Eric turned toward the beautiful and peaceful scenery of the limitless, gorgeous blue ocean and nodded. He definitely wouldn't get tired of watching the same sight many more times.
Lysandra murmured while gazing at the blue ocean, "When I came to this island with my daughter, we both loved it, and I deduced that no one has landed on this island for at least the last ten thousand years. So, it was a fantastic place to spend a nice vacation with my cute daughter, but strangely you barged in. Quite some fate we all have, don't we? Especially my daughter and you, who saved you."
Eric noticed where Lysandra was taking this conversation, and he didn't like being forced like this with any girl, not to mention there was a good chance that nothing would happen between him and Elara. Elara might just grow out of it in no time, just like he had with his past life's love-at-first-sight experiences.
Eric thought it was better to come clean with Lysandra; he didn't want to give her false hopes. He would remember Elara's help and kindness, but as for a relationship—he could only say, time would tell.
Just as Eric opened his mouth to speak, Lysandra stopped him.
"You're misunderstanding. I'm not trying to force you to do anything against your will, and neither will I interfere with either of your life choices. I just want to ask you—what do you think of my daughter, Elara?"
Eric replied after a brief thought, "Elara... She's very sweet—her looks, voice, actions, everything, including her cooking, which was the best I've ever had. But I don't think I've seen enough of her to know everything about her, and she can change anytime. I'd love to be her friend."
Lysandra rolled her eyes.
'What's with that mature way of answering? Just say if you want to push her down or you want her to push you down—I'd understand!'
Eric wondered whether he should ask about Elara's current weird condition. But he felt he wouldn't be meeting Elara for a long time—or perhaps never after tomorrow—as he could just die in between, so there was no reason to poke into this matter further. By the time they met again, Elara might have changed or at least wouldn't be so 'high' on 'inner drugs' all the time.
Lysandra could guess what Eric was thinking, and it was also the reason she called him.
She gazed at the bright morning sky and spoke softly, "You want to ask about her current condition, right? Also, you felt that with time, Elara will change and no longer be like a newly 'fallen-in-love' maiden, right?"
Eric was surprised at how Lysandra guessed what he was thinking, but it wasn't too surprising as she was very experienced and had seen far more of the world than him.
He agreed, "Yes, Elara is currently just a young adult. With time, these feelings will calm down, and she might also find a new love interest in the future." He wasn't bothered by it, but he still had some concerns, so he added, "Tomorrow is our battle, so I'm also a little worried for her—if she continues to be this shy during battle..."
Lysandra gave Eric a sidelong glare and grumbled, "What? You think you're an old man already? Don't worry—she might flinch a little tomorrow, but with you by her side, she'll kill whoever comes with full bravery and stupidity, even if their chief arrives personally!" She sighed—that would truly be stupid, but she knew Elara would sacrifice her own life for Eric without hesitation.
Eric didn't know what to say. He asked, confused, "Is love that strong in the world? Would women go to such lengths, even willing to lose their lives for their lovers? Or is it because Elara is an Elf?" After all, fighting a chief was a clear death sentence for them, who were mere mortals.
"When a man or woman becomes a Mana Wielder, they are freed from many restrictions that mortals face."
Instead of answering Eric directly, Lysandra decided to give him a brief understanding of people's mentality.
"Mortals subconsciously do many things due to their limitations and insecurities, but Mana Wielders don't have such helplessness in them, so they are often mentally different in various ways. You'll understand and get used to all this after living long enough."
"For Mana Wielders, they may genuinely love their partners more deeply than any mortal would ever dare—but the opposite can also happen."
Lysandra paused—she didn't know how to describe all these things in a few words, so she ended with something often seen among higher Ranks:
"Not every Mana Wielder enters love relationships or commits to them—some might just remain in open relationships almost forever. That's the same for both genders."
"Now, with Elara... This is also the reason I called you here. Since she fell in love with you, I might as well tell you about this properly."
"But before that, let me tell you briefly about Mana Wielder Ranks!" Lysandra grinned—she knew Eric would be very interested and probably didn't know much.
Eric's eyes immediately brightened like the morning sun.
This was something he'd been curious about for a long time—even Bella Noll never explained anything above Apprentice Ranks.
He quickly focused and paid full attention to what Lysandra was about to say.
