The drunk man

Next few days, Adonis spent in the infirmary recovering.

Though the healer had already mended his physical wounds, his mana core was still

exhausted and needed time to regenerate naturally.

He couldn't use magic or train, so he had no choice but to rest.

His friends came by often, bringing him notes from classes. With advanced magic lectures ongoing, Adonis knew he couldn't afford to fall behind.

Tyrant also told him that the academy had sent a special investigation team to the Flame Dungeon to inspect the scene and confirm the presence of intruders.

The elven siblings who had been rescued were also brought to the academy under protection.

But the entire dungeon incident had been kept secret—none of the other students knew what really happened.

After two weeks of rest, Adonis was finally ready to return to his studies.

Currently, he lay on his bed in the infirmary, staring at the ceiling. His body felt fine, but the waiting was agonizing.

"This is boring. I'm not even injured anymore." he thought, sitting up. It was late at night, and the ward was quiet. He decided to take a walk outside—just to stretch his legs.

But just then—

Bang!

The infirmary door burst open with a loud crash.

A man with silver hair and emerald green eyes stormed inside, wearing a white lab coat, rimmed glasses, and holding a bottle of alcohol in one hand. He looked to be in his twenties… and very, very drunk.

"Damn you, Martha! I'm out of stuff again, so I'm taking it!" the man yelled loudly.

Adonis blinked in disbelief. "Who the hell is this?" The Martha was the name of healer who was taking care of Adonis.

The man's bleary eyes scanned the room—then landed squarely on Adonis, who was sitting upright on the bed.

"Who're you? Martha's new gigolo?" the man slurred.

"WHAT?" Adonis shouted, completely thrown off. "Is this guy insane?" he thought. "And what kind of conclusion is that to jump to?!"

But the man didn't wait for a reply.

"Whatever you are—tell Martha that I, Justin Dawn, came to take some stuff!" he declared grandly.

And then, without another word, he turned and began rummaging through cabinets full of potions, muttering to himself as he dug around for who-knew-what, taking swigs from his bottle between each search.

Adonis stared in horror as the man—Justin Dawn, as he called himself—uncorked a vial labeled with a skull and dripping fang symbol.

"That! That's poison from a Shadow Snake! One drop can melt the organs of even a half-step King-class mage!" Adonis shouted.

"Oh? Not bad, kid. You know a little about poisons," Justin replied casually, not even turning around. He continued rifling through the cabinets, tossing out poison vials like candies.

Adonis's jaw clenched as he saw more bottles appear—"Paralysis Poison from a Chimera... Heart Wrenching Poison from a Death Wasp... and Rotting Poison from a Gu Worm?!"

Justin sniffed the Gu Worm poison vial, smiled as if smelling fine wine, and—without hesitation—drank it.

He actually drank it.

This was the kind of toxin that could rot a person alive in seconds—even high-level mages wouldn't dare touch it.

Adonis sat frozen in disbelief.

"Is he trying to kill himself?"

But to his horror—and awe—a soft blue aura shimmered around Justin's body. The poison didn't harm him in the slightest. In fact, he even chased it with a sip of alcohol.

"…You're still here?" Justin said, glancing at Adonis. "Don't you want to go chase after Martha or something?"

"I… I apologize for the late introduction. My name is Adonis. I've been recovering here due to injuries," Adonis replied, now far more polite—if not slightly afraid—of this poison-guzzling maniac.

"Oh! How polite! And here I thought Martha picked up a new toy," Justin chuckled. "So how'd you get yourself wrecked?"

Adonis hesitated, but then figured this man must be some high-level academy member—someone with authority and immunity—given the way he helped himself to deadly substances.

"It's supposed to be a secret, but… I'll share it, seeing how strong Senior is," Adonis said, and began explaining everything that happened inside the Flame Dungeon—the Orc King, the heretics, the elemental possession, and the Lava Dragon.

When he finished, Justin stared at him.

"You said… Sword Element, right? Show me."

Adonis look confused by complied, he raised his hand, summoning his golden swords. They floated around his palm like glowing fireflies.

Justin's gaze widened. Then narrowed. Then became extremely interested.

"…Sword Element…" he muttered. "So it really exists… I wasted five years on poison research for nothing. I should've ended my seclusion sooner."

Adonis blinked, confused. "You… didn't know?"

"No! The academy's full of idiots! They didn't report a someone like you to me?" Justin grabbed his silver hair in frustration, then grinned with excitement. "Come with me, kid. We need to talk."

"Wait, what?" Adonis took a cautious step back.

But Justin was faster.

With a flick of his fingers, a blue light sphere enveloped Adonis—locking him inside like a floating bubble.

Adonis tried to summon his swords, to cut the bubble open, but no matter what he did—his magic failed inside it.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Relax, kid," Justin said with a grin. "We're going somewhere safe. Private. No distractions. Just you… and me."

"…Why does that sound terrifying?" Adonis muttered as the bubble floated out of the infirmary, carrying him away under the moonlight… in the hands of a mysterious, poison-drinking lunatic.