76 Vows

"They really did it…" I heard Ian say beside me, his voice showing his shock.

"I told you they wouldn't need our help" I answered.

Ian became silent, then Eliza took the opportunity to say, "That last technique was something else, Liam Vanheart, he's a monster"

I nodded to her affirmation, Liam is indeed a monster, even though that technique is not yet complete he managed to completely burn a whole grade 5 monster, being only a grade 7.

"How can someone of our age be so powerful? That's unfair" Ian complained.

"That technique must require a lot of conditions," Eliza explained.

Ian made a confused expression and asked, "Conditions?"

"You know, vows," Eliza answered.

But that didn't work, and Ian asked once more, "What's a vow?"

This time Eliza was the one confused, then she asked, "You don't know what's a vow? How did you manage to enter the World academy?"

Ian glanced at me, and I sighed, "Vows are literally, vows, any ascender can make vows to improve, configure and many other things."

"Why has no one ever told me that before? Using my innate magic is too tiring"

"It's not that simple, this type of vow requires you to do the vow to yourself, it's like a contract, if you want something, you need to give something, and that is called conditions" Eliza explained.

"I still don't get it"

"Take for example my innate magic, I can switch without conditions myself, but to switch something else I need to say 'Exchange', that's my condition, but if I take a vow, I can change that condition, and for example, instead of 'Exchange' I could simply clap my hands and switch"

"But you didn't gave anything to change the condition"

"That's because it's a simple vow, I'm not improving my technique, I'm simply changing its configuration"

Then Eliza finished the explanation for me, "If you want to improve your technique in any way, you must give up on something, for example, if I want to increase my mana pool drastically, I could give up some years of my life"

Ian frowned and asked, "Isn't that too dangerous?"

"Yeah, that's why we usually seek to find the most correct and appropriate conditions to increase our abilities," She added.

"Then, what conditions did Liam take to gain that powerful technique?"

Eliza was about to say something, but I interrupted her, "There must be a lot of chants, he probably can't move while preparing the attack, and is probably a limited attack, maybe he can't use with anyone"

Of course I know the exact conditions for that technique, Liam need to use chants, and he need to be immobile during the preparation, nothing can interrupt him, and is an attack that only works if the Scale of Justice deems the opponent evil, if the opponent is not evil, it doesn't work.

But to avoid suspension from this girl, I decided not to reveal everything, she probably already deduced this much.

Eliza nodded, in agreement, but Ian still asked, "Still doesn't make sense, why do those conditions make that attack that much powerful? Like, chant and be immobile, and he can't use the attack with anyone, how can these conditions transform that technique into something so powerful?"

Eliza was the one who began to explain, "Conditions vary for each individual; if you give up something important to you, you will receive power proportional to the importance that the thing holds for you."

Then I added, "The condition to be immobile must be hell to someone like Liam, be totally immobile and just able to watch as his friends fall, that must be it. Do you understand now?"

Ian only nodded without asking anything further, then we began to leave the place, heading back to the Ground folk.

As we were leaving the place, I glanced at Eliza and asked, "Are you sure you want to leave Leo at that place?"

"Yeah, he can handle himself"

She just saw him be shot by lasers of light by a grade 5 monster, "You trust him, but what if he dies or gets eliminated by that attack earlier?"

"Then I'll have more work to do"

What a great friend you are.

I didn't said anything further, and Ian took the opportunity to join the conversation, "I left some high grade potions in the Sky city, I'm sure they will survive"

That was new information for me, in the novel Liam and the others were in serious conditions, but Leo used his innate magic to save them, ordered by Eliza who wanted to unite the two groups, but ultimately failed.

I brought Ian, and things are already changing. Though I don't care much about changing things, since I'll need to change them if I want to prevent the end, but still it is a very dangerous game, if things change too much I will lose many advantages due to my knowledge.

And that does not help much, because right after this exam is the first big incident of the novel, and I need to prevent it. Because if I don't, there will be an immense and unnecessary war.

"What are you thinking?" Eliza asked me.

"Nothing"

"Your expression says otherwise"

"Since when can you tell what I'm thinking through my expression?"

"Since we became friends"

I sighed. Why do I have to be with these two chatty things? Anyone else would leave me alone.

Seeing that I didn't answer, Eliza shifted her focus to Ian, "Has he always been like that?"

Ian nodded, "Grumpy and quiet?"

"Yeah"

"Ever since I met him, and I suspect that he's been like that since birth"

Actually not, I saw in Iske's memories.

"That's truly sad, all I wanted was to be friends with him" Eliza said, acting as if she was crying.

"I understand your pain, we've been living together for a month now, and he still hasn't admitted we are friends"

Now with her usual expression, Eliza asked, "Ian was it? I think we'll be very good friends"

"I think the same"

I think that these two will give me a lot of headaches in the future…

"By the way, why do you guys need me?"

"To kill the Hidden Worm" I answered.

"You told me that already, I'm asking what in specific you need me"

Eliza answered for me, "To create potions to breath underwater"

Ian frowned in confusion, "The Hidden Worm doesn't live underground? Why would you need a potion to breathe underwater?"

Eliza chuckled and answered, "You'll see"