They woke tangled together.

Damon surfaced from sleep slowly, awareness returning in fragments.

The unfamiliar ceiling, the weight of the blanket, the warmth pressed against his side, and the faint scent of something floral.

He turned his head.

Sera had migrated across the bed in her sleep. Her head rested on his shoulder, one arm draped across his chest, her legs intertwined with his.

Her breathing was slow and even, still deep in sleep. Her robes had ridden up slightly, revealing the smooth skin of her thigh where it pressed against his.

Damon stared at the ceiling.

He counted the branches in the grain while his mind caught up to the situation.

"Crossing over to the other side," she’d said. "No crossing over."

He hadn’t moved in his sleep. He knew that much; years of sleeping in a narrow dorm bed had trained him to stay still.

But Sera, apparently, had no such training. She’d crossed the entire bed to reach him.

Now, the problem. If he woke her up, she would be embarrassed. She’d probably punch him again, harder this time, with her newfound strength. If he didn’t wake her up, and she woke on her own, she would definitely come to conclusions he didn’t want her to make.

He settled for a middle ground.

"Sera," he said quietly. "Hey."

She stirred, pressing closer instead of pulling away. Her fingers curled against his chest, and she made a soft sound somewhere between a sigh and a murmur.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled.

"You’re on my side of the bed."

That got through to her immediately.

Her eyes snapped open, and she went rigid against him. Her arm retracted. Her legs untangled from his with a speed that nearly knocked the blanket off the bed.

She scrambled backward, her face flushing from her cheeks to her ears.

"I— You—" She grabbed the blanket and held it in front of her like a shield. "You said you weren’t a restless sleeper!"

"I’m not. I didn’t move." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Then how—" She looked at the bed. Her side was empty, the pillow still bearing the indent of her head. His side was where she’d ended up. The evidence was undeniable.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

She buried her face in the blanket. "I’m never going to live this down, am I?"

"Probably not."

"Shut up."

She emerged from the blanket, her hair mussed and her cheeks still flushed. The golden tint to her eyes from the hybridization seemed to flicker, catching the morning light from the window.

"We don’t speak of this," she said. "To anyone. Ever."

"Agreed." Damon sat up, stretching his shoulders. "Though, for the record, you’re heavier than you look."

A pillow struck him in the face.

***

They finished breakfast and headed out into the morning sunlight. Verdant’s Edge was already awake, the market stalls opening for business, Resonators heading toward the portal or the forest trails with the purposeful stride of people who knew exactly what they were hunting.

The trail north was the same one they’d followed yesterday.

Rune-carved posts marked the boundary, their faint glow visible even in the daylight. The forest beyond was alive with birdsong and the rustle of unseen things moving through the underbrush.

They found the first boar less than a kilometer from town.

It was rooting through a patch of ferns near the stream where they’d killed the younger one yesterday. This one was medium-sized, maybe six and a half feet at the shoulder, with tusks that had seen some use but hadn’t yet yellowed with age.

"Same strategy?" Sera asked, her staff already crackling.

"Same strategy."

They opened with four bolts.

The difference was immediate and staggering.

Yesterday’s Lightning Lance had been strong enough to crater the boar’s hide. Today’s was something else entirely.

The bolts struck with the force of siege weapons, golden energy detonating beneath the electrical discharge, and the boar’s entire flank erupted in a spray of scorched flesh and shattered bone.

It didn’t scream.

It didn’t have time.

The first volley killed it outright. The boar’s massive body toppled sideways, crashing through the ferns and into the stream with a splash that sent water arcing across the moss-covered rocks.

[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]

[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 400]

[BOAR TUSK +2]

[BOAR HIDE +1]

[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +45]

[TRIBUTE: 233]

Sera lowered her staff, staring at the dissolving corpse.

"That was one volley."

"Fifty percent damage increase," Damon said. "Plus your twenty-five percent. Plus eight extra MAG from the bond."

"We’re going to clear the whole forest at this rate."

"Let’s not get ahead of ourselves."

They found the second boar deeper in the woods, near the clearing where they’d killed the aged one yesterday. This one was younger, smaller, barely six feet at the shoulder. It was sleeping in a patch of sunlight, oblivious.

Sera didn’t wait for the countdown.

Her twin bolts caught it in the head, Damon’s followed a heartbeat later, and the boar dissolved before it even woke up.

[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]

[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 350]

[BOAR TUSK +2]

[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +40]

[TRIBUTE: 273]

"This is almost unfair," Sera said.

"Almost?"

"Alright, completely unfair. But I’m not complaining."

They cleared four more boars over the next two hours. The hybrid boost turned what had been a tactical exercise into a slaughter.

Boars that had taken two volleys and a finisher yesterday died in a single volley today. The older ones, scarred and hardened, took two volleys at most.

[TRIBUTE: 413]

By mid-morning, they’d accumulated more tribute and materials than the entire previous day’s hunt. Damon’s inventory was full of boar tusks and hide fragments.

Sera had taken to humming while she cast, a tuneless little melody that seemed to sync with the crackle of her lightning.

"Are you enjoying this?" Damon asked as they paused to rest near the stream.

"I’ve been a C-Rank for six months." She sat on a moss-covered rock, her staff across her knees. "Six months of being told I was ’promising but fragile.’ Six months of parties sticking me in the back and telling me to run if anything got close."

She looked at her hands, and a single arc of golden lightning jumped between her fingers.

"Yesterday, I lifted a bed with you on it. Today, I’m one-shotting boars that used to take entire parties to bring down." She met his eyes. "So yeah, I’m enjoying this."

Damon sat beside her, letting the sound of the stream fill the silence.

"Does this count as skipping classes? I’m not really sure how a long portal runs work."

"Nah. If the assistant who logged us in when we entered did his job right, then we’re fine. The academy prioritizes practicals over academics anyway. A portal run counts as self-study."

Damon nodded and opened his communicator, scrolling to Lena’s previous messages.

Lena: Hey! I noticed you aren’t back at the academy yet. You still inside the C-rank portal

Lena: I don’t mind... but at least reply to me, okay? So I know you’re alive.

Typing...

Damon: Don’t worry, I’m fine.

Lena: Thank God. Okay... don’t be afraid to come straight to me for healing if you’re injured, alright?

Damon: Yeah, appreciate it, Lena.

Lena: Happy hunting!

"Is that your ’mom’ again?"

"More or less."