CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43 - LIMITS

Morena was busy for multiple days in a row; she got little rest, and during the day, she would spend almost all of her time either settling matters with the help of Adolf, inspecting things of importance, or dealing with normal lord-like matters her father would’ve done.

Because of that, she had very little free time to train; she couldn’t even sit down and properly run experiments with the AI because she was constantly on the move, using it for other things.

Thankfully, about a week after she took over, she finally had some free time to herself. Most of the important things had been dealt with, and she had a day of rest.

However, Morena wasn’t one to waste time, so instead of using the day to rest, she used it to check on her progress as a warrior as well as work on methods to grow more.

Her chamber was dim when she shut the door behind her. Curtains drawn, candles lit only at the desk, the spear leaned against the wall where the light wouldn’t catch on its steel. She sat, straight-backed, and exhaled.

"AI."

[Listening.]

"Open personal status panel."

[Displaying.]

[Status Screen: Morena Ravenscroft]

[Race: Human (?)]

[Bloodline Composition: 70% Human, 30% Unknown]

[Age: 18]

[Rank: Mid-Level Apprentice (Damaged Core)]

[Physical Attributes]

Strength: 15.0/25

Endurance: 13.5/25

Agility: 17.2/25

Vitality: 12.0/25

Mental: 18.4/25

Elemental Sensitivity: 15/25

[Mastery]

Swordsmanship: Level 0 (83% Mastery)

Hand-to-Hand Combat: Level 0 (96% Mastery)

Tactics & Strategy: Level 1 (99% Mastery)

Archery: Rank 1 (9% Mastery)

[Warrior Progression]

Core Status: Damaged (Energy Leakage Detected)

Energy Level: 14/25 (Second Stage Trainee)

Elemental Affinity: Unknown

[Notes: Energy circulation is maintained by the inscriptions. Without letters, efficiency would fall to 18%. Estimated ceiling: Peak Apprentice.]

Her lips pressed into a thin line. The numbers had grown—much higher than the girl of weeks past could have imagined—but the last note was very important to keep in mind.

The AI had determined that she would not be able to go beyond the peak of an apprentice; she would never step into the ranks of a proper warrior. Before she dived into the details of that, she wanted to check something else out.

"Show me Alina’s last scan."

[Displaying.]

[Scan Results Compiled - Subject: Alina Ravenscroft]

[Race: Human]

[Bloodline Composition: 100% Human]

[Age: 16]

[Rank: First Stage Trainee]

[Physical Attributes]

Strength: 11.3/25

Endurance: 14/25

Agility: 10/25

Vitality: 11/25

Mental: 8.2/25

Elemental Sensitivity: 6.5/25

[Mastery]

Swordsmanship: Level 1 (4% Mastery)

Hand-to-Hand Combat: Level 0 (82% Mastery)

[Warrior Progression]

Core Status: Stable

Energy Level: 8/25 (First Stage Trainee)

Elemental Affinity: Fire

So that was the difference. Alina was younger, still unpolished, but her core was whole. It was gathering itself, condensing naturally toward Rank 1. All the letters in Morena’s flesh, all the clever patterns of energy, could not bridge the gap.

While she had taken a step forward, passing even her sister’s efforts so far, it was essentially a shortcut. It was fast progress, but it had a limit, at least until she could find a way to solve her current issue.

"Display Lord Ravenscroft."

[Scan Results Compiled – Subject: Lord Ravenscroft]

[Race: Human]

[Bloodline Composition: 100% Human]

[Age: 42]

[Rank: Rank 2 Warrior]

[Physical Attributes]

Strength: 70.0/100

Endurance: 82.0/100

Agility: 58.0/100

Vitality: 95.0/100

Mental: 40.0/100

Elemental Sensitivity: 13/100

[Mastery]

Swordsmanship: Level 4 (62% Mastery)

Hand-to-Hand Combat: Level 3 (81% Mastery)

Tactics & Strategy: Level 3 (74% Mastery)

[Warrior Progression]

Core Status: Stable

Energy Level: 182/250 (Rank 2 Warrior)

Elemental Affinity: Fire

[Notes: Severe injury present. Poison traces detected. Despite impairment, remains beyond Rank 1 scaling.]

Morena’s breath caught as the numbers unfurled across her vision. Even wounded, even poisoned, her father stood like a mountain beside their smaller hills. A single swing of his arm would crush her and many others of her own level.

That was the truth of Rank 2.

She wanted to see how a Rank 1 would compare to a Rank 2, and the best candidate she could come up with was the Earl, a Peak Rank 1.

"Display Earl Duran."

