Solo Strategy

Lifting my head, I caught sight of the Night Sister. Judging by Seguna's position in the sky, there were no more than two hours until dawn.

Not that I was particularly interested in how much time exactly was left until sunrise, especially since I already knew it, having looked up just ten minutes ago. The real reason for my attention to the stars was different: I simply didn't want to look at Arien, who was sitting next to me on the shore near the boat pier. Although, to be honest... I actually did want to look at her, very much—that's precisely why I averted my eyes, finding an excuse in the sky above. Looking at my ex right now was too... painful.

As agreed, exactly at sunset, I officially resigned from my duties as the guild strategist. At the Ainuminati's general meeting, which Arien called specifically for this occasion, I had to give a speech. Well, not really a "speech," but my monologue definitely stretched for about twenty minutes. First, I detailed everything we had accomplished over the week, praised the guild members for their zeal and discipline, highlighted some individuals, and jokingly scolded others. Then, I moved on to explaining the reasons for my departure. I felt I did this quite gracefully. First, I talked at length about the Path—my Road, solitude, and how, despite the warm atmosphere and wonderful environment in the Ainuminati, I was destined to be a lone wanderer. I jokingly confessed to a bout of misanthropy that had supposedly overcome me. And only when I sensed the right mood in the room—with feigned apprehension, looking around as if I were a spy in hostile territory—did I admit in a playful whisper...

I admitted that it was only half the truth. The real reason was that I had an individual assignment from the questers and had to embark on a solitary journey to complete it. By this simple tactic, when I reached the final part of my speech and officially resigned as strategist, my decision was met with understanding. Even Arien was grateful—at least because I didn't mention our personal agreement. And that the real reason for my swift departure, just a week after returning to Katiyer, was the brilliant sorceress herself insisting on such a timeline.

When the meeting ended, my former beloved asked me to stay, saying she wanted to talk alone. I nodded without hesitation: first, I saw no reason to refuse, and second, there was no rush—the Gates of Sundbad in Beziu were closed at night anyway.

Less than an hour after sunset, Arien, having dealt with her routine, appeared nearby—calmly, without words, as if continuing a conversation we once left unfinished.

For an outsider unaware of the history of our relationship, it might have seemed like two young people were taking a walk by the lake—almost like a date. We really did chat about everything and nothing. This apparent ease, however, didn't deceive me; I understood that, for some reason, Arien had decided to redefine our relationship into something resembling genuine friendship. And since I couldn't figure out the motive for such changes, at first, I cautiously looked for a catch. I searched—and found none. Though, to be honest, I wasn't really eager to find one… Simply because it was pleasant to walk beside her. Just like that—without strain, without pretense, without searching for hidden meanings or traps. Just strolling next to a girl, enjoying the cool night air.

Only one thorn kept me from truly relaxing and enjoying the moment. I was almost certain Arien had figured it out: the gray nend fur, the missing part of the Redistribution ritual, I had possessed long before I brought it. Yet, throughout our entire meeting, she neither mentioned nor hinted at this.

When our walk along the shore became a bit dull, we found a comfortable spot by the water, sat down on the grass, and continued our conversation. Arien settled so close that if I had moved my hand slightly, our palms would have touched. Ah... how I longed to make that seemingly simple gesture. But I restrained myself, keeping my hands on my knees.

Naturally, it was impossible to hide the fact that she had lost to me in the entrance exam and then spent the night in the same bed with me—there were too many witnesses. But if Arien had really wanted to harm me or at least tarnish my reputation, she had plenty of ways to do so. Especially with her charisma and authority in the guild. Even a fleeting hint that I had taken advantage of the situation or had been overly pushy and insistent would have shattered my reputation and the trust of my comrades. Any attempt to justify myself would only have caused irritation and added fuel to the fire.

But she chose a different path. Realizing that keeping it quiet was impossible, Arien took control of the situation. A few phrases, some "casual" remarks—and in the minds of the guild members, a coherent, consistent, and, to be honest, quite elegant and beautiful picture of what happened formed. In this narrative, the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic gracefully accepted defeat by a stronger opponent—me. She didn't deny that the stake in the duel was a night with her; the witnesses wouldn't have allowed any lies. But she made it clear: her choice was conscious. No stake could have made her go to bed with someone she didn't like. And this was a very strong move: an admission of weakness that did not undermine personal dignity.

