10.

image [https://i.imgur.com/WSiU1wu.png]

After the two girls moved out of sight of the dungeon entrance, the black blood that littered the lake started to morph colours. It turned blue, then transparent. Moments later, it was gone—one with the water as it had always been. All signs of a battle having ever taken place, nay, of any creature ever living here, faded.

Except for one. Far below the surface of the water, a pair of orange-hued mirrors rose, together with the body attached to it. The head rose and rose, till it was right below the surface and came to a stop beside a small boat, which rested on the motionless water.

The canoe had been there since the start of the day, unnoticed. There was a man on top, garbed in an overly large, grey robe, who wore a hat you would expect from a wizard in a fantasy novel.

He reeled in the line of his fishing rod as a clump of water rose at his side, and the top of the siren’s head pierced the surface.

‘You said you’d introduce yourself, Brook.’

His brows raised high.

‘Did I? You must’ve misheard me.’

She hadn’t. Novice siren whisperers quickly learned what to say at the perfect time. Otherwise, they never caught any shuteye. And with ‘they’ he meant solely himself.

The siren burst from the water. Her slender hands locked onto the side of the canoe, making the boat waggle. She glared daggers at the fisher but said nothing.

He rubbed the back of his head as the boat returned to equilibrium.

‘What good would introducing myself do?’

‘What good—’ she crunched down on her teeth. ‘—I’m going to punch you.’

Her fists were crystallising, meaning she was far from kidding.

Brook sighed and pulled his large hat over his face.

‘Honey,’ he said, lacing the term so sweetly. ‘You know as well as I that it’s a waste of time.’

He thought little su’s letter a joke at first. Turns out it wasn’t. She really sent her untrained daughter to the academy in the hopes he would pick up the slack for her.

But he couldn’t. The rules have changed, Aysu. Of course, she wouldn’t have known. Even as a child, little su was too preoccupied to pay attention to her surroundings. If it wasn’t hunting increasingly bigger prey, it was meditating and upgrading her core. Now that she’d become an S rank hunter, it would be a million times worse.

A glint in the corner of his vision caught his attention. His lover’s face wrinkled at the sides, where her pearly white skin reflected the light.

‘She’s a gem, Brook,’ his lover said softly.

The siren looked up. Her pupils had fully formed, and they were glistening. Behind their glaze was hidden the continent-swallowing storm he’d fished her out of.

Brook looked away. Had he been younger, less experienced, he would’ve given in. Now, he just solemnly shook his head.

‘She is. That’s why it’s a shame,’ he said. ‘He’ll hunt her down during the first test.’

The words floated over the lake, taking their time to sink in. When they did, the surface clouded over, becoming dark and turbulent.

‘You don’t know that,’ the siren hissed. ‘She has my mark.’

He spared his energy and didn’t argue. Though the mark would go a long way, it wouldn’t be enough to beat his teachings. He would’ve retired yesterday if it was. Let her brood on it, he thought. She’d come to terms with it eventually.

He fully reeled in his line and threw it out again.

Rine’s full lips formed a line.

‘Fine! Sit here doing nothing. I’m not done!’

She dipped back into the lake.

‘I know you aren’t,’ he said despite her already being gone.

Lords have a strong will, after all. Her nature as a siren quadrupled that quality.

Brook cast a quiet gaze on the staircase. If only she hadn’t been in this batch of initiates, su…but then luck was a part of being a hunter, wasn’t it?

He turned his attention back on his fishing rod and settled in for his long-awaited session.

11.

We left early the next morning.

Our pace was better than I expected, since May’s walking speed was close to normal, and we reached the lake at the entrance of the cavern in what felt like minutes.

I surveyed the water. It was clear and shining. Like I had never dropped a body into its depths for it to swallow whole. After meeting siren, I could imagine why that was. I diverted my gaze. The void was never far away when I thought of her.

‘Let’s get out of here quickly,’ May said, keeping her distance from the edge of the water as much as she could.

That was the best idea I’d heard all week.

