CHAPTER 43: MONTHLY RANKING TEST 1

Three days until the Monthly Ranking Test.

Aegis counted her coins for the fifth time, still grinning like an idiot. Twenty gold pieces clinked between her fingers.

[Not enough for anything game-changing, but at least I’m not broke.]

The aether cores had sold better than expected. Turns out, commoner merchants paid premium for materials they couldn’t harvest themselves.

"You’re early." Liora’s voice drifted from the music room doorway.

"Couldn’t sleep." Aegis pocketed the coins. "Too excited about butchering another innocent song."

"You’re improving." Liora held the door open. "Last week you only made my ears bleed twice."

"Such praise. I’m blushing."

They settled into their usual spots. Liora at the piano, Aegis standing beside it like she might bolt any second.

"Warm-ups first." Liora played a simple scale. "Match the notes."

Aegis tried. The sounds that emerged weren’t quite dying cat anymore. More like mildly distressed kitten.

"Better." Liora’s fingers danced across the keys. "Your breathing’s steadier."

"All that combat training." Aegis stretched. "Scarlett says proper breathing keeps you from passing out mid-fight."

"Charming."

They worked through exercises for twenty minutes. Aegis’s Grace stat might be garbage, but muscle memory was starting to kick in.

"Want to try something different today?" Aegis leaned against the piano.

"Different how?"

"I know a song. From... my hometown." Aegis cleared her throat. "It’s silly, but the melody’s simple."

Liora’s curiosity sparked.

"I’d love to hear it."

[Time to butcher some Earth pop music.]

Aegis took a breath and started:

"Can’t look away, can’t break free,

You’re in every breath I breathe,

Try to focus, try to think,

But you’re there in every blink.

Aegis started dancing a little. Mostly just swinging her hips. Liora clapped along, making a little beat.

No matter what I do,

All I see is you,

Dancing through my mind all day,

Can’t make it go away.

She got closer. The melody was basic. Something between a lullaby and those generic pop songs that played in hospital waiting rooms.

But, in the interest of making Liora smile, Aegis put her all into it.

Every word you say to me,

Plays on repeat endlessly,

Got me twisted, got me caught,

You’re my every waking thought."

She finished with a dramatic hand gesture over her heart.

Liora stared. A giggle escaped before she could stop it.

"Aegis!" The blonde covered her mouth. "What was that?"

"Art." Aegis struck a pose. "Pure, unfiltered art."

"That’s not art, that’s—" Another giggle. "That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard!"

"Cheese is delicious." Aegis wiggled her eyebrows. "Just like you."

"Oh my gods." Liora’s face went red. "Did you just compare me to dairy products?"

"Only the finest aged cheddar."

Liora threw a wadded-up sheet of music at her. Aegis dodged, laughing.

"Seriously, though." Aegis perched on the piano bench beside her. "Catchy, right? Gets stuck in your head?"

"Unfortunately." Liora shook her head, still smiling. "I’ll probably be humming ’can’t make it go away’ all day."

"Mission accomplished then." Aegis bumped their shoulders together. "Want me to teach you the chorus? We could duet."

"Absolutely not."

"Come on." Aegis leaned in close. "Picture it. You and me, harmonizing about obsessive attraction."

"That sounds like a threat."

"More like a promise." Aegis waggled her eyebrows again.

[Liora Affection +1 (❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍)]

The notification flickered. Four hearts.

"You’re ridiculous." Liora’s protest came out fond.

"Ridiculously... charming?"

"Ridiculously something."

They spent another hour working on actual vocal exercises. Every time Aegis tried to sneak the cheese song back in, Liora pelted her with more crumpled paper.

"Same time tomorrow?" Liora gathered her ammunition—er, sheet music.

"Can’t wait." Aegis grinned. "I’ll workshop some new material. Maybe something about eyes being like stars?"

"I’m bringing earplugs."

"Your loss. My next masterpiece might win awards."

"What awards? Most likely to cause secondhand embarrassment?"

"Exactly!" Aegis headed for the door. "You get me."

She ducked another projectile on her way out, Liora’s laughter following her into the hall.

Aegis left the music room humming.

Three days to grind, and she was making progress on all fronts. Her Power stat had jumped from training. Her Shadow Magic grew stronger each night with Nazraya as her Aether Weaving did with Rosanna. Even her Grace was crawling upward.

[At this rate, I might...]

She rounded the corner and stopped.

Talia Stone stood in the hallway, still as a statue. Today’s uniform was pressed to perfection, not a hair out of place. But something in her posture screamed tension.

"Princess." Aegis didn’t hide her grin. "Fancy meeting you here."

Talia’s yellow eyes narrowed. No verbal assault. No immediate threats of incineration.

Just silence.

"Cat got your tongue?" Aegis stepped closer. "That’s new."

Still nothing. Talia’s jaw worked like she was chewing words and finding them bitter.

"Usually you’re all ’how dare you, commoner’ and ’I’ll burn you to ash.’" Aegis tilted her head. "Everything okay?"

Talia moved. One step forward, then another. Aegis’s brows shot up. She was close enough that Aegis could smell her perfume. It smelled like jasmine.

[Wait, is she actually just going to kill me?]

A finger pressed against Aegis’s chest. Right over her heart.

Talia’s mouth opened. Then it closed. Then it opened and closed again.

"Yes?" Aegis kept her voice low. "Something you want to say?"

The finger pressed harder. Talia stared right through Aegis’s brain.

"You..." The word came out strangled.

"Me."

"..."

Finally, a sharp huff escaped her lips.

Then she spun on her heel and marched away, footsteps echoing off stone.

Aegis watched her go, pulse racing.

[Well, well, well.]

Her HUD pinged softly.

[Talia Affection +1 (❤️🤍🤍🤍🤍)]

One heart. The first heart.

The ice princess was finally starting to crack.

[Not like we’ll be making out beneath the stars anytime soon, but it’s a start.]

Aegis kept walking.

Three more days. Three more days before her first checkpoint in the Queen of Hearts storyline.

She headed toward the dining hall, whistling her Earth song. The melody echoed in empty corridors, bright and hopeful.

[I’ve got this.] Aegis strode confidently. [I’ve got this.]