The remaining monsters, now leaderless and disoriented, scattered in frantic disarray. Eric, despite his severe injuries and depleted Qi, pushed through the agony. He couldn't let them escape to potentially threaten other settlements. Leaning heavily on his Wyvern-blade, he moved with grim determination, his remaining strength channeled into precise, brutal strikes, dispatching the last few stragglers who dared to challenge him.
Finally, the plains fell silent, save for the whistling wind and the low moans of the injured. Eric turned back to his comrades. Anya and the other two agents, their faces drawn with exhaustion, their Qi flickering dangerously, slumped to the ground as the last monster fell, completely spent. Brok, pinned beneath the Rock-Hide Troll, was struggling, his pain evident.
Eric stumbled towards them, his vision blurring. He had to help them. He had to heal them. He didn't have enough spiritual stones to trigger his usual rapid healing from his pouch, nor did he have time. He needed to use his own Qi. Gritting his teeth, he focused on the life-affirming properties of his draconic Qi, pushing his internal reserves to their absolute limit. He knelt beside Brok first, placing his palm on the agent's mangled leg, willing his Qi to flow, to cleanse, to knit bone and flesh. Brok gasped, a look of profound shock and relief on his face as the excruciating pain began to recede, and the twisted limb slowly, miraculously, began to straighten.
Then, Eric moved to Anya and the other two, placing a hand on each of them in turn, pouring his revitalizing Qi into their depleted meridians. He felt his own body screaming, his senses fading, but he pushed on, driven by an unwavering resolve. He saw the shock and awe on their faces as their fatigue receded, their Qi replenishing at an unnatural rate.
And then, darkness. Eric's spiritual energy reserves completely ran dry. His vision swam, the world tilted, and he collapsed, unconscious, into the blood-soaked snow.
When Eric next opened his eyes, the biting cold of the Shadowfell Peaks was gone, replaced by the sterile warmth of an infirmary. He lay on a comfortable cot, a faint spiritual light pulsating from the ceiling. He felt a profound weakness, but the searing pain from his injuries was gone, replaced by a dull ache. His Qi reserves, though not fully replenished, were slowly regenerating.
He blinked, his vision clearing. Sitting by his bedside, watching him with an intense, unreadable expression, was Anya, the lithe female agent from his team. She was fully recovered, her aura vibrant, her daggers sheathed at her waist.
"You're awake," Anya said, her voice flat, devoid of emotion, yet her gaze was piercing.
"What happened?" Eric asked, his voice rough, his throat dry.
"You collapsed," Anya replied, her eyes never leaving his face. "After you... healed us. All of us. You poured your Qi into us. You were completely spent."
Eric remembered the desperate healing, the overwhelming exhaustion. "And the others? Brok?"
"He's fine," Anya stated, a hint of something unreadable in her voice. "His leg is almost fully recovered. No lingering damage. The other two, their Qi is restored. It's... it's like nothing happened."
A heavy silence descended between them. Anya simply watched him, her intense gaze probing, searching. Eric knew what was coming.
Finally, Anya broke the silence. "Who are you, Eric?" Her voice was low, almost a whisper, but charged with a profound curiosity. "I've been in the Directorate for years. I've seen countless cultivators. But I've never seen anyone do what you did. Not only did you find the source of the anomaly, the red portal, when all our instruments failed to detect it precisely... but you single-handedly dispatched an A-rank Blood-Horned Colossus. A beast of legendary toughness. How? How did you manage that?"
Eric met her gaze, his expression carefully neutral. He had rehearsed this. "My spiritual senses, as Master Varian noted, are uniquely acute. I felt a deeper resonance, a distortion in the spiritual flow that your instruments couldn't quite pinpoint. As for the Blood-Horned Colossus..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "It was an incredibly desperate battle. My constitution has a unique capacity for extreme pressure. I found its weakness, its Achilles' heel, and exploited it with a focused attack."
Anya stared at him, her eyes still searching. "A unique constitution... I suppose that's what Master Varian said." She paused again, then continued, her voice filled with unconcealed wonder. "But the healing. Eric, that was... it was divine. It defied every known healing art. You poured your Qi into us, and it wasn't just replenishment. It purged exhaustion, knit bones, sealed wounds, and even purified residual corrupted Qi. How is that possible? No one in the Empire can do that. Not even the Imperial Physicians with their peak alchemical knowledge."
Eric offered a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "It's a special healing technique, Anya. A very rare one, tied to the purity of my Qi. It's not something that can be learned easily, as it requires a specific spiritual resonance. But if you would like to learn its principles, if you show the aptitude, perhaps I could teach you some of its lesser applications, over time."
Anya's eyes widened, a flicker of raw ambition and desperate hope in their depths. "You... you would teach me?"
