Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

[lordanl]

The runic language was an ancient written language used by the Boreal League, though it has fallen into disuse in modern times. It was based on runes that were very similar to those used to create magical artifacts or spells. Although there were some differences, it was common for practitioners of the Aegis System, who were sorcerers, to have some knowledge of this language.

Suddenly finding himself the center of attention, Ethan pretended to cough a couple of times to clear his throat, straightened his posture slightly, and then took a step forward to speak with a serious expression.

"Indeed, it is the runic language. A well-thought-out choice for the test, as, although it is now a disused language, it was very popular in ancient times, and we may encounter it in the ruins. Fortunately, I have learned a bit and can translate it."

"Then we will rely on you, Disciple Williams." Zoe remarked in a calm tone, to which Ethan quickly nodded and focused his gaze on the holograms, adding.

"I will do my best."

With a serious and concentrated expression, Ethan reviewed the runes on the holographic screens, then brought his hand to his chin, thinking about how to adapt the meaning to the galactic language while preserving the nuances. After a few seconds, he nodded in satisfaction and began to speak again.

"...The written message goes something like this:

'In hands of sages, warriors bold, true power lies.
He who walks with wisdom, history as his guide,
The shrouded path shall rise, unveiled to wise eyes.
Reflect the past, wield the key, and knowledge gates swing wide.'

"It's a bit complicated to translate this kind of ancient poetry into the galactic language, but that's more or less what it says."

After reciting the poem, Ethan added in a pensive tone, which led everyone present to sink into their thoughts, pondering its meaning. After a few seconds, Elara was the first to speak, her tone thoughtful, her hand on her chin, deeply immersed in her thoughts.

"I suppose 'the key' refers to the staff..."

"That makes sense, but what does 'reflect the past' mean? Could it have something to do with the light affinity?" Zoe added shortly after, looking thoughtfully at Liliana.

"I doubt it. Although [Past's Reflection] is indeed a light affinity spell, it's something of a much higher level, something only possible for Arcane-level mages. I don't think they expect us to perform that spell. Besides, the light affinity is too rare for the riddle to be related to it." Liliana disagreed, convincing everyone, who quickly returned to their thoughts.

"Liliana is right. 'Reflect the past' must refer to something more metaphorical..." Elara murmured softly, still pensive, while Ethan continued to examine the runes carved into the door, trying to find any useful clues but finding nothing that particularly caught his attention.

After giving up on the door, Ethan turned his gaze to the staff at Zoe's waist. After examining each of its runes, he noticed something strange. Despite being slightly illuminated, the surface of the staff seemed to faintly reflect the image of the door. But what was truly odd was that, through the staff's reflection, a faint figure of what appeared to be a hand could be seen carved into the door.

Noticing this detail, Ethan's eyes lit up like lanterns, and he quickly turned to look at the door again, where he could see nothing resembling what the staff's reflection showed. This brought a huge smile to his face, and he soon announced, absolutely convinced, that this was the key to solving the riddle.

"It's the staff's reflection!! 'Reflect the past' refers to the staff's reflection!!"

Ethan's words caught the attention of everyone present, who looked at the staff with curiosity. Indeed, after staring at it for a while, they found the faint figure of an arm carved into the door reflected in it. Zoe quickly took the staff and began to move it, revealing that the figure was actually a mage fighting a knight.

"You're right. The door's reflection in the staff shows 'a scene from the past'." Elara commented delightedly, while Zoe, with a smile on her face, began to change the staff's position, trying to provoke some reaction, but nothing happened.

"Is it a matter of the angle or the distance?" Zoe asked, confused, as she stepped forward and backward. At that moment, Liliana softly commented after a moment of consideration.

"Maybe it's both. Try taking a few steps back and adjust the angle so that the images of the mage and the warrior appear simultaneously in the staff's reflection."

After nodding in agreement, Zoe took several steps back until she reached the perfect spot where the figures of the mage and the knight appeared together in the staff's reflection. This quickly confirmed that it was the correct answer, as both the staff and the door began to glow brightly.

"It seems that was the correct answer." Zoe commented with a charming smile, which spread to the other two girls, causing the men in the team to swallow heavily, mesmerized by the almost hypnotic beauty the young women exuded.

While the young men were nearly hypnotized by the beauty of the direct disciples, the massive wooden doors opened, revealing a descending spiral staircase of stone steps on the other side. At that moment, Zoe quickly ordered, placing her right hand on the hilt of her sheathed katana.

"Everyone, stay alert. We'll descend in defensive formation. Be ready for combat. Magni, with me."

"Understood."

Zoe's voice snapped the young men out of their trance, and they quickly formed up while Magni stepped forward, announcing firmly. At that moment, Zoe summoned the beautiful nine-tailed fox once more, which appeared in a trail of fire, then offered the staff while speaking in a tone full of respect.

"Hiyori-sama, I will be in your care once again."

"Trust me, little Zoe."

The beautiful fox responded in a sweet, melodious voice, taking the staff in its teeth, then positioning itself in the middle of the formation. Zoe turned to look at her companions and announced firmly.

"Let's go!"

Passing through the enormous doors, the group encountered a long spiral staircase illuminated by pale blue torches. They descended with their weapons ready and barriers up, prepared for any attack or trap. Soon, however, the group reached the bottom, where they found a massive cavern supported by gigantic pillars that made them feel like ants.

But even more impressive was the beautiful palace visible at the center, which seemed to have come straight out of a fairy tale. Seeing the palace in the distance, the group nearly jumped with excitement, but they managed to keep their emotions in check and approached the place cautiously, maintaining their formation.

The group continued their journey toward the palace, alert and increasingly excited to see their objective up close. Their steps grew lighter, but suddenly, a massive fireball struck the barriers protecting them from the side, causing the barriers to tremble violently and crack like glass, while the ground shook slightly.

"We're under attack! Reinforce the barriers and fall back!!!"

Zoe shouted quickly, extending her ethereal projection to its maximum to identify the attackers. This prompted the entire group to spring into action, with the mages rapidly conjuring new barriers at full speed while retreating in an organized manner, also extending their ethereal projections to the maximum in all directions.

Almost simultaneously, several spells came hurtling toward them, impacting the new barriers and unleashing furious explosions that released brutal shockwaves capable of destroying the barriers. The group had to rebuild them, consuming enormous amounts of mana while retreating hastily. Despite having fallen back quite a bit, the group continued to be attacked, so Zoe quickly turned and shouted.

"We need to change tactics. Disciple Williams, conceal us. Liliana, do your best to identify the enemy. In the meantime, let's keep moving."

Without saying a word, Ethan pulled out a beautifully crafted crystal vial containing a luxurious blue liquid—a mana recovery potion—but he didn't drink it. Instead, he held it between his teeth, then, with his staff in hand, conjured a large number of runes around the group.

"Cloak of Fog."

Quickly, the runes conjured vast amounts of whitish Fog that completely concealed the group, to which he added several illusions to make them harder to detect. Meanwhile, Liliana quickly deactivated the light barrier she had been maintaining to protect the team. Her staff began to glow softly, and a large, complex magical circle slowly formed in front of her.

While Liliana concentrated on the magical circle, Zoe guided the group to move erratically within the dense fog. The attacks kept coming, but thanks to the mist and the illusions, the enemy couldn't pinpoint their location and was essentially attacking blindly. This allowed the group to catch their breath, giving the mages a chance to drink mana recovery potions with a bit more calm.

Almost two minutes later, Liliana's magical circle was complete, and a holographic projection formed above it, depicting a group of ten people in an attack formation, with mages in the rear casting spells and drinking potions like water. But the girls' eyes focused on a beautiful young woman at the center of the group.

The young woman, with delicate and symmetrical features, pale skin, blue hair, and eyes of the same color, had an appearance that could only be described as seductive. Her voluptuous and curvaceous body was something she seemed unafraid to show off, wearing what appeared to be a modified version of the university uniform—a super short, tight dress that left her long, toned legs exposed and teased with a plunging neckline that emphasized her ample bust.

Meanwhile, in her right hand, the beautiful young woman held the tournament staff, while in her left she carried another staff, this one black as jet, with an elegant and stylish design adorned with golden metal decorations at the top—a clear indication that she was a mage.

"It's that bitch Christine! Damn it!!"

With Liliana's angry exclamation, the girls immediately raised their alert level to the maximum. Meanwhile, Zoe turned to look at the boys in the group and spoke with a dark expression, her tone laden with threat and murderous intent.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen very carefully. If any of you dare to betray us for that bitch, I swear I will hunt you down and make sure you regret it for the rest of your lives. You won't find a single place in the University where you can hide from us."

Along with Zoe's icy words came the murderous intent of Liliana and Elara, who scrutinized the faces of each of the men present, engraving their features into their minds. This sent a shiver down their spines, and they immediately nodded in understanding like frightened chickens, utterly terrified by the distorted expressions of the girls, who just moments ago had exuded a warm, hypnotic beauty.

"We need to make sure we enter the palace first, though, it would be best to eliminate that bitch here and now."

After glancing at the men in her own group, Liliana commented with visible resentment. Then she turned to look at the hologram, where she began to study the group composed exclusively of men, except for the beautiful lady with seductive features and a sensual body.

"Let's go with a full-power attack. Let's take advantage of the fact that we can see her, and she can't see us."

Elara quickly added with a Machiavellian smile, as a large magical circle began to form in front of her. Liliana quickly followed suit, and Zoe turned to look at Ethan, speaking in a cold tone.

"Disciple Williams, I expect you to do your best to keep us undetectable. The other side must have some method of staying hidden, and we'll be in trouble if we're discovered."

Seeing Zoe's aggressive expression, Ethan quickly swallowed the potion he had in his mouth and spat out the glass vial, then spoke with firmness and confidence.

"You can count on it, Disciple Laverne."

As if to demonstrate his intentions, the runes around the group increased in number, while Ethan quickly pulled out two recovery potions from his storage ring and placed them in his mouth. This made Zoe nod in satisfaction, and she quickly turned to the students, ordering with authority.

"Everyone, prepare to attack following Disciple Faye. Hiyori-sama, I beg for your assistance in the attack."

"Don't worry, little Zoe. I will coordinate perfectly with everyone." The fox responded in a calm voice, without moving its mouth, but without using telepathy. Zoe quickly bowed slightly in gratitude.

"That is a relief. Thank you very much, Hiyori-sama."

***

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"Everyone, get ready, we're going with a combined spell at maximum power."

While taking a mana recovery potion from her storage ring, Elara quickly gave the order, then drank the potion in one go and threw the crystal to the ground, at which point more magic circles formed in front of her. The young man with long black hair tipped in pale green, and the young man with dark skin and golden hair responded in unison.

""Understood.""

After speaking, the pair of young men took their recovery potions in one gulp, at which moment three magic circles began to form in front of the short-haired, golden-haired young man. They started to create small, yellowish points of light that clustered into what appeared to be three prisms of a brittle crystal.

Likewise, around the black-haired young man, different softly pulsing runes began to appear, while the air around him started to swirl, forming a greenish sphere in front of him. At that moment, Elara turned to Liliana and commented seriously.

"Liliana, for now, focus on keeping up the barriers. Your affinity isn't very good for combined attack spells."

"Though I would've liked to give that bitch a good thrashing, fine, leave defense to me. The enemy is about 850 meters northeast of our position."

Liliana answered quickly, with a hint of regret in her tone, but just as quickly canceled the magic circles before her. She then raised the staff in her hand, pointed it at the sky, and announced confidently, causing several magic circles to form around the group, surrounding them in all directions.

"Archangel's Hold!"

The magic circles swiftly conjured six beautiful angel wings made of light, which fluttered gently, then enveloped the group like a mother cradling her child. This caused a spherical barrier to form within the wings and protect them from any attack, while still allowing their own attacks to pass outward.

Meanwhile, small flames began to flicker from the jaws of the impressive nine-tailed fox, yet they didn't even graze the staff between its teeth. At the same time, its beautiful tails rose elegantly into the air, like those of a peacock. At that moment, large amounts of fire began to form in front of it, accompanied by strange currents of hot air, all of which gradually converged into a sphere that slowly turned white.

"Magni, stay alert for any enemy attack." At the same time, Zoe spoke in a serious tone as she took a stance ready to draw her katana at any moment, to which Magni responded sternly, gripping his huge two-handed mace firmly.

"Understood."

