Viktor arrived at the park and quickly went to Yue. He looked at the vegetables that were clearly tainted by negative energy and then at the large fields.

“I’ll do half,” Viktor said and brought the box of chalk out of the storage ring.

“Ah no I wanted you to check out the water supply…” Yue murmured, a bit distressed by how Viktor went ahead and decided it by himself.

“I can do that too, you should save your mana crystals for when we have to fight. Or use it to heal your rib.” Viktor said and handed Chalk to the members of Yue’s group so they could start drawing the magic circle while using a circle that Mai had drawn on the ground as a reference. 

Yue winced a bit and looked away before going to start drawing some of the magic circles. Viktor probably attributed Yue’s weight loss to his injury and was unhappy that he wasn’t taking care of his injury.

“Did he say something cruel to you? I’ll ki—” Mai said through telepathy, glaring at the back of Viktor’s head.

“He’s not being cruel...I just feel guilty for worrying him…” Yue said through telepathy and sighed.

“...I said earlier that I wasn’t gonna try and force you to spill your secrets but...opening up to Viktor a bit wouldn’t hurt too much right..?” Mai suggested. It was frustrating to watch two people who clearly liked each other not make a move. 

Mai expected Yue to say that it wasn’t that big of a deal and that it wasn’t like they were fighting or anything or that he wasn’t ready but surprisingly Yue responded, “...I’ll try.”

“Seriously?” Mai said out loud and looked toward Yue who was on the other side of the field. Yue just nodded silently and some of the people near them just stared, confused.

Yue looked toward Viktor as he moved to draw another magic circle. He didn’t know what to do, he knew that Viktor wasn’t angry with him but he was anxious. He didn’t know what he was actually going to tell Viktor or if he should just tell him everything. He was scared that maybe the prophecy he saw of them together was of an illusion or that it would be years from now and that maybe Viktor would hate him at first when he finds out about his actual gender.

Everyone stopped and watched for a second as white light encompassed the area Viktor had drawn a magic circle on. Viktor was casting the purification spells as he made them so he could have a break in between casting. Yue watched for a bit before sighing and moving on.

—

Viktor finished casting the spells and started walking out of the park to go to the water supply. He kind of regretted what he had said, he felt that he was a bit standoffish with what he said to Yue. He looked toward Yue and sighed.

Mai blocked Viktor’s way and had a slight frown on her face.

“...If Yue tells you first let me punch you.” She murmured bitterly before walking past him.

Viktor blinked and turned to look at her as she walked by. She wasn’t happy but she probably would’ve killed him if Yue was really hurt by what he said so he felt a bit relieved because of that. 

He went to the water supply areas in the city and checked each one of them and found nothing out of the ordinary until he reached the main one, there he noticed some negative energy that had just recently entered the water as if someone had just poured it in like a liquid.  He examined it for a second before drawing a large magic circle around the main supply. He was working quickly so the negative energy wouldn’t spread too far.

He took a small glass bottle and put some of the affected water inside so he could study it later.  He then activated the purification spell. After casting the spell he looked around at the few people who were maintaining the water supply. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was someone who was purposely adding Negative energy to the city.

He kept their faces in mind as he left. He would keep an eye out for suspicious activity from them and from the people working on the rations.  He had a suspicion that Hundun had already infiltrated London before they arrived, either to keep an eye on the ‘undead mage’ that was apparently in Northampton or just to bask in the chaos. 

The sun was setting as Viktor walked out of the water supply, and the people on the streets were either returning to their homes or huddling up together to sleep on the streets. Viktor thought it was interesting how people’s roles seemed to change when a country falls to ruin. The poor get poorer and the rich finally get a taste of what the life of the poor is like.

The people who were rich and had lost everything seemed lifeless as they sat on the streets, they were barely trying to survive long enough for their name to be called for evacuation. The poor on the other hand were glad that they could guarantee their food source because of the rations but it still wasn’t easy. Autumn was almost here and the temperature had started to slowly drop so the new struggle for those who had nowhere to stay was the cold. 

Viktor watched people wrap themselves up in blankets as a cool breeze passed. It didn’t feel cold to him but the people on the streets were shivering. Their bodies were being affected by the tainted rations they had been eating and they were probably also affected by Magic intolerance as well. The mana in the air thickened even within the barrier after every couple of hours.

