"You know," the young man said conversationally, his smile widening slightly, "for a guy who killed a Calamity lord, you have terrible situational awareness."
Hide didn't flinch. The cold, razor-sharp edge of the combat knife pressed precisely against his carotid artery, but the hand holding it was completely steady.
There was no erratic tremor of a rookie, nor the wild bloodlust of a killer. It was perfect grip of a seasoned professional.
Hide let his eyes shift toward the man. "Are you going to actually cut, or did you just want a hug?"
Rol's lazy smile faded into a hard, disciplined line.
Behind his calm facade, Rol's innate talent flared to life. His grey eyes emitted a faint, ghostly glow as he peered past Hide's physical form and directly into his mana structure. What he saw made his breath hitch.
'It's exactly the same,' Rol thought, a cold sweat breaking out on his back. 'I thought Maddox was exaggerating, but it's really him.'
