A day had passed, and Albedo had fully healed and been discharged from the medical bay of the Academy. Now, he was heading to Raphaeline's office to meet her in the early morning.

The doors to the office loomed as he approached, and once he went to knock on the polished surface, the door creaked open by itself.

"About time," came a familiar voice, dry as ever.

He stepped inside to find Raphaeline standing by her desk, arms folded, dressed not in formal robes or ceremonial silks, but a sleeveless tunic and tight-fitting combat trousers. Her long hair was braided down her back today, and her horns were proudly on display, glinting faintly in the mana-infused light.

"How long did you know I was coming?" Albedo asked as the doors shut behind him.

"Since you stepped outside the medical bay," Raphaeline said with a smirk, "I know everything that happens in my Academy, especially regarding one particular reckless student who dives in a lake to wrestle an octopus."

Albedo gave a dry chuckle, stepping forward. "In my defense, it was a particularly venomous octopus."

Raphaeline arched a brow. "I suppose your definition of 'defense' includes collapsing from exhaustion in three feet of sludge?"

"You trained me to be bold."

"I trained you to be ruthless, not suicidal," she corrected, walking around her desk and leaning on it casually, "But I'll admit, you performed well. Better than expected."

Albedo blinked, "Was that... praise?"

"Don't get used to it."

He grinned and folded his arms, "You've been training me every night for months now. I think I've earned some acknowledgment."

"You've earned another week of pain," she said, her smile turning sharper, "Your footwork was sloppy in the southern quadrant of the lake. You favored your right side too much when dodging. Also, your mana flared unevenly during the Execution Mode, almost blew a hole in your own ribs."

Albedo groaned, "You're watching replays of my near-death moments like it's combat cinema, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," she said, "I grade them, too."

He snorted.

Raphaeline's expression softened just slightly as she walked back toward her desk, "All that said… You saved a lot of lives, Albedo. So I guess you can be quite proud now, you proved that I'm a fantastic trainer."

Albedo just rolled his eyes at her cockiness, and watched as she gestured, a flickering rune manifesting above her palm.

"Now, reward time," she said, "As promised, you're entitled to one treasure for your performance. Something of your choosing. I've already given similar rewards to Veronica, Elara, and a few others. Don't disappoint me with something boring."

Albedo took a moment to think, though in truth, he already knew what he wanted.

"Is the Flame Dragon's Heart still available?" he asked.

That actually made Raphaeline pause. Her eyes narrowed, not in suspicion, but consideration.

"Hmm. So that's your request."

"You offered it in the Merit Catalog during the opening ceremony," Albedo said. "I read through the archives. Said it was harvested from a Holy Rank Flame Dragon, if I recall."

"Very good memory," Raphaeline muttered, snapping her fingers and a sealed scroll appeared in the air beside her, bound by chains of red flame as it pulsed.

"That's your reward," she said. "The real heart is stored in a high-security vault in the south wing. This scroll is the delivery token. Give it to the guards and they'll give you the heart,"

She handed him the scroll, to which he quickly stored and then she spoke again, "Be careful," she warned.

"Even sealed, the heart gives off spiritual pressure. If your soul power is too weak, you won't be able to touch it, so be sure you're ready before you do any work with it,"

"I can handle it," Albedo said.

She gave him a long, measuring look, and then just waved her hand, "Alright, now get out of my office, I'll see you in a month,"

Albedo chuckled and left, quickly heading to the South Wing to collect his reward.

The South Wing of the Academy was unlike the rest, it was a place without the elegant banners or the floating lanterns.

Here, the halls were lined with reinforced mana-silver plating, runic inscriptions glimmering faintly beneath layers of enchanted shielding.

Every ten paces, a black-armored sentinel stood motionless, guards assigned not by the Academy, but the Crown itself.

"Stop," came the gruff voice of a knight as he approached a massive gate reinforced with harsh metal and shimmering arrays of layered runes.

Albedo held up the scroll, "Authorization for Vault Retrieval."

The guard reached forward, placing his gauntlet over the scroll. A holographic style scan ran over the scroll, testing it for its authenticity. Then, a hidden encoded crest left by Raphaeline appeared, signifying the scroll's legitimacy.

