Chapter 98
Three days later…………..
"Ugh, my head," Draco groaned as he slowly regained consciousness.
It didn't take him long to piece together the series of incidents that had led to his current predicament.
'To think I would make such a stupid decision,' he reprimanded himself, the weight of his actions bearing down on him.
Draco seriously pondered, 'Is this what reincarnators call protagonist syndrome? After all, why else would I think I could attempt breaking my limits without repercussions, despite the obvious warning my body gave me?' He shook his head in disbelief, frustrated by his own recklessness.
Using his arms as support, Draco attempted to sit up in his bed, but he couldn't find the strength in his weakened limbs.
"Sigh, the side effects are probably still ongoing," he muttered, leaning back against the soft pillows.
Turning his head to the side, Draco noticed a piece of paper on the bedside table.
Curious, he struggled a bit but eventually managed to grab it.
Upon inspecting the contents, his eyes widened in surprise.
'Wait, I'm already level 2, and my development is...' His thoughts trailed off as he made a rough deduction of how things had come to be.
'Well, I was originally going to choose the 'hunter' development ability as my first, but I would have liked to at least seen the other options,' Draco grumbled internally, letting out another sigh.
He placed the status sheet back on the bedside table and laid back, staring at the plain ceiling.
'I'm bored,' he thought, unable to move around freely due to his weakened state.
He didn't feel sleepy, either, further adding to his restlessness.
"I wonder if they're all in the dungeon now," Draco pondered aloud, judging from the late-morning light filtering in through the window.
Swish !!
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Michalis stood at the entrance, staring at Draco with a blank expression.
"Why are you just standing there?" Draco asked, puzzled at Michalis odd reaction.
Hearing Draco's voice snapped Michalis out of his stunned state.
"Draco nii, you're finally awake!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with relief.
"You've been asleep for three whole days now. We didn't know if you would ever wake up. Wait, I have to tell the others!" Michalis said, immediately running out of the room.
"Wait..." Draco called out, but Michalis was already gone.
'Ugh, that boy is still so chaotic,' Draco thought, shaking his head in disapproval.
"To think that I was out for three days straight," Draco muttered in disbelief.
The recoil from using stage one of his Ascension skill, when he had already reached the limit of his vessel, had caused this.
'What if I had tried stage two of the skill in that state? Would I even be alive?' he wondered, a shudder running from the tip of the scales on his tail to his ears.
"Ho, I almost died," Draco let out a deep breath, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.
Suddenly, a familiar voice cried out from the distance.
"Draco niiiiiiiii!" It was Vasiliki, and she came running into the room, diving into Draco's chest as he lay on the bed.
"Ugh," Draco grunted from the sudden impact that knocked the air out of him.
"Wait," he wanted to say, but Vasiliki held him in a tight embrace, her tears streaming down her face.
"Draco nii, you're finally awake!" Vasiliki exclaimed, her voice laced with relief and joy.
"Sniff sniff, you had us worried a lot," she said, more tears streaking down her face.
Vasiliki's usually stoic demeanor had crumbled, revealing the anguish she had been concealing.
Draco felt a pit in his stomach as he heard her words.
Vasiliki had rarely shown such raw emotion since the loss of their family, and witnessing her vulnerability tugged at his heartstrings.
"I am sorry," he murmured, pulling her into a tighter embrace.
"Hmmm," Vasiliki hummed, acknowledging his apology with a bittersweet acceptance.
The moment was interrupted by the return of Michalis, who had been informing the others about Draco's condition.
"Whoa, did I come at a wrong time?" he asked awkwardly, his eyes quickly zeroing in on Vasiliki's tear-stained face.
"Wait, Vasiliki, are you perhaps crying?" Michalis realized, a mischievous grin spreading across his features.
Draco could almost see the gears turning in his brother's mind, ready to tease Vasiliki mercilessly.
Vasiliki swiftly let go of Draco and hastily began wiping her eyes.
"What nonsense are you saying?" she quickly denied, her composure regained.
"Hoho, then what are those..." Michalis didn't get to finish his sentence as Vasiliki brandished a sharp icicle, pressing it against his throat.
"Care to finish that sentence?" she threatened, her eyes narrowed with dangerous intent.
"Draco nii, are you seeing this? This is the same girl that was acting so sweet just a moment ago," Michalis pleaded, seeking support from his brother.
Draco shook his head, letting out a weary sigh.
‘Sigh, these two,’ he thought, knowing all too well the dynamics between Vasiliki and Michalis.
"Sigh, fine, I won't say anything else," Michalis relented, backing off, realizing that Draco wasn't going to intervene on his behalf.
Just then, the rest of the Bahamut familia – Clair, Eleni, Dimitra, Nikolaos, and Vasileios – entered the room.
"Draco!" Clair exclaimed, rushing to his side and grabbing his arm.
Draco could see a spark of relief in her eyes.
"Tsk, maybe I should get hurt too or something," Michalis muttered under his breath.
He couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, watching Clair's affectionate display.
While he was relieved to see his brother recovering, a part of him wished he could be the one Clair rushed to.
Over the next few minutes, the members of the Bahamut familia gathered around Draco's bed, informing him about the events of the past few days and congratulating him on his recovery.
Draco was overjoyed to see his family, but there was one important person missing – their goddess, Bahamut.
"Where is Bahamut?" Draco finally asked, his voice laced with concern.
The others hesitated to respond, exchanging uneasy glances.
"Did something happen to her?" Draco pressed, the worry evident in his tone.
"Nothing happened to her, it's just that..." Dimitra started, but her sentence trailed off as Bahamut entered the room.
"Oh, Draco, glad that you are finally awake! I just made lunch for everyone, care to try some" Bahamut announced, a proud expression on her face.
Draco observed the expressions of his family members, piecing together the unspoken story.
Bahamut had likely taken charge of the kitchen while he was unconscious, and with no one having the courage to defy her, they had been forced to endure her culinary creations for the past three days.
From the looks on their faces, the results had not been particularly palatable.
Draco had given Bahamut a few cooking tips a few days ago, but it was clear that was not enough.
He made eye contact with everyone in the room, aside from Bahamut, silently conveying his understanding.
Bahamut, sensing the subtle exchange, narrowed her eyes at the children.
"What are you all agreeing about behind my back?" she asked, her tone tinged with suspicion.
Draco quickly shifted the conversation, smoothly changing the topic.
"Oh, nothing important. By the way, thank you for helping me choose my development ability," he said, diverting Bahamut's attention.
Bahamut's suspicion seemed to subside as she beamed with pride.
"Of course! I spent a lot of time thinking about it before I chose. Now forget about that, let's all enjoy the delicious lunch I've prepared," she said, ushering everyone to the kitchen.