From the instant Lorekeeper Avenorium ascertained my early Essence overdevelopment disorder, I knew my [Exertion] routine would have to change.
Still, I and [Guided] tried to deepen our research just a bit more regarding Essence overdevelopment and Essence mutations, to ultimately no avail.
In such a way, a momentous revision of my [Exertion] routine took place, one I fortunately planned ahead of time and that [Guided] knew to put into practice the instant I opted to take the slightest risk of entering a state of Essence overdevelopment.
As for the practical alterations entailed by this grand amendment of my [Exertion] routine, I couldn't have made it simpler if I tried.
I simply opted to throw absolutely all the "easy" [Exertion]s out of my routine.
The [Exertion] of keeping my [Perception] always elevated to the edge of what I could handle, wherever and whenever, was reduced to the most essential [Exertion] of...
Continuously maintaining my [Perception] in my direct surroundings, steadily paving the path towards a synthesis of [Perception] into [Awareness].
The [Exertion] of continuously [Tempering] my body through pulling in damaging elements via my [Cycle] was also pretty much discontinued, liberating my [Cycle] to handle more intricate, precise, though much slower pulling, pushing, and expelling.
All my habitual [Tempering] [Exertion]s beyond those required to gradually master healing knowledge were similarly discarded, the ease at which I could resume my [Tempering]s of the likes of my stamina, my reactivity, or my strength being too high to consider maintaining.
Once all these [Exertion]s were purged from my routine, all I was left with were [Exertion]s that were all somehow associated with restrictions as to how regularly, intensely, precisely, I could genuinely practice them.
Like my [Will] Aspect, whose manifestation [Exertion] required both massive energy and recovery time.
Or my [Exertion]s while following the rules of [Darkness] and the weird practices and mindsets associations Stavros taught me to eventually synthesize it into [Secrecy].
Those were by far my weirdest [Exertion]s, and as such, had simply been haphazardly integrated into my routine without ever receiving more than an hour's worth of accumulated time over one day.
All my Sentinel Initiate trainee [Exertion]s were also included in those, as all combat-relevant [Exertion]s involved extremely complex, varied, and instant applications of all my Aspects.
Without Warrior Leo accordingly pacing those [Exertion]s by giving us time to recover and gather our wits in between sparring sessions, there was absolutely no way I could sustain them for longer than a couple of hours every day.
Nevertheless, even by removing all my "easy" [Exertion]s and extending all my "restricted" ones as much as I could reasonably extend them, the biggest part of my routine hadn't actually changed.
It still remained the time-consuming, mind-numbing, obtuse [Exertion]s of advancing my [Insight]s through reading book after book.
Mostly books holding healing knowledge that never ceased to push me deeper and deeper into the mind-blowing complexity that were living creatures, notwithstanding the endless ways through which Essence could warp the delicate "biological" machinery that made it so one either remained alive or died.
And I somehow had to learn the [Tempering] methods of everything that biologically defined me, comprehend why they worked at all, and then transform them into realistic [Exertion]s...
"...I also heard the Breeze Drifters had sent their ultimatum, threatening to reveal the location of the ecological pocket if they weren't entitled to like 10% of the harvest."
At least I now had my [Darkness] synthesis [Exertion]s to momentarily escape from the bottomless pit of guts that awaited me back in the deserted healing section of the sanctuary.
"Aren't the Breeze Drifters just a sub-faction of the Storm Drifters? Or was it the Sand Drifters? I wonder what their political objectives are beyond pissing off Red Sand."
It truly felt strange to once more be so often eavesdropping on others, what's more, with the warped mindset of embodying the [Secrecy] concept while doing it, but compared to studying healing knowledge...
"Maybe because the Desert Brotherhood pulled off a 5% share through their own channel, so they think Red Sand is willing to compromise?"
It felt so much more enjoyable and instinctive.
Eavesdropping on others was really something I had been doing since my first fading and fragmented memories as a newborn, and simply for that reason, it felt as natural for me to tune my [Perception] to hear what I wanted to hear from a messy collection of whispers as it did for me to avoid the giants' gazes.
As for my iridescent wings which most certainly raised the difficulty of remaining undetected when I stepped into a crowded part of the Prime Temple, it wasn't anything I wouldn't eventually have to inflict upon myself to further embrace the [Darkness].
In any case, recognizing when another became aware of my existence was just another part of the [Exertion]s I needed to experience.
"I bet Red Sand is going to send some enforcers their way, and we'll not hear anymore about this ultimatum."
"More like the whole thing was a bluff."
"You think Red Sand paid a visit to the Whisper Hall to make sure of that?"
