"Well," Eveline began with a grin as she set her glass down on the table, leaning back comfortably in her chair.
"I’m not as adventurous as Tristan, wandering ancient ruins. My story’s a bit simpler, though maybe not as interesting." She glanced around the table, her gaze sweeping over the curious faces of her teammates. "I’ve been with the sect for about 1,200 years now."
"1,200 years?" Kaelin raised an eyebrow, a smirk creeping onto his face. "Not bad! You’re quite talented as well then! Spirit Transcendent rank really isn’t sothing you just stumble into."
Eveline’s grin widened. "I didn’t grow up around the typical cultivator families like most of you probably did. My family ran a small tavern near the northern border of the Lightning Sect’s territory along the coast. Nothing special. No Spirit Ascension cultivators in the family either, just regular folks scraping by at the Spirit Transformation stage.
I had to fight tooth and nail to get noticed by Abby academy after my awakening. We didn’t have extra money to bribe the elders for the limited slots."
"Oh?" Aerin asked, his voice cutting through the low murmur of conversation in the restaurant.
Eveline shrugged, taking another sip of her wine. "Well, I’ve always had a knack for fighting. I was smarter and tougher than most of the boys in town who’d try to pick fights with . Guess they didn’t like seeing a girl knock them flat, so they constantly picked on ." She chuckled softly.
"After graduating I went back ho as a Spirit Growth cultivator and started working in the Tavern like my parents. One day, a Lightning Sect recruiter ca through just for a al. Saw take down three guys twice my size in a street brawl, and the next thing I knew, I was on my way to the sect since he felt like I had the right attitude."
Lara, who had been quiet, raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"
"Just like that," Eveline confird with a nod. "I worked my way up from nothing. Once I got into rune smithing, the lecturing elder realized I had a real talent for it and for the first ti in my life I started getting preferential treatnt and resources. And now, here I am, Spirit Transcendent, kicking ass with the best of them."
She leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with pride. "But, when I’m not fighting, I like to keep tinkering with runes. They fascinate and brought to where I am today. The way a few simple symbols can control imnse power and disrupt others? There’s nothing like it."
Lassim, who had been listening quietly, couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. "You really are talented with runes," he comnted. "During the battle, the way you dismantled the Sun Sect’s formations... It was quite impressive. I’ve got so experience with copying runes, but it’s tough."
Eveline shrugged casually, though her smile widened. "What can I say? It’s my thing. But enough about ." She glanced around the table and gave a flirty wink, "Kaelin, what about you? Let’s hear from the next down the ranks."
Kaelin smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Well, I’m not as flashy as you guys, but I’ve got my own story. I didn’t exactly co from an honorable background like so of you. My family... we were thieves… bandits… brigands, however you might prefer to describe their sort."
"Thieves?" Tristan’s brow furrowed slightly, but his tone remained light, curious. "Didn’t expect that."
"Not sothing I advertise," Kaelin replied with a shrug. "But yeah, I grew up running the streets, learning how to survive. By the ti I was old enough to hold a mortal weapon, I was already deep into the life. My family wasn’t big-ti, just local troublemakers. But we were good at what we did with collecting ’protection’ money."
"So how’d you end up in the sect?" Lara asked, her arms crossed as she studied him.
Kaelin’s smile turned wry. "I got caught, of course. Well, almost. I was on a job, stealing so rare artifact from a traveling rchant as a lowly Apirit Growth level 3 cultivator, when I ran into a Spirit Ascension cultivator from the Lightning Sect. Instead of arresting , they gave a choice—join the sect, or... well, you can guess the other option." He chuckled dryly.
"I guess lightning elental petty thieves aren’t that common, so they gave a choice. Figured joining was the better deal."
"Seems like you made the right choice," Aerin said, his tone thoughtful. "You’ve been a valuable asset to the team."
Kaelin shrugged. "I like to think so. I channel those old habits into sothing more productive these days. I’ve got a bit of a collection going, rare daggers from all over the continent and many others. Each one with its own unique designs form the culture they co from. They’re still mortal weapons, but I like ’em."
Kaelin flashed a grin, summoning an elegantly designed and very pointy stiletto blade dagger with green embellishnts and a dragon motif on the guard. "What can I say? I like sharp things."
