Reiki was slowly breathing as he tried to lay flat on the ground as much as possible while keeping his legs wide, after one more long breath he sat up straight and tried to stand up while his legs were visibly shaking. Moranor had a look of disapproval on her face, she said. "Your body is going to give up on you if you keep this up." Reiki managed to stand on his own two feet, he let out a chuckle and took a step as he lost balance. 

Moranor appeared on his left and held him up by the forearm and helped him up. Reiki said. "Thank you… Can I have a couple of liters of water? I can feel my entire insides dryer than a desert." Enora snapped her fingers as a talisman appeared in her palm and faintly glowed. Elora was staring at him with glowing pupils while Melanor was thinking of something. Enrel was hiding something behind her back and was inching her way forward to him step by step.

The frown on Moranor's face deepened, she said. "Reiki, are you listening?" Reiki lazily waved his hand and flashed her a confident smile, he said. "It's fine, as long as my body heals faster than I can break it. I'll live." Enrel was standing right in front of the two of them with a big and friendly smile on her face, before she could say anything Reiki looked up to her and offered his arm, he said. "Make it quick." 

Enrel blinked a few times and said. "I didn't even say anything." He rolled his eyes at her and said. "You've already taken some blood from me when I was sleeping, what's the difference if you take more after I trained? Take liters if you want, you won't find anything out of the ordinary." A smirk appeared on Enrel's face while all the other four elves traded glances at each other.

Enrel showed him a large syringe, Reiki placed his arm back to his side and took a step back, he said. "I said that liter of blood thing as a joke…" Enrel softly tapped the side of the needle a couple of times, she said. "Just think of this as my request to my funder." Elora and her daughter had a huge grin on their face that they were trying to contain. Melanor had her arms crossed as she was enjoying the show. Reiki looked up to Moranor, he said. "Moranor can you do me a simple favor?" 

Moranor was surprised for a split second before a serious look appeared on her face, she said. "What is it?" He nodded and looked at the left arm she was holding, Reiki said. "Can you use my left arm and slap her with it? Bonus points if you leave a visible red mark." The three elves watching started laughing while Moranor stared at him with bewilderment in her eyes, Enrel pupils were already glowing as she walked towards him and stabbed the long needle right into his abdomen avoiding all his organs.

[System: User bleed 2,501 Damage.]

Before he could say anything Enrel shoved a small potion into his mouth. The syringe in her hand was one-third full as she looked at it like it was her child, Enrel said. "Thank you for your cooperation." Enrel nodded at Melanor and Elora as the three of them vanished.

[System: User has been healed for 3,000.]

Reiki placed his right hand on the spot where Enrel stabbed him with the syringe, he said. "Okay, she has to have broken some kind of international species law or something. If not, she just stabbed a kid and stole roughly a liter of blood." Before either of the elves could say anything, an elf was wearing a black cloak all over his body and used the hood to hide his entire face. The cloak-wearing elf said. "Young… Majesty…" With a small wave of his hands two medium-size metal canisters floated towards Enora. Enora gave him a nod and said. "Dismissed." 

As the cloak-wearing elf vanished. Holding both the canisters in one hand Enora appeared in front of him, she held Reiki's free hand and handed him both the canisters. Reiki stared at the canisters and thought. This is interesting. He passed one of them to Moranor and immediately opened one of them, Reiki started to chug down the water inside.

[System: User's regeneration has been improved for a specific amount of time.]

Reiki stopped drinking and noticed it was still half-full, he let out a loud burp and said. "Excuse me. What kind of water is this?" Moranor glared at Enora from the corner of her eye. Enora had a proud smile on her face, she puffed her chest out in victory which made her breast softly wiggle. Enora said. "Fifteen percent mana, eighty-five percent water. It's better than drinking liters of water." Reiki chugged down the rest of it and gave the empty canister to Enora, he said. "True."

[System: User has received 82 Damage.]

Moranor flicked him on the back of the head as she quickly moved her head sideways and stared at some trees. Reiki rubbed the back of his head and looked up to her, he said. "I need a bath. Do you know where I can take one?" Enora's eyes brightened before she could say anything Moranor said. "If you're planning to take a quick shower I know where you can get one." Moranor and Reiki vanished leaving Enora alone. Enora let out a cold chuckle and said. "You can't hide from me."

