Ryan sprinted in a zigzag, trying to dodge the aerial bombardment. He hadn’t been forced to use [Instant Dodge], yet. He looked up as a scattering of dirt and grass started raining down.

  This was all to cover his vision for the true payload.

  “Gamielle stop! I need to talk!”

  The attempts to call her over were fruitless. The cerulean crow jerked around in the sky, trying to use the larger clumps of debris to hide its body. That wasn’t the problem, the problem was that–it suddenly dove down.

  Swooping through the debris and stopping almost right on top of him. The once cautious crow was emboldened by the rider on its back.

  Before it had refused to even come close to [Aura Slash] range. Now?

  Another sonic boom cleared the debris as Ryan jumped for cover.

  “Not yet! He hasn’t used his dodge skill. He might be impatient but he isn’t stupid. You won’t land it without getting rid of it.”

  Gamielle was being more supportive to the cerulean crow than she ever had been to him. Her words carried so that he could hear it too.

  The cerulean crow swooped over to another hill, it grabbed another massive chunk of dirt as the thick roots of the Emerald grass helped keep the dirt clumped. It scattered it high above Ryan, then it swooped another pile of earth and dropped it lower so that it stacked with the previous amount.

  It noticed Ryan wasn’t running this time and decided to go for another layer. He stood still, glaring at the shitbird and its shit-stirring rider.

  If they wanted him to use his dodge skill, he’d use it.

  The cerulean crow tried to do the same move as before. It reached supersonic speeds right above the falling debris. This time a large cracked boulder in its claws. Ryan wondered if it was trying to see if it could bludgeon him with it.

  He stacked [Aura of Momentum] and leapt. He shot at the perfect speed up towards the low flying crow.

  The crow squawked at the sudden jump. It was going so fast that it almost didn’t have time to react, the crow turned sharply to the side as Ryan used the skill it had wanted him to use.

  [Instant Dodge]

  Ryan threw himself towards the direction of the panicking bird. He hadn’t been condensing his aura on his blade because it would have alerted the crow. Now he started condensing it around his broken blade.

  The sudden mortal fear of the bird adding fuel to his aura.

  The red blade grew larger and longer as his momentum carried him forwards at nearly the same speed of the panicking crow. The red aura almost touched the bird’s neck, just out of reach. Ryan activated another skill.

  [Double St-

  The skill failed, whatever activation energy he needed backlashed back into his arm. His aura broke and scattered back towards his body. He grunted in midair and felt the skill backlash into his arm. A common skill failing wasn’t too bad.

  What hurt the most was his aura exploding from his sword.

  The crow paused and watched the adventurer convulse and fall from the sky. It tilted its head, wondering if now was the time to go for its special attack. Then it felt a trickle down its neck. Its eyes focused on a new wound that had cut through its neck feathers and exposed its skin to the world.

  It realized it had almost died. Its beak started chattering nervously and it turned its head to focus one eye on its rider. A blinking accusation at the pretty girl.

  Gamielle just shrugged.

  “Don’t look at me, you play with fire and you get burnt. You should know that.”

  The cerulean crow cried out in betrayal and made its feathers spike outwards as it did a barrel roll to fling the traitorous rider off of it.

  “Hey!” Gamielle flung herself off from the crying bird as she floated and pointed a finger at the crow, “Don’t you get prissy with me! You asked me how best to mark him. I never said I’d keep you safe.”

  The juvenile crow cawed its hurt but didn’t dare do anything more, it hung its head low and flapped its wings once. It slowly glided away a pitiful whine following its slow flight back.

  Gamielle just tutted and shook her head, “You ain’t fooling me.”

  Then she floated down to Ryan. He was shaking off the skill backlash on his left arm. Gamielle wasn’t impressed with his performance at all.

  “Tried to use [Double Stab] in the middle of all of that, huh?”

  “Yeah, I thought it would work. It wasn’t even in combination with [Instant Dodge], I just tried to use one skill after another.”