The metal tip of May’s sheathe clanged on the stone pathway leading around the lake and out into the forest. I was walking in front, which was why I was to first to see it.

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I drew my dagger so fast my mind barely registered the action. May’s blade left the sheathe just as quick.

Almost in a greeting, a long and thin limb slowly rose from the surface of the lake and blocked the pathway in front of us.

My breath hitched. Was she back? I glanced back in fright. We had a long way to run back to the reservation. And May couldn’t run. Which meant we had to fight if it came down to it.

A wave of heat licked the back of my neck. May was ready.

Exhaling deeply, I called on a fountain of courage I didn’t possess.

‘I’ll lead—’ I started, but I frowned before finishing the sentence.

I put a hand on my neck. It was pulsing. Not physically but…spiritually?

‘Wait,’ I said.

Instead of attacking us, the tentacle retreated into the lake.

My eyelids narrowed. Had the fire scared it? That couldn’t be. It had the advantage against it. A sneak attack from the side was an option, yet I didn’t think that was it.

An object on the middle of the path was gleaming.

‘There’s something on the ground,’ I said.

Two things to be precise.

May peeked past my shoulders.

‘…is that a core?’

That’s what it looked like, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the other item was my lost dagger.

My gaze roved the waters. Any sign of life had vanished again. We waited a whole minute to be careful, but nothing happened. So, we tiptoed forward.

I inspected the orb before picking it up.

[Name: Gift of the Silent Lake (Water Attuned Maura Core) - Rank: D]

‘A water core,’ I said.

The Silent Lake, I thought, glancing at the place the tentacle had sprouted.

May came closer and inspected it, too.

‘That’s the title of the siren, isn’t it?’ May said.

I nodded, and my fingers clenched around the core. I’d never seen a D rank monster core before, but it must possess a lot of maura. A gift, the system called it. Was she helping me?

‘It’s a positive sign,’ May said. ‘Aiding you means she’s not killing you.’

‘I hope so,’ I said.

I placed the core in my pouch and turned to the lake. The permanent cool breeze hanging in the cavern had suddenly turned colder. My cheeks shivered. She was watching. I knew it in my soul.

‘You should thank it,’ May said.

‘Thank it?’ I whispered, trying to keep my voice low so the siren wouldn’t hear.

May hobbled over and placed a hand on my shoulder.

‘You would’ve died if she didn’t heal you. Curse or no curse.’

She…was right about that. I closed my eyes. A thank you was the least you could offer in exchange for your life, no?

Yes, yes it was. I turned towards the lake, clasped my hands in front of me, and bowed low.

The lake remained motionless. However, in the distance, I heard a clapping sound. Was it my imagination? I didn’t know and didn’t stay to find out. I retrieved my dagger, looking it over once before sheathing it. Then, we were gone.

12.

The forest was entirely different at night than it was in the early morning, and the walk back to the academy was entirely uneventful. It allowed me more time to think about the siren. But I didn’t want to. So, I spent the moments chattering with May.

Long before the treeline quit ahead of us, the Divine Emperor was already smiling down upon us. He formed our guide, and we found our way to the hidden pathway we had taken out of the academy into the forest what seemed so long ago.

‘We really survived all of that, huh,’ I said.

‘We did,’ May agreed.

I wasn’t embarrassed to admit my knees nearly gave. We were finally home. Our bunker beds hadn’t seemed comfortable on day one, but right now I was salivating at the mouth. May kicked in her sleep. With her one leg.

We exited the treeline, coming into full view of the academy. The smell of the air changed, I thought. From the dried bark mixed with rotting flesh to that of a musty library and sweating children.

May lifted her chin directly in front of us.

‘Students,’ she said. ‘Sad but expected.’

To no one’s surprise, the hidden pathway was no longer so hidden. There were other students traversing the path, who glanced at May and I. Their glances quickly turned into a double take, after which many whispers and pointing fingers joined the parade.

I guess we had been gone for two days. They probably thought they were seeing ghosts.

