The drums of war thundered a grim crescendo, growing louder with each passing day, and on both sides, elites and soldiers trained relentlessly while champions and generals planned and strategized. The days of relative peace were slowly coming to an end, and even the lowliest of commoners could sense the change.

  Within the command arc of Sunstone, Seo-min sat at a round table surrounded by her supposed retaliatory team. It was barely dawn, yet everyone was wide awake, even Luminus, who seemed to be suffering from a severe case of terrible time management.

  She wasn’t the only new member within the group. There were two others. The first was a muscled priestess who cultivated the essence of faith, while the other was a well-known shadow awakened, popularly known for his creation of powerful Eldritch constructs from shadow essence.

  They all sat quietly, listening to Warp as she used a holographic display to explain the details of their retaliatory plan, stating everything twice to make sure they all understood. However, with every word Warp uttered, Seo-min’s heart grew colder, and not even the view of the rising sun bathing the arc in hues of gold and orange managed to thaw her.

  Warp pointed to a section of the hologram and explained. “Our actions should force the Ragnarok military to split themselves in two, breaking any concerted effort they must have planned. While we occupy their champions and keep them out for the fight, our military will march on sector 9 to raze it to the ground.”

  “Hopefully, all will go as planned, but just in case it doesn’t, it still doesn’t change our main goal, which is to cause so much chaos and disarray that Ragnarok is painted as weak to the other kingdoms.”

  Warp continued speaking, but Seo-min was no longer listening. It was just more strategizing and politics, none of which mattered to her. She couldn’t care less about Calodan’s views of Ragnarok or about spreading chaos. Where was the bloodshed? Was this the bloody retaliation she had been promised?

  Forcing her expression into a semblance of neutrality, Seo-min crossed her leg and tried to pay attention to the plan. Warp pointed to another section of the holographic map, highlighting a sector in Ragnarok, and said,. “Thus is sector 9, and as you can see, it’s edged by two strategic battle zones, one, a Sigma 15-25 battle zone called the Steppin’ Plains, and the other, a Sigma 26-50 battle zone called the Rocky Shores.”

  “Our armies will attack both zones at the same time in a bid to take the sector itself, and while they do that, we will be splitting up into groups of two to invade and attack strategic areas in their most prominent sectors.” She pointed to a couple more places, and Seo-min’s eyes narrowed when Warp surprisingly didn’t include the 7th sector.

  Seo-min forced herself to wait until Warp finished speaking before asking. “Apologies, but I couldn’t help but notice that while you mentioned the sectors we were to invade, you forgot to mention the 7th sector.”

  Warp glanced at the holographic screen and then sighed. “I didn’t forget the 7th sector. I didn’t mention it because it isn’t a part of our plans.”

  Seo-min chuckled and leaned back into her chair. “Surely, you can’t mean that. The 7th sector is the place where Seo-yeon died. Where she was butchered and hacked to pieces like a dog. If anything, it should be at the top of the list.”

  “Well, it isn’t… as you can see.”

  Seo-min glanced at the other champions, taking in their serious expressions, and when she realized that Warp wasn’t joking, her smile vanished. “What do you mean it isn’t? Is this a joke?

  “Vectoris—” Patchwork began, but Warp cut him off before he could go any further.

  “It isn’t a joke. The seventh sector of Ragnarok is not a priority right now and therefore isn’t a part of our plan at this time. I’m sorry, but I sincerely doubt the supreme makes decisions regarding the kingdom based on who died and how they died.”

  Her words cut Seo-min to the bone, and even the other champions shuffled uncomfortably in their seats.

  Warp must have realized the harshness of her words because she closed her eyes and sighed. “Look, I didn’t create this plan; neither was I privy to the reasoning of the supreme when she gave me her orders. We all feel terribly for Seo-yeon and are all burning to restore her honor, but this plan doesn’t leave room for that. We will just have to defend Seo-yeon’s honor another day.”

  Seo-min opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her. She hadn’t exactly been promised a retaliation, but this was a slap to her face. An attempt to force her to put her personal grievances aside until the supreme deemed it beneficial to take action.

  The first thought that came to her mind was to exit the team immediately. What was the point of joining the retaliatory efforts if she wouldn’t even get a chance at revenge? Still, Seo-min knew that doing so meant playing into their hands, affirming to the world that she really wasn’t fit to be a part of a team.

