Lucen stopped halfway through the doorway. Boots still on. Bag still slung.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Cool," he muttered. "My apartnt cos with judgnt now."
Varik was already sitting on the couch. Leaning back like he’d been there a while. One arm draped across the top, the other resting on a can, unopened, label peeled off halfway.
Lucen let the bag slide off his shoulder and hit the floor with a soft thud. Kicked the door shut behind him with his heel.
"Let guess," he said, "you broke in because waiting outside like a normal person would’ve been too easy."
Varik cracked the tab on the drink. "You forget I have the key."
Lucen blinked. Then pointed at him. "You weren’t supposed to rember that."
"I rember a lot of things," Varik said, then took a sip. "Like the fact you didn’t respond to my last ssage. Or the one before that."
Lucen dropped into the armchair across from him. Stretched his legs out.
"You sound like a clingy ex."
"You sound like soone who just cleared a dungeon break without telling anyone."
Lucen shrugged, eyes half-lidded. "Minor break. A few monsters. Nothing serious."
"You jumped in with a brand new team," Varik said.
"They were fine," Lucen said. "One of them actually thanked after. I think. Might’ve been sarcasm."
Varik leaned forward slightly, can in hand.
"I saw the replay."
Lucen raised a brow. "Already?"
Varik nodded once. "So kid in the crowd recorded it. You clipped two berserkers mid-charge, right before they slamd into your line."
Lucen made a vague hand gesture. "I was bored. They were open."
"You tanked one with your face."
"I blocked with my shoulder."
"That wasn’t a block. That was you being too lazy to sidestep."
Lucen smirked, tilted his head back, eyes on the ceiling. "Worked, didn’t it?"
Varik didn’t answer.
The silence sat.
Lucen finally exhaled. Not a sigh. Just air leaving fast.
"Alright. I overdid it. They gave a desk and everything, and I guess I got a little caught up in it."
Varik nodded slowly. "You’re not supposed to get caught up in anything."
"I know."
"Your rank still hidden?"
Lucen looked down. "Yep."
"System interface?"
"Locked. Masked. It’s still running personal overlay mode. No leaks."
Varik leaned back again.
The room settled around them. Dim light. Old cushions. Mana haze faint in the corners.
Lucen rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I didn’t an to go full try-hard. They had no control. So of them didn’t even coordinate their targets. A sword user just... sprinted past the archer like he was looking for the nearest vending machine."
Varik tapped the can against the table edge. Light. Barely audible.
"What did you use?"
Lucen tilted his head. "You’re asking?"
"I’m gauging. Not guessing."
Lucen shrugged. "Nothing flashy. Setup spells. Mobility. Maybe one actual detonation. That’s it."
Varik narrowed his eyes. "Which one?"
Lucen cracked a smile. "Crater."
"Of course."
"It was spaced. Clean impact. No casualties."
Varik stared for a second. Then gave a short nod. "You’re still stacking invisible chains."
Lucen spread his hands slightly. "Better than throwing them raw. People love watching spells fly, but they don’t understand how much ti they’re wasting. If one trigger can carry three functions, why not just do that?"
Varik stood up, rolled his shoulders once.
"You’re leaning on intellect."
Lucen frowned. "It’s my stat. Let have it."
"You need more than that."
Lucen leaned forward, elbows on knees. "I just finished martial training. You want to beco a bard next?"
"No," Varik said. "I want you to know what to do when magic doesn’t work."
Lucen looked up.
Varik tossed him a small, rectangular glyph-sealed pack.
He caught it one-handed.
"What’s this?"
"Stamina tabs. We’re running again tomorrow."
Lucen’s voice went flat. "Of course we are."
Varik grabbed his coat off the chair. "And you’re eating better."
Lucen held the tab up. "What part of mana fried eggrolls and two synth-packets of noodles says I’m not?"
"The part where you fell asleep with a wrap still in your hand two nights ago."
Lucen blinked. "You watched that?"
"I took a picture."
"That’s evil."
Varik smirked. "It’s archived."
Lucen stood up, stretched once, then cracked his neck. "Alright, alright. You win. But you’re still a creep for breaking into my apartnt."
Varik walked to the door. Paused before opening it.
"Lock it this ti."
Lucen flipped him off lazily. "Yeah, yeah."
Varik opened the door.
Then turned. "Lucen."
Lucen raised a brow.
"You’re getting attention."
Lucen’s smile faded. Just slightly.
"I figured."
"Don’t draw too much."
"I’m not trying to."
Varik nodded once. "That’s the problem."
And with that, he left.
Lucen stood there a mont longer. Then tossed the tab pack on the counter, walked to the fridge, and opened it.
Nothing inside but half a can of lukewarm soda and a sealed nutrient bar from a week ago.
He muttered under his breath.
’This’ll be easy. I’ll just pretend it’s hard so they don’t cry.’
—
The apartnt was still half-dark when Lucen cracked open one eye. No alarm, no system ping, no warning.
Just Varik’s voice, low and near the edge of polite.
"Get up. We’re late."
Lucen blinked. Rolled once. The ceiling still had that faint water stain shaped like a turtle. He muttered, "Late for what?"
Varik didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
Lucen pulled the blanket over his head.
Then—
Fwoop.
Blanket gone. Yanked.
"Hey." Lucen sat up, hair a ss. "This better not be climbing again."
Varik was already lacing up his boots. "Not climbing. You’ll hate it more."
Lucen groaned. "So swimming in lava?"
Varik turned, tossed sothing at him.
It landed on Lucen’s chest with a dull thud. A sheathed blade. Leather grip. Clean, but worn enough to feel real. No enchantnt. No interface glyphs.
Just a sword.
Lucen stared at it. Then at Varik.
"You realize I’m a caster, right?"
"Not today."
Lucen didn’t move.
Varik raised a brow. "Want to carry you out?"
Lucen stood.
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