As that senpai named Anton said, they were here for a real combat assessment, not to take care of kids.
Noah also wasn't sure whether, with her and Helena's ability, they would drag the team down.
"Come on, little Noah, Helena."
The one speaking was another senpai sister. Her tone was gentle and soft, "Since you've applied for this real combat assessment, then you should treat it seriously. If you follow our method, there definitely won't be any mistakes."
Noah scratched at the corner of her mouth, still a bit hesitant.
"Then it's settled."
Yuna patted Noah's little head, "Once the assessment starts, we'll be a six-person squad~"
'Really… such warm hospitality, senpai.'
The two little dragon girls looked at each other, and had no choice but to go along.
The barbecue night snack party continued.
A group of people chatted enthusiastically, while Noah walked alone to the window, gazing at the pitch-black night sky outside.
Heavy snow was falling, reflected in her sapphire blue eyes.
She looked at her own reflection on the window, encouraging herself, 'We'll definitely be able to complete the assessment smoothly, Noah, go for it.'
———
At dawn, Leviathan slowly descended upon the Far North.
Cold wind howled, snowflakes flew, and before them stretched an endless expanse of white.
After arriving on the ground through the teleportation beam, Rossweise squinted slightly to prevent the snowflakes from blowing into her eyes.
She raised her hand to shade her brow, looking into the distance, "I feel like we may have underestimated things. This place doesn't seem like somewhere you can just rely on luck."
"In human society, there's a saying that really suits this kind of situation. Oh, no, it's not a saying, it's just four words," Leon walked up from behind her and stood by her side.
"What four words?"
"Since we are here."
The queen shook her head helplessly and smiled.
Indeed, "since we are here" suited all sorts of unplanned situations.
Three days of long travel had finally brought them to the Far North. If they were to retreat before even starting to investigate, that really wasn't their style as a couple.
"Alright all you brave survival enthusiasts, this is the final stop of our journey: the forbidden land of the dragon race, the Far North."
Almost forgot, this time they had come under the pretense of an "outdoor survival challenge."
So naturally, someone was in charge of the "challenge" part.
"We'll carry out a three-day survival journey here. During this period, we have no backup, no guides, and no gourmet food or fireplaces dropping from the sky at key moments. What we have, is a courageous heart that dares to challenge nature."
This was exactly why Leon never participated in survival challenges.
Leaving a perfectly fine home, not lying on a comfy bed, not eating delicious meals, instead running off into the wilderness for some survival challenge.
'You dragons have clearly gotten a bit too comfortable, clearly too well-fed and bored.'
'If you love survival challenges that much, why not try a true man's 1v1 duel with General Leon?'
'Isn't that way more thrilling than this snowy land?'
While Leon was ranting in his mind, the challenge enthusiasts and students from Saint Heath Academy had already split into two groups.
"I heard these students are all from the academy's Young Dragon Division, here for real combat assessment," explained Rossweise.
"Assessment in a place like this?"
Rossweise nodded, "Mm, it's a tradition of the academy. Didn't your teacher also say that if you want to become a stronger warrior, you must make a trip to the Far North no matter what?"
"That's true," Leon exhaled, his breath especially visible in the freezing cold.
He looked at the groups of students in pairs and threes, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do you think Noah might have secretly followed us?"
"Noah won't enter the Young Dragon Division until next year, so she shouldn't… come, right?"
It would've been better if Leon hadn't asked. Now that he did, Rossweise didn't feel so certain either.
Their eldest daughter wasn't someone who could be judged by the standards of ordinary hatchlings.
After all, what kind of five-year-old dares to ambush a Dragon King level opponent? And did it twice.
More importantly, Noah had perfectly inherited the part of her parents' personalities that loved challenging themselves.
So if given a chance to train in the Far North, Noah might really come.
But Leon and Rossweise stood under Leviathan for a while, and until most of the students had left, they didn't see any trace of their daughter.
Leon let out a quiet sigh of relief, "Maybe we were just overthinking it."
To be honest, he really didn't want his daughter to be here. At least not at this point in time.
There would be plenty of opportunities to train and become stronger in the future, no need to rush.
Leon was worried that if Constantine was truly here, Noah might get hurt.
The couple withdrew their gazes and walked toward the crowd ahead.
They had real business to take care of too.
Just as the couple left, Noah and Helena poked their heads out from behind Yuna.
"Did they leave?", Noah asked.
"Mm, already far away."
The enthusiastic thunder dragon princess stood on tiptoes and looked, watching the backs of Leon and Rossweise, "The legendary Silver Dragon Queen really is elegant, and your dad is super handsome. The two of them are such a perfect match."
