The Guild's secondary training arena reeked of stale sweat and ozone, a familiar scent now to Jonathan, though usually, it was mixed with the metallic tang of monster blood. Today, the air was sharp with anticipation, a silent tension drawn taut across the faces of Lilith, Kai, Seraphina, and Ryu. They stood arranged like sentinels, their stances relaxed but their eyes, keen and unblinking, fixed on him.
Jonathan felt the familiar hum of the cold fire in his veins, a constant thrum just beneath his skin, urging him forward. This wasn't about ego; it was about efficiency. About proving himself. The memory of his mother's shallow breaths, the haunting whisper of Aethel's promise, a cure, was a goad sharper than any blade. He needed access to deeper Gates, to harsher challenges. He needed to accelerate. This spar was merely a step.
"Alright, Havery," Lilith's voice cut through the quiet, her amethyst eyes locking onto his. "Kai first. No abilities, just pure combat. Let's see that 'efficiency' up close."
Kai, a mountain of muscle and good cheer, offered a wide, challenging grin. "Don't hold back, kid! Show me what you've been doing in those D-Ranks!"
Jonathan didn't respond. He simply flowed into a stance, low and centered, a subtle shift that made Kai's grin falter. He wasn't thinking. He was calculating. The System, a silent partner, fed him data: Kai's weight distribution, muscle tension, preferred opening moves. It wasn't foresight; it was pure, cold analysis, processed at impossible speed.
Kai lunged, a booming roar accompanying a heavy right hook. It was a powerful, practiced strike, meant to overwhelm. Jonathan didn't dodge conventionally. Instead, his body moved like water, an almost imperceptible shimmy that caused Kai's fist to slice through empty air by mere millimeters. As Kai's momentum carried him off balance, Jonathan didn't hesitate. His hardened fist, a blur of motion, drove upwards, not at the head, but precisely into the solar plexus. The punch carried the dense, unyielding force he'd accumulated in countless Gates, a brutal, focused impact that bypassed brute strength.
Kai gasped, a choked, wet sound, his eyes widening in shock as he doubled over, arms clutched to his gut. He staggered back, wheezing, his boisterous laugh replaced by genuine pain. He hadn't seen it coming. Nobody had.
Seraphina's smirk vanished. Ryu's distant gaze sharpened.
"My turn," Seraphina said, her voice devoid of amusement. She moved with the predatory grace of a cat, her stance lighter, her eyes constantly shifting, assessing. She was faster, a whirlwind of feints and probing jabs. Jonathan met her not with aggression, but with an almost surgical defense. He parried her strikes with minimal movement, his arms deflecting blows with a shocking rigidity, his body a fortress of compact power. He absorbed her feints, read her intentions before she fully committed, and then, in a blink, countered.
He didn't aim for a knockout. He aimed for pressure points, for areas that would destabilize rather than simply harm. A sudden, unexpected heel strike to the shin. A precise elbow to the nerve cluster in her forearm. Each impact, though not devastating, sent sharp jolts of discomfort, disrupting her rhythm, forcing her to react, to defend, to break her carefully constructed flow. Seraphina found herself constantly on the back foot, her speed neutralized by his unnerving precision. She cursed under her breath, a rare frown marring her features, before stepping back, a glint of frustration and dawning respect in her eyes. "Alright, Havery," she conceded, rubbing her arm. "I see it."
Ryu, the quiet mage, stepped forward next. He wasn't a physical combatant, but his presence brought a sudden chill to the air. Wisps of arcane energy began to shimmer around his hands. "No physical contact with Ryu, Havery," Lilith interjected, her voice low. "Just evasion. See how long you last against his quick-cast."
Ryu's eyes, usually lost in thought, now held a rare, piercing intensity. He raised a hand, and a dart of raw, freezing magic shot towards Jonathan, faster than the eye could track. Jonathan didn't just move. He predicted. The System had given him the framework, but the constant peril of the Gates had honed his instincts to a razor's edge. He saw the subtle shift in Ryu's stance, the flicker of mana gathering at his fingertips, and moved before the spell fully materialized.
The ice bolt whistled past his ear, embedding itself in the reinforced wall with a crackling hiss, leaving a frost-rimmed crater. Ryu fired again, faster this time, a volley of shimmering projectiles that sought to pin Jonathan down. But Jonathan was a ghost. He weaved, spun, and ducked, his movements fluid and economical, expending only the necessary energy to evade. He felt the phantom brush of magic on his skin, the cold kiss of near misses. He wasn't just dodging; he was dancing through a storm of arcane energy, his perception sharpened to an inhuman degree. Ryu's brow furrowed, a bead of sweat tracing a path down his temple. He pushed harder, incantations flowing, but Jonathan remained untouchable, a silent, agile blur.
