Jason stared at the cyan screen hovering in front of his face.

[Adaptation to mana manipulation: 40%!]

His heart skipped a beat. Then another. His eyes darted over the glowing text, reading it again and again to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

Forty percent. Up from twenty. Doubled.

He had been at twenty percent adaptation to magic ever since that first encounter with Thalion’s dream invasion. The system had given him that much and then... nothing. No increase. No progress. Just a static number that seemed to mock him every time he checked.

But now, in the span of a single night, it had jumped to forty.

Jason didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what had happened.

"Someone has been using magic on me."

The thought should have terrified him. Someone—probably Thalion—was messing with his mind, planting suggestions, trying to influence him. The elf had tried to link with him during the journey. Tried to make him more agreeable, more trusting, more dependent.

And it had failed.

But Jason wasn’t going to complain. If anything, this was the best news he had received since waking up in this world.

He wasn’t going to confront Thalion. He wasn’t going to call him out, or demand answers, or threaten him. That would be stupid. If he confronted Thalion, there was a chance the elf would stop using magic on him. And if he stopped, Jason’s immunity to magic wouldn’t become complete.

"Keep using it," Jason thought, a dangerous smile tugging at his lips. "Keep trying. Keep failing. Every spell you cast on me makes me stronger."

He dismissed the cyan screen with a wave of his hand, watching it dissolve into tiny motes of light.

Then he started walking again, falling back into step beside Ylva.

-

Ylva’s ears twitched. She glanced at him sideways, her eyes narrowing.

"You’re smiling," she said. "Why are you smiling?"

Jason wiped the smile off his face. "I’m not smiling."

"You were. A weird smile. Like you just got away with something."

"I was thinking about food," Jason lied smoothly. "I’m hungry again."

Ylva snorted. "You’re always hungry."

"Survival requires calories."

She didn’t push further, but her tail flicked once—a sign that she didn’t believe him. Ylva instantly knew there was something occupying his mind. She could read him too well now. But she didn’t ask. She just walked beside him in silence, her claws retracted, her ears slowly relaxing.

They reached the Feather’s Rest as the first rays of dawn broke over the rooftops. The sky was a mess of orange and pink, beautiful in a way that made Jason’s chest ache for reasons he couldn’t explain.

They climbed the stairs. Jason’s legs were heavy, his body screaming for sleep, but his mind was racing faster than ever.

"What will forty percent adaptation look like? What about sixty? Eighty? A hundred?"

"Will all spells become ineffective against me? Or is it only mental manipulation?"

He didn’t know. The system had given him vague stats and even vaguer explanations. He was flying blind, figuring things out as he went.

"If I can tank all spells..." The thought was intoxicating. In a world where magic was everything, being immune to it would make him untouchable.

"But if it’s only mental skills..." Then he would still be vulnerable to fireballs, lightning bolts, and whatever else these creatures could throw at him.

He pushed the questions aside. He would find out eventually.

-

The door to their room was still slightly ajar—Ylva had left it that way when she stormed out to find him. Jason pushed it open and stepped inside.

Thalion was sitting on the edge of the bed, his silver hair brushed back, his pale face looking marginally less gaunt than before. When he saw them, a big smile spread across his cracked lips.

"Ah, you’re back," Thalion said, his voice warm. "I was worried. I woke up and you were both gone."

Jason’s stomach turned.

"That smile. That warm, friendly smile."

He knew instantly. This thing—this elf—was against them. The kindness was a mask. The gratitude was a performance. Behind those pale eyes lurked something hungry and possessive.

But Jason played along. He had to. Because Thalion currently had the ability to wipe them out. The elf was capable of killing them both in a heartbeat. Depleted mana or not, Thalion had shown what he could do back in that tower—heads exploding, doors shattering, bodies dropping.

One flick of his wrist, Jason and Ylva would be corpses.

So Jason smiled back.

"Couldn’t sleep," Jason said, walking to his spot on the floor and sitting down heavily. "Needed some air. Ylva came to check on me and we ended up talking."

Thalion nodded slowly, his pale eyes flickering between them. "That is... good. Talking is important between... companions."

Ylva grunted and lay down on the floor, her back to both of them. "Can we sleep now? Some of us don’t have magic to heal exhaustion."

Jason laughed—a genuine laugh, because Ylva’s bluntness was the only real thing in this room. "Yeah. But before we do..." He looked at Thalion. "I had a dream. Earlier. When I was asleep."

Thalion’s expression didn’t change, but something behind his eyes flickered. "A dream?"

"Yeah." Jason leaned back against the wall, making himself comfortable. "A weird one. Felt... important."

Ylva turned her head slightly, one ear swiveling toward him. She was listening.

Jason decided to come clean. Well, sort of. He would tell them about his dream—but he would make omissions. He would twist it. He would use it as a warning wrapped in a joke.

"In the dream," Jason said slowly, "I saw myself becoming... immune. To everything. Harm. Pain. Magic." He paused, letting the words hang in the air. "Nothing could touch me. No blade could cut me. No spell could affect me."

Thalion’s smile tightened at the edges.

Jason continued, his voice dropping slightly. "And then... anyone who tried to harm me... they were slaughtered. In the most gruesome way possible. Torn apart. Ripped to shreds. Heads exploding." He let his gaze drift directly to Thalion. "It was vivid."

The room went silent.

Ylva’s tail stopped flicking.

Thalion’s pale face was unreadable.

Then Jason chuckled—a light, easy sound that broke the tension like a hammer through glass.

"But hey," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "It was just a dream. Right? Dreams don’t mean anything."

He kept his eyes locked on Thalion.

The elf smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes.

"Of course," Thalion said softly. "Just a dream."

Jason lay down on the floor, closing his eyes. His heart was pounding, but his voice was calm.

"I see you, you twisted bastard. And now you know I see you.*

"Try your magic again. I dare you."

But Ylva laid beside him and whispered in his ear.

"That was the dumbest dream I have ever heard,"

"Please, not now Ylva!"