The conversation regarding their next destination did not take long, as Eve explained the general location and estimated travel time from the closest city she recognized they had passed by on their way here, namely Ravenhold fort. Though once again, due to the rather unconventional and insanely faster travel method available to them, she could not offer any precise estimations- the roads from Ravenhold to their destination often made large detours around less than hospitable and hard to traverse swamps. She even speculated that they might just reach the place in a much shorter time than what had taken them to reach here. And with that out of the way, around midday when they started to encounter the weaker monsters of around low C grade, he called for a change of pace.

  Rex had decided to use the opportunity to work one Eve and her skill set. Thus, he and Danica walked leisurely next to one another as his blood chains controlled and tore apart most of the monsters that tried to reach them. The ones he herded closer were left for Eve to kill. The difference however was in the manner in which the monsters had to be felled. Rex forgade Eve to use the normal arrows she had with her, forcing her to rely on her own mana shaping. And unlike any other group, who would find training of a similar type over the top, or plain old waste of their time, Rex had his own consideration for this way of training.

  The start for this particular training was quite shaky. While Eve could form somewhat acceptable mana arrow in the camp, with eyes closed and in full concentration, here she had none of those perfect conditions, resulting in the attempts to fail and fizzle out. After the third consecutive fail to even materialize a single arrow, Eve could only hang her head low and apologize, only to receive a light chuckle from Rex, followed with a couple of advices to raise her success rate, followed by a comment that he could help more, but in order to do so he needed to observe her more, either succeeding after implementing the changes he had already suggested, or failing more times until Rex could point out more of these mistakes.

  While initially skeptical, Eve nevertheless did as told, adjusting her technique to what Rex suggested. And while she did not succeed right away, she could clearly feel the obvious difference of ease in forming an arrow, rising bothe her confidence in her own ability to succeed as well as Rex discerning eye. And, another fifteen minutes later, after another set of adjustments later, she was capable of forming stable mana arrows. Sure, it took her solid ten seconds to do so, clearly an atrocious result for someone expected to fire an arrow every few seconds at the very slowest, but it was success nonetheless. Indicated not only by her own infectious smile as she looked towards Rex and Danica, waving the combat ready arrow towards them, but by the praise the duo gave her.

  Next, came the practical part. More practical part? Live target practice for sure. Eve was to use the arrows she made like this and dispatch the monsters still kept around by Rex, allowing the group to head further on back outside. This dungeon, just like Solendiel's and unlike the one in Vixiera, had no portals to leave the dungeon quickly, forcing them to come and go the same way, cutting through a swarm of monsters both ways. And while going in the pest control had been a necessary step, now Rex could use the time to actually make his group stronger and help Eve, and their party in general, save on the money needed to sustain her archer style combat. And sure, they could have Eve cover her arrow costs herself, her family would no doubt provide for said expenses with smiles on their faces, writing it off as a chump change when compared to one of their own making inroads with a powerful adventurer party, but Rex refused to do so. His favours and appreciation meant something, as was not so easily earned, or even attempted to.

  And so, they moved with much lower speed, Eve taking her time to kill monster after monster, sweating as she focused on her task, forming mana arrow after mana arrow, felling monster after monster. And, with each kill, with each subsequent arrow formed and fired, sometimes followed by yet another advice from Rex, she steadily grew better and better at the task given. By the time the sun was setting, the party only reached halfway back at best, Eve had reduced her mana arrow construction time down to five seconds. Still slow? Undoubtedly, but she had achieved a stable success rate as well as doubled the speed with which she could pull the task off, receiving plenty praises from Danica, as well as a couple, light ones from Rex.

  Rex did warn her not to try and compare the two of them as he was not interested in her falling desperate at the insurmountable chasm that was between them, consoling her that Danica was in a similar boat, even if Eve was weaker than Danica as well. Eve took no real offense to the obvious fact, for it was the truth and nothing else, even if she did pout just a tiny bit at the bluntness that those words came with. What's more, it was said precisely for Eve to understand the fact, realize the apparent gap and use it as a motivation to keep working hard and give the training her best. Not the gap between her and Rex, but the one that seperated Eve from their rank in general.

