WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 29

There was no one to greet me when I entered the Malik Family’s palace. The vast and empty entrance hall was unnecessarily large, though not the same over sized proportions as a Dweorg building. Befitting a rich family, there were a lot of decorations, mostly plants. It was a sign of their wealth. Plants were scarce in the Endless Desert, so being able to have plants meant they had an abundance of water, which cost a fortune to gain.

I walked through the hall, activating Spiritual Perception to see if I could find Ammon. There were several Spiritual Signatures flickering in my field of vision. However, all of them were located below me. All of them except one was brown. The one in the center of this six person formation had a red Spiritual Signature.

It appeared they were lying in wait and planning to ambush me when I arrived in the basement.

Walking through hall after hall, I followed the Spiritual Signatures until I was right on top of them. I didn’t run into anyone. This place was completely empty. I could only assume everyone had run away when I began slaughtering the guards.

I looked at the floor. Made from polished limestone, the floor was decorated with motifs of the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain. Part of me wondered what sort of significance this figure held for the Malik Family, but the rest of me didn’t care—no, the rest of me was boiling just thinking about the man who had taken my wife and child from me.

Raising my fist above my head, I channeled lightning into it, until my fist was encased in crackling blue lightning that released a sound reminiscent to the chirping of a thousand birds. I brought the fist down onto the floor. The floor shattered. As the lightning plunged deeper into the earth, the ground itself was split apart like someone cracking open an egg. Very soon, an opening had appeared in the ground, and I hopped down it without thinking.

As I landed on the ground, I glanced around. Two of the guards who had been protecting the Spiritualist with the red Spiritual Power had been crushed by falling rubble. They lay underneath several massive blocks, blood seeping from underneath them to form a puddle. The remaining four were surrounding a handsome young man with dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair.

“You! Who do you think you are?!” the young master demanded, pointing a quivering finger at me. “You have come into my house, slaughtered my guards, and are destroying my property! Do you think I’ll let you get away with something like this?! Are you an idiot?! I’ll see you dead for… for… wait a second.” As the young master’s angry tirade tapered off, his eyes slowly narrowed. “Now I recognize you. You are that beautiful man who appeared in the city not long ago.”

“And you must be Ammon,” I said. “Those men you sent after me were quite weak. However, I do not appreciate having someone try to kidnap me for their own purposes. I decided I’d pay you a visit and nip this problem in the bud.”

Ammon’s face twisted and churned, his thoughts no doubt running wild. He probably didn’t expect me to be such a strong Spiritualist. I was sure he had assumed his men would be able to easily capture me, and now that they hadn’t, he was beginning to realize that I was not the kind of person he could just kill.

Ammon coughed into his hand. “It seems you are fairly strong. Those guards of mine have all reached the First State of Spiritualism. Killing them is no easy task. How would you like to work for me? I can pay you well. The Malik Family is one of the wealthiest families in the entire Endless Desert.”

I made it look like I was pondering his suggestion, even though this wasn’t even a choice. I had no intention of working for someone who tried to kidnap me. I had no intention of working for anyone. In either event, the Endless Desert was just a stopping point for me.

“No thanks,” I said.

Before Ammon could respond with anger, I pointed a finger at him, channeled my Spiritual Power, and sent a bolt of lightning so powerful that it penetrated his skull and blasted out the other side. I’d been told this man had reached the Second State of Spiritualism. However, if he wasn’t given a chance to even enter the Second State, then killing him was easy.

As the now cooling corpse dropped to the ground, the guards looked astonished at the sudden and quick death of their master. They glanced at the corpse, then to me, and then back to the corpse. Their expressions were somewhere between anger, confusion, and fear. I could already tell they were debating whether or not they should attack me.

“I’m going to give you two options,” I began, holding up my hand. I extended a single finger. “One: you attack me, and I kill you.” I held up a second finger. “Two: you leave now, and I don’t kill you. Make your choice.”

None of the guards appeared certain about what they should do. Did they attack me? Did they leave? I was sure they realized they couldn’t win against me. I had just slaughtered upwards of 50 guards and hadn’t shown signs of breaking a sweat, and these four weren’t much stronger than the others had been.

After a moment, the guards all turned around and walked off. They didn’t even look back at the cooling corpse on the ground.

Snorting, I looked up at the hole in the ceiling above me, trying to judge the distance. I hadn’t realized it when I was jumping down here, but this basement was fairly deep underground. The hole was so high up I wasn’t confident in my ability to reach it, even if I used the Flash Step Version 2: Jump Step, which was still in the experimental phase.

