Alnea climbed the stairs with Karl, and casually chose one of the three rooms on the second floor. The one on the left side of the stairs. Except for being a bit larger, and a bit brighter, it was not much different from his last room. Of course, since the room itself was on the second floor, the steady stream of energy that was supposed to soothe his Heart, and help him meditate, should not be as prominent as it had been in his last room, but that was something he could confirm only with time. Or some experiments.

At the moment though, he was not very interested in doing those experiments. Or in anything else for that matter. Fighting waves after waves of Oren Beasts, killing Wanderers, detonating his Blood Crystals, and carrying his injured teammates all the way back to the city, all in just one day…

Even if the recovery potion had helped him recover a little, his body was feeling as if it was on the verge of breaking apart. It was probably the weight of his responsibility, and his desire to protect the things he cared for, that had kept pushing him to go on. After he walked into his room though, he felt all the weight disappear from his shoulders, and wrap around his eyes.

Placing his sword on the rack, Alnea plopped down onto the cushion. The sense of pleasure that came from just that simple movement… It brought forth an urge to let go of everything, and just relax. It would be fine, the voice in his Heart said. It was just one night. It would be over in the blink of an eye. And it was not as if anyone was watching him anyway. More importantly, he deserved a rest. He deserved a sleep. He deserved to return to the land of mem—

Alnea forced his errant thoughts back into the bottom of his Heart, where they deserved to be. Stacked away with his insecu—

He was doing it again… Even though he had resolved himself to never run away… What else could he do though? After all the things he had been through, could he blame himself? Maybe, when he had not resonated with his Roots, he could act ignorantly… But that was all in the past. After learning the true nature of his Oaths, of his Roots…

Although both Yuri and his master had warned him against taking Oaths, he was never the kind who listened to warnings. Or he would not have taken so many Eternal Oaths. And yet, after he learned what his Oaths could do… after visiting the land of his memories, he just could not bring himself to taking Oaths as easily as he used to. Maybe that was why he was so desperate to take Oaths…

He even took an Oath for himself. For himself. Not for the people he loved, or wished to protect. He took an Oath for himself… He even looked for reasons to justify his Oath for Vestia… And he turned around to run the moment he was faced with his fears… Just how scared was he of his Oaths?

No. He was Alnea Oathkeeper. The man who kept his Oaths for the people he loved. He kept his Oaths for his Heart. And he refused to be scared of his own Roots. Even if they could potentially trap him in the land of his memories, and let the memories of the other Alnea take over him, he would not be scared of them. On the contrary, he was going to take full control of his Roots. If he could not even do something so simple, how was he going to become the greatest Wanderer?

Though becoming the greatest Wanderer did not mean that he was going to be reckless. What was it that his master had said… Right. Wanderers could begin control their Roots after they reached the True Rank. This was also one of the reasons why Domains became so important for Wanderers to advance through Ranks in the later Stages. Because only after gaining enough control of their Roots, of their own Domains, could Wanderers break through their limits. Or so it was supposed to be.

He was just a False Wanderer though. That too, just at the Intermediate Stage. It was too early for him to even think about controlling his Roots. Still, even if he could not control his Roots, he refused to be afraid of them. They were his Roots. And they were supposed to help him. Not drag him away from his body. Maybe he should have a chat about his Roots with the Aspects…

Regardless, he could never let his Oaths become his weakness. And neither could he let his insecurities keep on building at the bottom of his Heart. After all, he had taken an Oath to never stop moving forward. It was fine when he did not know about it, or when he had not recognised his fears. After confronting his deepest insecurities though, he could not just keep on standing in place. He was Alnea Oathkeeper, the man who was going to become the greatest Wanderer. And he could not let a few unfounded fears overwhelm him anymore…

That was probably the most reckless Oath he had ever taken. Even more reckless than his Oath about becoming an Origin Wanderer. He had already taken the Oath though, so he could only dive headfirst into his fears, and confront them one by one, resolving them as they came to him, until all that was left was a calm, Serene Heart. A Heart so peaceful, that he could even feel the silence become tangible and wrap around him…

By the time Alnea opened his eyes, Enn had already risen in the skies. And from how high it was, it had probably been up for a couple of hours. Strangely enough—or not so strangely, considering it had already become a norm— despite not getting even a wink of sleep, he was feeling surprisingly refreshed. Only in his Spirit, of course. His body was still as sore, if not more. The consequences of detonating his Blood Crystals were heavier than he had imagined they would be. Thankfully, he had not suffered any other injuries, or he might have been in an even worse shape.

