Soul of the Warrior

Reivyn was up before dawn. He would be lying if he said he wasn't consumed with thoughts of the ball that would take place in the evening, but that wasn't the reason he was an early riser. He had been on the road for a long time, and that wasn't conducive to keeping a schedule, but now that he was settled down, it was time to make sure that he got his training in.

He had done his Meditation and Affinity training with Kefira in the evening, both of them understanding that the opportunity was probably going to disappear soon, and he had decided to go back to his daily physical exercises first thing in the morning. It was a great way to wake up each day, for one, and he really needed to consolidate combining his Caster abilities with his Martial ones.

His increase in Affinities and Stats meant that he could do so much more, and he could do them much more efficiently. If he didn't practice, he wouldn't know the limits of his power.

He started the session off with calisthenics to warm up, and he immediately began practicing his Weapons Master Skill in its purest form. There was a small arsenal of training weapons available in the exercise area behind Kefira's house, one that Reivyn assumed Serilla used more than Kefira, and he took advantage of the various weaponry.

It was all well and good to focus on just using one or two weapons, as that would still increase his Skill Level, but he had found that the higher he took the Skill, the less efficient it was. The System only did so much to assist him, and the higher one's Skill Level, the less assistance the System afforded. He was entering the territory where he had to personally understand the intricacies of the weapons he used.

He didn't spend too much time on each weapon, just going through the basic forms of each and attacking a practice dummy for a few minutes, and he didn't neglect unarmed strikes. He then switched to exclusively using his Mana sword, the one that had followed him all the way from Magron to Wispan. It had held up very well, and it still hadn't needed any serious maintenance other than meticulous care.

There was no reason to use the other weapons for his next bout of training, as they wouldn't be able to handle the Mana infusion, and the purpose of the training wasn't in using the weapon, anyway. He still made sure that he used the proper forms each time he swung the sword, but that was more so that he wouldn't build any bad habits or get sloppy.

He ran through the gamut of his Affinities, infusing the sword with each one and going through his exercises. He experimented with how much Mana he could pump into the weapon, how fast he could do it, how far he could stretch it out, how much Mana he could save by retracting the Mana and using his Absorb Mana Skill, and he paid special attention to any differences in how he performed as compared to before he had started focusing on his Affinity training again.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that he barely had to even think to expertly control all of the basic Affinities, and the Tier 2 Affinities were within reach of the same speed as well. There was a noticeable difference in the efficacy of his Affinities as he used them, as well. For this Tier 3 Affinities, he still had to concentrate when using the Elemental Weapon Spell, but Light and Darkness came even easier to him than the Tier 1 Elements did.

His Tier 4 Affinities had only marginally increased, but he had one more of them to try out than before. His Eternal Affinity did a great job for defensive actions as well as ensuring the integrity of his gear, but the Traveler Affinity required a bit more finesse to figure out how to use it correctly.

He had saved it for last, and he found that it didn't just increase his mobility, though it did allow him to move further than each of his steps would have one assume when he moved about the practice yard. That had taken some getting used to, and even with Divine Sense never shutting off, he still managed to walk face-first into a wall more than once.

The biggest action Reivyn had discovered he could use the Affinity for was to basically teleport his attacks. Not only could one of his swings be completed almost instantaneously with zero forewarning, but he found that he could even bypass obstacles. He had accidentally discovered that neat trick when he overestimated one of his swings, and his sword had simply passed through the training dummy without touching it.

It didn't allow him to actually phase through the object, as thrusts didn't work. When he had tried it, the Affinity had simply failed to activate. He wasn't going to be stabbing his sword through a wall any time soon - Well, I could do it with brute Strength - but shields could become null and void in front of him with enough practice.

Shields were dynamic and not stationary, so he would have to increase his Affinity several more times to gain enough mastery to effectively execute the maneuver in actual combat, but he could see some serious potential in the Affinity. It wasn't just physical shields, either. He threw up one of his Mana Shields and anchored it to the training dummy, and his sword passed through the barrier with no problems.

Having a perfectly spherical bubble around the dummy still prevented him from bypassing it, as that counted as phasing through an object, but if it was just a wall, his sword could just avoid it entirely.

This gives me some interesting ideas with combining the Traveler Affinity with my Spells, Reivyn thought as he dried himself off after washing up. Especially if I can see the target, I can launch a Spell, and because it's detached from anything, I'll be able to warp it right passed the enemy Mana Shields to devastating effect.

Increasing the Affinity Level will allow me to move things further as well as get the timing of it down better. I wonder if I'll be able to slash my opponents with my sword when I'm standing dozens of yards away once I get the Affinity high enough? Can I "travel" the effect of the attack separately from the object causing the effect?

