The first location was an old facility hidden behind a row of abandoned buildings.
From the outside, it looked deserted.
It wasn’t.
Several vehicles were parked around the building, with ordinary security and Awakeners moving through the grounds.
Reinhard sighed. "Of course."
He stepped through the entrance without using Mana. Nobody noticed him. A man walked past. Reinhard stepped behind him and struck the back of his neck, catching him before he hit the floor.
Another guard turned the corner.
One strike.
Down.
A third raised his head, but Reinhard had already crossed the distance. He kept walking. Without Mana, their Mana sensing couldn’t detect him, and their eyes couldn’t keep up with him. He checked rooms and storage containers with the Merchant King’s Lens.
Nothing.
Eventually, he found an old log containing the same information he’d already seen. The last recorded Moonheart Fruit had been transferred elsewhere years ago.
Reinhard closed the log. "So this place is out too."
He glanced at the unconscious guards behind him. "At least they were kind enough to make things easy."
...
The second location was an old storage facility that had once handled rare Awakener materials. Reinhard arrived expecting another abandoned building.
Instead, he found flames.
The entire facility was burning, black smoke rising into the night sky as firefighters surrounded it. "Seriously?"
He watched the building collapse inward. The first location had been searched. Now the second had been burned.
Someone was destroying the trail ahead of him.
Reinhard turned toward the final location. "Then I’d better hurry."
...
The third location was a private estate far outside the city. Reinhard had barely approached the property when he heard engines, a car roaring past the entrance, then another, then a jeep, its tires tearing across the road as several people rushed toward the estate.
He stopped. "That’s new."
More vehicles arrived. The property was clearly under heavy security. He looked at the walls surrounding the estate, then smiled. "Guess everyone’s in a hurry."
He crossed the wall without using mana and landed silently on the other side. The moment his feet touched the ground, he heard shouting. "Check the greenhouse!" "Search the eastern side!" "Don’t let anyone get inside!"
He sighed. They’re already here.
He moved between them. One guard turned his head, and Reinhard was already gone. Another rushed past, and he slipped behind him and continued deeper into the estate.
An Awakener stopped and swept his mana senses across the area. Nothing. Reinhard passed directly behind him like a ghost. He smiled. "That’s actually pretty useful."
He reached the greenhouse. Two guards stood outside, and he slipped between them before either could react. Inside, rows of rare plants stretched beneath the glass ceiling. He activated the Merchant King’s Lens. One plant after another appeared in his vision.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Then a faint shimmer appeared near the back. He stopped. One ordinary-looking plant sat among the others, its leaves pale silver, a small fruit hanging beneath them.
[Moonheart Fruit.]
[Market Value: $80,000.]
[True Value: $100,000.]
His eyes widened. He pushed the leaves aside, and a pale fruit rested beneath them, glowing faintly in the dim greenhouse.
Moonheart Fruit.
After following a trail that had gone cold for years, he’d finally found it. "Found you." He carefully cut it from the plant and placed it inside his Inventory. Then—
BOOM!
The entire greenhouse shook. He looked up. Another explosion erupted somewhere outside.
BOOM!
The glass ceiling shattered, flames surging across the estate. "...Seriously?" A third explosion tore through the building. He immediately turned toward the rear of the greenhouse, the front entrance already filling with smoke, and rushed toward the back.
A burning beam crashed down, and he jumped over it as another explosion shook the ground beneath him. He smashed through the rear door and sprinted into the forest beyond the estate.
He didn’t stop until he’d put some distance between himself and the estate. Behind him, the entire property was engulfed in flames.
His expression hardened. "They really want to wipe out every chance of Gnosis recovery."
His hand rested against the Inventory containing the fruit. They had burned the second location. They had nearly destroyed the third. And if he hadn’t arrived when he did, this fruit probably would have disappeared with everything else.
He smiled.
"Too bad."
He turned toward the city.
"I got what I came for."
A familiar blue window appeared in front of him.
[Investment Objective Completed.]
[C-Grade Investment Successful.]
Reinhard stopped walking.
Oh.
He’d almost forgotten about the mission.
[Calculating Returns...]
