"The key to successfully hunting a Rune Beast is preparation-" The teacher the Marquis had gotten for Victoria, an old Hunter named Flynn, began, before being interrupted by Victoria raising her hand. "Yes?" He asked, confused, wondering what she could possibly have a question about when he had literally just started teaching her.

"Isn't the key to anything preparation?" Victoria commented in a tone that suggested she was thinking out loud. "Kind of an unnecessary addition, don't you think? The question isn't whether we should prepare, but how we should go about doing so. Saying we need to prepare to do something is like saying birds need to flap their wings to fly…" Victoria trailed off as she realized she was essentially insulting this man, which was rather rude considering he'd come all this way just to teach her. "Uh… sorry. Please, continue."

Flynn's mind broke a little, feeling a bit put off by the young noble lady's immediate, and rather effective, dismantling of a concept he felt was core to his lesson. "Er- R-right, so… to prepare for hunting Rune Beasts… Yes, to prepare, we require knowledge! Are we dealing with a predator or prey species? Are they solitary or do they pack up? What Runes do they have? Are they a Spirit Beast, a Qi Beast, or an Essence Beast or possibly even a combination- yes?" Flynn was just getting his steam back, when he was interrupted by Victoria's raised hand again.

"What do you mean by combination?" Victoria asked, confused.

"Oh… well, you see, much like Cultivators, Rune Beasts can use two or even all three energy type-" Flynn began.

"Wait, what!?!" Victoria exclaimed in shock. "We can cultivate more than just one system?!?"

Flynn gave her a weird look. "Did you not know? In order to enter a sect, you must be at least a dual cultivator, but if you want to be able to advance, you'll need to have all three…"

Victoria frowned, considering this new information. If she could cultivate two systems, then maybe if she got her knife fighting to a high enough level… She shook her head, refocusing on Flynn. "Sorry, please continue."

"Yes, well, the more you know about your prey, the better." Flynn continued, shaking his head at the strangeness of this young girl. Smart enough to see through his opening on preparation, but doesn't know that Cultivators can cultivate more than one system? How is that even possible? "Therefore, the key skill of a qualified Hunter is observation. Before you even begin to think of taking down a Rune Beast, you must spend at least a few days observing it, taking note of its territory, its feeding and drinking habits, how it interacts with any other Rune Beasts in the area, etc. Even if you believe the Rune Beast to be weak and easily killed, you cannot forgo this process. Through Runes, even small and unassuming Rune Beasts can turn out to be terrifying monsters." Flynn explained. "I was once tasked with the elimination of a skunk out near one of the local barons' estates. Should have been an easy task, simply taking out a small rodent that was stinking up the place, with little to no power. However, after I observed the Rune Beast for a few days, it became clear that this was no weak little creature. It was some powerful deep woods Rune Beast that had temporarily moved to the outskirts to have its children! Suffice to say, I immediately informed the baron I would no longer be handling the job and that he should seek a much more powerful Cultivator. If I had neglected my observation, and just assumed the skunk was weak as in the report, I wouldn't be standing here before you today!"

Victoria nodded along in agreement, taking careful note of his words. Of course, she was already going to focus on observing the Rune Beasts, as she needed to know if they had abilities that could be useful or not before she wasted time on them, but doing so for safety was also important. Getting lazy just because you thought you had all the information was a good way to an early grave.

Flynn went on to describe a few specific signs to watch out for, such as a large territory with no other Rune Beasts nearby or many other Rune Beasts nearby, but the other Rune Beasts never attack and even seem to fear the Rune Beast. The more he talked, the more Victoria understood why he insisted on such a long period of observation. Even situations that seemed the same could suggest two wildly different scenarios based on subtle nuances that took time to understand. She began to realize just how great a teacher the Marquis had gotten for her, and a slightly warm and fuzzy feeling began to well up in her chest. Even though he didn't approve of her decision, or even particularly understand it, he still did his best to make sure she was as prepared as possible to do it.

"We'll stop there for today." Flynn finally finished after about an hour straight of talking, before pulling out a large binder and handing it to Victoria. "This is a compilation of the various types of Rune Beasts, their habits, strengths, weaknesses, everything you'd need to know. I want you to study it, and be able to state the detailed information of each Rune Beast in there before you even think of stepping into the wilderness. Without at least that level of knowledge, you have no business being a Hunter."

