"Rex, please accompany me." Lissana had said this to me on the morning of Murandur, and having nothing else I really needed to do, I followed her out of her manor and into the city. Nash accompanied us, as usual, but it was unusual for Lissana to ask for me to follow her.

"May I ask what this is about?" I asked.

"You may." She replied with a coy smile.

"Then what is this about?" I asked, annoyed. "Unless you want to spend time with me, I can only think of two reasons why you'd have me come with you. You want to show me something, or you need me to do something."

"It is a surprise." She said.

"Which means it can't be something deadly, otherwise you'd have Nash kill me." I reasoned. "At the same time, I can't think of anything I would want or need that you picked up on, nor have I really done anything that would warrant a reward." I glanced at her. "You're wearing relatively simple clothing, but still well-tailored, which means what we're doing isn't socially vital, meaning something that isn't expensive-"

She sighed. "Do you always seek out malign motives from other people?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said. "Honestly, this situation is entirely too alike to several other instances where another person has tricked and humiliated me. Such as the time Sherry in ninth grade asked me on a date and then didn't show up, and then acted like it was the funniest joke ever."

"Date?" She asked.

"Basically, a meeting between two prospective romantic partners in an attempt to find common interests." I said. "Usually, for such a meeting to count as a date, the nature of it being a date needs to be stated before or during, and only by the initiator of the meeting, so you don't have to worry about me claiming any interaction with you could be considered a date." I paused for a moment. "Also, I don't usually like surprises."

"My Lady!" I noticed a couple of men in front of a house. "Have you come to heal the sick today, or are you seeking to comfort those who cannot be healed?"

Lissana smiled as she said, "I am here to do healings, and I have brought someone who may be able to grant a measure of comfort to those who cannot be healed."

We were led inside. "This is the surprise?" I asked.

Lissana nodded. "You have been training without end, and I have learned much of your world's magic, so I have gathered for you some of the things that you have described. It is my hope that they may more easily facilitate your magic, and allow you to do more."

The surprise was potential training, with magical implements inspired by Wicca and other magical traditions, and a great potential for failure and disappointment.

"You may be getting their hopes up." I said. "And a trial by fire isn't exactly the best way to attempt using magical tools, especially the kind I've described. For the most part, I actually have to make them and attune with them properly."

"You did not mention this!" She exclaimed in a low voice.

"I didn't think you would go out of your way to do it for me." I said. "Plus, I have no idea what is similar enough on this world and what is completely different. I know holly exists, but that's an extremely sacred tree."

Lissana's face reddened, and I couldn't tell if she was angry or embarrassed. "Still, I do have a few ideas I want to try out, and I want to see if I can cast healing magic with energy I got from a Focus Crystal."

She looked at me, her expression was difficult to read.

We were brought to a man who was bedridden.

"This man is ill." One of the men stated. "While the illness can be treated, he needs healing if he is to recover."

"Alright." I said. I took off my holy sigil and put it in my pocket. "Test number one, healing spell."

I took the bedridden man's hands in my own and focused. 'Heal minor wounds.'

I felt a rush of energy, and the man visibly grew healthier. Lissana let out a sound that was a cross between a whoop and a laugh and she hugged me.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"I appreciate the excitement." I said. "But, I am still seeing what I can do, and need as few distractions as possible."

"My apologies." Lissana said as she let go. "My joy was such that I could not help myself."

I looked at her and smiled. "We can celebrate afterwards."

She nodded, smiling.

I let go of the man's hands and focused. 'Mana Gift. Target: Self.' I opened my right eye and checked my Mana. "Alright, I can transfer a spell slot to another one." I muttered as I grabbed the man's hand again. I healed him again, and then once more. I took a deep breath and said, "This is all I am able to do. Will this be enough for him to recover fully?"

"With natural healing, yes." The man from earlier said. "What you have done is a miracle, and you did it without a God's power..."

"No." I said. "I just figured out how a deity's power manifests and how it doesn't, at least, as far as my abilities are concerned." I looked at him. "Two of those spells were from Bahamut, however, since casting a divine spell through a holy sigil does trigger magical resistance, I had to channel it through my own body and-"

I felt a sudden crash of pain through my body and did not feel the ground when I fell...

When I came to, not much time had passed, I was still on the ground, but was in the process of being picked up. "Fuck." I said, and they dropped me out of surprise. I sat up, rubbed my head, and then coughed up some blood. Everything ached. "Not to self. Channeling divine power through your body will require at least a healing potion or two." I wiped my mouth and looked at my blood. "Also note to self, this explains the need for holy sigils."

"How are you even conscious?" The other man asked.

"Good question." I said. "Seems I need some healing myself."

