When activating the runes carved into my body, I relied on the Foundational Rune - its tree pattern purified the red sun's chaotic energy, making it safer to use.

But for manipulating plants, to save pure red sun energy, I prefer to draw energy directly from the miniature red sun in my inner world. The raw, unpurified energy was more potent, though it tended to cause... interesting side effects.

I channeled power from my inner world into the vine, watching as it responded to the red sun essence. Perhaps a bit too enthusiastically - the metallic sheen Elder Molric had given it darkened to a blood-red color, and crimson veins spread through its surface like corruption. The whole thing began writhing like an excited snake.

I then sent the vine shooting forward, aiming to wrap around Kiran's legs. He reacted instantly, bone spikes erupting from his shins to intercept. The vine struck the bones with surprising force, actually managing to scratch the surface before being deflected.

"Interesting," Azure noted. "The elder's modifications alongside the miniature red sun’s energy seems to have given it enhanced cutting properties."

Kiran didn't wait for me to try again. He charged forward, pulling more bones from his body to use as weapons. Each extraction looked agonizing, but his crazed grin only widened.

I jumped back as I made the vine lash out again, this time aiming for his upper body. But bone plates materialized just in time, deflecting the strike.

"Your tricks won't work!" Kiran's voice had taken on a manic villainous edge. "I'll show you true power!"

He thrust both hands forward, and dozens of bone shards launched from his palms like arrows. I managed to dodge most of them, but several grazed my arms and legs, drawing blood.

"Master," Azure cautioned, "we need a new strategy."

He was right. Direct attacks weren't working - Kiran's bone armor was too responsive, and my energy wouldn't last much longer at this rate. But there had to be a weakness...

I watched carefully as Kiran generated another volley of bone projectiles. There - just for a split second when the bones first emerged, they were softer. Almost translucent before they fully hardened.

"Azure, did you see that?"

"Yes. There's approximately a 0.3-second window before the bones solidify. Not much time to work with."

"It'll have to be enough."

I let the vine coil around my arm, studying Kiran's increasingly erratic movements. His attacks were getting stronger but less controlled. The red sun's influence was clearly taking its toll.

"Come on!" he shouted, voice cracking. "Fight me properly! Stop running away!"

The bone armor covering his body had become more elaborate, with wickedly sharp spikes protruding from every surface. But I noticed his breathing was becoming labored. The technique must consume massive amounts of energy.

Time to test my theory. I needed to get close enough to observe the bone generation without taking unnecessary risks.

"Azure, monitor the bone formation speed when I engage. I'll create an opening."

"Understood, Master."

I Blink Stepped to Kiran's left side, drawing his attention. As expected, he reflexively generated bone armor to defend.

The moment he committed to the defense, I Blink Stepped again, appearing on his right - but this time, I struck.

My fist connected with his ribs just as the bones were beginning to emerge, the impact causing him to stumble back with a grunt of pain.

His counter-attack still caught my arm, bone spikes grazing the skin, but I had what I needed. I jumped back to create distance immediately.

Double Blink Step:

Purified Red Sun Energy: 90 → 30 (Cost: 60)

"Did you get it?" I asked Azure, ignoring the shallow cut.

"Yes. The bones take exactly 0.27 seconds to fully harden after emerging from his skin. The formation pattern is also consistent - they always emerge in the same sequence."

I nodded, already formulating our next move. "That's our window then."

Kiran was already charging again, lost in the frenzy of combat. I let him come, waiting until he was fully committed to his attack. When he was just a few steps away, I activated Blink Step one final time.

Purified Red Sun Energy: 30 → 0 (Cost: 30)

I reappeared directly above him, the vine already moving. As he instinctively tried to form bone armor, I manipulated the vine to strike precisely as new bones were emerging, its sharpened edge sliced through the still-soft material.

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Before Kiran could react, it had wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms.

"Now!" Azure called out.

I landed behind Kiran and pressed my hand against the vine, channeling the more of the red sun’s energy into it. The plant responded dramatically, sprouting dozens of smaller demonic tendrils that quickly encased Kiran's entire body.

To my surprise, the vine began to crystallize, turning semi-transparent while maintaining its grip. Kiran struggled briefly, but the crystalline prison held firm.

"Well," I muttered, "that's new."

The fight was over.

I released my hold on the vine, expecting it to maintain its crystalline form. Instead, it immediately reverted to normal and unwound itself from Kiran's body. Before I could react, it had wrapped around my neck like an affectionate scarf.

"I think it likes you," Azure commented, amusement clear in his voice.

Kiran slowly pushed himself to his feet, the bone armor retracting into his body. His eyes had cleared, though he looked exhausted.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I lost control again. The hereditary rune... it makes it harder to resist the red sun's influence."

"Does Zoren have something similar?"

“No,” Kiran shook his head. “But he wishes he did. Hereditary runes aren't something you can control or predict. Some nobles are born with them, others aren't. It's considered a mark of powerful bloodlines, even if..." he trailed off, looking troubled.

"Even if they're as much curse as blessing?" I finished for him.

He nodded gratefully, looking relieved that someone understood.

"Excellent work, both of you!" Elder Molric's voice made us both jump. I'd almost forgotten he was watching.

