When Kai had first met Zae Zin Nim, she'd been bleeding profusely and hacking up her lungs. The harm to her body had been so severe that it left her stick thin, more skeleton than woman. He had known that she had returned to health after breaking through the Body Refinement stage, but he had mostly managed to avoid thinking about it while they were traveling together.

That ended when she arrived then.

Unlike the others, Zae Zin Nim wasn't baring any skin below the neck, but it didn't matter. She wore form-fitting robes cinched at the waist, the type that women thought were a balance of flattering and modest. They did nothing to hide the curve of her hips or the bend of her waist, and even the wrapped top couldn't disguise the size of her breasts. Given her height - shorter than some of the other women by a full head - her curves almost made his jaw drop. It was all he could do not to stare.

"Damn." Norgoan wasn't bothering to hide his attention.

"No kidding." Ailag out out a whistle. "Pity about the scars, though."

The comment brought Kai back to his senses. Some women might want people to look at them, but he was pretty damn sure that wasn't what Zae Zin Nim wanted at that moment, so he averted his gaze.

Since his expectations had been set by her previous weeping gashes, Kai hadn't really thought about her scars. It was true that they were gruesome: having grown up around hunters, Kai thought that scars could look good on a woman, but these were ugly and dark. Some had sharp, raised edges, as if the skin had only just torn open. Strange how he barely thought about them most of the time. She was just Zae Zin Nim.

Back in Rayakan she had worn makeup to try to hide her wounds and it had actually worked for a time. Now, even though the same techniques would presumably have worked even better, she wasn't trying to hide her scars. To divert attention, or because she was more confident in herself? If they no longer pained her, she might be feeling better. Even if the scars covered her entire body, he couldn't help but imagine...

No, focus.

Once he got himself under control, Kai looked back to talk to her, only to find that she'd disappeared into a crowd of others. When had the feast gotten so crowded? Judging by Power ratings he thought some of the guests were aspiring crystalliers, while the others he guessed to be merchants or other benefactors based on their clothing.

Before he could orient himself again, Kai felt someone moving up behind him.

"You clean up good." Naellia stood behind him, her eyes running over his body. "Looks like you're taking to civilization well."

"It's been an interesting experience," Kai said. Naellia was dressed in tight robes that revealed what should have been an eye-popping amount of cleavage, but he was too distracted to care.

"We have to spend too much time working for the debt-mongers, but occasionally the crystalliers get to have fun together."

"Oh? I was wondering if there would be training or competitions."

"That wasn't what I had in mind." Naellia took a step closer and ran a hand up the muscles of his arm until it lingered at his neck. "Damn, I guess Physique has its advantages. Tell me, does it enhance the entire body?"

"Couldn't tell you." Kai gave her a stupid grin and pushed her hand away before walking in the other direction.

He heard Naellia squawk indignantly behind him, but he didn't care. The clumsy attempt at seduction didn't really interest him, though it did make him think about how long it had been since he'd slept with anyone. That thought made him miss Juray. Maybe he could have taken Naellia up on the offer just to get some physical relief, but he remembered how much she had scorned him when he arrived and her abrupt change of face repulsed him. There were too many truly good women in the world for him to waste time with someone who was just attractive.

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Suddenly weary of the party, Kai grabbed some food and retreated to a smaller clearing in the ornamental forest. It was lit only by the soft light of a few crystals and the glow of the main party, mostly ignored by the others. In the shadows he saw a few crystalliers and others going off together, groping at one another, but they steered away from him.

"There you are."

Zae Zin Nim appeared on the opposite side of the clearing and the low light was not doing her any harm. Kai swallowed and forced himself to just look her in the eye normally, the way they did when they sparred or trained together.

"How are you finding Krysal?" he asked.

"It's certainly much closer to civilization, but you have to be careful not to let it make you weak." She came to stand beside him and they stared out into the shadows together, which made it much easier to concentrate. "I've seen plenty of cultivators like this. They advance just far enough to gain pleasures in life, then they stagnate. These people are not our equals."

"Maybe they're self-indulgent, but I wouldn't be so harsh. They could be dangerous with enough crystals."

"Perhaps. But I think these people, so convinced they're elites, are failures. They aren't strong enough to make it at the Frontier or one of the other strongish places on the continent. I've seen some people and places that convinced me Deadwaste isn't all bad. This place just confirms every stereotype that Cloudspire has about your continent being smug in its weakness."

Kai scratched the back of his head as he considered it. "You might be right, but I'm staying cautious. I don't want to get arrogant and assume they don't have hidden power I just can't see."

"It could be possible." Zae Zin Nim sniffed as if to make clear what she thought of that, but then smiled over at him. "I shouldn't have worried. It looks like you've continued cultivating."

"Of course. I have enough money to buy all the crystals I can handle now."

"Continue doing so, but don't try to break through to the next stage. You're seeing percentages, correct? Good. Stop at 99% and wait for me. We don't want you to deviate, and while qi extracted from these crystals might be good enough for now, breakthroughs are important."

"What happens if it doesn't work, does the stage not have as much power?"

"Very rarely, only with very weak paths. You're more likely to reach one stage, but your inadequate foundation will prevent you from ever cultivating to the next."

They discussed their training at length, which did a lot to cool off Kai's mind. Whatever she was wearing, Zae Zin Nim was still his friend and ally. She agreed that his first priority needed to be some security so that his monstrous nature wouldn't ruin their advantageous situation. Fortunately, his cultivation was getting closer and he was already working on shrouding, so he was on his way.

"What about you?" Kai asked. "How long would you want to stay? You seemed to be getting along with some of the other women?"

"No, half of them are duplicitous bitches." Zae Zin Nim said it without any particular rancor, simply making an observation. "This place could be stifling eventually, but for now, we should let them keep giving us money. At least long enough for me to afford one of those flying crystals."

"Alright, fair enough. And then?"

"Once we have enough, I say we burn our bridges. Maybe we take over and steal an entire mine of these crystals before we leave."

Kai sighed. "We can't do that. Even if that wouldn't bring the strongest fighters in Krysal down on our heads, it would wreck their economy and their defense against the monster hordes."

"You care about that, but should I?"

"Well, I care. And the Frontier elite said that they'd owe us a favor if we helped, isn't that worth something?"

"I suppose it is." Zae Zin Nim's face softened slightly. "And I suppose I wouldn't truly do that, if you care about these people for some reason. But do think about an ending. We don't plan to stay here forever, it's just a good foothold to carry us further up."

"If we find out there's some cruel and ugly merchant hording crystals, I wouldn't mind stealing all of his."

"Of course you wouldn't." She rolled her eyes as she turned to him, then paused slightly with her gaze flickering over him. "Don't let them make you weak, but do let them clean you up. This works for you."

And then, with no indication if she was aware that she was taunting him, Zae Zin Nim walked away into the shadows. Kai did his best not to watch her go and swallowed.

She was right, of course. If he wasn't careful, the Krysal City States could be a plush prison. To obtain real power, he needed to stay alert and chart a path forward. No matter whether it was through monsters and battles or through feasts and gold.