It was still early in the morning when Ael found himself standing once more inside the Phoenix Guild headquarters, sunlight barely filtering through the tall windows lining the corridor. The city outside had only just begun to stir, but his day had already been commandeered.
Lyra had summoned him personally.
That alone told him this wasn't going to be a simple check-in.
They stood inside her office, the familiar scent of heat-tinged air lingering from her element. Lyra leaned against her desk with crossed arms, her expression calm—but there was something restrained beneath it, something simmering.
"Morning, Ael," she said coolly. "Let's check your stats, shall we? Since you conveniently neglected to tell me how well you did."
Her tone carried a hint of annoyance.
Ael smirked like the menace he was. "Good morning to you too, Guild Master."
Ignoring her glare, he placed his hand atop the assessment device. The crystal surface responded instantly.
BEEP
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Awakened Name: Ael
Strength: 32
Agility: 32
Vitality: 32
Stamina: 32
Intelligence: 38
─────────────────
The room went silent.
Painfully silent.
Lyra stared at the screen, then at him, then back to the screen again.
"…Ael," she said slowly. "You refined your core twice in that rift."
Her voice sharpened.
"What the hell?"
SMASH
Her fist crashed down on the desk, splintering solid enchanted wood as a clean hole formed beneath her knuckles.
Ael barely flinched.
"Are you aware," Lyra continued, visibly restraining herself, "that you are a freak of nature? No one awakens and becomes this strong this fast! Mana stones are rationed between teams, salaries depend on rift cycles, and here you are casually bypassing the entire economic and logistical system like it doesn't apply to you!"
She dragged a hand down her face.
"This… I don't even know what to say anymore."
Ael tilted his head, unfazed. "Come on, Guild Master. Isn't this… a good thing?"
A vein twitched visibly at Lyra's temple.
She very much wanted to smash him into the floor.
Before she could do so, Ael continued, his tone unexpectedly sincere.
"I know it's weird. I feel it too. But if my abilities can help us—really help us—then I don't want to stare at this and be afraid. Let's make the best of it."
Lyra paused.
Then, unexpectedly… she smiled.
It was faint, but genuine.
Fearless optimism. That was one of the things she had come to admire—and worry about—in equal measure.
She exhaled. "That's good, because the other Guild Masters have decided something."
Ael blinked. "Uh oh."
"They want you sent into rifts five times a week."
That wiped the smirk off his face.
"They feel your talent is being wasted," she continued. "And after I came clean about your progression… they're not exactly wrong."
"Huh… five times," Ael muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Isla and Kara are gonna murder me…"
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
"…Isla?"
Ael felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"Y—yes," he stammered quickly. "Best friend since childhood! She's close with my sister and—"
"Oh, it's good you have close relationships," Lyra said flatly. "Moving on."
The temperature in the room somehow rose.
"I was scheduling you for tomorrow," she added. "Changed my mind. You're going in today."
She smiled.
It did not reach her eyes.
Ael swallowed. What the hell did I say…
…
"Hey, Felicia! Good to see you again!"
Ael greeted her at the staging point, extending his hand cheerfully.
Felicia clasped it with a chuckle. "Good to have you back, Ael."
She smiled—but shivered.
A brief, razor-thin killing intent washed over her spine… then vanished.
She didn't even need to guess the source.
Guild Master's hovering again, she thought, amused. How cute.
Half an hour later, the team stood before the rift itself, looming in the heart of the city like an open wound. Civilian zones had long since been evacuated, barriers raised, and security tight.
The moment they stepped through—
Oppression.
A suffocating weight pressed against their senses.
Ael froze.
His Ether stirred violently.
He knew this feeling.
He had lived it.
"I—listen," he said quickly. "I can't explain how I know this… but I think there's a demon in this rift."
Felicia's expression hardened instantly.
"Demons don't appear this often. This would be the second in a week. Something's wrong.", she said worriedly.
"Formation Eight," Felicia ordered instantly. "Ael, front with me. Everyone else, fallback positions."
They moved without hesitation.
A screech ripped through the forest.
Then another.
SCREECH.
SCREECH.
"Get do—"
BOOM! BOOM!
Shockwaves detonated nearby—but never reached them.
A silver barrier shimmered into existence.
Ael grinned. "Come on, don't let the rookie show you up."
Morale surged instantly.
"Oh, it's on!" the team roared.
Three beasts crested the ridge, hurling compressed stone projectiles.
Ael raised his hand.
"Etherbolt. Etherbolt. Etherbolt."
BAM. BAM. BAM.
The silver bolts punched straight through their skulls.
[+200 EXP x 3]
Fighting intensified as they pushed forward. Beasts fell. Blood soaked the ground.
DING.
[Level Up: 7 → 8]
"Horns," Elira muttered. "And that aura… these don't feel normal."
Ael crouched by a corpse, chills racing down his spine. "They're demonized."
Howls erupted.
Trees shook violently.
"Group up!" Felicia shouted.
A tide of wolf-like monstrosities burst from the forest.
Ael spread both hands.
"Silver Tempest."
The sky ignited in cascading arcs of silver lightning.
Twenty beasts disintegrated instantly.
[+200 EXP x 20]
He didn't stop.
"Silver Tempest!"
"Silver Tempest!"
Ether burned through him as the team fought desperately beside him.
Fire. Wind. Earth.
But his Ether cut clean through it all.
The battlefield became hell.
When it finally ended—
[+200 EXP x 167]
[Level Up: 8 → 9]
Ael could feel it he was so close to leveling up, and he decided to check his status real quick.
─────────────────
STATUS SCREEN
─────────────────
Name: Elyrion Vaelora
Race: ???
Ether Core Level: 9 (25430/25600)
Title: The Vessel
Class: Ether Paragon (Unique)
Class Skill: Ether Manipulation
─────────────────
Stats:
Strength : 32 -> 36
Agility : 32 -> 36
Vitality : 32 -> 36 [HP: 217 / 360]
Stamina : 32 -> 36
Intelligence : 38 -> 44 [Ether: 140 / 440]
─────────────────
Skills:
Ethereal Weaponry(A) - 18 -> 20%
Barrier(E* -> D*) - 10-> 20%
Sun of Oblivion(S) - 1%
Ether-Bolt(C) - 15% -> 17%
Silver Tempest(B) - 15% - 18%
─────────────────
Ael staggered.
Breathing hard.
So close.
One kill away.
Then—
A laugh echoed.
Low. Mocking.
"I knew it…"
Eyes burning red emerged from the shadows.
"My damn brother died to that Ether using bitch. I had to downgrade my rank just to come into this damn place."
The voice dripping with malice.
"Where is she?"