The Frostfang sword in my hands felt like holding the weight of a mountain. I'd made significant progress over the past month — more than I'd expected, honestly. First with Enhanced movement.

It was difficult, but it was very possible, especially with the weights making it look like me and gravity could never get along. One of the things the weights actually did for me was make me hyper-conscious of every change, no matter how small.

And because I noticed it so keenly, I could track my progress with Enhanced movement with almost obsessive precision. I'd even started adding it to my workout routines outside the Nave.

Working out intensively, day and night, had its perks. From the first week, I was already seeing results — muscles starting to define themselves, endurance stretching further than before. If only there was a mirror, I certainly would've been glued to it.

But there was none around. I still wondered if this world even had mirrors.

'Of course they do!'

I low-key wondered if they had everything I was yet to see. When you get isekai'd into a fantasy world, these questions just hit different.

"You're trembling." Kassie's voice cut through my thoughts, strong and merciless.

I shot her a glare and refocused on the sword in my hand. I was holding it straight out, horizontally, while maintaining the breath pattern.

'Inhale… hold… exhale… hold…'

It had been working well enough that I could hold the heavy sword in the air for about twenty minutes now. Though by the twenty-minute mark, my hands would begin to ache something fierce — a deep, burning protest that radiated up through my forearms.

I frowned, hating the pain crawling through my muscles at that very moment.

"But seriously though, what's even the point of this? I mean, there are weightless swords that cut just as good."

Kassie folded her arms over her chest. I tried to look away.

I failed.

"By 'cut as good' you mean shallow?" She fixed me with a stern look. "Swords cut with force. That force can come from your hands, or it can come from the sword itself. With a blade this heavy, even shallow cuts can shatter bones. Every strike matters. Even slapping your enemy with the flat of the blade can't be simply ignored." She paused, seeming to search for words. "And this training... it shapes you in ways I can't fully articulate. What I know is that once you're used to the weight, you'll never want to go back. And the ability to switch to lighter weapons afterward? You'd have an overwhelming advantage in speed. That's a big windfall."

I stared at Kassie for a moment, then looked away with a defeated sigh.

'Damnit. Why does she always have to be so right?'

"But your growth is impressive," she continued, her tone shifting slightly. "Being able to hold the sword this long after just one month, with the increased weights... you've exceeded expectations."

Sadly, it was at this exact moment of her praise that my hands decided to betray me.

'Please, please, one more second — please.'

My arms shook violently, trembling beyond my control, and the Frostfang clattered to the marble floor. I doubled over like an old man whose back was about to snap after some heinous labor, hands braced on my knees as I gasped for air.

Kassie looked at me, clicked her tongue and shook her head.

I snapped my gaze up at her immediately.

"What? You literally just said I was doing well! I tried, so what's that for?"

She said nothing. Only looked down at me in that way that annoyed the absolute hell out of me.

'God, I've never hated being short so much in my entire life.'

It wasn't even like I was actually short — I was tall. 5'9" was perfectly normal for a guy. But Kassie — Kassie was 6'9". She was freakishly tall, and her presence filled the entire space around her. Though, admittedly, that height also made her... proportions... more pronounced. Her hips with their perfect dips, her curves that seemed sculpted by someone who knew exactly what they were doing.

Even though Maggie was thicker, Kassie had the kind of stature that made everything about her fit together perfectly.

'She ate and left no crumbs!'

That's how they'd say it these days, right?

"Ahhh..." I let the exhale carry me down, collapsing flat onto the floor and staring up at the arching ceilings of the cathedral. The stone was cool against my back, a small mercy for my overheated body.

"You should step outside and get some water."

I spaced out for a moment, still breathing deliberately, managing not to lose grip on the breathing technique she'd taught me even as my body screamed for rest.

"Kassie..." I said, eyes still fixed on the ceiling. "I wonder — do you drink water? Eat food? As a spirit, I mean."

She had been walking away from the pillar, but she stopped. Glanced back at me with one red eyebrow raised.

She didn't reply immediately. Instead, she turned fully, folded her arms over her chest again, and seemed to consider the question carefully.

"This is my first time being a spirit, remember? I'm not exactly supposed to know how any of this works." She paused. "But I don't think trying would hurt."

"Hmm..."

"Why?" She tilted her head, a subtle look of curiosity flickering in her eyes.

"I just..." The words came slowly, surprising even me with their weight. "Po's food is really good. And I feel like it'd be nice if you and Maggie could taste it. Actually appreciate it. You guys are always here feeding on spirit energy, and that just feels... unfair, honestly."

Her voice took a moment to come, and when it did, it was softer than usual.

"We're not complaining?"

"Yeah, I know." I pushed myself up slightly, propping on my elbows to look at her properly. "But I want you guys to actually live, you know? You might be my spirit summons, but you all wanted another chance at life, didn't you? Then you should be able to live it. We should get you outside the Nave. You could wear normal clothes, talk to normal people, exist like a normal person. There's no harm in that. And while you're out living, Maggie could be in the Nave recharging. Then when you come back to recharge, she goes out." I shrugged. "I mean, I'm not even spending any essence doing this, right?"

Kassie's voice didn't come.

I waited a beat. Then another.

Nothing.

I got worried. Pushed myself up further, wincing as my exhausted muscles protested, until I was sitting upright. Kassie was still there — but her head was tilted slightly to the side, and there was a strange, somber smile playing at her lips. Her eyes... they looked different. A little glassy, catching the light in a way that made something tighten in my chest.

At that moment, I trembled. Not from exhaustion though.

'What did I do?'

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