Elena exhaled slowly, still trying to organize her thoughts.
"…Understood." she finally said, straightening her posture.
Without wasting any more time, she turned toward the door.
"I'll retrieve the Healing Technique books and gather Volaan and Cheng Soo immediately."
Garrick gave a small nod, watching her carefully.
"And Elena," he added as she reached for the handle.
She paused.
"Be discreet," Garrick said quietly. "Not everyone needs to know why these orders are being given."
Elena nodded once.
"Yes, Secretary."
Then she left the office, the door closing behind her with a soft echo, leaving Garrick alone once more with his thoughts—and the growing weight of Kael Virent's existence.
Night had fully fallen over Fortress Genesis, and the streets were now lit by warm lanterns and glowing street lamps.
Kael sat quietly on a chair outside a small restaurant, positioned near the edge of a busy street where people came and went without stopping.
He ate in silence, completely unfazed by the noise of the crowd around him.
Laughter, footsteps, and merchants calling out filled the air, but none of it seemed to reach him.
People passed by occasionally, some glancing at him curiously before continuing on their way.
To them, he looked like just another traveler resting after a long day.
Kael finished another bite of his food, his expression unchanged, as if the chaos of the previous battles belonged to an entirely different world.
Then Cheng Soo arrived, holding a bottle of alcohol in one hand, his face slightly flushed red.
"Oyy, kid…" he called out lazily as he approached Kael's table, swaying a little from side to side.
He dropped into the empty chair across from him without waiting for permission, setting the bottle down with a soft clink.
"You really picked a strange place to sit," Cheng Soo muttered, glancing at the busy street around them.
Kael looked at him quietly but didn't respond, continuing to eat.
Cheng Soo let out a small chuckle, leaning back in his chair.
"Heh… Six-Core Nightmare slayer sitting here like nothing happened." he said, shaking his head.
Cheng Soo took another sip from his bottle, watching Kael closely over the rim.
"You don't look like someone who just changed the entire fortress situation. " he muttered.
Kael continued eating calmly, as if the words had no weight at all.
The old physician sighed and placed the bottle down.
"You know," he said slowly, "people like you usually don't appear without a reason."
He leaned forward slightly, his expression becoming sharper despite the alcohol in his system.
"So tell me, Kael Virent… what are you really planning to do in Fortress Genesis?"
"It's nothing," Kael replied calmly. "I'm not planning to stay here for long. I might go to the Great Land to find solutions."
Cheng Soo narrowed his eyes slightly, studying him over the rim of his bottle.
"Great Land, huh…" he muttered. "That's not a place people casually decide to go."
Kael continued eating as if it was already decided.
"I don't have anything here that keeps me," he added simply.
Cheng Soo let out a slow breath, then leaned back in his chair again, staring at the night sky.
"…You're really strange, kid." he said quietly.
"You know, you're name are so familiar for me, the so familiar that almost same." Staring up at the night sky with a relaxed tone.
"Virent, Huh?" Cheng Soo repeated slowly, his expression tightening for a brief moment.
"Is there something?" Kael asked calmly, still eating without looking up.
Cheng Soo immediately waved his hand as if dismissing the thought.
"No, no, no… there's nothing," he said quickly, forcing a light chuckle.
He leaned back in his chair, though his eyes still carried a faint trace of seriousness.
"Just… continue your eating, kid," he added, turning his gaze back toward the night sky as if nothing had happened.
Kael quietly activated his Truth.
His eyes faintly shimmered with a subtle glow as his vision shifted beyond the physical.
He looked directly at Cheng Soo, scanning him carefully—blood flow, energy traces, hidden intentions, everything.
But…
There was nothing unusual.
No deception. No hidden hostility. No strange energy pattern connected to Kael or the name Virent.
Just an old physician sitting under the night sky, pretending to be relaxed while slightly avoiding a deeper thought.
Kael's eyes dimmed back to normal as he continued eating in silence, concluding that the reaction was simply instinct or coincidence, not something immediately dangerous.
Then Elena arrived, slightly out of breath, clearly exhausted from running across the fortress.
She placed her hands on her knees for a moment, catching her breath before lifting her head.
"…Finally found you," she muttered, visibly drained.
"Hm? Elena, why are you here?" Cheng Soo teased immediately with a grin. "Don't tell me you fell in love with him, hehehe."
Without hesitation, Elena walked up and smacked Cheng Soo on the head.
PAK!
"YOU!" she snapped. "I've been searching the entire fortress, and you're just sitting here drinking alcohol, you decrepit old man! Do you know how hard it was to find you?!"
Cheng Soo winced slightly, rubbing his head with a laugh as Kael quietly watched the scene unfold without reaction.
"Oi, oi, calm down," Cheng Soo complained, rubbing the back of his head. "You'll kill an old man one day."
"You're a Peak-Mortal healer who can survive being thrown through a wall," Elena shot back. "Stop acting fragile."
