For now, I decide not make any attempts at running away from this crazy woman. At least I should be able to get something useful out of the experience.

This version of the 5th floor seems to be a continuation of my instance, so unfortunately I can't loot the Veil Ignition Station again. But there should be others, so maybe I can raid a few along the way. Of course, I’ll have to keep working hard on fulfilling Lissandra’s demands.

I don't think I’m going to have much chance to sleep over the next two weeks, my first goal should be to get myself to level 250 and earn some body strengthening. Hopefully, it will help me endure that.

“Myrra, why do you guys have that arm with you,” I ask, gesturing at the slim, and pale arm that once belonged to a woman.

“Lady Lissandra brought it with her. She said it belonged to someone who used to share her title.”

Oh? Did it come from the Absolute Saint of the third floor?

I take a few steps closer and squat in front of the arm, which pokes from the bag. Surely it is better than the piece of Champion’s body I left with Lily, right? Even though she was long dead, it did come from the body of an Absolute.

“Feral one, I would advise against taking it. Very strongly advise,” Myrra says seriously.

“It feels weird. What did she do to it?”

“We found Thalen's original body and...”

“Who?”

Myrra blinks slowly a few times and stares at me.

"What? I can't remember every random guy's name."

"Thalen, the guild master of The Luminous Order? You and I fought Isola and him in the Old Capital, feral one. Lady Lissandra forced him to use his skill and took over. She did it so easily too. She used him to make changes to the arm and create a few single-use emblems. Thalen died in the process. The pressure melted his brain."

“Eh. It’s not like anyone’s going to miss the guy.” I say, poking the arm, which retains a degree of softness and warmth.

It radiates a similar aura to the Saint's body almost as if it were still alive, ready to wake at any moment.

Looking at the arm, I whisper, “It’s nice to see that you made it.”

“What?” Myrra asks, and her ears perk up.

I’m fairly certain that she heard me the first time, so I ignore her question and stand without disturbing the arm.

“So she didn't declare you a Champion candidate?” I ask her.

“She didn't. Unlike the matriarch, she doesn’t think I’ve earned it yet.”

“Can she even do that? She isn’t an Absolute anymore. What even is her current level?”

“You can ask her, feral one. Please let me know what you learn.”

“Maybe you should ask. I’m sure Lady Lissandra loves her little kitten enough to answer.”

“Maybe she likes her little pup more. Why don’t you bark for me? Woof woof, my little feral pup.”

“Nya.”

Myrra freezes and blushes, “Do not…”

“Nya nya nya.”

“Feral one, do you need another beating? How could you have grown even more annoying in the time since we last saw each other?”

“Nya?”

“You little shit…”

“Grab our things. We’re moving out.” Lissandra says, appearing out of nowhere. It’s like she’s taunting me for my poor perception. I didn’t sense her at all. I didn’t sense her heart, my black dagger, the heat of her body, or the kinetic energy from her movement.

She just appears out of nowhere.

Myrra reacts quickly and pulls the items from the ground, bundling them away in a number of small bags. Some of them contain food, others contain water, and a few others contain a series of miscellaneous items. Oh, and the human arm and the heart of the man Myrra just killed, of course.

“This way. You’re up first, little pup. Kill any monster that gets in our way. For the next hour, you may only use five percent of your body’s mana. Any mana you recover will not be added to this allotment. No primordial energies either,” she says.

I look at her for a while and blink.

Lissandra doesn’t volunteer any more information, so I take the indicated position, knowing all too well that she will be watching.

I sense my heart beating. A feeling I identify as hesitation and uncertainty? It’s not something I’m used to feeling.

Quickly, I reduce the reach of my [Perception] to conserve mana. I also stop strengthening my body, which becomes much weaker right away. I feel almost naked without mana feeding my Reinforcement Construct.

The feeling I get from the forest around me changes immediately. The same can be said of the sensation of danger radiating from the two beings behind me.

I know Myrra won’t attack me without a very good reason, and Lissandra doesn’t currently have one. Yet my paranoid mind can’t help but expect betrayal, leaving me in a state of concern. Even my diminished reach is leaving me fumbling.

The first monsters to appear are a small pack.

[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 201]

[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 212]

[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 206]

[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 202]Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 199]

They are humanoid, but they seem to be made of black wood, covered in bark. They seem to lack any kind of sensory organs. Each one is at least two heads taller than me, and each step they take is accompanied by the creaking of branches as their limbs sway in the powerful wind.

I let the first two approach, and as they swing their limbs, I boost my body and jump to the side.

Root like spikes pierce the ground, expanding outward from the creatures.

I sidestep the attack only to watch as two more of the Stalkers enter a tree nearby only to exit another right behind me, before launching a coordinated assault on me with the help of the first two.

This time, I let a bit of my mana seep out and cover the knife edge of my hand, along my pinkie, down to my wrist. I oscillate that little bit of my mana and slash against one of the limbs.

My attack doesn’t cause any damage. Instead, I feel a sharp pain in my hand and boost my body to escape the encirclement, repeating the exercise two more times to avoid the normal trees they manipulate in an attempt to grab me.

The accompanying sense of frustration almost makes me flood my body with mana, but then I see Lissandra standing calmly and watching me.

I force myself to push these feelings to the back of my mind and run towards the Ebonwood Stalker that’s been using the spikes the most, only to be forced to boost my body to reach him before the others catch me. Once again, oscillating mana coats my hand. This time, I strike at the intersection between the neck and the torso.