Though the barriers were excellent for defense against enemy spells, things were different against knights. Over time, knights had focused on discovering ways to deal with barriers. Methods existed to bypass or destroy them, and even Zoe and Magni knew various ways to attack a mage inside their own barriers. Staying on guard was therefore paramount.

"Attack! Flame Path!"

Once Elara saw that everything was ready, she quickly gave the command. At the same time, three powerful spheres of compressed fire shot into the sky, heading northeast. The two student mages pointed their staffs in the same direction and announced in unison.

""Shear Vortex / Prism Blast.""

Almost instantly, a large greenish sphere of wind and three yellowish crystal prisms soared upward, closely followed by a huge sphere of ominous white fire, and soon they managed to catch up to Elara's fire orbs. They then began to rotate in the air, accelerating further, but suddenly, the crystal prisms exploded unexpectedly, causing the combined spell to detonate prematurely.

The premature detonation triggered a massive explosion in the air that violently shook the huge cavern, sending brutal shock waves in all directions amid a thunderous roar and a blinding flash, momentarily incapacitating the mages. At that instant, the light barrier gleamed brightly.

Simultaneously, the six angelic wings covering them spread wide to meet the explosive shards head-on, creating a powerful air pressure that helped lessen the shock waves. However, the detonation of the crystal fragments, coupled with the small white flames shooting out in every direction, quickly destroyed the wings one by one.

Almost in unison, Magni gave a malicious grin as the runes tattooed on him glowed faintly. He then spun around in a swift motion, aiming a brutal blow with his mace at the head of the black-haired mage, who was caught off guard.

"Silent Tempest."

Just before Magni's attack could reach the young mage, a melodious voice resounded at his side, causing the warrior's face to flood with panic. At that moment, streaks of blood appeared all over his body, one particularly deep across his neck, slowing his perception of time almost to a standstill—long enough for him to turn his head and see the beautiful black-haired girl staring at him with a chill so piercing it could freeze flames. That sight etched itself in his mind as he was teleported to the space station.

Brimming with murderous intent, Zoe once again made three hand signs with her left hand, whereupon a layer of wind enveloped her. She vanished from sight, reappearing before the golden-haired mage with her katana embedded in his neck. The young man's face contorted in terror, but although he tried to lift his hands, he was abruptly teleported to the space station, thus being eliminated from the tournament.

After disposing of the two traitors in her team, Zoe briefly closed her eyes to burn those rats' faces into her memory, quickly turning over in her mind every possible means to make them wish for death. She took a deep breath and steadied herself; this wasn't the time. The situation was too dire to lose focus. Sure enough, the urgent voice of Disciple Williams reached them just then.

"A dozen spells have just entered the fog! They'll impact in a few seconds!"

"Run!"

Zoe quickly commanded in a solemn voice as she leapt onto the nine-tailed fox. Elara immediately drew out her flying carpet, while beautiful angelic wings formed behind Liliana, and a whitish cloud appeared beneath Ethan. The only remaining student produced a futuristic-looking hoverboard.

Once airborne, the mages on the team raised their staffs overhead, various magic circles and runes emerging around them, summoning different barriers as they declared in loud, reverent voices.

"Prism Aegis!"

Upon Liliana's declaration, a prismatic, semi-transparent barrier of light took shape around the group. At that moment, Elara spoke with blazing anger in her eyes, causing a large mass of flames to gather above them, dancing together in harmony to form a fiery barrier.

"Phoenix Veil!"

"Gale Bastion!"

Quickly, the last student announced in a firm voice, causing the runes around him to stir and create a swirling wall of wind to the left of Liliana's prismatic barrier. At that moment, Ethan finished drinking a new mana recovery potion and announced loudly, causing more runes to form around him. These runes lit up, conjuring a dark fog that shaped itself into a cyclone to the right of Liliana's barrier.

"Obscuring Shroud!"

Almost immediately, a barrage of spells slammed into the barriers, reacting differently to each one. Liliana's light barrier caused the spells to split into scattered beams of light striking far from the group, creating massive explosions.

Elara's fire barrier, by contrast, appeared to absorb the spells entirely, making them vanish before flaring even more intensely. Yet, she was guzzling mana potions at a frantic rate, plainly indicating the considerable cost of maintaining such a spell.

Meanwhile, Ethan's barrier functioned similarly to Elara's. The spells that reached the dark fog vanished into nothingness, as if they were mere illusions. However, since he was consuming mana recovery potions at an even faster rate than Elara, it was obvious that maintaining both the barrier and the surrounding fog required an enormous amount of mana. The fog itself was what prevented all the firepower from concentrating on a single point.

Lastly, the final student's wind barrier both deflected and weakened the incoming spells, though with every impact, the swirling wall shrank, forcing him to drink mana potions at a rate almost equal to Ethan's—evidence of just how formidable a disciple of a Master-level could be.

"Damn it!!! We didn't just have one, we had two traitors, and now we're screwed!!" Amid the furious onslaught, Elara shouted from atop her magic carpet, practically spitting flames and itching to skin someone alive with her own hands.

"Now's not the time to complain—we're in serious trouble. We only have five people left, and chances are we didn't do them any real damage." Zoe added with a dark and furious expression, clutching the fur of the beautiful fox beneath her tightly.

"Our advantage is that we're four direct disciples, and that bitch is alone. We could try overwhelming her with artifacts and potions, and we also have stealth on our side. Divine Resurgence!"

Quickly, Liliana added while casting healing spells on Ethan and the last student, both of whom had pale expressions due to the incredible exhaustion they were suffering. Moreover, drinking so many recovery potions in succession wasn't very healthy either.

"That's one plan, but that bitch is definitely surrounded by students pushing three hundred years, so it won't be easy. Still, if we use our stealth wisely, we can whittle down their numbers. But taking her out is another story—let's not forget her background. That bitch is bound to be loaded to the gills with magical artifacts, plus she's probably guessed you can now use [Light Echo], so she'll be on high alert." Elara remarked as she tried to rapidly strategize a workable plan.

Following Elara's words, Liliana quickly tried using Light Echo once more to pinpoint the enemy group. But merely seconds after the magic circle began to form, it burst in a flash of light, proving unable to locate them—something that everyone noticed, prompting bitter smiles all around.

"Certainly, she's taken precautions. But there's no need to worry. Her mother may be a famous artificer, but she's nowhere near my master's level. So if this becomes a battle of magical artifacts, I'm certain I'll take victory."

Liliana said this with confidence, which boosted everyone's spirits. Although they were aware of who Liliana's master was and how skilled she must be, they didn't really know the extent to which Master Silverwood spoiled her disciple, nor how lavishly equipped Liliana might be. But seeing her so self-assured made it evident she received plenty of special attention from the legendary Artificer.

"In that case, what we need is a swift, lethal strike—attack and then escape at top speed." Zoe suggested, newly motivated, and the other girls nodded as they downed more mana potions. Zoe then turned to Ethan and asked in a grave tone.

"Disciple Williams, how long can you keep us hidden?"

"Five minutes if I'm on my own, but if Disciple Faye helps, that time easily doubles." Ethan replied confidently, placing the empty glass bottle from his mouth into his storage ring. Zoe spoke next, in a contemplative voice.

"Then we won't have to worry about that. The issue is how to figure out their positions…"

Zoe's words made everyone think hard about how to solve that problem, even while they kept moving erratically in the fog, dodging the spells raining down like a storm. Some inevitably struck the barriers, but at that moment, the lone remaining student—who flew upon a futuristic hoverboard—cleared his throat and spoke up, visibly uncomfortable.

"Honored direct disciples, as a matter of fact, I might have a way to pinpoint them."

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"Frank, right?" Upon hearing the student's comment, Zoe turned to look at him and asked in a calm tone, gazing directly into the young man's brown eyes, who answered with evident nervousness.

"Yes, honorable direct disciple."

"Well, Frank, what is the method you're talking about?"

Zoe asked on behalf of the direct disciples, who looked at Frank with three parts doubt and one part suspicion. After all, not even Liliana could pinpoint the enemy group's location, so a mere student shouldn't stand a chance. Yet at the same time, the galaxy was vast, inhabited by all kinds of people and curious talents. Instead of rejecting him outright, they decided to listen. Maybe he could bring them a pleasant surprise.

Frank, a young man with an athletic build, tanned skin, kind features, and brown eyes, wore his black hair tied back in a short ponytail whose tips were decorated with a pale green color. He clenched his fists nervously under the scrutinizing gazes of the direct disciples, but after taking a couple of deep breaths, the young man extended his left hand in front of him. This caused a large amount of air to start swirling.

Soon, the swirling air began to take shape, turning into what looked like a small cloud, which fell gently onto the young man's hand. It then moved a bit, and out of nowhere a pair of large, beautiful eyes appeared on it, as though they had just opened. These eyes looked around briefly, then fixed on Frank.

Upon seeing Frank, the cloud's huge eyes gleamed with joy. Small arms and legs extended from it, which it used to stand on the student's hand and begin to jump around happily with its arms raised, while making cute little noises, almost as if it were cheering in its own way.

"This is Lirio, a newborn spirit. Although it can't do much yet, it's somehow able to 'smell' mana and follow it back to its source."

When the young student said those words, the direct disciples' eyes lit up like flashlights as they looked at the small spirit in the palm of his hand. The women, in particular, fought the urge that welled up inside them to smother the adorable creature with kisses. The tiny being watched them curiously with those big, bright eyes.

"… Are you sure it can 'smell' mana?" After a small, fake cough to hide her emotions, Elara asked with a look of intrigue on her face as she observed Frank, who quickly nodded seriously.

"Absolutely. Thanks to him, I've been able to find buried mana crystals and that sort of thing. And even once, when I was looking for the culprit of a 'prank' I was a victim of, he managed to follow the residual mana of a spell all the way back to whoever cast it. It's pretty impressive."

"That's an incredible ability… Remind me of your full name?" Liliana asked, looking at the young man with eyes shining, almost as if she were using her light affinity to make them glow.

"My name is Frank Svensson, honorable direct disciple." Frank replied, doing his best to remain calm. This prompted Liliana to tilt her head a bit and quickly ask with curiosity.

"'Svensson'? Like 'Svens Shoes'?"

"Yes, honorable direct disciple, that's the company my father founded. It's truly an honor that you know of it." Frank answered, somewhat surprised but evidently proud. Liliana then smiled and commented.

"Well, my older brother loves the boots they make, and even my silly younger brother likes them."

"My father will be thrilled when I tell him." Frank replied with a huge smile. At that moment, Zoe spoke up seriously.

"We can take care of that later. For now, let's focus. We need to attack, and we're counting on you, Frank."

"By the way, when we return to the space station, let's meet in the common area on the first floor. We have a proposal for you."

Elara added with a confident expression, causing Frank to tighten his grip around the staff in his right hand with joy. He fought with all his might to avoid shouting out loud, instead speaking quickly in a serious tone.

"Thank you so much for considering me, honorable direct disciple. For Lirio to do his job, we first need to have a sample of the mana for him to 'smell'. After that, he can follow the trail."

"Leave that to me. Prismatic Seal!"

Liliana spoke confidently, and a magic circle formed in front of her. A whitish beam of light shot from it, passing through her prismatic barrier and striking a meter-long icicle that was falling from the sky, covering it completely. The beam of light then turned into a prismatic barrier around the icicle, which flew swiftly toward Liliana.

"Will this work?" Liliana asked Frank with a smile, holding the prismatic barrier in front of her. Frank nodded seriously.

"Yes, that's more than enough." Quickly, Frank turned to look at the cute spirit in his left hand. He spoke gently to it, almost as if talking to a small child, while pointing at the chunk of ice with his staff.

"Lirio, see that piece of ice? We need to find whoever made it."

Upon hearing the instructions, the adorable spirit let out a few cute squeaks while waving its chubby arms. Frank nodded and turned to Liliana, speaking respectfully.

"Lirio says, please allow him inside the sphere of light. There's too much mana around here, and it's confusing for him."

"Absolutely."

After nodding, Liliana moved her staff slightly, which glimmered faintly and formed a small magic circle. This caused several light tentacles to appear inside the prismatic barrier, holding the icicle in place. Then a small opening formed in the barrier, through which the cute spirit leaped comically, propelled by currents of air.

Once inside the sphere of light, the newborn spirit began to fly around the large icicle, making adorable gestures as though sniffing at it, which melted the ladies' hearts. They quickly forced themselves to quell those feelings because it wasn't the right time for that.

