"I'm sorry, Erik," Maya offered, her eyebrows knitting together in an apology. "I wanted to introduce you and Leo, but it seems this is a rather awkward start."

Before answering, Erik took a moment to assess the scene before him. His gaze shifted from Elena, who was still wearing a self-satisfied grin, to apologetic Maya.

He sighed, "While I don't condone such behaviour, seeing this cackling fiend, I imagine it isn't as simple." Erik seemed to have a hint of pity for Leo, who found himself in a rather difficult situation.

"See," Leo chimed in, pointing at Erik with a touch of triumph. "He would've done the same."

"That's not what he's saying," Maya corrected him, her patience thinning. She didn't want to play mediator between Leo and Erik right now. Changing the subject, she rolled up her sleeve and asked, "Anyway, what does this tattoo require? Am I good to go?"

"Do you wish to proceed immediately?" Erik sounded surprised at her readiness to leap into such a commitment.

"Yes! If I start overthinking, I may chicken out."

Erik chuckled softly. "Alright. I guess this is the most reliable method. But are you sure you truly want it?" he wanted to double-check. "Having the Sight can also be a burden sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah. It's a burden a Prima should carry."

His enigmatic grey eyes stayed fixed on her for a moment longer. Then, he lowered his gaze, his lips pressing together as if debating whether to voice his thoughts. Finally, he exhaled quietly, choosing to remain silent as he stood to gather the necessary supplies.

Meanwhile, Leo carefully observed Erik. Initially, having only heard recounts about him, he was quite sceptical about their new addition to the group. However, seeing Erik's respectful, almost deferential, demeanour towards Maya made his qualms lose foundation.

He didn't want to admit it, but Erik seemed like a pretty cool guy. This realization sparked a competitive spirit in Leo. He knew he'd need to up his game to prevent Maya from being taken away. Even this wench beside them kept quiet, tolerating him with a scrutinizing eye.

As Erik prepared Maya with the necessary explanations, Elena grabbed a random book off his shelf to distract herself. It was strange for Elena to show interest in a book, but the cover, simply titled 'Hunter's Handbook', made it an exception.

After a series of thorough questions about the position and proportion Maya was most comfortable with for her new tattoo, Erik redrew the spell on her arm, causing her to giggle at the ticklish sensation.

This time, it was much smaller and had even more elegant finesse. Maya admired the neatness of his handwriting, which was a complete contrast to his strong outer appearance. If he were her classmate, she'd want to borrow his notes just to admire the penmanship.

"This is about as small as I can make it," Erik announced, his touch gentle, almost as if he was afraid he might hurt her. Then, he took the machine and took a deep breath, ready to begin. "We can take a break at any moment," he assured her.

With a determined nod, Maya responded, "I'm ready."

He turned it on and began gently and carefully. The sound of the machine alone frightened Maya, but she was determined to endure it.

It was true, it did hurt. However, the pain was not as intense as she expected. It was a peculiar kind of discomfort, enough to make her eyes well up with tears.

To distract her, he engaged her in conversation, asking questions about what they had learned from the Prima Maga book.

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Leo contributed as well, bragging about how, once he moved away from his mom, he planned on getting a whole bunch of tattoos. However, the conversation moved in the direction of Maya talking about her own adventures in Mellgrah.

"…and you met a dragon?" Erik was in disbelief while Maya was recounting her visit to Diverging Peeks.

"Yeah!" Maya was glad someone finally reacted in a way that acknowledged the unbelievable occurrence. "You didn't know about dragons?"

"Dragons have been extinct long before Anastasia even lived. I never heard anything about one being here."

"He looks ancient," Maya continued, a slight pride in her tone. "He said he is only here to serve Prima Maga and is also the one who helped me with Elena and the sun problem."

Erik momentarily glanced at Elena. "How?"

"Well, there was a potion—"

"Details aren't important," Elena interjected.

Maya disagreed, "He should know—"

"It doesn't concern him."

"A way a vampire can become impervious to sunlight very much concerns me, love," he expressed.

"They can't," Elena stated firmly. She was being oddly rigid.

Maya sighed as they stared daggers at each other. "There was only one sample. Since we used it and don't know how to replicate it, I think it is safe to say vampires won't become sun-resistant—Ouch!" Maya winced in pain. In truth, being stung by needles hurt a lot, but she was doing her best not to act like a baby.

He gave her a break for a moment. "But it is in her blood, now."

"I don't like where this is going," Elena protested.

"Maya, you see how this can become a big problem for me, right? She can start an entire line of sun-resilient vampires." He returned to the finishing touches on Maya's ink.

"I'm not starting any lines, you sicko!" Elena gagged, clearly disgusted by the idea.

"It doesn't have to happen intentionally."

"Yeah, like a totally, accidental, casual murder spree after feeding people my blood," she spoke in irony.

"It may not be common here, but you'd be surprised by the number of people who turn by accident."

Maya tried to think hard about what he meant, but no matter how she looked at it, the conditions for becoming a vampire were too specific to happen unintentionally. One must first consume vampiric blood and die for the transformation to happen.

Before she could inquire about details, Erik pulled the needles away from her. "It's done."

"Oh, thank heavens," Maya was relieved.

"You did well," he reassured her, giving her a light pat on the head.

It was surprising how good it felt to be praised by him. Maya couldn't help but feel a little bashful as he wrapped her new ink and gave instructions on how to take care of it.

"I need to be discreet about this tattoo," Maya realized, gently touching the fresh ink.

"No need to fret," Erik reassured her, "Only those with the Sight can see it."

"That's a relief." It was an unexpected plus side. Her gaze shifted to Elena. "Now, rune her."

Erik shook his head resolutely. "I'm not putting runes on a vampire."

Maya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why not?"

Elena pitched in, flipping through the book she'd been reading. "It says here that it doesn't work on vamps."

"But you managed to apply a rune to her earlier," Maya pointed out.

"It was just so she could get up here."

"Then make it so she can get here every time," Maya proposed.

Erik stood firm. "It's against Hunter's Code."

"Against?" Elena mixed in again. "Your handbook clearly states that vampires can't be runed. But you've already proven that to be false. Is everything in this world riddled with propaganda?"

Erik snatched the book from Elena. "It's intended for cadets."

"Ooh, and where do you land on the ranking board?" Elena crossed her arms.

"There are no ranks. The institution is dead."

"You're evading questions again. What rank did you hold, then?" Elena persisted.

Erik's tone turned frosty. "That's not your concern."

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