Isaac stared at the felkin’s quick retreat and glared at the door. He had left too fast, and even with the mask it was impossible to mistake the stiffness in his stride. His tail gave it away the most, too straight and unbending.

  “He’s getting worse,” Eodyne remarked.

  Isaac turned and sighed before leaning back into his chair. “And he refuses to address the issue. It’s maddening!”

  Igas snorted. “You’re one to talk. You handle problems nearly as well as he does. You’re only complaining because of your skill.”

  “So what if I am?! It doesn’t change the fact that he’s an explosive waiting to go off. And it’s Cyrus! Who knows what crazy world ending shit will happen when he does.” He shook his head. “We’re talking to him soon. Even if you have to freeze his limbs to the floor.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Sereza dared. She frowned, wilting under his withering glare. “I know I haven’t known him for as long as you guys have, but I think I understand him enough. Forcing a confrontation could go bad. He's also not acting nearly as bad as he could. ”

  “And what would you have us do instead? Keep letting him walk around before he kills someone? You’re a felkin, you know what it must be like. The amount of rage he keeps emitting is near murderous, one idiot is all it takes before he-”

  Teddy rapt the table with his knuckles, interrupting Isaac. “That's too far. This isn't like when we first met him. If anything he's done a good job keeping most of his emotions in check. When he steps too far, we’ll handle it as best we can. We’re his friends, and even if he gets angry, he won’t ignore us. Worst case scenario we tattle on him to the head healer. You remember Uncle Brelten's lessons. Cyrus is still a mild case in comparison.”

  Isaac huffed, ready to retort but he stopped and calmed himself. Teddy's voice was firm, and it helped cut through the bristling in his mind. The damn felkin's emotions had agitated him more than usual. Still, he was right. Even at his worst, Cyrus had never killed someone in cold blood. Catastrophically stupid at times, but he wasn't a murderer.

  Yet...

  “I still don’t understand how he’s gotten away with ignoring his trauma when Syrreisha herself is overseeing his procedures. Surely she knows,” Eodyne said.

  Celenae tapped the armrest of her chair and frowned. “Maybe. She should have a hunch or at least an idea that something is wrong.”

  “But?” Igas prompted.

  “But… We know he uses Galarion. Often. Too often. There’s a good chance he has him devour the problems before she can notice,” Celenae sighed. She closed the book in her lap and observed the arena below, absently running her finger against the leather. “Astral mana isn't well studied, it's too rare to have full comprehensive knowledge on what it can do. She would know some, but not all. And he wears his mask. The enchantments on it are substantial. Insane really. It could help to hide disturbances in his mana if he’s actively using it. Combine that with his usually reserved nature, and well… He hides it well if he wants too. Especially against people he’s guarded against.”

  Isaac growled, visibly annoyed as he started to shake his leg.

  “He’s a damn fool,” he said. Isaac leaned forward and pointed to Teddy. “And you’re teaching him aura control when we’re done. How have you not taught him already?”

  “Because he’s been busy. I’ve already started a couple of sessions with him, but his skill is more elusive than any of mine. If I’m being honest, it's best to not rush him, not if we can take things slower. You forget just how… inexperienced he is. We've trained to hunt monsters and prepare to die in every adventure since our awekening and before that. It hasn't even been a year. Best to secure a solid foundation first than cripple him in the future.”

  Isaac grumbled and was about to quip another snide remark before a light cough drew the attention of everyone in the room. Khrem lowered his fist and held up a small booklet that was definitely not in his hands a few seconds ago.

  “You have a dimensional storage?” Isaac asked.

  “Ah, yes. It was a final gift from my master before I left. A relic from his adventuring days,” Khrem replied.

  “Huh. So what is it? What did you want to show us.”

  Khrem smiled awkwardly, but with his shark-like face, it left the smile more intimidating than he probably intended, or at least Isaac thought. It was hard to tell with some beastkins.

  He flipped the booklet open to a random page and then turned it around. “It’s not something I’ve brewed more than once, but I do have a recipe for relaxation. It’s mainly used to help individuals get a good night’s sleep, but I can adjust the recipe to make a topical solution with reduced effects.”

  Celenae had her pen and a new journal ready, adding a new entry atop the page before nodding. “Name? And what does it do?”

  “Restful Nightdrop. It pacifies the mind, not slowing your thoughts but blunts the edges. Mainly for those who suffered a nasty injury or experienced a traumatic event. They find it easier to quell the turmoil in their thoughts and drift to sleep.”

  Celenae finished scribbling onto the journal and smiled. “Good. Give me a list of the ingredients and I’ll have them bought before today ends.”

