What Lysandra saw was Elara completely unknotting all her Mana Veins' knots—all together—that she, a Grandmaster, had personally placed on Elara by herself! And Elara started evolving into becoming a Mana Wielder!
Lysandra's heart shook. If not for being cautious about disturbing Elara, she would have stood up and cried out loudly at how impossible this was.
People who didn't understand would only be confused as to what was so shocking about it. But people who did would spring up straight as if their butt had caught fire, as it was that incomprehensible.
A knot or injury on Mana Veins meant one had effectively stopped Mana from flowing, and that in turn blocked one's path to becoming a Mana Wielder. If the said individual was already a Mana Wielder, then it might cripple them or do nothing and just block any further breakthroughs until it was fixed.
Lysandra had placed a total of seven knots on Elara's Mana Veins so one knot didn't become obsolete and balanced each other without harming Elara.
With Lysandra's knowledge, experience, and expertise in Arrays, all these were child's play to her. Although she hadn't placed her Mana Signature or Will on Elara's Mana Veins' knots, there was absolutely no way possible for one to unknot these by themselves! No Apprentice Rank should be able to fix this by themselves, much less a Mortal! Even a Master Rank couldn't unless they had very high expertise and control over their Spiritual Sense and their bodies.
This was the same as saying a Mortal performed a major operation on their own brain, spine, and other major locations by themselves, without receiving any external help—no elixirs, no other person's assistance, no instruments or artifacts.
And while doing such a surgery, Elara remained completely calm, focused, aware, with steady hands—and even succeeded?
This was just too ridiculous!
Not to mention the pain, fear, panic—just being able to operate while being completely conscious, staying awake and aware was pure nonsense!
Though Elara's case was different from a Mortal operating on themselves, it was more or less the same—and Elara had unknotted all seven knots simultaneously!
Lysandra could even be certain that never in the history of Celestia had such nonsense ever happened.
She watched with blank eyes as if her soul had flown away. All the logical explanations she had formed over living so long suddenly became rubbish and garbage.
She sat like that for a long time. By the time she came back to her senses, it was already night. Elara was also nearing the end of becoming a Mana Wielder.
Lysandra rubbed her face and thought that perhaps this was why it was said that a pure High Elf who had fallen in love created miracles deemed completely ridiculous.
Previously, when Lysandra recalled that information, she hadn't thought much of it—it was just a way of saying how a Mortal mother might break all her limits for her child. But what had just happened before her was beyond "breaking the limit" of any mother. There was simply no logical explanation for this other than Elara being so determined that her entire self—her Soul and Mana Body—all came together with full determination and without any hesitation to undo the problems in her Mana Veins.
This was the best logical explanation Lysandra could come up with.
It was the same as saying a person wanted summer to arrive early, and so the planet revolved quickly just for that individual, making summer arrive in moments instead of months later.
'Completely unreasonable...'
Lysandra sighed internally and watched as Elara slowly opened her eyes.
Lysandra had calmed down and decided to first check Elara's Element.
Normally, one couldn't check someone else's Element through Spiritual Sense—the only way was if the person disclosed it or through certain artifacts. But Lysandra's Spiritual Sense was unique, so she could easily check at least Apprentice Rank Elements.
So, bubbling with anticipation, Lysandra checked Elara's Element—and suddenly felt like crying.
'What is this? Such a big miracle—and only for such pathetic Elements?!'
Lysandra really wanted to roar in frustration.
There were so many Elements one could awaken—even the chances were high that one could awaken at least one powerful Element and another useless one. But how was Elara's affinity toward two such useless Elements?!
Elara's Elements were unique, but they could only be useful in lower Ranks—and even then, only moderately. Nothing powerful. In later Ranks, they became even more useless, as there were barely any Spells or Skills for Elara's Elements available in the world.
One's Element was of paramount importance for their whole life. Even at Rank 6, where Mana Wielders could use all five basic Elements, their main Element remained immovably important.
So, Elara was stuck with those two useless Elements for life!
Lysandra truly wanted to cry. She had some expectations—even if not the most powerful, at least something great. After all, Elara's birth was due to that prophecy...
'Indeed, all prophecies are unreliable. What a hoax!' Lysandra sighed internally.
With those Elements, the most Elara could do was make the world more beautiful and entertain people?
Lysandra wanted to lament the cruelty of heaven.
Perhaps the universe wanted to punish Elara for being such a genius...
But Lysandra knew Elements weren't 'per se' gifted or selected by the universe—they were largely connected to each individual's essence, though they could also be inherited. Neither Lysandra nor Elara's father had those useless Elements, so it could only be Elara's bad luck.
Lysandra sighed. She had hoped to give Eric a great boost, but now it seemed Elara could only become baggage for poor Eric...
The only good thing was that Elara had chosen to be a Mystical Knight. So, she could later choose to be a Warrior...
Maybe there was still hope!
After all, those without any Element had become Legends in the past, and Elara's Elements weren't entirely useless. Plus, she had 'Will in her heart'—so she should be fine!
'Rejoice, Eric—there is still hope for you!'
Though Elara's Elements weren't the best as Lysandra had hoped, they weren't too bad either. There were worse Elements. Elara just needed to figure out how to make the best of them—to pioneer new ways to use them.
