Duncan didn’t have time to even think of protesting before an Ability Slip once again appeared in Neta’s hand. It looked just like the one she’d shown him before their spar. He was beside her this time, so he could feel the mana infused into the artifact.

  “This might look like blue paper, but it’s actually solid mana.” Neta held the Slip as though it were a precious gem. “These are normally only earned as rewards for clearing temporary realms. That’s why they’re so valuable. Not only do they unlock new Abilities, but they’re also dangerous to acquire. Non-combatants rely on delvers for Slips and protection, while delvers rely on non-combatants for everything else. That’s the natural cycle of the Realms.”

  Neta approached Duncan, Slip still in hand. “Like you said, we Kunish have a lot of traditions. It’s customary for those who pass the Subject Trial to receive their first Slip from their family and then earn the rest themselves. There are many reasons for this. It helps prevent over-reliance on others. Obtaining a complete set of Abilities gives young delvers something to work toward. It also helps create more powerful fighters since it’s common for the Realms to reward delvers with Slips well suited to their Subjects.”

  Neta’s tone changed to one full of emotion. It pulled Duncan’s attention away from the piece of magic in her hand and up to her face. To Duncan’s utter astonishment, tears had begun forming in the matriarch’s eyes, and it looked like she was struggling to speak. Cinder’s face fell to the grass, almost as though he understood what was about to be said and didn’t want Duncan to see his face.

  “I have… I had two sons. Twins, actually. Gelden and Vin. Gelden was Cinder’s father, while Vin never married or had children. They were on the same team, along with Gelden’s wife, Antonia.” At that name, Duncan heard a soft sob escape Cinder’s control. Antonia. Gelden’s wife. Cinder’s mother.

  “They all died 47 years ago. We don’t know exactly what happened. I wasn’t myself at the time because my husband had passed just months before. I hadn’t seen the boys or Antonia since before he died, and I wasn’t keeping track of where they were at the time.”

  “The next thing I knew, an Adventurers Guild representative was at the estate. She told me my sons and daughter-in-law died on a mercenary contract in another permanent realm. A terrible series of realm breaks had occurred. Their team went in to help however they could and didn’t return.”

  Neta’s eyes were closed now as she struggled to keep her breathing under control. Cinder’s face was a mask of stone. He was doing everything he could to contain his own sorrow as he walked over to his grandmother and held her against him.

  Duncan found himself staring down at his feet, blinking away tears of his own. He didn’t know exactly what he was feeling at that moment. He was stunned, as he’d never seen such emotion from his masters. He was sad, as he loved the O’Leons and knew he would have loved those they’d lost as he did the rest of them. He was also confused as to what had brought on this story.

  Above all, though, he was grateful. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn’t help the feeling. He was grateful the O’Leons had taken him in. He was grateful he had two masters who had dedicated so much time and effort to his training. He was grateful he’d found people he knew would mourn losing him if he didn’t make it back one day, just as the Tells would.

  As he stood there, trying to find the right words to express his thanks and his ache for their loss, he realized he didn’t have to find the words at all. He knew these two. He’d lived and trained with them for two years. They had become his family. They didn’t want anything from him.

  But there was a reason Neta had told him this story. The O’Leons had always avoided talking about Cinder’s parents and Neta’s children, likely because of the scene taking place before Duncan now. So, Duncan waited in respectful silence as he watched his masters struggle to control their grief in front of their student.

  It took less than a minute for Neta to regain control. Cinder pulled her back to her feet, and while Duncan could still see the sorrow in her eyes, he could also see resolve begin to take hold.

  With a voice heavy with held-back emotion, Neta spoke. “I tell you this because I…no, we want to offer you something.” She looked to Cinder, who gave her a slight nod and the beginnings of a smile. “As I said before, according to tradition, you should receive your first Slip from your family. I hope you will accept your first Slip from me now, regardless of what you decide.”

  “Decide?” Duncan asked.

  “The O’Leon family would be honored to have someone such as you, Duncan,” Neta said, giving him a warm smile that transformed her face from a portrait of grief to one of hope. “I would be honored and proud to call you my son. If you agree, I’d like to adopt you in the eyes of the Realms.”

