"I..." Lance hesitated, but pressured under the intense gazes of the dwarf and the giant, he caved in and sighed. "I know a total of forty one spells."

Those words went off like an explosion in their heads, but Lance didn't stop there. "I know twenty two basic spells, twelve intermediate spells, and... eight advanced spells."

Every word was a bombshell of the highest magnitude, rattling the listener's very understanding of the world.

"You– you are joking, right?" Ariador asked with a forced smile, a layer of sweat forming on his back. It did not help when Lance shook his head, confirming the reality of his power. "Didn't you say you were an Intermediate Mage?"

Lance smiled wryly. "Not yet. I know Advanced Spells, but I wouldn't say I'm an Advanced Mage just yet." Sadly, his words confused Ariador even further.

Amani was comparatively calmer, having no real knowledge about the difficulty of wizardry beyond the mechanics of it all. Still, sheerly by the statistics alone, he could tell Lance was a monster among monsters. Instead, his mind drifted off into searching for explanations behind such power.

Unfortunately, his reverie was cut short as Lance spoke again. "Like I said, I studied intensively under The Nuclear Church's guidance." He tried to explain, panicking a little at their reactions. "A few of my basic spells, many of my intermediate spells, and three of my advanced spells essentially make up a lot of the spells I use to contain the aftermath of my nuclear spells."

"...Sweet Hobbits, how deadly are your nuclear spells?" Ariador was speechless, rubbing his face with a handkerchief. By now, his face was flushed red, his breath shaky, and a layer of sweat condensed upon his skin.

Lance was starting to get concerned, but suddenly, a pleasant blue light shone from the antlers of the Rain Deer, intensifying before it blinded the whole room. When Lance opened his eyes, Ariador seemed to have recovered perfectly, as if nothing ever happened.

However, he still felt a little scared and confused. That magnitude of a reaction was... worrying. Were his specs really that high to the outside world, enough to nearly give the old man heart attack, or at least overheat to this extent?

He carefully filed away this incident in his mind as a hint to maintain secrecy, for both the sake of others, and to avoid being seen as a threat that needs to be limited, controlled, or eliminated.

...he really hoped he was thinking too much.

"What's your metamorphosis like?" Amani's voice snapped him out of his reverie. Lance was too deep in his own thoughts, so he didn't quite catch what the giant said, his only words being, "Sorry?"

"You know, metamorphosis? The physical reconstruction that all mages undergo once they have mastered their first advanced spell?" Ariador explained from the side, a little distracted as he cuddled with the reindeer.

"Oh, that... Yeah, I haven't had mine yet, which is why I signed up as an Intermediate Mage. It's a little different for Conduits." Lance fiddled with his pendant, not wanting to get into the details.

Meanwhile, rubbing the furcoat of the reindeer, Ariador cooed, "Thank you, Rhino. You are the bestest Rain Deer in this whole, wide world!" His words earned a strange look from Lance and Amani.

"You named the reindeer Rhino?" Lance asked, his voice amused.

Coughing, Ariador ignored him and switched the attention back onto Lance. "So, uh, what about the rest of your spells?"

Lance counted mentally for a moment, before classifying them. "Most of my basic spells are just miscellaneous spells, such as summoning a gust of wind, or a floating ball of water."

Pausing for a bit, he whispered the spell, "Aqua Blue," which summoned floating balls of water, followed by, "Candlelight," which summoned floating balls of firelight. They revolved around them like fireflies, making Ariador look at them in awe. It was a basic spell, but Lance's control was nothing short of excellent.

The reindeer cooed, bumping his head and antlers against one of the spheres of water, making happy noises as they popped and splashed, making Lance laugh.

Not bothering to dispel his magic, he kept talking, "I have three basic reinforcement spells, and two intermediate ones. The rest are all my nuclear spells."

"That's a very versatile arsenal." Amani commended. "How many can your Conduit affect?" He questioned, prompting Lance to raise three fingers.

With a bit of hesitation, Lance also decided to add, "I, uh, also may or may not know a Tierless Spell..." However, he instantly regretted his words when the jaws of the dwarf and the giant dropped to the floor.

"You know a WHAT?" Ariador screeched out, scaring both Lance and the reindeer. With a solemn look, Amani said seriously, "Lance, why do you know a a Taboo Spell?"

Lance shrugged with a helpless smile. "Critical times call for critical measures. Something happened a few years back, and this spell saved my life, alongside that of my friends. Although..."

His voice cracked slightly towards the end of his sentence. Lance sighed, the corners of his lips twitching as he clutched his hair to relieve some stress. Amani and Ariador no longer spoke about that subject, attributing his reaction to trauma.

Taboo Spells were Taboo for a reason, after all?

