A gemstone-like core.
Needless to say, this was naturally a new ability obtained by Alet’s body after absorbing the Jewel Dragon’s Reverse Scale.
It was strange; despite having no prior information about this thing, the moment Alet sensed it, he naturally knew everything about it.
This feeling was as if it had integrated into Alet’s very instincts.
It was the same principle as a human baby crying at birth, or an animal cub attempting to walk and nurse after being born.
And the new ability this Gemstone Core brought to Alet was…
He focused his mind, manipulating the mana throughout his body to surge toward his right arm.
In the next moment, along with the consumption of mana, the skin on Alet’s palm instantly began to harden.
A shell with a warm luster and an ivory-white glow covered everything above his wrist in an instant.
“Is this…”
“Has my skin turned into gemstones?”
The moment he used this ability, Alet knew its name—
“Quartzification.”
Immediately afterward, he used his other hand to light the candlestick by his bed.
Next, he slowly moved his Quartzification-hardened fist toward the flickering flame on the candlestick.
However, even when completely touching the tip of the flame, he only felt a slight warmth; there was none of the pain associated with burning at all.
“An active ability that can strengthen the body!”
Just as Alet thought, the jewel dragon scale was not like other ordinary materials that could only provide passive body enhancements.
It directly granted Alet an active ability.
Although the specific ability was a somewhat unremarkable-looking physical enhancement that consumed mana…
It was a perfect fit for Alet’s Heavy Knight class.
It could strengthen the physical offensive and defensive capabilities that were already the strengths of a Heavy Knight—pure brute force.
Furthermore, the high-temperature resistance could effectively withstand the harsh environment of the Sixth Floor of the Underground.
He was quite satisfied.
Moreover, Alet could even faintly sense that this Gemstone Core had not fully fused with him yet.
There was still more room for development; it might bring more useful abilities.
“Great, with this ability, maybe I can help the Young Lady…”
“That’s right, the Young Lady!”
Alet suddenly snapped back to reality.
The sun was now gradually peeking over the horizon; it was time to serve the Young Lady.
He immediately stood up from the bed, intending to wash up.
But the moment he stood up, a strong sense of discomfort pierced through his entire body from the inside out.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong, but he could sense that his condition was likely even worse than yesterday when he faced the goblins.
“Is it because of the side effects of last night’s ritual?”
“Never mind, the Young Lady is more important.”
Even so, he forced himself to wash up and change his clothes.
Afterward, he entered Merlo’s room, called her to wake up, and served her.
While brushing her hair, Alet clearly felt that Merlo’s gaze had softened considerably.
He didn’t know how much of a struggle Merlo had faced brushing her own hair while he was gone.
“Whew, this guy is finally back.”
Looking at herself in the mirror, Merlo couldn’t help but think of the pathetic scenes of her brushing her own hair over the past two days.
Due to her flamboyant sleeping posture, Merlo’s long hair would be full of knots when she woke up.
She wasn’t like Alet, who had skillful techniques; she could only use brute force to pull the tangled hair apart.
The final result was a handful of fallen hair and a scalp throbbing with pain.
“Damn it, I clearly used to be able to brush my own hair…”
“When did I start forgetting how to do it…?”
While Merlo was lost in thought, Alet had already finished combing her hair.
“Young Lady, it is finished.”
“So fast…”
Some things can only be understood in terms of their difficulty when you try to do them yourself.
Looking back into the mirror, what Merlo saw was her own smooth and tidy purplish-red long hair.
There wasn’t the slightest mess, and even her hair accessories had been put on for her.
Alet’s technique was not only fast and standard, but he didn’t even let Merlo feel the slightest bit of pain during the process.
“I must say, even though it’s a servant’s work, this level of skill is quite amazing.”
Merlo wanted to voice her praise, but after thinking for a moment, she swallowed the words that were about to come out.
“Never mind, it’s not a good thing to spoil a servant too much.”
Thus, she rephrased her words and settled on a more moderate acknowledgment: “It’s acceptable. Keep it up.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
“Also, how was your rest?”
Her blood-colored eyes shifted slightly, looking at Alet standing behind her in the mirror.