A short while later, the newborn spirit squeaked sweetly, flying out of the barrier and landing back on Frank's left hand. It let out a couple of cute squeals while pointing in one direction, prompting Frank to nod in understanding before turning to the direct disciples and speaking seriously.

"According to Lirio, the owner of this mana is in that direction, about two kilometers away."

The moment Frank pointed north, Elara turned her head to look in that direction, eyes wide with surprise. She exclaimed urgently.

"Damn it, that bitch is just distracting us, she wants to get into the palace before we do!"

"And she also attacked us before entering. That bitch knows something! Bombard them with everything! Hiyori-sama, please."

Zoe quickly gave the order while assuming a crouched position, placing her hand on the hilt of her sheathed katana. The imposing fox once again formed a sphere of white fire, which shot into the air as a melodious feminine voice could be heard.

"Leave it to me."

Without wasting a single second, Elara, Liliana, and Frank took mana recovery potions. Then, Elara and Liliana conjured magical circles, while Frank surrounded himself with glowing runes. At that moment, they all pointed their staffs north and urgently announced.

"Dragon's Breath!!"

With several magic circles in front of her, Elara cast in haste, causing a burst of flames to appear before her. It quickly took the shape of a dragon's head several meters long, which opened its huge mouth and unleashed a cataclysmic torrent of fire at an absurd speed toward the north.

"Starfall Barrage!!!"

With that, Liliana made her move as massive magic circles formed in the sky above her, summoning hundreds of orbs of light that shot off at high velocity toward the north in parabolic arcs.

"Tempest Fang!"

Meanwhile, Frank spoke firmly, causing the runes around him to spin rapidly. They soon conjured a massive tornado of slicing wind, which merged with the dragon's breath of fire, vastly increasing its power.

A few seconds later, violent explosions echoed in the distance, causing the cave to tremble and sending overwhelming shockwaves that slammed into the barriers, swirling the surrounding mist. Frank shouted urgently after his spirit squeaked sweetly from his shoulder.

"They keep moving!! They're holding on!!!"

"Shit!!!"

After an exasperated cry, Liliana pulled several spheres from her storage ring, each radiating a strong light. They floated behind her in a perfect circle, spinning slowly around each other. Shortly after they appeared, the projectiles of light from her spell grew exponentially in both size and quantity, and even their temperature rose. They began leaving trails of plasma in the air.

"They've retreated!!! Now they're that way, in a straight line!" Frank shouted quickly, pointing northwest. Elara immediately gave a serious command.

"Attack!!!"

"Dragon's Breath/Tempest Fang/Starfall Barrage!"

Without delay, the trio of mages, along with the white fox, resumed their attacks, aiming to the northeast this time and causing more brutal explosions. The adorable Lirio once again let out a sweet squeak from Frank's shoulder, so the young man promptly said in a serious voice, pointing west.

"They backed off again; they're to the west now."

"Stop, don't attack. We need to keep our stealth. Liliana, help Disciple Williams recover. We need to expand the fog even more and trap them in it." Zoe gave a firm order, turning to Ethan, who looked extremely pale with slightly purple lips, and asked with a serious expression.

"Is that possible, Disciple Williams?"

"I'd need full support from Disciple Faye, but it's doable. Still, I'll only be able to maintain it for a maximum of one minute." Ethan replied with heavy breaths, as Liliana hastily cast a healing spell on him, covering him in a gentle light that improved his condition.

"Dawn's Embrace!"

"That's more than enough." Zoe spoke confidently and turned to Elara, asking seriously.

"Elara, do you have a plan for the attack?"

At the question, Elara brought a hand to her chin, thinking for a few moments before explaining her idea clearly.

"Our best bet is to use the element of surprise. Up until now, they've been cautious enough to stay away from the fog. They're probably afraid of Disciple Williams's illusionary fog array. It's very likely the traitors couldn't give them detailed info since we deliberately kept it hidden.

"So what we have to do is move as close to their position as possible without shifting the fog. When we're right on the edge, Disciple Williams will expand it. In the ensuing confusion, we can pick off several targets, and hopefully that bitch Christine, too. If we can take her down, her team will collapse, and we'll be able to enter the palace without too much trouble."

"I suppose that's our best option." Liliana commented in a slightly tired voice, at which point the orbs of light behind her began to dim one by one. They shattered like glass and fell to the ground.

"Then there's nothing more to think about. Let's get moving." Zoe nodded decisively, then turned to Frank and asked.

"Frank, where are they?"

Frank turned to look at Lirio on his shoulder, who, after sniffing the air a bit—making him look especially adorable—let out an excited squeak as he jumped. Frank nodded and then spoke while pointing southeast.

"They've moved around; they're further off in that direction."

"Understood." Zoe nodded and turned to the pensive Elara, asking.

"Elara, do you have the specific battle strategy thought out?"

The blonde-haired mage nodded quickly, then extended her hand in front of her. A gust of fire formed there, taking the shape of an uneven terrain with tall pillars. On one end were ten markers, and on the other, five. She began to explain, moving the pieces in line with her words:

"Yes, we'll launch a double surprise attack. As soon as the fog expands, you'll circle around them as fast as you can, while Liliana, Frank, and I launch a full-frontal assault. If that bitch manages to survive, you'll make an all-out attack in cooperation with your spirit."

***

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"Understood." Zoe nodded at Elara's strategy and turned to look at the others, at which point she asked seriously.

"Does anyone have any questions or suggestions?"

Seeing that everyone shook their heads, Zoe quickly nodded and continued speaking.

"Then we'll follow Elara's strategy. Although it's risky since you'll be left without protection, I believe it's our best chance. What we need now is the group's location, so Frank, we'll be counting on you."

"Don't worry, direct disciple, I'll do my best." Noticing all the direct disciples' gazes fixed on him once more, Frank quickly answered in a firm voice, prompting Zoe to speak in a grave tone.

"Then let's move out!"

At Zoe's command, the group of five rapidly advanced through the air toward the enemy group, stopping only upon reaching the edge of the fog. There, Zoe tightened her grip on the hilt of her katana and turned to Frank, asking seriously.

"Frank, how far away are they from us? The more precise you can be, the better."

"There's a way to be more accurate, but it drains Lirio quite a bit, and it can only be done a couple of times a day at most." Frank quickly answered with a serious expression, placing his left hand near his shoulder, where Lirio hopped gracefully. Zoe asked after thinking for a moment.

"If he only tries once, can he remain active?"

"Yes, although it'll be a little tiring for him. After a second attempt, he'd be out of commission, and a third would drastically reduce accuracy and force him to disappear and rest." Frank replied swiftly, causing Zoe to respond gravely.

"Let's do it. We have to take that risk."

"Give me a moment, direct disciple."

After speaking, Frank raised his left hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, at which moment the newborn spirit stretched out adorably to touch its contractor's head, causing a small light to flare. Shortly after, Lirio plopped into Frank's hand, moving oddly as though hyperventilating.

"Done, I've got the exact location. They're roughly 600 meters straight ahead, but keep in mind that's where they were at the moment Lirio sent me that information, and the group is on the move. We've only got one more shot at this." Frank explained, producing a rough mana-air construction shaped like a map in his hands, far more rudimentary than what Elara had conjured earlier.

Meanwhile, the direct disciples looked at Lirio in Frank's hands and confirmed he indeed appeared a bit tired and sleepy. Nonetheless, Zoe quickly spoke, showing gratitude.

"Don't worry, Frank, he's done more than enough. I have some things at home that'll be good for spirits, so rest assured this sacrifice won't go unrewarded, regardless of what happens." Zoe thanked Frank, who quickly bowed and commented seriously.

"It's a pleasure to help, and I'm truly grateful that the direct disciple considers me."

"Then everyone, I'll see you in the palace..."

After nodding at Frank, Zoe took a deep breath and spoke while closing her eyes, causing the air around her to stir slightly. A few moments later, she opened her eyes again, exclaiming with a piercing gaze.

"Attack!!"

At Zoe's command, a large number of runes filled the fog, and a magic circle formed over Ethan, who started sweating profusely while gulping down mana-recovery potions one after another. Meanwhile, Elara and Frank began readying their own spells.

"We've got them!"

Just as planned, the mist spread at incredible speed, catching the enemy off guard. Zoe dashed forward at full speed atop the fox spirit. Right then, Ethan cried out, his voice strained, and the dense fog before them lit up faintly, revealing the silhouettes of nine people. By estimating the figures' size, they quickly determined the exact distance, allowing Elara and Frank to unleash their mightiest spells.

"Sol Invictus!!!"

With at least a dozen magic circles around her, Elara proclaimed in a commanding tone, causing a colossal blaze of fire to appear. The flames swiftly gathered into a gigantic sphere—a kind of artificial sun—radiating tremendous heat as it began to grow at an accelerated pace.

"Óvindr's Wrath!!!"

With hundreds of runes whirling like a tornado, Frank shouted at the top of his lungs, summoning a massive tornado that rose into the air, crackling with ominous lightning. It rapidly ascended toward Elara's "artificial sun", devouring it like a snake swallowing a star. The slicing wind tornado transformed into a cataclysmic fiery tornado, seemingly able to destroy anything in its path.

But just then, Ethan opened his eyes wide in disbelief before looking off in another direction. His expression darkened drastically, yet he immediately shouted with urgency as the runes around him began to multiply rapidly.

"It's a trap!! There are two groups!! I need help distracting them with illusions; the second team is racing over here!!!"

"Damn it! Luminous Rebirth!!!"

Letting out an enraged cry, Liliana cast a powerful healing spell on Ethan and simultaneously messaged Zoe to pull back. At that moment, Elara shouted in equal fury, her magic circles suddenly shining like glaring spotlights.

"Disciple Williams, secure Zoe a way back! Frank! We're going all out; let's try to whittle them down!!!"

"Understood!"

Frank responded immediately as the runes spinning in a tornado grew brighter and sped up, making the fiery vortex intensify both in speed and power. At that same instant, Ethan spoke hurriedly.

"I'm on it, but we need to run. I can only hold them for another 20 seconds!!!"

Along with Ethan's shout, Elara and Frank's combined spell reached its destination, triggering a breathtaking explosion that shook the cave violently. Ferocious shockwaves crashed into their barriers, destroying them one by one. Meanwhile, Lirio, still perched on Frank's shoulder, let out a fatigued squeal, prompting the young man to shout gravely.

"The first group is retreating from the fog!!"

"Dammit, he's right! Somehow they're dealing with my illusions and getting away!" As soon as he heard Frank's words, Ethan quickly focused in that direction and spoke gravely, leading Elara to stomp on her magic carpet in frustration.

"Shit!"

Meanwhile, Liliana kept sending every kind of healing spell at Ethan, who was sweating profusely and looking pale. But just as Elara was gearing up for a suicidal charge, Zoe returned, riding the fox spirit, parts of her clothing burned and torn, and bearing some superficial wounds. She announced, visibly resigned.

"They completely outplayed us. Let's pull back. We've lost this round."

Zoe's defeated words brought weary, complicated looks to everyone's faces. The group let out exhausted sighs—everyone but Liliana, whose expression brimmed with resolve. She spoke with a firm tone.

"We haven't lost yet. Hurry to the palace; I'll buy us the time we need."

"Wait, Liliana. If we run now, we can still come back for another attempt. If that bitch is here, it's because as long as we still have the staff, we can try again. There's no need to do this." Elara quickly argued, but Liliana shook her head decisively.

"While that's true, you all know perfectly well that bitch won't let us leave so easily. Who knows how many of us will manage to get out of here—if any. Besides, where can we run? We're stuck in this cave, and though there must be a way out, none of us know it.

"Plus, you all know that bitch well: it's very likely she'll come at us with everything, aiming to score as many casualties as possible before going into the palace. She'll leave people behind to finish us off. Worst of all, if we lose, who knows how long we'll have to put up with her ridicule and that of her underlings. We won't have a moment's peace in the fraternity hall after this. So go on; I have my ways to keep her here long enough."

While she spoke, Liliana pulled a glass bottle from her storage ring. Inside it was a liquid that looked like a rainbow's very essence, vibrant with shifting colors, even causing the surrounding Myst to ripple slightly.

"""Is that?!"""

Zoe, Elara, and Ethan widened their eyes in astonishment at the sight of the bottle in Liliana's hands. Liliana smiled kindly, gazing at it.

"Exactly what you think. It's a magic-empowerment potion—though only a diluted version—it'll give me enough of a boost to keep that bitch here for a while."

