The storm had passed, leaving the sect washed clean.
Sunlight glinted off wet tiles. The air carried the sharp scent of pine mixed with damp stone. Tharia's nose twitched as she walked through the courtyards, tail swishing lazily behind her.
She made a quick detour to the Mission Hall, slapped up a cheeky quest for “private combat tutoring (payment in spirit stones + emotional damage),” muttered something under her breath, and scampered out before anyone could laugh at her.
By mid-morning, disciples from every tier streamed toward the Hall of Records Courtyard.
Tharia's ears swiveled forward.
She caught fragments of conversation as she walked.
"...rankings are being posted..."
"...finally get to see who's top five..."
"...heard Lyra's still unbeatable..."
"Oh great," Tharia announced loud enough for half the courtyard, “Ranking day. The day everyone pretends numbers don’t matter while secretly measuring di—" She spotted the inner disciple and switched gears with a cheeky grin. “You here to see if you dropped off the list? Devastating, right?”
The disciple gave her a withering look and kept walking.
Tharia puffed her cheeks. “I’m being helpful! That’s helpful information! … HEY! Why are you walking faster?”
The courtyard was vast, walls carved with Duskwind's crescent emblem. At its center stood three towering jade tablets, glowing faintly with qi inscriptions. Names shimmered across their surfaces, shifting as elders finalized the records.
Tharia stopped at the edge of the crowd, staring up. “Those are really tall,” she told the outer disciple next to her. “Very ‘we are important’ energy. Tsk. Good job, sect.” She rocked onto her toes, unable to stay still.
Outer disciples crowded the edges, craning their necks, muttering about how they were excluded from the lists but still desperate to glimpse the names.
One nearby whispered bitterly, "We don't even get a line. We're ghosts here."
"Ghosts with ambition," Tharia added cheerfully. "The best kind of ghosts."
They both stared at her.
An inner disciple pushed past, shoulder checking her.
Tharia stumbled. Her tail whipped out for balance, smacking the outer disciple she'd just been talking to directly in the face.
"Sorry," she said. "That wasn't—my tail has opinions! Strong opinions! Please don’t report the fox."
The disciple rubbed his nose and moved three steps away.
She cleared her throat and faced forward, shoulders squared like she was not weird.
Inner disciples pressed closer, pointing at names, whispering about rivalries and potential duels. While core disciples stood apart—calm, aloof, their dominance already secure.
Tharia scanned the tablets, eyes narrowing.
The top five glowed brightest:
Lyra
Darius
Korrin
Malrik
Kaela
“Kaela’s fifth in the whole damn sect,” Tharia blurted, her face falling. “And I asked her to teach me. Brilliant. Or the dumbest. Probably dumb. Shit.”
Her tail gave one guilty flick.
System:
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Event Detected: Seasonal Rankings (Hall of Records)
Your Placement: N/A (Outer Disciples Excluded)
Note: You are not on any list. Yet.
[collapse]
"You're the one from the mission board."
Tharia turned.
Kaela was looking directly at her. Had been, apparently, for several seconds.
"I—yes. That's me. The fox! From the board. With the missions." Tharia's ears flattened. "I’m being normal. Totally normal. Don’t look at the ears, they lie."
Kaela's lips twitched. Almost a smile. Almost. "You're being something."
“Teach me!” Tharia blurted, then immediately regretted volume. “Please. Before I lose my nerve and run away screaming.”
Kaela's brow lifted. She turned, gold eyes locking onto Tharia.
"Teach you what?"
Tharia drew out her pouch of spirit stones. Held it openly. "How to fight. As I noted in mission submission, I'll pay with everything I've earned."
Kaela studied her for a long moment. "You want to fight without illusions?"
"I want to fight without depending on these stupid illusions."
The words hung in the air.
Kaela's lips curved faintly. "Fine. Your stones buy you one day. If you falter, I keep them."
Tharia's tail swished once. "Deal."
Nearby disciples caught the exchange. Whispers spread quickly.
"She's paying Kaela for lessons?"
"All her stones? Is she serious?"
"An outer disciple training with a top five fighter..."
