Chapter 150: Broken Core
Sitting comfortably on a sofa with her legs crossed in an elegant manner, wearing a soft greenish tunic that rested lightly against her slender frame, Arwyn spoke in a gentle and unhurried voice, "You can open your eyes now, Kael. Your training for today is finally over."
Kael slowly opened his eyes, then raised both of his arms above his head while stretching them to ease the stiffness that had built up from holding the same position for hours. He let out a breath and looked at her with clear relief on his face, "Oh, finally. But... this training is also getting rather exhausting day by day."
Arwyn gave him a strange look, one that carried neither amusement nor sympathy, before letting out a soft sigh as she leaned back slightly against the sofa, her long ponytail swayed behind her, "Of course... it is only the beginning, so it will become more and more terrible with time. After all, you are trying to learn spell casting with reduced mana consumption while achieving higher effectiveness, which requires an extreme level of mental focus to perform accurately, so mental fatigue is unavoidable along with physical exhaustion. At the very least, you need to endure this much if you truly want to make up for the lack of your mana. Otherwise, you will remain as weak as you were before."
Kael scratched the back of his neck with an awkward smile, "I know, I know. You don't have to remind me of it every day. Anyway, what do you think about my current state? I mean, am I able to improve even a little? It has been weeks of training already, so I was just a little curious."
Arwyn hesitated for a brief moment, then spoke again in a slightly strange tone, "It's fine. I can tell you, but to do that I need to check your body… cough! I mean, your mana circulation, since I can neither see nor directly feel your mana veins. If you are fine with it, then just do as I say."
Strange... why did that cough of hers seem far too real to be an embarrassed one?
After thinking for a moment, Kael let out a small chuckle, "Understood."
Arwyn nodded lightly, then raised her hand, and several tendrils rose from the ground beneath them, thick yet thin as sheets of paper, and if not for their color, many would mistake them for actual paper strips, as they wrapped themselves around his body until he was completely covered like a cocoon.
Looking at him in that state, she instinctively covered her face with one hand as a faint smile curved her lips, "Now, cast a healing spell, but do so with as little mana as possible."
Kael gave her a blank look, 'She did this on purpose just to make fun of me, didn't she?'
Even so, he followed her instructions and began casting the spell.
Arwyn observed him closely for several moments, or rather, she focused on the faint glow spreading from his hand through the tendrils, then snapped her fingers as the tendrils vanished on their own, "Hmm~ it seems you've improved quite a lot. It still isn't enough, though. You need to circulate your mana more fluently and as swiftly as possible, so that the moment you imagine the spell, it manifests immediately in your hand. That way, you do not need to waste mana or time guiding it throughout your body every time, since it will naturally flow on its own."
Kael let out a tired sigh as his thoughts drifted inward. 'It's not like I don't already know this. It is simply easier for her to say it, since she's an S-Ranked mage who unlocked multiple Unus Paths and is heading toward becoming an Archwitch within a decade or so. But how many steps has she actually learned by now? Considering Seraphina has already learned the first three or four steps, Arwyn must be close as well. Meanwhile, I am just a mere C-Rank. How am I supposed to master something that took mages like her years to learn?'
Suppressing the familiar ache that came with feeling weak, he spoke aloud in a normal tone, "I guess… I still have a long way to go, don't I?"
He paused for a moment, then began to study her face more closely, noticing that her teal-green eyes lacked their usual gleam and carefree light, while dark circles had formed beneath them. She looked extremely exhausted these days, but right now it seemed worse than before. What exactly had she been doing to end up in such a state?
No, that was not quite right. She had been relatively fine just moments ago, but after using her spell, her condition had visibly worsened, which could only mean...
'Mana exhaustion… that had to be it.'
Leaning back slightly, he asked with genuine concern, "Are you alright, Arwyn?"
Arwyn looked slightly startled by his sudden question, then a faint smile appeared on her lips, "Of course. I am in much better shape than ever. Why do you ask?"
