Seraphina woke up rather late the next day with a slight headache— the dull throb a reminder of the indulgence from the night before. Thankfully, her body, honed by years of knight training, handled the aftereffects better than most.
Aside from the faint headache, she felt no other hangover symptoms— no nausea or fatigue that often plagued those less prepared for physical strain. She noticed the blanket carefully draped over her and the faint scent of perfume lingering in the air.
The memories of the night before returned to her vividly.
Surprisingly, despite how much she'd drunk, there were no gaps in her memory, she remembered everything: the conversation, the innkeeper's gentle teasing, and their shared moment of intimacy.
It puzzled her.
Was it her training that gave her this clarity? Or perhaps her violet eyes, which she still didn't fully understand, played some role in her heightened perception.
Whatever the reason, she decided to remember it for later investigation.
Her thoughts drifted back to the intimacy she'd allowed herself— the image of the innkeeper leaning in close, their lips meeting, and the warmth of that shared moment with her.
She smiled somewhat wryly at the thought of what had happened. She didn't feel love for the innkeeper— at least, not in the way stories described it.
There was a physical attraction; she couldn't deny the innkeeper's beauty or charm, but emotionally, she felt distant, unattached.
It left her feeling conflicted— why had she acted as she had? Simply because of that physical attraction? It wasn't unlikely, but Seraphina knew she wouldn't have acted that way had she been in a stable mind.
This made her regret drinking as much as she had; getting so drunk had left her in a state of defenselessness she didn't enjoy. It was something she decided to never allow again, going forward she decided that she would avoid drinking so much, or if possible, drinking at all.
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair brushing it back from her face, resolving not to dwell too deeply on it. Social relationships were complicated— far more intricate than the straightforward discipline of her training.
For now, her focus needed to remain on her path as a knight. Love, romance, or whatever this might be could wait for another time, if ever.
Her musings were interrupted by a knock at the door and before she could answer, Samuel pushed it open with his usual lack of decorum, followed by Edwin, who carried himself with his typical calm demeanor.
"Morning, sleeping beauty."
Samuel said with a teasing grin.
"Feeling better after last night's little adventure?"
Seraphina rolled her eyes but smirked faintly.
"I'm fine. Just a slight headache."
"Good to hear, because I was half-expecting you to swear off ale for life."
Samuel quipped as he sat casually on the edge of his bed.
"Maybe I will. Or at least I won't drink that much again."
Edwin nodded approvingly, his silver eyes steady as they regarded her.
"Take care of yourself, Seraphina. Rest for today if you need to. Samuel and I are going to check the guild and see if there's anything worth looking into."
"Go ahead."
She replied, waving them off.
"I'll stay here and meditate. I need to reassess where I am in my training."
"Fair enough."
Samuel clapped her on the shoulder lightly as he stood up and smiled.
"But don't get too lost in all that knightly focus of yours. You've got to live a little, too."
He paused for a second and took a sniff as if smelling the scent on the air— as an apprentice knight, it was definitely within his capabilities. He smiled as if an idea had come to mind, and teased her.
"I guess you don't need to be told that though."
With that, the two left, leaving her alone in the quiet of the room.
She sat on the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath to center herself before shifting into a meditative posture.
Crossing her legs, she closed her eyes and began to focus inward.
The sensation was immediate, a subtle hum that spread through her body as she directed her attention to the flow of aura within her.
It was faint, not as strong as a normal knight would be, but it was clearly more noticeable now— compared to before when she had to take some time to even find aura, now it came naturally.
It was like a wild stream coursing through her muscles, organs, and bones— a tangible energy that felt both familiar and foreign. As she concentrated, she realized that her body had undergone significant changes since her breakthrough.
Her muscles felt denser, her organs stronger, and her body as a whole seemed more resilient— this wasn't just the result of training; it was the effect of aura saturation.
She recognized this as the end of the cleansing stage, a very important step in a knight's path, and one that basically built the foundation for all future progress. The aura had seeped into every part of her, purifying and enhancing her physical form.
But now, she was entering the next stage— the condensing stage.
The goal of this stage was to gather the wild aura that flowed unchecked through her body and guide it toward her heart, where it would form a life seed. Life seeds were essential for knights; they allowed a knight to produce, store, and even control aura.
Without one, the aura remained wild and untamed, potentially harmful if used repeatedly.
Seraphina recalled what little she had read about life seeds and their nature, however, there was very little known— even from the years of research provided about them was merely rudimentary. At least that was what she could get her hands on.
They could take on various forms— animals, objects, or abstract shapes— depending on the individual's path and method. But no matter their appearance, they were vital for mastering aura.
Without a life seed, she could never truly control her power or grow.
With this understanding clear in her mind, she knew that her next step would be to form a life seed, and while it would take time and continuous meditation, she could do it.
She began to focus on gathering her aura, attempting to see how easily she could control it. She directed her senses inward, visualizing the aura as a stream that she could guide.
She coaxed it gently, urging it to flow toward her heart— however, she found that the aura was unresponsive, almost as if it heard her but refused to listen to her.
It was wild and unrelenting, but she was patient.
As she kept attempting to control the aura, trying different locations within her body— she noticed something strange gathered around her head.
A faint glow, an energy that was similar to aura but remained completely stationary; it didn't flow or change, it was like a singular blob that simply focused itself in the middle of her head.
It wasn't just aura gathering; there was something else— something she couldn't quite identify.
"What is this?"
She murmured, her eyes snapping open as she found her concentration broken and her inward view cut off.
She closed her eyes again, determined to try once more and see what the unknown energy was.