The battlefield was a mess, with dead monsters everywhere. Only Vell's group remained standing, though even they were clearly out of breath. He looked at them, seeing how happy they were, and then he looked back, seeing Jia, who was broken.

[I am confused, Master. Why did you not transform? And you barely used the power from the new mana. What was the whole point?]

'Well, truth be told, I thought we would lose to her, but she turned out to be weaker than expected. I wonder how strong she was in her prime. I would have loved to face that version.'

He walked over to his kids, patting them on the head. "Great work, everyone. You all did great." His head turned towards Kana, still holding a flicker of hate for her. "Even you."

She flinched, but she held her head high, meeting his gaze. "Thank you," she said, her voice soft, almost wanting to cry. "I… I will not disappoint you again."

He did not respond. He knew she meant her words just by the look in her eyes. He turned his attention to Yenna and Wren, who were catching their breath, leaning on each other for support. "You two were incredible," he said, a hint of pride in his voice. "I knew I could count on you."

Yenna smiled, though it was tinged with exhaustion. "We have a good teacher," she said, giving him a soft look.

Wren nodded in agreement, her eyes still glowing faintly. "We indeed learned from the best."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I have some other things I need to teach you all, but for now, rest." Then he walked back to Jia, who was still kneeling beside the Queen's body, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. He crouched down beside her, his gaze softening.

"She is gone," he said, his voice gentle. "There is nothing more you can do for her."

She did not respond, her tears falling onto the Queen's lifeless face. He reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here."

She slowly raised her head, her eyes red and swollen. "Where… where will I go?" she whispered, her voice hoarse. "She was… she was everything to me."

He sighed. "Did you forget? I am your master. You will obviously be going with me, unless you want me to break the bond?" The look in his eyes told her that he was serious.

'With him…' She gave the queen one last look. 'Goodbye, my queen. I will live on and carry your legacy.' She got up, wiped her tears, and gave him a forced smile. "I will go along with you then. I will be in your care, Master." She walked away to join the others, and looking at her, he could not help but worry.

[Do you really think she can make it? She looks broken. She might cause some problems that could lead the whole team into danger.]

'You are right, but do not worry. I will help her through that. She might act brave, but you can tell she is still just a kid.' His attention went back to the queen. He dug his hand into her chest and pulled out her core.

[That has a decent amount of mana.]

'Yeah, I will store it with the other one.' He looked in the direction of the queen's base and walked back to his team. 'We are done here. Time to move on.'

"Alright, if you are all done collecting the cores, let's move on. We are done here." He led the way, and they followed close by, having little chats while Wren went back into her normal form, resting on his shoulders.

'So he is a tamer. I have never heard of a tamer like him. Strange,' Kana thought, taking a look at Jolly, who was having fun talking to the twins. This strangely got on her nerves, seeing her that happy while she was still suffering from guilt.

Jolly, sensing her gaze, looked back, and they locked eyes for a bit before Jolly gave her a smug smile. She could not handle it and attacked, but Yenna quickly pinned her down. "What do you think you are doing?" Yenna asked, her tone cold.

"How can you all just accept her after what she did? She has betrayed you both, so why are you forgiving her so easily?" Before Yenna could respond, Vell showed up, looking annoyed.

His eyes were locked onto her, his voice carrying a cold edge. "Do not think I have forgotten what you have done," he said, his tone like ice. "You betrayed me, too. You stood by while I suffered, and you only helped when it suited you."

The group went silent. None dared speak up, especially Kana. She bit her lip and turned her head in shame. "If something like this happens again, you can put two and two together." He turned and continued walking.

Yenna let her go and also continued walking. Jolly stayed behind, watching Kana on the ground, on the verge of tears. "Look, you really need to let go of that hate and move on. If not, you will never be able to get his forgiveness." With that, she also followed the group.

'Dammit, it was not supposed to be like this. I thought if I apologized, things would go back to normal, but I failed to realize just how much he suffered. I… do I deserve to be by his side?' She slowly got up and followed them, her mind still racing.

Nighttime approached, and they set up camp near a large tree where they could see incoming monsters easily. Vell went out and brought back some meat, which was prepared by Yenna. Her cooking skills were no joke.

While the meat was cooking, Vell stared at Jolly, scanning her from top to bottom. "Hey, come over here. Let me help you with your mana core." Her eyes lit up, and she got to her feet quickly and sat in front of him. "What is up with that dumb smile?" he asked, tracing his fingers on her back.

"I am sorry. I thought I would not be able to use mana anymore. Hearing you say you can help me just got me excited. I do not want to be a burden."

[Do you think she will adapt?]

'She will or she will not. Either way, we move forward.'

[That is it? You are not even worried?]

'Why should I be worried? I am not the type to fail, and with my level of understanding, this should be a piece of cake.'

"Stay still. This will not be comfortable," he said, his voice flat.

The air around them shifted, growing dense with mana. He closed his eyes, focusing his energy. His mana surged forward, entering her body like a steady stream. She stiffened, her breath catching as the foreign energy began to dissolve her current core. The process was not gentle—it felt like her insides were being torn apart, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

"You will feel pain," he said, his tone matter-of-fact, "but it is necessary. Your current core is useless. I am dismantling it."

She nodded shakily, tears welling up in her eyes. She clung to his words, trusting him despite the agony. Slowly, his mana swept through her, breaking down the remnants of her core and dispersing the fragmented energy back into the surrounding air.

Once the old core was completely gone, his hands glowed brighter. He reached out, pulling mana from the environment around them. The natural energy swirled in the air, drawn to him like a vortex. With precision, he guided the raw mana into her body, shaping it, compressing it, and forming it into a new, stable core within her chest.

"It is done," he said after a long silence, pulling his hand back. "You have a new core now. It is stronger and more efficient. Use it wisely."

Jolly gasped, placing a hand over her chest. The warmth of the newly-formed core spread through her, and she could feel the steady pulse of mana flowing freely once more. "Thank you so much," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I… I do not know how to repay you."

"You repay me by not wasting it. Grow strong and prove yourself to the team." He stood and turned away, his attention already elsewhere. "Eat and rest. We leave at dawn."

She watched him for a moment, her gratitude shining through her tear-streaked face. Despite his lack of warmth, she knew his actions spoke louder than his words. She sat back, leaning against the tree, her exhaustion slowly catching up with her as she smiled faintly to herself.

Kana watched them, also wanting help with her body, but she did not want to annoy him, so she let it go.

"Are we finally leaving this dangerous place?" Yenna asked, handing him a piece of meat.

"Yeah, but did you forget? This is a massive forest, so we still have a ways to go until we exit this place… which means," his tone shifted, trying to scare her, "we are going to fight even more monsters, scary monsters."

She smiled nervously. "D-Dammit."

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