After thinking myself in circles and coming up with absolutely nothing, I gave up and just floated there.

My soul was still stitching itself back together and for whatever reason, I couldn't exit this damn domain until it finished.

So… I decided to rest.

Not like I had anything else to do besides brew in strange theories and useless thoughts.

And then something clicked.

My cloak.

I still hadn't checked what the hell had changed with it.

But of course, that traitorous tsundere bastard was outside on my physical body, so I couldn't exactly examine it here…

… or at least, that's what I thought because the moment I wished for it, the cloak appeared in front of me as if it had been waiting for my command all along.

What the hell?

Since when was this possible?

I stared at the cloak, genuinely amused and decided to test it. I willed for a few more items, just to see what would happen.

And to my absolute surprise, every artifact I had refined appeared instantly, drifting around me in the cracked domain like obedient little satellites.

But only the ones I had refined.

The unrefined artifacts didn't show up at all, no matter how hard I focused.

I tried summoning a few more things but nothing happened.

Still, I found it interesting.

I wanted to keep testing but for some reason I had this strong feeling that if I didn't check the cloak's status window right now, it would actually materialize a hand just to slap me.

I could practically feel its irritation buzzing in the air. I mean, I really had been ignoring the poor guy for a while now.

And maybe the domain really was amplifying my bond with it… because the annoyance radiating off that cloak felt almost vivid.

It had been buzzing with excitement right after its evolution, and I had basically ignored it while I was busy negotiating with Morvana.

Come to think of it… that's probably where all this resentment started.

"Okay, okay, don't be so angry. I was saving you for last because I'm excited to see your status too."

I tried placating it and willed for its status window as the details appeared almost instantly.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Cloak of Arcane Trickster.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Type: Sentient Artifact

Rank: ????

Description: A semi-aware cloak born of prolonged exposure to deception, illusion and dramatic flair. Once worn by ▒▒▒▒▒. It reacts most strongly to wielders who align with trickery or unpredictability. Now after being in possession of an Arcane Trickster, it had evolved further.

Effect:

• Adaptive Arcane form: The cloak can alter its form and also cleans itself automatically, maintaining a pristine appearance. The cloak can adapt to any environmental conditions.

• Infinite Pocket: The cloak is house to near infinite storage.

• Spatial Warp: The cloak swirls and hide the user within its spatial dimension for a few seconds, making it impossible for anyone to detect.

• Arcane Disguise: With a dramatic swirl, the cloak can rewrite your appearance, making it difficult for most of the people to see through it.

Quirk: It flutters dramatically sometimes. It dislikes asymmetry and self-adjusts when crooked. It doesn't like to be ignored.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Damn… now this was definitely worth waiting for."

I muttered it deliberately loud, and sure enough, the cloak practically puffed up in pride.

Honestly, with a quirk that screamed "don't ignore me," the least I could do was throw it a little praise.

And honestly, the praise wasn't wasted.

The new effects were good… really good.

If I hadn't just run into a deranged God and gotten sliced in half while testing a skill, I would've wanted to try it out immediately.

But I held back because I had enough cosmic bullshit for one day.

The first two effects were the same, just with fancier names.

But the last two?

Yeah, those were the real deal-breakers.

Just imagining myself vanishing after being swallowed by my own cloak… sounded way too damn cool.

And even if it only lasted a few seconds, being completely undetectable in that time? That was the kind of ability people wrote legends about.

As for the final effect… that one was practically a godsend.

I would no longer have to rely on that weird mask that would have flipped my expressions into the exact opposite of what I wanted.

"You are the best cloak in the world."

I declared it proudly and the cloak floated around me like an overexcited pet.

After showering it with a few more praises because apparently that's what kept it obedient, I sent it back.

Now it was time to see what else this domain could do.

The first time I had ended up here, I was too busy protecting myself from that underwear-obsessed pervert and had to leave immediately.

But this time was different, I actually had time.

And my physical body was lying safely on my bed, not being torn in half or falling into some cosmic disaster.

So, it was finally time to explore.

I decided to start with the summoning effect.

I had already tested it with artifacts but there was something else I was curious about…

Could I summon my humans here?

I mean, I clearly couldn't summon anything that wasn't linked to me, the fact that unrefined artifacts didn't appear made that obvious.

But my assistants were connected to me, woven into the same strange bond as my artifacts.

So the question was…

Could they be summoned as well?

I closed my eyes and focused.

My target was Bearlo.

I pictured that loyal, crimson-furred bear curled up like an oversized housecat… and for a brief moment, I felt a strange thread form.

Suddenly, I could see him.

Bearlo was sprawled on a bed, sleeping like a dead log, mouth slightly open, one paw hanging off the edge.

The room was plain and simple.

Definitely my dorm.

I tightened my focus and wished for him to appear.

Immediately, mana started pouring out of me in a massive but barely-manageable surge.

The entire domain trembled like it was about to crack apart.

I could feel Bearlo being pulled toward me, the thread tightening, the space around me vibrating and the summoning working,

And then,

SLAP!!

A hand smacked the back of my head so hard my soul flickered.

"You crazy son of a bitch."

The voice thundered right behind me.

I turned slowly as my mouth practically hung open.

Standing before me was a small human, black hair, crimson eyes and a face so absurdly handsome people would commit crimes just to borrow it for a minute.

It was the kind of flawlessly sculpted beauty even Gods couldn't replicate again, even by accident.

…which made sense,

because it was my damn face except it was too tiny now.

"Who the fuck are you supposed to be now?" I asked, completely confused now.

The being scoffed, glaring at me like I had personally ruined his decade. "I'm the one who is gonna shove something up you very creatively."

—

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the academy, a lone figure walked across the grounds with a solemn and haunted expression.

His clothes were torn and fading bruises were scattered on his face and jaw.

He was a second-year human student—Rio.

He was currently carrying out an order from Varek Ashen Noctharion himself and that was to leave a "present" for Rael Von Ashborn.

Rio's entire body ached as he limped toward the First-Year dorms.

Academy rules were clear that second-years were forbidden from contacting first-years during their first week.

But defying Varek wasn't an option. His whole body shook by even thinking about doing that.

The academy would at most throw him into the Cave of Self-Reflection for breaking the rules… but for Rio, that was still infinitely better than facing Varek after a failure.

Because when Varek Ashen Noctharion gave an order… you obeyed, even if your soul screamed otherwise.

So, he kept walking step by step.

The dawn was closing in and he had to be there before that.

Rio actually knew Rael.

They had gone to the same high school back in the Human Empire. Which only made this whole thing feel even stranger… and a whole lot more terrifying.

He finally saw Rael's dorm come into view.

Rio swallowed hard, pulled a small explosive device from his pocket and began channeling every drop of mana he had left into it.

The faint glow around the artifact grew unstable, humming with the threat of detonation.

His hands shook as he raised it.

"I… I hope you don't blame me for what happens, Rael," he whispered, voice barely visible.

And with a desperate breath, he hurled the explosive straight toward the dorm assigned to Rael Von Ashborn.

—

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