He tilted his head a little as he responded, "What do you mean, why? Have you even looked in the mirror lately? You look so exhausted that it seems like you might pass out at any moment. No one is going to call you a hottie anymore after seeing you in such a pitiful state."
Arwyn gave him a long look, then sighed, ignoring his last words as she spoke in a calm voice, "Don't worry. I'm just a little tired from work. If I sleep, I'll be as fresh as new again tomorrow. More importantly, it's already quite late for you to stay here, so you should go home... she must be waiting for you."
Kael studied her for another moment, then sighed softly as well, "Now, you don't want me in your mansion anymore. Am I really that untrustworthy to you? Or do you still not like my company yet?"
Arwyn's expression shifted slightly, her face turning a shade paler than before, though the change was brief, then she shook her head gently as she spoke, "That's not it. You're always welcome in my house whenever you wish... cough! uh, what am I even saying..."
She paused for a moment, clearly flustered, before correcting herself in a hurried tone, "I mean, you can come here only for conversation purposes, but, just not today."
Kael raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced, "Why not?"
Her expression changed even further, a thin layer of sweat forming on her forehead as her beautiful face began to look oddly strained, then she forced a faint smile onto her lips and said, "If you stay here any longer, you will miss a scene you might've never ever imagined could come true. So, you should go. I've worked hard for it, after all."
What was she talking about? What kind of scene could she possibly mean? And why did it sound as if she had sacrificed something to make it happen? Was this perhaps somehow related to her exhaustion?
He did not know the answers, but he clearly realized that she truly did not want him to stay here any longer, and at that point there was little else he could do.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked in a somber tone, "Alright, alright... I will go. It seems like I'm starting to bother you lately."
She didn't reply to him, instead she simply looked away.
'Something's definitely wrong with her. Today, she didn't check on me even once after the morning. But why? She does not seem to be in the mood to answer me either.'
Without saying anything further, he stood up slowly, gave her one last look, then turned around and left the mansion.
...After he was gone, Arwyn relaxed her shoulders slightly as she leaned back and breathed heavily, beads of sweat slowly rolling down her forehead.
'I'm glad he's gone. I did not expect its effect to accelerate so suddenly... though at this rate, it will be difficult to even keep my eyes open at night. I need to hurry and find a solution for this.'
Taking a shallow breath, she tried to support herself using the sofa as she attempted to stand up, but it quickly became apparent that keeping herself upright was far more difficult than she had anticipated.
Her body felt weaker with every passing second, her vision started to feel strange and unfocused, but she still forced herself to stand straight and took a few slow steps forward.
However, after only a few steps, her head began to feel unusually heavy, the entire room spinning at a strange speed around her, her body swaying as she pressed her hands against her forehead in an attempt to steady herself.
'Oh gods... not this again. I really don't want to sleep on this floor again.'
Without warning, she collapsed onto the floor with a soft thud, her body lying there almost motionless.
Just then, a hand suddenly flashed through the air exactly where she was before, unable to find its objective, it halted and the fingers curled into a tight fist.
Kael had tried his best to catch her before she fell onto the ground like that, but he was just a fraction of a second late to do so, that's because he wasn't fast enough and also because he was doubting himself.
He gazed at her with a strange expression then kneeled down in front of her motionless figure, 'Just as I thought, she didn't want me to see her collapse like that or become aware of how bad her condition truly is. That must be why she wanted me to leave as soon as possible. What a stubborn witch. I'm just glad I trusted my suspicion earlier, otherwise, who knows what might have happened to her.'
Without wasting any time, he focused on healing her through her forehead, but this time the glow that appeared beneath his palm wasn't just green, instead, it was mixed with a golden color that resembled a dying sun.
'I haven't tried this spell practically yet. But... I hope it works on her.'
Although at that moment, everything around him felt strange and ironic to him.
Why wouldn't it be funny, though?
