Wind gusted past Sol as her figure jumped from branch to branch. Her tree hopping activity was a momentary experimentation of her body’s current ability. Over all, her strength and agility experienced a modest boost.

Sol found her limits expanded. From the average jump height a healthy 10 year old could manage, Sol was now able to leap just over her own height. Along with the explosive burst, she noticed her agility increased as well.

While it was still impossible to dodge an arrow based on reaction alone, Sol believed herself capable of close combat against a trained human. In fact, the boosts not only applied to her physical body, but also to her mind.

Sol leaped from her branch to another, yet saw a rock thrown at her as if in slow motion. Her ‘see, think, act’ process gained an explosive bonus as well as she was capable of calculating the rock’s trajectory and flexing her body weight in just the right way to avoid it mid air.

Her twisting body remained off balance, yet as if by intuition her arm reached to slap the tree trunk and send her body back on track. Right after she nailed the landing, Sol became excited inside. It was such an addicting feeling of freedom. She couldn’t help but consider why everyone doesn’t cultivate.

Sol wasn’t the only one surprised by her results. An was as well. It was common for anyone making a breakthrough to experience a comprehensive boost to their capabilities, however it was the first time An saw someone sharpen their instincts like Sol had.

That rock he threw at her traveled at a respectable speed and was thrown from a blind spot, yet he saw Sol react to it as if it were thrown from straight in front of her. Not only was she capable of dodging it, but she also managed to restore her momentum and angle.

For a first refinement, her results were somewhat exaggerated. In the end, An notched it up to Sol’s previous memories assisting her. There was no need to be concerned about such a good result. He flickered next to Sol and tapped her shoulder once.

A slight nod of her head to indicate it was time to return was dismissed by a mischievous grin. An’s eyebrow rose as the girl explosively kicked off once more racing back to the camp. His lips curved into a smile while watching the girl bounce from trunk to trunk into the distance.

“You want to race this King? The young have no fear…” An mumbled under his breath while shifting his foot slightly. It would be too unfair to set off immediately, so he gave Sol a 30 second head start. His voice reached her ears as he counted down.

Upon hitting zero, An’s figure blurred before his afterimage faded away. There were many things young geniuses required in order to grow safely. The first requirement is a constant pressure or goal that motivates them to push through the boundaries and blockages that cultivation eventually places in front of them.

As far as An was concerned, Sol already had the motivation since her life was on the line. The second requirement was a keen intelligence and instinct to danger. Once again, he felt Sol had these covered. Her spiritual intelligence was inherited from her past life and her instincts were already refined.

Trees raced by An’s figure as he sneered at Sol’s figure growing from the size of a dot in the distance. The final requirement for a genius to safely grow is to understand their own limitations. Sol failed in this aspect. An could understand from her excitement that Sol had already overestimated her prowess. The primary reason he was willing to race Sol in this case was to stomp that arrogance before it grew. An took his third step and pressed off. His figure blurred once more and appeared beside the over excited Sol.

Sol’s eyes drifted to the side on the visage that shifted into view. The moment realization hit her, Sol lost focus and slipped on the bark of a trunk. Her arms shot out and slapped the ground from reaction and her body twisted at odd angles until she slid to a stop on all 4 limbs.

Disbelief covered her face at the disparity in speed between herself and An. She always knew An was powerful, but her perspective as a human made it difficult to properly judge that strength. After this breakthrough, Sol held a new found respect for An’s strength.

She never asked An to what degree he cultivated, but she knew it was far beyond her imagination. The sheer fact that An was capable of such feats in a world starving of magic was what impressed her even more. There was a subtle desire she held to see An at full power.

Needless to say, when Sol eventually arrived at the campsite, An was already relaxed on a log near a campfire enjoying some food. She sighed internally, having understood her weakness, and moved to sit beside the man.

The two remained quiet as they ate with only the cackling of firewood and the jingle of equipment to accompany them. Although unwilling to admit defeat, Sol still chose to respect the difference in strength. Despite that, her mind continued to remind her that she was still young.

