The two humans are currently carrying Baby on a stretcher, who's drinking out of a small red bottle every now and then. Every time he takes a sip, he looks a little less battered.

[How is he even alive still?]

[To be honest? He shouldn't be. From what I understand about their system, which really isn't all that much, he likely has an item of some kind that cancels instant death.]

I'm immediately, and extremely, interested.

[Things like that exist? How do we get one?]

[Well, they're apparently really rare. He probably got his from a job or something.]

[Hmmm...]

Turning to them, I ask bluntly. [How are you alive?]

Alice glares at me and Dylan looks away, but Baby chuckles painfully. "Straight to the point, eh?"

[Why wouldn't I be?]

He shrugs. "Fair enough. I've got an item called the Hidden Ace. Saves me from instant death once a day."

With some difficulty, he removes a small, thin rectangle with a slight shimmer to it from his suit.

[Interesting. I have a feeling you rank those too.]

He nods despite being on the stretcher. Maybe his legs don't work?

"Of course we do. This one is a superior B-rank."

[Saving you from death isn't a higher rank?]

He shakes his head. "No, it only saves me from hits that would kill me instantly. Otherwise, it doesn't help much."

I recall some of what Kerem told me. [What about enhancers?]

Alice cuts in here. "I use an enhancer myself to improve my speed and strength, but in terms of rating it all depends on how well-made it is, especially the materials used."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Noah pops in from absolutely nowhere. "Really? I didn't know materials had anything to do with it!"

Their reactions vary. Dylan instantly passes out, Alice's claws are out in a flash, and Baby makes a convulsive motion as if he wants to get off the stretcher, but his legs collapse and he falls back down, a stream of unintelligible gibberish streaming from his mouth.

With a genuinely curious expression, Noah asks Alice, "Seriously though, do materials matter that much?"

"Why should I tell you anything?" She bares her teeth and I realize that they're very pointed. Noah laughs in response.

"Okay, put down the claws. We both know they're not going to do anything."

[What are you even here for?]

He shrugs in my direction, taking his eyes off of Alice. "Well, I was going to give you a present as you were leaving, but then I heard that comment about materials and just had to get in on it. Like-" he turns back to Alice as she stabs him in the chest, and he continues without apparently noticing. "How good of an enhancer could you make from this?"

Gesturing with a hand, he's suddenly holding an ornate-looking circle made of a clear substance, and Alice chokes. stepping away. "Is that the Diamond Diadem?" Noah shakes his head. "Of course not, I'm not a thief. It is a copy, though. You could even say it's a carbon copy." He chuckles to himself, though no one else gets the joke.

Baby looks incredibly interested. Or is that greedy? It's hard to tell with humans. "You can just - make things like that?"

Noah shrugs again. "Well, there's not much use in having it. I mean, when I can do this -" Snapping his fingers, the entire mountain range turns into solid diamond, and then back. He continues without any sort of indication it was unusual. "-what use would I have for stuff you guys consider valuable?"

Dylan suddenly sits up with a heaving gasp, talking rapidly. "Guys, I had the craziest dream! Noah was-" He sees Noah and falls back to the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head.

Humans are weird.

Clapping his hands together, Noah grins. "Anyway, I do have to be on my way. Transmultiversal stuff and all that. But anyway, here's your gift."

Snapping his fingers, a small crack appears in the air, staying perfectly still and giving off a distinct sense of wrongness. Reaching into it, he pulls out a light brown sphere with a distinct sheen. It's barely the size of my eye.

[...Thank you for the rock, I guess.]

He laughs. "It's not a rock. It's the primary animation core of a high-ranking earth dragon, reset and wiped."

The two humans still awake drop their jaws. "Wait, is that the-"

He nods before they can finish. "Yup. It's the core from the-" he coughs slightly "-demonstration from earlier. I thought it'd make a good buddy for Bubbles."

I'm startled as the slime hops directly out of my shadow. When had he disappeared? Rolling over to Noah, he burbles happily and the Cosmic pats him on the head. "Good slime. But I really do have to go. See you later!"

Dropping the core onto the ground, he vanishes. Behind him, the core sinks into the ground, wrapping itself in dirt and rock before forming a small shape. It has four legs, a tall back with spiked ridges running down its spine, and a small head with tiny, intelligent eyes. Looking at me, it makes a weird sound, a sort of weak cry, then leans into me.

[What am I supposed to do with this?]

[Heck if I know. But we can't exactly give it back now.]