Lucian slipped away from the Great Mead Hall before the noise could fully swallow him again.
Berk hadn't changed.
The same crooked paths, the same familiar scent of salt, smoke, and iron in the air. Houses glowed warmly under the afternoon sun, and somewhere in the distance, a hammer rang against an anvil.
His house stood where it always had.
Quiet.
Untouched.
Lucian pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The warmth hit him immediately. The hearth had long gone cold, but the walls still held the memory of fire and shelter. It smelled faintly of wood, leather, and home.
Simba let out a tiny snort against Lucian's side.
Lucian glanced down.
The cub was completely out, paws twitching slightly, chest rising and falling in slow, even breaths.
A faint smile tugged at Lucian's lips.
"Yeah," he murmured. "Long day."
He carried Simba to the bed and gently laid him down near the pillows. The cub curled instinctively, tail flicking once before settling. Within seconds, the snoring resumed, soft and steady.
Lucian straightened, then turned and dropped backward onto the bed.
The mattress creaked under his weight.
He stared up at the ceiling, arms spread, letting the exhaustion finally catch up to him.
Minutes passed.
The room was silent except for Simba's breathing. Lucian exhaled, then pushed himself upright.
"…Alright," he said quietly. "Let's see what I'm dealing with."
"Status"
The air in front of him shimmered.
A familiar blue glow unfolded like glass panes snapping into place.
[Ding!]
A translucent interface hovered before his eyes.
[Lucian Westergard]
[Age: 18]
[Race: Tideborn]
[Racial skill: Tideborn Shift]
[Abilities: Draconic Empathy, Stealth, Unarmed Combat, Weapon Adaptability...]
Lucian's gaze lowered.
The final line appeared, bold and unmistakable.
[Unlimited Blind Boxes Available: Special Blind Box ×5, Rare Blind Box ×3, Uncommon Blind Box ×7]
Lucian let out a slow breath.
"Let's start with the Uncommon first."
The system chimed softly.
[Do you want to open the Uncommon Blind Boxes from: Hamish, Hubert, Harris, Runo, Rudi, Grimbsy, and Ryker?]
"Yes," Lucian said.
[Congratulations! You have opened the uncommon box from Hamish and gained: Mor'du Stuff Bear]
[Congratulations! You have opened the uncommon box from Hubert and gained: DunBroch Map]
[Congratulations! You have opened the uncommon box from Harris and gained: Fang of Mor'du]
[Congratulations! You have opened the uncommon box from Runo and gained: Corona Kingdom Map]
[Congratulations! You have opened the uncommon box from Rudi and gained: Dark Kingdom Map]
[Congratulations! You have opened the uncommon box from Grimbsy and gained: Brewing Knowledge]
[Congratulations! You have opened the uncommon box from Ryker and gained: Dragon Root Formula]
A golden light flickered in the air, shimmering softly as shapes began to take form. One by one, the objects materialized before him, settling quietly onto the bed and floor as the glow faded.
Four aged parchments lay neatly stacked, edges worn but well-preserved, each bound with dark red ribbon and sealed with hardened wax, every seal bearing a different crest.
Beside them rested a stuffed bear and a single, curved fang.
Then, without warning, a surge of information flooded his mind.
Heat control, liquid ratios, the timing between infusion and extraction, the exact pressure needed to crush leaves without burning them, the difference between bitterness and acidity, brewing tea, brewing coffee, and brewing medicinal infusions all surged into his mind at once.
Lucian sucked in a sharp breath, fingers pressing to his temples as the flood receded.
When the sensation faded, Lucian understood the process clearly, the steps, the logic, the reasons behind every motion. But understanding wasn't mastery. He knew what to do, yet his hands hadn't done it, and real skill would still require time and practice.
"…I really can't get used to this," Lucian muttered.
He glanced back at the items.
First, the stuffed bear.
As his fingers touched it, a panel appeared.
[Mor'du Stuff Bear: A stuffed toy modeled after the Demon Bear Mor'du.]
The bear's fur was pitch black. One eye bore a stitched scar. Broken arrows protruded from its back, woven into the fabric with unsettling detail. Even the fletching was accurate.
Lucian's eye twitched.
"…Someone put way too much effort into this."
He carefully set it aside and picked up the fang.
[Fang of Mor'du: A fang shed by the Demon Bear Mor'du. Highly valued by alchemists. Can be used as a catalyst or ingredient in high-grade brews.]
Lucian nodded once and placed it beside the stuffed bear.
Then he reached for the parchments. The first seal bore two interlocking bears.
DunBroch.
He broke the wax and unfurled the map.
His brows knit together.
It was too detailed.
The castle, the surrounding highlands, the Ring of Standing Stones and the ruins of the ancient kingdom.
And—
"…The witch's cottage," he murmured.
Marked clearly.
Paths most maps never showed were present. Hidden trails. Old hunting grounds.
A hunch crept into his chest.
He opened the second parchment, its wax seal marked with a sun crest. The map revealed Corona in remarkable detail of its castle, the surrounding kingdom, Old Corona, and even established trade routes. What made Lucian pause was a lone structure marked far from the city: Rapunzel's tower, its location recorded with unsettling precision.
His frown deepened as he moved to the third parchment, sealed with a crescent moon. This one depicted the Dark Kingdom. His breathing slowed as he studied it—the ruined castle, Lombard's Pass, the Great Tree, and the Demanitus Maze, all drawn not as destinations, but as warnings etched into the land itself.
This alone shouldn't exist.
There were no proper maps of the Dark Kingdom. Legends said it was obliterated when a drop of moonlight tear fell like judgment upon the land, tearing it apart and burying it beneath jagged black stone.
Yet here it was.
"Strange, really strange," Lucian said. "All these maps have places that even scholars and adventurers don't know of."
The final parchment bore a dragon skull pierced through the eye. Lucian unrolled it. It was not a map but a formula.
[Dragon Root Formula: Flight Suppression Paste. When applied to arrow tips, the toxin induces vertigo, muscle weakness, and loss of flight control in dragons.
Severity depends on hit location and dosage. Overuse may cause prolonged unconsciousness.]
[Ingredients:
• Fresh Dragon Root (shredded)
• Ember Sap (binder)
• Crushed Firefly Moss (stabilizer)
• Charcoal Ash (purifier)
• Water heated just below boiling]
[Procedure: ]
[1. Grind Dragon Root into a coarse paste while damp.]
[2. Heat Ember Sap slowly until viscous not burning.]
[3. Mix Dragon Root paste with Ember Sap in a 2:1 ratio.]
[4. Add Firefly Moss gradually while stirring counter-clockwise.]
[5. Sprinkle Charcoal Ash to neutralize excess toxicity.]
[6. Let mixture cool and thicken before application.]
Lucian stared at it.
"…This is illegal in at least three places," he muttered.
He rolled the parchment back up carefully, tying it with its ribbon. One by one, he did the same with the others, stacking them neatly.
The stuffed bear, fang, maps and formula.
All set together.