Manipulating rumors like a skilled conductor, Arien crafted a coherent and consistent version of her actions. She portrayed herself as a woman capable of admitting defeat and keeping her word, yet still human, vulnerable, and subject to ordinary desires and emotions. Not an impeccable leader, but a person.

The final touch in this masterfully constructed composition of rumors, hints, and omissions was what she told a few girls from the guild—clearly expecting them to spread the story further—that despite the passion that flared between us, we decided not to continue the romance. Because her priority was the guild, and mine was my own Path.

It turned into a beautiful, almost romantic story that quickly grew a hundred details as it was passed around in gossip and whispers. Of course, I heard it more than once—I kept my ears open—but I only smiled bitterly. Which, by the way, wasn't hard at all; that bitter smile almost perfectly reflected my true feelings.

Hearing such rumors for the first time, I thought it was just a way for Arien to save face. But now I understood: by choosing this version of events, my ex was already laying the foundation for a possible reset of our relationship. Back then, I didn't even consider such a development, and her offer to start over, with a clean slate, caught me off guard.

About two hours after our conversation began, just when I thought we would continue chatting leisurely until dawn, Arien suddenly changed the subject and casually inquired how my Self-Knowledge ritual went. Naturally, I wasn't under any illusion that my visit to the Pantheon temple had gone unnoticed by the head of the Ainuminati, so I had mentally prepared for such a question in advance.

Looking at her with a slight, exaggerated surprise, I couldn't resist a bit of play, starting to talk at length about unimportant details. After ten minutes of my utterly meaningless chatter, I noticed a hint of mild annoyance beginning to form in Arien's eyes. Then, I abruptly changed the tone of my monologue and told her everything without any omission. Of course, I could have continued to dodge, sticking to generalities, or simply lied, but I considered that the wrong strategy in light of our renewed relationship—and so, in the end, I told the truth... The truth that I now had four Stars of Talent in Wind magic. The reward for this honesty was Arien's utterly genuine surprise. The future goddess of Spontaneous Magic comically widened her eyes upon hearing this, and I barely restrained myself from laughing.

Her subsequent reaction, I must admit, surprised me. Recovering from the initial shock, she pondered for a couple of minutes and then... offered to teach me two Wind magic spells. The first was a deep reworking of the well-known Ain spell, Wind Shield—a simple yet highly effective defense against ranged attacks. Its main drawback had always been its high energy consumption. The second was a spell called Air Burst, used by masters of throwing weapons to accelerate the flight of projectiles. Archers often used it too—Katasakh, for example, actively employed it when clearing Bogash's Tomb, enhancing the speed and piercing power of his arrows. Naturally, in such a short time—only half a night—I couldn't fully master both spells. But thanks to Arien's impeccable teaching talent, she managed not just to explain the essence but literally instilled in me a solid foundation on which I could now confidently build further practice.

Once again, I managed to surprise the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic when, after successfully using Air Burst to launch one of my metal spheres upwards, I took out a set of engraving tools from my belt pouch and inscribed the Rune of Motion on the same sphere. While during the first Air Burst use, the projectile thrown by my hand accelerated only about a third more compared to a normal throw, the same projectile, now bearing the Rune, showed twice the improvement.

Such an outcome—and Arien's obvious interest in the achieved results—gave me occasion to once more, even if unobtrusively, remind my ex about the advantages of rune magic. And this time, it seemed I genuinely managed to get past her biased attitude toward this magical art and spark her curiosity. I sincerely hoped this currently mild interest of hers would, in time, develop into something greater.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

And just like that, almost unnoticed, this night flew by. To be honest with myself, I didn't want to leave. I understood the necessity of doing so, but still wished to stay. It wasn't even that I still loved Arien; what I felt towards her now couldn't be called love or passion by any measure... Nevertheless, I immensely enjoyed her company. Without my feelings clouding my judgment, I could clearly see her flaws now—her cunning, quick temper, tendency toward scheming... And yet, despite this—or perhaps because of it—I still felt inexplicably drawn to her.

"Is it time to say goodbye?" asked the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic, getting up from the grass and nodding towards the boat waiting for me at the pier.

"I don't like that word," I grimaced in reply. "Let's rephrase it: 'See you in Deytran!'"

"You know..." Arien tilted her head and looked past me. "Most likely, the Ainuminati will not move to Deytran."

"What?.." I was genuinely surprised, as in the Last Cycle, she had chosen the world's trade capital as the guild's main base. "Where to, then?"

"Deytran is a city of merchants," my ex shrugged. "Too much competition there for my projects. I'm considering Feyst or Atreia."

