Kael walked down the hospital hallway with slow steps, but beneath that calm exterior his emotions were anything but stable.

His blood was boiling.

Every time he remembered the way that disgusting director looked at Lyra, the rage inside him surged violently once again. A part of him wanted nothing more than to turn around, drag that bastard out of whatever corner he was hiding in, and beat him until every bone in his body shattered.

But Kael restrained himself.

Violence would feel satisfying in the moment, but it would only create bigger problems afterward.

So instead, he forced himself to think rationally.

He had recorded everything.

Every threat.

Every disgusting word.

Normally, with his identity as a registered hunter, he could submit the footage directly to the Hunters Association’s disciplinary division and request an official investigation. Once they dug into the director’s affairs, Kael was certain they would uncover more dirt buried beneath the surface.

That man didn’t look intelligent enough to clean his tracks properly.

The problem was his backing.

Kael had no idea who stood behind the director.

And he wasn’t naive enough to believe the world operated fairly.

People with connections rarely suffered real consequences. At worst, the director might receive some temporary punishment before returning as though nothing had happened. If his supporters were powerful enough, the entire matter could even disappear completely.

Still, that didn’t mean Kael intended to stay passive.

People like the director were the most dangerous type.

Cowards intoxicated by power.

They acted arrogant toward the weak because they believed nothing could touch them, and humiliation was something they could never tolerate.

What happened today was a slap across the director’s face.

There was no way a man like that would simply let it go.

Sooner or later, he would retaliate.

Kael suddenly slowed his steps.

A colder possibility crossed his mind, causing his expression to darken.

He could protect himself.

That much he was confident about.

But what about Lyra?

What about their mother lying unconscious inside that hospital room?

Kael suddenly began questioning one of his earlier decisions.

He had originally wanted to keep Lyra away from the dangerous world of hunters. He didn’t want her risking her life fighting monsters and challenging deadly tower trials.

But now he realized how foolish that thinking was.

This world was no different from a jungle.

The weak had no voice.

The strong decided everything.

Trying to intentionally suppress Lyra’s growth out of fear for her safety would only make her even more vulnerable in the future.

Kael exhaled slowly as a new plan formed inside his mind.

If he couldn’t guarantee she would never face danger, then he would make sure she became someone danger couldn’t easily harm.

An iron fortress.

A tank nobody could break through.

The victor wasn’t always the person who dealt the most damage. Sometimes, it was simply the one who could endure longer than everyone else.

You couldn’t defeat what you couldn’t hurt.

Immediately, Kael began reorganizing his plans for the future. He would gather defensive equipment for Lyra. The best armor. Protective artifacts. Skills. Treasures. Anything that increased survivability.

Now that he had money, acquiring those things wasn’t impossible anymore.

And with his Infinite Reward Multiplier talent combined with the tower’s hell-difficulty rewards, even Kael himself had no idea what kind of treasures he might obtain later.

As long as he kept climbing, stronger rewards would continue appearing.

While lost in thought, Kael unconsciously arrived in front of the elevator.

The doors opened with a soft chime.

He stepped inside and began descending.

A few moments later, another ding echoed softly as the elevator reached the lower floor.

Kael stepped out while still organizing plans in his head, only to nearly bump into someone coming from the opposite direction.

He reacted quickly and stopped himself at the last second.

The other person wasn’t as fast.

Bang.

The collision sent several books and scattered papers flying across the floor.

"Ah, sorry," Kael said immediately as he crouched down to help gather the mess. "I was distracted."

"It’s fine," the man replied while hurriedly picking up the fallen papers himself. "I wasn’t paying attention either."

The two silently gathered the scattered documents together.

Once everything was picked up, Kael finally got a proper look at the man standing before him.

He looked to be somewhere in his early forties.

Maybe younger.

It was difficult to tell.

His appearance was rough and exhausted. Long dark hair hung messily around his shoulders, dull and unkempt as though he hadn’t cared for it in weeks. A layer of beard stubble covered his jaw while dark circles rested heavily beneath his eyes.

Yet even beneath that haggard appearance, Kael could still tell this man originally possessed fairly decent features.

But that wasn’t what caught his attention.

It was the strange feeling of familiarity.

Not the kind shared between relatives.

More like the feeling of seeing someone you vaguely recognized from somewhere important.

Kael frowned slightly while staring at him.

Meanwhile, the man awkwardly shifted under that gaze before clearing his throat lightly.

Only then did Kael realize he had been staring for several seconds straight like a complete weirdo.

"Sorry," Kael muttered while stepping aside.

The man gave an awkward nod and began walking toward the elevator.

But just before he entered, Kael’s eyes suddenly landed on the name tag attached to his coat.

Dun Duncan.

Kael froze.

His second memory stirred instantly.

Dun Duncan.

The legendary alchemist of the future.

The man responsible for developing numerous high-grade potions and treatments that even Kael himself had once relied on.

But...

Why did he look like this?

That thought flashed through Kael’s mind briefly before another realization hit him.

This was an opportunity.

A huge one.

Without hesitation, Kael suddenly rushed forward.

The elevator doors were already closing, but he managed to slip inside just before they shut completely.

Dun immediately turned toward him with visible confusion.

Meanwhile, Kael stared directly at him.

"You’re Dun, right?" he asked without wasting time. "I heard you’re researching a cure for mana sickness."

The moment those words left his mouth, Dun’s entire body stiffened.

His eyes sharpened instantly.

How does he know that?

A storm of thoughts exploded inside his mind.

He had kept that research hidden from almost everyone. Very few people even knew he was studying mana sickness at all.

Had the hospital director discovered it somehow?

Was this young man sent by him?

Dun forced himself to calm down despite the growing unease in his chest.

There was still no certainty yet.

"Who are you?" he asked carefully. "How do you know my name... and how do you know about my research?"

His voice sounded calm on the surface, but Kael could still hear the faint tension leaking through.

Only then did Kael finally realize something important.

He may have been too reckless.

To him, Dun Duncan was a famous figure from the future, someone whose achievements were known worldwide.

But to present-day Dun, this research was likely a tightly guarded secret.

Kael suddenly imagined how he himself would react if a stranger casually approached him and started talking about his Infinite Reward Multiplier talent.

Yeah.

He’d probably panic too.

Realizing that, Kael inwardly cursed his own carelessness.

Now he needed to fix this situation before the man in front of him completely misunderstood his intentions.