Desecration Chapter106: Would You Like To Meet The Chef?

Earning a shit ton of street cred because I forced an idiot to enjoy a lingual dinner wasn't sothing I expected, if I was being entirely honest.

I knew society was pretty fucked up when it ca to leniency for strong folk, but I didn't think they'd reward it. The amount of boys that professed their love in the three days since was ridiculous, I even got a few complentary cookies from a bunch of geriatrics!

I beat the shit out of the forr, and beat the shit out of whoever the latter asked too.

Unless they were old. I drew the line at old.

In fact, the moral lecture ca from the source I expected the least.

"What did you get out of that?" Alvir said. "So satisfaction? Was it worth making an enemy of one of the magisters? Was it worth compromising your beliefs?"

I scoffed. "I didn't compromise shit. The Rhombals could've had killed if that rumour gained any traction, and I needed to do sothing dramatic to show the Enthals that I'm not fucking around. I thought you of all people would understand that."

"Good gods. You're losing your mind. Even without...outside influences."

"Don't give that shit," I glared. "Hearing that from anyone else might actually an sothing, but from you? Fuck right off you hypocritical bastard."

He pursed his lips, and even had the gall to look hurt. I'd allow the insult though since it got him to shut his mouth, conversations like these would've been exhausting even with people I cared for. Him? He was exhausting to be around in general.

I sat at my impromptu reading spot, ignoring Alvir's stare as I began reciting mana differentiation theory. I was beginning to think he was curating my education to be as useless as possible, because this had no practical applications whatsoever. Still helped with learning new Words though, so this was just sothing I had to suffer through to get to the proper lessons.

He got to his enchanting after a dramatically long stare, so I could get so sense training done too!

"You're spreading yourself too thin."

I blinked, rudely torn from my book and training like a newborn from their mother. I turned to Alvir with a scowl. "rcy of all the gods and their bastards, you're gonna present so bullshit argunt about respecting my limits now?"

"It's not so much respecting your limits as much as it is acknowledging that they exist," Alvir said. "You're doing too much at once, and as a result you're making barely any progress in any of them. So of the shit you're doing I don't even understand, and I'm ."

I snorted. "Jealous much?"

Alvir let out a tired sigh. "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Making up ulterior motives so you can ignore good advice. I know you don't care for at all, but you might as well respect your own intelligence and consider what I'm saying honestly."

"Alright," I mused. "I'll entertain the thought for a mont. Can you define what a 'limit' is for first so we're both on the sa page?"

Alvir groaned. "Are we really going to argue semantics when it's obvious you know what I an?"

"I really don't."

"Not giving a damn about you would be so much easier than this," Alvir said and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. A 'limit' is a point you can't cross no matter how much you try, and trying anyway always ends badly. Happy?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not ant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"No actually. If I was testing this arbitrary limit, don't you think I would've collapsed by now or so shit?"

"You have. Multiple tis."

I shrugged. "Temporary setbacks. Never resulted in anything permanent."

"You're just racking up debt right now," Alvir sighed. "You won't like what happens when it cos ti to pay up. Actually, no. If the hunters didn't have that healer then you would've permanently crippled yourself with that arm explosion crap you were doing."

"I didn't though."

"Tell with a straight face that you knew what would happen the first ti you tried. I dare you," Alvir glared.

"Still worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"You should know, more than most, that gambling with things you don't understand is a bad idea."

My gaze darkened, and he let out a sigh, shifting his attention back to the necklace waiting for the magic touch. Got back to enchanting without another word, even if he didn't seem to be in the mood. I almost entered my flow before the man opened his mouth once more.

"Look, you don't like . I get that, but everyone in your life so far has been either horrified and/or concerned with what you're doing. And now you've literally made a man who was just doing what his bastard lord told him to eat his own tongue. Doesn't any of that deserve any consideration?"

"Don't pretend that you care," I scoffed.

"I'm trying to help you!" Alvir yelled, and I imdiately stiffened. He took a calming breath while I stared at him impassively. "Look...why can't you just let yourself enjoy life for a bit? Have more girls days with your friend, hang out with that hunter ntor of yours. Maybe court that noble boy, even if you don't see him that way."

I stared at him for a while. "No."

Genuine frustration whispered into my ears for a mont. I ignored it.

He deflated and let out a long sigh. "So things we can't beat, Yir. No matter how much we try. Might as well enjoy the ti we have while we have it."

"I thought you didn't believe in my prophecy?" I raised a brow.

He pursed his lips. "If you're not gonna give yourself a break, can you at least shelve a few of the things you're experinting with? You really are doing too much at once."

Weird way to shift the topic, but okay.

"I'll think about it," I lied.

The look he gave bordered on sothing resembling sadness, clearly not buying it. I brushed it off. The man could pretend all he liked, but I wasn't going to let my emotions ruin good sense.

Never again.

I was breathing hard, looking up at the sky as the sound of a few hunters training entered my ears. More than usual. The coming of the fire mage seed to have set a fire in their souls, perhaps they were trying to impress him? Felt pointless to , since the man operated solo.

"You gonna get up?" Xae said with a raised brow.

"Yeah," I sighed. "It's just...it feels like the chasm between us sohow got wider then when we started. Been visiting the temple lately?"

"Not more than I usually do," Xae shrugged.

"Then how?"

Xae scoffed. "Not sothing I want to talk about in public."

I rolled my eyes and got to my feet, brushing off the snow from my training pants. The guild didn't have a fancy pane of glass to stop the elents like the temple did, though it was probably more expensive than getting the glass set up in the first place, considering they needed enchantnts to heat it so that the snow didn't pack on and break the ceiling.

Xae smirked and I scowled. "So, another round?"

I huffed and readied my stance across from her. She did the sa after a mont, and we waited for one of us to make the first move. I was hurt, very hurt. Bruises upon bruises to fuel my half-Word.

I noticed a shift in Xae's leading foot and got ready to—

"Hello!"

Xae almost tripped over herself with the interruption, and I turned to glare at a man that was altogether too well dressed to belong anywhere near the guild.

Xae joined in my ire once she got her balance back.

"What do you want?" Xae said.

Rhode gave her a cheeky smile with a glint in his eye. "Still one for rudeness are we? Am I not allowed to introduce my humble self to one of the guild's greatest prodigies?"

"I'm sure that's all you want," Xae said with unmistakable venom.

Huh. Xae wasn't a friendly person by any asure, but I'm not sure I'd ever seen her be so openly hostile before. Must've had so history there, I'd ask later.

For now, I apparantly had to introduce myself.

"Yir Smith," I said. "Can I help you?"

His attention shifted to , and I'm not sure I'd ever seen a persons eyes glow so taphorically that it might've broken into the literal. "Smith? You wouldn't happen to be the daughter of Asna then, would you?"

I blinked. "You knew my mom?"

"Knew?" He squinted at .

"She's dead," I said. "Has been for almost a year."

His face fell from its strange joviality into sothing solemn. "Ah...that's...a sha. She was an exceptional example of your kind, I had high hopes for her. You have my condolences."

I scrunched my brow, 'your kind'?

I pushed that aside, best not to antagonize a mage. "Thanks."

"Well, I didn't an to dredge up any unpleasant mories," the man gave a hollow chuckle. "But it's a wondrous pleasure to make your acquaintance! I'll be sure that we see much more of each other from now on. Crying sha that fellow mages took this long to exchange pleasantries."