“Okay, get ready to give that bastard your Wind Fist, Jinni! We’re going in now!”

Jinni’s heart was hammering in her chest, her back breaking out in a cold sweat, despite the incredible surge of vitality and serenity she now felt, thanks to the pure Wind Qi swirling through all her strengthened meridians, after the most wondrous, terrifying, and transformative week of her life.

To think, just days ago she had caught the eye of the Winter Queen herself. And with a single nod equal parts exhilaration and fear, had consented to be the mate of the beautiful, deadly, half-wild creature that was her son. To look into his eyes was to glimpse the pitiless might of mother nature’s fury. It might bless you with life-giving rain and sustenance, or obliterate entire communities with storms of howling fury and lightning. To say that Eric Silver was both volatile and deadly was definitely an understatement. Poor Arlen Ort’s look of raw unbridled terror had mirrored all too well the twinge in her own heart when she had seen his wrath, had felt his killing fury.

Even if he had only used it when first they dared the madness that was an Orange tier territory a handful of days ago, just several miles north of the tiny northwest corner of Hope Territory, miraculously rich in both spiritual and arcane energy, and the home of both their academies. Soon enough, save for the four square miles she had put so much effort into securing, the remainder would be overrun and claimed by the true elites of the System who would not look kindly on an excess of riffraff polluting their pristine Ort runs, or the high magitech city that would soon be their playground and profit Eric, and Blue Corp of course, immensely.

Of course there was no real way they could object to a combination cultivation academy and adventuring school founded by the very Contender that would make so many young Scion’s dreams of unlocking the keys to Bronze tier possible, perhaps even Silver for the truly gifted. Especially as they would be able to adventure and level up in a world that at this precise moment and for the next handful of decades, was undergoing a glorious ascension, infusing all her guests, especially the natives, with so much potential that it was a damned statistical anomaly.

An anomaly that made level-ups possible in weeks or days, or perhaps just a couple of terrifying encounters while blood-linked with a native Contender like Eric, when ranking up past level 20 on most worlds took upwards of a year.

As a result, even the most powerful and connected otherworldly guests would be more than willing to tolerate a couple of native academies occupying a discrete corner of territory now so rich in cultivation and arcane energies that even Annika was making strides in the perilous direction she had chosen, striking the foul arachnid they now faced with a magnificent blue-white bolt of lightning, perfectly mirroring a flawless Blue Corp wand, without any focus at all save her jutting arm and the power of a runic spell she had actually managed to reforge without the necessity of any Spiritual Energy component whatsoever.

A marked distinction from Eric’s own Runic Spells, for all that Annika’s runic variants were presently limited to spell effects that perfectly mirrored wands.

Of course the first week had been as serene and glorious a time of discovery and growth as Jinni could have hoped for, she thought, as her powerfully built patron effortlessly gripped her by the waist and sent them both tumbling away from the vicious pincered limbs of the thirty-foot tall arachnid that had ambushed them on the outskirts of the absolutely enormous primeval forest soaring literal hundreds of feet overhead, as if they were all the size of insects in comparison the true predators of this woodland grove.

Yet all good things had to come to an end. And for all that Jinni’s personal transformation as a cultivator had been so profound that she had shed tears of joy in the arms of the man she would have married in a heartbeat if he proposed, she seemed to be alone in feeling absolutely awed by how far she had come without once leaving safety’s bosom.

Regrettably, the Classers had found the week of peaceful study far less beneficial, for all that they had achieved in a week what should have normally taken even the best students months to achieve. Yet despite Annika’s breakthroughs in arcane comprehension being truly momentous while saturated with Hope territory’s incredible vortex of arcane potential, Aurelia Silver’s favored assistant had still struggled to master or even fully comprehend the runic magics Eric Silver had somehow forged from the crux of living dream. And Eric himself had quietly conceded that a week of dedicated training and quiet reflection might have done wonders for consolidating his rapid gains, as well as regain a measure of serenity, but he had failed to advance even a single rank in any of his key skills, so many now at Journeyman, Adept, and even Elite tier.

Which was why Jinni now found herself battling fearsome horrors that could so easily kill her, unable to understand the wild looks in his friends and would-be lovers’ eyes as they engaged in daily hunts of the most fearsome horrors imaginable in neighboring orange tier territories, the perilous monster hunt’s only saving grace being that a single heart-wrenching hour and they’d mount her would-be lover’s massive undead tuskers and be back to cultivating and training before the glorious crystalline towers that would serve as the centerpieces of both their academies.

Towers built in a handful of days, the only way Blue Corp could begin to make amends for Arlen Ort absolutely ruining the liquidity of their bank, and burdening them with a horrific debt to their benefactor’s sworn enemies that should have had that bastard’s head in a noose.