Victoria looked at the binder skeptically, before looking up and raising an eyebrow at Flynn. "I'm pretty sure most Hunters would disagree with you."

Flynn snorted. "Most Hunters are idiots and bring shame to the name! Future dead men who risk their lives simply by breathing!" He retorted in a bitter tone. "If you want to be like those future corpses, then go ahead, ignore me!"

Victoria shook her head. "I know I need to understand the Rune Beast I'm hunting, but why do I need to memorize this entire thing? Couldn't I just look up the specific Beast I'm studying?"

"First of all, that's my binder. I'm letting you use it to study, since your father has paid good money to have me teach you, but you will be returning it to me." Flynn explained, narrowing his eyes at her. "Secondly, when you're in the wilderness, being chased by some rabid Rune Beast you just happened to step on the tail of, do you think it's just going to stop and let you look it up? Absolutely not! You need to understand these creatures before you run into them! That's how you stay alive! By knowing how to react when the unexpected happens!"

"But…" Victoria stared at the thick binder distastefully, not even excited to read the thing, let alone memorize it, before letting out a weary sigh, as a task prompt appeared, sealing her fate. "Damn it… fine! I'll memorize the damn thing!" She growled, not sure whether she was talking to the system or Flynn.

Flynn nodded. "Good. That should take you a good few months." He began to pack up his things and head out. "Tomorrow we'll focus on methods to conceal yourself as you observe, so wear something you don't mind getting dirty."

Victoria watched him leave with a frown, before turning to the binder. With another heavy sigh, she flipped open the first page, glancing at her memory stat. "Couple months, my ass. I'll do this in a damn week!"

*

Now that her core was formed, and she had a bit of Spirit, Victoria finally began to really delve into the comprehension of the Advanced Design Rune. She'd been holding off, because the Advanced Rune mainly focused on teaching her how to utilize her Spirit, which, when she didn't have any, was fairly frustrating. Much like her Initial Rune, meditating on the Advanced Rune drove her to experiment and utilize the ideas it gave her. Victoria sat on her bed in her meditation posture, before entering her Runescape, focusing on the Advanced Rune. She felt that familiar sensation come over her as she began to feel the urge to experiment with her Spirit, a surge of hints and nudges pushing her to do something with it.

Moments later, her eyes popped open and she jumped out of bed, rushing towards the small work area she'd set up in the corner. She quickly brought out several of the materials she'd collected, various fabrics, metals, woods, and other things she'd found interesting or potentially useful for her designs. She arranged them carefully on the table, before closing her eyes and concentrating. Slowly, an invisible mist began to spread from her forehead, moving towards the table and covering the materials. A slight frown creased Victoria's brow as she concentrated, the mist twisting and twirling around the materials, before flowing back into her head as her eyes snapped open.

“Interesting…” Victoria muttered. Her Spirit had somehow analyzed the materials and opened up some kind of… Design space? In her mind. Of course, since it was her first attempt, she hadn't actually learned that much, basically just getting the rough shape of the materials, but she could tell that once she learned how to get her Spirit inside the materials, she could even simulate the materials’ properties! She also felt she could push the materials outside her design space, creating some kind of illusion? “Very interesting.”

Victoria went to go back to her meditation, hoping to get more insights into her design space, when her eyes landed on the binder she'd received from Flynn, and an idea popped into her head. *Could I?* She wondered, approaching the binder. She stared at it for a moment, before closing her eyes and extending the mist, covering the binder. In her mind, another binder appeared. It opened, flipping through page after page, showing all the detailed information Flynn had recorded over the years, and a slow grin spread across Victoria's face.

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*

Victoria flowed through the second form the Marquis had taught her as he watched her with a blank stare. From one motion to the next, Victoria effortlessly executed each move to perfection, as if she'd been doing it for years. She finished with a light huff, before turning to the Marquis. "How was that?"

The Marquis coughed slightly. "Could use a bit more practice, but you obviously have the basics down. Let's move on to the next form then." He commented quickly, launching into the next knife form. The first two had obviously been more focused on defensive motions, but this new one was different, full of stabs and slashes, creating a heavy, violent aura as the Marquis moved. Victoria watched carefully, taking note of each of the Marquis's motions, trying to capture the essence before he had her run through it herself. She hated making mistakes, so she always felt a little frustrated when he corrected her. The best way to avoid that was by getting it right the first time.

