XVI

  Offers

  I recalled my remaining chick. Its bigger sister exited the portal.

  “We cannot pass this up,” Ray said.

  Techniques flared, all of us realising the same thing.

  “I’ll go in first—” Ray started and trailed off.

  Unhurried footsteps echoed through the walls. The temple door revealed a girl with black hair falling to her waist, carrying a spear on her back. The white of her robes matched the snow, but the red hems and sun motifs said she was not of the same element.

  [Sundancer - lvl. 8]

  The sundancer scanned us, the gaze behind the action dead until it fell on Judith.

  Good. They recognised her.

  “Greetings.” Judith seized the opportunity. “What a pleasure to meet another disciple out here! I see you’ve claimed quite the spacious temple. Our party would like to bargain for access.”

  A shadow consumed the sundancer’s own before she could answer. “Is that who I think it is?”

  Judith froze.

  A boy passed by the girl, whose height matched my own. His shimmering, dark red hair whipped in a breeze, which made the hems of his robe flutter. The design was similar to that of the girl, but the depiction of his sun was lighter, reminding one of the Dawn. The sundancer’s drawings showed the star at its zenith.

  “Duke,” Judith said.

  The warmth vanished from her tone as if the realm had robbed it firsthand.

  He smiled. “It is you. What a coincidence.” He pushed the entrance wide open. “Please, feel free to come in.”

  Judith stayed in place. Ray discretely put his hand on her back and gave her a shove.

  “We thank you for your hospitality, Lord Dawnflame,” he said.

  ‘Dawnflame?’

  I studied the boy a second time as I recalled my familiar.

  [Fire Artist - lvl. 11]

  What that class was supposed to be, I didn’t know. But his spirit was strong and solid.

  We shuffled inside the temple. A pot boiled over a small fire, which two girls tended. Both wore the colours of the Vermilion Lotus Pavilion. On the other side of the room laid bedrolls. My brow raised. There were three rolls, not four, and they had arrayed them against each other to create a wide sheet.

  Judith eyed the rolls as well. “I see you’ve found ways to keep the warmth.”

  “The cold is quite the killer,” Duke huffed.

  I leaned and whispered to Ray: “What’s up with them?”

  He inched closer. “Duke was her fiance.”

  My head tilted, asking the obvious.

  Ray jabbed his chin at the bedrolls. “He’s a lady’s man.”

  Ah. So that’s how it was.

  Though there was bad blood between the two, it evidently didn’t warrant caution regarding an attack. We dropped our gear and settled in. As I unrolled my sheets, holes burned into my back. I glanced over my shoulder to find Duke staring. He kept our lock for a moment, revealing that oh-so-white smile of his, then turned around when one of the girls whispered in his ear.

  Lord Dawnchaser’s warning as he gave me the token had not yet escaped me.

  ‘Lady’s man, huh.’

  It meant I should stay as far away from Duke as possible.

  After our party finished settling in, we passed a round of introductions. I learned Ray and Jake were from clans that were vassals to the Vires, the Steelhearts and Hawkwings, respectively. David was of a vassal clan as well but to the Everfrosts, which were leaders of the Snow Moon Divine Sect. The girls Duke had with him weren’t vassals but had been picked up by the Dawnflames as prospects. The mystic realm was their chance to show what they had in store. \

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  How much of that was because of their true talents or Duke’s meddling, I couldn’t tell.

  “And you are?” Duke’s question was nonchalant. The air around him lofty. But I didn’t like the light in his eyes as he peered over his bowl of soup.

  “Ashe,” I said.

  “Only Ashe?”

  I nodded. “I don’t know my parents nor my last name.”

  Judith eyed me from her own bowl but didn’t speak up. I’d told everyone besides David my last name, for I’d seen no reason to hide it. They wouldn’t rat me out. But even if they did, I could always say I spoke true: I didn’t know my biological parents, if I even had them, and my real name was a mystery.

  Duke hummed. “Then who is your sponsor for the event? A clan who can send an unknown quantity inside must have means.”

  I kept my expression even. ‘I could just tell him I don’t wish to share.’

  But the information wouldn’t stay hidden for long no matter what I did. My mouth opened—

  “What’s it to you?” Judith snapped. The wrinkles that spawned on her forehead did her sharp face justice. “Are the three dolls you’ve got with you not enough to hold your interest?”

  That bought her a set of glares.

  Duke lifted his arms. “I was just asking.” He turned to me and raised his brow.

  I sipped from my soup.

  By the time tempers had cooled, it was bedtime. We set up a watch. Judith, myself, and the girl who’d greeted us at the entrance (Leila) would go first. Duke had tried to take Leila’s place but Judith refused.

  So the three of us at around the fire. We chatted, speaking a little of the mystic realm and what we’d seen.