"What's the Uniquity of your Conduit?" Ariador asked, but Lance didn't seem to know what he meant, blankly staring he tilted his head to the side. Ariador rolled his eyes and explained, "Your unique ability. Most Conduits have a secondary, unique ability that is not shared with other Conduits."

"Ah," Lance's eyes lit up in recognition, nodding his head as he spoke, "That. My Uniquity is... well, I doubt you'd understand the technical term, but it's just a very miniscule amount of disintegration with every spell." He paused for a bit, and then added, "It does stack up over the course of more spells though."

"That's a... very direct effect." Amani commented, his voice laced with a keen interest. He had more questions, but was cut off by the hyperactive dwarf.

"Tell me more about your homeland." Ariador rapidly shook his head side to side, bringing the conversation back on the topic. "What did you do in your eight hours of free time?"

Lance smiled, "Played with friends, ate with them, or spent time with my family. There are Uranium Civilisations my brothers took me to, and I got to play with kids around my age."

Lance paused, his throat feeling a little parched, but kept going. "There are various species and tribes within the continent. I used to hang out with only a select few, since I would rather hang out with a few close friends than have many acquaintances."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Lance's eyes lit up, laughing lightly as he remembered something. As he laughed, the firelight spheres seemed to burn brighter, pulsing with his laughter.

"So, there was a girl, her name was Aisyah, she was an Iridesapien, basically a humanoid, green race, and she was a really close friend of mine." Lance bit down his lip to hold back a grin. "And one day, she suddenly said she had a crush on me! Me! A human! Out of all the people present, she had to have a crush on me!"

Lance laughed jubilantly. Whether his laughter was of joy, of humour born from irony, of his ego being pleased, or of simply a funny memory, it was impossible to tell.

"Oh, those were the good ol' days. Faizal was so pissed she chose me over him. Man, I miss them already." Lance smiled, rubbing a tear off the corner of his eyes.

“Then why did you leave?” Ariador abruptly asked, his eyes narrowing as he noticed Amani’s sudden tension at the question.

Lance lingered for a moment, then spoke in a slightly saddened tone. "My family... They essentially wanted me to have a life on my own and mingle with people my age... with people my race too. They wanted me to find my own place in this world among my own people, so they sent me off once I was eighteen, which is what is considered an adult in human years."

He sighed. "The Fallout Continent is shrouded in eternal night, snow, and radiation." Mulling over his words, he added, "There's not exactly a lot of diversity in there, and with my brothers reducing travel time to zero, I had essentially travelled to and seen everything there was to see."

"They wanted me to experience more, to travel the world, to hang out with all kinds of races, and to create my own identity. And so, they sent me off once I was ready." Lance finished, a sad yet nostalgic sense washing over him as he remembered the words of his family.

His mind flashed back to his goodbyes to his friends. There were lots of tears, the tightest of hugs, and the most innocent of promises made that day.

And he intended to keep them all.

"That is... rough, but I can see why they did that. Every bird has to leave the nest someday, after all." The dwarf commented, his voice soft and a little comforting, like a warm grandpa by the campfire.

Lance's smile faltered, replaced by a shadow of sorrow. "I know, but it still hurts." He pondered for a bit, before adding something else. "Besides, there's also something else to consider."

Seeing that the dwarf and the giant both looked curious, Lance explained, "Since I am eighteen years of age now, The Nuclear Church sent me on a... Pilgrimage, basically."

Ariador blinked twice, before forming an 'O' shape with his mouth... presumably, hidden under his beard. On the other hand, Amani looked very interested, and keenly curious, his intense gaze pressuring Lance to expand on the topic. After all, there was very little information on The Nuclear Church.

"The Nucleic Pilgrimage is strange, and I don't really know the details for myself, aside from the fact it is related to the Nuclear Saint worshipped by each of the Nuclear Cathedrals." Lance confessed, putting his hands up in jest. "I just have an insignia, an emblem, a letter, and some basic knowledge, but essentially, I need to go and visit every Nuclear Cathedral I can find."

Amani sank into deep thought at the revelation, while Ariador informed him excitedly. "Oh! Oh! There's one right in this city!" The tiny elder's excitement made Lance smile.

"I am planning to visit after the match ends." Lance explained, before his voice trailed off, "I just hope I don't lose before then..."

Seeing as Ariador and Amani looked at him in confusion, he awkwardly confessed, "I, uh, never actually finished my training."

Amani waited for a few seconds, but when Lance stayed silent, he couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

"I was always too... gentle. I never usually won in fights because it was for me to hurt others. Eventually, I got over that with magic, but... that's just cheating." Lance sighed, his voice no more than a whimper. "All I have to do is blast my foe from a distance. I... I don't need to face the consequences of my actions. I don't need to look who I hurt in the eyes, even. I– it's not the same. It's just... cheating."

