Chapter 383: Plans
Orion released a bit of his aura into the mess tent, weak enough no one really noticed but just strong enough to make people give us some unconscious space. "The truth is, my lady, that every single person who was linked in the Nexus went up a level. Johnson, a third-level soldier, actually went up two, though he was close to breaking through to fourth before the fight."
I stared at him, my expression a mixture of shock and disbelief. "Is something like that even possible?"
He just shrugged. "The mages are still analyzing exactly what happened, but it seems to have something to do with the absurd amounts of power you channeled. I certainly felt some sort of supporting influence throughout the fight, and often found my mana regenerating significantly faster than it should have."
"The whole thing is a little mysterious," Sarra said, folding her arms beneath her breasts. "Korra was the first one to break through, but that didn’t happen until nearly a day after the battle. No one thought much of it, as she was on the edge anyway, but then reports began flooding in all over. Elinore suspected it might have been temporary, but each individual received the world’s blessing of an increase in mana, giving them enough strength to remain in their new level even if the old mana eventually faded."
"On the plus side," Luxxa added, "Right now, the Last Light Company has the highest percentage of fifth and sixth-level soldiers of any armed force in the world. If we were to rematch the Dead Wing Legion right now, we’d have a landslide victory."
As the words left her mouth, an unconscious ripple coursed through the mess hall, the gathered soldiers parting to allow someone through. I glanced over and met the piercing green eyes of Korra, who lit up the moment she saw me.
"Xiviyah! You’re awake!"
She bounded over in a blur, nearly throwing her arms around me before hesitating. I hadn’t even realized I’d tensed as she approached, but allowed myself to relax as she settled for mussing my hair. Her eyes watched me intently, searching for something on my face. Whatever she found seemed to satisfy her, because she gave a sharp nod and beamed again.
"Sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up, I asked Elinore to tell me but you were already gone when I got there. You look...fine." She hesitated a second before asking, "Did you hear about Sari?"