"At the general level, yes," Ankerita said.
"If the General has developed their ability to that point, entering their presence unprepared is equivalent to walking into a physical attack. You don't need to do anything—you just exist near them and people die."
"How do you fight that?" Maureen asked from across the fire.
"You build resistance," Ankerita said.
"Or you attack before you're in range. Or you find something that neutralizes the aura."
She looked at Jake. "You have the means to fight?"
"Sort of," Jake said.
"It's like an armor, but on a different level."
"It absorbs physical and magical damage. If the aura operates as a magical pressure—"
"It might provide a window," Ankerita said.
"Not immunity. A window."
The system pulsed in agreement without producing a screen, which Jake had started to interpret as the system's equivalent of a nod.
They reached the dungeon on the afternoon of the third day.
