11 Harmonics were now in the dining hall of the Lyriou estate. The mayor and his wife were present, however their daughter was nowhere to be seen.
"Congratulations on becoming Harmonics. Today the top 5 winners of the tournament will be given their prizes. Lets start from the rear."
Nymphia stepped forward with her usual confidence, accepting a 'Re'-ranked battle robe. It looked delicate at first glance—flowing like silk—but even without touching it, Egeria could sense the dense, fortified weave of its fabric. The other people also received their prizes, Egeria did not know if Aria received any, neither did he care for it.
Vex received a "Re" ranked armor too. The armor he received was a silver knight armor with chainmail underneath it. Other than that he received a pair of daggers that were of the "Re" rank and a simple Lantern that was a support item. It seemed they did not give him any powerful weapons as he had received one in the previous ceremony.
And now it was Egeria's turn. The mayors wife herself put his equipment in front of him.
"I would like to congratulate you personally. You did well."
Egeria simply nodded at the woman. He didn't really need any words of praise from a noble, but he could not deny that it felt rather good.
The equipment he had received was an armor of the "Re" rank and a "Re" ranked longsword.
The armor was.. a dark, layered outfit that blended practical armor with a mysterious, almost nomadic style. A black cloak draped over one shoulder, matched with a fitted tunic marked by subtle geometric designs. Loose sashes wrapped around the waist, and the pants were reinforced with light armor on one leg, suggesting a focus on agility. The armor was woven out of thick fabric and seemed easy to move around and hide the limbs.
When Egeria focused on its Frequency Waves, he could tell on instinct that this armor gave its wearer a boost of speed and made his limbs look more unpredictable under the long and baggy sleeves.
The longsword had a sleek, deadly elegance, forged with a long, double-edged blade that tapered into a fine point. Its guard was straight and subtly twisted, offering both protection and style, while the grip was wrapped in dark leather for a firm hold during battle. A touch of deep brown wood in the handle gave it a refined, grounded look, and the pommel was shaped like a polished nut, balancing the weapon perfectly. There were some rhythm syllables etched onto the blade too.
Its enchantments were that it provided him with some protection against mind attacks.
Other than those, they had given Egeria a dark leather Scabbard that was of the Mi Rank. If you put your weapon into the scabbard and wait, it collected kinetic energy that could be unleashed in a quick-pull of the sword.
'Dang.. these are great.. I wonder what Nymphia's enchantments are..'
***
Egeria and Nymphia was leaving the Lyriou estate. Neither of them showed but they were most likely in high spirits. They had stored their equipment inside their souls.
"How are you feeling?" Egeria asked.
"I am alright. The awakening was really painful though."
Egeria nodded in agreement. "It was. Have you checked your FWA and Soul energy?"
Nymphia looked at him and considered his question for a moment. "Nah. Lets go check it in a private place.."
They left the estate, walking in silence past the quiet town streets, until Egeria pushed open the gate to his home. The overgrown garden still smelled like rain. They each took a seat—Nymphia on the tree stump, Egeria on a rock.
Egeria first chose to focus on his Soul Energy. When he did so, he felt like time started to flow faster than usual, but that was only a feeling since time seemed to be flowing normally outside his focus. Other than that feeling he felt like he was burning alive, even if it did not cause him any pain it was still there.
So Egeria concluded. He had received two soul energies which was not rare. They were fire and time. He could understand fire, but how was he going to manipulate time? It most likely was going to cost a lot of energy and a very high rank, or perhaps he was never going to be able to manipulate it.
As for Nymphia, She felt like her vision was blurring whenever she focused on on her soul energy. Additionally she felt like she could control something, perhaps like lifting it up without touching it. Her energies were most likely Mist and some element she named "Control."
And now, it was time to see what rank his FW ability was. Egeria hoped that he had acquired a high ranked one as the rank they get was completely random. He focused on hearing the frequency waves that emitted from his soul, there he found his FWA. As he focused to see what rank it is, it felt like something whispered to his ear and gave the answer before Egeria could learn it himself.
It was La rank! The second strongest one! Egeria grinned from ear to ear. Although he couldn't really focus on his happiness as he was weirded out by the whispers.
'Was that supposed to happen?'
The answers was most likely a no. To check if it sounded once again, he focused on his newly acquired Do skill.
Once again, he felt like something was whispering into his ear. Egeria did not know what they spoke, or even if they spoke at all. But he was somehow understanding it. The voices were trying to explain him his Do skill.
From what Egeria understood, his strike would now carry a hidden echo—an afterimage of the original attack that would lash out half a second later. This second hit wasn't physical in the normal sense—it wouldn't follow the same weight or delay. Instead, it would slip through timing-based defenses and strike from a slightly different angle, making it incredibly hard to parry or even react to.
Essentially, he was landing two blows in one motion, the second one arriving just as his opponent was recovering from the first.
'Damn.. Good luck blocking that.'
Then he turned his gaze towards Nymphia, who was wearing a calm expression as always.
"Did you hear something weird when you were trying to learn your abilities? Like something was whispering to you?"
Nymphia looked at him for a few seconds. "No. Perhaps your mind is playing tricks on you?"
Egeria frowned. "Probably just my soul welcoming me."
She snorted faintly. "Or you're cursed."
Egeria pondered this for a moment. There was no way of telling what could these voices be, and he was not about to ask some priest just in case they declared him as cursed.
"What is your FWA rank?" Nymphia asked.
"La."
She clicked her tongue. "Seriously? Lucky bastard. I got Sol." Without pausing, she continued. "My do skill is that I can control chains, although only one at a time."
Egeria blinked. "That's it?"
Nymphia gave him a flat look. "It fits my kusarigama style."
"Fair. Still kind of underwhelming for a Sol, though."
She shrugged. "Blame the gods."
Egeria smiled, then proceeded to explain his own Do skill. "Um.. I don't know how to explain it to you. But I suppose I can attack twice at once, although my second attack is delayed by half a second."
Nymphia seemed to be pondering for a few seconds. "I see, simple but useful I guess."
***
"So, now that we're Harmonics…" Nymphia glanced at him. "What's next for you?"
"I guess I'll focus on getting stronger. The hunting classes for new Harmonics sound like a good place to start." He paused, then added, "And maybe… try to make a few acquaintances."
Nymphia gave a small nod. "I'll tag along."
She hesitated before continuing. "But… why do you want to get stronger?"
He didn't even need to think.
"To run away from here."
That made her fall silent.
She wanted that too. To leave this suffocating town full of rituals, masked priests, and unspoken rules. To see something real for once. But she still had a home here. People. Even if they weren't close.
After a moment, she said quietly, "I want out, too."
Egeria didn't turn to look at her. He just gave a faint smile.
"I know."
An awkward silence settled between them. Neither spoke, until Nymphia finally broke it.
"The grouping ceremony will be in two days," she said. "My parents told me. They'll divide all the new Harmonics into squads. Each squad will have a higher-ranked Harmonic as a leader."
"And they'll lead us into the forest to hunt Echoborns, right?"
She nodded. "Once a week. The rest of the time we'll train under our instructor, probably in groups."
Egeria frowned. "Only once a week? That's kind of underwhelming."
Nymphia gave him a look. "Don't complain. Last year, they didn't even get that once."
He rolled his eyes but didn't argue. They talked a little more, light conversation filling the space between heavier thoughts, until eventually Nymphia stood.
"I should get going."
He gave a small wave as she left through the gate. Now alone in the garden, Egeria sat back on the tree stump and tilted his head toward the sky, watching the clouds drift.