  Instead, she took in a deep breath and said. “That’s alright. We don’t have to attack the 7th sector. After all, it wasn’t the sector itself that killed Seo-yeon. It was Artemis.”

  A chorus of awkward murmurs rose from the gathered champions, and Seo-min smiled. “Surely, his name should pop up somewhere amidst all these politics and scheming.”

  Warp grimaced but gave a slow nod. “There is a high probability that it will.”

  “Then I will face him when the time comes.”

  “No. That is not—

  “Please.” Seo-min cut her off firmly, nearly choking on her pride as she forcefully swallowed it. “Do not deny me this opportunity, Warp. I deserve to do this. I deserve a chance to redeem my sister’s honor. Let me have it.”

  “You will die if you go against Artemis.” Warp spat out mercilessly. “In fact, you would die so quickly that you wouldn’t even see your death coming. Look, I want to help you avenge your sister, but I cannot jeopardize the whole plan just for you.”

  Ever the peacemaker, Legion leaned forward in his chair and asked. “Is there no way we can come to a compromise?”

  “There is no compromise!” Warp shook her head, unmoved. She fixed her gaze on Seo-min and said. “This conversation is over. If you do not like it, you can walk away, but I won’t jeopardize an efficient plan just to cater to your self-interest.”

  Silence descended on the hall, and for nearly a minute, Seo-min just sat there, thinking. Legion broke the silence at the minute mark, saying. “Vectoris, we’re sorry—”

  “No, you’re not.” Seo-min shook her head and then smiled. “But it’s alright. I won’t cause a scene. I’m a great team player after all.”

  Her words put some of the champions at ease, but Warp and Patchwork’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, and they were right to suspect her, because in her heart, Seo-min had decided that if Sunstone wouldn’t give her a chance at revenge, she would take it herself. Plan or no plan. Team or no team. She would have her revenge.

  Warp glared at her for a moment, trying to see through her blank expression, but when that failed, she glanced back at the holographic screen and continued her explanation.

  Seo-min listened to Warp drone on for the next few minutes, her words entering one ear and rushing out the other immediately. She couldn’t care less if her thirst for revenge affected their plans; after all, they were partly to blame for Seo-yeon’s death. Had they killed Artemis during the plague wraith battle, then Seo-yeon would still be alive. At least, that was what she believed.

  Half an hour later, Warp’s explanation finally reached the part that concerned her, and Seo-min temporarily brought her mind back to attention.

  “This is where we come in.” Warp explained. “We’ll be splitting into groups of two; Legion and Multiple, you’re together. Patchwork, you’re with Caelum Stringreave. Luminus, you’re with Silvani Faitheart, and, Vectoris, you’re with me.”

  She glared at Seo-min as she made the last declaration, expecting her to comment or throw a tantrum, but Seo-min simply stared at her without responding.

  After a moment of awkward silence, Warp continued. “Let me remind you all that each group of two forms a strike team tasked with keeping whichever champion the encounter within any of the target sectors occupied for as long as possible whilst our armies march down on sector 9 to claim it.” Her eyes narrowed in determination, and she added. “If you have the chance to kill any one of them, take it and make it as dishonorable as possible.”

  Seo-min smiled but refrained from speaking, having already made up her mind about the matter. The other champions, however, asked a ton of questions, taking up another hour of their time, but Seo-min willingly suffered through it, not because they were all important questions, but also because it was interesting to see how the minds of other champions worked.

  At one point, Luminus asked a question she hadn’t even considered. “How are we going to get through their aerial shields?”

  It was a great question. Unlike Sunstone’s more easily penetrated aerial shields, the aerial shields in Ragnarok were nearly impossible to get through without a sufficient amount of strength, a strength that perhaps only Warp and Lightus were capable of bringing to bear, and even then, it wouldn’t be quiet.

  It was quite literally impossible for the rest of them to break through the shields. Fortunately, Warp had a solution.

  She pulled out a series of energy bombs from her spatial storage and said,. ”These are energy-reversal bombs crafted by our engineers specifically for this purpose. They should create a small opening in the aerial shields for us to slip in and out of each sector and do our jobs. Each person will be getting two of these bombs, one for entry and the other for exit. It’s not the best solution, but it should work perfectly. Each group will also be going with a beast ring filled with creatures specially cultivated for this mission.”