There was still much to learn and experiment with. His Traveler Affinity didn't currently let him actually teleport around as Kefira could do, but it somehow shortened the distances between two points. He didn't understand the intricacies involved, he just used it to his advantage. Simply walking while infusing his body with the Affinity would allow him to move faster than someone galloping on a horse. Eventually.

There was a knock at his door as Reivyn ate a breakfast prepared by one of the maids assigned to Kefira's estate. Reivyn got up to answer the door, and he wasn't surprised to find Kayzor waiting for him. Kayzor gave a small wave as he strode right through the door.

"Mornin'," he said casually.

He walked to the sitting area and dropped a package on the coffee table.

"Here's what you asked for yesterday," Kayzor said, dropping into one of the seats and relaxing. "I also have a list of the rewards you can get with your contribution points. I only brought the short list of what's available for purchase, as you wouldn't be able to get any of the more expensive things right now anyway."

"Thanks," Reivyn said, closing the door and walking over to take another seat. He could finish his breakfast after his guest left. "I really appreciate you helping me out with this."

"It's not a problem," Kayzor waved the appreciation away. "I'm not just here on personal business, though. I'm here to inform you of your duties for the ball as Kefira's Imperial Liaison."

Kayzor peeked his eyes over to see if Reivyn had any kind of reaction to the news. He rolled his eyes when Reivyn simply stared back at him, not surprised at all.

"We figured something like that was going to be added," Reivyn snorted.

"Yeah, well, my mother can't make it easy, you know," Kayzor said. "Basically, you'll be in charge of making sure that the guests are comfortable and well taken care of. Because of the implied nature of the ball, not only are the young men going to be in attendance, but their parents and some sibling will attend, as well.

"For the most part, the parents are going to be entertained by my parents and uncles and aunts, but they're going to have the chance to go and 'check up on' their children attending the ball. Your job is to make sure that they don't have any complaints, or if they do, that it's handled appropriately."

"So your mother is going to have me running around the ballroom, attending to all of the 'unimportant' guests while their sons try and shmooze my girl," Reivyn nodded his head. He shrugged. "I can handle that."

"That's it in a nutshell." Kayzor nodded his head to the package. "How is that going to help you out tonight?"

"Are you going to be there?" Reivyn asked back.

"I'll be making an appearance, but I doubt I'll stick around for the whole thing," Kayzor nodded his head.

"Then you'll see tonight," Reivyn smiled.

Kayzor rolled his eyes and stood back up.

"Fine, don't tell me," he said. "I'd love to stick around longer, but I got other things to do."

Reivyn got up and escorted him to the door, thanking him one more time as he left. He closed the door behind him and turned his attention to the package.

One piece down, Reivyn thought. It's the most important part, though, and now I just need to wait for Kefira to deliver the "accessories" to go with it.

"Is this really necessary?" Kefira complained, standing still with her arms outstretched.

A seamstress was taking measurements with pins sticking out of her mouth. She made a noise as she took mental note of the numbers on the measuring tape, but didn't say anything yet.

"I couldn't have grown that much since the last time you measured me," Kefira continued to whine.

She was not happy with the current circumstances. She was certain that her mother had scheduled the seamstress to take extensive measurements to simply waste her time, not allowing her to do anything. Luckily she and Reivyn had had some forethought, and they had implemented their plan the night before. She simply had to wait for Serilla to deliver the items without her involvement.

The seamstress finally backed away and removed the pins from her mouth.

"It's a good thing I did take your measurements, your highness," she said. "You might not have gotten any taller than before, and your waistline is still slim as ever, but you would have had an embarrassing time trying to fit any of your current gowns over your bust. I would say that your growth stage isn't quite over, it's just continued in a different area." The seamstress chuckled.

"It can't be that much of a difference," Kefira said, lowering her arms. She looked down at herself, trying to judge any difference, but she couldn't tell. Any change was too subtle for her to notice, and she had been wearing a breastplate and clothes that constricted her for an extended period of time while she was out adventuring.

"Oh, honey, no," the seamstress shook her head. She walked over to her extensive collection of gowns that had been pulled out for reference, selected one, and brought it over to Kefira. "Put it on."

Kefira accepted the dress, skepticism written all over her face, and shimmied into it. When she got it up to her chest, even with the back open, she could tell that it was way too small. She forced it up and over, and a maid stepped forward to try and lace the back together. After a couple of moments, Kefira felt the maid stop working, and she turned her head to look at the girl.

"I'm sorry, miss, but it's not going to work," the maid seemed contrite, almost taking it as a personal failure for not being able to tie the laces together in the back.

"Can we just add a longer lace?" Kefira asked the seamstress.

"Look in the mirror," she tilted her head toward the long mirror hanging from the wall.