How could a cub beat a lion? She had time to grow into her strength and eventually would beat the old man beside her. Her gaze drifted to the boy while drinking some soup. The more she learned about An, the less comfortable she was with the youthful appearance he had.

Was it his hobby? Sol shivered at the thought and put those dangerous assumptions away. No reason to open Pandora's box. The group camped for the night and set off the next morning. Duke Reviarra experienced his daughter’s breakthrough first hand after she nearly crushed him with a hug the next morning.

To the group’s surprise, there were no ambushes on their way home. Although Sol expected as much considering the abrupt seizure of power and the fact that Prince Roland was no longer able to safely work hand in hand with Prince Elric, she was still rather surprised to find not even a scout caught up to them.

Rather than make her feel good, the situation instead worried her. Duke Reviarra appeared to share the same concerns. He commented first about it. “The situation is bad. The only reason Prince Elric wouldn’t need to send a scout to track us is if he was no longer concerned about where we were.”

“I’ve not received any messenger birds to suggest Prince Roland took action against Prince Elric. Considering that, I can’t imagine a reason for the lack of scouts other than Prince Elric consolidating his power. I guess Queen Blonsall has a good grasp on Prince Elric. It’s quite amazing he hasn’t hunted us down after becoming a eunuch.”

Towards Sol’s comment, Duke Reviarra and An both blanched somewhat. Despite hearing such irresponsible words come from Sol, they were forced to agree. An couldn’t help but follow up with his own comment.

“I guess it’s true that fixed dogs are less aggressive.” To which Sol nearly choked on her tea. An ignored her gaffe and continued. “Even so, it’s best to start preparing for war. As soon as Prince Elric settles his internal matters, the first task on his list is either us or Prince Roland… Considering the degree of grudges, I wager Prince Roland is less of a priority.”

“That’s not entirely true. Prince Roland still commands a sizable force. Not to mention the mix of Assemblers in his group, there’s a chance Prince Elric will provide a route to safety for his brother in order to obtain that strength.”

Duke Reviarra followed up soon after An. The carriage turned silent as each member went into thought. Sol clanked her tea cup onto its saucer to draw attention.

“Perhaps… Perhaps there’s a way to prevent an all out war with Prince Elric. If I were to travel with An and leak my location from time to time, Prince Elric might be inclined to divest a significant power to capture or kill me…”

“Absolutely not. That’s putting the cart before the horse. This whole conflict is to keep you safe and preserve the Reviarra household. Before Prince Elric occupied the crown, King Blonsall respected my position enough to not go overboard. That’s the only reason I allowed you to travel. The current situation is totally different. If Prince Elric consolidates his power, there’s little stopping him from isolating entire territories to capture you.”

Duke Reviarra shut down Sol’s comment before she had a chance to finish. He was certainly juggling priorities, however Duke Reviarra spent enough time in that jail cell considering the future that he was no longer muddled on which priorities mattered more.

An ignored Sol’s pleading gaze and the group continued their trip in silence. Two days later, the group arrived back at the Reviarra estate only to hear from the gate guards that An’s sister was staying as a guest in the estate.

Hearing their description, Sol saw for the first time a tinge of fear creep across An’s visage. The arrogant man that wrecked her overblown pride was apparently having a breakdown of his own. Beads of sweat started forming as the descriptions continued.

Moments later, Sol felt an abnormally strong spiritual awareness sweep across her. The pressure from that sweep nearly knocked her off her feet. She held onto Duke Reviarra’s sleeve to regain her balance and as her gaze twisted toward the source of the pressure, she found a tall woman staring back at her. Sol was rather confused about the situation thanks to An’s strange behavior.

An reacted so strongly, however the moment she glanced at him, she found the woman had already appeared beside them. Her fist connected with his gut. A split second later, An disappeared from Sol’s vision accompanied by a powerful gust and before her stood an intimidating woman. After seeing her handle An, Sol forced a wry smile. “Hello…”