside Emilia, "but Celeste’s revival takes three days."

Emilia immediately understood why that was dangerous.

Most people wouldn’t recognize a phoenix flame even if they saw one.

To ordinary players, it would simply look like some strange magical fire.

But if someone knowledgeable discovered what it truly was... Things would become troublesome very quickly.

Because killing a phoenix permanently granted one of the rarest materials imaginable: an item capable of increasing immortality.

Even Leon had to admit that if he somehow obtained something like that, his chances of surviving against the gods in the future would rise dramatically.

But the thought alone irritated him. He refused to even consider sacrificing Celeste for power.

"Let’s just find somewhere to rest," Leon sighed while rubbing his forehead. "We’ll think about the rest later."

Emilia nodded quietly and followed after him.

As they walked through the streets of the [Advanced District], she glanced toward the flame curiously.

"What happens to Pyra when Celeste dies?" Emilia suddenly asked. "Pets don’t die alongside their masters, right?"

"Celeste technically isn’t fully dead," Leon explained calmly. "She’s just in her phoenix revival state, so Pyra is still inside her assigned pet space."

He looked down at the flame again.

"If the owner dies permanently, then the pet gets released."

"And then?"

Leon shrugged, "In most cases, if the pet has high loyalty toward its master, it completely loses control and goes on a rampage."

Emilia blinked, "Seriously?"

"Very seriously," Leon nodded. "And stronger pets create worse disasters."

If Pyra had been summoned when Mathilde attacked Celeste earlier, the small phoenix would have gone insane immediately trying to protect her.

And considering Pyra’s current strength... The destruction would have been enormous.

Pets truly were terrifying beings inside [Eternal Ascension]. The stronger they became, the more dangerous they were, both for enemies and allies.

Just thinking about it made Leon even more eager to eventually hatch the [Primordial Dragon of Chaos].

Though whether he could even manage such a thing remained another issue entirely.

"Can I hold her?" Emilia asked suddenly while looking at the small flame.

Leon hesitated for a second before carefully handing it over.

Emilia held the tiny phoenix flame gently between both hands, her expression softening immediately.

"It feels warm~" she mumbled quietly. "To think this is actually Celeste..."

"There are plenty of races with strange abilities," Leon smiled faintly. "Compared to them, humans and elves are honestly pretty normal."

"Heh... guess so."

The two continued walking through the [Advanced District], and unlike the [Newbie District], this place genuinely looked impressive.

The streets were wider and cleaner. Buildings were taller and far more elegant.

Massive glowing crystals floated above certain roads, illuminating the city with soft light while armored guards patrolled around constantly.

Even the players walking around felt noticeably stronger. Eventually, they reached the residential area of the district.

And unlike before, there weren’t only hotels.

There were actual houses, mansions, and luxurious residences players could purchase depending on their rank and wealth.

Leon opened his panel while walking.

---

[ID: Celestial]

[District: Advanced]

[Awakener Rank: B-Rank]

---

The only thing that had changed after leaving the [Expert Divine Temple] was his district classification. His rank itself remained the same.

Leon knew he could probably increase it extremely quickly now considering his combat power, but honestly, he didn’t care enough at the moment. There were more important things to handle first.

Eventually, the two entered one of the better hotels they could find nearby. Leon rented a decently large room before the two of them stepped inside.

The moment the door closed behind them, Leon carefully placed Celeste’s flame on the floor near the center of the room.

"This should be alright..." he muttered quietly.

The safest option would honestly be placing the flame inside some heavily protected vault or safe zone, but Leon doubted a place like that existed in this district. At least not one he trusted.

Then suddenly, another thought appeared in his mind. Leon immediately raised his [Destiny Staff].

Undead Summoning!

Fwoosh!

Dark energy erupted from the ground. One after another, five skeletal warriors slowly emerged around the phoenix flame.

Each one wore damaged armor while carrying old swords covered in cracks, and at first glance, they honestly looked rather weak.

But Leon’s eyes widened slightly the moment he remembered something important.

His combat power had changed. Which meant theirs had changed too.

Since the skeletons inherited around sixty percent of Leon’s combat power... That meant each of them currently possessed nearly 2.6 million combat power.

"...Incredible."

Even Leon himself looked surprised.

He had honestly forgotten about the skeletons for a while because most enemies he fought recently completely outclassed them.

But now... These undead warriors had become absurdly powerful.

Even level 85 players would likely struggle against a single one.

And if Leon continued upgrading his sub-talents in the future, he could potentially create an entire army capable of crushing kingdoms. The thought itself was terrifying.

Leon pointed toward the phoenix flame.

"Protect it," he ordered simply. "Attack anyone that gets close."

The skeletons immediately moved into position around Celeste’s flame without hesitation.

Despite their worn appearance, Leon knew each of them could likely one-shot level 80 monsters now.

"With that," Leon nodded, "Celeste should be safe."

Emilia sat down beside the flame afterward, her expression still slightly sad.

"So... what do we do now?"

"I’m surprisingly not tired from the god-rank assessment," Leon admitted while stretching slightly. "So either we explore the district or you can rest."

"Exploration!" Emilia answered immediately, her eyes lighting up before dimming again a second later. "Though... it would’ve been more fun with Celeste here."

"We’ll hopefully have time to explore together once this whole thing is over," Leon reassured her. "It’ll be fine."

Though even as he said those words, Leon’s gaze slowly drifted back toward the tiny flame.

Seeing one of his companions like this genuinely irritated him.

Not because Celeste died. Phoenixes revived anyway. But because someone had managed to force them into this situation in the first place.

And worse... Leon couldn’t even retaliate yet. Not against Mathilde. Not against the [Awakener Lord].

Eventually, the two left the room together. Before closing the door behind him, Leon looked back at Celeste’s flame one last time.

The five skeletons remained completely motionless around it like silent guards protecting a treasure.

Leon’s expression slowly grew colder.

’Hah...’

It truly felt awful seeing one of his companions reduced to this state. But at the same time, the anger burning inside him only made one thing clearer.

From now on... He would make absolutely sure something like this never happened again.