Reaching the river, Liam first focused on carefully cleaning the wound on his thigh.

He made sure to properly wash out every trace of dirt, dried blood, and remnants of the herbal mixture that had been packed into the puncture earlier. The process took a decent amount of time because he had to avoid irritating the damaged tissue too much, even though he was about to heal it completely soon anyway.

Cold river water continuously flowed over the injury while Liam carefully worked around the deeper sections of the wound with steady fingers.

Every now and then, pain would flare through the muscle whenever the water reached sensitive tissue, but Liam ignored it and continued cleaning the wound thoroughly.

He wasn’t about to waste a healing potion because of carelessness.

After several minutes, he finally cleaned the puncture to the best of his ability under the circumstances.

Only then did Liam finally take out the small glass bottle Charlotte had given him earlier.

The green liquid inside reflected faintly beneath the moonlight.

Without hesitating further, Liam uncorked the bottle and poured roughly half of the healing potion directly over the puncture wound.

Instantly, the reaction began.

The wound visibly started closing right before his eyes. Torn flesh slowly knitted itself back together while damaged tissue regenerated beneath the skin. Thin strands of steam rose steadily from the injury as intense heat spread through the area.

The sensation felt like burning.

Not enough to make him scream, but enough to force his jaw to tighten slightly.

Still, Liam endured it all without making a sound.

The potion continued working rapidly until eventually the puncture wound fully closed, leaving behind only a faint scar barely visible against his skin.

Liam stared at it quietly for a moment.

Then he lowered his eyes toward the remaining half of the potion still inside the bottle.

Without wasting it, he simply drank the rest.

The liquid was bitter.

Almost unpleasant.

But the effects came immediately afterward.

A subtle warmth spread through his body while the lingering fatigue weighing on him since the Gravecoil fight eased slightly. The constant ache throughout his muscles dulled as well, along with the irritation in his thigh.

It wasn’t enough to fully restore him.

Not even close.

But compared to how he had felt since the beginning of the assessment, the difference was significant enough to make him exhale quietly.

"...Much better," he muttered under his breath.

After dealing with the wound itself, Liam then shifted his attention toward cleaning the rest of his body properly.

He washed the strip of cloth he had previously used as a bandage inside the river before using it as a makeshift sponge to wipe away the dirt, dried blood, and sweat covering his skin.

Eventually, he removed his dark sleeveless tank top as well and cleaned himself more thoroughly beneath the cold running water.

The river carried away streaks of dried blood and dirt while the cool temperature eased some of the remaining tension in his body.

By the time Liam finally finished, the exhaustion clinging to him no longer felt nearly as oppressive as before.

Once done, he gathered his things again and began making his way back toward the outcrop.

And as he walked through the forest beneath the moonlight, one thing immediately became obvious to him.

He no longer needed to subconsciously favor his right leg.

The difference was instant.

No dull ache. No resistance from the muscle. No need to carefully redistribute his weight every few steps.

His movements had become natural again.

As that realization repeated itself in his mind while he approached the outcrop, Liam slowly found himself thinking about something else entirely.

Healing through dark magic.

Just like Marcus once did.

However, the thought alone made him frown slightly.

That wasn’t something simple.

Even with how monstrously attuned Marcus had been to dark Myst, it still took him years to fully master healing without accidentally erasing portions of his own body in the process.

Dark magic wasn’t naturally meant to restore life.

It consumed.

Corrupted.

Devoured.

Trying to force something like that into reconstructing flesh instead of destroying it required absurd levels of control.

Even then, Marcus accomplished it faster than any dark mage in recorded history.

And Liam already knew one uncomfortable truth.

He wasn’t Marcus.

No one was.

No dark mage before or after his father had ever possessed the same terrifying level of compatibility with dark Myst that he did.

’Guess I might actually have to go along with that maniac’s plan eventually,’ Liam thought while remembering the method Aesmirius had explained to him before he awakened from his slumber.

Just recalling parts of it already sounded insane.

Eventually, Liam reached the crevice entrance again and squeezed himself through the narrow gap before stepping back inside the hollow chamber.

The moment he landed inside, he was greeted by a sight he could at least appreciate somewhat.

Near the fire pit he had built earlier, Charlotte sat on the ground with her legs crossed while casually eating one of the deer legs he had smoked earlier.

The meat had clearly been cooked further over the fire to her liking.

But that wasn’t what Liam appreciated most.

What he truly appreciated was the fact that he hadn’t returned to find Charlotte completely naked inside the shelter.

Charlotte was no longer in her beast-dominant form, and she was properly dressed now as well.

She wore the academy training pants and boots again, while her dark tank top rested loosely against her figure beneath the warm firelight.

"Guess you had your clothes stored in the ring too," Liam remarked calmly while approaching the fire pit.

Charlotte looked up toward him while still chewing on the piece of deer meat in her mouth.

She deliberately took her time chewing before finally swallowing and speaking.

"I did say I had everything in there," she replied with a shrug. "I mean, the ground’s a little too cold for me to walk around naked all night, you know?"

She paused briefly.

Then the familiar seductive glint returned to her golden eyes immediately.

"But~..." she dragged out while hooking one finger beneath the edge of her tank top slightly, "...I can still show you enough to ease your suffering if you want."

The motion revealed a teasing glimpse of skin before she let the fabric settle back down again.

Liam simply stared directly into her eyes. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"You do realize the academy is literally watching us right now, right?" he asked calmly.

Charlotte scoffed as though he had just said something completely irrelevant.

"Please," she replied freely. "I couldn’t care less about what the academy thinks."

She leaned back slightly while resting one arm behind her.

"I can be myself whenever and wherever I want. And honestly? I guarantee they’ve seen way worse than what I’m doing right now."

Her smirk widened lazily.

"Things past students definitely did long before I came along."

Liam continued staring at her silently.

’Guess she really doesn’t care much about authority at all,’ he thought calmly. ’Not that I’m surprised.’

Then Charlotte suddenly narrowed her eyes slightly while staring back at him.

"Wait..." she began slowly. "Don’t tell me you’re only acting all celibate because we’re being watched?"

Her expression immediately brightened mischievously afterward.

"So if we weren’t being observed right now..." she continued teasingly, "...you would’ve satisfied me already?~"

Liam’s expression immediately shifted into visible disgust.

He stared at her for another second before sighing deeply and finally sitting down across from her near the opposite side of the fire.

As he settled down, he quietly cast a spell.

The flow of Myst within the chamber shifted subtly.

Charlotte immediately felt it.

"Did you just cast something?" she asked while tilting her head slightly.

"Yeah," Liam answered simply. "A spell called Silent. It’s somewhat similar to Whisper."

"I see..." Charlotte muttered curiously. "But why cast it?"

Liam remained silent for a brief moment before answering.

"I need to talk to you about something," he said calmly. "And I don’t want the academy hearing this conversation."

Charlotte’s eyes widened slightly at that before her lips slowly curved upward again.

"Oh~" she sounded excitedly. "So this is gonna be our little secret conversation, huh?"

She shifted slightly closer toward the fire while taking another bite from the deer leg.

"Oh my days..." she muttered dramatically. "Bae and I are really about to have secrets together."

Liam quietly studied her for a few moments, waiting for her excitement to settle down enough for her to actually focus.

Eventually, she eased up enough.

Only then did Liam prepare himself before finally speaking again.

"I realized you came from the eastern side of the zone," he said at last. "Can you tell me what it was like over there?"