Releasing a weary sigh, I decided to try and find an exit.

This basement or whatever it was appeared to be quite large. There were many massive rooms that must have been several times larger than the palace it was built under. Each room was connected with a hallway. Some of the rooms were smaller and contained item like armor and weapons, or provisions like mead and dried meat. Since I didn’t have much food on me anymore, I decided to stock up on dried meat and water.

As I continued exploring the basement, I came upon another large room that was dimly lit with monster core lamps. My eyes quickly adjusted when I channeled lightning through them. Staring into the room, I frowned at the numerous cages full of half-naked and starving people locked inside. There weren’t just humans either. There were quite a few Lamia located in these cages as well, both men and women.

I walked up to the first cage and shattered the locks with a solid punch. Some of the people looked up at me, but most of them didn’t even pay attention. This didn’t bother me. I just went to the next cage and shattered the locks the same way.

It wasn’t just the cages with humans that I released. I also released the Lamia from their cages. Being of a sturdier species, they weren’t nearly as defeated as the humans, and when I approached their cages, many of them hissed threateningly at me. Their wariness soon turned to shock, however, when I shattered the locks on their cages the same as I did for everyone else.

At some point, the people inside of the cages seemed to realize what I was doing, and a few of them tentatively pushed open the cages. Once they realized they were no longer bound, quite a few of them ran out of the cage and rushed toward freedom. The ones who were still locked in cages looked at me with anticipation as I approached the cage they were locked in.

“T-thank you, young master,” one of the people, a young woman with a child who looked to be around five or six, said.

“There’s no need for that.” I shook my head. “I’m only doing this on a whim. You had better hurry and get out of here.”

“Yes. Of course.”

The woman left with her child in tow, but I was no longer paying attention to her as I went up to the last cage. It was further away from the others and only held a single occupant. She was a Lamia. Her hair and skin was dark like everyone else in the Endless Desert. Despite being incredibly dirty and disarrayed, her long hair held a sheen that was surprisingly pretty. Her naked body was like a work of art, all sinuous curves and powerful muscles. Breasts capped with dark nipples were on full display. Similarly, her pussy, which was surrounded by soft-looking scales, was completely visible.

Like the other Lamia, this woman did not back down or even seem to care about her nudity. She watched me with golden eyes that had slits for pupils. The powerful muscles in her abdomen twitched and flexed as she moved to keep me in her sights.

I frowned at this woman. She seemed oddly familiar to me, but I couldn’t recall where I had seen her before. However, as I wandered up to her cage, and she got a good look at my face, her eyes widened in recognition.

“You are that man this queen kidnapped so many years ago! What are you doing here?!”

Her words made me pause. I studied her some more. Finally, after several seconds of observation, I was able to place a name to her face.

“Queen Medusa…”

***

“T-this princess cannot believe it! How could this have happened?!”

This princess sat on the bed she normally shared with either Big Sister or Fay, staring in horror at the small flecks of snake skin that had fallen all over it. She was very happy those two were not present. Had they been around to see such a disgraceful sight, this princess would have died from shame.

“I can’t believe this princess is… she is...”

As this princess lamented her current predicament and wallowed in shame, a knock came at the door. She nearly jumped out of her scales. However, she quickly mastered herself and answered.

“Who is it?”

“Lin? It’s Fay,” a voice said from the other side. “Listen, I need to get inside so I can grab a change of clothes. Do you think you could unlock the door?”

“S-sorry, but this princess… she currently doesn’t want to unlock the door.” This princess couldn’t think of a good lie to explain why she wanted the door to remain locked, but she also wasn’t impolite enough to not at least say something. “Hold on for just one moment. This princess will grab your spare clothes.”

Climbing off the bed, this princess slithered over to the dresser—or tried to. When the bottom of her tail rubbed against the carpet, a jolt traveled through her body, causing her to nearly faceplant on the floor. The loud thump must have alerted Fay to a problem because her voice echoed from beyond the door a moment later.

“Are you okay, Lin?”

“T-this princess is fine! Just fine! Hang on while she gets your clothes!”

Scurrying to the dresser, this princess quickly grabbed Fay’s underwear, breast bindings, and then went to the armoire right next to the dresser and took one of Fay’s spare outfits from inside. Taking a deep breath, she carefully moved across the ground. Her body shuddered and she gritted her teeth as the carpet rubbed against her scales. However, she made it to the door without making another sound.