Lara shifted slightly in her seat, her eyes flicking between Kaelin and the others before settling on
Lassim.
"You’ve been quiet," she said softly, her voice barely cutting through the din of the restaurant. The storm wine seed to be making her a bit sleepy, "What about you, Lassim? Where did our powerful Initiate rank leader co from?"
Lassim hesitated for a mont, the weight of the question settling over him. He wasn’t sure how much to really expose of himself, but he heard Zaphy’s voice ring in his ntal space, "[Let’s make friends! Tell them what you’re comfortable with! It’ll be fine!"
Lassim paused for a mont, gathering his thoughts.
"I didn’t grow up anywhere near the sect," Lassim began, his voice steady as he looked at the expectant faces around the table. "In fact, I’m from the Veridian continent to the north across the sea. My father, the Iron Marquis, is a well-known Fire elental cultivator in the Aurora Kingdom where I’m from—he’s a bit of a hero back ho.
My mother’s from the Rohese family, and they’re known for their work in architecture and building. I had a really good life growing up—never wanted for anything."
Kaelin leaned in, curiosity written across his face. "The Iron Marquis? I’ve heard that na! I think I was on a mission for the sect about a hundred years ago to transport a special herb called a nine cat’s eye blossom. I rember the inn I stayed at had a stage downstairs where they’d have music every night. There once was a bard that sang a tune about him facing down the Dragal legions in battle.
Didn’t think we’d have his son on our team."
Lassim smiled faintly. "Yeah, that’s him. I grew up in a small place called Swallowtail Mountain city, surrounded by forests and mountains. It’s all under my father’s perview as lord. Life was peaceful—at least, until everything changed when I gained my elental companions."
Tristan raised an eyebrow. "You an Zaphyrella and Marinelle, right? We’ve seen you use both Lightning and Water, and said their nas a few tis when you called out to have them assist with that crazy storm that follows you around when you get heated, but you’ve never really explained how it works."
Lassim nodded, his gaze thoughtful. "Yeah, well my Spirit Awakening ceremony was a bit special and I got gifted sothing pretty unique. Because of them, I can use both Lightning and Water elents."
Aerin leaned forward, "…And?"
Lassim shrugged slightly. "Well, next I left for the Myriad Spirit Academy for a year until I reached the Spirit Growth stage. Then I got a letter of recomndation to focus more on Lightning and made my way over to the Lightning Sect. It’s not like anywhere has techniques for people that have dual elents, so I had to focus on one and my headmaster was a forr student, I guess, of the Sect Master.
It’s been mostly trial and error since then."
Eveline, who had been listening closely, gave a small nod. "I can’t lie, it’s impressive. I don’t think we fully understood what we were seeing until now, but… how long have you been in the sect?"
Lassim’s expression darkened for a mont. "Yeah, thanks. It’s been a little over 8 months total now I suppose? When I first arrived at the Lightning Sect, I didn’t exactly make the best impression though. I ended up in the Tempering Fields by accident, got into a fight with the Spirit Ascension guards, and Sect Master Volten had to step in.
He read my letter of recomndation from my old headmaster, but ever since then, it feels like he’s had it out for ."
"You? Fighting the guards right away?" Kaelin chuckled.
"They attacked thinking I was so sort of rogue cultivator. After that, they made a Sect Servant for the first month," Lassim explained. "I had to collect fifty thunder stones a week. Spent most of my ti in the Tempering Fields, training by myself when I wasn’t working. Eventually, after the punishnt period of one month finished, they promoted to Initiate rank.
I’ve been an Initiate for the past seven months."
Eveline frowned slightly. "A Sect Servant, with abilities like yours? That’s odd. Sounds like Volten’s trying to keep you down, for whatever reason."
Lassim shrugged. "Maybe. I’ve been told I’ll move up in rank after the war, based on how well our team perford. But I’m not in any rush."
Lara shook her head in disbelief. "Only eight months, and you’re already this strong. It’s... hard to imagine. You must have spent a long ti wandering around then. I bet you looked like quite the rogue cultivator showing up with Spirit Ascension level power in their area.
I hope you didn’t beat them up too hard."
