Weapons of Mass Destruction

You can counter people, you can have your Beyonders help you, so even though they lost and can’t participate, I don’t think I should underestimate them or the 6th round [King] I beat.

Plus, there are also people like Tess, Lily, Savant, and Tacita. Each of them is likely strong enough to become a tournament winner if things went their way. And it’s very possible the other rounds have [King]-level individuals of their own. Hell, there’s always the possibility that the [King] in question hasn’t improved very much in the past year, and there are plenty of people stronger than them.

So far, I haven’t used black mana. I still haven’t removed even one seal on the heart. Even my passive Mana Wavelength Tyrant is still deactivated, and it’s been that way for months. That incredible mid-arcane passive I got with my primary class upgrade just sitting there unused, so it doesnʼt mess with my training and make everything too easy.

Not to forget the all-powerful [Knitting]. Then, I could also use Ley Lines to launch inscriptions in a similar way to how the Eye Champion of the 6th floor did.

It could be said even now, I’m still far from going all out. It’s not even close. But at the same time, things feel like they’re spiraling out of my control. There is nothing I can do about Tess, who’s busy doing who knows what on the 7th floor. I have to rely on Lissandra to keep her word, and there’s still the chance of her interfering with the tournament further.

To send away these useless thoughts, I say, “Status.”

Name: Nathaniel Gwyn

Title: Champion Candidate

Difficulty: Hell

Floor: Tournament Floor

Time left until forced return: 2y 361d 23h 54m 1s

Traits (2/3): Mana Wavelength Iris 2/3, Mana Physique 0/3

Lvl 305

Strength: 240

Dexterity: 231

Constitution: 429

Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 1621 + 1621

Primary Class: Mana Weaver (Unique Arcane)

Sub-class: [Adept of Pride]

Active skills (10/10):

Focus - Lvl 63

Perception - Lvl 59

Redistribution - Lvl 59

Mana Domain (Pride) - Lvl 59

Mana Crown - Lvl 53

Mana Manipulation - Lvl 63

Ley Line - Lvl 49

Eclipse - Lvl 26

Empyrean Lance - Lvl 17

Knitting - Lvl 29

Constructs:

Reinforcement

Mana Regulator

Mana Sovereignty Mantle

Kinetic Mana Heart

Sealed Ignition Heart (Fully Sealed, 3/3)

Passive skills (5/5):

Phoenix Embrace (Mid Epic)

Mana-Kinetic Conversion Reservoir (Unique Epic)

Mana-Fortified Mind (Low Arcane)

Mental Attunement Loop (Mid Arcane)

Mana Wavelength Tyrant (Mid Arcane)

Tokens:

Beyond 3 day stay token

Beyond 3 day stay token

Beyond 1 day stay token

Beyond 1 day stay token

Shards: 384,133

I pull my knees closer to my chest and watch the fortresses over them, as each round starts building up their defenses. Some build things similar to Sophie’s web, salting them with barriers and other structures made with the help of items. They really spend a lot of time pouring a lot of mana into all of it, and with the help of my Mana Wavelength Iris, I can see it all. The structure of the defenses, the movement of mana, the more glowing mana, the denser it becomes. I even start to see tiny particles of ambient mana floating around and reacting to their manipulation.

As always, the world I can see through my traits is so pretty and ever-changing. It is a constant stream of information, enough to fry my brain without a lot of help from my passive.

I look to my right and see Lissandra sitting there as well. Her eyes are on me. She feels like a natural disaster to me and always has. A disaster that can destroy an entire planet. But just like a natural disaster, Lissandra isn’t cruel; she’s just cold, uncaring when it comes to normal human struggles.

“I will kill you one day,” I tell her.

“Have I stepped over the line, little pup?” she asks.

“I wouldn’t say a single word if you were just messing with me, but now you’re putting someone I care about at risk. I’m not angry because you didn’t help, even though you could have. It was our fault and our lack of skill that led to this. What I hate about all of this is that you’re holding it over us with every intent of using her as a tool.”

She sits there and listens as the small waves continue moving outside in the wind.

“I do not care if it ends up well or if you did it all with the intention of helping Tess and me grow stronger. If you slip up even once, I will kill you.”

Lissandra’s smile lingers, calm and composed.

“Good,” she says, standing while the wind stirs her silver hair around her.