Little Red looked at her like he was observing some rare, underdeveloped subspecies.
"What do you mean you can't cultivate?!"
Ines gave a lazy shrug, her voice flat. "What do you think I mean? I can't cultivate. That's what I mean."
She didn't seem the least bit bothered. Stressing over things she couldn't control wasn't her style. If she couldn't cultivate, she'd just have to find another way. No way a magical world like this didn't have loopholes. She refused to believe otherwise.
Little Red furrowed his brows and lowered his head, clearly thinking. Then, with sudden resolve, he looked up.
"Let me take a look."
His expression turned unusually serious—comically at odds with the puffed cheeks and youthful roundness of his face.
Ines raised an eyebrow. "You know what you're doing?"
Without answering, Little Red reached a hand toward her lower abdomen.
She blinked. "…Excuse me?"
Her brow arched higher. "Hey, kid—aren't you a little young to be this perverse?"
Little Red nearly stumbled over himself.
"Young?! Perverse?! I'm checking your Maera channels! I need to see why they're blocked!"
He puffed up indignantly, his voice rising with offense. "And young?! Hah! I've lived longer than you've been alive! This one here was walking the spirit path when you were still suckling at your mother's breast!"
Ines stared at him.
"Suckle her mother's what?"
This little fool was seriously bold.
"Tch. Just hurry up and check already."
She smacked the back of his head without hesitation.
"What do you think I'm doing?!" Little Red snapped, rubbing the spot, clearly aggrieved. Still, he placed his palm back against her abdomen with practiced precision, his expression sobering.
"There's a seal," he said at last, voice low. "And not just any weak spirit mark. This thing's advanced. Whoever put it here knew exactly what they were doing."
Ines stilled. "A seal?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "If it weren't for my last master, I wouldn't even know how to identify this type. It's rare. And dangerous."
That got her attention. She perked up, eyes sharpening with interest.
"So… you can undo it?"
Little Red gave her a sideways glance.
Wasn't she all cool and indifferent two seconds ago?
"Not necessarily," he replied. "I can only release one layer at a time. And for now, just the first one. Your body isn't ready."
"Why not?"
He crossed his arms.
"Because if I release more than one too soon… you'll probably explode."
Ines froze.
"…Explode?" she repeated, blinking slowly.
She was definitely no longer in a rush.
She cleared her throat. "Take your time."
Little Red gave a low hum, eyes narrowing as if something heavy had just settled in his mind.
"My question is…" he began slowly, "why would someone go to such lengths to place a seal like this on someone who can't even cultivate?"
His gaze shifted toward her, sharp and unreadable.
"Do you have any idea what this seal is?"
Ines shrugged one shoulder. "Hard to do?"
"Hard to do?" he scoffed. "This is one of the highest-grade seals in existence."
He stepped back and crossed his arms.
"You need to be at least Sage level just to attempt it—and even that's no guarantee. The margin for error is so thin that one wrong move doesn't just fail the seal…"
He paused.
"…It kills the user."
The words hung between them.
"So tell me—how many people do you think would be willing to risk death just to seal someone who's supposedly useless?"
His eyes narrowed further, voice turning cold.
"And in a trash body, no less."
Ines's face darkened instantly—as black as ink.
Just how many times was this brat going to call her useless trash?
She gritted her teeth but let it go. For now.
"Sage level?" she asked, trying to focus. "That's the highest? How many levels are there exactly?"
Little Red gave her a deadpan look from the corner of his eye.
"You don't even know the cultivation ranks…?"
What back alley did this ring drag her out of?
He sighed, putting a hand on his hip.
"There are twelve levels in total."
Ines blinked.
"…Twelve?!"
She exhaled slowly.