“What do you think?” I asked, breaking the comfortable silence. “Should we keep cultivating or head to the arena and finish our dailies?”

She tilted her head, considering it. “Let’s find the others first. Then we can figure it out.”

I nodded, though part of me didn’t want to get up. It had been too long since we’d had a moment like this—just the two of us. I missed it. We used to sit under the stars, talking until we fell asleep. Although it was only a couple days ago.

She was staring at me, her stormy eyes curious, and I quickly looked away, hoping she hadn’t caught me being sentimental. Think of something clever. Say something cool.

Before I could stop myself, the words tumbled out: “Your taser powers suit your stormy eyes.”

The silence was deafening.

“What’s a taser?” she asked, her tone genuinely confused.

Great. Brilliant. At least she ignored the ‘stormy eyes’ part. “Uh… it’s like an arrow that shoots lightning at you.”

Her brows rose, and she leaned a little closer. “That sounds… practical.”

“Not if you’re on the receiving end,” I said, laughing nervously. “But, I mean, your attack last night? Definitely more effective than any taser.”

“Oh, so you’re still upset about that?” Her lips curled into a mischievous grin. “It was barely a spark. You acted like your toe was being roasted alive.”

“I did not!” I shot back, feeling the heat rise to my face. “I had a very dignified reaction. Completely composed.”

“Uh-huh.” She drew out the words, her tone dripping with mock skepticism.

I groaned and covered my face with my hands, which only made her laugh softly. Her laughter was warm and contagious, and I found myself smiling despite my embarrassment.

“Okay, maybe it was a little undignified,” I admitted, lowering my hands. “But you didn’t have to do that in front of everyone. I’ve got a reputation to maintain, you know.”

Her grin softened into something gentler. “Reputation as what? The guy who never backs down from a challenge, no matter how ridiculous?”

“Exactly!” I said, pretending to puff up with pride. “It’s an art form, really. The challenge of finishing a goo—well a joke must always be met.”

She chuckled, her shoulder brushing against mine as she leaned back slightly. “Well, I’ll admit… it’s entertaining.”

We lapsed into a comfortable silence, sitting side by side. The quiet felt like an unspoken agreement, a truce from the teasing. Her arm brushed against mine, just barely, but neither of us moved away. The faint warmth radiating from her grounded me, pulling me into the moment.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, we shifted closer. My hand moved slightly, and hers did too, until they overlapped. Her fingers hesitated, just for a breath, before settling lightly over mine. The touch was subtle but electric, sending a strange, thrilling calm through me.

For a few minutes, neither of us spoke. We just sat there, hands lightly resting together, our arms still brushing as the rhythm of our breathing aligned. The stillness wasn’t awkward—it was comforting. Peaceful. As though the world beyond this moment didn’t matter.

Finally, Thea broke the silence, her voice softer than usual. “We—we should head back.”

“Yeah,” I said, standing up slowly. “We should.”

As the moment faded, a sense of awkwardness crept in. We exchanged the occasional glance but quickly looked away each time. “You think the girls are done? You know, with the reservoirs?” I asked as we headed down the stairs.

“Huh? Oh… maybe. They must be close by now,” she replied, her voice thoughtful.

Ms. Star was nowhere to be seen as we exited into the bustling street. The walk back was quiet except for a brief, polite greeting to the attendant at the training building’s entrance. Even then, the air felt heavier with something unspoken between us.

When we opened the door to the inn, Elric greeted us first, his grin as sharp as ever. “Hey, what took you two so long?”

Thea walked past him, sitting down beside the girls with a simple, “Nothing, just getting clean.”

I took a seat next to Elric, who immediately leaned in close. “Something finally happen between you two?” he whispered, his tone brimming with mischief.

I hesitated. I thought it had only been a little awkward, but now it felt more pronounced. Maybe Thea was just shy. Not that I was an expert—I had a grand total of zero relationships to my name. “I think—I don’t know. She seems a bit off. Maybe she’s not used to affection, you know, with her fam—”

“Peter,” Thea’s stern voice cut through the room like a blade, making me freeze mid-sentence. “You really need to remember that whispering isn’t very effective when we all have… improved senses.”

“Oh—yeah, sorry, Thea,” I said, my words fumbling as I tried to recover. “You’re not angry, right?”

“No,” she replied, her voice softening. “We can talk later. Really, I’m not.”

Maybe she was just shy, and her version of shy just happened to look a lot like being annoyed. Not that I’d ever admit that thought out loud.

“While you two were… well, whatever that was,” Elric interrupted, his grin widening, “those two actually completed the first stage.”

Sia, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly perked up, her teasing instincts sharpening. “Can we talk about the real issue here?” she said, turning to me with a wicked glint in her eye. “Peter, you’re terrible at being smooth. I mean, really? Asking about a girl while she’s in the same room?”

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Lyra, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly perked up, nodding vigorously in agreement.

“I told you, you need to aim higher,” Sia continued with exaggerated flair, her sing-song tone unmistakably reminiscent of her performance in front of Rorick. “Why settle for a degenerate gambler?”

“Hey!” I objected, sitting up straighter. “That was acting!”

Lyra slid to Thea’s other side, patting her back in mock sympathy. “It’s okay,” she said, her voice dripping with faux pity—something I didn’t even know she was capable of. “We’ll find you someone else. Someone better.”

Elric doubled over, clutching his stomach as he roared with laughter, clearly delighted by the scene. The two girls shared a conspiratorial look, clearly pleased with themselves.

Meanwhile, I sat there struggling to find the humor in any of this. Thea’s ears, on the other hand, had turned crimson. She shot to her feet, her voice louder than before. “Let’s check my stats! Then I’ll teach you all the next step in cultivation.”

