Thereafter, the days passed in a routine.

Connor completed all of his training, and responsibilities during the day, and each night he was hard at work in the workshop. Sometimes alone, and sometimes under Victor’s watchful eye.

He’d always been incredibly fit, but with the renewed zeal he applied to his training, his strength, speed, and stamina all increased vastly.

He trained with every weapon, using his sense-heightening potion to help him correct his own mistakes.

Victor was always a relentless font of criticism, but now Connor was too focused on improving to really notice or care. With his enhanced senses, he corrected his own mistakes almost as quickly as he made them.

His archery, swordsmanship, and even his lock picking skills improved at a terrifying speed.

He used the sense-heightening potion as a tool and not a crutch. Even without it, his skills carried over to his sparring sessions with Adelia.

The only time he got any sleep was when Victor dragged him away from the workshop, or when he passed out over his codex.

He devoured knowledge, yet remained hungry for more like a ravenous monster.

He learned more about alchemical circles. Most were only needed for more advanced projects, but Victor insisted that Connor start learning them all from the start.

Connor didn't complain a single time as he knelt on the floor for hours, drawing the diagrams with chalk until he knew them down to the finest detail from memory. However, he quickly learned to kneel on a cushion while spending hours drawing on the hard floor.

He continued making The Potion of Heightened Senses and slowly built up a stockpile, and Victor taught him how to channel his alchemy without the use of a circle, or a heat source.

Connor sat in front of spider eyes, goblin skin, and powdered bat teeth for hours, refining them cold until his alchemy sputtered out and he slumped over the workbench.

It was exhausting work, and he didn’t get any potions out of it, but he could already feel that it was getting easier for him to use his alchemy powers.

He looked forward to making potions without the aid of a circle.

He felt his alchemy growing stronger and more powerful, and his control had already improved by leaps and bounds.

Once more, he was down in the workshop after a full day of training, working on more sense-enhancing potions.

It was easier to make them now than it had been at the start, and the potions were getting more powerful too.

Soon, it would be time to try making Beginner level potions. He already had his eye on a minor strength potion. It wouldn’t give him godlike strength or anything, but even a small boost to his strength could be useful in a pinch.

The potion bubbled, and red lightning crackled and snapped from his fingers into the boiling liquid. He pulled apart the essences and reformed them, and finally, he had another batch of the sweet, turquoise liquid.

He turned off the heat source, waited for it to stop bubbling, and poured it into the vials he had ready and waiting.

He yawned and clambered up the stairs. Time to get some sleep.

Not five seconds after leaving Victor’s office, Adelia rushed up to him out of nowhere. “There you are! It’s time for our match!” she said.

“What? But it’s the middle of—” he started, but sunlight streamed in through the window behind her.

Oh no.

“The middle of what?” Adelia asked.

He forced a smile. “Um… the middle of… the… day? Sorry, I’m late,” he said.

Adelia chuckled. “You’re not that late,” she said, “but we should get started.”

She dashed away, and Connor followed behind her, staring at the ceiling.

“Why me?” he mouthed.

Victor was already waiting in the training area with a sadistic smirk on his lips.

Connor glared at him, but Victor’s smirk only grew.

Damn it. Of course, Victor wasn’t going to help him get out of this.

If he didn’t do something soon, she’d pulverize him worse than usual in this state…

Adelia was still walking with her back to him, so he quickly took out a vial of potion and drank it down. He slipped the empty vial back into the bag and braced himself.

The world exploded with sensation, and he gritted his teeth. Just a little longer and it’d settle down.

“Connor? Are you okay?” Adelia asked.

Her gentle voice sounded like thunder and the screams of a thousand women to his ears. His skin crawled from the abrasive fabric of his clothes against his skin. His nose itched with a thousand scents.

The world snapped back into focus once more.

He blinked and held back a relieved sigh.

“I’m fine. Just got lost in thought for a moment,” he said.

“Well, you’d better get un-lost in a hurry, or you’re going to get hurt,” she said.

***

“We’ll do swords today,” Adelia said. She tossed a wooden training sword to Connor, who caught it with ease.