“I don’t want your poor condition to affect this competition.”
“……”
“My condition is normal, Young Lady.”
Alet lied.
At this moment, although he could still perform normal actions like walking and talking, Alet could clearly feel the deeply rooted discomfort within his body.
However, there was only one chance.
Even if he had to force himself through it, he would help the Young Lady win the honor of the Dragon Slayer.
“That’s good then. Alright, go prepare breakfast.”
“Yes.”
After Alet finished serving Merlo, people gradually began to appear at the dining table in the dining hall.
The Half-Dragon Daughter, Dela, was currently sitting on the other side of the dining table, maintaining the magic wand in her hand.
Meanwhile, Fluff, sitting on this side, was looking around with nervous eyes.
At this moment, her mind was full of the wicked things she had done to Alet last night.
“Uwaaa… if Mr. Knight or the Captain discovered it, I’d definitely be kicked out!”
“I don’t want that to happen!”
Her heart thumped wildly for a long time, and only after confirming that Alet didn’t have any special reaction toward her did she feel slightly relieved.
“Whew, I’ll take that matter to my grave and never think about it again. I need to think about something else, quickly…”
With a blushing face, she shook her head vigorously, trying to shake out all those shameful memories.
“Damn it! I can’t think of anything else at all!”
Just by associating with the scenes from last night, Fluff felt as if her lower body was taking over her entire being.
While her mind was filled with thoughts of Alet, that very person appeared before her.
“Fluff, your breakfast.”
Along with that familiar cool tone, a plate with a standard breakfast of eggs and toast was pushed in front of Fluff.
“A-Ah! …Thank you, Mr. Knight.”
She was startled, her small face suddenly flushing red, her eyes filled with panic.
“You’re welcome.”
After answering, Alet had just turned to leave when he was stopped by Fluff again.
“Wait, Mr. Knight!”
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah… that…”
Fluff’s gaze drifted aimlessly.
She had originally wanted to ask some questions to confirm if Alet really didn’t know about her sneaking into his room last night.
But after only a few words, Fluff began to worry again.
“Mr. Knight is very smart. If he didn’t know but I end up exposing myself, I’m doomed!”
Thus, she immediately cut her losses and swallowed her words.
“I-It’s nothing! I just misidentified something earlier, hehehe.”
After making up a random excuse to brush it off, Alet nodded and sat down directly across the dining table.
“Ugh, I couldn’t ask.”
For a moment, Fluff was a bit depressed.
To give herself something to do so she wouldn’t seem so awkward, she grabbed the toast on her plate and took a bite.
“Mmph?!”
“Sweet?”
She looked closely and saw that there was actually a tiny bit of jam inside the toast.
The amount was very modest; if Fluff weren’t so sensitive to sweetness, she almost wouldn’t have noticed.
Though it was a small amount, Fluff had never had jam in her toast before. This was the first time.
“Could it be that Mr. Knight…”
Obviously, it was just as Fluff guessed.
During their previous interactions, Alet had learned of Fluff’s tastes and had gone out of his way to look after her in this regard.
In an instant, Fluff’s flushed little face was brimming with happiness.
Just as she was sweetly savoring her meal, a series of footsteps echoed through the corridor and entered straight into the dining hall.
It was the woman Fluff feared most right now—Captain Merlo.
Today, her hair was braided very meticulously, and she wore a leather dress specially made for adventure and combat, with knee-high leather boots on her feet.
Unlike her usual flashy and beautiful style, Merlo’s outfit today was extremely capable and practical—the kind of attire she only wore when an adventure was about to begin.
Clearly, Merlo had made ample preparations for today’s subjugation.
After taking her seat, she casually cleared her throat and, with a slight smile, began to mobilize the group at the table:
“Everyone, you all likely have an idea of what we’re doing today.”
“That’s right—this is the most important operation since the founding of our Crystal Thorn Adventurer Party.”
“We will fight for the title of Dragon Slayer and claim the Fire Dragon’s treasures!”
“This time, we must make the name of Crystal Thorn known to the world.”
“I can only accept victory; for this operation, success is the only option, and failure is not permitted!”