Feyst had never appealed to me. The city, home to the Inverted Tower of Sino, the god of festivities, always seemed too noisy, bustling, and, let's be honest, dirty. Atreia, however, was dedicated to Elai, the goddess of treatment and healing—and it was also the headquarters of the Alchemists' Guild. While choosing Feyst made absolutely no sense to me, Atreia sounded even logical: the rarest and most valuable alchemical ingredients were harvested precisely in Elai's Inverted Tower.

"Why not Sun City or Kronis?" I inquired.

"The former has paladins," Arien grimaced. "Yes, my relations with the priests of Antares are good, but honestly..." she lowered her voice to a whisper, "their snobbery drives me crazy. So much so that I'm sometimes tempted to off them."

Incidentally, I completely understood her on that point.

"And Kronis?" The future goddess of Spontaneous Magic pondered briefly. "On one hand, it's the quietest and most peaceful city in the Pentapolis, with almost no competition. But on the other hand, Aerad's tower isn't considered the most complex without reason: labyrinths, riddles, puzzles... Don't get me wrong, I love a mental challenge and solving mysteries, but, let's just say, as a hobby. Not on a regular basis." Her smile at that moment seemed exceptionally sincere.

"So, 'See you in Pentapolis'?" I spread my arms.

"Works for me," Arien laughed softly, covering her lips with her palm.

And then she stepped forward and spread her arms wide, as if inviting a farewell embrace. Oh, how much effort it took not to give in to this impulse. Not to pull her close, not to breathe in deeply the scent of wildflowers that permeated her skin.

"No," I shook my head, stepping back. "Or I won't leave."

I tried to smile openly, but it came out a bit strained.

"Ha-ha-ha," this time her laughter was louder, lighter, more cheerful. "Then, until we meet again."

She stepped back, mirroring my action, and clasped her hands behind her back.

To avoid saying anything unnecessary, I quickly turned around, slung my backpack over my shoulder, grabbed Striking Whisper, and marched quickly toward the waiting boat.

"Master," the young boatman spoke up as I settled into his vessel, "as agreed this evening, we're going to Beziu?"

"Yes," I replied curtly.

As the boat pushed off, for several minutes, I resisted the urge to turn around. Only when we were a couple of hundred meters away from the pier did I allow myself to glance back: Arien was still standing on the shore, gazing after me.

Somehow, from that simple gesture, from the fact that she stayed and saw me off, I felt a sudden lightness and genuine warmth inside.

Only when the boat reached the middle of Ilomen did I manage to somewhat distance myself from thoughts of Arien. And even then, I had to literally force myself to stop thinking about her; the moment I let my guard down, everything in my head would start revolving around my ex again.

Nevertheless, my efforts paid off, and I managed to switch to another topic. Namely, what I saw during the Self-Knowledge ritual.

Yes, the four Stars of Talent in Air Magic were a serious bonus. And it was so unexpected that its presence required a complete revision of my development plan.

Of course, this school of magic traditionally suited swordsmen more. But even for me, as a spearman, it had some applications—primarily for protection against ranged attacks. And such defense would definitely come in handy, especially when considering an opponent like Scully. In any case, the offensive capabilities of Air held significant potential that shouldn't be overlooked. But all of this paled in comparison to the horizons that opened up in the combat style I was developing—a style of spear mastery based on my earthly experience as a professional gymnast.

I definitely needed to ponder carefully and choose from the entire arsenal of Air magic the spells that suited me personally. Especially when it came to studying combined magic based on mixing several Elements.

Apart from that, during the Ritual of Self-Knowledge, I confirmed that the ceremony conducted in Ishid's temple—the one that limited my influence on the minds of others—had indeed raised my Talent in Mental magic to a full-fledged four. This now-confirmed fact gave me hope that using auras would not only become easier for me but that the auras themselves would become stronger, denser, and more energy-efficient. Besides, one couldn't ignore the fact that, most likely, the speed of learning new things depended on one's Talent in Mental magic—and to me, this was an even more significant bonus than the enhancement of auras.

But even these considerations could wait. During the week I spent as the strategist of the Ainuminati, I repeatedly returned to thoughts about my plans for the near future and eventually concluded that my eagerness to reach Pentapolis and start descending the Inverted Towers was, to put it mildly, premature. Yes, in terms of personal power growth and advancement up the Spiral of Elevation, it was indeed the best path. But besides that, two tasks hung over me like a Damocles' sword: the first from Seguna's Echo to find the forgotten altars of the Night Sister, and the second from the questers to pass through Aerad's Labyrinth.

