"You have no spirit base. Your body is of the mortal grade. You have mana, but it is pitiful. You have no chi, ethereal or dark energy. Your body is pitifully human at the lowest level," Lysia growled, getting closer to Bane who now looked pissed off as he wiped the blood from his mouth, and clutched his stomach.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Bane growled back, and Lysia narrowed her eyes.
"I haven't decided yet, Heaven's Blessed. I should kill you, but I don't know where you will respawn. There is a chance that you teleported here from another nation where others like you have already entered our world! Do you really think that I would forget how weak and innocent you all were to start?!" Lysia snapped, making Bane flinch.
'This isn't good,' Eve warned, and Bane sucked his tongue to the back of his teeth.
'Thank you, captain, for the accurate reading of the situation that we can both see! How about a little bit of advice here rather than a commentary of the current events?!' Bane demanded in his head, not wanting to finish painting the top of his desk with his insides.
'I don't think anything short of the truth is going to get you out of this alive, but something tells me death might be a much kinder fate. I am getting a very twisted aura from this one, and I think that she will get whatever she wants out of you. It would probably be best to come clean,' Eve suggested, and Bane sighed, putting up both hands.
"Fine, whatever. I was just going to die out there, so not like a different world makes a difference," Bane said, and then smiled at Lysia. "I am one of the idiots from another world that you call Heaven's Blessed, but I don't exist in that world anymore.
Bane then proceeded to explain about how he was a criminal in his old life, and the world he was from. He also explained that he was dead, and for him, dying in this world was the same for him as them.
"According to the person that sent me here, we have ten years before others like me come into this world. During that time, we will all age at different paces, but my purpose is to help all you stop the others. Something bad is supposed to happen in the future, but that is all I know," Bane said, finally finishing the run down of the last two days for him, even though there had been 2 years of hibernation.
Lysia's eyes narrowed as she processed Bane's explanation, her mind racing through the implications of his words. The air in the room seemed to grow even more tense, the silence heavy with unspoken thoughts.
"Ten years," she murmured, mostly to herself. "If what you say is true, we have ten years to prepare for another invasion. And you're here to help us?" Her voice carried a note of skepticism, but also a flicker of curiosity.
Bane nodded, wiping the last traces of blood from his mouth. "That's what I've been told. I know it sounds crazy, but I have no reason to lie. I want to survive as much as you do."
Lysia studied him for a long moment, her piercing gaze making Bane feel like she could see right through him. Finally, she seemed to come to a decision. "Very well. We'll see if you can prove yourself. But understand this: if you betray us, there will be no place in this world where you can hide."
Bane nodded solemnly. "I understand."
Lysia's demeanor shifted slightly, the intense scrutiny giving way to a more business-like attitude. "Let's start with some basics then. We need to determine what kind of potential you have, if any. Follow me."
She led Bane out of the dusty classroom and through a series of winding corridors until they reached a large open courtyard. The space was filled with training equipment and a variety of targets, indicating it was used for combat practice.
"Stand here," Lysia instructed, pointing to a spot in the center of the courtyard. Bane complied, feeling a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.
Lysia closed her eyes and began to chant softly, her hands weaving intricate patterns in the air. A soft glow surrounded her, and Bane felt a tingling sensation wash over him. The ground beneath him suddenly trembled, and Bane instinctively tried to jump back, but it was too late.
Pain.
Bane fell back with a pained yell as small spikes shot up from the ground, piercing his foot. With blurry eyes filled with rage, Bane looked up to see Lysia walking over to him.
"No resistance to Earth magic? As expected from someone with a mortal body," Lysia sneered with a condescending voice before bending and reaching out to Bane's bleeding foot. As she did, a green light enveloped her hand, and Bane's foot fully healed to his surprise, all pain disappearing.
"You can just heal me like that?!" Bane exclaimed, momentarily forgetting why he needed to be healed.
Lysia gave him a look like he was stupid. "You heard that one of my titles was a Grand Arch Priest, right? Or are you really that stupid?"
Bane wanted to say that her demonic presence made him forget that title, but kept it to himself. While not huge into fantasy, Bane still assumed that priests would be nice god fearing people that ate wine and crackers. This wild woman was clearly not from the same world as him, and thus, the title seemed to have a different meaning in this world. Regardless, Bane didn't think he wanted to learn magic anymore.
"Listen, Lysia," Bane said, clearing his throat as he stood up, but the elf was already casting another spell.
Bane tried to turn and run, but he didn't make his second step before a massive ball of air hit him from behind. The ball made Bane's body bend like a sail in a storm as he was launched across the courtyard twenty feet before hitting the ground, rolling a few more feet. While still in pain, Bane was surprised that the landing hurt more than getting hit by the spell.
"Surprising," Lysia said as Bane got up again.
"What?" Bane growled. "That I am not dead yet?"
"No, that you have a moderately high affinity for Wind magic. You should have some broken bones, and you should have traveled more than twice that distance," Lysia said casually, and then started to chant again.
"Wait! Stop! I don't want to be your punching bag anymore!" Bane snapped, but then he was blown off his feet as a ball of fire hit his chest.