Kael sat on his bed, his body finally relaxing after what felt like an endless day.
His leg still throbbed beneath the bandages, but for once, the pain didn’t matter. He had survived.
He reached into his pocket, trying to adjust the torn fabric before lying down, and his fingers brushed against sothing hard and cold.
"Huh?" Kael muttered softly.
He pulled it out—a small round coin glimring faintly under the pale light.
Curious, he placed it on the wooden table beside him. Then, reaching deeper, he found another... then another.
"One... two... three... four," he counted under his breath.
Four coins.
Each was slightly different—darkened edges, faintly carved symbols he didn’t recognize, and a strange warmth radiating from their surfaces.
They weren’t ordinary travel coins. They didn’t even look like any Arcadian currency.
His brow furrowed. "These... were Dakin’s."
Kael leaned forward, staring at the coins closely. "Why would a demon carry coins like these?"
His thoughts drifted back to that chaotic battle—the roaring cyclone, Dakin’s claws slashing through, and the mad laughter echoing in the forest.
He could still see the faint jingle of coins falling from Dakin’s pocket amid the storm of shadows.
Kael rubbed one of the coins between his fingers. The texture was rough, almost like burnt tal, yet strangely pulsing....
He frowned. "Could it be... a mana storage dium?"
But no—it didn’t feel like mana.
He imdiately dropped the coin onto the table.
Clink.
Kael froze, staring at it. "Was that... my imagination?"
He waited, half expecting sothing to happen. But the room remained quiet.
He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "It must be because I’m tired."
But deep down, his instincts—those sharpened by battles and system-like awareness—told him otherwise.
He picked one up again carefully, holding it against.
"Is this so kind of demonic seal?" Kael whispered.
He rembered Dakin’s words before the cyclone struck: "You are one of us."
Kael clenched his jaw. "If this is what he ant..." He shook his head. "No. I’m not like them."
But he couldn’t deny the feeling that these coins were connected to sothing far greater—maybe the demon organization itself.
Maybe even the secret that tied his future fate.
He thought about the possibility that these coins could open paths—hidden markets, contracts, or gateways.
In the novels he read, they were often used to summon corrupted artifacts and exchange forbidden knowledge and skills that belonged to demons.
"So that ans.... Could this be an ancient coin?"
Kael’s hand tightened around the coin. "I need to find out what."
He exhaled slowly, setting all four coins on the table in a straight line.
Outside, the wind brushed against the windowpane, and the moon disappeared behind drifting clouds.
Kael leaned back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
His body finally gave in to exhaustion.
As his eyes grew heavier, his last thoughts lingered on Dakin’s twisted grin, the bell ringing from the cliff.
"Why did a demon carry coins instead of weapons..." he mumbled weakly. "And why... did he drop them..."
Sleep began to pull him under. Then he closed his eyes.
The coins on the table gave off a faint flicker barely visible.
And in the stillness of the night, as Kael drifted into deep sleep.
The next morning ca quietly.
The sun peeked through the tall glass windows of the academy dorm, casting golden rays across Kael’s room.
Kael lay on his bed, his blanket half-draped over him, his hair a complete ss.
His body ached all over, especially his right thigh.
His eyes opened slowly, and for a brief mont, he forgot the pain.
The room was quiet except for the sound of students training sowhere outside.
Then, without thinking, Kael moved his leg to sit up—his hand brushed against the wound.
"AHHHHHH!" he shouted, gripping his thigh tightly as pain shot through his body.
He bit his lip, groaning as the sharp sting refused to fade. "Damn it... I forgot about this," he talked to himself.
The bandage he’d wrapped last night had loosened.
The dried blood had soaked through. Kael sighed heavily and reached for his sword leaning by the bed.
Even in pain, he never left it behind.
After tightening his belt and strapping the blade to his back, he limped toward the door. "No ti to waste," he whispered. "I’ve got a mission today."
Outside, the academy grounds were already bustling with students.
It was morning assembly ti.
Groups of first-year students gathered at Ground Zero, a large open training field filled with stone dummies, weapon racks, and sparring rings.
Kael’s uneven steps caught a few eyes as he made his way there. His limp was noticeable, and his expression was lazy.
"Hey, isn’t that Kael?" one of the students whispered.
"Yeah... look at his legs. What happened to him?" another said.
"I heard he went out on a date yesterday. Maybe he got beaten up," soone added.
A few others glanced and noticed sothing strange about him—his shoulders looked broader, and his arms were slightly more defined than before.
"Wait... are his muscles bigger?" one girl murmured.
"No way. Did he train overnight or sothing?" another replied in disbelief.
Kael ignored all the murmurs as he made his way across the field. His eyes scanned the crowd for one familiar face—Selena.
"Selena... Selena?" he called out, raising his voice above the chatter walking quickly towards ground one.
Heads turned toward him.
And sowhere near the edge of the field, a calm but slightly surprised voice responded, "I’m here."
Kael turned. Selena stood beside a group of second-year students.
She waved slightly and walked toward him, curiosity in her eyes.
When she got closer, she noticed his limp and frowned. "You’re walking funny again. You should’ve gone to the infirmary."
"I’m fine," Kael said quickly, brushing off the concern.
Selena crossed her arms. "That’s what all reckless people say before collapsing."
Kael smirked faintly but didn’t argue.
Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few strange-looking coins—the sa ones he found after his fight with Dakin.
He handed them to her. "Can you identify these coins? I found them yesterday. I’m heading out for a mission soon, so I don’t have much ti."
Selena took the coins carefully and examined them.
Her brows furrowed. "Where did you get these?"
"From the demon I fought with yesterday," Kael replied simply. "He had them in his pocket."
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