Opening the door, she stuck her hand with the clothes hanging in them outside.

“Ha… ha… h-here. This princess has… she got your clothes…”

“Um, thank you,” Fay said, taking the clothes. The moment she did, this princess slammed the door shut and locked it again.

Pressing her back against the door, this princess slid down until she was sitting on her butt. Her breathing was ragged and jolts were traveling through her body. She knew she would have to travel back to the bed, but right now, she really just wanted to rest for a moment. Looking at her tail, this princess could not help but release a sigh of lament.

“This princess cannot believe she’s improperly molting…”

***

The sun had risen in the sky, but it wasn’t quite noon yet. The sound of fists smacking against flesh echoed around the training ground as I danced around and blocked several attacks from my two sparring partners.

Fay launched a powerful straight jab that utilized her entire body to create an explosive force. I smacked away her fist with the back of my hand, but the shock wave our connecting limbs unleashed caused my hair to blow out of my face and my eyes to water. It was fortunate that Fay was in the same predicament.

After her first attack failed, Fay took a single step back, spun around on the ball of her right foot, and threw a powerful reverse heel kick. Her foot had caught fire as she channeled her Spiritual Power through the attack.

I caught her foot, grunting only slightly as I channeled the water element into my limbs and dispelled the fire. Rather than try to remove her leg from my grasp, Fay smiled. I found out why a second later.

A slight yet sharp pain struck me in the back as Kari hit me with a punch that had been infused with the light element. It felt very much like my insides had just been turned into paste, though I knew they weren’t broken or destroyed. My internal organs had been reinforced with both alchemy pills I had personally refined and my own Spiritual Power.

“Fay, now!” Kari shouted.

With her foot still in my grasp, Fay hopped into the air and threw another kick at me. This kick was also covered in fire. The flame had taken the shape of a phoenix, which shocked me. The movements required for such a powerful Spiritual Technique should have been much more complicated than this!

I dropped her foot and leapt back. Fay’s foot past through the spot where I had been standing, but even though I had dodged it, I could still feel the heat from my new position. It was scalding and fierce. Had that attack struck, I didn’t doubt there would be a large burn mark on my face.

Before I could even think of counterattacking, Fay leapt to the side and revealed that Kari was right behind her, weaving complex patterns with her ransuer that I recognized. She was writing Runes with her light element. The tip of her weapon glowed a bright golden color as she drew Runes into the air. Each Rune grew brighter before they gathered around the tip of her weapon, merged together, and encased it in a bright glow.

“HA!”

Kari thrust her ranseur forward, and a massive beam of golden energy blasted out. I had absolutely no time to dodge. All I could do was lift my hand, channel my Spiritual Power through it, and create a shield made of crackling blue lightning.

When Kari’s attack, the Divine Buster Cannon, slammed into my shield, the powerful energies caused me to skid backward. I gritted my teeth as my muscles strained. Cracks began appearing in my shield, but I quickly reinforced it with my Spiritual Power.

As I was struggling to maintain the shield, I sensed movement behind me. It was Fay. She was trying to sneak in from the back and end the fight while I was trapped.

I smiled.

Waiting until Fay had appeared right behind me, I suddenly dropped the shield, transformed into water, and seeped into the ground. Fay was so shocked that she could do nothing as Kari’s attack slammed into her.

“F-FAY!”

My body quickly reappeared from between the cracks in the earth, reformed into a human shape, and became flesh and blood again. I was several meters from where Kari’s attack had carved a path through the ground. It had created a trench several meters wide. Looking at the inside, I could see that the ground had become smooth and glossy like glass.

“F-Fay, are you okay?!”

Kari had rushed over to Fay the moment her attack had struck the redhead. Even though she had cut off the power as soon as it happened, Fay had still been hit by Kari’s strongest Spiritual Light Technique. She was fortunate this was just a practice match and not a real fight. There hadn’t been enough Spiritual Power to kill someone, and my shield had diminished much of its strength, but the attack would still hurt.

Fay sat up as Kari knelt beside her, placing a hand against her head and rubbing it. I could see as I walked up to them that she didn’t actually have any injuries. Yet even as I studied her, the glowing Runes covering her armor went back to their usual dull appearance.

“I’m fine,” Fay said with a reassuring smile toward Kari.

Despite this, Kari still looked remorseful. “I am so sorry, Fay.”

“It’s not your fault.” Fay shook her head and sighed. “I should have been more careful. It was obvious that Eryk would be using Spiritual Perception during the battle and notice that I was trying to sneak up on him. The fault for our failure today lies with me.”