Viktor watched a young woman take off her blanket and wrap it around the two kids by her side. The young woman was very thin and had been affected by negative energy but she still took care of the kids more than she took care of herself. Viktor felt annoyed as he watched her, her thin hands holding the kid’s close reminded him of Yue’s hands as he had seen them earlier that day. He tried to make sure his feelings didn’t show on his face as he walked up to the woman and silently used healing magic on her.

“S-Sir you don’t have to…” The woman started before looking shocked at how much better she immediately felt. Her fatigue and symptoms of magic intolerance had completely disappeared.

“T-Thank you...H-How can I re—?” The woman said with a flustered look. She was going to fish through her pockets to find something to give Viktor that could be valuable but Viktor had already walked away.

Viktor looked at his hand a bit, he accidentally used a lot of magic while healing her. 

“Why did I do that...They don’t even look alike…” Viktor murmured in Russian. He had only been thinking of Yue while healing the woman. He had just been worrying about how he ended up looking so malnourished and if he was really sick or if his injury was more serious than he thought.

He already knew Yue had an illusion to make his body look more womanly but he didn’t expect that Yue also used the illusion to make himself not look malnourished. He had looked at Yue with insight and had been shocked by the drastic change in his weight and was now confused on how he got to that point. The younger Yue who he saw in Yue’s memories was thin but he definitely didn’t look malnourished, and the Yue he saw the shapeshifter change into in the dungeon was quite the opposite, he seemed to be of normal weight and even had some muscle.

Most of the things that his Insight could tell him about Yue had changed. From the drop in his weight to the change in how he breathed. Viktor had immediately been worried about Yue’s breathing when he noticed. He was worried that the change in his breathing was from his injury getting worse. His worries had lessened when he noticed that Yue seemed fine after casting spells and after landing in London but he was still worried and confused.

He hadn’t thought about why Yue was hiding that he was a boy and why he came to the Academy in the first place. After he got Hundun’s grimoire he only became more confused, If Yue had succeeded in making Hundun fear him, why did he hide his true identity? Could he have more targets on his back than he thought?

Viktor sighed and took his time as he walked through the city, not really caring that it was beginning to get dark.

—

The sun was beginning to set when Yue’s group arrived at the front lines where the camp was set up and was surprised to see Viktor’s group eating dinner.

“Is the captain not with you?” Alejandro asked, looking toward Yue after quickly scarfing down his meal.

“...Not the one you’re looking for.” Yue murmured. Alejandro seemed to make it very clear that he didn’t respect him. He didn’t acknowledge him as a captain but he acknowledged Viktor as a captain. If not because he was a man, then because he had given the group food.

“Miss Yue, Sorry for starting without you. Viktor handed out the food from his storage ring before leaving.” Alexius said as he walked over to him with Walter.

“Oh...He did mention that…” Yue murmured. Viktor’s storage ring wasn’t affected by time so food wouldn’t go bad in there no matter what happened. Viktor tested that and had simple yet nutritious meals prepared for the group in accordance with allergies and other factors. 

“Hmm? I thought we would be eating rations.” Mai murmured.

“No...The rations were already running low for the people in the city so we decided that we shouldn’t take any.” Yue explained.

“You can all go ahead and eat...” Yue murmured and started walking closer to the front lines to take a look at the area past the barrier.

“What about you?” Mai called.

“I’ll eat later.” 

Mai didn’t seem happy but she just sighed and let Yue roam away.

Yue looked out at the grave situation of the area outside of the London barrier. He could see the shuffling of monsters and corrupted animals along with human bones. The ground was pitch black and even the air seemed foggy over there. It reminded him of the area around the abyss in Malaysia that he’d been to years ago, but he knew the scale was much larger. In Malaysia, only one small town was ruined and only for a short time but England was on its last leg. 

It all made Yue a bit scared. In Malaysia, he fought beside people who had already reached their peak and were even achieving immortality and people still died and got seriously injured. Now while his team is larger than it was back then, it was significantly weaker. And he was also significantly weaker

‘When did this stop being fun?’ Yue asked himself silently.