______________________________________________________

Enrel's Laboratory

Melanor was looking at all the different herbs at the large high-tech preservation chamber. Elora was sitting on the large metal table in the middle of the room while Enrel had twelve glass tubes in front of her in a test tube rack that were half-filled with blood. Melanor stared at one of the herbs and said. "How long before the lotus heart blooms?" Enrel picked up a couple of glass tubes, she started adding powdered herbs and a drop of some kind of white sludge that slowly sunk to the bottom of the tube. Enrel said. "Not long, about fifty years give or take." 

The glass tube with the powdered herbs started to mix with the blood while the other tube with the white sludge started to thicken. Enrel picked up the glass tube with the white sludge and turned it completely upside down, the blood slowly came out and landed on the metal table she was working on, and stood up straight. Enrel reached for the other test tube and noticed it was missing, looking around she saw Elora was holding it in her hands as she took a small whiff.

Elora passed the tube to Melanor and said. "It's confirmed… His human…" Melanor slightly tilted the tube sideways to test the viscosity as it started to coagulate, she said. "No signs of body tempering too…" Enrel hid the rest of the test tube racks with blood and coughed which got both of their attention, she said. "No reaction from using herbs to stimulate the blood and the poison from the other tube coagulated when I blinked." Elora was thinking as she had a hand on her chin, she said. "Any chance it's because of the undigested dragon meat in his stomach?" Melanor threw the test tube towards Enrel who caught it with both hands. Enrel sent her a glare as she placed it on a table using an empty test tube rack. 

Melanor crossed her arms as a small frown appeared on her lips, she said. "Then the question of how did he manage to eat that amount of dragon meat without exploding and the fact Reiki just slept on it like he was hibernating." Both of them turned their head towards Enrel who was thinking, a few seconds of silence passed by as the two waited for her to answer. Enrel snapped herself back to reality and said. "What were the two of you talking about? I was too busy thinking about what to do with the boy's blood."

The corner of Melanor's eye twitched while Elora let out a short sigh. Elora moved her gaze onto Melanor and said. "Can he read any language?" Melanor nodded, Enrel who was about to wander into deep thinking eyes widened. Enrel said. "Reiki can read any language?! I need to see this for research!" Enrel walked past the two of them and was stopped by Melanor who grabbed her by the edge of her sleeve. 

Melanor maintained eye contact with Elora and said. "That's what he claims, I didn't do enough testing to see whether it's true or not." Enrel instantly raised her right hand and hastily said. "Me! I'll do testing on him-! I mean, with him. I'll do some tests with him!" Elora placed both her hands behind her back as she started to think again.

______________________________________________________

Somewhere By The Hallway

Elora and Moranor were waiting by the door on each side. Elora had a relaxed smile on her face while Moranor's eyes were narrowed as she kept her guard up. From the other side of the door, they heard the sound of clothes rustling which made both their pointy ears twitch. Moranor put on a nonchalant expression on her face when she heard the sound of footsteps on the other side, the doorknob made a clicking sound as Reiki walked into the hallway with the other canister in his hand. 

He was wearing the clothes Moranor got him, a plain green tunic and brown pants. Moranor smiled as she gave him an approving nod, Reiki chugged the contents of the canister in his hands and gave the empty bottle to Enora. He let out a satisfied burp and said. "Much better, and excuse me." Reiki combed his hair back using his hands giving him a somewhat wavy pulled-back look, his stomach let out a loud grumble which surprised Enora and made Moranor roll her eyes at him. 

Moranor placed a hand on her hip and said. "You just ate roughly six to seven kilograms of dragon meat yesterday and you're still hungry?" Reiki looked up to her and nodded, he said. "Yep, when's breakfast?" Moranor let out a scoff filled with amusement, she said. "Not until another hour or so." His stomach let out another rumble, Reiki placed a hand on his gut and said. "I hope I'll make it…"

[System: User has received 35 Damage.]

