Finally—bedtime.
Blessed sleep. A sweet escape from the torment of the day.
Training with Lou and Romeo had been nothing short of a baptism by fire. No words could do it justice. They pushed me past every imaginable limit—testing my senses, forcing me to overload objects until my brain felt like it would explode, sparring with Romeo until my limbs were jelly, and even fighting against some weird machines.
And the drills. Endless, relentless technique drills. I won't even add a word about pens and papers time…
By the end of it all, my muscles weren't just sore; they were screaming.
As if that wasn't enough, they even got me burned during an intense Flow exchange. And then, because they were both Harmonizers, they healed me up in a flash—only to throw me back into the fire.
They already KNEW I couldn't manipulate External Flow properly, so why did they keep trying to prove otherwise?
What part of "I am an anomaly" did they not understand?!
For hell's sake!
The urge to just let the waterworks flow was strong, but I bit it back.
At least this time.
Five months. Five long, agonizing months.
If this was just the beginning, how was I supposed to survive years of this?
And worse…
The thought of solo training with Lou sent violent shivers down my spine.
Too much shivering—I almost wet my pants.
The way he smirked whenever I faltered? Pure nightmare fuel.
Was I really cut out for this? For the grueling, merciless life of a Sponsor's apprentice?
…And yet.
Despite all of it—the suffering, the exhaustion, the lingering doubt—a flicker of pride stirred within me.
I could now sustain my Morphblade's Flow for much longer.
I could enhance my body with Flow instinctively. Constantly.
A small victory in the grand scheme of things, sure.
But a victory nonetheless.
This wasn't a sprint—it was a marathon.
And I was just getting started.
But for now…
Sleep.
Glorious, glorious sleep.
I burrowed into the warmth of my sheets, exhaustion crashing over me like a tidal wave.
I needed to savor every single moment of rest because when the month ended, Lou would take me away for further training.
And the unknown lurking beyond that?
It terrified me more than any Flow exchange ever could.
The sweet embrace of sleep had barely begun to take hold when—
CRACK!
My door splintered open.
A sharp gust of wind howled through the room, but I refused to acknowledge it. Nope. Not tonight. Not after today's hell. I just groaned, rolled over, and burrowed deeper into my covers.
Please, sleep gods, don't forsake me now…
But fate, the cruel bastard, had other plans.
Faint footsteps—deliberate, slow, unsettling—crept across the floor.
A chill slithered down my spine. Someone was in my room.
A thief? A kidnapper?
My heart pounded against my ribs, but I kept still, squeezing my eyes shut tighter. Maybe it was just exhaustion warping my senses.
…Right?
The footsteps stopped.
The air changed, thick with something heavy. Something real.
I felt them standing there, their presence looming over me like a shadow that shouldn't exist.
A hand hovered just above me.
Oh, hell no.
Every nerve in my body screamed at me to run, fight, scream—anything. But I clung to my last thread of denial.
Maybe if I stayed still… Maybe they'd go away…
Then, in a single, horrifying instant—
My blanket was ripped away.
Cold air hit my skin. The moonlight bled through the room, exposing me.
Oh, HELL NO.
My eyes snapped open, a scream clawing its way up my throat—
But before I could even make a sound, a rough, calloused hand clamped over my mouth.
Panic surged through me. I thrashed, my body trembling, struggling against the iron grip of my unseen assailant.
But then—through the fog of terror—something clicked.
The hand. The feel of it. Familiar.
I blinked, forcing my frantic vision to focus on the figure before me. And finally, I saw him.
Bags weighed heavy under his bloodshot eyes. His face was carved with exhaustion, as if sleep had abandoned him entirely.
Lou.
… Bruh.
"Shhh," Lou rasped, his voice rough and barely above a whisper. "Don't wake up your Mr. Perfect Uncle, Bug."
The sheer relief that crashed over me almost made me dizzy. The heart attack-inducing intruder was Lou?
