As Liliana woke slowly the first thing she noticed was pain. Her head felt like it was splitting open slowly, and her calf burned like embers had been stitched under her skin. With a whimper she opened blurry eyes, not fully understanding where she was.

She could see trees, and as she paid attention to her other senses under the pain she felt the familiar texture of her sleeping roll under her. She could hear a fire crackling nearby and the heat it gave off washed over her.

“Polaris!” Liliana shot up as she remembered the fight with the wolves, the small, broken body of her fox crushed in the jaws of the Alpha. She groaned and a hand flew to her head when the movement sent a sharp knife of pain lancing through her brain.

A furry body collided with her and Liliana fell back as a small tongue lavished her face with sloppy kisses. Yips and snuffs filled her ears, Liliana’s arms wrapped around the fox and held him close even as he squirmed around. Her fingers sunk into thick, warm fur. Liliana buried her face in that same fur, tears dampening it. Polaris was alive, they both were.

They’d survived.

It felt surreal. Liliana had been prepared to die that day. She’d felt the looming specter of Death behind her, and had resigned herself to once more taking his hand. Yet he had been turned away. She was alive, in pain yes, but alive.

Memories of why, exactly, she’d survived surfaced, the chaotic battle slowly recalling in her mind. Liliana slowly lifted her head and looked across the fire before her. She met a pair of dark silver eyes framed by light blue hair. Emyr regarded her silently, but he was looking at her. Liliana couldn’t remember a time the other noble had ever met her eyes. Nor a time when he had looked at her for so long.

Breaking off eye contact Liliana slowly sat back up. Polaris dropped into her lap before jumping off to circle her, still making yips and snuffling noises. Liliana looked around and saw her bag and naginata beside her. The weapon had been cleaned and it gleamed in the firelight. Her tent hadn’t been erected but he had to have set up her bedroll. Lifting her pants leg, what was left of it anyway after the wolf had savaged it. Liliana saw her leg had been bandaged, though blood had leaked through a bit. Her wound had opened back up then during the final fight.

Liliana checked her Mana and winced when she saw it hadn’t fully regenerated. Even as she watched it barely climbed, despite her Mana regeneration. Still, it was enough for her to activate [Regeneration]. While the Skill set to work healing her leg she checked out the debuffs she seemed to have gained.

Mana Overuse:

Debuff x4

Multiple instances of overusing Mana past your limits, and overuse of Mana regenerating potions, have resulted in the Mana Overuse debuff. For 12 hours your Mana regeneration has been reduced to .25 Mana per Second. Further overextending your Mana will increase the debuff time and reduce the Mana Regeneration.

9hrs 23mins left

Bleeding:

Debuff

-5 health per second.

Caused by severe damage to the right leg, the debuff will remove as soon as the bleeding is fully stopped

Liliana winced at the notification. It looked like she’d gotten it at some point in the fight, and had continued to overextend her Mana resulting in a severe penalty. Even now she was approaching the limit of her Mana pool with [Regeneration] and had to cut it off. Her leg felt a bit more healed but she could tell she wouldn’t be walking on it for a while. Not until her debuff was over and she could use [Regeneration] for longer. At least the bleeding debuff she’d gained had disappeared now, letting her Health regeneration begin to kick in.

Liliana could sense she had an entire slew of notifications waiting. She held off on going over them, her head hurt too much to handle the flood of information. Instead, she waved off the debuff box and looked towards Emyr, who had been sitting there silently, still watching her.

“You saved us,” Liliana spoke up. Emyr stared at her for a long moment before blinking slowly.

“Yes,” he answered and Liliana sighed, rubbing at her temples. She was tempted to just fall back onto her bedroll and go to sleep.

“Why?” Liliana asked. She caught his unwavering stare with her own. She couldn’t understand why he’d step in at all. She knew he didn’t care for her, and stepping in meant he put himself in danger. He hadn’t stepped in at the beginning of the fight either. He’d waited until the end when everything was almost lost to take a stand. Why? Why did he care if she died?

“You needed help,” Emyr answered simply as if that was enough. Liliana’s eyes narrowed and she nearly hissed at the boy in annoyance.

“Why would you care?” Liliana clarified her question, her tone sharp.

