Chapter 598 - Nothing I couldn't deal with

After a few days, Biscuit starts shrinking from his giga form. It's sad to watch, and I wish he would wake up before it happens completely so he could carry me instead of the other way around. But there's nothing I can do. It seems like he ate something and pushed himself too hard to avoid slipping into another food coma, which he ended up in any way right when Lissandra found him and Tess.

Part of me suspects he’s actually trying really hard to shrink back to his normal size just so he can be carried around again.

Tess, and yes, I mean the dumbest human on the 7th floor, is also awake. She's still adjusting and spending her days with Izzy and sometimes Sophie, in the house Sophie grew from that tree. There are a few more she added where we also have our rooms.

My curiosity is killing me and I want to pry all the information from Tess, but I get over it and spend time hunting down mimics that appear in the area.

Currently, it seems Lissandra is letting the weaker ones pass on purpose and, once in a while, disappears and does crazy, scary things. Most of the time I don't even know what it is, but judging from the wavelength of mana around her and the structure of the skill she activates, it is some scary, scary stuff. Just trying to decipher it makes me pass out for a few hours each time.

I think she is still trying to find what exactly happened and is searching for the Progenitor Mimic, which is doing its best to hide while throwing everything it can against Lissandra in hopes of distracting her or slowing her down. But I think it's only a matter of time, and knowing Lissandra, she has already cut off any way the mimic could use to leave this planet.

The waves keep getting stronger, and they're happening more frequently. The Progenitor Mimic is throwing everything it has, but I doubt it will make much of a difference. Even if she's not as powerful as she was in her prime, I don't think there's any Absolute out there who can overpower her. Like us, she’s been using the regenerative aura of the tournament floor to train and experiment. So while her passives, stats, and traits aren't as impressive as they used to be, I think her active skills are close to the level they were back when she was hunting down the Rulers.

One day, she comes across me while I'm training with my Ignition heart and observing my passive. The way she stands there feels almost awkward, but her words aren’t.

"I have talked to that blonde already," she says.

"Did she tell you to fuck off?"

"Yes, but in a much more controlled manner. She’s perceptive and understood the situation right away when she and your bond stayed behind. Waiting was an option, but she chose otherwise. Her decision was deliberate, driven by a simple reason: her refusal to be a burden. A statement, that she doesn't need to be saved or protected, and won’t be used as leverage against her group, even if it means bearing the full weight of the consequences."

I nod, "I should have known that."

"Would that make you behave differently during the tournament?"

"Likely not. So what will you do now? We made a deal and now I have almost nothing out of it."

Not even for a moment does she seem taken aback. "I have already talked to the blonde and shared with her some information and a technique that will be helpful to her. Even though, similarly to you, she doesn't seem to like me, I believe she won't be dumb enough to throw it away. As for you, I agree that I currently owe you. I’m sure you’ve already thought about it and have something in mind that you want."

"Yes, it's simple: Save Myrra too."

"Little pup, it is something I have already-"

I interrupt her, "I know you would throw her away if there were no other choice or if it improved your chances. I saw you kill your disciple, so I have not that much trust in your behavior. I want you to save her, even if it hurts you, causes you damage, cripples you, or is extremely difficult and might lower your chances."

Lissandra looks at me for a while in silence, with a thought flashing behind her eyes.

"Very well, I promise," she says in the end.

At that moment, she looks as if she is tasting these words and examining the effect of that decision. In the end, she tilts her head and smiles as if amused by it all.

"Do you know what state you are in?" she asks out of nowhere.

I nod, "Yup. I'm... well, my body is dying. It'll continue to unless I increase my Constitution or stop creating these constructs or making modifications to my body. I know it. I've learned enough about body modification to recognize the signs and understand what I'm doing."

"Yes, but it's something that can be corrected with enough focused effort. Your constructs and the modifications you've made to your body are functional, but still far too unstable compared to system-generated equivalents. If you continue developing along your current path with the same kind of enhancements, I'd estimate ten to twenty years before the structural strain and mana flow inconsistencies either cripple you permanently or trigger cascading side effects beyond your control. That outcome could be fatal. And that's already accounting for your current rate of progress, your healer's improvements, and any external support."

"I know," I repeat.

"You won't change the way you go about things?"

"Nope."

She shakes her head, and I catch the faintest smile on her face. "Little pup, when you're out of the tutorial, find a way to survive all this. Then, when you're ready, come find me on Eladore."

