We kept moving forward and back for hours. I had been tripped more times than I could count, my legs were shaking, and Vael’dargar had an uncanny ability to strike me just as my energy was about to finish regenerating. Around six hours must have passed before she finally shouted,

“Enough! Take a fifteen minute break.”

I immediately lay down on the warm sand, enjoying the last rays of sunlight.

Llin approached and collapsed beside me, panting.

“Damn, to think that I was actually excited to train under her.”

I didn’t have the energy to turn my head.

“Is she a big deal?”

Llin chuckled. “She’s a huge celebrity in Eryndor and so many other worlds.”

“So, she’s a fighter or something?”

“She’s a war hero!” the scout said excitedly. “Don’t quote me on this because I didn’t exactly pay much attention in school.”

She sat up and crossed her legs. “So, there was a war on our planet hundreds of years ago. I don’t remember the details, you should ask Thal, but the ruling class back then basically treated anyone beneath their station as slaves, and there was a big revolution.”

Not that different from Earth. Neat. Power and greed don’t just corrupt humans. But that wasn’t even the most important detail.

“Hold on, hundreds of years? How old is she?”

Llin answered nonchalantly, “I dunno, four centuries maybe? She looks great for her age, I know.”

I sighed. “That’s not what I meant. Do elves usually live that long?”

She had a puzzled look on her face. “I guess so, but she’s into her third tier of power. I’ve only seen a handful of people at her level. It’s pretty cool to see.”

Then she shouted before I could stop her, “Hey boss lady! Alex wants to inspect you!”

I froze in place, feeling a phantom flare of pain from the last place she had hit me.

Vael’dargar looked at us from where she was standing and shrugged.

I breathed out in relief and activated Inspection.

Vael’dargar (Level ????)

A name known throughout the Fourth and a good chunk of the Fifth Realm. She has fought beings and monsters alike, never backing down from a fight.

Damn, even the system recognized her power!

I kept trying to get answers out of Llin, but she shrugged away most of my questions. It was really frustrating. The others joined us, and Sylvan laughed. “It must be frustrating that people just assume you know things that are basic information for them.”

I nodded gratefully. “Yeah, it really is.”

Everyone chuckled, and Joro patted my shoulder in what I’m sure he assumed was a reassuring way. It just made me fall face first into the sand. The others laughed loudly at while I cleaned myself off. Then Thal took over the explanation. “It’s very simple, really. The first tier of power is up to level one hundred, then the second one is one thousand. Most people in the Seven Realms are around that level on average.”

Okay, that was actually pretty straightforward. “And people live longer when they reach a higher tier of power?”

He nodded. “Exactly. Not just that, though. You get access to the next realm.”

“But you guys aren’t level one hundred yet.”

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“Yeah, but we were born in a Fourth Realm world. We just can’t project to an another fourth Realm world or travel to it until we reach the first tier.”

So, you can live in a higher level world if you’re born in it, but you can’t travel away until you get stronger.

“And how do you travel physically to another world? Do you have spaceships?”

That was actually pretty cool!

It was Bel who answered. “Yeah, there are ships that can navigate the Astral, but it’s very expensive and dangerous, so it’s usually reserved for the exploration of new, unclaimed planets. You can start traveling with your body once you reach the first tier.”

So I can move away from Earth? Double cool!

“So, I can just project my real body?”

“Yeah, but it’s not that simple. Your physical body is what anchors you, so you need to create a new anchor, and that’s not easily done. People usually just do it when they want to permanently relocate.”

He continued, “And the physical body is way more sensitive to the Astral, so most beings just stick to projection. Only the really rich use physical projection on a semi permanent basis.”

“I don’t understand. What’s an anchor?”

Thal took over again. “You need someone from the world you want to travel to in order to create an anchor for you. The process is very complicated and involves getting a sample of your energy through crystals. Then you can use that anchor to move your physical body.”

So I can travel through the Astral and visit unanchored worlds using my own body, but that would be very dangerous without an anchor . Got it. I guess I can’t just visit different worlds yet. Bummer. But it’s still pretty exciting, and I can always find a way, especially since I’m apparently going to live for a long time if I play my cards right.

Vael’dargar’s commanding voice cut through the air again. “Enough lazing around! We’re going to add some fighting drills to your footwork exercises. Pair up!”