Finally, Lilith stepped into the arena. Her posture was straight, her expression unreadable. Her pink hair, usually wild, seemed to hum with contained energy. She didn't carry a training blade, choosing instead to fight bare handed.
"I won't use my full abilities," she said, her voice a low murmur, "but I won't hold back my speed or strength. Show me everything, Havery. Show me what's so different about you."
Jonathan nodded, his own expression utterly devoid of emotion. This was it. The true test. The crucible.
Lilith moved. It wasn't a lunge; it was an explosion of controlled power. She was impossibly fast, a flicker of pink light, her strikes arriving almost before Jonathan could consciously register them. He felt the sheer force of her blows, the calculated power behind each punch, each kick. He parried, deflected, and dodged, relying on the instinct the System had burned into him. Her attacks were a torrent, relentless and precise, targeting his exposed limbs, his head, his core.
He fought back with the same brutal efficiency he used in the Gates. He didn't waste movement. Every counter-strike was direct, intended to inflict maximum damage if not for the "no serious injury" rule. He aimed for the center of her mass, for her joints, for the vulnerable spots his System enhanced eyes immediately identified. He landed a jarring punch to her shoulder, a powerful kick to her thigh. Lilith grunted, but her eyes never left his, alight with an almost feral intensity.
She was strong. Stronger than any monster he'd faced. And perceptive.
As he dodged a sweeping kick that would have shattered his ribs, Lilith's hand shot out, not to strike, but to touch. Her fingertips brushed his bicep, a fleeting contact. In that instant, Jonathan felt a jolt, not physical, but energetic. A ripple. And in Lilith's amethyst eyes, he saw it, a sudden, profound shift. Her pupils dilated, just barely, and a flicker of something ancient, something cold and profound, passed across her face. It was gone in an instant, replaced by her usual intensity, but he knew. She'd felt it. The abnormal energy signature Arthur had warned about. The echo of Aethel's power.
Lilith disengaged, stepping back, her chest heaving slightly, but her eyes, now alight with a chilling understanding, never left his. Kai and Seraphina watched, breathless. Ryu stood perfectly still, his gaze fixed, piercing.
"Enough," Lilith commanded, her voice sharp, cutting through the strained silence. She walked slowly towards Jonathan, circling him, her gaze sweeping over him, dissecting. "You're… remarkable, Havery." Her voice was soft, but the words carried a heavy weight. "That's not just a Guild training regimen. That's not just talent." She stopped directly in front of him, her head tilted, her eyes piercing his. "What are you doing in there? What's your secret? That aura… it's unlike anything I've ever felt."
Jonathan met her gaze, his own unwavering. The cold fire within him pulsed, a silent answer. He chose his words carefully, calculated for maximum strategic gain, yet maintaining the veil of his secret.
"Necessity," he said, his voice quiet, flat. "I learned to be efficient. The Gates are harsh teachers." He offered no more, his silence a deliberate barrier.
Lilith's eyes narrowed, searching his, knowing he held something back, yet unable to crack his new facade. She paused, then a slow, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips, a glint of admiration now mingling with her intrigue.
"We're heading to the Red Gates next week," she said, her voice dropping, a conspiratorial murmur meant only for him. "The outermost perimeter. You were there when the Tyrant breached. You saw what's coming." She paused, letting the implication hang in the air. "We could use someone with your… efficiency. This isn't an official Guild invite. This is from me. And my team." She gestured to Kai, Seraphina, and Ryu, who all gave subtle nods of agreement, their initial skepticism replaced by profound respect. "Think of it as… accelerated on-the-job training. And a chance to learn from the best."
Jonathan's strategic mind, honed by Aethel's system, immediately calculated the gains. The Red Gates. Higher-tier monsters. More Stat Points. Faster progression. Access to Lilith's knowledge, her insights, her resources. All leading back to the whispered promise of a cure.
A faint, almost imperceptible smirk, a chilling echo of Aethel's own, touched his lips.
"When do we start?" he asked, his voice quiet, but firm, taking the next calculated step down a path that glittered with salvation, yet was paved with shadows. The scent of monster blood still lingered in the air, but now, to Jonathan, it smelled like hope.