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"That's...

" Yelna clearly didn't know what to say in response to Markus' words. Not only was he a member of the hero party, a proclaimed saint, but also one of the very few mages that could stand toe to toe to the likes of Layn.

nObviously, Layn couldn't be used in comparisons like that so easily. Even if he could be taken as aim for many new and growing mages in everyday life, the same couldn't be said about the situations when he was agitated.

nThe recent disaster that almost eradicated all the life in this green desert serving as a good example.

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"Don't worry. I think I already have a clue how that could happen,

" Markus sighed when noticing the distraught look on Yelna's face. But rather than answering right away, he moved his eyes on suspiciously silent and motionless Al.

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"Is everything okay, sir?

" Markus asked, easily allowing the word of respect to flow out of his mouth. Even if both he and Yelna were stronger than the man, that didn't make Al any less entitled to respect his descendants.

nAfter all, even if they were stronger, their civilization would never look the way it did without this man. Thus, the achievements of this man were what allowed both Markus and Yelna to grow as strong as they were right now.

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"You guys are aware that all of them are celestials?

" Al asked in a silent, slightly repulsed tone. It appeared that even speaking out that name made him angry, not to speak about interacting with those people in the first place.

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"Yeah?

" Markus replied, leaning his head to the side in confusion.

"But are you aware of the fact that they are likely to be born centuries if not ages before your tribe even formed?

" he asked, refusing to move his eyes away.

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"Even if that's true...

" Al started, only to turn silent after just a few words. 'Even if he is right, that doesn't make it any easier to cope with it!' the leader of the Gener clan thought before shaking his head.

"I know what you are worried about, but you don't need to,

" Al sighed.

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"For as long as they won't raise their weapons against me, I won't be of any danger for them either,

" he claimed before turning his head around and resting his back on the bricked wall of the dorm.

nIt would be a lie to claim that his position was comfortable. The constant shaking caused by the hordes of monsters moving over the building already threatened to expose this place. In such a situation, any attempts at changing one's position had to be done insanely slowly just to avoid affecting the stability of the structure.

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"Good,

" Markus smiled before finally moving his eyes back on Yelna.

"Now, we can discuss how this girl could become so strong in such a short period of time.

" Markus smiled as he cast a quick glance at the sleeping girl.

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"The truth is pretty simple. They,

" Markus swept his hand as if in an attempt to mark everyone else in the room,

"are all the masters of survival. The best out of the best,

" Markus stretched himself to the back in the limited space that he had before looking over everyone in the tight building.

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"What do you mean by that?

" Yelna asked, even though all of her rationales was screaming that what Markus was speaking was nothing short of complete bull**. Just looking at how hard this girl was taking to heal such minor wounds was putting a massive wrench in his idea.

nBut she didn't protest. Yelna knew Markus for long enough to be aware that if he was willing to put forth an idea of his own, such an idea would be adequately grounded in reality and would have high chances of being correct.

nThat was the single trait he developed after living and sleeping in a party with people like Layn or Morbius. With the two of them right on his side, Markus would only dare to propose any sort of plan or observation if he was absolutely sure that neither of those freaks of nature would be able to turn it into an outlet of light teasing later on.

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"I don't really feel like a master of survival,

" Irea suddenly moaned from her makeshift bed, using nearly all of the energy her body managed to regain in an attempt to prompt herself upwards.

nUp to this point, everyone else within the dorm remained in their place, unwilling to risk making any noise. But, even though they never saw the hordes of the monsters outside, the sight of the state of Irea when she returned back to the dorm made it clear just how dangerous it was.

nBut now that the girl woke up, everyone started to move around, clearly unwilling to let her tire herself down.

n

"Don't worry,

" Markus used his translation spell in an attempt to calm the situation down.

"She's just tired. I will help her up, so don't move around too much,

" he warned, placing his hand behind Irea's back and probing her up.

n

"Still, would you mind explaining what did you mean with that survival thingy?

" Irea asked in a silent yet sturdy voice. There was no sign of pain in her words as if she was either capable of fully conquering her pain or simply didn't feel it anymore.

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"It's simple. In our... country, there is...

" Markus stopped his words for a moment before swallowing a gulp of saliva and picking his lecture up.

"Let's say that there is powerful magic in the country we are from, making it actually hard for anyone to die from some simple sicknesses. So, to a degree, we managed to conquer our health,

" he explained, in a soft voice, before suddenly turning his eyes towards the girl.

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"I'm sorry, but I still don't understand what you mean,

" Irea replied as a troubled expression appeared on her face. 'Even if they are Layn's friends, his lectures actually make far more sense,' she complained in her thoughts, not allowing those to reflect on her face at all.

n

"Listen, how many brothers and sisters did your parents bury before you were born? How many after you were born?

" Markus put a wry smile on his face as he asked.

"In other words, how many pregnancies your mother had to go through to have a single kid?

" he pushed the topic even further, ignoring how potentially unpleasant it could be.

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"Oh, so that's what you mean,

" Irea noted before leaning her head to the back a bit.

"Four... I think?

" She leaned her head to the side before bringing her pristine, blue eyes back on Markus' face.

"I can only tell you a guess. I never had the chance to ask my mom about that, and well, given how she died while giving birth to me, I never thought of asking my father about it either.

" Irea shrugged her arms after answering.

n

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up those painful memories to you,

" Markus apologized before turning silent. Now that the atmosphere turned awkward, it was hard for him to keep going.

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"You don't need to mind it,

" Irea smiled, clearly aware of what she did to the atmosphere in the dorm.

"It's not like I can still be sad about it after all those years, could I?

" she playfully asked before biting on her lips, clearly not intent on stopping the further discussion by sticking to her past.

n

"Since you say so,

" Markus smiled and nodded his head with gratitude.

"Then, let's go back to my explanation,

" he smiled before his expression soured.

n

"In our country, people rarely die at birth. Not because they are strong enough to survive their early years, but because our healing magic can support them. And those people will grow up, get married and get children of their own. Then, they will pass their weak blood to another generation.... which once again will be supported by our healing magic,

" Markus explained.

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"Ah, I see,

" Irea suddenly claimed when a look of clarity entered her face.

"In this way, those who would normally be too weak to survive on their own continue to weaken the general strenght.

" Irea nodded her head gently before adding,

"It's a problem that only keeps on building on itself, doesn't it?

" she asked with a wry smile.

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"I see you can understand it already,

" Markus replied with a smile, confirming the girl's words.

"In that regard, all of you are the beasts, the monsters, the few who overcame the ordeals we never had to face. And the same could be said to your ancestors, ancestors of their ancestors, and so on and on...

" Markus said before lowering his head.

nOnce he lifted it up back again, he took a closer look at Irea's eyes. 'She doesn't seem to be perturbed by the situation at all,' he thought before forcing a smile back on his face and opening his lips.

n

"Hey, can you tell us what happened here? And especially, what was Layn doing while you two were traveling together?

"

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