The Marquis soon finished the third form and gestured for Victoria to begin, watching as she slowly copied his previous motions, looking for any mistakes he needed to correct. His eyes widened slightly as she went almost half way through the form before he caught a minor mistake. His gaze returned to normal as she made a few more mistakes towards the end, but it still left him shaking his head. This girl was learning quickly, almost too quickly. The first two forms should have taken her at least a month, maybe two to perfect, but instead she had them down in just a week! To a high level at that! It had the Marquis shaking his head in wonder, considering whether he should have been teaching his daughter this entire time, instead of just leaving her to her own devices.

*Maybe I should arrange some time to train Calvin as well…* The Marquis supposed, stroking his chin as he watched Victoria run through the new form a little faster, not catching any mistakes. After she ran through the form a few more times without mistake, the Marquis stopped her. "Alright, we'll stop there. Once you have this form down, we'll start sparring as well. You need to have experience actually using these techniques in a real fight. The forms are good for getting you used to the motions, but until you can actually put them to use effectively, they're just a fancy dance." Victoria nodded in understanding, stretching lightly with a yawn, somewhat disappointed she hadn't gotten a new task for this one, but she supposed this form didn't seem that difficult to master, turning to leave, when the Marquis stopped her. "Wait, actually, I still need to talk to you about something."

Victoria turned back with a confused expression. "Yes?"

"With your recent advances in cultivation, it has become necessary for us to reconsider the plans for your engagement to the Duke." The Marquis explained.

Victoria frowned. "I'm engaged? Wait… I'm only fourteen and you're already planning my engagement?!?" She asked incredulously.

The Marquis sighed. "I keep forgetting you've lost your memory… Yes, we have already been planning your engagement. This isn't all that abnormal. Most commoner girls are already married by your age, so this is nothing surprising, yes? As you know- er- I suppose you wouldn't, actually… Ahem, yes, well, you should know that Duke Duhallis has made his intentions towards you rather obvious and intends to make your engagement official on your birthday. As a prominent noble in the kingdom, your union with him would bring our family many benefits, while denying him would create friction that would push us even further from the political core of the kingdom than we already are." He explained wearily, as if he was bearing a heavy weight. "Your brother has always supported the engagement, as a connection with the Duke would be a strong support for his future plans. However, you have remained… opposed to the idea, though I don't have a clear understanding as to why, and you obviously wouldn't be able to tell me anymore.

"The reason I bring this up is that with your prospects in cultivation becoming more and more promising, we have an excuse to politely decline, or at least postpone your engagement." The Marquis explained with a serious expression. "Cultivation has always been the highest priority for any individual, especially the young who still have the opportunity to enter a sect. If we explain that you are focusing on your cultivation in hopes of competing in the sect entrance exams once you turn sixteen, we can reject the Duke without offending him. Therefore, the question for you becomes, would you rather embark on the path of cultivation or become engaged to the Duke? I warn you, cultivation is difficult and time consuming, and if you fail to condense a second core by your sixteenth birthday, or enter a sect by your seventeenth, we'll still be forced to continue with the engagement, even if you aren't willing. We're simply unable to resist the Duke without an overwhelmingly solid excuse. If he can convince the other nobles that your talent isn't as impressive as we say it is, then he can still ruin us politically, forcing us to go through with the engagement." The Marquis finished, looking vaguely depressed.

"So as long as I can get into a sect, I don't have to worry about being forced to marry this Duke?" Victoria asked, receiving a nod from the Marquis. "Then yes, I'd like to enter a sect." She answered, suppressing a shudder. Despite her currently feminine form, the idea of being with a man did not sound appealing. Though admittedly, the idea of being with anyone didn't sound very appealing right now… Anyone other than Jessica at least. Victoria quickly shoved down the well of grief that threatened to surge out of her as she focused on the other reasons she wanted to join a sect, such as advancing her cultivation and learning more about this world and potentially the Voice that had destroyed hers. She wasn't going to figure anything out if she was stuck as some dude's wife.

Additionally, she had complete confidence she could condense her second core by her sixteenth birthday. Hell, she might even have a third core by then! Her fighting skill was steadily climbing her skill list with the support of her dagger training, and once it was at the top, just under design, she was confident she could condense a strong Essence Rune with its support. All she needed was to develop a similar Qi type skill. Suddenly she paused, frowning. "Wait… is this why I took the Potion of Awakening? To try and become a cultivator so I could escape this engagement?"

