Svane stared at Ray. He looked at a twelve year old boy who spoke like a general. He sighed, a long, defeated sound.

  "Please allow me to go with you my lord,"

  Svane said, compromising.

  "And we do this by the book. High-Value Target extraction protocols. No heroics."

  "Agreed."

  Ray said and gave a nod.

  "I'm coming too."

  Ray turned. Rina stood there, clutching a travel bag she had apparently packed while they were arguing.

  "Rina..."

  Ray started.

  "Don't,"

  she interrupted, her voice trembling slightly but her eyes determined.

  "I spent my whole life hiding, not being able to do anything while bad things happened to me and people around me. You have trained me, I am ready!"

  She looked at Ray and Svane with a quiet determination.

  "Kaelen is my friend too. If I don't do everything I can to help her, then I'm just the same as before, a useless burden."

  Ray looked at her. He saw the fear in her eyes, but he also saw the steeled determination. She wasn't asking to be protected anymore. She was asking to be useful.

  "Pack light,"

  Ray said. Rina’s face broke into a fierce, determined smile.

  Suddenly, the shadows in the corner of the room elongated. They didn't just stretch; they detached.

  A form slid across the floor, a cat-like shape made of living darkness and violet ink. Nox emerged from the gloom, merging silently to Ray’s shadow. The creature rubbed its head against Ray’s leg, purring with a sound like grinding stones.

  ‘Hunger. Hunting. Going.’

  The thought projected directly into Ray’s mind

  Svane’s hand flew to his sword hilt.

  "By the Founders! What in the hell is that?"

  Ray reached down and scratched Nox behind his smoky ears.

  "This is Nox. He’s... a creature I discovered in the Genesis Crystal chamber, a purified shadow creature from the Sunken Vaults. He’s been with me for a while now."

  Svane stared at the creature, then at Ray. He looked like he wanted to ask a dozen questions, but decided he didn't want the answers.

  "You tame monsters now, my lord?"

  Svane rubbed his face.

  "Fine. Just tell it not to eat me."

  Later that day, the preparations were complete.

  Ray had raided his alchemy supplies, stocking his Bag of Holding, a recent purchase that had cost him a small fortune but was worth every coin, with flash-bangs, smoke pellets, and food rations. He was armed not just with magic, but with the tools to fully utilize his Art of Transience: Fulcrum Principle.

  Svane had sent a coded message to Headmaster Andrade, framing their departure as a ‘Field Exercise’ to avoid raising flags.

  They stood before the Solhaven Academy Main Gate Portal.

  "Ready?"

  Ray asked.

  Svane and Rina nodded.

  Svane adjusting the fit of his nondescript leather armor. He did not wear his Gold-Aegis armor but opted for a discrete standard mercenary gear instead. Ray and Rina wore a simple attire with a gray traveler’s cloak, the hood pulled up to shadow their faces.

  They stepped through the shimmering archway.

  The clean, sterile air of the Academy vanished. It was replaced by the humid, salty tang of the ocean.

  They emerged at the Solhaven Academy entrance outside the demi-plane in Solhaven City.

  A carriage was waiting for them, a sturdy, unassuming transport Rina had hired. The driver, a gruff man who didn't ask questions, nodded as they approached.

  Ray climbed in, followed by Rina and Svane. Nox dissolved into a shadow and slid under the seat.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  As the carriage rattled to life, rolling out of the city gates and onto the coastal road that led to the Iron-Wake Domain, Ray looked out the window.

  The sun was setting, casting long, bloody streaks across the sky.

  They were now out of Solhaven Academy. The safety of the rules, the proctors, and the duels was gone. Out here, there were no referees.

  Ray touched the Theorist’s Glove on his left hand.

  ‘Let’s go see what the Argent Hand is really made of,’

  he thought.

  Ray smiled in the dark. The stage had changed, but the show must go on.

  The carriage rattled violently as it hit another rut in the Coastal Road. Inside, the air was thick with tension and the smell of old leather.

  Rina sat on the edge of her seat, her fingers unconsciously tracing the hidden sheaths of the daggers strapped to her thighs beneath her maid’s skirt. She looked out the window, the sun was high, she saw the bright ocean for the very first time, the beautiful scenery lifted her mood a bit.

  Opposite her, Svane, now acting as a ‘Hired Mercenary’ sat with his eyes closed. His longsword was resting across his knees, his breathing slow and rhythmic. He wasn't sleeping; he was cycling his mana, keeping his senses extended in a low-level perimeter sweep.

  And then there was Ray.

  Ray Croft sat in the corner, reading a book. He looked bored. But Rina knew better. She could see the slight tension in his jaw, the way his eyes didn't actually move across the text. Ray was talking to his internal committee.

  Veteran: “Desolate terrain, Three probable ambush points in the last mile. If I were a highwayman, I’d have hit us at the bent oak tree back there.”

  The Grizzled Veteran noted, analyzing the passing cliffs.

  Courtier: “We are approaching the border, from what we have learned, the Iron-Wake Domain is of those rare semi-autonomous industrial zones. Local law supersedes Kingdom law in matters of trade disputes. Meaning: bribes are not illegal; they are part of the overhead cost.”

  The Scheming Courtier added.

  Ray turned a page without reading it. He wasn't focused on the road. He was focused on the rhythmic thump-thump-thump echoing in his mind. He had activated the Understudy Protocol’s Resonant Link with Rina to check on her status.