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Reluctantly resisting the call of the floor under him, Alnea pushed himself off the ground, and stretched his limbs a little, before heading into the bathroom to handle his daily chores. After all, a cold bath was always the best remedy for chasing away the lulls and temptations of sleep. It was just that the cold baths were also ruthless to his sore muscles. And to his weakened veins…

Just one fight, and a month of hard work had gone down the drain. No wonder the Blood Crystals Martial Styles were not very popular with Wanderers. Or why he had not heard of other Wanderers trying to mimic their effect. They were already hard enough to practice. With such blatant side effects added into the mix, such Martial Styles could only be reserved as special means to be used in times of need.

Still, despite all their disadvantages and defects, the Blood Crystal Martial Styles also had their own advantages. Especially in terms of life saving means…

By the time Alnea walked out of his room, everyone had already gathered in the living room, siting in a circle as usual, leaving a place for him in between Yuri and Cecilia, with Vestia sitting next to Yuri, and Karl sitting next to Cecilia. They were all just meditating though, probably waiting for him. And once again, Yuri opened her eyes the moment he took his seat.

“Did you have a good sleep?”

“…I did not sleep, but I guess you could say that I had a good rest.”

“…Why are you so late then?”

“…I was meditating.”

“I never knew you liked meditating so much.”

“…I was just clearing the troubles that I had accumulated in my Heart, and forgot to check the time.”

“…Should I congratulate you then?”

“Not yet. I am still stuck at Serenity… But I think I have cleared my path to Clarity.”

“That is still worth celebrating.”

“I am sure that you made even greater progress than me though.”

“…Why do you say that?”

“Because of the grin on your face.”

“…Am I smiling so much?”

“…It is not how much you are smiling, but how you are smiling.”

“I think that my smile is the same…”

“…It is something that only I can notice.”

“…And here I thought that I was slipping up in my practice.”

“I am telling the truth!”

“Right.”

“…Forget it. Let’s wake up the others.”

“Why? Are you bored of talking to me?”

“…We can talk whenever we want. But first, I have something to discuss with everyone.”

“…Fine. There is not much I can do if ask me so seriously,” Yuri mumbled, before poking Vestia sitting next to her with her elbow. “Wake up, pervert.”

“…I must bring you back to Erwein Forest, and show you how we wake up our friends,” Vestia said, rubbing her side with a growl, before turning towards Alnea with a smile. “Good morning, Alnea.”

“…Good morning, Vestia.”

“…Are we supposed to say good morning too?”

“…Just ignore the vixen,” Cecilia said to Karl, before turning towards Alnea. “Why did you run away last night?”

“…Did I run away? Or were you just too engrossed in yourself to notice me going upstairs?”

“…Don’t argue with me. I still have not forgiven you yet. You promised to make it up to me, and then suddenly run away like that…”

“…Give me two days. I am preparing a surprise for you.”

“…Are you trying to fool me once again?”

“…I have already promised you…”

“…I will give you two days. But only two days. Don’t forget your promise this time.”

“…I never forgot my promise… But alright. Just wait for a couple of days. This time, I am sure you will like my surprise.”

“…We will see.”

“…Speaking of surprises…”

“I know. I owe you a surprise too, Vestia. And a day out.”

“So, when are you going to give me my surprise?”

“…How about tomorrow?”

“Hey, why does she get her surprise earlier than mine?”

“…Because your surprise is a little harder to prepare,” Alnea said, smiling wryly at Cecilia. Why did she have to be so competitive in everything?

“Stop troubling him, Cecilia,” Yuri said, coming to his rescue once again. “He has already said everything… Do you not believe in him?”

“…My surprise better be better than hers.”

“…Anyways, can we schedule our day out tomorrow, Vestia? There is something else that I want everyone to do today.”

“Of course,” Vestia said, flashing her dimples at him. “I rather prefer keeping it tomorrow. It would give me some time to prepare a few things on my end too…”

“…What are you preparing?”

“…Nothing.”

“…I will be keeping my eyes on you, Vixen.”

“Unfortunately, I will be all alone with Alnea tomorrow, so…”

“…You—

“She is just teasing you, Lia.”

“But she will be all alone with you… All day long…”

“…What harm could a day do?”

“…Idiot.”

“…What did I do this time?”

“Nothing,” Vestia said, giggling at his confused face. “You were saying that you have something that you want us to do…”

“…About that…”