‘Jax must’ve told them we died in combat,’ May said.

‘I bet he did,’ I said. ‘He’s a goddamn snake.’

A heat storm raged through my head at the thought of him, but I quelled it before it grew out of proportion.

‘We should have a talk,’ May said. ‘Us three. In a closed room.’

I grinned in anticipation, but my joy quickly died.

‘After we visit the doctor,’ I said.

May nodded, giving me an unreadable glance, and we strode towards the stone pathway curving around the mountain.

As we did, I noticed a group of initiates clumping the entrance of the staircase. Huh. They didn’t appear to be moving, unlike the other students. Most students were also giving them a wide berth.

I looked over them more carefully. Four guys, all armed. A spear user, a hammer wielder, and the last two had a sword strapped to their belt. They also wore a black band around their upper arm on which stood the word ‘REJECTS’ in big capital letters.

There were two more boys. One wearing a pair of glasses and another who looked like his brother. Just without the frames.

They weren’t wearing a band. Neither did they look part of the previous group. A fact confirmed when the hammer user lifted Mr. Spectacles up in the air by the scruff of his neck.

‘Are you trying to shortchange me?!’ Hammer boy yelled.

He applied his size to wave the boy like a flag.

‘Not at all, big brother!’ the frightened initiate stammered. ‘I swear we didn’t find anything!’

I glanced to the side, where one of the rejects was going through the brother’s pouch.

Aha. So, that was the play.

When hammer boy, who I took to be the leader of this small gang, had seen enough, he tossed the other student onto the ground.

‘You’re lucky I don’t get to take your token,’ hammer boy spit.

Literally. He spit on the floor, barely missing the boy’s face.

Beside me, May watched the spectacle with a sort of passive disinterest.

‘I thought you’d be upset,’ I said.

There was this vague idea in my head of May being a spoiled princess, who took offence to unfair treatment. Not sure why I had it, but I did.

She smirked at me.

‘Why? They’re not a part of our school.’

I chuckled.

That drew the attention of the gang leader. His gaze roved over us, particularly May’s bandages. One of his lackeys whispered something in his ear while side eyeing us, and the corner of hammer boy’s mouth curved more wickedly with every syllable he heard.

We’d faced enough predators in the last two days for me to tell exactly what went through his mind.

‘Let’s go,’ May said.

‘Halt,’ the hammer user yelled when we came within earshot.

Around us, the other students stopped what they were doing and watched. From the sneer on some of their faces, they were expecting a spectacle.

The leader stepped up. He was at least two heads taller than May, with short cropped hair. His night dark skin didn’t leave me a clue where he was from.

‘You need to pay a toll to use this route,’ he said.

‘How much is it?’ I asked.

May glared at me. I ignored her. My senses told me the four initiates weren’t that strong. But we were injured and not just that. What would happen if I tried to fight while cursed? Would my maura activate the ailment? There was no telling.

No. Losing loot would suck. But if we could resolve this peacefully for a single core, paying up was worth it.

It seemed my query backfired, though, because the gears in his head rotated, calculating what he thought to be a perfect number instead of the regular one.

‘Half of what you gathered in the forest,’ he said.

May and I blinked.

‘You’re crazy,’ May said, her voice icy.

She trod forward, and her hand edged towards her blade.

‘We can just use the other path,’ I quickly said, still trying to defuse what was starting to look like an inevitable confrontation.

But the boy wistfully shook his head. I had to commend him on his act because he really did look regretful.

‘The main path into the academy has a toll, too.’

Wow. They were blocking every entrance and exit to leech initiates of their hard-earned spoils? That really is crazy.

Hammer boy raised his arms to the sky in a theatrical gesture.

‘I’m giving you a good price. At the main gate they pick and choose from your loot. Here, you just need to give me half. Fair, right?’

My response was cut short when May unsheathed her sword. Our opposition pulled their weapons without hesitation, and the talking stage officially ended.

I sighed, accepting that my effort had been for nothing.

‘I just want to go to bed,’ I said.