The Maiden kept silent for a while, then stood up and left, deep in thought.

Shen followed her through dark underground corridors, all looking exactly like the ones he had traveled through when he arrived in Tar'Shalon. He found his spear by the door to the small room and took it with him. He didn't try to speak to the Maiden yet; he had his own matters to consider.

This episode had begun as a question born of his reluctance to give up a drop of his blood essence. His original question had been answered, but more than that, he had gotten a deep look at the drow culture. It was one thing to see what the Maiden wanted him to see and hear her present him with her culture, but he had glimpsed a lot more in that short conversation with the drow leadership.

What impacted him the most was their claim that they would let a rebellious B-rank just go free. They fully believed theirs was the right Path but didn't curb those who thought differently—at least not after they were strong enough. It was an obvious way of letting power decide who was right. If the Triarchy ways couldn't produce people strong enough to protect their vision, whoever replaced them would've proven better and thus deserve to rule in their stead however they saw fit.

Almost as importantly, everything in their culture seemed about the survival of the masses through the sacrifice of a few, but an A-rank would at least decrease that need. The Maiden had said the Dreamer's death made them change something crucial about their very identities somehow. So they lived in stages, and the current one would end when they got an A-rank, no matter if it was produced under the claws of the Triarchy or elsewhere.

And then... Maybe not even they knew what would come after.

Shen found them very arrogant in daring to decide his identity for him. Yet, he also accepted the simple truth that power bore authority. And maybe, more importantly, he had joined the Alliance willingly.

They had healed him. He had accepted becoming one of their warriors against the Void. That also meant following other rules, like the one that officially placed him below the drow.

Maybe one day, he would want to leave, but not yet. He owed the Alliance his life multiple times over. Without them, he would've died a mortal. Thanks to their cure, he could live for who knows how long and potentially reach a power level he had never even imagined before. Their merit system, aka the Guardian System, only increased how much he had to repay.

The Guardian System had improved his mind, added power on top of his cultivation realm, and had also given him weaponry when needed. He had to pay for it, but such merit systems—kill enemies or complete tasks for merit points, or AP—were seldom about profit. They were a way of giving more to those who worked harder.

It wasn't all sunshine and roses, of course. The Dreamer and Valentine had done that they did with the Alliance's connivance. Yet, he would still call them even. They had healed him and unlocked his future while at the same time forcing him through potentially lethal episodes. The Alliance wasn't fair to those without power, but he wouldn't be around without it.

On a more practical note, he doubted he could leave the Alliance if he wanted, anyway. So, instead of looking at the Alliance as a whole, he should focus on personal exchanges.

Under Alliance rules, he was under the drow. And arrogant or not, they were too strong for him to refuse them from considering him one of their own. Shen would never do something against his honor, but his lesson on humility from the Maiden could go further.

When given an undesirable hand, he would evaluate it first and fight later.

He chuckled to himself; that was the opposite of the Maiden's teaching for when he found himself in an unfamiliar place. Both made sense, of course. The Maiden's teaching would keep him alive in some situations, while his new perspective would be used for more social matters.

So, who were the drow?

An alien race with a strange, fatalistic culture. It was them against the world, and the world was an active and insidious enemy. On the plus side, they were more united than any organization he had ever seen. Their morals differed from his, yet if he wasn't being lied to, they would die to protect him now that he was one of them. It was a privilege that came at a cost, just like a clan.

Shen disliked it regardless. They only cared about the formless ideal of a people and sacrificed too much individuality for that. It went against what he believed in. He didn't need their willingness to die for him if it came at the cost of his very self.

But then came another question: what had they done for him?

A lot. He was alive thanks to them multiple times over, his body had been remade, and they had also helped protect him from what modern humanity would call a Trojan horse.

According to the Maiden, he had more than repaid them, but the important thing here was that they had never demanded it. Maybe because he was drow, yet not.

That was the deciding point for him.

Unlike a drow in flesh and blood, he could receive their care without getting brainwashed. He could keep being himself while serving them in a supposedly good way for their collectivity and receiving benefits from them. That could become a give-and-take relationship with a society that didn't exist to empower those at the top but to let the ones at the bottom grow. Not for the good of their heart, of course, but out of necessity for numbers.

Cultivator society was too individualistic to see one give their own blood and potential gains—by weakening himself before a competition—for the "good of all." Hell, he doubted it would work with any human. Yet, it might just work with the drow—and precisely because of the thing he hated the most about all that, their indoctrination.

Was that really needed for their survival? He doubted it. Yet, he would do nothing about it even if he could.

He was drow but didn't feel that was true enough to let him interfere with their cultural and political matters, not even if he became strong enough for that one day.

Either way, the balance was positive for him. He had much to gain by keeping this relationship going. He would consider things done for and against him economically and ethically and try to strike a balance. It felt like the right thing to do.

Right now, they owed him for the antidron when it only came to money. Yet, could he really put such a low price on his life as the Maiden had done? And how valuable was it to be trained by her, really? How about the intangible value of saving him from the very antidron he had gotten ridden of to protect himself?