I exhaled sharply, a shaky breath slipping past my lips. My hand tapped against his, demanding my rightful access to oxygen.
He finally let go, and the relief in my chest immediately gave way to boiling anger.
"WHAT THE HELL, LOU?!" I shrieked, sitting up so fast the room spun. "YOU SCARED THE LIVING DAYLIGHT OUT OF ME!"
Lou had the absolute audacity to roll his eyes as if I was the problem here. He clapped his hands over his ears in a ridiculous display of mock pain.
"Jeez, Bug," he muttered. "I specifically said 'no screaming,' didn't I?"
Then—as if breaking into my room in the dead of night wasn't bad enough—he casually flicked on the light, momentarily blinding me, before sauntering over to my closet.
My closet.
…Excuse me?
I felt my entire body heat up in mortified horror. Blushing. I was blushing.
The absolute betrayal I felt at my own body was immeasurable.
This is wrong. I used to be a guy, damn it! What in the isekai hormonal hell is this?!
Lou, the shameless menace, dug through my clothes without a single shred of hesitation.
He finally emerged with my cloak and Morphblade, tossing them at me like an afterthought. "Well, uh," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "We kinda need these... and, you know, pajamas aren't exactly… ideal."
Then, as if reading some unwritten rulebook on how to further piss me off, he lobbed another piece of clothing in my direction—a bright blue tracksuit.
…A tracksuit?
A blue tracksuit?
Lou, do I look like the kind of person who wears off-brand gym teacher couture?!
"You wanna tell me what's going on first?" I asked, clutching the clothes he'd thrown at me, a growing pit of confusion and irritation twisting in my stomach. "Or am I just supposed to blindly follow you into the night?"
Lou blinked at me. Tilted his head. Stared like I had just spoken in a long-lost, ancient language.
Then, as if his brain finally rebooted, he shrugged and said, the most insulting thing I had ever heard in either of my lifetimes—
"You're just a little bug. Why would your opinion matter?"
…Oh.
Oh, that was a low blow. A deep cut. The kind that scars.
I clenched my jaw, seething.
"That was unworthy of a Sponsor, you annoying waste of space." I hissed.
Lou smirked. Mockingly.
"…Arrogant Bug."
Lou sighed, running a hand over his head, frustration creasing his brow. "Alright, alright," he muttered. "To put it simply, I'm taking over your training. No more interference from Romeo. I don't want any more of that."
He grimaced at the last part, like he was recalling a particularly unpleasant memory.
I narrowed my eyes. "Hold on. Weren't we supposed to start next month? What changed?"
Lou scratched his head—classic stalling tactic. The kind that made me question if his brain was running on Internet Explorer mode.
"Well, uh," he stammered. "How do I put this...?"
I crossed my arms, already unimpressed. "Patience isn't your strong suit, is it?"
His sheepish grin was immediate. He snapped his fingers. "Bingo!"
"Look, if everyone's already fine with me taking over, why wait another month?" He waved a hand, dismissing the thought entirely. "Besides, all this back-and-forth drama? Not a fan."
I glanced down at the clothes he had thrown at me. His reasoning wasn't entirely stupid. I knew I'd develop faster if Lou spent more time hammering lessons into my skull.
Also, Romeo was more interested in Pens and Papers… Blugh…
"Fair enough," I conceded, slipping into the tracksuit despite my distaste for its horrific color. "So, you talked to Romeo about this?"
Silence.
Lou turned his back to me, which only confirmed my suspicion.
I pulled on the cloak and crossed my arms, waiting. "Lou. Does Romeo know I'm starting early?"
Still no answer.
Finally, he turned, locking eyes with me. "He wouldn't approve," he admitted, annoyance laced in his tone. "Too much nagging, that one."
I smirked, "Actually, I think you're the one who's going to be doing the nagging."
Lou groaned dramatically, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Arrogant Bug…"
Then, suddenly, his entire demeanor shifted.