“I actually wasn’t using Spiritual Perception at all,” I corrected her.

“You weren’t?” Fay asked as Kari stood up and held out her hand. The redhead reached out, firmly gripping Kari’s hand and allowing the other woman to pull her up.

I shook my head and explained myself. “It’s your scent.” When I saw their confused expressions, I realized that wasn’t much of an explanation. “I’m sure you’ve heard stories about how experienced Spiritualists develop a sixth sense that allows them to know when they are being attacked from behind, right?”

Kari and Fay nodded at me. I could see their expressions clearing up, but I knew they would get the wrong idea if I didn’t correctly explain everything.

“That is a complete exaggeration, but it’s not entirely untrue either.” Coughing into my hand, I adopted a more comfortable pose so I could lecture the pair. “When your awareness is heightened by the adrenaline flowing through your body, you begin to notice things you normally wouldn’t. People perceive the world around them with more than just their eyes. Even though we normally just use sight to maneuver around us, we also unconsciously use our hearing, smell, and sense of touch as well. We generally don’t recognize this because our sight is our most prominent and powerful sense. When a Spiritualist unconsciously catalogs enough of these signals we get from our other senses, our bodies begin to react to them without us even realizing it.”

“What sort of signals?” asked Fay, looking like she wanted to lean forward as she listened to me. Kari was also paying rapt attention, but she didn’t say anything.

“Like the sound of boots scraping against gravel.” To demonstrate, I slid my feet along the ground so the gravel beneath it made a soft grinding noise. “Or the sound of a sword being swung.” I grabbed the Dragon’s Tail Ruler and swung it through the air, producing an audible woosh that was even more noticeable than when I slid my foot across the ground. “Or the scent of someone who has been sweating for several hours trying to sneak up on me.”

I gave a pointed glance toward Fay, whose entire body was drenched in a layer of sweat. The girl flushed bright red. Kari giggled at her, though much like Fay, her body was also covered in an incredible amount of sweat.

“I had no idea we could use our other senses in such a way,” Kari confessed, sounding a bit awed.

“Most people don’t realize this, but a lot of us do it subconsciously. It isn’t really something you can train yourself in so much as you learn to instinctively use your other senses,” I informed her. “Of course, you can train your senses by shutting off your sense of sight. This is usually done by wearing a blindfold and trying to guard against one or more people attacking you.”

Since we were done sparring, I knelt on the ground and placed my hands against the gravel. Spiritual Power surged from my fingertips and seeped into the ground, which rumbled gently before shifting, restoring the destroyed training ground to what it had been before our spar.

With our battle done, the Spiritualists who had been waiting to use the training ground all picked a sparring circle to begin practicing in. Our spars always drew a lot of attention. It started when we first began sparring one morning and everyone who had shown up to train became so interested in seeing how it would turn out that they’d sat down and watched until we were done. I heard someone had actually created a betting pool over how many spars it would take before Kari, Fay, and Lin defeated me.

Speaking of…

“Kari, do you know why Lin decided not to join us today?” I asked.

Biting her lower lip, Kari shook her head. “I don’t. She seemed fine this morning, but then she suddenly said she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest some more. Do you think something might be wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

Not feeling well? Lin had never been sick before. She was a Lamia, which meant her body was hardier than most to begin with, but she was also a powerful Spiritualist. It was a well-documented fact that Spiritualists didn’t normally suffer from regular diseases.

I took a quick bath with Kari and Fay. Since they had school today, we couldn’t take our time like normal, so our bath was fairly quick. However, after taking a bath, Fay ran into a slight problem. Namely, she had forgotten to bring a spare change of clothes. She had to put on her only slightly dry outfit and head back upstairs while Kari and I got dressed.

As we entered the rood to the office/living room, Kari and I found Fay standing outside of the bedroom where the girls slept when they weren’t sleeping with me. A single hand had emerged from the door, holding a set of clothing that looked incredibly similar to my own outfit but made for a woman’s body.

“Ha… ha… h-here. This princess has… she got your clothes…”

“Um, thank you,” Fay said, taking the clothes. The moment she did, the door slammed shut and locked.

“Is everything okay?” asked Kari.

Fay looked over at us and shook her head. “I don’t know. Lin sounds distressed by something, but I couldn’t figure out what.”

“Why don’t you two go on ahead?” I suggested. “You can’t really afford to stay here since you have to attend classes today. I’ll see what’s wrong with Lin.”