  The increasing brutality of the mission brought a smile to Seo-min’s face. The people of Ragnarok had cheered the death of her sister. A little suffering was in order.

  Warp returned the bombs to her spatial storage and said. “Now, for the last segment of today’s meeting, we need to talk about the champions themselves. We have faced some of their more popular members before, and I must say that they are in no way weak. Artemis, the most famous of them all, possesses strength that nearly rivals mine, and I suspect he might even have gained an aspect.”

  “What?!!” Seo-min blurted out, unable to help herself, but she wasn’t the only one who was surprised. Murmurs echoed from the other champions, and Silvani Faitheart said. “Is that even possible? Regardless of his strength, he’s still in the advanced class. Are you sure of this?”

  “No, I’m not, but the last time we fought, I…I sensed something. Something that helps him keep up with me.” She shook her head. “My point is, we can’t afford to underestimate any of them. They have proven…

  Warp continued speaking, but Seo-min was no longer listening. The fact that Artemis was stronger than her was no news, but if he’d developed an aspect, then that put him in a league so far above her that fighting him would be an instant death sentence for her.

  The thought shook her resolve and created panic in her heart. Her heartbeat raced, thumping loudly in her ears, and fear began creeping in. However, just before the emotion could take root, another thought entered her mind, and Seo-min narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Was this a ploy? An attempt to plant fear in her mind and prevent her from carrying out her revenge against Artemis?

  It was such a Warp-like thing to do, and as the other champions discussed the matter amongst themselves, Seo-min leaned back to watch them, her suspicions overshadowing her panic.

  “Anything is possible these days.” Multiple shook his head. “We can’t afford to underestimate any champion.”

  “True.” Caelum chirped in. “I watched the tape of the plague wraith battle, and he shouldn’t have been able to keep up with Warp at all. She was about 2 or 3 tiers above him at the time.”

  Warp nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I was a couple tiers above him at the time. But the sad truth is that he’s not the only monster we need to worry about. The Witch of Selia is a menace even to me, and the one they call Null… We can’t underestimate them.”

  “Not to mention there would be other champions present too, people we might not be too familiar with.” Patchwork scrunched up his face in distaste and asked. “Is there no way to foretell which opponents we might come across?”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “There certainly is.” Warp nodded. “It’s not foolproof, but our diviners have provided us with the names of a few champions we might come across in our target sectors, which are the 6th, 5th, 4th, and 3rd sectors.”

  “Who are they?” Luminus asked eagerly, and Warp sighed. “Like I said earlier, the divination isn’t foolproof, and I’m a little wary of basing a huge part of our plans on them, but they’re the best we’ve got, and we’ll just have to work with them somehow.”

  She pulled out a slip of paper from her spatial ring and began reading. “In sector 3 we have Matharantha, the insane mirror, and Uduak Goradon. In sector 4, we have Cyridian, bringer of light, and Null, of the fallen house. In sector 5, we have Artemis Valerion and Reiner Rivaldi, while in sector 6, we have Geneva Ryntharion and Nox Blackveil, the herald of shadows.”

  Seo-min glanced intently at the list in Warp’s hands, her suspicions and fear temporarily forgotten as blood rushed in her veins. This was the moment she had been waiting for. If Artemis was in sector 5, then that’s where she had to be.

  Her only hindrance was Warp, who was more likely to send her to a different sector just to be petty, but then she remembered that she and Warp were a pair, which meant she would be going wherever Warp was, and who else could handle Artemis aside from her?

  A smile nearly bloomed on her face, but Seo-min quickly suppressed it, forcing her expression into the neutral mask she had worn all morning. Placing a hand over her lips to keep herself from blurting out the words churning in her throat, Seo-min stared at the group, watching quietly as people made choices depending on whom they felt they could easily counter. Multiple and Legion went with sector 3, Luminus and Silvani went with sector 4, Patchwork and Caelum went with sector 6, leaving Warp and her with sector 5.

  Seo-min wanted to jump for joy, but she forced herself to keep silent. They were all watching her; she could feel it, and the moment she acted, she was positive Warp would find a reason to kick her off the team, and she couldn’t let that happen, not when she was so close.

  Warp glared at her and said. “I will handle Artemis while you take Reiner.”

  Seo-min simply smiled and said. “Whatever you think is best.”

  Warp scowled, having expected a different response. She glared at Seo-min for a moment before handing over an information packet on Reiner Rivaldi. Seo-min barely glanced at the packet before letting out a small chuckle. What could a steam awakened do to her?