The listeners stayed silent, while Lance added in a depressed tone, laced with a hint of fear as he spoke, "And I am not sure I should be using my Nuclear Spells here either. Unlike in the Fallout Continent, people here don't have a biology adapted to nuclear waste and radiation. What if I go too far?"

Amani looked take aback, and the dwarf wasn't sure what to say, so for a few moments, the whole room remained mute.

After a heavy silence, Amani’s voice broke through, laced with concern. "So... does that mean you can’t give it your all in the fight ahead?" The question lingered, adding a physical, palpable weight to the silence, pressing down as Lance’s lack of words hung in the air, thick with uncertainty.

Amani’s gaze bore into him, searching for reassurance. Finally, with a light tremor in his voice, Lance replied, "I’m just... praying my magic holds up."

The giant stayed silent, looking at Lance, who covered his face with his hands, clutching his hair in frustration. Neither noticed the glint of mischief in the dwarf’s eyes as a sly smirk crept onto his face.

"Well then, my friend, don’t I just have the perfect solution for you!" Ariador declared, bouncing up comically as he landed on the saddle placed on the Rain Deer, drawing the attention of both Amani and Lance.

"Well, your problem is simple. You are too gentle, which makes you unwilling to physically brutalise an opponent, and you are afraid to use your Nuclear Spells out of concern for the opponent, right?" Ariador asked, and Lance nodded in response.

"Obviously, your brothers and the church folks wouldn’t have let you fend for yourself on your own, so they likely gave you some equipment to protect yourself with, right? I assume the scepter is one of them. Do you have anything else?"

"Where are you going with this...?" Amani asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes, while Lance answered without hesitation.

"Apart from my Nuclear Scepter, I have this Grimoire." Lance pulled a large book from within his robe. "It can strengthen any spells I cast with a vocal component, and each page records a single-use structured spell. Once used, the page returns to blank, and I have to record it again."

"Oh, that’s good! That’s very good..." The dwarf murmured, a hint of greed gleaming in his eyes, causing Amani to grow wary and Lance to feel slightly intimidated. The dwarf noticed the change in atmosphere and quickly pretended nothing had occurred.

"So, here is the plan. You know that we have a pari-mutuel betting system here at the arena. I want you to use the last gifts your family and friends gave you as a collateral to bet on yourself." Ariador smiled eerily. "That way, you can't afford to lose, because if you do... you will lose those gifts of yours too. This way, you will value your victory more than your opponent's well-being."

Amani was alarmed. "Lance, don't listen to him. He's trying to scam you–"

"Oh, calm down, you hot-headed giant. I am not scamming anyone here. It's just an idea." The dwarf shrugged, as he took the water bottle from Lance's hand, the latter seemingly in deep contemplation.

"He's... got a point though. What's the point of holding on to these items if I can never grow into the person my brothers and masters wanted me to be?" Lance abruptly spoke up, attracting both Amani's and the dwarf's attention.

"I... don't want to do this, but everyone has high hopes for me. This is my first real fight outside Fallout, and this won't be my last one. I..."

Lance paused, inhaling deeply before he forced himself to continue, "...I am sure they will value me taking this step more than they value these items."

After he spoke these words, silence lingered in the air for a few seconds, before Amani and the dwarf both smiled, albeit for different reasons.

Quickly, the dwarf tapped away on the bracelet on its arm, before it informed, "The betting odds are currently 5:13 in your opponent's favour... and I suspect it will rise even further. How many pages does your Grimoire have?"

"There's... a total of one hundred and ninety six pages." Lance checked and informed the man, who hurriedly ran some calculations.

"Okay, so that would make it... one hundred thousand for the book, and ten thousand for the staff... that makes it eleven thousand in total value." The dwarf informed them absentmindedly, dumbfounding both the human and the fire giant.

"Is the grimoire really worth that much?" Lance asked in curiosity.

"Oh, not even close. But you can record an intermediate nuclear spell in each of the pages, which is each worth at least five hundred gold, and the book itself is only worth twenty thousand gold." The dwarf clarified.

"I still don't think this is a good idea." Amani grumbled.

"Eight freaking advanced spells, big man." Ariador reminded. "If this guy loses with thirty nine spells up his arsenal, and the nuclear element up his sleeve, he might as well deserve it."

Amani rolled his eyes, causing Lance to chuckle.

"In any case, the prize pool is already well over four million gold. There's twenty thousand spectators today, and more are flooding in. Astrape is pretty famous around these parts, after all." The dwarf notified.

Lance nodded. "I don't really understand the calculations here, but you said Astrape is pretty famous. Can you tell me about his abilities and tendencies?" He paused, and added, "And can I have another bottle of glucose?"

The dwarven man laughed. "Sure you can, my friend. Now then, let me tell you all about the man named Astrape Svante..."