  As a result of their training regiment, mainly focused on sharpening Eve's skills, while giving Danica plenty of time to burn her own mana reserves to fuel the runic engravements and refine her body further, strengthening herself in the process bit by bit, the day they had spent on reaching the location they farmed monsters for the changed into almost three on their way back. Though the results of said delay were far impressive in their own right. Sure, Rex and Danica had barely improved at all, though due to their already high rank and well established and set up combat styles it was to be expected. Eve on the other hand had shown plenty of growth and with plenty of practice and quite a few tips and corrections from Rex had gotten her mana arrow forming down to just a second. And as impressive as it was, Rex had already placed before her yet another task to work on, even harder and daunting than the last.

  Next, Eve would have to practice forming her arrows as she drew her bow, practicing for long and often enough to relegate the entire process to automated subconscious action, and that, that was much more difficult than it initially sounded. Not only had she multitask, drawing her bow, tracing the target and also form the arrow itself, she also might have to move, be aware of her surroundings and somehow also maintain the accuracy expected from a skilled archer. Add all that together, and she was struggling quite a bit. And on top of it all, she was made to practice in live combat, making the whole process even harder. Eve had asked why couldn't they start with a simplified version, learned during the evenings at their camp. Rex's reasoning was quite simple as well. While it was a valid way to learn, often being the correct way, that would not be optimal in their circumstances mainly due to the fact that he was there.

  Everyone knew that warriors and fighters would always seek ways to push themselves to and sometimes past their limits, trying to reach new heights, often resulting in them experiencing battles where a single mistake could lead to their deaths. With Rex here, they could replicate the high adrenaline inducing situations while ensuring that her her life, while balancing on the knife's edge, could not be lost, resulting in exceptional progress speed and refinement of her combat style. With such an explanation, well anchored in logic and time tested methods, Eve could do nothing but agree and continue on, expecting the next time they would get on training, for she would have to rely on either her normal arrows during fighting with A ranked monsters or go with the version of mana arrow materialization she was capable of right now, though if she chose the latter, it would result in rather negligible damage on said monsters, her mana arrows still not strong enough to pierce such high ranking monster hides or armour. She was barely B rank right now after all, her mana capacity, control potency all on the same tier.

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  And so, as soon as the group emerged from the dungeon, Rex's falcons were already there, circling in the air, awaiting their emergence from the portal. Sure, Rex could have went in with the two as well, the entrance big enough to allow for creatures of that size, but he wanted his tow mounts to rest and recover after they had been working quite hard for some time, carrying them from one location to the next, making long flights quite often. Had he also taken them inside the dungeon, worked them there and then once outside do the same again, not only would that unnecessarily exhaust them, but also worsen their condition overall. And be what Rex may, he was not a cruel master. On the contrary, he preferred his subjects to be well looked after and cared for, like any true master would. That was the one thing he failed to understand whenever he looked at people who treated the living creatures under their care harshly, or downright cruelly. And seeing how pleased Danica was to see the two falcons, her own blank brand, place by Rex to protect her from others messing with her soul, as well as for them to be able to sense one another from distance and for the ability to wordlessly communicate with his brand- enslaved creatures, serving well as she approached the duo the moment they landed and proceeded to pet them both, her hands caressing their necks from the outer side while she herself was pressed in between two sets of incredibly fluffy torsos.

  Unlike Danica however, Eve had no such privileges. Without a brand of any kind of her own, she was regarded as nothing more than a temporary ally and thus not entitled to the same treatment as the wolfkin woman. It was also rather apparent that Eve was pouting at the fact, as when she tried to approach and do the same, two, sharp gazes locked on her immediately, forcing her to step back with slumped shoulders and puffed lips. She did not hesitate to approach Rex and complain about the fact either, having become much more familiar with him during their hunt and learning what kind of attitude and code of conduct Rex is fine with, though she had yet to test and push any boundaries, lest she sour their rather well working and pleasant current status quo.

  "How is Danica any better than I am?" she sulked next to Rex "Can you tell them to let me pet them too? They look sooo incredibly soft." she said the last sentence with dreamy, slightly glazed eyes as she was imagining herself slinking into that puffy magnificence and drifting off to sleep.

  "I could, yes. The question is why would I? Don't get me wrong Eve. I find your company pleasant enough to continue our current joint endeavor, but Danica's situation is special. She is a part of my family now, and as such, she has certain privileges as we responsibilities that come with the title. It is also why Wari and Sidsal are so affectionate with her. They can, for lack of a better expression, sense her intentions wholeheartedly, and as such, can let their guard down around her, going so far as to allow her quite a lot of things others could not even dream about. She is quite in love with the two as you can probably tell from looking at their interactions." as he spoke, Rex looked at the trio with content smile on his face, waiting for Danica to get enough of the fluffy treat before they mounted the falcons and were on their way.

