Leahna carefully helped her father shuffle over to the corner of the back patio. Leaning heavily on his fishbone crutches, he managed the last few steps, then sank down heavily into the wicker chair her brother had prepared there.

"See?" Artoran panted, shakily holding out his crutches. "I told you I could... hoo boy... do it."

Shaking her head, she accepted the implements and put them aside.

The walk over had been an endeavour, to put it mildly. However, her father had insisted, stating he wanted to be there for his 'little girl's big day,' so she had acquiesced.

"Are you good?" she asked. "Do you need a drink or—"

He shook his head, patting the waterskin on his belt. "I came prepared. Don't mind me, just focus on yourself. I'm only here to witness my amazing children."

Rolling her eyes, she turned to check on her brother, who had just put Artoran's heavy leather duffle bag down on the back patio and kneeled down next to it, and was now untying its knots.

She still couldn't quite believe they were doing this.

Part of her felt Rylan was going to change his mind. It would be understandable if he did. A Pearl of Inspiration was no small gift, and they'd been drinking when he offered it...

Contrary to her worries, however, the moment she walked up to him, he got up and handed the pouch to her once more, seemingly without a care in the world.

"Don't take it just yet," he cautioned, kneeling back down and starting to pull various implements out of the bag. "You should warm up first, do some stretches while I lay out your equipment. I've requested no one disturb us, so we've got all the time we need."

Biting her lip, she nodded. "Thank you. I... just, thank you."

Her brother smiled up at her. "You're welcome. Now stop worrying so much."

It was odd, she reflected, how natural it felt to have him in her life now. Thinking back to the days when it had only been her and her father just made her family feel... incomplete.

She sighed. "Easier said than done, Ryles. I'm no carefree youth like yourself."

Rylan may have had about five inches on her, he was still a season her junior, and she wasn't about to let him forget it anytime soon.

He rolled his eyes. "Right, I'd forgotten about your advanced age. Think about it this way: since you've got half a foot in the grave already anyway, what have you got to lose?"

She covered her smile with a hand. "Well, when you put it like that..."

"Hey, what does that make me, a corpse?" Artoran protested.

"Well you certainly smell like one right now," Leahna replied over her shoulder. "It's bathtime when we get back, you hear me?"

Artoran grumbled something immature, shaking his fist at her, but she ignored it.

Smiling, Rylan straightened up, his arms full of equipment. "Seriously though. What will be, will be. And hey, Izzy seems to believe in you, so you already have the spirits on your side!"

A light breeze picked up some dust in the closed-off patio, before swirling around Leahna's britches and up along her tunic, sending her ponytail aflutter. Alongside the wind came wordless encouragements, alongside images of Rylan jumping across raging water and nailing a fly to a sign.

Not for the first time, Leahna felt like Izzy's understanding of what was going on was better than they sometimes thought.

"Thanks Izzy," she said out loud, smiling at the patch of air in front of her where she thought Izzy was twirling at the moment. She did envy her brother's ability to actually see her, sometimes.

A moment later, never one to be left out, Arphin's voice came to her, as if carried by the wind directly into her ear or even head. [You got this, Big Sis! Just show Ethereon what you've got!]

"I'll do my best, lil' bro," she replied, her heart clenching.

A few minutes later, once Rylan had finished laying out her gear and she'd done all the stretches she knew of, she finally ran out of excuses to postpone her attempt any longer.

So she pulled open the little bag and with shaking fingers, reached in for the Pearl of Inspiration.

It lay surprisingly warm against her fingers as they closed around it, and tingles ran up her arm and down her spine as she pulled it out. Hit by the light of day, it was even prettier, shimmering specks of colour gliding over her skin around it.

She took one last look at Rylan, giving him a final opportunity to change his mind.

He no longer looked as carefree as before, but he didn't show any hesitation either. "You've got this, Leah; try not to overthink it."

"That's right, darling," Artoran added. "You can't force inspiration, just feel it and let it guide you. Trust the process, and trust in Ethereon."

With a deep breath, Leahna resolutely pushed away her worries, lifted the Pearl to her face and dropped it in her mouth.

The moment her lips closed around it, the precious gem seemed to fizz, before it burst apart in a deluge of unbelievable flavours. If she had to describe it, she'd say it tasted like evaporating sunshine, or perhaps like colours dancing on her tongue.

The sensation didn't stop there, however. Instead, it radiated up into her eyes, making the world look glittery and wonky, and out all over her body, which made her skin and fingers prickle with restless energy.

Her eyes fell on the brush and paints laid out in front of her. Her feet urged her forward and her hands reached down on her own.

A voice said something to her, either her father or her brother, but it barely registered. She felt drunk, but the kind of drunk she only got when she was hyped up on excitement and anticipation, the way she hadn't since she'd last seen Cassie in real life.

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She hadn't seen her pen pal in seasons, but she could still picture her dark eyes, which were now taking shape on the canvas in front of her, but... no. She frowned.

This wasn't right, this wasn't it.

Shaking her head and muttering to herself, she put down her brush and moved on to her needles. She'd brought along a blue dress she'd been meaning to take in a little around the waist, and her fingers flew along the fabric, stitching it together in record time.

But by the time she was halfway through her seventh stitch, she was already restless again, and she dropped her pretty dress on the ground without another thought, with the needle still inside.

Instead, she picked up her bamboo rods, whirling around to toss one to Rylan. He startled, but caught it, and raised it in time to fend of her lunge. She tried to score a hit with the tip, and when that didn't feel right, she started slashing at him instead. But that wasn't right either.

