I lay on the floor, staring at Llewellyn, my chest heaving.
The water had mostly receded, leaving us soaked, and the training room floor a mess.
My ears were hot.
"I think I'm dead," I said.
Llewellyn snorted. He got off me and stood up, extending a hand.
I took it and let him pull me up. Every muscle in my body ached. "Is this how all your training sessions go?"
"Only the productive ones." He looked around at the splattered walls and puddles on the floor. "The System will clean this up."
Just then, a notification appeared:
[System Notification: Training Session Complete!]
[Elemental Mastery: Water—Progress Detected]
[Recovery Protocol Initiated]
"Recovery protocol?"
"Showers and healing potions," Llewellyn said, glancing at me. "Come on."
I followed him through a door into what looked like a high-end gym locker room. Two separate shower stalls stood on opposite sides, with benches and towels between them.
Llewellyn grabbed a towel. "Don't pass out in the shower."
"Ahah," I said.
He disappeared into the left stall without another word. I heard water start running almost immediately.
I took a deep breath, trying to will the situation in my trousers down. The setting wasn't helping.
There was no way Llewellyn hadn't noticed, but then… he hadn't pulled away either. So maybe he actually hadn't?
I dragged myself to the right stall and closed the door behind me, peeling off my soaked clothes before stepping under the hot spray.
The water washed away the sweat, but did nothing for the bruises. The floor had softened when needed, but combat is still combat.
I heard Llewellyn's shower shut off and hurried to finish mine.
By the time I stepped out with a towel around my waist, Llewellyn was already dressed in fresh clothes that had appeared on the bench. He glanced at me and quickly looked away.
"Your clothes are there," he said gruffly, nodding to a neatly folded stack on my side.
His attention moved two small vials of glowing blue liquid on a tray between us.
…Potions.
Right. Obviously.
I dressed quickly, grateful for the clothes. They were similar to what I'd been wearing before—comfortable training gear that fit perfectly.
"Drink this," Llewellyn said, handing me one of the vials. "It'll help with the bruises and muscle fatigue."
I eyed the potion. "What's in it?"
"System-generated healing compound. Works in about thirty seconds." He downed his in one swift motion. "You can use the System to scan consumables, you know."
Ah, yes. I actually knew that.
I just... wasn't thinking properly.
The System pinged.
[System Notification: Healing Compound—Minor. Ingredients: Water (purified), Ether (stabilized), Trace Minerals. Effects: Rapid muscle repair, bruise reduction. Side Effects: Mild drowsiness.]
As he said, it was a System-generated healing compound. I drank it and the soreness began to fade almost immediately. The throbbing in my ribs subsided, and the stiffness in my joints melted away.
Wow.
A notification appeared before me:
[System Notification: Recovery Complete!]
[Session Evaluation: Satisfactory Progress]
[Next Training: Schedule Pending]
Next?
Llewellyn looked at me like he wanted to say something, but then seemed to change his mind and just hummed and settled on, "I'm going. The System will send you home."
And left the room.
When I went out, he'd already left.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of domestic tasks. I dumped my laundry in the washing machine, collected it later, then spent an hour folding clothes while Penguin "helped" by rolling in the sheets warm from the dryer. He kept switching between his penguin and sugar glider forms, occasionally disappearing into a sock.
I had promised him we'd play together after all.
I made dinner, worked my shift, wading through more unhinged content, and went to bed.
***
When I woke up at 4 PM, Penguin had moved to my pillow, snoring softly.
As I stirred, he blinked awake.
"Morning. Or afternoon, I guess," I mumbled, stretching my arms overhead.
My muscles seemed fine as I dragged myself out of bed. That potion was great.
[Bond strength increased: 93%.]
Yes, perfect. I don't know why the System made all that fuss about not leaving him alone, but then set up a training with Llewellyn that meant I would leave Penguin alone for a few hours. At least, that hadn't complicated things and Penguin seemed fine.
"Let's get some food," I told Penguin.
In the kitchen, I put coffee on first, then rummaged through my cabinets. I found pancake mix and decided to treat myself. While the coffee brewed, I mixed the batter and heated the pan.
"Want to try?" I asked Penguin, who'd waddled after me and was now watching from the counter. I poured a few tiny circles of batter, no bigger than a coin. "Pancakes are basically universal."
When they were done, I stacked Penguin's miniature pancakes one on top of the other and set them aside to cool as I arranged my regular ones on a plate with sugar and lemon. I took my coffee and settled at the table, where Penguin cautiously approached his pancakes, pecking at them.
