The cavern was silent, save for the heavy panting of the nine fighters.

The dust from the Golem's explosive demise slowly settled, coating the glittering quartz walls in a fine, gray powder.

The immediate, life-or-death tension had vanished, but in its place, a new, excruciatingly awkward one had crystallized.

Jaden Frostheart, his face a mask of pale, aristocratic fury, was helping his two injured knights to their feet. Their new, shared enemy was, apparently, me.

"That… commoner… dared," Jaden was seething, his voice a low, trembling hiss.

"He insulted you, Lady Maria. He insulted our entire House! He must be taught a lesson in blood!"

Sir Renly, the more stoic of the knights, merely grunted, clutching his cracked ribs.

"My Lady, the artifact. It… it is a Heart-Stone. The proposal is binding by ancient law. This is a diplomatic disaster."

Maria, however, had her back to all of them. Her shoulders were rigid, her silver hair hiding her expression.

When she finally turned, her face was not the furious crimson I had expected. It was pale, controlled, and her eyes which usually as cold and clear as ice, now were stormy with a complex mixture of emotions I couldn't begin to decipher. Embarrassment, yes, but also a sharp, analytical spark, and… was that faint, hysterical amusement?

She looked at me, her gaze traveling over my guild team—Garth's massive, steady form, Sila's sharp, ready stance, the twins' coiled, lethal energy, and Marcus's unnerving, profound calm.

Then her eyes settled back on me. The boy who had commanded this "peasant" squad to flawlessly dismantle a C-Rank Golem that her own noble-born team had failed against.

The boy who had, with all the romantic grace of a butcher sorting inventory, just offered her a 10% stat buff.

"You," she said, her voice dangerously quiet, "are an absolute, unequivocal, moron."

I winced. "Look, I said I didn't know—"

"That's the problem, Michael!" she snapped, her control finally cracking, her voice echoing in the cavern.

"You don't know! You walk through this world like it's one of your… your Academy exercises, just grabbing items and calculating stats! You don't see the consequences!"

"My Lady, we must apprehend him—" Jaden insisted, stepping forward.

"You will do nothing, Jaden" Maria cut him off, her C-Rank aura flaring, a wave of cold that made Jaden flinch.

"You are the one who woke the Golem. You are the one who got your own knights injured. You are the reason we needed saving. You will be silent."

Jaden's face turned white, then purple. To be humiliated by a commoner, and then dressed down by his own cousin in front of them… it was an unbearable insult.

He visibly trembled with rage but said nothing, his eyes promising murder.

Maria turned back to me, the ice in her demeanor returning. "You will not speak of this 'Heart-Stone' to anyone. You will not speak of this… incident… to anyone. This is a Frostheart family matter, and it will be handled internally. Is that clear?"

I just nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

"Crystal."

"Good." She sheathed her own staff.

"Knights, we are leaving. We will salvage the core from the Golem Jaden failed to secure and report our losses." She cast one last, long, unreadable look at me.

"I will see you at the Academy, Michael Wilson. And we will be having a long, long talk about this 'alliance'."

She stormed out of the cavern, her two knights following, leaving Jaden to cast one final, murderous glare at me before stalking after them.

The cavern was finally empty, save for my team. The silence stretched for a solid ten seconds.

Then, Riker, the rogue twin, finally broke. "Pffft…"

Kael elbowed him, but it was too late.

Riker let out a snort, which turned into a choked giggle.

Sila turned her back, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Garth let out a single, booming "HA!" before coughing to cover it up.

Even Marcus, my serene cultivator brother, was looking at me with an expression of pure, unadultergated amusement, his lips twitching.

"Shut up," I growled, my face burning. "All of you."

"Boss…" Riker tried, wiping a tear from his eye. "I mean... 'efficiency'? You proposed to the Ice Princess for 'efficiency'?"

"I didn't propose!" I snapped. "It was a tactical decision to acquire a shared buff!"

"A buff that comes with a 'low-level telepathic link' and a 'permanent bond'," Marcus supplied helpfully, his voice laced with laughter.

"In my world, that's what we called a 'Soul-Mate Pact.' You really aim high, little brother."