He had never found fighting scary even when he was a kid and just started cultivating and learning to use his sword and martial arts and magic. It was always fun to get stronger and fight alongside Xia Guiren and Lian Bai and to learn from Fei Xiang. Even in Malaysia when Negative energy was everywhere and lots of people died, he was never scared or worried, he always just pushed forward without a care in the world. He never worried about being weaker than any opponent or the idea that someone might die. He didn’t care even if his opponent was stronger than him, he knew his companions were strong and could defeat anything. He only worried about the constants in his life, everyone else was bound to leave eventually so he saw no reason to mourn them. 

“You were knocked off your pedestal...” Yue murmured to himself. His confidence in his abilities had completely disappeared since he got weaker.

“What the hell did you just say?!” 

Yue blinked, turning to the side and noticing Alejandro looking angry. He had walked past him just as he spoke and seemed to have misunderstood who Yue was referring to with “You were knocked off your pedestal”.

“Just because you’re in the 1st tier group doesn’t mean you get to say—!” Alejandro exclaimed, about to grab Yue’s collar.

Yue grabbed his hand and stopped him from touching his clothes.

“You misunderstood. I wasn’t talking about you.” Yue said and sighed.

“Bull—!”

“I was talking about myself. I was injured and poisoned in my last expedition and now have to reevaluate my fighting style and how I approach enemies. Stop jumping to conclusions.” Yue said curtly and released Alejandro’s hand before walking away. Alejandro didn’t look like he believed him and still glared as he watched him leave.

—-

When Viktor returned to the camp it was dark and Mai and Marianne were setting up magic lights, while some other students were setting up a campfire. Mr. Wagner was casually sitting and reading a book without a care in the world. Yue was sitting near the leader tent having his meal.

Viktor walked over to Yue and sat down beside him, quietly.

“Was the water supply tainted?” Yue asked, turning to him.

“Yes, just a little. I took some so I could analyze it because it seemed odd.” Viktor said and showed Yue the bottle of tainted water that he had taken from the water supply area.

They didn’t talk much as Viktor decided to eat his dinner quickly as well. Things also still felt awkward because of their earlier interaction.

“Captain...s...where would my post be for tonight?” Ava asked, she had initially been asking Viktor but both Viktor and Yue looked up and she didn’t want Yue to feel offended.

“You’re mid-range so you’re staying with Marianne near the green lights.” Viktor said and pointed to one of the magic lights that Marianne and Mai had set up. The locations where short-range, mid-range, and long-range people should stand for the night were marked by them.

“Oh okay thank you!” Ava said and quickly scurried away.

“Are you going to be in the turret?” Viktor asked Yue as Ava left.

“Probably. I think there are enough people who are doing short range.” Yue murmured as he watched Walter and Alexius use the crystal he and Viktor had created in class to make a turret on the long-range line.

“Okay…” Viktor murmured, he kind of wished Yue was doing short-range with him.

Yue finished his meal and stood up, he wanted to cultivate for a bit in private in the hour or so that was left until the peak hour for monster activity. 

“Where is the other leader's tent?” Yue asked, figuring that his tent was just probably not set up.

“...There's no other tent… Mr. Anderson apparently intended for us to share…” Viktor murmured sheepishly.

“Okay… we’re going to be sleeping at different times anyway…” Yue murmured, pulling his fan from its hidden location on his jacket to hide his face from Viktor whom he could tell was looking at his blushing cheeks.

He entered the tent and found that Viktor had already placed their belongings on opposite sides of the tent. The table from his prophecy was inside the tent along with two cots. The tent was pretty big but the sexual tension between the two of them would definitely be enough to make it seem tiny. Yue entered the tent to change the gloves he was wearing since they had been exposed to a lot of negative energy so Yue decided to give up on cultivating.

 

He removed his blazer and decided to put his illusion back on since it was much easier to see the shape of his body if he didn’t wear his blazer. He sat down on the cot near his trunk and felt a bit embarrassed as he felt Viktor watching him, he’d definitely caught on. Yue glanced at him a couple of times, trying to figure out how he was going to word what he was about to say.

“Ah!” Yue exclaimed as he saw that Viktor was about to leave the tent. He rushed up and grabbed Viktor’s wrist so he wouldn’t leave.

“...What is it?” Viktor murmured, he found Yue’s expression to be adorable as he tried to remember what he had planned to say.

“Uh...My ribs won’t heal.” 

