"I think that's enough for today."

Laying flat on the ground, Severance rolled his head to the side so he could watch Dhin approach. The young clansman looked pristine, without a rumple in his dark clothing or a single hair out of place in the little knot at the nape of his neck.

Clearly, a full thirty minutes of absolute thrashing Severance hadn't even caused him much exertion. Severance, on the other hand, felt like he'd been trampled by a herd of krakos.

This wasn't exactly what he'd expected when he first logged in and found Dhin waiting for him. "Come with me," the clansman had said. "I'm going to teach you something."

And so Severance had, both eager and curious to see what Dhin had in mind. He should have known better.

"But all you did was try to kill me," Severance grumbled. "I didn't learn anything."

"Wrong." Dhin's shadow fell across him, blocking out some of the annoyingly bright sunlight. "You learned a very important lesson."

Severance scoffed. "What? That you enjoy stabbing innocent people?"

"Ha, no. What you learned was how to take a beating!"

Severance stared at him. He was starting to suspect that there was something tragically wrong with Dhin's brain. Or maybe, the problem was...

"I think you spend too much time with Maun. Both of you are crazy." Groaning, Severance pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"No, I think the word you're looking for is brilliant."

Nope, totally crazy is right. Severance kept that thought to himself. It was better to not poke mentally unstable people with sharp sticks, after all. He got to his feet before attempting to brush the grime off his clothes.

It quickly became obvious he was just wasting his time since one couldn't exactly brush away rips or blood. He gave up on that idea. It was just easier to change his clothes, so he pulled the spare set of basic clan attire out of Inventory.

Dhin whistled. "That really is a nifty trick. How much can you store away like that?"

Severance glanced over at him. Then he turned his back and pulled off his ruined shirt. "I don't know. I've never really reached a limit."

"You Outsiders are really unfair, you know that?"

"Says the guy who can effortlessly murder me at any time."

"Oh, come on, don't be so dramatic. You're a lot better than when I first trained with you."

Tugging on a clean shirt, Severance rolled his eyes. Was that what Dhin called it now? The clansman was no doubt referring to the time where he'd helped Severance level up to 30. That had been nothing more than sheer brutality, where Dhin had taken full advantage of the Outsider's ability to learn through experience.

Today hadn't been so fruitful, however. Severance had only gained a single point in vitality along with a strong sense of helplessness. Skills weren't very useful when your target could easily evade them.

"I don't feel any better," Severance muttered.

He smoothed down the bottom of the long shirt and then quickly changed his pants. After tucking everything in and buckling his boots, he tossed the dirty clothes in Inventory. When he got back to the House, he'd take them to the laundry room and pick up another clean set.

He turned to find Dhin watching him with a serious expression.

"Now what is it?"

"I think," Dhin said slowly, "that you'll never be a strong fighter."

That cheerful statement made the bottom of Severance's stomach sink. Wasn't that the whole point of this 'training?'

"With your build, you're lacking both defense and strength," Dhin went on. He didn't seem to notice Severance's dismay. "Even if you wore a pile of armor—heh, which would be hilarious to see—you wouldn't have the physical power needed to pierce through an enemy's armor, or to crush bone, for example. You're kind of weak, Twiggy."

Severance wanted to both punch the clansmen and go find a dark corner to be miserable in. What a way to ruin his confidence.

"It's true my strength is kind of low right now," he grudgingly conceded. "But I can level that up, you know. Perk of being an Outsider."

"That would help some, sure. But what I mean is, fighting head-on like some thug doesn't suit you. I don't think it ever will."

Severance frowned. "Then, what am I supposed to do?"

Dhin held out a hand, and suddenly he was holding a small throwing knife. It had a slender tang and pointed blade, very basic in design. He walked over, casually tossing it up into the air and catching it with effortless ease.

"Focus on what you're good at, obviously. You're good at balancing your skills between healing and attacking. That versatility is great. And, you do actually have one another thing going for you. Your agility isn't completely terrible, which is impressive considering you're just a pile of twigs."

"Would you stop with that?" Severance's expression darkened. "I'm not a twig! I'm just-"

A thin blade pressed to his throat, and he abruptly stilled, the sound dying in his throat.

"Whatever you say," Dhin's voice came from behind, low and teasing. "Twiggy."

Severance breathed through clenched teeth. That smug little dung beetle in a pile of cat vomit! He didn't dare move because of the knife, but he hissed, "I will stab you with lightning."

With a laugh, Dhin backed off. "Wow, that's rather violent of you, Sev."

"That's because you're annoying."

"I was just demonstrating a point." Dhin's grin widened.

"What point?" Severance didn't recall any point being mentioned. In fact, he was certain Dhin was just trying to irritate him as much as possible for no good reason. He and Maun need to quit hanging out.

The knife spun the air once more. Dhin's arm was a blur as he snatched it mid-fall. "That speed is key. You didn't even see me move behind you, right?"

"Right," Severance reluctantly admitted.

"There, you see? That's what I'm going to teach you, Sev. The way of the Veiled. After we're done with you, no one will be able to touch you."

While that sounded really nice, Severance didn't exactly feel like jumping for joy. Not when he'd already had a taste of the Veiled teaching methods.

"How exactly are you planning to do this?"

