"Agh..."

Gray's eyes opened slowly.

A white ceiling, while the faint smell of herbs reaches his nostrils.

Phew~

The quiet sound of wind brushing against curtains.

Where else but the infirmary?

He blinked once… twice… and his blurry vision cleared enough to see the figure leaning over him.

Long black hair spilled over her shoulder, brushing against his chest. Soft, warm fingers pressed lightly against his stomach.

"...You're finally awake," Selvaria whispered calmly, but her eyes said otherwise.

There was a trace of exhaustion there.

Her thumb lightly traced the faint scar that ran across his abdomen before she pulled her hand away, sighing.

"You shouldn't even be alive," she murmured.

"Do you even realize what kind of damage you—"

"—did to myself? Yeah. You've said that before," Gray's lips curved lazily.

His voice came out rough, still hoarse, but there was that familiar teasing tone in it that made her tense immediately.

He tilted his head slightly, letting his gaze drift over her.

"...You've been touching me for a while, haven't you, Miss Priest?"

Selvaria froze for a second, eyes darting down to her hand still resting near his navel.

"I was healing you, idiot!" She quickly pulled it back, her cheeks faintly red.

Gray chuckled weakly, but even that small sound made pain shoot through his chest.

Still, he smiled.

"If this is healing, I wouldn't mind being wounded more often."

"You haven't changed at all." Selvaria glared at him, standing up sharply.

"Of course not," he murmured, staring at her from the bed.

"You're too beautiful for me to forget."

Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

For a moment, she just stared at him, those soft dark brown eyes trembling slightly. Then, with a sigh, she brushed her hair back and muttered:

"You flirt with anything that breathes, don't you?"

Gray smirked, taking a deep look at her from head to toe.

"Not anything. Only the ones who look like they've been too lonely for too long."

Her breath caught in surprise.

She bit her lip, trying to ignore the strange warmth that stirred inside her chest.

"You should rest," she said finally. "You've been unconscious for three days. Half your body was—"

"Gone?" Gray interrupted.

"Yeah, I remember."

He glanced down at his arm, now wrapped neatly in layers of white bandages. His shoulder still burned faintly beneath the wrappings.

In that last second, Gray split the connection between him and that superior demon, but unfortunately, the rebound damage was too great.

Thankfully, before he passed out, he was able to use his last bits of mana to connect his entire body with the puppet strings.

Selvaria frowned, sitting back down on the edge of the bed despite herself.

"You're lucky. The academy's healers said your mana strings were the only thing holding your body together. Without them, even my healing wouldn't have worked."

Gray's eyes softened slightly.

"Then I guess I owe you one, priestess."

She crossed her arms.

"You owe me more than one."

He chuckled again, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Then maybe I'll repay you with dinner… or something less holy."

"Gray!" Her face turned red instantly.

He opened one eye, smirking faintly.

"What? It's a genuine offer."

"You're insufferable," Selvaria exhaled deeply, rubbing her temple.

Gray leaned his head to the side, staring at her with a playful look on his face.

Selvaria looked down, realizing her hand had unconsciously returned to rest on his chest again, just above his heart.

"You need to rest, Gray. Don't talk too much," she quickly moved it away, muttering under her breath,

But he only smiled faintly, watching her turn toward the door.

Her long hair shimmered in the afternoon light, and he couldn't help whispering:

"You really haven't dated anyone before, have you?"

She stopped.

Slowly, she turned her head, her eyes narrowing.

"How do you even—"

"I can tell," he interrupted softly, smirking through the exhaustion.

"You heal with gentle hands, but you touch like someone afraid to be touched back."

Her heart skipped.

For just one second, she didn't know how to breathe. Then, without saying a word, she walked out in fast steps, but her ears were burning red.

The door closed behind her with a soft click.

Gray exhaled slowly, a faint smile still on his lips despite the pain crawling through his body.

"Still fun to tease," he murmured, before closing his eyes again.

However, before he could actually rest...

[Almost died, and the first thing you decide to do after waking up is flirt with the priestess who took care of you?]

"Hello to you, too, Jasmine," Gray reopened his eyes, letting out a small smile.

[Honestly… I don't know what to do with you.]

Her voice sounded like a long, tired sigh echoing inside his head.

"Don't worry about it," Gray replied quietly, gazing at the ceiling.