"Only if you succeed where every version of you has failed, and where no one else ever has," I say.

"Such a useless thought," she says, with her posture straightening and as her mana dances across her skin.

***

A few days later, Lissandra leaves to eliminate the Progenitor Mimic she finally managed to locate. The likely massive pile of eyes, mouths, and tentacles has probably set traps for her, so the extermination could take some time. It might even end with the planet being destroyed, considering the current state it's in.

Put simply, the situation here is not good. Mimics are everywhere, lumorans are few, and the arrays that connect to other planets have been destroyed, cutting off any chance of mercenary support.

Part of me wonders how I would handle mimics if I were an Absolute. Another part thinks that to reach a certain level of power, you need to be as confident and bold as Lissandra. One part of me keeps training, another scans the area, and the last one watches Myrra as she says her goodbyes. She and Liss will leave as soon as the Progenitor Mimic is dealt with. If all goes well, that will mark a successful end to our floor quest.

This floor has been interesting... a huge mess, and whatever the system wanted to tell us likely went over our heads because of this walking catastrophe that joined us. That also reminds me that I do now have those thermonuclear warheads with me that were given to me by my sister. Some brothers might get a pocket knife as a gift, but whose sister gives them a weapon of mass destruction?

"Nat?" a young voice takes me out of my thoughts, and I follow it to look at Izzy.

"Yes?"

"Tess wants to talk with you."

"Got it," I say as I move past her and head toward the house where Tess still is. There is no other signature inside other than her.

I move in, and for the first time after a while I look straight at her—this time not unconscious. She is this time, standing proud with her crown floating over her head and already storing primordial lightning, just in case.

I could probably say something about it not being the best idea to train right away, but something tells me it would be hypocritical.

Otherwise, she is wearing Earth clothes, from the pile I bought from Gloria that the girls took and now likely shared with her. She wears gray shorts and an oversized white shirt with short sleeves, looking as if she just came from the gym. She is even slightly sweaty on her forehead as she welcomes me with a smile. And her blonde hair is cut shorter, now barely reaching her shoulders and being all wavy and stuff.

"Tess, have you been training?"

"Yup. I got rid of Maya and Soph and secretly trained a bit. I bribed Izzy to keep it secret."

I shrug and create a manabloc chair, then sit down facing her.

My reaction must have amused her, as she smiles even more and takes a step in front of me, reaching with her hand toward me.

I grab her hand, and she pulls me up from the chair I just sat on, then, without any warning, pulls me into a hug. With her superior strength, she squeezes me quite tightly and I hesitate for a moment before hugging her back.

After a while, I feel like that's enough and tap her back as a universal signal to let go, but she doesn't. Instead, she continues to hold me tighter.

She isn't crying, and her body isn't shaking; my kinetic senses don't detect anything like that. So I just sigh and keep holding her until she turns giddy and begins swaying gently from side to side.

Remembering that it is something she likes to do, I match her movement for a while until she lets go of me, steals the manabloc chair from behind me, and pulls it so she sits in it. Instead of fighting her, I make a new one and sit opposite her.

"I leveled up my subclass to Adept, and a bunch of other skills too. By a lot," she says proudly.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you. I also have heard a lot about the tournament. You had it rough."

"Nothing I couldn't deal with. I heard you also had it rough."

"Nothing I couldn't deal with," she smiles at me but doesn't further expand on it.

I take it all as a signal that she doesn't want to talk about it, so I decide to let it be.

"I also heard you saw your sister," she says.

"Yes, Victoria is as lovely as always; the Cockroach even declared her an Absolute Candidate."

"I always thought she would be able to become one. I hoped I could meet her, but I guess we will have an opportunity during the third tournament."

"She still remembers you and even called you a cutely naive blonde."

"Well, I used to be that way back then. Did she bully the others?"

"You know her; there is no chance she didn't say some 'don't take it personally but you suck' things to them."

"That's true, but it might also make them push a little harder. Maybe that was her real intention all along."

"Nah, she doesn't care about them. I love my sister, but I have no illusions about how she sees others."

Tess nods in response, and for a while, we both stay quiet. The whole time, she keeps glancing at me: my face, my neck, my hands, my clothes. I do the same, studying her in return.

The silence stretches on, and I can't help but feel a bit amused by how strange it feels to face her again after weeks apart and everything we've both been through.

"Welcome back, Tess," I say in the end.

"You'd need a lot more than that to get rid of me," Tess says with a smile.

***

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