Raynor Velcroft left the training grounds feeling the weight of his own thoughts. The match with Lira had forced him to confront something he had been avoiding—he wasn't weak, but he also wasn't invincible. His reliance on evasion and adaptability had served him well in survival situations, but structured combat was a different beast. If he wanted to stand a chance against the true dangers lurking in this world, he had to refine his skills.
As he walked through the dimly lit corridors of the academy, the System's latest notification still hovered in the corner of his vision:
System Notification: Skill Progression Unlocked: Adaptive Combat Instincts (Rank I).
A smirk tugged at his lips, but it faded just as quickly. Progress was good, but it wasn't enough. The Veil attack had been a wake-up call. He couldn't afford to stagnate.
Lost in thought, he nearly missed the figure waiting for him near the dormitory entrance. Elana stood with arms crossed, her gaze unreadable in the flickering torchlight.
"You're hard to find," she said.
Raynor stopped a few feet away, his expression neutral. "Maybe I don't want to be found."
Elana sighed. "Then you should be better at hiding."
He frowned. "Did you need something?"
She hesitated, then glanced around before lowering her voice. "I don't trust Cassin."
Raynor's interest piqued. "That makes two of us."
Elana studied him, searching for something in his expression. "You're different, Raynor. Ever since the attack… you see things others don't, don't you?"
For a moment, silence stretched between them. He had spent so much effort keeping people at arm's length, yet here she was, pulling at threads he wasn't sure he wanted unraveled.
"What exactly are you asking?" he said at last.
"I don't know yet," Elana admitted. "But something is coming. I can feel it."
Raynor exhaled slowly. He had sensed it too—a shifting tide in the academy's undercurrents. He had planned to keep his head down, to avoid unnecessary entanglements, but now… he wasn't so sure.
"Then let's hope we're ready for it," he murmured, stepping past her into the dormitory. Because whether he liked it or not, the game was changing, and he had no intention of being caught unprepared.