  “You overloaded a skill not designed for it, and you haven’t really mastered it either.”

  “I’ve stacked my [Double Stab] with [Aura of momentum] before, it worked fine with [Aura Condensation] on Earth. [Double Stab] is also a learned skill, it should have been easier.”

  Gamielle shook her head.

  “It’s a little more complicated than that. Your [Aura Condensation] was actually condensing your Epic on top of everything. If it was just your Rare aura then it would have been fine. You were pretty much layering a Rare to control your Epic then combining a Common physical skill on top of all that.”

  Ryan scratched his head. Skill combinations were something that he had read plenty about but had zero experience on. The problem was that it was almost always personal, skills changed with levels and also behaved differently depending on what precursors you had learned.

  Figuring out the limits of your combination skills and expanding them were crucial for everyone.

  It also didn’t make it easier when there weren’t any examples he could find of someone with [Aura Condensation] at his realm level.

  Gamielle tutted.

  “That’s not your only problem. You have a bunch of other issues,” She started counting on her fingers, “You tried out a maxed out [Double Stab] instead of a weaker one. It’s a purely physical common skill that has nothing to do with aura. Your body is a mess that really can’t handle [Aura Condensation] right now and your soulsword is broken making its enchantments imperfect and even more difficult to practice.”

  She ticked off her thumb and three fingers, then she got to her pinkie.

  “Finally, trying all of that in a combat scenario without practice shows you’re an idiot. Congratulations!”

  Ryan laughed as he lay down on the tossed dirt, “Give me a break, I almost got that shitbird.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Shitcrow,” Gamielle corrected, “And you only got close because it thought I was going to protect it.”

  “Poor bird didn’t realize it was making friends with a [Witch]’s daughter.”

  “Hmph, you really need to have a bit more respect,” Gamielle smirked at him, “All things fixed with time.”

  Ryan frowned at the ominous words, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Gamielle put her hands on her hips and looked down at him from above.

  “I won a bet with my mother, no more being hands off with your development. I’ll be the one teaching you.”

  Ryan looked at the delicate [Mage] up, then down. Her robes were pristine and form fitting and the form that it did show, showed very little physicality. Gamielle understood what he was thinking and snorted in annoyance.

  Her form changed as the robes turned a grassy green, like long stalks of emerald grass layered on top. A perfect camouflage in the emerald hills. Brown straps tied a belt around her waist and strapped around her shoulder. Potions, a survival knife and three scrolls were by her waist. She looked like a veteran adventurer [Mage] now.

  With her changed looks, came a weird pressure.

  “Hmph, my mother was never one for believing a [Mage] should neglect close combat. I have matched swords with true [Blademasters] and have managed to take points off them.”

  Ryan recognized this pressure. He scrambled up, getting ready for an attack as the [Mage] in front of him took out a small sword, one hand behind her back. A perfect fencing stance. Gamielle now radiated the aura of a [Swordsman], with a pressure that exceeded Zedart’s by far.

  “Would you like to try?”

  He pushed back against the pressure. Ryan flared out his Epic as his pulse quickened, he started taking stock of his skills. [Instant Dodge] was on cooldown but it would be back up soon.

  Everything else was good to go.

  Then Gamielle lowered her sword and shook her head in disappointment.

  “You’re too easy to bait. ? We need to get your body fixed and get out of this leveled zone. The Trial System will be annoying if we spar for too long in a leveled zone.”

  The wind got knocked out of his [Aura of Self Momentum] as she canceled what sounded like an amazing time.

  “You’re terrible.”

  –

  The Emerald Hills seemed to expand endlessly, Ryan had run for over a hundred miles across the hilly terrain but the exit of the leveled zone he was in was at least another hour’s run away. Still, he was making good time, The Sectors may have grown progressively larger but Ryan had also become far, far stronger than when he had first started.

  Not that he looked like it.

