"Nope, you won’t go," Tamasya said while shaking her head.
Her tone was firm and final, leaving no space for immediate argument.
She stood with her arms crossed, posture relaxed but expression resolute, as though the decision had already been made long before the words left her mouth.
The shadows around her responded subtly, their movement slowing as if mirroring her stance.
"But why!!!, I am strong enough to enter" Will said in defiance.
He straightened as he spoke, his voice steady but edged with irritation. Will had already calculated his strength several times over, both objectively and through instinct, and each calculation had led him to the same conclusion.
He was not weak. And he was certainly not someone who needed to be sheltered in a gold mansion at this stage.
"I don’t know from where you got an entry pass, but no!! abyssal nodes are extremely dangerous even for you, the academy entrance is in just a few weeks now, and I want you in the best shape, if you don’t dominate the exam and break a few individuals for me, I will crush you again,"
she spoke like an elder sibling denying him any chance to prove himself and just shook her head.
The way she spoke was infuriating in its familiarity. It was not the voice of a tyrant or a ruler issuing commands. It was the voice of someone who had already decided what was best for him and refused to entertain any counterarguments. The threat at the end, delivered casually, only made the message more frustrating.
"I don’t even understand why you want to go to that place. I mean go to some forest hunting monsters or something, why do you want to go to the abyss!!"
Her brows furrowed as she spoke, and her gaze searched his face as if genuinely trying to understand what compelled him toward such a reckless destination.
To her, the abyss was not a training ground. It was a graveyard that devoured the overconfident and the unlucky alike.
"I want to go there to gain experience and also bully demons," Will said with a puffed out chest.
The words left him without hesitation, and despite the seriousness of the topic, his posture betrayed a faint hint of stubborn pride. The idea of confronting demons directly was not something that frightened him. If anything, it was something he looked forward to.
After a few rounds of banter Tamasya finally caved in a bit.
"Well if you want to go you have to complete a task of mine," Tamasya said with her brows raised in delight as she leaned forward.
The shift in her demeanor was gradual. The refusal softened into intrigue, and a glint of amusement appeared in her eyes. She straightened slightly, clearly pleased that she now held leverage.
"Tsk, what is it," Will asked in annoyance.
His irritation was plain, but he did not retreat.
After so many months living with her, experience had taught him that negotiations with Tamasya often came with unexpected conditions, and resisting outright rarely led anywhere productive.
Tamasya just handed him a scroll.
The parchment was new, its surface marked with faint runes that pulsed softly, as though responding to her presence. Will accepted it carefully, immediately sensing that it was no ordinary message.
"Well this is a scroll I need to deliver to my friend in the nearby empireThe holy sun empire. I personally can’t deliver this due to certain reasons. I want you to deliver this message to her, the scroll will react once it comes in her proximity."
Her voice remained calm, but there was tension beneath it, the kind that came from long-standing grudges and unfinished business. The mention of the Holy Sun Empire alone carried weight.
"Why do you need me? you are stronger can’t you just go there and do this," Will asked in annoyance, the question slipping out before he could restrain it.
The Holy Sun Empire shared its south-east borders with the Riverdale Empire. It was not some distant, obscure territory. It was a powerful empire deeply intertwined with religious authority, and that alone made the request troubling.
"As I told you, I can’t go, the empire is ruled by theChurchand thepopewho is the dog ofgod of lightand thelight faction."
Her expression darkened as she spoke, and the shadows at her feet grew restless, responding to the hostility in her tone.
"I am considered their mortal enemy, the pope would know at once if I go, but you are different, your affinities are masked for reasons only you know, aside from your mana rank I can’t sense a thing so you are perfect for this."
She studied him carefully as she said this, as though reassessing his value as a disciple.
"If you deliver this, you are allowed to go to the abyssal node."
The condition hung heavily in the air.
"But if the church is your enemy then why is your friend living in that empire?" Will asked noticing the contradiction.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, unwilling to accept half-answers. The logic did not align, and Will had the habbit of not ignoring such inconsistencies.
"She is not living there willingly, she is imprisoned in the imperial palace’s underground dungeon."
The words were sharp, and for a brief moment, Tamasya’s composure cracked.
As she spoke, a grim expression appeared on her face. The anger simmering beneath her calm surface surged dangerously close to breaking free.
Although she restrained it, Will could sense the pressure in the air shift, as if the shadows themselves were reacting to her emotions.
The silence stretched before she continued.
"If you get caught while infiltrating the empire it means you are not ready for the abyssal node, if that happens I will barge there and save you, although it will be at the risk of exposing my identity to the gods."
Tamasya spoke plainly, as though discussing an inconvenience rather than a catastrophic consequence. Her words, however, produced a grim expression on Will’s face.
"She is taking such blatant, unthought out risk."
The thought crossed his mind before he could stop it.
[That’s how I have been feeling with you since the start, you and her are the same, both of you are mad in that sense]
Will’s face twitched listening to the system’s blunt honesty. He did not retort, because deep down he knew it was true. Recklessness had a way of masquerading as resolve when conviction was strong enough to make you mad.
Will’s resolve was to get stronger, and he took reckless risks for that ambition.
"Ok, I accept this deal, I will deliver this letter."
Will smiled confidently as he looked at Tamasya, who returned his gaze with a sharp, analyzing expression.
She did not smile back. Instead, she evaluated him in silence, as if trying to decide whether this was bravery or foolishness.
"Shadow, are you sure he won’t be caught?"
<"Goddamn woman just let your companion go for once he is perfect for the task and no good will come to him just sitting here rotting beneath you, don’t worry even in the sun empire I will be watching over him.">
Shadow’s tone carried familiarity and mild irritation, and the way it referred to Will was not new.
Shadow casually calling William Tamasya’s companion did not surprise her. After all, she shared everything with Shadow, and it was common knowledge between them how she looked at Will.
"When do you want to go?" Tamasya asked silently accepting Shadow’s advice.
"Right now," Will said calmly.
<"Tsk, where is this type of confidence coming from?">
The voice surfaced unbidden in her mind. She studied him for a moment longer before sighing faintly.
"Ok, get ready, I will teleport you to the empire’s border."
With a wave of her hand, tendrils of darkness surged forward, wrapping around William’s body like living shadows.
Before he could respond, the world around him folded inward, and his figure disappeared instantly from the room.
Thousands of kilometers away, William’s figure appeared in the open sky.
Gravity reclaimed him immediately.
He started free-falling.
[fuck!!! At this mad bitch wants to kill you, I just know it!!]