As of now, he had been seeking strength, but struggling to grow stronger only because of this woman lying in front of his eyes. Her keeping an eye on him all the time took almost his freedom from him, she was also his reason for failure to attain strength. And here he was... concerning himself over her like a fool and even healing her as fast as he could.
Logically speaking, if something were to happen to her, he would regain the freedom he once had, allowing him to move however he pleased and do whatever he wanted without restraint.
Besides that, he already had far too many troubles on his plate, because he had never expected Seraphina to suddenly participate in the Dungeon Hunt quest out of nowhere. With both of them wearing the bracelets, things had become considerably more troublesome for him, which meant he had to be far more careful than before. If that was not enough, he had not even known at first that the quest was meant to last for weeks rather than mere hours.
Well, how could he have known when he had not gone to the Guild for weeks ever since Silver Dawn returned. Leon, Arthur, Mira, and Elara began searching for him in hopes of pulling him back into the party.
He did have some intention of joining them, so he told Celeste to inform them that he would, though after dealing with some personal matters, a convenient excuse that bought him some time. Still, who would have thought that this delay would turn into such a massive headache?
On top of everything else, he had no idea how to hide the changes in his appearance from Arwyn anymore, especially since he would be staying inside the dungeon for an extended period of time. Then, he had to earn money to buy a glass, choose a weapon he would use in the hunt, prepare enough dry food and water and store them in Liquid Chest while avoiding her gaze. There were just too many things left unresolved, and only a week remained to sort them all out.
But if something were to happen to this woman here, then all of those problems would simply disappear. He would no longer have to worry about anyone discovering his true identity. At last, he would finally be able to breathe in relief.
From a purely rational standpoint, the obvious choice would have been to leave her here to die.
However…
He did not want to do that.
Firstly, doing so would give his wife a devastating shock, especially since she did not have many friends to begin with, something he did not wish to inflict upon her. Aside from that, the woman lying right in front of him was undeniably breathtakingly beautiful, and allowing her to die over problems he could realistically solve on his own would amount to nothing more than a meaningless waste, wouldn't it?
'Well, it's decided then… I won't let her die yet.'
…Some time later, the healing was complete, and as it concluded, her ghostly pale face gradually regained its original brightness, the dark circles beneath her eyes fading away until only her smooth ivory skin remained.
Lying there while curling slightly like a sleeping child, her expression appeared strangely peaceful, giving her an almost serene beauty that made it difficult for him to look away.
Then, she slowly opened her eyes.
Of course, she had not fallen asleep since he had not used his own spells that make people fall asleep, instead relying on the ones she herself had taught him not long ago, which did come in handy at times. Even so, he could not deny that he felt oddly relieved now that she was alright.
Upon noticing him, she blinked several times in surprise, her voice weak and unsteady as she spoke, "K-Kael? What are you still doing here? Uh... did I lose my consciousness again?"
He shrugged, "Yes, you did. So, would you mind telling me why you looked so drained earlier? I believe... your condition didn't relate to mere mana exhaustion anymore. There has to be something more to it, isn't there?"
Sitting up slowly while using her hands to support herself, she glanced outside as a strange expression crossed her face, one filled with hesitation and resignation, "You noticed that much just from observing me for a while? I guess I won't be able to hide it from you anymore. The truth is… my mana core has been broken."
Kael's eyes widened slightly.
Of course, he had grown suspicious earlier only because he had seen her behave in a similar manner before, back on the day he fought Effie, when she had been given a strange poison meant to knock her unconscious. Because of that memory, he assumed it might be a similar case, perhaps even the same poison, since Effie was still alive somewhere out there. But to think that his guess would turn out to be completely wrong, and that her condition was something far more terrifying than he had imagined.
'A broken mana core?'
A mana core was an essential core situated within a person's body, capable of containing a certain amount of mana depending on its size, while also absorbing mana from the surrounding atmosphere to sustain itself and circulate that energy throughout the body or release it when needed. In many ways, it resembled a heart, though it was fundamentally different. Unlike the heart, it could neither be seen with the naked eye nor damaged through physical force alone, which meant that interfering with it was considered nearly impossible through any external means.