He stifled a yawn.

Damn it. He just wanted to get to bed, not get beaten to a bloody pulp again.

At least, with the potion, he might avoid getting hurt too badly… the world around him was so alive now. He felt the cool spring air spreading through his lungs, the steady beat of his heart, the balance of the sword and the way it moved through the air…

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Hmm… maybe this could be fun after all…

So far, he’d only used his potions in training alone, and he’d improved a lot because of it.

How would it be to spar with her while under the effects?

They stood opposite one another in the sandbox once more. Her entire body was covered, apart from her eyes… as always. However, he saw them clearer than ever now, and he saw her pupils widen when she looked at him.

Something he easily would’ve missed without the potion.

He got in his stance as she entered hers, and the two of them stared at each other.

He took in every detail around him. The soft sound of her breathing and the way the fabric of her mask moved slightly with each breath. The way she shifted her balance even without seeming to move.

He adjusted his own balance in a similar fashion and studied her with his enhanced eyes.

Her hood moved slightly and a crease formed in the cloth mask that covered her face.

It was a tiny movement. Imperceptible to any normal person.

Wait… was she… frowning under her mask?

His lips split into a smile. It was the most he’d ever picked up of her expressions.

They waited still. As usual, there was no counting. No “are you ready?”

She would launch at him out of nowhere, and it would be up to him to react in time. The trouble is, she was so difficult to read.

Unlike other opponents that he could generally beat with ease such as the royal guard, she gave no signals, and she was so much faster and more agile too.

A soft crease formed in her leather armor, her clothing shifted slightly, and she exhaled.

She dashed toward him, little more than a blur, and swung at him, but Connor was already bringing his sword upward.

The wooden blades clacked against one another. He deflected most of the force, but even so, the wood vibrated in his hands like a gong, and his fingers ached.

By the twelve hells, she was strong! But, he hadn’t lost his grip. That was what mattered.

He countered, swinging his blade at her in a deadly arch… or it would be if the swords weren’t wooden and they weren’t both covered in leather armor. Him more so than her.

She raised her own blade in time, and another hard clack rang out. She whirled around behind him with a grace ballerinas would sacrifice their mothers for.

She was just so fast. It was like trying to catch the wind! One wrong move now would hurt… a lot.

There was a rustle of sand and the soft rush of air behind him.

She was going to thrust into his back? That was just mean.

He launched himself to the right, twisting his body away from where his senses screamed she would strike.

Her wooden blade passed through the center of where he’d just been standing and grazed his side.

He bit back a yelp as searing pain boiled through his body. The potion gave him unparalleled awareness to the point it was like having eyes in the back of his head, but the heightened sensitivity had a few downsides too.

Pain was one of them.

But the match was far from over. Despite the burning agony, it was just a minor graze, and even if it were a real sword, it wouldn’t have done much damage.

He continued his spin, moving away from her as fast as possible and facing her again.

Her clothing shifted a fraction, and he leapt backward. Her sword passed a hair away from his chest.

He swung at her, but she recovered too quickly and their swords clacked once again.

Minutes passed without her landing a hit on him. He denied her any openings, but she started moving faster. Even so, her rate of breathing hadn’t increased at all since the start of the fight.

Was this how Victor always knew she was taking it easy on him?

It was clear now.

She adjusted her speed with how well he reacted. She was gauging him. In total control. Precise. Measured. This had to be all for his benefit. She wasn’t even exerting herself!

It had been so damn hard to detect before. He’d always thought she was just superbly skilled, because she was. But, this went beyond anything he expected. She could kill him easier than breathing. Surely she could!

Gods! What was she?

Her every movement was graceful and fluid.

Even with his astounding improvements in recent days, he was like a stumbling toddler next to her. She was so… perfect.

Her attacks came faster and his thoughts shattered.

Connor quickly found himself covered in sweat and panting while her own breathing was measured and even… and exactly the same.

The potion made him able to read her movements better and gave him astounding situational awareness, but he wasn’t any faster or stronger or physically different.

