A/N: Apologies for the delay. It took a while to finish this chapter after several rewrites. The downtime at least let me rest my mind and plan the next chapters, so they will most likely go out on their usual time.****Making mistakes was almost becoming synonymous with Lev’s tests. Whenever he tried something new, it resulted in either harm to his soul, a discovery too weak or irrelevant to matter to his arsenal, or simply a new tool that he didn’t know how to use.
The last test, however, was a weird combination of all three. Augmenting the aura with emotions was dangerous, powerful, and something he was very much going to steer clear of. Hell, his mind should’ve clued him in already. There had been a total of exactly two instances of what he had just tried. Back when the mana devourer had displeased the stormfury, and the class of the stag he had found in the rift.
Both of the beings were so far beyond him that it wasn’t even funny. And even then, the stormfury had only projected a surface-level emotion through its aura, and the stag had a whole class dedicated to it.
Lev, on the other hand, had none of that. He was weak, lacking in levels, skills, class benefits, and even spiritual harmony. No part of his arsenal was designed to deal with his aura, and yet, he had dove stupidly into the test.
Now, as he flew back into the goliath’s corpse, his eyes couldn’t see anything. No, all of his attention was on his soul, one that was forcefully holding back the consequences.
As he landed a few meters away from the Equalizer, Lev freed up a tiny portion of his mind. It sent mana into his armor skill to rebuild it, and then he just… remained there. His entire mind projected tranquility through his aura, and even the smallest lapse in control felt as if his soul were splashed with liquid fire.
This was… he thought to himself, taking a deep, steadying breath. Not a good idea. Very bad idea.
The moment he tried to focus on something else, the delicate balance threatened to unravel. He wasn’t even allowed to look around. Subjected to waves of disruption, Lev could only float in place and wait for something to change.
Time passed in agonizing slowness. Without realizing it, he sat down in the tunnel at some point, legs crossed. Willpower acted by itself, rebuilding the destroyed armor limb and tempering it against the equalizer’s pulses.
Minutes turned into hours before Lev opened his eyes. The beautiful goliath core hovered in front of him, dutifully sending out waves of disruption. Admiring it for a few minutes, he eventually stood up and flew out of the tunnel. Just that little mana usage was enough to jostle his soul, reminding him of his precarious situation.
Outside was night, though he knew at least one day had passed. Drakys was nowhere to be seen. A few hundred meters away, he noticed the vehicle Aurora Flynn had arrived in. The hints of aura he could feel told him that she was inside.
Lev moved in the opposite direction. When he was far enough to ignore the disruption pulses easily, he sat down again to meditate. At least that seemed to be improving… whatever he had held back. He very much wasn’t interested in the backlash.
Let’s see, he cleared his mind and calmed himself. Compared to the few seconds before, it took several minutes until he could see his own regenerating pool in its limited glory. What is the damage verdict?
None, as it turned out. His soul was whole and, to his untrained eye, unhurt. The pain originated from beyond what he could perceive. Mana regeneration remained unaffected, which was nice.
What he did notice, however, was the method to heal. Nothing that he could observe through his normal senses. Lev could just feel his soul straining less with every passing… he couldn’t tell. Perhaps minutes were going by, or maybe hours were. The passage of time was lost on him in the meditation.
Ah well, he sighed in his head. I guess a break was in order, anyway.
****
As far as Lev could tell, four days passed while he stayed still. The lack of physical movements and deep thoughts allowed him to meditate without any breaks. By now, his soul was as pristine as it could get, only underlined by a faint burn.
After that long session of calming his soul, he finally exhaled and opened his eyes when he felt someone approaching. Aurora Flynn looked the same as before, only slightly more bored. A rapier hung on her waist, though before they could talk, Drakys appeared next to her.
The few dozen meters between them and Lev were rather insignificant. He heard them clearly.
“Report,” the Exalted commanded leisurely.
“Nothing extraordinary,” Aurora began as if she were expecting it. “Only the core was outright Epic from the start. The flesh and bones are good materials, but they have been overpurified. To an unreasonable degree, I’d say.”
Lev grinned to himself. It was exactly how he would’ve worded his suspicions in front of Drakys. If the Exalted wanted to reveal something, he would do so.
Drakys, however, was not in a charitable mood. He just kept walking towards Lev, so Aurora continued with her prepared report. Much of it was simple but not very understandable. What different mana densities in specific bones had to do with alchemy, he had no idea. It mattered somehow.