Moranor flicked his forehead, letting out a short laugh, she said. "Coming from someone who just abused his own body enough to break it, you'll live if you don't eat for another hour." Reiki lazily stretched and started walking with Moranor on his left side while Enora who was being dangerously silent was on his right. 

Moranor kept her eyes on the front and glanced at him, she said. "How did you not manage to feel any effects from dehydration that severe and not break your body." Reiki looked up to her and flashed Moranor a smile, he said. "The human body is more durable than you know."

[System: User has received 205 Damage.]

Reiki felt a sudden stinging pain on the top of his right foot. He ignored the pain and turned his head to look at Enora who had an indifferent expression. Reiki said. "Is there something you want to say, young majesty?" Enora didn't even glance at him as she kept her eyes in front, she said. "Nothing in particular." Reiki nodded and said. "Understood." He moved his gaze back to Moranor who had a smirk on her face, Reiki said. "Do you have any specific plans for today?"

[System: User has received 421 Damage.]

While the three of them were walking Enora quickly stomped on his feet again as the floorboards slightly cracked as they continued. Both Reiki and Moranor ignored Enora's silent tantrum, all of them took a left. Moranor said. "I might buy a couple of whetstones, the ones that I use for my daggers are starting to wear down. And I might consider buying a new quiver." Reiki saw a couple of light spheres floating by the ceiling, he said. "What brand?" 

Moranor let out a chuckle, she said. "There are no brands, only crafters. I am considering splurging on one that has higher quality leather so that I could use it longer. The one I have is made out of snake leather, which was a rare class when it was alive." Enora who was walking with them had a bored expression on her face, she suddenly thought of something and vanished without hiding it from the other two. Moranor and Reiki continued walking, he pointed at his right using his thumb and said. "Where did she go?" Moranor shook her head sideways, she said. "You're asking the wrong elf."

The two of them walked by a few more doors and took a left, Reiki glanced at the doors that looked the same to him. He said. "Why the sudden need for a new quiver? Don't snake leather last about five to ten years with good preservation?" Moranor placed her right hand on the top of his head.

[System: User has received 21 Damage.]

Moranor flicked the side of his head, she said. "It got hit by the explosion, specifically the bottom…" Both of them stopped when they were in front of the door. Moranor reached for the door handle and looked at him, she said. "Is your head okay? That last kick he gave you was a cheap shot." Reiki placed a hand at the back of his head and slightly rubbed it, he said. "I'm fine. Name another kid who can make a theory like me, especially getting kicked." 

Moranor stared at him for a couple of seconds before she looked at the door and nodded, she turned the doorknob and saw the room was empty. Moranor let out a sigh of relief and took a couple of steps inside, Reiki quickly dashed towards the bed, took off his boots, and laid down. Reiki let out a contented sigh, he said. "Wake me up when lunch is about to begin..." Moranor walked towards the edge of the bed, she let out a chuckle and said. "A few minutes ago weren't you just barely hanging on waiting for breakfast?"

Reiki let out a yawn as he made himself comfortable on the bed by finding a better sleeping position, he said. "... You would be tired… If you did the same exercise… I did…" Moranor was about to say something but stopped, she nodded and said. "Can't even argue with that since I just watched you torture yourself for a good two hours." The door suddenly opened as Enora walked in with something behind her back. Moranor coldly glared at her while Reiki let out a long sigh, he said. "Maybe if we ignore her she'll go away." 

Enora walked towards Moranor who had a cold look on her face while Reiki sat up straight on the bed. Reiki had his right eye closed and the left eye open, he said. "Do I even want to know?" Enora completely ignored Moranor who was staring a hole into her. Enora said. "Nope, but I'll do it anyway." Before she could do anything her mother Elora appeared behind her and tapped on her right shoulder which made Enora freeze in place.

Enora slowly turned her head sideways and saw the sweet smile on her face. Enora said. "M-Mom… How's your-." Elora sweetly said. "Hand it over." Enora panicked as she used both her hands and held a medium-sized wooden lunch box with a simple design. The sweet smile on Elora's face vanished, she said. "Just because he won't pay attention to you, the first thing you do is try to feed him… Food…" Moranor's eyes widened, she pointed at the lunch box in Elora's hands and said. "Is that her… Cooking?..." 

