After leaving The Arcane Order's hall, the three Arcani walked through the dimly lit streets of Emberwood. The exhaustion from their mission still clung to them, but there was also a sense of accomplishment.
Aldric tossed his coin pouch in the air, catching it with a grin. "Not bad for a first mission. Though, I'd prefer something that actually challenges me next time."
Elara shook her head, her green hair reflecting the lantern light. "You almost got yourself killed, Aldric. A little caution wouldn't hurt."
Aldric smirked. "And yet, I didn't. That's what matters."
Lucious, walking slightly ahead, remained silent. His mind was elsewhere—on the fight, on how he'd felt powerless watching Aldric handle Varek alone. He clenched his fists. He needed to get stronger.
Elara noticed his silence. "Lucious, are you okay?"
He hesitated, then nodded. "I'm fine."
Aldric glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "You don't look fine. You're still thinking about the fight, aren't you?"
Lucious didn't answer.
Aldric sighed. "Look, if you're upset about me telling you to back off, don't be. You would've just gotten in the way."
Lucious shot him a sharp glare, but before he could say anything, Elara spoke. "That's enough, both of you."
She crossed her arms. "We should be resting, not arguing. We'll have plenty of chances to prove ourselves in future missions."
A brief silence followed before Aldric shrugged. "Fine, fine. I'm going to get some sleep. See you two later."
With that, he walked off toward the residential district.
Lucious and Elara stood there for a moment.
Elara gave him a gentle look. "Don't let him get to you. You did well."
Lucious exhaled, pushing his thoughts aside. "Yeah. See you tomorrow."
As he walked away, he knew one thing for sure—next time, he wouldn't just stand back.
The sun had barely risen when Lucious made his way to a secluded clearing outside Emberwood. The chill of the morning air clung to him as he gripped his blade, stepping into his stance. His fight against Varek played in his mind, each mistake glaringly clear.
He exhaled sharply. He needed to be faster. More precise. More decisive.
He took a step forward and slashed. Again. And again. His blade cut through the air, but something felt off. The flow wasn't there. His movements lacked sharpness. Hesitation still lingered in his strikes.
"Tsk, tsk. That's not how you cut someone down, you know."
Lucious froze. The voice was smooth, almost playful, yet there was something unnervingly sharp beneath it.
He turned.
Leaning lazily against a tree was a man. A long black coat draped over his shoulders, and twin blades rested at his waist. His hair was unkempt, his posture completely relaxed, as if he had all the time in the world. A smirk tugged at his lips as he watched Lucious.
Lucious tightened his grip on his sword. "Who are you?"
The man stretched, letting out a yawn. "Me? Just a passing swordsman." His eyes glinted. "But watching you swing that thing around was too painful to ignore."
Lucious' eyes narrowed. "You saying I'm bad?"
The man chuckled. "I'm saying your swordplay is full of openings."
Before Lucious could react, the man vanished—no, moved.
A blur of motion.
Suddenly, he was behind Lucious, hand casually resting on his blade.
Lucious spun, slashing at him. The man sidestepped effortlessly, his coat barely rustling.
"You're too tense." He took a step forward.
Lucious slashed again. The man tilted his head, dodging as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
"And predictable."
Lucious gritted his teeth and lunged.
Steel rang.
In an instant, the man drew one of his swords and parried, forcing Lucious' blade aside. The impact jolted through Lucious' arms.
The man didn't press forward—he simply stood there, watching. Waiting.
Lucious went for another strike. Faster this time.
The man sidestepped, but Lucious adjusted mid-swing, angling his blade toward him.
For the first time, the man raised an eyebrow.
"Better."
And then, he disappeared again.
Lucious barely saw the attack coming. A sharp impact hit his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could react, another strike sent him sprawling to the ground.
Dirt filled his vision as he gasped for breath.