[Scan Results Compiled – Subject: Earl Duran]

[Race: Human]

[Bloodline Composition: 100% Human]

[Age: 47]

[Rank: Peak Rank 1 Warrior]

[Physical Attributes]

Strength: 40.0/50

Endurance: 42.0/50

Agility: 33.0/50

Vitality: 45.5/50

Mental: 20.0/50

Elemental Sensitivity: 8.0/50

[Mastery]

Swordsmanship: Level 3 (88% Mastery)

Hand-to-Hand Combat: Level 2 (67% Mastery)

Tactics & Strategy: Level 2 (71% Mastery)

[Warrior Progression]

Core Status: Stable

Energy Level: 124/150 (Peak Rank 1 Warrior)

Elemental Affinity: None

Her eyes widened at the numbers. While it wasn’t as big a gap as a Rank 2, the gap was still evident. If she fought him, there would be no contest. He could crush five of her without slowing his breath.

While she was curious about the stats of other people as well, she didn’t see the need to probe them further. From these, she had an idea of what she needed to work towards: Rank 1 and Rank 2.

She now had a scale in mind. Apprentices were climbing toward 25, that was their upper limit. Rank 1 warriors are limited to around 50, whereas Rank 2 warriors often pass that, nearing 100.

She shut her eyes, and her mind drifted to something the AI mentioned before.

Her potential was limited to at most a peak apprentice, given her current method of training. Thanks to all the information she had collected, she had gathered enough knowledge on how an apprentice becomes a warrior, that being, by condensing their energy in their core, and changing it to a mist-like form.

"AI. Condensation simulation. Current core condition."

[Processing... Failure. Structural leakage prevents stable mist formation. Collapse probability: 100%.]

She leaned forward, forehead resting against her knuckles. She had known, but knowing did not dull the sting.

Due to her damaged core, it would be impossible to gather enough elemental energy to compress into a mist-like form. In fact, if she were to attempt it by force, the likelihood of her core being damaged because of the process was high.

"Run simulation with external cores introduced."

[Processing... Absorption possible. Stability in the short term is unlikely. Collapse probability: 88%.]

"What if letters are expanded into the core directly?"

[Simulation... Letters stabilize temporarily. Leakage reduced by 27%. But inscription degradation after repeated circulation. Collapse probability: 72%.]

Her jaw tightened.

"Split circulation into dual paths. One through letters, one through core."

[Simulation... Efficiency falls. Leakage increases, and the amount of energy required increases. Collapse probability: 91%.]

"What if I abandon condensation in my core entirely? Form the mist within my body, just like with the letters?"

[Simulation... Limited information on topic... 4 sources found... External mist deemed unstable based on 129 simulations. Dissipates without anchor. Collapse probability: 79%.]

Morena closed her eyes. The archive had a lot of information, but very little could be used to solve this issue. If she really wanted to solve it, she would need to go about it through trial and error, and that may take quite some time.

Time she didn’t seem to have.

"Run simulation: binding letters deeper. Force integration."

[Simulation... Potential stability increase: 14%. Side effect: risk of inscription collapse. If it collapses, the backlash is irreversible. Fatality probability: 98%.]

"Run simulation: reinforcing core with known external sources and herbs. Overlay secondary lattice."

[Simulation... Theoretically possible. Requires Rank 1 material at a minimum. Side effects: rejection, organ damage, energy dissonance. Fatality probability: 81%.]

"Run simulation: burning life force to patch leaks."

[Simulation... Temporary increase in stability. Rapid aging projected. Fatality probability: 96%.]

"Run simulation: forming external anchor, bypassing core."

[Simulation... Feasible. Requires external vessel—weapon, artifact, or body part. Stability is dependent on the material. Risk: external anchor destruction equals instant collapse. Fatality probability: 76%.]

Dozens of failures. All had their own drawbacks, and not a single one of them was risk-free; all carried a risk of death above 60%.

She could see why every book warned against it, why the archives were a place that was restricted to all that could not be trusted.

But some had useful notes.

"What if..."

She murmured as a thought crossed her mind. The letters so far had been her key to progress, they had to be something more they could offer, a path she hadn’t seen yet.

"The mist doesn’t need to be in the core, it just needs to be inside of me so that I can use it. Would it be possible to condense the mist inside the letters, or around them?"

The AI processed silently, then responded.

[Simulation incomplete. Insufficient data. Potential: exists. Requirements: materials not available in the current estate.]

A thin line of hope, no more than that, but it was a path worth exploring. Plus Morena wanted to explore these letters more, learn more about them; and to do that she would need to track this journal back to its source.