'Sariel... What the hell is going on?'

Raven asked in his head, his expression calm on the outside but his thoughts running fast inside. He felt something unusual, a shift in the way his body responded to his own aura, something that he had never quite experienced before.

[It looks like the brooch you got has a good compatibility with your skill, <Emperor's Aura>. That skill of yours leveled up because of that resonance, and now— its effect will be enhanced whenever you have that brooch worn.]

Sariel immediately responded, his voice ringing clearly in Raven's mind. He didn't hesitate or pause, as if he had already analyzed and confirmed the phenomenon the moment it happened.

[Also, because of the brooch's effect, your aura was completely concealed. I know that you can't feel it right now as if it disappeared, but you yourself know that you can undo the effect of the artifact whenever you want.]

He continued, adding details to ease Raven's confusion, making sure he didn't panic at the sudden disappearance of his own presence.

'True... I can't feel any bit of aura coming from me, but I still know it's there. And I still know that I can control and reveal it whenever I want.'

Raven thought to himself as he looked down, his gaze focusing on the brooch pinned neatly on his chest.

The absence of his aura was disorienting, yet he could sense the faint connection lingering beneath his skin.

'This will be useful, infiltrations and moving stealthy will be much easier now.'

He followed with another thought, his lips twitching upward into a small smile. For someone like him, the ability to disappear from perception was worth more than any weapon.

Meanwhile though, as he was stuck on his own thoughts—

"..."

Blake, Alec, and Curtis were still staring at him, utterly confused. None of them blinked, each wearing the same questioning expression. The three of them shared the exact same reason for why they couldn't take their eyes off Raven right now.

'I can't feel his aura at all... It's like back then, on the first day of school, when we first saw him...'

They all thought the same thing. It wasn't normal.

Raven's presence always commanded attention, but now he felt like nothing more than a shadow blending into the background.

The three found this really odd because ever since Raven "revealed his true appearance"...

(When Raven went through the early stage of Body Reconstruction.)

... his presence and aura had always been dominant. To the point that his arrival was never unnoticed, and that approaching him was already hard.

His aura was always leaking, spilling out into the surroundings whether he wanted it to or not. His presence was always screaming loudly, demanding attention, making others turn their heads even against their will.

And for Blake, Alec, and Curtis— they had just been browsing through the items they bought earlier, nothing more than a casual moment of distraction...

Fwip-

When suddenly, Raven's strong aura disappeared in an instant!

The sudden loss was like a candle snuffed out in a pitch-black room. This was what forced the three to turn their heads at the exact same time, looking toward Raven, curiosity and suspicion filling their minds.

'I thought he teleported... Like he got a skill similar to mine...'

Alec muttered in his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. The possibility made him uneasy.

'What the hell...? What is he doing this time???'

Curtis questioned internally, his frown deepening, his thoughts unable to keep up with Raven's unpredictability.

Then Blake—

"Raven, what happened?"

He cut straight to the point, no hesitation, just asked the question that weighed on all of them.

"Huh?"

Raven snapped out of his thoughts the moment his name reached his ears. He turned his eyes to the three, and immediately—

"Oh, nothing, I was just trying an artifact. Apparently, it's good for stealth, but I can only use its effect for a limited amount of time."

He explained casually, his tone light, his words smooth. Yet in reality, he was hiding the most important detail.

Because aside from the stealth part— Raven kept secret the true purpose of the [Crest of the Hidden Monarch].

To sell the lie, he even lifted the pendant he was going to give to Keara, holding it up in his fingers as if it were the artifact he spoke of. The misdirection was flawless.

And it worked. The three immediately shifted their attention to that pendant, their curiosity redirected. Then, after a few seconds—

"Haaaa..."

They all let out the same long sigh at once.

"I thought you did something weird again."

Blake muttered, shaking his head. Alec and Curtis nodded wordlessly at his words, clearly agreeing.