  "So, is there no way for me to get closer to tham than what I have been, only getting to touch them while we fly?" Eve asked sadly.

  "That's not necessarily true. Like with most other people, Danica apparently excluded" Rex spoke, adding the exclusion as he remembered Danica's particular special skill "You just have to slowly earn their acceptance, proving time and time again that you mean them no harm and want to be friends. But of course that will take time. Take it as another test that you have been saddled with, if it eases your mind. A challenge even? Ahh, seems Danica is done as well. Let us depart then." Rex finished as he saw that Danica was also done with her fluff pillow hugging. He then walked towards the trio, adding one last question with slightly raised voice, clearly intended for Danica to hear. "Straight to the Ravenhold? Or do you wanna stop by your parents on the way back?"

  "Ravenhold. It has not been that long since we were there last time. Without magnificent creatures like Wari and Sidsal, expeditions like this once alone would take months. Lets not even mention the other part we are about to engage in." She looked fondly towards the two falcons, adding "Now that I have experienced travel like this, I dont think I could ever go back to the carts and carriages. Nu-uh. Flight is the only way from today onwards for long distance travel."

  "Well, I don't know entirely about that. If we ever decide to visit other continents, we will have to reach them with ships. Only once I actually know the distances involved, could I consider if such journey would be safe for Wari and Sidsal." Rex replied, quickly considering the feasibility of Danica's statement.

  "Right. Fair enough." She agreed "But that's another topic entirely." she shrugged and indicated for Rex to move along, with her and Eve following right behind him. Just moments later, two enormous falcons flapped their wings, lifting their giant forms off the ground and under Rex's wordless guidance, steered in the destination of Ravenhold Fort. They had a bit of time to spend, and so, carefully, not to exert himself too much, embracing Danica and holding Eve in her position with a few blood chains, he started to burn small amounts of his mana as he fueled his own body rune engravings. And noticing what Rex was doing, Danica too followed in his example, leaving clueless Eve to her own devices as she was daydreaming about one thing or another, her hands gently stroking the feathered back of the falcone they were riding, no doubt still thinking about the fluffiness of the birds soft feathered necks and chest.

  The rest of their flight was uneventful, no foolish flying monsters trying their luck with the two predators flying through the sky. And so, by the time the sun was starting to set down over the horizon, they had once again arrived in Ravenhold Fort, and thanks to the work of the Coachmen guild, there were no freaking out guards past the initial shock of seeing them appear in their range of vision. After a quick discussion once they had again landed in the place owned by the wolfkin, it was decided to rest the night here and then proceed forward next morning. It would be too hard for them to properly navigate based only on Eve's human eyes in the dark. Unlike the locations marked by Rex that he could pick out even in a pitch black darkness, Eve was only human and was forced to depend on the relatively limited maps of their time and personal experience of traveling said roads. Add to that the fact they would be using a different route, ignoring most, if not all roads by going over them all in a mostly straight line.

  Before retiring for the night, Eve sent out her own message to prepare a report for her to read from her subordinates once the party reaches their next destination- a city by the name of Verta, located near the dungeon that was of interest to them for their next task to be completed. With all of that done, they had a nice supper in one of the nearby inn's, slaking their thirst and silencing the growl of their empty bellies and then the trio laid to sleep, leaving the two falcons to their own feast as well as having Snek on night's watch duty once again- Rex's 'little' snake having gotten used to the task.

  In the morning, after a hearty and filling meal, the trio quickly resupplied, restoring their stock as they calculated estimated time needed to finish this particular quest.

  "It should be a quick task, especially after I saw how well we dealt with the vipers and vulrams. We will not even have to drag ourselves for an entire day to reach the spot where they inhabit. The dungeon is one of the upper level ones, sporting peak C ranks and higher within its walls." explained Eve as they finalized their shopping, once again numerous eyes on their group due to the princess among their ranks. Luckily, for the opposing parties, none was foolish enough to annoy them for whatever reason or approach in order to suck up to Eve, though Rex could sense that there were quite a few people around mulling over the latter approach, settling on not risking it right now. And with their resupply done, they returned to the warehouse, mounted Wari and Sidsel and, under the guidance of Eve, departed towards Verta.