Free Web NovelChapter 32: 32. The cost of secrecy
Nathan woke to sunlight stabbing through the curtains.
His body felt like it had been disassembled and put back together by a quack. Every muscle felt sore. His left shoulder, in particular, was threatening to unionize. He lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling cracks, contemplating whether "too sore to move" was a valid reason to cancel training.
But it wasn’t. He knew that. But the contemplation was nice.
’You slept for just four hours,’ Mirko observed. She was in bunny form on the pillow beside his head, her pink eyes watching him with the unblinking assessment of a very small, very fluffy military commander. ’That is insufficient for human recovery. I have told you this. Multiple times. You continue to ignore me.’
"I’ve survived worse."
’You say that often, Master. I am beginning to doubt its accuracy.’
Nathan dragged himself upright. His combat suit from last night was still on. he had collapsed without changing... and it now had the distinct aroma. He peeled it off as Mirko politely averted her eyes, though he caught the mental equivalent of a smirk.
’Your physical condition is deteriorating. The ice mage will notice.’
"Elise notices everything. It’s her main personality trait."
’Then she will notice this too. And she will have words. Cold ones... get it? ice mage and cold...Hehehe.’
Nathan grabbed a healing potion from his dwindling supply. The liquid was bitter and chalky, but the warmth spread through his limbs, dulling the soreness. He checked his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Bags under his eyes. Hair that looked like he’d been in a wind tunnel. A general aura of exhaustion that no amount of potions could fix.
"Perfect," he muttered. "Very inspiring. The team will be thrilled."
’The team will be concerned. There is a difference, Master.’
---
The training facility was already active when Nathan arrived. Garrett was stretching near the entrance, Red sprawled beside him in what appeared to be an advanced state of laziness... all four black eyes closed, crimson wool rising and falling with slow, peaceful breaths.
Dillon was seated on a bench, polishing his katana with the kind of loving attention most people reserved for small animals or expensive cars. His Cloud Serpent floated overhead, occasionally zapping loose dust motes with tiny sparks of static.
Elise was already running drills. Her Frost Golem moved through combat patterns in the corner of the chamber, each strike precise, each movement calculated. She didn’t acknowledge Nathan’s arrival. That was normal.
"Morning, Cross!" Garrett waved. "You look..." He paused, his smile faltering. "Uh. You look like you got hit by a cart."
"A small cart."
"A cart nonetheless."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Nathan rolled his shoulder. The healing potion had helped, but the stiffness was still there, lurking beneath the surface like a bad memory. "Let’s get started."
Mirko materialized beside him, shifting directly to humanoid form. The green light of her transformation drew Dillon’s gaze immediately.
"Morning, Mirko!" he called. "Looking radiant as always. That bodysuit is really working for you. Very... tactical."
"My appearance is irrelevant to my combat readiness, Hmph" Mirko said.
"I disagree. Your appearance significantly impacts my combat readiness. It’s really motivating."
"Dillon." Elise’s voice cut across the chamber. "Focus."
"I am focused. On multiple big things simultaneously. It’s a gift."
Nathan activated the simulation before Dillon could continue. The training constructs materialized...humanoid figures of compressed mana, this time accompanied by environmental hazards. Jagged terrain. Shifting platforms. Simulated crosswinds that would affect arrow trajectories. The system had clearly analyzed yesterday’s session and decided they needed a harder challenge.
The first wave went well. The party moved with the rhythm they’d developed... Mirko anchoring the center, Garrett and Red on the left, Dillon flanking right and returning on schedule, Elise raining [Mana Bolts] through the gaps. [Unstoppable Force] built with each successive strike. The constructs fell in waves.
Then Nathan called a target two seconds late.
It was a small error. Barely noticeable. But a construct slipped past Mirko’s left flank and charged directly toward Elise. Nathan pivoted to cover, but his footwork was sluggish, his reaction blunted by exhaustion. He fired a [Mana Arrow] that went wide... wide enough that Dillon’s Cloud Serpent had to drop suddenly to avoid being clipped.
"Watch it!" Dillon yanked his summon back. "That’s my serpent, Cross, not your target practice!"
"Sorry..." Nathan adjusted, but the damage was done. The formation fractured. Garrett had to scramble to cover the gap, Red taking a glancing blow from a construct before Mirko could intercept. Elise’s Frost Golem absorbed two hits that Nathan should have prevented with covering fire. They cleared the wave, but it was messy. Ugly. The kind of performance that got people killed in real combat.