Kefira looked in the mirror and found that the dress didn't fit her at all. It wasn't just that the bust was too small and had to be forced into position, but the cut of the dress was now completely off. Instead of accentuating her curves, the dress now hung over her front like a board. She turned around to look at her behind. Everything was fine at her lower back and midsection, but once it got to around her rib cage, the opening in the back was wildly spread apart.

"I see what you mean," Kefira pouted. "I liked this dress."

"That's not a problem, hon," the seamstress comforted. "There's not enough material in this one to alter it in any way to fit you, but I made that dress in the first place. I can make you several identical ones that will fit properly and have them ready to go before evening, today. I am a Tier 4 Master Agile Seamstress."

The seamstress twirled a needle that materialized in her hand out of nowhere. Kefira was sure there was some sort of System shenanigans going on, as the light perfectly glinted off of the silver needle at just the right time. The seamstress grinned as she struck a pose.

Just as quickly as she had made the needle appear and done her little trick, it disappeared as if it had never been there. Kefira didn't know what she did with the needle, as she didn't see any obvious movements to make it appear and disappear, and there didn't seem to be anywhere on the woman convenient enough for her to have grabbed one for her little display.

"Do you have the Sleight of Hand Skill?" Kefira asked.

The seamstress held her index finger over her lips.

"A lady has her secrets," she replied. "Now choose some dresses you want me to make, and I'll get started on these right away."

Kefira took the current dress off and added it to the pile that she wanted to be made right away. It really had been one of her favorite dresses. She took her time to select seven more, at the approving nod of the seamstress, and added them to the pile. The seamstress had one of her assistants scoop them up.

"The first one will be delivered to your house as soon as it's done, and the rest will be sent over tonight."

"Thank you," Kefira said, giving the older woman a charming smile.

"Of course! It's no problem, no problem. Just make sure you take the chance to let me see what you look like wearing it in the future."

"I will."

The seamstress and her team left the building, and Kefira got dressed again in her casual outfit. She descended the stairs from her private quarters to find Serilla waiting for her in the foyer, standing next to the sitting room. Kefira nodded to her and went to sit down for a drink, Serilla following behind.

"The 'accessories' have been delivered," Serilla said, pouring a cup of tea for Kefira before pouring one for herself and taking a seat.

"Very good," Kefira replied, taking a sip.

"What exactly is the use of such things?" Serilla asked, genuinely curious.

"Psychological warfare," Kefira said. Serilla quirked an eyebrow at her. "That's what Reivyn said. He's going to use them to establish his superiority before anyone even says a word."

"I can see that," Serilla nodded her head. "Almost everyone who's going to be in attendance tonight isn't going to be old enough to have held an official position, and the few who have won't have anything as impressive as what you gave Reivyn."

"Un uh," Kefira shook her head. "I didn't give them to Reivyn. Everything was done according to official protocol, and he earned them."

"Well, be honest. You had me fill out the recommendation, and you signed the approval. It's hardly standard to basically sign for yourself."

"Hey, I didn't write the rules, I just followed them," Kefira smirked. "Everything was done to the letter, and we didn't leave any flaws. There's nothing anyone can say about it, and it's official record and fact that he did do the things he did.

"By the way, where is he right now?"

"Your brother Garet snatched him up a little while ago to talk about his official responsibilities," Serilla answered. "He told me he would have a meeting with you about them as well since they're actually going to be yours. They're just letting you focus on the ball tonight, first, but Reivyn wasn't given that courtesy as he's not technically invited."

"I see. Do you have any idea what those duties are going to be?" Kefira asked.

"Not yet," Serilla shook her head. "There hasn't been any gossip about it. I'm guessing your parents and siblings haven't spoken about it outside of the petition room, and only the most trusted guards are stationed there when your family is present. State secrets and all that. They would lose their position and possibly be punished if they even mentioned what words your parents used in greeting."

"Well, it's not a big deal," Kefira shrugged. "It's not like they're going to set me up for failure, or anything. They're just taking up Reivyn's time before the ball. That's the only reason they're having the meeting with him now. there's no reason he couldn't have just been present while they told me about it."

"Doesn't it piss you off a bit, what you're mother's doing?" Serilla asked.

"Not really," Kefira said dismissively. "I was at first, but Reivyn seemed confident. It's kind of fun, actually. I get to see my man shine, and that's the entire goal of what my parents are doing anyway. I have faith in him."

"Are you not worried about your reputation or the backlash you might receive from the other nobles once the truth comes out?"

"Nope, that's what my parents are for. It's their job to protect me and shield me from such things. It would only be my responsibility if I was the one to cause the trouble, but this is the bed that they're making.

"Plus, this particular event will let me show off my dazzling dress in front of Reivyn."

"What about all the other eyes that are going to be on you?"

"They can count themselves lucky. I'm no stranger to being the focus of public attention, but it's all incidental for them."

"Fair enough."

