The ax in my hand radiates thermal energy as I swing it, adding to the heatwave that fills the room. The heat doesn't bother me anymore, but it surrounds Lissandra, who has to radiate a field of mana to surround her body. She’s likely being limited by the amount she got from Myrra before coming here.
The mana around her isn't anything impressive from a quantitative standpoint, yet it interacts with the heat of the room in such a way that it drastically reduces its effect on Lissandra.
It reminds me of a tiny flame refusing to be extinguished by the tornado.
When she swings her arm, the heat in front of her disappears as if it were being blown away by an immense pressure wave, and I block the invisible cut with the ax. Even then, I find myself being thrown into the air, nearly colliding with one of the pillars.
I activate one of my webs, and it reaches down and surrounds her. Multiple tricolored orbs explode all at once while the rest of the web disappears, consumed to send a powerful disrupting wave of mana at her.
Lissandra even now refuses to use her daggers, and the orbs stop mid-explosion. I can see the shape of their mana expanding but it’s almost like they’ve been suspended in time.
Surrounded by the explosions, she takes a few more steps, her eyes still on me. Clearly challenging me.
More heat crashes into her, a stream of concentrated thermal energy shooting from the ax in my hand.
She dodges to the left, breaking into a run as my attack tracks her movements, sending more ripples through the pool of molten metal and gouging the pillars with their heat.
Her path takes her past one of the stones I planted, causing it to activate and send multiple frequencies of disruptive mana her way all at once.
One of my anchors launches a spike of kinetic energy at her, another web, made out of extremely dense threads meant to entrap her, shrinks and coils around her.
Lissandra ignores the jamming field; it doesn’t even seem to bother her. She tanks the kinetic energy with her forearm, and something she does makes my threads disappear as if they had been dispersed by the wind.
The tricolored orbs I shoot her way freeze in the air, and when she stomps, another wave ripples out from her, blowing away another thermal attack. None of it really seems to be causing her any trouble, but I just continue to press the attack.
I never expected to get her with any of these attacks; I’m just trying to make her waste as much mana as possible. Even now she is missing some because of the encounters she had on her way here, and now she has to use some more.
No matter how efficient she is, at some point, quantity will win out over quality. And while she faces me, I watch her, I read her movements, and I perceive her techniques.
I make changes to my web, I switch frequencies. I modify my anchors. The way I'm using thermal energy changes, and even my offensive use of kinetic energy begins to adapt. All to find a way to deal with her.
[Perception - lvl 49 > Perception - lvl 50]
Finally, that annoying skill levels up, and I activate my Mana Wavelength Iris, the powerful trait taking over and working in tandem with my crown and domain.
Immediately, I release half of the thermal energy remaining in my arm and ax, causing it to swirl through the surroundings, melting the pillars and causing them to fall.
A wall of golden energy surrounds the woman while tricolored javelins shoot toward her from every part of my web. Others are filled with wildly disruptive mana, some are just dense mana launched through the air at immense speed. All of these attacks bombard her, and for the first time, she touches the black dagger.
At that moment, the main web activates and disrupts my own mana, dispersing it into shiny particles before she can absorb any to use against me.
The attacks that seemed ready to tear her apart disappear at the cost of a huge backlash to me, and instead, the wall of golden flames shrinks, surrounding her.
Lissandra lowers her body, and her eyes land on me. I don't even have time to blink, and she’s there, leaving the flames left behind her.
With a wave of my hand, I pull the flames towards me, and kinetic energy fills my body, absorbing some of the energy of her attack and staggering me anyway.
Her fist lands on my face, she kicks me in the side, and I release a blast of heat only for it to be blown away by her mana. The golden flames surround us, pressing on the faint glow of mana around her.
Lissandra still looks perfectly fine. There isn’t a single wound on her body, even her clothes are mostly intact.
When I shoot a thermal orb at her, she dodges easily, and the last remains of my web and domain press in on us while she punches me in an attempt to break through my kinetic armor.
It’s efficiency vs quantity. And I win that matchup. The sheer amount of mana and thermal energy I’ve collected is too much for that little amount she took from Myrra.
Finally, Lissandra uses her black dagger and stabs it into my side. And for the first time, a look of surprise appears on her face, if only momentarily.
I try to catch her hand, but she is quicker, and after breaking my nose and a few ribs, she jumps back to avoid wildly resonating kinetic and thermal energy attacks.
There is no mana in my body for her to absorb, and neither is there any in my Mana Reservoir. It's all somewhere else.
