Max slowly opened his eyes.

  The ceiling above him was carved wood, covered with glowing magical symbols.

  He tried to move.

  Pain ran through his entire body.

  “Ugh…”

  He looked down.

  His torso was covered with bck lines drawn in ink.

  Magical seals.

  Some of them were still glowing faintly as they absorbed mana from the surrounding air.

  Max blinked.

  ‘Recovery seals…?’

  He turned his head slightly.

  He was lying on a smooth stone table in a rge room filled with jars, hanging herbs, and medical tools.

  Dorian’s healing room.

  Then he remembered. In the game, whenever the party took a long rest to recover HP, the cinematic showed exactly this. Dorian walking around the party members, painting recovery seals onto their bodies with a magical brush.

  Max let out a small ugh.

  “So… it really was canon.”

  He tried to sit up a little.

  At that moment—

  TING.

  A blue window appeared in front of his eyes.

  Max immediately smiled.

  “Ah, right.”

  The quest.

  The system screen unfolded.

  [ Main Quest Completed ]

  [ Win the duel for the princess’s hand without your companions dying. ]

  [ Status: Completed ]

  [ Estimated Difficulty: Extremely High ]

  Max raised an eyebrow.

  “Not bad.”

  Another line appeared beneath it.

  [ Reward Avaible ]

  Max reached into the air.

  “Cim reward.”

  The window changed immediately.

  A violet glow filled the screen.

  Then an object appeared before him.

  A chest.

  Small.

  Elegant.

  Dark violet.

  With golden engravings carved along the edges.

  The aura surrounding it was intense.

  Max whistled.

  “Ultra rare, huh?”

  The chest floated slowly in front of him.

  Waiting.

  Max leaned back against the healing table and smiled.

  “Let’s see what broken item you give me.”

  And he opened the chest.

  A burst of silver light shot out from inside. The light spun in front of Max, slowly condensing into a defined shape.

  Dark fabric.

  A bck cloak appeared floating before him, suspended in the air as if it weighed nothing. The edges were woven with silver threads that shimmered faintly.

  Max raised an eyebrow.

  The cloak slowly rotated, as if presenting itself.

  At that moment—

  TING.

  A new system window appeared before his eyes.

  [ Ultra Rare Item Obtained ]

  [ Cloak of the Echoed Motion ]

  [ A cloak capable of recording and reproducing nearby movements. ]

  [ Abilities: Replicates the st simple action performed nearby. ]

  [ Cooldown: 5 minutes ]

  Max smiled.

  “Copying movements?”

  Before he could keep reading, another window appeared.

  [ Item Enhancement Activated ]

  The text changed.

  [ Motion Echo ? Enhanced ]

  [ Cooldown: 2 minutes ]

  [ Additional Effect: One copied action can be stored temporarily. ]

  Max stared at the window for a few seconds.

  “Okay… this is actually interesting.”

  The cloak slowly descended into his hands.

  The fabric was surprisingly light. It almost felt weightless.

  Max examined it for a moment, running his fingers along the silver threads on the edge.

  “Let’s see how it looks.”

  He pced it over his shoulders. The fabric adjusted on its own, as if it had been made exactly for him.

  Max moved his arms a little.

  The cloak slid naturally behind him.

  “…Not bad.”

  He tried to stand up.

  At that moment, the door to the room opened.

  “Max?”

  Dorian entered first, with Moon walking beside him.

  Both of them stared at the scene.

  Max standing there. Still covered in magical seals.

  Dorian immediately frowned.

  “What are you doing?”

  Max raised his hands.

  “I’m testing if I’m still alive.”

  “Lie back down.”

  Dorian’s tone didn’t leave much room for argument.

  “Your body just went through a ridiculous fight and I’m not finished healing you yet.”

  Max sighed.

  “Yeah, yeah…”

  He sat back down on the stone table.

  Moon quickly walked over.

  “Papa!”

  The girl hugged him carefully, as if she was afraid she might break him.

  Max ruffled her hair.

  “Hey.”

  “You slept a lot.”

  “I know.”

  Max looked at Dorian.

  “Where are Gawain and the others?”

  Dorian kept drawing magical seals on Max’s arm with the brush.

  “Resting. And celebrating a little, I suppose.”

  Max nodded.

  “And Taniel?”

  Moon answered this time.

  “The birdman said they’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

  Max blinked.

  “That fast?”

  Moon nodded.

  “He was here with Dorian while you were being healed.”

  She paused slightly.

  “Taniel is still unconscious in the other room.”

  Dorian snorted.

  “I still can’t believe you won that fight.”

  Max smiled faintly.

  “Neither can we.”

  Dorian finished drawing a seal and blew softly over the ink. The symbol glowed and then faded away.

  Max shifted slightly on the table.

  “Dorian.”

  “Hm?”

  “I want to go see Enor.”

  The healer raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t seem surprised.

  “I figured.”

  He pced the brush into a small jar.

  “Give me a moment.”