"You don't have to waste such a valuable resource. We can still fall back to the chamber where we arrived and fight a last stand there, using the terrain to our advantage. And if it doesn't work out, so what? If that bitch taunts us a bit, we're not delicate flowers who can't handle a setback."

Staring at the unmistakable emblem on the bottle, Zoe spoke with a complicated tone, then looked into Liliana's blue eyes. Liliana beamed almost heroically and replied in a relaxed, cheerful voice.

"Hahaha, I know, but I still feel like I have to do this. Besides, it would be a waste if I didn't use the potion my master specifically gave me for the tournament, so go on—think of it as an older sister paying the debts of her foolish little brother."

Before anyone could say another word, Liliana downed the potion in one gulp, making her mana surge around her in an overwhelming wave. At the same time, a beautiful halo of light formed over her head, and coupled with the wings on her back, it granted her a holy, immaculate aura.

"Go!! Divine Pulse!"

As she cast one final healing spell on Ethan, Liliana shouted loudly and then turned her back on them. The group watched with conflicted expressions as new spheres of light appeared behind Liliana, forming a circle. Several magic circles manifested above her, unleashing all kinds of mana constructs—swords, spears, halberds, etc.—along with six prismatic shields that began rotating around her protectively.

"Let's go!!"

Seeing there was no turning back, Zoe gave a troubled command before racing off on the back of the magnificent white fox, leaving Elara, Ethan, and Frank to exchange uncertain looks. After a long sigh, they took to the air behind Zoe in silence.

Once the group departed and the mist dissipated, Liliana flew at full speed to intercept the attackers, clutching her staff tightly as she inwardly reveled in the incredible power coursing through her. Even so, thoughts of her master and her "younger brother" slipped into her mind.

Initially, Liliana felt her master was casting her aside—that now, with that monstrous fool around, all the affection her master had shown her would vanish. She grew deeply envious of Erik—of the special treatment he received—feeling he mattered more to her master than she did, or even more than Desmond, the first disciple.

Yet what truly tormented Liliana was fully realizing the fool's colossal talent. Not even Desmond—revered across the galaxy—could compare to him. That awareness placed her under tremendous pressure, day by day corroding her self-esteem as she confronted the fact that, no matter how hard she tried, Erik far surpassed her, and sooner or later, her master would discard her.

Those thoughts plunged Liliana into a spiral of hatred in which she viewed Erik as an adversary stealing away her once-happy life. Desperate to regain some peace of mind, she searched fanatically for any flaw in that "monster". While Desmond was undoubtedly a genius, Liliana knew that in the worst case, she could at least match him. But up against Erik, she felt like an ordinary person facing a legendary prodigy.

Time itself, however, proved Liliana wrong. Though she once struggled to see it, her perspective on the world—and on the bond between her beloved master and that foolish Erik—shifted drastically during their journey from the university. She realized that her master's affection for her hadn't diminished in the least, and a prime example was the potion she had just drunk. Even though it was merely a maximum Ascended-level potion, its value could rival that of an entire planet.

The exorbitant cost wasn't just due to the extremely rare and costly ingredients, nor the extraordinary skill required to craft it. What truly magnified its worth was the emblem on the bottle, proving it was crafted by possibly the Arcane Order's finest alchemist, Master Eldurdóttir—something possibly more valuable than the potion itself.

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The position of magical empowerment had a very simple effect: it allowed the one who took it to greatly increase their mana capacity for a limited time, granting access to power several ranks above their own. However, what made it so valuable and special wasn't just that, as there were quite a few items in the galaxy that could achieve something comparable.

What made this position so valuable was that the side effects of consuming it were minimal, and if it was crafted by a great alchemist, the side effects were almost nonexistent. This made it one of the few things in the galaxy capable of providing a momentary power boost safely and without consequences—a true treasure.

But at the same time, creating such a 'magical' potion was not something within the reach of just any alchemist. These kinds of potions were almost the holy grail of alchemy, known as 'intelligent potions', a type so complicated to make that they were used as exams to certify the highest levels of alchemy.

An exam in which, by the way, Master Eldurdóttir achieved a perfect score, creating a potion that not only had no side effects but even nourished the body and strengthened the mana circulatory system in the long term by a small margin. Therefore, a potion from her hands was nothing less than an invaluable treasure, though unfortunately, that miraculous effect only applied to the first few doses. After the fourth, it disappeared completely.

For this reason, for Liliana, receiving such a treasure from her master for a "simple" selection tournament was so significant that it nearly moved her to tears. After all, it demonstrated the love her master had for her. Although the tournament was important, as one of the youngest in her generation, losing and not securing a position was expected and wouldn't mean much to her record.

Moreover, even though Master Eldurdóttir was her master's sworn sister, it wasn't as if she could take advantage of her. As a disciple, Liliana understood her master's character well—she would never take advantage of anyone, especially someone close to her. Therefore, her master must have paid the full cost of that potion, a veritable fortune.

Such a display of love inevitably led Liliana to the realization that she could no longer continue as she had. She couldn't keep rejecting Erik, someone her master clearly saw as her future "partner", as that would inevitably lead to unnecessary friction that would sour her relationship with her beloved master.

But no matter how much she thought about how to do it, nothing came to mind. After all, she was a proud person, and the fact that that fool was better than her at practically everything was a bitter pill to swallow. So, she simply decided to go with the flow for the moment and try to accept that 'little brother' of hers little by little.

That annoying and very strange little brother, but one with talent capable of demoralizing even the greatest geniuses. Yet, just as her master had said, he was still her little brother and, given how things were going and though she didn't much like the idea, her future "father". After all, master for a day, mother for life.

…

After separating from her team, Liliana quickly reached the first enemy group, flying several times faster than her maximum speed before taking the potion. There, she saw the figures of several men holding all kinds of weapons, but among them, one figure stood out like a sore thumb—a beautiful woman with a seductive appearance, light blue hair, and eyes of the same color, exuding an aura of lust and eroticism.

"I suppose courtesy obliges me to greet you properly, hehe. Celestial Arsenal."

With a small chuckle, Liliana sent hundreds of light mana constructs shaped like various weapons toward the enemy group, who were trying to evade her and continue toward the palace. They were taken completely by surprise, only managing to hastily deploy barriers.

"Stone Bastion! / Gale Deflection! / Aqua Veil! / Molten Absorption! / Frozen Aegis!!"

From the air, Liliana watched with a smile as Christine's confident and seductive expression twisted into one of panic and rage. She hastily conjured an ice barrier, followed closely by her mage underlings, who respectively conjured barriers of Earth, Air, Water, and the rare Magma affinity, an uncommon combination of fire and earth.

Meanwhile, the knights, whom the mages didn't have time to cover with their barriers, tried to dodge hastily, but two were too slow and ended up being eliminated. The earth mage, the weakest of them all, couldn't keep up with the pace of her attacks and was also eliminated, which brought a beautiful smile to Liliana's face. She couldn't help but comment cheerfully.

"Three casualties for a greeting, not bad, hehe."

With no intention of letting them rest, Liliana quickly moved her staff through the air, creating two large sets of magical circles. One was aimed at Christine's group, while the other pointed directly at the second group, which was flying toward them at full speed. At that moment, she announced in a low, calm voice.

"Prismatic Spear, Solar Shards."

From the magical circles aimed at Christine's group, a gigantic prismatic spear made of light quickly formed and shot toward them at an astonishing speed, releasing a brutal sonic boom. Meanwhile, from the second group, dozens of light spheres formed and began firing enormous lasers consecutively, like some kind of machine guns.

Almost instantly, as the lasers melted the cavernous ground, creating hundreds of burned craters, the prismatic spear of light struck the ice, earth, and air barriers of Christine's group, shattering into thousands of pieces. It also released a massive wave of ultra-hot lasers that tore the barriers to shreds. At that moment, Liliana raised her staff, and all around the area, a large number of magical circles began to appear, almost as if they wanted to surround the place.

"Chilling Cyclone!!"

At that moment, a cold, almost murderous female voice suddenly announced, causing a whirlwind of ice dust to shoot toward Liliana. She quickly pointed her staff at the whirlwind, and a beautiful geometric magical circle formed in front of the staff as she announced.

"Prism Aegis!"

As the prismatic barrier formed in front of her, Liliana felt a quick attack coming from behind her. She swiftly flapped her beautiful wings, rising into the air, which allowed her to see a spinning sword surrounded by a ring of water rotating at a terrifying speed. The sword quickly flew back, so she promptly aimed her staff and conjured a new magical circle.

"Photon Burst."

The new magical circle released a massive laser beam that struck the area where the sword was heading. But even amidst all that, the magical circles continued to form around the zone, and a kind of gigantic barrier made of hexagonal light plates began to take shape. At that moment, a seductive female voice filled with dignity and authority was heard, commanding.

"She's trying to buy time. Mages, destabilize the barrier. Knights, keep her busy. We're breaking through."

After hearing the charming voice, all the men began to work with precision and order, almost like a well-oiled machine, following orders to the letter and completely focused on attacking the winged woman in the sky with everything they had. This inevitably caused Liliana to click her tongue in annoyance.

With a fluid motion, Liliana quickly waved her staff through the air, causing a dozen magical circles to form in front of her. But at that moment, she heard several explosions occurring simultaneously in various places, and almost instantly, she felt in her ethereal projection four knights arriving at her position at a terrifying speed, along with several spells.

"Photon Dash!"

Knowing her barriers couldn't withstand such a combined attack, Liliana quickly conjured a magical circle above herself, announcing with some haste. A powerful light enveloped her, and she shot forward like a beam of light, moving away almost instantly.

"Supernova Shards!!!!"

Upon reappearing, Liliana quickly swung her staff forcefully, causing a large number of magical circles to form in the air. From them, hundreds of light spheres appeared and began firing lasers in all directions indiscriminately, while Liliana herself began flying erratically in the air, dodging the multitude of spells and knights attacking 'without fear of death'.

But no matter how hard she tried to distract the enemy mages, they still managed to disrupt the generation of the gigantic hexagonal light barrier. This inevitably led Liliana to click her tongue again as she dodged through the air at high speed with the help of her wings, which were a degraded replica of the wings she usually used—an artifact specially made by her master that definitely made others green with envy.

Shortly after, as Liliana dodged and attacked with everything she had, the barrier finally failed, courtesy of the enemy mages, while the group of the beautiful blue-haired woman advanced at full speed toward the palace through Liliana's attacks. The group was back to ten people, thanks to men from the second team joining them to replenish their numbers.

"Damn, that bitch is too slippery. Celestial Comets!"

With an irritated exclamation, Liliana quickly conjured a huge magical circle in the sky, from which hundreds of 'comets' made of light began to fall indiscriminately on the ground. Along with the crazy barrage of lasers from her previous spell, this finally forced the blue-haired woman's team to form more powerful barriers, while powerful explosions occurred in all directions, ultimately halting their advance.

"You're really a nuisance, Liliana."

After the smoke from the attack's impact on the ground dissipated a bit, the beautiful blue-haired young woman could be seen with an irritated expression, standing in the middle of several barriers. She was surrounded by eight men, most of them holding staves to maintain the barriers. Three of them—one with a shield, the other two with swords—were in defensive positions.

"Hehe, you have no idea how refreshing it is to hear that." Liliana commented with an arrogant smile from the sky, surrounded by light shields, which, along with her halo and wings, made her look imposing and majestic.

"How sad your life must be for your mood to depend so much on me." Christine quickly retorted with a mischievous little smile on her face, making her look devilishly charming.

"You're as annoying as ever. Light Arrows!"

After exclaiming in annoyance, Liliana quickly created a magical circle in front of her, from which hundreds of light arrows shot out at high speed toward Christine. Seeing the attack, Christine smiled enchantingly as several runes formed around her, and a cold air began to emanate from her, condensing into various icicles that shot out to intercept the arrows.

"Frost Fang!"

"Hawksbill!"

"Whirling Flame!"

Alongside Christine's icicles, the two knights at her sides attacked simultaneously—one releasing a kind of flying slash made of silvery metallic energy, while the other sent a spinning wheel of fire. Meanwhile, the other mages also sent various spells with all their might, putting immense pressure on Liliana, who began flying erratically in the sky, dodging spells and slashes.

"Solar Flash!!"

Quickly, Liliana conjured a magical circle that caused a furious flash in an attempt to blind the enemy, while controlling the light spheres to concentrate their attack on them.

While Liliana was busy in the spell battle, Christine, using a magical artifact to avoid being blinded, quickly formed a team of five and flew at full speed toward the palace with a smug smile on her face. But that smile didn't last long, as it quickly turned into one of rage when, through her ethereal projection, she sensed an invisible barrier ahead of her.