Cheng Soo opened his mouth to argue, then wisely decided not to.
Taking a deep breath, Elena finally turned toward Kael.
"Kael Virent," she said, straightening her posture. "Secretary Garrick sent me."
She placed three old books on the table, followed by a sealed pouch.
"These are the three Healing Technique books you requested. And Garrick asked me to bring Cheng Soo and Volaan to meet you."
Cheng Soo blinked.
"…Wait. Why am I being delivered like a package?" he asked.
Kael stopped eating and reached for the first book.
Without saying a word, he opened it and flipped through the pages one after another.
Then he closed it.
He immediately picked up the second book and did the same thing.
Page after page flashed by beneath his fingers.
Then the third.
The entire process looked less like reading and more like briefly inspecting the contents.
Elena stared in disbelief.
"...Why isn't he reading it?" she whispered. "He's just opening the pages."
Cheng Soo frowned slightly as well, unable to understand what Kael was doing.
Less than two minutes later, all three Healing Technique books were stacked neatly on the table.
Kael placed his hand on the final book and fell silent, as if organizing the information in his mind.
Meanwhile, Elena and Cheng Soo could only stare at him, wondering whether he had actually read anything at all.
"Do you have a dagger?" Kael asked calmly, looking toward Elena. "I want to test it."
Elena blinked, caught completely off guard by the request.
"Huh? Test it?" she repeated. "Don't tell me…"
Her eyes widened as she glanced at the three books on the table.
"Are you saying you already learned the healing techniques?"
For the first time that night, even Cheng Soo stopped drinking and stared directly at Kael, waiting for his answer.
Kael looked at Elena as if the answer was obvious.
"I think so." he said.
The table fell silent.
"I think so?" Elena repeated, her voice rising slightly. "What do you mean I think so?"
Kael tapped the cover of one of the books.
"I understood the theory, the energy pathways, and the healing process described inside."
Cheng Soo slowly lowered his bottle.
"Kid," he said carefully, "those are Healing Techniques. People spend years learning them."
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"…Years?"
Elena and Cheng Soo exchanged a glance.
For some reason, the way Kael said that single word made them feel that he genuinely didn't understand why it would take that long.
Elena stared at him for a few seconds before finally pulling a small dagger from her waist.
"Here," she said, placing it on the table. "But if you're going to test a healing technique, don't do anything stupid."
Kael picked up the dagger without hesitation.
Before either of them could stop him, he turned the blade and sliced a shallow cut across his palm.
"HEY!" Elena shouted.
A thin line of blood immediately appeared.
Cheng Soo nearly spat out his drink. "What kind of person tests healing by stabbing himself?!"
Kael ignored them, his attention was fixed on the wound.
A faint stream of energy gathered around his hand as he recalled the principles from the books.
The cut began to glow softly.
Then, right before Elena and Cheng Soo's eyes, the flesh slowly pulled itself together. The bleeding stopped, and the wound started closing at a visible pace.
The two of them froze, their expressions gradually turning from shock to disbelief.
Kael turned his gaze toward Cheng Soo.
"Old Cheng Soo, right?" he said calmly.
"Yeah, kid… why—" Cheng Soo began, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence as a realization hit him. His eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait, kid. Don't tell me you're using tha—"
"I was just testing if it really works," Kael interrupted, completely unfazed.
The wound on his palm had already closed almost completely, leaving only a faint trace behind.
Cheng Soo froze, his expression tightening as he stared at Kael's hand.
"…You learned Healing Arts from three books in under minutes," he muttered slowly, as if trying to deny reality.
"What a monstrous genius…" Cheng Soo whispered to himself.
His grip tightened slightly around the bottle, his usual playful drunkenness completely gone.
For someone like him, who had spent decades studying healing techniques, what Kael had just done defied common sense.
Elena also remained silent, her eyes fixed on Kael as if seeing him in a completely different light now.
The next morning, Kael was escorted by a knight through the castle grounds toward a training area located behind the fortress.
Yesterday's meeting with Volaan had been postponed, as she had already gone to sleep by the time Elena found Cheng Soo and delivered Garrick's orders.
As for Cheng Soo, there was little left for Kael to learn from him.
After studying the three Healing Technique books and observing Cheng Soo's methods, Kael had already grasped the fundamentals he needed.
The knight stopped in front of a reinforced wooden door and pushed it open.
"Lady Volaan is inside." he said respectfully.
Kael stepped into the room.
Inside, he saw a young woman sitting behind a table covered with papers, magical diagrams, and strange devices.
She was short, wore round glasses, and had long violet hair that flowed down her back.
At first glance, she looked more like a scholar than a powerful practitioner.
The moment the door opened, Volaan adjusted her glasses and looked up from her work.
"So," she said, her violet eyes studying Kael with curiosity.
"You're Kael Virent?"