Elise raised her hand. "Stop."
The constructs froze.
She turned to face Nathan. Her expression was calm. Dangerously calm. The kind of calm that preceded an avalanche.
"Nathan. A word."
---
They gathered in the center of the chamber. Garrett was catching his breath, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Dillon was uncharacteristically quiet, his katana still drawn, his Cloud Serpent coiled protectively around his shoulders. Elise stood with arms folded, her icy blue gaze cutting through Nathan like a blade that had been sharpened specifically for this moment.
"You’re exhausted," she said.
"I’m fine."
"You nearly shot my summon," Dillon added. His usual humor was absent. "And you’re never off-target. Yesterday you were tracking four allies and a dozen enemies simultaneously. Today you almost turned my Cloud Serpent into a kebab. What’s going on , bro?"
Nathan hesitated. Mirko stood beside him, still in humanoid form. She didn’t speak through the link. She was letting him choose how much to reveal.
"I’ve... I’ve been climbing at night," he admitted. "Solo runs. Short Towers. Pushing for levels."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Garrett’s eyes widened. "You’ve been running double duty? Training with us all day and climbing all night? Cross, that’s... man, that’s insane. Like, medically insane. I’m pretty sure there’s a potion for that, and it’s called sleep."
"I’m aware of what sleep is."
"Could’ve fooled me."
"Why?" Elise’s voice was sharp. Not angry but intense in a way that demanded answers. "We’re making progress. The party coordination is improving. Whatever you’re chasing, is it worth running yourself into the ground before the duel even starts?"
Nathan met her eyes. "Yes."
"That’s not an answer."
"It’s the only one I can give right now."
The silence stretched. Dillon broke it with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I’m all for mysterious brooding. It’s very Samurai-chic. Very ’lone warrior with a dark secret.’ But if you collapse during the duel, we lose. You’re our caller. Our eyes. If you’re running on fumes, we’re all running blind."
"He’s right," Garrett said, softer. "I owe you my life, Cross. Literally. If you hadn’t shown up on Floor 3, I’d be a stain on the cavern floor and Red would be... I don’t know, probably still eating ward emitters somewhere. But you can’t help anyone if you’re dead on your feet. At least take tonight off. One night. That’s all we’re asking."
Nathan looked at them... Garrett’s earnest concern, Dillon’s frustration, Elise’s unreadable assessment, Mirko’s steady silence. They weren’t wrong. Today had proved that. His reaction time was slipping. His accuracy was dropping. If he kept pushing at this pace, he’d be a liability during the duel, not an asset.
"Fine," he said. "I’ll rest tonight. But tomorrow night, I climb again. I don’t have a choice."
Elise’s expression didn’t soften. But something in her posture shifted.. less judgment, more acknowledgment. "Then tomorrow, we train harder. So you don’t have to carry everything alone."
She turned and walked back to her position. The constructs reactivated. Training resumed.
---
The TCA notification arrived simultaneously on all their interfaces during cooldown.
[Duel Registration Update: Tower Selected.]
[Tower: The Veiled Colosseum - Party Format (4v4)]
[Floors: 10]
[Date: 11 Days Remaining.]
[Public Broadcast: Approved. Viewing access available through TCA network.]
[Opposing Party Registered: Derek Stone (Magic Swordsman), Tyler Vane (Warrior), Reid Halton (Mage), Marcus Kade (Berserker).]
[Note: Marcus Kade is a registered Climber, Level 51, A-Rank. Registered as temporary party member per TCA Duel Regulations.]
Garrett read the notification aloud, his voice getting progressively higher as he reached the end. "Level 51? Derek hired a Level 51 A-Rank Berserker? That’s... that’s not even fair. That’s like bringing a dragon to a sword fight."
"He’s spending family money," Dillon said, his tone unusually serious. "No surprise. The Stones have deep pockets and bruised egos. A hired mercenary is exactly the kind of move I’d expect from someone who knows he can’t win on his own merits." He paused. "Marcus Kade. I’ve heard that name. He’s a freelance. Takes duels, escort missions, Tower carries for rich clients. Not cheap. Not subtle. But effective."