Yet as a result of their daily kills and post-hunt training, Annika had blazed with transcendent insights that were allowing her to slowly forge her own runic lexicon based solely on arcane principles with just the slightest taint of blood magics so minute even a pure blooded Sylvan could handle it, so long as they were willing to make the smallest of sacrifices.

But the one among their now bloodlinked party that had savored perhaps the most astounding series of breakthroughs and growth hadn’t been Eric at all, who, despite his dual master classes, still hadn’t had a single additional breakthrough, but Sufia. A girl who, in a mad fit of inspiration, had actually fused the essence of Eric’s Pristine quality Wind Step tome to one of her precious Meridian channels. And far from corrupting her foundation with such a System-Centric power placement, she had actually managed to use that pristine tier cultivation power to crack open her one sealed node and infuse it with such a howling storm of glorious Wind Qi that it had blown open multiple channels, allowing for the smooth flow of spiritual energy through her entire meridian network which meant she could now advance effortlessly as both Classer and cultivator. A cultivator who now possessed a royal tier configuration much like Eric’s own. And much to Jinni’s envy, Eric had actually applauded, for all that Sufia had come damned close to killing herself! And now they pretended that the full night and day Sufia’s life had hung on the precipice of oblivion had simply been her consolidating the most extreme and unorthodox of breakthroughs, Eric now declaring her act of absolute madness a move worthy of the best sort of power gamer!

It was Sufia’s brazen and exceedingly perilous act that had convinced Eric to give up his original plans of quiet training and cultivation altogether, now focused entirely on partying up with them and taking out as many high level horrors in what he called highly controlled environments as they safely could per day.

In fact, the only one of them who wasn’t profiting like mad from their increasingly insane and reckless path was Jinni herself, who found herself freezing up with terror each and every time it was her turn to land a killing blow on horrors multiple times her level.

“Relax, it will be fine!” Eric had assured with a madman’s grin the first time they had dared their mad hunt. “My revenants will corral these critters in a nice hundred yard arena one at a time. They’ll be far enough away there will be no experience point penalties, which means the four of us will be getting full credit for tackling beasts of between 60 and 80th level!”

“Doing it this way allows us to channel the potency not just as Classers but as cultivators!” Sufia had enthused with a madcap grin the mirror of Eric’s own. “I’m doubling down on using the System’s own power and my own knack for Wind and Wood to crack open and purify my meridians, channeling a week’s worth of non-stop cycling of my Wind Qi into a single glorious afternoon’s kill! And every Class level we earn will be level-up points I can use to further stabilize and enhance my twelfth node, the one I used the System’s own desire for ascendancy over cultivation to crack open, allowing me the best of both worlds!”

Jinni’s eyes had widened at Sufia’s bold declaration of using System quirks and a cultivator’s potential to circumvent limitations that had been the bane of cultivators since forever. In fact, she was increasingly certain that it was Eric who had first proposed that bit of madness, but clearly Sufia had been game. Though Jinni suspected that the young huntress was as eager to entice his interest in her as a woman by showcasing their kindred spirits as much as she had any actual desire to risk her life for power that the boy they were all so foolishly chasing seemed so hellbent on grasping. To the point that he didn’t even seem to think that the perilous risks the four of them were now constantly taking was anything but par for the course with how adventurers should behave on a newly ascended world.

Yet everything she had gleaned from the bare bones resources available to her had painted that mad dash for power with an exceedingly high mortality rate as par for the course in newly ascended planets. And much to her dismay but not necessarily surprise, Eric, looking so comfortable in his blood-forged armor, had nodded his actual approval.

“Damn right we’re doing multiple hunts every day, just like all the other elites in newly awakened System worlds, because it’s the only way we can make up for all the resources that the galactic elites are doing everything in their power to deny us. So I’m going to do my utmost to push you three just as hard as you’re willing to let me, to forge you into the ultimate versions of yourselves that you can be, in whatever time we have available to us. Especially since Mother’s made it damn clear that these negotiations are going to take a lot longer than a week… I’m no longer holding back.”

His hardened gaze had instantly eased into a beautiful smile. “A week of rest and recovery, then being able to safely adventure on my own terms while helping to level up a party of truly beautiful companions has been a godsend to me, believe me. I’m no longer waking up after a single hour’s rest with my heart pounding, expecting something trying to kill me, hovering just feet away.”

