Riya released a deep sigh of relief. If her calculations, observations, and guesses turned out to be correct after Eric became a Mana Wielder, he would need a huge amount of resources to increase his stats through her help.
She didn't want to explain all this to Eric in detail before she confirmed everything and could live up to her promise. So, Eric not prioritizing this was also understandable.
Riya couldn't be certain if Lysandra had any Tier 1 Potions or such things with her, but if Lysandra could provide some, she could at least experiment to see if her theory would work or needed changes.
Lysandra was shocked hearing Eric's response.
She thought Eric wasn't good at heart like her, but he turned out to be too pure! He didn't even ask for treasures that could make a Master Rank salivate!
She was almost tempted to bring him back to her room to make him more 'mature.'
While wiping her non-existent tears, Lysandra remarked, "Eric, you surprised me. I didn't know you were such a 'good-hearted' person!"
Eric was speechless.
In what sense did Lysandra find him 'good'? How did she come to that conclusion and attach such disgusting words to his evil self?
He just didn't want to take advantage of Elara's emotions—that was all.
After shedding crocodile tears and exclaiming that the heavens were too good to give her such a cute, innocent son-in-law, Lysandra finally calmed down.
She turned toward Eric and shrugged. "Fine! I won't blabber about studies done on past pure High Elf love and concluded matters, but there's one thing you must be made aware of!"
Lysandra paused, her expression turning solemn.
Eric was surprised as this was the most serious expression he had seen on Lysandra's face so far.
Lysandra spoke gravely, "Eric, know this: whenever you die in whichever way, no matter how hidden or far that location is, the moment you die, Elara's Mana and Soul body will collapse, and she would die soon after."
Even Lysandra wouldn't be able to save Elara in that situation, as according to past studies, this was done by 'self-harm'—it went even beyond the said elf's knowledge and control. The effect was said to be similar to breaking an Ultimate Oath.
There were a few more things noticed about the pure High Elf's love condition—some were deadly, such as the death of their lover, which would result in their own death, and there were also some that didn't make much sense. For example, it was said that these High Elves could create 'miracles.' These miracles were not predetermined, but what Lysandra understood was that they could push themselves beyond normal limitations.
Since Eric didn't want to know these things, Lysandra avoided speaking. She could understand that Eric didn't want to put Elara's love into some predetermined studies, and as a mother, she couldn't help but feel that her daughter had really chosen an amazing person to fall in love with.
Eric and Riya opened their eyes and jaws wide, hearing what Lysandra had just mentioned.
This was no longer a psychological issue! How did love become so omnipotent?!
Eric once again felt like falling off the tree branch, but he held on.
He highly doubted that this was even possible and suspected Lysandra was just making it up to scare him.
Whatever it was, Eric decided not to think too deeply about this. But if Lysandra was telling the truth, then he now started to understand why this was called a sickness, disease, or perhaps a curse.
Riya nodded continuously and muttered like a satisfied old sage, "Good! Good! Good!"
She felt she had finally found a companion who would also die with her in case Eric kicked the bucket.
Eric was too tired to even question Riya about what was 'good' about this, so he continued to ignore her.
"You don't have to worry about Elara's condition; she will give her all tomorrow. It's not only about you—she herself has a passion for fighting and trained herself, but she never found such an opportunity in the past. Even if she is in love with you, she won't drop her other passions and goals unless you tell her to."
Lysandra sighed internally. She could imagine how heartbroken Elara would be tomorrow after they all separated and left. But she also couldn't leave Elara here for too many reasons.
Perhaps it was truly time to unlock Elara's Mana Veins and, most importantly, to teach her about Training Stats.
Lysandra also wanted to explain these things to Eric, but she no longer knew what the 'right way' was, as time was too limited for him to grow steadily. So, she decided to leave Eric to his own discretion—she was certain he would discover the depth of Training Stats by himself.
Lysandra then spread her spiritual sense to watch the two girls who were currently desperately searching for Eric everywhere within the forest.
She also didn't know what to say about this.
She had been extremely shocked when she discovered two more girls within the orphanage who had 'Will in their hearts.'