"It's not funny!" I said, rubbing my temples as my headache returned with a vengeance. "Let's just… let's get the Golem Heart and get out of here. And none of you,"

I glared at them, "will speak of this. Ever. That's an order."

"Aye, sir," Garth said, his voice still shaking with mirth.

______________

We returned to the guild hall under the cover of dusk, the wagon significantly heavier.

We carried the Golem's real C-Rank mana core, which I presented to my father as the mission's prize, along with the Ogre-Blood Rubies, which I claimed as "alchemical components" for my Academy studies.

The guild, ignorant of the near-disastrous social fallout, was ecstatic. Another high-profit C-Rank clear, solidifying our new reputation.

I retreated to my room immediately, skipping the celebratory dinner.

I needed to be alone. I needed to deal with the other prizes from the vault.

I locked the door, activated the privacy rune, and sat on my bed.

The room was quiet. I took a deep breath, pushing the mortifying memory of Maria's face from my mind.

Focus. The real mission.

I pulled the [Heart of a Rock Golem] and the five [Ogre-Blood Rubies] from my inventory, placing them on the bedspread. Then, with a feeling of dread and anticipation, I materialized the [Dormant Abyssal Dragon Egg].

It was cold. So cold, it felt like a void in my hands, a piece of polished obsidian that seemed to absorb the light in the room.

My System log was clear: [Life signs critical (0.01%)]. The materials were needed now.

"Okay," I breathed. "Here goes nothing."

I placed the Golem Heart against one side of the egg and arranged the Ogre-Blood Rubies in a small circle around it.

This was pure game-logic; I was trying to replicate a crafting ritual, offering the materials to the dormant object.

I placed my hands on the egg, trying to channel my own mana, to force the egg to feed.

Nothing. The egg remained cold. The Golem Heart pulsed, the Rubies glowed, but no transfer of energy occurred. My mana just skittered uselessly over the obsidian shell.

[Hatching Sequence Failed: All materials not present. Insufficient catalyst.]

[Life Signs Critical. Initiate stabilization or item will perish.]

A cold dread washed over me. It wasn't working. I was missing the Ectoplasm, the final key. I was going to fail. This Mythical-grade item was going to die in my hands.

"No," I growled, my frustration mounting. "I didn't fight a B-Rank guardian and accidentally propose to an Ice Princess just to fail now."

I needed a different catalyst. A different type of energy. My mana wasn't "Origin-compatible." 'But... what if I did have something that was?.'

I thought back to the Sunken Vault.

'An Abyssal Egg. Guarded by a creature of Light. Suppressed.'

I thought of my affinities.

'Ice? I channeled it. The egg just got colder.'

[Incompatible.]

Lightning? I sent a jolt. The sparks died on the shell. [Incompatible.]

Space? I touched the egg with a wisp of spatial energy. The air shimmered. The nebula inside the egg swirled. A faint, desperate whisper brushed my mind: ...cold... void...

It resonated. But it wasn't enough. My control over Space was that of a toddler. I couldn't force the connection; I couldn't sustain it.

[Mana Infusion Failed: Purity and Mastery Insufficient.]

I was out of options. My mind raced, grabbing at the last, most terrifying straw.

The egg was Abyssal. Void. Darkness.

And I had a Divine Weapon in my soul, bound to a being that called itself the Dragon of Doom.

"Draken," I whispered, the name tasting like ash.

This was a terrible, terrible idea. The last time I'd drawn on its power, it had nearly consumed me.

Using it to 'awaken' another draconic entity? It was like trying to start a campfire with a nuclear bomb. The potential for catastrophic failure was near 100%.

But the egg pulsed weakly, its internal light flickering. 0.01%...

It was now or never..

"Drakerlor," I said, my voice low but firm, "you said you were sealed. You said you were bored. How about a... snack?"

I materialized the sword.

The room instantly plunged into a cold, oppressive shadow. Draken hummed, a low, predatory sound of interest.

It could feel the Golem Heart, the Blood Rubies, and the dying, compatible energy of the egg.

I didn't try to wield its power. I acted as a conduit.

