Chapter 23: Why Can I Sense Them?
But without waiting for any answer, she continued. "The others and I are going to attempt an A-tier dungeon. We will have to attempt it with more members, at least ten."
"Also, A-Tier dungeons aren’t child’s play, just like I told you before. They need at least five A-ranks to clear them."
"Max and I would be there, and the other three of our companions will follow along. Also, Micah and Sylv. They’ll be there because Sylv is a mage and Micah is a priest."
Ethan grasped her words clearly as he tried to understand their meaning. After explaining the dungeon and her plans for tomorrow, Sara went silent while he was lost in thought.
’Yeah, I expected it to be challenging because the A-Tier dungeon is like an open world with multiple dangers. But I didn’t expect it to require so many A-Rank and B-Rank adventurers. Many A-Rank and B-Rank adventurers.’
’Both Isolde and Athena have potential beyond the SS rank... Just how strong would they have been at their peak, before they suffered all those injuries?’
Just thinking about that sent chills down his spine that his ability to think had nullified.
Both of them travelled for the next hour without taking any breaks. Their neighborhood was finally in sight, sending a wave of relief over Ethan because he had been away from his house for almost a day.
A faint smile tucked the corner of his lips, which was enough for Sara to take notice of it.
She didn’t try to point it out, but she let a smile crawl on her lips.
Soon, they reached Ethan’s home. When they reached the door, Ethan stood there for a few seconds as he took a long, deep breath before letting it all out.
He gently pressed the doorbell, DING. For a while, no kind of noise came from inside, but then a faint sound of footsteps fell inside their ears.
The door opened, revealing Elina, who stood there with her arms crossed. She took a good look at Ethan and then at Sara.
"You both are late, not just late but hours late."
"The food is already prepared, so quickly go and take a bath before joining us for dinner."
Then her gaze fell on Ethan as she continued, her tone firm. "Your wives are waiting for you. Although they tried to maintain their composure after you didn’t come back on time, it was clearly visible from their expressions that they were tense."
"So don’t waste any more time, and quickly go and assure them that you’re fine."
When Ethan heard her words, his posture stiffened, his shoulders tensing at once. His brow furrowed, and without wasting even a second, he rushed inside toward their bedroom.
The moment he reached inside, he noticed that Isolde was sitting on the bed’s corner. She had one of her hands resting on the other; her calm demeanor remained intact, but there was uncertainty hidden behind it.
On the other hand, Athena was gently resting in her wheelchair. Her eyes were narrowed, and her brows were drawn together, which reflected her annoyance.
Athena was the first one to notice Ethan enter through the door. When she saw Ethan was standing there, for a sliver of a second her expression seemed to relax.
But right away, a vein popped through her temple as she bit her lower lip to control her anger.
Isolde sensed Ethan’s mana strands; her head shot towards the direction where he was standing. A smile appeared on her face, although she couldn’t see Ethan; still, the glow on her face seemed to brighten by several folds.
A sigh left her mouth as she placed both her hands on her chest.
"You really aren’t suitable for this job, Ethan. Why don’t you try switching job professions?" Athena said, her tone firm.
Ethan instinctively took a step back, his eyes widened a bit. "W-what do you mean by that, Athena?" He asked, confusion mixed with his tone.
"My words were clear, and also the meaning behind them. You are nothing more than an amateur when it comes to mana. Then why can I sense the mana cores of the Dire Wolves? And why can I even sense the mana core of the boss of this particular C-Tier dungeon?
Her words made Ethan’s heart start beating vigorously next to his chest. ’I knew that she was strong; also, her ability to sense mana would be spectacular too, but she recognized the mana of the cores right away? ’ Even with her mana circuits blocked?’
"What are you thinking about? Tell me, why did you attempt a C-Tier dungeon when you’re not even qualified enough to set foot inside D-Tier?"
Ethan gulped; his gaze fell over Isolde once, then switched back to Athena. He scratched the back of his head; uncertainty curled over his face. "Uh... I actually took part in a C-Tier dungeon, which was a wolf’s den."
For a few seconds, Athena didn’t say anything because she was waiting for him to finally say that he was just joking. But when he didn’t, she snapped. "You attempted a C-Tier dungeon when you’re not even strong enough to clear an E-Tier dungeon alone?"
"What kind of recklessness was that, Ethan? One single wrong step and you would have died. Are you that blind in money? Did you need money to go and spend in the bar, drinking and spending time with women like you used to do?"
Ethan’s eyes widened, not because she was wrong but because she had finally let her real feelings out. At first his brows furrowed, and he bit his lower lip, but then his expression softened as a thought appeared inside his mind.
’No... she is not wrong at all. I can’t even argue with her because the previous owner, the actual Ethan, was actually a bastard son of a duke. He spent most of his time at a bar, drinking and messing around with women, and never did anything progressive.’