Astoria is very anxious right now. It has been thirty minutes since Max left. She was worried about him. Besides she will not escape the catastrophe if Max is caught. She did not know why she had a glimmer of hope that Max could somehow deal with those remaining bandits.
"I am so stupid. How can a Rank 4 Star Knight deal with a group of Rank 5 Star Knights."
Just when she was thinking she heard the a bunch of rapid footsteps. Her heart stopped beating for a split second. Her face was very pale. But she was stunned to see the person coming in. She did not know how to feel for a moment. Her beautiful green eyes were filled with relief, astonishment and disbelief.
Finally it all turned to a resentment. She ran towards him and tried to beat his chest with her fists. Though they did not contain a hint of Star Power.
"Bastard! You scared me!"
"Is this how you treat your savior?"
Max looked at the girl calmly as he caught her fist and released it.
Astoria looked at her posture, her face became pink in color that extended to her ears. She withdrew her hand and looked at him in shock.
Even though she knew he could not come back alive without killing those people, she was still surprised hearing that he solved the group of bandits.
She was amazed. She did not think he defeated them with any treasure. Because in this continent even though there are defensive tools developed by high ranking blacksmiths, there is no attacking type weapons or treasures that can help a Rank 4 Star Knight kill a bunch of Rank 5 Star Knights. At least she has never heard of one.
So the only possibility is that the handsome boy in front of her who looked around 13 years old with a cultivation base of Rank 4 has the combat power to rival a group of Rank 5 Star Knights, which is unheard of in the continent's history.
Looking at the boy she had complex emotions on her face. She is considered as one of the geniuses in the academy. But in front of him the title 'Genius' seems to be a joke.
As she was thinking she suddenly saw that he was covered in sweat, thinking that he was exhausted she summoned a green lotus in her palms and flashed her rune and activated a Star Skill.
"Recovery Star Light!"
A white light shone on Max's head a he felt that most of his fatigue was gone. Even though he was not injured during the fight, he exhausted his star power and ran out of his stamina. Killing ten Rank 5 Star Knights with his current strength was a bit overload to his body even with his physical strength.
He was a little bit surprised. Even if the star skill could not recover his star power. It has already returned his body condition to half of his peak. He squinted his eyes at her with curious eyes.
"How is it? Am I Awesome?"
When she saw those eyes she seemed to regain some confidence and asked him with her eyes that seemed to ask for a praise.
Max shook his head with a slight smile on his face and could only give a light nod to her.
'She still has a childish personality at her age.'
"By the way, what is your name. Where are you from."
She started asking questions.
He though she looked like a girl from a high background with her temperament. It wouldn't hurt to maintain a good relationship.
"My name is Max. I come from Red Lotus Empire."
"Red Lotus Empire? No wonder, I have not heard of someone as talented as you."
She looked at him in realization.
'Huh. I think even if you were from the Red Lotus Empire, you wouldn't have heard about me.'
He thought.
"Why don't you come to our Storm Wind Imperial Academy..? I think with your talent you can definitely get a lot of resources. They will even cultivate you as a core student. Our Academy is lot better than Red Lotus Royal Academy, both in teaching and resources."
Astoria suggested suddenly.
She had a hint of contempt in her eyes when she talked about Red Lotus Royal Academy.
"Ok!"
She invited Max because she wanted to recommend him to the college core training to repay him for saving her, also because it would be great for someone so talented as him to join the college. When she invited him, she thought of many ideas to impress him to join the academy. But she did expect him to agree so easily.
Max did not have anywhere to go right now. He also wants to see the other Star Knights of his age and how they are taught. May be he could also get some Dark Attribute Star Skills in the academy. Besides, in an academy he has relatively more freedom than those clans. So when she invited him he agreed without hesitation.
"Ok! You will definitely not regret it."
She smiled happily.
"Well, we will leave in the morning. You can sleep on that side of the cave."
As he waved to her and started laying down on the leaves that he previously spread on the ground.
She still wanted to talk with him when she saw him laying down and close his eyes. The happiness on her face disappeared instantly as she pouted her lips and walked to the side he pointed.
"Stingy!"
Astoria also closed her eyes and fell asleep.
..
The rising sun cast a rosy tone across the morning sky. The first rays of sunlight lit up the cave.
Astoria opened her eyes with reluctance when the sunlight shone on her face. She blocked those rays with one hand and rubbed her eyes with other. She got up from the ground, stretched her hands and yawned.
"ahhhh-hhaaaaaa"
When she turned her head casually, she was immediately embarrassed seeing him awake. She comforted herself that he might not have seen her posture when she saw him meditating thinking that his focus was not on her.
Max slowly opened his eyes when he heard the noise and noticed that she was awake. He stood from the ground and suggested.
"Shall we leave?"
"Alright."
She replied with a smile on her face. She missed her master.
"Do you have a map with you?"
He asked her.
She nodded her head and took out a map from her sapphire space ring and passed it to him.
Max opened the map scroll and started studying the map.
The Ever Green forest is situated in the middle of The Red Lotus Empire and The Strom Wind Empire. It almost stems across half of the border between the two empires.
The area they were in is currently the northern periphery of the forest. Just a few kilometers far from the Storm Wind Empire.
"Storm Wind Imperial Academy is located in the center of the empire about a hundred kilometers from the capital Storm Wind City. We can walk till we leave the forest and hire a carriage to the academy."
Astoria spoke to Max.
"Okay, But I don't have any gold with me."
Max raised his hands indicating that he had no money.
"Don't worry, my master gave me a lot of coins."
She showed off her space ring proudly while she was greeted by the footsteps of Max leaving.
"Hey! Wait."
Astoria chased Max.