The next day, the three friends returned to their dorm after breakfast. Since exams were coming up for each one of their classes, they had decided to do a group study session on their final day off.

Apart from Rudy who was behind in both spellcrafting and mana theory, Michael was confident that they all had the ability to succeed in the midterms—especially Melody, the little prodigy.

Of course the two boys would have to do some heavy lifting when it came to combat class, but he wasn't worried.

"So, it's been three months since the incident…" Michael began, tapping his fingers softly on the table.

Both Rudy and Melody looked at him curiously, as if wondering why he was bringing it up. It wasn't something that Michael brought up—nor did it seem relevant to the situation at this time.

"There's been no adverse effects to my soul, so I think its safe for you both to take one of the soul pills." He finished, waving his hand and procuring the pill bottle from his storage ring.

There was a brief silence before Rudy surged to his feet, pumping his fist, "Yes! You're the best big bro!"

Melody too wore a surprised, yet happy expression—though she was a little more reserved with her reaction. But from the shining of her sapphire eyes, it was clear she couldn't wait to take one.

"Here," Michael said, removing the stopper and rolling two pills into the palm of his hand before extending it. The longan-sized pills instantly filled the room with the scent of magical herbs.

As he watched his two friends grab a pill, he breathed a small sigh of relief. His soul no longer had any reactions to the pill, something he was happy about. After all, the last time his body had moved own to take the pill.

"Before you take it, I recommend going into a meditative pose. I don't know how your souls will react to the—" Michael's words died in his throat as he saw Rudy toss the pill into his mouth as if it were a piece of candy.

The guy shuddered, wearing an unpleasant expression.

Michael felt his heart sink. Was he having a bad reaction to the pills effects?

"Dude, that thing tastes disgusting…" Rudy complained, "it melted in my mouth the moment it touched my tongue."

"Is there some energy flowing through your body from the pill?" Michael asked, ignoring his friend's complaints. He wanted to make sure that everything was happening how he had experienced it.

"Hmm? I can't feel anything…" Rudy said, looking at his body curiously.

"Huh?" Michael frowned, "I felt a translucent energy cycle through my body before it reached my soul. That's what should be happening to you also…"

Rudy shrugged, "I don't know what to tell you man. All I feel is a bit of a tummy ache."

However, in the next moment his expression faltered—panic creeping onto his face.

"W-what's wrong!?" Michael shot forward with worry, placing a hand upon his friend's shoulder.

But Rudy was stock still, horror creeping onto his face.

Before Michael could react, his friend shoved him out of the way with immense force—almost causing him to barrel into the table. The guy then lunged forward with blinding speed towards the opposite end of the room.

"I'm gonna shit myself!" he cried, running into the bathroom and closing the door with force.

Michael blinked incredulously, a mix of anger and relief flowing through him.

Melody on the other hand looked disgusted. She cradled the pill close to her chest, as if worried that it would be tainted by whatever was being done behind the closed door.

"Do you still want to take it?" Michael asked wryly, "At least when I took the pill, there wasn't such a side-effect…" he added.

Ignoring his poor attempt at comforting her, Melody nodded. Unlike Rudy who had just popped the pill like it was nothing, she moved to the center of the room and took up the lotus pose.

"Keep watch for me," she requested before gracefully opening her mouth and swallowing the soul pill.

She sat quietly, entering a meditative state swiftly. He sat to the side, watching in awe.

No matter how many times he saw it, Michael couldn't understand how she was able to enter such a state so quickly. He usually took at least a minute to completely empty his thoughts and begin gathering the mana in the surroundings, which was considered rather quick.

But in comparison, Melody's speed was freakish.

A few minutes passed before Rudy appeared from the bathroom, a relieved expression on his face.

"I'd recommend waiting a while before you go in there," he said, massaging his stomach. "Just what was in those pills?"

Melody's eyebrow twitched, as if hearing the guy's voice had disrupted her meditation.

Michael sent him a glare, gesturing for him to be quiet, pointing to the blue-haired girl in the middle of the room. He thought that this would be enough to relay the information—but he underestimated how dense his friend was.

"Eh? Why is Melody meditating? I thought we agreed to only do that in our rooms?" he asked.

Michael resisted the urge to facepalm, questioning his friend's mental acuity.

But a moment later, Melody surged to her feet—face flushed in annoyance.

"You're so damn annoying!" she shouted, stomping her foot.

Rudy scoffed, "Why were you even meditating anyway? Don't act like you felt any energy from that pill." He shot back, sending her a disdainful look.

"I…" Melody faltered, her cheeks reddening slightly in embarrassment.

Michael stood up confused, "What? You guys didn't sense the transparent energy from the pill?" he asked with a frown.

"I thought I felt something," Rudy admitted, causing Michael's eyes to light up. "But it turned out it was just the curry we had last night for dinner…" he said with a small laugh.

"Dude… really?" Melody retorted, scrunching up her face with disgust.

Meanwhile, Michael's thoughts were racing. He had definitely felt the transparent energy coursing through his body upon taking the pill, so why was it different for his friends?

Is it because I have a unique soul? He guessed.

He couldn't be sure, but this seemed to be the only reasonable explanation.

But wait, he frowned. Who would create a pill only useful for unique souls? And so many at that?

While he was deep in thought, Rudy stretched, letting out a small groan. "Let's go eat, I'm starving."

It seemed he had lost interest in the mystery of the pill, thoughts moving onto more tangible things like food.

Melody's gaze lingered on Michael for a while before letting out a small sigh—seemingly accepting the disappointment. A moment later she smiled softly, calling out to him.

"Are you coming Michael?"

"Y-yeah, sure thing…"

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