Spikes erupt from the monster’s body, too many for me to dodge, so I shift my body, allowing two of the spikes to pierce the skin just over my collarbone and another to take a chunk out of my forearm.

I force my healing passive into dormancy given Its use of primordial energy.

Then I slash three times into the monster’s neck, separating the head from its body.

[You have defeated Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 202]

As I stagger back to avoid the other monsters, I notice something spreading through my body. Foreign particles seeping in through the wounds I just received.

Dodging to the side, I examine them, and then, seeing no other option, I raise my mana a bit and push them out of my body in one concentrated effort at two places, using two percent of my mana leaving me three to work with.

Four monsters remain, and I still have over 50 minutes until I get to swap out.

I attack right away, using just a bit of my mana for detection and mostly relying on my senses. I jump from side to side and then extend oscillation around my palm and cut through the tree.

It falls down, taking the Ebonwood Stalker that just attempted to use it to flank me.

[You have defeated Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 212]

Using [Focus] for [Resonance], I clash against the rest of the monsters.

They are strong and durable enough that they would probably cause more trouble for anyone without the necessary cutting force. [Resonance] is just that strong, and I can keep up with any attacks I can sense.

When the last one dies, I stop and, for the first time in a long time, I feel breathless. My heart thumps wildly, as even now I stop mana from strengthening my body too much.

[Lvl 237 > Lvl 238]

Our eyes meet, she points in a direction, saying “That way.”

With just over one percent left out of my five percent allotment, I head off.

It’s all weird. Especially the emotions I usually block or weaken with [Focus]. Using a mere fraction of the mana I’m used to throwing around without any thought. I’m sure I even sense a bit of fear. It’s one of the few emotions I let through if only to increase my enjoyment of a given fight, but this time it feels more real. More raw.

We reach a small clearing, finding a single monster awaiting our approach.

[Rootfiend - lvl 210]

Another humanoid figure. As tall as me, with long spindly limbs. The moment the monster spots me, it attacks, lashing out in a single smooth motion, mana coating the length of its arms in a field of wildly vibrating energy.

I boost my body just in time, holding my arms in a defensive stance, covering my neck with forearms coated in an oscillating mana.

Almost by reflex, I’m about to place an anchor on it but stop myself because of the mana cost. Instead, as the monster jumps back, I grab its arm, resonating my mana against it to stop it from damaging me.

As I take hold of its limb I take the opportunity to pull the beast off balance, the monster hisses in response, baring its teeth in a show of aggression. Revealing rows upon rows of shark-like teeth. In exchange, I open my mouth, launching the orb I’ve been hiding from the monster’s detection, lodging it in the monster’s mouth.

I manipulate it, changing its shape, causing it to elongate into a spike and piercing the monster’s brain, watching as it sways and falls. But not before it can slash my body a few times, too quick to dodge. Leaving gashes across my waist, and my blood seeping through my clothes.

[You have defeated Rootfiend - lvl 210]

One percent of my allotted mana remains. My mind feels weirdly blank, and even my heart, despite its wild thumping, begins to pound out a strong rhythmic beat.

“That way.” I hear Lissandra say behind me.

It irks me in just the wrong way, and for a moment a strong temptation overtakes me.

Just a single order and my mana will move the way I want. I can use all of it. I just need to turn around and face that annoying woman. There is no need to kill her, just show her that I’m not here to be toyed with. At this moment I don’t care if she is trying to teach me something.

Just a…I freeze the moment I turn around.

Lissandra towers there. At that moment, I can’t even see Myrra cringing nearby. It’s as if Lissandra is the only being in existence in this place. Her presence overwhelms everything around her.

There is no mana flowing around us. Lissandra doesn’t even take a battle stance. She just returns my gaze. Something about it tells me she knows exactly what’s going through my mind. She even welcomes it.

If I attack her right now, she might kill me.

My lips shift, and a big smile forms on my face. The biggest one I’ve shown in a long time.

Lissandra seems to be taken aback for the faintest moment, but even though her expression doesn’t change, a dangerous light begins to dance in her eyes.

My mana flows into my body, and a crown forms over my head. I take a step towards her, extending my domain over the area. I do not use black mana, nor do I use [Focus] for my emotions. Instead, I manipulate my trait, activating it, and within my domain, I place anchors. Then I use [Redistribution] and reach out and grab Lissandra.

Lissandra reaches and taps on the black dagger on her waist. A single clear ringing sound, and I see the dagger absorb a bit of my mana. Less than the five percent I used against the monsters. Only then does she lower her body and use the skills Hadwin used to have.

[Strengthening] activates, and she moves even quicker than Tacita, each of her steps tearing the ground apart.

[Disruption] dances around her skin, changing frequency with a speed I can’t even imagine, forcing me to deactivate my eyes when I try to examine it.

I stack barriers around me. I strengthen my body and shoot projectiles towards her.

She ignores it all. None of that mana damages her. Every piece of it bursts into particles when it touches her.

I kick out at her, and she increases her speed even further for an instant, slipping under my leg, and lashes out at me with a kick of her own. Under her kick, my knee bends and shatters. I send mana there to support myself, but then she touches me and all of my mana starts running out of control.

I empty my Vortex Core, all of my thermal and highly concentrated kinetic energy bursting into the area around me, flames burning everything in their path, and kinetic energy tearing through the area.

She connects to one of my anchors and activates it, and I feel myself teleported through it, along with an uninvited hitchhiker. Lissandra and I appearing in a place far away from the explosion.

For a fleeting moment, our eyes meet. Then her arm becomes a blur, striking the side of my head, and I black out.