"Alright, listen up, Bug!" He knelt, forcing eye contact. "Here's the deal. Surprisingly, I'm putting in the effort to turn you into something respectable. And the key ingredient? Time. Lots of it."
His lips curled into a smirk, eyes gleaming with predatory amusement. "So, what do you say? Take a chance on a one-time offer, or stick with Romeo's snail-paced training?"
He knew exactly what he was doing.
And damn it, was I falling for it.
For the first time since my rebirth, a decision resonated across both my past and present lives. I, a reincarnated assassin, accepted this unhinged teacher's offer.
A contented smile tugged at my lips as I turned toward the door. "Perhaps this training holds more promise than I initially thought."
Lou chuckled, the sound low and almost sinister. "Oh, Bug," he murmured, eyes glinting in the dim light, "you have no idea."
Then—WHAT THE?!
Before I could even process it, he scooped me up like I weighed nothing.
Hey, hey, HEY! Be careful, you freak! I was a girl, remember? A GIRL!!!
...
...Not that he seemed to care.
I was about to protest, but then I noticed where he was heading. Not the front door, but—
Wait.
He strode straight to the room's window, throwing it open with unnecessary flair. A gust of frigid winter air blasted in, cutting through the warmth of the house like a knife. Kavita's nights were no joke in the winter.
"We could've used the door, you know," I grumbled, watching him with increasing concern.
"Too far..." He shot me a playful wink. "And where's the fun in that to begin with?"
"Oh, I don't know— NOT JUMPING OUT OF A WINDOW IN WINTER???"
"Hold on tight, Bug. Our training ground awaits."
…So he really was just after a flashy exit, huh?
With that, he leaped.
The world blurred around us as the cold night swallowed us whole. The rush of air, the dizzying height, the pulsing barrier cocooning Alaranta—it should've been terrifying.
But instead, a thrill surged through me.
Lou might've been reckless. Unorthodox. Absolutely insane.
But as we soared through the night, I caught a glimpse of something more—a teacher who wouldn't hold back. Someone who would push me to my absolute limit.
This... might actually be fun.
—
"Focus some Flow into your eyes, Bug!"
Lou's sharp command jolted me out of my daze. My eyelids fluttered open, heavy with exhaustion.
"Huh?" I mumbled, struggling to process his words.
Lou sighed in irritation. "Flow circuits," he clarified. "Remember what I told you? Channel some more Flow into the ones in your eyes."
Intrigued, but still half-asleep, I obeyed.
The moment I did, a surge of power pulsed through my vision.
And then—WOW.
The suffocating darkness vanished. The world shifted. Everything bathed in an ethereal blue glow, like the night had been repainted in pure energy.
I could see—see in the dark.
COOL.COOL².
The revelation was exhilarating—but the strain hit like a hammer.
A dull ache throbbed behind my eyes, sharp and insistent, forcing me to shut them after just a few seconds.
"Ouch… that actually kinda hurts." Instinctively, I pressed a hand against my forehead, trying to dull the discomfort.
Lou, ever perceptive, picked up on my distress. "Couldn't do it?"
I shook my head. "No, I pulled it off. If night vision was the goal, then mission accomplished. But my head started throbbing right away."
"Oho?" Lou's eyebrows shot up. "First try? Heh, why am I even surprised?"
Was that admiration? From Lou?
Damn right it was.
He gave a smug nod. "Flow isn't just for flashy attacks, Bug. For example, by doubling the Flow in your eye circuits, you're altering them at an atomic level—turning them into something akin to light effector."
My mind clicked the pieces together. "So… we're basically turning our eyes into flow-powered flashlights?"
"Precisely," he confirmed. "It's not the most efficient technique, though. Flow expenditure is high, and most people wouldn't bother wasting energy on it. But you…" He trailed off, eyes narrowing as if appraising me.
I knew exactly what he meant.
