7.13 – Conclusions


    They hadn''t escaped without suspicion. Zoey could tell that much. But neither had they been <em>found out. </em>Astrid had clearly caught on that something had been strange about that whole encounter, if not by how little they''d contributed to the conversation then by the smell she''dmented on.


    Had she made the jump to, <em>my teammates are fucking right in front of me using illusions?</em> Probably not. The oundishness of the reality provided its own sort of obfuscation.


    Maybe a suspicious and logical mind could have drawn the right conclusion, but Zoey was nearly certain Astrid hadn''t. Mostly because Astrid was busy focusing on other things. When they''d stood and suggested they keep progressing through the shard, the berserker had been happy to lead them forward without a moment''s pause. She was itching for a fight, half from her rage and half from the wayfaring fetish that gave even Rosalie''s a run for its money.


    So maybe Astrid had noticed something odd about their rest break, but she had monsters to kill and loot to find. Especially in the emotionally influenced state she was in, she simply didn''t care enough to mull over the pieces of evidence.


    The trial run carried on.


    More fights. More loot. A few traps, identified and disarmed. Their fourth shard went swimmingly. No nt monster erupted from the floor to grope and milk them. No slime girl oozed out of the walls to challenge their sexual stamina. Just—a normal shard. The only link to Zoey''s ss came from her inherent need to recharge.


    Which, uh. Did pose problems as the hours flew by, admittedly. But despite Delta''s sometimes over-enthusiastic behavior, there were no massive breaches of discretion. Astrid never noticed. Zoey thought.


    Eventually, their ascent up the stone tower came to a conclusion, ending in a long staircase that opened into thergest room yet—a floor that epassed the entire circumference of the massive tower they''d been climbing.


    Herst concern was put to rest. The boss wasn''t lewd either. Fully charging the Shard Stabilizer had—perhaps reasonably—fully <em>stabilized </em>the shard. Even the boss wasn''t influenced by Ephy''s aspect. It tried to kill them and nothing else.


    It was a skeleton-mage, a Lich, and presumably the grand owner of the tower. Dressed in dark robes and wielding a long ivory staff, it was far and away the most intense fight Zoey had been through. As expected from the next tier of shard, and one that didn''te with a lewdponent to dampen the other, traditional aspects.


    But they were over-prepared and well qualified as a group. And since they were at the end of the run, Zoey got to use Burst to its full capacity, evaporating her Lust reserves to massively empower every ability she used. She even snuck in a few devastating lightning-bolts to her massive satisfaction. Even Astrid gave her an appraising look after seeing a divinity-imbued piece of lightning magic. It blew the Lich across the room with such a bright light and explosive noise that everyone froze for a moment.


    It was a fight that pressed them, but not overmuch. The monster died shortly.


    Even the loot from the <em>boss </em>wasn''t especially interesting. Because again, she''d walked through the d''Celestin''s personal vaults. A routine fourth-advancement shard wasn''t going to produce anything that would blow her mind. It gave her a new appreciation for the sticky adventures that came with Ephy''s influence.


    She was spoiled, in a word. She hoped this was theirst ''normal'' shard, as necessary as it had been to get a feel for Astrid.


    Which she had. Mostly. Along with their practice sessions back at Mantle, the many-hour expedition through the shard had included plenty of breaks, and even if Astrid had been inmed for a good portion of it, that was fundamental to her ss and personality. She''d seen a good range of their fifth member, and they''d also demonstrated that they werepetent teammates in a practical sense.


    Now there was just the issue of making the jump of trust.


    Nevertheless, Zoey had stated her stance to her team. She would finish a run with Astrid as an ice-breaker before telling her the truth, but she firmly didn''t believe in keeping her in the dark for long if they wanted a genuine foundation to build on.


    So, once they got back to Mantle and rested, it would be time.


    ***


    Astrid was impressed. This wasn''t her first fourth advancement shard, so she had a benchmark on how difficult they ought to be. And this shard had been shockingly easy.


    Not because the enemies themselves had been weaker than normal. It had been around average difficulty for fourth advancement, viewed objectively. But because of her team. She''d known they were skilled, and that they had unusually powerful abilities. But witnessing that in training and seeing the team tear through a fourth advancement shard as if it were a full tier lower was another matter altogether.


    What kind of monstrously talented wayfaring group had shended in? By pure chance too. A week ago she''d only known the d''Celestins in an abstract manner. The far-off reigning family of a Highguild. She''d known her father knew Enzo, yes. That they had some sort of rtionship from decades ago. But it hade as far more of a surprise when she found out that Enzo knew <em>her, </em>even if just by name.


