She paused, studying Lucien intently.

"What do you mean?"

Lucien sighed and explained carefully.

"The person hunting me won't let us off the hook. You're in trouble for kidnapping, naturally. And I'm in trouble for getting myself kidnapped."

The lady finally removed the meat from the spit, tore off a generous portion, and placed it on a white ceramic plate before eating graciously.

Lucien watched, his mouth watering as he endured the torture of watching each morsel disappear between her lips.

Within minutes—an eternity for him—she finished. The plate vanished in sparks of blue light.

Lucien regarded her with mild disdain.

"For such a delicate miss, your appetite is surprisingly… encompassing."

She took the last fragment of meat—a pitiful scrap—stood, and shoved it into his mouth, saying coolly,

"It'll be a long journey to Goldenvale."

Lucien chewed carefully, trying to keep the meat from falling since his hands were bound, then paused.

"Bouldenbay? Bwhohh, bbahs farrr…"

The lady glared at him.

"You're a boar indeed. Humans at least finish eating before they speak. Basic table manners."

Lucien swallowed and smiled.

"What can I say, miss? There's no table here..."

The girl shot him an irritated look, but he didn't care—only smiled wider.

"Please offer me water."

The lady opened her hands, blue sparks dancing across her palm.

Lucien sighed with relief.

'At least she seems reasonable.'

She manifested a black metal chain with a hook, moved closer to Lucien, and secured it to the links behind him.

"Time to go."

Lucien's face fell in shock.

"Don't tell me... you're going to drag me all the way to Goldenvale."

She tilted her head.

"I despise carrying boars."

Lucien's expression turned to stone as reality hit him.

"Forget it, you're a vile witch—"

Before he could finish, a gag filled his mouth and was secured tight.

"I don't want you attracting your wild boar companions to cause trouble."

Lucien glared at her, trying to curse her with the fire in his eyes. She didn't seem to care one bit.

Before standing, she met Lucien's gaze evenly.

"This chain resists any elemental attack and blocks you from summoning anything from your inventory."

Lucien's eyes widened.

He was, of course, utterly screwed.

She stood, coiled the chain links around her hand, and began pulling him forward.

They traveled through the forest path from morning until late afternoon without rest. Throughout the entire journey, Lucien tried everything to break free, and the young miss had been accurate.

The chain truly prevented him from summoning any items—weapons or otherwise—and worse, it severely suppressed his skills.

At least his eyes still worked. Although it did not work on the lady because her level was too high, it still worked on the chains.

[Chains of Hell]

[Grade: Mythic]

[Description: These chains once bound the coffin of the King of Hell]

[Evolution: Second Ascension]

When Lucien read the chain's description, he abandoned all hope. More importantly, it was mythic grade. The highest grade item he'd ever encountered was legendary.

A mythic item was being used to bind him. Lucien felt simultaneously honored and bewildered by how stupidly wealthy the miss must be to own such a treasure.

Eventually, he surrendered to being dragged—it was agony, after all. The Grey Threads were all he wore, a garment lacking any real thickness. Lucien wished he'd been wearing the Whitesteel Shroud when captured instead.

He wanted to negotiate with her... but of course, even his mouth was gagged, so he had no choice but to endure the scratches.

Thankfully, Lucien possessed resilient skin and bones thanks to the divine fragment. Still, being dragged across the ground felt utterly miserable!

After a while, Lucien remembered them stopping briefly—about an hour—before continuing. They walked and walked until night fell, then pressed on through the darkness.

Lucien knew little about Goldenvale, only that it had been a small nation founded by a player who later abandoned it to her apprentice. Since then, no one had seen her... he remembered she was called The Golden Witch.

He didn't know the distance, but suspected it would take two or three days at most. However, if the miss acquired a mount, her speed would increase dramatically.

When they rested that night, she left to hunt and returned with a boar sporting twisted horns, displaying it to Lucien with a cold, joyless expression.

Her face was so emotionless that even humor died in her hands. One needed animated features to deliver humor properly.

Lucien shook his head at her.

The vile girl ate her fill, then fed him meager scraps, forcing him to crawl on the ground to reach them.

Lucien kept a mental tally against her. He knew Gaya would find him—he only worried about when. Regardless, he would pay her handsomely for all the humiliation.

Right now, his greatest fear was what awaited him in that small nation. And any player who might kill him, thinking he'd simply get locked out for forty-eight hours before respawning. Lucien hadn't shared his predicament with anyone except PinkLashes, and he remained reluctant to do so.

He didn't know who his enemies might be.

And he absolutely didn't want to die. He wouldn't even test the theory to see what would happen. That's how deeply he respected death.

After dinner, she summoned a sleeping bag and settled in, naturally leaving Lucien to sleep as he was—chained to her so he couldn't even crawl away.

But Lucien found sleep impossible and instead attempted to cultivate his mana.

Gaya had taught him basics during the past week. Though she was perpetually busy, Lucien's curiosity had compelled him to ask about Mana Absorption, Mana Circulation, Mana Sense, and Mana Resonance—the four interwoven processes forming a mage's foundation.

She'd mentioned he might manage it, though he was better suited for swordsmanship than magic.

But Lucien, being Lucien, burned with curiosity about his potential. Plus, having a dragon heart—supposedly superior to a mana heart—meant he couldn't afford to waste it.

Lying on the hard ground, Lucien closed his eyes and focused inward, searching for the dragon heart.

After intense concentration, he finally sensed something: blazing hot, a miniature world of energy in his chest's center. It was perfectly circular, resembling an orb of flame.

Simultaneously, words echoed:

[Congratulations, you have awakened Mana Sense]

[You can use Mana Sense to detect movement]

[Due to the Lesser Dragon Heart, your Mana Sense is enhanced—you can detect movements that are wired not to be detected]

Since Lucien could already see invisible things, he almost dismissed this as pointless but caught himself. Nothing was truly a waste, as Adrian had said. Besides, there was a difference between feeling and seeing. He had Danger Sense, but that only triggered with murderous intent.

With unlimited time, Lucien didn't stop there. He progressed to mana resonance, releasing his internal mana to connect with the surrounding energy—easier than expected. He advanced to the next stage, oddly enjoying himself and momentarily forgetting his captivity.

***

Meanwhile, at the forest's edge, a man sat gazing over the vast, seemingly endless canopy with a forlorn expression.

He wore layered garments with crossed collars, the outermost a gradient of grey and black adorned with floral patterns.

His blue eyes remained detached from everything until something suddenly made them flash and narrow.

A slight frown creased his brow.

"Oh, little dragon."

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