Ardania considered for a moment what kind of reward she'd give to them.
"I owe you my life. You saved me from that madman. I wanted to reward you… Do you have anything in mind?" She actually remembered how Rayven ran in her direction before truly losing consciousness.
Rayven, however, waved his hand and quickly denied it.
"No, I'm sure you'll be just fine even without our help."
Of course, Ardania couldn't just leave it like that.
She also glanced at the others... "You deserve a reward."
She then reached into her magic pouch, the one they thought was damaged, and pulled out a rune-inscribed token and a rolled parchment sealed with silver wax.
She handed them both to Rayven.
"This token can be useful if you ever want to learn magic. If you make it to Teal Arcane Academy, this will grant you one week of full access to the East Wing Library. That's normally reserved for Apprentices, Tier 1, and Tier 2 Mages. Don't lose it."
Then she turned to old man Thyruz.
"You... are an Enchanter, yes? This is a high-tier crafting manual for Mana Infusion. It's outdated for me, but you may learn something from it."
This wasn't a Spell Rune itself. It was simply a technique that could help with magic enchantments. Because of that, Ardania has no problem sharing it.
After all, only Spell Runes were prohibited from being traded off.
Thyruz's hands trembled as he took the manual. "T-This… is real?"
He wasn't a nobleman and didn't have any access to high-level Spell Runes… Because of that, he changed his path and researched Enchantments on his own.
This was why, despite being old, his Tier as a Mage had become stagnant. He remained at the Arcanist Level or Tier 3 as he focused on being an Enchanter.
"Thank you so much, Miss Ardania!" Thyruz said as he decided to accept it!
This opportunity was a huge deal for him.
Initially, he wanted to become an Enchanter to become rich and obtain high-tier Spell Runes to advance. However, the reality was not that bright for a self-made Enchanter like him because of the many large organizations competing in the same business.
Still, despite his lack of resources, he became a Fifth-Class in his thirties, and after reaching fifty, he became a Third-Class Enchanter.
It had been ten years since he got stuck at this level…
If he learned this high-tier manual that could help his Mana Infusion, then he might just advance to the Second-Class!
"It's fine… There's no way this young man can save me alone. You must've enchanted his physique, so he could carry me away."
At this time, Nara and Miki exchanged glances.
After all, Ardania herself must be a Fifth-Tier Mage at the very least. However, she actually failed to realize that Rayven was a mage!
It means that Rayven's artifact, which could block his Mana Signature or Fluctuation, was a lot more powerful than they thought!
Still, they had already talked about this a while ago before Ardania had woken up.
Rayven requested not to reveal his secret of being a mage! He was simply the son of a merchant and hired them as escorts.
Ardania stood up fully and winced slightly. The burns and damage on her body hadn't fully healed, but her expression showed little concern.
Rayven frowned. "You're injured. Are you sure you should move?"
She shook her head. "I must get the core…"
Her expression then turned serious.
Rayven was confused. "That man—Vairen. He consumed the Primordial Core, right?"
"He did…" Ardania replied. "It's an ancient essence of pure condensed mana left behind by world spirits or remnants of failed gods. One can gain immense power from it—but only for a short time."
Rayven squinted his eyes as he heard this. "So he's still out there searching for you?"
Ardania shook her head slowly.
"No. His body wouldn't withstand it. Not without years of preparation. At best, he has three hours to live. Maybe less. By now… he's likely dead. And the core may have exited his body."
"You're going to look for it?" Rayven asked.
"I must," she said. "The core cannot be left behind. If a beast consumes it… or worse, a demonkind—"
She didn't finish the sentence.
"But you're still bleeding," Miki said, pointing at her arm.
Ardania smiled faintly. "I've had worse."
Without another word, she turned toward the dark forest, the night wind swirling around her robes.
She glanced back just once.
"Good luck to all of you."
As she said this, she finally vanished into the trees…
It was only at this time that Miki and Nara had noticed that a crystal was left on each of them.
Then, Thyruz recognized those crystals and congratulated the two.
"Ohh~ Their Magic Enhancement Crystals. She must've left them to get your weapons enchanted… by me."
The two girls' eyes lit up as soon as they heard this.
Once their weapons got enchanted, their strength would improve tremendously!
In the meantime, Rayven was already thinking about how much he could sell the token once he reached Hesa City.
After all, this item could give one week of full access to the East Wing Library of the famous Arcane Academy!
It was definitely an experience that many wouldn't want to pass up. As long as he sells it to the right person, he could earn a lot of money.
"I hope it can be sold for a thousand gold or even higher."
As he said this, Rayven turned around and finally began with his first-ever gold coin deposit.
Surprisingly, the Coindbound System considered this as an achievement!