"I heard Reivyn practicing in the backyard this morning," Kefira changed the subject. "I think it would be a good idea for you to join him."

"Me? With that monster? What about you? Why don't you join him?" Serilla was taken aback.

"I would, but my Skill Level is so far lower than his, that I would just be a distraction," Kefira explained. "You, on the other hand, have an actual chance to learn something and further your Skills.

"Once my mother is finally appeased with his performance and she backs off, I'll have time to join him in the mornings. For now, just getting some time to practice our Affinities and Mana Skills in the evenings will be hard enough."

"Ok~ay, if you really feel that way. I guess I'll get my will written out and my estate in order."

Kefira slapped Serilla on the shoulder playfully.

"It's not that bad."

"Speak for yourself," Serilla snorted. "He's careful with you because he likes you. I'm afraid he might actually kill me with the intensity of his training."

"I know, he's pretty amazing, isn't he?" Kefira got a wistful look in her eye.

"That's not at all what I said," Serilla replied.

"So handsome."

"Are you even listening anymore?"

Kefira brought her attention back to the present and giggled. The two girls continued to discuss various things, mostly focused on the gossip they had missed while they were gone that Serilla had picked up. The maids in the household weren't just useful for taking care of everyday chores. They also had an extensive spy network, or the equivalent of one, and Serilla had long cultivated them to keep her in the loop of anything interesting. It was easier to approach her and talk about such things than it was to Kefira.

Kefira didn't have anything to do other than prepare for the ball at this time, and she didn't have time to meet with any of her other friends or acquaintances ahead of time, so the two of them just spent a leisurely afternoon together. It wasn't long before a replica of Kefira's favorite dress appeared, and it was time to put it on.

The dress that she chose was a deep purple with an open back. It had frills around the edges, nothing fancy, but they accentuated the cut most appropriately. Kefira was extremely pleased with the outcome. She topped it off with a simple white jade crown and some pearl earrings. She hadn't had the chance to put on any kind of jewelry in front of Reivyn before, as it wasn't practical while adventuring, and she didn't take any with her.

Kefira was a natural beauty, so she didn't usually wear any makeup, but she knew her mother would reproach her if she didn't make an effort this evening. She simply went with some lipstick, blush, and eyeliner. It wasn't anything fancy, and it was a subtle accentuation of her natural looks. Her hair was done up in the back with another white jade hairpin, and it fell in ringlets to frame her face.

They didn't wear anything like a corset in the circles of the Wispan nobility, and the dress wasn't too tight as to be uncomfortable. She could move and breathe easily enough, and she didn't need a corset to highlight her curves.

She nodded at herself in the mirror, pleased with her looks. She anticipated Reivyn's reaction when he laid his eyes on her. He would escort her to the ballroom, a building separate from the main palace, but on the opposite side of the living areas.

She descended the stairs to the foyer, and she got her first glimpse of Reivyn standing there. She saw the look on his face, and she was sure that her expression mirrored his. She had seen him in the Drallo uniform several times, but he struck a completely different imposing figure in the uniform of the Wispan Imperial Army.

Reivyn's eyes never left her, and she almost stumbled when she didn't look away from him either. The thing that Reivyn had asked Kayzor to deliver him this morning had been a fitted officer's uniform, and Kefira and Serilla had worked together to requisition some medals to adorn it.

Because of Reivyn's commission in Oreck and his subsequent transfer to Wispan as Kefira's Imperial Liaison, he was technically commissioned as a lieutenant. He didn't get to keep a one-for-one transfer of his rank, but Kefira had written the recommendation of making the technicalities fully official, and Kayzor had signed off on them as the Commanding General of the Expeditionary Army.

Kefira and Serilla had done something similar for the medals. Serilla had written up the recommendation letters based on his actual combat achievements, and Kefira, as the commander of the battalion he served in at the time, had signed off on them. It was skirting the line of what was possible, but the rules were quite clear that it was perfectly justifiable. As a Wispan Imperial Family member that had taken charge of a vassal army, it had technically been within the chain of command of the Wispan military.

The most important medals that one could achieve required either the Counsel of Nobles or the Monarch's signature, but Kefira didn't seek out those awards for him. She had chosen the medals very specifically and then added the valor designation to them because they had been achieved during combat. He stood with a lieutenant's insignia on his shoulders, his Imperial Liaison Insignia on his lapel, and seven medals hanging from his left chest.

The Wispan Imperial Army uniform was white with gold trim and buttons for the officers, and he looked quite dashing to Kefira's eyes. The cut was more in line with the aesthetics of what she was used to than the uniform of Oreck had been.

She walked up to him, and they simply stared into each other's eyes for a moment. He finally held his arm out, and she looped one of hers around it to rest her hand on his forearm.

"Milady," he gestured with his free hand, and Kefira smiled up at him.