The Author's Viewpoint-Chapter 65 - Scars You Can’t See

Tave woke up to the soft rustle of fabric around him, finding himself inside a tent, lying on a bedroll. His clothes had been changed, and his wounds had been tended.

How long had he been out?

He didn’t waste time wondering. He sat up, groaning slightly, and pushed himself out of the tent, squinting into the daylight.

Outside, the rest of the team were busy. Some discussing, others reorganizing gear. And then he saw Oriana, who caught sight of him immediately.

She smiled, lifted a hand, and walked over.

"Hey... you’re finally up," she said gently.

"How’s Lily?" Tave asked.

Oriana glanced toward the tent beside his. And as if on cue, Lily stepped out. Her short blonde hair slightly messy, her usual furrowed brow in place.

Tave’s eyes dropped to her right hand, now hanging limp at her side.

Later, the two of them sat together, a little ways from the others, resting on a log in silence.

"How is it?" Tave asked softly.

Lily rested her chin on her knees, hesitant, eyes distant. She didn’t answer at first.

Then, slowly, she lifted both her hands. Her left hand clenched easily. While her right hand, however, remained limp.

"It’s okay..." she said, her voice quiet. "I can still fight with my left."

She paused, then added in a near whisper. "...and I can still do one-handed seals."

Then she fell silent again.

There was one thing Tave had come to realize during that fight against Theo, or rather against Lily.

She had fought with a precision and strength that left him stunned. She was far stronger than he remembered. Far beyond the Lily he’d sparred with just weeks ago at the Knight Training Grounds.

Even with all the advantages Tave had gained. His awakened Relic, the Fire affinity, and his bloodline override. He had struggled. And they had both been exhausted.

Lily, who bore the weight of being their team’s support, had still fought flawlessly. Too flawlessly.

If he hadn’t pushed himself beyond his limits. Sacrificing his first core. He wouldn’t have made it through. And he knew that. He would’ve died.

And if either of them had died in that illusion, tricked by the power of an Elite monster’s mind manipulation... No healing, no spell, no time could ever mend that kind of wound.

Tave exhaled slowly.

He reached out and gently pulled Lily into a side embrace. His arm wrapped around her shoulder.

She remained still, her body stiff as she leaned just barely into him.

"You’ll be okay..." he said quietly.

Lily didn’t respond. But after a moment. She gave a small, silent nod.

Lily’s right hand... would never be usable again. That was the harshest truth left in the wake of Soulfire. It would never function again.

Soulfire wasn’t just rare. It was a cursed element, born from the fusion of Dark and Fire, both volatile in their own right. Few ever awakened it. Fewer still could control it.

And even then, the price was brutal. It didn’t only consume the soul of its target... It scorched the caster’s core as well.

Tave knew he couldn’t use it often. Not without consequence. But he hadn’t chosen it blindly. He understood the risks. And he would find a way to wield it with purpose.

But Lily...

There was still a chance for her. A single, difficult path forward:

Bloodline Override.

If they could find a Tier 3 monster with a powerful Water Affinity, and if Lily was willing to undergo the transformation. Her hand could be restored. Not with healing ability. But with something deeper, a rewriting of her very nature.

And Tave had already made his decision.

He would find that monster. He would bring it down himself if he had to.

Because what he saw in that fight. Her strength, her precision, her heart. That wasn’t something the world could afford to lose. Not to one cursed moment. Not forever.

***

Once everyone had finished their individual tasks, the team gradually gathered around the campfire. Everyone except Orion, who sat apart, quietly eating his lunch alone.

Tave took a breath and began explaining everything that had happened during the fight. The truth about his battle with Lily, the illusion, and the mini-boss monster responsible for the chaos.

The same creature, he revealed, was likely the reason behind Orion’s actions. The murder that had shocked them all at the very beginning of the expedition.

When he finished, a heavy silence fell.

Oriana sighed. "If only Orion had explained this in more detail earlier... we wouldn’t have had to suffer through this the hard way."

She turned her head toward Orion, who glanced over in their direction. "Shut up, Oriana," he muttered back without much emotion.

"I’m never going into another Rift expedition with you again, Orion." Her voice was cold.

Orion didn’t respond, just went back to eating.

Without another word, Oriana raised her hand. A moment later, a shimmer of light appeared, revealing the carcass of the scorpion monster, laid out in front of them. In her other hand, she held a crystal glowing with deep, pulsing energy. The monster core.

She turned to Tave and offered it to him.

"Take it, Tave. You deserve this."

He accepted it with a quiet nod.

"I’m sure you’ll be able to craft something incredible from its remains. Don’t worry," she added with a small smile, "I’ll cover all the materials and costs you need."

Tave gave her a thankful nod, smiling faintly as he stored both the monster carcass and core into his storage ring.

The scorpion monster’s carapace was tough, reinforced with valuable components, and its other body parts held rare crafting materials. But most importantly, the Elite Tier 3 Monster Core had incredible potential. If refined properly, it could become something extraordinary.

That, however, would have to wait until after they completed this Rift expedition.

For now, Tave returned to his tent. There was something he needed to check.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, closing his eyes, focusing. Calming himself until he could feel the energy within. His awareness slowly reached inward...

And there it was.

The first core... silent. He couldn’t sense the Dark element at all in the air around him. It was completely. exhausted. Unusable.

For now, he couldn’t tap into Dark energy at all.

Thankfully, he still had his second core, now carrying the Fire element gifted through Kaelira’s awakening. Without that second core, he would have died long before now.

Still... all was not lost.

Even this broken core. It could be restored. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

The answer was the same as Lily’s. Bloodline Override.

If he could find a Tier 3 monster with a high Dark Affinity, then override his bloodline once more... There was a chance he could restore his original core.

But even beyond that. He noticed something else.

His level.

He was now Level 20.

Right on the edge of breakthrough. Just a little more... just a final push... And he would ascend to Gaia Guardian.

A slight setback... But also, a huge leap forward.

This experience, brutal as it was, had become something invaluable. Tave had truly felt what it meant to value family in this world. And now, he had one more reason to grow stronger.

That encounter with Theo... It had been nothing more than an illusion, a reflection twisted by fear and manipulation.

But the real meeting?

It was still ahead of him. And Tave was certain. The real Theo wouldn’t hesitate.

When that day came, he would be facing someone sharpened by countless battles, forged by every hardship before the world had been reset.

The real Theo would be stronger. Much stronger.

And when that day arrived. Tave had to be ready.