Chapter 674: The next trip?

Human Empire, Capital City Astra.

Awakener’s Association Headquarters.

"So... what you are saying is that he came back with the flying boat normally and just when you were about to greet him at the dock, he disappeared, saying, ’Wait a second I have something important to do’..."

Hearing his father’s solemn questioning tone, Link wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and nodded his head.

"Yeah, we went to greet him but he didn’t come back with us and left to do something..."

"I think he will be back soon so there’s no need to worry about it..."

While saying that, Link peeked at his father’s expression a few times as if to analyze whether he was angry or not.

It’s not that Link was afraid or anything; the thing was that in the past few months since Rio had been gone, Ashtel decided to take the task of training Link very seriously!

He handed dangerous missions to Link over and over, and each time Link failed, he would either get the belt treatment or he would have to live in house arrest and reflect on his mistakes!

The belt treatment was still fine, as Link was already used to it since childhood; the house arrest type of punishment, on the other hand, was simply too cruel!

He couldn’t meet Riya when confined to his room!

Living without listening to Riya’s endless chattering was now impossible for him! His day wouldn’t feel okay without listening to Riya enthusiastically showcase and talk about her ultra-rare candy collection!

"What could be so urgent that he would skip making a report to me?... Something must have come up... after all, unlike you Rio is a more sensible kid..."

Link didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry at those words.

Ever since Rio helped in healing Jin and Ashtel, Rio’s impression in Ashtel’s mind has become really good, and he often lectures Link that he should also try to be more like Rio.

’Tch! That statue-faced guy! Just you wait, once Lia returns, I am going to tell her that you were princess-carrying other women when on missions!’

While Link was busy throwing curses at Rio, Riya, who was lying on Raji’s lap and nibbling on sweets, suddenly spoke.

"Maybe he had to go to the toilet for a minute? I mean, there might not be any toilets in the spirit realm, right?"

Hearing Riya’s words, Ashtel, who was busy considering various serious scenarios, almost fell off his chair due to being taken aback by Riya’s completely out-of-the-box remark.

"T-that can’t be right?... He’s an S-ranker after all..."

Ignoring Ashtel’s words, Riya took a long sigh and spoke.

"Talking about S-rankers... the number of S-rankers getting injured every day has increased tremendously... the high-rank dungeons have all become more dangerous it seems..."

"I thought that after reaching rank S... I will not have to work much but... sigh... my workload has only just increased..."

At Riya’s words, Raji also nodded her head.

"Indeed, many major guilds seem to have suffered casualties recently which shouldn’t have happened... it seems like the overall mana density in the world has increased slightly..."

SS-rankers are very sensitive to changes in the flow of mana, and even if it’s just a small increase in the mana density of the world, they can easily sense it.

"Well, the main reason why I wanted Rio to hurry up and come here to report was also because of this matter..."

"The world alliance has sent an invitation to quite a few peak SS-rankers and powerful people; we are going to discuss exactly this topic..."

"New strategies have to be made to counter this situation... sigh... the previous meeting of gods was arranged only just two years ago, and the situation has already worsened so much that they have to arrange a meeting again!"

Hearing Ashtel’s words, stars of excitement appeared in Riya’s eyes as she asked,

"Will there be another tournament of supreme talents!?"

The previous tournament brought immense progress to Riya as she managed to awaken her legendary skill, and she also got to adventure into a completely new nation.

It was a nice experience that she wouldn’t mind reliving again!

"Err... no, that tournament can only be held once every decade or so; we can’t do it so soon... and even if it were held again, you lot wouldn’t be qualified to participate again anyway!"

Hearing Ashtel’s words, Riya felt disappointed.

"Sigh... if only I can go back in time and live my childhood again... sigh..."

Ignoring Riya reminiscing about her carefree childhood days, Ashtel spoke.

"The meeting this time will likely be just a short one and only us peak SS rankers would be allowed to attend it; the location and time will likely be secret too..."

At Ashtel’s words, Link tilted his head and asked,

"Only you can attend the meeting... but it’s not prohibited to bring others with you as companions, right?"

"Wouldn’t that mean we can also tag along? We will not attend the meeting with you, but we do our own thing!"

Ashtel thought for a second and nodded his head.

"Yeah, that’s possible... I mean, even if I brought you to the meeting, no one would be able to say anything anyways and if someone dares to raise their voice, I can just slap them and make them shut up..."

"But why are you lot so excited to go with me anyway?"

Hearing Ashtel’s question, Link and Riya both replied in a united tone!

"Vacation! We want to go on a vacation!"

Ever since the Chronos Incident, they have been working hard continuously!

The last time they went on a vacation was back when the entire team Astra went inside the dragon’s valley!

It’s been too long since then, and they have been looking forward to a proper vacation since then!

"Err... well, if the meeting is held somewhere where you can spend your time peacefully... I guess there’s no harm in taking you lot with me..."

Seeing those pitiful puppy eyes on both Link’s and Riya’s faces, Ashtel had no other choice but to give in and grant their wish!

"Yay! It’s a vacation then!"