  He leaned over Max again and began drawing another seal on his shoulder.

  “I’ll finish stabilizing these mana channels and then you can go.”

  Max sighed.

  “Thanks.”

  Dorian worked in silence for a few seconds.

  Then he spoke without looking up.

  “By the way.”

  Max looked at him.

  “You did very well out there.”

  Max shrugged.

  “I got lucky.”

  Dorian slowly shook his head.

  “No.”

  He finished the st seal and cleaned the brush.

  Then he looked directly at him.

  “You reminded me of an old adventure companion.”

  Max raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh yeah?”

  Dorian smiled.

  “Yeah.”

  He paused briefly.

  “He was just as troublesome.”

  Moon lifted her head.

  “Troublesome Papa?”

  Max sighed. But he couldn’t help smiling.

  ***

  A while ter, Max left the healing room.

  Dorian had stayed behind organizing jars and tools while Moon waved goodbye to him from the doorway.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” Dorian had said.

  Max responded with a thumbs-up.

  Now he was slowly walking down the castle’s guest corridor.

  The magical torches along the walls emitted a dim blue light that illuminated the wooden doors lined up on both sides.

  His body still hurt. But he could walk.

  That was enough.

  Max adjusted the new cloak on his shoulders.

  The fabric moved softly with every step.

  ‘That mission was definitely worth it. I didn’t know wearing a cloak could feel this good.’

  Enor’s room was at the end of the hallway.

  Max walked a few more meters.

  Then he stopped.

  A voice.

  Low.

  Annoyed.

  Coming from one of the rooms.

  Max frowned.

  He recognized that voice.

  Taniel.

  “…this wasn’t what we agreed on.”

  Max moved a little closer to the door.

  The voices inside sounded tense.

  “I already paid.”

  Taniel’s voice sounded irritated.

  “And you brought me two useless fools.”

  Max blinked.

  ‘Two useless…?’

  He immediately remembered the two warriors Taniel had hired for the duel.

  He took another step toward the door.

  But then he stopped.

  ‘If someone comes out right now, they’ll see me.’

  Max looked at his hand.

  His Absolute Silence Ring.

  He activated it.

  A soft distortion expanded around him.

  The Silence Area.

  Not a single sound could leave the invisible sphere.

  Max slowly leaned toward the door.

  There was a small gap between the wood and the frame.

  He looked.

  Three figures stood around the bed, covered in bck cloaks. Their faces hidden beneath deep hoods. Taniel was sitting on the bed, still pale, but clearly awake.

  And furious.

  “I paid you a fortune,” Taniel growled. “Do you know how much it cost to bring you to this kingdom?”

  None of the three responded.

  “You were supposed to be elite assassins.”

  Silence.

  Taniel smmed his hand against the bed.

  “And you lost to a damn pet, a pigeon-brain, and a little girl!”

  Max felt a sting in his chest.

  ‘Hey…’

  One of the bck-cloaked men finally moved.

  Calmly.

  He pulled something from beneath his cloak.

  A bde.

  Thin.

  Curved.

  The bde glinted briefly under the room’s light.

  Taniel frowned.

  “What is that supposed to—”

  The bde moved.

  Fast.

  A single cut.

  Taniel’s throat opened before he could finish the sentence.

  Max felt his stomach freeze.

  Taniel tried to speak.

  Only the sound of his throat choking on his own blood came out.

  Then his body fell backward.

  Max trembled.

  The man with the bde wiped it clean on his cloak.

  And then—

  He turned his head.

  Directly toward the door.

  Directly toward Max.

  Even though the Silence Area was still active.

  Even though he hadn’t moved.

  Even though there was barely a crack.

  The man looked straight into his eyes.

  Beneath the hood, Max could barely make out a smile.

  He immediately stepped away from the door.

  One hand covering his mouth by reflex.

  Even though he knew they couldn’t hear him.

  “How…?”

  Inside the room something moved.

  Then—

  A burst of wind.

  The furniture inside the room shook violently.

  The curtains whipped.

  A loud noise struck the gss.

  Max waited a few seconds.

  His heart still pounding.

  Finally he leaned toward the crack again.

  He looked.

  The room was a mess.

  Sheets thrown aside.

  A chair knocked over.

  But the bed was empty.

  The three hooded figures were gone.

  Taniel was gone.

  Nothing.

  Max blinked.

  “…What?”

  He slowly pushed the door open.

  He stepped inside.

  The room was completely silent.

  No blood.

  No body.

  Max walked toward the window. It was closed. But something caught his attention.

  On the wooden frame there was a strange powder.

  Green.

  Very fine.

  Max stared at it for a few seconds.

  He didn’t touch it.

  “That’s definitely not normal.”

  He looked around the room once more.

  Nothing.

  He closed the door.

  Turned the key slowly.

  And returned to the hallway.

  His gaze shifted toward the end of the corridor.

  Enor’s room.

  Max took a deep breath.

  “First… I need to talk to her.”

  And he started walking again.