I placed my left hand on the egg, over the Heart-Stone and Rubies. I gripped Draken's hilt with my right.

"Take the offerings," I commanded. "And use them to stabilize this."

"…YOU ARE A FOOLISH, INTERESTING CHILD," Drakerlor's ancient, booming voice echoed in my mind, layered with a dark amusement.

"YOU OFFER ME SCRAPS... BUT YOU OFFER THEM TO AWAKEN KIN? VERY WELL. I AM... INTRIGUED. LET US SEE WHAT THIS PEBBLE IS."

A torrent of pure, black-violet, divine energy erupted from Draken.

It was not a request; it was a conquest. The energy surged up my right arm, setting my nerves on fire. It slammed into my mana core—which shrieked in protest as the alien, abyssal power tore through it—and then blasted out of my left palm and into the ritual circle.

"GAAAAH!" I cried out, biting down on my tongue, the coppery taste of my own blood filling my mouth as my body convulsed. I was a wire, a simple conduit for a god's power, and that wire was melting.

The effect was instantaneous.

The Golem Heart and the Ogre-Blood Rubies didn't just transfer energy; they disintegrated.

They dissolved into raw, elemental particles—pure Earth and Blood essence—and were sucked into the dark torrent of Draken's aura.

That combined, supercharged power slammed into the egg.

The obsidian shell blazed. It lit up not with a crimson glow, but with a blinding, swirling vortex of purple and black.

The nebula patterns inside spun with frantic, hungry life. The egg, once cold, became superheated in an instant, searing the bedspread, searing my hand, but I couldn't let go. The energy link was locked.

It thrummed, a deep, resonating VWOOM... VWOOM... VWOOM... that I felt in my bones, in my teeth. It was a heartbeat. A monstrous, powerful, starving heartbeat.

I felt Drakerlor's ancient, immense, and impossibly hungry aura pouring through me, and I felt the egg's nascent, equally starving consciousness pulling it in, drinking the divine power greedily.

The transfer lasted for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only ten seconds. Then, as abruptly as it began, the connection severed.

Snap.

I collapsed backward onto the bed, gasping, my body drenched in sweat.

My arms were numb, my mana core felt like it had been scraped raw, and my vision was blurry. Draken clattered to the floor, its dark aura subdued, almost… satisfied? Purring.

I looked at my lap. The Golem Heart and Rubies were gone, completely consumed.

The egg was still there. But it was no longer cold and inert. It was hot, pulsing with a faint, steady crimson heartbeat.

The nebula patterns inside were swirling faster, brighter. It was alive. Truly alive.

And then, a new voice touched my mind.

It wasn't Drakerlor's ancient, terrifying roar. This one was… young. Weak. Hazy. But unmistakably clear, and bonded to me.

...Master? ...Warm. ...Safe. ...Hungry. ...Need... more...

A new, familiar chime brought me back to reality.

[Dormant Abyssal Dragon Egg -> Awakened Abyssal Wyrmling Egg (Bonded)]

[Status: Awakened (Stable)]

[Bond Forged: 'Master' (via Draconic Aura Resonance)]

[Time Limit: 30 Days (before Wyrmling starves and re-enters dormancy).]

[Objective 1: Provide [Heart of a C-Rank Rock Golem] (1/1 - CONSUMED)]

[Objective 2: Provide [Ogre-Blood Rubies (D-Rank)] (5/5 - CONSUMED)]

[Objective 3: Provide [1x Vial of C-Rank Shadow-Wraith Ectoplasm] (0/1 - URGENT)]

I stared at the log. The gamble had worked. I'd used Draken as the catalyst to "complete" the first two objectives, feeding the egg the materials it craved. It was alive, it was stable, and it was bonded to me.

But now, it was awake. And it was starving. The 30-day timer had begun.

...hungry, Master... feed...

I sighed, rubbing my throbbing temples.

"This," I muttered to the impossibly demanding Mythical-grade egg, "is going to be very, very complicated."

As my vacation was officially coming near to End Soon. I had to find a Shadow-Wraith, and fast.

(To be continued )

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