Kael began his descent, Needle-Blade held firmly in hand.

  The beginning wasn’t particularly complicated. The ground wasn’t snow-covered, just rocky, with a few fissures. He mainly had to watch his ankles.

  He managed without too much trouble, up to the first climbing section.

  This is going to be more complicated, he thought.

  I have to keep my Needle-Blade on me at all times, but nothing says I have to keep it in my hand the whole time.

  So he placed the Needle-Blade between his teeth and began the difficult passage, one hold after another, calmly and steadily.

  He almost missed a foothold. He was about to grumble, but couldn’t. He clenched his weapon between his teeth and kept going.

  He reached the end of the descent with nothing in particular to report, and resumed walking.

  He had made good progress. He still had a bit of walking left, then another light climbing section before reaching the valley.

  He arrived at the base of the cliff he had to descend, a knot tightening in his stomach.

  He went for it. Always one hold after another.

  His fingers hurt, especially the ones that had touched Velara’s Elan.

  He stopped mid-descent, secured his grip properly, freed his aching hand, and shook it to get the blood flowing again.

  His body was tingling — likely from the cold.

  He turned his head to see where he was.

  There wasn’t much left.

  Then he lifted his gaze… and saw a dark mass clinging to the rock face.

  A creature with long claws.

  Some kind of black veil covered its body, as if hiding something beneath.

  Drool seeped from under the fabric covering its head.

  It was approaching Kael.

  He hadn’t seen it coming, but his body had warned him without him realizing it.

  The creature lunged, claws first.

  Kael, in a visceral reflex, jumped backward, into free fall.

  He brought the Needle-Blade back into his hand mid-air.

  He landed in a tree. The foliage and branches cushioned the fall, then he slammed into the ground with a grunt of pain.

  He opened his eyes. Velara was looking down at him, arms crossed.

  “What are you doing on the ground?” she asked. “Care to explain?”

  Kael stammered:

  “There’s an Overdrawn on the cliff. It almost skewered me!”

  Velara shrugged.

  "And so? Deal with it."

  "How do you expect me to deal with it, seriously? I’m naked, in a place I don’t even know!"

  Velara sighed.

  "Stop being such a wimp. There—here it comes."

  The Overdrawn was climbing down the tree Kael had just fallen from.

  It slid along the trunk like a shadow.

  Velara stepped aside slightly and said:

  "Ah! It’s a Class-Four. Too bad for you… but don’t worry, I’m watching!"

  Kael grumbled and took a defensive stance, his grip firm on his blade.

  The ground, covered in orange-red moss, was a true blessing for his battered feet.

  The terrain he was standing on sloped slightly, and the Overdrawn held the higher ground.

  Velara had leaned against a tree a little farther away, a fixed smile on her face.

  The Overdrawn leapt again, claws outstretched.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Kael, caught off guard, parried the attack with his Needle-Blade.

  A few days ago, an attack like that would have sent his weapon flying, disarming him.

  But today, after carrying it constantly, an attack of that magnitude could no longer tear it from his hands.

  Kael was surprised:

  The attack wasn’t as powerful as he had expected.

  The Overdrawn was lighter than it looked.

  He reset his stance.

  "Are you planning to dance with it for long?" Velara called mockingly.

  At those words, the creature lunged again.

  Kael, instead of parrying as he had just done, ducked and made a circular motion with the Needle-Blade, slicing the creature’s body cleanly in two.

  It collapsed limply to the ground without a sound.

  Kael, still lying on the ground, stood up and stepped closer to examine the creature.

  It was a humanoid creature that moved on all fours, with long claws.

  But the most surprising thing was that the veil covering it was its body itself.

  That explained why it was so light.

  Velara walked up and gave him a shove in the back.

  "Well done. A Class-Four, killed by a Latent who hadn’t even held a weapon a few weeks ago.

  Alright, let’s get moving again."

  She turned on her heel.

  Kael looked at the creature for a few more seconds, then caught up with Velara.

  “Master… I felt something when that creature appeared.”

  Velara raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh? And what did you feel?”

  “A kind of tingling all over my body. I thought it was the cold, but I was wrong.”

  Velara then said:

  “Stay alert. Your sensations will rarely deceive you.”

  They continued onward.

  The terrain leveled out.

  Kael felt the tingling again, spreading through his entire body.

  He instinctively shifted into a guarded stance.

  This time, the sensation was stronger along his back.

  He turned around… and saw another Overdrawn of the same kind.

  It moved without making the slightest sound.

  It lunged.

  Kael reacted instantly and drove the Needle-Blade straight into its head.

  Velara applauded.

  “There’s progress!”

  Kael lingered for a moment over the Overdrawn’s carcass. He examined the black veil covering it.

  The fabric was thin, silky, remarkably fluid.

  He carefully cut it free.

  Velara, taken aback, asked him:

  “What exactly are you doing?”

  “It’s a magnificent fabric. A very beautiful color.

  It would be a shame not to salvage it.”

  Velara raised an eyebrow.

  “I don’t see what you could possibly do with it…”

  Kael smiled.

  “You’ll see. I’m very resourceful.”

  She smiled in return, and they set off again.

  The trees around them had white bark, and their leaves were dressed in autumn colors.

  A magnificent contrast.

  Kael wore the fabric he had taken draped over his shoulders.

  The air had grown cooler, and dusk was beginning to fall.

  They reached a clearing.

  Dull orange grass carpeted the ground.

  A large boulder stood proudly at its very center.

  A spring ran through the clearing, calm and peaceful.

  Velara placed her hands on her hips.

  “There. We’ve arrived.”

  Her platinum hair, pulled back into a ponytail, drifted in the wind.

  Her blue eyes, almost feline, gleamed in the fading light.

  A tall, slender silhouette, accentuated by her leather trousers and tight black thigh-high boots.

  Everything about her radiated provocation.

  Her white shirt was slightly open, just enough to suggest what lay beneath.

  A very beautiful woman…

  But dangerous — Kael had already learned that the hard way.

  Velara then declared, perfectly serious:

  “Alright. Let’s get down to business. As you’ve already noticed, the Trial is tomorrow.

  Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have the time to turn you into a proper swordsman in so little time.”

  “That’s why we’re going to need this.”

  A rain of ethereal sparks appeared in her hand.

  Kael stepped back reflexively, overwhelmed by what he was seeing.

  A clock appeared.

  A large clock with a pendulum, set into a wooden cabinet.

  It landed on the ground with a small crash.

  Kael stammered, eyes wide:

  “What… is that? And how did you do that?”

  Velara, a smile on her lips, placed her hand on the clock’s wooden frame.

  “That, my dear student, is a grandfather clock.

  Or rather, a Relic, to be precise.”

  Kael stepped closer, still utterly stunned.

  “So that’s what a Relic is? I thought they were more like weapons… or objects meant for combat.”

  “If that were all they were, it would be profoundly boring,” she replied.

  She paused, then continued:

  “This object has a rather remarkable ability: it allows time to be accelerated within a given area.”

  Kael frowned.

  “Can you be more precise?”

  She stepped closer to him, slipped an arm around his shoulders, and explained:

  “As long as we remain within a given perimeter around the clock, time doesn’t flow the same way.

  One day in the real world is equivalent to one month here.

  So with roughly twelve hours before the Trial… we have, more or less, two weeks within the clock’s perimeter.”

  She paused.

  “Two weeks to turn you into a passable fighter.”

  She flashed a wide smile, her gaze playful.

  A bead of sweat slid down Kael’s temple.

  He swallowed.

  He had just realized that his true Trial…

  was about to begin here.