Emyr didn’t answer that question, instead, he continued to stare at her with his unreadable eyes. Liliana groaned in annoyance, digging the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her headache was only growing the longer she had to deal with this boy.

Fumbling for her bag Liliana reached in and grabbed one of the pain tinctures she knew Astrid had packed for her. She downed it quickly and tossed the empty vial back inside the bag. A rumble from her stomach reminded her of her hunger, she’d burned a lot of Mana that day on top of the physical exertion. She realized she was starving as the pain faded, letting the hunger take over as the strongest feeling. Liliana pulled out the last of her cooked venison, some bread, cheese, and fruit. Looking at Emyr she sighed and tossed the boy some bread, meat, and cheese.

“Thanks, for stepping in. Without you, Polaris and I would’ve died,” Liliana bit out, the words tasting like ash on her tongue. Oh, how it stung to thank Emyr Bealstal for absolutely anything. He’d saved her life though. Even if she didn’t like it that deserved thanks.

“Don’t think I’ll need your help again,“ Liliana tacked on, shooting the boy a harsh glare. Emyr shrugged, biting into the meat he’d been provided, never taking his eyes off of her. Liliana huffed and turned away, digging into her food.

Polaris for once didn’t seem interested in the food. Liliana figured he must have gotten his fill from eating the wolves. Liliana paused as she remembered they’d killed six wolves, one an Alpha. What had happened to their Mana cores and pelts? Those would be valuable! Liliana froze as the image of all the money she may have just lost circled in her mind.

“What did you do to the wolves’ bodies?” Liliana demanded, turning back to Emyr. He slowly finished the piece of venison he was eating, taking a drink of his water skin. Liliana ground her teeth at how slowly he was moving as if purposefully doing it to irritate her. Finally, he gave her an answer, pointing behind him. Liliana leaned to the side and spotted a pile of pelts topped by Mana cores, one noticeably bigger than the rest.

“Thanks,“ Liliana bit out. She hated that she’d now thanked the boy twice in one night. She finished her food, sighing when she felt full. Giving a last suspicious look towards Emyr she finally let the notifications that had been buzzing at the edge of her perception come up.

You killed a level 47 Shadow Wolf. You killed a level 50 Shadow Wolf.

+48,500 Experience

+24,250 Experience from Boon

More experience awarded for killing a creature 10 or more levels higher than you!

+14,550 Experience

+7,275 Experience from Boon

You assisted in killing a level 49 Shadow Wolf. You assisted in killing a level 54 Shadow Wolf. You assisted in killing a level 56 Shadow Wolf.

+59,652 Experience

+29,813 Experience from Boon

Less experience was awarded for getting assistance with a kill.

More experience awarded for killing a creature over 10 levels higher than you!

+26,600 Experience

+13,300 Experience From Boon

You killed a level 60 Alpha Shadow Wolf.

+25,500 Experience

+12,750 Experience from Boon

Less experience was awarded for getting assistance with the kill.

More experience awarded for killing a creature over twenty levels higher than you!

+12,000 Experience

+6,000 Experience from Boon

You gained a point in Vitality!

You gained a point in Intelligence!

[Dance Of The Daystar] reached level 14

[Regeneration] reached level 20

[Dodge] reached level 29

[Polearms Mastery] reached level 43

[Pain Resistance] reached level 21

[Dancing] reached level 30

[Light Burst Coat] reached level 22

[Light Burst] reached level 30

[Will-O-Wisp] reached level 12

[Tempo] reached level 12

You have discovered the Spell [Light Barrage], would you like to learn this spell?

You have discovered the spell [Companion Heal], would you like to learn this spell?

You have met the requirements for the Skill [Final Stand], would you like to learn this skill?

You’ve reached level 39!

+10 Stat points

+4 Stat points from Boon.

+10 Stat Points to Speed from Class

+8 Stat points to Endurance from Class

+8 Stat Points to Dexterity from Class

+6 Stat Points to Charisma from Class

Liliana’s head was spinning from all of the notifications and boxes. One thing the System certainly rewarded was facing off against impossible odds and managing to not die. Her Boon shone through as well, with all the excess experience she’d gained from the endeavor. She’d lost some of her experience from Emyr jumping in at the end, though she wasn’t sure exactly how much was lost.

