Finishing the last bite of breakfast, Kael cleaned up after himself before returning to his room.
The moment he sat down on the bed, exhaustion crashed into him.
His body had spent the entire night cultivating.
Even if the technique reduced fatigue, it couldn’t completely eliminate it.
A yawn escaped his lips.
Moments later, he was asleep.
Time passed quietly.
Sunlight crept across the room.
Hours slipped by.
When Kael finally opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was how good he felt.
Ridiculously good.
He sat upright and stretched.
His joints popped softly.
A satisfied sigh escaped him.
"I feel amazing."
It wasn’t an exaggeration.
Normally, sleeping for only a few hours would leave him groggy.
Instead, he felt completely refreshed.
As if he had enjoyed the most relaxing vacation of his life.
His muscles felt loose.
His mind felt clear.
Even his body felt lighter somehow.
The sensation reminded him of a full-body massage followed by a hot bath and then ten hours of uninterrupted sleep.
And all he had done was take a nap.
Kael couldn’t help but feel impressed.
As expected of the Primordial Genesis Sutra.
He had only cultivated it for a single night, yet the changes were already noticeable.
At this rate, he suspected he would eventually need less and less sleep.
His recovery speed was improving.
His vitality was improving.
Everything about him seemed to be improving.
Would there come a day when he no longer needed sleep at all?
The thought made him pause.
Then another question followed.
Would he still be human at that point?
Kael stared at the ceiling.
The question sounded ridiculous at first.
But the longer he thought about it, the more reasonable it became.
After all, was he even normal now?
He had been awakened for less than a week.
Yet his growth already bordered on absurd.
Not to mention he was cultivating a technique capable of transforming cells into planets and galaxies.
There was nothing normal about that.
A strange unease settled in his chest.
For the first time, Kael found himself wondering where exactly this path would lead him.
Would he still be Kael years from now?
Or would he eventually become something entirely different?
The thought lingered for a few moments before he shook his head.
There was no point worrying about something so distant.
He would cross that bridge when he got there.
Reaching for his phone, Kael unlocked the screen.
A notification immediately caught his attention.
"Hm?"
An email.
Opening it, he quickly recognized the sender.
The Hunter Association.
A knowing look appeared on his face.
"Oh. They finally sent it."
The email contained exactly what he expected.
A bill.
Specifically, a bill charging him two hundred thousand credits.
Reason?
Public nuisance.
Kael clicked his tongue.
It was related to his fight with Marcus outside the fortress.
Honestly, the charge didn’t surprise him.
Many people assumed the Hunter Association ruled the awakened world completely.
That assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.
Humans had always been difficult to control.
Awakened humans were even worse.
People who gained power.
Power amplified their confidence.
Confidence amplified their emotions.
And emotional people tended to make stupid decisions.
Trying to suppress every conflict through strict laws would create more problems than it solved.
Because of that, the Association adopted a different approach.
Instead of preventing every fight, they simply made fighting expensive.
The bill Kael had received was proof of that.
Two hundred thousand credits wasn’t enough to ruin an awakened person.
But it wasn’t insignificant either.
Most hunters spent enormous amounts of money on equipment, potions, maintenance, and training.
Even successful hunters weren’t as wealthy as civilians imagined.
Having to suddenly lose two hundred thousand credits was painful.
Painful enough to make people think twice before causing trouble.
Of course, the punishment could become much worse.
Public disturbance was the lightest offense.
Property damage required compensation.
Civilian casualties could result in enormous fines.
In severe cases, imprisonment wasn’t impossible.
All things considered, it was actually a brilliant system.
Not perfect.
Nothing ever was.
But it worked.
Without hesitation, Kael paid the fine.
Even so, his eye twitched slightly when the money disappeared from his account.
Two hundred thousand credits.
Gone.
Just like that.
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became.
After all, he had only gotten involved because Marcus had been harassing Adam.
Why should he be the one paying?
Perhaps there was a way to convince Marcus to reimburse him.
Preferably with interest.
Kael was still contemplating various methods of extortion when his phone suddenly vibrated.
He blinked.
An incoming call.
The caller ID displayed a familiar name.
Dun.
Kael frowned slightly.
Why was he calling?
Curious, he accepted the call.
The moment the connection formed, heavy breathing echoed through the speaker.
Kael immediately sat up.
"Is everything alright?"
Then a familiar voice exploded from the other side.
"Guess what?!"
Kael winced.
The excitement in Dun’s voice was almost tangible.
For some reason, the tone reminded him of someone calling to announce life-changing news.
Like a girlfriend revealing a pregnancy.
The thought appeared so suddenly that Kael nearly choked.
Why was that his first comparison?
He immediately blamed Adam and Zoey.
Spending time around those two had clearly damaged his brain.
Shaking away the ridiculous thought, he sighed.
"So what’s got you this excited?"
There was a brief pause.
Then Dun practically shouted into the phone.
"I did it!"
Kael blinked.
"You did what?"
"I finally created the potion!"
The excitement in Dun’s voice reached an entirely new level.
"The cure for mana sickness! I finally did it!"
Kael was genuinely shocked.
Already?
It had only been a few days.
From what he remembered, the cure for mana sickness wasn’t supposed to appear for another two years. At least, that was when Dun had revealed it to the world in his previous timeline.
Kael had always assumed the potion had been created sometime within that period and simply kept hidden until the research was complete.
But now?
It had only been a handful of days since he provided Dun with those research funding, yet the man was already calling him with news of a breakthrough.
Had his interference changed things that much?
Or had the potion always been closer to completion than he originally thought?
For a moment, Kael wasn’t sure.