Chapter 54: Burning Desires
We talked for almost three hours, and honestly, the result of the meeting was to my liking.
Tugnier’s smarter than he lets on. He might look exhausted, but his brain’s working sharper than ever.
But all those preperations and traps are just first step. They do’t make much difference to Merin. May be to the army she brings but not to her.
"Huff..." I exhaled, standing in the forest beside the settlement.
The cool air brushed against my face, but my mind wasn’t calm. There’s a problem I noticed. My body.
My techniques, my muscle memory... they all depend too much on instincts built in my old body. This one’s different. My reaction speed, my senses, even my balance... they don’t line up the way I expect.
Every move feels slightly off, like a blade swinging just an inch short of its target. The only way to fix that is to keep fighting with this body until everything syncs again.
Schleeeenn...
I unsheathed Blood Raven, the sound of its chain echoing in the quiet forest.
The black chain coiled around my arm like a living serpent. Blood Raven forms pseudo circuits inside itself, linked to mine. That means it reacts to my mana and aura directly, like it’s an extension of my body.
My aura and mana can flow into its pseudo circuits and back like they are just the extensions of the ones in my hand.
I spun the blade once, the chain sliding through my fingers. Then I hurled it toward the tree in front of me.
Thud.
The sword flew straight, stabbing deep into the bark.
Blood Raven(S+) has four unique abilities. Blood Bomb, Essence Absorption, Seed of Dystrophy, and Deadmen’s Decay.
Right now, I can only use the first two. My aura output and mana mastery isn’t enough for the others.
The tree where Blood Raven struck began to wither, its bark turning black and dry. At the same time, I could feel a faint warmth flowing through me — my vitality rising.
Essence Absorption.
I used to pair this with Seed of Dystrophy. That combo could turn a battlefield into a graveyard in seconds.
It can wipe off the whole army of SBV that comes with Merin, before they even understand what’s happening.
But not now. I don’t have the strength for that yet.
Fine then. I’ll adapt.
I raised my arm, and Blood Raven began to hum, the chain shaking before it floated back toward me.
The sword detached itself from the dead tree and flew into my hand. The vibration faded as soon as I gripped the hilt.
"Alright," I muttered. "Then I’ll go back to the basics."
Mana and swordsmanship together. That’s how I’ll fight this time.
[115 → 93]
[93 → 108]
[108 → 71]
[71 → 110]
[110 → 74]
[74 → 99]
.....
[53 → 21]
"Huff... huff... huff..."
[21 → 57]
I bent forward, breathing heavily. Five straight hours of training with mana and Blood Raven’s essence absorption had completely drained me.
The part of the forest around me looked like a warzone now. Trees half-burned, the ground cracked and full of small craters from my aura slashes and dark beams.
I wiped the sweat off my face with my sleeve, watching the faint trails of black smoke rising from the earth. The air still shimmered faintly with leftover aura.
But finally... I felt it.
My control was coming back. The way my body moved now, the way my mana flowed through my veins, it felt familiar again.
My movements weren’t as clumsy as before. I was beginning to match the reaction speed of this body with my instincts. The flow between aura and mana was smoother, too.
I grinned faintly.
My ability to make both mana and aura coexist, even when they tangled and clashed, would play a huge role in defeating Merin.
Her artifacts protect her from single attacks, but not from complex assaults where both forces merge together. That’s where I’ll strike.
A soft rustle behind me broke my focus.
I froze. The hair on my neck rose. Damn, I got so caught up analyzing my output and combos that I lost track of my surroundings.
Rookie mistake.
My head snapped around.
I expected an orc scout or maybe one of the ranked ones checking in, but instead, someone stepped out from behind the trees.
It was Lydia.
"H-hello," she said, her voice small. Her eyes darted away as soon as mine met hers.
Why would she hide..?
I blinked. "Hello there," I said slowly, then added with a smirk, "I didn’t know you loved trees enough to hug them."
Her cheeks flushed a little. "I was just... watching you practice," she said quietly.
While hugging trees? but didn’t say it out loud. No point in asking questions that don’t matter.
Then she looked at me again and asked, "Wouldn’t it be good if we practiced together?"
She whistled softly after that, glancing to the side as her shoe scraped the stone from the soil, her hands resting behind her mini skirt, dressed in her usual black uniform.
Her tone said "doesn’t care either way", but her eyes... there was a faint spark there.
I thought for a second. Training together could be useful. Our fighting styles were different, but sparring with her would help me test my coordination even better.
My instincts would adapt faster that way.
"It would be my pleasure," I said.
Her face brightened instantly. That cold, indifferent expression from before disappeared in an instant.
What happpened to that "I don’t care either way," whistle!
**********
Sera’s PoV:
"I couldn’t focus well..."
I muttered under my breath, staring at the blunt sword in my hand.
Rune said I’d understand the true power of this sword once I awaken my aura. But... what am I supposed to do until then?
I sighed and glanced around the training room.
Broken wooden mannequins, cracked walls, and chunks of frozen rock scattered everywhere. The air felt cold and sharp from the leftover frost mana.
This place had turned into a mess in just an hour.
There was a clear difference between using this sword and my old C-rank one. The C-rank sword was at least twice as destructive in my hands.
"Quinn’s gonna nag for sure..." I said, pressing my hand to my forehead. She always did whenever I broke things during training.
I sat down on the cold floor, staring at the sword resting across my knees.
"I really want to show my improvement to Rune..."
But Commander Tugnier said Rune is the main weapon against Merin. I shouldn’t bother him with petty things like this.
Still... just thinking about him made my heart flutter.
"I want to see him," I said softly, then immediately looked down. The moment I imagined him looking back at me with those calm eyes, I wanted to hide away again.
Another sigh escaped my lips. "Not good... I’m wasting time again."
I stood up, gripping the sword tighter. My reflection flickered faintly on the icy surface of the blade.
I couldn’t meet him during lunch... but I’ll see him tonight anyway. After all, we share the same room.
That thought alone made my chest feel light, as if all my worries melted away.
"I won’t leave his side. Ever."
Frost mana began to flow out from my body, wrapping around my legs and the sword in my hand. The pale blue light shimmered across the room, scattering like tiny snowflakes.
"He belongs to me."
I crouched slightly, then shot forward.
In the next instant, I was standing before the iron pole that used to hold a mannequin, before I broke it off earlier. I swung my sword down in one clean motion.
The sword cut through the pole easily, and a wave of frost mana burst out from it, racing toward the far wall.
BOOM!
A deafening crack echoed through the room as the wall exploded in a mix of frost and shattered stone. A thick layer of ice spread on the ground all the way to the cratered wall.
Steam rose from the cold mist. My breath came out as white fog.
"After all..." I whispered, lowering my sword. "He swore that he’s mine."