Lightning Is the Only Way

The group looked with questioning gazes at Gravis. What was he talking about? Someone with Life Lightning wouldn't be able to use their element offensively. This gave them a severe disadvantage over their opponents. Someone like that could be the strongest fighter? How would that even work?

Joyce waved her hands defensively. "No, no, no!" she said quickly. "How would I be able to win against the others? Their elements suppress me, and I would be on the defensive the whole time!"

Gravis smirked while rubbing his chin. "Let me explain," he said. "First of all, why didn't you upgrade your body to the Seed Stage already?"

The group got even more confused as they furrowed their brows. What's it with this stupid, obvious question?

Joyce also furrowed her brows. "Because my own body would hinder my element, and if I wanted to release it, I would probably spend over double the cost. My element would be weakened significantly like this."

Gravis nodded. "Yes, but that is only a disadvantage if you wanted to release it to fight, right?"

"That also counts if I want to heal someone else. If I don't use my Life Lightning to heal others, what would be the point of having it in the first place?" Joyce asked with skepticism.

Gravis wasn't deterred by her question and only chuckled a little. "But can't you still heal yourself?"

Joyce scratched her neck. "I mean, sure. The healing of my own body wouldn't be hindered. I would only need to use more Life Lightning to heal it since a stronger body requires more Life Energy."

Gravis continued smirking. "Right. Now, let's think logically about this. You can probably heal yourself to your peak condition from a near-death state about 20 times, right?"

Joyce nodded.

"With a body at the Seed Stage, you would still be able to heal yourself around ten times, right?"

Joyce nodded again.

"Alright. So, if you fight as you are now, you can probably take down one enemy one Stage above yourself thanks to your Will-Aura, right?" Gravis asked.

Joyce nodded.

"Then, how many enemies at the Seed Stage would you be able to take down with a body at the Seed Stage?" Gravis asked with a smirk.

this, and her eyes widened.

of their element's detriment, but

she said after

able to bridge the gap of two Stages. Both of your Will-Auras would get canceled out, leaving you both with your base strengths. Everything besides your body would be

thought. "Yes, but I would only be able to injure my enemy once before I would die

not getting injured to not dying. You would be able to stab the enemy's body once, but the counterattack would be swift. Yet, thanks to your Life Lightning, you only need to protect

Gravis continued

heal yourself ten times, you can stab your enemy ten times, right? Wouldn't that kill

This was too unreal. Fighting one Stage above herself was already like a dream to someone with Life Lightning. Yet, Gravis was saying

it seemed. The others also started realizing

"A loaded wind blade from me could sever the connection between her mind and her dantian since it would bisect her." Without noticing, Manuel wasn't looking at Joyce as a weak girl

now, he needed to actually plan on how to win. The revelation of this possibility completely changed his perception of Joyce. She would transform from a weak enemy into a dangerous

"Yes. That's why having the element isn't enough. Only by knowing the weapons of the enemy would she be able to counter them. If you two were to fight, she would need to keep herself as low to the ground as

around a meter to the side. But in Joyce's case, she only needs to move a couple of centimeters. As long as it doesn't hit

slash, the opponent would be open to a counterattack. Imagine yourself in the enemy's shoes. You just used your most powerful attack, but your enemy wasn't even injured. You would have wasted your most powerful attack for basically nothing. Like

Yes, that way of fighting sounds very impressive, but one mistake and I would lose my

her with even eyes. "Isn't that already the case? One hit to your dantian or head, and

wanted to refute that,

her shoulder. "If you want to reach the top, you need to unearth all your potential. You need to get comfortable with injuring yourself to slay the enemy. If you can't even do that, then

the floor. Gravis' words hurt her, but she realized that he was right. If she couldn't even beat the people around her, how would she be able to reach

looked back. "You have the perfect element to become incredibly powerful, but in order to truly

Gravis' eyes. "But, my temperament is defined by my element. I can't change my temperament

of your temperament, not your temperament itself," Gravis said. "Life Lightning is compassionate, but against an enemy, it isn't

long as you remain compassionate to yourself, I see no problem. You will still use your Life Lightning to heal, but instead of focusing on healing others, you are focusing on healing yourself. You can heal injuries without any problem, so what's so bad about receiving them? Wouldn't absorbing the injuries meant for your companions be

future. Her worries about the future seemed so distant now. Even though she hadn't talked about it,

she just be wild prey? All her security from this world would vanish, leaving her alone to

If others were able to get through their lives alone, why

short moment and then reopened them. Yet, instead of uncertainty, they shone with battle-intent. "You're right!" she shouted. "I need to depend

Having