I check the timer, and just in time, another heatwave fills the room. The remains of my web also disappear, reduced to a cloud of fine light blue particles, too fine for the imperfect dagger to absorb.
Lissandra can't kill me. Not because it's impossible for her, but because of the promise she made not to kill me unless I failed the tasks she gave me. And I don't think she’s willing to break that promise, not with me. She wants to defeat me cleanly and decisively, that's why my head isn't rolling into a pool of molten metal at the moment.
Of course, part of it is that this is just how the two of us communicate. Neither of us is really good at anything else.
More and more heat surrounds us both, the golden whips of flame following her, the laser-like streams piercing through the air. There is no mana for her to absorb, and everything I generate immediately becomes more primordial energies.
But she reaches her breaking point and stops, "That much should be enough."
The Mana that’s been softly radiating from her body up till now is gone, and then I feel my body lifting into the air, with Lissandra below me.
Another punch throws me to the side, and a third one leaves me staggering backward.
The fourth one tears off the arm made out of thermal energy and throws it far away whereupon it explodes into flames that I try to pull to my side, but she hits me a fifth time to break my concentration. This time, I can barely stay conscious.
Even so, I did what I wanted, and there is her black dagger held in a hand made of mana.
Lissandra tilts her head, and a tiny orb of thermal energy misses her, masking the black dagger behind it as they fly through the air, boosted by most of my remaining kinetic energy. The monster reacts in time and tries to grab it, but [Redistribution] activates for a tenth of a second, pushing on it with all my effort, causing her to miss the timing.
She turns her head, watches the trajectory, and dashes to grab the dagger while I attack with everything I have.
The thermal orb hits the main pillar, opening the door into it partially, and the black dagger flies through the entrance. The thermal orb in question was just large enough to open the entrance by the slightest margin, allowing it to close before Lissandra can reach it.
But there was something else in there.
A mana orb hidden in the pillar. An orb containing an amount of mana equal to the contents of my entire reservoir and body placed next to an anchor through which mana seeps back into my body.
[Mana Domain] extends further, and the crown over my head grows while my mana surrounds me like a beautiful suit of armor enhanced by my subclass. I use [Focus] to mind my skills, and all of my mana floods into [Resonance], powering it.
The high pitch of screaming man fills the air, as bits of mana surrounding Lissandra are torn apart by the sheer amount of mana I’m using.
She keeps changing the frequencies and even appears in front of me, striking at my armor infused with kinetic energy. The monster of a woman damages me even then, her hits cracking the armor and forcing me to repair it.
Her, no, Hadwin's, [Disruption], and [Strengthening] active and powered by the last bits of mana she got from Myrra.
My mana depletes more and more as she endures it all.
While defending against the heat.
While keeping herself standing above the pool of molten metal.
While using someone else’s mana.
While having been awake for even longer than me.
While not even being that serious about this fight.
While lacking a mana heart.
Slowly, she starts backing off, just a split second of hesitation as she checks her reserves. There is no way she is used to having so little mana after thousands of years of being an Absolute. There is no way it's easy for her.
But it's not enough for me.
More mana pushes on her as I release it without any mind to my wounds, my body breaking within my armor under the force of my own actions and her attacks.
It's far from enough.
I add kinetic energy to the mix and force her back a few steps, leaving a wound on her skin for the first time.
Does she want to play my teacher? To mess with me and do the things she has until now?
I pull heat from the molten metal and increase the heat around her, forcing her to expend a touch of effort there as well. I don't bother making mana arms and focus instead on making the armor around my chest and head stronger.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
If she wants to be like that, she can. But she needs to prove it.
Prove to me that she is truly that much stronger than me.
Prove that even in such a pitiful state, she can kill me.
Prove that all my tricks and all my days of preparations are meaningless faced with her.
Only then will I accept it.
And Lissandra does just that.
Instead of being pushed back more, a smile slowly blooms on her face.
Her palm hits my chest and my heart beats. She risks it all and, with the last bits of her mana, she pierces through my armor and defenses. We stand and push against each other. If she loses against me here, it will be her who dies, and she knows that for a fact. She also knows that inside my body, my control is even better thanks to my passives, traits, and constructs.
But she doesn't lose. She connects to my heart and makes it generate mana for her instead of me. All of my skills deactivate, the armor is gone, and I stagger back.
It’s over so quickly.
With mana coating her hand, she holds it to my neck, still smiling.
