Merchants were gathering up their wares and closing up their stands on each side of the paved street as Seth headed back toward the imposing silhouette of the academy, keeping his head down.

  Their hunt had been quite productive. After the first Ironhide Warthog, they’d tracked down four more. He’d let Colossus take the lead each time, and the scorpion had steadily gained both confidence and proficiency. On the final kill, Seth had pushed him even more by activating Beastmaster Rage. And thanks to that, the scorpion was now Rank 16.

  '' Nightmare grumbled from inside the necklace. 'me'

  '' Seth retorted mentally, weaving through the few passersby. ''

  The direwolf just growled for an answer.

  As the academy’s massive front gate flanked by guards came into view, Seth noticed a familiar figure walking out—Elena. Her crimson hair flowed like a banner against the grey stone, catching the twilight. Before he could even think to turn aside or blend into the thinning crowd, the noble’s sharp emerald eyes locked onto him.

  She changed direction immediately, her immaculate scarlet uniform wavering with each of her purposeful steps. "Seth!"

  Seth stopped, offering a guilty-looking smile. "Elena. Heading out?"

  "Yes," she said, stopping before him, slight annoyance crossing her perfect features. "And you never answered my messages. I sent three."

  "Ah." Seth shifted his weight. "Sorry. I… completely forgot. Been focused on training during the expedition."

  Elena pressed her lips together, a gesture he recognized well. She wasn't buying it. "Did you manage it at least? Did you break through Rank 30?"

  He hesitated. He’d completely forgotten his own cover story for his absence—an intensive training with the Champions of Chaos he could break past Rank 30. He rubbed the back of his neck, forcing a look of disappointment. "No. Still stuck."

  Elena’s expression softened immediately. "Oh. Well, don't worry about it. It’s normal. Some people get stuck there for months, even years." She then offered him an encouraging smile. "At least Nightmare must have gained a few Ranks while you were out there, right?"

  '' Nightmare’s voice rose through Link. ''

  An awkward grimace spread across Seth’s face. He might as well come clean to her; she would figure out something was off quickly enough. "Elena… Can you keep a secret? And I mean, keep it? Even from Devus or Jenna."

  The noble frowned, clearly taken aback by his sudden shift in tone. Her emerald eyes narrowed. "Okay… sure. What is it?"

  Seth took a breath in, closing his eyes for a brief instant. "The expedition… it wasn't for me to break through that cap… it was to, um... hatch an egg."

  Elena stared at him, confusion clouding her gaze. "To hatch… an egg?" Then her emerald eyes widened. "Wait. You mean… you made contract? With an ?"

  Seth gave her a sheepish nod. "Yeah."

  "But how can you have more than one—" She cut herself off, realization striking again. "Your Subclass. Beastmaster. It allows multiple contracts like the Tamer subclass, doesn't it?"

  "Exactly," Seth confirmed.

  The noblewoman’s face tightened. "Why didn't you say something about that before?" she said loudly. "When did this even happen? When did you get an egg?"

  "Professor Reat ordered me to keep everything to myself… ," Seth answered, gesturing for her to lower her voice. "And I got it… back in the Desert of Misery Rift."

  Her brief anger seemed to evaporate, replaced instantly by intense curiosity. "The Desert of Misery? What kind of beast is it?"

  Seth shook his head. "I can't tell you…Reat also wants me to keep that a secret. At least, for now."

  "Fine," Elena sighed, then her lips turned into a thin line once more. "But Seth… if it just hatched, it means it’s only Copper, so it won't be much help in the war. We'll be facing High and Peak-Irons. You should have chosen an adult beast instead."

  A ripple of indignation flowed through Link from the hazel teardrop; Colossus understood her words through Seth’s own comprehension, and he didn’t like them.

  "He's mad at you for saying that," Seth relayed with a smile.

  The noble rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, but you know it's true. We're talking about enemies who could potentially crush us. A newly hatched Copper beast… bringing it out in the Warfare Rifts would be asking for it to get killed."

  "And that's why I’ll hunt as much as I can until the war begins," Seth answered with a shrug. "I need to help him reach Iron as quickly as possible."

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  "Ranking up that fast is… pretty much impossible, Seth. Unless…" The noblewoman stopped and her gaze narrowed. "Is this just another excuse you're giving here? To avoid us? Devus, Jenna, and me?"

  Seth frowned, taken aback by the comment. "I'm not avoiding you."

  "Oh, really?" she retorted, the disbelief clear in her voice. "You haven't been the same since you came back from the Desert of Misery. Distant. Always in your thoughts or busy somewhere. Your friend, the blond one from your town? Mael, I think? He came by yesterday asking Devus if you were alright. Apparently, you never went to see their new shop like you promised you would."

  Seth opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. She was right. He been distant. Ever since feeling powerless against Lucius’ House and having a damn enchantment engraved in his flesh, he'd had a single goal occupying his mind: get stronger. So no one could dictate his fate ever again.

  "I'm sorry," he finally mumbled. "You're right. I've just been…. trying to find a way to get as strong as possible, as quickly as possible. For the war. And for everyone."

  Elena studied his face for a moment, then her expression softened. "That’s fine, Seth. Just… don’t lose yourself on the way to that goal, okay?"

  "I'll try," he answered while meeting her gaze, then decided to shift the subject. "So, where are you heading?"

