There are two types of materials used to craft magical artifacts: Sympathite and Neutralite.

Sympathite is a reactive material that needs to connect with a living magical source during rune inscription. For example, if you're making a cooling artifact, someone with ice affinity must be present to channel their magic into the material. This connection allows the runes to bind properly.

Heartstone is a well-known example of Sympathite. Once inscribed, the runes can last a long time—so long as the artifact is regularly supplied with mana.

But Neutralite is a completely different story.

Adrian only learned about it after regaining his memories.

Neutralite doesn't need any living magical source to inscribe runes. Take the bullets Forgelet made, for example—Adrian never needed anyone's help to carve runes into them.

And some types of Neutralite can hold runes for a very, very long time.

Like the golem Adrian fought in the chamber. It was forged over a thousand years ago using a rare form of Neutralite.

When Adrian asked Forgelet about it, she told him:

[That material was common a thousand years ago, but now, it's rare—even on this planet.]

As it turned out, she was the one who gave him the golem in the first place.

Now, Adrian was working with some of the material he salvaged from the bunker.

Back when he fought that golem, he hadn't realized how special it was—so he only took an arm from it.

Now, he regretted not taking more.

With what he had, he could only craft three artifacts at most.

Currently, he was making a tracking tool. By infusing it with the element of darkness, he was building something that could trace the trail left behind by the person carrying the matching item. Only the person with the paired artifact would be able to see the path.

Nothing world-changing—but definitely useful.

"Are you busy?" a familiar voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Adrian shook his head. "Just passing the time. What is it?"

Ariana sat down across from him, a faint smile curling her lips. "Just watched a good match."

Adrian tilted his head, curious.

"Elizabeth and Allen. They just had a fight," Ariana said.

Adrian let out a small "ah," then looked away, losing interest.

"Well," he said after a pause, "was it a good idea to let them fight? Aren't both of them going to be part of different teams?"

Elizabeth was one of the top students from Aegis Academy. Allen was probably the strongest second-year student.

Letting them battle each other might not have been the smartest move—one of them could lose confidence, and the other might learn how to beat their future opponent.

Ariana shrugged. "Can't really interfere in such small matters. And I'm sure they're smart enough not to reveal their trump cards to each other."

Adrian didn't push the topic further.

In any case, Allen's performance alone wouldn't change much in the bigger picture. The solo match was meant for Elana.

According to the original timeline, she was supposed to get injured in the second round. That's when the Protagonist would step in—because of course, the main character always has to shine.

But things wouldn't go the same way this time.

Elana had grown far stronger than her canon self. Not just because of the weapon he crafted for her, but also because she didn't waste time wallowing in despair.

For nearly a month, she had been lost in grief over Adrian's disappearance—and then came the drama surrounding her marriage.

Thankfully, none of that ever happened in this timeline.

And because of that, Adrian was determined to make sure the strongest student from Runebound stood proud in the individual battle.

"Hey, Adrian…" Ariana's soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up to find her gaze turned away, uncertainty flickering across her face.

"You know… in a few days… we'll have to go back home," she murmured.

"In eleven days. Our engagement," he replied, nodding calmly. "I know. Did something happen?"

He had already bought the ring and exchanged several letters with his father regarding the arrangement.

Ariana looked embarrassed. Her finger absentmindedly traced circles on the table as she spoke. "You've been so busy lately… I thought maybe…"

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "You thought I'd forget about our engagement?"

Panicking, Ariana quickly added, "I'm not saying forget! Just… it might've slipped your mind."

Adrian let out a quiet sigh, then placed his glasses and the artifact onto the table with a gentle clink.

He extended his hand toward her, and she took it, albeit a little uncertainly.

"Ah—" Ariana let out a small gasp as Adrian suddenly pulled her onto his lap, their fingers tightly intertwined.

He cupped her cheek with his free hand and made her meet his gaze.

His eyes were sharp—firm, but not angry. They held a kind of quiet frustration.

"Everything I'm doing," he said slowly, "is for the sake of our future. Every single step I take is so we can live peacefully together one day. And you thought I'd forget you?"

Ariana opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself, pressing her lips together.

The shame in her eyes was clear, her gaze lowered to avoid his.

Adrian sighed softly, then leaned back in his seat, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.

"I'm sorry for being so caught up lately…" he murmured, closing his eyes as he finally allowed his mind and body to relax—grounded by her presence.

Ariana whispered gently, "No, it's okay. I understand. I might not fully know what you're doing, but I know…it's something important."

Adrian slowly opened his eyes, only to find her smiling—genuinely, peacefully.

She trusted him.

So deeply, so blindly... it made his chest tighten with guilt.

He hadn't told her many things, including the fact that he can use independent magic…and that, it was him who stole the magic staff.

And now, he feels the more he delays the more he would hurt her.

'This can't go on…' he made a decision at that moment.

Before the engagement he would tell her everything.

She deserves to know the full truth before making such a big life decision.

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.