Chapter 405 - Candidate (Patreon)

The ax in my hand radiates even more thermal energy as I swing it, adding to the heatwave that fills the room. All that heat doesn't bother me anymore, but it surrounds Lissandra, who now radiates mana around her body. Most likely just the amount she got from Myrra before coming here.

That mana around her isn't even that much, yet it interacts with the heat in the room in such a way that it drastically reduces the effect on Lissandra.

It looks just like a tiny flame refusing to be extinguished by the tornado.

When she swings her arm, the heat in front of her disappears as if blown away by immense pressure, and I block the invisible cut with the ax. Even then, I'm thrown away, nearly colliding with one of the pillars.

I activate one of my webs, and it reaches down, surrounding her. Multiple tricolored orbs explode at once while the rest of the web disappears to send a powerful disrupting wave of mana at her.

Lissandra even now doesn't bother to use her daggers, and the orbs stop mid-explosion. I can see their shape and mana expanding but all of it is as if frozen in time.

Surrounded by the explosions, she takes a few more steps, her eyes still on me. Clearly challenging me.

More heat crashes against her, a stream of concentrated thermal energy shooting from the ax I'm holding.

She dodges at first and continues to run in one direction, my attack following her, leaving out ripples in the pool of molten metal and melted marks on the pillars.

In her way, one of my stones activates, and multiple disrupting frequencies are sent at her at once.

Through my anchor, a spike of kinetic energy shoots at her.

Another web shrinks and tries to coil around her, this one being made out of extremely dense threads meant to entrap her.

Lissandra ignores the disrupting attempt; it does not do anything to her. She tanks the kinetic energy with her forearm, and something she does makes the threads disappear as if blown away by wind.

The tricolored orbs I shoot at her freeze in the air, and when she stomps, another wave is sent from her, blowing away another of my thermal attacks. All seems to be barely causing her any trouble, but I just continue to attack.

I never expected to get her with any of these attacks; all of this is meant to make her waste as much mana as possible. Even now she is missing some because of her way here, and now she has to use some more.

No matter how efficient she is, at some point the sheer amount will win over her quality.

And while she faces me, I watch her, I read her movements, and I perceive what she does. And I'm learning from her.

I make changes to my web, I switch frequencies. I modify my anchors. The way I'm using thermal energy changes, and even my use of kinetic energy for attack becomes different. It is all in order 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 with my crown and domain.

Immediately, I release half of the thermal energy remaining in my arm and ax, it swirling around, melting the pillars and making them fall down.

That wall of golden thermal energy surrounds the woman while from all sides of my web, tricolored javelins shoot towards her. Other ones are filled with wildly disrupting mana, some are just dense mana sent 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 I made activates and disrupts my own mana, turning it into shiny particles before she can absorb my mana to use it against me.

The attacks that seemed about 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 blink, and she is there, 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 energy of her attack and still making me stagger.

Her fist lands on my face, she kicks my side, and I release a blast of heat that gets blown away by her mana. The golden flames surround both of us, pressing on a faint glow of mana around her.

Lissandra still looks perfectly fine. There is no wound on her body, even her clothes are barely damaged.

When I shoot a thermal orb at her, she dodges easily, and the last remains of my web and domain press on both of us while she punches me to break through my kinetic armor.

It’s efficiency against quantity. And I win in that. The sheer amount of mana and thermal energy I collected is too much for that little amount she took from Myrra.

Finally, Lissandra uses her black dagger, and it stabs into my side.

And for the first time, a surprise appears on her face 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 inside my body she could absorb, and neither is 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, turned into light blue particles, too fine for the still imperfect black dagger to absorb.

Lissandra can't kill me. Not because it's impossible for her, but because of the promise she gave me of killing me only if I fail in the tasks she gave me. And I don't think she will break that promise, not with me. She wants to defeat me cleanly and decisively, so that's why my head isn't rolling into the pool of molten metal yet.

Partially it is also how the two of us communicate. Neither of us is that good at it otherwise.

More and more heat surrounds us both, the golden whips of flame following her, laser-like streams piercing through the air. There is no mana for her to absorb, and everything I generate immediately turns into primordial energies.

But she reaches her breaking point and stops, "That much should be enough."

Mana that was until now softly radiating from her body is gone, and then I feel my body lifting into the air, Lissandra below me.

Another punch throws me to the side, and a third one makes me stagger back.

The fourth one tears off my arm made out of thermal energy and throws it far away where it explodes into flames I try to pull to me, 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 in my hand made of mana.

Lissandra tilts her head, and a tiny orb of thermal energy misses her, right behind the orb, the black dagger I threw flies, both boosted by most of my kinetic energy. The monster reacts in time and tries to grab it, but [Redistribution] activates for just a tenth of a second 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 through that entrance, a black dagger flies in. The amount in the thermal orb was very small, just to open the entrance only a tiny bit, so it closes before Lissandra reaches it.