Elora glanced at Moranor and nodded. Enora stomped on the ground furiously as her breast jiggled, she said. "What's so bad about it?! Reiki ate her horrendous excuse of a meal, why can't he eat mine!?" Elora let out a short sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, she pointed at Moranor and said. "Mora's cooking is raw but safe for consumption." Elora turned her head to look at Moranor and said. "Sorry, little Mora." Moranor awkwardly coughed, trying to keep a straight face, she said. "I-It's fine."

Reiki moved his gaze onto Moranor and flashed her a small smirk, he said. "Little Mora?" Moranor placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. Elora looked at her daughter, pointed at the wooden lunchbox in her hands, and said. "This on the other hand is…" Elora tapped the top of the lunchbox as it suddenly started moving and making scratching noises from the inside. Both of Reiki's eyes snapped wide open as he stared at the lunchbox in Elora's hands, he said. "That's supposed to be food?..." 

Enora puffed her chest out and proudly said. "I believe it's called steak tartare, I finely sliced up a few of its tentacles and crushed a lemon using a hammer… Don't know why the recipe required a crushed lemon, a little bit messy but fun." Reiki stared at Enora who had a proud expression and glanced at Moranor who looked like she was used to it while Elora flashed him an apologetic smile.

Reiki moved his gaze back onto Enora, he said. "So… That's supposed to be your take on steak tartare… And you used an octopus… Can you give me a short explanation on how you made it or?..." Enora confidently said. "Simple. I once heard a traveling elf that humans ate a few certain meals raw and was weirded out by it. 

She asked around and the most answered was this tartare steak where they finely chop the meat and crush a lemon." Reiki nodded, a moment of silence passed before he said. "Everyone here would call that a living animal." Moranor let out a laugh as she placed both her hands over her mouth and tried to stop herself. Elora had a small smirk on her lips as she managed to contain it. Enora had a look of confusion on her face, she said. "I don't get it." Reiki slowly got up from the bed as he stood on the floor using his white socks. He walked towards Enora with both his hands on his hips as the air around him subtly changed. Reiki said. "When a problem occurs, what do you do?"

Enora was surprised by what he said and she started to think. Moranor was about to place a hand on his shoulder but was stopped by Elora, she gave Moranor a meaningful look, as both of them watched. Enora said. "What do you mean by that?" Reiki shook his head sideways as he lazily waved his hand in dismissal, he said. "Nevermind, you wouldn't even listen." 

Enora placed a hand on top of his head, she said. "Continue." Reiki looked up to her and said. "Is that what her majesty is demanding of me? Or is that what Enora wants to know?" Enora crossed her arms as she hesitated to answer while Elora and Moranor were watching in silence. Enora moved her hand away from the top of his head, she said. "That's what I Enora would like to know." 

Reiki nodded, he said. "How do you view relationships other than those with whom you are close? Do you look down on them while sitting on your throne? Do you take pity on them when they ask for your help? Or do you simply just do whatever you fancy?" Enora smiled, she said. "Simple, not all individuals are equal; some are poor, rich, strong, and gifted. What's the harm in treating others on how they should be treated?" Reiki suddenly jumped in place.

[System: User has dealt 52 Damage.]

Reiki softly karate chopped the top of Enora's head, which surprised both Moranor and Elora as their eyes widened. He landed back on the floor with a soft thud as he almost lost his balance, Reiki said. "Wrong, you spoiled elf." Enora stared at him with disbelief in her eyes, she placed a hand on the top of her head where she was hit. 

Her hair was slightly disheveled as a few stray stands blocked her eye to which she ignored, Enora said. "Y-You… You just hit me…" Reiki raised a finger and said. "New question, when an unknown problem arises. What do you-." Enora interrupted him, she said. "That doesn't matter! You just hit me! Not even mom has ever-!" Reiki jumped in place again.

[System: User has dealt 62 Damage.]

Reiki karate chopped the top of her head again, as he pointed a finger at Enora, he said. "Listen to other people when they're talking and don't interrupt, that's terrible etiquette."