Champion Niall looks surprisingly healthy. However, Lissandra did say that she still has a few years until one of her seizures kills everyone around her in a flood of mana. That is the end result of having a damaged mana heart.

Yet she shows no signs of suffering from such an affliction. Her steps are energetic, her voice is strong, and her mind is sharp.

I don’t probe her with my senses very much, I still don’t know how much that would insult her. She’s still a Champion despite her injuries.

What I want to know is how much it’s affected her. Are her injuries enough to leave her hamstrung or are the effects more subtle? My theory is that her wounds force her to manually control her mana. It seems like that should be trivial for someone at her level, but I don't really have a frame of reference. It won't be that simple, I'm sure.

Another thing is that my theory about levels is almost confirmed. 450-600 is likely where Champions are made.

As for Absolutes, I didn't see any question marks over Lissandra on the second floor, so I guess it's impossible to see anything. The question is if there are another 150 levels between Absolutes and Champions or if Absolutes start somewhere between the levels of 600-750.

“She called you little pup, is that some sort of sexual play you guys have?” Niall asks out of nowhere.

What?

She giggles at the look on my face, “That bitc… that woman, she looks like the type.”

“I might get killed if I react to this.”

“You’re no fun,” Niall sighs. “But I can't blame you. Even I have trouble when it comes to getting a read on her. I keep feeling like I should be able to splat her against the wall, but something about her makes me think that I would regret the attempt. The last time I felt that way was before Tassian became our Absolute. That little shit was scary even as a Champion. Did you know I used to push him around when he was a kid? Who knew that little jerk would grow into such a powerhouse.”

Niall seems to be the talkative sort, spewing information about anything that comes to mind.

“I met someone called Nevan not long ago.” I say, interrupting her tirade and hoping she recognizes the name.

Fortunately, she takes the bait, latching on to the new subject, “Oh, the Alloysmith. So you found Veil Ignition Station no. 4. Did he survive?”

“I didn’t know him very long; he died because of mana radiation.”

Her eyes focus on me for a moment before she continues down the path leaving me to follow.

“It's good you are not lying. I kind of liked the guy and if you were the one who killed him, I would get mad.” Just for a faint moment, I can sense her mana and it’s an unsettling experience.

It's not quite “end of the world” scary, but even as wounded as she is I have no doubt that she could do some major damage.

“You’ve reached the second stage of mana Potency, right?” I ask.

That makes her pause just for a moment, “You cheeky little thing. Do you even know how rude it is to ask something like that?”

“I do not.”

“Didn’t that scary bitc… your companion teach you anything?”

I look around just to be sure and lower my voice, “Her definition of teaching is throwing me into a tunnel full of monsters, miles below the surface.”

“You know you don't have to whisper. Even though I can't see through her, I'm quite sure I'm stronger than her. Probably. Maybe. Who knows. For real, I fucking miss Tassian, he was always the smart one.”

“How come he…” I shut my mouth.

The air around us changes, heavy with her mana, which does feel extremely threatening.

Niall smiles when I stop mid-question. And the mana about to tear me apart slowly flows back into her body.

How come he got tricked and the Veil got overtaken by a trapped divine beast? That's what I wanted to ask.

As if nothing happened, Champion Niall takes another step and I follow her. My heart is beating wildly in my chest.

“I have promised to give you a short lesson.” She pauses. “Maybe I shouldn't call it a lesson. That woman asked me to stop just before it kills you. She said minor wounds are fine.”

“Is there any value in that?” I ask.

“You, my sweet, careless young man with pretty eyes, are the type who learns best while experiencing things on your own skin. Your companion said that it's best to beat the knowledge and experience into you. And that’s extremely fascinating on its own because you are clearly a mana user. I knew lots of people who learned that way, but most of them were brawlers. Fucking psychopaths.”

“Isn't that only logical though? You get a better feel for the skills and their nuances if you experience them directly.”

“Damn, you really are one of them. They said the same things, and giggled every time someone found a new way to mangle their bodies,” she sighs.

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I decide to ignore this kind of insult. This youthful Champion is surprisingly chatty and… human? Is that the right word to use?

“What are you thinking?” She asks, taking notice of my gaze.

Her question doesn't feel like a threat so I answer, “You are a Champion so I expected you to be more… well, different.”

“Ah, well I’m the first Champion you’ve had the chance to interact with, is that it?”

“Yes.”

She pauses for a moment, stops walking, and stands silent for a moment, surrounded by the trees. As the light falls on her, she reflects.

“I think I would be different if you had met me about 150 years back. Back then I probably wouldn't have given you the time of day, but losing a war and being forced to cower like a rat in the tunnels changes a person a bit.”

I stay quiet, not wanting to set her off. Niall notices that.

“I take that back. I think I may have. I can see that fire in your eyes. Even now it feels like you are looking down on me. Not directly, but as if everything I am, and all my powers are nothing more than a step on the path to something greater. Has anyone ever told you that for all your looks you have an extremely punchable face?”

