“I am going to try and Manifest my Relic-Totem now,” Brance’s voice seemed slightly louder and more frantic than usual as it drew everyone’s attention.

“So soon?” Gabby asked with a frown, but when she looked over at her Boyfriend, Brance’s eyes were already closed, and his breathing had slowed, indicating his consciousness had been transferred already.

“Although the more mature of the two brothers, he sure is impatient,” Saylin commented from the kitchen as he stood up and stretched out his back with a loud string of popping sounds.

“It’s getting late; I should probably head out. I only intended to ensure everyone got to the condo in one piece and never planned to stay long, but here it is five hours later.” Saylin stated while tucking a lock of long shaggy green hair behind his pointed ear.

At Saylin’s mention of the time, Geralt, Garrison, and Rimsfel checked their Watcets and released a sigh. As the man had said, none of them planned on being in the students’ lodging this late, and since it was already passed 10 pm, it was about time for them to leave.

Garrison was the next to stand up, but instead of getting ready to leave immediately, he walked over and quickly picked up Brance before tossing the young man over his shoulder.

“Gabriella, show me which room he chose, and I’ll toss him there. We can’t have the kid staying on the couch all night.” He said while motioning for the girl to show him the way.

“Yes, of course, it won’t be good for his back to sleep sitting up like that either.” Hiding an excited expression, Gabby bounced to her feet and took off in the direction of Brance’s room with Garrison on her heels.

“Che, I was too slow; it should have been my doing to make sure the HolySon was comfortable for the night,” Rimsfel muttered under his breath while watching Garrison carry off Brance like a sack of potatoes.

*Thruum*

The room was quiet again for a moment as everyone looked at Rimsfel with awkward thoughts running rampant in their minds.

For a time, the living room got a bit noisy as everyone said their good nights and retreated to their bedrooms for the night to either get some rest or try building their Relic-Totems. Soon enough, the only ones remaining were the adults and the couple of Cynrik and Selene.

While Selene was watching Cynrik with infatuated eyes and giving some affection to Sie and Vii, Geralt watched Cynrik moving to and fro, installing sheets one after another.

“How long do you plan on doing that? It would be best to get some sleep considering your first round is tomorrow afternoon.” Saylin finally said after an unspecified amount of time had passed. The constant back-and-forth movement was beginning to make him dizzy, and since no one seemed to want to interrupt Cynrik’s work, they stayed silent.

“What is sleep but a construct made to waste time? I will be fine with my usual two hours. Plus, I won’t be comfortable closing my eyes until this place is perfectly fortified. OH, Geralt, I forgot to ask; try and see if you can teleport from the hallway, hehe.” Finishing his statement with a creepy laugh, Cynrik paused and noticed he had already covered roughly ¼ of the condo in metal sheets.

“Huh? Wait…why does this feel like a trap?” Scrunching his face and narrowing his eyes, Geralt walked over to the wholly enclosed metal hallway leading to the only exit of the condo.

Then, without giving it another thought, he attempted to swipe at the air while activating the Runic Diagram in his mind for one of his three Teleportation skills.

*Thruuum*

However, contrary to having a Spatial Tear rip open, the particles he had collected scattered just as soon as he gathered them. In place of his skill activating, the metal sheets appeared to vibrate while releasing a strange Thrum sound.

Seeing this reaction from the Mana particles, Geralt’s frown deepened as he moved on to activating his second Teleportation skill, one meant for short-distance leaps.

*Thruuuum*

Unfortunately, the response was the same as with the first skill, and Geralt was now convinced it had something to do with Cynrik. With that thought in mind, Geralt spun around, crossed his arms, and tapped his foot while waiting for answers.

“Hehe, good, it works. Oi, don’t give me that look; there is no way you DIDN’T know I was up to something. Besides, I may be paranoid, but not paranoid enough to line the walls with, say, aluminum foil to stop outside radiation and signals from entering.”

“Aside from strengthening the walls and ceiling with Tier-3 resistant metal, the sheets I am using have all been treated with a high-intensity Umbra Particle bath. Basically, I blasted them with hella radiation, and the effects are pretty good.” Crossing his arms and puffing out his chest in pride, Cynrik let the cat out of the bag.

“So, these panels do what? Block Mana or something?” Seeing that Geralt was one step away from blowing his top due to Cynrik’s cocky and condescending attitude, Saylin stepped in and asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“Reflect, block, absorb, it kind of does it all; this is one of the main properties of Umbra Mana. It’s not just Mana particles either that get stopped. Unless the signal has my Mana signature attached, nothing gets in or out of the condo. Basically, I am making an isolated space where we can’t be heard, seen, or spied on by anyone without me knowing.”

“The only downside is the metal’s sound when particles collide with it. Even so, it’s fine because at least I’ll know when someone is trying some sketchy **.” Containing his laughter since Geralt was already red in the face, Cynrik was quick to explain what was happening.

“Ah, I’ve been wondering about that sound, but since you were working, I figured it was just an after-effect of the welding. Who would have thought that it had to do with an outside….” Saylin’s voice trailed off, and his eyes shot wide open with a sudden realization.

Upon noticing the green-shaggy-haired man’s reaction, Cynrik’s face suddenly got serious, and he slowly nodded.

“Yeah, someone has been trying to spy on us the whole time. It only became noticeable to you after I set up a few sheets. One of the first things I did when entering the condo was sent out copious amounts of my Umbra Mana into the structural blueprint of the building.”

“In this way, I created a pseudo-net of Mana capable of stopping outside interference. But once I finish placing one of the sheets, I remove the Mana net from that spot, filling the gap.”

“What about the floor? I notice you are placing panels on the ceiling and walls but not the floor; why is that?” Geralt asked, seemingly over the fact that he had been played by Cynrik yet again.

“It’s unnecessary. Under the meter-thick concrete is a layer of metal alloy, so instead of placing panels down, I saturated the entire floorplan with Umbra Mana while you were asleep. Sure, it cost me a lot of MP, but it was worth it in the end. Plus, once all the sheets are in place, everything will work in a perpetual-motion style. Meaning I won’t need to supply Mana to the network constantly.”

“I won’t even ask how the ** you “punched a hole” in meter-thick concrete able to stop blasts from Tier-5 beings. Let me out of this death trap; I have had enough of your surprises for today.” Geralt complained while pointing at the door with his thumb.

“Kayy,” activating Mana Sight as he watched the entrance, Cynrik chirped in an annoying tone while tapping on his Watcet several times. In response, there was a slight hissing sound as the multiple locks on the door clicked, and soon the front door swung open, allowing Geralt to escape.

“Yall can head out too; I don’t want the door open for too long; oh wait, lemmie see your Watcets.” In order of departure, Garrison, Saylin, and Rimsfel extended their Watcet toward the young man, who channeled a small amount of Mana into them so they would work when trying to reach him.