"Perhaps," Eric repeated, keeping his voice ambiguous. He knew the value of offering a potential favor, building connections. She was clearly a powerful, talented agent, and having her trust could be invaluable.
Later that morning, Eric and the other three surviving agents were gathered for a debriefing. Brok, though still pale, was ambulatory, his leg wrapped in a spiritual brace that glowed faintly. Anya, and the other two, a taciturn man named Kael and a stoic woman named Lysa, were fully recovered, their Qi vibrant.
"He actually killed it," Kael muttered, staring at Eric, his usual stoicism replaced by sheer disbelief. "An A-rank Blood-Horned Colossus. Single-handedly."
"And two of our comrades fell," Lysa added, her voice heavy, "while he... chased after some anomaly." Her gaze, though not openly hostile, held a hint of accusation.
Brok, however, who had experienced Eric's healing firsthand, looked at Eric with a newfound, profound respect. "Eric, we... we misunderstood. You broke away, and we assumed you were abandoning us." His voice was gruff, but held sincerity.
"Indeed," Eric stated, his gaze level, indicating the massive monster corpse that had been transported back to Fortress Shadow. "While you were holding the line against the horde, I was taking down its leader. Had I not, the horde would never have stopped, and the town would have been obliterated. And by then, we would have all been dead, overwhelmed by sheer numbers."
"Teams stick together!" Lysa retorted, her voice sharp. "You acted recklessly, on your own! That's not how the Directorate operates!"
"No, Lysa," Anya interjected, her voice firm, surprising the others. "His actions were the right thing. He sensed something we couldn't. He went for the root of the problem. If he hadn't, we would have died. All of us. We were being swarmed, our Qi was almost spent. He saved the town, and he saved us, even if he had to act alone." She looked at Eric, a quiet understanding in her eyes.
A short silence followed. The truth of Anya's words, reinforced by the colossal carcass of the A-rank beast, was undeniable.
"We sent a message to HQ as soon as the horde scattered," Kael finally stated, changing the subject. "Reinforcements are already on their way."
Indeed, within a few hours, multiple Directorate agents arrived at the Shadowfell Peaks. They were a professional, silent force, who immediately began the arduous task of collecting the thousands of monster cores and materials from the slain horde, and meticulously disassembling the colossal Blood-Horned Colossus. Eric and his surviving team were then transported back to Fortress Shadow.
Upon arrival, they were immediately taken to a specialized healing room. It was unlike anything Eric had ever seen. In the center of the room pulsed an ancient, glowing healing machine, humming with powerful spiritual energy. Its complex formations were clearly of Imperial design, far beyond the scope of common spiritual medicine. It quickly, and thoroughly, purged any lingering fatigue, healed any unseen internal injuries, and fully restored their Qi reserves. Eric felt his own Qi, even his draconic essence, hum with renewed vitality.
After their full recovery, Eric and the three agents were summoned to Master Varian's office.
Varian sat at his desk, his impassive gaze sweeping over them. "Report."
Brok, as the highest-ranking agent present, recounted the events: the endless horde, Eric's sudden departure, the overwhelming power of the A-rank Blood-Horned Colossus, and finally, Eric's single-handed victory, confirmed by the sheer magnitude of the beast's corpse now sitting in the Fortress's main processing chamber. He omitted nothing, including their initial accusations against Eric. Anya corroborated the events, emphasizing Eric's unique senses and his decisive, life-saving actions. She also subtly alluded to his unprecedented healing capabilities.
Varian listened in silence, his expression unreadable. When they finished, he simply nodded. "You are dismissed. All of you. Your actions, though costly in lives, averted a far greater catastrophe. Report for reassignment in three days."
Brok, Anya, Kael, and Lysa saluted and left, their gazes lingering on Eric with a mixture of respect and lingering awe.
"You, Eric," Varian stated, his voice now softened, "remain."
Eric stood before the desk, his heart beating a steady rhythm.
Varian leaned back in his chair, a faint, almost imperceptible smile gracing his lips. "Congratulations, Eric. Your first mission. You exceeded all expectations." He looked at Eric, his obsidian eyes holding a rare gleam of something akin to genuine admiration. "Not only did you correctly identify the true nature of the anomaly, but you proved capable of discerning and neutralizing a threat that would have devastated a major Imperial town. Your individual prowess is... truly remarkable."
He paused, then his expression grew grave. "Tell me about the man you saw. The one in the strange robes. You said he used a red portal?"
Eric recounted everything: the man's corrupted, ancient Qi, the powerful barrier, his calm demeanor as he stepped through the portal. "His Qi felt... wrong, Master Varian. Like it was from a different era, and deeply tainted. He was certainly a Nascent Soul cultivator, perhaps even higher. And the portal was unlike any spatial rift I've ever seen."
