"...Master…"

Paa Paa

"Master, wake up… please…"

"Ah!" Robin jolted upright with a sharp gasp, eyes stretching wide open like someone surfacing from a deep dreamless void, then began looking around in utter confusion.

Jabba stood right beside him with a wide, satisfied grin plastered across his face, while Shaddad and Althera were also nearby, lingering anxiously. When they noticed he'd finally regained consciousness, both immediately stepped forward with visible relief softening their expressions.

"What… happened…" Robin murmured, shaking his head vigorously, trying to pull back fragments of memory that were blurry and scattered, then slowly raised his hand and touched his cheek with suspicion. "Why does it feel… like someone slapped me repeatedly…"

"Ahaha, you fainted after that legendary move of yours—swoosh, just like that~" Jabba changed the subject immediately, waving his arms dramatically as he mimicked Robin swinging the quill like a showman. "When we checked your condition, we found the two remaining foundational levels you had were almost dried like old wood from lack of energy, and your body was showing severe, dangerous signs of exhaustion. So I spent the last ten minutes using an Energy Pearl to gently inject power into your energy gathering center."

"Oh… thanks." Robin blinked, forgetting entirely about his reddened cheek, then raised his right hand slowly. The Seraphim quill still rested there, glowing with mesmerizing brilliance and sacred splendor. It felt almost alive, as if a faint consciousness pulsed inside it, guiding its aura. "...What exactly happened back there? I didn't intend to draw anything, nor do I even know how to draw such a celestial diagram. I only just began learning to outline runes and channel energy through them—each one takes me literal years to finish properly!"

"It's quite the dilemma…" Jabba nodded several times in deep thought while observing the quill intensely, his pupils reflecting its glow. Then he stretched his hand toward it with greedy curiosity. "Give it to me, let me explore its hidden properties for you."

Woosh Robin instantly hugged the quill and twisted his torso away like a protective mother bird. "Back off." He glanced at the quill again, whispering with affection, "My dear quill… this feels like planetary-grade artifact, but what grade? I need patience and time to uncover all the secrets buried inside its structure."

"Lord Robin, could you please stop destroying your foundations over and over?" Althera approached, her brows tightening in mild frustration. "Every time I see you, you're at a new bizarre level, and now you've dropped all the way to level two… Does this truly reflect your noble status?"

"Compared to who exactly? Do you know anyone else drawing master law runes without sacrificing their foundational layers?" Robin raised a brow mockingly, then stood up and walked toward the boxes with deliberate steps. "Anyway, this path will reach its end soon, whether I want it or not."

"Oh? Have you invented a method to draw sovereign runes without losing foundation layers, Master?" Jabba stood quickly and followed behind him, his eyes still glued obsessively to the quill as though staring at the most enchanting woman in existence.

"No, but soon enough, I won't have any foundations left to sacrifice anyway." Robin placed Seraphim inside the box with reverence and sealed it tightly, locking away its glow. "Soon, I'll compress my Energy Core and become a World Cataclysm. After that, even if I wanted to tear down everything and rebuild from scratch, I simply won't be able to."

Robin sighed deeply… Experimenting with patterns of Truth and engraving them onto fresh foundational layers had become his newest and most thrilling obsession. But once he forms his Core, all of that becomes impossible. If it's damaged, the entire energy convergence center collapses like a shattered star. It either has enough energy stored… or it doesn't. There is no space for playful adjustments at that stage.

All he could do was hope, silently and stubbornly, that some hidden opportunity in the distant future would allow him to pursue that beloved hobby even after forming the Core…

"Soon?" Althera furrowed her brows again, then examined Robin from his hair to the soles of his feet several thoughtful times. "Your restraints don't look close to breaking at all. You still have tens of thousands of years before you can enter the Middle Belt and attempt another breakthrough."