  Duncan’s mind froze. Adopt? Him? Those two words were all he could think of for what felt like hours. When he finally moved past them, his mind started hopping from one question to another. What about his family back on Earth? Why would Neta and Cinder make this offer in the first place? What did she mean by in the eyes of the Realms?

  Upon seeing the conflict on Duncan’s face, Neta continued. “Cinder and Pheobe came to me with the idea a while ago, and at first, I thought it would be a bad idea. I thought you might see accepting this offer as a betrayal of your family on Earth. They obviously mean a lot to you. But then I remembered who you are. You move with purpose and don’t jump to conclusions. You seek answers when you can and almost always think before you act. So, I decided you would likely want to hear the offer and our reasons for making it.”

  She paused, waiting to see if Duncan had anything to say or ask. He simply stood there, staring at Neta. The conflict was gone from his face, replaced with curiosity and maybe the slightest bit of hope.

  “The first and most important reason for the offer,” Neta explained, “is that we see you as family already. Regardless of what you decide, that won’t change. My grandson here even challenged me to a duel when he heard I was going to ask you to be my adopted son instead of you being his.” Cinder’s hand on the back of his neck and embarrassed grin were all the confirmation Duncan needed for that claim. The young human couldn’t help but snort. He also couldn’t help the pride that swelled in his chest. Pride and happiness. “The second reason, and the reason it makes sense to make it a formal adoption recognized by the Realms, is that it would give you both protection and a disguise.”

  Duncan’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He understood the protection part. The O’Leon family name was a powerful thing. While they didn’t abuse it, they certainly relied on it to open doors and prevent aggression from other influential houses. Even with the traditional period of no external support coming up for him and his friends, the O’Leon name would do a lot for him passively. What he didn’t understand was how it would provide him with a disguise.

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  Upon voicing his confusion, Cinder was the one who gave him an answer. “Identification Abilities and compendium scrolls can be used to identify people. If someone from Corvelin successfully identified you at this moment, they will see the name Duncan Tell, since that is what the Realms know you as. Who knows if they are looking for you or if someone will recognize the name? If you are officially adopted, then your name, when identified, will change to Duncan O’Leon.”

  Duncan’s heart skipped a few beats after Cinder’s words. He couldn’t help but imagine a world where he arrived in Corvelin as planned, while the Realms somehow saw him as his father’s son, giving him the name Duncan Mayfield. The thought both scared him and reminded him that he’d never told the O’Leons his whole story. He resolved then and there to tell them everything the next time they were all together.

  “So,” Neta said, “those are our reasons. Do you have any questions?”

  “Yes,” Duncan responded. “I can’t help but think it would make more sense for Cinder and Pheobe to adopt me, given Phevona and I are the same age. Why do you want to?”

  Neta’s smile in response to Duncan’s question was many things. It was sad, excited, proud, and resolute. “I don’t expect you to replace the two sons I lost. I just know that I’ve come to love you like a son, and that I’m proud of you as a mother would be for her child, so why not make it so?”

  After a brief moment, she continued with a mischievous tone, “I also think it would be hilarious for you to be Cinder’s uncle.” The laugh that escaped her lips was filled with joy. Duncan couldn’t help but join in after seeing Cinder’s look of pure horror. It took almost five minutes for them all to stop laughing after Cinder finally decided he also thought it was funny.

  “Well, I don’t need to think about it,” Duncan said, whipping the tears of laughter and emotion from the corners of his eyes. “I will always be a Tell; I know that. But I also know that I would like nothing more than to be an O’Leon as well. My parents on Earth… I’ve never completely explained my family’s situation to you. I would now, but Phevona and Pheobe also deserve to know, so I’ll wait until later to go into more detail.”

  “The short of it is that the mom and dad I’ve spoken of are actually my aunt and uncle. They’ve done more for me than I could have possibly hoped for. They took me in. Gave me a family. Protected me. I say all this to get across that they would want nothing more than for me to accept your offer, and they would be thankful beyond measure to you both and the others. So, I accept… if you’ll have me.”

  Duncan’s acceptance was met with joyous smiles, and a new notification nudged at his consciousness. A simple acknowledgment was all he needed to pull up the words delivered to him by the Realms themselves.

  Duncan smiled upon seeing the notification. “Seems like it worked,” he said. “The Realms officially changed my name.”