  He wasn’t wearing his Artigan disguise and was instead wearing mismatched armor from the Trial. Sector Three was where adventurers were supposed to upgrade their outfit into something that could actually withstand mundane stabs. Anything that wasn’t metal or specially made would get shredded by the sharp emerald grass. At the speeds he was running, even his original [Rogue] fitment was getting ripped apart. Its [Minor Self Repair] enchantment unable to keep up with the damage.

  “Hey Gamielle?”

  “Hm?”

  “Could I get something like a storage ring or a dimensional bag?”

  Ryan had to keep holding his backpack high on his back as well as make sure he landed in an odd manner. Gamielle laughed at his funny pace.

  “Those things are stuff that realm five teams grind for. You want me to give it to you for free?”

  “I’m not saying for free but c’mon, what’s the point of having a rich teacher if they don’t spoil their student?”

  “Well, a good teacher should teach their stupid students about the importance of being able to fend for themselves. A hundred thousand realmcoin. Half, if the money’s not coming from your blacklister account.”

  “A hundred tho-” Ryan spluttered,. “That’s highway robbery! A standard bag of holding is like ten million, probably less!”

  Gamielle looked down on the poor [Rogue].

  “You think I have cheap bags? You won’t ever have to upgrade with the artifacts I keep. A hundred thousand realmcoins is cheap for my storage artifact.”

  As tempting as she made that sound, Ryan resigned himself to carrying a bag around with all his gear. Maybe he’d find a rich adventurer and rob them of their storage bag. It would be idiotic to spend a hundred million on a storage bag.

  “Instead of a bag you should be looking to get better gear, especially when you’re going around without the mask.”

  The Witch’s daughter once again looked down at the poor [Rogue]. The mismatched equipment meant plenty of his body was exposed. Angry red welts appeared where the emerald grass had constantly rubbed against his exposed flesh. Ryan probably looked like one of the most miserable third realm adventurers around.

  He shrugged.

  “It’s on purpose, if I meet any adventurers they won’t get scared off by my Epic’s passive.”

  His encounter with Fighting Fancy had proved it. As long as he looked miserable and limped a little, other adventurers wouldn’t recognize his aura. On the other hand, beasts tended to be more wary unless he actively tried to step backwards.

  Gamielle frowned at the idea that Ryan still didn’t know how to deactivate his Epic.

  “How many precursor skills have you learned from your Epic?”

  “Uh, one? [Aura of Self Momentum].”

  Her frown deepened, “That’s less than I thought, [Aura Condensation] wasn’t a precursor?”

  “No.”

  “Huh, seems like you’re even further away from learning your Epic than I thought you were. That’s going to make some things a pain.”

  “I thought I was doing pretty well so far. Two separate Rare skills and a precursor, isn’t that good?”

  He was referencing [Aura Slash] and [Aura Condensation] as his separate skills. If he only had those two, he’d still be one of the most unique third realms around.

  “You’re not competing against average adventurers. Learning precursors are in some ways more important than learning separate skills. They will guide you into truly learning your Epic. Separate skills that utilize your Epics can do the opposite. They might start shaping your Epic instead, giving it more complexity. Hmm keep playing around with it but we might have to shelve learning that Epic for a little longer. Take that into account when you pick your next skills.”

  Ryan nodded along, he understood that Epic skills could be lifetime projects to learn. Even still, he had hoped Gamielle had better insight than just shelving the idea entirely.

  They walked for a few more minutes. His mess of a right arm aching from his bad posture.

  “So… how are we going to fix my body exactly?”

  This was the real reason why he’d actually rushed back to The Realm. Ryan had checked the internet for similar injuries but the general advice was to report to the Guild for an energy control tutor.

  That or pay for a [Healer] at the ninth realm that knew what they were doing.

  Gamielle seemed to have other ideas.

  “You’re going to fix it yourself. It’s a little early but you’re going to learn internal circulation and energy control. You’re going to need it if you want to keep condensing your aura.”

  Ryan blinked, energy control sounded good but internal circulation?