Normally, it was impossible for more than one such person to gather together at such an early stage. Maybe they could meet and disperse, and later become friends or enemies, but instances of growing up together to become Mana Wielders were almost nonexistent.
She could see that Eric was actually holding both girls' destinies together without even being aware of it. Otherwise, by now, both girls would have separated due to unpredictable situations, or one—or perhaps both—would have died by now.
This wasn't necessarily due to some external force playing with their lives—they themselves would subconsciously make decisions that would bring certain fates upon them, either separating or killing them.
Nonetheless, this only showed that the time for Celestia's end was coming quicker.
Lysandra sighed and then turned toward Eric with a smile. "Anything else you want to ask? I've knocked Elara out cold so she doesn't know you're secretly meeting her mother, haha. But she'll catch a cold at this rate."
Eric broke out in a sweat.
He didn't know how or when Lysandra had knocked Elara out, and he also wasn't too interested in asking that.
But he did have one burning question he'd wanted to ask for a while now...
He coughed. "Hm... I want to ask a very personal question—is that alright?" He even blushed a little, as the question was truly personal, but he was genuinely curious.
Lysandra raised her eyebrows, and her hand jerked toward her chest, sending ripples through it. She teased, "Do you want to ask mine or Elara's measurements? Then don't hesitate—I'll answer truthfully!"
Eric was speechless.
He coughed again and asked with some embarrassment, "You see... don't take this the wrong way, but with your height and great figure, your sizes are quite... substantial. Similarly, whether it's Elara or any other tall girls in the world, they probably have quite some 'size.' So, doesn't this disturb you when moving, jumping, or jerking around during fights or excessive actions?"
Eric was genuinely curious about this.
Lyria and Livy already had quite some size, and they'd probably grow more. Though they wore bras that Bella Noll had personally commissioned, during training and dueling, they still bounced around—not excessively, but in high-intensity battles, wouldn't this create major discomfort?
He wasn't some horny boy from Earth thinking perverted thoughts—ahem, maybe a little—but he genuinely wondered how female Mana Wielders fought with such large chests and hips...
Their proportions weren't oversized or ugly—they fit perfectly with their body length—but due to their height, they still had considerable size.
Since Eric was considering giving both Lyria and Livy a chance to travel with him in the future as companions, he was genuinely thinking of their well-being.
This time, Lysandra was truly speechless. She had merely been teasing, yet Eric had actually inquired about women's matters.
She paused for a moment, then began explaining, "Mana Wielder is not all about fighting and killing. It is empowerment and an evolution of the species itself."
"When people become Mana Wielders—men or women—they invariably resolve their basic Mortal issues, most of it happening automatically or subconsciously. For example, they experience longer youth, far better health, and so on."
"Similarly, Mortal women's issues that could be considered weaknesses compared to men are also resolved. An extra piece of information: know that a female Mana Wielder, with her soft body, can be as resilient, strong, and durable as a male Mana Wielder or Mana Beast with the same Constitution."
"Mana Wielders also have far greater control over their bodies compared to Mortals—to the point that even a Rank 1, male or female, can decide whether to conceive a child or not. Of course, even if they want to, they may not succeed."
"Now, back to your question: with our high Constitution, do you think we feel any annoyance over our... bounciness?"
Lysandra laughed and continued without waiting for Eric's response.
"Not all of us may feel the same, but most don't want our bounciness to interfere during serious situations. So, most female Mana Wielders know a trick—controlling it with Mana."
"At Rank 1, it might be difficult due to their limited Mana, but by Ranks 2 and higher, it becomes easier—especially with higher Intelligence stats, which improve Mana Control and reduce waste."
"Eventually, we grow so accustomed to suppressing unnecessary movement that it becomes as natural as breathing, requiring no focus or Mana expenditure. And thanks to this constant 'practice,' women often develop superior Mana Control compared to most men—though those who train specifically in Mana Control surpass them."
Lysandra smiled teasingly at Eric and warned, "Be careful—some women even use this as a weapon. They intentionally shake them too much just to distract their opponent's attention. And this often works remarkably well against both genders, especially if they're just young adults." She laughed.
Eric silently wiped his sweat and nodded at Lysandra.
Without another word, he jumped down from the tree and headed toward the cave for his delayed bath.