  Isaac sat back and watched the two exchange information. Poor Khrem had no idea what kind of monster Celenae was when it came to acquiring new information. And judging from how she stared at the booklet in his hands, it wouldn’t be long before she had a word for word copy of the text in one of her journals.

  He had mixed feelings about the beastkin. His arrival into the capital was unexpected, and when he asked about Cyrus a rotten feeling entered his gut. That only doubled when it was revealed that he was here because of a goddess.

  The last thing they needed was another divinity messing with their party.

  But a party alchemist was rare. And he had an identification skill. If he kept being as useful as he had been so far, Isaac could warm up to him. Maybe after a few weeks, and some pointed questions to ensure Khrem wasn’t a spy of some sort.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Eventually, Cyrus’ opponent took the field and created no more than a dozen jokes at Isaac’s expense.

  Of course the stupid noble happens to share my name. Dumb fucking noble houses and their inability to be creative.

  Sereza set her drink down and cocked her head. “I know of Isaac Ajestella, but if I remember correctly, he doesn’t share the main branch’s skills.”

  “Correct,” Celenae said. “He’s more of a martial talent. There’s not much known about him outside of the rumors of his poor light affinity. However, judging by the Ajestella signature evolution in his eyes, he obviously shares the same passives or a variation of them.”

  “So he knows Constellation Phantasm?”

  “Most likely not. His older brother, Edmark is confirmed to have the skill and is infamous in adventuring circles. He is a prodigy, and uses his passive ability to see the kinetic force of his opponents to a savage degree. Even if the rumors of Isaac’s pure mana skills prove to be true, if he’s anything like his brother, Cyrus will have a hard fight ahead.”

  “He even tried to copy my backstory. Next you’re going to tell me the spear is just for show and he really uses daggers instead,” Isaac grumbled.

  “More like your name is cursed. There should be a study about that. See how many ‘Isaacs’ turned out to be black sheep!” Igas jeered, slapping his meaty hand across Isaac’s shoulder.

  They settled in for the fight. For some reason the idiot was taking his sweet time to get onto the field. Thankfully, he arrived as cocky as ever and strolling across the sand with a spear in hand.

  Though, there was something off about him.

  Isaac leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “He’s walking stiffer than before. Something happened.”

  “Look at his sleeve. There’s a rip. Four of them,” Eodyne commented.

  “We’ll ask him later. Look, its starting.”

  They watched as the other Isaac and Cyrus exchanged banter. Thanks to the enchantments inside the booth, they heard every word of the exchange.

  “Well, it’s not too surprising that they would try to recruit him,” Teddy said.

  “They’re going about it all wrong,” Sereza chuckled.

  “It’s not their fault Cyrus is the way he is. Nobody stops to think their golden shit is actually shi-”

  Isaac’s jaw slacked as he watched Cyrus activate his Spirit Lord’s Invocation.

  “Erebus? Why is he choosing Erebus?!”

  “He did say he wanted to experiment,” Celenae said.

  He dragged his fingers down his face. “He’s an idiot.”

  “You know he’s doing it to defend your honor. Maybe be nicer in what you call him,” Teddy chuckled.

  “Uuuugh. Let’s hope he doesn’t do anything too crazy. Who wants to bet that Cyrus wipes the floor with the asshole.”

  Teddy smiled. “We’ll see. I have a feeling Cyrus will show us something unexpected."

  ***

  As the other Isaac flicked his wrist, and deflected Cyrus’ kick, Igas sighed. Isaac understood the frustration. Even if he wanted to strangle the felkin at times, he was his friend.

  Cyrus fought well, better than most who had as little experience wielding a weapon. But even with the months of training and sparring sessions crammed into the short time they had known him, it was sadly easy to see that it wasn’t enough.

  “He’s good. That’s impressive spearwork. And that armor is amplifying his defensive skill,” Isaac said.

  The other Isaac stepped into Cyrus’ guard and scored another hit across his leg. It was a glancing blow, barely more than a sharp pinch, but it was one of dozen’s successfully made against Cyrus.

  “He’s better than him. Do you still think Cyrus can win this?” Sereza asked.

  “Perhaps. He’s losing against the onslaught of attacks, but it's Cyrus we’re talking about. He hasn’t been using áine. There’s a high chance that he’ll be able to outlast his opponent if he starts healing the damage,” Celenae said.

  Khrem frowned. “I understand that Cyrus has an impressive mana pool. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to harvest as often as he did inside the dungeon. But is it that impressive? Just how much mana does he have?”