“I hear that a lot.”

Her mana seeps into the air, just a little bit and I can hear her heart beating. The rhythm is uneven, broken. Then I realize that her heart has been destroyed. Dozens of pieces held together by the force of her will and a myriad of inscriptions, and perhaps something I can't quite detect.

Even now she has to focus to keep everything together at all times.

Why doesn't she come up with a different way? Lissandra is fine without a mana heart. Why can’t she fix it? She’s a Champion, her knowledge should be immense. Why doesn't she get a transplant? Why is she not looking for a healer or a means of fixing it?

Why…

“I know what you are thinking. To say it simply, why can’t that bitch fix her own damn heart?”

She expects an answer, a reaction. And the barest slip could bring my death. Even so, I reach for my mana as well, letting it seep into my body. My heart thumps wildly as I face her like a candle against a forest fire.

“Something like that,” I say.

In response to the movement of my mana, which she must have sensed, her own rises to meet me. Despite being wounded, she still has the mana of a Champion.

“Let me show you then.”

Her mana surrounds me, creating a dense sphere, within which her mana takes on an almost tangible quality. Within that area, I can feel the beating of her mana heart. Broken, and no less powerful.

With each beat it sends more mana through the sphere, limited to avoid killing me And I can sense the ever-changing frequency and rhythm of her heartbeat. Through her demonstration, I begin to feel just how difficult it is to keep in one piece.

Then there is something else, a piece of something I can't identify. A piece of some metal, a tiny mana stone, or a projectile of a powerful weapon. From which seeps an endless and horrifying strain of mana, a clear attempt to kill the person it’s lodged inside. The only thing keeping it contained is the heart around it.

“You used your heart to trap that thing and stop it from killing you.”

“At least you aren't stupid.” Her mana disappears as if it was never here. “I don't know what kind of bullshit they used but the thing is clearly meant to be effective, even against someone at the level of an Absolute. The moment I try to move it out of my heart I will die before I even realize what’s happening. Fucking great, isn't it?”

“Won't it lose its power? It's probably been more than a century.”

“It's already weaker than it was. At this point, it's about who can last longer, and in another ten to a hundred years it should weaken enough for me to remove it. The question is if I can hold on that long. That creepy woman told me she could show me new ways to fight it. Would you believe that? A bitch with a level even lower than yours called me stupid for being unable to remove it and compared me to some goddamn pet some court lady had.”

I can totally imagine that.

“Is this the place?” I ask as Niall stops walking.

“Yes,” Niall says, lifting her hand as her mana floods into the air. Then it presses down on me from the sky like the hand of god.

The trees, a small hill, and any flowers and boulders in the area. All of it crumples under the mana pushing it into the ground. The sound of trees snapping and boulders shattering fills the air. Niall pushes even further and her mana starts to oscillate until an area the size of a street is cleared of everything that filled it. A perfect circle of empty space, the compressed soil gleaming like polished stone.

She doesn't stop there and her mana oscillates again, carving into the surface, creating a circle with more inscriptions inside.

“This is something we used to do for our warriors. A rite of passage you might call it. I'm sure it's something other planets have as well. We did it for those we thought might have to face a Champion or Absolute.”

Not even for a moment do I look away from her work, and even though I feel the annoying jittering of nerves, I can’t help but be fascinated by the process. The way this woman moves her mana is so different from Lissandra, yet she’s clearly powerful and skilled in her own right.

“Did it help them to face Champions or Absolutes?”

“Not really, and if it was up to me, I would have probably replaced it with something more modern. But the traditionalists loved it. You know the types: 'When I was a young lad, we did this and that.' It's not horrible, even if it is terribly barbaric.”

“What's the point?”

“To ensure that you don't piss your pants the moment you enter an Absolute's domain, specifically by having you experience something distantly similar. But the one I'm making has been modified, by that woman’s request. At first, I didn't understand what she wanted me to do and she had to simplify it.” There Niall pauses and shakes her head before she continues, “You chose mana Amplification as your upgrade, right?”

“Yes, 1st stage, Vast Mana currently.”

“Your companion and I are Mana Potency. Both have advantages and disadvantages. One of the biggest disadvantages for Amplifiers is that their mana tends to be lower quality if that’s how you want to think about it. That means it's easier for your enemy to seize control or disrupt your attacks, even without the skills. I sense you did something that makes it difficult for people to grasp mana inside your body but it doesn't affect the mana outside of it.”

Great, another thing I need to fix. Though I had plans for that anyway, of course, the cockroach had to take notice right away. Well, I better make sure not to let these opportunities go to waste. It's like she is offering them to me on a golden platter.

“That makes a lot of sense. So is there a common way to fix it?” I ask.

“Not really. Most of the time Amplifiers brute force a resolution with high level skills or some other bullshit. But you do have a few interesting skills that could help you, at least according to that woman, so I’m going to let you experience it for yourself. The rest will be up to you.”