Noah had grown up under the influence of this handsome pair, so she was already immune to all that stuff about elegance and perfect match.
She let out a breath and came out with Helena.
"By the way, little Noah, why didn't you want your mom and dad to know you came here?", Yuna asked after pulling back her gaze.
Noah looked at her parents' figures gradually vanishing into the snowy wind, thought for a moment, and replied, "My dad's a daughter-con. If he knew I came here, he'd definitely stay by my side the whole time."
Yuna's thoughts stirred, and then she helped complete the thought, "So you'd rather rely on yourself and your friends to complete the assessment, right?"
Noah nodded firmly, "Besides… if I complete the Far North assessment without them knowing, and then bring the results back home, they'll definitely be even happier."
Yuna blinked, "Are your parents… the kind who really care about grades?"
"No, they don't care about grades. They care about me. But right now, grades are the best way to prove my ability."
Noah also looked away, adjusted the backpack on her shoulders, and stepped into the snow,
"I will definitely become as strong as them. I will."
The small figure gradually disappeared into the swirling snowflakes.
Helena called her best friend's name and chased after her.
Yuna looked at Noah's slender silhouette, then turned back toward the couple.
After a while, her lips curved in a faint smile, and she murmured softly, "You will, junior. One day, you'll become a warrior stronger than you could ever imagine."
Yuna stepped into the snowstorm, officially beginning the assessment journey with the rest of the team.
———
The survival challenge continued, but Leon and Rossweise had already quietly slipped away from the main group.
Before leaving, Leon had secretly placed a tracking spell on the challenge supervisor, just in case they got lost.
That way, they could search for Constantine's traces with peace of mind.
According to their initial idea, finding a flaming stitched-up monster in this endless white expanse wasn't easy.
So they planned to use the Primordial Energy condensed by Rossweise for sensing.
Magic with the same source of origin can generate resonance, this is basic knowledge in magic class.
They just didn't know if this applied to ancient Primordial magic.
After confirming that no one was around, Rossweise began condensing her Primordial Energy.
Soon, the surrounding snow and wind seemed to be repelled by an invisible force, swirling away from her.
And the snow beneath her feet began to show signs of melting.
Leon quickly raised his arm to support her waist, in case the snow collapsed suddenly and made Rossweise fall.
Luckily, Rossweise's control of Primordial Energy was already very proficient. She soon condensed a milky-white orb of light.
Step one was considered a success.
The couple exchanged a glance and smiled in sync.
Next was step two.
Rossweise raised the Primordial orb, closed her eyes, and quietly sensed the magical fluctuations.
After a period of waiting, she slightly frowned.
"What's wrong? Didn't sense any other Primordial Energy?", Leon asked.
Rossweise opened her eyes, waved away the orb, and nodded, "Mm, there was no reaction or resonance at all. But that shouldn't be the case."
"Logically speaking, all dragon race origins come from the Primordial Dragon King Noah. The Primordial Energy I condensed should resonate with his. So why is there no reaction at all…"
Leon pondered for a moment and speculated, "Using resonance between sources of power to sense another Primordial Energy's location, maybe your grandmother and the others also tried this back in the day, but they still took many years to find even a tiny bit of Primordial Energy. So I think… maybe there's some restriction preventing the resonance."
He paused, then added, "Or maybe, the intensity of our current Primordial Energy isn't enough to connect with the other Primordial Energy."
The queen frowned in thought, "Not strong enough… But this is already the best I can do right now."
Leon lifted his hand and patted her shoulder in comfort, "It's alright, we expected this possibility. Don't be discouraged, let's think of other methods."
Easier said than done, but what could they actually do?
Leon looked up at the sky, still a field of blinding white, even the outline of the sun was unclear.
After staring at the sky for a while without inspiration, he looked down at the ground.
The snow beneath was thick, and underneath should be that so-called "ice layer even Constantine couldn't burn through."
And beneath that ice layer, was the endless treasure.
"Rossweise," Leon suddenly spoke.
"Mm?"
"You say… how was that Primordial Energy your grandmother found preserved?"
"How… was it preserved?"
Rossweise thought for a moment and replied, "Probably stored in some kind of container?"
"A container preserved all the way from Noah's era? That's unlikely."
Leon bent down, picked up a handful of snow, and watched it melt in his palm, "I'm more inclined to believe… that powerful Primordial force was sealed beneath the ice layer, and what your grandmother collected was just the leaked portion from that seal."
Upon hearing that, Rossweise grew interested, "A seal?"
"Mm. Including this snow and the deeper ice layer below, they're all part of the seal."
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