“So…,” Jun-Ra finally decided to cut through the tense silence weighing down upon the room, as she blinked away the impossibility of what she had just witnessed. “Just what is that?” She asked, her tone shelving away the fear betrayed in her quickened heartbeat.

“I…,” Griffin tried to answer, only to be confronted by the realization that he didn’t know— not just yet. “I’m trying to figure that part out,” He replied, as his gaze turned away from Jun-Ra and studied the system screen that was visible only to him.

‘Oi, Sword,’ He thought, his inner voice directed to another. If the sword could force its thoughts into his mind, there was a decent chance it could overhear Griffin’s thoughts too. The system did it with impunity, to the point where Griffin had begrudgingly come to prefer the ability to surreptitiously order the system around for information— even if it seldom graced him with a reply. ‘I fed you quite the precious artifact, you hear. Now what’s done is done— I’m not going to lament over what I lost. But do me a favor in turn and tell me what the Limitless Greed skill does.’

A few moments ticked by him and no response arrived.

‘I’m trying to threaten a sword. I must’ve lost my mind—,’ Griffin was in the midst of chastising himself when a system prompt showed up before him.

[Greed’s Sword has authorized additional skill information sharing…]

Griffin’s gaze widened in surprise, before his eyes narrowed in focus. Jun-Ra watched quiescently as his eyes swept from what she assumed was one line of text to the next, his attention captivated by something that was causing his arms to tremble from… what was it? Excitement? Fear? Exhilaration?

Then, he finally reacted.

A chuckle escaped Griffin. It served as a herald for the boisterous laughter that followed, etched in Griffin’s expression a disbelief that was uncharacteristic for a man that had crossed the boundary between two worlds.

“Less than three months,” He answered Jun-Ra before she could press him for the source of his jubilation.

“Pardon?” Jun-Ra replied, baffled by the mood-swings.

Griffin allowed his focus to drift from the stub of a sword that he held in his right hand, allowing his gaze to sweep across the familiar room he found himself in. Jun-Ra’s room. Besides the two of them, the room was empty.

“I can do it in less than three months,” He stated, heavily emphasizing on the ‘it’. It only took Jun-Ra a moment’s worth of assessment to catch on to his meaning, her expression hardening as she looked into his eyes.

“How?” She asked, her tone tinged with complex emotions that were too tightly layered to distinguish. It was definitely an emotional response though and Griffin reminded himself to be cautious, to frame his explanation as gently as he could.

“If I told you now, it would only increase our chances of failure. Make no mistake though, I can do it,” He said and immediately he saw agitation color Jun-Ra’s face.

“That sword?” She asked aloud, her tone carrying just a hint of something dangerous— something that Griffin most definitely did not like.

“Is keyed to my person,” He spoke before Jun-Ra could finish. “Try it,” He offered the broken sword to Jun-Ra with casual ease, seemingly unconcerned by the possibility of theft.

Jun-Ra hesitated for a moment, as if wishing to explain that it had not been her intention to threaten him, but ended up reaching for the sword anyway.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

Gingerly, she wrapped her hand around it’s hilt.

‘Unhand me!’

A flurry of startled motion followed as Jun-Ra’s grip over the broken sword slipped, causing it to fall back onto the bed. As for Jun-Ra herself, her expression was warped in panic as she stumbled back, her feet tripping over one another before she found her back cushioned by the room’s wall with a thump.

She was naturally, unharmed and not even falling head-first in an accident would cause her the slightest scratch.

The same, however, could not be said for her mental state.

“W-What was th–,” She tried to question, the visceral fear in her tone audible. Never had she experienced an intrusion into her mind by anyone other than the all-powerful system, which was a reality she was born with. The system doing it was fine, but another cultivation— Neither Elder Shirong nor the Magistrate were capable of such a terrifying infringement. Perhaps, even the Yushan Sect could not do such a thing.

But the broken stub of a sword had.

It was the finger Griffin held to his lips that stopped Jun-Ra from completing her emotionally charged question. The walls had enough ears to be wary, that was a warning that she had issued to Griffin in the first place. They might not always be listening, but give them enough reason to and they will. Jun-Ra screaming out her astonishment would definitely suffice as enough.

Griffin on the other hand, watched Jun-Ra with focused interest. Her revenge for her sister or her wariness and perhaps, silent desire for the sword’s frightening power— what was more important to her?

She shook her head, her clouded gaze coming to focus as Jun-Ra forced herself to regain calm.

“You can do it?” She asked then, not pressing him for the specifics in the here and now.

“Yeah, in less than three months. My preparations will be done in about two, which leaves the last month for getting it done,” Griffin once again impressed upon the need to finish this quickly, to Jun-Ra’s confusion.

“Why are you so fixated on getting it done so quickly?”

Griffin’s lips were pursed as he framed his answer before replying, “Your teacher. I cannot be her disciple.”

“Why?” She asked.

“I carry too much that I cannot reveal to another on my person. Leave alone delaying by a year, even an additional month will doom me to either capture or execution… perhaps worse. It’s either what time I have left before the bet expires, or we call it off,” Griffin stated bluntly, his reasons well-thought out and his tone firm.

“This… So soon, I hadn’t planned for this,” Jun-Ra replied, her breath quickening as she considered the possibility that was dangled before her. What she had expected to take years, could be accomplished in less than three months. Or she would die trying but… her instincts told her that she had fished out someone far more important than she had initially expected and that there was a very strong reason why he had been abducted in the first place.

No Oath-Paladin possessed such a weapon, Jun-Ra knew. She also had known for a while now that it was very unlikely, based on both his actions and his odd abilities, that Griffin had or ever was an Oath-Paladin.

A fact that she had withheld from Shen-Ya, even if it tore away at her heart.

“Can you arrange for a way for me to leave after I uphold my end of the bargain?” Griffin asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.

He owed Jun-Ra, but he wasn’t about to go on a suicide run for her.

“Do you expect me to stay?” Jun-Ra asked, her expression odd as she realized that she hadn’t told Griffin. “If things go as planned,” She added. “The Sect will find out my and Shen-Ya’s role in this. No, regardless of what card you have up your sleeve, we fight as one and we leave as one.”

“Oh,” Griffin muttered, the response directed more inwards than outward as he realized that despite his anti-social tendencies, he wasn’t particularly chagrined by the idea of travelling with the two sect sisters.

In fact, a fact that he would probably not be admitting anytime soon, he kind of looked forward to the possibility.

He had a second shot at the whole life thing, it would be a pity to spent it alone again.

“So, do you have a way to leave?” Griffin hurriedly added before the silence stretched on for too long.

“Not yet,” Jun-Ra replied, her visage hinting at quiet contemplation. “To acquire it, we must attend the twilight auction.”