Beyond The System-Chapter 272: Two Plans

Vel’s breath came quick and shallow, her hands still trembling when she finally opened her eyes. A faint shimmer clung to her skin like leftover starlight, her nerves and muscles clearly overtaxed as she lay crumpled in her sister’s protective embrace.

“That’s it,” I said quietly, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder. “You’re done.”

It hadn’t gone exactly how I’d hoped, but it was far from the worst outcome. Serith seemed more than capable of blocking the strongest outside influence—maybe assisted by the barrier I had glimpsed earlier in space.

I’d have to ask her about it later. And maybe stopping a single voice was simpler than shielding against hundreds. But even so, Vel hadn’t been spared the jeers and accusations of whoever—or whatever—was shouting inside her mind. Guardians, perhaps, or some other kind of servant presence.

I couldn’t see what she saw, but when her screams tore out and the tears followed, it was obvious enough. Mei pressed close beside her friend, whispering comfort, and thankfully it seemed the worst of the storm had passed.

As Vel pushed herself upright and wiped her face, I added, trying to pull her mood upward, even a little: “It’s only the first time. From here on, you’ll be able to continue on your own just fine. That new energy inside you is called Precursor Energy, and it’ll help amplify your abilities.”

“But it’s still better to be with one of us,” Elric said, folding his arms. “Just in case something happens.”

Vel nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips though her eyes were still slightly glazed. “You should be careful,” she murmured.

I tilted my head. “What?”

She met my gaze. “The old guys said it earlier. Watching your student surpass you is normal.”

Her teasing earned a smile from me. “Then you’d better start training. If you slack off, I’ll be too far ahead.”

Mei grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “I’ll find Dad. We’ll train with him, and I’ll tell him about this part,” she said, already heading off.

I watched the two of them disappear into the forest’s shadows.

Harua made a small chirping noise before commenting, “It’s kind of embarrassing for a bunch of old shadows to scold her just for growing.”

Glancing at her, I asked, “You heard—knew them?”

She shook her head immediately. “No. Should I?”

“…It’s really not easy for a little kid,” Elric muttered, brow furrowing with concern, quickly growing to the odd way of speaking of this particular Nikmes.

I nodded solemnly. “No, but she handled it as well as anyone could. As long as that monster doesn’t show up in anyone’s mind, we’ll be alright.”

“It’s not like we have much to worry about,” Sia said, nudging Elric with her elbow. “Not like the baby’s going to start training right away.”

Lyra leaned against her, shrugging. “It’s fine as long as nothing harmful happens. Maybe just the basics after he’s walking for a few years.”

I flexed my fingers, popping each joint. “Hoping for a boy?”

Elric shook his head instantly. “No way. Dealing with my brothers, the ones I could even talk to—was hard enough.”

We continued for a while, trading stories and letting old memories surface. Elric recounted a particularly delicate moment between Thea and me in the forest to pry for embracement, only for me to retaliate with the tale of how he and the others tarnished our training hall mere days after renting it. After a bit, Harua excused herself to go ‘watch something for fun,’ though I had no idea what that meant in her case.

Eventually the conversation drifted into a lull, settling into a warm, easy quiet that lingered between us.

“…There’s really no avoiding this conflict anymore?” I finally asked, shifting the topic to the recent attack.

Elric clasped his hands together and drew in a slow breath through his nose. “I don’t know much about Lucan, but Drake said this was too uncharacteristic for him. And the attacker barely acted at all. They only asked for you… right up until we refused.”

Thea squeezed my hand. “It doesn’t make sense though. You guys shared a room. We all did. Why would it only be Peter?”

All eyes shifted toward me.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have a theory, it was that the idea was enormous, almost absurd in its implications. There was only one major shift that could justify capture instead of execution. Drema was the obvious suspect, but his goals had been painfully clear. Those undead had never intended to spare me.

Only one man—one creature—had changed his mind. Someone who once saw me as a nuisance… and then decided I was something worth keeping.