Elise nodded slowly. "I’ve seen his record. High durability. Low technique. He relies on overwhelming force and the Berserker passive... damage increases as health decreases. The longer the fight goes, the more dangerous he becomes."
"So we take him out fast," Nathan said. "Burst damage. Coordinated strikes. Don’t let him build momentum."
"That’s harder than it sounds. Berserkers are designed to survive long enough to become lethal." Elise pulled up Marcus’s public stats on her interface. "But he has one weakness: he fights alone. His class doesn’t have party synergy. He’s a hammer. We’re a team. Hammers break against coordinated defense."
Nathan absorbed the information. A hired A-Rank Berserker. Derek’s party wasn’t just his usual lackeys anymore... it was a purchased victory. The kind of victory that only old money could afford. Derek’s father had clearly decided that his son’s humiliation needed to be erased, and he was willing to spend a small fortune to make it happen.
"Then we make sure we don’t lose," Nathan said. "The Veiled Colosseum punishes lack of coordination. We’ve been training coordination for days. If we trust each other, we have an edge they can’t buy."
Dillon’s grin returned, slightly sharper than usual. "Look at you, being inspirational. I almost believed that."
"Believe it. Or don’t. Either way, we fight in eleven days."
"Ominous. I like it."
---
After training, the party dispersed in stages. Garrett clapped Nathan on the shoulder... gently, mindful of the soreness... and headed out with Dillon, who was already speculating loudly about what kind of food the TCA cafeteria served at this hour.
"I’m hoping for something with meat. Tower climbing builds appetite."
"Everything builds your appetite. You ate three breakfasts yesterday."
"Three small breakfasts. That’s basically one large breakfast, mathematically speaking."
Their voices faded down the corridor. Elise paused at the door, glancing back at Nathan. Her expression was unreadable, but she held his gaze for a moment longer than necessary.
"Rest," she said. It might have been an order. It might have been concern. With Elise, the line between the two was always blurred. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Then she left.
Nathan remained in the empty training chamber. The constructs had been deactivated. The environmental hazards were dormant. The only sound was the faint hum of the damage-dampening wards. Mirko stood beside him, still in humanoid form, her sword sheathed at her hip.
"You should have told them more," she said quietly.
"They know enough."
"They know you’re hiding something. They don’t know what and that gap will fill with doubt, Master. And doubt is dangerous in battle."
Nathan turned to face her. "If I tell them about the system... about the second summon, about what I’m really chasing... they’ll have questions I can’t answer. Elise already suspects. She knows I’m hiding more than just your humanoid form. If she pushes, and I refuse to explain, that trust we’re building cracks. Better they think I’m just grinding levels than know I’m trying to summon another you."
Mirko’s ears drooped slightly. "Another me."
"Another Bunny Girl. Not another Mirko." Nathan’s voice softened. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "No one replaces you. You know that, right?"
"I know." She lifted her chin. "I am simply processing. A second summon will change things. Our dynamic. Our tactics. Our..." She paused, ears twitching. "Our bond."
"Is that fear I hear?"
"It is... just... assessment, Hmph!." But her pink eyes flickered away from his. "I am your first. Your Knight. I will not be... lessened by another’s arrival."
Nathan stepped closer. The contact was brief but deliberate... his hand on her shoulder, a gentle pressure. "You could never be lessened, Mirko. You’re the reason I’ve survived this far. The first fight. The Tutorial Realm. The Tower. Every time I’ve been about to fall, you’ve been there. The second summon isn’t a replacement, Mirko. She’s reinforcement. And when she arrives, she’ll be joining our team. Not replacing you."
Mirko was silent for a moment. Then she looked up at him, her pink eyes steady. "You said ’our.’"
"Because it is ours."
A pause. Then, very quietly Mirko replied. "That is acceptable."
She shifted back to bunny form and hopped onto his shoulder. Her warmth was immediate, familiar, grounding. ’You are still dense, Master. But you are also... acceptable.’
"I’m going to take that as a compliment."
’You should. It was one. Mostly.’
---
Nathan returned home to the smell of something burning.
He opened the door to find Lucy in the kitchen, frantically waving a towel at the smoke detector while a pan of what might have once been eggs smoldered on the stove. Mirko, still in bunny form, immediately hopped onto the counter and began making distressed squeaking sounds.
