As much as Jensen wanted to enjoy spending some time with Sildra, it was difficult to do. She’d been in the city for the week, and most of her time was spent either trying to help Velik, or complaining about his abrasive personality. It took him a few days to realize what the problem was, since Velik certainly hadn’t changed a single bit in all the time Jensen had known him.

He did eventually figure it out, though. Sildra had become someone important, and she’d grown accustomed to being treated with respect. When Jensen had first met her, she’d been a nobody from a tiny village, and Velik had just recently saved her from being killed by monsters. A combination of low standards and the good will that had bought him had caused Sildra to put up with a lot of his crap.

Apparently, he’d run out of forgiveness, and she was heartily sick of his attitude. Jensen couldn’t blame her, but he also thought that the authority her new position gave her had maybe gone to her head, just a little bit. However, unlike Velik, he wasn’t stupid enough to say that.

Instead, he quietly made a note to find the man and have a conversation with him. The good side of Velik’s personality was that he basically never got offended by having his faults pointed out to him. It was a coin flip whether he was unaware of something he was doing upsetting people or if he knew and just didn’t care, but it wouldn’t hurt anything to talk to him about it.

Jensen found him easily enough—[Treasure Hunter] had ranked up to 8 recently and Jensen was now capable of finding specific pieces of magical gear even when someone was wearing them—coming out of a no-name alchemy shop in one of the poorer districts in Ashala. Knowing how good Velik’s senses were now, Jensen had no doubt that he’d been spotted before he ever got close. It definitely wasn’t a coincidence that he’d arrived just as Velik was leaving.

Wordlessly, the taciturn hunter fell into step next to Jensen. They walked in silence a few blocks, Velik content to let Jensen lead. It wasn’t a great part of town, but things weren’t so rough that he was afraid anyone would try to mug them, so Jensen steered them into the first tavern he spotted. Quirking an eyebrow, Velik followed him in. The pair claimed a table in the back corner.

“You’re a man who appreciates blunt honesty,” Jensen started, “so I’ll try to be as straightforward as possible here.”

“Okay?”

“Please stop pissing Sildra and Aria off. If you can only muster the effort for one of them, try with Sildra.”

“I’m not trying to,” Velik said.

“I fully believe that. Doesn’t change the truth.”

“Well, what do you want me to do, specifically?”

“I doubt I could possibly coach you on how to be a pleasant human being in a single conversation,” Jensen told him bluntly. “But broad strokes? Stop arguing with them. Listen to what they say, do what they tell you, and otherwise keep your mouth shut. Don’t interject your opinions unprompted. Don’t point out negative things.”

“I see.” Velik folded his hands on the table in front of him. “There is a problem with this plan, though. I care more about results than I do about hurting their feelings.”

“Yeah? How good do you think your results are going to be once they both refuse to help you?”

Velik shrugged. “They’re not exactly helping me much right now. One way or another, I’ll figure it out.”

“Velik,” Jensen began with a frustrated sigh, “could you just, please, please, please try not to be such an asshole all the time? This whole ‘raised yourself in the woods’ excuse is wearing thin. An occasional social gaffe is fine. We all understand that. We get it. But you have to try to get along with people, and I’m not seeing that happening.”

“I guess I should have come to you for lessons eight months ago,” Velik said. “As it stands, you’re a little late. As soon as I’m done with this project, I’m leaving, and I don’t expect to come back.”

“What, like ever?”

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Velik looked surprised. “Didn’t Sildra tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m going after the monster that killed Torwin.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jensen said slowly. “Do you think it’s going to kill you or something? Why go if you don’t think you can win?”

“No, you don’t understand. It went beyond the boundary..”

“Into the desert?” Jensen scoffed. “If that’s the case, the monsters out there will take care of it.”

“I can assure you, they won’t,” Velik told him.

“If they can’t, neither can you.”

“Morgus has a plan,” Velik said. “Even if he didn’t…”

Jensen got it. He really did. Torwin had been something of a surrogate father to him for the year and a half they’d known each other. He’d helped Jensen in more ways than just finding his new class, had given him the confidence to live his own life outside his father’s shadow. Torwin had paid a price for that, too, defying the guild contract to help Jensen do what he’d really wanted to do.