He pushed himself to the absolute limits of his speed, still keeping control with the aid of his enhanced senses, but she was just so far beyond him.

Even so, he kept his concentration firmly on improving himself.

She was doing all of this for his benefit. She had been since the start no doubt. He owed it to her to get as much out of their sparring as he could.

He focused on his senses both inwardly and outwardly. It was one thing to correct his movements in practice, but quite another while sparring against Adelia.

He corrected his mistakes as quickly as he made them and she moved faster as his skill level grew.

Neither Victor nor Adelia said anything as Connor evolved, adapted and improved before their very eyes.

He started picking up on even more of the little movements she made. His ability to read her bordered on precognition.

Even so, she parried every attack he made, and her breathing was relaxed.

How could he be so blind before? She had so much more to her than he’d ever suspected…

He looked into her beautiful eyes.

What if they could see everything he did? Hmm… could he throw her off?

He adjusted his movements again, feinting on a level no human swordsman would ever even see.

She took the bait and brought her sword up, ready to deflect a blow that wouldn’t come.

Connor dived forward at the opening he’d created, thrusting at her chest.

She moved with inhuman speed, whirled away from his attack and swept her leg into the back of his knees.

He landed with a heavy thud and pain exploded through his body

It was just a fall. He’d had them too many times to count, but with the potion, it felt a thousand times worse.

He groaned pathetically. When he opened his eyes, the tip of her sword pointed right at his throat.

He lay back in the sand, gasping for air.

"Just give me a moment to catch my breath," he said with a smile on his lips and a fire in his eyes.

"You're much better today. Have you been holding out on me?" Adelia asked.

Her voice caressed every syllable with her strange accent… it was like a siren’s song.

“Well?” she asked.

“Uh…Holding out? Never,” he said with a bright smile and a wink.

“Hmm…” she said.

Damn. He needed to be more careful. The potion was fantastic, but it seemed he could be more easily distracted as well.

He stood up and took in another deep breath. “Another go?” he asked.

They sparred for hours, and Connor ended up with more than a few bruises, but the vast improvements he made helped to distract from the pain.

When they were done, they took a walk in the palace gardens.

“You’ve been getting better astonishingly fast lately,” Adelia said.

“Thanks,” Connor said proudly.

“So what’s going on?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“One day you’re distraught about not becoming a wizard, and the next you’re happier than I’ve ever seen you and you’re training like your life depends on it… So what is it?” she pressed.

Connor paused. She was his friend… he didn’t want to lie to her, but he had to keep alchemy a secret.

“I guess I just decided that if I can’t be a wizard, I’ll have to find another way to find what happened to my parents,” he said.

It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either.

Her eyes narrowed. He didn’t need the potion to see that she knew he was hiding something.

“As long as you’re okay then,” she said, “just remember you have friends… if you need help… promise me you’ll come to me.”

“I promise,” Connor said.

She let the subject drop, for which he was grateful.

She’d always been someone he could talk to about almost anything. She and Vadik meant a lot to him, and he hadn’t expected it to be so hard to lie to them.

But, they had secrets of their own too. Especially her.

The two talked for a bit longer before Adelia left to do some work, which meant someone was about to die, but he didn’t think too much about that.

He knew what she did for a living, and he’d come to terms with it a long time ago. He didn’t like it, but he also knew from being around his uncle that sometimes it was necessary to prevent greater evils.

Besides, he wasn’t exactly in a position to judge.

He put the matter out of his mind and returned home.

Victor called him into his office the minute he stepped through the front door.

“Good work today,” Victor said, “but be careful not to go too far overboard. Alchemy is supposed to be a secret, and you saw how quickly she’s picked up that something is going on.”

“But I want to improve,” Connor said, “should I try to pretend I’m not as good? It would slow down my progress.”

Victor shook his head. “Nay, lad. That potion is subtle enough that it should be fine. She’s noticed something, but what exactly would be hard to tell. For all, she knows you’ve just been training twice as hard… which you have.

“But, heed my warning. When you start making… more obvious things. Be careful. I don’t want to see you juggling two-ton boulders where anyone can see you. Ever,” he said.