The man sighed. "You're not hopeless, kid. But you rely too much on your abilities. You hesitate, waiting for the perfect moment instead of creating one." He sheathed his blade with a soft click.
Lucious gritted his teeth, pushing himself up.
The man looked at him, then smirked. "A sword is only as strong as the will that wields it. And right now, yours is wavering.."
Lucious stared at him.
The words struck deeper than he expected.
By the time he looked up again, the man was gone.
For a long moment, Lucious remained where he was, his fingers curling into the dirt.
Then, he exhaled. Slowly.
He sheathed his blade and stood.
"...Thank you," he murmured.
The exhaustion in his limbs didn't matter. The bruises didn't matter.
He picked up his sword.
And he kept training.
A week had passed since their first encounter. Lucious had spent every moment refining his movements, sharpening his instincts, and pushing himself beyond his limits. He wouldn't lose so easily this time.
As he stood in the training grounds, catching his breath after another grueling session, a familiar voice echoed behind him.
"You've been working hard. But tell me, have you been training properly?"
Lucious turned swiftly, his grip tightening on his weapon. The man stood there again, the same relaxed posture, the same unreadable smirk.
"I figured you'd show up again," Lucious said, lowering into a stance.
The man chuckled. "Oh? And here I thought you were waiting for me. I'm flattered." He rested a hand on his sword. "Let's see if you've actually improved."
The fight began in an instant. Steel clashed, movements faster than before. Lucious no longer made the same reckless mistakes—he countered, adapted, and struck back with purpose.
Then, he used magic.
A flicker of energy bent space for a split second—Lucious vanished and reappeared at the man's side, his blade swinging in an arc.
The man's eyes widened slightly before he narrowly dodged. "Well, well... I didn't expect that." He adjusted his stance, a new level of interest in his gaze. "This just got interesting."
Lucious smirked. He had surprised him.
The battle intensified—each move sharper, each strike heavier. Lucious was keeping up. But just as he prepared for another teleportation, a voice interrupted them.
"Lucious?"
Elara.
That single moment of distraction was all it took—the mysterious man was gone, vanishing as if he had never been there.
Lucious cursed under his breath, scanning the area, but there was nothing.
Elara approached, frowning. "Who were you fighting?"
Lucious exhaled sharply. "I... don't know."
She handed him a sealed letter. "Well, whatever that was, we have more important things to focus on. We have a new mission."
Lucious took the letter, his mind still lingering on the fight. He had finally managed to surprise that man.
Next time, he wouldn't just surprise him—he'd win.
The sun hung low in the Emberwood sky as Aldric and Elara stood in the clearing just outside the village, their usual sparring ground. The soft rustle of leaves and the distant sounds of merchants packing up for the day were the only things accompanying their steady breaths.
Aldric spun his daggers between his fingers before gripping them tight. "Ready?"
Elara nodded, raising her hands as a faint golden glow enveloped her. "Whenever you are."
With a sharp burst of speed, Aldric dashed forward, his daggers crackling with electricity. He aimed a quick strike at her shoulder, but before his blade could land, a shimmering barrier formed between them. His dagger struck the surface with a spark before he quickly jumped back.
Elara didn't wait. She raised her palm, releasing a flash of light. Aldric flinched slightly but rolled to the side, avoiding a follow-up strike of concentrated light energy aimed at his chest.
He smirked. "Not bad. But you'll have to do better than that."
Without warning, he threw one of his daggers, aiming low. As expected, another barrier flickered to life, blocking it just in time. Aldric took the opportunity to close the distance, grabbing his dagger mid-air and slashing downward. Elara barely managed to reinforce her barrier in time to absorb the blow.
"Still relying too much on those shields," Aldric remarked, stepping back. "What if I don't give you time to raise one?"
He lunged forward again, feinting to the right before aiming a real strike from the left. Elara's golden light shimmered, forming another barrier, but this time Aldric was faster. His dagger slammed against the edge before he twisted his wrist, redirecting the strike around the shield's curve. The tip of his blade stopped just short of her side before Elara instinctively released a burst of light, forcing him back.
