Lucas didn’t know what to expect returning to Hilda’s place after what felt like ages, but everything looked exactly as he had left it.

Of course, it had only been three days outside, but somehow, he’d expected things to have changed here too. Then again, not everything was the same—Elliot was walking again, with Saltyel, the two-tailed cat, always by his side. He’d started helping his grandaunt with the house chores and was even dabbling in alchemy.

Their stock was almost full now, and the shop was coming together nicely. They could probably open soon, as long as the issue with George was resolved. Lucas assured them he was working on it.

“So, how was it?” Elliot asked as the three of them sat around the table after lunch. Lucas didn’t need to ask what he meant.

“It was… challenging,” Lucas replied cautiously.

There was a rule that anyone who cleared the Challenge couldn’t share details about the floors with others who hadn’t completed the same ones. Lucas wasn’t sure what the consequences of breaking that rule might be—or if it was even possible. For all he knew, the system might have safeguards in place to stop him from spilling the beans. Either way, he wasn’t eager to find out.

Elliot, however, nodded knowingly. “I’ve only made it to the second floor,” he admitted, sounding a little disappointed. But then he shrugged and smiled. “I guess my talents are better suited for the cauldron than the battlefield!”

“That’s much better! My uncle always said a smart person makes money without taking risks,” Hilda chimed in, reassuringly. Then, glancing at Lucas, she hesitated, her cheeks flushing slightly. “I didn’t mean to—”

“You’re right,” Lucas interrupted. “It’s stupid to put yourself in danger if you don’t have to. But I guess some people just can’t help it.”

He gazed out the window, a flicker of excitement stirring in his chest. The Tower had somehow awakened an adventurous spirit within him; before, he’d been content to focus on improving himself in the training center before taking on anything dangerous. But after everything he’d seen in the Tower, and realizing how little he truly knew about this world he now had to call home, he felt a growing eagerness to explore.

The thought reminded him of something he’d meant to ask Hilda: the seals he’d seen Flavya use. He figured as long as he didn’t mention her specifically and stuck to the seals, it’d be fine to bring up.

“Seals?” Hilda repeated, her brows furrowing as if searching her memory. “Ah, yes. Witches used to pass through this town on their way to some big gathering. Once or twice a year, it was. Our little city happened to be on their route.”

“Really? Why haven’t I ever seen them?” Elliot asked, intrigued.

“Who knows what goes on in this world? Danger is always lurking outside the city walls,” Hilda replied with a sigh. “But back then, witches sold seals to anyone wealthy enough to afford them. My uncle used to buy them whenever he could. That was a long time ago, though. I haven’t seen a witch in ages.”

“I wonder what happened to them,” Elliot mused.

Lucas nodded thoughtfully. This world was full of mysteries, and this was just one of them. Had they disappeared? Died out? He didn’t know—and, frankly, he didn’t care. Solving that puzzle wasn’t high on his priority list.

At least now he knew those seals were a thing in this world too.

Shifting gears, Lucas asked about alchemic solutions for strengthening bones. Hilda confirmed they existed, which got him excited, but when she returned with a book of recipes, his enthusiasm faded.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Every recipe was designed for calcium-based bones—not whatever strange material made up his own.

He should’ve expected it, but it still felt like a letdown. If he wanted a solution tailored to his needs, he’d have to discover it himself.

Before they wrapped up the conversation, one last question popped into Lucas’s mind.

“I found this fruit called Gloomfruit,” he began. “It had this strange energy… Actually, let me just show you.”

Focusing on his storage ring, he searched for the fruit—but it wasn’t there.

No, there were plenty of other items in the ring. But the Gloomfruit, which he’d definitely seen be placed there, was gone. In its place, there was the orb he’d unearthed from the dark forest.

Is it… bigger?

“Lucas…?” Elliot’s voice broke into his thoughts, pulling him back to the present. Both Hilda and Elliot were watching him with concern.

Still thrown, Lucas rose abruptly from the table. “Actually, I just remembered I have a few things I need to do. Thanks for lunch. See you later!”

Before they could reply, Lucas was already out the door and heading toward his hotel room. As he walked, he occasionally checked his ring, just to confirm what he already suspected.

He wasn’t wrong—the orb had definitely grown, and he had no idea why.

After nearly dying to retrieve that orb from the depths of the dark forest shortly after arriving in Ponos—with the dubious help of an ancient, slightly deranged tree named Silvanox—Lucas had given up trying to figure out what the orb was or what to do with it.

Even Alva, the librarian who had probably read most of the books in her enormous library, had little insight. She’d only speculated, based on illustrations of similar artifacts, that the orb might be protecting something inside it—possibly a treasure.

Now, as he thought back to her advice, Lucas remembered her saying that he’d need the right “key” to unlock the orb. He had tried several things to no avail, but suddenly, the Gloomfruit he had recently acquired was gone—and the orb had grown.

This can’t be a coincidence, Lucas thought, quickening his pace as he moved through the streets.

He was sure. The pear was definitely gone, and its disappearance could only be tied to the orb’s sudden change. What baffled him the most, though, was where he’d found the orb.

Lucas might not have the most organized ring, but he knew exactly where he’d placed the Gloomfruit, and although the place was a little packed, it wasn’t anywhere near the orb.

Somehow, that ancient artifact, which might as well have been a carved rock for all he knew, had moved itself across the ring and made the pear disappear.

…

As soon as Lucas shut the door behind him, he retrieved the orb from his ring and examined it closely. Its increased size was obvious, but the change wasn’t just visual—he could feel it.

The only reason he had been able to take the orb from the Dark Forest in the first place was the faint connection he had formed with it through his death aura. That connection, which had lingered faintly since the day he claimed it, now felt much stronger.

Is it... pulsating? Lucas wondered, holding the orb with both hands. Previously, it had felt as lifeless as a rock, but now he could feel faint waves emanating through their connection, and it even felt slightly warmer to the touch.

Once again he remembered Alva’s words, about finding the right key to open the orb.

Could it be that the orb absorbed the Gloomfruit because of its Dark Magic affinity? he thought, his eyes narrowing at the artifact.

He already knew that identifying the orb was useless; all it ever displayed was a question mark with no description. But one thing was clear: the orb was tied to Death. Silvanox had made that much clear, and Lucas could feel it himself due to his aura.

The orb must’ve sensed the dark energy within the Gloomfruit and awakened because of it. It must have found a way to move toward the pear inside the ring and absorbed it, growing as a result, he reasoned.

But if this is the key, then why didn’t it open? Lucas wondered in puzzlement: Maybe it wasn’t enough!

The orb had been “dormant” for centuries, passively emanating its aura in the dark forest. It had only reacted when Lucas used his death aura to connect with it. That initial connection had been weak, but now, after absorbing the dark energy from the Gloomfruit, the link was stronger—and the orb had grown by about an inch in circumference.

If the orb responded to dark, death-related objects, it stood to reason that feeding it more might yield results. At some point, it would either open, explode, or do... something.

Lucas had already risked his life once for the orb, and now, armed with a few more safeguards, he was ready to take that gamble again. He had finally found his key!