    In her n, she stood head and shoulders over her peers. The Harkvalen n only had a few thousand individuals spread out over a handful of settlements, and while the average Harkvalen was significantly more prepared than the softer folk she''d run into outside of her homend, a total poption of a few thousand was a small pool to select from. So while she knew she was a prodigypared to those she''d grown up with, she hadn''t thought she was good enough to draw <em>Enzo''s </em>attention. That he had thought her a suitable teammate for his heiress was … ttering. And made her nervous.


    A feeling that had grown throughout the shard. Astrid had been on a number of teams, mostly with other Harkvalen, but there''d also been a few promising parties she''d joined simply for the experience. And never had shepleted a shard this wlessly.


    Was this what it was like havingpetent teammates?


    Or even—teammates <em>better </em>than her?


    Well. That feeling extended only to the Lady d''Celestin. Rosalie was the only person to make her feel true insecurity when it came to herbat abilities. Yes, Astrid''s father and Enzo and a handful of others were so far beyond her that she sometimes wondered how she would catch up, even ounting for raising in advancement, but Rosalie—Rosalie was supposed to be a peer. She was the same rank as her. And newer to the Fractures. And yet …


    Madeline and Delta fell in a different bracket. Talented colleagues, but nothing Astrid hadn''t seen before. She would say they were slightly better than her previous teammates, which was impressive in its own right; her previous teammates had been the best she could find. But they were nothing like Rosalie.


    Then again, Deltacked formal training—that intrigued Astrid. In a strange sense, it put Madeline <em>behind </em>Delta in Astrid''s mental appraisal. For all that the spellcaster was definitely the better of the two, Madeline had been given all the opportunities and training that would be expected of a daughter of a Sovereign. Delta had wed her way up by sheer talent.


    Then there was the enigma. Zoey. The odd one out. The <em>nonbatant. </em>Astrid knew how to recognize those, for all she''d spent her life in the Fractures and never ascended to Haven where it was normal to live semi-peaceful lives. Generally, even city folk in the Fractures knew basicbat skills. It was a dangerous realm to live in.


    But yes, a nonbatant. Zoey had admitted to as much herself. Her training had started astonishinglyte. Astrid would''ve been able to tell regardless. The girl still wrinkled her nose when fights got messy—when blood and gore started spraying everywhere. She clearly wasn''t used to it. Or rather, was only <em>recently</em> growing used to it.


    Nevertheless, she was Chosen. The potency of her spells boggled the mind. And for the scant training time she''d had—well. Astrid wouldn''t im she was some prodigious mage. But eptable. More than eptable, considering her past. And that was fair praise from a woman like her.


    After collecting their loot, they stepped out into the Fractures proper, teleporting into some realm near or far from the one they''d started in. It was an arid and tndscape, ideal for travel, which Astrid said a thankful prayer for. She wasn''t particrly fond of the travel that came with wayfaring. Why not just drop them into the original Fracture? Would it be too convenient?


    Zoey had magically calmed her down after the boss fight. That branch of magic was an unexpectedly convenient synergy. Convenient, but not necessarily <em>powerful</em>. Having shortcuts to gaining and draining Bloodlust took a burden off her shoulders, but only mildly improved theirbat capabilities in an absolute sense. A nice-to-have, not a must-have.


    Going from fully in the sway of her primary skill topletely released was an experience and a half, as it would always be. She''d spent the better portion of a day with her Bloodlust throbbing in her skull, and having it disappear instantly was—disorienting. But she appreciated the quick fix. Calming down was harder than ramping up, especially with her manifestation, where it was slow-to-build and slow-to-release.


    Now that her thoughts were cleared, and they had begun the trip back to Mantle, she had time to mull over the entirety of the shard with a non-fogged mind.


    Her contemtions gravitated toward those ''rest breaks''.


    Something was off about them. And the more she thought about it, the more she came to a conclusion.


    A disciple of the goddess of Ephythithys.


    An illusionist on the team.


    Strange expressions and blushing.


    A few details—like particr smells.


    Surely not, though.


    The more she mulled it over, the more certain she became. She wasn''t an idiot. She could put two and two together. Some foreigners assumed her slow of mind since she didn''t speak themon tongue as well as them. They were ignorant in their own right.


    So, when they''d trekked back to Mantle''s Fracture after a tedious six-hour trip—shorter than most—Astrid confronted Zoey.


    "We need to talk."