Aldric let out a breath and twirled his daggers. "That was better. You're getting faster."
Elara nodded, but her expression was distant. "You've improved, too. You're thinking more about your movements instead of just throwing yourself forward."
Aldric rolled his eyes. "Tch. I always think. I just move too fast for people to notice."
Elara gave him a knowing look, but before she could respond, Aldric suddenly clicked his tongue in irritation. He sheathed his daggers and crossed his arms. "You know what's stupid, though? Lucious hasn't shown up even once this week."
Elara sighed. "I noticed."
"He's avoiding us," Aldric continued. "Probably sulking after that last mission. What's the point of being an Arcani if you're not going to train with your team?"
Elara shook her head, wiping sweat from her brow. "Maybe he's just training in his own way. Not everyone fights like you do, Aldric."
"Yeah? Well, training alone won't help him when he actually needs to fight alongside us." Aldric grabbed his canteen and took a sip of water before tossing it aside. "We're supposed to be a team, and he's acting like some lone warrior in a storybook."
Elara didn't argue. Instead, she adjusted her gloves and looked toward the horizon. "Maybe he'll surprise you."
Aldric scoffed but didn't push the conversation further. "Hmph. If he does, I'll actually start respecting him."
With that, the two resumed their training, pushing each other harder, unaware that Lucious was elsewhere, sharpening his skills in secret—preparing for the moment he would prove them both wrong.
A week had passed since then.They all spent every moment refining their movements, sharpening their instincts, and pushing themselves beyond limits.
As Lucious stood in his training ground, catching his breath after another grueling session, a familiar voice echoed behind him.
"You've been working hard. But tell me, have you been training properly?"
Lucious turned swiftly, his grip tightening on his weapon. The man stood there again, the same relaxed posture, the same unreadable smirk.
"I figured you'd show up again," Lucious said, lowering into a stance.
The man chuckled. "Oh? And here I thought you were waiting for me. I'm flattered." He rested a hand on his sword. "Let's see if you've actually improved."
The fight began in an instant. Steel clashed, movements faster than before. Lucious no longer made the same reckless mistakes—he countered, adapted, and struck back with purpose.
Then, he used magic.
A flicker of energy bent space for a split second—Lucious vanished and reappeared at the man's side, his blade swinging in an arc.
The man's eyes widened slightly before he narrowly dodged. "Well, well... I didn't expect that." He adjusted his stance, a new level of interest in his gaze. "This just got interesting."
Lucious smirked. He had surprised him.
The battle intensified—each move sharper, each strike heavier. Lucious was keeping up. But just as he prepared for another teleportation, a voice interrupted them.
"Lucious?"
Elara.
That single moment of distraction was all it took—the mysterious man was gone, vanishing as if he had never been there.
Lucious cursed under his breath, scanning the area, but there was nothing.
Elara approached, frowning. "Who were you fighting?"
Lucious exhaled sharply. "I... don't know."
Lucious's mind was still lingering on the fight. He had finally managed to surprise that man.
Next time, he wouldn't just surprise him—he'd win.
Elara crossed her arms as she looked at Lucious, who was still catching his breath from his intense training session. "You didn't show up to any of the training sessions this week," she said, her golden eyes studying him carefully. "I was looking for you."
Lucious wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I wanted to train alone." His tone was neutral, but there was a weight behind his words.
Elara sighed. "You don't have to do everything by yourself, you know." She didn't push further, though. Instead, she shifted topics. "Tomorrow, we're heading to the outpost. Elisa told us to pick up our next mission there."
Lucious nodded. "Got it."
Elara gave him one last glance before turning away. "Just... don't push yourself too hard." Then, without another word, she left.
Lucious exhaled slowly, watching her go. Tomorrow, another mission awaited—but for now, he still had time to train.