What Will Be | Book 2 | Chapter 25

Author's Note: Thank you all for your continued support. It means the world to me. Any guesses as to some ways Will might start trying to apply Perseverance in the future?

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Thoughts of Temenun lingered at the front of my mind over the coming days. Even if the entity, hivemind, or whatever it was didn’t have any insight regarding my specific situation, there was an element it could probably help me with regardless. 

Raw. Power. 

The Tamer Bond allowed Fudge and I to share Skills and mana with one another, a function of the Skill that would only grow with time. If the magic sustaining Temenun allowed for something similar… Needless to say, I could understand why people viewed Temenun as a threat. Even so, given I eventually wanted to force my way through time, space, and System knew what else, raw power could be exactly what I needed. 

Unfortunately, that course of action risked revealing my first world to a creature that I did not want to unleash on a non-magical population. Despite the temptation, it was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. I was desperate, but not that desperate. Not yet. Hopefully, not ever. 

In the short term, it was ultimately all a moot point. If I was going to visit Temenun, I at least wanted the concept of a contingency plan should things go pear-shaped or the shape of some other undesirable fruit. As it was, short of praying Fudge could somehow fix the problem I had nothing, not with the strength currently available to me. 

Strength. Everything circled back to my need to Advance, to be strong enough to survive the consequences of digging into the secrets of the world in my search for answers. Asking a local about Temenun became a low priority. Why ask for rumour when I could wait and ask someone who might have actual insights into the reality of the situation? Doubly so given that I had concluded any plans involving the strange island would not be actionable in the immediate future. I had time. I could wait. I’d probably ask Lionel at some point. 

In the meantime, I had proficiency points to earn. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

My footfalls echoed through the manor as I rushed towards the dining hall, I took the stairs down two at a time and skipped the last several entirely. The sinking feeling of being airborne was addictive, as gravity tried to pull me down despite my insistence to the contrary. 

The doors to the dining hall were already open, as they often were. I gradually slowed as I ran the final few steps before passing through them. Fudge entered barely a moment after, having dutifully followed at my heels. 

Wynn agreed to retrieve breakfast from the kitchens for me most mornings after she saw me eating on the move - one of my earlier efforts to cram as many seconds into the day as possible. She was quite insistent that I take the time to have a proper breakfast and I had no intention of arguing the point with her. Even if she hadn't agreed to make the whole thing more convenient for me, the effect she had on Cruz still left me reluctant to get on her bad side. 

That morning, my timing had been especially good. Wynn was in the process of setting up the spread for me, her hair done up in a tight bun, as usual. 

“Good morning, Master Will, Master Fudge,” she chirped without looking up from her task. 

“Good morning, Wynn!” I called back, matching her energy. I wouldn’t have considered myself a morning person in my first life. In hindsight, it was probably because there was never anything that motivated me to seize the day. As Will, when I opened my eyes I knew exactly what I wanted to do and I didn’t want to waste any time getting to it. That sense of purpose, of knowing how much potential lay ahead… It was enough to put me in a fantastic mood. 

Not even the presence of Eva, my technically-senior Slayer, was enough to put a damper on things. Enough time had passed since our first meeting that she’d already been on at least one other job since then. Honestly, I didn’t keep close enough tabs on people to be sure of the precise number. Eva remained vaguely icy when it came to me, which, to be fair, was where we left things. The times we crossed paths were brief and in passing, leaving precious little time for any type of reconciliation. 

Fuck it, I’m feeling confident today. Eva was also having breakfast, and by the looks of things she’d only just started. 

“Hey Wynn,” I said innocently, “I am going to sit with Eva this morning. Would it be too much trouble to-” 

“Definitely not!” 

“Definitely not, Master Will.” 

A pair of voices answered in tandem, each with a markedly different tone and meaning. 

“Is something wrong, Mistress Eva?” Wynn asked in response to the outburst, already gathering up my breakfast and expertly balancing it as she made her way towards where Eva was sitting. 

A flush of annoyance flashed across Eva’s features. She shot me a glare from beneath her bob of dark hair.  

“It… no, there is no problem.” It sounded like she had to practically choke the words out.  

“Very good, Mistress Eva.” Wynn carefully set everything back down and held the chair out for me as I hopped onto it, leaving Eva and I facing each other. I resisted the urge to smirk. I couldn't be certain that Wynn’s involvement would stack the deck in my favour, but I reckoned the odds were good that her reputation among the Slayers extended beyond Cruz.      

