"Mixed bathing? Hell yeah!"

Millers and Axel emerged from the locker room in swim trunks. The pond water steamed faintly, shaded under ancient trees and trailing vines. Without hesitation, Millers leapt in with a splash. "Ahhh, perfect."

Both men were lean, their muscles cut sharp beneath wet skin.

Phoenix came out next—bigger than the others, hairier too. Seeing the women hadn't changed yet, he let out a sigh of relief and sank into the pool. "When we retire, we should find some out-of-the-way hot springs like this. Play cards, drink, soak. That'd be the life."

Millers stretched against the stone steps, eyes closed in bliss. "Yeah, this hits the spot."

The sky above was fading into dusk, snowflakes drifting down through the trees. Warm Force seeped into their bones, knitting up hidden aches, while some deeper current pulsed in the pond beneath them.

Slap, slap, slap—slippers echoed against stone. The three men turned their heads—and almost had nosebleeds.

Kaia was first, dashing over in a cartoon swimsuit, pale calves flashing as she jumped straight in.

"Rosaline, you've got the figure for it. Why're you covering up so much?"

Rosaline and Lilith followed behind—Rosaline composed in a conservative one-piece, Lilith glowing in a bikini that showed off every curve. Even Phoenix was caught staring.

"Phoenix, don't embarrass yourself." Rosaline snapped. He scratched his head and hurriedly looked away, pretending to admire the snow.

"And you two—watch your eyes." Her glare cut toward Axel and Millers.

Finally, Annabelle emerged in her own cute swimsuit, sliding in quietly to sit beside Axel.

Rosaline frowned, scanning the group. "Where the hell is Vince? Why's he taking so long?"

Millers perked up. "Yeah, why didn't he come out with us?"

Right then, Vince's voice carried from behind the partition, weary and helpless. "I'm coming…"

Lilith burst out laughing the moment Vince stepped out. The other men were all in loose swim trunks, but Vince had shown up in a full-body swimsuit just like Rosaline's.

Even so, he shuffled forward, clearly embarrassed, his shoulders a little hunched.

"Hahahaha—Mr. Vince, what the hell are you wearing?" Lilith teased, grinning wickedly.

Vince's cheeks turned red. He didn't dare look directly at Lilith's barely-there bikini. For a man in his thirties, he had surprisingly little experience with women, and in this moment he looked even more flustered than the famously uptight Rosaline.

"Y-you guys go ahead and soak. I'll just sit on the side."

The Dragon Pond wasn't very big—barely twenty square meters. With so many people in it, eyes inevitably strayed to the women. Vince, however, turned his head away every time he spoke, refusing to glance at anyone.

"Come on, Captain, it's only three hours. Don't waste it."

Everyone tried coaxing him, but Vince still shook his head stubbornly.

All eyes turned to Rosaline. If anyone could handle the captain, it was her. She gave him a long look, her lips twitching with both irritation and amusement—then suddenly smirked.

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"You guys, throw him in."

"What?!" Vince's eyes went wide. But before he could react, Millers lunged with a grin.

The pool erupted into chaos. Just like rowdy schoolboys, the men wrestled and shoved, until with a splash, Vince finally hit the water.

At the far end, Lilith sat back, watching the Obsidian team in action. Kaia was showing Annabelle how to apply a face mask. Millers, Phoenix, and Axel were busy dunking their poor captain, while Rosaline stood nearby, laughing harder than anyone.

Above them, the northern sky glowed faint burgundy. Snowflakes drifted down, melting as they touched the rising steam of the hot spring. For the first time in a long while, Lilith felt herself smiling.

This… this is wonderful.

.......

Two hours later, everyone had face masks on—even Vince, who had been bullied into wearing a black one.

"Why does it feel like I'm the punching bag tonight?" Vince muttered helplessly.

Just then, the heavy chimes of Ebonreach Central Station's old clock echoed across the city, signaling midnight—the start of a new day.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Vince frowned. Something had been off ever since they left the locker room.

Then Kaia suddenly pulled a small cake out of her bag, her eyes sparkling. "Captain… happy birthday."

Vince froze. One after another, the team chimed in:

"Happy birthday, Captain!" "Happy birthday." "Happy birthday, old man!"

One blessing after another came, along with little wrapped gifts, passed to him one by one.

Rosaline stepped forward last. Her voice was soft. "Happy birthday, Vince."

His throat tightened. Thank god for the face mask—no one could see the way his eyes were burning. "…It's really my birthday today?"

Axel grinned. "Knew you'd forget. This hot spring was my gift."

Vince's gaze swept over them, the laughter, the smiles, the warmth. Something swelled painfully in his chest. He turned away quickly, pretending to wipe water from his face, before looking back at the cake.

It wasn't just any cake. On top, cartoon versions of the Obsidian team had been drawn in icing: Rosaline, standing proudly at the front; Vince, looking helpless behind her; Millers with his usual cocky grin; Phoenix, goofy as always; Kaia with a lollipop in her mouth; Annabelle shy and sweet… and Axel, clutching a calculator like ready to plot against anyone at any moment.

At the bottom, written in chocolate, was a single word: Obsidian.

"You guys…" Vince whispered. He took the cake as carefully as if it were a priceless relic.

"Click."

The lights flickered as a camera shutter snapped. Lilith lifted her phone, waving it lightly. "I'll get these printed later."

Everyone's faces glowed in the warm candlelight. For a moment, time itself seemed to pause.

"Captain," Millers said softly. "When we retire… let's buy a place together. A little yard, some hot springs… we'll play cards every night."

"…Okay," Vince said, his voice low but steady.

The soak at the Dragon Pond was winding down. Three hours had slipped by, and though no one wanted to leave, the water had given them all it could.

Millers stretched with a satisfied groan—then crack! His bones and meridians rattled like frying beans in hot oil.

"Millers, did you just break through?" someone asked, eyes wide.

Before he could answer, a heavy breath escaped Vince, and a wave of Force energy rippled out from him, shaking the mist above the pool. "Goddamn… this Dragon Pond really is magical. My Yuan Meridian actually expanded."

One after another, the team refined the last of the medicinal energy. Even Axel, who rarely showed outward emotion, looked quietly satisfied. Vince had risen to River Level, Rosaline's Force surged to new heights, and Kaia, Phoenix, and Millers each managed to compress their Force reserves by around ten percent—a massive leap for them.

Lilith said nothing, but the spark in her eyes betrayed the progress she'd made. Axel slipped into inner vision, his Force condensing further, surpassing another threshold.

Force, 3688 (607) / 3692.

When Axel released a sliver of his aura, both Millers and Kaia froze. The weight of it was suffocating.

When they started compressing at third level, they only had fifteen hundred Force. Millers muttered, his usual grin faltering. "And this monster's sitting on over three thousand?"

Rosaline and Vince exchanged a glance. They finally understood how he'd managed to take down three fourth-level Awakeners in the Abyss.

"Alright, alright, I get it. You're all prodigies." The old man at the gate waved them out, his voice gruff but tinged with pain. The once-murky waters of the Dragon Pond now gleamed crystal clear, the medicinal energy utterly drained. "Get the hell out of here before you strip the place completely dry."

Reluctantly, the eight of them climbed out. Their auras burned brighter now, heavier, sharper than when they had entered.

…...

By the time they left Kensington Hot Spring, it was past three in the morning. The streets lay empty under heavy snow, flakes drifting thick and silent.

"God, that felt good," Millers sighed.

"Let's get food. There's a barbecue place near Ebonreach that's open late," Phoenix suggested.

"And beer," Kaia added immediately. "I want stout!"

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