"Yes, well… we'll see about that~" Robin clapped confidently, the sound echoing faintly. Then he bent down and grabbed the third box with both hands. A strange, hungry smile slowly spread across his face, growing wider and sharper. "Hehe… and what might you be hiding for me as well…"

Step Step

Jabba and Althera approached him quickly, almost tripping over their own feet from excitement, standing close behind him like curious children. Their eyes were glued to the box, shimmering with expectation as hundreds — maybe thousands — of wild guesses raced chaotically through their minds.

"Hm? Where's the big shadow?" Robin glanced over his shoulder, searching for Shaddad. He spotted him sitting alone by the shore, hugging his knees tightly to his chest, shoulders slumped, letting out a long, depressed sigh as waves gently brushed the sand around him.

Robin raised his voice slightly, calling out, "Hey, aren't you coming to see what's inside the third one?"

"Heh~ I really don't think I'm qualified to witness that…" Shaddad mumbled, digging his chin deeper between his knees. "Jabba is your disciple, and Her Majesty the Monarch is basically your boss at the academy — she's the one who brought you all the way here…"

He curled up tighter, voice growing small, "...I feel like an intruder just standing near you."

"Oh, alright," Robin nodded casually without much concern, then turned his attention forward again, slowly examining the intricate engravings along the lid of the box before releasing its final latch.

A dramatic yell echoed from behind, "At least say something comforting!! A word! A sentence! Anything! My dignity depends on it!"

But Robin ignored him completely, focused on the mechanism in front of him as if nothing else existed.

Klik

The third box clicked open with a crisp metallic echo.

Immediately, all three of them unconsciously furrowed their brows, subtly leaning in closer, tilting their heads like puzzled scholars. "Hmm?"

Compared to the other two items they had received, the third was easily the most cryptic and alien in nature.

"What did you find? What did you find?!"

Shaddad sprang up from his gloomy spot with the energy of a startled cat, and in just two long strides, stood wedged tightly between Althera and Jabba. He stretched his neck over Robin's head, his large dark eyes widening comically. "Hmm??"

Inside the box rested something truly curious. There were about twenty spherical objects, neatly arranged and cushioned, with one of them noticeably larger — almost twice the size, giving off a subtle aura of importance.

The spheres glowed with shifting luminosity — transitioning between swirling black and smooth violet shades. Anyone who dared to stare deeper would notice tiny brilliant points flickering inside them, appearing and vanishing like shooting stars in miniature galaxies. It was like gazing into pocket-sized universes.

Each sphere was suspended within a nearly transparent cube, faintly shimmering, as if sealed in blocks of eternal, indestructible cosmic ice. Despite the containment, the swirling colors and the starlike pulses clearly proved these orbs were alive and active — not dormant artifacts.

"…What exactly is this supposed to be?" Robin murmured slowly.

"A type of weapon, maybe?" Jabba speculated, rubbing his chin. "Throw one at your enemy and it detonates like a celestial grenade?"

"It looks like some exotic metal compound…" another voice added. "Perhaps these could be used for forging epic-grade weapons of absurd quality?"

"…To be honest, they look like extremely rare grapes," Shaddad muttered after gulping. "They're dangerously tempting to eat."

"...Hmm, I seriously haven't put anything edible into my mouth for days…"

Robin leaned forward, whispering urgently, "Do you think the Cosmic Elder gave me cosmic grapes because he noticed I was starving?"

"And why not?" Jabba shrugged. "He seemed generous and surprisingly hospitable. He literally let us fish inside his own dimensional home."

"Give me one," Shaddad whispered, half-joking but half-serious, "I'll tell you if it tastes like salvation."

As Robin, Jabba, and Shaddad were drowning in cascading ideas, comparing theories and daydreaming about weapons, food, and cosmic metallurgy, they suddenly heard a faint sound from their right.

Step

A single step — but heavy with unusual tension.

"Hm?" All three turned simultaneously toward the sound, and what they saw was… troubling.

Althera was slowly retreating, her normally composed face pale, eyes trembling with shock. Her body quivered as if an invisible cold wind was slicing through her bones, gaze fixed on the box like it contained forbidden horror.

"...Your Majesty?" Robin asked, concern creeping into his voice.

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