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48th Breakthrough: You have used perceptive beams to attack another's perceptive eye; this will help you engage in perceptive battles.

I got this after training with Ruluna for a bit, and now that I think about it, it may help me against those retaliatory gazers I saw in the other Layer. They’ve already attacked us, so no further harm can be done by doing so. If we can cripple their ‘eyes’, then it may delay the next attack or scare them away.

I also need to investigate my title; I should consult Safyr about it since she has one; Kayafe told me she had also just gained hers, so she may not be the best person to ask.

Title: Saintess of Mana and Magic
Through selfless acts and mastery of Mana and Magic, you are recognized as the Saintess of Mana and Magic.
Empowers your manipulative control and power of mana and magic by 3% per level of each skill based on mana or magic. You can create rituals to ensure a magical spell works.

Two effects; the first is a straight power boost to my [Manipulate Mana]. As for the second, I don’t know what it really means. Couldn’t I have done so already?

“Not really,” Kayafe answers when I ask her the question. “What it means is often referred to as a ‘ritual spell’, which can be very powerful but have a low success rate. What your title does is make it so it will always happen. Only the strength and sometimes the effect is in question.”

We are taking our morning bath, and although Kayafe doesn’t need to, since her body is made of vitality, she still joined me anyway.

“Ritual spells are cast in a similar way to the one you cast during the moon alignment.” Kayafe continues. “They can be used to instantly slay powerful monsters, grant immortality, revive the recent dead, and much more, if you make the ritual powerful enough, although those may require sacrifice or extremely rare circumstances.”

In other words, they can be used to grant wishes, although it’s still hard to do. It sounds like ritual spells are an attempt to remove the ‘cultural significance’ requirement from rituals which explains why they mostly don’t work, and my title does just that.

“So, it’s something I have to prepare; I can’t just cast them whenever I want.”

“Yes,” Kayafe confirms. “And it sounds like you have to be the one to cast it. Regardless, it’s incredibly powerful.”

I will have to explore what I can reasonably do with ritual spells, but if I find one that protects my mind, I may be able to defeat that mind eater.

“What does your title do?” I ask. I told Kayafe mine; it’s only fair she tells me.

“I gain a large power boost when defending Runalymo, and I can designate a ‘home’ that I can teleport us to. It doesn’t mention a limit, but I wonder if it only works in the same realm.”

I’m not the only one who had tests to do, but that can wait for another time.

“By the way,” Kayafe continues. “Do you plan on using the legendary point to cure your skill?” Kayafe asks.

The point I got for saving Kayafe and completing the Mana Arc at least partially counts as a crafting feat, so it’s a good candidate for putting it into my race, but is that best for me? Can I do something better by purifying [Mana Manipulation]? Since there is a healer who can heal my anima, I can hold off on [Astral Projection]. Power-wise, being able to enhance [Manipulate Mana] will grant me a ten times bonus and vastly increase the potential of my skill, and it will gain my race bonus in addition to my new title bonus.

I am looking at an increase in power of hundreds of times greater than it currently is, and the increased level cap will only further improve the bonus I gain from my title. My title is currently drawing strength from three skills: [Sense Magic], which, although is a perceptive skill, still counts as a skill based on mana and magic, [Manipulate Mana], and [Beacon’s Core]. For a current level total of one thousand five hundred and thirteen, a title bonus of four thousand five hundred thirty-nine. By Enhancing [Manipulate Mana], I can get that close to five thousand on top of the other bonuses.

The choice is a little obvious when I break down what I can gain. Putting it into my race, once I reach exalted tier, not only delays the purification of my cursed skills but may not even grant the same amount of power I stand to gain by curing my cursed skills. Looking at it that way, I stand a greater chance to get more legendary points by getting more powerful, and I can help defend the Nexus should we get invaded again.

There’s little point in delaying the purification of [Manipulate Mana], so tonight, I should evolve and move a cleansed [Manipulate Mana] into my race. There is still a great risk in doing so, but as far as I am aware, it’s the best chance I have; plus, if the miasma in the skill is not fully removed, I can always just not evolve.

“Don’t you have a race evolution option available?” I ask Kayafe.

“Yes,” Kayafe confirms.

“How does that work with your current body?”

Kayafe crosses her arms in thought and thinks about it for a moment. 

“It still considers me Runalymo, but all my options now are vitality based, all referring in some way to a vitality body. But I won’t evolve for now. I want to master [Sense Mana] first and catch up to you in that skill; that will give me the best options for evolutions, plus I may gain more knowledge into how to make this body more life-like.”