He stood up when they were right next to him. Lev bowed at the waist this time, mostly to put up a show in front of Aurora.
“I greet the Exalted,” he intoned, leaving out the marchioness because he could. One ought to be more in control of one’s emotions. While he didn’t hold the first interaction against her, it didn’t feel good to be subjected to it, regardless.
“Rise,” Drakys commented with a slightly raised brow. “How are things looking on your end?”
Lev coughed, then just decided to show them. With a grimace, he forced his aura to come out of his body, where it was usually hidden. His presence blanketed the area, though it lacked the same substance as before. Lev had already noticed how much his soul was affected, but seeing the aura in the open really hammered home the point. It felt a lot weaker than before.
“Severe aura burn,” the Exalted explained. “This is usually caused by skills that utilize aura, and never to this degree. Most Masters would just die before things get even half as bad as they did in your case.”
“I gathered as much,” Lev replied sheepishly. “I’m fine now, though. I think. Gonna have to test what I can do in this state.”
“About time, young man,” Aurora cut in. “My harvesters were getting tired of idling around.”
“Young man?” Lev asked pointedly. “Seems I left an impression.”
“Barely,” the noble scoffed. “I’ve seen many a suicidal hunter over the centuries. You’re not that special.”
Lev looked at Drakys. The man just stayed quiet. Lev turned back to the marchioness. “How about a spar, then? So we can test what state my soul really is in right now.”
Aurora Flynn blinked once, then a familiar glint of excitement appeared in her eyes.
****
“You planned this as well, didn’t you?” Aurora asked Drakys, already aware of the answer. “How mighty can he be compared to all the fools that push into the pit or the Dreadwoods? None of them live to tell the tale.”
“Not that special,” the Exalted replied with a grin, repeating her words. Aurora’s eyes narrowed, first at Drakys, then at Lev, who was rebuilding his armor inside the goliath.
An hour later, the barrier mage exited the corpse, his armor flaring with a ton of mana. All of the enchantments were cloaked, though she could feel the distinct impression of Drakys’s runes from a mile away.
Underneath that, she could also feel a stream of healing mana entering Lev’s body. His eyes belied some degree of resignation already, though none was reflected in his resolve as he waited for Aurora’s move.
Let’s see, Aurora mused to herself, unsheathing her weapon and motioning away from the Goliath’s corpse. Drakys wouldn’t be spectating if he wasn’t expecting something unique to happen. Going too hard from the start doesn’t sound fun, though.
In the end, she settled for a 50% limiter. Her Shattered Star skill, the strongest of its kind in the Plains, allowed her to break past her limits. In the same vein, she could restrict herself, and half her full strength sounded like a good compromise for the relatively new Master.
Lev flew ahead, the lightning infusion making him shine like a firefly. Aurora powered up her body enhancement and kept pace with him, keenly feeling his desire to take things up a notch.
Ultimately, he had more than enough self-control to fly slowly. When they were a few kilometers away, Lev landed amidst a patch of emptiness, turning towards her.
“Rules?” Aurora voiced, putting one arm behind her back, rapier steady.
“Nothing lethal or crippling.”
“Good enough.”
A massive wave of lightning originated from Lev’s armor. Aurora’s eyes widened a little, feeling the mana teleport into the mage’s skill in a blink. Such instant transportation was nothing short of ridiculous.
The wave, however, was underwhelming. Her rapier cut through it, red flames easily devouring the remaining lightning that came close to her. The positioning of Lev’s glaive betrayed his surprise, then also shock when she casually redirected it towards the ground.
He came to a sudden halt, a crater forming to Aurora’s left from the deflected strike.
“How can you handle that fire?” Lev asked, the spar temporarily forgotten. Aurora just chuckled and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying.
How, he asks, she thought to herself, shaking her head. Anyone who evolved to the Master rank was already aware of the answer. There were no shortcuts to power, though the possibility of Lev having seen another red element remained. That would be an intriguing mystery.
As was appropriate while facing her current opponent, Aurora didn’t press the attack at first. Lev slowly ramped up his output, testing the extent of his aura burn. Just once, he tried to fight her with blue flames, immediately giving up when she just overtook his control. His willpower couldn’t handle that contest in its present state.
****
Surely not, right? Lev asked himself for the tenth time, his mind stuck on the red fire. I mean, the lightning I got felt alive, in a way. It nearly fucking killed me. These flames are way tamer.
