Chapter 50 More Fighting – Cassis

  Back at the fort, in the relative quiet of his room, Cassis and Arianna decided to call Liam to tell him about the upcoming dungeon raid. Liam sounded thrilled on the phone and immediately put them on speaker so that Camden could join the conversation, too. That part made Cassis tense. Things still felt awkward between him and Liam since his outburst a couple of days earlier—and Camden being there only added to his discomfort.

  Luckily, Arianna took over the conversation with her usual ease, walking them through all the important details: when and where to meet, what to bring, and how to prepare. Liam had been excited, claiming that he and Camden had been training relentlessly. Arianna smiled and assured him that Sapphire would provide them with new defensive equipment for the dungeon. That was news to Cassis, but a welcome one.

  After they ended the call, a heavy silence settled between him and Arianna. The call had stirred his unease again. He was still worried about taking Liam into a dungeon, and he finally voiced it aloud.

  Arianna laughed.

  He frowned at her, offended.

  “Sorry,” she said, stifling her giggles. “No, really—sorry. It’s just... it’s kind of cute how worried you are about your little brother.”

  Cassis narrowed his eyes.

  She grinned and softened her tone. “But Liam’s an adult, Cassis. He’s got a mind of his own, and he’s not actually bad in a fight. You said it yourself—he just lacks experience. And the only way to change that is to get him into dungeons. Besides, you’ll be right there with him. Nothing’s going to happen.”

  As much as he hated to admit it, she was right.

  “Still,” he muttered, “I’d feel better if we had a few more people. What about Helen? Or my parents?”

  Arianna rolled her eyes dramatically. “I don’t think Liam wants his parents tagging along. He’s trying to be independent. It’s bad enough he’s already got his overprotective big brother and an overprotective boyfriend. Helen might be a good fit, though. And what about Nadine and Luke? They’re both strong fighters.”

  He nodded, and Arianna quickly sent them a message. Both responded soon after, confirming they'd join.

  The next day unfolded much like the previous one. The morning was dedicated to physical training—obstacle courses, combat drills, and sparring. In the afternoon, however, Arianna changed things up a bit. For the first time, the trainees, as well as Cassis and Faith, were allowed to work on their own spells. They moved outside so that everyone had enough space.

  Arianna began by teaching them how to regulate their mana output, emphasizing the importance of control. She made all of them cast spells repeatedly until they reached mana depletion. Cassis was spared that ordeal—he had enough experience with that particular hell already.

  It was brutal. Trainees collapsed, vomited, clutched their heads, and groaned in pain as the toll of mana depletion hit them hard. Some looked like they might never get up again. But it was effective. This was a lesson Arianna herself had learned the hard way, and now so would they.

  Once the worst had passed and the group had settled into meditation to recover, Arianna offered a quiet apology. She acknowledged that she'd pushed them—but emphasized that this way, they wouldn’t be caught off guard in a real fight. There were still a few grumbles, and more than one muttered “demon” under their breath, but the understanding was there.

  They didn’t have to like it.

  The training session ended there, with Arianna’s promise to teach them tomorrow how to maintain a healthy balance between casting and meditating.

  Because training had ended a little earlier than usual, they found themselves with some unexpected free time that evening. It allowed them to finally complete the revelations and the basic knowledge they intended to publish on the website. Together, they compiled everything into a single document, ready to send to Ben and his father. Still, they agreed to give it one final read-through the next day—just to make sure no mistakes had slipped in.

  Then they called Helen but were told that she didn’t have any news yet. She seemed a bit stressed and he worried for her but she scoffed at that. “Young man, don’t you worry about this old woman. I’ve taken care of myself long before you were even born. My … friend is just a bit more difficult to reason with than I thought. But I’ll have some results tomorrow.” She ended the call with that. Cassis felt a bit offended but knew that Helen was capable and that she would ask for help if she needed any.

  Afterward, for the first time since the beginning of the apocalypse, they truly relaxed. Not the kind of rest that came with strategic breaks or productive mana control sessions. This was real, undisturbed relaxation.

  They lay down on the bed, curled into each other, quietly scrolling through their phones. No conversations. No urgency. Just peace. It felt... good.

  Arianna drifted off not long after, her breathing slowing as she melted into sleep. Cassis stayed awake, watching the calm settle over her features. She hadn’t said anything, but he knew she'd felt terrible about pushing the trainees into mana depletion. He could see it in the way her expression tensed when she wasn’t speaking, the flicker of guilt in her eyes. But he agreed with her decision. Experience—especially the painful kind—could mean the difference between life and death. It had been necessary.