  “You mean like cultivation right? Circulatory advancement? Doesn’t that take forever?”

  The Witch Tyrant had said it herself in the discussion about the multiverse. The Realm was a near perfect place to train new talents. Ryan knew normal Realmers could cultivate in The Realm and, given enough time, could reach fairly high realm grades. It was said that quite a few of the older Realmer mages and warriors were stronger than the Settler generation.

  Their best being as strong as realm seven, even eighth realm Trialists.

  It just wasn’t enough to counter an endless horde of Earthers with guns, explosives. Later it became obvious that classes and Trial skills simply put Trialists significantly ahead of any realmer within the same realm grade.

  Progression through the Trial System was simply faster and better than standard cultivation by order of magnitudes.

  Gamielle of course understood all that.

  “Well, your [Aura Condensation] is going to constantly press your Epic against your body and force it to evolve. If you want to keep using it, it’s best if we sort it out before your next realm progression.”

  She paused, looking in the distance like she could see through the hills.

  “Stop here for a bit.”

  “Monsters?”

  “No, an adventuring team. We’re going to wait while they finish their sweep.”

  “You’re being awfully helpful. Doesn’t this go against the whole helping out damaging achievements philosophy?”

  Gamielle rolled her eyes, “That was only before you had Epics ready to fill your Trial skill slots. You probably have another Epic waiting for you after Lazhen. What we need to do now is to consolidate and start setting the foundation for your Legend. Messing around with mediocre teams will do nothing at this point.”

  Ryan’s heart skipped a beat when she mentioned setting the foundation for his Legend. He couldn’t help himself.

  “You’ve really got my whole life planned out ahead of me, huh?”

  Gamielle looked at him with a cold expectant look that reminded him of her mother, “I hope you’re ready to do crazier and crazier things.”

  Ryan grinned at her, “I’m looking forward to it.”

  The duo sat still for five minutes before Ryan got bored.

  “Who’s the team ahead and what are they doing?”

  “A silly team called Fighting Fancy. They’re scouting with drones and a multi stage pulse skill. It must be high level or they lied about their scouting skill to the Guild. They should have moved on by now. We might have to go around them instead.”

  That was the team that Ryan met while moving around Amperdon herds. He’d researched them before. Ryan frowned, remembering what she’d called them.

  “Wait, Fighting Fancy? They’re not a mediocre team, they’re pretty good.”

  Sure, he’d shaken their hands and hadn’t recognized him. They might have been a little naive but they were still a team planning to go far in the pre fifth tourney. Fighting Fancy was far from being a ‘mediocre team’.

  Gamielle seemed to disagree.

  “You’d demolish them in seconds. They’re average at best.”

  The [Mage] finally noticed the odd expression the [Rogue] was giving her.

  “What?”

  “I just…” Ryan didn’t actually know how to ask what he was feeling, “I just wonder what you would have said about me if I ended up as a regular adventurer.”

  Gamielle waved him off, “Oh don’t take it like that.”

  “No, hold on. This is important. What would you have classified Valee’s team before I met her?”

  Sensing something was wrong, Gamielle’s focus snapped back on Ryan. She tried to placate him.

  “Look, I’ve been in The Realm for a long time. I’ve seen literally every single team that has come by in the past few decades. Don’t be insulted for them when I call them average.”

  Now she’d flipped the wording from mediocre to average. He wasn’t having it.

  “Answer the question, Gamielle.”

  Both of them stared at each other for a moment. Gamielle sighed.

  “Valee’s previous team? Average at best. Valee was an okay leader but it meant cutting off their best adaptive combatant in a three adventurer squad. She should have been a co-leader. Their [Mage], Felsley wasn’t good nor bad and their [Warrior]. Marickle? She was above average.”

  Ryan stood up. He ignored Gamielle as he started walking towards the direction she had been facing.

  “Hey, where are you going?”

  “Fighting Fancy’s that way right?”

  “Ah, .”

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