Chapter 33- 3rd Revision

Iris was in no condition to heal herself or talk. Diantha opened the bandage and wrapped it around her face. Slowly, the pain began to subside, and Iris fell asleep.

For the next day, Iris slowly healed. The Weaver’s orb that had flown away with Winny returned to the mansion when Iris woke. It was a passive safety measure Iris had created. Whenever she was harmed, one of the weaver’s orbs would be summoned automatically, take Winny, and fly up into the sky—away from any danger. If Iris were to die, the Orb would painlessly suffocate Winny to death. The Labyrinth never leaves a defenceless creature without misery. Only a fate that leaves even the dead begging for release.

In the meantime, Diantha tried to suppress the case and somewhat succeeded. By succeeding, she did not let the public become aware of this case.

Her powers were limited, so she could not fix the commander who decided to throw Iris into an uncleaned cell despite knowing she had open wounds and did not call for a healer. That was something she decided to take care of after the tournament.

As for the Lady who lost her son, Diantha could not do anything but compensate her and promised to find out what happened. The inspector tried to use this as a chance to disqualify Iris but, after Ilona asked if there was such a rule in the tournament, he shook his head. The inspector could only disqualify Iris if she was convicted before her next match. That would not happen—there were no witnesses in the area when Iris killed Kane. Jasper had cleared out all the mana trails before Knight could inspect the area.

After an examination by a Healer, it became apparent he had been dead for five days. And the case file was fully buried six feet under, never to see the light of day again.

…

After about two days of comatose, Iris stirred, and an unfamiliar ceiling greeted her. She groggily pushed herself up and took in the sight. It was Diantha’s room, she realized, as the memory of the past flooded back in. She remembered what she had done.

“Iris,” Iris looked at Diantha’s desk. She was sitting with papers sprawling all over the place; it was a mess. As much a mess was Diantha’s hair. It ruined the perfect image Iris had of Diantha. However, that ruined image lasted less than a moment as Diantha turned, and Iris looked at her glowing eyes.

Iris was more curious about why her eyes were glowing than why this place could float in the sky and not fall. But she didn't dare to ask such questions, not after what Diantha had said last time.

“Why am I here?” Iris asked, her throat felt heavy and painful.

“Hmm… you destroyed your room.”

“This mansion should have more than enough room to accommodate me, so there's no need to sleep in the Grand Duchess’s room,” Of course, Iris was joking; she was happy, just knowing that Diantha was still the same as before.

Diantha chuckled, “Since you were sleeping, someone needed to check your healing progress,” Diantha replied and left her seat.

“Thank you,” Iris mumbled, feeling overwhelmed with gratefulness, “But I'm sure with how much money you have, you could hire someone to take care of me.”

“A healer will never agree to touch an instrument that would heal his patient, and,” Diantha took a seat, “How can I leave you with someone alone when you're in such a vulnerable state?”

“I'm grateful for your kindness…”

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“Yes…”

Iris monotonously recounted everything that happened after she left the Colosseum. Diantha informed Iris that he had been dead for five days before she fried his brain.

“So he is Level 6 or higher?”

“Level 7 most likely; a Level 6 cannot harm me using a puppet.”

“That is concerning.”

“It is not—I will kill him before leaving this place.”

“I'm not worried about him as much as the progress Laurent would make with his knowledge.”

“Inert veil? What does it even do?”

“I'll explain…”

…

Welcome to Winny’s Leveling System 101.

To understand what Inert Veil does, we need to learn about the basics of the Leveling system. So, let’s begin!

There are two ways to level up: Killing spree and consuming the soul acquired after killing things with the soul. Or, pure training.

To level up, a Mage needs to reach the maximum possible limit of their Attributes. For Level 1, it is 10. When a Level 1’s attribute hits 10, they are ready to ascend to Level 2. At Level 2, their base attribute is 15. Ascension gives 5 attribute points as a bonus. When a Level 2’s stat reaches 25, they ascend. The same is repeated until Level 4.

But for a Level 4 to ascend to Level 5, they need 55 attributes in all four primary pillars of their class and a title. Only then can they reach Level 5.