  Rina’s heart rate was 110 beats per minute. Sitting still.

  "There are no enemies hiding in the bushes, Rina,"

  Ray said softly, closing the book.

  Rina jumped, her hand flying halfway to her skirt.

  "Young master?"

  "It's in your head,"

  Ray said. He looked at her, his eyes calm and grounding he activated the World Weary Healer’s ‘Calming Presence’ skill.

  "Control your breathing. You are burning energy on anxiety that you will need for action."

  Rina swallowed hard. She forced herself to inhale through her nose, hold it, and exhale.

  "I... I'm sorry. It has been a while since we have been outside like this. Without the Academy's protection."

  "That is why we are here,"

  Ray said.

  "To learn that the academy was never really protecting you. You were protecting yourself."

  Suddenly, the carriage lurched to a violent halt. The horses whinnied in panic, and the driver shouted something unintelligible.

  Rina gasped, her hand flying to her weapon.

  "Easy,"

  Ray said, closing his book calmly.

  "Roadblock,"

  the driver’s voice came through the partition, sounding shaky.

  "Looks like a… uh… 'Makeshift Toll Station,' folks."

  Svane’s eyes snapped open. The irises in his eyes flared briefly.

  "Bandits. Eight of them. Heart rates are elevated. Are they looking for a fight?"

  He reached for the door handle.

  "I’ll clear the path, my lord. It will take ten seconds."

  "Hold, Captain,"

  Ray said.

  Svane paused, looking back at Ray.

  "My Lord? We are on a timetable. Kaelen…"

  "...Is in her hometown that is possibly hostile to her but we don't know for sure."

  Ray finished.

  "We are also heading there with a combatant who has never experienced real combat."

  Ray looked at Rina. She stiffened, realizing he was talking about her.

  "The Iron-Wake isn't the Academy, Rina,"

  Ray said softly.

  "There are no proctors. No safety wards. If you freeze down there because you’ve never had a blade pointed at your throat with intent to kill, you die. Or worse, you become leverage."

  Rina swallowed hard.

  "I… I won’t freeze."

  "Prove it,"

  Ray said. He turned to Svane.

  "Stand down, Captain. Unless a blade touches skin, you are an observer. Rina and I will handle this."

  Svane frowned, looking between the twelve year old and the maid. He didn't like it. But he saw the look in Ray’s eyes, the cold calculation of a general testing his troops before the main battle.

  "Understood,"

  Svane grunted, leaning back.

  "But if I sense the situation turns bad, I’m ending it."

  "Fair enough."

  Ray pulled his hood up.

  "Rina. Hood up. Look small. Look scared."

  They stepped out of the carriage into the hot noon air.

  A large log had been dragged across the road. Standing behind it were eight men in mismatched armor, boiled leather, rusted chainmail, and furs. They held an assortment of weapons that had clearly been stolen: chipped axes, a spear with a bent tip, and a few short swords.

  They didn't look like professional soldiers. They looked like desperate men with dangerous tools.

  The leader, a man with a jagged scar running through a missing ear, stepped forward. He spat a wad of tobacco onto Ray’s boot.

  "Hello there, travelers,"

  the Leader grinned, revealing yellow teeth.

  "You’ve entered the Iron-Wake Domain’s Toll Road. Authorized by the… uh… Local Commerce Guild."

  "Is that so?"

  Ray asked, his voice trembling slightly, a perfect affectation of a nervous merchant.

  "We don't see a sign."

  "Wind blew it down,"

  the Leader shrugged.

  "Terrible storm. Anyway, the toll is fifty Gold Crowns. For road maintenance, you understand."

  Fifty crowns. It was extortion. An ordinary family could live for a year on that.

  "Fifty?"

  Ray squeaked.

  "That… that is very steep."

  "Dangerous roads,"

  the Leader said, tapping the hilt of his sword.

  "Lots of bandits."

  Ray sighed. He reached into his sleeve.

  Using the Charismatic Conman’s ‘Sleight of Hand’ skill. With a flick of his wrist, a heavy purse appeared in Ray’s hand. He tossed it. The coins jingled with the heavy, undeniable sound of gold.

  The Leader caught it. He blinked. He had expected more haggling. He had expected begging. He hadn't expected the boy to just pay.

  The Leader weighed the purse. Greed, thick and ugly, washed over his face. He looked at Ray’s ordinary cloak, though ordinary it looked brand new. He looked at the carriage. Then, his eyes landed on Rina.

  "Price just went up,"

  the Leader said, tossing the purse to one of his goons.

  "Current market rates fluctuate. And we need to inspect your cargo. Including the girl. Might be smuggling… contraband."

  The bandits chuckled, fanning out to form a loose circle around them.

  The Grizzled Veteran’s ‘Survival Instincts’ skill kicked in, warning Ray of the situation.

  The air changed. The playfulness vanished. Ray felt the intent shift from robbery to violence. Beside him, Rina twitched. She felt it too, the phantom pressure on the back of her neck that Ray had drilled into her to understand and trust.

  "Take the gold,"

  Ray said, his voice dropping the nervous stutter. It was flat now. Cold.

  "Walk away. This is your only chance."

  The Leader laughed.

  "Grab the girl. Cut the boy."