“Haa… Haa…”Grace breathed heavily as she stared at the mutant lying in front of her.Cuts covered her body from head to toe, and blood slowly dripped onto the ground beneath her feet.The mutant looked even worse.It had finally collapsed.Its body no longer responded.Half of its head had already been blown away by Grace’s lightning.Even so, she refused to take any chances.She slowly raised one hand.Lightning crackled around her fingers before another bolt shot forward.Boom!The remaining half of the mutant’s head exploded.Only then did Grace finally relax.“Finally…”The tension left her body.She dropped to one knee and let out a long breath.“That was… much harder than I expected.”A bitter smile appeared on her face.“If Rhys hadn’t summoned that new familiar…”“…I’m not sure I could’ve defeated this mutant.”She looked around, intending to thank Syrax.Only…The golden crow was nowhere to be found.“…Where did he go?”At that very moment, Syrax let out a soft cry.“…!”Rhy

“Here they are!”Several rescuers quickly secured ropes before throwing them into the collapsed mine. One after another, they climbed down without hesitation. As soon as they reached the trapped miners, they tied ropes around them and signaled for the people above to pull them out.Elsewhere, more rescuers worked frantically to clear away the fallen rocks. Some dug with their hands while others used tools to pry apart the larger boulders, desperate to reach anyone who might still be alive beneath the rubble.Not everyone could be saved.Some of the miners had already passed away before the rescue teams arrived. Seeing the lifeless bodies was heartbreaking, but no one questioned the decision that had been made earlier. After witnessing the aftermath of the battle, they all understood that eliminating the Abyssals first had been the only choice. If those monsters had been left alive, the death toll would have been far worse.That understanding didn’t make the loss any easier to accept.

The moment Klaven unfolded the sketch, his eyes widened.“…This is…”The drawing itself was surprisingly simple.Rhys hadn’t included complicated mechanisms or internal parts because, frankly, he didn’t know them himself. Aside from the trigger, everything else was little more than the basic outline of the weapon.He had only drawn a pistol.Anything larger would have been difficult to carry, and he wasn’t even sure a larger version would suit his fighting style.Grace and Laura leaned over to take a look.Laura frowned slightly.“I’ve never seen a weapon like this before.”She studied the drawing carefully.‘Did one of his familiars show him this?’Grace folded her arms.“It reminds me of a crossbow…”She narrowed her eyes.“…but there’s no bow.”Klaven, however, looked at the sketch much longer than either of them.Then he slowly spoke.“A crossbow… without the bow itself.”His finger traced the front section of the drawing.“Instead, there’s this rectangular body.”He continued exa

“So, you’re thinking about redesigning the Core Replacement Project?” Wyndia asked, folding her arms across her chest.Rhys nodded without hesitation.“Yes.”His expression turned serious.“Do you think it can be modified?”Wyndia didn’t answer immediately.“That depends on what you’re trying to accomplish.”She looked down at the sketch in front of her before glancing back at him.“I think I understand the direction you’re heading with this weapon.”She tapped the drawing with her finger.“Right now, the Mana stored inside a Core Replacement can’t be absorbed because the medium has changed.”She paused for a moment.“No… that’s not quite right.”“It’s because of the nature of monster cores themselves.”“Once the Mana is extracted, it loses the property that allows humans to absorb it naturally.”“That’s why people still have to swallow the cores directly.”Her eyes narrowed.“But from what I’m hearing…”“…you’re not trying to improve the existing project.”“You’re trying to turn it i

“Uhm… where are you two going?” Rhys asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked between them.“It’s a secret.” Laura stuck out her tongue with a playful grin before gently pushing Maeve toward the door. “Shoo. Shoo. Don’t even think about following us, or we’ll hate you. Come on, Maeve.”“Mhmm.” Maeve nodded obediently and allowed herself to be led away.Rhys watched them leave with a faint smile.The two of them had grown much closer during the trip. Laura had probably told Maeve everything that happened on the mission, including the appearance of his fourth familiar.Maeve had been unusually quiet ever since they returned to the academy. Rhys knew her well enough to guess what was bothering her.She blamed herself.If she had been there, Rhys wouldn’t have been forced into summoning his fourth familiar. At least, that was probably what she believed.“Hey…” Rhys called after them.Before he could say anything else, Risa stopped him with a helpless smile.“Young Master… there are times wh