Chapter 143: A Day’s Promise
"I know it’s late..."
Silas turned toward the dark sky beyond the open window of his dorm.
"Yet..."
"It can’t be this late."
He checked his wristwatch again and frowned.
After running into the problem of resources, he had realised he couldn’t solve it alone. He didn’t know where any of the listed materials were, let alone their value or where to obtain them.
Fortunately, he had friends who might.
The first person he contacted was Cher. He sent an urgent message, waited for half an hour, then sent several more.
Yet, no reply came.
He tried Darius next, only to be met with the same silence. Then he reached out to Lara. Eccentric as she was, she remained one of the G-Enhancers, yet even she ignored every message.
Two hours slipped by without a single response.
At one point, Silas considered visiting their dorms himself.
"But..."
"I don’t even know where their dorms are."
He stared at that painfully obvious oversight, silently cursing himself for never bothering to learn something so basic. He made a mental note to memorise all of their rooms as soon as this night was over.
With no better option, he messaged Alfred and Terio instead. Terio was also a G-Enhancer, although their relationship had yet to reach the point where Silas felt comfortable relying on him.
Almost immediately, two replies appeared.
[You want us to meet at your dorm?]
[Coming.]
Silas frowned even deeper. He sent one last round of messages to Cher, Darius, and Lara, but before any of them responded, a knock sounded at his door.
When he opened it, Alfred and Terio were already standing outside.
"Is everything alright?"
Terio spoke first. Judging by the concern on both of their faces, they had assumed some kind of emergency had happened.
"I just need your help."
Silas retrieved the two old documents and handed them over.
"I found this rune structure on the back of that paper," he said, pointing at the page containing the memo. "The problem is that I don’t recognise any of these materials, and I have no way of obtaining them."
"You should forget about it."
The instant Alfred’s eyes fell upon the documents, his expression hardened. Silas was too preoccupied with his own concerns to notice at first, but the firm finality in Alfred’s voice forced him to look up.
"What’s wrong?"
"This is wrong."
Alfred raised the papers slightly.
"I can recognise documents like these from a mile away."
"They reek of scientific laboratories and human experiments."
Silas wasn’t surprised. Cher had already told him about Alfred’s past, but he had never realised how deep those scars ran, or how fiercely the man rejected anything that reminded him of that place.
"What if it’s worth it?" Silas asked quietly.
"Curiosity is mankind’s greatest sin."
Alfred’s voice remained calm, but his eyes darkened. Memories surfaced one after another, carrying countless tragedies born from reckless ambition. Sadness flickered across his face before hardening into frustration.
"You can’t be that desperate."
"This road always promises light at the end."
"But all it ever leads to is death... and sorrow."
Alfred’s tone carried a weight that even Terio, who knew nothing of his past, could sense. Yet no matter what he said, Silas had already made up his mind.
"I’m not desperate."
"And this isn’t some ridiculous human experiment."
"It’s an ancient rune structure discovered decades ago."
Silas took the papers from Alfred and picked up the one containing the diagram and the faded notes.
"This is the solution to my problem."
"It’s nothing but desperate hope."
Alfred shook his head, refusing to budge.
"You’re only hoping it works."
"But the most likely outcome is that it worsens your condition... or something even worse."
"No."
Silas answered without hesitation.
"This isn’t blind faith. I’ve already experienced something similar before, and I know it will be useful."
His eyes narrowed.
"And even if you insist on calling it a gamble, it’s one I’m willing to take."
"But I’m telling you..."
"I know exactly what these papers are describing."
Silas cut him off.
"I know what will happen because I’ve already lived through it."
The certainty in his voice, coupled with the unwavering confidence he placed in the ancient rune structure, slowly changed the expression on Alfred’s face.
"You’ve experienced this before?"
"That black substance?"
Terio finally spoke, unable to contain his curiosity.
"But the papers clearly say they never figured out what it was."
Alfred frowned as well, his scepticism slowly giving way to curiosity. Silas looked at the two of them, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Unlike them..."
"I know exactly what that black substance is."
His expression gradually became more complicated.
"If you’re asking whether this method has value, for me, for you, or for anyone else, then the answer is yes."