While it was clear the two girls were worried for their friend and future sister, they also understood that I was right. I also liked to think they had faith in my ability to help Lin. Both of them nodded, gave me a soft kiss on the lips, and left for the academy.

As they walked out the door, I turned toward the one Lin was hiding behind and knocked. “Lin? It’s Eryk. Are you okay?”

There was a soft squeak from the other side, followed by a loud thud, which I thought might be Lin falling off something. It was hard to tell what that noise was as I couldn’t see anything. Times like these made me wish I had the ability to see through solid objects. It would be so useful right now.

“Th-this princess is just fine! There is nothing wrong! Nothing wrong at all!”

“You know… you would sound so much more convincing if your voice didn’t make it sound like you were on the verge of panicking.” Another squeak echoed from the other side of the door. I placed my hand against it, feeling the course wood through my fingers. “Kari and Fay were really worried about you, and so am I. Lin, will you please talk to me? If you tell me what’s wrong, I’m sure I can help.”

“T-this princess cannot talk about it…”

“Why not?”

“…”

“What was that?”

“This princess said it’s embarrassing!”

Her words caused me to pause. There weren’t many things I could think of that would embarrass someone like Lin. She was proud and haughty, always referring to herself as “this princess,” and speaking in the third person. Her adventurous nature and willingness to try almost anything made her seem like very few things bothered her.

The only time I had ever seen act shy was when she first began walking through Nevaria. The stares and panicked whispers of the people around us had made her very self-conscious of the fact that she was the only Lamia in a city of humans. She had often hidden behind me back then. However, it wasn’t like she had been embarrassed. Frightened and nervous were more apt descriptors of her attitude back then.

“Why is it embarrassing?” I asked.

“It… it just is, okay!”

I pondered what to do. There was no way I could just let Lin deal with whatever her problem was alone, so that meant I really only had two options.

“Lin, you know, these doors… they can all be unlocked with someone who has the keys.” I let that statement hang in the hair before removing my keys from a pouch at my waist. “If you don’t open this door, I’ll just unlock it and come in.”

I waited to see what Lin would do. My plan was to give her a few seconds to contemplate whether she would let me in or if I would have to open it, but a few seconds later, the door unlocked and opened just a crack. A golden eye appeared from within the cracked door, surrounded by beautiful black hair. I only saw a little bit of Lin. However, I could tell from her red cheek that she was blushing.

“Um… uh… you promise not to tell Big Sister and Fay?” Lin asked.

“I promise.”

“Then… you can come in.”

Lin stepped back and allowed me to enter the room. It was a very big room, not quite the size of the master bedroom, but easily two or three times bigger than the room I lived in back at the Imperial Royal Palace. Adorning the walls were tapestries and scrolls. In the far left corner was several bookshelves filled with tomes and leather bound books. There was also a desk near the window, a large bed in the center, and a sitting area to my left.

However, none of that interested me right now because covering the floor were flakes of something that looked a lot like…

“Scales?” I muttered as I reached down and tried to pick one up.

“D-don’t touch those please!” Lin reacted so swiftly I could only blink as the scales disappeared from my hand and into hers.

I glanced at Lin’s embarrassed face, and then looked down at her tail, which had skin peeling off in several areas. Lin noticed where I was gazing and tried to hide it, but honestly, it was far too late for that. I already realized what her problem was.

“I see,” I muttered, kind of shocked. “You’re molting.”

Thinking about it, I should have realized in hindsight that Lin would eventually begin molting. Snakes shed their skin once they outgrow it. Now that I was thinking on it, her skin had been looking a little dull lately. That was a sure sign that she was getting ready to molt. I’d actually seen a snake molt once, and the process had involved the creature shedding the skin whole, but from what I could see here, Lin was not.

“I-it’s an unsuccessful molting,” Lin admitted. “This princess couldn’t shed her skin properly this time.”

“And you’re embarrassed by that?”

“Of course!” Lin burst out, her cheeks flushing bright red. “A Lamia who can’t even shed her skin properly is a failure of her race! For this princess to unsuccessfully molt is a sign that she’s no good! How could this princess properly be a good wife when she can’t even shed properly?”

I glanced around at the shed skin all over the floor. It looked like she had been struggling to move, or maybe she was trying to peel it away without success, grew frustrated, and created this mess. I wasn’t really sure. However, I looked back at Lin, who looked anywhere but at me, and made a decision.

