CHAPTER 179: WORTHINESS

"I wonder at what point of aura cultivation your organism can completely defy the effects of alcohol..." Isara mused.

"Is this the hangover speaking?" Calen chuckled.

Isara didn’t get as drunk as during the festival but she was still quite inebriated by the time they got back to their room.

"Eh maybe partially, but it is kinda interesting, no?" She shrugged. "Damien is completely resistant and so is Greg but Alfred can get black-out drunk with no problem, I know there’s a huge difference in power between them but there has to be some sort of a threshold."

"I mean it’s not like Alfred doesn’t have resistance to alcohol at all." He pointed out. "Have you seen how much this guy drinks? Yesterday he had enough ale to kill two fully grown men and yet he was just barely tipsy. I think someone like Alison might be on the cusp of becoming completely immune."

"Speaking of immunity, I think you might also have it." Elira stated. "Your enhanced body could probably detoxify on its own very quickly, but combined with the purifying divine flame the alcohol has no chance of actually affecting you."

"Well not like I drank in the first place so it doesn’t really make a difference, but I am curious whether it only works for alcohol or other toxic and poisonous substances as well." Calen said.

"I can’t see a reason as to why it would work only on alcohol."

"Maybe the Sun God was a heavy drinker, who knows." He shrugged. "But I’m glad Alfred paced himself yesterday, it would’ve sucked to be stuck here – speaking of which, where will you be staying?"

"Probably in this room, Sylara offered me another one closer to her office but I don’t really see a reason to move "

"Did she tell you what are you going to learn this time?"

"We’ll work on my healing, she said it’s important if we’re going to get severely injured in every temple."

"Good to know she has such confidence in us." He snorted. "But I have to partially disagree with her here."

"Really?" Elira raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, just think about it – each of us will sooner or later have means to heal themselves, including regrowing limbs and organs. Healing abilities will only lose their relevance as time goes on, it might be useful for now but you shouldn’t focus on it entirely."

"I get how you and Cass will be able to do something like that, but I don’t think it’s in the cards for me or Isa."

"No Ellie, he’s right." Isara shook her head. "Once I become an archmage restoring my body using magic will be a trivial task, and you should know the best what powerful druids are capable of, I’m sure someone like Lydia could have all of her limbs chopped off and be gutted and she’d by fine by the next morning."

"Maybe you’re right but I don’t think I’ll ever reach that level of power."

"You can’t actually believe that, just look at your progress so far – you went from being barely able to control a few vines to having so much divine power I’ve yet to see another human rival you." Calen stated.

Elira instinctively looked at the bracelet on her left hand.

"It’s not really my achievement, I gained all of this power thanks to this artifact."

"That’s just not true, you’ve had this thing for a week but you’ve been improving ever since your first lesson with Vinifer – and even if that was the case, then so what? Going by that logic all my power came from the divine power, and I don’t think that invalidates all the things I did to grow stronger."

"It’s different, you’ve been chosen by a god to do this-"

"So have you – two of them in fact, by that logic you’re much more worthy of your power."

"Tharion isn’t a god anymore and Sylara never was one." Elira argued.

"I don’t think it makes his choice any less valid – and I wasn’t talking about Sylara."

"What do you mean, the bracelet was a gift from her, wasn’t it?"

"It wasn’t. Tharion lied to us when he gave it to you – it actually belonged to the Green Lady and she left it to Tharion. You’re wearing a genuine divine artifact."

Elira froze with a surprised expression – if she didn’t think she was worthy of the power when she thought it was a gift from Sylara then learning that it was a memento of an actual god was quite the shock to her system.

"I don’t think an item made and used by a goddess would’ve worked if you were unworthy – sooner or later your power will rival that of an archdruid, and then inevitably surpass that."

"Cal’s right, just look at Cass – he’s barely functional as a human being and yet not only did he take a champion weapon but dared to use it as reinforcement for his own sword."

"And Isa got an inheritance from an unimaginably powerful archmage for literally nothing." Cassian rebuked from the other side of the room. "Power doesn’t always come solely from our own effort, but it doesn’t mean we should just recounce it – just use it to grow even more."

"... I’ll try." Elita nodded her head weakly.

***

Calen’s group – minus Elira – and the delegation entered the tunnel to the Fortress of Giants almost two hours ago and most of them were currently comfortably sitting on the wagon drawn by Damien, speeding through the dark underground highway.

"Who’s invited to the tournament anyway?" Calen asked. "You gave the invitation during the first banquet so there weren’t that many recipients."

"Everyone from Mountainfall is invited – the castle is so huge that we would have no problem to fit all thirty thousand people but I doubt more than a few thousand will come, partially because of the long distance." Greg shrugged.

"Right it’s seven days of travel on foot, how will the common folk even reach you before the events start?"

"Sylara will transport them."

"As in, teleport a few thousand people across the entire kingdom?"

"I’m sure she’d be able to do something like that, but no – they’ll use wagons similar to this one, just using the power of nature instead of one buff knight."

"How do you use the power of nature to move across vast distances?" Cassian questioned.

"Maybe she’ll make plant horses or something like that." Isara suggested.

"You’re not that far off actually." Greg chuckled. "You’ll see when they get here in a week."

"Speaking of what will be in a week – do you guys have your own favourites for who’s going to win?"

"I actually wouldn’t mind Patrick taking a seat behind the round table." Greg admitted. "Despite how Damien discribes him the guy has a good head on his shoulders and is surprisingly wise for a member of the Order."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Alfred frowned.

"Let me reiterate it for you – most of your brethren are idiots and half wits, Patrick is one of the few people in the Order with more than two functional brain cells."

Alfred looked furious but didn’t respond – at least he had enough smarts to not fall for an obvious bait.

"I was under the impression that you rather liked the people at the Order." Calen commented.

"I do, but the fact that they’re like a second family to me doesn’t stop me from acknowledging that most of them aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed."

"I understand." Cassian nodded solemnly. "Isa and I feel similarly about Cal."

Israra exploded with laughter, Greg chuckled lightly and even Alfred cracked a smile despite his angry demeanor just a second ago.

But the thing that annoyed Calen the most was the fact that his friend was completely serious when he said that – Cassian Ironvale simply didn’t tell jokes, a quality he inherited from his father.

"What about you Alfred? Who are you betting on in the tournament? Any strong opinions about particular contestants?" He attempted to change the topic.

"All the events will be won by Damien, there aren’t many people who could actually threaten him in... well, anything – so betting on the winner is pointless, but I’ve interacted quite a lot with almost every commander in the Order and can say many things about each of them, frankly it would be simpler to just point them out during the tournament. For now let’s just say I wouldn’t want Alexander to get a spot."

"Who’s Alexander?"

"Another asshole, but unfortunately a talented one." Greg sighed. "He’s quite infamous in the Order for purposefully making the life of recruits more difficult. Ordering them around, forcing them into impromptu duels with him as a means of ’training’, straight up making up rules on the spot when someone does something he doesn’t like – you know, stuff like that. Not quite criminal, but he routinely tries to push what he can do."

"Why don’t you just, I don’t know, throw him out?"

"It’s complicated, I wouldn’t want to bore you with our rulebook."

"I mean, it’s not like we have something better to do..."