[Error... Error...]
[Fusion process is being resisted...]
[Error. Host’s Primordial Black Sun Bloodline is resisting system integration...]
[Host’s Primordial Bloodline has been forcefully overridden...]
[Fusion process will now begin...]
[10% Fusion Complete...]
[30% Fusion Complete...]
[50% Fusion Complete...]
[90% Fusion Complete...]
[Stats Interface and Skills Interface have been successfully integrated.]
[Host’s Bodily Interface is integrating...]
[95% FUSION COMPLETE...]
[99% FUSION COMPLETE...]
[100% Fusion Process Complete.]
[Congratulations. Host has successfully fused with the Infinity Joker System.]
[Congratulations. The Host has successfully awakened the First Black Sun Shard.]
[Congratulations. The host’s first attribute has been awakened.]
[Playful Joker Spin Option Pending.]
[Playful Joker Spin Option Complete.]
[End Result: Kind Thief Card!]
[Congratulations, Host has awakened the Vorath’s Elemental Affinity!]
[Congratulations, the host has awakened new skills...]
The golden notification panels gradually faded one after another as Arlo stared at the countless messages with dazed eyes.
Stretching out a hand, his fingers passed harmlessly through the translucent screens.
"What are..."
"You’re finally awake."
A familiar voice echoed through the room, and Arlo immediately jerked upright on the bed and turned towards where it came from.
Standing there was none other than Captain Ennessa, wearing a broad, mocking smile.
Her sapphire blue eyes studied him curiously while her arms remained folded across her chest.
"Captain Ennessa?" Arlo called.
"Who would’ve thought the ’man’ who claimed I wasn’t worthy of my position would end up passing out from nothing more than a broken shoulder?" she mocked.
"You really are pathetic."
Arlo’s face immediately reddened, but then, he paused.
How exactly had he passed out?
"Captain Ennessa... you’re not wearing your armor."
He pointed toward her outfit.
Instead of the combat suit, she wore a short-sleeved shirt that exposed her left arm, revealing intricate crimson-and-black tattoos winding from her shoulder down to her wrist, along with a pair of loose trousers that reached her ankles.
"What? You think I wear that thing twenty-four hours a day?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
Arlo shook his head.
"No. I...I just thought we were on a mission?"
"You’ve been asleep for three days."
Arlo’s eyes widened.
"The doctor fixed your shoulder two days ago. As for why you stayed unconscious for another day, no one has the slightest idea. They couldn’t find anything wrong with you."
Ennessa narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and Arlo stared back in equal confusion.
"Ah, enough of that." She jerked her head toward the door. "Get off the bed. We’re leaving."
Arlo nodded and swung his legs over the side of the bed, and his eyes widened.
He looked down at himself, and instead of his combat suit, he was dressed in a plain white hospital gown.
Someone had apparently removed all of his clothes while he was unconscious.
Instinctively, both hands flew toward his groin.
A giggle sounded from the doorway, followed by the words.
"You’ve made me feast my eyes on that feminine body of yours twice now," Captain Ennessa teased.
"You owe me big time, Arlo."
Arlo snorted.
Back in the Eclipsion Dynasty, anyone who dared look upon a prince’s body without permission would have considered five years in the Abyss Prison a merciful sentence.
Yet this shameless captain somehow had the audacity to claim that he owed her.
"Huuu..."
Letting out a long breath to suppress his irritation, he walked toward the doorway, but she was also standing there, and made no effort to move.
"Captain Ennessa..."
"Hmm?"
"I need to leave the room."
"So?"
"...Would you mind stepping aside?"
"I have a question for you first."
"What is that, Captain?"
"Can you read?"
She pointed toward the bed behind him.
Following her finger, Arlo noticed a neatly folded set of clothes inside a transparent bag resting on the mattress.
Behind it, bold letters were printed across the wall.
ALL SUCCESSFULLY DISCHARGED PATIENTS ARE PROHIBITED FROM LEAVING THE ROOM WHILE WEARING THE HOSPITAL GOWN.
HOSPITAL GOWNS COST 50 DUN COINS AND ARE NOT FREE!
"Tch... Talk of a stingy hospital."
Muttering under his breath, Arlo walked back and picked up the bag.
Inside was a green T-shirt and a pair of dark trousers.
Running his fingers across the fabric, he found it surprisingly light despite how sturdy it felt, while the trousers were noticeably heavier than anything he had ever worn.
He reached for the button on the hospital gown to begin taking them off only to freeze.
Slowly turning around, he found Captain Ennessa still standing exactly where she was.
"What?"
She asked noticing his stare.
"I’d like to get dressed."
"So?"
"...I’d appreciate some privacy."
A mischievous smile slowly spread across Ennessa’s face.
"Do you know Rule Sixty-Seven of Act Five of the Orama Military Code?"
"No."
"It states that any crew member caught hiding anything from their captain may be severely punished or be forced to obey one request from their captain as compensation."
Arlo’s eyebrow twitched.
"Does ’anything’ include hiding my manhood?"
Ennessa’s smile only widened.
"Yes."
Arlo stared at her in disbelief.
"Just who came up with such ridiculous rules?"
She merely continued smiling, making absolutely no attempt to avert her gaze.
It was obvious she was doing this purely to embarrass him.
Unfortunately for her...
Arlo refused to give her the satisfaction.
With a disdainful snort, he yanked the bedsheet off the mattress and draped it between the two metal poles at either side of the bed, creating a makeshift curtain.
Without another word, he stepped behind it, quickly changed into his new clothes before neatly folding the sheet back onto the bed.
Walking toward the captain once more, he stopped before her.
"Now... would you kindly move aside?"
Captain Ennessa finally stepped aside.
With his chest puffed out and his head held high in princely dignity, Arlo strode out of the hospital room without sparing Ennessa another glance, but all it did was widen her amused smile.