"But none of that matters unless we can gather these materials."
"That won’t be a problem."
Alfred spoke calmly.
"I know where every one of them can be found, and I know how to obtain more if necessary."
"For real?"
Silas looked at him as though he had just found his saviour.
"Don’t get your hopes up yet."
"I’ll need to ask someone for help."
He paused as an unpleasant memory surfaced.
Fortunately, the person he had in mind was still inside the academy. Unfortunately, he also remained part of that lab.
Meeting him again was unavoidable, and Alfred disliked the idea more than he cared to admit.
"I can also ask my clan to gather some of the materials."
Terio had been standing quietly to the side, feeling as though he had contributed nothing.
At first, he had assumed Silas was simply clinging to false hope. Yet after hearing the conviction in his voice, after realising he had already experienced the process described in the papers and understood its true value, Terio found himself wanting to help.
Only then did he realise how little he had contributed since joining the team.
He had arrived after the mission had already ended, while the others had risked their lives inside the mine. They had accepted him without hesitation, helped him establish a powerful faction, and never asked for anything in return.
Unaware of Cher’s wager with her father, or of how valuable his decision to join the team had already been, Terio simply felt indebted.
This was the first opportunity he had to prove he deserved to stand beside them.
"Give me a day."
The words left Alfred’s and Terio’s mouths at the same time.
The two exchanged a brief glance before silently nodding to each other.
"A day?"
Silas couldn’t hide his disappointment. He had hoped to find a cure today, cleanse himself of the curse, and finally consume the dragon blood. Delaying even a single day meant his body would only finish absorbing it after their next mission had already begun.
Noticing the faint frown on his face, Alfred immediately guessed what was weighing on his mind.
"Don’t overthink it," he said calmly. "Handle it one step at a time."
Terio had no idea why Silas had suddenly fallen silent, but seeing Alfred speak made him feel he should contribute as well.
"I’m sure we can gather enough materials to run this rune formation several times."
Halfway through the sentence, however, something occurred to him.
"Although..." He took the papers from Silas and studied the diagram and the notes once more. "The materials won’t be a problem, but what about these rune rocks? How are we supposed to make them?"
He looked up, only to find the other two just as puzzled.
Alfred, however, saw an opportunity to pull Silas away from his worries.
"How about this?" He tapped the list of required materials with a finger. "Terio and I will handle everything on this list. You focus on figuring out the rune rocks."
Silas lowered his gaze to the diagram before looking back at them.
"Do either of you know how to obtain them?"
The silence that followed was answer enough. After a brief pause, Terio finally spoke.
"I know there’s a class that teaches rune rock crafting, but it’s only open to fourth-year students and above."
For a moment, he considered offering his clan’s help, but Alfred’s subtle glance stopped him before he could speak. Even if his clan agreed, it wouldn’t solve the immediate problem. Rune rock crafting was a rare craft mastered by very few people, and those capable of it were constantly overwhelmed with commissions. Waiting for their help would almost certainly take longer than a single day, perhaps a week, perhaps more.
"Fourth year..." Silas murmured, studying the diagram once more. "Then I’ll visit that class tomorrow and see if there’s any chance they’ll help."
Had it not been so close to midnight, he would have gone immediately. Instead, he decided to make it his first stop the following morning.
The three soon split up to handle their respective tasks.
Terio immediately contacted his clan, stressing that every material on the list was now their highest priority.
Alfred, meanwhile, wasn’t sure whether to laugh or sigh.
’I’m an idiot.’
He cursed himself inwardly.
’I spent years trying to stay as far away from that cursed place as possible...’
’And now I’m about to walk right back into it.’
He knew how unpleasant that visit would be, but he couldn’t bring himself to let Silas down.
Then another thought suddenly crossed his mind.
’Wait...’
As he walked through the quiet corridor toward his dormitory, his expression gradually became thoughtful.
’Why did Silas ask only Terio and me for help?’
’Where are Cher, Darius, and Lara?’
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. He wasn’t even the closest person to Silas, yet he had been the first one called.
’Something about this doesn’t feel right.’
Suppressing the urge to knock on Darius’ door in the middle of the night, Alfred decided it would be better to ask the three directly during tomorrow’s training session.