Adis was still struggling with the pain in his head, while Randolf just stared at him coldly, as if he already knew this would happen.

Considering Adis' relationship with The Child, the young man would attract attending various creatures throughout Astal.

Adis's existence itself is like a charm in various senses. Not knowing whether they were rulers or residents, astral incarnations, or travelers who had lost their way in Astal. They will all feel drawn to Adis and desire to engage communicate him. Even Diaptora's class has shown these signs.

【Diaphthora, the Soul Deliverer, is very curious about your struggle】

Adis's face twisted in pain, and he made incoherent growling sounds while his hands incessantly squeezed his head, displaying the extent of his suffering in trying to maintain consciousness.

The young man did not faint. Very strong indeed. His mental strength seemed unlike most men his age.

Maybe the Kid did help. If you think about it, it's impossible for a boy like him to withstand such a mental attack. The attack came from Diapthora, the Soul Deliverer directly, Randolf thought.

His body continued to squirm and continued to contract with the mental attacks launched by Diapthora. However, Adis persisted until finally his body lay covered in cold sweat.

His gaze was blank, but slowly the light from his eyes returned.

Randolf let out a sigh of relief. His bitter expression faded and now only a warm smile was visible on his face.

The same thing continued during his conversation with Adis.

【Diaphthora, the Soul Deliverer, expresses satisfaction with your results】

【Happy! Diapthora, the Soul Deliverer has recognized you, as one traveler of Astal】

【Thanks to your blessings as the Starless Child's Companion, Diapthora, the Soul Deliverer, gave you a little of her “Aether”】

【Happy! Because you passed a small test from Diapthora, the Soul Deliverer. 【You get an additional +1 ability point】

After that, the notification panel appears and displays Adis' status automatically.

【Status】
Strength: 6
Agility: 4
Durability: 4
Intelligence: 1

【Distribution Points: 3】

“I am amazed at your mental strength, young man.”

The eccentric man reached out his hand towards Adis.

Despite his efforts to control his heavy breathing, Adis still slumped. When he saw Randolf reaching out his hand, Adis grabbed it slowly.

"Good. The first stage has been completed and, like Diaptora, the Soul Deliverer is quite fond of you."

“H-huh?”

"That's enough. Now let's rest your body near my tent."

Seeing that Adis wanted him, he put his hand around the young man's neck, then closed Luks by reciting a few words. The pieces of Luks that were previously scattered on the ground floated and returned to becoming one complete crystal on Randolf's palm.

After that, he carried Adis to his tent.

A few moments later ....

“H-hmm…”

“Hey, my little friend. Looks like you've woken up."

Randolf's cheerful voice immediately woke Adis up. As if being electrocuted, the young man's listless body suddenly tensed up.

“W-w-what the h-just happened?!”

Cold sweat drenched Adis' face, which wore a panicked and hysterical expression. Even his pupils were twitching as if to say, “It must be a dream, right?” more or less.

However, Randolf just laughed mischievously as he lowered the edge of his hat to cover his own face.

"Who knows? Only you know about that.”

Unfortunately, Adis didn't understand what Randolf was saying. His current condition was confused. Therefore, Adis could only nod like an idiot.

"Already. Choose you make sure the book you borrow from Kraun. The big raccoon will get angry if the person who borrows the book doesn't return the promised item on time."

“O-ohh… uhmm, r-right.”

Suddenly, Adis got up like a panicked person and immediately ran towards the Kraun Shop. On the other hand, Randolf took a deep breath, then looked up at the evening sky calmly.

"The wheel of time is turning again..."

The place resembles a small library in imagination. As soon as you open the front door, there is a reception counter and transactions that can be seen. Surrounding the back, there are rows of shelves and several storage areas that you can see.

On the right side, there is a staircase leading to the second floor, which is covered by a rope tied with a dead knot.

Adis, who had just entered from the front door, immediately fell to his knees. He was breathing heavily while the book he had borrowed from Kraun was cradled in his left hand.

“Hmm? Ah! it turns out to be Mr. Adis. Why do you look tired like that?”

Kraun, the raccoon who kept the bookstore, tilted his head, but not until he saw his new guest holding up a book.

“Oh! Turns out it's a borrowed book, right? I didn't think you would return it so quickly.”

“As fast as… th-i-this?”

"Yes. Exactly five minutes before return time.”

Adis was surprised to hear that he had passed his time quickly like that. He felt that the time he spent was only a few hours, but the memories and also the strange feeling after Diaphthora emerged.

Everything went very fast, even the one hour he thought had passed turned out to be a day. Fortunately, Randolf reminded Adis of the time to return the books. If he was late, he might get quite serious consequences from Kraun.

"He... hehehe.... thank you, Randolf," he muttered with a wry smile.

Not long after, Adis fell limp. The book in his left hand was far away, right in front of his head.

“Oh yeah! Are you okay, Mr. Adis?”

Kraun leaned over to look at Adis. However, the young man gave him a wave of his right hand as if telling him, “I'm fine, just a little tired” like that, more or less.

The raccoon, the bookstore keeper, cleared his throat and left the counter. After that, he picked up the book that Adis dropped while cleaning the cover with a handkerchief.

"So... what kind of experience did you have after reading this book, sir?"

“Hahh...huhh...hahh”

"Ah! Sorry, it seems I was too excited to hear your story that I forgot about your current condition."

The raccoon just raised his right index finger and immediately Adis's body floated slowly.

“W-w-whuoaa!—”

"Stay cool. "Think of this as a vehicle for our world and... there," he continued while pointing his index finger towards the sofa next to the stairs.

As a result, Adis' body floated slowly towards the sofa and landed softly with his face facing downwards.

“T-thank you”

“You're welcome,” Kraun replied with a warm smile. “Back to the point I was talking about earlier. Can you now tell us about your experience, Mr. Adis?”

“R-r-more or less… huh?”

"Good. Then wait a moment. This place doesn't look right for the story that might move me.”

Kraun clapped his hands and his shop, which was shabby and looked like a spider's web, suddenly became clean. The counter had stacks of books scattered on it and several sheets of paper immediately flew.

As time passed, the gentle wind carried all of this and neatly arranged all the items that were scattered, not neatly arranged, and also not in their place, making it seem as if Kraun's shop had become another place.

"Okay. With this all done, can we continue this to the next stage, Mr. Adis?”