With my bottomless reserves, efficiency didn't matter. I could sustain it. I could master it.
A slow grin spread across my face.
Maybe this training wasn't such a bad idea after all.
—
I could have sworn I slept through the entire journey.
But that freaking Lou.
His landing jolted me awake—hard. He hit the ground with enough force to rattle my bones, sending an unwelcome vibration through my entire body.
Not comfy. Not at all. -1.
I groaned, rubbing my temple as I adjusted to the sudden stillness. At least we arrived, wherever 'here' was.
Fighting through the lingering haze of sleep, I activated my night vision again. The familiar ache flared behind my eyes, but I gritted my teeth and endured it. Slowly, the world came into focus.
Trees. Lots of them. The dense canopy above barely let any moonlight through. Though the bit of the sky I could see was clear... Way too clear. There was no barrier. Did we... leave Alaranta?
"A forest? Are we in—"
But before I could finish my line, my breath hitched.
A chill ripped down my spine.
Something was here.
I turned—and froze.
AFlow-Beast.
Oh. Hell. NO.
The thing was massive, a living nightmare standing right before us. Its scales, a mesmerizing yet unnatural display of shifting colors, rippled from deep indigo to radiant gold with every subtle movement. It glowed, its body pulsing with an eerie bioluminescence that only made it more terrifying.
A crest of ghostly filaments crowned its elongated head, swaying like spectral tendrils. Its eyes—compound eyes—reflected the environment in a thousand fragmented prisms, distorting reality itself.
Then, it roared.
Not just a sound—a force.
The roar slammed into me, rattling my very soul, shaking me to my core. My lungs felt like they had forgotten how to function.
"L-Lou..." My voice trembled. My legs took an unconscious step back.
I tore my gaze from the monster and gawked at the lunatic standing beside me. "Are you out of your mind? You brought me to the Beast Territory for training?!"
"Stop screaming, both of you."
Lou muttered the words like this was just another normal night—like he wasn't standing in front of a glowing death machine.
ALLALALA FOR HELL'S SAKE!!!
Seeing a Flow-Beast up close wasn't something you just got used to from the very first time—especially not when you were a six-year-old girl. Underline girl, bold it, put it in italics—I don't care! This was pure nightmare fuel!
But Lou?
Yeah, no.
He acted like this was just another Tuesday. Then again, he practically lived on the fringes of Beast Territory, where monsters like this were probably part of the neighborhood watch.
Even as terror clawed up my throat, I managed a panicked shriek. "Lou, what the hell are you doing?!"
No response. He just walked forward—toward the damn thing.
The Flow-Beast hissed, its shifting scales pulsing with agitation. The bioluminescent glow intensified, casting eerie shadows around us.
Lou? He didn't even flinch.
"Just giving you a little gift, Bug," he said casually.
He stopped right in front of the colossal beast, deliberately provoking it. His head tilted back, a smirk stretching across his stupid, stupid face.
Smug bastard.
"This," he said, dramatically gesturing toward his chest, "is what experience looks like."
"Oh, shut up!" I wanted to scream. But my brain was currently short-circuiting from the absurdity of the situation. And the night-vision too!
"Remember how Romeo was all hesitant about teaching you the deeper aspects of Flow? Especially the 'skills' part and all." Lou raised his right hand, his movements deliberate. The Flow-Beast let out another ear-splitting screech, its entire body vibrating with menace.
"Lou… buddy… this thing is going to KILL us."
But he continued like he was lecturing in a damn classroom.
"Most Flow practitioners have something that sets them apart. And no, I'm not talking about Flow signature."
The beast snarled, coiling its massive form in preparation to strike.
I felt the blood drain from my face. "What is it? A technique or something?!" I yelled over the deafening noise.
"Bingo, Bug!" Lou shouted back, looking entirely too entertained. "They're called Eidos—your own personalized brand of Flow manipulation. Offensive, defensive, healing—whatever fits your style."
