After leaving the store, Maira was seething, veins visible on her forehead as she took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself.
"Mai, calm down, he's just a nobody," one of her friends said in an attempt to console her.
"Don't tell me to calm down! You were all there when he tried to frame me, and none of you did anything about it!" Maira snapped back.
"You shouldn't let yourself be agitated by that lowlife. You're the young miss of the Decker family—you have to act like one," they added.
"Tsk. I'm going home. We can meet up next time." Maira turned sharply, walking down the paved road with two shadowy figures following behind her.
"...Well, see you tomorrow then?" one of her friends asked awkwardly.
"Y–yeah, whatever."
With a few stiff farewells, they parted ways, each heading home with their own impression of the mysterious blue-eyed man.
---
"I'm home," Maira muttered as she opened the golden door into a massive living room that screamed wealth.
One of the many butlers, busy with his duties, came forward with a polite bow.
"Where is my father?" Maira asked.
"He is not present at the moment, young miss," the butler replied respectfully. "But he did leave a message for you."
He reached into his shirt pocket and produced a white envelope, sealed with the image of a three-horned deer.
Maira's anger melted into solemnity as she stared at the envelope. Father never leaves letters unless it's important.
Dismissing the butler, she retreated to her well-furnished room. Sitting at her desk, she carefully opened the envelope and read. Her brows shot up in surprise, and she quickly flipped the page, searching for more details.
Father wants me to participate in the tournament? But I'm still only D+ rank...
Rising, she walked to the window and gazed at the setting sun, her expression unreadable as birds chirped outside.
---
Back at the inn, a shiver ran down my spine. "I feel like something bad is going to happen," I muttered to Laura as I wiped the sweat from my neck.
"Relax. You always trigger... what do you call them? Flags? With your words," Laura replied, sounding unsure.
"Bah, that's only when you force me into things." I waved it off.
"Hey! That's a lie and you know it!" she shot back.
"I guess we'll never know," I said with a shrug.
Laura's smile turned sharp. "My hands feel itchy all of a sudden. Mind helping me scratch them?"
"...Upon further inspection, it looks like I do trigger flags," I admitted, dead serious.
"Good. Now let's go practice some spells—so you don't die when I leave."
Her words stabbed me, leaving a hollow ache inside. Not because of the mana I'd waste practicing, but because sooner or later... she really would leave.
'I'll be alone again'
"Come on, let's go," Laura urged, already by the door—unaware of the ripple her words had caused in my heart.
Forcing a smile, I picked up my scythe and followed her out.
We walked in silence to our usual spot. Awkward silence. Which was strange, because Laura was always complaining about something, and I was usually whining about wanting to do something else.
"Is something bothering you?" she asked hesitantly after a minute passed.
"Mm? No?" My voice was awkward, even to my own ears.
"Don't lie to me."
"...I don't..."
I couldn't finish. It felt selfish, unreasonable. And yet, I couldn't help it.
Before I could change the subject, Laura spoke, her voice gentle. "I don't want to leave either. But it would be equally selfish of me to stay."
Smiling softly, as though she bore the weight of the world, she floated down beside me. Looping her arm through mine with a cheeky grin, she added, "So let's enjoy the time we have left, okay? Don't let the future ruin it."
I sighed, watching the sun dip lower. "Alright... let's make the most of our time."
Jeez. You'd think she had cancer or something.
Stretching, I watched Laura think deeply about what she should teach me next.
"How about I learn another scythe technique instead?" I suggested.
"Hm... sure," she said, nodding like a sage.
I'll miss her, that's for sure.
I flipped through the battle mage manual until something caught my eye.
"What about this one?" I pointed to the page.
"'Reaper's Descent'? Sounds corny."
"I don't care about the name. And for your information, I like it. Look at the features!"
---
[Skill: Reaper's Descent]
Summons wraiths to fight for the user for a limited time, dependent on mana capacity.
