The next two weeks were brutal.
Varyan woke before dawn every day and trained with Oblivion's Edge until his arms ached. He practiced Order Slash until his fragnt reserve ran dry, then rested, then did it again.
[「ECHO」Level: 11. Order Slash efficiency increased by 10%.]
Seris worked on controlling her Chaos form without letting corruption spread. She learned to manifest only her hands as claws, or only her eyes for night vision—small uses that minimized the backlash.
[Tobin's training was different. His fragnt granted superhuman speed, but he couldn't sustain it for more than a few seconds. Varyan made him run laps, dodge thrown objects, and spar with both of them at once.
"I'm going to die," Tobin wheezed after one session.
"No, you're not," Seris said. "But you might wish you were."
Lira Toren, the rchant's daughter, found them in the scriptorium one afternoon. She had followed Varyan out of curiosity.
"What are you three doing in here?" she asked, hands on her hips.
Varyan thought about lying. But Lira was smart. She would see through it.
"We're training," he said. "For sothing dangerous."
"What kind of sothing?"
"The kind that might get us killed."
Lira studied his face. Then she looked at the sword, at Seris's mismatched eyes, at Tobin's exhausted expression.
"I want to help," she said.
"You're not a fragnt-bearer."
"No. But I'm good at numbers. And logistics. And I have access to the rchant networks. If you need supplies, information, or a place to hide, I can make it happen."
[New ally: Lira Toren – Non-bearer. Skills: Information gathering, supply chain, resource managent.]
Varyan hesitated. Bringing a normal into their world was dangerous. But Lira was right—they needed help.
"Okay," he said. "But you stay in the background. No fighting."
"Wouldn't dream of it. I'm a lover, not a fighter."
Seris snorted. "You've never loved anyone in your life."
"I love money. That counts."
User Comments
0 comments from readers