Solo Strategy

As soon as Arien finished her "congratulations," I stood up immediately. From the outside, it looked as if someone who had been sitting relaxed in the lotus position suddenly, in an instant, was on their feet. Glancing around the ruined central hall of the abandoned Temple, which had lost its roof more than two thousand years ago, I immediately noted that all the participants in the ritual were alive, although three of them clearly hadn't fully regained consciousness yet. Since I was still formally acting as the guild's strategist, I began issuing commands without a shadow of doubt.

"Sunsin."

With a quick head motion, I attracted the attention of a man of average height who, according to him, had lived in Seoul before being transferred to Ain. He said he had worked as a paramedic for ten years, and judging by the skills he demonstrated, he was likely telling the truth. In Ain, he had chosen the path of a Life mage and currently held the position of head medic in the Ainuminati.

"Take your team and check on Alistar, Yenin, and Dartar."

My hand indicated those who were clearly unwell. Special attention needed to be paid to Dartar's condition: the guy was lying on the cold floor, curled up, and quietly moaning. But I didn't specify this detail; Sunsin, being more experienced than me in providing first aid, could assess the situation on his own, prioritizing correctly.

After receiving the Life mage's nod, I took three broad steps and placed my hand on the shoulder of a stocky man in dark brown robes.

"Geophon."

The face of the man who turned to me seemed carved out of stone, with large, rough features and thick eyebrows that merged into a single line. Almost always calm but at the same time incredibly stubborn, he was from the first batch of Ainuminati, one of the ten who passed Arien's tower exam. A rather talented Earth mage, capable of thinking outside the box. At the moment, he was a guild officer and the rearguard commander.

"Remember, you're in charge of loading and delivering the altar to the camp."

"I have a good memory, Strategist," Geophon nodded in response.

He clearly didn't like me much, probably due to the night I'd spent in Arien's chambers. Yet he was always polite with me, never letting even a hint of his true feelings show, even when we were alone.

"Exclude Glira from the loading team," I said, nodding towards the blonde who was holding onto the remnants of one of the columns, her excess weight not hidden even by loose clothing.

"That will cause certain difficulties," the earth mage said emotionlessly, his displeasure at my order shown only by his furrowed eyebrows.

"You'll manage." I patted Geophon on the shoulder and deliberately turned away from the rearguard officer.

Walking past a young man in a light aketon who was diligently dusting off his pants, I approached the blonde.

"Glira," I leaned over the girl to get her attention. Her gaze seemed a bit unfocused, as if she'd recently been hit on the head with a dusty sack. "I'm relieving you from loading the altar."

"I'm fine," she replied too sharply, wincing in pain.

The blonde tried to give her face an air of independence, yet she continued to clutch the remnants of the column, which only confirmed my suspicion that she was clearly unwell.

"That's not up for discussion," I said calmly but firmly. Enduring her gaze full of indignation, I added more gently, "Go to Sunsin; he'll examine you. If he clears you, then you can join the loading. Not before. Is my order clear?" I emphasized the word "order," consciously mimicking Geophon.

"I get it, Raven."

This girl, equally talented in Earth and Water magic, stubbornly refused to call me Strategist. But since Ainuminati was declared a civilian, not a combat guild, Arien allowed such liberties.

"I hope you really get it, not like usual."

Glira had a rather headstrong and independent nature, which reminded me of teenagers going through puberty.

"I'm not stupid," the sorceress snapped, then added, "A couple of minutes, and I'll be fine."

"Whether you're fine or not, Sunsin will decide."

Not bothering to listen to the objections ready to spill from the girl's lips, I turned my back to her and took a broad step toward the center of the hall. Glancing around the ritual site again, I wanted to find Rahu, but the Master of Shadows was nowhere to be seen already. A pity; I had hoped to talk to him, but apparently, it wasn't meant to be.