  Neta and Cinder approached Duncan, giving him hugs and expressing their welcome to the family. “Phevona is going to be so mad she wasn’t here for this,” Cinder said after separating from the embrace.

  “Pheobe too,” Neta said. “She was more angry than Cinder when I said I’d be the one offering to adopt you.”

  Duncan could only smile. Some people might see his family situation as strange. He chose to focus on the fact that he now had two families he knew would fight to protect him, and he knew he would fight to protect them in turn.

  Neta held her hand out to Duncan. It still held onto the Slip she’d shown him earlier. “My husband was a defender. He died protecting his team.” She indicated the Slip in her hand. “He didn’t think this Slip would fit his own style, but he always said it was his favorite because it represented what he wanted to have with me. He gave it to me as a gift when he asked to court me many years ago. I’ve had it ever since.”

  There was no regret or indecision in Neta as she turned her gaze from the Slip in her hand to her new son. “I know for a fact that he would have loved you as we do. He would have seen your work ethic as something out of legend. He would have bragged about your talent to anyone who would listen. And he would have wanted you to use this Slip to unlock your first combat Ability.”

  Duncan didn’t know what to say. First, Neta offers to adopt him, not only for protection but also out of a genuine desire for him to join her family. Now, she wanted to give him something so important to her. He wanted to refuse, but, again, he knew his master. She would not take no for an answer.

  Eventually, Duncan settled on asking, “What was his name?”

  “Aludwin. Dwin for short.” Neta said. Duncan nodded, sending his thanks to the man he’d never know, and accepted the Slip from Neta’s outstretched hand.

  The moment he touched it, he felt the mana in the item interact with his own. It was almost like they were communicating, and Duncan could feel the two pools of power, one his own mana, the other the Slip itself, trying to become one. Another new notification popped up in Duncan’s mind.

  A tier one Slip filled with the concept of connection. Duncan wasn’t sure what all the information meant, but he figured if he could trust anyone to have his best interest at heart, it would be Neta. So, he thought yes at the prompt.

  Duncan focused on his THE QUINTESSENTIAL SWORD Subject, and the Slip disappeared.

  Duncan navigated to the list of his Abilities and focused on the newest entry.

  A smile spread across Duncan’s face after he finished reading the description. He immediately summoned one of the short swords he’d crafted from his [Quintessential Armory] and initiated the bonding effect of his Primordial Ability, [Sword Bond]. For the first time, he felt his mana surge out of him. A significant amount of his current mana gathered from around his body and moved to his hand, then into the sword.

  The process took less than five seconds, and Duncan now had a sixth sense telling him exactly where his newly bound sword was. This sense wasn’t in the Ability description, but was a welcome effect nonetheless.

  Deciding it was time for more fun, Duncan mentally activated his newest Ability, [Sword Kin]. The instant he chose his bound short sword as the target, he felt his mana move once again. This time, it was more of an activation of energy all around his body. It took less than a second for the movement to stop and the required mana to latch onto his body, changing it.

  Looking down at himself, Duncan couldn’t find anything different, but he could definitely feel that something was different. A few quick steps to the side were all it took to find out how [Sword Kin] had changed his body.

  He was fast. Not just fast, but quick. He continued to experiment. If he’d gotten twice as quick after making it to tier one, this was another 50% improvement over that new level. For almost a minute, he swung his sword and moved his feet as fast as he could in a series of different forms meant to use every ounce of speed he could squeeze out of his body.

  Just before a minute had passed since he activated [Sword Kin], he almost… deflated. He could feel the mana that was allowing the changes to his body disappear; its job now done. As he continued his sword forms, he was back to his earlier speed, still almost twice as fast as he’d been that morning, but half again slower than he’d been just seconds before under the influence of [Sword Kin].

  Duncan turned to look at his now smiling masters, his breathing quick from the exertion and excitement of using his new Ability. “Ok, that was awesome!” Cinder said, nodding his head over and over.

  Taking on an air of seniority, Duncan nodded and said, “You’re right, nephew, it was.”

  Duncan thought Neta’s laughter could likely have been heard from the city. Just before he could pounce on her moment of distraction, she caught on to his mischievous look and calmly said, “If you call me mom or anything like it, I’ll throw you in the Ocean.”

  “Yes, Master,” Duncan sighed.