*The last day*
Vivienne's demeanor seemed quite lax for her. "Blargh!" She spat a mouthful of blood as she clutched onto the bark of a tree as she made her way onto a safe haven that she had made.
'I guess I was exposed to the radiation. And it's not like this world understands what this is making it all the more difficult for me to address it.'
She hadn't the slightest clue as to how she was supposed to solve her current predicament but she had to given that she was running out of time. 'Maybe I can ask Andrew?'
A thought popped in her mind. Gauging thus far as to what he had done, it didn't seem that he harboured any form of malice towards her. As for her brother, she knew that the two weren't fond of each other.
'But given where he resides is unknown, it'll be difficult to do so. Maybe a showcase at Sablestone will make Sevyn all the more intrigued. But then again, what if he is masking his malice towards us? My brother isn't in the ideal position and I can't let him simply die as if nothing ever happened.'
Caught between a rock and a hard place, she decided that she would look more into it when she got back to Bramblewood. 'I can ask the queen for a healing elixir. I just hope that it will be capable of treating this.'
Just as she was about to head back, she heard the shuffling of leaves and with her senses, she was able to find the source and what she came across was something that she hadn't anticipated.
It was a Felir that took interest in her however it didn't make it's move just yet as if gauging something.
*Pew-Pew-Pew*
Small dark orbs were shot towards the creature but surprising enough, the creature remained unfazed as it looked at Vivienne. 'What?!' This was the first time she wasn't able to inflict damage to her opponent.
Increasing the gravitational force made no disruption to the beast as it continued to look at her. 'What is this?! I can't seem to damage it or much less make any form of contact with it. So there was a threat out here after all.'
Given that she couldn't faze the creature, she decided to leave the premise but the screams of a contestant made her pause for a while. "Ahhh! I've finally managed to escape those damned creatures!" An exclamation of joy erupted from the student.
Looking at her, Vivienne was startled a bit to find her here. 'She doesn't seem to have any injuries on her which is a stark contrast to how she was when she entered the Matoreas test.' Lirale glanced at Vivienne and the creature.
"Oh! Great!" A look of frustration could be seen on her face looking at the two. Vivienne treated her presence as secondary given that there was a bigger threat in her hands at the moment.
*Howl*
The creature gave an alien and ominous howl as it lunged at Lirale to which Vivienne was obligated to save her.
*Whoosh*
She appeared next to Vivienne as she was taken aback by her skill. "Thanks but do you have a means of dealing with this! It has been the cause of the deaths of multiple contestants already!"
Vivienne had concluded so but the problem was yet to be solved. "We can't inflict any form of damage to it's actual state. And given that you're injured, I don't think that we can outrun it."
"Not to worry about my injuries, they're all taken care off." Vivienne gritted her teeth as her attempt of making Lirale expose how she was healed failed by bringing it up to begin with. 'Did her family have a special elixir or did she run into something profitable out here?'
Regardless she shifted her attention towards the Felir. 'I can't take Lirale to that place as it'll cause too much of a problem the moment we get back. I can't trust her to keep it to herself.'
Her mind calculating on how to escape her predicament when something came up her radar. Before she could even react, another presence had already entered the fray to which she was able to deduce that it was the same individual from the day before.
She came with her own Felir making the duo face two at the same time along with her presence. A brawl didn't ensue as she had expected but something else. "Vivienne, I've been tasked to recruit you by an individual you already know."
"What?!" Her mind was derailed as she heard this. 'Could it be him? But why?' "It also seems that you're infected with traces of radiation which made it easier to trace you." Her eyes narrowed down to the person who hopped off the Felir.
She was shorter than her but she couldn't sense anything off with her. A fear of the unknown as she chose to approach the two. Vivienne had questions but she could only with hold them for now. "I can address and have that cured and make you immune to it as his gift."
Arabella mused as she came to a halt a few feet away from the duo. She was the one responsible for healing Lirale with one of the near infinite resources she had access to. The reason as to why she needed Lirale present was so as to make sure that she didn't retreat back into her spatial plane.
But it was a matter of chance given whether she had the heart to care to begin with and it seemed that she did care enough. Guilt also played a part as she would feel responsible for her death should she fall here.
"So I take it that Andrew sent you." Arabella gave a soft nod confirming her suspicions. "What does he want from me to send you here?" She had yet to find out why he would send someone else and not him given how potent he was. 'Or does he not care as much anymore?'
"Actually it's what you want. He wants to return all the things that he took from you. Your empathy that is. Also if you want to meet him after the meeting, feel free rather than waiting for that long. Just inform Sevyn and she'll handle the rest."