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"Concentrated attack on the barrier, we're breaking through."

Upon sensing the barrier, Christine couldn't help but purse her beautiful lips in anger, but she quickly issued an icy command. This prompted the young people in her group to prepare their most powerful spells and attacks, all while she raised her staff, causing a great number of runes to form around her.

Swiftly, a colossal combined attack struck the barrier head-on, generating a monumental explosion that unleashed a gigantic shockwave, shaking everything in its path. The group promptly countered it with their own barriers, and they watched as a large section of the formerly invisible barrier materialized before their eyes, revealing a wall of light composed of hexagonal "plates".

"Tsk... useless…" To everyone's surprise—and Christine's annoyance—the barrier remained intact, prompting her to click her tongue in frustration before taking something out of her storage ring.

"Hehe."

Meanwhile, a mischievous smile found its way onto Liliana's face when she noticed Christine's assault on the barrier that Liliana had surreptitiously conjured from the very start. But knowing that this bitch was cunning and had hundreds of tricks up her sleeve, Liliana didn't let her guard down. She quickly pointed her left hand upward.

"Hex bound Prison."

Following her command, the orbs hovering behind her shot upward at high speed, arranging themselves into a horizontal ring and shining brightly as they spun slowly, only to then scatter in all directions, disappearing from sight as they became invisible.

Moments after the orbs vanished completely, the barrier stopped being invisible and materialized fully, emitting a beautiful whitish glow. This made Christine's expression turn grim. She hurriedly stored her magic staff in her storage ring and replaced it with an elegant golden rapier etched with an incredible number of runes across its surface.

Holding the rapier, Christine immediately began to release mana with all her might, causing the rapier to glow intensely. Then she let it go. Instead of falling to the ground, the rapier streaked into the sky, where it began to emit a powerful golden light.

Upon seeing the rapier in the sky, Liliana swiftly pulled a lovely silver amulet from her storage ring, then quickly filled it with mana as she flew erratically to dodge the rapidly incoming attacks. She then hurled it forcefully into the sky.

Once in the air, the amulet unleashed a potent silver light that clashed directly with the rapier's golden light, engaging in a fierce battle. Christine clicked her tongue again in exasperation, then remarked in a cold, yet undeniably seductive tone.

"We have no choice but to bring it down. Attack with everything you've got."

At Christine's words, everyone around her began relentlessly attacking Liliana. Liliana, in turn, had no option but to fly even more erratically. Still, she was hit several times by different attacks, causing the prismatic light shields around her to be destroyed one by one, leaving only two spinning around her.

"Radiant Nova!"

Finding herself in a desperate situation, Liliana hastily created a huge magic circle while dodging at top speed. Immediately after its formation, it gave off a powerful flash of light that filled the barrier, momentarily blinding her enemies.

Without wasting a second, Liliana instantly flew as high as she could, simultaneously conjuring a gigantic magic circle. At the same time, her staff began to glow so brightly that her figure was swallowed by the light.

"How is that prude even capable of casting so many advanced spells…?"

Meanwhile, Christine and her teammates—momentarily blinded by Liliana's advanced spell, which even bypassed Christine's defensive artifact and managed to harm their eyes—quickly took healing potions to recover from the damage, not forgetting to cast protective barriers and form up defensively.

"!!!"

When Christine opened her eyes, she saw Liliana transformed into a sun in the sky beneath a massive magic circle. With no time to react, a colossal ray of golden light blasted toward Christine, striking her instantly, shattering their barriers as if they were made of paper.

"Heaven's Wrath!"

Fortunately for Christine, the defensive magic artifacts shaped like earrings in her ears reacted on her behalf. Sensing the danger, they detached from her ears to float in front of her, merging and growing in size to form a beautiful black mirror. It looked as though it had been carved from a gigantic piece of pure obsidian, covered in thousands of finely engraved runes across its surface.

When the beam of light hit the mirror, it managed to absorb it completely. Christine, momentarily stunned, processed what had just happened, feeling a mixture of anger and apprehension. She clenched her fists hard but, unwilling to admit any weakness, she quickly gave a dazzling smile while directing her gaze toward the sun that was dimming in the sky.

"T—"

Just as Christine was about to make a snide remark to Liliana, her words caught in her throat and her expression turned to panic. She heard a sharp cracking sound and hurriedly looked at the mirror, realizing that small cracks had begun to form on it. She quickly waved her hand and channeled her mana into the mirror, which then returned the beam of light back at Liliana—but now it was bigger and hotter.

Seeing her own spell coming back at her, Liliana, instead of panicking, smiled elegantly—her already striking beauty ascending to yet another level. She swiftly unleashed the magic circle she had been preparing ever since she noticed her spell being stopped by a "mirror".

"Lumen Crucible."

The magic circle produced a flat circle of golden light in front of Liliana, which took the full brunt of the returning beam of light. It stretched like a slingshot, forming a vertical, bowl-like shape that held an immense amount of light mana within it. At that moment, Liliana extended her staff forward, conjuring another magic circle right in front of the "vertical bowl of light", all while commenting with a slight smile on her face.

"Hehe, returning my own spell to me? Sorry, but I have an annoying younger brother who's really good at that, and as the older sister, I can't allow myself to fall for something like that. Luminous Requiem."

The instant Liliana spoke those words, the stretched plane of light snapped back as if it were elastic, releasing large amounts of light through the magic circle in front. The light was amplified and somehow "compressed", resulting in a lethal beam at least three times hotter and more destructive. Liliana made sure to move it swiftly to attack all her enemies with it.

As for Christine, she could only stare wide-eyed as the massive beam of light reached them instantly, leaving no room to respond. Seizing that moment, Liliana quickly formed another magic circle amid the brilliant burst of her own attack, intending to seal the deal.

But right when she was about to unleash her spell, she was struck fiercely from behind, causing her to rocket toward the ground at high speed. She hit with such force that she kicked up a huge cloud of dust and left a massive crater.

Liliana felt slightly dizzy after the harsh, unexpected impact. The last two light shields around her dissolved into motes of light. Nevertheless, she recovered quickly and glanced around, spotting a handsome young man with a slender build and short, pale-purple hair crackling with arcs of electricity. He stood right in front of her, wielding a huge two-handed sword, about to cut her down after performing one final hand sign.

"Charge Strike!"

"Radiant Bulwark!"

Not giving Liliana time to react, the young man reached her at blinding speed and unleashed a powerful downward slash with his greatsword. Liliana could only defend herself with a hastily formed makeshift barrier, mitigating part of the damage. But as she was knocked back, a line of blood appeared across her chest, and a potent electric current coursed through her body, arcing outward ominously.

Wounded, Liliana quickly tried to stabilize herself in the air again, but before she could, an athletic-looking young man with long black hair streaked with red flame-like patterns caught up to her and delivered a heavy blow with his lance, on which a small, simplistic magic circle was visible.

"Rising Sun Thrust!"

To defend against the concentrated fire thrust, Liliana swiftly pulled a circular golden shield from her storage ring—elegant in appearance, looking more decorative than battle-ready—and held it up. It managed to block the strike, but ended up with an ugly burn mark on its surface, while the surroundings were engulfed by an orange sea of fire.

"Thunder God's Roar!"

Without giving Liliana a second's respite, the electricity-wreathed young man rapidly made six hand signs and let go of his greatsword, at the same time raising his sword toward the sky. Enormous arcs of electricity began to radiate from it, gathering around the blade. Then, with a swift downward motion, he sent a brutal, flying slash of electricity.

"Eternal Phoenix Seal!"

At the same time, the young man with the lance quickly conjured four small magic circles around the tip of his weapon while delivering rapid, precise thrusts into the air. This released a phoenix-shaped burst of flames aimed at Liliana, who could barely defend herself with her golden shield.

The lancer and the greatsword user kept up their onslaught against Liliana, who could only just manage to defend herself, let alone counterattack. Her expression darkened, worsening quickly as she retreated hastily, trying to regain her footing.

While Liliana fended off their assault, a powerful golden light shone in the sky. She hurriedly tried to take something out to counteract it, but before she could do anything, razor-sharp rocks rained down on her. They struck in perfect harmony with the young knights, inflicting multiple wounds on her and keeping her from neutralizing the golden light.

Just as Liliana feared, not long after the golden light burst forth, the barrier began to weaken and lose its glow at an alarming rate. With the barrier compromised, Christine and her group hurled everything they had at it, managing to create a massive hole that spread through the entire barrier as though it were made of glass.

"Damn it!"

Attacked at close range by two knights and a mage, Liliana could only watch helplessly as Christine and her group exited the barrier. Christine, for her part, emerged victorious and didn't forget to give Liliana a provocative smile, waving her right hand with a graceful motion.

"See you later, fufu."

After that brief remark, Christine felt all her pent-up frustration suddenly melt away, leaving a gorgeous and seductive smile on her face. But before she could turn her head to face forward again, a dense fog filled the area, and the electricity-clad young man vanished, transported back to the station—eliminated.

Liliana wore a somewhat complicated expression when she realized what the fog meant. But refusing to succumb to disappointment at her failure, she swiftly raised her staff toward the sky. Instantly, numerous magic circles formed out of thin air, each quickly conjuring hundreds of spheres of light.

"Supernova Shards!!"

At the same time, Liliana unleashed her spell and darted away at full speed, the place suddenly filled with multiple "Ethans", all of whom looked exactly alike, like clones. They raised their staves skyward in unison, then were surrounded by countless runes that began forming enormous spears of fog in the air.

"""Rain of Spears!"""

In chorus, the "Ethans" invoked spears of fog that rained down onto the battlefield. They were peculiar, as some merely phased through whatever they touched without causing any harm, while others were incredibly sharp and lethal, even managing to take down the earth mage who had been attacking Liliana just moments before. Meanwhile, certain spears melted everything they came into contact with, and others produced brutal explosions that shook the cavern.

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Seeing that the situation was turning in her favor, Liliana quickly began hurling her spells at full force and speed. Unfortunately, the enemy team had already withdrawn, and under Christine's direction, they no longer fell for Ethan's tricks. The remaining twelve stood together while Christine glared at Liliana, filled with rage.

Up in the air, Liliana let out a heavy breath as she looked at the enemy group. At that moment, Ethan's figure materialized beside her, looking quite pale and haggard, so she swiftly cast a healing spell while speaking rapidly and moving away, as Christine's group's barrage of attacks rained down once more.

"Luminous Rebirth. Why are you here? Did you fail to enter the palace?" Liliana asked anxiously as she dodged the spells together with Ethan, to which he responded with a small smile on his face—though, given his worn-out appearance, he looked quite pitiful.

"Not at all. The group is about to get into the palace. They just need a few more minutes to solve a small puzzle, but I couldn't live with myself if I let Disciple Faye stay here fighting alone, so I volunteered to buy some time."

"Hahaha, you're quite the fool, but I like you. And since you're here, let's teach those bastards a lesson."

After laughing genuinely in amusement, Liliana spoke with a charming smile on her face. At that moment, the halo above her head began to crack—a clear sign that the potion's effect was wearing off.

"Hahaha, absolutely."

With renewed enthusiasm, Ethan and Liliana split up and charged head-on at Christine's group with everything they had, ready to at least take down as many enemies as possible and finish off that blue-haired harlot. They pushed their exhausted bodies to the limit, unleashing a pandemonium of explosions and screams throughout the cave.

…

Some time later, in the middle of the now completely devastated cave—marked with massive craters and battle scars everywhere—Christine stood, utterly unscathed without a single wound on her body, panting heavily. She slowly turned her head to look at the eight people remaining beside her, an expression of rage and indignation twisting her beautiful face. Then she shouted in a hoarse voice.

"How is it possible that that damn prude bitch Liliana could've done so much damage?!!!"

The men, covered in wounds, dirty, battered, and practically drained of mana—a testament to the grueling fight they had just endured—remained silent with their heads bowed, silently enduring Christine's furious reprimand. This seemed to infuriate her even more, as the seductive woman began to scream even louder.

"Say something, you useless bastards!!!! Why do you think I keep you around? Why do I take care of a bunch of miserable assholes who can't even handle a measly 50-year-old prissy whore?!! Huh?!!! Speak!!!"

While screaming hysterically, Christine stomped the ground repeatedly, causing her massive, round breasts—barely covered by her modified version of the university uniform—to bounce enticingly. Inevitably, several men's eyes were drawn to those tempting "fruits", gazing upon them with longing in their eyes.

