Weapons of Mass Destruction

After hours of trying to open the box, I finally give up. Sophie takes her turn, but she gives up too. For now.

The twins keep at it, trying to figure out how to open this wooden box with nothing even resembling a keyhole. I head back to the terrace, the one set in the shade of that huge tree.

The moment I take my seat on the couch, Myrra jumps up next to me and lies down, resting her head in my lap.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

In response she just smiles brightly and settles in comfortably.

So I drop the mana stone in my hand, letting it fall on her head. She curses, moves away, then decides to lie down once more, lying her legs across mine as she complains. “I’m bored.”

“Hello, bored. I’m Nathaniel.”

“What?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“That’s ok! I understand what you’re trying to say, Nat!” Lily shouts, joining us and taking a seat on the couch just opposite. And even though she’s smiling, her eyes are cold. Very cold, as she takes note of Myrra’s legs resting in my lap, then back at the white-haired lynthari.

“Myrra, do you want to spar with me if you’re so bored?” Lily asks her.

“Hell no!”

“I’ll hold back, I promise.”

“For some reason, I’m starting to think I’m the only person you don’t hold back against.”

“That’s not true! I just like sparring with you.”

I chime in, “Aren’t you ashamed, Myrra? You trained under Lissandra for months and still can’t beat Lily in melee combat.”

“And can you, feral one? Ten out of ten times?”

“I choose to exercise my right to remain silent.”

Myrra smiles victoriously and kicks me derisively. “I thought so. I could use my Aurora Glass and take things more seriously, but Lady Lissandra won’t let me at the moment.”

“Some kind of training?” I ask.

“Yes. She made an inscription for me, and I have to maintain concentration for the purpose of training with Aurora Glass. All the time.”

“So she was the one who declared you a candidate?”

“You’re curious, aren’t you, feral one?” Myrra grins, showing her fangs. “I’m not a fake Champion candidate anymore, Lissandra gave me a true declaration, apparently because I’m ‘good enough.’”

“I swear, it’s like she thinks she’ll lose a thousand points of mana any time she compliments someone.”

“But she’s massively powerful, right? Doesn’t that make it seem a bit more reasonable?” Lily asks.

I shrug. “You can only say that because she seems to like you and your combination of skills. Did she give you any more pointers?”

“Yes! She had a few ideas for improving my footwork after she saw me trying to mimic yours. She’s incredibly good at close-range combat, Nat.”

“She didn’t insult you, Lily?”

“She did, a lot!”

“Okay, I was worried for a second. So what are you working on these days? How’s your ax and mantle?”

“Hmm, I’d say my ax is more or less done, and I’ll just strengthen it as I grow. I’m also training with my mantle, so don’t worry. But Sophie asked if it was possible to grow an entire body similar to mine, strength, durability, all of it. Though perhaps without the head.”

“Let me guess: you don’t have the mental skills to control it the same way my sister´s Avatar did during the tournament, and it’d be for Sophie instead?”

“Yes! I’m terrible at that. But Sophie might be able to use it to defend herself, or maybe Blackie would. Sophie says my body is stupidly strong, which is why she asked me. I experimented with it a bit, but it’s difficult. Even if I cut parts off my body and reattach them, they degrade over time. The body weakens, and it still seems to count as mine, so it’s hard for Sophie to control. She can do it, but there’s resistance.”

“Feral one, you have a sister?” Myrra perks up, straightening her posture and poking me with her feet in an attempt to get my attention.

“Yes, I do. You’ll probably meet her during the tournament.”

“How is she?”

“She doesn’t like cats,” I reply and turn back to Lily. “Theoretically, you could create a body in your own image and then gradually adjust it to look like anyone you want, right? Make it gigantic, give it eight arms, or four legs. That kind of thing?”

“I could. Even now, I can change my height, facial features, figure—anything I want.” Lily responds, staring at me the whole time. I could swear she’s even blushing a little.

“That could be really useful for sneak attacks, to take the form of someone else. You would probably need a better handle on your mana to mimic their signature but in my opinion, it’s better than invisibility or that phantom bullshit.”

“Yes… yes, for that!”

Myrra lifts her legs and swings them over, leaping to her feet. “Wow, that’s just sad. I can’t watch this anymore. Feral one, where is Maya?”

“She asked me not to tell you if you came looking for her.”

“If you tell me, I’ll leave you alone for the day.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I quickly point out her direction, and Myrra excitedly wanders off to meet her new favorite sparring partner.

The moment she’s gone, I check to make sure, then nod, and Lily smiles brightly.

“What was with the shy act and talk about changing your figure and body?” I ask.

Lily just keeps smiling and shakes her head. “Look, it worked, she left to annoy someone else. Myrra always gets super annoyed when I act that way. But I didn't lie: I really can change how I look.”

“I know. You think I haven’t noticed those small tweaks you’ve been making?”

“It’s like a tiny bit of makeup! What woman wouldn’t want to look pretty? Even Lissandra! She could make herself just a bit younger, but instead, she looks like she’s in her twenties with the body of an Olympic athlete.”

“It’s that much?”

“She’s super pretty! Obviously, you wouldn’t notice. Maybe you would if she were made of mana or something.”

I start to argue but stop. How would a body made entirely of mana work, anyway? Wouldn’t my Mana Physique be the first step toward that?

Hmm, would I be pale blue like mana, or would I look like my current body? For example, we’re made of around 60% water, But we’re not clear like water. Would a body composed of 60% mana look similar?

