I pulled my gaze away from the dragon and back towards the starry night sky that glimmered ever so softly above me. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and looked inward. Perhaps I've let the system define my progress a bit too much. It was time that I took it all into my own hands.

I sat up, opened my eyes, and gazed at the stars again.

Yes, it was time that I crafted my own future. Perhaps it was wrong of me to be jealous of Nyx, but I was also to blame. I didn't put much effort into it myself, and it wasn't right of me to project that onto her. She was just a child, after all, and one that was thrust into a world like this.

My eyes wandered from the starry sky and over to her sleeping form. It wouldn't be all that bad if she surpassed me. Maybe one day, I would let her take this all over, and I could spend my days sipping a pina colada on a beach. I chuckled at the thought, then shrugged it all off. At the end of the day, this place was my responsibility, and I wouldn't pass that off to anyone else. Especially her. I wanted her to live a carefree life and not have to stress about stuff. But that was far, far in the future.

In the meantime, life was going to be rough, and I needed to make sure that I would be strong enough to face whatever could come my way.

I pushed myself off the ground, and with a thought, I tore myself from my soul realm and back into reality. My eyes drifted over to my menu and to the map so I could get an idea of what was going on and what training areas were open.

Let's see here. Alessia had taken over the main training room, so that was out of the question. The hoplites were using one of the axillary areas and were having a minor skirmish with the vanguard forces. Even though it was small, it was still something that I didn't want to interrupt. I went onto the next and saw that it was also filled with troops currently training, and so was the next.

I felt a little bad as I looked into all the training areas and saw they were in use. Alessia was relentless in her training and clearly expected the same from her soldiers. It was both admirable and somewhat frightening. The woman was relentless, both in her work life and in her personal life. But that was okay. I loved it. Regardless, I would create my own if all the rooms were in use. It was within my power to do so.

So with that thought, I looked at a quick template of the underground base and quickly found a free space, and attached it to my personal quarters. It wasn't anything grandiose, but it was big enough to get the job done. It would be my own private area. A place where no one but a tiny handful of people could bother me.

With practiced ease, I crafted my training area. But I put nothing over the top in there. Just a handful of various weapons and armors, and made it large enough for me to use a few movement spells and not slam into a wall. Anything else, well, it could wait until later. I was getting a little sleepy, and it's been far too long since I've been in my bed.

I dismissed the screen, and my head shifted listlessly towards the direction of my door. Well, it would be nice to sleep in my bed for once, but I had a feeling that the little dragon would be hogging the entire thing. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to fight her for it because I'm not about to give it up,

"Mother, wake up!" Nyx bounced on my bed, tearing me from a deep, dreamless sleep.

"Why do you have to be so loud first thing in the morning?" I retorted as I sat up. My eyes were bleary, and the clinging remnants of exhaustion that plagued me weighed my body down. My iration was rampant at this very second, mostly since I didn't like being woken up. Especially not by a loud child.

"You've been asleep too long. I'm bored." She huffed as she flung herself onto the bed.

"And you haven't slept long enough yourself?" I raised an eyebrow and suppressed the urge to yell at her. I wanted my sleep but didn't want to take that frustration out on her.

"I'm a growing woman, mother. I need all the sleep I can get." She propped her hands under her head and gave me the biggest set of puppy dog eyes that she could muster in that moment.

"No, you are a spoiled brat." I chided her as I reached out and gave her a small flick on the nose.

Her head recoiled backward, and a pained moan escaped from her lips. "Ow, mother, what was that for?"

"For annoying me." I yawned as I sat up and wiped away the last bit of bleariness. But the exhaustion still lingered in the corners of my mind. I wanted to curl up in bed and go back to sleep, but I knew Nyx wouldn't let me.

My eyes drifted toward my menu, and I saw a few hours had passed. My nap became a full-fledged sleep, so it was probably good that she woke me up. "I'm not spoiled." She hissed through her teeth as she stood up and crossed her arms.

"You are too, and you know it." I shifted my tone to something slightly more teasing as I threw the blanket away from me.

"Perhaps." She dropped her arms from her chest and leaned forward on the bed. "But, anyway, what do you want to do today?" An almost feral grin split her lips, and she flashed her teeth. That girl was too excited sometimes to do things with me.

"Well, I wanted to do some training today. Maybe learn a few more skills in the meantime." I stretched out and yawned a bit. I had a few skills that I learned I haven't really used lately. So maybe I could figure out how to use them. Maybe even craft some skills unique to me in the process.

"Yay!" She jumped up from the bed. "I'm gonna go find my practice clothes! I'll be back." Without another word, she rushed from my bedroom and vanished from sight. All I could do while watching was chuckle. She was such a busybody.

Another yawn escaped from my lips as I stood up and stretched out. My muscles felt like springs, ready to launch at a moment's notice. Yet they pulled apart like they were liquid. I felt so strong and powerful now. In fact, this was the first time in a long time that I didn't feel like there was something wrong with me. There were no residual aches that plagued me, no bones that felt like they were grinding together. I just felt so alive right now.

I took another deep breath and relished the faint scents that were in the air. Well, I suppose it was time to get up, at least before Nyx got back. I jumped off the bed, landed softly on the ground, and wandered over to my wardrobe. Now, what did I want to wear for practice? Maybe just a sports bra would do. I reached through my closet and quickly found one that I liked. The blood-red fabric felt soft under my fingertips and stretched gently like a pair of spandex. Quickly, I slid it on and adjusted it. Thankfully, it didn't seem like my breast grew, which I didn't really care about. They were just mounds of fat to me and nothing more. I never saw a reason to worry about them or the size.

I rolled my neck, reached back in, and found some workout shorts and undergarments. They were a wonderful pair of shorts that I designed; they were much akin to yoga pants but much better, at least in my opinion.

Once I was dressed, I wandered to the mirror and looked at myself. Not to sound narcissistic or anything, but I looked fucking hot. I spun around once, and my eyes drank in all the changes that had taken root in my body. I was muscular now, but not overly so, and my body was without a single scar. In a way, I felt sad at the loss of my scars since they had been with me for so long, but yet, I was happy they had vanished. It was like I had just started a new life, and it was something that I wasn't willing to give up. I would be the best I could be, and damn anyone else who stood in my way.