Pushing away the bangs that had fallen over my eyes, I once again promised myself to get a haircut and continued my rounds, giving necessary orders and helping where I deemed fit. Arien was busy doing the same, but I constantly felt her scrutinizing gaze on me.

I'd already spent a week within Ainuminati's territory, yet the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic still seemed uncertain about how exactly she wanted to treat me. Or maybe she had long since made up her mind, and her frequent mood swings when dealing with me were nothing more than good acting. With my ex, you could never be sure of anything; such was she—the Radiant Arien. Unpredictable, explosive, brilliant... and definitely selfish, though she successfully hid that aspect of her character from those around her.

After exchanging a few words with the officer responsible for field reconnaissance in the guild, I sent his people to check the riverbank. Our frequent outings with a large squad, supposedly searching for the missing altar of Magevra, had already become familiar in Katiyer. Initially, the city sheriff's office sent spies after us, but in the last couple of days, they'd seemingly given up on such tactics. Apparently, they believed the act Arien was putting on, which concealed the true purpose of our frequent expeditions—preparation for the Redistribution Ritual. Still, it never hurt to check for any strangers or curious eyes nearby. Besides, training scouts in near-combat conditions was always beneficial.

"I want to remind you all once again," Arien didn't raise her voice, yet everyone heard her, "For everyone else, we were searching for the lost altar of Magevra tonight. And we found it. Nobody beyond those present here should even suspect the ritual took place. If anyone asks for details about the search, try to brush them off with vague answers." The sorceress raised her hand, emphasizing her next statement. "No one should find out what happened tonight, not the locals, and not our people left at the guild camp. It has to be this way. Later, I will personally speak to each one who didn't get a spot as a ritual participant." Then she repeated with a steely note in her voice, "I'll speak to them personally."

Of course, a similar briefing had already taken place earlier, as soon as our boats left the shore at sunset the previous day. But apparently, Arien felt it necessary to remind us of the importance of secrecy. I had to admit, in light of the fact that many participants in the ritual clearly had not yet recovered from the shock caused by the magic unleashed, she was right.

After receiving nods of agreement from everyone, the guild leader continued:

"Each of you knows what to do. We've discussed this many times. Everyone is aware of their tasks. If any questions or problems arise, contact Felicia."

Felicia? That was strange because such matters fell under my purview as the acting guild strategist. Naturally, I didn't protest or demand explanations; I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against one of the half-collapsed walls of the ruined temple, closing my eyes. In this Cycle, such provocations wouldn't throw me off balance.

"Raven." Arien's voice sounded very close. Of course, I had heard her steps in advance, but I didn't show it, continuing to lean against the wall. "Shall we go for a ride?"

For those who hadn't known her as well as I did, the smile on her face might have appeared to be nothing more than a genuine expression of affection.

For the last three days, she called me nothing but "strategist," yet now she addressed me by name. Not a good sign. Without letting on that the chill of foreboding running down my spine, I opened my eyes and, with a smile as sincere and caring as hers, replied:

"The river waters are surprisingly calm this morning."

For a moment, I thought she would incinerate me on the spot. But instead, her smile became even broader:

"I'll take your answer as a yes," purred the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic with a light and very alluring rasp in her voice.

"How could I refuse such a charm..."

Damn it! She outplayed me. As soon as I bent in a playful bow, Arien turned sharply, leaving me to finish my sentence to her retreating back. I knew better than to let my guard down around her, but I got a bit carried away by the sound of her voice and now stood there like a statue. Easy now—this was entirely my own fault. No need to get angry.

While walking to the bank, I caught numerous curious glances. The little scene played out by Arien didn't escape the attention of the other guild members. Felicia even sighed sympathetically as I passed by. Unlike most, she knew her leader well and guessed that I was in for a rather difficult conversation pretty soon.

Stopping by the riverbank next to a light two-seater boat, Arien turned to me. She gave me a thorough look from head to toe and, playfully winking, whispered:

"I thought you were always happy to be alone with me." Then, she shook her head and added with a hint of regret, "But now you stand there with such a stony face as if I'm dragging you along in chains and shackles."