The two girls collapsed into a fresh wave of giggles, their teasing echoing through the room as I sat back, defeated.

Thea got up and resolved to show her stats. “Status,” she called, placing her hand on the orb in front of the monitor.

What appeared immediately stopped all the laughter in their collective throats as they stared at the monitor.

Class: Warrior

Blessing: Storm Heart

Stats:

* Strength: 20

* Agility: 50

* Stamina: 20

* Endurance: 11

* Magic: 5

* MP: 10/10

* SP: 10/10

Techniques: N/A

Titles: N/A

Missions:

* Bottom Rank Level 1

* Objective: You have become a warrior. You will be in battles for the rest of your life. Prove yourself capable by participating in real sparring matches. 8/10

* Rewards: A greater understanding of your Storm Heart, 5 stat points.

“Thea?” Elric’s voice trembled. “Did your agility raise by thirty points?”

Her eyes were wide, locked on the number. “That’s impossible,” she whispered.

“I mean, I can tell that’s a lot, but how major is it?” I asked.

Sia chipped in. “That’s something most people won’t get until near the end of bottom rank missions… and as Elric said, most never get past second-level intermediate. Other than working out—something that becomes less effective over time due to human limits—missions are the only way to earn stats.”

Lyra spoke after a pause. “Keep in mind, we’ve trained for a full year and are waiting for our fifth-level mission. Most third years who leave just touch on the beginner rank… Thea, that level of speed is unreal.”

There was a long pause before I spoke. “So what you’re saying is we now have very tangible proof for selling our cultivation method.”

Sia spoke up immediately. “I’ll buy whatever you guys offer.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“What?” Lyra asked, her voice tinged with surprise, maybe even a little hurt.

“No, I mean, you don’t have to pay,” I added quickly. Before they could protest, I continued, “Not just because you’re our friends—but because you’re more connected here. You’ve been around longer, and because of the services you both offer, I bet a lot of people know you.”

I quickly said. “You’ll help with recruitment for us—but only to people you trust. The last thing we want is someone spreading our knowledge before we’ve reaped enough benefits from it.”

“You should start a guild, then,” Sia suggested. “There are lots of smaller ones, and the contracts are… let’s just say, binding. But most smaller guilds get bullied into submission by the main class guilds.”

“Especially the good healer ones,” Elric grumbled.

“We can make guilds?” Thea and I asked simultaneously, sharing a surprised look.

Lyra nodded. “It’s a complicated process, but it’s possible. All the guilds were started by recruits at some point and handed down to successors when the founders left. The instructors technically supervise the main class guilds, but they hardly interfere. Their roles are more symbolic—to make sure no one goes too far. Some guilds grow and thrive, while others get bullied into destruction or submission.”

“Complicated, huh?” I wondered aloud. “I know someone we can talk to. You three can stay here or go to the Hall of Heroes. If these contracts are really binding—”

“They’re connected to your system,” Elric cut in. “There’s no breaking them. If you do, the consequences can be disastrous.”

“Then how did you manage to break yours by telling us the healer guild’s secret?” I asked.

“One, it’s not a well-kept secret. Most healers who use those quick-heal spells with long-term side effects are lower-level ones who don’t have fast effective options. Two, I was never technically in the guild. There’s a… temporary vetting process required, and I failed. Miserably, I might add.”

Lyra chirped in cheerfully, “I’m part of a smaller healer guild. They help me with gear, but they don’t force healers into horrible practices like that.”

“Alright then, I’ll go with Thea to meet our instructor,” I said. I wanted to talk more with Thea, and she must have felt the same since we both stood and left the others to their own business.

As soon as we walked out, I asked gently, “Are you okay?”

She turned slightly. “Yeah, I’m just…” She paused, clearly searching for the right words. “It feels different. Just a moment of change, and I feel like I don’t know how to act.”

I understood that. It was definitely a different situation after our time in the room. “It is, but I think it’s good.”

Thea’s ears turned red as she hurriedly interrupted, “It’s good… for me too, I mean.”

We stood there for a moment longer, the bustling crowd flowing around us. Her voice softened. “You’re right, though, about my family I mean. Do you remember when we first met, in the gym? I stood alone, just like you. I never talked to people outside my family. Not really. Not unless it was some formal function for military preparation or training.”

I thought about how lonely that sounded, how horrible it must have been to have no friends. Honestly, it was a miracle how socially developed she was. Maybe her parents and sister had been social enough with her that she’d learned some behaviors. The sarcastic eye-rolling had to come from somewhere, right?

“Thea, this is new to me too… really. Let’s just act the same. We can be different, but still act like usual. You know, rolling your eyes so hard you break something, and shocking me when I embarrass you.”

She laughed at that, and it made me happy—a glimpse of her usual self shining through. “So, different but the same? You really say the dumbest things. I still have dreams about you asking me how to breathe.” She began shaking her shoulders uncontrollably, trying to stifle an obvious, large laugh.

I smiled, sensing an opportunity. “I didn’t know you dreamt of me.” Adopting her over dramatic tone, I mimicked, “Darling.”

But instead of punishment or sarcasm, she fell silent and went red. “Come on, let’s go see how to start a guild,” she said quietly.

As we walked, the silence between us was no longer heavy. Occasionally, our fingers brushed as our arms swung, and before I knew it, our fingers had stopped swinging and stayed connected.

“Same but different, huh?” she added quietly.

“Yeah, you’re right—that was dumb to say… how could this be the same?” I replied with a small laugh.

I could barely imagine what people around us thought—two humanoid tomatoes walking down the street, or something like that—but I didn’t care. My heart was racing faster than ever before, yet I was happy. The warmth of her hand in mine grounded me, and as we continued forward, I couldn’t help but glance at her, catching a faint smile on her lips.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was us.