  She was Vectoris, a champion with control over direction, magnitude, velocity, momentum, and force. She was a force to be reckoned with. Dismissing the packet without a second glance, Seo-min closed her eyes and began imagining the numerous ways she would enact her revenge.

  The meeting ended a few minutes later, and after a prayer to Aeloria to bless their mission, Warp passed around the bombs and beast rings. Seo-min stared at the bombs, acquainting herself with their activation before placing them within her spatial storage.

  When she was done, she looked up to see Warp staring intently at her. She raised an eyebrow in question, and Warp scowled. “I know your plans, Vectoris. I can see through this bullshit of calm you’re portraying, and I swear, I’ll kill you myself if you do anything to hinder this mission.”

  “I don’t understand what you mean by portraying.” Seo-min replied sweetly.

  Warp’s eyes narrowed. “Let me deal with Artemis. Do not get in my way.”

  Seo-min smiled wider. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  Whilst the champions of Sunstone plotted chaos, Yue sat within a storage closet in the Phoenix’s nest, legs crossed in a meditative pose. It had been a hectic day getting customers for the nest and taking people on tours round the sector. Her entire body ached from all the walking, yet her eyes burned with excitement because her birthday had finally come. It was still an hour before midnight, but Yue couldn’t wait.

  The rhythmic patter of rain on the roof filled her ears, and somewhere in the nest, someone was searching for her, screeching her name like a banshee, but Yue refused to stand up from where she was. This wasn’t the time to work, but to pray to the Ascendants that she awaken the affinity she wanted.

  The image of a dark-skinned boy with lightning cracks on his skin popped into her mind, and Yue blushed. Pushing the erotic image from her mind, she clasped her hand in prayer and muttered. “Storm Affinity. Please, Raol, I’ve been a fairly good girl. The least you can do is give me an affinity I want.”

  Of course, that wasn’t how things worked. In fact, no one knew for sure how it worked or how people got certain affinities. The system simply handed them out like candy. Still, there were certain circumstances that improved one’s chances, and Yue couldn’t have been more grateful for the rain.

  Still praying, she pulled a dirty cloth bag towards herself and took out all the cords she’d bought over the years, arranging them in a circle around herself. There were eleven of them in total, and they were all low-tiered mundane cores between tier 1 and 2, except for her most recent acquisition, a tier 3 storm core, which had caused her nearly two weeks of excruciating pain and hunger.

  The core shimmered with stormy black energy that occasionally rippled with a flash of color. She cradled it in her arms, watching the energy within it roil in fascination. Yue wasn’t sure when her obsession with the storm affinity had begun, but it was certainly tied to a certain dark-skinned individual, and she couldn’t wait to join him and become one of the very few storm awakeneds in existence. The thought of not awakening never even crossed her mind.

  Thunder boomed outside, and Yue continued her prayers and pleas as she clutched the storm core tighter to herself. Time passed, and thirty minutes later, Yue began to feel the rising heat of the awakening process. It began in her belly and then spread out like tendrils until her entire body was blazing with heat. Sweat beaded her temples and trickled down her neck despite the cool breeze blowing in through the shaft near the roof.

  Her prayers grew incoherent as pain lanced through her head, leaving behind a pounding headache that threatened to shatter her skull to pieces with each breath. Still, Yue forced herself to remain seated, pulling the wind and lightning cores closer to herself for comfort.

  She couldn’t sense any of the essence around her, but she knew that in this weather, water and wind essence would be the most abundant. That was necessarily bad, but it was definitely concerning. She didn’t want a water or wind affinity. She wanted a storm.

  Searching around for anything that could help, she realized that there was no way to increase the amount of storm essence around her unless she flew into the storm cloud itself, and that was practically impossible for her to do.

  Still, she couldn’t give up. Gasping for breath as the blazing heat intensified, Yue clutched the storm core tightly against her belly, rocking rhythmically to calm her overshot nerves. The pounding headache intensified as midnight drew closer, and Yue knew it wouldn’t be long now before she lost consciousness.

  Her clothes were completely soaked with sweat, and her hair lay damp on her head like a soaked sponge, yet Yue refused to let go of the core, not even to tear off the restricting clothes from her body.

