While Draco had been making his way back to the surface, the timer for his transformation skill ran out.

  Immediately, he felt an intense, ing pain ripple through his body.

  Blood began to flow from his eyes, nose, and mouth, and he could feel something ruptured within him, his veins and blood vessels pulsating, as if ready to burst.

  Draco used every ounce of his strength to suppress the urge to scream in agony, aware that he was still in the dungeon.

  The excruciatiion persisted for a short while befradually reg, his body temporarily dulling the pain.

  "What is happening to me?" Draco wondered, leaning against the dungeon wall to steady himself.

  He had a subtle idea of what was , but he refused to admit that he had made a terrible mistake.

  This wasn’t the intended backsh from his transformation skill, which was supposed to be mild.

  Draco’s vessel had almost reached its absolute limit, but he had insisted on pushing it beyond what it could handle.

  By using his transformation skill, he had temporarily increased the space avaible in his vessel, but when the skill’s duration ended, all the energy accumuted iemporary extra space hit, pressed but with little to o go – hehe current situation.

  His current body was equivalent to that of a dragon hatg, and he had been trying to cram an adult-sized portion of food into it.

  Now on his feet and the pain somewhat dulled, Draediately used water magic to wash the blood off his body.

  The st thing he wanted was to be seen in such a state by anyone besides his familia members.

  He was aware that his body was barely holding on, and he o make it bae before it gave up on him.

  Luckily, he had made it to around the 9th floor of the dungeon before disaster struck, so the surface wasn’t too far, and the monsters were something he could manage if he moved cautiously in his weakeate.

  Steadily, Draade his way back to the surface, stantly sing his surroundings to avoid unnecessary flict with both monsters and other adventurers.

  With a bit of luck, he safely reached the surfad begarek bae. Mid-way through the walk, the dulled pain begaurning, and his senses became hazy, but he couldn’t afford to fall – he o make it home.

  Upon reag the front of the house, Draocked on the door, uo muster the strength to search for his keys in his dungeon bag.

  I, Cir, Dimitra, and Eleni were currently making preparations for dinner, as it was the evening.

  Hearing a kno the door, Cir went to see who it was and was surprised to find a cloaked figure curled up on the floor in front of it.

  She immediately reized Drad ran back to call for help, not knowing what had happeo him.

  “Dimitra, Eleni! e quick, it’s Draco! He’s colpsed outside the door!” Cir’s voice rang out, filled with .

  Dimitra and Eleni, armed by Cir’s urgency, rushed to the front door.

  They found Draco, his cloak partially obsg his face, unmoving on the porch.

  “Draii! What happened?” Dimitra excimed, kneeling beside him aly lifting his head.

  Eleni joined her, assessing Draco’s dition. She was a bit knowledgeable in alchemy as she spent some time practig it.

  “He’s burning up with fever and his breathing is shallow. We o get him inside immediately.” She said.

  Together, the three girls carefully lifted Drad carried him to the living room, ying him down on the coubsp;

  Cir hurried to fetch a damp cloth and a gss of water, while Dimitra and Eleni began removing Draco’s cloak and outer yers to assess the extent of his injuries.

  As they peeled away the fabric, they gasped at the sight of dried blood staining his clothes and skin.

  “By the gods, what happeo him?” Dimitra whispered, her brow furrowed in .

  Eleni shook her head, her expression grave.

  “I don’t know, but we o him up and treat his wounds before they worsen. Cir, bring a healing potion” Eleni asked.

  Cir hurried to retrieve it from their ste, her heart rag with worry for her crush.

  She had never seen Dra such a dire state, and the thought of him being gravely injured or ill filled her with dread.

  As the girls teo Draco, his mind drifted in and out of sciousness, the pain and exhaustion overwhelming him.

  He could hear the familiar voices of his familia members, but he couldn't find the strength to respond.

  "Rest, Draii," Dimitra murmured, gently wiping the sweat from his brow. "We're here. You're safe now." she whispered.

  Draco wao reassure them, to tell them that he would be alright, but the darkness was closing in, and he succumbed to the weling embrace of unsciousness.

  The girls tiheir ministrations, determio nurse him back to health, their hearts heavy with worry.

  ………………………………………………………………………

  It had been a while since Michalis and Vasiliki had been trying to make their way out of Daedalus Street.

  The sky had grown darker, and the night was fast approag.

  Both of them were filled with worry, fully aware that the night was the worst time to be in an unknown part of the city.