  He continued watching her sleep, and a long-forgotten feeling stirred within him—happiness. True, undiluted happiness. Just holding her in his arms, feeling her trust, knowing she was letting herself be vulnerable with him... it filled a part of him that had been hollow for a long time.

  But even as warmth bloomed in his chest, another weight pulled it down. The secret he carried—the truth about his wish, the circumstances of the time reversal, and how Arianna had come to this world—pressed heavily on his conscience. He had promised himself he would tell her once she reached E-rank. And yet, as they grew closer—acting like a couple, feeling more and more like a real couple—he found himself hesitating again.

  Would she feel betrayed? Almost certainly. He feared she would walk away. He wanted to wait until she had a stronger support network, people she could lean on if she chose to walk out of his life. Helen would be there for her. His parents, their friends, even Liam and Camden—though he wasn't sure how Arianna would feel about anyone still connected to him.

  He sighed softly into the silence, unsure of how to navigate what lay ahead.

  With those thoughts still swirling in his mind, he pulled her gently closer, holding her tightly as if he could keep both her and the moment from slipping away.

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  Then, finally, he let sleep take him too.

  The following day unfolded in much the same way. Morning brought another round of physical training, but this time Arianna had the cleric trainees form a circle around their sparring comrades. Each was responsible for maintaining a five-meter radius of healing, permitted to dash in and heal through touch to conserve mana. When not actively healing, they were expected to meditate until called upon again.

  Though Arianna remained present, Cassis noticed a distinct hesitation among the trainees when it came to inflicting injury on each other. That reluctance didn’t last long—once they realized how effectively their clerics could mend their wounds, they resumed sparring with growing intensity.

  Many of the clerics quickly found themselves drained, their mana depleted from repeated use. Arianna then had to step in to assist, but even so, they were learning—through success and failure both.

  Later, during her own instructional session, Arianna fulfilled her promise by helping each trainee understand their personal mana limits—how far they could push their healing or combat spells before needing to pause, meditate, or, in critical situations, conserve mana altogether. She also guided them through the fine art of modulating mana flow—channelling more or less mana into their spells depending on the situation.

  Cassis himself advanced significantly. His Fire Blade spell rose from intermediate to advanced, and Flame Burst improved from basic to beginner. He chose not to train his other spells for the time being—best to keep a few surprises hidden.

  By the time the lesson concluded, everyone was mentally drained and trudged toward their quarters. Cassis had just begun to follow when Arianna stopped him. She stood with Faith, both of them visibly excited. How Faith still had the energy to look anything but exhausted, he couldn’t understand—though on closer inspection, he could see the fatigue lurking behind her bright expression. She simply masked it well.

  “We still need to film the training videos,” Arianna explained. “Faith’s going to help with the recording. I’ll start with the meditation and mana sight control exercises first, so you two can relax for a bit. I don’t need a second person to demonstrate anything. But you” – she pointed at him – “you need a sparring partner for some of your moves and it’s also easier to demonstrate how the different movements go with each other. So, Faith will have to film us for sparring.”

  Cassis gave a silent nod, too tired to speak, and dropped onto the grass. Closing his eyes, he slipped into meditation, guiding his mana pattern to replenish his reserves. Faith sat beside him and followed suit, though probably less effective as she didn’t have a mana pattern.

  After a while, he opened one eye, feeling noticeably better. Faith was already watching him and smiled when their eyes met.

  “How do you feel?” she asked. “I’m better already. Arianna demands a lot, but she teaches very well—and the gains are no joke.”

  Cassis nodded in agreement. Her words rang true.

  She continued to look at him for a moment longer. He felt it was time to say something—small talk wasn’t his forte, but perhaps it was time he got to know her better.

  “You’re right,” he said at last. “She has a real talent for mana. But your wind elemental affinity and your mana control are impressive too—they fit your ranger class well.”

  Faith’s cheeks flushed with colour before she quickly turned her head away. “Thanks,” she said softly. “But I’m nowhere near your level. Or Arianna’s. I hope I can get there someday.” Her gaze shifted to Arianna, who was still focused on filming her video explanation. “Looks like she’s not done yet.”

  Cassis followed her line of sight and nodded. “What did you do before all this?” he asked, curious to learn more about her.

