They say that there is a reason why one is given their number even if its not number one and James had proven that.
Being the number three was not just about rank but also the fact that he was actually the number one if number one and two were defeated. His roar echoed all around reminding everyone that he was also ranked.
Sera and Kaelen stood close to each other but there was a stinging pain as they looked at the back of the number three.
After all, those ahead should not be looking at the backs of those who are behind. The big difference between them was his reaction. James was actually the first person to react to a cry they had all ignored.
NO one was going to relate this with Lyren and they were going to take it that the top three were just that good. But only they knew his impact and this made them look at the kid once again.
Well, it was difficult not to see someone younger than you not as a kid even if you were just glorified kids.
James moved. He turned and walked back. He passed the two and he just gave them a side glance. There was hostility towards Kaelen who once again grunted. James walked to the tent and he went to Lyren who had his eyes closed.
"You okay?" He asked but the kid just nodded and did not open his eyes. James did not push his luck as he went to the tent where they lay Julia.
The bleeding had somehow stopped but her skin was pale and her breathing ragged. His grip on his bow tightened and this went further to reaffirm his resolve.
He removed a pouch from his chest and removed a pill which he gave to the fifth stage girls. When they saw it, they almost drooled but they knew their position and they gave it to Julia.
James went to the spear man and sat next to him and just as he was about to speak to him, a girl came with a bandage and kneeled before him.
She took his hand and started cleaning it then tied it. Also, another one was wiping blood from the spearman's ears. She seemed to speak to him but his blank look showed that he still had not regained his hearing.
"What is his situation?" James asked in reference to Lyren. The girl bandaging him glanced at Lyren and then turned back to him.
"He is tenacious I must say. Not even I would survive that hit without a broken bone. He only has superficial wounds but the pain must have taken a toll on him. He really is stupidly courageous," she spoke absentmindedly and James just nodded.
She wanted to continue but he stopped her. She was just about to start showering him with praise. That was not going to do for him. He then dismissed her after she was done and he too rested his head on the tree. He then closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift.
Sera was inquiring about the state of everyone and her serious face showed that the situation could have gotten critical.
Julia was stabilized by the pill from James but she could not get moved immediately. They had to spend a day not only for her but also for them to rest and process. The battle had taken a huge chunk from their day and it had just ended for them.
She gave order for everyone to set up camp. She assigned shift to guard the place and each person who could move was going to take part in it.
Kaelen was somehow silent all this while and this was a good thing. It would be a headache to deal with him at their current state. So even he was tired.
The kid had not moved at all and nobody was paying attention to him apart from the girl who had treated him.
Sera was contemplating on whether she should go talk to him but was she ready to give him face in front of everyone? She sighed because this pride of hers had cost her and she still was holding on to it.
***
If Lyren could hear that Sera was contemplating whether to come to him, then he would be glad if she did not come at all. The reason was simple.
That one girl fifth stage girl was not giving him time alone to concentrate. He was in the middle of something important. He had been learning about the arrays creation and he had realized several things.
They emphasized the rules he had discovered already and since calling the type of line by their actual name was a drag, the sect mistress must have decided to name them according to his understanding.
There were the A, B and X lines from what the sect mistress had stated in the scroll. He had chuckled when he had seen the naming but he was glad that she had taken considerations of him.
He went further ahead and realized that arrays could be drawn in the air for a split moment or on the ground for permanence.
Those drawn on the ground took a lot of energy and also time but they were also more durable. As for those that could be drawn in the air, they did not lose in power but they were entirely dependent on his mental capacity to keep them alive.
Thus, as things stood, he could barely maintain a fourth-row pattern in the air if he could actually draw it.
This meant he had to increase his mental capacity but he knew not a single way to do so. The scroll had not stated anything about it. Maybe there was no designed way or he had not yet reached this information.
Still, he had discovered two ways for himself. One was that he could do it by advancing a stage up but the effect had become negligible maybe because the first way he had learned was even more effective.
Well, there was an issue with this way though. The quirk was that it involved using the pattern to cause a backlash for him.
He almost laughed at this thought because he knew that arrays were no longer going to cause him a backlash unless he did it on purpose.
This was a double-edged sword and maybe he would end up destroying himself so he was not going to use this method. This meant that he had no way to increase his mental capacity or maybe… he was acting like he was afraid of using his brain.
Ever since he had entered the ruins, he had been using his mental energy to run the arrays. This was his biggest clue but he had ignored it after he discovered Elyria.
He chuckled because maybe had he realized this back in the ruins, he would have probably increased his mental capacity by leaps and bounds by the time he left but that was in the past now and he had to actually draw the arrays if he wanted to use this method.
Then came what was used to draw arrays. It was not Elyria at all. Elyria was used to light up arrays. Instead, one used their mental energy to draw arrays.
The requirement increased with the complexity and power the array was supposed to produce. Lyren was caught in a loop that required him to use his mental energy to draw arrays so that he could use them to deplete his mental energy.
Drawing low level arrays was going to have minimal effect but everyone had to start for low to high. Well, that was if he could actually draw the arrays.
He had the necessary information but he lacked the secrecy required for him to try out his findings. He could not help but get irritated by the fact that there people around.
He sighed as he heard footsteps approaching. Rubbing salt onto his wound.
He opened his eyes slowly and he looked at who was coming to try to act nice now. He had lost track of time and it was already dusk with night encroaching.
He had gotten so absorbed that he had forgotten about the flow of time. He saw who it was and he regained his temperament.
He watched Sera walk towards him and her features were barely distinct in the darkness. It was time to continue his act…