Riven didn't call out.
The figure that had crossed the courtyard moved quietly along the dim corridor that led toward the outer wing of the manor. That part of the estate was where Alric stayed while Riven took over his role.
Riven stepped away from the window and slipped out of his room.
He followed at a measured distance.
The young man ahead walked with easy familiarity through the manor's quiet halls, his pace relaxed, as if he had walked these corridors a thousand times before. Not once did he hesitate at a turn.
Eventually he reached a door tucked away at the end of a darker corridor.
The door opened.
Then closed.
Riven approached a moment later.
He didn't hesitate and pushed the door open.
A fist shot toward his face.
Riven's head snapped sideways just in time. The punch cut through the air beside his cheek, the force behind it strong enough to stir his hair.
He stepped back instinctively, body already shifting into a fighting stance.
But the second attack never came.
The man inside lowered his arm slowly.
The two of them looked at each other.
Same face.
Same height.
Same build.
If someone else had walked into the room at that moment, they might have thought they were looking into a mirror.
For a few seconds neither of them spoke.
Then the other man tilted his head slightly.
"It's you."
A pause.
"Nice dodge."
His tone carried faint approval.
Then he turned serious again.
"What do you want?"
Riven didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he glanced briefly toward the interior of the room.
Alric followed the gesture.
Understanding flickered across his expression.
"…Right."
He walked further into the room.
"Close the door."
Riven stepped inside and shut it behind him.
The room itself was simple.
A bed.
A table.
A chair near the window.
Nothing extravagant.
Temporary.
Just like the arrangement between them.
Alric leaned casually against the table, as he looked at Riven with mild interest.
"So?"
Riven began.
"I ran into the Knights Order disciples."
Alric's eyes sharpened slightly.
"…Didn't I tell you to stay away from them?"
His voice carried mild irritation, like someone annoyed that a simple instruction hadn't been followed.
"I encountered them outside the city."
"Ah."
Alric frowned faintly.
"What happened then?"
Riven met his gaze evenly.
"They're not with us anymore."
For a brief moment Alric didn't react.
Then his brows lifted.
"You killed them?"
Riven didn't answer.
The silence itself was enough.
Alric studied him for several seconds.
His gaze moved slowly over Riven, reassessing.
Finally Alric exhaled softly.
"…Seems I underestimated your strength."
There was no hostility in his voice.
Only calculation.
Riven ignored the remark.
"They told me about the map."
That made Alric go still.
The room grew quiet again.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Oh?"
He straightened a little from the table, the casual posture fading just enough to show that he was paying full attention now.
"And what exactly did they tell you?"
"Nothing much," Riven said after a moment.
Alric waited.
Riven shrugged lightly.
"But if you ever need help with it… you know where I am."
The tension in the room eased slightly.
Not completely.
But enough.
Riven had no intention of escalating things further tonight. Fighting Alric here would only cause trouble. If anyone in the manor sensed the disturbance, questions would follow.
And questions were dangerous.
Blowing his cover now could easily cost him his chance at the auction.
Besides.
Alric didn't actually owe him anything.
The map was his.
Whether he shared it or not wasn't Riven's decision.
Even so…
Riven wasn't ready to leave just yet.
Having someone like Alric wandering around freely was unsettling.
Which was why he needed to do something else.
Use the predator spider's venom.
More precisely—
The Arachnotoxin Canon.
If the poison entered Alric's body, Riven would always know where he was.
Through the faint connection between himself and the spider's toxin, he could track its presence.
Reliable.
And very difficult to notice.
The only problem was—
How do I touch him?
Riven studied Alric carefully.
The man was still leaning casually against the table, watching him with mild curiosity. His posture looked relaxed, but something in the way his gaze moved made it clear he wasn't careless.
Getting close enough to make contact without raising suspicion wouldn't be easy.
Riven thought quickly.
Meanwhile Alric finally responded.
"Alright. I will let you know."
Riven thought for another moment.