Shen felt they owed him something, sure, but not as much as the Maiden had said.

And just as the drow had done things for him without asking for anything in return, he would take a leap of faith and do it for them despite the already existing debt. Unlike them, he did expect to receive something in return. But he was willing to wait and see what happened instead of turning this into a purely business relationship.

"How do I give you my blood essence?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Maybe he could've asked for a chance to only give his blood essence later, but he decided against it. Doing things like this would add meaning to the process. He wanted them to know how far he had gone for them. At least for now, he found this almost clan-like relationship more important than his personal gain.

This wasn't to say he wouldn't "charge" them for that; he would estimate how much more he could've gotten in the Summit with his full power and add it to the "bill."

Time would tell if he was making a mistake or not.

Right after his question, a needle-thin something pierced his body and heart from his back all the way through. He never even noticed the strike. It came without warning, and the pain was like someone was pulling apart a bone from his soul. He yelped in anguish and fell to his knees. His power evaded him, and he saw a single drop of blood floating before him.

That, he recognized, was him.

Him, in every way.

Him, in a way he couldn't even describe.

It felt so very wrong to have a part of himself separated from him like that. It was as if Reality wasn't working as it should. He should not be there. He should be here. He was here. How could—

The blood simply fell to the ground and was instantly absorbed, and then he stopped feeling it.

"Only C-ranks can remove their blood essence without any tool," the Maiden said without emotion. She didn't even stop walking. "I took care of it for you."

Shen stumbled as he stood up. He felt as weak as a mortal. It was horrible.

"I thought I would get twenty-percent weaker," he said. He should get proportionally weaker to how much blood essence he had lost from his total, and humans had five drops of blood essence.

"The first few hours are like this," the Maiden replied simply.

He kept following her. She had started moving much slower than before so he could keep up.

"What now?" he asked.

"Now, you learn how to fight beside other drow, then you go to war, then, if you survive, you go to the Summit," she said. "A couple of days on the battlefield will help you acclimate yourself with your new strength."

"How about you?"

"Me? I'll do what I must. You don't have to worry about my matters."

Shen frowned. "Why let me see all this if you would just cut me off?"

"Would you let a well-behaved dog accompany you sometimes even if..." she started saying, trailed off, sighed, and changed her words. "No. You're not like all drow, are you? Treating you such would only create needless friction. I should at least talk to you like a fellow C-rank, though you'll remain with the privileges and responsibilities of a D-rank under my care."

She made a long pause, then continued. "I'm always training you, Shen. Always. You're my charge. Everything I say or do to or with you is ultimately meant to teach you something. I also believe not explaining every single thing to you is better for you. So, my answer to you in such instances will become: to teach you.

"That includes any personal interactions I let you witness. My businesses are still mine.

"We're not friends. All relationships between two people of different power levels are vertical. You can't understand or relate to my problems, while I see yours as I would a child's: small and inconsequential. I might entertain your doubts and help with your confusion, but our relationship will remain vertical.

"You do not have the right to question me or the strength to care about me; remember that."

Not long ago, Shen had wondered about how complex their relationship was. He obviously had been wrong. It was really straightforward when she put it like that. She had kept things unclear on purpose in the past, as she almost admitted. He still felt a bit silly for not noticing it before, though.

"Why do I keep thinking my learning ability is useless?" he asked despite not knowing whether she would reply.

She did. "I'll answer you as a farewell gift: because the drow know better than you how your mind works and developed ways to bypass it. I never taught you how to analyze sociopolitical interactions, either. Your mind was wired for combat in an environment without distraction or different aspects of life. You're still stupider than I would expect a drow with your rank and learning ability, but the indoctrination helps identify, categorize, and combat competing ideals. They are thus better equipped for social considerations. Don't worry; I'll introduce you to Alliance politics and social dynamics right before and during the Summit."

Shen nodded. That made sense. He would add that to the balance after he understood how valuable that was.

"Thanks," he said.

She didn't reply. They kept walking silently until they reached a seamless door like any other. It slid sideways when they approached, and Shen saw a male drow wearing a black robe like the one from the Maiden's illusions. His hood was down, though, and he showed white eyes and short white hair. He was too thin, his face cadaverous. Shen felt a lot of mana in the man but no overwhelming power like the Autarchs. He was either C- or B-rank.

"Inspect," he whispered.

| Alyphan (C) | 500 / 500

"This man will be superior while I'm away," the Maiden told Shen. "I never met him and don't know how soft he is. Assume he'll treat you like any other elite D-rank. Swiftly obey him in all matters, and you should have no issues. I'll come for you when it's time for the Summit." Then, she turned to Alphan. "This is Shen. He is drow."

The man nodded. "He is drow."

The Maiden nodded back and left without another word.

"Come in," Alyphan invited, stepping sideways. "I was trained to interact with adopted drow. I'll be understanding but not lenient. Fear me, for I'll punish you if needed, but don't feel terrorized, for I'll be fair."

Shen didn't know what drow fairness meant in this context, but he supposed he was about to find out.