"I'm still alive in the end, right?"

[...Sure, but one day your luck's going to run out.]

He chuckled softly.

"Maybe. But for now… I should take a look at my status."

He lifted his hand weakly, and the familiar blue panel shimmered into existence before his eyes.

[———✵ Status Panel ✵———]

Name: Gray Vireux D'Aurélion [2]

Titles: Vessel of Beauty & Destruction, Exiled Noble

Race: Human (?)

Class: [✧ Clown (Intermediate) ✧]

Rank: Early Advanced Realm

Unique Skill: [✧Swap✧]

Active Skills: Puppet Strings (Class), Madman's Mirror (Class), Nine Illusionary Dream Steps [Minor Mastery - 1% (1st Step)], Dimensional Storage

Passive Skills: Blessing of Beauty (Vessel Skill), Laughing Veil (Class), Combat Intuition

Ultimate Skills: Final Masquerade (Class)

——+——+——+——

[You've actually mastered 1% of the First Step of Divika's Technique?]

Jasmine's tone rose in disbelief.

"Is that rare?" Gray tilted his head a little.

[Of course it is! That's a God-level movement art. Even the gods themselves take decades to grasp a single percent of it!]

"Is that so..." Gray muttered.

He hadn't even thought much of it.

He had just followed what the other Gray instructed him to train. He hadn't expected progress, much less actual mastery.

Still… a faint smile touched his lips.

Even a mere 1% in "minor mastery" was enough to raise his speed by nearly twenty percent. In this world, that was the difference between life and death.

Normally, technique proficiency was divided into several distinct levels:

Introductory.

The stage where one understands the form but cannot fully activate it, just like memorizing a song without being able to sing it.

Minor Mastery.

The stage Gray was currently in. You could activate the technique, but using it carelessly could tear muscles, break bones, or even destroy your mana circuits.

Big Mastery.

Where the technique becomes second nature, stable, efficient, and safe to perform without hurting yourself.

And finally…

Perfection.

The peak is where the user could bend, shape, and command the technique as easily as breathing.

"Anyway…" Gray muttered, brushing his hair back.

"Did you notice anything strange about Leon?"

[Hmm…]

Jasmine paused, her tone turning thoughtful.

[I felt something tiny... maybe like a trace of Divinity. It wasn't strong enough for him to be a Vessel, so it's more likely he found a godly relic. Probably some kind of power amplifier.]

"Ah!" Gray's eyes widened suddenly.

[What now?]

"Talking about relics... now that I'm at the Advanced Realm, I can finally use that God-tier artifact that I bought before!"

Without hesitation, he reached into his dimensional storage and pulled out a small black case.

Inside were two glimmering earrings, silver with faint violet energy flowing through their rings.

"Phantom Loop Earrings," he murmured.

He took a breath, then extended two thin threads from his gloves and pierced his own earlobes.

A faint sting, letting slide a drop of blood.

Click.

[Ding!]

A soft chime rang in his mind as a new panel appeared.

[Name: Phantom Loop Earrings]

Grade: Godly

Type: Artifact

Main Function: Allows the user to create a Phantom Loop — enabling them to relive the same day repeatedly. After the loop ends, the artifact enters a 30-day cooldown period.

Additional Traits:

— Significantly increases the wearer's mana and charm.

— Grants full resistance to curses, seduction, and illusions.

— Allows the user to see through all forms of illusion.

——+——+——+——

"…Shit, this is insanely overpowered!" Gray laughed, his voice still weak but filled with excitement.

[Hmph! Told you it was worth the price.]

Jasmine's tone carried that smugness only she could pull off.

"I guess I do owe you for that," he said with a small grin, reaching up to touch one of the earrings.

Click.

He tugged the earring... but strangely, he couldn't take it out of his ear.

"…Really?"

[Oops…]

Jasmine's guilty little hum echoed in his head.

Gray's eye twitched.

"Don't tell m—"

[They might be… permanently bound to your soul now. Probably.]

"…Probably?"

[Hey, it's not my fault you didn't read the fine print!]

"Remind me to never buy anything you recommend again." Gray groaned softly, falling back against the pillow.

[You say that now, but you'll thank me when it saves your life.]

"Yeah, yeah…" He muttered, closing his eyes.

"Or when it explodes."

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