Chapter 567 Headquarters

"Then I hope you don't return to this place any time soon. The new age is arriving, and should you experience death, I doubt your phoenix bloodline can save you. In the 20 to 50 years it'll take for you to revive, the world may be gone." 'Kuromi said as she aimed her hand towards Shiro.

"So, try not to die ok?" She chuckled.

"Of course. Though who knows, I might see you soon." Shiro grinned as her body disappeared.

Watching her body flicker away, 'Kuromi' glanced behind her and smiled.

"You sure you don't want to talk to her?"

"No, it's fine. We'll get a chance to talk later depending on what she does." An identical voice replied with a small chuckle.

Shrugging her shoulders, 'Kuromi' started to fade away as the void was now empty once more.

###

"Urg…" Groaning softly, Shiro felt pain rush through her body as she flinched ever so slightly.

"You're awake?" Nan Tian looked down in surprise.

"Mn. Whe- Ow." Before she could even say a single sentence, the pain caused her to stop midway.

"Ah don't talk, I'm bringing you to some medics now." Nan Tian smiled.

Currently, they were on their way to the main headquarters of the sect since the best healers were here.

'I guess he succeeded in making a tier 6 magic spell.' Shiro thought with a smile.

Glancing into her mana realm, she could see Nimue resting in the water as her body was quite faint. Just seeing her expression told Shiro that she had been trying her hardest to keep her body working.

Deciding to not disturb Nimue, Shiro glanced around her. Unfortunately, she was not able to turn her head since even the faintest movement would cause her to flinch.

She could see that Nan Tian was holding her in a princess carry while Iziuel had Yin on her back.

"Where's Estrella and Attie?" She asked curiously since she couldn't see them.

"They're just behind me right now." Nan Tian smiled and turned around, allowing Shiro to see Estrella who carried Attie in her arms.

"Sorry to worry you." Shiro tried her best to smile but it seemed rather forced due to the pain.

Furrowing his brows, Attie wanted to reach out and hug her but he knew that she wasn't feeling well so decided against it.

Smiling at her, Attie then frowned at Nan Tian before pointing his hands towards the large collection of buildings in the distance.

"Right right, I'll get your mother to the medics now." Nan Tian rolled his eyes.

"Haha- ow. Attie's got a leash on you huh?" Shiro chuckled while glancing up at Nan Tian.

"Well our interests line up so it doesn't hurt. Plus, he was the one who helped me find the last missing piece of the puzzle for me to upgrade my magic to tier 6." Nan Tian replied while making sure that Shiro was as comfortable as possible.

"Is that so? Good job Attie." Shiro smiled and tried to give Attie a thumbs up.

Despite her poor attempt, Attie's eyes seemed to shine with joy as she rested her head against Nan Tian's head since she was tired.

"Honestly, I expected myself to wake up in a room or some sort while being surrounded by medics. I don't remember quite clearly but I do know that I started to funnel the mana from the ground around me to fuel the prison. I'm surprised that I woke up this early." Shiro closed her eyes.

"Indeed. You turned a rather large portion of the forest into the desert with your trick you know? They're going to have to update the world map again." Nan Tian laughed.

"Mn. Speaking of which, I met a rather interesting person while I was unconscious. I'm not too sure of their identity but I do know that they had a close link with the system."

"Oh? Anything new that you've discovered about the system?" Nan Tian asked curiously.

"Hmm… not really. I just had a small chat with her. It was rather enlightening I suppose." Shiro shook her head.

"Well that's fine too. As long as you're not being taken away by the system, I'll be happy."

"Funnily enough, the place where I talked to her is actually where people die. She described me as tenacious, always pulling myself out of death's grasp despite it being so close to me." Shiro smiled.

". . .To be honest, I'm not even surprised. With how close you are to death; you might as well be the grim reaper's best friend." Nan Tian chuckled.

"Ay don't tempt me. With how things are, I won't be surprised if there is a grim reaper boss out there." Shiro grinned.

"Indeed. Just rest up for now, we'll reach the medic bay soon enough." Nan Tian smiled as Shiro nodded.

Glancing towards her system, she wanted to check for any updates before resting.

Unfortunately, she didn't get anything out of the fight except for stacks upon stacks of negative debuffs.

'Sounds about right. We didn't kill the Guardian after all. Hell, we're lucky to even have our lives right now.' Shiro thought to herself.

However, before she looked away, she noticed a small change on her class up requirements.

On top of the current requirements, there was now an additional line under the list.

[Tier 6 Achievements (1)]

'So, surviving against the Guardian is a Tier 6 achievement huh? I suppose that's only natural since the chasm between the two tiers aren't something that can be easily breached. The fact that we survive is a miracle.' Shiro thought to herself.

Thinking about miracles, she couldn't help but wonder about Nan Tian's tier 6 attunement

"Say, Lil' Tian."

"Mn? What is it?"

"I'll be honest with you. I'm still surprised that you have achieved tier 6 magic. It's not that I didn't believe that you couldn't achieve it but rather, it was a gamble on my side and you just won it. While I was indeed tier 6 before, there are still parts that I don't understand so the fact that you've transcended your tier is something amazing." Shiro admitted.

"If it weren't for the information that you provided along with Attie's help, I would have never achieved this. However, after achieving tier 6 in light magic, I've seemed to have weakened my proficiency with the other elements that I control. They're effects are now weaker." Nan Tian replied as Shiro nodded her head.

She understood what he meant since when she was a tier 6 legend, she could only use her nanobots but if she tried to use the individual element associated with her class, metal and lighting, the effectiveness would drop.

"Well you are focusing your path down a specific lane. I'm guessing that this is also how you become a god of that subject so perhaps after we kill Aekari for good, you can claim his title." Shiro suggested with a soft chuckle.

"I'll be fine without his title. I'll be honest with you, being associated with an asshole that killed you, twice no less, leaves quite a bad taste in the mouth."

"Don't worry about it. Just think of it as taking everything from him like what he did with me. Plus, just because your element is associated with the asshole, it doesn't mean that I will immediately hate your presence." Shiro chuckled.

"Oh? Does that mean you enjoy being with me?" Nan Tian smiled.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself now young man. I believe my quote was 'it doesn't mean that I will IMMEDIATELY hate your presence.'" Shiro laughed.

"Well I have to make sure that it never reaches that point then." Nan Tian shrugged as they reached the main entrance of the sect's headquarters.

Donning his mask and pulling out his proof of identity, he showed it to the guards.

"Welcome back branch master." They bowed with a smile before glancing towards Shiro who was in his arms.

"Send out a notice for the best healers to come to medic bay room 1. I'll need them to help me heal the woman in my arms." Nan Tian ordered as they nodded their heads.

Since he understood the rules of the sect, he also understood the consequences of bringing someone dangerous to the main headquarters.

"Understood."

"Oh right, is the sect master around? I haven't seen him in a while." Nan Tian asked.

"Mn, the sect master is by the sparring grounds as usual. There's been a few new additions that are rather well trained, and he's been excited about their growth." The guard nodded as Nan Tian's interests were piqued. However, Shiro was more important so he set it aside for now.