Reinhard’s eyes lit up. "Now this is the part I was waiting for."
The window changed.
[Reward Calculation Complete.]
[Legendary Reward Obtained.]
[Migo Fruit.]
[Effect: Restores and strengthens damaged Gnosis.]
[Compatibility: All Gnosis Grades.]
Reinhard blinked. "A fruit?"
He glanced at the Moonheart Fruit safely stored in his Inventory, then back at the notification.
"The System really likes giving me food."
Another notification appeared.
[Additional Reward Granted.]
[Cooking Skill Upgrade.]
[Cooking Skill: Basic → Advanced.]
[Additional Reward Granted.]
[Premium Ingredient Collection Obtained.]
[High-Grade Ingredients ×50.]
Reinhard opened his Inventory and glanced through the new ingredients.
"Okay... that’s actually pretty good."
Another notification appeared.
[Advanced Cooking Tools Obtained.]
[All Tools Added to Personal Inventory.]
Reinhard laughed. "The System really wants me to cook."
Another notification appeared.
[Additional Reward Granted.]
[Mana Cooking.]
[Effect: Allows Mana to be infused into food during preparation, greatly increasing its restorative and strengthening properties.]
Another notification appeared.
[Additional Reward Granted.]
[Enhance Mana Cooking.]
[Effect: Can perfectly fuse mana and poisoned ingredients so they don’t explode or break down. The food made by the person will have a better effect.]
One final notification appeared.
[Additional Reward Obtained.]
[Toxic Resistance.]
[Effect: Greatly reduces the effects of toxins and poisonous substances on the user’s body.]
Reinhard nodded.
"Pretty nice."
He closed the System window and continued toward the city.
...
By the time Reinhard returned to Saint Aurelia, the night had grown quiet, past eleven. He walked through the entrance and approached the reception desk.
The receptionist looked up, her eyes widening. "You came back?"
"Yeah."
He reached into his Inventory and placed the Moonheart Fruit on the desk. She froze. A moment later, Cassian appeared, his eyes immediately landing on the fruit. He stopped.
He carefully picked it up, examining it from every angle. "You actually found one..."
"You gave me three places to look."
Cassian stared at him for a moment. "Most people gave up before they even found the first location. You came back with it." He carefully examined the fruit before leading Reinhard into a back room. "This is enough."
He retrieved a preserved formula and placed it on the table. "With this, the Moonheart Fruit, and the crystal, we have everything required to make the medicine."
"Then we can make it?"
"Not here."
"Why?"
"The institute doesn’t allow us to prepare this treatment anymore." He placed the formula on the table. "After everything that happened to the previous patients, Saint Aurelia stopped allowing its researchers to handle the procedure."
Reinhard nodded. "Okay."
Cassian looked at him. "There are a few things you need to understand first."
"Go ahead."
He pointed toward the records. "The procedure was developed for C-Rank Gnosis and below."
"That means—"
"Yes. The theory was that it should only work for those C-ranks and below."
"So, you don’t know if Emily’s Gnosis is above C?"
"Yes... It might work as intended. It might have almost no effect. Or the stronger Gnosis could react in a way we’ve never observed before."
Oh? Then the Migo Fruit is meant to help with this problem... As expected of a Legendary reward.
Reinhard smiled. "Then we’ll find out."
He studied Reinhard for a long moment, his expression growing more serious. "There’s something else. The treatment is painful."
"How painful?"
"Enough that there’s a reason the survival rate is only one percent."
Silence settled between them.
"The medicine stimulates the fragments of the damaged Gnosis. When they begin responding, the patient feels the process directly."
"And Emily?"
"She will feel it."
Reinhard went still.
His mind returned to the park, Emily beneath the tree, watching the Awakeners train. Then he remembered her voice that morning.
You’re coming back, right?
"Yes."
"You’re certain?"
"I am."
"Why?"
He smiled. "Because I trust she will overcome it... And because she deserves the chance to get her life back."
Cassian bit his lips before sighing. "The other thing is the medicine is dangerous to prepare."
"How dangerous?"