"YOU SONS OF BITCHES!!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE LOOKING AT?! YOU THINK YOU EVEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO LOOK AT ME?!! WHOEVER DARES TO LOOK AT ME AGAIN, I'LL TEAR OUT YOUR EYES WITH MY OWN HANDS!!"

Noticing their lecherous stares, Christine shouted at the top of her lungs, completely beside herself, which made her ample chest jiggle even more seductively. The men quickly averted their gazes, too terrified to ogle the captivating sight again.

After all, they knew who this woman was—and worse yet, who her mother was—so they understood that while mother and daughter wouldn't literally gouge their eyes out, in the Arcane Order no one was foolish enough to anger the Court. They still had many ways to make one wish for death, condemning them to a life where they wouldn't dare be more than a few blocks from a police station, especially considering who the seductive girl's master was.

"Hmph, damned cowards."

Seeing the men duck their heads like ostriches, Christine snorted with contempt, then took several deep breaths, which caused her voluptuous, tempting bosom to rise and fall alluringly. She was trying to calm her erratic emotions and recover a bit of her nearly depleted stamina and mana. She felt too nauseous from all the potions used to take yet another one and recover quickly.

After a few deep breaths, Christine managed to calm down enough for her expression to return to normal: one naturally filled with seduction and flirtation. At that moment, with a slight smile on her lips, she spoke sweetly, as though her earlier outburst had never happened.

"Well, my boys, let's recover from our wounds. It's very likely that those prudes' group can't get past the palace, so we'll have to wait five hours until it reopens. The best we can do is set up a makeshift camp and prepare defenses in case any other straggling team enters this area."

Christine's sweet voice echoed through the cave, prompting sighs of relief from the injured men. They lifted their heads to watch the blue-haired beauty, only to see her heading toward a spot a bit farther from the palace.

The way she walked could only be described as a dance of seduction—her hips swaying gracefully and sensually, making the miniskirt covering her plump rear flutter in the air and evoking a provocative, erotic sensation, almost like some kind of invitation.

…

…

…

In the middle of a beautiful private room with white walls and a marble floor, adorned with elegant furniture and shelves full of books—oozing a feeling of both luxury and comfort—there was a huge bed draped in silk sheets. Out of nowhere, a gorgeous young woman with wavy brown hair and mesmerizing blue eyes materialized on it.

Appearing on the bed, Liliana took a moment to glance around, then began to check her condition. She realized she was fully healed and brimming with energy, as if her desperate battle had been nothing more than a dream. This made her sigh a bit in disappointment before murmuring to herself in a complicated tone.

"It's a shame that bitch is still 'alive'. But oh well, at least we took out a good number of those lapdogs, so it wasn't a total loss…"

Stretching a little, savoring a pleasant feeling of comfort as though she had just woken from a cozy sleep, Liliana got out of bed and walked to the beautiful mahogany door of the room. She opened it to reveal a lovely living area with a rug on the floor, elegant black leather sofas, and a black wooden dining set.

But to Liliana's surprise, seated on one of the sofas was Eleonora, who was elegantly sipping tea from a white porcelain cup adorned with silver designs while reading a book in silence. She exuded an almost aristocratic aura, full of elegance and authority.

"Master!!!"

Liliana exclaimed happily at the sight of her master and ran over to greet her, but upon reaching her, she stopped short as her expression changed drastically. Doubt and guilt overwhelmed her, after all, during the tournament she hadn't accomplished anything and instead had left through the back door upon being disqualified—a complete embarrassment for her master.

Seeing Liliana so filled with doubts and sadness, Eleonora set down her teacup on a small table beside her and lifted her gaze from her book. A maternal smile full of pride for her young disciple's growth graced her beautiful face. Speaking in a cheerful voice, she said while placing the book aside.

"Come, Liliana, sit with your master."

Hearing her master's words, Liliana hesitated for a moment as she watched Eleonora pat the spot next to her on the sofa. But after seeing the lovely smile on her face, Liliana slowly walked over and sat down. Then she began to apologize with her head lowered and a voice laden with genuine remorse and shame.

"I'm sorry, Master. I failed you. I couldn't secure a slot for the ruins' exploration…"

"Fufufu, don't be silly."

Seeing how her disciple was acting, Eleonora let out a pleasant laugh and commented as she placed one hand on the sad girl's shoulder, gently pulling her so she could rest her head on her lap. At that moment, Eleonora began to lovingly stroke Liliana's long, wavy hair, resembling a caring mother comforting her little daughter, all while speaking in a soft and affectionate voice.

"You did a magnificent job—no less than I'd expect from my disciple."

Eleonora's warm caresses and tender words filled Liliana's heart with a profound feeling of care, affection, and peace, which inevitably caused her face to flood with tears. She began explaining through her sobs, filled with sorrow and regret.

"I wanted to win, master. I wanted to go on that exploration and achieve something great, to make you proud of me, to prove that choosing me as your disciple wasn't a mistake. But I failed you, master. I was wrong to become your disciple. I'm just a useless failure, a stain on your reputation as a Master. You made a mistake choosing me…

"Desmond is already a famous artificer and mage, publicly regarded as the best of his generation. Even Erik is stronger than me now; he has dazzling academic achievements, and I'm sure he secured a spot on the exploration. I'm the only one who failed. I'm a failure. I don't deserve to be your disciple, Master. Please forgive me. I don't deserve to be called a genius. I've brought you nothing but shame, master. I'm just a pathetic loser who tarnished your reputation…"

Liliana poured out her grief and frustrations on her master's lap, crying inconsolably. Eleonora simply let her vent while gently stroking her hair with motherly affection, lovingly and carefully, until Liliana's voice gradually subsided into tearful sobs.

"You know, Liliana, Desmond couldn't become an artificer until he was 150 years old, and he even failed the exam twice. He was so sad and disheartened after failing the first time that he cried like a little kid for an entire afternoon…"

With Liliana's sorrowful sobs as a sort of backdrop, Eleonora spoke in a soft, calm voice, accompanied by a small, nostalgic smile on her face. She began to wipe the tears from her little disciple's face with a white handkerchief she drew from her storage ring, and, without pausing, continued.

"But that was nothing compared to when he failed the second time. Back then, he wanted to give it all up and return home in defeat, calling himself a fraud and a disgrace to his family. But in the end, he didn't give up. He carried on, refining his technique, his mana control, his theory—everything he could, for nearly fifty years—so he could try a third time. And he finally passed the exam with the highest grade possible."

Eleonora's voice revealed the pride she felt for her first disciple, while her mind wandered through memories of that time—something that seemed incredibly distant, yet at the same time felt like it had happened only yesterday. Quickly, though, her expression turned a bit complicated as she continued.

"But he was much better than me, you know? Back then, terrified of failing, I didn't dare to take the exam until I was two hundred years old. Just imagine that: a two-hundred-year-old Illuminated-Skilled, someone everyone praised as the greatest genius in history, completely petrified by a simple basic one-star artificer exam.

"The most embarrassing part was that even after studying so hard so I wouldn't look bad—practicing until exhaustion, over and over—I barely managed to pass the exam with the most mediocre grade possible. And honestly, I didn't even deserve that grade. They gave it to me to protect my reputation as a 'once-in-an-era genius'. If it weren't for that, maybe I wouldn't even be an artificer today."

Hearing her master's story, Liliana lifted her head, utterly astonished. She couldn't believe what Eleonora was telling her, with a loving smile on her face. After all, her master was the great Master Silverwood, one of the greatest geniuses in human history and, more importantly, one of the finest artificers in the entire galaxy.

She was someone who couldn't be left out when naming the best of the best—the mother of Runic-Geometric Refinement, the most revolutionary breakthrough in at least a million years in the field of artificery. But Eleonora went on, her soft smile never leaving her lips.

"No matter who you are, or how good you think you are, defeats and failures are a constant in life. Nobody is exempt from that, and therefore, it's not something you can run from—nor something to fear. For that very reason, you didn't do anything in the tournament to shame me or tarnish my reputation, as you say. On the contrary, in that tournament you showed me that I made the right choice in taking you on as my disciple.

"In the tournament, you demonstrated your intelligence, adaptability, your vast array of spells, and most importantly, your courage and guts. You fought till the very end like a lioness, paving the way, so your teammates could take the next step and repaying your 'younger brother's' debt. So if you did anything in that tournament, it was to make me feel immensely proud. You are everything I hoped for—and more—from someone I raised with my own hands."

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Eleonora's words caused Liliana to look at her master with eyes completely wide, brimming with a complicated tangle of love, hope, surprise, happiness, and countless other emotions. Tears began to flow like a waterfall, to the point where she had to press her hands against her chest, trying to calm the furious storm raging inside her.

"M-Master… did I make you proud…?" Liliana asked in a sobbing, trembling voice, laden with insecurity, to which Eleonora responded with a warm smile and an almost maternal tone.

"But of course. In the tournament, you proved yourself more than worthy of being my disciple. You did far more than I expected. You, Liliana, are undoubtedly a disciple I'm proud to have raised."

Eleonora's words were a critical blow to Liliana's fragile heart. She threw herself at her beautiful master and hugged her slender waist tightly, tears continuing to stream down her face. She felt so many things, but most of all, she felt an overwhelming happiness and relief. These were the words she had wanted to hear her entire life, and finally hearing them brought her a joy like no other.

Meanwhile, Eleonora smiled affectionately upon seeing her young disciple and then placed one of her hands on Liliana's back, gently caressing her brown hair. She comforted her disciple with warmth and care until Liliana gradually stopped crying and fell silent, shifting slightly with nervousness, as if she hesitated to do something.

Without pressuring her young disciple, Eleonora continued to gently stroke her soft hair, waiting for Liliana to clear her mind. After a while, Liliana, having thought long and hard, mustered her resolve and got up from her master's lap, then sat on the sofa. She looked at her master with a tear-stained face and red-rimmed eyes.

"Master… I… I'm not a good older sister… I don't deserve for you to be proud of me. I'm a terrible person…"

Liliana began to speak, but as she continued, her voice began to break and grow softer. At the same time, the tears that had finally stopped began flowing again, yet the beautiful girl bit her lips firmly and continued talking while Eleonora listened in silence.

"I hated Erik. I saw him as useless, arrogant, pretentious—one of the worst cowards—and I wished with all my might for him to fail and for you to abandon him. Just seeing him disgusted me, and I fantasized daily about leaving him on some remote planet where no one could find him, so he would disappear from my life forever. I cursed the day Master Eldurdóttir found him."

The more she spoke, the more tears filled Liliana's face, and her heart was overtaken by fear and despair. Mentally preparing herself for her master to reject her for being such a terrible person and for thinking those things about the person her master loved.

But she could no longer remain silent; her conscience wouldn't allow it. She couldn't happily accept her master's praise and congratulations while harboring those thoughts about her younger brother—especially now that she knew how special Erik was to her master.

She wasn't the good person her master believed her to be; thus, she didn't deserve so much love and affection from her. Even so, Liliana genuinely loved her master, who had been like a mother to her for almost her entire life. And although the outcome would be devastating for her, Liliana no longer had the courage to keep lying to her. So she kept talking.

"I was filled with envy for how you treated him, for everything you gave him. I felt like he was displacing me and that you no longer loved me, that at any moment you'd abandon me. That's why I left him alone the day you asked me to go with him to enroll in his first class. I even thought of doing many worse things… Forgive me, Master. I'm a terrible person; I don't deserve your love or your care. I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Tears of bitterness and pain flooded Liliana's face. She pulled her feet up onto the sofa and hugged her knees, burying her face in them, almost as though she were trying to find a tiny refuge to calm her heart, which was filled with sorrow, loneliness, and despair. She was certain of what her master would do after hearing her confession.

When Liliana was at her lowest, drowning in a well of sadness and solitude, overwhelmed by her master's silence—she didn't dare look at her for fear of seeing anger and disappointment—she suddenly felt a tender kiss on the top of her head. Completely taken aback, she then heard her master's voice, which sounded somewhat amused.

"You're a very sweet girl, you know that? Fufufu."

Utterly stunned, Liliana turned to look at her master. Rather than seeing disappointment or anger, she found a loving and cheerful expression, and Eleonora opened her arms to embrace her once again, pressing Liliana's head against her generous chest. Liliana heard her master's warm voice again.

