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Nethralis turned to me. "If you want to prove you’re invaluable… you need to learn soulmancy. And to do that, you need to evolve your soul core and collect souls. The best place to do both is at Tranea Crypt."

I frowned and swallowed. "When do we leave?"

"Oh great," Kyro chimed, "she’s stupid, too."

I turned to him with fury burning in my soul. "You got a problem or something?"

"Yeah, I do got a problem. I just told you that this was a suicide request for someone at your level, and you’re not even considering the dangers. That’s the problem."

"I don’t have a choice."

"Oh, no-no-no-no-no. Don’t give me that. You always have a choice. Sure, there are times where there’s a dagger at your throat, so one of the options is bluntly suicidal and not worth considering. But this is that situation—and you’re choosing the blade."

"Everything I do almost gets me killed," I snapped. "And right now, I have a bloodthirsty dragon out to kill me and an opportunity to get stronger. I’m going to choose the latter."

"And what? You’re not gonna consider running? Negotiating? Making deals and promises? You’re going to sit back and accept your fate?"

I understood that Kyro wanted to protect me because he was trying to do that before I even woke up. But there was something about the neverending doubt that everyone and everything in this forest gave me that got under my skin, and I found myself clenching my fists until the veins in my forearms bulged.

"I refuse to ’accept my fate,’" I said. "And for your information, if I got a spell for every time someone thought I’d die, I’d be strong enough to slap that look off your face."

Kyro smirked and turned to me. "Oh… so you’re one of those people."

"What do you mean, those people?"

"The type that thinks that raw will and determination can solve every problem. That mindset’s gonna get you killed."

"That mindset is the only reason I’m still alive."

"For now."

I scrunched my nose in, half-snarling at him like a wild animal.

Kyro looked between my furious expression to Nethralis, who was watching him disapprovingly, and then Zyphrael, who never lost his desire to kill the drunken fairy.

"Well, since common sense is being sacrificed on the altar," Kyro said. "How about we have a little bet?"

"You’re not getting out of this," Nethralis said dryly.

"I wouldn’t dream of it, my queen," he said jovially. "This is but a simple… teaching moment."

I frowned. "What’s the bet?"

"We’ll do a spar. Two-on-one. You, me, and your pretty little kitty cat right there. If you land a single physical attack on me during our spar, I’ll be your guide for life—within set restrictions. I’ll take you all the way to the lake and far beyond. You’ll be blessed by my knowledge and wisdom until you’re absolutely sick of it."

I eyed him incredulously.

"We’ll even settle it with a soul~pact," Kyro announced, shocking Zyphrael and Nethralis. "That way, if I even try to back out, it’ll kill me."

My chest thrummed with anxiety and excitement and fear.

"And if you win?"

"I’ll get to hold this over your head for the rest of your life, which, by order of my marvelous queen, will be rather short indeed."

"Don’t mock your queen!" Zyphrael yelled.

"I did call her marvelous."

"Stop," Nethralis said and then turned to me. "Well? Are you interested?"

I frowned. "What’s the catch? There’s no way that’s what he really wants."

"Of course not," she said. "He’s hoping that you realize how weak you are and decide to back out."

I turned to Kyro. "Well, hate to break it to ya, call me dumb all you want—but I’m not going to back out."

He lifted a hand to his ear. "Was that a ’yes’ I heard?"

I thought about it one last time. There was nothing for me to lose but an immense amount for me to gain, so saying no would be absurd.

"Why risk your life on this?" I asked.

Kyro smiled. "Listen, Mira. I’m a gambler, alcoholic, a nightlife degenerate—but even for me… robbing a cat and his owner on a sure bet is just wrong."

My whole head twitched. If I thought Lithco was bad, I underestimated the sheer force of annoyance someone could trigger in my soul.

Kyro grinned and turned to Nethralis. "If you will."

Nethralis nodded, helped thaw Kline, and then explained how soul pacts bound the contracted users into performing the required actions. Then, she helped negotiate a deal where Kyro would have to be my guide to the lake and through to the sixth domain as long as I remained committed to protecting the forest. The one exception was the Harvest, as people thought the Drokai were extinct, and they kept that perception to ensure there was a secret weapon in the forest.

I agreed.

I also agreed to never speak of the Drokai, within reasonable exceptions, such as the case that everyone saw the Drokai. It was all very reasonable.

An hour later, Kline stretched his full body on an empty part of the lawn, dipping down on his little arms as I stretched my back. Kyro had fluttered off with Zephrael and returned looking half as haggard. In turn, Zephrael looked twice as disgusted.

Where’d they go? I thought as Kyro fluttered to Kline and me.

"Are you ready?" Nethralis asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Sure," he said.

"Then let’s begin." Nethralis waved her hand, and a barrier formed around us. The barrier also landed over the lush grass as well, reminding me of the barrier over the Wandering Reaper.

Kyro cracked his neck in his messy, alcohol-stained suit.

"You look ridiculous," I said bluntly.

He looked down at his suit now that he was looking more "sober," and he laughed. "Yeah… You’re right." He wiped his face, and his body radiated with white light. His suit not only purified, removing stains and liquid, but it also became pressed and fresh-looking. He smirked and rubbed his chin next, and all the hair on his cheeks and neck fell off as if he were shaving.

"You know that only makes you look worse, right?" I asked.

His smirk transposed into a frown. "How do you figure?"