Nash handed me a healing potion and I drank it. The pain slowly eased until it stopped. I stood up, but felt exhausted.

"You show signs of mana sickness." Nash said as he helped me steady myself. "Not too severe, but enough that you should rest."

I nodded and he helped me over to a chair. I grounded myself, and though the majority of the fatigue was gone, I was still exhausted. It was then that I noticed my MU limit was now at a staggering 157. Usually, when I expended all of my Mana at once, I only gained one Unit of capacity. In this short-sighted venture, I'd basically expanded it by thirty.

"You know all of that training I did with Cier to improve my maximum MU?" I asked Nash. "I just did more than that with what I did." I nodded. "It's like a muscle, you have to train it, and holy shit did I train it."

"This method of yours is dangerous." Nash stated. "It exerted an unforeseen physical toll and gave you, of all people, mana sickness."

"Which means that a divine spell slot is much more powerful than a mortal spell slot. Which means theoretically, if someone could hold the power, they could use it without risk."

"You look like you can walk." Nash said. "I will take you back to my Lady's manor where you can rest."

He didn't give me much room to argue, he picked me up and carried me back and laid me down on my bed when we got there. I must have fallen asleep, because I later woke up in the middle of night.

I felt fatigued, but also restless, so I went to the only place where I could have some company.

"It is late." Cecil said.

"Yeah." I replied.

I put on the armor and set the helm on a chair, my fatigue seemed to melt away.

"You were injured." Cecil remarked. "Were you in the midst of combat?"

"No." I said. "I just bit off more than I could chew is all. I used magic recklessly and ended up hurting myself."

Cecil was silent for a moment. "I cannot protect one from that." It mused.

"I did experience a massive amount of growth, though." I remarked. "But, the technique is dangerous, as it requires me to channel divine power directly through me rather than through a sigil. My body couldn't handle it."

"What is it you want in this world?" Cecil asked. "I desire only to be worn and to protect, but what do you want?"

"I don't really know." I admitted. "Part of me wants to be a renowned Adventurer, part of me wants to just stay where I am and live my life peacefully."

"I could help you become a renowned Adventurer." Cecil stated.

"Yeah." I said, looking at my gauntleted hand. I stood up and looked at the mirror, which showed me wearing the whole set. "You could, but that would mean I chose to walk that path exclusively.

"Would that be so bad?" Cecil asked. I picked up the helmet. "Everyone who has worn me has gone on to do great things, do you not want to do great things?"

"I do want to do great things." I said. I raised the helm over my head, but before I put it on, I thought about Mom. "But, if I do this, I will basically give up on my dream to return to my home. I would never be able to lead a normal life again."

I removed the armor and Cecil put itself back together. "I am patient." Cecil stated.

I thought about it, and I put the armor on again, without the helmet. I walked around, enjoying how powerful and imposing it made me feel. It reminded me a little of when I bore Avarice. That thought concerned me, what if Cecil was actually some sort of Fiend? I removed the armor, troubled by the thought. Which reminded me...

I picked up the chest containing the crystal belonging to a Conceit Fiend, and a faint glow escaped from it.

"Do you know what a Conceit Fiend is, exactly?" I asked.

"I do not know." Cecil remarked. "All I know is, many great Kings have used their power for their own desires."

"How so?" I asked.

"To those of royal blood, it acts as a wellspring of power, but I do not know how one would use it."

I nodded. I picked up a black crystal that resembled obsidian and could feel a specific type of power, one that was soft and gentle, yet just underneath volatile. It was similar to the Holy Fiend crystal in that regard, where this one seemed to be more an acceptance of mortal ideals, the Holy Fiend crystal instead was a reaching toward the divine.

I found myself placing it against my forehead, where it stayed, though little about me changed. My fingernails had lengthened into black claws, but not much else. I took the crystal off and shook my head.

Nothing tried to control me, but I did feel as though something had changed. I put the crystal down and found myself picking up another one. I wasn't entirely certain why I was doing this, but it wasn't like I couldn't control myself. The Elemental Fiends, I found, were not strong enough to influence me, and the changes they gave were superficial at best.

I spotted a bag and realized that Basha hadn't taken it with him. I went over to it and picked it up. I could feel the Fiend's energy through the bag, which seemed to spontaneously combust. The crystal fell and I instinctively caught it. I could feel Bahamut's flames grow more intense as the Fiend took hold of me. I was enraptured, I could see Bahamut's domain with my own eyes, I felt as though I could walk over to it. I-

"I am here to protect." All of a sudden, it was gone, and Cecil was holding the crystal.

I felt lightheaded, everything blurred, and then everything went black...