"Simple. Let's pay a visit to Olen. He's probably going to dislike this even more than you, but I have an idea." Whistling merrily, Dhin headed towards the surrounding forest. There was a trail there that led back to the House, or so Dhin had claimed, but Severance had yet to see it.

"Oh great," Severance said, following despite himself. "That doesn't sound like a bad thing at all."

Dhin glanced back, smiled, then broke into a trot. To keep up, Severance was forced to do the same. Yet not even five paces later, he found Dhin drawing ahead.

Severance began to jog, yet the moment he caught up, Dhin inexplicably seemed to speed up once more. A minute later, both were sprinting through the forest, weaving in and out of trees like a pair of lunatics. One left behind a trail of laughter while the other one bore a dark look that grew more murderous by the passing second.

Later, Severance would look back at this moment and wish he'd never listened to Dhin.

***

"No," Olen said. He didn't even hesitate.

"Why not?" Dhin leaned forward, placing his hands on Olen's desk. "I know it's a bit risky-"

"It's very risky," Olen interrupted. There was a crystal-clear warning in his eyes, making it obvious he was very against Dhin's grand idea.

And if he were being honest, Severance wasn't exactly fond of it either. Still, there was something quite interesting about watching them discuss his fate as if he weren't even there. He stood a few paces back, content to let Dhin do all the talking.

"It could harm him," Olen went on. He glanced at Severance, a small furrow in his brow, then returned his attention to Dhin. That furrow vanished, replaced by a slight narrowing of the eyes. "I will not risk Severance's life, Dhin."

"But-"

"I understand where you're coming from, both of you. But you don't even realize what you're asking."

"Then explain it." Dhin wasn't backing down. It was slightly touching, how determined he was to see this through, but also disturbing—especially considering how dangerous this idea apparently was.

Once again, Olen looked to Severance. He seemed hesitant. "When I said it could harm him, I don't mean here. I mean in his own world. It could affect him negatively."

The air seemed to still, and Severance couldn't move. It felt like he was somewhere he shouldn't be, caught in a space between worlds. None of this felt quite right.

The game wasn't supposed to affect him in the real world at all. Even more, wasn't it a little strange how aware Olen was? He was only a character. Although, maybe it wasn't, Severance mused. It could be a type of built-in fail safe to let players know when they were about to push the boundaries.

After all, there had never been a VR game quite as immersive as Eliona. Severance had checked. He'd spent a morning on the internet searching up other VR games, and from what he'd seen, nothing had even come close to what Eliona was like. So, it wasn't much of a surprise if there were some risks with the technology. It already messed with a person's brain, for crying out loud.

But if that was the case, the game wasn't exactly safe. Why would Reminsong release it, then? Why would Fenn give him a copy?

Severance watched the two Veiled men intently, thoughts churning. To say he was disturbed was an understatement, but he was also increasingly curious. He couldn't believe that Fenn would knowingly give him something that was harmful, but on the other hand, he didn't doubt for one second that his uncle had known more than he had let on.

Did it matter, though? Severance knew his decision had already been made. He wasn't going to run from Eliona, no matter how strange or bizarre it got.

"You're saying it could," Dhin was saying, "but not for certain, right?"

Olen's lips thinned. "No. It will affect him. One should not be too much of a strain at this point, but if we add more, then-"

"We're running out of time," Dhin said, quietly. "He's on Ervante's radar. The Free Traders are not going to let him be. Especially now that they know he's one of us. And I'm sure Sev doesn't want to tip-toe around trying to avoid them whenever he goes outside."

"Regardless, we can't ask this of him."

With a frustrated sound, Dhin spun away from the desk. His gaze found Severance, and there was a contorted expression upon his face. It looked almost like he was in pain.

Or fear, Severance realized. Dhin had already lost his father, and he was fighting to not lose anymore. It was something Severance could understand. If there had somehow been a way to save Fenn, he would have done everything and anything, no matter the cost or risk.

He walked to Olen's desk, and gazed down at the slender man who sat behind it. "If it helps me get stronger, I'll do it. I'm not letting another one of you die."

Surprise flashed across Olen's face, and he drew back just a little. "Severance, that's–"

"I can die as many times as I need to. You can't."

That was important, and he wanted them to know that.

The sharpness in Olen's gaze softened. "That may be true here, but not in your world."

Severance shrugged. "I don't care."

"I'm sorry. I can't let you take the chance."

"Why not? Isn't that what all of you are doing, every single day? Why can't I do the same? I can't just stand around and watch everyone I know die. I can't." He didn't think he could bear to sit through another Memorial. If he got weirdly sick for a couple of days in the real world, then fine. It was worth it if he was able to keep these characters alive.

Pathetic, whispered a voice. It sounded a lot like Carly.

He briefly closed his eyes. "Please."

For a long, tense moment, Olen just looked at him. Then he shook his head, lips curving. "Your mind is set, I see." His gaze shifted to Dhin. "And you. You seem quite determined to help him."

Dhin looked steadily back, not saying anything. He'd already said his piece.

With a heavy exhale, Olen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then please go find them and bring them here. If we're going to do this, we best do it quickly."

"Right." Dhin suddenly seemed to regain some energy. "I'll be right back!"

He rushed out the door. In the silence that remained, Severance leaned heavily against the desk. Every gut instinct he had screamed that this was a mistake. But if Dhin had faith that it would work, then that was enough.