  They had tried asking for dires from some residents, but somehow ended up even more lost.

  The map they had with them wasn't much help, as Daedalus Street was barely marked on it.

  "Sigh, I knew I shouldn't have go with you," Vasiliki muttered in frustration, her brow furrowed with .

  Michalis looked at her, a hint of fusion in his eyes.

  "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

  Vasiliki's gaze met his, a touch of exasperation in her voibsp;

  "You kly what I mean," she replied, her tone clipped.

  Michalis frowned, a defensive edge creeping into his words.

  "Tsk, so quick to throw the bme," he said, his arms crossing over his chest.

  "Then whose fault is it that we're in this mess?" Vasiliki retorted, her eyes narrowing.

  Michalis hesitated, his lips pressed into a thin line.

  He didn't have a goument, and he k.

  Vasiliki sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly.

  "Let's just head towards the Babel Tower," she suggested, pointing at the distant ndmark.

  "robably find our way back from there." she said.

  Michalis followed her gaze, his eyes widening at the sheer distao the tower.

  "Ugh, seems like aremely long walk," he groahe prospect already weighing on him.

  Vasiliki adjusted the strap of her bag, wing slightly.

  "It is more stressful for me, look at all the stuff I have to carry too," she said, the frustration evident in her voice.

  She had done a bit of shopping while they were expl.

  Michalis couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt.

  "Sigh, I guess we have no choice," he ceded.

  "Maybe someone will give us dires along the way." he mumbled.

  As the words left his lips, Michalis noticed a group of four cloaked figures approag them.

  Instinctively, he reached for the dagger he had hidden, his senses on high alert. Vasiliki, too, had noticed the approag group and was ready to react.

  The four people soon arrived in front of Michalis and Vasiliki, and the two of them held their breath, prepared to defend themselves if necessary.

  "Rex, we're not here to hurt you," one of the figures spoke, their voice surprisingly familiar to Vasiliki.

  She squinted her eyes, trying to pce the voibsp;

  "Do we know you?" Michalis asked warily.

  "I thought our first meeting was quite memorable for you brats to have fotten already," the figure replied, a hint of amusement ione.

  Vasiliki's eyes suddenly widened in reition.

  "Ah, you're one of the girls who bullied us in the dungeon!" she excimed.

  "Ah, the Astraea Familia girl, if I remember correctly, Lyra, right?" Michalis he memory clig into pce.

  "Tsk, that's one way for you brats to remember it," Lyra muttered, a slight scowl on her face.

  "Lyra, what is this about bullying? It's quite different from what you told us," anure in the group spoke, a note of in their voice.

  Lyra's expression shifted, and she quickly ged the subjebsp;

  "Anyway, what are you two doing here?" she asked, her tone a bit defensive.

  Vasiliki g Michalis, a hint of irritation in her voibsp;

  "Well, we're lost, thanks to a certain someone," she said, her eyes narrowing slightly.

  Michalis let out an exasperated sigh.

  "Sigh, this again," he mumbled, his gaze averted.

  "By the way, where is that annoying Draco fellow?" Lyra inquired curiously, her tone ced with a subtle hint of exasperation as he looked around.

  Michalis and Vasiliki exged a puzzled look, both of them w about the suddeion of Draco.

  Lyra clicked her tongue, realizing she had asked something stupid.

  "Never-mind, that was a stupid question," she said hastily, her expression that of subtle disappoi.

  Vasiliki's lips curled into a mischievous grin as she observed Lyra's subtle rea.

  "Oya, oya, what is this? Did you perhaps fall for our Draii's charms after that little i?" she teased.

  Lyra's brow furrowed in fusion.

  "What i?" she asked, genuinely perplexed.

  A beautiful girl with raven-bck hair, chuckled softly.

  "Fufufufu, this is quite an iing piece of information," she remarked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

  Lyra felt a flush of embarrassment creep up her neck as she immediately recalled the awkward ses with Drabsp;

  "Stop listening to her nonsense, Kaguya," she retorted, her tone slightly defensive.

  Michalis, sensing the subtle tension, interjected.

  "By the way, aren't you going to introduce us to the rest of yroup?" he asked, deftly steering the versation in a new dire.

  Lyra inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for the ge in topibsp;

  "Ahem, of course," she begauring to her panions.

  "This here is Kaguya, the Vice-Captain of the Astraea Familia, ao her are Noin and Ryana," she introduced, each girl a friendly wave as their names were called.