“Still far from satisfactory, but it's enough for a Champion candidate.”
Congratulations, you have been declared a Champion candidate by a person judged by the system to be capable of such a declaration!
I have lost, but out of all the losses I have suffered up until now, this feels the least upsetting.
----------------------------------------
Some time later Lissandra and I find ourselves sitting near the core of my Living Quarters where I’ve transported us with my anchor. After a bit of rest and sharing a bit of my mana with her through the black dagger, the mood feels awkward while we eat old rations and drink water.
“You do know you would have died if I hadn’t used the dagger to heal you?” she mentions.
“It would have been fine.” I wave it off with mana arms I still use while my body now regenerates with my passive. “What did you even do to that Saint’s arm?”
Lissandra pulls the dagger made out of bones, flesh, and the orange eye of a Champion. It’s creepy, very much so. Somehow it reminds me of that time on the 3rd floor when she was a fleshy brooch.
Such a cockroach queen.
“Did you just call me a cockroach queen?”
Huh? Can she read my mind?
“You just said it out loud, you do realize that, right?”
I really need to sleep.
“Yes, you do. As for the dagger, the arm of the Saint will be used as a base so that the healing function can prevent my body from rejecting it, while the eye will ignite and start the heart I intend to make for myself out of Niall’s. She had a Potency upgrade as well so it’s fitting.”
“I see,” I say while taking another sip of water.
All around us are the various chunks of metal, and items I’ve saved, along with a bunch of other stuff I collected. There is really a lot of stuff. I use the opportunity to pack them down while I watch the timer.
Not much time remains.
“You don’t want the Champion’s heart down in the pool of molten metal?” I ask.
“It doesn’t fit me. Do you want it?”
“Yes, but I don’t think I can get to it.”
“Neither can I, but in a few months, I should be able to do it easily. You reminded me of something nice today so I’ll grab it for you. If you grow well, it will be yours the next time we meet.”
“Months?”
“Yes, it’ll take at least that long to reach the palace where the Absolute lies and for me to prepare the heart to my standards. I also need to fully gain status for myself and a little kitten.”
I don’t even want to imagine how difficult it must be if it’s going to take so long for the cockroach queen.
“You said it again,” Lissandra says, sighing. “You didn’t get one of your skills to level 50.”
“You are right,” I respond.
Moving a bit closer to her, I offer her my mana hand and she puts her hand into it without hesitation.
Concentrating, I close my eyes and try to remember the feeling of what she did to me. It takes me a few attempts, but in the end, I mimic it just the tiniest bit, and a similar effect makes its way through her arm.
The cockroach is too rude to let it pass so it doesn’t affect her much and it’s nowhere powerful enough to disrupt her control over my mana. But it’s good enough as a starting point.
[Resonance - lvl 49 > Resonance - lvl 50]
“I guess you can’t kill me now,” I quip.
“I guess not.”
Something bounces off my chest, and as I catch it, I see a pouch containing a few mana stones.
“One of them contains a Restrictive Training Emblem. Break it and it will appear on your body. The second one contains more information on the mana shaping exercises I taught you. Just those three. The last one details a few improvements on Mana Cycling.”
“I see.”
“Yes,” she says simply.
And just like that, the time passes. There is no more training. No more fighting or conversation. We eat together, food and water placed on a square piece of clean cloth.
The timer ticks down and my two weeks under her tutelage are finished.
During this time, not even once did I call her my master, and not once did she call me her disciple. I’m sure she understands why.
“Say hello to Myrra from me,” I say as I stand up.
The entrance to the sixth floor appears next to me and looking at Lissandra, I guess she can see it. She can see it but not pass. But even that is something that will change.
“I will, little pup, and I will see you during that event in one year.”
The second tournament will for sure be interesting.
I look at her one more time. Her clothes are still scorched in places and torn where I damaged her. And even sitting, as she is, on the floor, she seems so dignified and confident.
“Cockroach,” I mutter quickly and grabbing my stuff, pass through the door.
Even then, a mana projectile burrows into my shoulder, but it was well worth it.
I'm still not done with her. The next time, I will kick her ass for everything she has done.
----------------------------------------
POV Myrra
As she said she would, Lady Lissandra returns without Nathaniel. It might be because I already have traveled with her for quite some time, but as far as I can tell she seems to be in a better mood than she was before.
“Did it go well?” I ask her.
“It exceeded expectations. And you? What do you think of your Ignition Wavelength Eye?”
