The sudden voice jolted Kaiden.

  His heartbeat surged and his body jolted, his instincts kicking in.

  In a single motion, he deactivated his abilities. The quill vanished from his grip, flickering out of existence, and his vision returned to normal as the glow in his eyes faded.

  He had been so focused, so locked in, that he hadn’t even heard anyone approach.

  He snapped his head toward the entrance, muscles tensing instinctively.

  A guard stood there, dragging a collapsed man by the arm. The prisoner looked barely conscious, his body limp and unmoving.

  Kaiden forced himself to stay calm. He needed to be convincing. "I'm just checking the man's neck for wounds," he said, keeping his tone neutral.

  The guard barely looked at him, uninterested. With a shrug, he muttered, "Whatever. Got you another patient. Be quick with them."

  He didn’t even bother placing the man on a cot. Instead, he let go of his arm and walked off, leaving the prisoner crumpled on the ground near the entrance.

  That was close, Kaiden thought to himself as he ran over to the new arrival.

  He picked him up easily and carried him to a cot. As he laid him down, recognition hit—he had seen this man before. It was the same prisoner who had been whipped earlier when Kaiden first arrived. The deep lashes on his back were angry and raw, his breathing labored.

  Kaiden immediately cast Healing Touch and Cure Poison, watching as the man’s chest rose and fell more steadily. His body relaxed slightly, though he remained unconscious.

  Kaiden moved quickly, going back to the woman and child and casting another round of healing on them as well. Neither reacted, but their wounds continued to close, and their breathing was no longer as strained. Finally, he returned to the collared man and did the same, ensuring his condition didn’t worsen.

  Now, back to the collar.

  Summoning the Rune Dissolution quill once more, Kaiden leaned in close, carefully inspecting the runes again. He chose one of the simpler-looking symbols and drew a line straight through it.

  Nothing happened.

  Kaiden frowned. That would’ve been… too easy. He had expected some kind of reaction—an energy shift, a resistance, maybe even a backlash. Instead, the rune remained completely intact, unaffected by his attempt.

  Did they have to be erased in a certain order? Or was this one of those locked runes?

  There was just too much he didn’t know.

  He tried again, this time slashing a few random lines across different runes. Still nothing. His frustration grew as he realized brute force wouldn’t work here.

  Humming to himself, he brought up the ability description, skimming over the words carefully.

  Rune Dissolution

  The user summons a secondary quill of pure mana, designed specifically for the removal of inscribed runes. By channeling mana through this quill, the user can carefully disrupt and dissolve existing inscriptions, allowing for corrections or modifications without damaging the object itself. However, this ability cannot be used on locked runes, as their structure resists alteration or removal by conventional means. The effectiveness of Rune Dissolution depends on the user’s mana control and familiarity with the rune being erased.

  One part stood out.

  Effectiveness depends on mana control and familiarity with the rune.

  Why does that matter for erasing something?

  It reminded him of the method for creating runes, which also required precise mana control. So then… did he need to trace over the rune instead?

  It was worth a shot. Nothing else had worked.

  Kaiden leaned in, steadying his quill for another attempt—

  Then a voice stopped him.

  "I really hope you’re trying to help me and not fuck me."

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Kaiden jolted back, startled.

  The voice was gruff, heavy with exhaustion but edged with dry amusement.

  He turned his gaze toward the collared man, who had finally regained consciousness. His half-lidded eyes studied Kaiden lazily, his expression calm.

  Taken aback, Kaiden backed away slightly. "Of course, I’m trying to help you," he said, offended.

  The man choked out a laugh through the pain, his voice raspy yet carrying a hint of amusement. “Sorry, I couldn't help myself. We don’t get a lot of laughs here. You must be the new healer.”

  Kaiden hesitated for a moment before replying, “Not exactly. I'm only here ‘til I'm sold.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, they left a bitter taste. Waiting to be sold. It made his stomach turn. Never in his life had he imagined saying something like that, much less living it. The thought made his skin crawl.

  The man, despite his injuries, offered a faint smile. “Well, I much appreciate the healing. I feel much better already.”

  Kaiden let out a slow breath, forcing himself to focus. “I'm glad someone actually decided to talk to me who isn't a guard or a slave owner.”

  The man’s smirk faded, his expression softening as he cast a glance toward the woman and child who sat nearby, their backs turned to the conversation. His gaze lingered on them for a moment before he spoke, his voice quieter this time. “Don’t blame them. You stay here long enough, and you understand.”

  Kaiden nodded slowly. He didn’t blame them. Not really. He had seen the way they flinched whenever a guard passed too close, how they kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact at all costs. He didn’t want to imagine what they had endured. At least in a dungeon, death could come swiftly. Here, it was drawn out and cruel if it ever came.