“You mean like that incredibly tasty goblin I took care of for you that first night?” snarked his rather adorable and terrifyingly deadly familiar, who could fire bolts of crimson lightning every bit as deadly as the ones Annika had worked so hard to perfect this past week, and had made it damn clear to Jinni just the other day that she was being an absolute idiot, freezing up before claiming a potency share of any of the kills Eric was trying so hard to present them all with.

“Exactly!” Eric concurred, giving his familiar’s ear a high five. “And that’s why the bedroom was full of revenants that time you… ahem… wanted to help me get a head start on the day,” he said with a wink at Sufia.

“You’re damn right I would have, and it would have been a day you’d never forget,” Sufia had declared, smoky amber eyes pinning a suddenly quiet Eric where he had stood. “It was only thanks to you and your insane idea that I had any hope of unsealing my twelve meridian, a node not even your mother thought there was any hope of bringing to life. So the least I can do is return the favor. Preferably for a lifetime.”

Jinni had immediately stolen a glance a grinning Annika’s way, both of them slowly approaching a too-still Eric like lionesses on the hunt, finally ready to claim their man.

Then Eric had laughed, leaped far too high in the air, and somersaulted right over them.

“I can see we’re all getting restless. So let’s take that next step in helping our dear Sufia stabilize her new awesome node power with some more perk points, and help Annika push her Arcane Runic Lore ability to the next tier. It’s time for you both to level up again by embracing the hunt!”

Then Eric’s playful smile had hardened, Jinni freezing like a mouse before the eyes of a hawk when he pinned her with his gaze. “And this time, Jinni, you’re taking part. No excuses.”

Which was why they were now facing off against yet another massive spider, and this time Jinni was expected to participate. Now her entire life, or at least the last couple of weeks, was flashing before her eyes in the space of seconds as her friends screamed at her to get her head back in the game. She could see Sufia desperately using her insanely modified Wind Step to dart around her prey at inhuman speeds, that singular warped combination of System Node and cultivation skill transformed by all the points she had happily invested in it at Eric’s insistence into the ultimate mobility skill that any scout, assassin, ranger, or sniper would kill for, pinging her arrows against her prey yet sadly doing nothing to detract the furious 80th level arachnid’s killing intent from freezing Jinni right where she stood.

A terrified Jinni couldn’t even move even when the hideous arachnid showed itself as capable of using Wind as any cultivator as soared through the heavens, claw tufts ready to rend and tear as it crashed down right on top of her… until everything was a flash of violent red and she cried out, clenched in an inhumanly strong grip that sent her hurtling through the air as a roaring Eric’s sword ignited with that terrifying synergism of Wood, Wind, and Fire magics saturated with blood in ways that were utterly forbidden, utterly terrifying, and that suited her monstrous predatory suitor absolutely perfectly. His mithril sword flickered so fast that she couldn’t even see the blade as the creature’s mandibles exploded in ichor and chittinous shrapnel, right before each individual leg collapsed, sending it slowly crashing to the ground.

All Jinni wanted to do was scream and sob for the terror pounding her heart before her sight was filled not with the concerned gaze of the man she so desperately wished would just kiss her, but the displeased countenance of a fearsome mixed-blood contender who, instead of displaying any desire to ravish her, just yelled in her face.

“Jinni! Wind Strike to that creature’s eye! Stop hesitating and DO IT! I didn’t risk all your lives just for you to freeze up and lose out on a level’s worth of sweet fucking GROWTH!”

Her eyes widened with shocked hurt. All her anxiety, frustration, and mind-numbing terror turned to speechless fury. She was angry at herself. She was angry at this stupid idiot who didn’t seem to realize how much she wanted him, how much they all wanted him. And most of all, she was angry at this hideous horrific monstrous spider almost triple her level. Because this crazy world didn’t have a single green or yellow tier territory. It went straight from white to orange, making safe steady leveling utterly impossible! She should be safely in the arms of the idiot even now propelling her right next to the massive arachnid covered in glossy chittin plates with far too many sharp angles, stinking of rotting cockroaches and death. Indeed, never had she wanted to flee for her life more than she did at that moment as she instead shrieked her fury and channeled all her terror at this beast who had come so close to killing her into a single furious punch that somehow tapped into the howling whirlwind of her outrage. A punch she happily unleashed right in her hideous foe’s face!

Only to crash to her knees as half understood techniques finally crystallized into pristine clarity as her Spiritual Energy plummeted and the arachnid’s closest eye, along with the contents of its head, abruptly exploded, spattering herself, a shocked looking Annika and a cackling Sufia with absolutely wretched smelling spider innards.

And of course a laughing Eric, eyes twinkling with such mirth, had effortlessly dodged the stream of viscera. And Jinni wanted nothing more than to curse out that silly fool of a boy before freezing stock still as her Interface was flooded with a stream of messages.

