"Hello there…Mr. Otherworlder."
Ruel remained silent for a few seconds as he looked between the bulky man and the familiar receptionist, who stood behind the chair opposite him.
"Hello," he said, not denying the claims. "Are my requests ready? I don't have the luxury of time."
The bulky man had blonde hair streaked with red and a single red eye, his goatee giving him a more rugged appearance.
A heavy silence filled the room before the bulky man stepped forward, his red-streaked hair glinting under the dim lights.
"For security purposes, I have only one question right now," he said.
"I'm all ears."
"How did you get into this Haven?"
"A quest I obtained in the Wild rewarded me with this," Ruel replied after Muriel telepathically guided him.
"I am Zamir," the man said after a moment of thought.
"Could I bother you to visit us again when you return? I assume you have been in the Wild for a while and you desire to return to your home."
Ruel offered a faint smile, extending his arm. "Just call me Blank," he said, his voice smooth but unreadable.
Seeing the other party reciprocate his interest, Zamir extended his arm and shook Ruel's hand.
'His hand is pretty rough. I guess he's pretty strong considering his seemingly high status too.' Ruel thought based on experience.
His instincts and senses weren't honed enough to judge accurately.
Zamir instructed the receptionist to drop the items and Ruel also instructed Muriel to prepare the gate after giving her access to his system.
His dull golden screen opened as he looked down to the wooden box on the table.
He opened it and confirmed its contents.
"I'll transfer," Ruel said, then sent it to the receptionist using a System feature by shaking her.
He raised the wooden box and put it within his inventory.
The bronze screen then expanded to a tall door with endless space within, causing a slight increase in air within the room.
"I hope to see you soon," Zamir said.
Ruel nodded.
With a final glance behind him, Ruel stepped through the shimmering portal, the space warping around him.
In an instant, the stifling formality of the Haven was gone.
Watching him leave, Zamir sighed, turning to leave the room. "I expected someone stronger…"
- - -
Ruel arrived back in the dark cavern beneath the tree.
He immediately allowed Muriel to have access to his status while he went to a corner of the cavern turning on a lamp.
Placing the lamp at a corner, he walked to the center feeling mana leave his body.
He saw Muriel become tangible as he brought out the items from his inventory.
One by one, Muriel brought out the components: the ancient heart, runic parchment, beast's claw still radiating cold, a shimmering core, and a bottle of blood.
There were a few potions for body and mana recovery.
She also dropped additional lamps to further brighten the cavern.
Before she started, Muriel looked at Ruel with slight hesitation, then she said.
"Please take off your clothes, but keep your pants on."
'Don't think, just do,' Ruel thought as she said.
With a nod, he took everything off, revealing his lean but built body.
Folding his arms, he flashed a thumbs up and prompted her to start.
She placed the paper on the floor, revealing the side covered in arcane script written in supernatural black ink.
She chanted something, causing the contents of the paper to glow and come alive.
Lines and arcs of text poured out of the paper as they formed a large ritual circle that surrounded the whole cavern floor, even climbing up the wall.
Turning to Ruel, she said, "Drink this Mana Recovery potion and fill the two bottles with your blood."
The second bottle was from the first ever potion Muriel bought.
Ruel nodded, doing as said without hesitation.
He drank it and pulled out his dagger from his inventory and cut his palm.
Muriel then brought out the monster's green blood that was in a bottle and started trailing the ritual circle.
After using that blood, she carried the Ancient Being's heart and cut a part of it, releasing a pool of black blood.
The black blood merged with the green blood, then the ritual circle began to look active as the room was smelling of blood.
Muriel placed the heart, the core and the Ice conduit in various circled locations and glanced at Ruel, who threw her the bottles of his blood.
His blood was then poured on the three items placed in a circle.
"You'll sit here," she said, pointing at the center where the now-shriveled paper was.
As Ruel sat, Muriel handed him a body recovery, body strengthening and mana recovery potion to drink while collecting his dagger.
Then using the Enma system, she bought what are called 'buffs' to strengthen his body and mind, while improving his mana recovery rate.
After Ruel drank everything, he felt stronger than he ever had before, he heard Muriel say, "This is going to hurt a bit."
Muriel used the dagger to cut lines open at his back.
Drawing on the memories stored within her, she painted his back with the blood that dripped from his wounds.
As she completed it, the drawings on Ruel's back resonated with the ritual circle, as the dark ominous glow increased.
The blood within the circle began to vibrate, rising in parts to form black orbs.
"Begin," Muriel said.
'Don't think…' Ruel repeated in his mind, 'Just do…'
Then the orbs darted towards Ruel, enveloping him like a curtain.
Ruel felt darkness envelop him and warmth spread through his body as the blood slowly seeped into his being.
Muriel looked down at the black 'armored' Ruel before glancing at the heart at a corner.
As it pulsed with intense light and vibrations, she dove into Ruel's body.
…
After Ruel's vision blacked out, the next thing he saw was an endless space.
He was a translucent body of pure blue light, with black fluid coursing through his body.
Before he could wonder what to do next, he heard Muriel's voice as her form appeared behind him.
"The first part is reconstruction of Body, Mind and Soul."