My feet didn’t quite reach the ground unless I scooched right to the edge of my chair, but Wynn was kind enough to push the chair in far enough that I wouldn’t have to fiddle about too much. 

“Now, Master Fudge, I believe it is time for your breakfast as well.” Fudge had already begun his anticipatory tippy-taps before Wynn started speaking. Her words were enough to send his tail wagging as he practically bounced his way out the door. The excitement coming through the Tamer Bond was contagious, and it brought a smile to my face. 

“Looks like Fudge is- Seriously?” I turned to make smalltalk with Eva who had started shovelling food into her mouth now that Wynn wasn’t in the room. “Slow down before you choke. I want to talk to you.” 

Crumbs were gathering around Eva’s mouth between bites, though most fell on and around her plate. She paused mid-chew to narrow her eyes at me. I took the opportunity for what it was. 

“You may not like that I am here, but I am here. I also do not like that you blame me for something beyond my control. How about we try for a middle ground? If we have to work together one day, I would rather feel like I can trust you to have my back.” 

That was probably not the right thing to say, since Eva started trying to scold me around a mouthful of food. I had to cut her off. 

“Swallow before you get mad at me, I understood none of that.” 

In hindsight, maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut, I thought dryly. This is already exasperating.  To her credit, Eva had the grace to look sheepish while she quickly closed her mouth to rapidly chew the ambitious mouthful she’d crammed into her gullet. She washed it down with a long drink of what smelled like a mint-based tea and exhaled sharply as she smacked the mug back down with slightly more force than was probably necessary. 

“Feel better?” I asked, an eyebrow raised. 

“Shut up,” she said. “I am not about to be lectured by some kid, and how dare you suggest I would be negligent in my duties.” There was a real heat to her words in that second part. Evidently I had touched upon a nerve.  

“Okay, I can work with that,” I said quickly, hands raised at the elbow in mock surrender. “How about you lecture me instead. Tell me about yourself and help me understand why my circumstances are so envious.”  

Eva didn’t say anything for a long moment, so I continued. “You are either the adult in this situation or you are not,” I said, a little sharper than I probably should have. All I knew about Eva was that she was combative, though, so I tried to lean on it. “I already showed you up by being the first to speak up and try to fix things.” 

“You- I-” Eva sputtered. “Shut up.” It was enough to get a reaction, just not the one I wanted. 

I sighed. 

“Fine. We do not have to do this today if you are not ready.” I picked up my fork and returned to breakfast. It was worth a try, I suppose. I’d already pushed Eva out of my mind. I only had so much time for the teenagger. Instead, I started reviewing my plans for the day. I needed to start practicing with Fudge’s Durability so that- 

“Are you seriously that arrogant?” The voice interrupted my thoughts. 

Another sigh. 

“Excuse me?” I looked back up towards Eva. The glare was back. 

“This,” she gestured at me vaguely. “This whole ‘I am more mature than you’ crap you keep spouting. You are just a kid.” 

“We have already established that you are older than me, yes.” I spoke slowly. “You are not acting like it, though. That was my point. Getting angry at me because that fact upsets you does not help your case. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.” I grabbed my mug to take a long sip of my own tea. 

“So, what? Either I agree to your suggestion, acknowledging that you were the more mature one here, or I do not, leaving you feeling like you are the mature one here?” 

I frowned at that. 

“Not everything is a competition, but if that helps you, then sure, why not. I win this round and you can make sure I never win again by being a beacon of patience, maturity and understanding in all our future interactions.” There, problem sol- 

“Screw. You.” Evidently done with the conversation, Eva downed the last of her drink and left the dining hall, leaving me alone with my meal. 

Huh… I may have misstepped there. I shrugged and took another sip of my drink. A conversation was better than nothing, so I decided to count the exchange as a net positive. No point dwelling on it. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

I held the tip of the knife to my forearm while I reviewed my plan one last time. The knife was a small, utility blade I’d picked up from town. I mostly used it when practicing bushcraft, but it was sharp enough for my current needs all the same - the process of cleaning and caring for the thing had been drilled into me and I made sure to keep it well maintained between uses.

