The air on the balcony was thin and tasted of frost. Lady Elara didn't step out of the shadows; she simply existed within them, her blue silk dress blending into the midnight sky. To her, the world was a series of power levels and bloodlines. To Chen, the world was currently a HUD (Heads-Up Display) glowing with a warning he couldn't share.
[Warning: High-Rank Sanguine Presence detected.]
[Target: Lady Elara — Gold Rank (Level 44)]
[Status: Analyzing you for 'Inconsistencies.']
Chen didn't turn around. He continued to fan himself, the rhythmic thwap-thwap of the bamboo ribs the only sound in the silence.
"I'm an 'Amusement Assistant,' Lady Elara. If I couldn't hear a punchline—or a predator—coming from a mile away, I'd be out of a job. And I quite like my current benefits package."
"Benefits?" Elara stepped forward, the temperature dropping with every inch she gained. "You are a toy in a cage of obsidian. Malphas looks at you and sees a lucky charm. I look at you and see a lie."
Chen finally turned, his violet eyes meeting her sapphire ones. For a second, the playfulness vanished, replaced by the cold, ancient weight of his Martial Awareness.
"A lie is just a story that hasn't finished yet," Chen said, his voice dropping an octave. "You want to 'rent' me. You offered the Marquis silk and cores. But what do you offer me? I'm the one who has to sit in your carriage and pretend to be a jester while you try to figure out how to dissect me without ruining the upholstery."
Elara paused, her smile faltering for a fraction of a second. She hadn't expected the 'Bronze' boy to speak to her as an equal. In her eyes, he had no Status Screen, no visible skills—just a strange, defiant aura. "I offer you a way out of this dusty Spire. And perhaps... a chance to grow. The North is harsh, but it is honest."
"Honest," Chen chuckled. "Right. About as honest as a shark at a blood bank." He snapped his fan shut. "I'll go. I'll be your 'guest' at the gala. But the contract isn't with Malphas. It's with me. You don't touch my fan, you don't ask about my 'luck,' and you provide top-tier strawberry milk every morning."
Elara reached out a gloved hand, her curiosity manifesting as a thin layer of frost on the stones. "A bold little mite. You speak as if you have a choice."
"I always have a choice," Chen said.
Then, he moved.
[Skill Activated: 'Salted Fish's First Strike']
[Damage Multiplier: 500%]
To Elara, it looked like Chen simply stumbled. His foot slipped on a patch of frost, and he flailed his arms to catch his balance. But as he 'fell' toward her, his folded fan shot forward like a spear, aimed directly at the center of her mana circulation point.
The speed was impossible for a Bronze. The pressure behind the strike was enough to ripple the air.
THUD.
Elara's hand caught the tip of the fan an inch from her chest. The impact sent a shockwave through the balcony, shattering a nearby stone gargoyle. Her sapphire eyes widened. She had to use a significant portion of her Gold-rank defense just to stop a 'clumsy' lunge from a boy who supposedly had no power.
"Testing the new master," Chen chirped, immediately pulling back and looking horrified. "Oh my! I am so sorry! I slipped! This floor is incredibly slippery, Lady Elara. You really should tell the Marquis to hire more janitors."
Elara looked at her palm. It was tingling. Her frost energy, which usually froze anything it touched, had been pushed aside by a strange, warm force. She didn't have a System to tell her what that force was. She could only rely on her senses, and they were screaming that this boy was an enigma.
He is a Bronze, she thought, her mind racing. His muscles are underdeveloped. His breathing is shallow. But that strike... that wasn't luck. It was mastery. But mastery of what?
She looked at Chen, who was currently "struggling" to regain his balance, looking as pathetic and harmless as a wet kitten.
"A test?" she asked, her voice tight.
"A Chief Amusement Assistant must ensure his employer is sturdy enough to handle the jokes," Chen replied, bowing deeply. "You passed. Barely. You might want to work on your grip."
Elara felt a rare sensation: apprehension. She had intended to use Chen as a key to unlock the secrets of the Dead Zone. Now, she felt like she was bringing a sleeping tiger into her home and calling it a pet.
"Get your things, Chen," she said, her sapphire eyes narrowing as she tried—and failed—to read the intent behind his violet gaze. "We leave at dawn. And I'll see about your milk."
[Mission Progress: Infiltrate the North — Commenced]
[Lady Elara's Impression: 'Unfathomable Enigma']
Chen watched her walk away, his mind already calculating the fastest way to Level 15. Gary would have been proud of that slip, he thought. Now, I just have to make sure I don't actually fall for her traps.