Lucen didn't drop his stance.
Not right away.
The spell residue clung to his coat. His palms still buzzed faintly, like the threads hadn't finished retracting.
Across from him, Varik exhaled.
The kind of breath that didn't say tired.
Just done.
He rolled one shoulder. Cracked his neck. Then relaxed his arms and let them hang.
"Alright," Varik said. "That's enough."
Lucen waited a beat longer, then stood up straighter.
Didn't say anything. Just let his system catch up.
It did.
A soft chime flickered through his vision. Bright. Fast.
[EXP GAINED: 184]
[Bonus: Rank Differential Encounter ×3.0]
[Additional Bonus: High-Level Human Opponent]
[New Total: 356 / 400 EXP]
Lucen blinked once.
'Oh.'
He didn't smile.
Just tilted his head and watched the number sit there.
[Level: 7 → (Pending)]
Not quite.
But close enough that it was funny.
Varik stepped forward again—this time slower. Less pressure behind it. More casual.
"You felt that, didn't you?" he said.