Then he stepped forward slightly, calmly extending his hand.
The gesture hung in the air between them.
A handshake.
It was the least suspicious way Riven could think of.
But anyone who knew Riven even a little would have noticed something strange immediately.
He almost never used his only remaining hand for something as trivial as a greeting.
Alric's eyes lingered on the offered hand for a brief moment.
Suspicion flickered faintly across his expression.
Still—
After a short pause, he reached out and took it.
The moment their hands touched, Riven moved.
Not outwardly.
Inside.
Qi shifted quietly through his arm as he activated the Arachnotoxin Canon.
He felt it immediately.
A thin thread of poison slipped from his palm and flowed silently into Alric's skin.
Gone before it could be noticed.
Riven withdrew his hand almost instantly.
Inside his mind, he exhaled slowly.
He had been ready to activate Divine Speed at the first sign of danger.
But Alric hadn't reacted.
A faint pulse answered him somewhere deep within his senses.
The connection had formed.
Alric glanced briefly at his hand, then back at Riven.
Riven shrugged lightly.
"We're on the same side right now."
With that he turned and walked toward the door, leaving the statement hang in the air.
The quiet corridor outside greeted him once again as he stepped out and closed the door behind him.
Alric hadn't said anything anymore.
For the first time that night—
Riven allowed himself a faint smile.
Now wherever Alric went… he would know.
Also this confirmed something.
People wouldn't notice him applying the poison.
That was good.
Very good.
Riven walked back through the dim halls of the manor at an unhurried pace, his thoughts quietly turning over the encounter.
Alric Silvercrest.
The real one.
He was not weak.
That much had been clear even from the short exchange between them. The speed of that first punch alone had already placed him above most of the young masters Riven had seen tonight.
And the way he carried himself…
Calm. Confident. Calculating.
Not someone who moved recklessly.
Riven was certain of that.
But that didn't matter right now.
He had the advantage.
The tracking poison.
Riven pushed open the door to his room and stepped inside.
The quiet space welcomed him immediately.
Riven exhaled slowly.
Then he began to train.
His mind returned to the fight earlier that night.
Serin's thread technique.
The moment he had grabbed it.
The instant Frostbind Chains had activated.
Riven pushed his hand on the ground and focused.
Qi moved through his arm, circulating through the familiar pathways of his meridians before gathering in his palm.
Frostbind Chains.
A faint shimmer appeared.
A thin translucent chain flickered into existence as he slowly lifted his arm.
The chain responded immediately.
Its form trembled slightly as his qi flowed through it, the faint metallic sound of the technique echoing softly within the quiet room.
Then he furrowed his brows and dispelled it.
He tried again.
And again.
Sometimes the chain appeared instantly. Other times it flickered and collapsed before fully forming. Each attempt forced him to refine his control, guiding the qi more precisely through the structure of the technique.
Time passed as days went by.
Riven was absorbed in his training.
Morning turned to evening, and evening returned to morning again as he repeated the same movements, refining the flow of qi and stabilizing the chain's structure.
He didn't even check on the mercenary missions like before, which left Leyla disappointed.
But there was one thing he didn't neglect.
Checking on Alric's position.
Every so often he would pause his training and focus inward, sensing the faint connection left by the Arachnotoxin. The subtle pulse reassured him that the poison remained active.
As he got more and more practice with the Frostbind Chains he eventually reached major mastery, granting him a unique application for the skill.
The chain flickered once more between his fingers.
Riven smiled faintly.
Afterward he shifted his focus to normal cultivation.
He sat cross-legged on the floor as qi circulated steadily through his meridians, refining itself with each cycle. The energy gathered slowly within his dantian, growing denser as he guided it through controlled breathing and disciplined focus.
A total of five days passed like that since Alric returned.
Then something changed.
A faint pulse echoed through his senses.
Riven's eyes opened immediately.
The mark.
He focused.
And he felt it clearly.
Movement.
Riven stood slowly.
Looks like it was time to see what Alric was really up to.