Is that a Wisp?

"W-who are you? How did you get here?" Flita was alarmed as she hurriedly pulled out her blade, pointing it at Krune.

Before she could lash out at him, her grandfather spoke, chuckling a little. "I guess I really am becoming old. Even a young lad like you is calling this pile of bones a young man."

"Well, I'll leave it to you to judge my age." Krune shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Though, I came here to make a deal. Are you interested?"

"Huuuuh? Who the hell are you? Haven't you people robbed us enough already?" Flita screamed in anger as she pointed her blade at Krune, intending to attack him when she stopped all of a sudden, looking at the tiny fish-like creature that appeared beside Krune.

It only spanned the length of her palm and peacefully swam around him, looking serene. The moment she glanced at it, her mind calmed down automatically, causing her to feel at peace. She was surprised as she was able to think calmly right now.

"Sir, who are you?" The old man sighed in defeat after seeing the Cloud Whale. "I don't know if this pile of bones has anything to offer."

"Well…" Krune smiled as he calmly arrived beside the old man, placing a hand above his heart, telling him, "I'll show you my sincerity. We can talk after that."

The old man nodded, making eye contact with Flita to stop her from acting up. He then gazed at Krune, speaking hoarsely, "Please…"

"Alright." Krune nodded.

Dreams of the Heart—Ocean Turbulence!

Krune fused the healing effect of his Ocean Heart into the Neon Radiance, emitting a blue beam from his hand. Normally, he could simply mix the healing effect from his Ocean Heart into his blood and use it to activate Neon Radiance.

With it, the healing effect would appear. But after obtaining Ocean Turbulence, Krune no longer used the passive approach like before. Prior to this, he only used them one after another, making use of their properties.

But now, using Ocean Turbulence, he fused the healing effect of the Ocean Heart into Neon Radiance directly. Now, its potency was at its limit, just as if he used it on himself. It was far more useful compared to how he did it before.

Flita stared in shock as she noticed the blue beam Krune emitted, seemingly at a loss for words. She hadn't ever seen any abilities. After all, humans in Layer 2 didn't possess any abilities like this in Layer 3. They only had their tough bodies to rely upon.

As for the old man, he sighed, muttering, "To think I would live to see such a spectacle."

As he spoke, his vision cleared up a little as he could feel some strength return to him. He could feel faint squirming in his body as the pain subsided little by little. However, after some time had passed, Krune looked at Flita and said, "Bring me a chair."

Flita hurriedly got up and offered him her seat. Now that she noticed the injuries on her grandfather had reduced in intensity a little, she realized that he was the real deal, someone sent by the heavens to save her grandfather.

Thus, she didn't display even the slightest of animosity towards him, hurriedly dusting her seat as she offered it to him.

Krune didn't say anything, taking a seat as he yawned. He placed his hand on the old man's chest, positioning it over his heart, telling Flita, "Make sure my hand doesn't move from this position."

After saying so, he fell asleep. Having been looking around for two days nonstop and spending some more time investigating the household to see if they were safe to act within, Krune was truly exhausted.

Keeping the healing effect active, he closed his eyes, sleeping immediately.

"…" Flita's eyes twitched in response to his action, for some reason feeling like she should smack him on his head.

'What am I thinking towards my benefactor?' She shook her head, mentally berating herself. She looked at her grandfather's condition constantly improving as time passed. When it was evening, Krune woke up, realizing that he had spent almost four crimson rings to heal the old man.

And despite that, his injuries were still severe. It showed that he was one tough guy, so the healing effect required to completely heal him was that high. Though, rather than being angry, Krune was rather happy at this fact. It meant that he would obtain a powerful backer that was indebted to him.

Once the healing effect stopped, Flita was alarmed, for her grandfather hadn't healed completely. She then noticed that Krune seemed exhausted, sighing as she thought that he was just tired.

Looking at the old man, Krune spoke, "I believe I've shown enough sincerity."

"Sir, please tell me what you seek. I'm not someone that withholds repaying a favor," the old man said as he tried to get up.

"Are you mad? Don't make all my healing go to waste. Just rest, damn it." Krune hurriedly pressed down on the old man, worried his movement would rupture his internal organs further. Based on what Krune had probed using his Sonic Radar, it was a miracle the old man hadn't died yet. He didn't wish to lose a potential backer from a moment of hastiness.

"Hahaha." The old man laughed in response. "Even though my wounds are still painful, I feel a lot better already."

Even without his hands, he easily tightened the muscles around his back and hip to get up, smiling as he looked at Krune.

Sighing, Krune asked, "How much do you know about this world?"

Even though Krune used the term 'world' and not 'layer,' the old man was able to understand the hidden meaning behind his choice of words, responding, "My family's ancestor was part of the first generation. So, we know the truth of this world."

"Truth? What truth?" Flita was flustered when the context of the situation instantly went way over her head.

Krune ignored her as he looked at the old man and said, "Then, it'll be simple enough. I'm from below. I was supposed to be summoned here as a hero or something. But due to my carelessness, I arrived beyond the city. And when I reached here, they thought I was some kind of monster and locked me up in prison."