Varian's expression hardened. "As I suspected. This cult... they call themselves the Crimson Veil. They have been appearing sporadically throughout the Empire for the past few months, causing various spiritual anomalies, stirring up monster activity, and targeting specific spiritual locations. Their intentions aren't clear, but their methods are destructive. If they are not stopped, they will cause untold havoc across the kingdom. They are elusive, cunning, and extremely dangerous."
He then looked at Eric, his gaze piercing. "Eric, you have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities, unparalleled combat prowess, and an innate understanding of strategic threats. Your ability to operate independently, to analyze a situation, and to strike at its heart, is exactly what the Directorate needs."
Varian paused, then delivered the unexpected blow. "I would like you to run your own team, Eric. You will be a Team Leader within the Imperial Intelligence Directorate, effective immediately."
Eric's composure faltered for the first time. "A team leader? Master Varian, with all due respect, I've barely been here for a week. I'm still new. Many agents here have decades of experience!"
"Experience is valuable, Eric, but talent and intuition are irreplaceable," Varian stated, his voice firm. "You are qualified. More than qualified. Your unique abilities and your discerning senses make you ideal for leading specialized missions against threats like the Crimson Veil. You will have a direct line to me. You will choose your team members, if you wish, or I will assign them based on your needs. This is not a request. It is an order."
Eric stared at Varian, completely stunned. To be given such authority, such responsibility, so soon. It was unprecedented. Yet, he understood the trust Varian was placing in him, and the opportunity it presented to delve deeper into the Empire's secrets, to gain true influence.
"I accept, Master Varian," Eric said, his voice regaining its resolve. "I will not let you down."
That evening, back in his spartan quarters, Eric mediated, contemplating the day's events. The Dragon Spirit's voice resonated in his mind, its tone a mix of pride and caution.
"You handled it well, Eric," the Dragon Spirit congratulated him. "The Imperial Directorate is a perilous place, but you have found a path to authority within it. Varian's trust is valuable. A team leader. This will provide you with greater freedom of movement, and access to more classified information. It is a significant step forward."
"But there's a 'but,' isn't there?" Eric thought, sensing the shift in the Dragon Spirit's tone.
"Indeed," the Dragon Spirit affirmed. "You are moving too fast, Eric. Too many eyes will now be upon you. Your rapid ascent, your impossible feats, they will draw attention from every corner of the Empire, not just the Directorate. While Varian trusts you, there will be others who fear your power, who will seek to understand it, or to control it. You must establish your authority as a leader, but remain cautious. Do not reveal too much. The Veil of Mundanity must be perfected. Your secret remains your greatest vulnerability. Every action, every decision, will be scrutinized."
Eric absorbed the warning. The path to power was also the path to peril. He nodded, a grim determination settling in his heart.
The next morning, Master Varian led Eric to a private meeting room within Fortress Shadow. Six individuals stood within, their black robes stark against the polished walls. Among them, Eric recognized Anya. The other five were formidable, their auras radiating diverse cultivation styles. One individual, a man with broad shoulders and a stern face, whose Qi signature was undeniably at the Core Formation Stage 1, seemed more powerful than the rest. His eyes held a challenging glint.
"Gentlemen, and Lady," Varian's voice was calm, authoritative. "This is Eric. He will be your new Team Leader. You will report directly to him on all missions assigned to this unit."
A ripple of unease, then outright astonishment, went through the group. The Core Formation man stepped forward, his eyes narrowed, his voice laced with clear skepticism. "Master Varian, with all due respect, this... 'Eric' is barely an adult. And he's new to the Directorate. Why would someone so new, especially a kid, be chosen to lead agents who have served the Empire for decades?" His gaze challenged Eric, clearly doubting his capabilities.
Varian's obsidian eyes flickered, a subtle, chilling pressure radiating from him. "You doubt my judgment, Agent Kord?" His voice was low, devoid of emotion, yet it carried an undeniable weight that caused the air to thicken.
Agent Kord's face immediately paled. He instantly realized the gravity of his insubordination. He quickly bowed, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. "No, Master Varian! My deepest apologies! I meant no disrespect to your judgment. I merely... I questioned my own understanding of the new hierarchy. It was presumptuous of me."
Varian's gaze remained fixed on Kord for another long moment, then he finally nodded. "Good. Understand this, Agent Kord, and all of you. Despite his young age, Eric is more than qualified. His abilities are precisely what the Empire requires for the threats we now face. You will follow his orders without question. Your loyalty to him is your loyalty to the Directorate, and to the Emperor himself. Is that understood?"
"Understood, Master Varian!" the agents responded in unison, their voices sharp with renewed discipline. Anya, however, simply offered Eric a subtle, knowing glance, a flicker of something akin to admiration in her eyes.
Eric stood tall, his gaze sweeping over his new team, a silent resolve settling within him. His journey into the heart of the Empire had truly begun.