An Intriguing Woman

The sudden burst of knowledge in combat that the system granted him made him versatile. He struck, sliced and thrust forward but was met with an equal—if not superior—skill from Narene. She seemed to always be aware of his next move and countered it and on more than two occasions in their two minutes fight, he had been pushed back.

Sharen then used the system's warning to fight her. He knew he had an advantage and this made him feel that this fight was useless yet he wanted to continue. He wanted to see what this lady was up to.

**Strike to the left, step back a few feet**

The system gave him prompts but at times it wasn't helpful. Sharen gritted his teeth, rushing forward but quickly spun around when he noticed something strange. The spiky sword retracted then expanded, forming a mesh of metal then it reformed and became a spear.

Sharen shook his head, overcoming his shock then struck forward. He was a yellow cored mage—a level below green core—yet the system granted him skills that were on par with a green cored mage. He used an air spell and deflected Narene's sword strike then hit her with a shoulder, sending her crashing on the floor.

"Had enough?"

Narene replied by jumping, aiming her spear at his chest. Her eyes glowed brighter and then she lunged the spear to the left—where the system had prompted him to jump towards. The spear would've ripped his heart out if he hadn't weaved a force shield spell as quickly as the system allowed.

The spear stopped a few centimetres from his chest, shaking vigorously. Narene fell over with a thud, panting heavily. Sharen watched as the spear dropped out of her hand. After making sure that she was okay, he walked up to her and gave her a hand.

"You fought well but stupidly," he shook his head, pulling her up. "How could you sacrifice all your magical energy to see five seconds into the future?"

He knew what she had done. The ability to see into the future five seconds ahead was what green cored mages were blessed with but it came with a cost. Using that ability would drain one completely.

Narene stumbled and found support on the wall. "I went too far."

"If I hadn't reacted in time, you could've killed me." Sharen's voice was firm.

"I knew you would counter."

Sharen observed her for a while then nodded with a smile. "It's fine. You've earned yourself a place with me. I will take you as my apprentice."

The moment she heard that, her face brightened, all signs of fatigue disappearing in an instant. She bowed with a wide smile on her face. "Thank you, Master!"

"You can call me Sharen."

"Master Sharen."

Sharen sighed then gestured for her to follow him inside. Having someone call him Master was alien to him but he tried as much not to wince at the sound of it. He considered himself a fraud at that moment.

He watched as she put her robe down, her pouch and her book which he quickly recognised to be a magical book. He was further intrigued by this strange lady. All magical books had been seized by the Shattered Knights under the royal decree of the Holy Emperor and owning one was deemed to be an act of treason yet here she was, flaunting one.

She must have known the implication for she wrapped the book in her robe and put it under the bed. Afterwards, she turned, "I should get my sleeping materials."

Sharen rolled his eyes inwardly. 'She didn't even ask if I would allow her stay with me.' Outwardly, however, he nodded. "Just be sure to put it by the far end and don't disturb me unless I ask for your presence."

She nodded and made to leave but Sharen called out. "Narene!"

"Yes?"

"Where did you get a Kly?" He had noticed that her sword was made from that metal—the most powerful magical metal rumoured to be found in the Bones and Sands desert. A tiny nugget could cost thousands of Lars yet she had gotten enough to make a weapon infused with magic.

Stepping into that desert meant death. No one ever survived the night in the desert and he didn't know why and had never been there himself.

Looking at Narene again, Sharen felt ashamed for the selfish reasons for which he had taken her in. He found her to be a valuable asset. She was a green cored mage, had a sword made from Kly and had a magical book. He had the thought to use her to improve himself and he knew that no matter how powerful the system was, it was limited until he upgraded with enough magical points but he couldn't afford to pile that up.

Narene shrugged. "My father took it off a merchant who found a box full of them but they were coated with dirt so he didn't know what they were. It was cheaper than you think."

Sharen nodded, sitting down on the chair before the table. His eyes landed on the papers that were scattered on the table. "One more thing. You will replace my sword."

Narene paused for a while then nodded solemnly. "I will get to that."

After she left, Sharen stared at the papers thoughtfully for a while. He realised how reliant he had been on his magic and how useless he was in fighting. With a sigh, he thought, 'System, upgrade combat skill to level 3'

**Upgrade will cost 500 magical points. Proceed with exchange?**

'Proceed with exchange.'

That 500 magical points pained him beyond reason but the pain was soon replaced with satisfaction when the influx of combat skills flooded his mind and he felt he could fight more confidently than before.

'System, how many magical points have I received for upgrading?'

**You have received 100 for upgrading one level and this brings your total to 2400 magical points**

Sharen nodded and resumed his reading. He wanted to learn everything he could about Kae mountains. The only things he knew were that magical items rained over there occasionally and that Shattered Knights were camped over the place, waiting to use the magical gifts to upgrade their cores.

To enter he had to come up with a plan to evade the monsters guarding the mountains in the name of the Holy Emperor.

With that thought, Sharen gritted his teeth. "Cursed be the Holy Emperor!"