'Hm... Maybe some Mana Beast's abilities could inspire her...' Lysandra thought.
But she soon grew heavy-hearted, as none of these children had even enough time to reach Master Rank, much less higher.
While Lysandra suddenly turned melancholy over Celestia's fate, Elara was in the polar opposite mood—bursting with excitement.
She had finally done it!
She finally understood why she had kept failing to become a Mana Wielder for so long!
It was because her determination and resolve had been lacking compared to others!
She had been so pathetic—it was depressing. But thanks to Eric coming into her life, she was not only blissful and excited—he had given her such inner strength! As expected of her heart and soul—Eric!
Elara suddenly felt great respect for everyone she knew who had become Mana Wielders at such an early age. Just how great their determination must have been...
Elara finally realized she had been too lacking.
She sighed, feeling unworthy of Eric. Maybe she should just commit suicide to spare him further embarrassment—but she couldn't bear to leave him alone against the world. She should at least try her best first!
Elara clenched her fist and muttered, "Wait for me, Eric. I will rush to reach Rank 2 Mystical Knight—then Rank 3, and beyond. I won't be a weight for you to carry—I'll be your steed!" She blushed as her imagination flew elsewhere.
Lysandra snapped out of her lamentation upon hearing Elara's bold declaration. She felt her soul would truly fly away if Elara actually did that—creating another nonsensical miracle of becoming an Apprentice Rank 2 right then.
She quickly stopped Elara before it was too late.
"Stop—stop—stop! Elara, if you truly want to be of great help to Eric, then don't think of reaching Rank 2 anytime soon!"
Lysandra was almost out of breath—she had to say this before Elara actually attempted it. In fact, it would be far less of a miracle—almost minuscule—compared to what Elara had just done with her Mana Veins.
"Why?" Elara asked, confused.
Wasn't reaching higher Rank supposed to give her more stats, Mana-Stamina pool, capabilities, etc.? Her friends back home were raising their Ranks quickly without wasting time.
Lysandra sighed in relief—at least Elara hadn't tried to reach the next Rank immediately and was still willing to listen.
If Elara had tried, Lysandra could only forcibly suppress it from outside—though logically, it shouldn't be possible to reach higher Rank without Mana Veins developing to a certain extent, not to mention the two minor breakthroughs in between.
"My sweet daughter, Elara, understand this—there is a very big difference between a 'smart' genius and a truly capable Mana Wielder."
"In the world, people who reach higher Ranks quickly are often considered geniuses—but in the long run, it isn't the best choice. Even though many understand this, pushing to the peak of each Rank is far too difficult and time-consuming—enough for one to die of old age before reaching the peak."
"Do you know that after reaching each Rank, people can further improve their stats?" Lysandra asked.
Elara wasn't knowledgeable about this. But she knew Mana Wielders still trained their capabilities instead of just focusing on raising their Ranks.
This was something Elara had always been confused about. After all, each breakthrough—minor or major—automatically granted a massive stat increase.
Lysandra wasn't surprised Elara didn't know—she had ensured Elara remained ignorant of Mana Wielder-related matters in the past. Knowing too much would only make Elara restless.
Lysandra coughed and organized her words before explaining.
"Elara, at each Rank, a Mana Wielder can further develop their four basic stats. But training each to its peak takes too long—enough for people to give up or die of old age. Even a long-lived species like ours wouldn't last long enough to reach the maximum of each Rank."
Elara's eyes widened in shock. "So you mean Mana Wielders—after reaching Rank 1, whether as Warriors, Mages, or Mystical Knights—can further improve their stats? But what do you mean by the 'maximum' of each Rank? What happens if one doesn't reach the maximum—if they only improve a little before moving to the next Rank?"
"That's right." Lysandra nodded and began explaining from the start.
"Let's begin with Mortals. There's a limit to how far a Mortal can improve their stats—that's all they can develop up to. After that, the only way to improve further is to evolve to Mana Wielder. Also, whatever a person improved upon as a Mortal 'transfers' when they become a Mana Wielder."
"For example, Eric had nearly reached the maximum possible stats as a Mortal—now, if he becomes a Mana Wielder, in theory, he'd be stronger than an untrained mid-stage Rank 1 Warrior or Mage. This is because his Mortal stats carried over. These 'excess' stats are called Training Stats or Supplemental Stats."
"This isn't just for Mortals to Mana Wielders—it applies from Rank 1 to 2 and so on."
"Now, back to your question. No one has ever truly reached the maximum of these Training Stats. Many studies have been done—but no success, even with artificially extended lifespans. From studies, we know taking such elixirs or modifications beyond one's 'evolution' would drastically increase the difficulty of raising these Training Stats. In a sense, Training Stats truly break the universe's limits. I know this sounds confusing—so I won't elaborate further. If you want deeper understanding, seek this knowledge yourself."
Elara nodded solemnly.
Lysandra continued, "Though no one has reached the 'peak' of Training Stats—and no one knows how far they can be improved—there is a breakthrough for them!"
Elara was even more shocked. "What does that mean?"
Was there another breakthrough besides Rank breakthroughs?