A shadow fell over her.
“Impressive,” Razen’s voice cut through her thoughts, his tone ced with both approval and something she couldn't quite pce. “For all his rantings, Shogo wasn't nearly as strong as you when he was just summoned.”
Kaede looked up at him, her cheeky grin gone pletely. “He shouldn't have been summo all. None of us should.”
Razen’s lips twitched into something resembling a somber smile. “In an ideal world, you would be right. But this isn't an ideal world. This is a world where monsters with too much power do whatever they want, bearing the title of demon lords.” He turned sharply on his heel, his heavy boots g the dirt beh him. “Tomorrow, we’ll begin your training. It seems you work well with a shield, we'll see about the smiths izing one for you.”
Kaede groaned softly but he faint frown not leaving her face. She knew better than tue. "Monsters with too much power huh?" She whispered. "The irony." Her voice carried in the wind.
As the sun began its dest, painting the horizon in hues of gold and crimson, she forced herself to stand. Each step back to her quarters felt heavier, her body reminding her of every strike, every defle, and every moment she had fought to hold her ground.
---
The m came faster than she would have liked. The chill of dawn hung in the air, biting at her skin as she made her way back to the training grounds. She was early, the sky still painted in soft grays and blues, but she wasn’t alone.
In a se of the field, a group of knights went through forms and drills.
Taking a closer look, she noticed that these knights didn't look like the falmuth knights she had seen prior.
They wore white surcoats embzoned with a-pointed blue star, a stark trast against the cold, gray m.
Their shields stood propped up in a li the edge of the field—oval-shaped, split into bold quadrants of blue and bck, bordered in steel. Some knights broke from their drills to retrieve the shields, incorporating them into their exercises. The shields moved with them as though extensions of their arms, blog phantom strikes and tering with swift, calcuted force.
Kaede found herself staring, for a few seds before stopping. She put herself through some stretches, fog on her joints.
Running was inally Risa's thing, but a few months before they'd gotten together, Risa had gotteo join her for her runs. Running had quickly bee a hobby for Kaede. Watg Risa in running shorts wasn't so bad either, especially the cuddling that came after.
She took off at a steady pace, her breath visible in the air. The stretch of the training grounds felt endless, her boots g against frost-coated grass with each step. Kaede pushed herself, letting her legs find a rhythm, her mind drifting as her body fell into the familiar ce of running.
The knights’ drills echoed faintly in the background—g steel, shouted ands, the occasional dull thud of a shield meeting an imaginary blow. The structured chaos of their training trasted sharply with the solitude Kaede sought in her run.
As her muscles warmed, the chill in the air became less biting, and her focus sharpened. She imagined Risa running alongside her, her partner’s teasing voice egging her on, pushio qui her pace. The memory brought a small, fleeting smile to her face, but it faded just as quickly when the reality of her situatio in.
Kaede veered off the main path, cirg around the training field. Her gaze flickered back to the knights. She heir footwork, the way their bodies shifted to absorb impact or deliver a strike.
She couldn’t help but wonder how much of their skill came from raw training and how much she could learn from them. She shelved that thought in the back of her mind for ter.
By the time Kaede pleted her sixteenth p around the field, she realized she had surpassed her previous record of five miles—or at least she thought so. Yet she barely felt winded. Pushing herself further, she made eight more ps before her breath became uneven, exhaustion creeping in.
"W-whoa... That's cold." She felt a chill in her gut, and her breath evened out, entering a rythm. "This feeling."
"I fell like I go even further." The cool energy flowed in the deepest recesses of her stomach, seeping into her body, her exhaustion already abated.
"I wonder how far I push this energy- magicules right?" She tried feeling for the energy, grabbing for it as it seeped cooly into her body. It proved slippery for her to get a hold of.
"... Just move it a smidge." Her voice strained a little bit as the energy returned back to its previous as once again like aic liquid. "Damnit... How about this then?"
She extended her thoughts to the energy again, but this time instead of grabbing it, "Just by flowing into my body, I feel rejuvenated." She pushed more of the energy to flow into her body, making it flow even faster through her body.
"Whoa" Kaede's body felt lighter, and she unknowingly picked up speed. Wanting to test it even further, she ged from her steady pace to a full on sprint, increasing the speed of the flowing energy as she did.
Back with the knights training, in the ter of the field, a few of the temprs had already noticed the girl who had been running around them in circles for the past fifteen minutes or so, moving at speeds that would rival a newly trained knight.
Then she suddenly sped up, shog the knights greatly as she slowly became a blur.
"I wonder who she is." One of them murmured.
Kaede almost felt like she was flying, with the way winds rushed past her. "This feels so awesome!" She cried. "This must be how Sally feels." She grinned as she had the sudden urge to run on the walls. "Hehehehe."
<
The words echoed in her mind, clear and cise, though she wasirely sure where they came from.
[Extra Skill: Magic Surge]
Skill floods all of host's magic pathways with magicules, doubling all stats the more magicules are expended.
Kaede eventually stopped as the texts appeared before her. "Seriously? I was in the middle of something. You 't just appear abruptly like that. What if I'm in the middle of a fight?"
[...]
"Hmph. Nothing to say huh?" Kaede smirked. "Now what's this about ara skill?" She moved to a tree and leaned on it. In the distance she could see some of the knights staring at her. Awkward.
Kaede flinched as a voice, different from before sounded within in her head. "Ehh? You talk now?"
