Talk 2, Life Force

Blaze quickly interrupted Leus' thoughts again

"Don't become conceited, remember, there's always someone stronger than you.

Also, if you become conceited, you'll become complacent and you'll stop growing."

Leus strongly nodded

"You're right Dad, don't worry, I'll never be conceited.

I realized how important power is, I'll always strive to become stronger."

Blaze didn't like Leus' reply

'I mean, he's right... just too extreme'

"Power is a tool, Leus, not a goal, a tool."

Leus just looked at him and didn't say anything

'I used to think like that... But is it really the case?'

He wasn't sure anymore.

Leus sighed and pushed all these thoughts to a corner of his mind.

He looked at Arno and asked

"I want to know, how does Life Force work?"

" ... That's a complicated question, elaborate"

"At first, when I defeated Kye, I noticed that his heart was pushing Life Force to slowly go and heal his lungs. The same thing happened with his finger and brain.

Is Life Force endless or something? I just don't understand how it works."

Arno began explaining

"As you know, once a being's Life Force exceeds a specific threshold, the being evolves. And when beings elevate, they don't ONLY become more powerful, but they also go through qualitative changes.

A Metamorphosis of sorts.

The outcome of that event for Elites is what we call (Nigh Physical Immortality)

Essentially, Elites do not experience physical death unless their natural lifespan concludes. They become impervious to sickness, and regardless of the physical injuries they sustain, their bodies will, given sufficient time, regenerate and heal.

It's important to note, however, that while Elites achieve a form of physical immortality, they are NOT entirely exempt from the basic needs of sustenance and rest.

The specific requirements for eating and sleeping vary among them, influenced by factors such as tolerance, power, species, and other individual characteristics.

The only way to kill an Elite is to fatally wound him, as you've seen, that Elite was impaled by three Blades and still didn't die.

If I had simply retracted the Blades he would've eventually healed, that's why I had to execute him by stabbing his brain and heart, his vital spots."

Arno took a breath and continued

"However, despite possessing (Nigh Physical Immortality), Elites are not invincible and have several vulnerabilities.

They can still experience pain, be incapacitated in combat, and endure severe injuries that may take days or weeks to heal, keep in mind that regeneration speed differs greatly among individual Elites.

Furthermore, The (NPI) weakens with age, when Life Force weakens, or as magicians say, when Life Force dims, its efficiency gradually weakens, and the Elite requires more and more physical needs, until his Life Force finally blackens out, marking the end of the Elite's life span."

Leus took a bit of time to comprehend everything Arno said, then he asked

"So, to sum it up, Elites never die unless you penetrate the heart or the head, and they can regenerate, but the speed depends on how strong they are?"

Arno shook his head

"No, it's not just about the heart or the head. There are other methods to kill Elites as well, like burning them to ashes, mincing them to pieces, and so on. The ways I mentioned earlier are just the cleanest examples."

Arno took a second then continued

"For instance, drowning them in a pool of concentrated acid or exposing them to intense radiation can also be effective. The key is to inflict irreparable damage that prevents their regeneration, or that consumes too much Life Force to regenerate that the heart can no longer support the body."

Blaze looked at Arno with a strange expression, but Arno paid it no mind.

Leus asked

"That (Nigh Immortality) applies to Elite Mages as well, right?"

"(Nigh PHYSICAL Immortality), and yes it applies to all Elites, even Beasts.

However, Mages generally regenerate slower than Knights because Knights are mostly used to injuries, so their bodies deal with them faster.

That's of course, not putting any Physical Abstracts into consideration."

Leus was satisfied by the answers he got, it cleared many questions he had in mind and gave him a very valuable piece of information

'When fighting an Elite, I should never worry about the possibility of his death unless I decapitate him or something.'

'They also have a really high pain tolerance since they are used to injuries for some reason, I should keep that too in mind.'

Leus said with a smile

"Thank you so much, Master"

Arno waved his hand

"Not a problem, do you have any more questions?"

Leus scratched his neck in embarrassment

"I do..."

"Huh? Interesting, your thirst for knowledge is abnormal for your age. Ask"

"What is the City's Policy? I've never heard about it before, yet, it seemed extremely important"

"It's not, it's a vague term that basically covers how the city is ruled.

Me and Ignatius put the fundamentals, but each department takes care of the specifics, we don't have time for that."

"Are the Crimson Guards one of these departments?"

"To an extent, yeah, they are responsible for the city's safety, enforcing peace and order, and such things."

"What do they do in the Slums?"

"Their job is to control it in a way that generates as many desperate Soldiers as possible, regardless of the method. They do this by splitting it into Sectors and monitoring each Sector"

Leus realized that the matter was a bit complicated, so he asked in a slightly nervous tone

"So ... what should I do?"

"About what?"

"You know ... my Area"

Arno laughed

"Nothing at all. You're more important than an entire Sector.

What's the worst that could happen? The Slums will generate one or two hundred fewer Soldiers? It doesn't matter. There are other areas, other sectors, and many other cities."

"Really? Nothing?"

Arno replied in a joking tone

"Yeah, as long as your little militia doesn't go on a rampage, it'll be just fine."

Leus was relieved to hear that

"Thanks a lot, Master"

But Leus' questions were still not over

"What's the reason that they keep no Knights inside the Slums?"

"Because why would they keep a Knight inside the Slums when they can take advantage of him in some way or another outside?

Also, keeping a Knight in the Slums will eventually turn him into a tyrant, he can kill an entire gang on his own and reign supreme inside.

Sounds familiar?"

"...That makes sense"

Leus had just one question left, but he was hesitant about asking it.