The clean scent of mending-leaf and sandstone replaced the forest's lingering blood and ozone. I lay propped on an infirmary cot, bandages tight around my torso, the ache beneath a constant reminder. Storm chirruped softly from a willow perch nearby, preening iridescent feathers.
My focus locked on the glowing blue text only I could see:
[STR: 20]
[SPD: 20]
[DEF: 20]
[MANA: 32/50]
[EXP: 80/100]
[Urgent Quest: Level Up]
[+1 Free Stat Point per Level]
I pushed mentally at the brighter Store Menu. A chime echoed in my mind: [Store Menu Locked. Requires User Level 5. Mana Control Rank D.] Level 5? I turned to the Skills section. One icon pulsed: [Appraisal - Lv.1]. Analyze basic properties. Cost: 1 Mana per use.
Targeting my own bandaged hand, I focused and activated it. A subtle drain, a slight cooling sensation in my veins, and new text scrolled into view:
[Target: Adam Ashblade]
[Tier: Cadet | Dragon Lord Vessel (Latent)]
[Core Affinity: Ashfire Dragon (Dormant), ??? (Dominant/System-Linked)]
Dragon Lord Vessel? And what was this '???' marked as 'Dominant' and, most chillingly, 'System-Linked'? The implications swirled, a maelstrom of terrifying questions, but the door to the infirmary room swung open, cutting the spiral short.
Wren Vale bounded in first, his grin a beacon of misplaced cheer. "Delivery!" he announced, striding over and carefully depositing a chirping Storm onto my lap. The little dragonet nuzzled into the blanket. "I told the healers he was essential therapy. They bought it!"
His brother, Raven, followed at a more sedate pace, his own hands freshly re-bandaged. "Good to see you awake and coherent," he said, his voice warm with genuine relief. "How's the back? The healers said the muscle damage was significant."
Lira Wordin entered last, her posture rigid, her left arm secured in a neat sling. Her sharp eyes swept over me, and she stated, blunt as a hammer, "You look significantly less like something a Ravager vomited up." But I saw it, the slight easing around her eyes, the faintest hint of relief in her steel-grey gaze.
I managed a weak smile. "Feeling better. Slowly."
Brian stepped forward then, his usual bravado replaced by an uncharacteristic solemnity. "Adam... thanks. Seriously. For what you did back there. We wouldn't... we wouldn't be here if you hadn't drawn it off." The words were heavy, heartfelt.
Andrew nodded beside him, his face patched with green-tinted salve. "Yeah. That thing... S-Tier..." He shuddered, the memory raw. "You moved like... I don't even know."
Wren hopped up to sit on the end of a nearby stone bench. "That final move? Absolutely spectacular! A chaotic energy discharge of the highest order! I wish I'd had my scanner active to capture the signature! The harmonic resonance alone must have been—"
As Wren chattered on, a thought occurred to me. Appraisal. This was a perfect chance. Focusing discreetly on Wren, I triggered the skill. Another point of mana drained away. [Mana: 31/50].
[Target: Wren Vale]
[Tier: Cadet]
[Core Affinity: Psionic Amplification]
Amplification. That explained his connection to Kael, his familiar. It made sense.
I shifted my gaze slightly to Raven, trying to be casual. Another point of mana. [Mana: 30/50].
[Target: Raven Vale]
[Tier: Cadet | Field Medic]
[Core Affinity: Luminar Healing]
Luminar Healing. That fit him perfectly. A gentle, steady light in the darkness.
My eyes found Lira, who was listening to Wren with a look of mild exasperation. Another subtle drain. [Mana: 29/50].
[Target: Lira Wordin]
[Tier: Cadet]
[Core Affinity: Arcane Constructs]
Arcane Constructs. Her gauntlets. The shimmering shields and weapons she manifested from thin air. It was all clicking into place, this system giving names to the incredible things I was witnessing.