I hesitate, looking at the eyeball in my hand, the eye of a Champion. A being I heard of only in legends. Being declared a Champion candidate by the matriarch so long ago doesn’t change anything about the awe I have towards a being that has reached that level of power.
“I don’t know yet…”
“Keep trying then.”
“I will, Lady Lissandra.”
She sits on the chair nearby, her eyes somewhat absent.
Led by curiosity, I finally ask, “Why did you treat him that way during these two weeks?”
When she doesn’t respond, I think she might not answer, but in the end, her expression changes just a tiny bit. But before I can decipher it, it's back to normal.
And she doesn’t answer my question.
“You know what’s funny, little kitten? He didn’t accept me as his master, not fully. That crazy Pride of his wouldn’t let him.”
Even saying that she doesn’t seem to be disappointed.
“I’m a fake. My body isn’t mine, most of my memories aren’t mine: Even my original was a fake. It’s so dumb it’s almost laughable. But that stupid man doesn’t care. He would treat me just the same as my original self.”
“That sounds like him,” I agree.
“Yes, and there is something even funnier in the way he thinks. My original was an Absolute, aiming for a higher rank. But, little kitten, me being here can mean only one thing. My original has failed. Otherwise, there is no way I would be here. And he, that man, doesn’t want to accept such a failure as a master. He’s challenging me to prove to him that I can do better than her.”
After that, she doesn’t say anything else. She just sits there and slowly, orbs appear around her. Each of them is as big as my fingernail.
At first, there are dozens of them, then a hundred.
These orbs float around her, each one having its own unpredictable frequency and ever-changing mana requirements to keep them from bursting or disappearing. I know these things well. Just a few are terrible to deal with.
Lady Lissandra seems to be more motivated than ever before as she trains.
For a moment, I think of that man and smile. Things never fail to be interesting with him around. It was a short time we spent together here, but I know it's not the last time. No, between him and Lady Lissandra, I'm sure our paths will cross again.
I will see you soon, Nathaniel.
----------------------------------------
POV The First Disciple of Nathaniel Gwyn, minion Vega
“Stop hiding!” I shout.
The presence that’s been following me for days still refuses to show itself. It doesn’t have a heart so it must be weak, but it’s good at hiding. Surely it’s a coward.
Maybe it’s one of those invisible monsters my master hates so much. Or maybe it’s part of Bambi’s curse.
Even so, it doesn’t attack so I continue through the forest. I need to find some monsters to fight. Gray lizards have started running away from me on sight recently, That’s a shame because they were really tasty. I wish I could eat them with master.
“Hello,” I hear a voice say.
My barrier surrounds me and I curse at myself. I didn’t sense anything. Master would be angry with me.
There, to the side, sits a woman on a boulder. She is young and has long red hair. Her eyes are yellow and they’re covered in a weird pattern. There is no heart beating in her chest.
“I’m just a projection, little minion, I do not have a heart,” she says with a smile.
“I’m not your minion,” I answer while collecting kinetic energy to use in the coming fight.
“I apologize, he always called you that and I wanted to try it. It sounded fun.” She continues to smile as she speaks.
“You know master?”
“Not personally, but I like to watch him sometimes. He is a very entertaining person.”
“Creep. What do you want from me?”
I blink and she stands in front of me and then squats, her eyes at a similar height to mine. She smells nice.
But how can she have a smell as a projection? What is a projection even?
“I won’t hurt you, don’t worry. But there is a very envious guy around who might try to. So I want to make sure you are safe from him and I will watch from a distance. If he tries to do anything, I will beat him up.”
“This doesn’t seem like watching from a distance.” What a silly human. Indeed, the master is the most reasonable person I have met so far.
“I got bored,” her teeth show in a smile.
“So you want to protect me against a bad guy. Why?” Master always said to ask many questions. It’s better to look dumb while asking a lot of them than not to ask and pretend to know.
“It’s complicated, but I promised the man whose eye you have, little half demon. That and I’m greedy too.”
“You don’t seem greedy.”
Her smile scares me even though it’s so pretty.
She moves her face closer and I can see the pattern in her yellow eyes, “That’s where you are wrong. You could even say that I’m the greediest person that ever existed.”
Her finger pokes my cheek, and I can feel it. Then I blink, and she is gone. I can't find her no matter how hard I try.
In the end, there is nothing I can do now, so I push it away. I can deal with it later.
I send my senses through the area and continue to search for monsters to fight. I need to become stronger.
All this trouble smells like Bambi’s curse.