Chapter 149: Burning Bush (2)
Vivian sighed, shaking her head as well before she directed her attention towards Bracha.

“What else haven’t you been telling me?” She asked.

Bracha, without missing a beat simply replied, “What have you been told?”

Vivian gritted her teeth, partially in annoyance, for she was the one used to keeping secrets -- not the other way around. This entire situation was beginning to grate on her patience. Mysterious Grimlock with unimaginable powers, Rank two adventurers with the ability to surpass even a rank three temporarily, and the strange encounter in the forest. It was all a bit too much for a single day.

“I know that you’re a Guardian. I also have a better idea of what that means. That power you displayed--”

Oliver’s ears perked up at the present course of the discussion.

Bracha held up her hand to halt Vivian and sighed.

“He always does this. Breaks his own rules.” She said as she resigned herself to an explanation.

“Guardian is more than just a title. A guardian is responsible for the well being of their territory, as I’ve already explained.” Bracha explained.

“What you may not know is that, with the title comes the ability to tap into a special part of the system ; Guardian Mode. Guardian mode is an ability that uses powers from our Systema to ‘overload’ our normal abilities and impart new ones.”

Oliver listened intently, his goal was to see if Bracha’s words made logical sense. From his perspective, he’d seen her use powers well beyond her means. Oliver recognized this as a phenomena similar to another aspect of magic -- being an Omni.

An Omni was an adventurer capable of using both inner and outer methods of gathering and manipulating the energy known as mana. Exceedingly rare, there were only three Omni that Oliver currently knew of. Himself, Agni and one other.

“Are you an Omni? I was pretty sure you use Inner Mana.” Oliver asked as he folded his arms.

“This is...different from normal magic.” Bracha said, although she seemed to be struggling to explain herself.

“It’s like..tapping into the mana of the world itself. Because it’s so vast and so plentiful, as a Guardian I am regulated to how much I can use.”

“That’s...impossible. Do you know what kind of control it would require to generate the kind of energy you were manipulating? Then, don’t even get me started on your movements -- they were almost god-like. One second you were standing still, the next you were in three different places at once.” For Oliver her explanation, though plausible, seemed like a staggering implication. Even as an Omni there was a limit to the amount of power he could gather and control at any given time. Furthermore, the more energy he sought to gather, the longer the process took.

Bracha, the Runemaster before him, was shattering the laws of reality with her explanation. The thought alone vexed him, yet he felt her answer was true.

“Wait. When did this happen?” Vivian asked.

“When you were unconscious.” Oliver said, even as he mulled over the facts in his head.

“Can you show me now?” Vivian then asked. Bracha shook her head in response.

“It doesn’t work like that. There are rules..regulations. Also..you have to consider the state of my body. It’s very taxing to channel all of that energy. It’s not something I can sustain long, or repeatedly use in a short amount of time.” Bracha explained. She suddenly lifted the small black orb to eye level before adding, “And that’s all I can tell you for now.”

*That’s all you can tell us? You literally just turned down the laws of magic on it’s head...and that’s all you can tell us? Vivian’s not going to accept that!* Oliver thought to himself, folding his arms in a most smug fashion.

“Fine.” Vivian responded, much to his chagrin.

“What?” Oliver nearly shouted as his jaw dropped.

“Doyenne! That’s ridiculous! Where did she get this Guardian mode? How does it work? There are so many questions--”

Vivian shook her head and motioned for Oliver to calm down.

“That’s not important right now.” She explained.

“Not important? What?” Oliver was beginning to feel as if only he understood the significance of Bracha’s revelations.

“I lied about the circumstances surrounding the explosion.” Vivian then said.

“Obviously.” Oliver responded, he was beginning to grow annoyed.

“Both of them.” Vivian elaborated.

“Both..as in?”

Vivian then took her time to recount the events after their battle in the shard world. She explained how the villagers weren’t the ones to find them after the explosion, rather it was a mysterious adventurer who managed to save their lives.

She explained the assistance from this person, and their meeting within the woods. She explained in great detail how this person single handedly and effortlessly defeated a Fused Grimlock. She also explained that this foe was considered weak -- just an abnormal Rank 2 threat.

“I knew it. Something smells fishy about this. I figured they were holding out but..” Shula whispered to herself. She was currently using her invisibility to hide, listening in to the discussion nearby.

“It’s not nice to eavesdrop.” The voice of a man echoed from behind Shula, forcing a chill up her spine. She turned around on instinct, only to be met by a strange figure of a man. She glanced upwards , only to feel her consciousness fading. With a single touch of his finger, the hooded man rendered her unconscious -- undoing her invisibility technique as well.

“Hello.” He said, as he approached the trio of adventurers currently discussing various things. He held an unconscious imp at his hip.

“Who are you?” Oliver’s eyes narrowed as he began to prepare a spell.

“Wait.” Vivian said, holding up her hand.

“What are you doing to my Chapel members?” Vivian asked as she cast a glance towards the man.

“This one was eavesdropping. You really should be more careful.” He said as he nodded towards an unconscious Shula.

“Bracha.” He then said as he glanced at her.

“Hello.” She replied, it may have been Oliver’s imagination but suddenly the Runemaster seemed a bit more pale.

“Don’t worry! You’re not in trouble. Even though you left your territory and used unauthorized atma.” The man’s bright smile seemed less than carefree, and came off as admonishment to the contrary.

“No. Seriously. Sorry. Force of habit. It’s difficult to reign in my abilities sometimes.” He waved his free hand and chuckled before further elaborating.

“That Grimlock was not something the current ‘you’ could have survived.”

“No offense, but who are you? And if you mean no harm can you stop manhandling my chapel members?” Oliver was beginning to dislike the person in front of him already.

“Oh? Bracha you didn’t tell them who I am? That’s good. I’d hate to have to strip you of your Guardian title, afterall.” The hooded man smiled, and this time everyone present felt the serious nature of his statement.

“I don’t have a ton of time. And for many reasons, I can’t and won’t explain myself. Needless to say, Bracha you need to use that item on the Succubus, the Scribe and anyone else who came into direct contact with those black tendrils. Once you’re done, bring it back to me in the usual meeting place.”

“Also, here. She’s heavy as-the-fuck for such a tiny girl.” In the next moment the man was right next to Oliver. He draped Shula over the elf’s shoulder and then blinked away before anyone could react.

“Doyenne.” Oliver grunted as he struggled to stabilize Shula’s limp body on his shoulder.

“Who was that? He’s..annoying as hell.” Oliver asked.

Bracha allowed a chuckle to escape her lips before quickly covering her mouth.

“The man who saved our lives multiple times today. So we should overlook his...eccentric nature.”

“Doyenne? Everyone’s ready.” Gates' voice drew their attention. Indeed, fifteen minutes had passed just that quickly.

“Okay. Let’s go. We’ll finish discussing this back at the chapel.” Vivian said with a lowered voice to the two nearby.

“What happened to Shula?” Gates asked upon seeing the unconscious imp draped over Oliver’s shoulder like a sack.

“She started a fight with me so I laid her out. Would you like to do some training as well Gates?” Oliver remarked. Judging from the tone of Oliver’s voice Gates felt he wasn’t in the best of moods so he simply smiled and declined before walking ahead.

“I’d like a proper explanation of all of this when we return please, Doyenne.” Oliver said before he walked ahead as well.