As soon as Blake returned to the compound, he hunted down Dust Broom. The man was just finishing his duties for the evening, sweeping off the edge of the landing platform, and he told Blake, “Stone Moon didn’t know you entered in the tournament.”

  “I take it he does now?” Blake asked.

  “He likes to watch the tournaments.”

  “There’s no rule against participating, right?”

  “Nothing official. He was more surprised than anything.”

  Blake swallowed. Was he concerned about Blake’s performance? Well, it didn’t really matter—Blake could always tell the Deputy Master his strategy. Stone Moon would probably be impressed with it.

  “But you looked like you were hunting me down for a reason,” Dust Broom said.

  “Yeah.” Blake inhaled slowly. He couldn’t tell Dust Broom about River—not yet. He didn’t trust the man enough. “I was just curious how the advancement between monsters and humans differed.”

  Dust Broom raised his eyebrows. “Now, why would you be wondering that?”

  “Curiosity, I promise. Dealing with monsters when we were out on our mission earlier today got me thinking.”

  Dust Broom nodded. “Monsters—and sacred beasts—work by simply absorbing massive amounts of mana. Their advancement tends to be slow. Trees absorb it from the ground, from the dirt they consume. Predators tend to do it a touch faster, from eating meat and other sacred beasts. Or by eating men who venture into the mists.”

  Blake nodded. “What about the herbivores?”

  “You’ve met many herbivores in the mists, have you?”

  Blake considered for a moment. The only thing from the mists that hadn’t seemed intent on eating meat was River and the mana-rats. And did stripping metal off the hull of the manaship really count as a herbivore?

  “Point taken,” he said. “But are there herbivorous sacred beasts elsewhere, then?”

  “Some worlds, yes. Where the trees have grown for ages, soaking up the mana of the world beneath them.”

  Blake nodded. “So…they just need to absorb large portions of mana to get stronger?”

  “It’s not as quick as cultivation in the race of men,” Dust Broom replied. “But yes, that is how it works. We are special because of our consciousness, of our highly-developed souls. From a young age, we’re capable of consciously choosing to cultivate, whereas most beasts just eat. It gives us a quicker rise, but it also makes our process more complicated.”

  Blake nodded. For now, that was what he needed. He raced back through the deserted halls of the compound until he reached the resource allocation shelf. He took the resources meant for him and carried them back to his room—the pills and the vials—and set them down on his bed.

  He took the pills for himself, but today, he saved the vials of elixir for River instead of dumping them.

  “River,” he said. “These are for you.”

  She poked her head out of his backpack, then wriggled out and pranced over to the tray. “That weird glowy water?”

  “Yeah, that,” Blake replied.

  She glanced back at him. “What does Blake want me to do with it?”

  “Drink it.”

  “Why?”

  “Did you hear my conversation with Dust Broom?”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Okay, fair point, I guess you wouldn’t know.” Blake shook his head. “The point is, you’ll become stronger if you drink these. I’m not sure what the timeline or process is, but apparently, your echo will also improve.”

  “And then I’ll be able to help Blake better?”

  “Yep. And I’ll be able to get you more food.”

  River approached the vials and nudged them with her nose. “How do I drink?”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Tilting his head, Blake blinked. He was silent for a few seconds, but he swallowed and said, “Fair point. I’ve never actually seen you drink anything.” He rubbed his chin. “It’s like eating, I suppose. But you don’t have to chew.”

  “You don’t?”

  “You just let it trickle down your throat, and—” Blake sighed, unsure how to properly explain drinking. He didn’t think he’d ever have to explain what drinking was, especially not to an animal. How had she never drank anything before?

  She was an eiknir, made almost entirely out of water or other liquids taken a physical form. Shouldn’t that have meant that she was more likely to need to drink, like how humans needed to eat to gain solid material for their bodies?

  Whatever was going on, it was something magical. Blake was too exhausted from the day to give it much questioning. “Let’s just give it a try, okay?”

  River nodded, then plodded over to the tray. She gripped one of the vials in her mouth and tipped it back like she was taking shots, but nearly choked on it. After a few seconds, her throat gave an exaggerated bulge, and she gulped down the liquid.

