Coma

"Are you two even human?" Heluo's white wolf ears stood straight up, a testament to her utter astonishment. To become an adventurer for only one day, to have exchanged Magic Stone only once, and yet for two people to charge into the fourth floor of the Dungeon and slay four elite monsters—the notorious Guard Bee, a creature most novice adventurers would flee from on sight—was truly unprecedented among newcomers.

"Mm, thank you." Zhang Ruofeng said slowly. Heluo observed that Zhang Ruofeng was in a terrible state; not only was his face deathly pale, but his body was trembling uncontrollably. It was hard to imagine that Zhang Ruofeng, who had returned from his first Dungeon trip covered in blood, could be this weak. Beside him, Xin Mu no longer seemed like the cold, icy beauty who had left Heluo in awe; her face was etched with such anxiety and concern that Heluo couldn't help but frown.

"What's wrong with you?" Heluo asked. Zhang Ruofeng merely adjusted his bracers and shook his head slightly. "It's nothing, just feeling unwell. I'll go see a Potion Master."

"You actually know a Potion Master?" Heluo was surprised. The name of the Potion Master was famous throughout Orario, renowned for both skill and eccentricity. "Right, I suppose it makes sense, given that the Main God of your two families seems to have a very good relationship."

"Mm, thanks for your concern." Zhang Ruofeng waved a hand, took the few thousand Faris he had exchanged, and headed toward Perman with Xin Mu. Along the way, Xin Mu tried several times to support the swaying Zhang Ruofeng, but he stopped her each time. Many people on the street watched Zhang Ruofeng, seemingly assuming he was just heavily intoxicated.

"Perman, are you here?" Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu arrived at the potion shop run by the Evan Familia without pause. The moment Zhang Ruofeng stepped through the door, he nearly collapsed to the floor.

"I'm here." Hearing the commotion, Perman had already walked out from behind the counter. As the head of the Familia, she should have been fighting on the front lines of the Dungeon, but due to having too many enemies, she was relegated to researching potion-making and minding the shop on the surface. However, as soon as Perman approached Zhang Ruofeng, she realized his condition was dire.

"How did you... end up with mana exhaustion?" Perman asked in shock. "And your body is beyond its limit. How did you get into such a state?" Usually, someone with mana exhaustion would go into shock or fall unconscious. This hadn't happened to Zhang Ruofeng; instead, he remained conscious, but the mental depletion was rapidly draining his body. It was like a burn: if you don't pull back your scorched hand, the injury only worsens. Zhang Ruofeng was in that exact state, and his mental clarity was already fading.

"Perman, you have to help Ruofeng!" Xin Mu's expression grew frantic as she grabbed Perman's hand.

"Hehehe..." For a split second, Perman wore the expression of a lecherous old man, but realizing this was no time for jokes, she cleared her throat. She pulled out a white potion, opened it, and poured it directly over Zhang Ruofeng's head. Zhang Ruofeng instinctively tried to recoil, but Perman, noticing his subconscious movement, firmly pressed his head down. The white liquid flowed over him and was immediately absorbed by his body.

"Don't worry, I just poured a mana-restoration potion on him. The side effect is drowsiness, which is perfect for him right now." Seeing Xin Mu's anxious look, Perman quickly explained. Zhang Ruofeng was currently operating on pure instinct; his conscious mind had likely disconnected the moment he entered the door. That he had managed to reach Perman before fainting was both his absolute limit and a testament to his trust in her.

"It's fine, it's fine. Just carry him back later and let him sleep it off. With his Boiling Dragon Blood, there won't be any major issues. But you must understand, mana exhaustion brings a sense of depression and loss, and his physical overexertion will inevitably lead to a severe illness. This kind of sickness, born from mental fatigue and physical overload, cannot be cured by potions. In fact, using potions to treat it would cause strong side effects, so he has to recover on his own." Perman comforted the anxious Xin Mu, looking at Zhang Ruofeng, who was slumped on the floor against a chair with his upper body bare, now completely asleep. She couldn't help but shake her head. "He's the first person I've ever seen stay conscious while suffering from both mana exhaustion and physical overload. A normal person would have died of shock long ago. Just how strong is this guy's endurance?"

"Alright," Perman comforted Xin Mu, having her sit on the sofa before single-handedly hoisting Zhang Ruofeng onto a makeshift wooden cot usually reserved for injured patients. She then turned back to Xin Mu, diving into her arms to nuzzle and rub against her. Finding no reaction, she looked up to see Xin Mu staring at Zhang Ruofeng with a flushed face and complex emotions. Losing interest, Perman sat obediently beside her and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Xin Mu had no choice but to recount everything she had seen and heard that day. She still felt a surge of anger toward the adventurer who had sabotaged her and Zhang Ruofeng twice. Even though he had eventually run back to cast magic and save their lives, without him, they would never have dared to provoke four elite Guard Bee. The result was this brutal battle.

"Oh? You actually managed to get Star Fruit? That stuff is delicious." Perman was surprised to hear they had killed four elites. She marveled at their luck in obtaining seven Star Fruits and playfully rubbed her face against Xin Mu's chest. "I could only take on Guard Bee alone when I was on the verge of leveling up. I didn't expect you two to provoke them so early. You were truly lucky this time." Xin Mu recalled the day; she couldn't even handle the Earth Bee, and Zhang Ruofeng had paid a heavy price just to take down the first Guard Bee. If not for his monstrous recovery ability, he would have been half-crippled after the first exchange, when both his shoulders were slashed.

Then, Xin Mu described how they had finally breathed a sigh of relief, only for her head to spin, and she had passed out. Perman realized that Xin Mu had also suffered from mana exhaustion at that moment.

"To make it out like that, your luck really is something else." Perman sighed, thinking back on her own adventures.