  Her rocking continued, heat peaked, and a minute to midnight, Yue felt her consciousness begin to slip. Unwilling to let the core go, she tore the sleeves of her dress and used the fabric to tie the core to herself, all the while praying that the ascendants will favor her just this once.

  Her hands shook erratically, making the task far more difficult than it should have been. She managed, though, securing one knot before her hands fell limp to her side. Her sight dimmed, and Yue eventually surrendered herself to the process.

  Darkness.

  That was all she knew for a while. Nothing but darkness. A comforting darkness that was both lonely and satisfying at the same time. Yue imagined this was what awaited her after death. If she died rather than ascend to immortality. Perhaps her parents were here somewhere.

  The darkness enveloped her in a cold embrace, filling her with peace as time passed. Yue couldn’t tell how long she remained in that limbo of peace, but when the first pinprick of light finally appeared, Yue found herself back in the storage closet. The rain had stopped, and a sharp scent very similar to that of rotten eggs filled the air.

  She wrinkled her nose in disgust but soon realized that the smell was coming from her. Her entire body was covered in a thick, tar-like substance that seemed to have emerged from her pores. It was absolutely disgusting, but there was something far more urgent.

  A translucent screen hung at the edge of her vision, most likely holding all the answers to her prayers, and with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation curling in her gut, Yue focused on the screen, and it enlarged to fill her vision.

  It revealed soul-crushing news.

  Congratulations! You have awakened an affinity for change.

  [STATUS]

  Name: Yue Hazecroft

  Title: Nil

  Class: Changeling

  Tier: 0%

  Skills {Innate}: [Morph—Animate] [Morph—Inanimate]

  Bloodline: Nil.

  …

  Yue stared at the status screen in disappointment, defeat, and pain swirling in her gut for nearly an hour. She had been so hopeful, so sure that her prayers would be answered. The fact that she hadn’t even gotten anything similar to the storm at all struck her as intentional. This was the system’s doing, and damn! It was a freaking jerk!

  For months she had prepared herself for the storm affinity, and since the rainy season began, she had drenched herself continuously in the rain, making sure she was somehow taking in a lot of storm essence, yet she hadn’t even gotten something elemental like wind or water.

  How was this even possible? What had she possibly done to earn an affinity for change?

  Frustrated and annoyed, she let herself fall to the ground in despair. All the dreams she had built in her head about unleashing storms and terror on unsuspecting villages were now gone. All her dreams to fight against and alongside Aodhán, trading storm-infused blows and attacks, were gone. Destroyed.

  Glancing back at the class she had received, Yue scowled. It wasn’t because she thought that the changeling class was weak. No one thought so any longer, especially not after the chaos one changeling had caused in sector 7 only a few weeks ago.

  Yue knew the class had potential, but it lacked the flair of a storm or even the explosive power of fire. It was not a class that granted one a lot of physical power, but that wasn’t the problem Yue had with it. She hated the fact that the class wouldn’t let her make her dreams a reality.

  Her despair lasted up until the moment she realized she could still make one dream a reality, and with hurried steps, she rushed to the back of the storage closet and pulled out a broken mirror, cleaning it with her sleeves so she could see herself clearly.

  The face that appeared in the mirror was no different from the one she bore an hour ago save for the black substance that still clung to her skin. Without hesitation, she grabbed the storm core still sashed to her waist and pulled, willing the energy to flow into her like she had seen other awakened do.

  Energy rushed into her hands, and she gasped in pleasure as the crackling cloud of energy moved through a bizarre path, curling and twisting until it made its way to the core within her spirit. The energy rushed into her core, filling it to the brim and pushing against its boundaries until the core expanded, releasing a powerful surge of pure colorful energy that diffused into her body and bones, rejuvenating and strengthening her at the same time.

  The process was far from over, though, as more storm energy rushed into her core, filling it to the brim once more and causing another surge of change essence to erupt out of her core. The surge of strength and clarity that followed made Yue gasp in amazement.

  The physical changes Yue experienced weren’t exactly realm-shattering, but they were obvious. Her hearing sharpened, and her sight became clearer. Her strength was the most obvious, though. She felt as though she had just had the best sleep of her life and was in the mood to take on the world.

  Chuckling, she glanced at the status screen again to confirm her new tier.

  Tier: 2—16%

  The text grounded her in reality. She had taken a step forward, and there was no more going back. She was now a changeling. A being of deception.

