"I missed you too... I wish I had my phone to record this mont... sigh..." Julian’s tone was filled with mock regret, his eyes gleaming with a teasing glint as he ruffled her hair.
Eva’s touched expression crumbled. She raised her hand to slap his hand away from her hair, but stopped in a split second, rembering he’d just woken up.
Julian let out a low chuckle that turned into full laughter when he saw her tangled expression.
"You’re lucky I still care about you, or I would have throttled you!" Eva snapped, her voice sharp, though she still sent energy into him.
"Hmm...cough, so what happened while I was unconscious?" Julian cleared his throat, his expression filled with curiosity, and Eva’s action of feeding him water from thin air flashed through his mind.
Eva sat up straight on the bed before she started filling him in on what had happened during their ti here. "Umm, nothing much, just hordes of poisonous scorpions and snakes..."
Julian listened, a range of emotions flickering across his face, until she reached the part about how she gained her new powers—then he interrupted.
"How is that possible? Has the cloud shown up since then, or was it what changed to your new powers?" Julian asked, confused and in disbelief all at once.
He thought those clouds were related to her tattoos—like unique beast cores or dungeon drops with special powers that had limited uses, not permanent.
Who would have thought it would grant her an entirely new power?
"That’s about what happened... hmm... I don’t know if I could control the cloud now. I haven’t tried," Eva responded with a thoughtful expression, ntally noting his words to try later.
"These past two weeks have been... quite eventful," Julian remarked once she finished.
"But now, I need a wash and so food," Julian muttered as he straightened up, showing signs that he was about to leave the bed.
Eva swiftly reached out to stop him. "You can’t get out of bed now. I’ll call Blaine or Ethan to help you." Her tone was firm as concern flickered in her eyes.
"The energy you gave is enough, I’m alright, really." Julian tried to get up and show her, but her hands pressed on his shoulders, holding him down.
A helpless smile curled his lips when he t her steady gaze—she wasn’t going to let him leave the bed without help.
"Wait here, I’ll call—" Eva’s words were cut off as the tent flap opened. They both looked up and saw a surprised Ethan.
"You’re awake." Those words left his lips, a flash of relief crossing his face—this was the longest Julian had been unconscious.
"Yo, you miss ?" Julian’s sappy tone almost made Ethan cringe in disgust.
"Speak like a human being," Ethan said bluntly as he moved closer to the bed.
"Tsk, so boring, you couldn’t even play along," Julian clicked his tongue and collapsed bonelessly into Eva’s arms, enjoying her body’s warmth.
"Thank goodness you’re here. I was just about to look for you. Please help Julian while I inform the chef to prepare his al," Eva muttered, rising to her feet. After giving Julian a final glance, she hurried out of the room.
As soon as she left, Julian stood up by himself, his earlier weakness in his brows fading, and he stretched under Ethan’s calm gaze.
"Eva gave the gist of what happened these past two weeks. This place...is bad news. I’ll train in the dungeon too, until we leave this desert and figure out where to dump these people," Julian muttered thoughtfully as he left the tent, Ethan following behind.
They fell into silence as they made their way to the stream. Julian’s steps were slow; he was still adjusting to walking after being bedridden for days. About halfway there, Ethan spoke, his voice carrying rare concern.
"Are you really alright? No side effects...the mory of what happened...?" At his words, Julian frowned, his head throbbing slightly as images flashed through his mind before he could grasp them.
"Hmm... just headaches. Should be fine after a while." He ignored the mory part and changed the subject.
"Is the desert vast? What does it look like?" Julian asked curiously. From Eva’s words, he couldn’t imagine a place filled with nothing but endless sand.
Ethan shot him a side eye, fully aware he was dodging the topic.
He nodded in agreent before adding, "When you’re done with lunch, we’ll go out."
Julian nodded, and they reached the stream. Relief showed in his eyes, and a contented sigh escaped him as he touched the cool water.
anwhile, Eva was instructing the chef on what kind of food to prepare for him. "Make him sothing easily digested. Porridge could do."
The chef nodded, his expression serious, but his eyes shining with joy at the thought of Master Julian waking up.
"Madam, I’ll add so other dishes good for his health; no need to worry," he responded happily as he walked to the pantry to gather the ingredients and grains he needed.
Eva watched his busy figure and felt relieved he knew what to prepare, then left without stealing a bite.
She went straight to Aaron and happily told him that Julian was awake, then headed to another stream to wash up.
"She seems to be in a good mood today." One of the people she passed by whispered to the person next to him.
"Yeah, I thought it was just my imagination," he replied, though he was curious about what put her in such a good mood.
...
The four of them sat around the food placed on the table. Julian looked at the bland porridge and chicken soup in front of him with a dazed, nothing-to-live-for expression.
"Umm, is this what I’ll be eating?" Julian asked as he glanced over at their mouthwatering al, which couldn’t even compare to his own.
Eva nodded in agreent, then chewed and swallowed her food before explaining.
"Your stomach should be weak since you just woke up. You need food you can easily digest. Eat up before it gets cold," she urged, waving her fork for him to eat.
Aaron and Ethan fought to hold back their laughter as they took in Julian’s face—disbelief written all over it, teetering on the verge of frustrated tears.
Eva shot them a pointed look, and they quickly looked away, their faces showing amusent at Julian’s suffering.
They ate quietly, Julian swallowing with a twisted expression, as if he were holding back from spitting out the food.
alti dragged on painfully for Julian. He wanted to prove he wasn’t weak—if only to escape these tasteless als.
Julian suggested eagerly, "Let’s go to the dungeon."
Eva was about to refuse right away.
"Please, Eva dear, I’m curious to see what the desert looks like, and you can protect if you don’t want to go alone." Julian almost begged.
Eva hesitated for a mont before nodding. "But we won’t stay too long in the dungeon," she added, her tone serious.
Julian slumped into his chair in relief, touched by her care, though he doubted he could stomach this al again. The mushy rice felt like vomit—disgusting.
Julian’s face twisted with disgust at his imagination before he gulped the water in his cup to rinse his mouth of any lingering taste.
He was in for a harsh wake-up call. No matter how strong he appeared in the dungeon, he still had to endure a week of nourishing als before he was allowed to eat solid food.
But now he was unaware of that bleak future and readied his weapon to enter the dungeon.
Eva led them out of her space, and Julian’s eyes were filled with shock and awe at the endless sand that stretched before him.
"Damn, it’s vast," he muttered to himself as he looked around.
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