Panic

"No, no, no!" Kim Jaehyun began to pace around his room. "What have you done, Grey?!"

The situation was not ideal. As the author, and as a reader of many other novels with similar situations, he knew that the best way for the plot to progress was for the main characters to stay together. He also knew that he would be in the limelight no matter what he did, so he had been working incredibly hard to get stronger. Now, he was being told that it might be in vain!

'I don't know how this will change the story!' He thought, messing up his hair. 'I can't have this!'

Kim Jaehyun's thoughts were a mess; he had been planning so far ahead, yet now he was being told that it was potentially all for naught.

'I sent you there to solve the problem, not make me a new one!' Once he finally calmed down, he fixed his hair and then left the building.

'I'll just have to sort this out myself.'

---

In the Island's cafeteria, a group of people sat at a table, staring at the screen.

"Huh, Aurora's dropping out?" Var asked, putting down his fork.

"It seems so." Elijah agreed. "First Grey and now Aurora. Who's next?"

"No one, of course," Hannah spoke up. "We're not strong enough to do so, and you, who is, wouldn't dare to when you have Penelope."

Hearing that, Elijah looked down at his hands, seeing that one of them was held by Penelope, who refused to let go.

"Of course, I'd never leave. Besides, I'm sure that they'll come visit us." Penelope's hand tightened, so he quickly responded.

"Haha! You've been whipped." Var laughed.

"No, I haven't!" Elijah quickly defended himself, but Var just nodded.

"Sure buddy, sure. First Grey and Aurora, now you and Penelope. It's just Darren, Blake, and I. How cruel." He joked.

---

The group continued to joke, not noticing Kim Jaehyun who entered a bit ago.

'They're the only ones here?' He raised an eyebrow, confused. 'I guess most people eat in the mall.'

He got his food, listening to their conversation.

'No, you are whipped Elijah, you just don't know it yet. Protagonist halo, of course. My book was a little cliché.'

Then, Var spoke of the couplings.

'Wait, are Grey and Aurora a thing?... If so, that might explain it.' Kim Jaehyun, now aware of a crucial piece of information, had to rethink his plans. 'Maybe bringing her back isn't the best idea. If she's with Grey, she may become stronger than even Elijah.' 

With that sorted, Kim Jaehyun took a breather, enjoying his food. 'As long as it doesn't change too much.' 

---

Grey wandered the halls of the castle, learning where everything was.

He entered the kitchen with Anise just behind him, waving to the workers.

Another maid walked up to him, curtsying.

"We greet the Princess' fiancé. What brings you here, Young Master?" She asked him.

"I'm here to look around the castle, of course." 

"I see. Then, please, come in." The maid gestured for Grey to come in, guiding him through the room.

Several elves in white cook's outfits worked, kneading dough for the servant's dinner. They turned to greet him as he passed by, so he simply waved them off, asking them to work.

The kitchen was not dissimilar to the one at his house, only much larger, and more technologically advanced.

Like his, pots and pans hung from the ceiling above a center island, and ovens alongside stoves lined the outside.

Unlike his, however, the room was a large rectangle, and there was a door at the end of the hall.

"What's through there?" He asked.

"The chefs for the Royal dinner." The maid replied.

"I see." Grey nodded, turning to leave. He had seen enough.

He followed the same path he took as before, exiting the room, followed by Anise.

"Now that I think of it, Anise, why are you following me?" Grey asked suddenly.

"I am following you because I have been ordered to." She responded.

"Are you my bodyguard?" Grey joked.

"Yes. I am an S- Ranked individual." She replied, not a single emotion in her voice.

"Really? S- Rank!" Grey was shocked. He had not felt anything from Anise, yet he felt Mana from even the King and Queen. 'Her control and Efficiency must be amazing!'

- She's nearing 95% I'd say. - Fallen Star spoke out of nowhere.

'That's incredible, but why didn't you tell me earlier?' Grey complained.

- I assumed that you knew. It's my fault. - Fallen Star told him.

'Meh, we all make mistakes.' Grey shrugged it off, not bothered by it. He was just shocked when he heard that she was so close to 100%.