The amount lost would depend on several variables. The math behind it was a headache to memorize so she hadn’t trouble herself much with it. A bit of experience lost was worth keeping her life. Out of all the sacrifices she’d made that day, the experience was the least of it.

Liliana focused on the Spells she’d earned first, she had an idea of what they were and already knew she’d accept them.

Light Barrage: For 400 Mana summon a swarm of 15 condensed light to rain upon your enemies. Damage equal to 25% of your Magic Power per ball.

Cost: 400 Mana

For an additional 200 Mana, the damage can be increased to 30% of your Magic Power. Lights will explode causing 15% of their damage as an area of effect.

Companion Heal: (Life) For 60 Mana per second heal any creature Bonded to you for 10 Health per second. Does not work on diseases, poison, or necrotic damage.

Channel

Liliana nodded and accepted the new Spells. They’d be useful, especially the Healing one. It had been an egregious error on her part to neglect her Life affinity almost entirely. An error that had nearly cost Polaris his life. Liliana sunk her hand into the fox’s fur, stilling his wriggling movement beside her. She’d come so close to losing him, all because she’d been too stuck on progressing her combat skills. It was a mistake she swore to never repeat. She’d been given a major advantage, having a triple affinity and all of them being so high. She needed to take advantage of all of her boons. Not just the ones that let her fight better.

Liliana tightened her hold on Polaris, reveling in the steady heartbeat she could feel under her fingers. The warmth of his skin and fur, so full of life. Alive only because of her panicked stubbornness, her Life affinity, and her level in [Mana Manipulation]. Had she not had any one of those things, Polaris wouldn’t be sitting beside her at this moment. Even with all of that, it was nothing short of a miracle that she’d succeeded.

Liliana released her grip on Polaris, letting the fox wriggle around and back into her lap. She wrapped her arms loosely around him and smiled as he once more set to bathing her face. She pulled up the new Skill she had received ad she tried to avoid getting fox slobber on her mouth or eyes.

Last Stand: When Health, Mana, and Stamina are below 10% you can go beyond your limits for 1 minute. Mana and Stamina can go into a deficit of up to -10% with no penalty. Strength and Speed are increased by 35%.

Liliana winced a the new skills description. She accepted it but she fervently hoped she wouldn’t need to use it. Leveling it up would require her putting herself on death’s door. It would be best if the Skill never had a reason to progress past level 1.

Liliana closed out her notifications, she would deal with allocating her stat points after she’d rested. She didn’t trust her mind at the moment to place them appropriately. Already she could feel her mind gaining the fuzzy quality symbolic of exhaustion.

“You probably got a good amount of leveled skills,” Emyr spoke up, his words conversational even if his tone was anything but. Liliana froze as her eyes darted to his, once more getting trapped in the cold dark silver. Her face twisted in a grimace and she crossed her arms over her chest. Polaris for his part settled down in her lap, turning his gaze to the interloper.

“Yes,” Liliana answered curtly, not elaborating.

“You awakened,” Emyr stated and Liliana nodded warily, her eyes narrowing. What was his angle? Was he trying to figure out how she awakened when her family didn’t know?

“You’re only level 39 now, are you going to turn back?“ Emyr asked and Liliana hissed as anger flared. Did he think her so weak that one bad battle would send her running back to the manor? Did he think she was some pampered, simpering, wilting flower?

“I have something to finish,” Liliana bit out, her tone glacial as she glared at the boy. Emyr didn’t seem bothered by her obvious anger. If anything he seemed confused, the first bit of emotion showing on his impassive face.

“You’ve changed,” Emyr stated and Liliana groaned at this pointless conversation. She knew he had questions he wanted to ask, yet he wasn’t. He was still playing the stupid word games nobles so loved. Even out here, in the wilds, after facing down a pack of vicious wolves.

“I thought you were running away from home at first,” Emyr continued and Liliana huffed. The boy had spent 14 years never speaking to her, now she wished he’d shut up.

“I had theorized you’d somehow paid a Priest to awaken you, so you could level. And once you were high enough you planned to run away from the manor. I followed to be sure you didn’t do something stupid and die,” Emyr spoke, giving her an appraising eye as if he wasn’t convinced she wouldn’t somehow manage to do something stupid still.