"That's me," Tharia called over her shoulder, flashing a wild grin. "Living my best chaotic life. Someone stop me."
Kaela raised an eyebrow. Tharia turned back. "Sorry. I heard them and my mouth just... went."
"I noticed." Kaela picked up the pouch of stones, testing the weight. "These buy you until sundown. Not a moment more."
"Sundown. Great. That's plenty of time to not die from exhaustion."
Kaela's eyes glinted. "We'll see."
System:
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Transaction Detected: Spirit Stones Exchanged for Training
Instructor: Kaela (Rank 5, Sect-Wide)
Duration: 1 Day
Chaos Essence Gained: +5 (Bold Decision)
Note: You are investing in growth.
Secondary Note: The System approves of this recklessness.
Chaos Essence: 73 → 78
[collapse]
The courtyard buzzed louder as more names were read aloud.
Tharia remained at the edge, watching Kaela. “If she climbed from outer to fifth… then maybe I can too. Or die trying. Probably die trying.”
…
That evening, Tharia followed Kaela to a training ground tucked behind the inner disciple quarters. Stone floor worn smooth by generations of feet, wooden dummies scarred from countless strikes, practice weapons racked neatly along the walls. Chalk lines marked sparring circles while rainwater still pooled in the corners.
Kaela gestured to the center. "Show me how you fight without illusions."
Tharia stepped forward, dagger in hand. Her tail swished behind her — left, right, left again — like it was conducting its own orchestra.
"Your tail," Kaela said flatly. Those long rabbit ears of hers twitched once in clear annoyance.
“It does that when I’m focused! Super helpful. Mostly.”
"It's going to get in your way."
Tharia bounced on her toes. “It’s attached! Where else would it go, on my head like a fancy hat?”
"Control it or it becomes a target."
Her tail immediately puffed up like an angry cloud. ‘Bad tail. Down. We talked about this.’
It did not go down.
She lunged at the nearest dummy. The strike was fast, tail sweeping wide for balance, blade carving shallow grooves into the wood. The dummy stood there, unimpressed.
Kaela watched in silence, then walked over and tapped it with one finger. Wood cracked loudly. A chunk fell off and bounced across the stone. The motion made the lean, corded muscle along her arms and calves flex under short white fur.
“Oh come on!” Tharia yelped. “That’s just unfair! I take it back, your ranking is suspicious.”
“You rely on distraction,” Kaela said. “Your strikes are shallow. Against someone who sees through illusions, you falter.”
Tharia stared at the cracked dummy. "You didn't even use qi..."
“I didn’t need to.” Kaela turned, gold eyes steady. “Your foundation is weak. We fix that first.”
Tharia tightened her grip on the dagger. “Then teach me to strike deeper.”
Kaela stepped into the circle. “Hand to hand first. Weapons later. You need to learn how to use your body properly.”
Tharia blinked. "Hand to hand? I have my trusty dagger. Why would I—"
Kaela dropped into a clean stance — feet shoulder-width, weight shifting through the hips, power driven from the core. “Again. Until it feels natural.”
Tharia mimicked the stance, tail flicking for balance like the traitor it was.
"Your tail is a distraction."
“You’re just jealous your own stubby little thing is shorter—” Tharia shot back, then immediately slapped a hand over her mouth. “Please Ignore the fox.”
The bunny ears did the twitch thing again. “It’s waving like a surrender flag. Tuck it.”
Tharia adjusted. Tucked her tail close.
Tharia adjusted and tucked her tail close. Kaela corrected her posture with a sharp tap to the shoulder. “Weight forward.”
Tharia shifted.
"Core tight."
She tightened.
"Your tail is loose again."
“I CAN’T TUCK IT MORE WITHOUT SITTING ON THE DAMN THING!” Tharia shouted, then immediately cleared her throat. “I mean… yes, instructor.. Sorry.”
"Again."
She struck. Again. And again. Her tail whipped out on the fourth repetition, nearly slapping Kaela across the face. Kaela caught the fluffy disaster mid-swing and held it like a leash.
"Control this or I tie it to your leg."
Tharia’s ears slammed flat. “You wouldn’t dare."