And still I crept closer and closer, until this group of three stood well within the reach of one of my [Will] manifestation-enhanced assassination dives.
There, I stood at a critical moment of what my [Darkness] synthesis [Exertion]s were about.
For my existence itself ought to be entirely veiled in [Secrecy], and that was something to be applied as much while approaching others as it did while leaving their [Perception].
Approaching veiled in [Secrecy], leaving veiled in [Secrecy].
But there was a middle step to this process, too.
In combat, it would be striking veiled in [Secrecy].
Here...
I decided it would be stealing one of their items.
Which I would of course return later via another [Darkness] synthesis [Exertion].
"But do you seriously think the Red Sand Realm expedition is going to happen?"
All it took was me waiting for a collective lessening of their attention while eluding their senses, and that's when I decided to strike.
My target was a-
One of them abruptly turned their head away from the person who just asked such a serious and contemplative question that should have rightfully attracted his attention, to instead stare directly at me.
"What are you doing here, Solaena?"
"No! How did you see me‽ I was so close!" The tension I was withholding and the thrill of coming and going unseen vanished at once, leaving a massive gap behind that rapidly filled with frustration.
"Damn, what are you doing here? How did you get under the table?"
"Wait, how did I not see you? I'm training my [Perception] as we speak."
The fact that the other two had been completely oblivious to my presence was only a bittersweet comfort compared to being found out, and I insistently stared at him, waiting for my answer.
"Don't think you're the only one attempting to synthesize the [Perception] Aspect into the [Awareness] Aspect, and I've been at it for years at this point, so good luck to taking me by surprise in such a quiet and calm environment."
"But I didn't make any sound! And I didn't enter your field of vision!"
"You moved too fast, or maybe your wings are simply too good at their job, so I felt the slightest wind hit my ankles," he kindly explained, and receiving this explanation instantly calmed me down.
So that's why...
"While you're here," the one who asked the final question spoke up, "With how close you are to the Sentinels, the Lorekeepers, the Archivists, and all that, don't you have some privileged access to news concerning the expedition? Is it still happening?"
I jumped, and my wings flapped firmly once, allowing me to easily climb on top of the table they were occupying.
As my practice targets, they deserved a minute of my time.
"Never cared enough to ask." I shrugged. "It's only you all that I hear whispering about it, some whisper about faction politics, others whisper about the strict requirements, and yet more whisper about it being a scheme from the Nexus Order or the resurgence of an old faction that was wiped out by Red Sand centuries ago."
"I see..." His eyes lit up with the peculiar light of rumormongering that I saw in so many others.
How interesting that it was always those who didn't have any stake in the matter that found the most joy in discussing it.
"It's not like I'm concerned anyway," I added.
"Yeah, who would allow a one-year-old fairy to go on such an expedition anyway?"
"More like, why would we endanger our only fairy in ages? Did you really complete an important flying delivery to a Lower Temple a week ago?"
"Oh yeah, I did, fourth-floor Lower Temple. It was a Sentinel Initiate trainee assignment, and I was even asked to assassinate Guardian Elric, which you can probably guess how it went."
"How close did you get?"
"Guardian Elric welcomed me at the entrance of the fourth-floor Lower Temple Street like I was expected or something."
The three instantly had their cheeks bulge from holding their laughter.
It made for a very interesting sight to see three different species have the same reaction.
"That's a Guardian for you. Archivists are the same. We just don't perceive them as scary because we see them wandering the sanctuary, and they always help us when we ask them."
"Talk for yourself, one time an Archivist got fed up with my questions and kicked my ass out of the mathematics section..."
Before long, I had to forcefully extricate myself from the mesmerizing pull of idle chatting to resume my [Darkness] synthesis [Exertion]s, much to the dismay of my three new acquaintances.
If I continued making acquaintances like that, one day I would form a social Aspect...
As for the whispers about politics involved with the expedition? The mess this whole thing was becoming? The random claims and the secret negotiations between factions?
I truly couldn't be more unconcerned.
Too many [Exertion]s to go through to care about something so irrelevant.
◇ ◈ ◈ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◈ ◈ ◇
"The rules of the duel are a successful vital hit for Solaean, and a first connecting hit for Beli!" Leo shouted, standing between me and Beli, an Ephi who fully embraced the innate flexibility of her species to bend any way and shrug off any sort of recoil from the massive weapons they were known to wield.
"Order!" Leo stared at each of us in turn for one final time, ascertaining our readiness, then finally gave the signal, "Duel!"
As with all serious duels apart from the first ones when I had yet to understand their solemnity, I took off and ascended until I reached a height such that I couldn't be caught unaware by any scheme my duel adversary may have preemptively readied.