He approached Kiran first, beaming. "Your bone generation is improving, young Tovel. The density and formation speed have increased significantly."

Kiran straightened slightly at the praise, a small smile breaking through his earlier guilt.

"And you," the elder turned to me, "good use of runes, and quite impressive martial arts skills. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

I couldn't exactly tell him I'd learned combat in another world, so I went with a partial truth. "Something I practiced in the village. It helped against the raiders."

Elder Molric nodded absently, clearly more interested in examining the vine still wrapped around my neck. "Your plant manipulation shows promise, but we should work on some elemental runes to give you some variety.”

I nodded in agreement. Without the ability to manipulate plants, my combat capabilities were nothing special compared to other Rank 1 practitioners.

"Well?" The elder was practically bouncing with excitement. "What are you waiting for? It's time to learn elemental runes!"

I glanced out one of the tower's windows at the dark sky. Even with the red sun's perpetual presence, night had clearly fallen. "Master, I need to sleep."

Elder Molric looked startled for a moment, then seemed to remember that normal people actually required rest. He coughed slightly. "Ah yes, of course. I sometimes forget the limits that you lower ranks have. Meet me at the lab tomorrow then. Oh, and no sleeping in!"

With that, he strode away, already muttering about experimental runic combinations.

Kiran and I shared an amused look as we began walking back. "Follow me," he said. "I know a route that'll avoid Zoren's usual haunts."

As we walked through the corridors, a massive structure caught my eye. "What's that tower?"

"The Crimson Spire," Kiran replied. "Ninety-nine floors of combat trials. The first ten are for Rank 1 practitioners, the next ten for Rank 2, and so on up to the final nine floors for Rank 9."

I frowned slightly, wondering why Elder Molric hadn't used it for our training instead of forcing Kiran to fight. It seemed like the perfect place to work on combat skills. Still, I made a mental note of its existence – it would be excellent preparation for the Outer Disciple tournament back in my world.

"What level has Zoren reached?" I asked.

"He completed the ninth floor last week." Kiran's tone was grim. "He's definitely at the peak of Rank 1."

Something about the tower's structure bothered me. "Wait, the last nine floors are for Rank 9 practitioners? But that's supposed to be the highest rank. Who was powerful enough to create training challenges for peak Skybound?"

Kiran glanced around before answering quietly. "No one knows. The two great academies have existed as long as anyone can remember, and so have their towers."

My eyes widened slightly. Two academies? That meant there must be one for the blue sun followers as well.

"The other academy?"

"The Order of the First Light," Kiran replied, then quickly looked around. "We shouldn't discuss them here. The academy... doesn't appreciate initiates talking about the other side."

Both academies having identical towers suggested whoever created them had given both groups equal opportunity to advance. Could they have been built by a transcendent? Someone who had broken free from both suns' influence?

As we walked in silence, the vine around my neck shifted slightly, as if sensing my thoughts. I reached up to stroke it.

"Your new friend seems comfortable," Kiran observed with a slight smile.

“Apparently, I've been adopted by one of Elder Molric's experiments,” I replied. “But I can’t complain about a vine that can cut through bone armor.”

The vine gave what felt like an approving squeeze, and I found myself wondering about the possibilities of breeding my own combat-oriented plants.

Having pre-enhanced flora ready for battle could be incredibly useful. Maybe after dealing with Chen Wu, I could experiment with creating variants specialized for different situations...

When we reached a junction where the path split into three identical corridors, Kiran turned to face me. "So, this is where we go separate ways…”

"Thanks for the help today, and sorry about..." I gestured vaguely at him.

"Me nearly losing my mind and trying to kill you?" He smiled wryly. "I should be the one thanking you. Most people would have taken advantage of my loss of control, but you found a way to end the fight without seriously injuring me. I…I appreciate that."

"Well, permanent injuries tend to make training partners less cooperative."

"True enough,” he laughed. “Though you might want to work on your own injuries before tomorrow.”

I glanced down at my blood-stained robes. The cuts from Kiran's bone attacks were still bleeding slightly. "Any suggestions?"

"There's a healing formation in your quarters. Just channel some energy into the floor runes and it'll speed up your recovery." He started walking away, then paused. "Oh, and Tomas? Watch out for Zoren. He's... not as reasonable as I am."

I watched him disappear down the left corridor before heading to my own quarters. The vine shifted again, as though it was trying to inspect my wounds.

"Yes, yes, don’t worry, we're going to get healed.”

When I arrived in my quarters, I found the healing formations to be surprisingly effective. Within minutes of channeling energy into the floor runes, my wounds had closed completely, leaving only faint pink lines that would likely fade by morning.

I settled onto the bed, finally letting exhaustion catch up with me. "Azure, remind me to ask Elder Molric about elemental runes that don't require sacrificing body parts or risking insanity."

"Noted, Master. Though given his enthusiasm for experimentation, I suspect his definition of 'safe' might differ from yours."

"Probably." I closed my eyes, already feeling sleep approaching. "Still better than becoming a human pincushion."

The last thing I felt before drifting off was the vine adjusting itself into a more comfortable position around my neck, like a strange but well-meaning pet.