The glittering motes of dispersed mana hadn't even faded from the air before the silence of the Proving Grounds shattered into chaos. Whispers became shouts, disbelief turned to awe, and Jax's frozen smirk crumbled into something ugly and desperate.
I didn't wait for a reaction. I walked past him, my posture no longer that of a cowering F-Rank, but of someone who had merely brushed aside an insignificant nuisance. The message was sent. The phantom had flexed a muscle, and the entire Vanguard had felt it.
The repercussions were immediate.
I was summoned to Lieutenant Valeriana's office not an hour later. The air was thick with unspoken questions. She didn't sit behind her desk; she stood before me, her flinty eyes boring into mine.
"Mana Dispersion," she stated, her voice flat. "A complex B-Rank defensive skill. Not a 'gut feeling,' Grey. Not a 'lucky hit.' Explain."
This was the moment I had been preparing for. The carefully constructed narrative of the hapless anomaly was fraying. I met her gaze, allowing a flicker of the resolve I'd shown in the canyon to show through.
"After the Whispering Chasm, something... changed," I said, weaving truth into the lie. "The corrupted mana there, it's like it rewired something in my head. I started... understanding things. Not just seeing cracks, but seeing how things are put together. When that cannon fired, I just... knew how to take it apart." I let a note of genuine confusion enter my voice. "I don't know how I did it, Lieutenant. It just happened."
It was a risky gambit. Blaming the Chasm's corruption was a wild card, but it was a plausible, untestable variable. Valeriana's eyes narrowed, searching for deception. I held my mental walls firm, projecting the image of a boy as bewildered by his own power as she was.
After a long, tense silence, she finally spoke. "The Research Division will want to dissect this new development. But for now... this 'understanding' of yours has proven tactically valuable. You're being reassigned."
My heart skipped a beat. Reassigned? To where? A lab cage?
"You're being temporarily attached to Scout Team Sigma," she continued, watching my reaction closely. "They're running reconnaissance on the periphery of the Scarlet Wastes, near the site of the last S-Rank breach. Your new 'understanding' might help them identify unstable mana formations before they step in them. You leave at dawn."
A scout team. In active, dangerous territory. It was both a promotion and a punishment—a test of my usefulness in a live environment, far from the controlled conditions of the compound. It was also a perfect opportunity. Uncharted territory meant new monsters, new skills, new data.
"Dismissed," she said, turning her back to me, a clear sign that the audience was over.
As I left, I could feel the compound's eyes on me. The story of the Mana Dispersion had spread like wildfire. The pitying contempt was gone, replaced by wary curiosity and, from some, a new, grudging respect. The F-Rank label was still there, but it no longer defined me. I was an enigma.
That evening, as I was packing my minimal gear, a soft knock came at my barracks door. It was Kael.
"Heard about your reassignment," he said, leaning against the doorframe. "Scout Team Sigma is... intense. They're all C-Ranks, specialists in stealth and survival. They won't like having an F-Rank, anomaly or not."
"I'll manage," I replied, though the thought of being surrounded by elite C-Ranks was daunting.
"I know you will," Kael said, a hint of a smile touching his lips. "But watch your back. Jax is furious. He's been screaming to anyone who'll listen that you're a fraud, that you've been hiding your real rank. He's losing credibility, but a cornered animal is dangerous."
The [Soul Brand] confirmed it. Jax's fury was a boiling, chaotic storm. He was unraveling, and that made him unpredictable.
After Kael left, I focused inward. The events of the day had accelerated my progress. The forced use of [Mana Dispersion] and the constant mental strain of deception had acted like a whetstone on my soul.
[Mana Core Circuit: 6.8%]
[Cellular Empathy: 1.5%]
[Analytical Combat Sight (D-Rank) - Progression: 89%]
[Drake's Vitality (B-Rank) - Progression: 45%]
My body was changing. I could feel it—a subtle increase in density, a deeper well of stamina. The F-Rank vessel was being slowly, painstakingly upgraded.
But the most significant development was a new, unsettling notification that appeared as I meditated.
[Unique Skill Interaction Detected.]
[Skills: Soul Brand (Unique) & Mental Shroud (A-Rank) are synchronizing.]
[Synergy Unlocked: Web of Empathy (Unique).]
[Effect: The user can now vaguely sense the emotional states and surface thoughts of those connected via Soul Brand, creating a rudimentary empathic network. The Mental Shroud automatically filters out psionic backlash and hostile intent from these connections.]
A web. I could not only track Jax, but I could now feel the edges of his turbulent emotions—the seething rage, the bitter humiliation, the cold, calculating plans for revenge. It was a torrent of negative energy, but thanks to the [Mental Shroud], it was like watching a storm from behind soundproof glass. I was aware of its fury, but untouched by its violence.
This changed everything. I wasn't just a lone phantom anymore. I was the silent center of a web, feeling the vibrations of those I had connected with. Kael's brand, which I had subtly applied after our alliance, was a steady, calm pulse of cautious loyalty.
The next morning, as I reported to the transport bay to meet Scout Team Sigma, I felt a new, familiar presence. Elara Vance stood by the gates, dressed not in her formal robes, but in sleek, functional scout leathers. Her silver hair was tied back in a practical braid.
"Leon," she said, her summer-sky eyes serious. "I pulled some strings. My family has an interest in the stability of the Scarlet Wastes. I'll be accompanying Scout Team Sigma as an observer."
My breath caught. The romantic conflict was entering a new, dangerous phase. Out in the wilds, away from the compound's rules and prying eyes, the carefully maintained distance between us would collapse. She would be there, watching me, her piercing curiosity now armed with the memory of dispersed mana and a public humiliation of my primary enemy.
The lord's path was never straight. It twisted and turned, presenting new challenges with every step. I had unraveled Jax's plot and earned a measure of respect, but in doing so, I had drawn the intense focus of both the military machine and the girl who saw past my masks.
As the transport's engines whined to life, carrying us towards the desolate Scarlet Wastes, I looked at my companions: the elite, skeptical scouts, the vengeful Jax fuming somewhere in the compound, the loyal Kael left behind, and the inquisitive Elara sitting across from me.
The web was growing more complex. The phantom was being drawn into the light, and the strings of connection were pulling taut. The road to lordhood was becoming a tangled web, and I was the spider at its center, feeling every tremor, waiting for the next fly to stumble in.