After a few tentative nibbles, Penguin paused, looking up at me then back at the plate.
He waddled back a few steps, and in a tiny burst of fire, transformed into a small fire fox. The flames along his back flickered gently, not burning anything but casting warm light across the table.
"Better for eating pancakes?" I asked, taking a sip of coffee.
The fire fox yipped softly and approached his pancakes again, this time taking eager bites. Apparently pancakes tasted better as a fox.
Halfway through, he stopped again. Another burst, and suddenly a metal hedgehog sat on my table. He sniffed at one of the pancakes, then nibbled at it with his tiny teeth. His little face scrunched up in dissatisfaction.
I watched, amused. "You're really putting this through rigorous testing."
The hedgehog was definitely a fail. He turned back into a Penguin, waddling in a small circle before becoming a sugar glider.
The sugar glider snapped up a full pancake with his paws, then sat back with his tiny legs spread out, looking pleased with itself.
"Verdict?" I asked, finishing my own breakfast.
Penguin looked at me then at the remaining pancake, then turned back into a fire fox and finished the last one.
Looks like the fire fox had a better taste for pancakes after all.
Once he polished the last bite, Penguin turned back into a penguin with a satisfied chirp. He waddled over to my hand and nudged it gently.
"I'll take that as approval." I scratched the top of his head. "I'm guessing the fox form won the taste test?"
Penguin chirped again.
"Mmh. Next time I'll make fox-sized portions."
[Bond strength increased: 95%.]
Suddenly something occurred to me and I called the System.
"Hey," I said, pulling up a System window and scrolling through to the contract details. "Can I have reimbursement for the Elemental Café? Extended room usage wasn't cheap."
The System replied immediately.
[Request processed. Reimbursement complete.]
What? I pulled out my phone and checked my bank account.
Just like that. Damn. This was great.
Outside, the sky was already darkening. I looked down at Penguin.
I'd never had a pet before, but even though he was a magical one, surely it wasn't right to keep him cooped up at home? I was used to barely seeing the sunlight for weeks, but I felt guilty imposing that on him.
"What do you think about getting some fresh air?" I asked.
Penguin stood up excitedly in what looked like agreement.
I got dressed quickly then I took my coat and grabbed an old t-shirt, folding it into a makeshift pillow inside my pocket. "Here," I said, patting the pocket. "You can ride in here. People will just think you're a toy."
Penguin hopped in, settling into the soft fabric with just his head poking out.
***
The Baekhaven promenade was alive with evening activity—food stalls, artists displaying their work, couples strolling along the waterfront. Boats bobbed gently in the harbor, their lights reflecting on the dark water. I bought a hot dog and chips from a vendor and found a quiet bench facing the water.
I ate my hot dog, smuggling a fry down to Penguin who took it with both wings and nibbled at it curiously. I wondered if he'd keep switching forms repeatedly again (that was definitely not a good idea here), but it looked like his penguin form was fine for this and there was no reason to cycle through different ones.
I couldn't believe it'd only been a few days since I met Llewellyn and I'd already been pulled into a Distorted Realm, a Dungeon, and a training. With the current rate of Distorted Realm appearances, should I expect another one this week? Maybe more? Llewellyn had had to deal with three last week, but that was by no means common. I hoped this wasn't going to become the norm. How did Llewellyn deal with all of this?
As we sat watching the boats, Penguin suddenly shifted form, turning into a sugar glider. He scampered up my arm to perch on my shoulder, his small paws gripping my collar.
I let out an amused huff, then threw the wrappers into the nearby bin before wandering among the artisan stalls, sampling street food and watching performers under the promenade's colored lights.
The Baekhaven promenade was widely considered the most beautiful part of the city. The entire area was known as Jeongdae, and was famous for the way the lights from the restaurants and venues reflected across the water, mixing with the softer glow from the boats.
I rarely came here by myself, though. Something about the couples strolling hand in hand and families taking evening walks always made it feel like a place meant for sharing.
Yet I was content to be here with Penguin who was perched on my shoulder, his sugar glider form sniffing the air and vibrating with excitement whenever we passed a particularly bright light display or a street performer.
"This is nice," I told him. "We should do this more often."
[System Notification: Bond strength increased: 100%! Bond Complete!]
A warm sensation spread through my chest. It felt like something clicking into place.
Penguin let out a happy little sound and nuzzled against my neck, his tiny sugar glider body radiating contentment.
The System's interface threw confetti in the air for a moment, then lit up with new information:
[Entity #77A3 successfully stabilized!]