A sharp knock woke me from a deep, dreamless sleep. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was, my mind still caught between rest and reality. The room was dark, with only the faintest light seeping through the cracks in the window shutters. It wasn’t even full morning yet.

Another knock came, more insistent this time.

I groaned, dragging myself out of bed and stumbling toward the door. I opened it to find Lance standing there, already dressed and fully awake, his expression serious. We had agreed to go away early, though I didn’t think it would be this early.

I rubbed my eyes, nodding. “Right,” I mumbled. “Give me a minute.”

Lance waited outside while I gathered my things—my sword, my bag, the few belongings I had left. My body still ached from the previous day’s training, but I wasn’t about to complain. Not now. I strapped the sword to my side, making sure it was secure, and threw my pack over my shoulder before stepping out into the hallway.

Lance gave me a quick nod, and together, we made our way downstairs.

As we approached the door, the innkeeper suddenly stepped out from behind the bar, stopping us with a grunt. He held up a small, rough-looking bag.

“Here,” he said gruffly, shoving it into Lance’s hands. “Just in case you need it.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. “What’s in here?” he asked, holding up the bag as if inspecting it.

The innkeeper shrugged, avoiding our eyes. “Just some hard bread and a few apples,” he muttered. “The way to Vermilion Post is a bit long, and you’ll need something to keep you goin’.”

I blinked, taken aback by the gesture. The innkeeper didn’t strike me as the generous type, especially after the way he’d haggled with us the day before. Maybe he felt guilty about the low price he’d paid for the blessing and the other goods we sold him. Still, I wasn’t about to question it.

“Thanks,” I said, offering him a small smile.

He grunted again, looking away. “If you make good pace, you should reach Vermilion Post by nightfall,” he added. “But be ready. The roads ain’t exactly safe—bandits, monsters, who knows what else.”

Lance nodded, slinging the bag over his shoulder. “We’ll be careful,” he assured the innkeeper, though there was a determined glint in his eyes.

With that, we stepped out into the early morning air. The sky was still tinged with the deep purples and blues of pre-dawn, and a slight chill clung to the wind. The town was quiet, most of its residents still asleep.

We found the barely marked road leading out of the town and into the wilderness beyond. The path was rough, more of a dirt trail than a real road, winding its way through the dense trees and untamed land that surrounded the Outskirts.

For a while, neither of us spoke. The sounds of the wild filled the silence—birds calling from the trees, the rustling of leaves in the wind. My thoughts wandered as we walked, turning over everything that had happened since we left the capital. So much had changed, and yet, it felt like we were just getting started.

“You ready for this?” Lance asked suddenly, breaking the quiet. He didn’t look at me as he spoke, his eyes fixed on the path ahead.

I hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”

Lance smiled, a small, almost imperceptible curve of his lips. “Good. Because once we get to Vermilion Post, things are only going to get harder.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

I glanced at him, my chest tightening slightly at his words. “So, monsters?”

He chuckled softly. “Oh, probably many.”

Despite the weight of his words, I couldn’t help but feel a spark of excitement. Whatever challenges lay ahead, I knew one thing for certain: I wasn’t the same person I had been back in the orphanage. I had changed. Grown. And no matter what came next, I was determined to face it head-on.

The wilderness stretched out before us, vast and wild, and as we walked deeper into the unknown, I felt a strange sense of calm settle over me. Whatever awaited us at Vermilion Post, we would face it together.

The path stretched on, twisting and narrowing, with thick roots and uneven ground threatening to trip me up at every step. Sometimes it was more of a vague direction than an actual trail, fading into the dense underbrush. I couldn’t help but glance around every few minutes, worried we might lose our way or that someone, or something, was going to jump us. The trees closed in from all sides, their thick branches blocking most of the sunlight, casting long shadows over the forest floor.

"Are you sure we’re on the right path?" I asked, trying to keep the uncertainty out of my voice.

Lance didn’t break his stride. "Relax," he said, his voice steady. "I know where we’re going."

Of course he did. Lance always seemed so sure of himself. It was hard not to admire that about him. While I kept glancing at every fork in the road, every twist and turn, he just moved forward with that same calm confidence, as if nothing could faze him.

I fell into step behind him, using the quiet of the forest to keep focusing on something else—Soul Bond. Even though Lance was right there in front of me, I practiced as always, reaching out to the thread that linked us. I could feel him, feel his presence in my soul. For a while, it was the same as it had always been, a faint sense of where he was. I could also feel Lance was worried, or maybe scared. It felt good to know I wasn’t the only one.

We walked for hours like this, the sun climbing high into the sky, though most of its light was blocked by the thick canopy of trees overhead. The forest seemed endless, a sea of green and shadows, with only the sounds of birds and rustling leaves to keep us company.

Then, it hit me—a jolt in my chest, a feeling so sudden and sharp it startled me out of my focus.

[Soul Bond II]

"Hey!" I shouted, stopping in my tracks.

Lance spun around, his body tense, eyes scanning the forest for danger. "What is it?" His hand hovered near his sword, ready to act.

I opened my mouth, then closed it, feeling a bit foolish. “It’s… it’s nothing,” I stammered. “I heard something. Inside my head.”

Lance blinked, his tension easing as he lowered his hand. He let out a long sigh and rubbed his face with both hands before offering me a smile. “About time,” he said, shaking his head. “Did you advance?”

I stared at him, trying to process what he was saying. “So, I wasn’t improving before?”

Lance blinked. “Yeah, but you’ll be warned whenever a blessing enters a new stage. My Archangel’s Touch is at the third stage, but I’d need a proper medic’s education to push it further. More study than I can get out here.”

He paused for a moment, his face growing more serious. “But just so you know, it gets harder to advance a skill the higher you go. Don’t expect it to happen often.”

I frowned, glancing down at my hands, trying to feel the difference. “But why hasn’t my Champion’s Physique advanced yet? I’ve been training just as hard.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Well, ‘A body honed through trials and pains.’” He crossed his arms, watching me with a smirk. “You haven’t exactly been through much.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words died on my tongue. He wasn’t wrong. I had been training, sure, but it was hardly the same as real hardship. “I’ve been training a lot,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest in annoyance as we continued walking.

Lance chuckled softly but didn’t say anything more. The quiet of the forest returned, filling the space between us. I focused inward, searching my soul for the familiar songs of my blessings. They were there, woven into the very fabric of my being, humming faintly in the back of my mind.

[Royal Revenge]

[Champion’s Physique]

[Soul Bond II]

[Archangel’s Touch]

The songs pulsed through me, each one distinct yet intertwined, like different notes in the same melody. It was strange, feeling these powers within me, knowing that they were a part of who I was now. And yet, there was still so much I didn’t understand about them.

Lance walked a few steps ahead of me, his pace steady and unhurried, his back straight despite the long hours on the road.

I sighed, shifting the weight of my sword on my back. The road ahead was long.