"Did you think I didn't know? Even Erik was well aware of it, not to mention Sig or me. And you're not a terrible person, nor any of those things you said. You're just a spoiled little girl who felt her new younger brother would take her place.

"What you felt and thought is quite normal. And it's precisely there where you showed the kind of person you really are. Because although in your heart you 'hated' Erik, you always respected him as your brother, and aside from that little incident when Erik entered the university, you never openly antagonized him. You always treated him properly in public.

"Moreover, your younger brother isn't just anyone. He's a monstrous talent on Sig's level—maybe even superior. Most people in your position couldn't handle that, and they'd lose all confidence and motivation, eventually going down a dark path of hatred, regret, and apathy.

"But you didn't go down that path. You worked harder than anyone else. Even when Erik surpassed you, you never wavered. On the contrary, you trained even more intensely, achieving feats that undoubtedly make you the best of the current generation below Erik—someone most people don't even count because he's too far off the charts.

"That's why you are not only fully deserving of all my affection, but I'm proud to have you as my disciple—an unwavering, fearless warrior of a woman who also happens to be incredibly gifted and hardworking. As your master, I feel blessed to have you. Besides, you're too adorable for your own good. Fufufu."

Hearing her master's soft laugh at the end, Liliana felt overwhelmed by happiness, tenderness, love, and pride, leading her to hug Eleonora even more tightly. But soon enough, confusion surfaced, so with a hint of nervousness, Liliana raised her head slightly to ask a question.

"But Master, I thought terribly of Erik and wished him all sorts of misfortune. Why aren't you angry? Don't you hate me for thinking those things about your…?"

Liliana's voice died out at the last moment, unsure about openly discussing her conjectures regarding her Master's feelings for Erik. But Eleonora chuckled pleasantly as she took out another handkerchief from her storage ring and began wiping Liliana's tear-stained face once more. Then she answered in a cheerful tone.

"Fufu, you don't have to be afraid to say it. Erik is the man I love, and he'll be my future husband. I wanted to show you that during the trip, since you're my beloved disciple and you deserve to know. Though it's a family matter, so let's not say it too loudly outside the house." Eleonora said with a small smile, watching her now clean-faced disciple, who nodded enthusiastically, like a little chick.

"Turn around. I'm going to comb your hair."

Seeing her disciple's face free of tears again, Eleonora spoke gently, and Liliana promptly obeyed. She turned on the sofa, giving her back to her master, who then, with a beautiful comb that looked like it was made of obsidian, began to gently and lovingly smooth Liliana's long, wavy hair. At the same time, Eleonora spoke in a calm, warm voice.

"Even though I love Erik from the bottom of my heart and want to spend the rest of eternity by his side, that doesn't mean I don't love you too. It's just a different kind of love. You are my beloved disciple, you're like a daughter to me, whereas Erik is the man of my life. So I can't be mad at my daughter for being upset with her 'dad', can I? Fufu."

"…" Liliana didn't know how to respond to that, so she chose to remain silent and enjoy her master's care. Eleonora continued speaking unhurriedly.

"The same goes for Desmond, who also knows about it. You're my children, my little babies, and I love you all from the bottom of my heart. But I also understand how hard it can be for anyone to be so close to someone like Erik, who has such ridiculous talent that it can be disheartening to others. So there's no reason to be angry if you couldn't get along at first. With time, that will improve, and we'll be a happy family…"

"…M-Master, can I ask why you fell in love with him?"

After a few moments, Liliana bit her lip and asked in a slightly choked voice, feeling she was crossing a line but determined to take that risk to better understand the situation. Eleonora just smiled and answered cheerfully as she continued combing Liliana's hair with delicate care.

"That's a tricky question. I truly love everything about him, but if I had to say something, it's that he's not only handsome and incredibly talented, but also hardworking, clever, and filled with crazy, creative ideas—definitely someone destined for great things, exactly the kind of man I want to spend the rest of my life with.

"But what really made me fall in love with him was his personality—his confidence, his calm, his honesty. How he treats me like a normal person, still with affection and respect, but without pointless flattery or excessive reverence, as if I were some kind of deity. From the very beginning, he treated me like a woman—like Eleonora—and not as Master Silverwood.

"I also adore his steady way of doing things, always so sure of himself, always step by step, keeping his own pace, almost as if he were constructing a solid building with each thing he does. It fills me with an incredible sense of peace and tranquility, like if I'm by his side, things will naturally turn out perfectly because every little step he takes is a perfect one, building an unshakable foundation.

"He's also very sweet and adorable when he's surprised or discovers something new, and how he eats his cookies like a little mouse, or how he somehow always manages to get his way… fufu, it seems I've gone on and on, yet I still haven't said a quarter of what I love about him."

"You really do love him, Master…"

Liliana remarked with a smile on her face, feeling somewhat amazed at the lively tone in her master's voice—perfectly fitting a maiden in love, something she had never heard from Eleonora before. At that moment, Eleonora responded with a big smile and visible delight.

"Of course I do. He's the love of my life. Fufu."

Upon hearing her master's voice so filled with love and happiness, Liliana hesitated a bit but gathered her courage to ask something slightly over the line. If her master loved this man so deeply, Liliana would do all she could to support her happiness, so she needed to understand the situation better—and there was a massive elephant she couldn't ignore.

"...And does Master Eldurdóttir feel the same way about him…?"

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"Of course, in the future we'll be together—even with Seraphina. We already have everything planned and even bought our family planet, so the three of us will be even closer in the future than sworn sisters, fufu."

In response to her disciple's question, Eleonora answered quickly, filled with enthusiasm and anticipation for the future, which inevitably put a smile on Liliana's face. After all, it was truly a joy to hear her master so happy and full of energy. However, the girl's expression quickly turned resolute, and she asked in a serious tone.

"Master, doesn't it bother you to share the love of your life with other women?"

"If it were any other woman, maybe it would. But with Sig and Seraphina, honestly, no. They are my sisters, and I love them from the depths of my heart. Besides, the fact that we fell in love with the same man almost feels like it was destined.

"Instead of being something bad, it's something that fills the three of us with happiness. My sisters—the people who have spent the most time with me and who are an irreplaceable part of my life—will continue to be by my side as we share a deep love for the same man. If that's not happiness, then I don't know what is, fufufu."

Wearing a huge smile on her face, Eleonora answered in a sing-song voice as she gently combed her disciple's silky hair. Liliana couldn't help but laugh a little, feeling incredibly happy because even though she had spent most of her life by her master's side, they had never had such an intimate and jovial conversation. As if they were friends of the same age—a clear sign that she was getting closer to her master more than ever.

"It seems like that's a big relief for you, master." Liliana soon commented in a lilting tone, to which Eleonora responded with enthusiasm and a hint of mischief in her voice.

"Of course! I'll even tell you a secret—though I'm only telling you because it's something that will never happen, and you're my disciple. But keep it a secret, okay?"

"Of course, Master." Liliana nodded quickly and answered in a serious but cheerful tone, prompting Eleonora to smile softly before she began to speak.

"Well, you see, finding a partner or falling in love has always been a dreaded topic for us sisters because we got tired of seeing how, when a woman truly fell in love from the bottom of her heart, she almost always ended up giving herself completely to that love, which inevitably led to her family relationships drifting apart—something we didn't want to happen to us.

"This fear reached the point that Seraphina even announced that no matter whom Sig married, she would serve as his maid—even if it meant offering herself as his concubine—something that, to be honest, I couldn't accept. Even though I really love Sig and Seraphina, I couldn't see myself giving myself to a man I didn't love.

"After all, a long time ago, I decided that there would only ever be one man in my life—whether it turned out well or badly, there could only be one—so I had to choose very carefully. Therefore, I couldn't risk being with someone I didn't love. Luckily, Erik appeared in our lives and stole all three of our hearts, solving the problem without even knowing it. Now Sig and I will be the official wives, and Seraphina the concubine, fufufu."

Although a bit surprised by the story, especially by her master's strange decision to have only one man in her life—something incredibly unusual for beings who lived as long as they did—Liliana chose not to ask. She could sense there was something very profound behind that decision, and asking about it might ruin her master's happy moment. Instead, she asked about the second thing that caught her attention, somewhat confused.

"… Master, but why will Lady Seraphina be the concubine if you're all sisters?"

The reason Liliana found it strange was very simple. Although she knew that Seraphina pretended to be a maid, she was not only incredibly powerful but also extremely close to her master—something Liliana learned after the little altercation they had when she scolded Erik.

"Well, that's because of Seraphina's strange fetishes… preferences. Though she's a bit of an odd person, she's a wonderful sister and more loyal than anyone."

Eleonora answered calmly as she took a jar of hair cream from her storage ring, a cream with a soft floral scent, and began to apply it gently to Liliana's hair. At that moment, Liliana couldn't help but ask something she had wanted to know for years.

"I see… though you know, Master, there's something I've always wanted to ask you. Now that I understand how difficult it is to be around someone like Erik or Master Eldurdóttir, I find it hard to understand—how could you bear it and even come to consider her your sister?"

Faced with Liliana's uncertain question, Eleonora smiled understandingly and replied in a calm tone while carefully combing her disciple's beautiful chocolate-colored hair.

"You know, many people praised me for being able to have such a close relationship with Sig, who took my place as the greatest genius in history and ended up surpassing me by a wide margin. But the truth is, although it did hurt a little and wasn't so easy to accept, in the end, I couldn't be more grateful for it.

"The pressure and loneliness of being so far above everyone else is indescribable—something that, although I can't say I wasn't proud of, the truth is that it was more terrifying than anything else. Having such high expectations placed on me made me terrified of failure. And although I learned to live with it over the years, those were four thousand very difficult years for me.

"But everything changed when Sigrún appeared. In just fifty years, that girl who came out of nowhere became the talk of the galaxy. For the first time in my life, I knew what true peace and tranquility were. I no longer had to worry about being alone; finally, there was someone who could understand my fears and worries…"

The master and disciple pair continued talking about random things, as if they were truly mother and daughter, sharing stories, experiences, difficulties, and more—all the while with big smiles on their faces, letting time pass without either noticing.

In the end, it was quite late when Liliana fell asleep on the sofa, totally exhausted from the hectic day full of events and emotions she had experienced. Eleonora carried her to the bed with a smile, then kissed her lovingly on the forehead.

"You really made me feel very proud. Rest; you worked hard, my little one…"

…

…

…

The next day, Liliana woke up in her bed and looked around a bit confused, but the memories of the previous day quickly returned to her. A beautiful smile spread across her face, which soon became serious and determined.

With firm steps, Liliana headed to the bathroom and, after a relaxing bubble bath, proceeded to do something she had been doing for years, something she thought she would no longer need: using healing spells and a potion to erase any traces of the previous day's crying from her face, which inevitably brought a wry smile to her lovely features.

Truly, these last years had been a literal hell for her—always on edge, terrified of losing everything she loved. But in the end, the only one to blame for her suffering was herself. Erik had really never done anything to her; she was the one who got scared for no reason and ended up hating him for it, like a little girl. But that had to change. So, after adjusting her appearance, Liliana took her crystal card and called her master.

"Good morning, Master." The call soon connected, and Liliana greeted in a serious tone. In response came Eleonora's calm voice through the crystal card's hologram.

[Good morning, Liliana. Did you rest well?]

"Very well, thank you for your concern, Master." Liliana quickly replied, causing Eleonora to giggle a bit before she commented.

[That's good to hear. Make sure you rest these days; you worked quite hard in the tournament and need to recover.]

"I understand, but Master, the reason I'm calling is to see if there's a chance I can meet with Erik today. I want to talk to him and clear everything up so I can move on and start over." Liliana commented briefly, her tone full of resolve, which made Eleonora laugh happily once again. She then spoke with a slightly playful tone.

[Fufu, then come to my private lounge.]

"I'll head over right away."

After hanging up, Liliana checked her appearance one last time, then left her private room and headed toward her master's private lounge. Determined to ask her for help in arranging a meeting with Erik so she could be honest with him—something she felt necessary in order to face the future with a new perspective.

…

Shortly after, Liliana arrived at an exclusive, secluded area that boasted exquisite decor, several levels above the zone where her own private lounge was located. The place was a spacious circular hall filled with Myst, vegetation, subtly beautiful decorations, and a lovely fountain in the center that emitted a pale golden liquid. The wide hall was surrounded by different sets of double doors, all with distinctive seals carved into them.

Liliana walked quickly through the hall until she reached a matte black door with a seal depicting a spear surrounded by lightning. She knocked on it softly. Moments later, the door opened by itself, revealing a large marble-floored hall with an elegant wooden staircase up ahead.

