Ang had just approached his room when a low murmur of conversation rose behind him. He could vaguely hear Puri and the others discussing something, but his heart was heavy, and he had no desire to care about anything. He pushed open the door and went inside, then slowly closed it without locking it.
Outside, Puri, Mons, Leander, and Ellis exchanged looks, all wearing concerned expressions. Finally, Puri took a deep breath, stepped forward, and knocked on Quintina's door.
"Who is it?" Quintina's puzzled voice came from inside.
"It's us."
Before long, the door opened. Quintina stood in the doorway, frowning slightly as she looked at them. "What is it?"
Without wasting words, Puri told Quintina everything about Ang's strange behavior. "We saw my lord return just now, but he completely ignored us. He looked like he'd lost his soul. Puri called out to him several times, but he didn't react at all. We don't know what happened, so we came to ask you to take a look."
"Yeah, we even thought you two had a fight!" Mons added casually.
Quintina's expression darkened, and she shot Mons a cold glare.
Mons immediately fell silent and awkwardly rubbed his nose. Leander and Ellis also wisely shut their mouths.
Quintina swept her gaze over them and said evenly, "All right, I understand. Go take care of your own business first. We leave tomorrow, and the three of you in particular—Mons, Leander, Ellis—you're just one step away. Try to break through and become Rank 1 Mages before we reach Akreli. That way, you won't let Ang down."
The three of them immediately flushed red.
Becoming Rank 1 Mages was a step that seemed within reach, yet was not so easy to take. Ang had always given them tremendous support and trust. Hearing Quintina