On it went. She juggled some balls, sprinted the length of the patio back and forth, strummed some chords on her father's gittern, vaulted over Rylan's mannequin, and faced him again with a knife, then a club, then an axe.

She threw some of his knives at a target and it felt... better. Close. But still not quite right. Her eyes zeroed in on her bow and arrows, and the knives were forgotten.

The moment her hand closed around the supple, leather-wrapped bamboo, she felt a shift in the energy that filled her.

Her first arrow hit the target just shy of the centre. Not good enough. She fired again and again, unrelenting. Her shoulder started to ache, but she kept going. The energy was thrumming through her body pushing her onward.

Finally, her arrow hit the target dead-centre. But she wasn't done. She reached back for another, nocked it, and drew, holding her breath.

A drop of sweat ran down her nose, catching the light and spreading a kaleidoscope of colours, but it was just background noise. There was only the bow, the arrow, and the target.

And something else, something warm, inside her chest.

Time seemed to crawl to a halt, the moment before the release feeling like an eternity.

The arrow flew. Its tip hit the rear of her previous arrow, splitting it in half.

Leahna blinked, lowering her bow. The energy rushing through her veins was expended, and she swayed slightly on her feet, a hand grabbing her elbow, keeping her upright.

"Did you do it?" her brother asked, his voice excited.

Leahna's brows drew together. As she was formulating a response however, she suddenly heard a voice unlike any other.

《Quintessence anomaly detected. Spirit mutation threshold exceeded, proficiency requirement met, Attribute requirements met. Congratulations. You are eligible to obtain the Skill: Archery. Do you accept?》

Leahna gasped. "Y-Yes," she stammered, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, her lethargy gone as quickly as it had emerged. "Yes, I accept!"

"You did it!" Rylan cheered, grabbing her in a hug. "Well done, sis!"

"M-My little girl," her father blubbered from the corner, leaning over to grab his crutches, even though there was no way he could get up unaided.

She patted Rylan's head, smiling at him, a little confused when, rather than letting go, he crouched down and shifted his grip, almost seeming to prepare for something. "What are you..."

《Initiating Skill Conversion. Please prepare for Ethereon integration in three, two, one...》

"Oh," Leahna said, right before her knees buckled and the world went dark.

Leahna woke on a soft surface under a slanted roof. She sat up groggily, and quickly recognised her whereabouts as Rylan's couch, up in his loft.

Judging by the reddish light filtering in from outside, it was already evening. Arphin was in his sheath, and there was not a breath of wind in the loft, so the twosome was probably tuckered out from playing, and Izzy was likely drifting on a breeze somewhere. The last thing she remembered, she'd been in the courtyard...

For a brief moment, she wondered how Rylan had gotten her up the stairs. But no, her brother was a Quinthar. By the grace of Ethereon, his muscles were spiritually enhanced by his Strength Attribute, and he would've had little trouble carrying her up the stairs, even by himself.

He was a Quinthar... like her!

With a gasp, Leahna straightened up, her eyes wide open.

Her eyes fell on the wicker coffee table in front of her. On it, lay a beautiful bow, unstrung but with a length of spun flax already attached on one side. Unlike her simple practice bow, its stave was not made of bamboo but actual wood—yew, if she wasn't mistaken.

Next to it lay a brand new quiver, its shiny leather embossed with her initials. The arrows inside of it were made of bamboo, of course, as no one was that wasteful, but the fletching was beautiful, with bright white feathers.

She actually spotted the note last.

'Dear sister,' it read. 'Congratulations! In case you wake before the end of my shift, here is a little present. Feel free to take it for a spin on the back patio. Sincerely, your barely junior brother. P.S. Don't worry: I've already brought dad home, and Miss Fogbank from next door promised to keep an eye on him until your return.'

Leahna put down the letter and ran her fingers appreciatively along the sleek bow stave. As badly as she wanted to go give it a try, however, there was one thing she yearned to do even more. Something she'd dreamt of since she was a little girl, from the very first time her father had described it to her.

"Blessed Ethereon," she spoke with bated breath. "May I see my Status, please?"

Status

Mana Pool: 10/10

Attributes

Strength 1

Dexterity 2

Endurance 1

Mind 0

Perception 3

Presence 0

Free points: 3

Skills

Archery, Rank 1

Quint Structures

Mana Core, Tier I

Mana Pool, Tier I

Quintessence Credits: 100

It was real. The glowing window into her spirit her father had promised she would see one day, and was now himself denied.

Leahna was not the least bit ashamed of the tears welling up in her eyes.

She lost herself in the wondrous windows Ethereon provided for some time, going over everything, and asking Ethereon simple questions as often as she dared.

Eventually, she startled as the door to the loft opened.

"You're up!" her brother stated happily as he carelessly tossed his folded apron aside and closed the door behind him with a click. He strode towards her, rubbing his hands together. "Excellent. Let's start with the basics: you should get at least the first tier of Mana Shell. After that, you can consider saving up for a better Mana Core, but the first one is a must-have. It's the closest thing to purchasing a second life you'll ever manage, and you can't buy it when you're dead. Besides, you'll thank me the next time you would've bumped your head or cut your finger. After that, we can start work on your first Augmentation, which should probably be Overcharge. After that... well, Dad probably knows more about—"

Leahna cut her rambling brother off with a hug, squeezing him tight. "Thank you," she whispered, voice straining with emotion. "I'll repay you someday, I swear."

She felt him chuckle and squeeze back with a little more force than usual, as if he no longer thought of her as quite as fragile now that she was a fellow Quinthar. "You're welcome. But it was a gift, not a loan, so repaying it is not allowed." He released her and stepped back, smiling widely. "Now, as I was saying... Let's start with Mana Shell."

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