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There was a weight in his voice that caught Mariel\'s attention, a subtle shift in the air around them. It wasn\'t just a platitude—he spoke as though he knew the feeling personally. As though he, too, had been left behind, had felt the sting of helplessness. Mariel glanced at him curiously but said nothing. She was the one telling her story, after all, and it wasn\'t the time to pry. Still, she filed the thought away, making a note of it.

And yet, just as Lucavion finished speaking, Jorkin approached with a large bottle in hand, his usual grin in place as he set it down on the table between them. "Figured you might want the whole bottle," he said, his tone light but knowing. "You two seem like you\'ll be here for a while."

Mariel glanced at the bottle, then back at Jorkin. There was no need for words; she understood the gesture. Jorkin knew her well, and he was providing them the space to continue their conversation without any further interruptions.

"Thank you, Jorkin," she said, her voice a little softer than usual. Jorkin simply nodded and walked away, leaving the two of them alone once again.

Lucavion chuckled, leaning back in his chair and glancing at the bottle. "Looks like you want to talk for a while."

Mariel nodded, pouring herself a glass and then gesturing toward Lucavion. "Seems like it," she replied, taking a sip. She appreciated the gesture—not just from Jorkin, but also the way Lucavion was easing into the conversation, never pushing too hard. He seemed to know when to listen and when to speak, a trait she found admirable.

As the warmth of the drink spread through her, she smiled faintly. "I suppose it\'s fitting. This story has been a long time coming."

She continued, her voice steady. "That\'s why I decided to leave my village and travel to the city. I had heard stories—tales of adventurers and the Awakened, people with strength beyond the ordinary. People who could change their fate, who had the power to protect others. I wanted to be like them."

Lucavion nodded slightly, his eyes watching her intently.

"I arrived at the guild and registered as an F-rank adventurer," Mariel said, her lips curving into a faint smile at the memory. "It was the lowest rank, of course. And back then, all I could take on were simple missions—hunting weak monsters, gathering materials, that sort of thing. But even then, I could feel that spark inside me, pushing me to grow stronger."

Her smile deepened as she spoke. "With the strength my family passed down to me, I didn\'t struggle much with those early missions. I was still just a mortal, not Awakened, but I was stronger than most, able to take down small creatures without much trouble."

Lucavion\'s expression softened as he listened. "You sound like you were always pushing forward," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Even when the odds were against you."

Mariel gave a slight nod. "I had no choice. That drive to become stronger, to make sure I would never feel helpless again, was everything to me. I wasn\'t just living for myself—I was carrying my parents\' legacy, and I wasn\'t going to let it die with them."

Her words lingered in the air, the weight of her past still pressing down but lighter now that she had shared it. Lucavion\'s eyes softened even more as if he understood her journey on a deeper level than he had let on. Mariel could tell he wasn\'t just listening to her story—he was relating to it in ways she hadn\'t expected.

Mariel leaned back slightly in her chair, her eyes distant as she continued recounting her story. "As the months went by, I started taking on more difficult jobs, gaining a reputation within the guild. I\'ll admit, the string of successes started to get to my head. I thought I could handle anything they threw at me."

Lucavion nodded, listening intently as she continued.

"One day, I took a job that involved hunting monsters in a forest nearby. It wasn\'t supposed to be anything special—just another routine task. At least, that\'s what I thought." Mariel\'s voice held a touch of bitterness as if recalling the folly of her younger self. "But when I got there, I discovered something unexpected: a hidden ruin deep within the forest."

She paused, the weight of that decision still lingering even after all these years. "I should have known better. I should have left, reported it back to the guild, and let someone more experienced deal with it. But... greed got the better of me. I was still that young adventurer, desperate to prove herself, and the thought of treasure hidden inside those ruins was too tempting."

Lucavion remained silent, his expression growing more thoughtful as she spoke.

"So, I went in," Mariel continued her voice steady but carrying the weight of regret. "At first, everything seemed fine. The ruins were quiet, old, and crumbling, just like you\'d expect. But then, it happened. I stumbled into a chamber, and before I could even think about retreating, it appeared."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she recalled the monster that had nearly cost her everything. "A

Gravestone Maw.

A peak 1-star monster."

Lucavion raised an eyebrow at the name. He was familiar with it—Gravestone Maws were quite strong creatures, known for their immense strength and their ability to manipulate the earth around them.

For a mortal, even one as strong as Mariel, facing such a beast would have been a death sentence.

"Even with my unnatural strength, I was no match for it," Mariel admitted, her voice low. "I fought as hard as I could, but nothing I did worked. The more I struggled, the more I realized how outmatched I was. I was out of my depth, and there was no one to save me. I was completely alone."

She sighed, the memory of that battle clearly still vivid in her mind. "It was my greed and overconfidence that had led me there, and I knew I was going to die because of it."

Lucavion\'s gaze remained steady, but Mariel could see a flicker of understanding in his eyes. He wasn\'t just hearing her story—he was connecting to it, maybe even seeing pieces of his own experiences reflected in her words.

"And that\'s when

he

appeared," she said softly, her voice dropping as she recalled the moment that had changed her life. "Your master. Out of nowhere, he stepped in and saved me. If it weren\'t for him, I would\'ve died in that ruin, just another adventurer lost to greed and ambition."

Her words lingered in the air, heavy with the weight of the memory.

Mariel smiled faintly, her eyes softening as she recalled the exact words that had been spoken to her that day. "I remember… after he saved me from the Gravestone Maw, he looked me over and, in the most casual way, he said, \'Wow, you really are like a bear girl. Hmm... yeah, I\'ve decided. You\'ll be Little Bear from now on.\'"

Lucavion\'s eyes brightened with recognition, and he chuckled quietly. "That sounds just like him."

Mariel nodded, her smile growing a little. "At the time, I didn\'t know what to make of it. I was still shaken from the battle, and here was this mysterious figure, giving me a nickname like it was nothing. But then, as if saving me wasn\'t enough, he started talking about how I was different. How there was something unique about me—something in my constitution that I hadn\'t realized."

She glanced down at her hands, remembering how powerless she had felt before that encounter. "He told me I was talented, but I just didn\'t know how to cultivate or awaken myself. I had always relied on my raw strength, thinking that was enough. But he saw potential in me that I couldn\'t see in myself."

Lucavion listened, his expression serious but intrigued. "And he taught you how to circulate mana, didn\'t he?"

Mariel nodded again, her voice growing a touch softer. "Yes. He didn\'t just save me and leave. He showed me how to control the mana within me, and how to circulate it properly. He guided me through the basics of cultivation, something I\'d never been exposed to before. It felt like unlocking a part of myself that had always been there but was dormant, waiting for the right moment to awaken."

She took a deep breath, her tone filled with quiet gratitude. "That day changed everything for me. I went from being a simple, stubborn mortal with a little strength to someone who could harness their true potential. And it\'s all because of him."

Lucavion\'s gaze softened, and there was a certain understanding in his eyes. "He had a way of seeing things in people that others couldn\'t," he said quietly. "I\'m not surprised he saw that in you."