  With a small smile, she glanced at the other cores scattered across the floor and quickly pushed down the urge to absorb them all at once. She had no money yet. She would need to trade some of these cores for an evolved core if she intended to evolve her class at all and join the academy.

  Forcing herself to place the cores into a cloth pouch, Yue turned her gaze back to the mirror, and with her core now blazing with energy, she enacted the first idea that had sprouted in her mind.

  The image of a certain storm awakened appeared in her mind, and with a grin, she activated {Morph—Animate}, growling both in pain and pleasure as her features transformed. Her skin turned dark, and her womanly curves disappeared, replaced by a muscled structure that filled her with girlish giddiness. Her hair turned white, and golden lines traced a side of her skin.

  In less than two minutes, she had transformed from Yue the tour guide to Aodhán Ashoka-Brystion, the renowned student and inheritor.

  It was absolutely amazing; however, the more Yue stared at her reflection in the mirror, the more flaws revealed themselves. Perhaps from a distance, she looked like Aodhán, but up close the difference was as clear as day.

  Her irises were a drab brown instead of gold, and the black and silver rings were missing. Her white hair sat dormant on her head instead of crackling with electricity. Her voice also remained the same, and no aura of power and chaos hung around her.

  With a sigh, she realized she still had a long way to go before she could make her dreams a reality. That didn’t mean she couldn’t create new dreams, though.

  Grinning mischievously, she pulled out a service apron from a dusty cardboard box and donned it along with the official uniform of the Phoenix’s Nest staff. The uniform was too big for her, but another activation of {Morph—Animate} solved that easily, causing the uniform to stretch so much that it was a miracle that the buttons held up at all.

  Two minutes later, a potbellied man stood before the mirror, his chubby fingers hooked firmly in his rumpled trousers, and his teeth, yellowed from the excessive chewing of beetroot. Struggling to contain her laughter, she turned around, checking for the flaws in her transformation. Laughter burst out of her lips when she found nearly a dozen in an instant, but to the untrained eye, she looked just like the staff manager of the phoenix’s nest did. Perhaps even better-looking if she was honest.

  A thought entered her mind, and with her entire body shuddering with laughter, Yue unhooked her trousers and looked down at her privates, or at least she tried to, but quickly discovered that she couldn’t possibly do so because of her excessively potbellied stomach.

  A quick search with her hands, however, confirmed her suspicions, and it was all she could do not to double over with laughter when her hands clutched the pinky-sized, shriveled appendage that was her manager’s privates. How that had gotten there, Yue didn’t understand, as it certainly hadn’t been a part of the image she had imagined before this transformation. Perhaps her subconscious had filled in the blanks without her active input.

  Muttering a joke to herself, Yue grabbed a rag from the dusty box and began ridding herself of the black, smelly substance. It fell off her skin surprisingly easily, revealing smooth white skin underneath. It took a while for Yue to clean herself up to a presentable degree, and when she finished, she stepped out of the storage closet with a glare.

  The first person she saw was Brian, the cleaner who was busy cleaning up the dining area in preparation for the day’s opening. The boy jumped into a salute when he saw her, his eyes widening in shock and confusion. “Good morning, Mr. Pritchard. You’re very early today. Is something happening?”

  “No.” Yue replied gruffly, not wanting to speak too much lest Brian sense that something was off with her voice. When he just kept staring at her, she glared at him. “Get back to work, you sluggard, and stop staring at me.”

  “Yes, sir.” Brian replied, hastily rushing to finish his work.

  Yue smiled and quickly moved towards the counter behind the receptionist desk where a small safe was located. It didn’t contain a lot of money, but it was certainly more than enough to feed her for a week.

  Yue grabbed the money without a second thought, muttering, “I need to go over yesterday’s income,” when Brian glanced back at her.

  She placed the money in her cloth pouch along with all the cores she was yet to absorb, and without delay, she raced out of the nest, giggling under her breath as Brian saluted her once again. It was all so sinful and wrong, but also exhilarating.

  She might not have gained the affinity she wanted, but barely an hour in, and the changeling affinity was already proving itself to be a far more lucrative alternative. And in all honesty, if there was one thing Yue needed right now, it was money. How else was she supposed to grow spiritual cultivation or get the best materials and treasures needed to build her strength before the academy trials in the next 4-5 months?

  She might not have chosen this affinity, but with each minute that passed, she regretted it less and less.