I paired up with Llin, and we all stood in a row, facing each other.

“Use whatever weapon you usually wield. I want a simple thrust with a forward step, then a retreat with a backward step.”

She looked over at us. “You know the drill. If I see something I don’t like, you’re kissing the sand.”

We started the drill, and it was crazy how I didn’t even have to think about my footwork after just a few hours of practice. My body just moved, following the rhythm, adjusting instinctively. I still got tripped a few times, but I was getting there.

Then, the familiar pull started creeping in. The urge to return. A portal shimmered open next to me, though Velarion didn’t step through.

Our trainer noticed and clapped her hands, bringing the drills to a halt. “Well,” he said, eyeing the swirling gateway, “I guess this is as good a time as any to call it a day. We wouldn’t want to make a guardian angry, now would we?”

No arguments there. We wrapped up with quick goodbyes and the promise to meet again tomorrow, then I stepped through.

Back in the astral side of my bedroom, Velarion was scratching his body against his horns, ruffling his sleek, shining coat.

“I told you it would be fine,” I said.

He kept scratching. “We’ll see. That elf woman is useful enough, I can’t train you in combat like she can.”

I crossed my arms. “So, what’s this about physical travel? I didn’t know that was a thing.”

He responded nonchalantly, not even looking at me. “It’s too soon to talk about that. You need to get much stronger before I can safely let you relocate or travel.”

At least he had a plan, or so I kept telling myself for my own peace of mind.

“So, I should keep training with them?”

“Yeah, yeah. You can keep hanging out with your friends for now.”

I woke up in my body. It was still dark outside, but I felt awake, energized. I didn’t usually mind being alone, but talking with others without them being affected by my growing charisma made me fee better.

After my usual cold shower and a light breakfast, I sat cross legged, steadied my breath, and sank into meditation.

The Void surrounded me instantly, cold, silent, absolute. It wasn’t just emptiness. It was a presence, a force that devoured all else. I let myself drift deeper, allowing it to consume me.

Everything faded. My thoughts unraveled, stripped away layer by layer until only silence remained.

The Void didn’t just erase. It peeled away everything that wasn’t essential. It wasn’t destruction, at least, not entirely. It was something else. Something foreign. Something ancient.

I reached out with my awareness, feeling the space around me shift. It wasn’t just an absence of matter, there was a purpose behind it. A design I couldn’t yet grasp.

And it was acknowledging me.

The Void had never felt hostile, but it wasn’t welcoming either. It watched. It waited.

I exhaled slowly, trying to steady my thoughts before I unraveled completely. I was close to something, a truth buried in the silence, hidden in the absence.

If I kept pushing, kept attuning myself, maybe I’d finally understand what the Void wanted.

For now, I let myself drift, embraced by the endless dark.

The whole morning disappeared in meditation. By the time I pulled myself back to reality, I was mentally drained. I thought meditation was supposed to clear your mind, not fry it, but whatever, I was getting somewhere. My energy was shifting. Still incomplete, still not right, but it was progress.

I checked my phone. A notification stared back at me.

HEMA course starts today.

Fuck.

Never make plans when you’re in a good mood, that’s, like, the first rule of being an introvert.

And did I really need this? I was already training under a literal centuries old war hero. Sure, she didn’t have a long white beard, and she used corporal punishment way more than was appropriate, but that’s just my bias talking .

But with nothing else planned for the day, I figured I might as well go.

The class took place in an old warehouse, about twenty of us in total. We had two trainers, one tall, wearing a mesh mask with a padded longsword resting on his shoulder. The other was shorter, older, holding a similar mask under his arm.

The older man clapped his hands. “Welcome!” His eyes swept over the group. “Most of you are here because you’ve watched a few choreographed sword fights and thought it looked cool.”

A few chuckles.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” he continued, clearly enjoying himself. “Real armed fights look nothing like that. No backflips. And there’s definitely no dual wielding.”

He laughed, and the other trainer reluctantly joined in and the older trainer continued

“So if you’re here for that, this isn’t the class for you.”

Silence. No one moved. I guess people weren’t that stupid.

His grin widened. “Great! Now, let’s start with some basic footwork.”

Fuuuuuuuck.