Initiative was one of my prerogatives, and giving it up simply because it was a sparring duel with real weapons was foolish.
Beli's darkened eyes through the opening of her helmet never left me, everyone having long learned how instantly I could dive at them if they were to ever relax during my seemingly harmless ascent phase.
Putting myself directly above her massive plate-armored form for maximum annoyance, as it obliged her to fully raise her head while rotating her body to keep me in her sight, I realized my last assessment of the gear she brought with her.
Her armor was still the same as always, her joints extremely open and only protected by metal-thread fabric, but otherwise, she was an impenetrable wall of metal from toe to head.
As for her weapon, she hadn't even bothered to take her beloved giant-sized greataxe with her, instead replacing it with as many as five of those annoying metal-thread nets the entire promotion had eventually learned to wield to make my life impossibly harder.
I frankly couldn't count how many times I got caught by one of these nets by this point.
Probably... closing in on a thousand times if I had to make an estimate?
And still, I didn't have any proper response to them other than not getting caught in the first place.
Well, I guessed that's what Sentinel Initiate trainee training was for...
My ultimate assessment completed and Beli not hiding any surprise that my [Perception] could pick up on, I reckoned it was time to get in the thick of it.
Starting with a method as effective and unpreventable against giants as the nets were against me.
Straightforward circling.
Tightly clutching my needle sword in my right hand, I centered myself and, when the moment felt right, adjusted my balance and beat my wings so that they sent me spiraling in a controlled downwards trajectory.
Faster.
Faster.
Until I reached the perfect height where Beli still had to keep her head lifted upwards enough that she couldn't make out the ground, while I could still dive whenever an opening presented itself.
Then I got to zipping circles around her, forcing her to follow me by rotating her entire body in a frenetic dance of slow attrition that no giants had a perfect answer for other than simply enduring.
Enduring against a being made to fly and zip around while recklessly changing direction whenever I felt like it from the moment my wings matured and I went through the [Exertion]s to make it a reality.
I didn't allow myself to start performing feints at the first signs of destabilization.
Instead of such an unreliable method better suited for sparring, in duels, I largely favored the much steadier and successful method of exhausting nearly the entirety of my energy in exchange for my opponent's.
Only when I could not hold on much longer, as should my adversary, with my [Cycle] having widened the gap between us by replenishing me mid-fight, would I swiftly terminate the duel thanks to a short couple of minutes of all-out [Will] manifestation-enhanced diving.
Beli wasn't willing to wait until then and lose in a similar way as literally everyone else always did when they played into my energy exhaustion scheme.
The first net throw, I anticipated.
The second that came right after, I also predicted.
Her charge attempt to close in the distance between us, I became aware of it the moment her upper body bent forward.
I still didn't let myself be tempted by the shallow openings she presented like bait.
The duel was only getting started, and I wasn't the one who feared attrition.
As a Sentinel, we were even taught to wield energy attrition and waiting for reinforcement as one of our core procedures.
I simply had no reason to take any kind of risk.
Until the first real openings started to manifest in her previously impenetrable guard.
After weaving through her net throws without ever endangering myself, her aggressive strategy was displaying its flaws, and she started losing track of where I was.
When not only my own experience but also [Guided] told me to ready myself for my first dive, I proactively allowed the warmth of my [Will] to spread through my body, shortly raising my flight speed, the swiftness of my turns, my reaction speed, and my [Perception] beyond what I could naturally handle.
Another missed net throw, accompanied by a sluggish rotation of her body and footsteps, was all the signs I needed, and the moment I escaped her field of vision, I dove in.
Like sand somehow finding a way to infiltrate even my tightest bodysuit through my metal-thread equipment set, I [Will]ed my sword to imitate that phenomenon.
And right as Beli began to react by throwing a net that would deploy around herself, my sword found its target in her exposed net, plunging straight through the thick metal-thread fabric that ought to have protected her.
Then I veered to the left by using both my wings and Beli's armor as footholds, and right as the net covered Beli, I was out, one of my swords plunged straight into her neck.
If I had held onto it, [Will]ed it to cut through whatever flesh it encountered, and cut through an important blood vessel, blood would be literally pouring from her wounds.
I knew it could happen, as severe injuries were just a matter of course for Sentinel Initiate trainee training.
"Ga-" Beli's bellow of pain was swiftly drowned by something, however, proving I must have touched something, and the reaction to that didn't make itself wait.
"ORDER!" Leo yelled and rapidly approached the collapsing form of Beli as she kneeled on all four, swiftly loosening her helmet and indicating for the healer to approach.
The healer, in turn, waved at me, indicating me to come do my job as apprentice healer—title given to those undergoing the mandatory period of time required to later partake in a healer qualification examination.