  When it reached her stomach, there was a faint glow. The elixir swirled around, flowing in a circle. Blake could see it through the sides of her body, glowing faintly brighter than the rest of her form.

  While he sat there, he concentrated his spiritual senses directly on her. She exerted a weight similar to his recruits when she was visible, but slightly lower, so he put her at roughly Body Tempering stage one to four. He was going to need more practice to properly identify the specific stages, though.

  But as the energy flowed through her body, slowly dissipating and integrating, the presence grew ever so slightly stronger. Just like Dust Broom had said, raw mana infusions would improve a beast’s power.

  After River took the second elixir, Blake went to sleep, and she curled up on the table beside him. He’d have a long day again tomorrow, and he had to be ready for it.

  ~ ~ ~

  Tomorrow proceeded like the last few hunting missions. They had two clients, so he split the groups similarly, except he took Grímur with him instead, and left Jared with Sara and Cedrick.

  The missions both went smoothly. Blake and Grímur ended up with a sheltered couple who were looking to earn a few pelts. They were both Jarls, but very minor nobility, and Blake wasn’t sure if they even owned land.

  But that was beside the point. He and Grímur brought them to a few howlers, and Blake trusted Grímur with tracking a shroomclaw for them. Basic stuff, but Grímur glowed at the responsibility. Blake kept watch just to be sure, but no fiends came after him.

  It did give him a short pause though. Was there a reason that Lady Windblade had only used fiends? Were they better at tracking him? Or was it just that they were typically stronger than most of the local monsters? He’d have to ask Mingel later.

  When they returned, the Jarls granted them a tip—five hacksilver chunks each—which Blake gladly accepted. Grímur noticed the same thing that Blake had on his first day, that most of the tip would go toward a taxi ride back, but Blake whispered, “At least this way, transport doesn’t eat into your salary.”

  “Yeah,” Grímur replied. “Thanks for watching out for us.”

  “You got it,” Blake replied. “Now, I’ve got a meeting. I’ll see you back at the compound around dinner time, yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  After they parted, Blake delved into the city. He walked as quickly as he could without looking suspicious, but he aimed for the gym where he was supposed to meet Mingel. She would be waiting for him at this rate, given that he’d taken slightly longer to dismiss the clients than he thought.

  When he arrived, she was just checking in at the front desk. He walked quickly to catch up.

  “Ah, there he is,” Mingel said. “He will need a membership, and—”

  “Him?” the clerk at the front desk demanded. It was the same lady as yesterday, who had tried to tell Blake to scram. Her Blended assistant flinched away, then made himself look busy with weighing their hacksilver.

  “He’s a friend,” Mingel replied.

  “If you say so,” the clerk muttered.

  “How much is a drop-in?” Blake asked.

  “Two pieces for the month,” the clerk said. “We don’t do drop-ins.”

  “But the month is almost half over…” her helper replied. “Usually, we give a small discount…”

  “Ah, on the Fates, fine,” the clerk shook her head. “One piece.”

  Blake cast them a smile, then handed over one piece. “Thanks.” Compared to the prices of everything up on the manaship, even two pieces seemed like a steal, but down here, it would’ve been a good chunk of his daily salary. Especially when he had to worry about food, rent, and any other gear that might have gotten damaged in his daily activities.

  With that, he stepped into the locker room, stuffed the cloak into a cubby, convinced River to hide herself if she wanted to come out of her bag, then awkwardly tucked his shirt in. He was going to need a few more pairs of clothes, because he couldn’t just wear the exact same shirt and pants everywhere.

  When he got out into the actual gym, Mingel told him the exact same thing. He rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, yeah. You didn’t really change much, either. No knives or cloak, though.”

  “Do I look less…threatening? I have been told I don’t…present myself in a very open way.”

  Blake chuckled. “I’m not sure who would’ve risked saying that. You get into your guild? The…uh…” He remembered exactly her comments to him, that it was just a small artisan guild, but she hadn’t given the name. But better this way, to poke a little fun at himself and pretend that she had told him, and he’d just forgotten. It’d help break the ice a little more.

  She shook her head. “Not yet. I have to win one more tournament fight tomorrow. And they’re called the Wicker Shrine Guild.”

  Blake nodded. “Well, then, you probably want to get training? It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper spar, too.”