"Alright," I said, turning more serious. "I’ll absorb the energy, and you can observe it. Then isolate it. Hopefully, that’s all we need to do to solve this problem. Otherwise… we might need you every time we cultivate."

I sat down, ready to start, but Elric stopped me.

"Wait," he said.

I looked up at him, confused.

"There are too many variables still," he continued. "What if I have to be at the Perfect Conversion stage to see it?"

I froze.

If I had started and Elric was right and Thea didn’t wake up…

Pop.

Elric must have noticed my expression because he laughed.

"I could be wrong," he said, shrugging. "How about this. We wait. You two hold off on cultivating until I reach your stage. Then, once I do, Lyra will test if she can sense it in the Energy Gathering stage while I check at your stage. That way, we remove variables and know for sure if it's something only I can see."

I nodded, agreeing, as Lyra blushed in the back from the compliment. Sia whispered something in her ear, and suddenly, she turned the same shade as Sia’s hair.

Apparently, retaliation was warranted because Lyra whispered something back, resulting in both of them turning red.

…Wait.

I can’t hear them.

I turned to Elric. "Did you, by any chance, find a way to… whisper?"

Elric sat down next to me, completely relaxed. "Why, you wanna whisper sweet nothings into Thea’s ear?" he teased.

I stared at him seriously. "What, jealous?"

I thought I finally had one over on him, but his next statement stopped me in my tracks.

"Why would I be jealous?" He paused, as if I was supposed to understand something.

Then he stood with a sigh.

"Why don’t you get Thea in bed? I’ll cultivate with Sia and Lyra."

I nodded, standing as well. "I’ll see you tomorrow. Or later tonight, I guess."

"Tomorrow," he confirmed.

As I carefully picked Thea up, I walked toward the exit, but something caught my attention.

Elric was talking to the girls.

I wasn’t paying attention to the words… but he seemed different. More genuine, maybe? Not like how he was with his fans. Not even like when I first saw him with Sia and Lyra when we met.

It couldn’t be…

He caught me looking and winked.

"What a—"

Main character.

That was the only thing that came to mind.

Then again, it seemed like Sia was being targeted by both of them in some whispered teasing. Just as I left, I could’ve sworn she turned redder than her hair… I really gotta learn his trick for that.

I walked down the stairs but didn’t see the usual attendant.

Just as I opened the front door, causing Thea’s legs to shift slightly in my arms. She stirred a bit since I had her in my now official Princess Grandmaster carry…it was a normal princess, but you know…she’s the grandmaster.

I don’t know if Lyra’s spell was similar to those numbing medicines that make you act all silly back home, but immediately, that cute grin of hers stretched even wider than usual.

"Morning, Grandmaster," I said brightly, looking down at her. "You feeling okay?"

No response.

Now that smile is sort of freaking me out.

"Thea?"

Then, she hugged me.

Hard.

Her arms wrapped tightly around my chest, her face pressed against me, and suddenly. She erupted into a fit of muffled giggles.

Like a little kid.

I actually started laughing too.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Mff mfm mfm," she mumbled into my chest. Then she continued her important speech, "mmfmf mfm mm mff fffm."

"Oh yeah?" I pretended to understand, barely holding back my own laughter as I carried her toward the inn. "What else is going on?"

She lifted her head, her smile now more natural, though her eyes were still a little hazy.

"I’m sleepy," she murmured.

"I bet," I chuckled.

Then, half-lidded eyes blinking at me, she added in a sleepy, brutally honest but sweet tone.

"You're really warm… and I like it. But if you drop me, I’m making Elric my new servent."

"So I’m your servant?" I asked, amused.

She shook her head but then, oddly, nodded at the same time.

"Yes."

I opened the door to the inn. The front desk was empty, so I started up the stairs.

"You’re holding me like this," she continued, waving her hands vaguely toward me. "So you are my servant."

I laughed again. "So you’d leave me if I dropped you? That’d make me so sad."

She paused, like she was seriously thinking about it.

"I’ll just shock you," she finally decided. "I like you more."

Then she hugged me tighter, maybe to soften the next blow, before adding,

"But he is muuuuuch, muuuuuuch, muuuuuuuch prettier than you."