"Your beauty shackles stronger than adamantium chains," I tried to joke, immediately realizing how inappropriate my words sounded.

"Yeah, yeah," the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic waved off my words.

She could have taken advantage of my awkward compliment, but she chose to let it pass "unnoticed." On the one hand, I was grateful she didn't trample on my ego, but on the other, her behavior clearly hinted that she was very interested in the upcoming conversation. This realization made my teeth ache. No, it was true that I was nearly always happy to be alone with her. But it was precisely "nearly," and at that moment, I would have much more happily joined the group loading the altar onto the rented barge than stood there with her.

With a graceful, light movement, Arien jumped into the boat, landing so softly that it didn't even sway, and settled on the rowing bench. Strange—she always preferred to sit at the stern, dipping her hand in the water and watching the river's flow. But today, she defied her usual habits, grabbed the oars, and nodded at the free plank that served as the rear seat.

Not bothering to argue over such a trivial matter, I settled in the offered spot. If I were clad in full armor, I probably wouldn't even have fit on this little board, but since today I was in simple travel clothes, my trusty Whisper in hand, I just demonstratively wiggled around a bit and made myself comfortable, laying the spear across the boat.

Pushing the boat off the bank with air magic, Arien fixed the oars in the rowlocks and began rowing evenly, steering our small vessel toward the center of the river. Another oddity: with her Water magic skills, rowing was entirely unnecessary for her. By manipulating the current, she could easily guide the boat wherever she needed without straining her arms.

Noting this detail, I didn't ask anything, thinking, "Well, if the girl felt like rowing this early morning, why stop her?" Perhaps, as an experienced negotiator preparing for a difficult conversation, she wanted to occupy her hands to avoid revealing her emotions through random gestures? Maybe so. With Arien, you could never be completely sure of anything. Especially after she gained her Affinity with Nature. Or maybe she'd changed her mind and would take back her words about us never being together? I would, of course, politely decline, but the truth was, such an offer would still please me.

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"Don't you have something to tell me?" the quiet voice of the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic interrupted my daydreaming.

Too bad, she clearly hadn't changed her mind, and most likely, we would never share a bed again. Sighing, I brushed off the feeling of regret and silently shrugged, lowering my left hand into the river water.

"Sometimes, I think you genuinely want to help me," Arien said, adding a hint of doubt to her voice, and made a sharper, broader stroke with her oars. "And sometimes, like right now," she emphasized the "now" with her tone, "I'm sure you take otherworldly pleasure in driving me mad."

"A bit of both," I answered honestly, letting the water flow down my hand without turning my head. "A bit of both..."

"I realized long ago that you could have Elevated to Opal before me," my ex stated coldly, like a prosecutor in court.

"True," I admitted flatly, not bothering to deceive her and keeping my expression calm.

"So, you don't deny it," Arien said more quietly, her gaze trying to bore a hole through me.

"Hm-m-m," having extinguished the collar of my shirt that started to smolder, I reproachfully looked at the elemental sorceress. "This happens to be my favorite shirt."

"I need to get used to the new Step," Arien replied, her tone softening as she clearly did not expect her furious gaze to scorch my collar.

I was tempted to respond with, "A couple of gold for a new shirt, and we'll forget this unfortunate incident." But such a joke might have been seen as petty, and I didn't want that, so I said something entirely different:

"You'll get used to it. You're the best mage among all the earthlings I've met traveling through Ain."

"Only among earthlings?" the sorceress clarified, raising her right eyebrow slightly.

"I did tell you about the two weeks I spent on a ship captained by a Ruby mage," I replied, dipping my hand back into the cool river water again.

"Indeed, I'm still far from Ruby," Arien admitted easily.

'Two months, maybe three, no more,' crossed my mind, but I chose not to say it aloud.

