The Author's Viewpoint-Chapter 89 - The Smartest Way to Win

Tave was still sprawled on the floor, barely able to move, when someone knelt beside him. That clean, glowing face. That soft golden hair that always seemed to catch the light just right.

Panpan.

She leaned in, watching him carefully, as if trying to determine whether he was still breathing.

"Hey... are you okay?" she asked gently.

Tave could barely breathe, the air wheezing in and out of his lungs. The fire of Kaelira still surged weakly through his veins, not with power now, but with a flickering intent to heal him, like an exhausted flame stubbornly clinging to life.

Panpan offered her hand.

Tave reached up and took it, letting her pull him into a sitting position, though every muscle screamed in protest.

In the center of the room, Elincia still stood, unmoving. But the stillness she wore now was different. It wasn’t calm. It wasn’t composed. It was cold. Dangerous.

She stepped forward. Tave instinctively braced himself and tried to stand.

Panpan made a motion to help, but he shook her off, forcing himself upright, even as his body trembled under its own weight.

Elincia stopped just a few steps away, her gaze fixed on him.

"What a cheating bastard," she said flatly.

Her voice carried no heat, but the air around her still pulsed faintly from her earlier outburst.

She knew. She knew she had broken her own rule. And that meant, whether she liked it or not, Tave had won.

"Who gave you the stupid idea to awaken Soul Fire?" she added. "There are dozens of better combinations between Fire and Shadow."

Tave didn’t respond.

Because, well... he had won because of Soul Fire. He’d also defeated that mini-boss inside the Rift, the one that manipulated the minds of others, with Soul Fire.

He knew the risks. He knew the danger. But he also knew something more: He understood this element.

And with the right knowledge, and the willingness to push his mind and body further than it should go. He could unlock the full potential of this flame.

"What’s the point of burning your enemies," Elincia continued, "if it burns you too? Reckless and brainless."

But Tave... he had two cores. And if he burned through one, he could do another Bloodline Override. There was always a way forward. Always a countermeasure. And Tave had every intention of using all of them.

"Thank you, Lady Elincia," Tave said, his voice steady despite the pain. "For the challenge... and the opportunity."

Elincia remained silent for a moment, as if weighing his words, or simply deciding whether they were worth acknowledging. Her gaze lingered on him, unreadable.

She had to think hard about it now. Because clearly, she had no other option left. He’d earned this.

"You can fight. Not that bad," she muttered, reluctantly. "Like a little kid who just learned to swing a sword. But monsters in your tier... you might actually handle them."

It almost sounded like a compliment. Almost.

"If you’re ready to die against Tier 4 monsters..."

She turned her eyes toward Panpan. Her face was blank. Panpan, ever composed, simply returned the look without a word.

"Just make sure you don’t run headfirst into something you can’t kill," Elincia said. "At least survive long enough to be useful to someone."

And then. "You got my permission."

That was it. Her judgment. Her final word.

She turned on her heel and walked away without another glance.

Tave straightened, bruised and breathless, and called after her, loud enough to be heard but still respectful:

"Thank you, Lady Elincia."

She didn’t stop. Didn’t look back.

As the door closed behind her, Tave let out a long breath and shut his eyes.

Damn.

He did it.

Tave let himself collapse back onto the floor, his limbs giving out as though the last of his strength had been wrung from his bones. Every breath burned. Every muscle screamed. He had thrown everything he had into that one-minute fight. And even that had barely been enough.

But what else could anyone expect? The woman he had just faced wasn’t just powerful. She was a Gaia Archon.

No exaggeration. Elincia alone had enough strength to obliterate an entire kingdom like Dissidia if she ever felt like it. Yes. She was that strong.

If she wanted to, she could blow apart a mountain just by exhaling Gaia Force. And the only reason Tave was still alive, even after she used that same Gaia Force to stop his Soul Fire, was because of her mercy.

And yes, Elincia did have mercy. She had goodness buried somewhere in her. But it was hidden beneath layers of brutality, indifference, ruthless pragmatism, and a mouth foul enough to make demons flinch.

If Tave didn’t know her. If he hadn’t understood her down to the smallest flaw. He would never have stood a chance.

It was only through knowing her, exploiting what little she couldn’t control. Her pride, her rules, her hair. That he’d found his opening. And it worked.

Now, Panpan sat beside him on the floor. There was a curious look in her eyes, soft but unreadable.

Tave turned to her and offered a tired smile. "I hope you’re not disappointed that I made it onto the expedition."

Panpan blinked, clearly caught off guard. Then she lowered her gaze, and let out a real laugh. Light, genuine. A laugh that made the exhaustion hurt a little less.

She lifted her head again, still smiling, still trying to suppress the amusement in her voice.

"No, Tave. I’m glad you got what you were fighting for. And congratulations... I hope we make it through this safely."

Then she added, with a playful shrug, "This will be my first Rift Expedition too. If anything, I might be the one who ends up being trouble for everyone else."

Tave chuckled, and for a moment... The world felt a little less heavy.

"At least you’re a Gaia Master, Panpan," Tave added with a tired smirk.

Panpan responded with a simple, quiet smile. Then, she continued, giving him a more detailed breakdown of the team selected for the upcoming expedition.

The composition was clear, four forest elves and six human knights, all of them Gaia Masters. All of them. Except Tave.

Once again, he would be entering a Rift Expedition as the lowest-ranked among the group. A lone Gaia Guardian standing alongside Gaia Masters.

"We’ll depart in one week, Tave," Panpan said gently. "Please let me know if there’s anything I can help you with. Or anything I should do before that day comes."

Tave looked at her for a moment, then gave a slow nod.

"I’ll bring it up if I feel it’s necessary. I promise."

So... one week?

Did Tave have enough time? No, not Tave. The real question was whether Fokil could finish the item in time.

The blacksmith had said he needed two weeks. Which, in truth, was longer than usual. A skilled blacksmith typically took four to seven days to craft a standard item.

So if Fokil had asked for two full weeks, that meant one of two things: Either he wasn’t prioritizing Tave’s commission... Or, he was working on something far more ambitious.

But still, don’t get your hopes too high, Tave. That kind of thinking would only trip him up later.

No. He needed to get back to training. Because one week from now, he’d be walking into another challenge. A real one. One full of death.