The knight nodded as he saw it.

"Proceed," he said, stepping aside as the gates began to part with a mechanical hum and magical hiss.

Behind them was the Vault Chamber. A vast, circular room of concentric barriers, each pulsing with seals from different eras: Imperial, Elven, Dwarven, even Abyssal-repulsion glyphs etched in soulstone.

The scroll led Albedo throughout the vault as he saw various treasures, which were all encased in translucent stasis.

Some glowed with radiant magic, others pulsed with barely restrained energy, and a few simply sat there, unassuming… yet dangerous.

Albedo paused by one display and immediately froze.

"The Aetherveil Mask," he muttered under his breath.

A sleek silver-white mask floated above a slab of obsidian, elegant and featureless, save for a vertical slit where the mouth should be.

In the original Novel, the mask would be stolen by an assassin known as Null, who could phase between dimensions and strike from any angle. It was said that even Star Ranks couldn't react before their hearts were pierced.

Null was one of the known mysteries of the Novel, as his identity was never found out.

Albedo stared for a while and eventually stepped forward again, passing another crystal, this one encasing a set of tattered black feathers.

"The Plumes of Varnyx," Albedo recognized them instantly. The remnants of a Fallen Seraphim, who once served the Goddess of Lightning.

It was said their wings carried storms of divine lightning. In the hands of a capable mage, even a single feather could become a weapon of mass destruction.

He moved deeper still, each relic more famous than the last.

The Obsidian Bell of Morgrave.

The First Crown of the Human King.

A Sword Sheathed in Ice.

Skaldrnir, the Frostbane Edge

All of those were famous treasures. While none of them appeared relevant in the Novel, they were extremely famous as a native of this world, with Albedo being taught about them growing up.

He continued walking, and after arriving in a separate chamber, he spotted a Crimson Heart floating atop an obsidian altar.

It pulsed slowly and deeply.

~THUMP!~

Each beat shook the very mana of the room, making the air feel thick, like standing in magma. It was the size of a human skull, its surface jagged and layered like dragon-scale, but translucent enough to reveal inner molten veins glowing like a miniature sun.

The Flame Dragon's Heart. The core organ of Ignathor the Ash Reclaimer, Holy Rank Dragon, once known for reducing entire Kingdoms to ash.

Albedo's breath hitched.

With deliberate care, he took out the item Raphaeline had provided along with the scroll: a black treasure box, forged from obsidian-core alloy and wrapped in reinforced stasis bindings.

Albedo opened the box, and it responded to his mana signature, flickering to life with a pulse of deep red light. Slowly, reverently, he raised a hand toward the altar.

The Flame Dragon's Heart lifted on its own.

Drawn to the container as if recognizing its new bearer, the heart floated downward with slow, deliberate gravity. The air around it shimmered with unbearable heat, yet the stasis field of the treasure box enveloped it like a silk glove slipping over steel.

~THUMP!~

As it settled inside, the box sealed itself shut with a quiet clink, and all that suffocating pressure vanished, like the eye of a storm finally closed.

Albedo exhaled slowly, only then realizing how tense his body had become. He reached down, picked up the now-sealed box, and cradled it against his side like something sacred.

He turned and left the Vault without a word.

The halls of the South Wing were just as silent on the way out. The Crown-Guard gave him respectful nods as he passed, their expressions unreadable behind black visors.

Once Albedo exited the final gate, the sun was beginning to rise, light spilling through the tall crystal-glass windows of the Academy with a soft, ethereal hue.

But Albedo didn't pause to enjoy the morning.

He quickly left, taking the SkyRail back to Pantheon, and a short wait later, he arrived at his home.

He didn't even take off his boots as he ran inside, running towards the training room. Once he entered the training room, his fingers brushed around the sealing runes, unlocking them one by one

As the final rune released, the lid clicked open once more—, revealing the Flame Dragon's Heart, pulsing with quiet, deadly power.

Albedo stared into it.

He'd already made his decision, it was time to turn this heart into another facet of his power.