"It's immensely pleasant to hear your voice," I noted with a sincere smile, and then added, "No matter if you're angry or happy, irritated or calm. But you didn't just invite me on this water trip for no reason while the others are busy covering up the ritual traces and loading the altar, did you?"

"I can't understand you…" The future goddess of Spontaneous Magic shook her head, her loose hair seductively spreading across her face. "Even Rahu, secretive as he is, I understand better than you." Leaning forward, she asked directly, "Are you really in love with me?"

"It's not love..." And before she could ask anything, I continued, "Admiration."

"Admiration…" she whispered, as if tasting the word. "Funny." Then quickly added, "I'm not laughing at you, just surprised by your answer."

I tilted my head, making it clear I understood. After waiting a couple of seconds, I said:

"Ask away, and I'll answer."

As I spoke, I pretended to be very interested in examining the water.

"Just like that?" She even stopped rowing, lifting the oars above the water.

"We're in a foreign world, living by different laws. One careless word or action could end our lives. Don't you think there are already enough complexities around for us to create new ones?"

"You know…" The oars slowly dipped back into the water. "I like you much more like this than when you pretend to be a lovestruck minstrel."

"You…" My throat suddenly went dry from the memories of the Last Cycle. I could vividly feel her touches, her heavy breath on my neck and abdomen. Struggling to compose myself, I splashed river water on my face and then finished, "You're surprisingly straightforward today."

"So, I can just ask," the sorceress said, as if in doubt. Seeing my nod, she continued, "What did you do during the Ritual?"

"Be more specific," holding back a heavy sigh, I said to buy at least a few seconds to gather my thoughts.

"You did something, and the ritual almost ended prematurely," Arien stated with a frown. "I barely contained the magical turmoil and, with great effort, averted a massive blast that would have killed everyone on the platform."

"Um-m-m." Was she really not exaggerating? Judging by the focused gaze of her eyes, as green as the purest emeralds, she was utterly serious. "I accepted external help. And yes, I didn't know it could lead to such tragic consequences."

"External help?" Her eyes widened in genuine surprise. "I didn't notice any outsiders."

"The help of Ishid's Echo."

If a few minutes earlier, following her to the boat, I had been constructing theories about how best to deceive her, then now, I changed my mind, deciding to hide nothing from her. She certainly wasn't lying and, as it turned out, had saved my life by calming the magical flows, so who would I be if, in gratitude for that, I shamelessly lied to her?

"During the Ritual, I found myself as if deep inside my Core," I began elaborating. "It didn't look like the Visualization at all. Instead, it seemed to be made up of blocks of different colors, shades, and properties. Somehow, I knew that moving similar blocks into a unified conglomerate would be beneficial. But not all the fragments I could shift; some remained unbudging no matter how hard I tried..."

It took me about a minute to give her a more detailed explanation, and then I fell silent, not disturbing the thoughts of the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic.

"Ishid... the God of Rituals." Laying the oars along the boat's side, Arien let the river's current carry our little vessel. "Magevra's adversary, if the local folklore is to be believed." My once-beloved tapped her fingers thoughtfully on the seat. "These two deities were constantly scheming against each other."

"Not just scheming," I clarified, taking advantage of the pause. "That giant mountain range cutting the continent from north to south," I gestured towards the peaks visible even from our boat, "is the result of the conflict between Magevra and Ishid."

"That's if you believe the local legends and tales." Arien grimaced, lost in her thoughts. "And I've already learned that not everything the locals believe can be trusted."

"Your choice. But I believe in this legend," I added. "I believe until I get proof otherwise."

"So, you interpret what happened as help from Ishid's Echo, which you used."

"Yes. And I admit my fault in not thinking of the consequences of accepting this help, assuming it was some kind of gesture of goodwill... After all, Ishid's Echo had already singled me out from all others by choosing me as the Sheriff of the Book." My voice grew more bitter. "Before accepting this help, I should have thought that for the Echo of the God of Rituals, destroying Magevra's legacy might be a higher priority than helping some mortal."