"Try me."
"...Again?"
"Again."
…
An hour passed. Tharia’s arms burned. Two hours. Her legs shook. Three hours in, sweat poured down her brow and soaked into the illusory robe.
She struck the dummy hard. Wood finally cracked.
The robe flickered. The hem rode up her thigh, cool evening air brushing bare skin. A warm little spark flared low in her belly—
‘Wait—no. Bad fox.’
She slammed more qi into the illusion, face burning.
Kaela's eyes flicked down, then back up. "Your illusion is struggling."
“I’m fine! Totally covered! Nothing happening here, move along!”
“I didn’t ask if you were fine. If you run out of qi in a real fight, that robe disappears. Understand?”
Tharia's ears flattened. "Yes."
"Then take this seriously. Control your breathing. Steady your qi. Again."
“I officially hate you,” Tharia groaned. “Respectfully. With all my burning muscles.”
"Again."
By the time Kaela finally called a halt and tossed her a training staff, Tharia was panting, drenched, and convinced the woman was secretly an evil bunny.
“You learn quickly,” Kaela admitted, lips curving the tiniest bit. “But speed isn’t enough. You need endurance.”
Tharia caught the staff, staring at it like it had personally betrayed her. “Endurance. Right. The thing I definitely have in abundance.”
"You don't."
"I was being sarcastic."
"I know." Kaela moved to the weapon rack. "You lasted longer than most outer disciples. They usually quit after the first hour."
Tharia's ears perked up despite the exhaustion. "Really?"
"No."
“You’re evil,” Tharia muttered. “Pure evil.”
Kaela's lips curved. "Again."
…
By nightfall Tharia dragged herself back to her cave, every muscle screaming in protest. The pouch of spirit stones was gone — spent entirely. She collapsed onto her mat with a groan that echoed off the stone walls like a dying animal.
“Everything hurts,” she told the ceiling. “My arms. My legs. My tail. How the hell does a tail even hurt? This is personal betrayal.”
She stretched her sore legs with a wince. The illusory robe shimmered again, the hem riding higher along her thigh. Cool air brushed bare skin and that same traitorous little spark flared low in her belly—
‘No. Exhausted fox only. We are not doing this.’
Tharia yanked more qi into the robe with a growl. “God damn it, System! You said it wouldn’t flicker! It did—TWICE! You absolute scammer!”
[Silence.]
A faint lantern illusion bloomed above her palm, flickered weakly, then vanished. She pulled up her progress.
System:
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Progress Detected: Physical Training (Intensive)
Vein Resonance Threshold: 30% (+12%)
Note: Your body is adapting to physical strain.
You will be very sore tomorrow.
Recommendation: Stretch. Seriously.
[collapse]
“Fourteen percent,” Tharia said slowly, eyes wide. Her tail shot straight up. “In one single day? Kaela’s training did more than weeks of me crying in this cave.” She laughed once, then immediately regretted it as her ribs screamed. “I’m broke. I’m broken. And I already know I’m coming back for more tomorrow. What the fuck is wrong with me?”
She flopped back onto the mat. The robe gave one final, half-hearted shimmer before she forced it solid again.
‘Too tired… even the robe’s tired.’
Tharia closed her eyes and guided sluggish qi through one cycle after another, alternating between circulation and faint invisible illusions. Light and shadow. Strike and subtlety. Both at once.
Outside, the rain had returned, tapping softly against stone.
Exhaustion finally won.
System Status:
Host: Tharia | Age: 18
Status: Healthy
[TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS]
Illusion Proficiency: 39%
Chaos Stability: Fragile (Improving).
Qi Circulation: Vein resonance threshold - 30%.
Achievement: 'Style Over Substance'
Traits: 'The Reluctant Royal' (Passive). ‘Willing Exposure’ (Passive)
Passive Techniques: 'Shame-Guard' (Passive)
Module: 'Path of the Unseen'
Active Techniques: Illusory Raiment (Rank: D)
Chaos Essence: 78.
Status: Duskwind Sect - Outer Disciple.
Active Quests: Exceed Vein resonance threshold 50%.
SHOP.
[collapse]