In conclusion, Aurora Flynn likely didn’t have the same brand of fire as the red lightning. Lev couldn’t imagine them both still being alive if it were. Not only was the fire entirely under her control, but it also devoured his barriers in a rather clean, efficient manner. The red lightning felt more akin to a rampaging troll.
Controlling a few dozen lances, he fired them at the warrior toying with him. Aurora danced between the barrage, her flames simply absorbing all the explosions around her. Lev knew that she wasn’t trying to be overwhelming, but he still found himself backtracking, unable to find a single opening.
I did ask her for a spar to test my soul’s state, didn’t I? Lev reminded himself, trying to muster up some false confidence. Why do I always end up preparing myself for self-harm?
Just another one of life’s greatest mysteries, he supposed. Dragging mana out of his soul was like dragging a thorny vine against his skin. Not very harmful, but painful as hell.
Still, he persisted, carefully manipulating small amounts to start with. Converting mana primarily into lightning, he adjusted his glaive and crafted a few densely enchanted shields. Then he was off, hurtling towards the noblewoman like a bullet.
Aurora didn’t react until the last second, her eyes scanning all of his preparations. Blue arrows fell from above, so she took a few steps back, dodging them deftly. Red flames decimated the ground around her in a large crater, nullifying all of the barrier orbs underneath.
Then, hovering mid-air, she lunged. Lev didn’t even see her approach, only felt her flames easily pierce his shields, colliding against the armor. Even Arcane Protection struggled to hold it at bay, just barely protecting his face from being sheared off.
Lev tried to react, only to find himself shooting towards the ground. Lightning infusion increased his speed further, just as Stargazer clashed with her rapier. And, to his immense surprise, he was completely overshadowed in terms of raw strength as well.
Barrier ropes surged downwards from his bubble. Aurora cut through them like a scythe in a field, also evading all of Lev’s strikes without batting an eye. Her weapon cut a lightning bolt in twain, absorbing it in the process. Lev could see the thrill of battle finally start to overtake her, and in just two moves, her rapier was scraping against his armor’s throat in an overwhelming victory.
… Well, fuck, Lev chuckled nervously. Granted, I couldn’t even bring out a quarter of my arsenal… but that wouldn’t have helped anyway. Holy shit.
“Uhm,” he coughed. “I blame the soul damage.”
“Of course,” Aurora agreed. It took Lev a moment to realize she wasn’t joking. “You didn’t even get to use a twentieth of your pool, let alone your weapon’s.”
“Which is a good thing, too,” Lev added, imagining how things would’ve gone if he could use his full power. “I couldn’t have guaranteed either of our safeties.”
“That’s why we have a spectator,” the noblewoman brushed off his concern. “He’s more than enough to stop us both with his eyes closed.”
“Ah,” Lev straightened, remembering something. “Drakys?”
“Hm?” the Exalted appeared next to him. “Anything new about your condition?”
“No, I just wanted to ask: Do you have access to Greater Restoration mana?”
Drakys crossed his arms, scanning Lev up and down. He didn’t ask why Lev knew about that particular type or its effects. “While that would skip most of the recovery, it will also put your soul on a cooldown period. Any further damage will be both much worse and impossible to heal beyond what natural healing can provide. Are you sure?”
Lev’s desire for a good spar faltered. “Cooldown? That’s a thing?”
“Of course?” Aurora voiced, then smirked. “You don’t use potions, I see. I approve. It’s not like—”
“Don’t taint him with your views further,” Drakys interjected. “He’s bad enough as he is.”
“I am not,” Lev said, bemused. “I’m just motivated. There’s a difference.”
“Sure. It’s exactly as you say,” Drakys waved him off. “Your team will join you soon. While I would rather send you to battle with a healed soul, the cooldown may come back to bite you. Are you sure?”
Even Aurora was intently looking at Lev by then. His reaction would reveal a lot about his personality. Lev himself took a moment to go through his thoughts, then made up his mind.
“Yeah, I would rather be healed. There hasn’t been a chance to push myself after killing the goliath. I don’t know where I stand right now after all the levels I gained.”
Drakys acquiesced, and an hour later, Lev felt almost as good as new. The Red Streak waited patiently, changing into a powered armor that radiated an aura of strength. Not Superior, but in the upper realms of Epic for sure.
Moving farther away from the Goliath’s corpse to let the harvesters work in peace, Lev sighed. He didn’t harbor much hope of winning the spar, not after the brief battle. But, considering his opponent, he expected her evolved flames to provide valuable insight into evolving his own lightning. In a non-lethal way.