"You know my wounds heal quickly. There isn’t a need for it," Vlad said with a sigh, sitting on the wooden bench placed beside the wall outside the infirmary.

"Shut up," Chloe ordered, her eyes fixed on his hands resting in her lap as she carefully dabbed the cotton on his torn skin. Her touch was featherlight, precise.

Once the cotton reddened with blood, she threw it into the trash can placed beside the bench before taking out another piece of cotton. She dipped it in the disinfectant and carefully dabbed his skin again, her movements slow and deliberate.

He looked at her serene face silently, a mask that seemed to carry no expression. Yet he knew better.

"Chloe, don’t worry. It will be healed by morning," Vlad said, trying to soothe her. He could see her saddened face as clearly as day beneath the calm surface.

"It must be hurting," Chloe muttered, her eyes lowered. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I hate it when you are hurt."

She took out the bandage roll from its paper packaging, applied ointment onto it, and carefully wrapped it around his hands. His both hands were soon covered in professionally tied bandages, the white strips contrasting against his skin. She had years of experience wrapping bandages on his hands from the countless times he had torn his skin by swinging an axe to cut wood or a sword to practice his skills.

Still, she never grew used to doing it. The sight of Vlad getting wounded. She absolutely hated it.

"Thank you. It doesn’t hurt anymore," Vlad chuckled, patting her head. His palm rested gently on her lavender hair. "Give me a big Chloe smile as the final patch."

Chloe raised her eyes, locking them with his, her baby pink lips forming a very faint smile.

Vlad’s eyes narrowed in delight. He gave her a few more pats before removing his hand from her head.

---

"You are really sure you don’t need me to come with you?" Vlad asked, standing in the open field outside the main building. The noon breeze ruffled their hair.

"I’m not a kid, Uncle Vlad," Chloe replied, obviously annoyed as it was already the fifth time Vlad had asked her the same question. "You should rest too. I will meet you at the market at five o’clock."

"Calling me uncle and then saying you aren’t a kid in the same sentence," Vlad shook his head at the irony. A soft laugh escaped him. "Alright, send me a message when you reach your room. You remember how to do it, right?"

"I do," Chloe said with narrowed eyes before pivoting on her foot. "Bye-bye, Uncle Vlad."

Vlad kept his gaze fixed on her departing figure until she disappeared into the distance. The open field stretched empty before him. He would usually not get this worried about her leaving alone, but she just had a dream of her parents.

Whenever she had such dreams in the past, she would tightly cling to either Vlad, Edren or Elaria, whomever was present in that moment. But this time, she was trying to keep a strong front, although Vlad could clearly sense that she was shaken. She did not want him to walk all the way to the girls’ dormitory when his hands were already wounded.

"This girl..." Vlad murmured with a smile. "When did she become so mature?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He opened his phone and checked the time. The screen read 1:46 pm, the sun high and bright in the sky, casting sharp shadows across the ground.

"I have three hours. This much time should be enough," he nodded to himself. Normally, he would have used this time to hit another session in the gym. But Chloe had just wrapped bandages around his hands. He would be in for a scolding if she saw his hands bleeding again in the evening. Moreover, he already had other plans.

He went straight to the dormitory, changed into casual clothes, and went out again, the strap of his gym bag resting on his shoulder.

"It was in this direction if I remember correctly," he murmured, staring at the distance toward the east, standing outside the towering stone walls of the dormitory.

Within a few minutes, he arrived at his destination: the Greyveil Forest. Even in the bright noon, the forest remained cozy and dark, shadows of leaves and wide branches spread across the land, blocking the sunlight. The air was cooler here, carrying the earthy scent of moss and damp soil.

He reached a spot halfway from the restricted area and selected a place below a broad tree. Its trunk was wide enough to hide him from casual view, its roots curling into the ground like tired fingers.

He carefully looked at his surroundings, making sure no one was present. Satisfied that he was alone, he opened the zipper of the bag, revealing the metallic mystery box placed inside.

He placed the box on the ground in front of him and pressed the white tile on top of it.

Its segmented sides began rotating with a low metallic hum in the same familiar motion. The sound was soft but distinct, like a clockwork mechanism. Once the motion stopped, the white tile on the top face slowly ascended upward, revealing the crimson diamond-shaped stone inside. It pulsed with a faint inner glow.

The strange hunger returned the moment the stone became visible. A mild headache spread across his forehead, his eyes locking onto the stone and the darkness emerging from it.

He hit his temple repeatedly to keep himself controlled. His knuckles rapped against his skin, the sharp pain grounding him.

"Ren, what is this thing?" he asked, pulling himself together.

[Analysing the artifact...]

[Artifact identified!]

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Devouring Thunder

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Type: Mana Stone

Level: Primordial

Description:

[A generous gift bestowed by the Legacy System for completing its quest. Formed through the fusion of a Black Dragon’s heart and a Thunderbird’s core, this mana stone can store the primordial mana of Umbra and Electro affinity]

[Consume]

"H-holy fuck..." Vlad gasped, his eyes widening in shock, the hair on his arms rising from just reading the description, his jaw dropping to the floor.