"Come on, what do you think about me?"

Raven asked as he shrugged his shoulders, pretending not to care. He turned his back to them casually and, unseen, removed the brooch from his chest. At the same moment, he let go of the pendant he had been holding up.

So when his aura once again began to leak out heavily, the three became completely convinced that it was the pendant causing it all along.

Even though that was far from the truth...

"Anyway, I'll still look at the other items, so... Yeah."

Raven said offhandedly as he glanced back toward the three. Then, without waiting for any kind of reply, he simply turned away and continued on.

"Me too."

"Yeah, same."

"Whatever."

Blake, Alec, and Curtis muttered one after another, dismissing it as they returned to browsing through their purchased artifacts.

And just like that— they all went back to what they were doing, the strange moment quickly swept aside.

...

*****

The next day...

"Ugh..."

Raven groaned quietly as his eyes fluttered open. His body ached slightly, not from exhaustion but from discomfort.

He turned his gaze to the glowing numbers on his [V.D] and saw that the time was only [12:11 AM].

'I can't sleep well because there are other people in the room. Also, I don't really feel comfortable and safe in this place, knowing that we'll be attacked by terrorists in a few days.'

His mind wouldn't quiet down, thoughts coming one after another.

'I'm probably feeling homesick as well.'

He admitted to himself as he pushed himself up to a seated position. Then, when his eyes wandered around the room—

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

He froze for a moment, realizing that Curtis was already awake too, sitting up on his bed.

'Looks like he's the same as me.'

Raven thought, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Can't sleep well?"

He asked, breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah, I'm not used to sharing rooms with others."

Curtis replied casually, brushing a hand through his hair in slight irritation.

"How about you?"

He added, tilting his head slightly.

"Same."

Raven answered plainly as he got up from his bed, stretching his arms a little.

Even when they had been in the [Labyrinth of the Nurturer], each of them had their own tents. Privacy was something they were used to.

It wasn't about distrust. Raven and Curtis didn't think Blake or Alec were untrustworthy.

It was simply awkward. Sharing a room, listening to other people's breathing while trying to rest— it wasn't easy.

"I'll be heading out and exercise a bit. I don't think I can fall asleep again."

Raven announced as he walked toward the door.

"Hmm, I'll come."

Curtis said almost immediately, swinging his legs off the bed and standing up.

Their relationship had grown noticeably after spending a week together in the dungeon, working side by side as a team.

Yes, they still bickered often, trading sarcastic remarks and challenging each other out of habit. But beneath that, they already considered each other friends, even if neither of them would admit it aloud.

And so, the two quietly left the room, stepped out of the hotel...

And started running around the streets to shake off the weight of sleeplessness.

...

...

*****

(Ruby's POV)

"Those two are insane."

I muttered under my breath as my eyes followed Raven and Curtis running outside the hotel.

The air was cold, the sky still pitch black, yet there they were, acting as if the middle of the night was the perfect time to train.

It wasn't even [1:00 AM] yet!

As for me, the reason I was here was simple— we were preparing to send off the tertiary students outside the gate.

The students were already lined up in formation, their backs turned toward the hotel, meaning they couldn't see Raven and Curtis at all.

Though, the other professors beside me noticed as well, just like I did.

"I don't even know what to say about them anymore."

Kendy muttered, shaking his head with a furrowed brow as he also glanced at the two running figures.

"..."

The others stayed silent, speechless, none of them daring to comment.

And then, at that exact moment—

"...?"

The two noticed us.

They slowed their pace, paused for only a brief second, bowed their heads politely as a greeting... then continued running again as if nothing happened.

"..."

We didn't say anything back. Not a word.

It was far too early in the morning. None of us had the energy to dwell on their actions. So we simply ignored them and focused back on the tertiaries.

Oh, and by the way— Levina and Keara are sharing a room with me, back in the hotel. Both of them are sound asleep, completely unaware of any of this.

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