Like fighting a pack of wolves far above her level didn’t already constitute as monumentally idiotic. However, his immediate assumption that she’d go out and die stung and her hand twitched for her naginata, to show him exactly how unlikely that was. Recent events notwithstanding.

“I thought you’d spend a night out in the wild, get attacked by a monster, and return home. Camping out on the rough ground isn’t anything a lady would be accustomed to,” Emyr continued with his frankly insulting monologue, and Liliana grit her teeth, fists balling at her side. Sure sleeping on the ground hadn’t ranked in her top ten favorite things to do, but she wouldn’t abandon her quest for something as trivial as that!

“You didn’t though. You managed to avoid most monsters unless you sought them out. Then the wolves appeared and I thought, certainly here you’d call out for my help and run away,” Emyr leaned forward and the curiosity on his face intensified.

He was looking at her as if she was a particularly puzzling math problem. One he couldn’t find an answer to. Liliana struggled to not drop his gaze, she was unused to anyone looking at her like that. Least of all any noble. Her pride demanded she not be the first to break this stare-off between them though.

“But you didn’t. You were willing to die, to protect your fox,” Emyr nodded at Polaris who huffed at him, “And even when you were about to die still, you didn’t ask for help. And now I wonder. What happened to the little girl who would trail after her brother and me? Who would cry for us whenever she fell or scraped her knee? Who would go pale at the sight of blood?” Emyr’s gaze was intense as if he was trying to scrape aside her walls and break into her soul. Liliana glared at him and finally broke eye contact, for all that it stung to admit a silent defeat. She couldn’t handle the way his gaze felt like he was seeing every secret she so carefully guarded.

“She died,“ Liliana answered curtly, “she starved to death, hungry for love she never received. Poisoned by cruel words and hateful remarks. Stabbed through the heart by the very people meant to protect it,” Liliana finished her voice full of long-repressed anger finally finding its outlet. She raised her eyes and met Emyr’s once more, her own burning with righteous anger. Everything she said was true as well. The original Liliana had died when she’d been poisoned by her stepmother. When her father had married that viper and refused to see the abuse suffered under his roof. Liliana had died because the people who should’ve loved her had hated her. Because the people meant to care for her had instead turned their backs on her.

“The Liliana you knew is gone. Dead in an unmarked grave, mourned by no one but me. And the new Liliana isn’t going to stand for the same bullshit. So stay out of my way, or find yourself suffering the same fate,” Liliana warned, her voice full of a threat she didn’t really mean. She wanted to see the people who had hurt her, had hurt the original Liliana, fall. Wanted to see them on their knees bruised, broken, and bleeding. But she didn’t want to see them dead. She wanted them to watch her rise to greatness while they suffered in her shadow.

And maybe, though she’d never admit it to herself, she wanted them to finally accept her. To finally love her, as they should’ve. And they couldn’t do that if they were dead.

Emyr matched her stare for several long moments before he broke it off. He turned his face until half of it was covered in shadows. Though his silver eyes still stood out amongst the darkness. Liliana thought she saw a smile flicker across his face. It was gone so fast she thought it might have been a trick of the firelight.

“So it seems,” Emyr spoke, his voice soft but for the first time some of the ice in his tone had melted.

“I’ll take first watch,” Emyr spoke as he stood up, his tone cold once more. Liliana watched him as he walked off into the shadows around the campsite. For a long moment, she watched the shadows he’d vanished into, trying to understand the enigma that was Emyr Bealstal. She’d expected him to be upset by her words. She’d threatened him after all. She’d acted not one bit the noble lady she was, rather she’d fallen into her old habits from Earth.

Yet he hadn’t seemed angered, or even upset. In fact, it felt almost like she had gained a bit of his respect. For the first time in her life.

Liliana turned from the shadows and laid back on her bedroll, grabbing her cloak and wrapping it around herself. Polaris laid next to her, offering what comfort he could in the dark of the night. Her mind was running in confusing circles, trying to understand Emyr and his motivations. His intent. He was an unexpected variable, and in this life, those could be fatal.

Sleep fell on her before she could find an answer to the questions that had tied her mind into a Gordian knot.