The atmosphere shifted as the lecture ended, the classroom gradually emptying into the wide corridors as students moved in clusters toward their next session, their voices rising once more into a layered hum of reactions, opinions, and lingering discomfort. The earlier silence had broken completely, replaced now with overlapping conversations that carried everything from awkward amusement to genuine curiosity.

"Did you see her face when the instructor started explaining all that?" one student whispered with a grin, barely holding back laughter.

"Forget her face, did you hear the part about—" another began, only to stop midway, glancing around before lowering their voice further as both of them snickered.

Others, however, seemed far more focused.

"It actually makes sense biologically if you think about it," someone said, tapping their chin thoughtfully, "the way she explained the cycles and physical differences... it aligns with what we’ve studied before."

"Yeah... but using a classmate as a live example was a bit too much," another replied, shaking their head.

Further ahead, a different group had already shifted topics.

"Next is Arcano Synthetic Engineering, right?" one asked, their tone carrying excitement.

"Yeah! Finally something interesting," another responded eagerly, "I’ve been waiting for this."

"Interesting?" a third scoffed lightly, "it’s going to be nothing but formulas and mechanisms... I’m already bored."

Amidst the flow of conversations, Damon walked forward with an unhurried pace, his attention largely detached from the noise around him as his thoughts moved elsewhere, unconcerned with either the lecture they had just attended or the one ahead.

Beside him, however—

Eric looked half-dead.

His shoulders slumped, his steps dragging as though each movement required effort as he muttered under his breath, his voice barely holding together.

"Can’t I just skip this one...?"

Damon glanced sideways at him, his expression neutral as he replied, "You already skipped the last session... if you miss this one as well—"

Eric visibly trembled at that, his face paling further as he clutched at his head slightly.

"T-that devil will definitely use it as an excuse for another experiment on me..." he whispered in horror, his imagination clearly running ahead of him.

Damon let out a faint chuckle at that, his tone carrying mild amusement.

"But she seems to forget most things anyway," he said casually, "why not take the chance?"

Eric’s response was immediate.

"No way!" he blurted out, his voice filled with absolute refusal as he shook his head vigorously, clearly unwilling to risk it.

By then, the flow of students had reached their destination, the familiar laboratory space opening before them as they entered one by one, the interior already set with equipment and workstations prepared for the session.

At the front—Lunaria stood.

Or rather—Half-stood.

"Yawwwnn...!"

A yawn escaped her as she looked at the students filing in, her posture relaxed to the point of carelessness, her pink hair slightly disheveled and her half-lidded eyes carrying that same distant, unfocused calm as always.

She watched them arrive one by one without saying a word.

The lab gradually filled as students took their positions at the long workstations, the low hum of conversation fading into a more attentive quiet as all eyes shifted toward the front. Lunaria stood there, her half-lidded pink eyes slowly scanning the room as if making sure everyone had arrived—though it was unclear whether she was counting or simply looking.

She yawned softly once more, then lifted a hand as though remembering something mid-thought.

"Last time..." she began, her voice soft and unhurried, "...you all made a basic healing potion."

A brief pause followed as she tilted her head slightly, as if replaying her own words.

"...yes... that sounds right..."

She gave a small nod to herself, satisfied, before continuing.

"This time... you will make a basic artifact."

A faint ripple of interest passed through the room.

Lunaria turned slightly, gesturing vaguely toward the tables as if everything had already been explained somewhere else.

"An artifact... is something that holds a function... through structure and mana flow..." she said, her tone carrying that same slow, drifting rhythm, "instead of being consumed... like a potion... it stays... and works repeatedly..."

She paused again, her eyes lifting slightly as though checking whether she had missed anything.

"...mm... yes... that is correct..."

Another small, almost innocent nod.

"You will work in pairs," she added, her hand making a loose, circular motion as though grouping them without actually assigning anything, "same as before... or... different... it doesn’t matter..."

Her gaze drifted across the counters.

"Instructions are already there," she said, pointing vaguely toward the prepared materials laid out at each station, "just follow them..."

She walked a few steps forward, picking up one of the components absentmindedly before holding it up at a slightly wrong angle, as though showing it more to herself than to the class.

"This... is the base core," she explained, her tone unchanged, "you will embed the structure... guide the mana... and stabilize it..."

She blinked once, then looked at the object again.

"...yes... that is how it works..."

A faint nod followed, confirming her own explanation.

"Don’t force the flow," she added after a moment, her gaze still fixed on the object in her hand, "if you do... it breaks..."

She placed it back down without much ceremony, then looked back at the class.

"That’s all..."

A pause.

"...you can begin."

And with that, Lunaria simply stepped aside, as though the entire explanation had been both complete and unnecessary at the same time.

***

The lab gradually came alive with movement as students paired off and gathered around their assigned stations, the earlier murmurs fading into focused discussion as components were picked up, examined, and arranged across the polished work surfaces. Soft glows began to flicker here and there as mana was cautiously drawn into prepared cores, the air filling with a subtle hum of experimentation.