"So, what's next?" Since she was here, Grey might as well get her help.

"I'd suggest you head to the training grounds. Whilst you know it exists, you've yet to go."

'How does she know that? You know what, never mind, that's a good idea.' Grey nodded his head, letting Anise lead the way.

They walked the halls, Anise guiding Grey to the training grounds.

They arrived within a matter of minutes, and Anise opened the door, peeking inside, before closing it, not allowing Grey to see inside.

"I'll take my leave now, Grey." She informed him.

"Okay?" Grey was confused, but let her be.

He opened the doors and stepped inside, looking around the room to find what caused Anise to leave so suddenly. Upon finding nothing, he entered, heading toward a cache of weapons.

'Why did Anise leave?' He pondered.

- Hehe! - Suddenly, Fallen Star laughed, putting Grey on alert. Whatever it was that made It laugh was nearby.

"BOO!" A voice came from behind him, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"ARGH!" He screamed, jumping up into the air like a cat. "Holy crap!"

He whipped around, casting his eyes upon the perpetrator.

'Oh, it's Aurora. That explains why Fallen Star laughed.' He landed nimbly on the floor, standing up as Aurora giggled.

"Very funny." He commented. "I'll get you back later. So, what were you doing?"

"Well, I was training. My bow skills are getting better already."

"Yes, that's to be expected. You do train your skills daily, right? Consistent practice is the key to success." Grey reminded her.

"Of course I do. If I want to catch up to you, then it's the least I can do." She replied, pouting. Being around him, how could she dare to skip a day of training?

"Well then, get to it." Grey patted her head subconsciously. "I've got work to do."

He left the stunned Aurora, heading back to the cache of weapons.

'So, Fallen Star, will you teach me how to see Mana Signatures?'

- Of course, although it's not so much teaching you. You have to test each part of your eye. All I'm doing is saying yes and no. -

'Sure sure, let's get started.'

Grey stared at Aurora, sending Mana into his cornea.

Nothing happened.

Next, he sent it to his pupil.

Again, nothing happened.

'Maybe it's at the back?'

He channeled Mana into his sclera, hoping for a response.

His vision flickered, but like the last two attempts, nothing happened.

Finally, he channeled it into his optic nerve.

His vision shifted, the room turning black.

'Fallen Star, I can't see.' In a panic, he tossed his head around the room, trying to spot something that wasn't pitch black.

- Calm down, Grey. You've done it. Focus on a part of the room. - Fallen Star lectured.

'Okay.' Grey stilled his head, focusing on the blackness.

As he looked closely, white lines began to appear, outlining everything in the room. The walls, down to the individual tiles, were outlined.

Grey slowly panned his head around the room, watching as the outlines changed. Finally, his eyes landed on Aurora. Grey studied her figure as she practiced with the bow, from its outlines to each curve that it highlighted. Each beautiful curve.

BAM!

Grey slapped himself, forcing himself to focus. Since this was Mana Signature Vision, there should be a signature of her Mana somewhere on her body.

'Fallen Star, how does this work?' Grey asked.

- Mana Signature Vision, or simply Mana Sight, lets you see a signature from someone's Mana Source. In your case, that would be the middle of your body, but for others on Arkusia, it's their heart. So, look at her heart. -

Grey listened to Its advice, staring at Aurora again.

He focused on where her heart was, spotting a blue swirl. In the very center of it lay a few symbols.

An empty heart, the lowercase alpha symbol, and a second, full heart.

♡α♥︎

'Is that Aurora's Signature?'

- Yes. Yours is ΔηΠ. You got the first symbol from Samantha and the second from Lucas. You can use these to tell people apart, and you can use them to tell relations. -

'I see. This is incredibly useful.' Grey smiled, thinking of the possible applications of Mana Sight.

Now in his arsenal of vision-based abilities were Mana Vision, Manareception, and Mana Sight. Of course, there was always the simple ability to enhance vision with Mana, but that was something everybody could do.

Grey had been lost in his thoughts, not noticing that Aurora had come up to him, and was now standing in front of him.

Once he turned off Mana Vision, he spotted her legs.

'Oh, crap. Maybe.'