"’Cause it took you fifteen seconds to look like a successful Drokai instead of a homeless drunkard, and you still showed up to your queen looking like that."

Kyro raised an eyebrow and blinked twice. "Well… actually… damn. That’s a good point." He honestly looked convinced and reflective, but the next moment, he pulled a flask from his breast pocket.

"You can’t be serious," I said.

"Oh, I am," Kyro said, unscrewing the lid. He rocked it back and exhaled sharply, wiping his mouth with his wrist. "Change takes time, and it’s not gonna happen right before a fight."

"You’re insufferable."

"Then hit me."

I unsheathed a machete, wondering if that was going too far, but he just lifted his flask again, saying, "Scary," before drinking.

Kline disappeared, leaving nothing but aura to visualize him. Kyro looked up for a split second before taking another drink.

Then we struck.

I flew forward with normal speed, swinging the machete as Kline warped into Kyro’s shadow striking from the back.

Kyro’s eyes widened but he still dodged with seamless motion, not even dropping the flask.

Kline threw phantom claws and Kyro casually jumped between the cracks, then dodged seamlessly as Kline jumped through his shadow again. I flew forward, swinging at him with practiced movements—

—hiding Moxle Dilation.

"Well, at least one of you has skill," Kyro said, dodging another attack from Kline. "But you’re kinda a one trick pony aren’t you?" Suddenly, a gust of raw aura swept behind Kyro, and an object smashed into the barrier, creating golden ripples. Kline’s active camouflage broke as he hit the ground, then reactivated.

"What just—" Something smashed into my head and sent me flying as well. It left my mind hazy and broken and raw. I had no clue what just happened.

When I opened my eyes, I saw hell breaking loose. Kline was furious. I could see his aura during circles. He jumped through Kyro’s shadow, jumped to the side onto an ethereal bridge in the air, and released two phantom claws from the sky.

"You’re a savage little thing aren’t you," Kyro said, fluttering between strikes, circling around Kline. They were moving so fast that I had to use Moxle Dilation to keep up with it. And when I did, I was horrified by what I saw.

Kyro’s eyes followed Kline everywhere he went, and the asshole was even drinking as he dodged attacks. It went on for a couple more seconds before he spilled some of the liquor onto his shirt and he scoffed.

With a wave of his hand, a wall of mana—like those that Kline could use—materialized right as Kline was leaving Kyro’s shadow, smashing him and sending him flying again.

No…

"Do you get it?" Kyro asked, brushing his shirt. "Your incredible speed isn’t impressive when your enemies are naturally as fast."

I thought back to the creature in the bog and to the Torok. In both cases, Kline and I were teleporting, but the creatures easily outpaced us. In one case, Kline had to create a body dopple, but in the case of the Torok, it was worthless.

I stood up and called out. "Kline. Let’s try our formation. If we fail, just… yell and charge or something."

I couldn’t see Kline’s expression but trusted him, standing and rushing at Kyro.

"Suicide charge? How dross." Kyro lifted his hand, and raw mana formed on the side of my head. I was ready, using Moxle Dilation to speed forward. The fairy’s eyes widened when he saw it, but Kline was attacking, forcing him to move. By the time he turned back, I was already swinging.

Time nearly stopped as I swung at the fairy. It was so slow that my body couldn’t keep up and I could see the machete’s trajectory as it flew at Kyro.

I thought he would start moving in some Matrix move, dodging at high speed or fluttering back. But he just smiled all the way up to the last inch—

—and then he moved.

He was fast. Even with my time slow, he nearly teleported up to me, lifting his tiny fist and cracking me in the jaw.

Moxle Dilation broke, and I hit the barrier, feeling dizzy as I activated Mental Shield, crying out from the pain. Still, victory meant everything so I forced my hands over my ears and waited for the grenade to explode.

2.

Kyro dodged as Kline flew at him from the side. He dodged, but not without spilling his precious liquor, and that was worse than death. He took a sharp drink and flew into the grass, grabbing the lid before flying to the top of the barrier to screw it on.

Kline jumped up on invisible bridges of raw mana to chase him, but Kyro was far faster, tightening the lid.

This is ridiculous…

It wasn’t that fighting them was difficult. If he were trying to kill them, they would’ve been dead from the onset. Both of them were remarkably slow to him, even as Kline used his freakish teleportation technique and Mira used her abnormally strong acceleration technique. They were strong, but they weren’t anything special to real power. As for Kline’s Active Camouflage, it was worthless to most third-evolution creatures and high-end neophytes after it was spotted—as they could see Kline’s aura—so he needed to improve that if he wanted to compete at scale.

Still—the two had only been in Areswood for a few months! The fact that they had ambush tactics that forced him to stop drinking—a certifiable felony in his eyes—was extraordinary.

But playtime was over.

Kyro threw the flask into his breast pocket, determined to at least care. Kline had followed him up to the top of the barrier, jumping onto bridges of raw mana. His body was moving comically slow to Kyro, and that allowed him to see something unsettling.

Kline wasn’t real. He was just an aura clone.

Kyro swatted away the clone and looked for the real one quickly. But as he was turning, he caught sight of Mira clasping her ears. It could’ve been mental whiplash for her insane skill, but the look on her face spelled fear.

I need to finish—

Kline suddenly opened his mouth and released a mental attack, a roar that made Kyro’s mind break into multiple fragments.