But truly, there could be countless explanations. Maybe information had leaked from my early visits with Drake. Maybe someone unknown to us had pieced something together. Too many unknowns, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that the answer wasn’t simple.

Instead of voicing any of that, I exhaled a weary question. “War, huh?”

“It could be,” Elric said slowly, his head dipping in a resigned nod. “Running might work for a little while, but I doubt the second island’s barrier can stop a Starborn from getting in.”

Trying to wrap my mind around it wasn’t easy. The idea of war wasn’t unfamiliar in theory, but being part of one was another matter entirely. The only time I’d seen anything close was two large armies clashing in the open.

But us? Aside from the Goldmanes, we barely qualified as a force at all.

“So running off isn’t really an option?” I asked.

Lyra shook her head. “We don’t know. If they’re determined enough to send fighters of that level, I doubt we could even escape.”

“And fighting them isn’t any easier,” Sia added, folding her arms.

“It’d be best if we knew what they actually wanted,” I said, chewing lightly on my inner lip. “Worst-case-but-not-really-worst case, they only want our training methods. Handing over something small wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

“Better than dying,” Thea murmured, agreeing softly.

Elric rubbed his temples. “Except if that were the case, they would’ve just demanded it from any of us, not only you. The situation’s gotten complicated.”

We fell quiet for a moment until Lyra lifted her head.

“We’ve been working on an idea… a kind of passive resistance.”

“Yeah?” I asked, raising a brow.

Sia grimaced. “Just like what this pretty boy pulled back then: advertisement.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “?”

He chuckled under his breath. “Well, I reached the same conclusion you did. Offering something is better than dying. But I think you’re forgetting something.”

I tilted my head, not following.

Thea nudged me gently. “Our blessings. We don’t have to rely on verbal agreements. Drake and Griffith were the ones who brought it up.”

The pieces clicked. “Contracts. Your systems.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Lyra nodded. “We have something that can bind people like you, and even those with more ordinary blessings. They’ll want more power to stand on their own.”

“But those systems can’t be perfect, right?” I pressed. “There have to be loopholes, limitations, something. And keeping secrets won’t be easy if you need people to advertise for us…”

“We don’t have to give everything away,” Elric said. “The point is to recruit capable people, mostly those with specialized, non-combat blessings. Rojin and Synthia already went to see if they could find anyone willing to move here, but we’ll have to wait for Sei to master his teleportation first.”

Passive resistance.

It didn’t sound terrible. But it only mattered if no additional groups were sent after us. “How much time do we have?”

Elric shrugged. “Hard to say. Drake thinks Lucan might hesitate now that he’s lost such an important soldier—once he finds out, anyway. But he also said it’s possible Lucan will double or triple down.”

Too many unknowns hung over us. Spreading our training method wasn’t a bad plan in my opinion, but if the end result remained the same, it wouldn’t matter. Regardless, I needed to choose a direction.

“I think it’s fine to move forward with that,” I said at last. “You can decide how much to reveal. There’s also the matter of Extraction if we end up needing more.” I turned to Elric. “But we should relocate as well. There’s no reason not to be overly cautious. If we’re lucky, the stronger soldiers will be held back, and they’ll rely more on numbers.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Because no matter how strong we are, if they send hundreds of competent fighters, it becomes a real problem.”

Sia smirked. “I don’t know… Mom’s pretty terrifying.”

“And don’t forget the lizards,” Lyra added. “But I think you’re right. We should do both. Still, not everyone can stay in that place easily, from what I’ve heard.”

“It’s only temporary,” I said confidently. “Have someone maintain a barrier around them until they unlock their Inner World. That’ll be enough. We’ll relocate once I’m back from the match, so gather whatever we’ll need.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, so I shifted topics.

“Since I don’t actually need to rest, I want to begin Fire Body Refinement. So…”

They stepped closer in unison, each placing a hand on me.

I drew in a slow breath, let the energy settle around us, and began the third step.