  “I want to help them… everyone,” Kaiden said, the words slipping out before he had fully thought them through. But he meant them.

  The man let out a tired sigh. “Healing them is the only thing you can do. Either they'll get sold off or die here. That’s just the way it is.”

  Kaiden clenched his fists. He refused to believe that. He refused to accept that their fates were already written.

  The man studied him for a moment, then gave a small nod. “Name’s Doderick by the way.”

  “I’m Kaiden.”

  “So, Kaiden, looked like you were inspecting my collar earlier. I gather it’s the first time you’ve ever seen one, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Kaiden said. “How does it work exactly?” Now was a good time to get some intel.

  Doderick shrugged. “Dunno how it works, but it's like I don't have any abilities. I can still see my status and my abilities, but nothing happens when I try to activate them. On my conditions page, it says Silenced.”

  Kaiden's eyebrows shot up at that. “So that's how it works,” he said under his breath, recalling that term from the video games he played back on Earth.

  Doderick frowned. “What was that?”

  Kaiden quickly covered. “Uh, nothing. It's just... I’ve heard of that... condition before. I didn’t realize these collars work like that.”

  “Yeah, that’s just how it is.” Doderick sighed.

  Kaiden glanced over his shoulder, making sure no one was coming. There was a window next to the door he could see out of, but for now, they were alone. He then lowered his voice and leaned in closer to Doderick. “I might be able to help you, but I’m not sure.”

  Doderick looked skeptical, lowering his voice to match Kaiden’s. “I doubt it, but why are you whispering?”

  “It’s better if no one overhears our conversation. Deniability and all that,” Kaiden said as he looked over at the woman and child.

  Doderick squinted his eyes. “What are you thinking about?”

  Kaiden hesitated for a moment, then said, “I wanna take a closer look at your collar. I might be able to deactivate it.”

  Doderick still didn’t look convinced. “Be my guest. No one’s ever been able to do it before. This is old magic, after all. No one even knows how they work. But sure, some random healer is gonna deactivate it. Be my guest.”

  Old magic? So is a Spell Scribe. Kaiden gave a helpless smile. “Hey, it’s worth a shot.”

  “Sure,” Doderick said, closing his eyes, clearly not expecting anything.

  Kaiden summoned the quill to his hand as he activated Arcane Vision once more. The runes on Doderick’s collar glowed faintly in his enhanced sight. Taking a steadying breath, he carefully began tracing one of the simpler-looking runes, using the quill to map its structure without disturbing the others.

  At first, it seemed to be going well. The quill’s magic flowed smoothly, forming a faintly glowing outline over the rune. But just as Kaiden started the next stroke, a slight miscalculation sent too much mana bleeding from the quill, spilling over onto an adjacent line. Before he could react, the entire trace vanished in an instant.

  That answers that question on why you need mana control, Kaiden thought to himself, lips pressing into a thin line.

  Undeterred, he started again, this time moving at a painstakingly slow pace, ensuring that every stroke was deliberate and precise. His grip tightened slightly as he exercised strict control over his mana output, his focus narrowing solely onto the rune before him. Halfway there…

  Then, just as he neared the end, the lines flickered once more and disappeared.

  Kaiden let out a frustrated sigh. It must’ve been too imprecise. He clenched his jaw, refusing to let something as small as tracing a rune get the better of him. He had thought this would be difficult, but not this difficult. The process of tracing was far more intricate than simply writing a rune from scratch—almost like trying to copy someone else’s handwriting perfectly, down to the tiniest detail.

  He wiped his palm against his pants and tried again.

  And again.

  And again.

  By his 10th attempt, he finally completed the full trace of the rune without it fading out. The traced rune pulsed three times in rapid succession before winking out completely. Kaiden's heart skipped a beat. I did it! he exclaimed internally, barely containing his excitement.

  But nothing seemed to happen.

  Kaiden waited, holding his breath, expecting… something. A spark. A shift in the air. A flicker of energy signaling that the enchantment had weakened. But there was nothing.

  He let out a quiet sigh. "At least nothing blew up," he muttered under his breath. That was always a possibility when messing with unknown magic. Maybe removing one rune wasn’t enough to break the effect? He was about to start working on another when Doderick suddenly tensed.

  "Oros' ass! I can't believe it!"

  "What happened?" Kaiden whispered urgently. “And not so loud.”

  Doderick looked completely flabbergasted, his eyes wide with shock. His hands flexed as if he were testing something unseen, feeling for something that had been missing for too long. When he finally spoke, his voice was a hushed whisper, laced with sheer disbelief.

  "My abilities… they’re back."