  Faith turned back to him with a small smile. “Oh, I worked as an office clerk at the government headquarters in Vallendale. We barely survived the first wave... but I managed to level up pretty quickly and even earned a class. The government called us all back in, but I realized I didn’t want to sit at a desk anymore. Not after everything.”

  She paused, then added, “My old boss actually listened and offered me an alternative. Said I could work with the soldiers—handle logistics and organization now that they needed deployment again. And maybe join the teams occasionally to fight monsters… or head into dungeons.”

  Cassis tilted his head slightly, intrigued.

  “I’m pretty sure Commander Brice gave me this job to keep me safe,” she added with a laugh. “He’s like an uncle to me—one of my mother’s oldest friends.”

  Finally, Cassis learned the truth about Faith’s connection to Brice—something he’d been wondering about, and now he knew. That was one mystery put to rest. They continued with some light conversation, and though he forced himself to be pleasant, he soon found himself running out of things to say. Not that it mattered much; his focus had already shifted.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he was watching Arianna. Then, to his shock, he saw her take out a knife and draw it across her arm—only to heal it soon after.

  “What the—Arianna!” he shouted, shooting to his feet.

  Startled, she almost dropped the knife, but when he moved toward her, she looked like she was about to do it again.

  “What are you doing!?” he demanded, voice sharp with alarm. Beside him, Faith stared with wide, stunned eyes.

  Arianna looked up at him, clearly annoyed—as though he were the one doing something reckless. “Great,” she muttered. “Now I have to start the video over. Thanks.”

  He approached her quickly, trying to keep his voice steady. “What do you mean you have to start again?”

  She sighed as if explaining something perfectly obvious. “I’m demonstrating the healing spell—how to channel mana and what it looks like when applied to a real wound. So, I need a wound.”

  Her tone was calm and matter-of-fact, like this was the most natural thing in the world.

  Anger flared in him—not just frustration, but something deeper. No one was allowed to hurt her, not even herself. The thought that she would do this so casually stirred something protective and raw inside him.

  But when he met her gaze, he held back the words he wanted to throw at her. He could see it—this was a battle she was prepared to fight. She would die on this hill if she had to. His stubborn, brilliant healer who still didn’t value herself enough. And no matter how much he hated it, he had no right to stop her. Not like this.

  He clenched his fists and jaw but said nothing.

  Arianna gave a short nod and turned back to her phone, starting the recording again. Without hesitation, she cut herself, began her explanation about channelling mana, and healed the wound as she spoke.

  He couldn’t focus on the details—her words became white noise. All he saw was her hurting herself, again and again, just to teach others.

  She did it a second time. And then a third. When she finally ended the video, Cassis was near his limit.

  Faith had moved to stand quietly beside him, clearly unsure of what to say. He must’ve looked furious, because she wisely said nothing.

  Arianna, for reasons he couldn’t fathom, seemed annoyed with him. He caught it in her stiff movements, her clipped tone.

  “I’m going to meditate for a bit,” she said coolly. “Let me know when you’re ready to film the sparring video.”

  Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, “Keep the background blurred in the videos. Commander Brice probably wouldn’t appreciate seeing the gym on social media.”

  Cassis gave a short nod. He needed to clear his head anyway.

  Thankfully, he’d already thought through how he wanted to organize the videos. It made the most sense to make one for each skill. So, he created a short tutorial for each: Slash, Stab, Bludgeon, Deflect, and Parry. Since these were active skills, he needed to be on the move, and Faith helped him film all of them, holding the phone steady.

  Arianna’s videos had been easier to record—she’d leaned the phone against one of the obstacle course structures while she sat and spoke.

  Once he finished his batch, he called her back. She still looked vaguely irritated, but when the camera started rolling, she slipped into a professional, pleasant demeanour as though nothing had happened. He managed a smile too, though it felt stiff.

  They got through the sparring video quickly. Afterward, he thanked Faith, and the three of them exchanged tired goodnights.

  Arianna followed him back to his room. Once the door closed, she let out a quiet grumble, clearly still annoyed, and climbed into bed without another word.

  Cassis sighed. He was frustrated too—but arguing now would only escalate things. She was right not to talk about it tonight. He lay down beside her, and as always, the narrow bed forced them to cuddle to fit. She didn’t go to her own room, and he didn’t suggest she should.

  She drifted off quickly.

  Cassis stayed awake for a little while longer, staring at the ceiling and thinking how strange it was. They were mad at each other… and yet here they were, curled up together like always. Despite the silence and tension, there was still something solid between them.

  He closed his eyes, letting the warmth of her presence pull him into sleep.