Where I have little to gain by waiting, Kayafe is in the opposite situation. Of course, we’ll be training each other in our specialized skills, her training me in [Manipulate Magic] and I teaching her [Sense Magic].

“You have no idea how lucky you are to have a title already,” Kayafe says, playfully splashing some water on me. “You will be as strong as I was in your soon-to-be [Manipulate Magic] before I got my title; I’m a little jealous.”

“Aren't you getting a powerful bonus too? I’ll still be behind you,” I ask.

“Yes, I am getting a one percent bonus for each year I spent in the Mana Arc, but you can still cast ritual spells! Under the right circumstances, you can cast a spell far more powerful than I could even dream of!” Kayafe complains.

“Ah yes, I only have to wait for the once in a thousand years event to do that, just another average day!” I retort sarcastically.

“That’s fair; I suppose” Kayafe takes the loss for this argument.

“Let's go see Safyr,” I say, getting out of the bath. “She seemed like she wanted to meet us yesterday.”

I weave a mana silk dress around me, noticing how easy it is now, with my title bonus, and Kayafe does the same; we then fly to Temple Island to meet Safyr.

“Thank you, Safyr, for protecting my people,” Kayafe bows gratefully.

“I have fulfilled my promise, and for that, you owe me,” Safyr says.

“Of course. So what do you plan on doing now?”

“For now, I still have a reason to remain,” Safyr says, glancing at me. “But I will find a new purpose elsewhere; I believe my son needed help with something.”

“You’re going to leave?!” I had never considered the possibility that Safyr would leave; if she does, the nexus will lose its most powerful defense!

“Dragons rarely stay in one place for so long, Alysara, but worry not, your people are still hardy, able to rebuild even after so many disasters. With the dungeon reopened, your airships, trade with the Lunaley, and the completed Mana Arc, you have more means of survival than before, even if you must temporarily abandon your homes.”

“Do you think Kayafe could have defeated those eldritch invaders?” I ask Safyr.

It might have been a little offensive to question her abilities, but Kayafe is no dragon, and we need to know what we are capable of.

“Individually, she is more powerful, but if she were to try and fight all four, she would not have been able to slay them. Fortunately, you have your airship, and the mana arc, as it is now, will be able to defeat most invaders; it is possibly one of, if not the most powerful item I have seen.”

That endorsement does put my heart at ease a little, but what if another dragon decides it wants to evict us? What about another nation with powerful items or even a hundred legendaries? If I remember correctly, the Humans had over eighty legendary beings, and that is confirmed because that many died; they could have way more.

Then there’s the question of what if something does happen to the Nexus? Where will our people go? There’s one more thing I need to know.

“How valuable is this Nexus?” I ask. “How likely is it that another country or monster will want to remove us from this place or take it over?”

“Nexus are very valuable to people; lots of rare materials can be found in one, but due to the mana mostly being redirected, this one has less material value, and what was here has long since been exploited. However, where material value lacks your people more than makes up for it in technology and powerful items like the Mana Arc. In other words, your best defense is the reason for invasion.”

We need allies, powerful allies. There are monsters and things out there that can’t be slain by the Mana Arc, and they have more than enough reason to take it. Not to mention there’s my Library, which only adds fuel to the fire. Safyr has shown great interest in this knowledge, so it is certain that others will too. 

Secrecy is our best defense. The fewer people know, the less we will be invaded, but that is only effective until it isn’t; once the cat’s out of the bag, you can’t put it back in. 

There are also more problems as we start exploring the world; people will start asking where we come from, and they will start looking. As long as people know that this location is secret, they will be suspicious that we have something worth taking; the best secret is one that no one even realizes that there is one. So, should we just not explore? Keep it only to the Lunaley, and remain isolated?

No, eventually, someone will want to leave and explore, and airships give them the means to, or someone will stumble upon us. Plus, we need to train people capable of at least stalling invaders, and we can’t do that by staying here, the dungeon will help, but I’m not confident that it will be enough. The last thing to consider is that our culture doesn’t fit well in a militaristic environment.

A mental weight presses down on me as I realize what I must do. The Lunaley are stronger, have a longer history of war, can be a refuge if we have to leave, and there are relatively powerful people, items, and opportunities for growth.

In order for us to be safe, I must unite the Runalymo and Lunaley, and the best way to do that is by becoming an Empress. I will gain a powerful ally, secure a refuge, have a place to redirect curious people that try to look for us, and secure a military that can defend or stall enemies for us.

I must take Klaman up on his offer, but I will do it on my own terms.