Grants the passive skill [Fear].
Creates a boundary that drains enemy health whenever crossed (diameter and effectiveness scale with mana capacity).
---
"This is peak," I muttered.
"It is impressive," Laura admitted. "But the features will be hard to master without expert mana control."
My excitement deflated. "Yeah... you're right. I'll have to learn cultivation first."
(To the readers who haven't turned their brains off: yes, all my skills so far—Crescent Slash, Lamantar's Lightning—are system-given. They were easy because I just had to dump mana and chant. But both are still incomplete. And since I've never actually cultivated before, my attacks are inefficient. So yeah, cultivation lesson incoming.)
"So... you're teaching me mana manipulation first?" I asked.
Laura stood proudly, hands on her hips. "Correct! Now let your onii-chan teach you the perfect way."
"Where the hell did you learn that word?" I deadpanned.
"Hmph. The Star Stream, obviously."
"Star Stream? What's—"
"Sit. Now."
With a sigh, I sat cross-legged and closed my eyes as Laura's soft voice guided me.
"Mana is like air, only thicker. It can be converted into fire, water, earth... countless elements. To control it in its purest form, you must first sense it. You've done that, so now I'll teach you to circulate it and open your mana channels."
She spoke like silk in my ears.
"Focus on the sight before you without your eyes. Open your mind's eye."
What kind of profound shit is that?
Still, I tried. Drawing from the cultivation novels I'd binged in my past life, I experimented for hours until—finally—I could "see" the mana in the air.
Yo, this is some mystical shit.
"Focus," Laura chided. Though her eyes widened in shock. He actually managed in five hours? Maybe his ball knowledge wasn't all nonsense after all.
"Tell me what you see," she asked calmly.
"Blobs. Just... chilling."
"Colors?"
"Red, blue, yellow. That's all."
"Chaos affinity, then," she explained. "Red for fire, blue for water, yellow for lightning."
She pressed a hand to my back. "Now pull one toward you."
I strained for hours until the blue blob drifted toward me.
"I did it!"
"It only took you ten hours," Laura groaned.
"Ten hours?!"
"That's normal. Reincarnators usually do it ten times faster."
"Well, sorry for being normal."
Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Feel it. Then let it enter you."
I focused until the blob melted into my skin. A surge of energy raced through my veins.
"I did it!"
"Finally. Trace its path through your body," Laura instructed.
I followed the energy as it circled clockwise, pausing at my heart before continuing.
"That's your cultivation flow. Master it, and you'll improve faster."
When I finally opened my eyes, the morning sun hit me like a flashbang.
"Hisssss!"
"Are you a vampire?" Laura teased, reclining in the shade.
"If I was, your neck wouldn't be that clear."
"I heard that."
"I know."
I sat beside her, cracking joints as silence fell—until she spoke again.
"Say... what are we?"
The dreaded question. Answer wrong, you get friendzoned. Or stabbed. Maybe both.
After careful thought, I said, "We're two broken people patching each other up."
Her eyes softened. Maybe not the answer she wanted, but it was the truth.
"Do you want to know what I think?" she asked gently.
I chuckled. "Yeah."
Rustle. Rustle.
Before she could continue, rustling erupted behind us. I snapped into a battle stance, all skills primed, while Laura readied a healing spell.
The bushes parted—revealing Greg. His deadpan face looked almost comical against the tension.
"Greg?" I lowered my scythe.
"Clark. A pleasure," he said, brushing off leaves.
"What happened to you? Where are your guards?"
His clothes were scorched, face smeared with soot—like he'd run through a wildfire.
"And why does he always show up at the worst times?" I muttered.
"I don't have time to explain. But I request your assistance." Greg bowed his head slightly.
"His way of talking still weirds me out," Laura said.
"Nobles, am I right?" I replied mentally.
Studying him, I finally asked, "Alright. Where are we going?"
"Brinehurst," he answered grimly.