On the tranquil training field, Sasha stood on one side. Her usual flustered and shy demeanor completely gone as she took a simple stance. Her left hand flexed into a claw while her right fist was lowered to her waist. Her golden eyes scanned the nonchalant Lucas with piercing intent.

A light breeze stirred Sasha's hair, her tail whipped around methodically as Lucas gave Evélyne a questioning look. Evélyne just apathetically said,

/If you underestimate her with your current injuries, you will be defeated in a single exchange. She could kill you on accident even at your strongest./

Lucas expression becomes much more serious as his muscles began to writhe and shifted—

"Argh!"

Before he could even begin his transformation, he quaked as searing pain shot through him like a bolt of lightning. The pain was so intense it almost brought him to his knees. He kept forgetting just how injured he was. Sasha's expression softened a bit at the sight but she swiftly corrected it.

After stabilizing himself, Lucas exhaled deeply and stepped forward gingerly,

"Take it easy on me, okay Sasha? I'm not sure just how bad my injuries are. If your mistress isn't just hyping you up, I really don't want to die from you sneezing too hard."

Sasha cracked a small smile at that while Evélyne's just thought.

'Resourceful.'

Exploiting this lapse in concentration, Lucas rushed forward as fast as he could. His tunic changed to a more tight fitting garment while four holes grew on its back which tendril sprouted through. When he got within range, he stabbed out with a tendril. A dull and tattered silver glow of the sharpening Rune coated it. His Spirit energy barely capable of powering the Rune.

Sasha dodged the attack easily and took a big step forward, her movement speed identical to Lucas'. Before she could move closer however, Lucas unleashed a barrage of slashes. Each attack aiming to disembowel his opponent.

Slashslashslashslashslashslash.

As he kept up these attacks, Lucas couldn't help but frown. Similar to Evélyne, it seemed like Sasha could read his attacks perfectly.

She dodged every single attack with the smallest motions, worse still she made sure to move at the same pace as Lucas the entire time.

Once he realized this, Lucas snarled. His pupils flaring with Spirit energy as he pushed his body further. Even If she could read his mind, he just had to move even faster. With that in mind, Lucas unleashed a swift low kick followed by a straight punch.

As he piled on more and more combinations, clouds of steam began rising from his body. His heart beat thundering through the training yard, in unstable beats.

'This should be his limit.'

Evélyne thought to herself as Lucas lunged forward with a tackle, his composure completely lost.

'Just have to touch her at least once!'

Sasha widened her stance and blasted out a series of palm strikes. With no Spirit energy, her palms slapped away all of Lucas attacks before the final palm hit him on the chest with a loud crack. She instantly paled in realization.

Lucas flew back like a broken kite, puking up a mouthful of blood. Sasha's eyes glowed with a sky-blue light as she vanished with a burst of speed.

Reappearing behind Lucas, she caught him as delicately as she could. The faint energy coating her form reduced his momentum to near zero.

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<Are you alright, sir Lucas??>

She asked, filled with concern. In her worry, she began speaking her dialect. Her soft voice raising to an even higher pitch. Within her hands, Lucas gave her a bloody grin.

"You know I can't understand you right? Can you… help me up? My spine isn't what it used to be."

Sasha's frown deepened but she nodded and helped Lucas to his feet. She could feel Lucas shaking as he struggled to stay upright. Evélyne walked over, her tall figure towering over them.

/It seems I overestimated your recovery. I'm sorry./

Lucas just shook his head with a self deprecating smile, grimacing at the end.

"Oww—It's fine. How are you guys so strong though?"

Sasha turned to her mistress, her ears dropping as she moved closer. Evélyne reached out a hand and petted her head rhythmically, her hand tracing out familiar patterns. She brought her ruby eyes to Lucas as she responded with,

/It's quite simple. Compared to us, your use of Attributes is too superficial, your energy control is grossly inefficient as well—/

Lucas' right eye twitched.

/Your combat instincts are underdeveloped, your reaction time is sluggish, your form lacks refinement, and your application of Spirit energy is primitive at best—/

"…Alright! Alright! I get it!" Lucas interrupted, waving his hands and tendrils in exasperation.

Evélyne blinked, pausing mid-thought. Her expression remained neutral, but after a beat, she nodded.

/I am sorry, it seemed I encroached on your pride. Let us switch topics then. Given what I have seen from the sparring session, you are no where near fit for combat. Why didn't you tell me you are so injured?/

"Huh? I thought you guys tried to healed me? Shouldn't you know how bad it is?"

/My mother did. But it seems your condition is deteriorating once more… This is due to the nature of my attacks./

This peaked Lucas' interest,

"What's so special about your attacks?"

Evélyne removed her hand from Sasha's head as the Beastkin had calmed down. With her full attention to Lucas, she said,

/Due to my Essence and my higher mastery of my Attributes, my attacks seemed to have injured the very nature of your being. That is, your Attributes themselves./

Evélyne paused here, waiting for Lucas to take in this information. To her mild surprise, he didn't show his usual wild expressions. His face looked serious as he said.

"So, you attacked my very being? …Are my injuries permanent?"

Evélyne's expression soften slightly as she said,

/No. Injuries to any of the three Attributes can be healed. The main problem is, they can only be healed by oneself or special means./

"So how do I heal myself?"

Lucas clenched his teeth tightly as he asked, his aura going slightly out of control. Tendrils whipped at the air, created small but powerful gushes. Evélyne easily withstood the pressure for Sasha as she said,

/Years, if you don't get stronger. Given your rather unique anatomy, if you're diligent, you can cut down that time to weeks./

Lucas' tendrils froze as he asked,

"How?"

Evélyne smiled slightly at this but continued apathetically.

/By studying and mastering your Attributes. With enough mastery, such injuries are child's play./

Lucas just looked at Evélyne for a few moments. He felt hesitant but he steeled himself with a simple thought.

'Be free.'

"So what should I do?"

Evélyne resumed petting Sasha once more as she said,

/Head to the library. Whatever you want to learn should be available there. Every morning, we shall spend and hour or so here and you can spend the rest of the day however you want./

When she finished, Lucas received an update from the Pact. The timestamps of the second constraint had finally been filled. Lucas suddenly frowned as he felt something wrap around his core. When he checked it out, he saw nothing but he still felt it. It was like his Spirit energy was being shackled in some way, making it even more difficult to flow.

Lucas straightened his expression instantly and said,

"Point the way."

Evélyne just glanced at Sasha and she nodded. Sasha turned to Lucas and said,

/Please follow me sir Lucas./

Lucas and Sasha moved away from the training field side to side, leaving behind Evélyne who returned to her martial arts training. As they walked, Lucas noticed how downturned Sasha was due to her dropping tail and ears. After a few minutes of walking, she eventually said,

/I'm really sorry sir Lucas. I should have controlled myself more. Now I aggravated your—/

"As I said, it's fine Sasha. I know you didn't mean too."

Sasha gave Lucas a look as if trying to read his face before smiling, her tail going back to it usually expressive whips.

'Cute.'

Lucas chuckled to himself as they moved throughout the manor.

In a few minutes, they finally reached their destination. The library's stone door frame was quite huge, standing at about three meters tall. The frame emitted a faint power that Lucas couldn't place. As he analyzed it, he couldn't see a single Rune drawing his curiosity even more. Before could activate his [Spirit Sense], Sasha said,

/This is where I take my leave sir Lucas./

She placed her right hand over her chest before waving at him. Luces repeated the gesture before she left with a smile. Turning back to the library's aperture, Lucas said,

"Okay, let's see what I can learn."

With that, he stepped into the library, fully intent on making a rapid recovery.

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