Yep. I may hate Elric. I can admit that now.

"Maybe," I said. "But I’m the one holding you. So who wins?"

"Me," she said resolutely. "Neither of you get carried."

I opened the door and gently placed her onto the bed, the door shutting behind me, leaving us in darkness.

I grabbed some blankets, but before I could cover her, she started laughing again.

She’s kinda strange… I should ask Lyra to do this again.

I draped the blanket over her, and she immediately tucked herself in, cocooning herself tightly.

"Goodnight, Thea," I said, heading for the door.

"You’re going alone?"

Her voice was noticeably more sober now, and I guess she took our don’t travel alone anymore rule pretty seriously. Rightfully so. The last thing I wanted was to be kidnapped again.

"I’ll go straight to Greats and get someone," I reassured her.

She shifted slightly on the bed but said nothing. I took that as acceptance.

I moved quickly back toward Greats, jogging lightly across the street. Just as I reached for the door, I heard a noise.

At first, I thought I imagined it.

Then, a low murmur. A soft, breathy sound. A quiet giggle.

Another voice, hushed, followed by something that definitely wasn’t words, just a sound.

Oh.

Oh… no.

Oh heck no.

My brain caught up a second too late.

My feet, however, acted immediately.

I slowly, very carefully, turned right back around and walked straight outside.

Guess I wouldn’t be asking for company.

I hated to do it, breaking our rule, but I needed to tell someone about the near disaster of the cultivation session. Commander Griffith.

Now, for something I hated even more.

I sprinted as fast as I could toward the old campsite Thea and I used to call home.

It didn’t take long.

I stopped just outside the tents, catching my breath, when—

"What are you doing here, Peter?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

How does he always know where I am?

I ignored that train of thought for now. "There’s something I need to tell you. About Body Refinement."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Found something new?"

I nodded. "Yeeeeah, but it’s… not good. I think."

He didn’t speak, just stared expectantly, waiting for me to explain.

"It’s not enough to have someone with you when you cultivate," I said, trying to piece my words together. "You know, um, when you’re doing it."

Gotta work on my teaching skills.

"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Well. It’s hard to explain. It’s like… something else. Another energy is invading while we cultivate. It’s almost hypnotic. Euphoric, even. The first time or two, we could pull each other out of it, but…"

I hesitated, thinking back to Thea’s condition earlier.

"What happened to the girl?" he asked, his voice sharp with concern.

I held up a hand. "She’s okay. But I think it was almost really bad. Disastrous."

"Deadly?"

I nodded. "I think so."

He exhaled, rubbing his chin, but I caught the subtle relief in his posture.

"I’m glad you two are okay," he said. Then, after a pause, "Another energy, separate from world energy and internal force…"

He trailed off, deep in thought.

Then his eyes widened.

"Could it be—" He glanced at me. "Keep up."

I groaned. Maybe I should’ve just let him figure it out on his own.

Still, I followed him, thankfully not far, to a private tent, which I assumed was his.

He rummaged through a chest at the foot of a massive sleeping bag, pulling out a journal.

"Here," he said, flipping through pages before pointing to a passage.

"I thought about this long ago but never pursued the theory further… there was nothing to support it."

It took me a second to process the words.

Then, my jaw dropped.

I should’ve realized this sooner.

The writings didn’t explain why the energy seemed hostile, but it did describe what it might be.

We use our systems as if they are a given, an immutable part of life. But though it has been asked countless times, and countless answers given… where does the energy come from?

SP and MP. The fundamental forces of combat and magic. Are they truly separate? If so, why? If not, why do they behave differently?

All energy must have a source. The system does not generate power from nothing. We see this most clearly in magic tools, which absorb and store nodes of light to fuel their abilities. Likewise, healers manipulate visible strands of light, transforming them into restorative force.

Yet, despite these differences in form, all these energies must originate from somewhere.

A system that grants power must also draw power from something.

It shocked me how deep his thoughts went.

It was easy for me to grasp the concept, energy can’t be created or destroyed, but for someone from what I’d consider a rudimentary time period, where people could bend energy to their will without understanding the mechanics behind it…

Griffith Ironscribe was no ordinary commander.

He was a true genius.