Raven's voice cut through Wren's energetic lecture, dropping to a more somber tone. "Jax and Ryan are still in the critical ward. Healers have them sedated. They say it... it just takes time." He let out a long, weary sigh. "They held a funeral pyre for Zara and Tobin at dawn. We... we left early." Deep, profound sorrow filled his expression, aging him beyond his years. "Cain... he's under constant watch. Losing Zara... it broke him."
A somber silence fell over the room, thick and heavy, acknowledging the two empty spaces that would never be filled.
The group soon made moves to leave, giving me space to rest. Brian clasped my shoulder firmly as he passed, a wordless communication of gratitude. Andrew gave me a shaky, respectful nod. Raven offered a weary smile. "Get some real rest. We'll check in on you tomorrow."
Wren hopped down from the bench. "Try not to level up the entire infirmary before we get back!" he said with a final, bright grin before following his brother out.
Lira was the last to the door. She paused, her hand on the frame, and glanced back. For a moment, she just looked at me, her expression unreadable. Then, she turned and walked back to my bedside. She leaned down, her silver hair falling like a curtain, and her cool lips pressed softly against my forehead. The contact was brief, startling.
"Rest well, Ashblade," she murmured, her voice low. "Don't make saving you any harder than it already is." And then she was gone, sweeping out of the room before my stunned brain could even form a response.
Heat flooded my cheeks. I stared at the empty doorway, the ghost of her touch a brand on my skin. A slow, involuntary smile spread across my face, momentarily banishing the deep ache in my body. The memory was a warm ember in my chest, a tiny point of light in the confusion.
[Mana: 30/50]
[EXP: 80/100]
The door swung open again, but this time it was with a force that shattered the quiet moment. Instructor Garrick stood framed in the doorway, his flinty eyes immediately finding and locking onto me, pinning me to the cot. But it was the two figures behind him that froze the blood in my veins. They didn't just enter; they occupied the space, radiating a cold, impersonal authority that made the infirmary feel like a prison cell.
Every instinct screamed. Without conscious thought, I triggered Appraisal on the lead figure. A sharp, painful tug in my mind, like a muscle being pulled. [Mana: 28/50].
[Target: ???]
[Tier: Magus | House Frost (Senior)]
[Core Affinity: Cryonic Manipulation | Soulfrost Resonance]
The second figure received the same frantic mental command. Another wrenching drain. [Mana: 27/50].
[Target: ???]
[Tier: Master Artificer | Wordin Conclave (Evaluator)]
[Core Affinity: Arcane Mechanics | Energy Pattern Analysis]
Magus. Master Artificer. Soulfrost... Pattern Analysis... The titles and affinities echoed in my head, each one more terrifying than the last. This was it. They knew. They had to know. A cold terror, far worse than anything the Ravager had inspired, gripped my heart, squeezing it to a standstill.
Garrick dominated the space, his presence a wall of grim purpose. The Magus moved past him silently, his robes of frost-patterned grey silk seeming to leach the warmth from the very air. His eyes, the colour of glacial ice, swept over me, assessing, categorizing, like I was a specimen on a slate. The Artificer followed, his geometric robes of deep blue humming with a faint, arcane energy. His sharp, bird-like eyes were everywhere at once, cataloging the room, the cot, me, storing every detail.
Garrick's voice ground out like stone on stone, leaving no room for pretense. "Ashblade. Account for the anomalous energy discharge that terminated the Ravager-class threat. Now."
The Magus stepped forward, his voice unnervingly smooth and cold, devoid of any emotion. "Describe the moment preceding the final strike. In precise detail. Sensory input. Kinesthetic. Visual. Auditory. Internal resonance. Omit nothing."
The Artificer's humming device intensified its pitch as he pressed a cold, metallic disk against the skin of my forearm. I could feel a vibration, a probing sensation, measuring my pulse, my sweat, the truth of my words.
My hands gripped the rough wool of the blanket, my knuckles white. In the periphery of my vision, my system text pulsed frantically, a silent alarm. Survival was all that mattered. I had to be careful. I had to be believable.
"I... I was pulling its focus away from Lira," I began, my voice hoarse, layering a tremor of remembered fear into it that wasn't entirely fake. "It was about to crush her..."