"Thinking is always useful..." Arien replied neutrally.

Not good. Maybe it really would have been better to lie? But I nearly killed us all, blinded by the possibility of gaining power, without even considering the hidden motives of Ishid's Echo. I took it as a fact that the God of Rituals was helping the Sheriff of the Book and didn't think any further. If Arien were to banish me right now, she'd be justified.

Gathering my courage, I looked directly into Arien's eyes, ready to accept any judgment. I made a mistake, and mistakes ought to be paid for, not hidden away cowardly.

"You're right," the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic said in an unexpectedly calm tone, "when you constantly remind us that we know too little about this world. All these intricacies of the relationships between the long-Fallen gods... I'm afraid it'll be quite some time yet before we can reliably predict such subtleties with any adequate precision."

She was right, of course, but I wasn't just everyone; I had the memory of the future, and even with such an advantage, I almost ruined everything. I hated feeling like a pawn someone used in the dark. Even if that someone was the Echo of a very real deity. Struggling to suppress a surge of anger, I focused on meditation, dipping my hands in the water and imagining the current carrying away my rage.

I am calm. Calm! Calm...

Having taken such a name, I needed to live up to it. To be wise like a raven, not get angry and have a mental breakdown like a foolish fledgling.

My main mistake was thinking too highly of myself. The questers singled me out from the mass of earthlings, Ishid's Echo marked me with his blessing, and I, as they say, "got cocky." After all, if you think about it, who was I to the Echo of the God of Rituals? At best, an interesting toy. A toy that could be easily broken and discarded for even a hypothetical chance to harm the memory of Magevra in the slightest. The gods' enmity lasted for centuries, and the depth of their conflict was beyond the grasp of ordinary mortals. It was truly difficult to acknowledge such simple and obvious things, especially realizing them after the fact. Truly...

Catching Arien's scrutinizing gaze for the second time during our brief voyage, I splashed my face with the cool river water. Then I took a deep breath and looked into the clear, emerald eyes of the girl opposite me.

"You're stronger than I thought," said the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic. "And I'm not talking about this," she nodded briefly at my spear, "or this," she pointed to her forehead, which was a bit insulting but quite fair given the circumstances, "but this…" The sorceress placed her hand on her chest over her heart.

"Thank you." Damn, I said that out loud.

"Since we're being honest, I'll admit," the girl leaned over the boat's side and ran her hand through the water, "I've also nearly died a couple of times due to my own overconfidence and ignorance of local realities. Actually, even three times. The third was when I volunteered to lead a party of tunnellers and nearly got us all killed with my poor leadership."

My eyebrows involuntarily raised. She had never told me anything like this before.

"Turns out, I'm quite a mediocre military leader," the brilliant sorceress admitted with a heavy sigh.

"So that's why, when we went into the River Slime dungeon, you didn't argue about me leading our duo."

And there I had wondered why she acknowledged my right to command in that clearing mission so quickly. Now, it made sense. The fact that even Shards could make mistakes in things so simple for me was more soothing than any meditation and restored my confidence.

"Partially," my ex replied with a smile.

"Partially"—what a conveniently vague phrasing. But clarifying what exactly she hid behind that word was definitely not the best idea at the moment.

Tapping her fingers on the boat's edge again, Arien took up the oars and dipped them into the water. She was silent for a few dozen seconds, then asked:

"Are our agreements still in place?"

"At sunset, I'll leave Katiyer." That's what she was asking, right?

"Good." Nodding, she made a few strokes, then looked up at me. "Don't think I want to get rid of you quickly because I hate you for what happened between us."

'Well, thanks at least for that.'

"Yeah, there was a time I was angry. Really angry, but that's in the past."

My entire bearing made it clear I didn't believe her, but she just shrugged in response. A minute passed in complete silence, broken only by the splashes of water and the singing of birds in the thicket on the shore.

"Ainuminati is my guild," said the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic. "My project."