"What is the cost of it all?!" She found it skeptical that she would be entitled to such privileges for free. "It depends how it comes off. It could be a cost or a benefit depending with how you look at it."
A small worm hole manifested and a strange black vial was contained within. It seemed dormant which made her slightly cautious. "It should help with the radiation and your physical problem."
Lirale who was on the sidelines was baffled with how the two interacted with each other. She thought that Arabella wanted to kill Vivienne but that wasn't the case but what shocked her was that Arabella had affiliations with Sevyn.
"Physical problem?" Vivienne posed as she heard this. "You have a formidable offense that makes you almost impossible to beat but your physical body limits you. If you're poisoned through other means like aerial and all that. Not to mention you can't fully harness your skills because of your body limiting you."
"Don't you grow weary of being his servant? Given that your freedom is dictated for you." Vivienne posed out of the blue to which a small laugh escaped her lips. "Vivienne, the benefits of this are near infinite and my freedom isn't restrained at the slightest."
"If I wanted to, I'd kill the queen of the elves right now and he wouldn't be bothered. Launch multiple wars on different kingdoms, he won't care that much. Not to mention the access to the technology that you get." She displayed a HUD of her system which was different to hers.
"If you do make this choice, you will still have the freedom that you wish." Arabella finished off as she handed the vial to Vivienne. "What about Lirale?" Arabella glanced at Lirale before switching her attention back to Vivienne. "I wouldn't be all that bothered by her."
"By the way, here." Arabella mused as she handed a bag to Lirale. Upon inspecting it, multiple tier four mana disc cores could be seen to which she expressed her gratitude. Arabella hopped back onto the Felir and with a flash, her figure disappeared from the pair.
The strange vial seemed to react with Vivienne's contact, eager to interact with her which made her wary of it. She knew that she would need a safe and isolated space to test it out thus in a flash, her figure too disappeared from the vicinity leaving Lirale alone.
'There're five tier four mana disc cores coupled with what I originally had totaling it to one thousand and four hundred points. I do wonder what Vivienne has.' She mused as she too took her leave making her way out of the forest.
She had long surpassed the limit and there was no reason to keep on pushing her luck being here not to mention she needed to rest up for the latter half of the Sphin trials given that she was back to her peak condition.
A wave of exhaustion hit her which made her come to a halt and took a rest. 'A see effect of the vial but nothing serious.' She decided to secure one of the places that was close to the edges of the forest given that she would give way if she kept pushing herself so.
...
'A thousand points!' Julian gleamed happily as he collected the mana disc core from the beast at his feet. 'I take it that Vivienne had already broken through this barrier much sooner than I did along with Isilindil.' He knew that the pair had their own advantages but so did he.
So far, he had heard the roaming of said beasts but what was strange about it all was that he never encountered one at all. Be it luck or the creatures were intentionally avoiding him was something he had yet to figure out but he was glad that he wouldn't be burdened with the task of fighting them.
Lirien had been keeping an eye on him this entire time and given the properties of the slime, she remained undetected throughout.
[{I'm done with Vivienne.}]
A notification flashed in her mind to which she followed with a response.
[{Same with Julian}]
Her task unlike Arabella was to observe from the shadows and not to interfere regardless of what happened which explained as to why he never encountered any Felirs to begin with.
*Whoosh*
In an instant, her figure disappeared from where she was perched making Julian give a quick glance before dismissing it as a bird or some other creature.
...
"It would seem that Vivienne is more tied to spatial talent." Arabella mused as their figures appeared in the dome. "It's a shame that I couldn't test how proficient she was in it."
The two made their way towards the hub which was suited for their recreational activities. From sports, to games and all that. "What is your obsession with testing people?"
Lirien quizzed as she crashed hard into a seat that was both comfortable and luxurious. "Besides, I'm sure that she'd win." Arabella seemed offended with such a statement as her figure flashed and...
*Bam*
Her first connected with Lirien's face but it wasn't packed with power. "Nah, I'd win that fight." Her voice filled with pride. "Of course the fight also depends on other factors as well . If before then you would have but now, I can't get a proper reading who would win between two of you."
Arabella smiled as she acknowledged this as she took a seat next to Lirien. "I wonder what her relationship is with Andrew given that the two seemed to have interacted once more." A thought crept in her mind.
"Lovers presumably but now, she doesn't seem all that interested but I could be wrong. She is very good at masking what's on her mind." Arabella sighed as an android made it's way to the two and offered drinks.