Charles felt the spirit assimilating into his body. During this process, he had to remain focused.

He sat down on the floor in the same cross-legged position used when absorbing essences.

This was because, for reasons he wasn’t sure of, this was seen as a grounded position.

The spirit seemed to be spreading throughout the entirety of his body. It wasn’t necessarily strengthening his body, but rather removing the restrictions that had been placed on it by his weaker grade.

Charlotte watched nervously, biting down on one of her fingers.

She constantly looked over at her notebook, wishing to help him in whatever way she could.

After a minute passed, she gave up on waiting and reached out for it. Her body felt weak, but what other choice did she—

"Done."

"..."

Charlotte looked back over at Charles. His eyes were now open, and he looked slightly different.

His black hair was longer, and his skin seemed healthier. His muscles had filled out even more than before, and he was experiencing more changes within his body that Charlotte couldn’t even see.

She blinked a few times and asked the same question Charles had asked her a few times before.

"How do you feel?"

Charles clenched and unclenched his fists and examined his palms.

"I feel great. Never felt better, actually."

She let out a sigh of relief, and her shoulders relaxed.

"Good... So you didn’t suffer any mutations?"

"Only two."

"..."

The tension came right back.

Charlotte’s eyes gradually widened as she reached out for her notebook.

She knew just how terrible a mutation could be. Removing it would damage her, but she was willing to take that risk.

However, before she could open the book, Charles was already standing over her with a hand placed on her arm, stopping her from taking action.

She looked up at him, and he flashed her a warm smile.

"Don’t worry, they are only temporary."

"Temporary?"

That’s right. She had completely forgotten that temporary mutations existed. This was because they did not usually appear through breakthroughs, and mostly came from debuff attacks and potions.

Afterwards, she focused on his system fully by glancing at the translucent crystal that formed above his head.

His spells, techniques, and titles were the same as before, except now he was an Adept, with two mutations.

[Fire Weakness ~ You have become weak to fire. All fire damage dealt to you is increased by 50%.]

﹂Time Remaining: 14 Days

[Poor Eyesight ~ Your eyesight is reduced by 50%.]

﹂Time Remaining: 14 Days

As Charlotte saw this, she scratched her chin in thought.

"See? They are not so bad," Charles said smugly.

"I mean... They could be a lot worse, but these are still not good. It’s easy to avoid fire, but the second one..."

Charlotte pouted her bottom lip and held up her hand.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked sternly.

Charles frowned and tilted his head sideways.

"Are we being serious?"

"Yes. How many fingers, Charles?"

"Three."

"..."

"How many this time?"

"Five."

"..."

"And now?"

"..."

"None. That’s a clenched fist."

Charlotte relaxed slightly and nodded her head.

"Okay, maybe it’s not so bad."

That is what I said...

When Charles looked around the room, he could still see things clearly. The problems came when he looked out of the window and tried to notice small details in the distance.

They appeared blurry to him.

Objects in the room also had less sharpness to them now, but it didn’t seem like much of a problem.

As for his weakness to fire... He could only hope that no dragons would appear in the tower.

His body felt much stronger than it previously had, and his mana storage was larger than before.

Not only that, but spells required less mana, and techniques could be performed more smoothly.

Overall, Charles felt great. He was ready to tackle the tower floors.

But before he made any next moves, he turned back to Charlotte.

"How long do you think we have before the three kingdoms arrive at Elurion?"

Charlotte thought for a few moments before answering.

"They would still need to get past the Silverblessed Kingdom’s defences. King Brandon would not allow them to get to Elurion without putting up a fight. However, if they managed to get past his defences, I would assume it would take about a month."

One month.

Charles nodded his head.

"One month will be enough. Especially once I return to you with the items that you need."

Afterwards, he prepared to set out for the tower.

The entire time, Charlotte watched him from the bed.

She noticed that whenever Charles spoke or took action, he always showed complete confidence.

She wasn’t sure if this was just an act, or truly how he felt. All she could be certain of was that she felt grateful.

There would always be that deep sadness inside her heart for dragging someone into a world that she knew faced so many dangers. Her guilt ate away at her more than any sickness her brother could bring upon her.

Yet at the same time, she felt like some sort of greater power had guided her towards making this decision.

She felt that there was no better man on Earth who could save her and this world.

"Well then, I should head out. It shouldn’t be long before I return."

Charles stood by the door, dressed in his long coat. The makeshift dragon scale blade was already in his hand, ready to be used.

Charlotte looked at him and flashed him the most encouraging smile that she could.

She hoped that it would give him even a sliver of strength.

"I will be waiting for you, Charles Abraham."

...

With that, Charles left the room and started his descent down the tower once again.