  “More than you can imagine,” Isaac muttered. "At leaast he's actually practicing with Erebus' transformation. He's still an idiot but it's smart to practice against smarter oppo-

  They watched Cyrus raise his claws. The shadows around his fingers condensed. Shadow mana danced along the tips and elongated, forming sharpened edges that sought to cut reality. To Isaac the mana flared to life, expertly weaving together and forming the blade-like edge along his claws.

  Then the attack failed and the noble managed to force Cyrus away. Cyrus’s arms hit the sand and kept going, pushing deeper, tearing a hole in reality.

  Isaac shot to his feet and started to choke.

  The noble demanded the felkin take his arms out before threatening him. And then Cyrus did what was possibly the dumbest thing he had ever done since Isaac met him.

  No. No. No! You fucking idiot!

  “Isaac? Did he just…” Sereza mumbled.

  “He!” Isaac swallowed and pounded the glass screen. “It's like he wants to piss me off.”

  The next couple of minutes was a horror show of flailing limbs and pathetic shrieks. Isaac’s blood pressure started to rise and a pounding headache thumped his skull. Not only was the noble bastard utterly unprepared for the monsters of the shadowplane to appear. The damnable fool kept fishing for more!

  “I’m going to strangle him. No. I’ll do more than that. I’ll hang him by his own stupid tail!” Isaac growled.

  A firm hand gripped his shoulder, forcing him to sit. He glared at Teddy who gave a half-hearted smile.

  “Calm down. He’s being reckless but he hasn’t dived into the plane. Just prepare yourself. If something happens, I’ll need you to rush to the manor and grab my parents.”

  “But-”

  Teddy shook his head and gestured to Cyrus. “Look. He’s calm. Let’s not freak out just yet.”

  Isaac turned and observed the felkin. His posture was incredibly straight, and his body stiff like a statue. He bent down and plucked another shadeling from the hole and tossed it at the scrambling noble. Other Isaac desperately slashed forward, cutting the flailing tentacles in half but was too slow to avoid the errant limb that dug into the back of his hand. Blood sprayed the sand as the tentacle parted the noble’s skin before his defensive skill activated and blasted the monster away.

  “Are you serious?” Isaac sputtered.

  Teddy opened his mouth to reply, but Celenae hummed and interrupted him.

  “Something’s wrong. He’s too calm. Did you hear his voice?”

  It took only a second for the realization to hit him.

  “Fuck. It's the transformation. Zharia made him pissed off. Sturmrorex fed his pride. Erebus is a shadow and death spider. If he’s being influenced by the mana…”

  Teddy’s eyes hardened. “Isaac. Prepare to help”

  He nodded about to dive into the shadowplane himself, but then he felt a rippling disturbance the moment he set his foot inside the realm. Isaac twisted around in time to see Cyrus heave and then launch a spikey ball with pincers flailing at the ends of the tentacles.

  “That-”

  The greater shadeling exploded and drank deep of the ambient mana. Its form ballooned without the hard chitinous exterior containing its flesh. And a muted silence covered the booth as they watched the noble try and fail to banish the beast back into the abyss.

  With almost dulled emotions, he wasn’t even surprised when Cyrus casually walked toward the creature and ripped its core from its chest cavity. Without understanding exactly what he did he could sense the mana swirl around his hands and mesh together to create a fabric around the orb.

  “Maybe he’s done. I mean look at the guy, he can’t even stand,” Sereza said hesitantly. Her expression dropped and she collapsed into her chair as Cyrus walked toward the glaring hole in reality and shoved his arms shoulder deep into the entrance. “This isn’t going to go well is it?”

  All of Broken Tower shook their heads.

  Sereza released a stuttered sigh and pinched her sleeves in frustration. “Isaac. What happens if you shove a lot of mana inside the shadowrealm?”

  “You…” Isaac groaned. “The more mana there is, the more likely you are to catch the attention of the bigger bastards.”

  “Cyrus has a lot of mana.”

  “He… Does.”

  Isaac slowly nodded.

  Before Teddy could issue another command for Isaac to step in, the arena rumbled as monolithic tentacles breached the hole and slammed against the ground. People started to scream and the audience rose to their feet in a desperate bid to run away.

  The giant class shadespawn rose from the depths and roared, shattering some of the protective enchantments surrounding the walls. Even the booth stuttered as sound flickered in and out.

  Isaac wanted to scream in frustration and tear his hair out. Instead, he stood still as the massive idiot backed away before a wave of searing light covered the arena. The golden glow turned white-hot and a sword larger than the titan formed and dropped.

  The world turned white, and all Isaac could think was how he was going to torture the felkin the second he was back inside the booth.

  Have a great week everybody, hopefully better than lastweek!