Morning came.Victor awoke as sunlight began to shine upon his face.He saw Reina, already dressed in her maid uniform, quietly cleaning the room.“Good morning,” he greeted.Hearing his words, Reina replied without turning her head,“Good morning, Prince. Would you like to take a bath first?”Still half-asleep, Victor answered drowsily,“Yes…” while lying back down on the bed, looking exhausted.“Alright, I’ll fetch the water,” she said, then walked out of the room.It took him several seconds to process her words.“Fetch…? Water…?”The moment he realized what she meant, Victor immediately sat up.“Wait, don’t—”But the door had already closed.She was gone.Victor let out a long sigh.(Two hours later, after bathing and changing into the clothes prepared by the maids…)Now clean and neat, Victor sat at his desk, examining the damage on the exo-armor he had used the previous night during the attack.Several mana rune circuits were severed, the metal plating on the legs was bent and d

Six months had passed.During that time, Victor spent most of his days dueling with Rhoderic or practicing Rune Magic under the guidance of his teacher.‘And who is my teacher? Obviously… none other than the beautiful Witch herself, Lady Veyra,’ thought Victor as he glanced at her.‘Although her methods of teaching are somewhat… unconventional, I managed to learn how to interpret, carve, and apply rune magic.I’ve even begun modifying my armor so that it can adjust to my growing body,’ he continued while analyzing the magic patterns he had drawn.“Like this…?” asked Veyra, swinging her spell with an elegant motion.“Yes, yes, just like that,” Victor replied quickly, his eyes fixed on the glowing mana trail, trying to imitate the mana flow into the form of runes he was shaping.“Wait a moment, Teacher,” he added, scribbling notes quickly, without shifting his focus.Hearing that, Veyra suddenly spoke in a cold tone,“What…?”Victor blinked, confused by the change in her tone. He was ab

Meanwhile, Lyanna and Cedric went to find a water source to clean the rabbit meat.Victor focused on setting up the tent for Reina, while Rhoderic gathered logs for the campfire.And Reina? She was still playing her role as the young noble adventurer.Why? Because we were still being watched.Through the earpiece in Victor’s helmet, she asked quietly,“Shall we continue the act?”Lyanna replied without hesitation,“Of course. If they move, we can capture them, and if necessary, just behead them.”Hearing that, Victor immediately responded,“Can’t we just incapacitate them?”The line went silent for a moment. No one answered.Then, as if nothing had happened, they all went back to playing their roles.They all knew, those eyes were still lurking.While Lyanna’s hands were still busy cleaning the rabbit, she asked with a scornful tone,“Hey… Prince, why bother capturing that useless rabble?”Her voice dripped with contempt.“Savages like them… it’s better if they just die,” she said ang

In Front of the Low-Level Dungeon GateAs soon as we came out of the dungeon’s natural teleportation gate, Victor immediately turned toward the team members waiting outside.“Come on, let’s continue. Miss Reina still looks full of energy.”They answered in unison,“Yes…”As we walked away, Victor glanced back, staring at the dungeon’s teleportation gate, a faint trace of melancholy still lingering on his face.Victor activated the rune magic [Mana Sight] and began observing the surroundings.The mana was scattered… disorderly.No path, no flow like when someone cast magic.Even after passing through the teleportation gate and returning outside, the condition was the same.No trace of magic circles. No spell formations.As if the entire structure itself—the gate, the walls—was magic itself.Thick stone, untouched.Not a single scratch on its surface.Strange… this place didn’t feel built. More like… born.While Victor was still lost in thought, Lyanna suddenly spoke,“Relax, Prince. It

When Reina mentioned the word, “Goblin,” the atmosphere instantly turned cold.Rhoderic’s expression, usually relaxed, now looked more serious.Cedric gripped his spear tighter, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily, though his face still looked as lazy as ever.And Lyanna… her face paled and she went silent, only just realizing how dire the situation had become.No one spoke. Even as we continued walking, the silence began to envelop everything.Even the sound of our footsteps seemed to vanish, swallowed by the stillness of the forest.Victor, unable to stand the mood, showed an annoyed expression while staring at Reina.“Isn’t this impossible? We’re not that far from the capital,” he said doubtfully. “Are you sure this area has really become goblin territory?”Reina nodded twice, looking at Victor with a confused expression.“That’s what confuses me too,” she replied.She then looked into the forest with deep doubt.“Even though, we’ve been walking this path for fifteen minutes…