At one of the stations, Damon and Eric stood side by side, their materials neatly laid out before them as they examined the instruction sheet placed at the center.

The artifact assigned to them was a basic Lumina Pulse Band, an entry-level wearable designed to emit a soft, steady light when infused with mana, primarily used for illumination in low-visibility environments or as a simple signal device during field operations. Its structure was straightforward—an engraved core ring, a mana-conductive filament, and a stabilizing outer casing meant to regulate the flow and prevent overload.

"So... we embed the filament through the core channel, then align the engraving with the mana input point..." Eric muttered, squinting slightly at the instructions as though trying to make sense of them in real time.

Damon glanced over the layout once before beginning, his movements precise as he picked up the core ring, his fingers tracing the faint etched lines that guided the mana flow.

"We start with alignment first," he said calmly, already adjusting the position of the components.

Eric hesitated for a moment before leaning slightly closer, lowering his voice.

"Umm... but is it really okay like... this?" he asked, tilting his head subtly toward Damon’s side.

Damon didn’t need to look.

Lunaria was there—

Clinging lightly to his shoulder, her head resting against him as she slept peacefully, her half-lidded eyes now fully closed, her breathing slow and even as though the entire lab session had nothing to do with her.

"Just ignore it," Damon replied flatly, not even pausing in his work, "and don’t you know how to do this? Isn’t she your sister?"

Eric straightened slightly, placing a hand on his chest with mock confidence before muttering shamelessly, "Heh... boss, do you really think I’d be smart enough—or even interested in this stuff... especially after being turned into a guinea pig?"

Damon paused for just a fraction of a second.

Then glanced at him.

This time—With visible sympathy.

"...Fair enough," he muttered.

Turning back to the task, Damon followed the instructions methodically, guiding Eric along as they progressed step by step. He positioned the core ring carefully, ensuring the engraved channels aligned perfectly with the filament’s path, then began threading the mana-conductive filament through it with controlled precision, his fingers steady despite the added weight resting against his shoulder.

"Hold this here," he instructed quietly.

Eric complied, gripping the outer casing as Damon stabilized the structure, the two working in sync despite their earlier exchange.

"Now... don’t force the mana flow," Damon added, recalling Lunaria’s earlier words, "just guide it."

He drew in a small amount of mana, letting it pass naturally through the core rather than pushing it, allowing the engraved pathways to respond and stabilize the flow. The filament faintly lit up as the energy settled, a soft glow forming within the ring as the structure completed itself.

Eric blinked.

"...Wait... it’s working?"

The light grew steadier and consistent.

The Lumina Pulse Band activated successfully, emitting a gentle, even radiance that reflected softly off the surface of the table.

Damon observed it briefly, confirming the stability before releasing his hold.

All the while—

Lunaria remained asleep against his shoulder.

Unbothered and unmoved.

And somehow—

Not interfering at all.

Exactly forty minutes later, since the lecture started, as the last adjustments were being made across the room, Lunaria stirred.

Her head shifted slightly against Damon’s shoulder before she slowly lifted it, blinking once as her half-lidded pink eyes came back into focus, her expression unchanged despite having apparently slept through most of the session. Without any sign of embarrassment or acknowledgment of her earlier state, she straightened just enough to look at the table in front of Damon and Eric.

Her gaze settled on the Lumina Pulse Band.

She leaned in slightly, examining it with a quiet, almost absent curiosity, her fingers lightly brushing against the outer casing as if confirming its structure without fully engaging with it. Her eyes moved over the core alignment, the filament threading, and the mana stability, taking in each aspect with an ease that suggested familiarity rather than effort.

Then she looked at Damon.

"Acceptable," she said softly.

Eric’s eyes widened instantly.

"Y-you... praise me as well!" he blurted out, stepping forward slightly as if seeking validation.

Lunaria turned her head toward him, her half-lidded gaze resting on him for a brief moment, her expression as unreadable as ever.

Damon, watching the exchange, paused internally.

...Is that praise?

Then, recalling the previous session—

He gave a faint nod to himself.

...Yes. Definitely praise.

Without another word, Lunaria moved on, drifting from one workstation to another, her pace slow yet precise as she glanced at each artifact. Some received the same quiet "acceptable," while others were met with blunt, almost indifferent criticism, her tone unchanged regardless of the outcome.

"Unstable... redo."

"Misaligned... it will break."

"Too much force... wrong."

The evaluations continued until the session naturally reached its end, the atmosphere loosening as students began packing up, conversations reigniting as they discussed their results or hurriedly left the lab.

Eric, however, wasted no time.

The moment dismissal was implied, he bolted, disappearing from the room with remarkable speed, leaving Damon alone at his station.

Damon remained where he was, his gaze shifting toward Lunaria, who had just finished examining another student’s work and now looked back at him with the same quiet, unfocused calm. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He stepped forward slightly.

"I want you to help me make something," he said.