A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

"I won't stop you if you want to try, but..." Eldrian left it there, hoping that Brazen could see the dangers and recognize that seeking an aura was a death wish.

Luckily, Brazen wasn't without reason. He realized it was not something he could accomplish. Death was the more likely outcome.

In fact, the only reason Eldrian still lived was because he was a Chosen. If he was a normal person, he would have died. Eldrian had pointed this out, too. Not ashamed to admit his failings. He wanted to hammer it into his retainer so he wouldn't throw his life away.

A normal person, or rather a non-Chosen, didn't have a protection around their souls. Extending the time they can be resurrected—which had allowed Itireae to make it in time. This was made clear because she could not save Sabrea despite her having died after Eldrian.

It had become common knowledge throughout the kingdom. With the Chosen helping all over on the front lines, it was inevitable. Any chosen could be resurrected, no matter the time that had passed. This even counted for the extremely weak resurrection at Tier 4.

Of course, it was required that their avatar wasn't damaged beyond repair. It also needed to be healed before the resurrection could be performed. Which, more often than not, a Tier 4 priest or healer could not accomplish.

Generally, those who died would appear back in the temples if 30 minutes had passed. This was often the more likely scenario. But they could choose to wait should they know someone can resurrect them. Normally, this required an NPC or an expensive potion, but it was still an option.

Waiting such wasn't the same as what Eldrian had done.

He had fought through the system's restrictions to return to his broken avatar. This was why his soul had been damaged and the resurrection from Itireae had actually been required.

His doing so had naturally run against the AI's safeguards. And there was no guarantee that without Itireae's resurrection, Eldrian would have survived. After all, he had circumvented the protections that should have kept him safe. While they had still helped in some ways, damage had slipped through nonetheless.

In comparison, even Tier 10 resurrection spells only allowed for the resurrection of a non-Chosen up to 40 minutes after death. And even then, depending on the damage of the body and the time passed, the chance of success varied greatly.

It was not a guarantee. Even with the best conditions, there was still a 10% chance of failure.

While Brazen did not know all this in such detail, he understood he wasn't Eldrian and his circumstances varied too much. Eldrian hadn't succeeded just because he was a Chosen either. After all, he stood head and shoulders over the normal Chosen.

Confirming that Brazen had returned to normal, Eldrian switched to the reason he had decided to show Brazen all this. He didn't do this because he wanted to guide the lizardkin—sadly, Eldrian didn't have the leeway for such a kind, friendly act.

Sure, his reason didn't align with his current quest to save Adriana in the undead lands. But he needed to wait for Crystoi to be repaired, his gear to be made, and Erik's delivery of potions. He also still needed to run a few experiments with Vivian and talk with Levana.

But, right now, Eldrian had some time free. So he took this time to discuss his newfound experiences and understandings with Brazen. Both solidifying his understanding and expanding on it. And... using Brazen as a willing test subject. Much like how Dave had used Eldrian way back.

—

Several hours had passed and Eldrian now had a much greater understanding of Brazen's abilities. It truly was a bloodline power. It worked without mana, yet influenced reality.

In this regard, one could say it was also similar to an aura. However, it didn't corrupt the mind and soul, so there was that. And unlike Eldrian's own bloodline, it wasn't dangerous. Hence, why Eldrian had chosen now to help Brazen, when he had some time free.

Its source of fuel eluded Eldrian, much like the source of his own bloodline power eluded him.

He assumed it relied on Brazen's lifeforce. But without a way to detect another's lifeforce (without entering their soul), and Brazen incapable of entering his own soul or feeling his own lifeforce, they could not confirm this.

"Do you feel tired?" Eldrian asked, and when Brazen nodded through exhausted heavings, Eldrian threw a Florere at him. He could only cast the spell thanks to the spell modules Two had created in his soul,—since he had not spent the time to master it—but it worked without issue.

Florere was the Tier 5 branch of the Anthos spells. It had gone through some massive difficulty spikes in becoming Tier 5, most of which Eldrian skipped since he was effectively casting through what one might consider an item.

The floating spell modules in his soul certainly weren't items, but the usages were more or less the same. Think of it, activate it, and let your mana flow.

Naturally, casting a spell through this method had its drawbacks. The biggest of which was that since Eldrian wasn't envisioning the spell, he couldn't control it. But he could still cast it.

Feeling the energy coursing through him for the umpteenth time, Brazen heaved a long sigh. "Haven't we tested everything?"

He wasn't being lazy, but after hours of drawing out his hidden powers, he was at his limits. But Eldrian kept pushing him.

"Can you tell where it hurts?" Eldrian asked, "Or where your fatigue is coming from?"

"Everywhere!"

"That isn't an answer. Focus. Dig deep. Form your will into a sword or arrow, or whatever you find affinity to and dive into your core!" Eldrian said, attempting to rouse Brazen's spirits as he had him again take control of a fire.

As Brazen took control, Eldrian threw mana at the flames. Shaking Brazen's control and turning the fire into a magical one. The effect was similar to what Eldrian had experienced with the Magic Crystal.

It caused massive backlash to Brazen, but that was simply the price that had to be paid to hone one's abilities. Eldrian wasn't a friend of pain, but he knew it well.

When he saw Brazen writhing on the ground and coughing up blood, he pitied him, but he wasn't merciful. This was, by his estimated of Brazen's resistance growth, the most effective method.

Throwing a heal and another Florere—which by now had lost all effects but supply Brazen with a pitiful amount of energy, an amount that would make a normal person question its usage. But Eldrian just continued on.

When one wasn't enough, he threw two, three, or even ten. Until Brazen could move again and they could continue the experiment.

Even so, Eldrian thought he was being far kinder than a certain goddess. He wasn't asking Brazen to face death, and the lizardkin had asked for his help. It had just taken some time for Eldrian to figure out how to supply the help needed.

And Brazen knew this. Which was why, once he recovered, he tried again. He took control of the fire, made it dance, and fought against Eldrian's magical invasion. And finally, finally...

His suffering paid off.

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:)