Regardless, it mattered little who was stronger. Magical skill and knowledge were what they required, not strength.
Still, it was a topic that would certainly make those seeking to control things from the shadows panic. If Eldrian was taking a more active stance. Alas, ever since his duel with Zaphreal in the previous tournament, he had withdrawn for the most part.
As had been the goal. But now Zaphreal couldn't help but lament that Eldrian had been too inactive.
"And, of course, we can't forget about those close to him," Julius said, bringing the narrative back to their original topic. "They've been improving far faster than any of the other players. I wouldn't be surprised if they can control mana at this stage."
Sadly, they weren't sure what level of mana control was required to reach Tier 6. To surpass Tier 4 and climb into Tier 5, you needed to learn to feel and guide mana. True control, however, was still too much of a hurdle.
Certainly, their control would be far better than other players. But whether it could be called actual mana control or not 'more accurate guidance'. That wasn't clear.
"That was the goal of ANW's release. Certainly, we should contact them." Zaphreal agreed.
"In that case," Joren interjected, "make sure to do so with Eldrian's acknowledgment. We do not have the best track record, and trying to do things behind his back will simply come back to bite us."
"Agreed." The others voiced, and they got to talking about how to ask for help.
—
A few days had passed since Vriski had entered Eldrian's lab. And the pup had finally exited earlier in the day.
Bored during the interim, Eldrian had gone seeking something to do. Having accomplished his immediate goal, he thought to reconnect with his guildmates. Of course, he had only gone onto this narritive once he realized Vriski was not going to come out of the lab any time soon.
A terrible mistake that had been.
Eldrian had promised to help in the upcoming quartet tourney. And he had thought to do some practice with the guild. To smooth things out so they could avoid a situation like last time.
Alas, the public was far too riled up. Even with the time Eldrian had spent avoiding everything and everyone in his lab. Their excitement hadn't dwindled. No, it had grown exponentially.
As soon as his location was public, it had become hell.
Any player who had time free, and the funds, had immediately rushed over. Making any training the guild attempted to run useless.
That reply... didn't help.
Explaining that proved impossible. Vriski seemed to not understand what Eldrian meant. Even though the mental path between them was supposed to surpass language and directly convey one's intention to the other.
Realizing that it can't be a language barrier, Eldrian had to accept his defeat. Vriski understood him, but to the pup, the important thing was what he had done. And that was eating the crystal. In one big bite.
Not what had happened to him after.
Several minutes of attempts later, Eldrian got this follow-up: 'Then I fell asleep! I just woke up!'
Truly, he felt like facepalming. Hopes dashed, Eldrian realized that his evolutions forced through Tier breaking were nowhere comparable to that of magical creatures devouring a source of power and evolving through it.
He had known it wouldn't have been the same, but he had hoped there would be commonalities that he could use to better understand his own situation. Alas...
'Can I try to understand what happened?' Eldrian asked.
'Huh, why?' Vriski asked, and Eldrian conjured a mirror made of ice. Showing Vriski his new self. White bolt and all.
The little pulp stared at the mirror wide-eyed. And Eldrian truly believed he was getting somewhere.
'That's me?!'
Again, Eldrian felt his hopes dashed. 'You didn't use to have those white lines.'
'Huh. Oh right! I remember seeing my nose before. It was just black when I drank from a pond.'
Realizing, belatedly, that Eldrian hadn't ever bothered (why would he) to show Vriski what he looked like in a mirror.
This meant this was the first time the pup had seen himself from front to back. And he was most interested in the back.
'Oh, you're right! My tails have an extra line!' Turning his head, Vriski stared at his tails. His posturing made Eldrian wonder if he was about to start chasing his own tails.
'Should I be glad he isn't, or upset?' Eldrian asked himself when it didn't happen.
AN: Happy new year!