I could still feel my elevated heart rate thumping in my chest and the faint burning in my muscles that accompanied physical exercise. I was on the edge of exhaustion but deliberately kept Recovery in check. I wanted to feel drained for what was about to come, to simulate the conditions I needed as much as possible. 

This is a bit crazy, I noted, and not for the first time. I was still learning the basics of dagger forms from Eaehdro. Compared to the guards I saw practicing with swords and spears, or that one guy who spun a broom around like it was a staff, my reach was pitiful. I couldn’t help but imagine how I’d apply my limited knowledge to fight them, or something like the tehon. 

The conclusion I came to was as obvious as it was disheartening. I’d need to get in close, which meant moving fast enough to avoid being punished for the attempt or somehow making that punishment redundant. Ideally, it’d be both. 

I didn’t have a reliable way to test the former. Fudge’s version of the Dog Skill showed promise, but I was still focusing on controlling the borrowed Skills in general, let alone applying them to unique situations. 

As for the latter, Fudge’s Durability Skill could also help with that, but it faced the same current limitation as his other Skills. That left Perseverance and Recovery. Recovery was already at its limit for my current level of Advancement, save the minor gains I could earn with continued practice, so my focus was on Perseverance. 

Just need to start small, I told myself. 

Perseverance pulsed within me as I drew upon its mana, letting it spread through my entire body. Focusing it in my arm would probably have been more effective, but the technique I had in mind would probably need to remain unfocused to be valuable in any kind of high stakes situation.

This knife is about to cut my arm, I told myself. When a person is cut, they are supposed to bleed. Not bleeding is impossible. A person cannot simply will themselves not to bleed with effort and willpower. My eyes hardened. That logic can fuck right off. When I am cut, I will not bleed. It will not faze me. 

The mana within me thrummed as I layered by intent upon in, repeating my desires several times over while I finished gathering my nerve. Failure was not an option. I would succeed. I breathed a quick series of final, rapid breaths. 

Onetwothree GO! 

I drew a thin line over my arm with the knife, barely the length of a thumbnail. It stung, but I was so focused on my experiment that I barely acknowledged the pain. I was pretty sure it was a part of the arm not near anything especially vital, to the best of my knowledge. I repeated my intent in my head as I watched the shallow wound. Nothing. 

I brought the tip of the knife back into my field of view. It was clean. 

I placed the knife down and, using two of my fingers, pinched-and-pressed the area near the cut to ‘open’ the wound. It was clean. 

A maniacal grin split my features, even as I took a moment to note the drain on my mana. It was insignificant, especially compared to when I tried to abolish my need to breathe. 

Probably because it’s such a small cut, I decided. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel giddy at the proof of concept. I let the mana dissipate and, within moments, a small amount of blood began to well from the cut. 

I called on Perseverance again, and when I wiped the blood away with a damp rag I had on standby, it was not replaced with fresh blood. Just focusing on the area of the wound, the drain was so negligible that I decided to try and hold the magic in place to see if it would impact the healing process. 

Imagination ran ahead of me. I saw an older version of myself, charging a tehon and narrowly avoiding most of its claws. One would leave a puncture wound that wouldn’t even bleed or slow me down as I leapt high and jammed a dagger into its ear. As I stood over its body, making sure it was properly dead, my wound would start stitching itself back together fast enough to watch with the naked eye. 

I couldn't help but giggle at the superhero of it all, and- 

I heard someone cough to get my attention and my head snapped around to see Wynn, with Fudge happily wagging his tail in greeting as he trotted towards her. She wasn’t alone, though. She was joined by a woman and a girl that I’d have wagered was a young teenager, both wearing gowns they’d gathered slightly, presumably to spare them from the relative dirtiness of the field. 

The woman, who wore her auburn hair in a low ponytail, looked at me with what was probably a practiced poker face. The girl was less subtle, with her narrow face scrunched up somewhere between surprise and disgust. 

I mean, that’s fair. I was covered in obstacle course muck and giggling while I held a bloody rag. 

“Master Will,” Wynn said, her tone dangerously friendly. “You have guests. Might I present Maestra Blanca and Alicia Duscal.” The woman nodded first, the girl a moment later, the introduction enough to remind her to mask her expression. 

I looked between the woman who was likely to be my tutor, the first member of my extended family I was meeting, and the rag in my hand. As far as first impressions were concerned, it could have been worse. Technically.