At first glance, dealing with the labyrinth seemed far more complicated. According to Ain's legends, there were only five such structures, but three of them were lost, and their locations remained unknown. Within the time allotted for my quest, I definitely wouldn't be able to find the lost sacred structures. As for the one located deep within Aerad's Inverted Tower, I simply wouldn't be able to reach it, even at the peak of the Precious Coil of the Great Spiral. So, as much as I wanted to avoid it, I'd have to visit the Tyberian Plateau. A place of ill repute—that cursed corner of Ain where one of the most aggressive and dangerous intelligent species on this continent had revived: the orcs.

Yes, in the Last Cycle, while still at Wootz and thrown onto this plateau due to a portal malfunction, I managed to escape alive. But even then, I considered myself incredibly lucky. The orcs had just begun a wave of raids on human settlements, which weakened the internal defenses. Unfortunately, my memory had not preserved the exact date those raids started.

Of course, now I was no longer at Wootz and had crossed the First Wall. But even considering that, I still didn't feel strong enough to storm the Tyberian Plateau, swinging my spear left and right. As for a stealthy infiltration—Shadow magic would be of little help in this case; orc shamans could easily sense any movement in the shadows.

Thus, the wisest move was to wait a bit and gather strength—fortunately, there was still plenty of time before the deadline for this task.

The quest to find the True Altars of the Night Mistress, on the other hand, seemed easier. I knew exactly where several of them were located—the ones earthlings discovered in the Last Cycle. I had an advantage in finding them, albeit not an absolute one. But this impression could be deceptive. In this Cycle, one of my fellow earthlings could stumble upon an altar without any hints before me, just because fortune rolled the dice that way this time.

The longer I thought about it, the clearer it became: Pentapolis wasn't going anywhere. But the chance to outpace others in finding the altars could slip through my fingers at any moment. I was particularly concerned about the two altars hidden in the unpredictable swamps of Patanga. If I remembered correctly, in the Last Cycle, a group whose level didn't exceed Wootz found them. This meant they could be discovered at any moment now too... If I wanted to find them first—and I did—I had to act now.

The other four True altars of the Night Sister wouldn't be found by anyone so soon. One was hidden in the Northern Wastelands—lands where the locals hadn't ventured for centuries, and earthlings would only reach there shortly before the Invasion itself. Two more were concealed in the slums of Feyst.

And the sixth... The sixth was embedded in the base of the central fountain of Sun City, right across from the main temple of Antares in all of Ain. I "remembered" that when it was discovered in the Last Cycle, the scandal had been so huge that it seemed Divino Mountain itself was about to crack.

The more I pondered this matter, the clearer it became: Deytran could indeed wait. The only question was—how long?

How much time would it take to find the two altars in the Great Swamps? Considering that my "past self" had visited them personally, and the memory of the future preserved these recollections—probably not much. From two days to a week.

Next were the altars hidden in the slums of Feyst. I'd visited them too and would likely find them without much trouble. But the Shadow shrine embedded in the fountain of Sun City... Finding it wouldn't be difficult. But how to offer a prayer there in full view of the priests of Antares and the Paladin Corps? That was a problem for which I had yet to find a solution. Or rather, the prayer itself wasn't the problem: approach the fountain, reach out with Shadow Affinity to the altar—and that's it. The problem was how—after such a prayer—to keep my head on my shoulders.

As for the altar in the Northern Wastelands, I had a rough idea of its location. So, I didn't think finding it would be an insurmountable obstacle. But venturing there before crossing the Second Wall would be pure madness. Snow Giants, Ice Trolls, Frost Wyrms, and, most importantly, packs of White Wolves, more numerous there than grass in a field... Even for a full squad of Diamond-ranked warriors and mages, it would be a serious challenge.

Thus, I decided: I was changing my plans. Instead of heading straight to Deytran—an expedition to the Patanga Swamps, then visiting Feyst, and only after that—a maximum burst up the ranks before venturing onto the Tyberian Plateau. As for Deytran... well, it wasn't going anywhere. It had stood for centuries and would continue to stand.

Regarding the matter of increasing my personal power, I thought that finding five True—yet forgotten—altars in such a short time would definitely earn me several "hefty" Achievements. And that was without considering the adventures I might prefer to avoid... but which would surely catch up with me along the way. Given my "luck," I had little doubt they would occur.