A Level 5, who starts with 60 as base stats, needs to reach 90 in all base stats with 95% mastery in at least three attributes and a title. Only then can they ascend to Level 6. The forbidden knowledge is that a Level 5 never knows the attribute ceiling and the requirement of mastery. When Level 5 fulfils all the conditions, they are given a specific task—a special quest that rewards a potion. After drinking it, they are allowed to learn the knowledge of Level 6. Without that potion, anyone bound to the system would lose their mind upon hearing any knowledge of Level 6.

That concludes Leveling System 101… thank you for attending Winny’s dumb knowledge class. Now, back to Iris. Ah! Since you’re here, here's an extra piece of knowledge—if you multiply attribute by mastery, you get the true strength of a Mage. So, a Level 4 with 99% mastery (only one absurd monster has ever achieved 99% in the records of the System, and no, it’s not Iris but a certain Flame witch who you may or may not like) at 55 attribute points would be stronger than a Level 5 with 70% mastery at 70 attributes in each. Now, you know why Hecate is dreaded by everyone and is The Apprentice of the Witch of The Round Table.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Some of you, that one guy who actually remembers Iris’s status, might be wondering about Iris’s absurd mana stats. So, I’ll explain that too— Mana is a general attribute for all classes and specific for Casters. Specific attributes on which a class mainly relies like strength, speed, or mana can go above the limit of the Attribute ceiling.

…

“I'll explain how Inert Veil works… Actually, we do not know how it's created, as you can guess, but we know how it works. Inert Veil somehow inflates the system’s attributes to the limit and forces an ascension. As you know, after levelling up, everyone has at least 60% mastery—so a level 5 with a month of training can be stronger than most Level 4. And Inert Veil can basically make every level 1 to 4 in a matter of minutes. I don’t know why, but there are some complications with reaching Level 5, and most die in the process. Your opponent, Benoit, was one of the few who survived.”

“I see… that would explain his lack of capacity that a Level 5 should have,” Iris paused, wrapping her head around the implication. Something weird stood out, “It should be the Title that stops the ascension. But then, no one should be able to ascend, after all, the Title is given by the system when someone proves themselves to be unique. How could Benoit do that?”

“Title… that’s where the name comes from… Everyone who ascends through this method gets a title—Inert Veil. However, ascending to Level 5 is something else entirely. I know Hestia has been trying to create Inert Veil for a decade and has yet to succeed in reaching Level 5… but now she has a Level 7; his knowledge and understanding might give her the last push she needs to perfect Inert Veil.”

Iris nodded. Inert Veil would be limited to Level 5, no matter how much success someone has. Level 6 is an entirely different thing, it cannot be faked.

“Well, that does sound concerning… especially when someone can create an army of Level 5,” Iris muttered. She had seen large armies, and they were always level 1 and 2, with few exceptions reaching Level 3. Even Labyrinth’s rulers could not create an army that would reach Level 5.

“That is an issue I need to worry about, not you…” Diantha quirked her eyebrow, “You're sure he is level 7 and still believe you can kill him. Is this the arrogance of Lightning Lord?”

“Well, I’m the Lightning Lord… and I feel like my title has been in shambles since my arrival here. First, Lady Ilona scared me, and then a civilian lady beat me to an inch of my life. I need to show, at least, you that the Lightning Lord title holds as much weight as it implies.”

Not to mention, that bastard tried to backstab her; talk about a despicable piece of shit. Iris wanted to show him the pain, the pain he shall never forget.

“Letting a civilian harm you already showed me why the system gave you that title, only someone befitting of a lord's title will have the benignity to allow something like that. A mediocre person with your strength would kill her for such insolence,” Iris would have jumped in joy, just like Hecate, after hearing Diantha praise her like that. She would not do such a thing; she was a caster, and calmness was her calling. This was not enough to make her lose composure.

“Is this how you praise Hecate to manipulate her?” It was a joke. Iris could not think of anything else to say and not feel awkward. A warm compliment like this was the first for her.