Tristan leaned forward, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I’m sorry to question you on this, but these tilines seem a bit odd with your story. Unless you took several hundred years traveling from the Veridian Continent to the sect…Just how old are you, Lassim? You’ve ntioned before that you’re young, but I don’t think you’ve ever really stated it outright."
There was a pause as Lassim considered how to answer. He hadn’t been entirely open about his age with the team, mainly because he didn’t want it to be a distraction. But now, with everything laid out in front of them, there was no point in hiding it.
"I’m... fifteen."
The room fell silent.
Tristan blinked, clearly taken aback. Eveline’s jaw dropped, and Kaelin let out a low whistle, his usual quip dying on his lips. Even Aerin, who rarely showed any emotion, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Fifteen?…" Eveline finally said, her voice incredulous. "You’re fifteen years old?! And you’re already at Spirit Ascension stage!?"
Lassim nodded, feeling a bit self-conscious under their shocked stares. "Yeah. I know it’s not... normal."
Kaelin shook his head in disbelief. "Fifteen... I thought I was talented when I broke through to Spirit Ascension at 500 years old. But this? This is sothing else."
Lara leaned forward, her eyes wide. "And you have two elents... At fifteen. This is ridiculous…"
Tristan, who had been silent as he absorbed the revelation and the tilines made more sense in his head, comnted, "You’re not just an anomaly, Lassim. You’re sothing... extraordinary. I’ve seen talented cultivators in my ti, but this... this is beyond anything I’ve ever heard of. Talk about favored by the gods"
Aerin, still processing, leaned back in his chair. "And here I thought I’d seen everything. This changes a lot, Lassim. You’re going to have people watching you, for better or worse."
Lassim gave a small smile, appreciating their reactions but also feeling the weight of their words. "I know. That’s why I’m trying to stay under the radar and not go too crazy showing off, for now."
Eveline nodded, her expression serious. "Well, whatever cos next, you’ve got us. We’ve fought side by side, and I think I speak for everyone when I say, we’re glad you’re on our team."
Kaelin raised his glass. "To Lassim—the fifteen-year-old, dual-elent freak of nature."
The others laughed, and they all raised their glasses in a toast. The tension from the earlier revelation had dissipated.
As the conversation continued, the mood lightened more. They shared more stories of their past battles, their struggles and victories, and their hopes for the future.
The storm wine flowed freely, and the camaraderie around the table deepened with each passing mont.
Lassim found himself growing more comfortable with the group, their laughter and easy banter putting him at ease.
For the first ti since joining the sect, he felt like he was part of sothing more than just an assigned team for a series of missions—he was part of a group of Lightning Sect disciples.
Eventually, as the night wore on and the plates were cleared away, the group began to rise from the table, their bellies full and their spirits high.
"This was fun," Tristan said, clapping Lassim on the shoulder. "We should do it again soti. You’ve earned a permanent spot at any table of mine, Mr. Initiate."
Lassim smiled, a genuine warmth spreading through him. "Thanks, Tristan."
As the group dispersed, heading back to their respective quarters, Lassim made his way through the quiet streets of the sect, the cool night air refreshing after the warmth of the restaurant.
In his mind, he heard a familiar voice.
"[What did I tell you, brother?]" Zaphy’s voice rang out, teasing as always. "[That wasn’t so bad after all, was it?]"
Lassim chuckled softly. "[You were right, Zaphy. It feels... better. I definitely feel like I’m more a part of the sect now.]"
Mari’s voice followed, softer, more thoughtful. "[It’s important to have people you can trust, especially in tis of constant battles like these. These are a good group and will be useful in the future against the Dragal.]"
Lassim nodded, feeling a sense of contentnt settle over him. He wasn’t just fighting for himself to just gain rit points to attend next year’s God’s Trial anymore. He had developed a bit of an attachnt to people he had fought with and beco friends with.
For the first ti in a long ti, Lassim felt like he had found a second place where he started to feel like he belonged.
With that thought, he made his way to his dorm, looking forward to a sleep and then to begin tomorrow experinting with his most recently unlocked power; the spatial elent.
It was his first ti away from the prying eyes of others for this technique he’d kept hidden and hadn’t utilized since his narrow escape all those weeks ago.
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