Quiet Before the storm

Sigurd felt strange after entering that state, where he considered himself the heir of greed.

Some things bothered him before he used it: the guilt towards his former brothers and watching them die, his mother's death and many other things...

Yet now, they felt like someone else's issues. Of course, he still remembered his emotions and feelings and how important they once were. 

'Now, there is a feeling of emptiness where they used to occupy my heart and mind...' 

"Is everything alright, Sigurd?" Eva's beautiful azure eyes watched him, struggling to accept his changes.

He didn't know what she thought, but the way her eyes felt so comforting and warm brought him back to reality, that distant feeling fading as he held her hand. "Thank you..." Sigurd's lips barely opened to utter his low word of thanks.

"Your face seemed pale, and your eyes looked a little scary. That's all...." 

Eva's hand turned over to grasp his, stroking his palm as he looked at the fire crackling in the darkness. 

Sigurd and Eva became closer after sharing the meal and their brush with death, but elves were a very caring race. 'I feel normal again, thanks to her being here... Does that form make me experience something like a killer's high?' 

He tried to link it to his feelings when fighting with the church as a knight; sometimes, when killing monsters, he got lost in combat, desiring more bloodshed and becoming hasty, rash and violent. 'I hope there is a balance...' 

The energy inside his body also raged when he experienced that state, the emerald flames surging around his body like a small typhoon, agitating his organs and muscles. "Eva, how do witches know their current strength level? Is there a device or some spell that will tell them?"

His question snapped her out of a daze. Their fingers naturally entwined as her cheeks turned red while thinking about his question.

"Um... for us half-elves, they use a special stone, which, upon contact with magic, there are small rings that light up, and the amount will tell us the level of mana in our bodies."

"Hmm?" This surprised Sigurd because knights performed an annoying exam, then a combat trial just to upgrade their rank, yet witches seemed only to have more mana to rank up.

"Ah, one moment!" She blushed, releasing their hands and reaching into her storage item for a few minutes. Several weird things piled up, including contraception devices... until she pulled out a small black monolith with a large base. "Apprentices use this thing... I think each ring represents ten mana."

Eva then placed it on the tree stub and closed her eyes. The crackle of flames and the scent of deliciously cooked wolf meat filled the air before she placed her hand on the base panel of the pillar.

A beautiful blue magic flickered before turning into green particles as the monolith started glowing. Sigurd could see ten rings, meaning an apprentice must amass 100 mana to reach the next stage.

Ping! 

Crack!

Eva's magic slowly filled the pillar with light, illuminating one ring, then two, before it stopped halfway between the second and third pillars. 

A short moment later, the Elven number 26 appeared at the top of the tower.

"Woah... is that high or low?" Sigurd asked. As Eva began panting, her eyes seemed shocked, and he noticed she focused on the number while tears built up in her eyes. "Is something wrong?" he asked again, worried about her reaction.

"Ah...no, no Sigurd, it's not that... I am happy. You don't understand, this isn't... I am not upset... For the first time... in five years... It increased.... by 2 whole points!"

'Is two mana that big a difference?' Sigurd didn't understand, remaining quiet and hoping for her to recover, yet his hand wiped away her tears, causing the female elf to blush and look at him with her big, lovely eyes, those huge azure gems focused only on his face.

"This is thanks to you... I knew it was still 24 this morning. I check every day!" Eva's beautiful face looked so excited as she grasped his chest with a look of both gratitude and confusion. "How did you do it? Was it the meat... Can we kill more and see?"

"Oi, oi, calm down. Can't it wait till morning?"

"No!" Eva stood up, her hand grasping the spear and puffing. He found her current state similar to how excited he was a moment ago, realising that the amount of mana being lower for half-elves must be the cause! "If it can reach 100... They will let me become a genuine witch!"

At this moment, Sigurd realised something about the elves and half-elves: Their lives were not perfect, and the half-elves probably desired to be just like their sisters, casting magic freely, too.

'No, the church was the same... Those who could become paladins and priests versus the normal knights. Treatment and life changed like night and day for the two.'

Sigurd watched Eva's trembling body as she looked at him with a desire that almost set fire to her entire body, causing his chest to throb. He knew that feeling, that look and desire to prove herself. 'It's like when my father promised to treat mother fairly if he attained a high rank within the church.'

So he wouldn't deter her or put her down. Instead, he stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Eva, do you want to become a witch?" 

"Yes!" Her eyes, filled with determination, fire, and desire, watched him, her hands holding her spear so tight they turned white. "No matter what! To make my mother and sisters proud and give them hope that a half-elf can reach higher!"

'Then...'

"Let's make a deal, Eva." His eyes seemed to glow with an emerald flame while Mammon vibrated from the deep tone of his voice. Sigurd was unaware of how much he sounded like the heir of greed from earlier. "Become my personal Chevalier. Protect me when I fight. Let me become the strongest Warlock, and I will grant you all you desire!"

The more he spoke, the more confidence and charm flooded his voice, adding his open arms and the swirl of magic rotating around his body. He placed a single finger on the black monolith.

The rings swirled rapidly, forming three and a bit, showing his mana after awakening only two days to reach number 32

"!!!" Eva's face looked at the number, knowing he awakened recently, but she knew the truth. That witch didn't surpass half-elves until after months of training! This man she stood beside and lusted after was a genius, likely a genius on a par with the fabled Medea! "I do! Let's make the oath!"