“If only you were as easy to manipulate as Hecate. She would fly in elation after praise like that.”

A knock on the door ruined Iris's mood. She would very much like to talk like this with Diantha for a few more hours. Iris was benevolent. She would not murder whoever decided to ruin this moment. They were ignorant, not malicious after all.

“Who?” Diantha asked, looking at the door.

“Jasper,” a gravelly voice replied. Iris was unfamiliar with whoever he was.

“Hmm? Have you finally decided to meet our little guest?”

Iris was offended at being called little. She was already stressed about being the smallest person in the house. Diantha did not need to add another jab at her crumbling self-esteem.

“I have.”

“Wait.”

Diantha’s attention shifted to her. Ah! Iris realized her eyes were not covered. She did not feel conscious about it in Diantha’s presence. How could she be so careless? She should have remembered. Diantha was so kind as to not show disgust at her face. Now, she felt grateful for that guy’s interruption.

Iris looked at her hand. Mother’s Gift was tied to it. She remembered that lady crushing her wrist.

“I’ll help you,” Diantha took her hand and untied the knot, then tied it on her head.

“Thank you…” Iris whispered.

Diantha nodded and waited. Iris tilted her head. Why was she not opening the door?

Diantha let out a tired sigh. Did I do something wrong? Iris wondered.

“Are you not going to wear clothes?” Diantha finally asked.

Iris looked down, and she was naked. She hadn't realized it. Clothes created from mana were light, and most of the time, she did not notice she was wearing them.

“Ah! I forgot,” Iris replied, her voice sounding like that of a lost child. She didn't understand the big deal behind not wearing clothes, though. She wasn't going into battle, after all.

Diantha sighed. ‘I need to teach her about clothes and…’ Diantha was sure that explaining clothes would lead to discussing things she wasn't most proficient in. ‘I am a Duchess, not a goddamn mother,’ Diantha screamed in her mind.

...

Jasper, who stood outside, could hear his Lady's voice as she asked the new guest to wear clothes. Had his Lady finally decided to let go of the path of loneliness? Jasper was happy. At least, his Lady hadn't gone for some far-away noble prick whose only redeeming quality was being born into a noble family. He was terrified of that thought; his Lady cared too much about Gracia. The idea of marrying someone powerful to secure Gracia's peace was not far-fetched. Now, he could sleep in peace, knowing his Lady had chosen someone kind and thoughtful, just like she was.

Jasper adjusted his fine suit; he must make a great first impression on the future partner of his Lady!

The knob twisted, and the door opened. Lady Diantha asked him to come inside.

His eyes fell on Iris. He had seen her many times, hiding, and he knew she might have detected him, but his non-hostile aura let him off the hook. It didn't matter how many times he looked at Iris; she always appeared calm and composed. Her aura was painful and had a violent nature meant to dominate, suppress, and make others feel dread.

Yet, every time he looked at her, it was calm and reined in. She was just like Lady Diantha, never trying to show everyone how far above she truly was. To this day, she had not fully unleashed her terrifying presence—a presence that only someone like him or Hecate could feel, someone sensitive to mana’s nature. Even a normal Level 5 could not fathom the storm that was held within. Jasper gulped in awe.

Jasper bowed, “I’m Jasper, a Violinist in service of Lady Diantha,” he introduced himself with utmost respect and calmness. He must show that he was the most trustworthy aide that she would ever need.

“Ah! You’re that Voiliti…” He could see her face turn red as she struggled to speak that word. He tried not to chuckle. It was adorable, the contrasting image between her mana’s nature that matched with her title, and her real self. Even more so than Inspector Huang’s appearance and voice.

“Just call him Jasper.”

“Jasper?” Iris said. “He looks like a long-lost brother of Laydell.”

Laydell? Jasper did not know who that was. Was it a compliment? Or an affront?

“May I ask, who is Laydell?”

“Laydell… He is the Lord of Storms.”

So it was a compliment. Jasper deduced. Not knowing, she said that because his wrinkles were second only to Laydell himself. The day he finds out the reason, he will be heartbroken.