  “We saw some of the drakes,” Leila said. “Didn’t get close enough to draw its attention though.”

  Judith cupped her chin. “Reaching the valley may not be probable.”

  “How so?” I asked.

  “There’s only a single pass that enters from this side,” Judith said. “If the drakes are truly searching for us—”

  “They’d guard the entrance,” I finished.

  That could indeed be trouble.

  “Then it’s a good thing we’re joining forces,” Leila smiled. Her heart wasn’t in it though.

  Judith’s blonde hair whisked side-to-side. “You actually want to be near him? I don’t know how you manage.”

  “You cannot manage a wild beast, Judith,” Leila said. “That’s where you went wrong.”

  I blinked.

  Judith exhaled. “You actually think he cares about you?”

  The sundancer kept the same smile on her face.

  “He’s got two other girls lying in his bed right now,” Judith stated.

  “Toys. Of no importance.”

  One of the girls turned in her bedroll and coughed. Leila didn’t deign her with a glance.

  Judith pinched her forehead. “You…whatever. I need some fresh air.” She stood and eyed me, so I got up as well.

  Leila watched us go with a smirk.

  “They’re insane!” Judith whisper-yelled once we found a stool—an upturned pillar whose surface was whole enough.

  A fair breeze from the west broke on the dome of the temple and managed to find us. Fires flared and Ashwing stepped out. She spread her wings to shield us from the worst of it.

  “I caught Duke staring at me,” I said.

  She rolled her eyes. “I bet. He cannot keep his dick out of any hole that moves.”

  “Was he always like that?”

  “…Not always.” Her voice lowered. Her lips pursed. “His mother dying started it.”

  “A coping mechanism?”

  “So I think. I was visiting a far away relative when it happened. He sent me many letters, most of them requesting my presence. If I’d been there, maybe we…” she trailed off.

  Wings fluttered against the gale. Cold, deep shadows sunk into the earth and latched onto Judith’s face.

  In this extended moment, I could pry. I knew I could. But was it really my place to do so?

  …

  “Thanks for what you did back there,” I whispered.

  The shadows clawing onto her cheeks lightened. “About your name?”

  I nodded.

  She waved me away. “Consider it nothing. You’ve done more for me than the other way around.”

  Another moment of silence.

  “He’ll try moving on you again,” she said. “No doubt about it. But you do not have to listen to him.”

  “Is he the heir of the Dawnflame clan?”

  “He’s a second cousin of the Dawnflame Matriarch, so no. But he’s one of her favourites.”

  I hummed and kicked my legs. ‘Should I tell her?’

  “What is it?” she said.

  I found my breath, then repeated Lord Dawnchaser’s words.

  “What a fucking degenerate,” she spit. “Lower clans are like dogs and snakes. They’ll do anything to receive praise from their masters or keep their hide safe.” She whirled on me and grabbed my hand. “My words remain true. You do not need to listen to him.”

  “Can he get me kicked out of the mystic realm?”

  “Technically. But the damage it’d do to his reputation would be immense. Especially if you place high in this first trial. But it is of no importance. You know that well-performing cultivators can be scouted?”

  I did not.

  “The rank you earn during the first test will always count towards the rank of the clan that brought you into the event. In your case, the Dawnchasers, and thus the Dawnflames. However, cultivators can be traded between sects before the second trial starts.”

  And clan ranks decided how many seats a faction received in court, so there would be serious impetus to scout.

  …Interesting.

  “What would I need to do to receive an offer from your clan?” I asked.

  “Nothing. My word will see you receive one. But the specifics of the offer will change according to your performance.”

  ‘Performance…’

  I leaned forwards and linked my hands. “Can that offer contain information on a specific inheritance?”

  Judith frowned. “You cannot barter for inheritance locations.”

  “But?”

  “…it’s possible to receive a hint. The top 50 disciples who enter the second trial are granted a single request from the Custodian. Usually, they use it to get a head start on the second trial. There’s nothing saying you have to use it that way though.”

  I hadn’t spied on my ranking in a while. Mainly because it hadn’t changed since yesterday.

  Location: Everwinter - Mystic Realm

  Time left until end: 62 09:33:12

  Realm Points: 179

  Everwinter Ranking: 4895

  ‘That’s a long way from top 50…’

  “Is there a method you recommend to climb?”

  “Slay a herald,” she chuckled.

  When I didn’t laugh, she coughed in her palm.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I’d say farming the monsters in the valley until the last moment. But that’s not feasible given your level. Though you have been levelling quickly…” she shook her head. “Wait until the third trial. At that point, the top 500 receive a favour. That’s easier. Not by much, mind you, but still easier.”

  My head turned towards the mountains. The darkness left bare only their silhouette. The time was beyond eve, but I doubted that mattered to the woman on the mural.

  Communion could happen at any place any time.