To Grim's enthusiasm, there was no reply or even acknowledgement. No one turned to give him any attention, and he simply shrugged and walked to stand beside Pherdanta, even though he didn't notice that she was there.
"Boss? I was actually starting to enjoy this. Why did you stop us?" Kenno said with a half pleading face.
Allora wanted to say something too, but she decided against it. Kenno's complaint was enough. Besides if it was because of her...
Replicus didn't answer immediately.
As always, it was difficult to see where he was looking and what he was thinking, so for a moment, some manner of tension rose before he cleared it with his next sentence.
"Allora," he said, turning his head so that she didn't think he was staring at the wall a distance away. "You are more than capable as an Unlimited. You have just demonstrated your prowess well."
"Really?"
Allora was relieved to hear this, but she wasn't particularly exhilarated. After all, she didn't feel like she truly got to reach her limit.
"Your new abilities are clear, I'm sure, to most of us here," Replicus continued, taking silent steps towards her.
"Your Class allows you to gain varying degrees of mastery in ANY basic Class, right? Along with giving you an infinite amount mana after a certain condition has been met?"
Allora couldn't help but smile brightly.
"That's right!" she said cheerily.
Indeed.
These two aspects Replicus had mentioned were what the new Hidden Class Allora had awakened granted, and Kenno had started to get invested in the fight when he figured out why Allora was insisting on opposing him with hand to hand combat.
The fact that Allora was actually using Mind Casting to send him flying at times, while at others, distributing her immense strength through her body as efficiently as prodigious, physical Form Users, had turned Kenno's switch on.
"I assume you have a time limit for how long these two abilities last for, and to access other Class masteries, the infinite mana has to be active, correct?" Replicus asked.
"Yes, yes, that's right," Allora replied enthusiastically.
Grim blinked a couple of times while wondering if he was hearing right.
'Infinite mana? Any Class? What?' he thought, but couldn't afford to butt into the conversation between the boss and Allora.
"If you knew this, why did you stop of us, boss?' Kenno chimed in. "She was getting used to fighting in different styles and slowly showing all she could do."
Replicus turned to Kenno.
An answer came immediately.
"Because Allora has already run out of steam. Conjuring a limitless amount of mana is exhausting to her body and mana core, especially since her previous Class did not encourage her to build up her stamina and endurance. Allora's new capabilities also can't be fully exploited if she has never tried out other Classes. In short, to fully show what she can do, she has to Class Branch more than the average expert."
Allora shrank.
Replicus wasn't done though. He turned to her.
"Because you didn't consider how much strain you'd be putting on your core, you made a mistake that got you even more exhausted. You know what I mean, right?"
Allora nodded. She knew exactly what Replicus was talking about.
"What do you mean?" Kenno asked while alternating between Allora and Replicus. "I don't get it."
Replicus pointed at Kenno's face which had traces of burns. He had blocked the fireball Allora had sent him with his mana so the damage was minimal.
"Allora cannot use her previous abilities – as a penalty, I assume – when her mana grows infinite. Her mana core will immediately revert to normal if she does, for instance when she used the fire on you. The fact that she went back to using other Class abilities after that, seriously strained her."
Kenno wore a look of realisation. So when he felt Allora's mana core stop spurting out as much mana, it was because she had this kind of limitation.
No wonder the boss had stopped the fight.
Allora was trying to hide it, but it was clear that she was very tired. The boss was as perceptive as ever.
"I see," Kenno said with a nod. "Well that explains it."
"I have a lot to work towards, huh?" Allora said with a dim smile, but it was more indicative of her exhaustion which took full effect now that her adrenaline plummeted, than her mood.
"Not as much as you think. I will make you an Armament with stamina and endurance boosting properties. Even without learning about many different classes, you'll be able to fight for longer while wearing it. It's only a temporary solution though," Replicus said.
Allora felt rejuvenated. Because of her earlier doubts, she had almost forgotten that not only was she going to get her own custom made Armament, she was going to get one that covered her weaknesses and bolstered her strengths.
It seemed the boss had already seen how best to do this.
"Thank you very much, boss!" Allora squeaked and even did a tired leap.
Replicus nodded and turned, exiting the room.
Grim had still been trying to ride the conversation when it ended without entertaining a newcomer like him.
He gave Allora another quick congratulations and followed after Replicus.
"Ah, boss, can I have a word...?" Grim began when he was suddenly jabbed in the gut by something hard.
"Watch where you're moving," Grim heard Pherdanta's voice, and her figure fully manifested in his sight. He had almost been close enough to be grinding against her effectively, which explained the hint of hostility in her voice.
"Sorry," Grim said a little annoyed himself.
Couldn't she turn off this pesky ability?!
He then streaked to Replicus' other side.
"What do you want to talk about?" the dark cloud asked.
"Well, I've had the new... 'recruits' settled in, but I was wondering, how much value do you place on them really?" Grim asked curiously. His red eyes showing genuine concern.
"Quite a bit, actually, especially that silver-furred one. I have been looking for a strong-enough subject to test out one of my Class skills. If he endures well, he will be rewarded generously."
"Well, I don't doubt that, but what about the others? They are significantly less special. Wouldn't it be better if I... you know?"
Replicus emitted what sounded like a chuckle.
"It won't be of any use. You see, some Cluster beasts gain their powers from the world they are created from. The ones you brought in are the same. Even if you were to employ the traits of your Class, you'd find that you wouldn't be able to extract anything now that their world is destroyed. And besides that, I have sufficient roles for them, as I promised."
Grim nodded vigorously with his finger under his chin.
"Hmm. I see, I see. That makes sense. I completely missed that," he said, glad to have learned that his thinking had been littered with errors. At the end of the day, Grim was yet to earn the same level of insight his boss had.
That said...
"I have something else I wish to speak to you about."
"Speak."
"It's more of a favour really. A great ask that obviously intrudes on personal boundaries."
"Do tell."
Grim gulped.
"Boss, please speak to Yuyui. I know you have been busy, but I think you need to patch things up with her. You've been purposefully letting your relationship grow worse. I can see that. I don't think it's right."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a voice in Grim's head chanted, "You sir, are very bold," and he believed it.
Replicus stopped.
This gave Grim an even more ominous feeling.
He seemed to have really crossed the line.
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