"The process releases toxins. Anyone making it needs proper protection." He pointed toward another section of the records. "You would need a professional Awakener Cook to make it with a detoxifier or with a healer."
Reinhard immediately thought of his recent rewards.
Toxic Resistance.
Advanced Cooking.
So that’s why it gave me those.
"Anything else?"
"No. I’ll give you the formula and everything else we have available."
"Thank you."
"And if Emily survives the treatment, bring her here." He looked at Reinhard. "We’ll give her a complete examination."
"How much?"
He shook his head. "Nothing."
Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "Free?"
"Free." He gave him a faint smile. "Thank us after she makes it."
He nodded. "Deal."
Cassian gathered the remaining ingredients, the preserved formula, and the equipment needed to prepare the medicine. "The materials we already have here will cost seven thousand dollars."
Reinhard checked his phone.
Current Balance: $7,340.
Seven thousand dollars would leave him with almost nothing. A few days ago, spending that much would have been unthinkable. Now he didn’t hesitate. "I’ll take them."
[Payment Confirmed.]
[$7,340 → $340]
Cassian handed him the preserved formula and the equipment. "Do you really believe your wife will be fine?"
His expression remained calm. "Of course. My wife isn’t weak."
Cassian stared at him. "You’re putting a lot of faith in her."
"Everyone else already decided she couldn’t recover." His smile widened. "I don’t plan on making the same mistake."
Cassian was silent, then sighed. "If your wife does succeed... people will notice."
"Who?"
"I don’t know." His voice lowered. "But all I can say is there are those who don’t wish for the recovery of Gnosis."
Reinhard thought of Cassian’s earlier memories of researchers being injured and his own laptop exploding. How much does he actually know?
"Do you have an idea at least?"
Cassian frowned, glancing toward the closed door. "It could be the Syndicates." A pause. "A company." Another pause. "Or even one of the Three Families."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh? So it isn’t so simple. I thought many would love for the recovery of Gnosis to be possible... or is it—"
"Yeah, you can guess it. They wish to monopolize it, most likely. Which means once your wife recovers, they will know."
Reinhard remained silent.
"And when they do," Cassian continued, "a storm will come crashing down on you."
"Then we will crush the storm."
Cassian blinked, hesitated, then asked softly, "Is it worth it?"
Reinhard looked at him. "Of course."
"Really? If the roles were reversed, do you honestly think she’d do the same for you?"
He paused, his mind going back to the apartment. Emily placing a blanket over him. A cup of water left beside him. Small things. Things that shouldn’t have meant much. But she had done them anyway.
The old Reinhard had been terrible to them. He had been drunk. He had barely been there for Emily. She had even wanted a divorce. Emily had no reason to care about him.
Yet she still tried.
She had still taken care of him. She had still been there. She had wanted to believe that the man beneath all of that could become someone better.
He smiled. "Without a doubt." Then, "In fact, she would’ve done it even better than me."
Cassian’s eyes widened. "You really believe that?"
"Absolutely." He smiled. "That’s the kind of woman my wife is."
For several seconds, Cassian didn’t know what to say. Then he lowered his gaze. "I envy you."
Reinhard raised an eyebrow.
"To have such a great partner."
He smiled. "Yeah." He turned toward the exit. "I’m pretty lucky."
As Reinhard walked away, several nurses and staff members watched him leave, their expressions noticeably different from before.
Cassian watched Reinhard disappear through the entrance, his eyes falling back to the Moonheart Fruit. "If she really recovers..." He quietly exhaled. "Everything will change."
...
By the time Reinhard returned home, the apartment had already gone quiet. Emily was asleep. He looked toward her room before stepping into the kitchen.
The Moonheart Fruit, the crystal, the formula, the premium ingredients, and the advanced cooking tools were all safely stored in his Inventory.
Everything was finally coming together.
He smiled. Then the familiar blue window appeared.
[Investment Opportunity Available.]
[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]
[Current Value: C+]
[Objective: Successfully Prepare the Gnosis Restoration Medicine for Emily Ashcroft.]
[Difficulty Grade: C.]
[Success Probability: 42%.]
He stared at the number.
Forty-two percent.
He smiled. "That’s not zero."