He opened his eyes to his large room once again, this ti directing his gaze to the Echo Screar.
He held the strange floating head and began the subduing process, spending another 100 energy.
Once more, that transparent, enigmatic energy left his body and rged with the Spark, only returning after fully assimilating it.
With that, Adyr felt familiar behaviors flooding into his mind. By the ti the process was completed, he already knew how to use the Sonic Burst ability.
He wanted to test the skill’s capacity, but since he was in a closed room and had other tasks to finish, he set it aside for now and returned to the Dawn Land to check on Echo Screar’s condition.
His energy body drifted in the sky, overlooking the islet, as his eyes locked onto the small, red, floating head.
The Spark drifted about for a while, wobbling like a drunk, confused by its new surroundings. It hovered left and right before slowly approaching a group of three roosters crowing in chorus, then finally ca to a stop.
Echo Screar had no facial expression to show emotion, but if it had been human, it would have resembled a refined man watching an opera—content and relaxed, a lover of classical art.
Sensing the Spark’s feelings, Adyr was mildly amused as he returned to his room.
The last one was the grasshopper-like Pulse Hopper. Adyr repeated the sa procedures as with the previous two Sparks and, now more experienced, sent it into the Dawn Land. The only difference was that this one was a Rank 1 Spark, costing him only 20 energy.
Compared to the others, Pulse Hopper was by far the most reactive upon arrival. The grass shining in the dawn light must have caught its attention—it bounced around the area, eager to explore. The islet was small, and there wasn’t much to discover, but it hopped about like a playful child, full of joy and mischief.
It even leapt onto the roosters from ti to ti, bothering them briefly before jumping elsewhere. The roosters didn’t really react—more accurately, they couldn’t.
Though a grasshopper would normally be on their nu, this one clearly wasn’t a al their beaks could bite. No sane creature would try to eat a Spark.
Adyr watched for a while. The worst-case scenario would be conflict between creatures, especially between Sparks. In such a case, the only loser would be him. But fortunately, none of them seed particularly interested in one another.
The rooster affected by Null Maggot still looked exhausted and hadn’t woken up. Even its usual Sense Fade aura was absent. It felt as though the Dawn Land’s power was sohow sealing the effect from spreading—and that wasn’t all that surprising.
Adyr had sealed Null Maggot’s skill once before, when he lacked the energy to subdue it properly. It seed that logic still held true here, in a place saturated with his energy.
"Everything seems fine for now." Once his energy body was certain, it vanished from the Sanctuary.
He opened his eyes again in the darkness of his room just as the door knocked.
"Lord Adyr, your al is ready." A soft yet tense voice from one of the maids ca through.
Adyr rose from the bed and walked to the door, unlocking it. He silently watched the maid push in a large wheeled table, stacked with a variety of food.
"Do you require anything else, My Lord?" The maid bowed her head as she asked, avoiding eye contact—or perhaps simply unable to make it since the mont the door opened.
"No. Thank you for your hospitality," Adyr said politely, his tone calm and soothing. After she left, he quietly closed and locked the door behind her.
Adyr looked over the variety of dishes on the serving cart. As he lifted the lids, a wave of warm steam and appetizing aroma hit his face.
Alongside four main courses, there were side snacks, cold dishes, drinks, and even desserts. One plate in particular held a selection of miniature desserts arranged like a tasting platter, each in small, carefully prepared portions.
Only then did Adyr realize how hungry he actually was. Normally, a al like this would have lasted him four or five days. But once he started eating, he noticed even this might not be enough.
"Looks like my body needs more nutrition as I mutate and evolve.’’ He placed the knife and fork back onto the cart, then carefully closed and cleaned each empty plate.
Opening the door again, he pushed the cart into the hallway and addressed the waiting maid. "Thank you. I will sleep now. Please don’t disturb until I leave myself."
With that, Adyr stepped back inside and locked the door.
The maid glanced over the cart. It looked exactly as she had brought it in—except every plate was now empty. The tidiness reminded her, for a mont, of the Head Maid. The one who would lose her temper over a single drop of soup spilled on the table.
—
"Welco back, Mr. Adyr. Do you mind letting us perform the usual check before you leave?" Dr. Eliot Vance greeted him alongside his assistant, Nurse Mira.
"Sure." Adyr agreed to the quick checkup without hesitation.
For a while now, he had undergone a checkup both before entering and after exiting the ga. Even though he had the option to refuse, he continued accepting it, knowing that every bit of data sent to the governnt translated into rit. Whether big or small, each report earned him sothing.
He had co to truly understand the value of rit after his visit to the market district with Malrik. Even if there wasn’t much profit here, items purchased with rit in this world could be sold for energy in the other. All he needed was to identify which product would yield the highest return.
After the quick checkup, Adyr returned to his room. Before even turning on his computer, he checked his rit balance through his wristband.
The reward from the data he had submitted on children’s books had finally arrived—and it surprised even him.
On top of his previous 100 rits, an exact 316 had been added, bringing the total to 416.
He had assud general knowledge would be valuable, but the amount far exceeded what he had earned even from submitting linguistic data. When he reviewed the detailed report that ca with the rit, he understood why. A portion of it ca not from the information itself, but from his consistent collaboration with the doctor responsible for his case.
At last, he was starting to see the rewards of his work.
Thinking he could upgrade his gear using the newly gained rit—especially his tactical uniform, which had torn in several places after his fight with the Aqualith—Adyr turned on his computer and prepared to check the market. But just as he did, his wristband began to beep.
Seeing that the caller was Selina, he imdiately tapped the touchscreen to answer.
Her voice ca through the band.
"Finally. I’ve been trying to reach you. I figured you were in the ga," Selina said, without waiting for a reply. Her next words ca fast, without pause.
"Your mother is back. She’s ho now."
The news caught Adyr off guard, but he couldn’t feel any relief. Not with the way her voice sounded.
Sothing was wrong. He could hear it.
He narrowed his eyes, his tone heavy.
"Tell the details."
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