812 A Hard Favor

Ghost ship dashed into a space city built between Neptune and its planetoids. They landed in the military district.

Unlike the previous times, the army didn't even try to put up a front. The guards, the staff—none of them reached even level 5 except for the supervisor.

With a haggard face, the supervisor of the spaceport greeted Varian and Seth and guided them through multiple security checks to a special place.

Both Varian and Seth were extremely exhausted after their battles. Especially Varian. Even though he was healed, his body and mind were completely fatigued.

The military developed a new treatment to decrease fatigue. It wasn't an instant method, but studies have shown it could cut down the recharging time by half.

As an awakener with both body and plantae paths, Varian's recovery speed was already much faster than any awakener.

But with this treatment, he hoped to cut it down even further.

Seth wanted to return to Mars right away. But he knew better than to barge into the warzone with heavy injuries and fatigue. So, he too decided to get this new treatment.

They finished another security check, the strictest one. Then, a set of ancient type buildings greeted them.

They were built from greenish wood, a special type found only in the Ruins. It was said to nourish the body and mind, and remove fatigue and fear.

These wooden buildings were all arranged in a special hexagonal formation with a lush green tree at the center.

"This…"

Even from afar, Varian could feel the vibrant vitality of the tree. Just by taking a breath under the tree, one would feel refreshed.

"The scientists developed a formation to harness the vitality of Zotik tree while helping its growth." The supervisor explained while she kept her eyes locked on Varian and Seth.

"Thankfully, it can help us in the war," Varian said while he observed the expression of the supervisor.

Anxiety was written all over her face.

Varian thought it was because of their presence.

This was a very secretive location. Even military officers couldn't enter this place without sufficient rank and authority or they'd be severely punished.

But now, she was ordered by the high general to give a free pass to Varian. And Varian brought another stranger with him who was also not in the military.

If anything happened to the precious Zotik tree, then she'd also be held responsible.

But the supervisor was anxious for an entirely different reason.

'Did he succeed or not? What happened?'

Forcibly calming her mind, the supervisor hurriedly led the duo to a wooden building that reminded them of a tree house.

"Thanks for your help," Varian said as he laid down on a hammock made out of a giant leaf.

The moment he touched it, a refreshing feeling spread from his body and started to wash away his fatigue. He also started to feel lightheaded as his mind started to recover.

The Supervisor smiled and led Seth to another room.

Varian closed his eyes ad thought of the current situation. Even though resting and recovering were ideal, he almost felt that it was criminal to do so.

Despite trying his best, he wasn't able to force himself to take a short nap. So, Varian spread his mind sense and swept across the nearby wooden buildings.

To his surprise, he found a couple of extremely weak auras.

Level 7s. Level 8s. Even level 9s. But they were like a dying flame, about to be extinguished any second. In their condition, even level 6s could kill them off.

It was only thanks to the healing system that they were slowly recovering. But even with the best healing potions, they'd take at least a day to fully recover. And perhaps three to seven days to fight at their full strength.

'But we don't have time.' Varian felt the texture of the smooth leaf he was resting to distract himself.

His mind was calming down from fatigue, but his worries weren't stopping.

'Boo, any update on Neptune?'

A short silence followed before Boo's cute voice sounded. 'Master, another planetoid has fallen.'

Varian fell silent for a moment and asked. 'Overall?'

'Out of the seventy planetoids, four are facing a severe threat, ten are facing a major threat from Abyssals, thirty are facing a moderate threat, forty are stable.'

Varian silently clenched his fist. 'Those four?'

'Yes. The four that have Wyverns of the second batch.'

"Haaaa~" Varian was about to get up when Boo said. 'Master, they could hold on until you finish your treatment and finish them off one by one.'

'If the situation deteroiates, tell me.' Varian said and decided to rest until then.

It was then that a stiff voice called him out. "Sir Varian."

Varian didn't open his eyes, but his mind sense captured the supervisor who guided him here.

The supervisor seemed to be in her late teens and Varian wondered if she was taking some medicine to look young.

"Yes?" Varian asked in a neutral tone. Was there any news regarding Pluto that she knew and wanted to inform him about?

"Your Pluto mission…" The young woman took a breath and asked. "How did it go?"

Varian raised a brow and the temperature of the room plummeted.

The mission was a top secret. Less than ten people should be aware of it and a peak level 5 was not one of them.

But again, the whole situation was weird. A peak level 5 was also not expected to guard something as precious as a Zotik tree.

"I-I am Sovereign Ares' disciple, Minerva." The lady introduced herself.

The coldness in the room dissipated and an awkward silence replaced it.

"Ah…" Varian muttered, mulling whether it was a good idea to reveal the mission details to her, even if she happened to be Ares' disciple.

Minerva sighed inwardly.

Everywhere she went, people recognized her. Even high awakeners talked with her amicably and were eager to establish a good relationship with her.

She didn't attend the solar banquet since she was in seclusion. So, she wasn't as known in the federation public.

Strictly speaking, her talent was a step above Ashtarh—the most popular Neptune genius and the strongest participant from Neptune in this year's solar trial.

To put it into perspective, she was hitting the same levels as him a few months early.

So, both talent and background-wise, she was at the very top of the federation.

Even though the general public didn't know her, she was already famous in genius circles.

She thought Varian would be surprised when she received him as the supervisor. But his reaction so far told her that he didn't even know her nor had he heard of her name.

Heck, even when he learned about her identity, he was hesitant about revealing the results of his Pluto mission.

'Neptune's brightest genius? Sovereign Ares' disciple? I guess it doesn't matter much to him. Why should it matter to someone who entered Pluto twice?'

Minerva shook her head bitterly and looked at Varian again.

At a man who far surpassed his peers and was standing shoulder to shoulder with true powerhouses of today.

A level 8—a stage she could only hope to achieve in her forties at the earliest.

"Sir Varian, if you tell me about the Pluto mission, I'll owe you a favor. How about it?" Minerva said softly.

"Unless Sovereign Ares allows, I'm sorry." Varian shook his head.

Ares was busy fighting Thunder King and wouldn't be available. He was implicitly rejecting her request.

Minerva knew it too. But she didn't give up. "I stay with master all day to learn from him. I encounter secrets like these all the time. He wouldn't mind at all. So, please…what happened on Pluto?"

Varian wanted to refuse but a sudden thought flashed and he nodded with a serious expression. "I can agree, but the favor will be hard to fulfill."