Walking calmly, Liliana took the path to the left of the staircase, quickly arriving at a beautiful sitting room furnished with various sofas and a gorgeous dining area at the back. There she found Eleonora, Sigrún, and—much to her surprise—Erik, all chatting casually, while Seraphina stood behind Erik like a loyal shadow.

Noticing her disciple's arrival, Eleonora turned to her with a small smile, which turned playful when she saw the slightly surprised look on Liliana's face. Then, she extended her hand to point to one of the chairs at the dining table and spoke softly.

"Come in. We've been waiting for you."

"Good morning, master, Master Eldurdóttir, Lady Seraphina, Erik."

""Good morning.""

Liliana quickly composed herself and approached the dining table, greeting everyone with a respectful bow. They all responded in unison before she took her seat. At that moment, plates loaded with sumptuous food appeared on the table, drawing a happy smile from Erik, while two cute wolf pups appeared at his sides from his shadow with expectant looks.

"Let's have breakfast first."

With the arrival of the food, Eleonora spoke with a cheerful smile as she picked up the beautiful silverware on the table. At the same time, it was like a starting signal for Erik, who immediately began to devour his meal as if he hadn't eaten in years—though he didn't forget to share a bit with the wolves, since they started performing a theatrical display of hunger the moment he began to eat.

After breakfast, Eleonora and Sigrún stood up from the table while the dishes vanished. They walked over to Erik, kissing him lovingly on the cheeks before bidding him a cheerful farewell.

"See you later, Erik." After kissing him, Sigrún spoke with a small smile on her face and left the salon, followed by Eleonora, who also said her goodbye affectionately.

"Don't spend too long on your projects today; we'll be back early."

"Hehe, alright." Erik replied with a relaxed smile, then turned to look curiously at Liliana, who wore a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face.

Spoiler: Patreon

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A while later, Erik and Liliana sat facing each other on the beautiful sofas in the living room, while they received cups of tea from Seraphina, who, after serving them, stood behind Erik with a professional smile on her face.

"My master told me you wanted to talk to me about something."

Seeing the nervous Liliana, Erik commented with a smile, wondering what the girl wanted to discuss, which led Liliana to take a couple of deep breaths to gather her courage. Then she looked Erik directly in the eyes, at which point she began to speak in a serious and almost formal tone.

"Erik, the truth is that I've realized my mistakes and I want to move on, so I want to talk to you seriously to apologize for my previous behavior and, if possible, to start over."

Liliana's words caused a confused expression on Erik's face, who turned to look at Seraphina as if asking for explanations, but the beautiful, perfect maid simply smiled elegantly without saying anything. Seeing that Seraphina didn't want to explain anything, Erik had no choice but to sigh in defeat and ask the chocolate-haired girl.

"Liliana, honestly, I don't understand why you want to apologize to me. Did you do something?"

The question caused a confused expression to form on Liliana's face, who looked at Erik, not very sure if he was serious or just making fun of her. But as always, that fool seemed unable to lie even if his life depended on it, which brought a small smile to her face and gave her enough courage to start explaining.

"Yes, I did quite a bit, and I know you're aware of it: how I treated you with indifference, what I thought of you, and that I didn't behave like a proper older sister."

A bit surprised, Erik looked Liliana up and down, but upon noticing her expression and realizing that she really meant what she said, the star-haired boy couldn't help bursting into laughter. Meanwhile, the teacup he was holding began to float in the air thanks to a phantom hand.

After laughing heartily, Erik wiped a few small tears from his eyes and spoke as he tried to calm down. Then he began to talk, still looking genuinely amused, while Seraphina, with swift and practiced movements, began to tidy up the clothes and the beautiful starry hair of her young master.

"Hahaha, you're really very sweet, Liliana, haha, and that's not something to apologize for…" Erik had no choice but to take a couple of deep breaths to avoid laughing again, and shortly afterward, he continued speaking.

"I already told you before that not even money is liked by everyone, much less a person. And if I may add, much less someone like me—so as not to make myself look too bad, let's say I'm a bit peculiar. So, whether you like me or not is irrelevant. Whatever happens, you're still my master's disciple and therefore my older sister, so it's unimportant—don't try to make it bigger than it really is."

Somewhere between astonished and confused, Liliana watched Erik rubbing his stomach, trying not to keep laughing, but the star-haired boy quickly continued in a calmer tone, taking back his floating teacup.

"Besides, you talk about treating me with indifference, but can I ask you when you did that? Because honestly, I never noticed until now, and in my opinion, apart from a couple of times so many years ago, you've always treated me with respect. At this point, I really have no complaints about you."

"… But I never treated you like a sister. I always ignored you and pushed you aside. Also, there was that time when I insulted you, and that other time when I left you to your fate on the street when master asked me to guide you…" Liliana couldn't help retorting with a strange expression, feeling incredibly uncomfortable because of Erik's words and calm demeanor. He simply smiled serenely and started speaking.

"You ignored me? Honestly, I never noticed. And if by insulting me you mean that time you called me a coward and such, well, that's not an insult—or at least not to me. You even helped me a lot that time because if it hadn't been for you, I really might have affected my masters' reputation. So before you apologize, I should be thanking you."

"But, but, I hated you. I wanted to see you fail. I thought you were nothing more than a useless lucky fool, a coward, a stinky hermit terrified of the outside world, and I wanted my master to abandon you…" Liliana spoke almost in a panic upon seeing how all the things she considered great offenses were nothing but trivialities to Erik, but the star-haired boy spoke again calmly after sipping his tea.

"And what's wrong with that? After all, you're not entirely wrong. I really am a lucky fool; I'm also a bit of a hermit, I don't like socializing much, and to be honest, I'm also somewhat cowardly—I don't want to die too soon. So getting angry over the truth makes no sense, no matter how uncomfortable it is.

"Besides, I think it's pretty normal for you to hate me. After all, I came out of nowhere, and Master Eleonora almost focused all her attention on me, so in my opinion, you handled it quite well since that 'hate' stayed only in your thoughts. You know, at first, I thought you and Desmond would make my life impossible, but that never happened, which was a big relief for me, and honestly, I'm grateful for that."

As Erik's words echoed in her mind, Liliana raised her head toward the ceiling with a distant look, almost experiencing an existential crisis. She felt that all the courage she had gathered and her realization about her relationship with Erik had been a waste of time. The fool didn't even think she had done anything wrong—he really was a hopeless idiot.

Although things were better in the Arcane Order, the pride, or even the arrogance, of mana users was no joke. So a normal one would hate her, curse her, and some of the most extreme and crazy ones would want to take cruel revenge on her, "repaying the grudge ten thousand times". But that star-haired fool had actually thanked her for not making his life difficult—it was truly a mystery how his foolish head worked.

"Don't be like that. If you really feel you want to reconcile with me, how about collaborating on a project?"

While Liliana was lost in her little existential crisis, Erik spoke with a predatory smile on his face, almost as if he were carefully sizing up the prey he was about to devour—something Liliana did not notice and simply asked as she looked at him again.

"Collaborate? In what do you want us to collaborate?"

Liliana asked with mixed feelings in her heart, to which Erik replied with a calm and friendly smile on his face, having completely erased the predatory expression from just a moment before.

"Actually, there's a project I'm working on where a light mage would be very helpful…"

As he spoke, Erik took from his storage ring a beautiful black-covered notebook with golden edges, which he placed on the coffee table between them, then slid it over to Liliana with a smile.

"..."

Upon seeing the notebook, Liliana picked it up and opened it. On the first page was a detailed introduction to what the notebook contained, and when she read it, Liliana couldn't help but open her eyes wide in surprise. She quickly began flipping through the pages, finding notes, explanations, and all kinds of magical spell prototypes.

The more she read, the wider the eyes of the beautiful girl became, rapidly shifting from surprise to disbelief, realizing the absolute madness her younger brother was working on. The guy really wasn't a genius—he was a damn monster so strange that she really wanted to open his head to see what he had inside, even doubting that he was human like her.

"Is this real…?"

With a voice that sounded almost like a gasp, Liliana asked with an expression that showed disbelief and astonishment at the same time. So Erik smiled confidently and stretched out his hand, where a beautiful magic circle with runes around it formed out of nowhere. He quickly conjured a beautiful torch made of solidified Myst, which had runes all over its surface. Soon after, it began to emit a pale blue flame, at which point Erik's calm voice resonated.

"Very real."

"…This is research worthy of an Auric Award… I can't accept it; my pride won't allow me to take advantage of you like that." Liliana spoke somewhat in a panic, surprised and a bit frightened by how absurd her younger brother was. He simply smiled calmly, then began to speak.

"You're exaggerating. Although it really is something that could be considered revolutionary, as it stands now, it's nothing more than an academic curiosity. Only useful for me because, as far as we know, no one else can move solidified Myst constructs the way I do.

"But if we manage to make it work with magical affinities, the story changes, and then we really could be talking about Auric Awards. And since light constructs are the most compatible with my Myst constructs, that's the best route to start with, don't you think?"

Erik spoke, trying to sound calm, but around him emanated the aura of a dishonest merchant looking to take advantage of a poor, innocent soul that had accidentally fallen into his hands.

Which, by the way, is not as if he had been thinking of ways to trick his poor older sister into helping him with his project, nor had he almost jumped for joy when he heard that she "wanted to make peace with him." Of course not; nothing of the sort happened.

"Do you really want me to take part in this project…?" Liliana asked, half-convinced and half-doubtful, to which Erik nodded confidently, then extended his hand toward her in a handshake gesture, speaking calmly.

"Of course, you're exactly what this project needs to go a step further."

"…Then I'll be in your care." After looking at Erik's outstretched hand for a few seconds, Liliana extended her own hand, initiating the handshake, speaking with traces of disbelief in her voice.

"Hehe, it'll be a pleasure working with you."

After the handshake, Erik commented happily while Seraphina placed an opulent tray filled with special cookies on the table, which doubled the happiness of the star-haired boy. He began eating with enthusiasm and even shared with the wolves that appeared beside him without them having to start their usual dramatic show. After all, happiness has to be shared.

(Hehe, what good luck! I finally have a "work partner" with the rare light affinity. If I manage to convince her to collaborate long-term, many of my stalled projects can move forward at an accelerated pace. But for now, let's take it step by step—let's not scare the little fawn that fell into the net. Everything in due time…)

With a mischievous smile on his face, Erik thought as he watched Liliana study the impressive agenda attentively. Meanwhile, Seraphina began to massage her young master's shoulders with an incredibly refined technique, discreetly picking up the orbs that hovered in stealth around the room at the same time.

Spoiler: Patreon

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It's the same note I posted publicly on Patreon—if you've already read it, you can ignore this one; it basically says the same thing.

***

Hello everyone! With this chapter, the second volume of Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst comes to an end. In this volume, I allowed myself to explore more of the world, introduce new characters, and so on. And although several people didn't like that I left Erik aside for so many consecutive chapters, the truth is that after thinking about it a lot, I decided to do it this way to create a parallel with the next volume—about how things work with Erik and without him—a volume that, in my opinion, will be much more interesting than this one.

But anyway, leaving that aside, I'd like to know your thoughts on this volume, what you thought of it, if you have any complaints or suggestions, or anything else. I really appreciate all the support you've given me, and although several people have left over the course of this volume, if you ever come back and read this message, I want you to know that I'm still grateful for the support you gave me. Knowing there are people who enjoy my work never stops being a great motivation.

On another note, a little while ago, an option appeared on Patreon to sell specific posts. Although I originally didn't plan to do anything with it, lately I've received an endless wave of emails and private messages about art commissions, and although from reading forums I discovered that most of them are scammers, it occurred to me to look for a real artist, commission some artwork for the cover and for the main characters, then assemble an EPUB of the volumes and sell it using this new option, at least to recoup my investment.

However, I'm really not sure if you'd be interested in something like that, and I've heard that art commissions can be quite expensive, so let me know if you'd be interested or if you know a serious artist so I could at least request a quote and mentally plan a budget. I do have to warn you that if it's too expensive, I'll likely opt not to do it, since I have very few readers and doubt I'd recoup the investment if it's very costly.

In any case, thank you so much for all the support so far—I truly hope you're still enjoying my work. There's still a lot of story left to tell, and this has only been the beginning, which, to be honest, I didn't expect would take so many chapters to introduce.

But setting that aside, Volume 3 will begin with the next chapter and will be published without any breaks.