Lia raised an eyebrow as Yura exited the forest. She was entirely unharmed, but there was a distinctly sweet smell emanating from her.
A few reasons why she suddenly smelled so sweet came to her mind. Lia was mulling over them as Yura arrived. The two lancer guys didn't notice Lia's distant look.
Yura spoke, cutting Lia's train of thought off. "Looks like everything was handled well. Good, let's do introductions, I'm Yura. Mostly I specialize in the stealthier, less direct tactics."
The lancer guys both nodded. The first to speak was the blonde-haired guy. He was wearing a dirty, ripped, and torn-up old school uniform. "I'm Lione (Pronounced: Lee-own-eh). I'm what you would consider a heavily armored frontliner. I attended a prep school in the east of the human kingdom, which is where I got most of my experience."
Next to speak was the second lancer. He had dull brown hair and even more unimpressive eyes. He was the epitome of average. "I'm Tiial (Pronounced: Teal). I attended a similar prep school but mine was located in the west."
Lia nodded. "Guess I'm next. Lia Darkova. Royal Vampire. I'm mostly a mage, though I can do anything if we need it, as you all probably figured out by now."
The two guys gulped. They had never met a vampire, and yet here was a royal one? In this tournament??! Lione had to say something. "Uh..er..why are you here then? Royalty can just get in, right?"
Lia scoffed. "Yes, but there's no point. There would be no merit in it. It's the easy road, traveled by many fools. This experience has been eye-opening thus far, and those pretentious fools will never see the value. They'll always take the easy road."
.....
Lia hated high and mighty nobles, or rather, Saro did. Their emotions sometimes blended, becoming one. Unknowingly, Saro's emotions and thought processes have always influenced Lia. From the moment of their "union", Saro has unconsciously been influencing Lia's mind.
It wasn't to the point where they were becoming the same person. Lia has and always will have her moral code, thoughts, and reasoning. It's just that Saro unknowingly influenced the foundation of her moral compass. It made the two of them much more agreeable, and by extension, their cohabitation was easier.
The nature of their cohabitation remained a mystery to both of them. Saro had some vague idea of the reasoning, but it was no simple matter. In fact, Saro was contemplating ways of getting her own body, but that idea was far far in the future. Right now, she was looking at the system window.
'Despite being a non-shared skill, "Limit Break" still affected Lia. I wonder why it worked like that. It seems to be the outlier. None of my other active skills work. Maybe Limit Break has a secret effect..'
Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. 'Of course. That would only be possible if Limit Break actually shattered the system's limits. It's mere speculation, but it's the most plausible theory.' She smiled for the first time in a while. Things were beginning to move in her favor.
.....
Lia, Lione, and Tiial were waiting by a small temporary camp. Lia perked up as she felt Yura approaching. "She's here." Her voice was clear and concise.
Lione spoke softly to Tiial. "How does she do that?"
Tiial shrugged. "Probably some vampire thing I think." Despite the two of them coming from rival schools, they were becoming fast friends. Anyone who made it this far into the tournament wouldn't be so childish as to continue old prep school rivalries.
Lia chuckled. "Not a vampire thing, it's just a mana domain."
Lione spit the water he was drinking out as he began choking. "What..*COUGH* The..hell? A mana domain? You're so young!"
Tiial looked up at the sky. "Ahh...I see the world's greatest mountain, and it...is immeasurable...we are but-"
Lia cut him off with a laugh. "I've been studying magic since I was like 5. No need to be so dramatic."
Yura emerged from invisibility. "Lia is a natural-born genius. You'll get used to it. She scares me though. When I first met her in the elimination phase, she effortlessly put her arm through my chest. I barely survived."
She paused before continuing. "That aside, I've found an orc outpost. We can probably locate the main settlement if we raid it."
Lia smiled. "I don't want to get points deducted for acting solo, so we'll move as a team this time. Lione will be the main vanguard, and Tiial will play center. I'll handle magic support and defense. Yura, you'll act as our main hit-and-run switch in. I'll cover you as well as these two. Healing magic isn't my forte, so don't get too injured."
The sickly sweet smell invaded Lia's senses. She could swear she heard whispers within her mind, cursing her family and all of her future children. Lia's eyes widened, as realization dawned on her. 'She has Curse Magic. How delightfully devious. Of course, it creates a sweet smell around its wielder. She's rash for using it so much.'
Yura caught Lia watching her with curiosity. Something told her that Lia wanted to speak privately, and the two of them separated from the group.
Once they were a ways away, Lia summoned a sound-dampening dome around them. She turned to Yura, who looked more confused than anything. "Yura, are you aware of what magic you are wielding?"
Yura's eyes took on a look of confusion. "What?"
Lia sighed. She hadn't gone too far then. "Look, Yura the magic you're wielding. Purple and black, that strange branch is called curse magic."
Yura nodded. "Yeah..my mother taught me how to use it."
Lia raised an eyebrow. "So you're a dark elf, or at least your mother is. Regardless, do you know the danger of using it?" Lia couldn't imagine a scenario in which a mother wouldn't teach her daughter about something as dangerous as this.
Yura shook her head. "No. She just said it was a powerful magic unique to dark elves."
Lia sighed. "She's not wrong, but...that magic, it's dangerous. Unlike other magic you can control safely and efficiently, Curse magic is impossible to fully control. The magic almost takes on..a sense of sentience. If you grant it a command, it will follow it, whether you release the spell or not. It's very easy to create disasters, as the spell will remain in form and carry out your orders with extreme prejudice."
She paused for a while, letting Yura soak the words in. Yura however, was confused. She never had issues controlling it before. "Lia, I..I've never had issues before."
Lia nodded. This was expected. "The stability of the magic is directly connected to your emotions. The more unstable and unraveled you become, the more likely it is for the spell to free itself from your control. I won't tell you not to use it, but you should be careful. Many people are oblivious to magic, and knowing the dangers of magic will always be the most important rule."