Chapter 278: Rules

Chapter 278: Rules

"Master! Look, look!" a silly half-demon with four undeserved trait slots rushes towards me, her red eyes mirroring her smile.

She holds up a rare dagger, coated in a nearly invisible layer of pale blue mana. It flickers and would likely disappear if it struck anything stronger than air. Yet, she is still smiling happily.

"My [Mana Manipulation] leveled up too!" she adds.

I pull my attention away from examining the effects of compressed mana on my skills, and turn to her, "Are you sure you didn't cheat?" I ask.

That scares her for a moment, but as she looks at me, she quickly regains her smug expression. "Is Master trying to tease me?"

"Maybe," I reach out and pull on one of her horns, shaking her head as I do.

Her small hands try to push me away, but even though my body is probably the weakest out of group 4, I wont lose against a level 13.

In the past few days, she has become so comfortable around me that its scary, and she constantly fights for my attention, always rushing to me whenever she has a breakthrough in her training. At first, I thought she was just being naive and even teased her about it. Only to be looked down on by a 6-year-old girl. I swear she looked down at me like I was stupid!

I mean, what the heck!

She responded, telling me: It's fine because I'm her master.

The only way to get confirmation, Is to have her interact with more people, so I will use Darren and visit their camp. I can't let her be too naive and trusting.

I would also like her to acquire her primary class before the end of our three weeks together. I got mine after we entered the second floor and back then I was a bit over level 20, and I hope it will be the same for her.

"What are you working on, master?" the girl asks, as she plops down next to me.

"I'm testing how much I can compress my mana and how much this compressed mana changes my skills when I use it to power them."

She nods, totally not understanding, yet looking up at me and listening.

"At first, I thought I would be able to compress my mana more, but at the moment it seems to be around 20% at most, and thats using the full power of my improved heart."

"I see!" she nods.New novel chapters are published on

She is totally lost.

"Some of my skills react to compressed mana better, and others dont react much at all. My theory is that higher-tiered skills don't benefit all that much from a 20% rate of compression. But it could have more to do with the type of skill. For example, concentration-type skills like your [Concentration] and my [Focus] might not get that much of a boost. Maybe theres still some threshold that I need to cross before I can make it work. Maybe 20% just isnt enough. If so, how much is my black mana compressed? Is it equal to the 1st stage of Potency? Second stage? Or am I totally wrong? Is there something else in play? Is [Focus] just compression, or is it doing something else as well? The last king recognized the black mana, so what was that? Did he misunderstand, is black mana really all that unusual? Do you get black mana when you reach a certain level? Are there other ways to create it? Is

"Master?" She asks interrupting my train of thought.

"Yes?"

"Are you bullying me because half-demons can have 4 traits while humans only get 3?"

The mana stone I was holding falls from my hand.

The little half-demon is not smiling, her face is mostly blank, but something in the way her eyebrow moves and her eyes have narrowed tells me she is having a lot of fun.

Cheeky little thing, when did you get SO comfortable?

I lean closer and look deep into her eyes, but even that doesn't seem to scare her. So, I just sigh and lay on the grass, looking towards the sky.

I have been defeated.

We are currently on a rooftop that has been overgrown with grass, flowers, and even a few small trees, the cracked material of the building peeking out from gaps in the greenery.

My minion, why do you trust me so much? Answer honestly.

It's disciple, master. Not minion, she complains.

Sure, minion.

The monster keeps sniffing and looking around, and when its head starts slowly turning towards our building, I use [Tether] and activate one of the anchors I left in the buildings around us.

At the other end, a mana orb bursts open, releasing mana and feeding the inscriptions Ive painted on the floor in mana-conductive paint. The inscriptions imitate a barrier-type skill to confuse the monster and to not be a simple pulse of mana.

Down on the street, the Veil Guardian screeches and rushes towards the burst orb. Every single step it takes cracks the road, and its movement is fluid and quick, the blades shining in the morning light.

We are leaving, I tell my disciple.

As we planned and practiced before, she quickly rushes to grab her things, and I do the same. Within a few seconds, we are packed, and I awkwardly lift her up into my arms; it's a bit more weird now that she is awake.

I leave a tiny black mana orb where I stand and start jumping from rooftop to rooftop to put distance in between us and the monster.

After landing, I create a projectile that I tie an anchor to and shoot really far away. I fire off another behind that to make the possible tracking much more difficult or straight-up impossible and jump again.

Then we move down the street, and I continue running for another thirty minutes while reducing our mana footprint as much as possible.

What is your level? I ask.

From my side, she lifts her head, her red eyes meeting mine, Fourteen. Master, are you not scared of that monster?

Not really, I grab her for a moment and jump over a crater in the street caused by an explosion long ago.

As I put her back on the ground, she asks again, Why didn't you kill it?

You would probably die if we fought. Also, I dont think I can kill it at the moment.

Is that monster stronger than you master?

Probably.

And you arent scared? she continues to ask.

So, I pause and lower my head to her level, Silly disciple, listen carefully, I pull her horn to make sure she gives me full attention, and when I let go, she covers it with her hands to defend it.

After finding the right words, I continue, There will always be someone stronger than you. Someone more talented. Someone with a higher level. But, minion, there is no need to be bothered by that.

Disciple, not minion, a quiet voice sounds.

If you meet such a person, use whatever you can. Befriend them, act submissive, or use tricks. Spit, bite, kick at the crotch. Prepare to hunt them, cheat. In the end, it doesnt matter how strong they are, the winner is the one that is alive in the end.

But isnt that dirty?

Disciple, are you the strongest person on your planet?

N-no?

So why do you care? Powerful people can be honorable, and its better when they are, theyre easier to trick or deal with. Remember, you can only act honorably if you have the strength to back it up.

Instead of answering, she just nods.

Disciple, if you die, you wont be able to see all that is there to see. If you die, you wont be able to learn what youre capable of, and you wont eat more sweet fruit, I poke her nose.

Her red eyes are attentive, and in the morning dawn, their color is beautifully vibrant.

You can worry about that stuff when youre much stronger. You can find friends you can trust. You can fall in love. You can be honorable if thats something you want. But to get there, you need to use everything you have to stay alive."

I scan the area around us and when it feels safe I continue, "But there are some rules to follow so you dont become a savage. If someone shows you pure and unconditional kindness, try to not betray it, even if it means you get hurt. Dont be cruel without reason and always set your priorities. And never hurt kids."

I let the silence linger, "Of course, it's your life, so live it the way you want." Before she answers I stand up, "Let's continue."

After a few steps, my silly disciple rushes to join me as we continue down the street.