“Can I help you?” When Lin looked at me in shock, I just smiled. “I know it might be embarrassing to you, but I honestly don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Besides, I heard from another Lamia I met once that being able to unsuccessfully molt was a result of stress. You’ve been under a lot of pressure these past few days, which is probably what resulted in your skin not shedding properly. That means this is my fault.”

“N-no! It’s not your fault!” Lin looked shocked that I would even suggest such a thing. “It’s all that Felman’s fault! He’s the one to blame!”

“I hired him, so that makes this my fault.” I shrugged and placed my hands on her shoulders. Lin stiffened beneath me before she could protest anymore. “Please let me help you with this. You are my wife. What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t help you in your time of need.”

My words caused Lin’s entire body to relax, though she still couldn’t look at my face. Her tail thumped against the ground several times. Then she sighed and nodded her head once.

“O-okay. You can help. Just, um, please be gentle. This princess’s tail is very sensitive right now.”

“I understand. I’ll be gentle.”

With Lin now willing to let me help, we made it over to the bed. Lin laid down. I climbed onto the bed and looked at the girl. She wasn’t wearing a single stitch of clothing right now. Her soft breasts were resting lightly against her ribs, smaller than Kari’s and Fay’s, but so appealing I wish I could take her nipples in my mouth. Then again, kissing and licking that flat stomach also sounded nice.

I dispelled those thoughts. Shaking my head, I placed a hand against Lin’s tail. Her scales were incredibly soft—softer than almost any material I’d ever touched. Having received several tail jobs from her, I was well aware of just how amazingly smooth her tail was.

Grabbing some of the peeling skin, I gently began pulling it away—only to pause when Lin released a restrained moan.

“D-Darling! This princess told you her tail is sensitive right now!”

“S-sorry. I didn’t realize I was pulling too hard. I’ll be more gentle.”

Despite my words, no matter how softly I tried to peel off her shedding skin, Lin continued to moan and writhe. Her moans reverberated off the walls and turned into heavy pants. Her skin became flushed as sweat began appearing on her chest and stomach. If I was being honest, this entire situation felt incredibly erotic, and I was actually growing a little hard as I continued peeling off her skin.

“Hyk! Haa…. ha… Darling… be gentler… m-my tail is—oooohhhh!”

Lin’s stomach twitched in an erotic dance as I slid my hand further up her tail, peeling away the skin little by little. Her back was arching now, lifting her partially off the bed. Meanwhile the tip of her tail was squirming around. It reminded me of the way Kari’s toes would pasm when she orgasmed.

“Ah! Ahn! Ahk! Haaaaaaannnnn!!!”

I didn’t need to be a genius to know Lin had just cum from me peeling away her skin. Her body produced a lubricant that flowed from between the protective scales surrounding her pussy, dripping down her skin and drenching the bed. I gulped and tried not to lose control over my own desires. Damn. Who knew shedding could be so erotic? Was it supposed to be like this?

“Okay, we’re almost done…” I took a deep breath. This was not good for my heart at all. “All that’s left is the tip.”

Slowly, I inched my hand toward the tip of her tail, the last part that had skin hanging off it…

***

Kari and Fay arrived back home after their boring time at the academy. Neither of them really wanted to attend anymore, but they knew they didn’t have much of a choice. If they didn’t attend, the academy would lose face, which they couldn’t afford to have happen. As the premiere institute of learning, it was important that their reputation remained intact so the bright and talented students kept going there.

When they entered the office/living room, they found Eryk sitting on the couch with Lin. Of course, only Eryk was sitting on the couch. Lin was stretched out across the entire couch and sleeping with her head on Eryk’s lap while the young man lovingly stroked her hair. There was a large and pleased smile on the dark-skinned Lamia’s face.

“It looks like Lin is feeling better,” Kari said with a relieved sigh. “That’s good. I was worried about her.”

“Yeah. Turns out there wasn’t anything really wrong with her,” Eryk said.

Kari nodded as she and Fay closed the door behind them and walked further into the room. As they did, Fay paused and looked at Eryk, a frown suddenly showing on her face.

“Eryk, why is there a huge bump on your head?” she asked.

Hearing this, Eryk reached up and felt the large lump protruding from his head. His eyes widened. He quickly placed his hand fully over it. Kari received a first-hand showing of his incredible control over water as, upon removing the hand, the wound disappeared as if it had never existed.

“No reason,” he said with a smile.

While Kari and Fay were curious to know what happened, the two of them shrugged and sat down on the couch opposite Eryk and the sleeping Lin. They spent the rest of their night discussing their future plans.