"I was trying to make dinner!" Lucy shouted over the smoke alarm. "You’ve been working so hard and you always look tired and I thought maybe if I made food you’d be less tired but then the eggs caught fire and I don’t know how eggs catch fire but these ones did..."
Nathan reached up and disconnected the smoke detector with the practiced ease of someone who’d done this before. Then he surveyed the damage. The eggs were beyond saving. The pan might also be beyond saving. The kitchen smelled like a crematorium.
"How," he said, "did you manage to set eggs on fire?"
"I added oil! And then I turned the heat up because it was taking too long! And then there was fire!"
"Oil plus high heat equals fire. That’s chemistry."
"I hate chemistry." Lucy slumped against the counter. "I just wanted to help."
Nathan looked at the ruined pan. At the smoke still curling toward the ceiling. At his little sister, who was trying so hard to take care of him in the only way she knew how.
He ruffled her hair. "You did help. Now I know what not to do with eggs. Very educational." freewebnσvel.cѳm
"That’s not helping."
"It’s helping me. Now move over. I’ll make dinner. You’re on dish duty."
"Hmph, Deal" Lucy paused. "You look tired again. More than usual."
"I’m always tired. It’s my brand now."
"That’s a bad brand, brother." She frowned. "Are you okay? Really?"
Nathan hesitated. Then he crouched down to her level. "I’m preparing for something big. A duel. In eleven days. After that, things might be... different. People might talk about me differently. About us."
"Bad different?"
"I don’t know yet." He met her eyes. "But whatever happens, you’re safe. You’re fed. You’re going to school. Nothing changes for you. That’s the important thing."
Lucy studied him with the unnerving perception of a child who had grown up too fast. "You’re going to win, right?"
"I’m going to try."
She seemed to consider this. Then she nodded, apparently satisfied. "Okay. But if you lose, I’m still on your side. Just so you know."
Nathan felt something tighten in his chest. "Thanks, Luce."
"You’re welcome. Now make dinner. I’m starving, and my eggs are dead."
---
Later, with Lucy asleep and the kitchen restored to something resembling order, Nathan sat at the table and opened his status panel. Mirko was in bunny form on his lap, a warm weight that radiated quiet contentment.
---
[STATUS PANEL]
[Name: Nathan Cross]
[Class: Archer]
[Level: 21]
[Magic Aptitude (MA): F-Grade++ (Effective E-Grade via Leyline Ring)]
[Title: Fast Climber] Slightly increases movement speed and stamina recovery while inside Tower environments.
---
[Skills:]
[Focus Shot Lv.6]
A refined mana shot that drastically amplifies destructive power when charged. Maximum charge: 30 seconds. Current output scales with charge time.
[Hunter’s Insight Lv.4]
Greatly enhances vision and weak-point identification. Predicts enemy movement patterns. Tracks mana flow and exhaustion states. Can now maintain tracking on up to 6 targets simultaneously.
[Mana Arrow Lv.3]
Condenses mana into a basic projectile arrow, allowing the user to fire without physical ammunition. Damage scales slightly with magical power. Mana cost reduced from base level.
---
[Second Summon: Locked]
· Condition 1: Reach Level 25 (4 levels remaining)
· Condition 2: Significant emotional resonance event
· Condition 3: Compatible catalyst item from Tower floor boss
---
[Days Until Duel: 11]
Eleven days. Four levels. One party that was learning to trust each other. One mercenary Berserker who’d been paid to crush them. And one secret that was getting harder to keep with every passing day.
He’d promised the party he’d rest tonight. And he would. But tomorrow, the grind resumed. Level 25 was within reach. The second summon was within reach. And once she arrived, the balance of power would shift in ways that Derek Stone and his expensive mercenary couldn’t anticipate.
’Sleep,’ Mirko commanded from his lap. Her mental voice was drowsy. ’You promised. I am holding you to it.’
"Wouldn’t dream of disappointing you."
’You dream of many things. I hear them. Some of them are very...’
"Sleep. You said sleep. We’re sleeping now."
’As you wish, Master.’ A pause. A mental smirk. ’The dream with Elise was particularly...’
"Goodnight, Mirko."
’Goodnight, Master.’
He closed his eyes. Tomorrow, the climb continued. But tonight, for the first time in days, Nathan allowed himself to rest well. The grind could wait. The duel could wait. The second summon could wait.
For now, this was enough.