You and your party have successfully slain a Level 83 Tiger Spider!

Party experience pool boosted by NATIVE CONTENDER! You have earned SIGNIFICANT bonus experience for the first time kill of a creature over twice your (cultivation) level!

Congratulations! Thanks to your EXTENSIVE use of a Pristine Windridge Clan cultivation manual, all of your peripheral channels are now Pristine Quality! 100% Wind affinity achieved! You are now a 31st level Cultivator and enjoy +1 to Strength/Vitality/Quickness and +2 to Spiritual Energy with each additional level-up!

You have successfully evolved your Trash Tier Wind Blast Qi Attack into a Pristine variant of Wind Fist!

As you have evolved your Wind Qi skill in the crucible of combat upon an ascending world and have accepted the title: Headmistress, all teaching restrictions have been successfully lifted! You may freely teach your evolved skill to prospective initiates and disciples without restriction or penalty!

Jinni blinked, gazing at her fist, even now emanating a swirling storm of pristine Wind Qi with open-mouthed wonder.

“You did it, Jinni! You actually did it, I knew you would!” Declared a gushing Sufia, giving her such a fierce hug before bouncing around the kill sight faster than ever, springing from invisible perches in the air to effortlessly hanging at a 90 degree angle from the gargantuan tree-trunk nearby to slipping through the grass as she darted about faster than ever, all without disturbing a single waving stalk of grass, clearly having leveled up and thrown even more points into that gloriously overpowered abomination of a System Node and cultivation skill she had utterly made her own.

And Jinni didn’t blame her one bit.

Even Annika was flashing a pleased smile, now scoring the monstrous carapace with Ice Spears, Lightning Bolts, and beams of fiery plasma. “I think I’m also on the verge of another breakthrough, shield sisters!”

Heart-shaped features beamed into a bemused Eric’s smiling countenance. “Just you wait, Eric Silver. I’m going to evolve my class into something I actually want to be, and make you proud with how well I master the secrets you’ve shared with me.”

Eric, eyes still twinkling, dipped his head. “I have no doubt that you will, Annika. I look forward to hearing all about your future progress.”

Jinni swallowed, numbed outrage turning at last to an awed chuckle. “You helped me,” she whispered. “You helped me get over my fear… to channel that hodgepodge sorry ass excuse for an attack into something actually useful!”

Her heart skipped a beat as she met Eric’s eyes with her own. “You saved my life.”

He smirked, and she just knew he was going to blow off her words with a cute quip.

So she silenced him with her lips.

A soft kiss that lingered.

“Jinni...”

Her heart was now racing. She knew he was in mourning, though he refused to say a word over who or what, and she had known better than to ask. But she wasn’t blind. She had sensed his hunger, his growing attraction to all three of them as one day had bled into the next. And though Jinni and her two future sister-wives had found sweet relief in each other… Eric had sought no relief at all, until now.

The savage hunter in her arms was trembling with need.

“Shut up and take me, Eric Silver.”

The sudden sensation of being in the arms of a beast nearly half a dozen times as strong as herself filled Jinni with sweetest exhilaration spiked with delicious terror that became desperate hunger as Eric’s armaments disappeared in the blink of an eye.

His kisses had turned fierce, his wild eyes so very hungry.

Before he suddenly froze and stepped back. And Jinni would never forgive the hungry whimper that escaped her throat when the stupid foolish boy who had actually managed to steal her heart gave her an oddly sympathetic smile.

“Eric?”

“Turn around. We have company.”

Jinni felt it then, a shiver down her spine that became the awful sensation of bone-deep cold.

And this time she did whimper, locking desperate glances with Annika and Sufia, the sheer exultation of their magnificent feat paling in the face of what they had failed to accomplish.

For Winter had come far to soon.

“Hello, Mother.”

Jinni turned around. She couldn’t help it. For all that she was sworn to the Blue, oaths and duties she would relinquish the minute a certain man claimed her and her future cultivation academy was complete, she still felt awed and humbled by the striking vision of beauty, poise, and devastating power that had forged an empire. A sanctuary from which the entire Sylvan faction in this corner of the galaxy hailed.

Faction representative or no, how could she not kneel before her queen?

A queen whose imperious gaze was as cool as a winter gale, sparing not a shred of warmth for would-be subjects who had so clearly and utterly failed in their objective.

If Aurelia had just waited one more damn day…

Jinn quickly swallowed her ire and lowered her gaze, knowing that some things were best not even thought of, let alone spoken aloud. Aurelia’s words washed over all of them. Yet only one, it seemed, was worthy of her direct regard.

“Come, Eric. It is time.”