“Are you sure we don’t need Sophie?” Lily asks, reaching out her hand.

I place my hand in hers, and she holds it.

“I don’t think we need her for this step. I’m just making preparations for the heart. I’ll probably mess up a lot, so thanks in advance for all the healing.”

“It’s fine! I still have a few of your arms with me, so I can [Sacrifice] them if I need to.”

“Good. Let’s start.”

A few days later, I’m watching as the twins and Min-Jae keep trying to open the box the lumoran Champion left for Lissandra. They’ve made multiple attempts without damaging it, and there’s even been some progress: like noticing a set of almost invisible grooves even Lily could only feel with her fingertips, weird barely perceptible shifts in weight Min-Jae picked up on, and a set of patterns that only appear at the right mana frequency.

Overall, it’s safe to say everyone’s curious about the thing and has tried opening it a few times.

Something occurs to me. “Weren’t we supposed to give that to Lissandra?”

Min-Jae looks up from the box, and Dennis takes the chance to snatch it from him, shaking it next to his ear.

“We did give it to her while you were knocked out after nearly blowing yourself up while preparing your chest for that new heart,” Min-Jae says.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad. So Lissandra didn’t want the box?”

“Lily said most of your torso exploded into exposed ribs and spine, the only other thing left was a barrier around your heart—the rest was just gone. Lissandra took the box, opened it, then closed it right away and tossed it aside, telling us to play with it.”

Dennis complains before I can react, “How the hell did she open it so fast? And I bet there’s something good inside. We might even be allowed to keep it, seeing how she just threw it away without taking it.”

“Are you sure it wasn't just a message, or that she didn’t just take the contents first?” I ask.

All three boys freeze, looking at each other.

I glance around, making sure Lissandra isn’t there, and gesture for Min-Jae and the twins to come closer. I whisper, “Lily told me that the girls were asking the lumoran Champion for swimsuits, even something for me and you guys?”

“Beach episode!” Aaron calls out with a grin, while his brother nods vigorously.

“What the… never mind.” I shake my head. “So she wasn’t joking?”

Min-Jae’s expression is solemn as he looks at me. “It was Maya’s idea at first. Myrra got excited to do something new, and Izzy got Sophie to join in. Then they roped in everyone else and made plans to take a few hours off and sunbathe by the lake. Though Sophie has to reshape part of the bank into a sandy beach and create some kind of field to intensify the light.”

“Weirdos, all of them. Forget it. Min-Jae, you mentioned wanting to test some of the higher-density mana orbs I wove together, so I prepared five types for you. Each one has a slightly different density to help balance the weight, the resistance of my mana, and your control skills.”

“You can’t eat that,” I tell Noodle, who’s begun moving suspiciously close to the Champion’s heart still lying up there at the top of the cliff.

The pearl-white snake looks at me with its green eyes and hisses. At the same moment, purple, green, and blue flames flicker across its scales.

“I was joking, I know you wouldn’t eat it. And you’re such a show-off. Come here.” I gesture for him to approach.

He expands in size until his body is as thick as my leg, bringing his head level with mine.

“This is a new version I made based on the others you liked.” I open my hand and let a golf ball–sized mana orb float out into the air.

Noodle opens his mouth and gulps it down. I see it moving inside him through the shifting of his scales and muscles. He takes a moment, then nods three times in quick succession.

“Oh? That tasty?” I reach out, and he nudges his head against my palm so I can pet him. His scales feel surprisingly smooth, cold, and extremely durable, but every so often I still feel a warm pulse running through them.

I turn to Izzy, who’s apparently decided to visit me as well, yawning and blinking as though ready to fall asleep.

“Izzy, you must realize how my curiosity is killing me. Tell me more about your Fragment of Eternal Fire.”

She slowly opens her eyes, yawning again, and I gesture for her to come closer. As she does, she leans against my side with a grateful sigh and closes her eyes.

“It’s a fragment… of fire… that burns eternally,” she says.

“So funny,” I say, pulling on her ear. “And?”

“I tried to get more information from Lissandra, like you told me. I even acted all cute. But all she told me was that it’s similar to the Primordial energies and that it existed long before the system.”

“But what’s the ‘fragment’ part about? Did the eternal fire shatter into pieces a person could pick up? Does the flame burn and create sparks that become fragments? How, why, when?”

“Nat,” she whispers. As always, she’s connected to my emotions—at least the surface ones, which I allow.

“What?”

“It’s okay to take a break. Just turn your brain off for a few hours. Do nothing. Tease Myrra. Goof off with the boys. Talk to Tess or let Lily invite you out on a walk. Be as silly as you want,” she says, patting my forearm with her small hand. “Or just hang out in your room and stare at the ceiling.”

“Who put that idea in your head?”

“Tess. She really wants you to join us tomorrow at the lake, and she knows you’re probably planning to sneak off and train. But I’m worried too, you’ve felt really tense lately, especially with all the training you do. It’s like you think you need to keep running without ever taking a break. I can tell.”

"It's fine."

"I know it is. But it could be finer. It’s just a few hours, Dumbthaniel. The others struggle with watching you train all the time, so they try to keep the same pace, but I can see how much it weighs on them. So please, it’s just for a few hours."

"I will think about it."

"That's all I ask," Izzy says, her eyes still closed, smiling softly before nestling in closer and slowly drifting off to sleep.