"Alright! I think this was enough talk. It's about time for another bout." Ziraili said, and with a snap of her fingers an Alacrad appeared.
Roaring at Eldrian, who, while shocked, moved without hesitation. Eldrian managed to avoid being sent flying like in his first encounter with the beast.
A few minutes later, Eldrian had slain it. "Now, let us start a biology lesson." Ziraili said, instructing Eldrian to dissect the beast.
While quite used to blood and gore, Eldrian didn't find dissecting the beast fun at all. However, he followed instructions. Listing well as Ziraili explained things that separated monsters from normal animals.
She had him use mana sense to investigate the skin, muscles, bones, and organs. Having Eldrian slowly feel the difference between the magically enhanced parts of the beast and un-enhanced parts.
This knowledge would certainly be useful when fighting. As was proven when Eldrian fought his third Alacrad. Knowing now where its weaknesses lay, Eldrian struck with precision. Slaying it within the minute.
"Now that you are comfortable, let's remove magic from the equation." Before Eldrian could question what she meant, he felt all his mana leaving his body. Not so much as if it was pulled somewhere. But rather, as if it simply disappeared.
She left enough energy so Eldrian wouldn't suffer from mana exhaustion. Not that he ever really suffered from it. However, in this environment, the chances were real. And he also now figured out why he had never suffered from it.
While his mana pool had often been exhausted, Eldrian hadn't ever been in a situation where it and his stamina was exhausted.
Stamina, as it turned out, was simply mana entwined with the body. Generally, it wasn't possible to call on it to form spells. However, it was entirely possible to use it for skills. Which mean, Eldrian could rely on skills.
Sadly, he knew very few skills. Worst of all, he normally only trained in skills to reach the new Tier for the respective class for the stat bonus. Eldrian over-reliance on magic meant his skills weren't battle ready.
Still, Eldrian's could pull stamina to cast a spell with a little focus, and he had before. However, doing so would weaken his body. It would also cause exhaustion to set in far quicker than normal.
As such, while possible, Eldrian wasn't planning on using any spells. He decided to not rely on the mana in his soul, either. Which he understood a little better now thanks to their talk. However, he still didn't get how he had made a mana soul.
'I should investigate it a bit more. It isn't connected to my bloodline or auras. So it might be a unique path of using lifeforce which I have found,' Eldrian thought as he dodged a claw-tail combo.
As Eldrian continued dodging, doing his best to cover for his weakness—not having magic at his beck and call. Eldrian thought of Ziraili's words.
"You rely on magic for everything. Only going to your auras when you are cornered. It is thus normal you haven't made much progress. Skepsi is right, but her methods were too cruel."
"I've removed magic from the equation. You can try to beat it without relying on your auras, but I'm sure you know that isn't within your abilities. You need something more to win."
"Don't worry. I will knock you out if you lose control." Ziraili also pointed to the barrier as she spoke, a teasing smile playing on her lips.
"And there is no need to worry you might damage the surroundings. This is the perfect place for you to go all out. So show me what you've got!" The way she had cheered, the last part would have been cute, had Eldrian not been dodging for his life already at that point.
Regardless, without a different plan, Eldrian called upon Wrath. Luckily, he had gained enough control to tap into his aura without needing the catalyst of anger.
His problem wasn't using it, but keeping control as the fight continued and things became more intense.
And that indeed ended up being the problem. The Alacrad turned into nothing after it got a solid hit in. Eldrian had blasted it with the flames of Wrath in a flash of anger. A moment of lost control.
As such, his left arm was covered in burnt marks. However, it wasn't too bad. The damage could be healed with some simple healing spells. Ziraili, however, wasn't going to give Eldrian the opportunity.
"Good. Time we increase the difficulty." Ziraili's voice echoed. A Pegasus appearing in nearby.
'This is increased difficulty?' Eldrian questioned.
When the winds hit him and sent him flying, he understood. Unlike the Alacrad, the pegasus wasn't going to let him get close. And its winds would keep wrath at bay too.
And with magic blocked from him, Eldrian couldn't really think of a way to close the gap. Especially when the pegasus took flight and started raining destruction down on him. Nice and safe in the air.
After a desperate few minutes of struggling to survive, Eldrian turned to Tranquility. He hoped to shoot it at the pegasus similar to Frost Needle. Sadly, without mana, Eldrian didn't know how to give motion to the ice.
What he ended up doing was freezing everything between him and the pegasus. His arm included. The frost quickly spread from the arm to his shoulder, to his chest. To counter it, Eldrian called on Wrath again. Burning himself to stop the process of being frozen alive.
In the process, the pegasus had been frozen and had fallen from the sky. Shattering into a thousand pieces where it had landed. A gruesome sight.
"Mmm, that wasn't enough. Alright, good luck." With those carefree words, a pegasus and Alacrad appeared.
"Are you trying to kill me?!" Eldrian asked, summoning a barrier of ice to buy himself time. Luckily, the confusion from his situation, and the pain his body was in, was keeping his mind from being overly affected by his auras.
Still, he could feel the effects starting to eat at his sanity. Wrath made him want to charge the beasts like a madman. His sanity told him it would be certain death, and for now, it was winning the battle.
Holed up with Tranquility, Eldrian tried to think of a way to win.
Spreading Mageia throughout the area to understand where the two beasts were and what they were doing. They weren't going to break through his barrier any time soon. In fact, it was getting thicker by the second.
'Wait, hold up. Shit!' Too late, Eldrian realized that went both ways. He was now trapped in a smaller and smaller space.
'Should I use Wrath to melt—no... I'll kill myself if I try. But I can't teleport out!' Even after having canceled his supply of energy to the ice, it was still growing. Eldrian could already feel the cold eating at his body.
'Crap. Sorry, I need to cheat!' With an internal apology, Eldrian called upon the mana from his soul.
"Tsk, tsk! Not allowed." Ziraili's voice echoed right next to Eldrian's ear. And the mana he had gathered to teleport was gone.
The act gave Eldrian chills. The fact that she could simply take his mana, with such ease. She truly was a god.
"What am I supposed to do, then?" Eldrian asked, shivering from the cold. He was going to die if this continued.
"I don't know. Think."
'Yeah, right? You probably have plenty of ideas.' However, Eldrian understood that this was training. Her giving him the answer would not help him in the end.
'Wrath... it's all I can think of. If I concentrate it, I might manage. However, the beasts are waiting for me.' Slapping his cheeks, which stung extra from the cold, Eldrian told himself to man up.
And with a shout, he gathered all his energy into one charge. Summoning the flames of wrath around his arms. Immediately, he felt the flames eating into him. The metal from his prosthetic screeching in agony.
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