A flamelet coalesced in my hands. More precisely, in the air above them.
The flamelet moved slowly at my command, but I felt a headache stirring. Not only that, the flamelet was nowhere near as impressive as the soldier's flames had been. They had been much greater and had enveloped my serpentine body when I'd been an Arok Serpent.
Xavier Halur (Phillip Lecoste)
Core: Tier-1 (43%)
Primary Power: Shift, Ignite
Ignite appeared to ignite the air around me. It was possible to use Ignite in empty space further away from me, but that only seemed to consume more energy. But even maintaining the flamelet drained energy, and it didn't take much time before I felt my grasp on the transformation weaken.
The first test lasted no more than three seconds before I unleashed Ignite at its full power – or all I could muster. A massive flame erupted before me, although it died down as quickly as it materialized, right when Shift ended and I was forced back into my main form. My bare chest was covered in cold sweat once I regained my main form, and I had to take a short break from using Shift.
This was a lot more exhausting than I first expected, yet I was not quite done. There was one more transformation I had to test out.
I shifted into the old soldier while checking on the Status' changes.
Xavier Halur (Merle Mueller)
Core: Tier-1 (51%)
Primary Power: Shift, Conjure Bread
Conjure Bread certainly didn't sound like a soldier's Power. It was quite the oddity. Hence, I conjured bread without a second thought. Then another to shorten Shift's duration. The transformation ended, and I transformed back to human Xavier.
As odd as the older soldier's Power had been, it did explain why he was only Tier-1. I highly doubted the old man focused on conjuring bread to gather more Essence in his Core. He did not earn all that much Essence from hunting either, given how unsuitable his Power was for combat.
But that was exactly what was so confusing. Honestly, the soldiers had been surprisingly weak now that I thought about it. No matter how hard I tried to make sense of it, only the captain had been a 'proper' soldier. The others felt more like a mishmash of thugs, sex-driven idiots, and the like.
Cedric, for starters, would have never made it anywhere. His Power was not bad, but if every use worsened his leg's condition, it would be bad. It would also be highly surprising that he had made it this far in the first place. Then again, the old man still being Tier-1 even though his hair was gray didn't make any sense. Even if he'd only hunted one monster every week, possibly even alongside other soldiers, he should have been closer to the second Tier.
That could only mean the soldiers never really went monster hunting. Or that they did so only sparsely. Did that mean the soldiers had been disposable? Maybe–
Would someone like Earl Nuer tie loose ends and silence the soldiers to make sure nobody could speak of his atrocious acts? I wondered, and confirmed my suspicion at the same time.
"He would definitely do that. If he's willing to kidnap newly Chosen in broad daylight and order his people to kill innocent fae, he'd have no problem getting rid of his soldiers."
Back in my main form, I was covered in even more sweat. Something Fern noticed as soon as she stepped into the hut. I hadn't sensed her presence, nor had I heard her, but I watched her freeze at the entrance. Her fair skin turned beet red, which was quite the sight. It was marvelous, and I caught myself forgetting to breathe for a moment.
"Hello, Fern." I smiled at her after a quick struggle to breathe.
Fern shook her head and stepped inside, looking bashful. "Hello…"
"I heard I owe you my life." I picked up a small piece of cloth to clean my sweaty body while my eyes searched hers. "You are the reason I am still alive. Thank you."
I meant it. Whatever Fern had done, she made sure I survived. If not for her – I didn't even want to imagine.
Her blush deepened as she nodded slowly, her eyes avoiding mine. "That was nothing. K-Kaia helped. She protected you."
"The girl from the Forest Folk?" I asked, trying my best to ignore the increasing awkwardness that spread through the hut.
Fern nodded again, but she appeared slightly confused.
"An older fae was here earlier. Smaller, middle-aged, with tanned skin. Her name's Maer. I think she was hoping for me to make a mistake, to find a reason to get rid of me." A wry smile formed on my lips, but it felt fake even to me. "She told me that the girl I helped was Kaia. And that I'm only alive thanks to you two."
"Maer was here? And she told you her name?" Fern did not seem surprised that Maer wanted to kill me. Her introduction, on the other hand, caught the beautiful fae clearly by surprise.
When I didn't say anything and Fern didn't either, the awkwardness only grew more intense.
There was also the elephant in the room. A topic no one dared to breach. Well, Fern didn't.
"She also told me that you claimed me. Or something along those lines." Fern nearly stumbled over her own feet when I said that. "What exactly does being claimed mean?"
Her lips parted, but she said nothing. Fern retrieved a set of clothes instead, made of linen or a material that resembled it. She turned around as I changed into my new clothes. They fit almost perfectly while still leaving some space to grow into. To stretch further once I built up some more muscle. Even better, the clothes were quite comfortable.
"Thank you. I was already worried I'd have to wear the same clothes for my stay here." I chuckled lightly, but Fern only managed a small smile.
"So… about being claimed." I cleared my throat. "Does that mean I belong to you now? Like a pet or something?"