"It's very likely." The Marquis sighed wearily, nodding his head slightly, before clenching his fists. "If I ever discover who gave you that potion-! If you'd just kept up with your training, you would have been perfectly capable of taking the potion safely in just a few months!" He growled, a fierce glint in his eyes, before a defeated look came over him. "Maybe if I'd been a bit more proactive… taken the time to discover your talent…"

Victoria shook her head. *That Victoria didn't have the system, and if she was actually that talented, she would have known she should wait to take the potion.* She thought to herself with a mix of bitter irony. Without that potion, she wouldn't be here, and that Victoria would probably have been forced to marry this Duke. "It's no use worrying about what might have been." She sighed. "It's better to focus on how we move forward."

"You're right." The Marquis nodded in agreement, sighing lightly. "Since you've chosen to focus on cultivation, then we need to plan for your entrance into the sect. The biggest decision lies in which sect you choose to enter. In our region, there are three major sects: the Champions of Battle, Wisdom's Curse, and the Hidden Blades. As their names suggest, the Champions of Battle focus on Essence cultivation methods, Wisdom's Curse focuses on Spirit cultivation methods, and the Hidden Blades focus on Qi cultivation methods, though of course, as sects, none of them neglect the other two.

"The reason this is important is because in order to ensure your entry, you'll not only need two cores, but you'll also need to have at least one second tier Advanced Rune already Assimilated in the area of expertise of the sect you'd prefer to join by the time you take the entrance exam. Sects prefer to choose those who already show promise, so the more advanced your Rune, the better. There are some other, minor sects you could still join if the big three fail to take an interest in you, but… well, a small sect isn't as demanding as the large sects, and it is rather common for their disciples to get married and have other obligations beyond the sect. As such, the Duke is likely to still push for the engagement if you only make it into a smaller sect."

Victoria nodded along, before frowning. "How do you tell the tier of a Rune?" She asked.

"Outside of the sects, there's no concrete way to tell, but you can get a general idea based on the complexity and number of lines in the Rune. Initial Runes generally have less than ten lines, while tier one Advanced Runes have between ten and twenty. Tier two Runes have twenty to forty lines, while tier three have forty to eighty." The Marquis explained.

Victoria nodded slowly, considering everything he'd said, before looking up at him. "Then, which sect would you suggest I aim for?" She asked, curious about his opinion.

The Marquis paused for a moment with a conflicted expression. "Well… certainly, we can exclude the Hidden Blades. They focus on Qi, and you haven't even touched Qi skills yet. Based on your Initial Rune, you should aim for Wisdom's Curse, but… I'll be frank, with the level of talent you've shown for dagger skills, I believe your best bet would be the Champions of Battle. With just a week of training, you're already approaching the level at which you would stand a decent chance of acquiring a dagger related Initial Rune, and with another week or two, I believe you could even acquire a Rune like Dagger or even Blade! As long as you continue along this path, I believe you'll have a tier two Advanced Rune by the time of the sect entrance exams. It'll be hard, and you'll need to put a lot of time into it, but I believe it's your best option."

Victoria raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised by his estimation of her talent. Based on the speed her fighting skill was moving up the list, she'd also guessed that she could form an Initial Rune based on it in another week or two, but she hadn't thought the Marquis would think the same. "I'll have to think about it." She eventually replied. He was right, she did show talent in dagger combat, but her Design Rune wasn't too shabby either. It had already evolved into an Advanced Rune, and there was a chance it could do it again, entering the second tier. She wasn't entirely sure why it'd done it the first time, but she felt it had something to do with the insight she'd had into the nature of Design. As long as she could comprehend the Rune well enough and have a similar realization, she felt there was a good chance of it evolving again.

"Yes, well, it is ultimately your decision." The Marquis replied. "Though… since you'll be focusing on your cultivation, this whole business about becoming a Hunter…"

"Still happening." Victoria immediately retorted, shutting him down.

"I don't know why you feel you have to do this, but the amount of time you have to dedicate to cultivation-" The Marquis continued, trying to convince her.

"I'm going now." Victoria replied, walking out of the training yard.

"Just think about it!" The Marquis yelled after her, before letting out a defeated sigh. "When did I lose the power in this relationship?" He muttered to himself, shaking his head.