Three days ter…………..

  "Ugh, my head," Draco groaned as he slowly regained sciousness.

  It didn't take him long to piece together the series of is that had led to his current predit.

  'To think I would make such a stupid decision,' he reprimanded himself, the weight of his as bearing down on him.

  Draco seriously pondered, 'Is this what reinators call protagonist syndrome? After all, why else would I think I could attempt breaking my limits without repercussions, despite the obvious warning my body gave me?' He shook his head in disbelief, frustrated by his own recklessness.

  Using his arms as support, Draco attempted to sit up in his bed, but he couldn't find the strength in his weakened limbs.

  "Sigh, the side effects are probably still ongoing," he muttered, leaning back against the soft pillows.

  Turning his head to the side, Draoticed a piece of paper on the bedside table.

  Curious, he struggled a bit but eventually mao grab it.

  Upon iing the tents, his eyes widened in surprise.

  'Wait, I'm already level 2, and my development is...' His thoughts trailed off as he made a rough dedu of how things had e to be.

  'Well, I was inally going to choose the 'hunter' development ability as my first, but I would have liked to at least seeher options,' Draco grumbled internally, letting out anh.

  He pced the status sheet ba the bedside table and id back, staring at the pin ceiling.

  'I'm bored,' he thought, uo move around freely due to his weakeate.

  He didn't feel sleepy, either, further adding to his restlessness.

  "I wonder if they're all in the dungeon now," Draco pondered aloud, judging from the te-m light filtering in through the window.

  Swish !!

  Suddenly, the door swung open, and Michalis stood at the entraaring at Draco with a bnk expression.

  "Why are you just standing there?" Draco asked, puzzled at Michalis odd rea.

  Hearing Draco's voiapped Michalis out of his stuate.

  "Draii, you're finally awake!" he excimed, his eyes lighting up with relief.

  "You've been asleep for three whole days now. We didn't know if you would ever wake up. Wait, I have to tell the others!" Michalis said, immediately running out of the room.

  "Wait..." Draco called out, but Michalis was already gone.

  'Ugh, that boy is still so chaotic,' Draco thought, shaking his head in disapproval.

  "To think that I was out for three days straight," Drauttered in disbelief.

  The recoil from using stage one of his Assion skill, when he had already reached the limit of his vessel, had caused this.

  'What if I had tried stage two of the skill in that state? Would I even be alive?' he wondered, a shudder running from the tip of the scales on his tail to his ears.

  "Ho, I almost died," Draco let out a deep breath, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.

  Suddenly, a familiar voice cried out from the distanbsp;

  "Draiiiiiiiii!" It was Vasiliki, and she came running into the room, diving into Draco's chest as he y on the bed.

  "Ugh," Draco grunted from the sudden impact that khe air out of him.

  "Wait," he wao say, but Vasiliki held him in a tight embrace, her tears streaming down her face.

  "Draii, you're finally awake!" Vasiliki excimed, her voice ced with relief and joy.

  "Sniff sniff, you had us worried a lot," she said, more tears streaking down her fabsp;

  Vasiliki's usually stoic demeanor had crumbled, revealing the anguish she had been cealing.

  Draco felt a pit in his stomach as he heard her words.

  Vasiliki had rarely shown such raw emotion sihe loss of their family, and witnessing her vulnerability tugged at his heartstrings.

  "I am sorry," he murmured, pulling her into a tighter embrace.

  "Hmmm," Vasiliki hummed, aowledging his apology with a bittersweet acceptance.

  The moment was interrupted by the return of Michalis, who had been inf the others about Draco's dition.

  "Whoa, did I e at a wrong time?" he asked awkwardly, his eyes quickly zeroing in on Vasiliki's tear-stained face.

  "Wait, Vasiliki, are you perhaps g?" Michalis realized, a mischievous grin spreading across his features.

  Draco could almost see the gears turning in his brother's mind, ready to tease Vasiliki mercilessly.

  Vasiliki swiftly let go of Drad hastily began wiping her eyes.

  "What nonsense are you saying?" she quickly denied, her posure regained.

  "Hoho, then what are those..." Michalis didn't get to finish his sentence as Vasiliki brandished a sharp icicle, pressing it against his throat.

  "Care to finish that sentence?" she threatened, her eyes narrowed with dangerous i.

  "Draii, are you seeing this? This is the same girl that was ag so sweet just a moment ago," Michalis pleaded, seeking support from his brother.

  Draco shook his head, letting out a weary sigh.

  ‘Sigh, these two,’ he thought, knowing all too well the dynamics between Vasiliki and Michalis.

  "Sigh, fine, I won't say anything else," Michalis relented, bag off, realizing that Draco wasn't going to intervene on his behalf.

  Just then, the rest of the Bahamut familia – Cir, Eleni, Dimitra, Nikoos, and Vasileios – ehe room.

  "Draco!" Cir excimed, rushing to his side and grabbing his arm.

  Draco could see a spark of relief in her eyes.

  "Tsk, maybe I should get hurt too or something," Michalis muttered under his breath.

  He couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, watg Cir's affeate dispy.

  While he was relieved to see his brother rec, a part of him wished he could be the one Cir rushed to.

  Over the few mihe members of the Bahamut familia gathered around Draco's bed, inf him about the events of the past few days and gratuting him on his recovery.

  Draco was overjoyed to see his family, but there was one important person missing – their goddess, Bahamut.

  "Where is Bahamut?" Draco finally asked, his voice ced with .

  The others hesitated to respond, exging uneasy gnces.

  "Did something happen to her?" Draco pressed, the worry evident in his tone.

  "Nothing happeo her, it's just that..." Dimitra started, but her senterailed off as Bahamut ehe room.

  "Oh, Draco, gd that you are finally awake! I just made lunch for everyone, care to try some" Bahamut announced, a proud expression on her face.

  Draco observed the expressions of his family members, pieg together the unspoken story.

  Bahamut had likely taken charge of the kit while he was unscious, and with no one having the ce to defy her, they had been forced to endure her ary creations for the past three days.

  From the looks on their faces, the results had not been particurly patable.

  Draco had given Bahamut a few cooking tips a few days ago, but it was clear that was not enough.

  He made eye tact with everyone in the room, aside from Bahamut, silently veying his uanding.

  Bahamut, sensing the subtle exge, narrowed her eyes at the children.

  "What are you all agreeing about behind my back?" she asked, her toinged with suspi.

  Draco quickly shifted the versation, smoothly ging the topibsp;

  "Oh, nothing important. By the way, thank you for helping me y development ability," he said, diverting Bahamut's attention.

  Bahamut's suspi seemed to subside as she beamed with pride.

  "Of course! I spent a lot of time thinking about it before I chose. Now fet about that, let's all enjoy the delicious lunch I've prepared," she said, ushering everyoo the kit.