  "My father is in the city," the noblewoman replied, adjusting the strap of her messenger bag. "He wants to meet to talk about something important."

  "Something about the war?"

  "Probably," Elena answered. "I haven't seen him in person since it was declared. Just some messages back and forth. He's been extremely busy."

  "Do you… want me to go there with you?" Seth offered—he now felt genuinely guilty about his recent avoidance.

  Elena shook her head. "Thanks, but no. He specifically asked me to come alone."

  "Must be serious, then."

  "Guess I'll find out," she answered, forcing a smile before bidding him farewell. "Try to answer messages next time, okay?"

  "Will do."

  Seth lingered a moment, watching Elena disappear into the flow of passersby, before stepping through the academy gates toward the main building. Nightmare stirred inside his teardrop.

  ' the direwolf rumbled. '

  Seth rubbed his forehead. ' '

  ''

  In his Pocket-Realm, Colossus lifted his head beside the Heart of Brown-Peak Mountains. '

  '' Seth sighed. The young scorpion had lost his mother to the owl only two weeks ago—the direwolf’s comment was clumsy at best. Seth projected an image of Elena to the giant arthropod. ''

  '' Colossus chirped eagerly.

  Around Seth, the academy’s sprawling front garden was peaceful, the carefully trimmed lawns and vibrant flowerbeds contrasting with the rugged mountain where he'd spent the previous four days.

  The moment he passed under the grand archway of the main building’s entrance, the familiar scent of the cafeteria’s food greeted him. Instead of heading straight for the dorms, he found himself turning toward the dining room. He hadn't eaten properly since that morning, and even up in the mountain his food had been dry rations.

  Once there, he grabbed a wooden tray, which he piled with stew, bread, and a piece of fruit, then scanned the noisy hall. It didn’t take long to spot Jenna and Devus—they were both at their usual table in the back, locked in what looked like another heated debate.

  As he approached them, their voices became clearer.

  "—solutely not, Devus!" Jenna said, poking a finger at him. "You don't reveal your strongest hand right at the start! That's basic strategy!"

  "Basic strategy for !" Devus retorted, throwing his hands up. "If we send in the weaker squads first against their best, they'll get butchered! We need to hit them hard, show them what we're made of!"

  "Hey," Seth said, setting his tray down and sliding onto the bench beside Devus.

  "Seth!" Jenna exclaimed, turning to him.

  "Hey, mate," Devus greeted—his argumentative fervor dimmed. "How was the, uh, training expedition?"

  "Pretty good," Seth replied, not wanting to rehash the lie. He took a bite of stew. "What were you two so worked up about?"

  "I was telling him," Jenna began, glaring at Devus, "that sending Trogan's strongest squads into the first battles of the war would be a terrible idea. We'd be showing the Bridan Empire the best we have to offer immediately."

  "And I was telling ," Devus retorted, leaning forward, "that it's the sensible thing to do! If we don't, the weaker squads—squads like ours—will be thrown into a certain death against the enemy's elite units just to test the waters! It’s absurd!"

  Seth chewed thoughtfully. "Militarily speaking, Jenna’s right." he answered after a moment. "You don't usually lead with your best unit in an opening engagement. You probe, you gather intelligence." He then paused and pointed at Devus. "But from a human perspective, you have a point. Sending in low-Ranks squads first… well, it means a lot of people will die."

  Jenna shook her head. "No, not necessarily. Didn't you listen in class? Captain Michaelson went over it. You can surrender if your squad is overwhelmed in a Warfare Rift."

  Devus rolled his eyes. "And who's to say the empire will prisoners? They might just decide to slaughter everyone to send a message."

  "That's an unwritten rule, dummy," Jenna argued. "No killing of prisoners of war. It would make them look like savages in front of all the other nations. Especially the NEVAK."

  '' Nightmare’s voice echoed into Seth’s mind.

  '' Seth replied to the direwolf.

  "I still think they could be assholes and just kill us anyway," Devus muttered.

  "Then you just use an Escape scroll," Jenna countered. "So you can get out before it comes to that."

  "That's true," Devus conceded, his tanned face growing less tight.

  "Unless they use Artificers’ devices," Seth said quietly before taking a mouthful of stew. "the ones that create distortion fields which prevent anyone from using artifacts or instant spell-scroll like ."

  Devus frowned. "Wait, that actually exists?"

  "Yeah," Jenna answered. "But there’s no way the Bridan Empire would use something like that to kill us. It would make them look even worse."

  Seth continued eating, his friends' voice fading into background noise as he recalled Celine’s warning: get as strong as possible. The outpost’s administrator had told him to spend all his coins on the academy’s Epic Training Chambers or on new spells, so he could be as prepared as possible.

  The Bridan Empire wouldn’t play fair. Not for Legacies. They would certainly use every dirty trick in the book to maximize their chances.

  Seth’s thoughts then shifted to his own Legacy. Kreytorus’s.

  According to Celine, that thing was supposed to allow someone to break into the Platinum Tier within a decade. Which was more than great. But she had also been referring to the king’s grandchildren, who would have armies of guards to protect them, the best training environment, and every resource imaginable that could help them grow.

  He had… well, he had the Champions of Chaos.

  But how much protection could they truly offer? None of them would be with him in the Warfare Rifts.

  Seth shoved another spoonful of stew into his mouth. Legacy or not, he could still die.

  Seth, Nightmare, and Colossus current stats (will be updated with the next cast of Identify):

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