Kaede eyed the knights, who now looked ed, uandably, since she was ag incredibly weird. "How are you talking to me... What are you by the way, isn't your job just to tell me when I activate some weird power that's just normal but my friends will scream that they're not?"
<...>
"Ok, like an artificial intelligence? What's the differeween you and that other voice?" Kaede asked.
"Ah, I uand." Kaede nodded. "So you're like a personal assistant that answer anything huh? Does everyone possess a personal assistant like you?"
"So you're one of a kind? Gosh, I'm such a lucky girl." Kaede cupped her face between her hands. Regaining herself, she smiled"o meet you Artificia. Let's be friends."
<...>
Stealing a goward the knights, she realized they had stopped their drills entirely. Several of them were staring at her, some whispering among themselves, their expressiing from fusion to awe.
Kaede’s cheeks burned, embarrassment swelling within her. “Well... that’s not awkward at all,” she muttered under her breath, her voiearly lost in the wind. "So Artificia, about magic surge?" Kaede’s voice trailed off as the artificial intelligeificia—responded with its calm, matter-of-fact tone.
Kaede blinked. “Wait, damage to my physical form? What kind of damage?” She crossed her arms, her tone now tinged with .
Kaede froze. "So you're saying... I could literally fall apart if I go too hard?”
This is in fact correct... for most people. Ihis Berserker type skill is a double edged sword. Unlike monsters, humans are not made up of mostly magicules, hence f magicules through the body is dangerous for a normal person as the human body ot restrain such a torrent of magicules.
Kaede however is not a normal person. Her body is currently adapting to that of her game avatar, including her insane defense. Magic Surge would o be pushed far beyond its normal limits to even begin causing her harm. However, Artificia remained silent on this point, allowing Kaede to explore her newfound power cautiously.
Kaede sighed, her hands resting on her hips as she tilted her head toward the horizon. “Great. Ahing to worry about. Guess I’ll o test it out properly before using it in a fight.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” She waved a hand dismissively, though a grin tugged at her lips. “You’re like a nagging mom already.”
<...>
One of the knights, a tall man with a square jaw and a scar slig through his right eyebrow, stepped forward, calling out to her. “Hey! You there! What are you doing?” His tone wasn’t accusatory, but it carried enough authority to make Kaede slow her pace.
"Uhm- me? I just came out for a run." Kaede stammered.
The knight stared at her.
Kaede shrinked into herself. "I'm Kaede. o meet you." She whispered.
"You must be an otherworlder." The knight said, disdain creeping into his voice.
Kaede bristled at the tone in the knight's voice but forced herself to remain calm. She knew better than to rise to the bait, especially when surrounded by people she didn’t know—or trust. The st thing she wanted was to escate an already awkward situation.
“And if I am?” she asked, straightening her posture aing his gaze. Her voice was even, but her eyes betrayed a flicker of defiance. She wasn't about to let someole her without reason.
The knight hesitated, clearly not expeg her to stand her ground so firmly. His brow furrowed, but before he could respond, another voice cut through the tension.
“Enough, Garen.” A woman stepped forward from the group, her armor shining even ied m light. Her white surcoat ristihe eight-poiar on her chest gleaming like a bea. Her long, auburn hair was tied ly behind her head, and her green eyes were sharp but calm.
“She’s dohing wrong,” the woman tinued, her voice firm but g hostility. “Otherworlder or not, she’s training just as we are. There’s no need for hostility.”
Garen clicked his to stepped back, muttering under his breath. Kaede caught the words "reckless" and "unneeded" but decided to let it slide. She had no i in proving herself to someone so eager to judge.
The proached Kaede, her steps measured and purposeful. Wheopped a few feet away, she extended a hand. “I’m Sardyne, captain of this unit. I apologize faren’s behavior.”
Kaede stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before shaking it, her grip firm despite the awkwardness she felt. “Kaede,” she said simply. “And it’s fine. I’ve dealt with worse.”
Sardyne's lips quirked into a small smile. “I believe that. You’ve been running circles around us for the better part of an hour. Quite literally.” Her gaze flickered to the path Kaede had carved into the frost-coated ground. “Impressive stamina for someone who doesn’t look like a knight. Even with your otherworlder status.”
Kaede shrugged, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. “I like to keep active. Besides, running clears my head.”
“Good habit to have,” Sardyne replied. She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied Kaede more closely. “Though that burst of speed earlier... That was a skill was it not?”
Kaede shifted unfortably, her earlier excitement ic Surge now tinged with unease. “Sort of. I was experimenting, I guess. It’s... new.”
“New?” Sardyilted her head. “I won't pry, don't worry.”
“Thanks,” Kaede admitted, scratg the back of her neck. “i guess.”
“Of course.” Sardyne's smile returned, softer this time. “You’re wele to join our drills if you’d like. It might help you learn in a more trolled enviro.”
Kaede hesitated, gng back at the group of knights. Most of them had returo their exercises, but she could still feel the weight of Garen’s gre. The idea of training with them was tempting, especially if it meant gainier trol with her shield.
"Actually, I was hoping you could help me get better at using a shield." Kaede blurted out quickly. "It's just... I use a shield."
Sardyne smiled. "I don't see why not." She turned, Kaede behind her as they headed towards the knights. "Just a shield though?" She wondered aloud.
"Maybe a dagger, if you don't mind." Kaede murmured.
Sardyne barked a ugh. "Do not worry. It's of no sequence.
And so the rest of the m ent, Kaede learning more about how to wield a shield from the Tempr knights of the faith of Luminous.