Viktor immediately panicked and lifted Yue. Yue made a squeal-like sound that he quickly tried to pretend never happened as Viktor sat him down on the table in the center of the tent. Viktor was about to remove Yue’s tie when Yue immediately panicked and held his hand still down he couldn’t move it.

“Wh-What a-are you doing?” Yue stuttered with bright red cheeks. He regretted putting down his fan since he could no longer hide his blushing face.

“Let me try healing it.” Viktor said and had a high purity magic crystal appear on his free hand from his storage ring. He looked worried and anxious.

“Uh, n-no you don’t have to do that! I-it won’t help!” Yue said and shook his head vigorously. He was incredibly embarrassed just at the thought of Viktor looking at his chest.

Viktor was about to respond that he did have to at least take a look at it since it wouldn’t heal but Yue cut him off. He started speaking and he cursed himself as he had already said too much the second he opened his mouth.

“My injury won’t heal because my rib is completely missing from my body.” Yue said and Viktor was absolutely baffled, that had not been the explanation he expected to hear.

“While I was still in China earlier this year I broke my sword and got heavily injured during a...night hunt...My current and previous swords were created using a technique that required one of my ribs to be removed for the sword to be forged properly so I had the rib removed hastily by people who weren’t specialized and...The injury hadn’t fully healed when we were at the dungeon so it only got worse…” Yue murmured and looked toward his side.

Viktor blinked a bit, not counting the slight pause when he mentioned the night hunt, Yue seemed to be telling the truth and not hiding it from him at all. 

“Was I too curt with what I said at the park…? You didn’t have to tell me that you know…” Viktor murmured.

“N-No! It’s okay! I just wanted to not hide...everything from you…” Yue murmured, he still had so many doubts about the way their relationship would go when Viktor found out that he was a boy but he wanted to try and open up to him anyway

“...Are you sure there’s nothing we can do about it..? Your breathing might be affected by it…” Viktor murmured, his hand slipping to touch over Yue’s ribs.

Yue noticeably flinched and blushed bright red. Viktor just looked him in the eye, completely serious about wanting to help him any way he could but also a bit amused by Yue’s embarrassment.

“You two have to share a tent?!” Mai exclaimed in Vietnamese before entering the tent.

Yue was about to jump off the table and get far away from Viktor but he failed when Viktor kept him from moving.

“Does it hurt?” Viktor asked, not caring that Mai walked in.

Mai observed the scene in front of her. Yue’s blazer was missing and his tie was loose and he looked embarrassed as Viktor’s hands were on his sides. Mai immediately jumped to a conclusion based on what she just saw and heard but she still looked a bit confused after attempting to connect the dots.

“You have not been in this tent long enough to fu—”

“Mai! Shush!” Yue exclaimed and cut her off with bright red cheeks, getting off the table and rushing over to her.

“Yue...My question...” Viktor said to remind Yue who was trying to drag Mai out of the tent.

“I-It's not that painful, it's only bad if I move a lot…” Yue murmured as Mai just continued to try and guess the context.

“Did you actually—”

“We did not.” Viktor said instead of Yue who was so embarrassed he wanted to cry.

“We’re talking about Yue’s rib.” Viktor said and took out some pain killers from his storage ring and handed them to Yue.

“I-I already have some…”

“Just take them in case you run out.” Viktor said and fixed Yue’s tie.

“Ugh, just fuck already…” Mai groaned quietly. She thought that only Yue would hear but Viktor definitely heard her and now Yue was viciously glaring at her. Even his ears and neck were bright red now.

“Whoops, I said that out loud?” Mai giggled, feigning innocence.

Viktor quickly reached out to stop Yue from drawing his sword. He chuckled a bit and watched as Yue was too embarrassed for words and didn’t even look up at him or down at his hand as he noticed that his movement was stopped.

“Food must be eaten bite by bite.” Viktor said to Mai with an innocent smile. He then turned to Yue and patted his head.

“Don’t go and kill your friend.” Viktor said before leaving the tent.

Yue and Mai were frozen before Mai turned to the entrance to the tent.

“D-Did that just happen?” She asked before bursting out laughing.

“He really said that?!” Mai cackled as Yue just squatted down and hid his face in his hands.

“Shixiong, please save me, I’m gonna die from shame if he keeps doing this to me.” Yue murmured in Chinese.