But there was something else.

A mana orb inside that place. The orb containing amount of mana equal to my entire reservoir and body mana. Near it was an anchor, and through that anchor, that mana seeps back inside my body.

[Mana Domain] extends further, and the crown over my head grows while my mana surrounds me like a beautiful armor affected by my subclass.

I use [Focus] for my skills, and all of that mana floods into [Resonance], powering it.

The high pitch fills the place, the bits of mana around Lissandra tearing apart just because of the sheer amount of mana I am using.

She keeps changing the frequencies and even appears in front of me, punching against 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] activated 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 it is not even her own mana.

While staying awake for even longer than me.

While not even being that serious about this fight.

While not having 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 that 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 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, a wound on her skin for the first time.

She wants to play my teacher? To mess with me and do things like she did up until now?

I pull heat from the molten metal and increase the heat around her, forcing her to put effort there as well. I don't bother making mana arms and instead focus on making the armor around my chest and head stronger.

If she wants to be like that, she can. But she needs to prove it.

Prove to me that she is so much stronger than me.

Prove that even in such a pitiful state, she can kill me.

Prove that all my tricks and days of preparations are meaningless in front of 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 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 puts it on 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 both me and Lissandra sit near the core of Living Quarters where I transported us with my anchor. After a bit of rest and me 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 know you would have died if I didn’t use 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 with the orange eye of Champion imbued in it. It’s creepy, very much so. Somehow it reminds me of times on the 3rd floor when she was a fleshy brooch.

Such a cockroach queen.

“Did you call me a cockroach queen?”

Huh? Can she read my mind?

“You are saying it out loud, you do realize that, right?”

I really need to sleep.

“Yes, you do. As for the dagger, the base of the Saint will be used for the healing part of the function so my body won’t reject it, while the eye will ignite and start the heart I will make for myself out of Niall’s. She also had a Potency upgrade so it’s fitting.”

“I see,” I say while taking another sip of water.

All around us are various chunks of metal, some items I saved, and plenty 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 that much time remains.

“You don’t want the Champion’s heart down in the pool of molten metal?” I ask her.

“It doesn’t fit me. Do you want it?”

“Yes, but I don’t think I can get 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 will grab it for you. If you grow well, it will be yours the next time we meet.”

“Months?”

“Yes, it will take at least that long to reach the palace where the Absolute lies and for me to prepare the heart for myself 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 all must be if it will take so long for the cockroach queen.

“You said it again,” Lissandra this time sighs. “You didn’t get one of your skills to level 50.”

“You are right,” I answer.

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 disruption is sent 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 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 mention.

“I guess so.”

Something bounces off my chest, and as I catch it, I see that it is 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 three mana shaping exercises. Just these three. The last one has some 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 both eat together, food and water placed on a square piece of clean cloth.

The timer ticks down and my two weeks under her 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 back to the sixth floor appears next to me and looking at Lissandra, I guess she can see it. Can see it but can’t pass. But even that is something that will change.

“I will do so, 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 at places and torn where I damaged her. And even sitting on the floor, she seems so dignified and confident.

“Cockroach,” I blabber 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, Lady Lissandra returns without Nathaniel.

It might be because I already have traveled with her for quite some time, but she seems to be in a better mood than before.

“Did it go well?” I ask her.

“Exceeding the expectations. And you? What do you think of the Ignition Wavelength Eye?”

I hesitate, looking at the eyeball in my hand, the eye of the 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 do so, 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 stays quiet, I think she might not answer, but in the end, her expression changes just a tiny bit. Before I can decipher it, it's back to her usual one.

And she doesn’t answer my question.

“You know what is funny, little kitten? He didn’t accept me as his master, not fully. That crazy Pride of his didn’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 dumb man doesn’t care. He would treat me the same even 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 challenges 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 are floating around her, each of them having its own unpredictable frequency and ever-changing requirements of mana 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 just a short time we spent together here, but I know it's not the last time. No, with 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 kept 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 is the invisible kind of monster my master hates so much. Or maybe it is 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 lately started running away from me at sight, what a shame because they were really tasty. I wish I could eat them with master.

“Hello,” I hear a voice.

My barrier surrounds me and I curse at myself. I didn’t sense anything. Master would be angry with me.

There, to the side, a woman sits on the boulder. She is young and has long red hair. Her eyes are yellow and with a weird pattern all over them. 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 fight.

“I apologize, he always called you that and I wanted to try it. It sounded fun.” She is still smiling as she says so.

“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 me. She smells nice.

But how can she 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 will watch from a distance. If he tries something, 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 asking and pretending to know.

“It’s complicated, but I promised it to 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.

***

Next Chapter