"Then I hope you donāt return to this place any time soon. The new age is arriving, and should you experience death, I doubt your phoenix bloodline can save you. In the 20 to 50 years itāll take for you to revive, the world may be gone." āKuromi said as she aimed her hand towards Shiro.
"So, try not to die ok?" She chuckled.
"Of course. Though who knows, I might see you soon." Shiro grinned as her body disappeared.
Watching her body flicker away, āKuromiā glanced behind her and smiled.
"You sure you donāt want to talk to her?"
"No, itās fine. Weāll get a chance to talk later depending on what she does." An identical voice replied with a small chuckle.
Shrugging her shoulders, āKuromiā started to fade away as the void was now empty once more.
###
"Urg..." Groaning softly, Shiro felt pain rush through her body as she flinched ever so slightly.
"Youāre awake?" Nan Tian looked down in surprise.
"Mn. Whe- Ow." Before she could even say a single sentence, the pain caused her to stop midway.
"Ah donāt talk, Iām bringing you to some medics now." Nan Tian smiled.
Currently, they were on their way to the main headquarters of the sect since the best healers were here.
āI guess he succeeded in making a tier 6 magic spell.ā Shiro thought with a smile.
Glancing into her mana realm, she could see Nimue resting in the water as her body was quite faint. Just seeing her expression told Shiro that she had been trying her hardest to keep her body working.
Deciding to not disturb Nimue, Shiro glanced around her. Unfortunately, she was not able to turn her head since even the faintest movement would cause her to flinch.
She could see that Nan Tian was holding her in a princess carry while Iziuel had Yin on her back.
"Whereās Estrella and Attie?" She asked curiously since she couldnāt see them.
"Theyāre just behind me right now." Nan Tian smiled and turned around, allowing Shiro to see Estrella who carried Attie in her arms.
"Sorry to worry you." Shiro tried her best to smile but it seemed rather forced due to the pain.
Furrowing his brows, Attie wanted to reach out and hug her but he knew that she wasnāt feeling well so decided against it.
Smiling at her, Attie then frowned at Nan Tian before pointing his hands towards the large collection of buildings in the distance.
"Right right, Iāll get your mother to the medics now." Nan Tian rolled his eyes.
"Haha- ow. Attieās got a leash on you huh?" Shiro chuckled while glancing up at Nan Tian.
"Well our interests line up so it doesnāt hurt. Plus, he was the one who helped me find the last missing piece of the puzzle for me to upgrade my magic to tier 6." Nan Tian replied while making sure that Shiro was as comfortable as possible.
"Is that so? Good job Attie." Shiro smiled and tried to give Attie a thumbs up.
Despite her poor attempt, Attieās eyes seemed to shine with joy as she rested her head against Nan Tianās head since she was tired.
"Honestly, I expected myself to wake up in a room or some sort while being surrounded by medics. I donāt remember quite clearly but I do know that I started to funnel the mana from the ground around me to fuel the prison. Iām surprised that I woke up this early." Shiro closed her eyes.
"Indeed. You turned a rather large portion of the forest into the desert with your trick you know? Theyāre going to have to update the world map again." Nan Tian laughed.
"Mn. Speaking of which, I met a rather interesting person while I was unconscious. Iām not too sure of their identity but I do know that they had a close link with the system."
"Oh? Anything new that youāve discovered about the system?" Nan Tian asked curiously.
"Hmm... not really. I just had a small chat with her. It was rather enlightening I suppose." Shiro shook her head.
"Well thatās fine too. As long as youāre not being taken away by the system, Iāll be happy."
"Funnily enough, the place where I talked to her is actually where people die. She described me as tenacious, always pulling myself out of deathās grasp despite it being so close to me." Shiro smiled.
". . .To be honest, Iām not even surprised. With how close you are to death; you might as well be the grim reaperās best friend." Nan Tian chuckled.
"Ay donāt tempt me. With how things are, I wonāt be surprised if there is a grim reaper boss out there." Shiro grinned.
"Indeed. Just rest up for now, weāll reach the medic bay soon enough." Nan Tian smiled as Shiro nodded.
Glancing towards her system, she wanted to check for any updates before resting.
Unfortunately, she didnāt get anything out of the fight except for stacks upon stacks of negative debuffs.
āSounds about right. We didnāt kill the Guardian after all. Hell, weāre lucky to even have our lives right now.ā Shiro thought to herself.
However, before she looked away, she noticed a small change on her class up requirements.
On top of the current requirements, there was now an additional line under the list.
[Tier 6 Achievements (1)]
āSo, surviving against the Guardian is a Tier 6 achievement huh? I suppose thatās only natural since the chasm between the two tiers arenāt something that can be easily breached. The fact that we survive is a miracle.ā Shiro thought to herself.
Thinking about miracles, she couldnāt help but wonder about Nan Tianās tier 6 attunement
"Say, Lilā Tian."
"Mn? What is it?"
"Iāll be honest with you. Iām still surprised that you have achieved tier 6 magic. Itās not that I didnāt believe that you couldnāt achieve it but rather, it was a gamble on my side and you just won it. While I was indeed tier 6 before, there are still parts that I donāt understand so the fact that youāve transcended your tier is something amazing." Shiro admitted.
"If it werenāt for the information that you provided along with Attieās help, I would have never achieved this. However, after achieving tier 6 in light magic, Iāve seemed to have weakened my proficiency with the other elements that I control. Theyāre effects are now weaker." Nan Tian replied as Shiro nodded her head.
She understood what he meant since when she was a tier 6 legend, she could only use her nanobots but if she tried to use the individual element associated with her class, metal and lighting, the effectiveness would drop.
"Well you are focusing your path down a specific lane. Iām guessing that this is also how you become a god of that subject so perhaps after we kill Aekari for good, you can claim his title." Shiro suggested with a soft chuckle.
"Iāll be fine without his title. Iāll be honest with you, being associated with an asshole that killed you, twice no less, leaves quite a bad taste in the mouth."
"Donāt worry about it. Just think of it as taking everything from him like what he did with me. Plus, just because your element is associated with the asshole, it doesnāt mean that I will immediately hate your presence." Shiro chuckled.
"Oh? Does that mean you enjoy being with me?" Nan Tian smiled.
"Donāt get too ahead of yourself now young man. I believe my quote was āit doesnāt mean that I will IMMEDIATELY hate your presence.ā" Shiro laughed.
"Well I have to make sure that it never reaches that point then." Nan Tian shrugged as they reached the main entrance of the sectās headquarters.
Donning his mask and pulling out his proof of identity, he showed it to the guards.
"Welcome back branch master." They bowed with a smile before glancing towards Shiro who was in his arms.
"Send out a notice for the best healers to come to medic bay room 1. Iāll need them to help me heal the woman in my arms." Nan Tian ordered as they nodded their heads.
Since he understood the rules of the sect, he also understood the consequences of bringing someone dangerous to the main headquarters.
"Understood."
"Oh right, is the sect master around? I havenāt seen him in a while." Nan Tian asked.
"Mn, the sect master is by the sparring grounds as usual. Thereās been a few new additions that are rather well trained, and heās been excited about their growth." The guard nodded as Nan Tianās interests were piqued. However, Shiro was more important so he set it aside for now.