Half an hour later, Lancet, unable to keep up with the Platinum legends, slumped against the base of the mountain wall, his chest still heaving slightly as he caught his breath.
His knuckles ached, his muscles even more, and he was completely covered in a fine layer of grey dust. Still, Lancet had never felt better.
He held up his right hand, resting his wrist on his knee. Projected above the Phantom Ring was the holographic counter.
⸢ Astensia Valengard Kills: 130 ⸥
⸢ Thor Stormchild Kills: 120 ⸥
That was satisfying to see. Almost 300 Mountain Wolves and Lycanthropes were killed. That ant almost 30 charges stored in the ring, ready to let him borrow the skills of either Heroines whenever he needed them.
It also ant they had burned through a staggering amount of the Academy’s energy reserves. Generating hundreds of hyper-realistic beasts back-to-back required a large amount of facility Grace.
If Lancet had been paying out of pocket, he would have been in debt for the rest of his Academy years. But thanks to the 1-Week Free Pass he had been rewarded, he had unrestricted, unbilled access.
It was only logical to milk it completely dry while he still could.
Out in the center of the cratered plateau, Astensia and Thor were wrapping up.
Thor stood amidst the fading blue polygons of the final Lycanthrope, her chest rising and falling in deep, asured breaths.
The Hamr of Force was shivering, actively shedding arcs of kinetic lightning into the bedrock. Fluidly, Thor flipped the heavy weapon and hung it on the small silver hook on her belt.
Astensia walked over to her, her sword already sheathed. The knight offered a warm, approving smile, and Thor answered with a respectful nod.
The Valkyrie looked invigorated. After pouring all her anger, confusion and frustration on those wolf beasts, she had visibly loosened, her broad shoulders seed free at last.
Lancet pushed himself off the rock wall and walked over to them, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"So," Lancet said, stopping a few feet away with a casual grin. "What do you think of the Academy’s simulation tech?"
Thor looked at him. She crossed her arms over her golden breastplate, lifting her chin to look down her nose at him. She was desperately trying to maintain her haughty, unapproachable aura, but the flush in her cheeks gave her away.
"The beasts were frail," Thor declared dismissively. "They lacked the true stench of Gehenna that you can only sll when you kill Demons. Their movents were entirely predictable. But... I suppose it served as an adequate stretch for my limbs."
Lancet chuckled, entirely unbothered by her thinly veiled critique. "Co on, Thor. Just admit that we made a pretty good team back there."
Thor’s silver-blue eyes flicked to the side, avoiding his direct gaze. "...Perhaps," she muttered softly. "Do not let it inflate your ego, Summoner."
"I’m not," Lancet replied, his smile softening into sothing much more earnest. "But I am getting stronger. You saw it out there. And it won’t be long until I’m strong enough that you’ll have to accept as a leader."
He looked at his bandaged hands, balling them into tight fists. "I’m driven to get stronger, Thor. I’m not just going to hide in the backlines while you and Astensia do all the bleeding."
Thor watched him, her brow furrowing slightly. She couldn’t help but admire everything he had shown since the mont he picked up the sword to start the training.
But at the sa ti, she also couldn’t help but be stubborn.
"Everyone has the desire to beco stronger, Lancet," she said, abruptly sounding like a sage. "Having the desire does not make you a worthy leader."
"You’re right," Lancet agreed instantly, looking back up at her. "It’s one thing to desire sothing, and it’s another to go out there and get it."
Thor paused, listening intently.
"That takes courage," Lancet continued, studying her silent face. "And it’s courage you’re really looking for in a leader, isn’t it? Because without courage, every other value is entirely aningless."
Thor stared at him. The wind brushed past them, pouring their hair over their faces and filling their nostrils with the scent of nature. Birds, trees, clouds, hope.
Astensia studied his face, her silver-blue eyes searching his darker ones. It was as if a completely new layer of the boy had just been peeled back and revealed to her.
"You are very good with words," Thor finally spoke, a silent but heavy tone. "But I cannot just follow words."
Lancet stared at her for a mont, wondering if he was out of his depth. Perhaps this was much more difficult than he anticipated.
No, he wasn’t going to give up that easily.
"Then tell about him."
Thor raised a confused brow at him. "Who?"
"Servont," Lancet said simply.
Thor’s jaw clenched instantly. She tried to hide her reaction to the ntion of her forr master’s na, but Lancet could see all of it. He saw her beco defensive.
"He’s the one you’ve been comparing to this entire ti, right?" he asked gently, making sure his voice was soft and not challenging. "Your forr master? The threshold I have to et. Tell about him."
"Why..." Thor’s voice trembled slightly, her hands curling into tight fists at her sides. "Why would I do that?"
Lancet smiled and shrugged warmly. "Talking about him will give you so closure. It’ll make the weight in your chest just a little bit lighter. And... it lets know exactly who I have to emulate to finally prove myself to you."
Thor stood frozen. Her silver-blue eyes quivered as centuries of buried grief warred against her Valkyrie pride. Her hand clenched and unclenched as if she was considering just turning around and disappearing.
For a long, agonizing minute, the only sound on the mountain was the howling wind.
Then, Thor turned away.
Lancet thought he had overdone things. But he watched her slowly walk toward the edge of the cliff overlooking the ravines below.
When she reached the precipice, she stopped, looking out at the grey, ash-like sky.
Slowly, carefully, the strongest of the Five Valkyries sat down on the edge of the cliff, letting her armored boots dangle over the abyss.
She didn’t turn her head, but her voice drifted back to him over the wind.
"Aren’t you interested in listening anymore?"
Lancet’s face lit up and he imdiately walked over to the cliffside, taking a seat right beside the legendary Heroine of Thunder.
First, Thor settled herself with a deep, trembling breath, then she began to weave the tale of the most powerful Awakener during the Era of Ash.
A man nad Servont.
Lancet listened with undivided attention.
A fair distance away, on a smooth boulder near the center of the mountain ground, Astensia ran a whetstone smoothly along the edge of her blade.
A fond, radiant smile graced her lips as she watched her master and her old friend sitting together, knowing that the armor around Thor’s heart had finally begun to crack.
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