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Chapter 22: The Price of Friendship

"Screw that guy," Nadia said. "I hope you \'accidentally\' kill his ass in the duel."

Silas shook his head. "I won\'t try to kill him, but if he died, I wouldn\'t be too broken up about it. Man is elitist scum as far as I\'m concerned. He thinks we\'re all beneath him."

"Ugh. I know the type," Nadia said, rolling her eyes, her posture radiating disgust. "My brother is actually like that. Thinks he\'s better than everyone else, including me."

"Is he a mage knight?" Silas asked.

"Yeah, he works in the capital. My father got him the position. My family is upper echelon unfortunately. I\'d like to have nothing to do with them, but I can\'t. The name follows me everywhere I go," Nadia said.

Jace chimed in, "So is that how you only got a maximum tier of 5? Your brother took the top spot?"

"Yeah. I hated it at first, but now I kind of like it. Keeps me humble. I didn\'t get a fat head like him," Nadia replied, a small smile on her face. She shrugged, her shoulders relaxing slightly as she spoke.

Silas held up his hands, confusion etched on his features as he tried to follow the conversation. "Hold on. Slow it down. What are you talking about? Rank 5, top spot, huh?"

Jace turned to Silas, eager to explain. "Her brother inherited the ancestral mana core. Which should put his max tier somewhere between 1 and 3, I\'m guessing," he said, glancing at Nadia for confirmation.

"Yes," She said. "We\'re upper echelon but we\'re not at the top top, so my brother\'s max tier is 2."

"You probably got the mana core of a great uncle or something. Like, not in the main branch of the family. Am I right?" Jace asked.

"Yeah that\'s right. My great aunt passed her core down to me. She never had any kids of her own so she put me in her will. I miss her, but it\'s almost like she\'s here with me," Nadia replied, her hand resting on her chest and her voice soft.

Rowan had fully regained his voice by now. His expression was sympathetic. "I\'m sorry about your aunt."

Nadia sighed. "Oh, shut up, oaf. But thank you."

Silas, still grappling with the new information, asked, "What\'s this about an ancestral mana core?"

Jace grinned. "Wealthy families practice core fusion. When an ancestor dies, they fuse their core with the core of the firstborn in the family. The second and third-born usually get the scraps. Fusing a dead person\'s core with a living person\'s increases the recipient\'s tier."

Silas nodded slowly. "But then why is Nadia\'s brother\'s core tier 2 when my dad\'s is tier 1? My family isn\'t rich."

Jace leaned in. "Your family must\'ve been rich at some point. You can\'t get to tier 1 without fusion, and fusion is expensive. That\'s why only rich people can do it."

Silas\'s mother\'s voice echoed in his mind, \'Your family was lower class because your father\'s parents disowned him when he married me.\'

\'Oh,\' Silas replied, feeling a pang of sympathy for his mother.

Silas turned to Jace. "Well, that doesn\'t explain how you have a high max tier. You said your family were merchants, not nobility."

Jace grinned, his voice low. "That\'s because my parents bought a core on the black market."

"Ah, I see," Silas said, nodding. "Say no more."

Lyra leaned in close to Silas, her voice a whisper. Her words were urgent and insistent. "So are we going to tell her about you or are we going to keep a secret from our teammate?"

Silas hesitated, his voice equally low. He glanced at Nadia, his expression uncertain as he replied. "I probably should, but I don\'t know how she\'ll take it."

Lyra gave him a reassuring smile, her hand resting on his arm as she spoke. "Give her a chance. She\'s my roommate. I trust her."

Silas took a deep breath. "Ok, I\'ll trust your judgment."

He turned to Nadia, his voice steady. His expression was a mixture of seriousness and nervousness as he spoke. "So, Nadia, how do you feel so far? Do you want to become an official member of our group?"

Nadia shrugged, a small smile on her face. She leaned back, her posture relaxed as she replied. "Uh, sure. You all seem fine. And I love Lyra. She\'s helping me cheat on, I mean, \'study\' for my tests."

"Ok, well, there\'s this little ceremony that I promise you we\'ve all done, to not tell each others secrets. Is that something you\'re comfortable with?"

Nadia raised an eyebrow, her voice skeptical as she spoke. "Umm, sure, I guess. You\'re making it sound creepy though. Is it creepy?"

Silas chuckled, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. He looked away, his expression sheepish, as he replied. "Uh, I guess it is a little creepy. It\'s a blood pact. It magically binds us to not talk about each other\'s secrets."

Nadia wrinkled her nose, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She held up her hands, her fingers wiggling in the air as she spoke. "Does it have to involve blood? I\'d rather not get any of this guy\'s diseases," she said, pointing at Rowan.

Rowan\'s voice was indignant. "Hey! I\'ve gotten sick like once!"

Silas\'s expression was sympathetic as he replied. "Unfortunately, it does. It part of my affinities and it seems to always require blood."

Nadia sighed. She looked away, her expression conflicted as she spoke. "You know, the only reason I\'m even considering doing this is because of Lyra. The moment you said ceremony, I would\'ve walked away. That said, I\'ll do it. You all seem like weirdos, but honest weirdos. And as someone who\'s been lied to her entire life, I appreciate that."

Silas clapped his hands together. "Great!" Going on a hunch, he turned to the group. "Ok, so we have to cut our palms and hold each others hands."

Everyone made a small cut on their hand, Silas included, and held hands in a circle. A surge of energy ran through the group, a momentary connection forged in blood and magic. The air around them crackled with power, the hairs on their arms standing on end as the pact was sealed.

[Blood pact successful!]

Silas sighed, his shoulders relaxing. His expression was relieved as he spoke. "Ok, that\'s it."

Nadia looked at him, her eyes narrowing as she leaned forward. "So what\'s the thing you were going to tell me?

Silas met her gaze, his voice calm as he replied. "It\'ll be easier if I show you," he replied, his eyes locked on hers. "Look me in the eyes for a few seconds."

Nadia nodded, her eyes meeting his as she spoke. "Ok, but why?" And then she screamed.