He would consume one of them and give another to Rosalia, while saving the rest for his women or children in the future.

Gertrud looked reluctant.

"Is something the matter?"

"No, I... It’s just... our empire relies on those for future generations. If—"

"Your future is already doomed if you don’t bring me those orbs." Max used the threat again. He had already noticed how well it worked on this girl.

She cared too deeply about her people and her home, to the point where she would sacrifice anything, even herself, to protect them. While Max respected that, he also found it slightly foolish.

"Yes..." Her body twisted as dark green wings burst from her back. A thick dragon tail extended from her spine, and dark horns, almost black with a green tint, rose from her head like a crown.

Her eyes lit up in a beautiful neon green, a dragon’s slit cutting through her irises.

With a single flap of her wings, she shot nearly ten meters into the air and reluctantly gathered the five orbs.

When she landed beside Max, his eyes were already fixed greedily on the treasures pressed tight against her full chest, the slight bounce of her curves nearly making him lose focus for a second.

"Ahem... King Maximus?" Gertrud narrowed her eyes, thinking he was staring at the orbs a little too intensely, unaware that he had accidentally found something even more distracting.

Max coughed, realizing he had nearly been caught.

"Just call me Max," he said, clearing his throat. "Give me one of them." He extended his hand, forcing his mind back to what actually mattered.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Absorb it." Max grinned. The greedy light in his eyes was so sharp that Gertrud could not help but wonder if he had truly been sent from hell itself to ruin everything she held dear.

The green light in the orb shone brightly, spinning like a living tempest. Just looking at it made his blood churn. He wanted that wind affinity more than anything. He had already seen what the old man could do with it, and if he, with his magic soul, could wield that same power, then just how strong would he become?

He had already been forced to leave one treasure alone for the time being. There was no way Max would allow a second one to escape him. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

There was no reaction from the system this time, which made him wonder if it only responded to the most valuable treasures.

"Please reconsider, these treasures—" Gertrud tried again, her eyes begging him to change his mind.

It was starting to annoy Max.

"How about this?" Max smiled like a wild fox. "You give me these orbs, and in the future, I will solve the problem of Wind Dragons lacking affinity."

His eyes were too honest, too steady, and that alone made Gertrud take a step back.

"How?" she whimpered.

"I have a way."

"That—" She extended her hand. "I do not trust you. Allow me... allow me to feel your heart. We Wind Dragons can sense lies and truth through a person’s heartbeat. If you are telling me the truth, I will give them to you..."

"And if I don’t?" Max stepped closer, pressing his chest against her hand.

Gertrud stumbled back, her spine hitting the pillar behind her as he pushed in with his weight. His right hand pressed against the stone beside her, his face drawing closer.

"I—" Her cheeks flushed, caught off guard by his sudden move. "I will fight to the death if I must, I—"

"I have a way to let every Wind Dragon awaken their innate magic. Not right now, but in the future... if you help me," he said slowly, giving each word a weight she was too innocent to fully understand.

His heartbeat was steady. That was what shocked Gertrud the most. She did not understand how he could be so confident, nor what kind of secret he held that let him make such a promise to her without hesitation. But for now, she had lost her gamble.

"You’re really telling the truth..." she muttered, turning her face away as if she could no longer meet his eyes.

She slowly reached out and handed him one of the orbs, which he accepted with a cheeky smile.

"Thank you very much."

He stepped aside, feeling the cold vibration pulsing from within the orb, as if it was truly filled with wind, raging like a storm trapped inside. He traced the smooth surface with his finger, and at once, a strange connection called to him. It did not ask for his heart.

It called for his void. He did not resist it. He simply let his body guide him.

Gertrud took several hurried steps back, hiding behind the pillar. Her eyes widened as the dark mist spread from Max’s fingertips and slowly wrapped around the orb.

What terrified her was that this was not the right method.

He should have pressed it to his chest and allowed the energy to enter his heart little by little. It was a slow process, one that took weeks to complete. But this... this was something she had never imagined, not even in her wildest thoughts.

The green energy burst out of the orb faster than she could blink.

It rushed into the black mist and vanished into Max’s body.

Max staggered back a few steps, his vision blurring and his head spinning. A violent heat exploded in his chest, as if his heart had been thrown into a furnace. Then pain tore through his spine like a knife.

Then another, and another, stabbing through him from the inside and outside at once until it felt as if his whole body was being ripped apart. He dropped to his knees, his face turning pale.

Inside him, the green energy was trying desperately to escape, as if it had suddenly realized it had entered the mouth of something far worse than itself. It crashed wildly against him, trying to tear open a path and flee, but the black mist rose after it slowly, relentlessly, making it scream louder and louder.

Bit by bit, it was devoured and absorbed, consumed by the void energy traveling deep into Max’s magic soul.

If he could have seen what was happening inside himself, he would have noticed a small imprint of wind being carved into his magic soul, glowing green against the black-as-ink surface.