He was completely behind the idea of hunting that monster down and strangling it to death with its own entrails. Given half a chance, he’d happily put arrows through its eyes and watch it scream in agony. That was all a fantasy, though. Even if the monster appeared in front of him right now, he knew he was out of his league. If Velik and Torwin couldn’t kill it together, he had no chance.

If it was somewhere in the sand sea, and strong enough to survive out there, nobody could ever touch it. That meant it was a force of nature, something to be survived, but never conquered. Could even a god help Velik climb that high?

Judging by how poorly the training was going, the answer was a resounding no. Velik was rushing headlong to his death. “You’re sure you’re doing this, no matter what?” Jensen asked.

“Yes.”

“No talking you out of it?”

“No.”

“Even if it kills you?”

“Even then,” Velik said steadily.

“Torwin wouldn’t want you to die trying to avenge him,” Jensen tried.

“I’m not doing it for Torwin. This monster is the next lead. He’s involved in the corruption somehow. The things he said… He knows who planted the dungeon seed. He’s connected to whoever turned my best friend into a monster.”

“So it’s revenge?”

“It’s justice,” Velik said evenly.

Then you’re a fool, and the gods are spending your life to further their own agenda. But go ahead, burn yourself away to nothing. Maybe you’ll get your justice.

Reasoning with Velik had failed. Maybe Torwin could have come up with something to change Velik’s mind, but Jensen wasn’t his master. He didn’t know what to do, what he could possibly say to prevent the young hunter from walking straight to his own demise.

What he did know was that, failing to find a way to stop Velik, Torwin would have done his best to help him live. Right now, that apparently meant getting him prepared by teaching him how to make [Mana Sense] or something equivalent to that.

“Did you know that Torwin had [Mana Sense] as part of his [Ranger’s Lore] skill?” Jensen asked, abruptly changing the subject.

“I was aware he had some way to detect mana,” Velik said. “Why?”

“I asked him about it once. I don’t know if you remember, but the contract my father had with the guild was to get me the [Ranger] class. [Ranger’s Lore] is pretty much a class staple. A whole bunch of useful skills go into it. Even though I was nowhere near the class or skill, we still had discussions about the individual component skills.”

“Are you saying you know how to get [Mana Sense]?”

“Theoretically,” Jensen said. “It’s not part of [Treasure Hunter], but there’s a lot of overlap. More importantly, I remember what Torwin told me about the skill. Would you like to hear his advice on the subject?”

“Aria has the skill, too, but her advice hasn’t worked for me,” Velik said slowly as he thought about it. “But she’s a mage. Torwin was a hunter-type like me. If anyone had the insight I need, it would be him. Yes, I would like to know what he told you.”

“I never quite understood what he meant when he said it,” Jensen warned. “But what he told me was that a good hunter already understands how to use all their senses to hunt, how to fill in the gaps they can’t see with what they can hear and smell. It’s all one experience, viewed from different angles. That make sense to you?”

“I’m with you so far,” Velik said. “He meant how I know there are four people in the kitchen even though I can’t see through the wall behind me.”

Jensen blinked and peered over Velik’s shoulder. “How do you know it’s a kitchen?”

Velik tapped his nose, but remained silent.

“Oh. Of course.”

“What’s the next part?”

“That mana sensory skills work on the same principles. It’s not about seeing or hearing or tasting the mana. It’s about experiencing it. Once you understand that, everything falls into place.”

“Huh.” Velik sat back in his chair. “That seems… simple. It’s a lot easier than what Aria thinks.”

“What’s that?” Jensen asked, curious how a mage would approach such a fundamental skill to their class.

“I don’t understand half of it. She spends all of our sessions talking about frequencies and waves and visualization bands. Sildra just goes on about communions and illumination. Torwin’s way sounds better,” Velik said. He scratched at his chin. “Thanks, Jensen.”

“You’re welcome,” Jensen said. “Pay me back by being nicer to people while you’re here. I think you’re a crazy fool to go out past the boundary, but I hope you make it back in one piece. You’re not a bad person. You’re just kind of a jerk.”

“Thanks?” Velik asked as much as stated. “I think?”