"Go on, assessment, diagnosis, intervention, we don't have all day, and more like ten minutes in this case," he remarked when I landed right in front of Beli, already diving for where I plunged my sword.
"A foreign object has penetrated through the neck area, no abundant blood flow, the patient isn't capable of breathing anymore, but has yet to become unconscious," I rapid-fired while going through the proper assessment procedures to ascertain what I was saying.
"This is a total airway obstruction resulting from a tracheal-laryngeal injury, with possible concealed vascular damage despite minimal external bleeding," I diagnosed to the best of my ability, [Guided] simply pointing me in the right direction by telling me where to look.
"As the patient's airway patency is totally stopped, restoring it, reestablishing airflow, and stabilizing the cervical structure while controlling any potential internal bleeding is the absolute priority, removing the foreign object is... advised?" I paused at my last word and looked at Osskil, the healer in charge.
"Is it?" He raised his brows, sowing further doubts in my mind. "Should I remove the foreign object? Why should I? Why shouldn't I? Every second you waste hesitating is another second lost that could have been spent saving her. So what is it?"
[Guided] expectantly directed my gaze at the very needle sword I thrusted where it was.
Should it be removed? Potentially unleashing torrents of blood that it was previously tamponading?
Should treatment be realized without it being removed? This way, Beli could be stabilized to give us more time? If only the metal-thread fabric weren't in the way-
Oh. It was so obvious.
"Due to visual obstruction, I cannot properly assess the wound. As such, the foreign object should absolutely not be removed until it is proven that it is directly responsible for the complete obstruction of the patient's airway," I confidently asserted.
"The absolute priority is the restoration of the airway patency and breathing. After that, we can treat this wound as a critical penetrating trauma with concealed internal injury."
Osskil closed his eyes in acknowledgment before opening them slowly.
"Prepare to expel any blood that may have made its way to her lungs. I will heal her trachea while delivering a broad healing to clear her airway and prevent it from becoming obstructed again."
Beli was kept on all four, still stubbornly holding onto her consciousness even as she asphyxiated, and following in the wake of a surge of [Will] I couldn't remotely come close to matching with my present Tier 1 [Will] Aspect, I touched Beli's upper torso and [Will]ed for any blood inside her lungs to flow along with gravity.
Beli instantly started to cough violently and soon vomited a mouthful of blood before taking a deep breath.
"Patient's breathing has been restored, condition is... stabilized for now," I commented.
"What precautions should you take to extract your needle sword?" Osskil directly interrogated me without letting me broach the subject first.
"In this situation where there is no urgency, I can consider haste as my worst enemy, so I should rethink my every decision even if they seem evident."
"As for the practical precautions, I should first keep assessing the patient in case of any sudden deterioration, and I should also plan my healing in case of such deterioration. Restoring my energy is my second priority, followed by reassuring the patient so that they let me do my job."
"That means you don't remove the sword inserted in your neck yet, Beli, even if you feel like you should," I spoke up, "And of course, I adapt my words to the status of the patient. If it's a kid, I can add emphasis on reassuring words. If it's a Sentinel, I can be factual, delivering as much information as they need to know."
"Practically sound, though a bit rough on the edges," Osskil remarked, "Do you feel confident about healing her injury?"
I recollected all my knowledge on the anatomical structure of a female Ephi neck, and came vastly short of confidence.
"I fail to remember if a female Ephi neck has any anatomical structure to take notice of, so no, I'm not confident. My energy reserve is also at less than... a quarter? It's insufficient to deal with an injury potentially severe enough to cause subsequent total airway obstruction."
Osskil nodded, then reached for the handle of my needle sword.
"At least you're not eager to get started. It's a good quality to have during your apprenticeship. Never become too confident. If you've never dealt with either a species or a type of injury before, do not hesitate to back down. Your patients will only be reassured by your humility."
"Order," Osskil warned Beli procedurally, then with one smooth pull, my needle sword was extirpated from Beli's neck, and blood shortly started flowing out at a sedated pace.
So I really hit a bloodstream...
A surge of [Will] was all it took for the bleeding to be stemmed, and following a direct inspection of the wound after Beli removed the metal-thread fabric that covered it, she was declared in the clear.
"If you start coughing blood or find it hard to breathe before your mandatory checkup, drop what you're doing and pay the infirmary a visit. I don't have the required [Assessment] Aspect Tier to ascertain you didn't sustain hidden internal bleedings of injuries."
With that, the emergency healing intervention ended, and Osskil returned to the side.
"Alright," Leo took back center stage and called for our attention without delay, "What observations have you made?"