Lady Zee's face was also painted with shock when she saw Ronny's opponent performing elemental fusion in front of her. Then she looked at Ronny in pity, as if he was a lost cause.
"Um... Lady Zee, nothing about your statement makes me understand what I'm supposed to do? Some elaboration would be helpful here. What is this elemental fusion?"
Lady Zee shook her head in denial before replying to Ronny's question:
"Elemental fusion is something you can do when you have progressed further into the way of the elements. It is supposed to happen when you reach B-Rank or higher.
I don't know much about elemental fusion either. What I do know is the fact that elemental fusion is supposed to be synergistic in nature.
Don't underestimate your opponent even if my explanation sounds simple and rudimentary. Anything that has to do with the way of the elements has the potential to enable the ranker to exert more power than his rank could normally entail."
Ronny rolled his eyes after he heard Lady Zee's response. He couldn't believe the dungeon was making him fight against something that belonged to the B-Rank. This was more than playing while the odds were against you. This was playing a game when the entire match was rigged.
'Elemental fusion is supposed to be synergetic? What does that mean?'
Ronny couldn't help but ask the question to himself when he started processing Lady Zee's words while his guards were up against his standing-still opponent. Reen was there to answer the question.
'Erni, I think I sense the elemental natures of wood and water have retained their properties after being mixed.
From what I can tell, the armour the guy is wearing should have the electrical resistance of wood. And at the same time, it would be more difficult to burn because of the presence of water elemental nature mixed within it.'
'Fuck my life!'
Ronny had to admit he had underestimated the difficulty of the dungeon. When he had taken care of his first opponent in the first match of this round, he had thought that things would be a little hectic. But he'd pull through because of all his advantages.
Something like this though was beyond his scope of understanding or capability. He didn't think he would be able to deal with an opponent of similar rank even when he was a D-Ranker from his past timeline if he started using the powers that belonged to the realm of B-Rank.
'What should I do now?'
He thought to himself as he gripped his daggers tightly. He was just about to give it his all by bolting towards his opponent when an unknown female voice was heard in his mind:
'Hello, Eren Elijah Idril. My name is Layla. You can call me the caretaker of this separate dimension.
First of all, let me tell you that it's not what you think. The dungeon is trying to help you.'
A voice identifying herself as Layla spoke in Ronny's mind. It sounded ancient and young at the same time to him.
Ronny had first thought that it was Alphee speaking in a changed voice to him. But Layla's name told him otherwise. He knew full well the former would hear him, so he posed the question to himself.
'There's no privacy policy left in this place, is it? I'll just skip the intro now that you know about me. Please tell me, Layla, what is not what I think it is?'
There was a short pause before Layla answered Ronny's question the same way she had contacted him the first time:
'Hehehe! You are one paranoid ranker, aren't you? Of course, I can't hear your thoughts. Not really.
It is the dungeon's mechanism aiding me to understand the ballpark thought of what you are thinking, based on your fluctuating mana signature right now.'
Ronny didn't believe Layla's words. He made her suspicions known to her:
'Don't bullshit me. You peeked into my memories to render this fellow right in front of me. How can you make this apparition if you haven't looked through my memories?'
Layla giggled like a small girl once again before replying to Ronny:
Hehehe! I sense a strong sense of you not believing in my words. I'll tell you this. The rendition of someone you know from the past is not done by me. Master had automated that process from the get-go. I don't have access to those memories either.
My master was very particular about who he was going to choose as his successor. He didn't want my point of view to get influenced because of my knowledge about the participants' memories.
He just let me use the dungeon's mechanism to understand the participants' real-time thoughts. This was done so that I could get a glimpse of how the potential successor to the master's heritage is as a ranker.'
Ronny heard Layla's answer and relaxed a bit. He didn't want his memories scanned by someone powerful. His identity as an Osan Woods' Butcher was one reason. The other, most crucial reason was the fact that he didn't want anyone to know that he was carrying a logic-defying artefact in him in the form of Alephee.
'Alright, I believe you can't read my memories. Simply because you don't have the reason to lie about that part. But why should I believe you when you say that the dungeon is trying to help me when I see the dude pulling a move that doesn't even belong in the E-Rank?'
Ronny asked Layla in annoyance. He was looking forward to his rewards for his extra work in this round. But he didn't think he could win this match anymore. Not when the guy had become immune to both sets of spells at the same time.
'Look, Eren. The whole reason I contacted you now is that I don't want you to rush into your battle thinking that the match is rigged. I said the dungeon is trying to help you and I mean it.
Like that lady said there, it is not something that happens to everyone who comes to this separate dimension trying to test their luck at becoming my master's successor. The dungeon's mechanism has judged your rating and performance so far and found that you are worthy to be tested like this.
You need to understand that at your rank, there are not a lot of things you can know or understand. The elemental fusion is indeed related to the way of the elements. But that lady is just ignorant if she thinks these concepts only apply in the B-Rank.'
Ronny heard Layla's explanation and pondered for a bit. The squad members saw him putting one of his daggers in his right hand. He used the now-free hand to caress his chin.
They didn't know that he was talking with Layla at the time. They just thought that he was making use of the dungeon's exploit to take a breather before resuming his lost-cause battle again.
Layla observed that Ronny wasn't replying so she took the initiative again and explained to him what she was getting at:
'Your foundation as a ranker gets set in your early ranks. You need to start working on these concepts early in your journey as a ranker if you want to make use of powers like these.
Having the ability to wield the elements like they are supposed to be wielded. A ranker should start working on these things from your current rank, especially if they don't want to experience any tiring bottlenecks in the future.
This dungeon is not trying to get you. It is in fact trying to help you by showing you the thing you need to start working on sooner. But I'd be lying if I said the dungeon doesn't have any other reason behind this.
It is indeed trying to test you as well. But there's a subtle difference this time if you compare this with your earlier fights in the dungeon so far.
This time, the dungeon is not trying to test your current ranking power. It is trying to test your potential as a ranker in the future.'
Layla paused after saying till here. She let Ronny understand what she was trying to say to him. The latter thought to himself before some understanding dawned on him. He needed to confirm his doubts:
'You mean to say I can win this match if I just try hard enough? How? I can't do what this guy has done.
The synergy of the elements even when they have been fused! I don't completely understand these concepts. But I've come to realize that the guy's armour has made him immune to my lightning and fire element spells. And those are the only attacking sets of spells I have at my disposal.
So you tell me, how am I able to win against this?'
Layla giggled like a little girl once again before replying:
'Hehehehe! I'm not one of those rankers whom you can fool easily. I know what you are. You need to use that power within you to fight this opponent.'
Ronny had a stoic expression on his face when he heard Layla this time. He had understood that she was talking about his status as a demi-human. But he asked to confirm:
'What am I?'
'A half-blood, of course.'
Layla replied immediately.