Riya also focused fully.
Lysandra chuckled, then began, "Hm... as you probably already know, Apprentice Rank is from Rank 1 to 3." She had already seen a dying peak Apprentice Rank within the orphanage, so Eric should know at least this much.
She continued, "Apprentice Rank can also be understood as a preparatory step toward Master Rank. From Master Ranks onward, each Rank opens a whole new door. I won't go into details—you should learn all this by yourself."
Eric nodded. At least he finally learned that above Apprentice Rank, there was 'Master Rank.'
"Apprentice Rank is mostly about stats—above that, it's also the same, but at this point, everyone finally starts using these stats properly. 'Stats' are like a base, pillars, or the foundation of a building—they're not the whole thing but will forever be the most important."
"Master Rank is from Rank 4 to 6. Unlike Apprentice Rank, each Master Rank has its own Realm Names. For convenience, they're mostly just called by their Rank number. And above Master Rank is Grandmaster Rank, which is Rank 7—the maximum a Mana Wielder could go..."
Eric and Riya were completely engrossed in this new knowledge. They learned quite a few new things—though these were just words, they seemed like entire new worlds, and the gaps in between must be huge.
Eric wondered if Rank 7 was truly the end, but it was too far away from him, and he highly doubted he'd ever meet such a high Rank—at least until he reached Master Rank.
Lysandra patted her bountiful chest—which immediately sent ripples across it—and declared, "And I, your beautiful, sexy big sister, am at Grandmaster Rank."
Eric slipped off the branch.
Suddenly, a powerful wind appeared out of nowhere, and like an invisible hand, Eric was put back in his place.
Eric stared at Lysandra blankly.
He really did end up meeting such a big shot even before he became a Mana Wielder…
No wonder she was so confident scouting an enemy camp while just wearing lingerie!
Riya was similarly shocked.
No wonder this shameless Elf was so scary!
Lysandra laughed proudly, and with that, her chest was also jumping everywhere.
Eric frowned, watching the unusual jiggling. As a self-proclaimed master who had seen many jiggles, he felt this was too artificial—but he couldn't exactly pinpoint how.
'Truly a Grandmaster!'
Eric no longer had any doubts about Lysandra's Rank.
Lysandra ignored Eric's in-depth observation and pointed out a few important things with a stern expression:
"For all Apprentice Ranks—no matter how much they train—a Master Rank means death! Their Ranks are secondary—even an early-stage Rank 4 is like a god to a late-stage Rank 3. Investigate why yourself!"
She was annoyed internally with teaching these things to a mortal at her current stage, but these things were very crucial for Eric to know so he wouldn't get himself killed out of foolish bravery, which all who had "will in their heart" shared.
Lysandra's voice turned severe as she warned, "No Apprentice Rank has ever managed to defeat an early-stage Rank 4. This is a foregone conclusion around the world since ancient times."
"Even dozens—or hundreds—of late-stage Rank 3s might not kill a Rank 4, as the base stats of Master Ranks are way higher than even a late-stage Rank 3 Mystical Knight. And Master Ranks can do far more than just rely on stats, as I mentioned before. They also have massive Mana capacity compared to any Rank 3."
"Similarly, a Master Rank can never defeat a Grandmaster. Not only that—even a peak Rank 4 defeating an early-stage Rank 5 is almost unheard of, largely due to the huge difference in stats, capabilities, and mastery over techniques, Elements, Spells, and so on. With Will..." She coughed and cut herself off before continuing:
"What I mean is—they can at most clash, but eventually, the lower Master Rank has to escape. So don't try your luck or even try to garner their attention—no matter how much you grow in confidence."
Lysandra knew very well how people with 'Will in their heart' were a crazy bunch.
They were the kind who didn't fear gods or demons—who'd fight, resist, and eventually get themselves killed—or survive due to extreme luck. But the current state of the world was no longer so 'cute' that it'd forgive such mistakes.
The fate of all Celestia was spiraling at a crazy speed—especially in the last century—and with each passing year, things were only worsening.
Lysandra shook her head to stop thinking about all these things during her lovely vacation, which she achieved by escaping her duties and forcing them upon her people, who were currently doing all her work and bearing all the burdens.
Thinking of her people's suffering, Lysandra's mood improved greatly, and she smiled at Eric.