On the third day of training, I woke up feeling my body heavy.
It wasn't ordinary fatigue. It was the consequence of forcing muscles and reflexes I had never used that way before.
Even so, I got up early.
Scarlet was already waiting for me at the dungeon entrance when I arrived.
"Today you're going deeper," she said.
"More monsters?"
"Faster monsters."
I nodded without arguing.
We descended in silence. The air was colder in that area. The walls seemed narrower. The sound of our footsteps echoed more than usual.
And once again, that feeling.
They were there.
I no longer had any doubts.
I moved forward without commenting.
The first monsters appeared too quickly.
Unlike the other days, they didn't come in organized groups. They came scattered, attacking from different angles, almost at the same time.
I drew my sword and advanced.
The first fell easily.
The second tried to hit me from behind. I turned and blocked.
The third was faster than I expected.
It lunged at me with its claws open.
I blocked too late.
The claw scraped across my arm.
I felt the heat of the cut immediately.
I stepped back two paces and finished the monster.
I quickly looked at my arm.
The cut wasn't deep, but it was bleeding.
Scarlet approached.
"You hesitated."
"I saw it too late."
"Because your attention was divided."
She was right.
I took a deep breath.
I kept fighting.
Two more monsters came. This time, I handled them better. No mistakes. No opening my guard.
When the last one fell, I stopped to breathe.
Blood was still running down my arm.
I began to focus mana into my hand to use healing magic.
Before I finished, Scarlet stepped closer.
She grabbed my arm firmly.
"Stay still."
Her hand rested over the cut.
A soft light enveloped the area.
I felt the skin slowly closing.
She was very close.
Too close.
I could feel the faint scent of the perfume she used. I could hear her breathing.
For some reason, that made me uncomfortable.
"I was already healing," I said.
"I know."
She didn't pull her hand away.
"That's also part of the training."
"Being healed?"
"Learning not to ignore help."
I stayed silent.
When she finished, she slowly released my arm.
At that exact moment, I felt something change in the air.
A presence.
Mana being interrupted.
I looked to the side.
And there they were.
Rai'kanna, Elara, Liriel, Vespera, and Lyannis.
Visible.
A few meters away.
Rai'kanna's face was red with anger.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Scarlet slowly turned.
"What are you doing here?"
"Following you."
"That's obvious," Scarlet replied dryly.
Rai'kanna pointed at her.
"Getting all close to him like that."
"I was healing a wound."
"Healing or taking advantage?"
I sighed.
I already knew this would happen at some point.
"You were invisible?" I asked.
Rai'kanna crossed her arms.
"We were."
"Since when?"
"Since yesterday."
Scarlet looked at me, surprised.
"You knew?"
"I could feel it."
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Because you didn't want to be seen."
Rai'kanna seemed even more irritated.
"You knew and didn't say anything?"
"You wanted to observe. I let you."
Scarlet let out a small nasal laugh.
"Incredible."
"What's incredible?" Rai'kanna asked.
"You're very bad at hiding."
The argument started right there.
Elara tried to reason.
Vespera complained in a low voice.
Liriel observed everything in silence.
Lyannis seemed to find the situation amusing.
I raised my hand.
"Enough."
Silence came gradually.
"I'm training."
Rai'kanna answered immediately.
"And we're watching this woman get all close to you."
"She was healing me."
"She didn't need to be that close."
Scarlet crossed her arms.
"You want me to cast magic from a distance without touching him?"
"Yes," Rai'kanna replied.
I sighed again.
"You're getting in the way."
Rai'kanna opened her mouth to respond, but stopped.
"I need to train," I continued. "And you showing up like this doesn't help."
Elara spoke more calmly.
"We just wanted to see."
"I know. But do that without interrupting."
Scarlet looked at me.
"So you want them to keep coming?"
"Apparently, I don't have a choice."
Lyannis laughed softly.
"This is getting interesting."
I looked at all of them.
"If you're going to come, don't interfere."
Rai'kanna still looked furious, but she nodded.
Scarlet turned her back.
"Break's over. Let's continue."
I gripped my sword again.
As I walked deeper into the dungeon, I felt their gazes on my back.
This time, without invisibility.
Without hiding anything.
And I realized something.
It really was dividing my attention.
Scarlet was right.
If I didn't learn to ignore it, I would keep making mistakes.
The next group of monsters appeared.
I advanced without thinking about anything else.
Only the fight.
Only my guard.
Only my movements.
When I finished, I took a deep breath.
I looked back.
They were still there.
Watching in silence.
And Scarlet, beside me, said only one sentence.
"Now you're finally starting to understand."