The rest of the night with the Eir Faction Trio was to be expected. Bane returned to his spot on the floor and would occasionally speak to himself—he was casting new spells as he read through the grimoire.
The first thing that really hindered him was his memory. Each spell he used required an incantation to accompany it; without sounding it out, no spell would form before him. With each incantation coming in at about a sentence, remembering even the last spell's incantation was hard for him.
Usually, this was when the system would compensate for his forgetfulness—it had happened with the night vision when he forgot a torch. He wished the system could catalogue spells that he learned and could call upon them whenever. If that didn't happen, he would need to carry the grimoire anytime he wanted to use spells.
With future spells having even longer incantations, Bane was already hesitant and was starting to side more with Mr. Grey's opinions. But he held out hope that something would allow him to remember incantations and continued practicing all sorts of novice spells.
After running through a dozen or so water, light, and other elemental spells, Bane chose to call it a night. He didn't even attempt fire spells out of risk for burning the house down, but aside from that, he was making quick progress in the magical realm.
'If only the system could help me out…' Bane thought, his mind racing after the insane day he had been through. He replayed the meeting with the One on High so many times, burning the initial form it had presented itself as into his memory. Then Bane moved to magic, imagining a future where he was a silent caster who flew through the dungeon floors at lightning speed.
Then Bane moved even further… to a time when the Eir Faction was a household name in Gren, known by many for its members. The star, of course, being himself. Imagining the superstardom, Bane fell into a slumber.
Liora was the first awake the next morning, giddy to start her adventuring day with Bane. She quietly got up and readied all of her things. She tried to sneak out of the back room, but unsurprisingly, Bane's senses brought him back to consciousness.
Bane stretched and whispered to the young healer, who stood with a hand on the door. "Let me change. I'll be out in a minute, and we can get ready to go." He ended his sentence with a yawn.
Liora nodded and took her exit, closing the door softly behind her. The one thing missing from the faction house was a shower. There were other convenience items missing, like a kitchen, but a shower was something she really wanted right now.
Usually, her morning routine was waking up and getting right into the shower to wash off all the gunk she had accumulated from the last day. But now she was going on her second day without one. 'Hopefully, after the kitchen remodel, we can get one…' she hoped.
It didn't take Bane long to gather his things, and soon he met with Liora just outside the back room. She squirmed in her clothes as she turned to meet him. She had worn her hair up, though it was usually down in beautiful blond curls.
"You're wearing your hair differently," Bane observed, not expecting much of a reaction from Liora, but she blushed and turned slightly.
"You noticed…" Liora muttered under her breath.
"Yeah, who wouldn't?" Bane answered, confused about why she mentioned that. Such an obvious change would be noticed by anyone.
"You'd be surprised," Liora sighed. "Anyway! Are you ready to go?" she said, quickly changing the topic from her appearance to the matter at hand. It would be their first official day in the dungeon, and Liora couldn't help but feel nervous and excited.
"Alright, let's go," Bane said, putting aside her appearance. They exited into the harsh, windy winter morning.
"Oh!" Liora groaned as she looked down, trying to avoid her face being battered by the icy wind. Seeing her discomfort, Bane had an idea. Magic wasn't just for combat or healing—it was a potential convenience. Just then, Bane saw a possible use.
Bane raised his arm in front of Liora and imagined a gust of wind pushing in the opposite direction. "Wind flow, breadth of life, air gust," he said, casting a spell of air that pushed against the gusts ripping through the thin streets of Gren.
Liora looked up and gawked at Bane. For the most part, the chilly wind that had met her face was gone. "You used a wind spell to combat the gusts…" Liora hadn't thought of such a thing, but now that she was presented with it, she was embarrassed for missing such a simple solution.
"Yeah, last night that was one of the spells I read about. It didn't seem useful at all, but I guess there could be some use if you're cold or hot," Bane said as he held his hand out and continued pumping mana to protect Liora from the wind.
'Bane is really nice…' she thought as she walked comfortably to the Guild Hall.
Winter stood patiently at the counter, thankful that the morning rush was over. Now, she was waiting for just one man: Bane. She had been sad that yesterday he was nowhere to be seen.
Recently, she had been thinking about going on a date, though Bane seemed too focused on the dungeon. She remembered his actions when she was sick and had even contemplated getting sick again just to have an excuse for him to come by.
The Guild Hall door creaked open, and Winter saw Bane step inside, wearing his usual armor with his sword at his side. She lit up, a fire igniting within her. However, it was just as quickly extinguished as Bane held the door for a beautiful blond lady.
'It's that girl who asked about the Eir Faction!' Winter thought as her eyes narrowed. At first, she thought it was just an act of kindness, but as Bane walked up to the counter, the girl followed close behind.
"Hey, Bane," she spoke. Bane noted that she wasn't her usual bubbly self—it was obvious why. Liora's presence clearly made Winter upset.
"Hey, Winter. This is the Eir Faction's new healer, Liora," Bane introduced her, motioning behind him. "Liora, this is Winter, the clerk I visit often at the guild." He turned back to Winter.
"Hey, good to see you again," Winter said, her tone uncharacteristically dry.
"Have you two met each other?" Bane asked, looking back and forth between the two young women. They each slowly nodded, exchanging glances when Bane wasn't looking.
"Oh, well, that's good!" Bane said, unusually upbeat, catching Winter off guard. "Then it won't be awkward. Liora, could you go wait over there for a second?" Bane asked, pointing to the chairs against the wall of the Guild Hall.
Liora tilted her head, wanting to ask why, but she just nodded and took her leave, giving the two of them some space. She took a seat and watched on, unable to hear their conversation.
Bane leaned on the counter. "I wanted to ask you something," he said, looking her in the eyes.
"What?" Winter replied curtly, still upset that Liora had been freely brought into the faction. But she couldn't maintain her composure and started to blush as Bane held her gaze.
"First, you seem upset about Liora. Why?" Bane asked, genuinely confused. He had a few assumptions but wanted to be sure.
"I'm not upset," Winter lied, putting on her best face to deceive Bane. He clearly didn't buy it and did something uncharacteristic.
"Liora and I are dating." Winter's heart dropped, and her eyes went blank. Her throat tightened. 'What?'
"Just kidding!" Bane interrupted her imminent breakdown as color returned to her face.
"Why are you so mean?!" Winter whisper-shouted, ensuring no one else heard her anger.
"Okay, now that that's out of the way, are you ready for my actual question?" Bane asked.
Winter nodded, not expecting much—it was obvious Bane was just toying with her.
Bane took a deep breath and locked eyes with her again. "Do you want to go out sometime? Like for food or music?" His voice was completely genuine. If he was lying, she would never forgive him. She hesitated, not wanting to let her excitement show.
"Why?" Winter asked, hoping this wasn't another trick.
"We haven't spent time together outside of work since you were sick. If you don't want to—"
"No, I do!" Winter returned to whisper-shouting, not wanting others to overhear.
Bane chuckled, and Winter's heart sank. 'It was a joke…' But then hope returned at his next words.
"Then it's a date. The guild closes at six, right? Not today, but tomorrow, we can go out," Bane said with a smile as Winter's heart raced and a grin spread across her face.
She didn't even respond as Bane added, "I have to go. See you later," and walked over to Liora. The two headed toward the dungeon, with Liora looking slightly upset.