Chapter 6: Safe at Last

[Loan successful. 3,000 Emotion Points granted to Host.]

“Exchange for a teleportation talisman and send me back to my dorm—now!” Iana’s voice was a desperate rasp, pain radiating from her left shoulder where Eserina’s blade had struck.

[Please wait a moment.]

“A moment? I don’t have a moment! System, hurry, or I’m dead!”

The silver-white sword tip dug into her shoulder, shattering scales under its relentless pressure.

Some had already broken free, scattering around her like fallen stars, landing near her trembling form.

[Exchange successful. Congratulations, Host, for acquiring one teleportation talisman.]

[Consumed: 1,000 Emotion Points.]

[Remaining Balance: 2,000 Emotion Points.]

[Use teleportation talisman?]

“Yes, use it! Now!” Iana’s voice cracked with urgency. She could feel her life slipping away with every second.

[Please select teleportation destination.]

“My dorm!” she shouted through the haze of pain.

[Teleportation successful.]

In an instant, Iana vanished, leaving behind only a handful of scales, sliced free by Eserina’s blade.

Eserina frowned, a strange unease settling in her chest.

Her sword, now unresisted, lurched forward, embedding itself into the wardrobe’s back wall.

The silver blade quivered, as if keening in sorrow, sending a faint ache through her hand.

“It’s gone?” she murmured, staring at the blade buried in the wardrobe. “I felt it connect.”

The sword was a cherished relic, a gift from a childhood companion who meant more to her than she could ever express.

Though she could afford a finer weapon, this one was irreplaceable—a tether to a dream of a life that might have been, shattered by a brutal reality.

Five years ago, a prince’s rebellion had torn through the kingdom.

He’d allied with heretics, offering sacrifices to demons in a bid for power.

The orphanage where Eserina had grown up became their altar, its children their offerings.

Her dearest friend had given her life so Eserina could escape.

That loss fueled her vow to eradicate every demon, a fire that burned unyielding in her heart.

So why did she feel this pang of sorrow now?

“It was a demon,” she whispered, her gaze falling to the trembling sword. “Even you, my old friend, feel it?”

Steeling herself, Eserina opened the wardrobe.

A few scattered dragon scales caught her eye, stirring a fleeting memory of someone she’d rather forget.

She shook her head, dismissing the thought.

She inspected the wardrobe.

Her clothes, once neatly arranged, were in disarray, but that wasn’t what ignited her fury.

The jade-green orb, her treasure, was gone.

Her eyes blazed with rage.

“I was too lenient,” she hissed.

In Iana’s dorm, a silver-haired dragon maiden materialized on the bed, gasping for air.

The overwhelming presence of Eserina had forced her to hold her breath, and only now could she breathe freely.

She took deep gulps of air, her body trembling from the ordeal.

After a moment, she regained her strength.

“Damn system,” she murmured, “next time, tell me how you’re going to deliver the reward. I nearly died out there!”

[Does the Host dislike this method of reward acquisition?]

“Dislike it? I hate it!” she snapped.

[Understood. Reward acquisition method adjusted. Future rewards will be delivered directly.]

“It’s adjustable? And you didn’t tell me before?” Iana groaned, exasperated.

“Fine. Let’s figure out this orb.”

She pulled the jade-green treasure from its hiding place.

She had tried all conventional methods—infusing magic, mental bonding—but nothing worked.

If this was a gift from her mother, perhaps it required something tied to her essence.

“Blood drip? How cliché,” she murmured.

But it felt plausible, a deeply personal method for her.

Raising her underdeveloped dragon claw, she hesitated over her left index finger.

“This is going to hurt, isn’t it?”

Since awakening her bloodline, pain seemed to hit harder.

In her previous life, she would’ve cut her finger without a second thought.

Now, the idea made her flinch.

“Maybe not,” she said, lowering her claw.

Her gaze drifted to the mirror, where a delicate silver-haired dragon maiden sat cross-legged, fear flickering across her porcelain face.

“Wait, is my shoulder bleeding?”

In the euphoria of her escape, she had ignored the wound.

Blood oozed from her left shoulder, a stark reminder of Eserina’s attack.

“Why waste it?”

She pressed the orb against the wound, letting the blood drip onto its surface.

The moment it made contact, a brilliant emerald light flooded the room, blinding her.

She shut her eyes tightly, her ruby-red pupils hidden behind her lids.

“My eyes!” she cried.

But her gamble paid off.

The blood linked her to the orb, and its secrets flooded her mind.

[Orb of Senluo Concealment]

[Capable of masking the user’s aura and suppressing their bloodline.]

“Finally!” Iana exclaimed. “All that effort wasn’t for nothing!”

With a thought, she activated the orb.

Her demonic dragon bloodline receded, and the silver-haired dragon maiden vanished.

In her place was a familiar, plain boy—Ian, exactly as he had been before the transformation.

He smiled at his reflection.

“Now no one will suspect me.”

The demonic aura was gone, replaced by an ordinary human presence.

Reflecting on the ordeal in Eserina’s dorm, Ian realized the truth.

“That Proud Dragon wasn’t searching for me—she was toying with me. That aura was impossible to miss. Damn her cunning.”

A grudge took root.

“I’ll make you pay, Eserina. A hundredfold.”

A sharp beep interrupted his thoughts.

His communicator buzzed, and he answered.

“Hey, Ian? It’s Lillian,” came her cheerful voice.

“It’s me,” Ian replied, grateful for the timely distraction.

A call moments earlier, and he would’ve been too preoccupied to answer.

“I was thinking—can you start training me this morning instead of this afternoon? I can’t wait. I’ll add a gold coin to this month’s payment. Deal?”

Normally, Ian would’ve refused, sticking to the agreed schedule.

A job was a job, after all.

But an extra gold coin?

Hard to resist.

“Deal,” he said.

“Great! I’m at Villa 105 in the villa district. See you soon!”