"But here's the thing…" Lou's voice was calm, steady—completely unfazed by the towering death beast in front of him. "An Eidos isn't just some fancy technique. It's something you create. Something that's yours. You following me?"
Yeah, no—I wasn't following him at all!
Because at that very moment, the Flow-Beast lunged—a thunderous roar splitting the air, its colossal maw wide open, ready to swallow him whole.
And Lou?
He didn't move. Didn't flinch. Didn't even blink.
Yet somehow… I knew he wasn't in danger.
The sheer confidence radiating off him, the unnatural calm in his stance—it wasn't just arrogance. It was assurance. A fact as immutable as the laws of nature.
That beast had never been the predator. It had been the prey from the very start.
As the beast struck, a silver sheen erupted from Lou's outstretched right arm, shimmering like molten metal.
"Eidos: Necro-Veil," he muttered.
The moment the Flow-Beast made contact with Lou's hand, the silver layer flared—pulsing with a cold, eerie light.
Then…
The thing exploded.
Not just torn apart—not wounded—but obliterated.
Flesh and blood rained down, the pungent stench of decay filling the air. The sheer finality of it sent a shiver down my spine.
What… the hell… did I just witness?
I stood there, frozen, my mind struggling to process what had just happened.
That thing… that four-meter-tall terror, reduced to a bloody mist—with a single touch.
Lou did that.
And I—I'd never even seen him fight before. That was a glimpse of a Sponsor's power level.
A quiet, burning shame crawled up my neck. How had I been so naïve? I'd dismissed him so easily—never even considered the extent of his power.
Lou turned toward me, his silver-coated arm slowly fading back to flesh and bone. His voice was gruff, but firm.
"That, Bug," he said, "was my Eidos—Necro-Veil."
He flexed his fingers, as if shaking off the remnants of the power.
"It allows me to coat a part of my body in Flow for a short time. This layer?" His gaze flickered toward the scattered remains of the Flow-Beast. "It breaks down the cell tissue of anything it touches—rots it from the inside out."
His arms crossed over his chest, his expression unreadable.
"And while I may be a Harmonizer…" His smirk returned, slow and dangerous.
"I'm far from an ordinary one."
"Alright, Bug, let's cut to the chase." Lou's tone was firm, "Your training? It comes down to one simple rule."
He held up a single finger.
"From now on, you'll be living by my side—right here, in the heart of Beast Territory. No more walls. No more safety nets. Just you, me, and the monsters. The rule? Keep up with me."
My breath caught.
Living with Lou… in this place?
Surrounded by Flow-Beasts—creatures that could tear me limb from limb at a moment's notice?
This wasn't the structured, step-by-step training I'd imagined. No controlled sparring sessions, no carefully guided lessons.
But that insanity—that sheer unorthodoxy—it called to me.
It made something deep inside me stir.
I wasn't afraid.
I was thrilled.
My fingers clenched into fists as I met his gaze, my voice steady. "Alright, Lou," I said, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. "Tell me more about this 'survival game' of yours."
For a moment, he just stared. Then—
A slow, toothy grin spread across his face.
"That's the spirit, Bug!" His laughter boomed through the darkened forest, wild and unrestrained. "I knew you'd say that!"
He stepped closer, his voice dropping into something lower, more serious.
"Here's how this works. I'm not gonna hold your hand. I won't spoon-feed you techniques, won't drill you like some washed-up instructor. No copies, no imitations. You're going to build your own style, your own instincts. I'll guide you, I'll spar with you—but in the end, you'll fight your way or you'll die trying."
His sharp eyes locked onto mine, daring me to waver.
"So tell me, Bug—" He leaned in, "Do you have what it takes to embrace the chaos?"
Chaos. Challenge. The unknown.
Another step closer to uncovering the truth—the truth behind my assassination.
A slow, fierce smile spread across my lips.
"Lou—" I met his gaze with unwavering determination.
"Let the game begin."