"Agreed," I raised my hands in a peaceful gesture.

"I learned a lot watching you while you held the position of strategist." She exaggerated; as a leader and manager, she was far more experienced than I was. "However, some of your orders and directives conflicted with mine. As many noted, your instructions were often more precise and, importantly, more effective than mine."

"Many, meaning Felicia?" I clarified, trying to hide a smile. Arien's assistant turned out to be a fan of stricter management methods, and I noticed that my directives suited her well.

"It doesn't matter," she waved off my correction. "The guild is just finding its footing, and dual authority won't do any good."

Honestly, I didn't think she was that concerned about it. Maybe because of the memory of who she would become, I saw her not so much as a person but as the sprout of some higher being. I couldn't even wrap my head around how anyone could prefer me to her as a leader. It's absurd! Besides, I had no intention of vying for Ainuminati; I had plenty of my own matters to deal with.

"I…"

But Arien didn't let me put my thoughts into words, interrupting:

"Yes, yes, yes, you have your own Path, I remember."

Her laugh was like the chime of wildflowers.

"Exactly," I managed to say.

Our little boat had already glided onto the lake's surface, and to my slight surprise, my ex directed it not toward the guild camp but a bit further south.

"And yet, why did you accept my offer and agree to take the position of strategist?" After a couple of minutes of silence, the future Goddess of Spontaneous Magic asked an unexpected question.

"Ritual," I answered briefly.

"Explain," Arien frowned.

"The leader of the ritual must be of a higher rank than all the other participants," I sighed, deciding to speak plainly. "So, I needed you to cross the First Wall as quickly as possible." Scooping up some water in my palm, I watched it trickle through my fingers for a few seconds before continuing. "The routine of managing the guild was taking up a lot of your time..." I trailed off, shrugging.

"And by taking the position, you freed me from that routine, allowing me to focus on something else, more important to you," she said, bowing her head for a moment before asking, "So, were your motives purely selfish?"

In fact, this was not as harmless a question as it might have seemed at first glance. After pondering for almost a minute, I finally answered:

"Not entirely. I did tell you about Vidar's group and their philosophy."

"I remember," the brilliant sorceress nodded. "Altruism with a touch of healthy egoism."

"If you can help—then help. Besides, in this case, it also benefited me."

"Benefited you?" Arien asked with feigned surprise.

"I'm far from the best manager, so watching you, I did learn a lot."

"Don't sell yourself short; you do quite well at commanding," the head of the Ainuminati said, pressing her lips into a thin line.

"Commanding, yes, I can do that," after all, I'd had strong teachers in Nate and Katashi, "But managing... that's a far trickier business."

"Not many see the difference between commanding and managing," a smile returned to the sorceress's face.

For nearly ten minutes, Arien rowed in silence, lost in her thoughts. I tried not to disturb her and used the pause to calm my stirred-up emotions.

"You know," she said suddenly, lifting her head as if deciding on something, "I think we started off on the wrong foot."

What a charming understatement on her part. Especially considering that our first meeting in this Cycle ended in the same bed.

"How about..." The girl lifted the oars from the water and laid them along the side of the boat, then rubbed her hands and looked at me with a mischievous smile. "A reboot?"

"A reboot?"

Instead of answering, Arien turned away, took a comb from her belt pouch, and brushed her hair. She looked over the side and, using the river's surface as a mirror, ran her fingers over her face a few times. When she turned back to me, she looked as if she had just stepped out of a beauty salon. For a moment, I forgot to breathe, failing to grasp immediately what she was saying:

"Young man, since we find ourselves in such a confined space together," the brilliant sorceress said with a broad smile, spreading her arms as if outlining our boat, "let's get acquainted. Arien. Arien Marshal."

For about three seconds, I couldn't understand what she meant, staring in amazement at the outstretched female hand. Then, very carefully, I shook it. My throat was dry, but I still managed to find the strength to say:

"Raven. Raven Alexandrite."