There were consequences to manipulating my mentor as I did.

  I was kinda glad for it, guilt got infinity worse when the offending action didn't have a cost. That was what I kept telling myself as I diced another carrot. The knife I used was pathetic, rankling every one of my sensibilities, both warrior and smith. How did the cooks survive the indignity of using such an offence to craftsmanship?

  Sure, we only needed it to be as sharp as the shit we were cooking, none of that being monster meat. That was left for the professionals to prepare, not the novices nor the apprentices that were assigned to the kitchen for practical knowledge or practical punishment.

  But still! Being seen using this dull piece of shit...I shivered at the thought.

  Luckily, the only person I knew who witnessed the sight was no master of blades to notice or care. The other one I didn't give a shit about.

  "Why are you here, Argyle?" I sighed, bringing the abomination down to make my first cut of the carrot.

  He blinked and gave me a confused look. "I barely get to see you these days! You spend all your time at the jewellers or training...and I don't have many friends."

  "I sincerely doubt that."

  "I don't have many real friends, ones that don't care about my family name, ones that I can relax around," He huffed.

  I raised a brow. "What makes you think I won't take advantage of your position? Maybe I'm just playing the long con to swipe away all your riches."

  "You're not that clever," he chuckled.

  I scowled, which cowed the boy, but he still had a slight smirk on his face.

  Gods and hells, what happened to the idiot that would shrink away at the slightest provocation? Could I have him back? Make a trade-in at the friendship store? Fucking dumbass didn't see that I was trying to protect him by making some distance between us.

  I doubted any witches would harm a magister's son, but my lax stupidity was what got Riri and Gar killed.

  There would not be a repetition of that. Ever.

  "You're making that face again," Argyle said.

  I sighed. "Which one?"

  "The one where it looks like you're planning a gruesome murder."

  "Better than sorrow," I shrugged. "I have no use for that shit, all it does is act as an obstacle for progress."

  He pursed his lips, but held back whatever he was planning to say, for my sake or his own. The last time he tried to console...didn't go over well. I actually got into a fight with his guard. A proper sword fight. I was impressed by his capabilities, he surpassed me by miles, forcing me on the defensive the whole time.

  Shouldn't've been surprised, he was guarding nobility, they wouldn't settle for someone lesser.

  The fight didn't stop until Loklan got involved, and the guildmaster strolled in behind him. He had words for the both of us, impressively hurtful ones honestly.

  In the end I got no punishment because I didn't start the fight. The guard didn't get any either, because the guildmaster wasn't about to provoke House Rhombal, but by how placid he'd been since that incident...I assumed him and Argyle had a bit of a conversation.

  He was standing in a corner, crossing his arms and scowling something fierce at me.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Ignoring him was easy enough.

  "You know, I talked with my father about the slums," Argyle decided to pivot.

  This time my brow rose to the sky. "I imagine that went about as well as a witch and warlock sharing a drink?"

  "Yeah," he sighed. "He...almost confined me to the estate, but I...uh. Well I convinced him otherwise. Even got him to consider providing some aid!"

  I doubted his father was serious with his considerations, but there were more pressing matters.

  "Argyle. What did you do?"

  He blushed in embarrassment and looked down at the floor, mumbling something I couldn't hear.

  "What?"

  He blushed harder and seemed to find his sandals mighty interesting.

  "The young master threatened to elope with you if his father decided to trap him," the guard grunted.

  I blinked at the guard and turned my gaze back to Argyle. "You what now?"

  "It wouldn't happen!" Argyle stammered. "I know you're not interested in me...but my father doesn't know that. I...uh...convinced him that you were waiting to achieve enough renown to justify making you my concubine, and would gladly...umm...elope."

  My genuine mirth at him coming up with such a ridiculous story was warring with the offence that rivalled it. But I wasn't a child in mind, so I could recognize that the boy was just using some cunning to escape from an unfortunate future. Though the fact that him admitting to our trip to the slums in a bid to make things better certainly tempered my anger.

  I turned back to the guard. "You didn't think to enlighten the magister that his assumptions are wrong?"

  The guard glared at me, but that was all he did. "My loyalty is to the young master first, and the House second. I would have no part in a ploy to make my master's life worse."

  Huh. Didn't expect that from him.

  I shrugged and got back to my task before one of the chefs decided that the presence of nobility wasn't enough to stop from a tongue lashing. Argyle sighed in relief at my seemingly unbothered attitude and got to work beside me.

  Despite my punishment, Aira wouldn't deprive me of training.

  Or rather, she couldn't.

  We both knew what I valued most, and if she was going to make herself an obstacle to that, then I was free to leave the city and head somewhere with a dungeon. I didn't want to, but strength mattered more than the paltry connections I made here.

  So while she didn't approve my madness, she didn't stand against it.

  Which meant Xae still got to kick my ass.

  I was covered in bruises as we swung our blades in the violent tempest that our training had become. To be fair, so was she.

  Pain was weird in that I couldn't use the constant agony in my spirit to reinforce my body, but that wasn't true for the consequences of a beating. Not that I let her strike me, she still earned those fair and square, I just turned it to my advantage.

  I could finally increase my speed.

  As long as I kept up the ferocity, Xae would be forced to retaliate with equal fervour. Sure, it threw aside just about every lesson I'd learned of strategy, and would see me dead in a fight with actual weapons, but it worked.

  And Xae loved it.

  From a certain perspective. She made it no secret that she thought my new approach was lacking in brain cells after our fights, but during? She looked over the moon. So far only Loklan could outmatch her, and their fights were not close.

  She could beat everyone else in the hunters guild on pure skill alone, despite how some of them were filled with decades worth of essence. Yet when I abandoned any semblance of sanity, I could almost match her.

  And considering these spars only really ended when one of us declared it over?

  Well, I could tell exactly how much damage I suffered through mend, so I knew to stop before I earned an injury that would hinder my training. Which took a while.

  Xae wouldn't end our matches while I was attacking her so fervently, entirely because that would come with the implication of her admitting defeat.

  I'd never beaten her, and she clearly planned on keeping it that way.

  Yet she struggled more and more each time we fought. I was getting close, and we both knew it. It was nothing like when I was guided so completely by the World, but the increased speed from siphoning my pain made all the difference.

  If I could keep up with how fast I was going.

  Something to address when it actually became a problem. For now, splitting my resources would only set me back. The speed was the only thing that guaranteed I could hit her consistently. The most recent strike, one to her knee that forced her to kneel, was a testament to that.

  I switched to a high guard and brought my blade down as hard as I could to take advantage of her disorientation. Xae was prepared though, and instead of blocking straight on she interrupted my swing with a quick jab to my sternum.

  Quick, but still powerful.

  I struggled to get air into my lungs but kept my focus trained on my opponent. She sprung from her crouch with a low swing that came up to meet my hip. I powered through the pain, using it to further enhance myself, and whipped my blade towards her head.

  She parried, surprisingly enough, considering how far her blade was from mine when I swung.

  Xae swung diagonally for my chin and so the fight continued.