Seth's eyes twitched, then slowly fluttered open.
The first thing that greeted him was the familiar damp scent of his house- the earthy aroma of old wood and rain-soaked stone. His gaze drifted across the cluttered room, catching the haphazard stacks of books piled on every available surface, and the simple window set into the wall, where a thin shaft of sunlight streamed through.
He was home.
Shifting slightly on his bed, Seth expected a jolt of pain to flare through his body. But to his surprise, there was none. No searing aches, no bone-deep bruises, not even the tug of healing cuts.
Considering the savage wounds he'd suffered during Vince's brutal test, the absence of pain was... unsettling.
He flexed his fingers slowly, then pushed himself upright, a frown beginning to form.
'What happened?' he wondered, glancing down at his body, half-expecting to see bloodstained bandages. Instead, his skin was clean- scarred faintly in places, but whole.
Seth was just about to push himself upright when a sudden voice broke the quiet, making him flinch.
"You shouldn't sit up," Vince said casually.He was lounging in a wooden chair tucked into the corner of the room, legs crossed easily, a book from Seth's own chaotic stash open in his hands. His tone was light, but there was a glint of mischief in his eye.
"Already got an earful from Miss Mira after I hauled you home half-dead," he added with a smirk. "Trust me, I'm not eager for round two."
Seth blinked at him, momentarily thrown off by the casualness of it all- the warmth of the sunlight, the quiet rustle of pages turning, Vince acting like this was all just another lazy afternoon.
Meanwhile, Seth's mind was still trying to catch up to everything that had happened.
Then, like a dam breaking, the memories of the test and the fact that Vince had been the one to orchestrate it- came rushing back.
"You jerk!" Seth burst out, outrage clear in his voice as he struggled to sit up despite Vince's warning. "You call that revenant hunting?!"
Vince didn't even look up from his book. A small, infuriating smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"I might have gone a bit overboard…" he admitted, voice annoyingly casual.
"A bit, he says…" Seth grumbled under his breath, shooting Vince a look that could have set the chair on fire if glares were weapons.
Vince merely chuckled, flipping a page, utterly unfazed.
"…but I needed to know," Vince continued, his voice losing its casual edge.He closed the book with a sharp thud, setting it down on a nearby table. His expression was serious now grim, even- as he leaned forward slightly, fixing Seth with a steady gaze.
"I needed to see if you could prevail against the hurdle set before you. Because if you couldn't…" His voice lowered, the words coming out dark and heavy.
"…then it would have been better if you had been executed."
The room seemed to go still. The faint light through the window felt colder somehow.
Seth, caught off guard by the brutal honesty, stared at him, the weight of those words settling heavily in his chest.
"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice quiet but tense.
"What you faced during the Trial of Blood and Iron- and even during my little test- was only a fraction of the true horrors that lie within that vast expanse of forest," Vince said, his tone growing heavier with each word. "You have yet to see the real face of Thornspire. In the end, there's a reason why it's considered one of the most harrowing places in all of Cyndor."
The way he spoke measured, almost reverent- sent an involuntary chill down Seth's spine.
"But more on that later…" Vince added quickly, waving a hand to dismiss the topic before Seth could protest about dropping such an ominous bomb and then brushing it aside.
Before Seth could open his mouth to object, Vince cut in with a sly grin. "By the way, congratulations are in order."
Seth narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Congratulations? For what? Passing your death trap of a test?" he muttered, unimpressed.
Vince chuckled. "Well, yes, that too... but more importantly…" he leaned forward, eyes glinting with excitement, "…you've advanced to the Mortal Stage!"
"Mortal Stage?" Seth echoed under his breath, the words foreign on his tongue.
It took a moment for the meaning to truly sink in. But when it did, his eyes widened, flashing with shock and disbelief. Without thinking, he immediately closed his eyes and turned his focus inward- searching for the truth in Vince's claim.
And there it was.
Just as Vince had said, he saw it- his core. Once the size of a mere pebble, it had now swelled, its presence stronger, more vibrant. It pulsed steadily with energy, a living testament to the change he had undergone.
Opening his eyes, Seth stared down at his hands, seeing them with a gaze he barely recognized- like they belonged to someone else entirely.
He hadn't noticed it when he first woke up, but now he could feel it- a subtle, thrumming strength coursing through every fiber of his being, a strength that hadn't been there before.
Most telling of all, his right arm- still wrapped neatly in fresh bandages, felt significantly better. The deep, biting pain was gone, replaced by a dull ache and faint numbness, as if the worst of the damage had already begun to mend.
"I... I really have advanced," Seth murmured, wonder bleeding into his voice.
"Apparently, the same goes for your magic level too," Vince said, eyeing him with a critical gaze. "From what I observed, the spell you usually use [Repel] was just a basic repelling force before. But when you faced the dire rat alpha, it changed. It took on your elemental attribute- Darkness."
He leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms loosely.
"I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to magic, but I'd wager you've stepped into the 'Neophyte' realm- the first true stage of magic wielding."
Seth absorbed his words silently, feeling a thrill stir deep inside him.
But Vince, never one to let a moment of pride swell too large, quickly added, his tone flattening, "Don't let it get to your head. Most of the other kids who participated in the Trial were already at that level. You're still lagging behind."
Seth clenched his fists slightly, feeling the renewed strength ripple under his skin. He met Vince's gaze without hesitation.
"I know," he said, voice firm, steady. "But I'm going to get stronger."
For the first time, Vince smiled- not the usual teasing grin, but something quieter. Surer.