However, the same could not be said about curses.
Curses were inhuman things or beings or whatever the hell they truly were, something humanity hardly knew anything about at all. They didn't have a physical body, nor did they possess a spiritual presence or anything that could be sensed or grasped in a conventional way, but they were still similar to mana, or perhaps a distorted form of it, at least to some extent. Because of that nature, a curse was capable of harming not only the physical body but also a person's mana core as well, sometimes to such an extreme extent that it could even shatter it completely.
'So, when Effie put the poison inside her… that wasn't just a mere poison, it was a curse meant to destroy her mana core… to make her die gradually.'
Speaking of which, the bond between a person's body and their mana core was so deeply intertwined that explaining it properly was nearly impossible, though it was suspected to be closely related to one's very soul. As such, when a person's mana core was broken, it was almost the same as having their soul broken as well, and once a soul died, the body would inevitably follow. On top of that, healing a broken mana core was considered almost impossible since it was invisible and existed in a form he was not particularly familiar with. At this rate, Arwyn's death seemed almost inevitable.
However, he was also someone who possessed the ability to cure even the most severe curses.
It was not an ability he had learned through study or training, but something his healing element granted him naturally, allowing him to dissolve curses without understanding their structure or foundation or anything else related to them. Because of that, he would be able to remove the curse itself.
The real problem, however, still remained… the curse had already done the damage, and he could not repair her mana core. Therefore, the mana would continuously leak out from her broken core at a certain pace. If it went beyond her absorption pace, then she would experience mana exhaustion from time to time, to some extent it'd be hard for her to keep herself conscious. So, all he could do now was buy her time and keep her conscious.
Naturally, to maintain that state, he would have to heal her constantly, something that would be rather troublesome in the long run. But that was fine with him, since he was genuinely willing to go that far without hesitation.
Even so, there was a clear limit to how much he could do. Bound by those restrictions, he had to find a solution as soon as possible. Fortunately, he already had a pretty good idea of where that solution would come from. Would there really be a better option than asking… no, forcing a solution out of the curse's own creator?
A dark expression appeared on his face as his gray eyes gleamed faintly under the dim light, 'All the more reason for me to get stronger as soon as possible.'
Shaking his head, he looked at her somberly, only to notice that there was a strange expression crossing her beautiful face. Although he did not want to admit it, this woman truly suited a mischievous smile far more than a gloomy one, as the latter did not suit her at all, not even slightly.
But could he really blame her for feeling this way? A mana core was the part of a mage's life. Now, hers was broken, so it must be hard for her to accept such a thing since she used magic for almost everything. Also knowing that it kept driving her into a state where she could die at any moment wasn't something to feel mischievous about, though he knew at least that much. Was she perhaps afraid about it?
Smiling faintly, he instinctively reached out and tucked a lock of her mint green hair behind her ear, the action so sudden that even he found himself momentarily surprised, "Don't worry… It'll be fine."
'Ah… what have I done?'
And yet, for some reason, it felt like the right thing to do.
Arwyn's eyes widened slightly.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Time seemed to slow down as she stared at him with a conflicted expression. For a brief moment, she felt as though she had caught a glimpse of a boy with messy and dirty white hair hidden somewhere within him.
At that moment, a myriad of emotions bloomed deep within her heart, making it feel unbearably heavy, especially envy, contempt, and guilt.
Her eyes shimmered faintly as tears threatened to spill out, so she quickly wiped them away with her fingers.
Noticing that, Kael threw his hand in front of him, "Hey, why did you start crying? I didn't mean to—"
She looked at him then shook her head indignantly, telling him to stop.
His brown hair was messy as always, and there was a troubled expression on his average face, which made it clear that he was embarrassed by what he had done. Even so, she could not help but wonder why he looked slightly different to her now.
A bitter smile appeared on her beautiful face, "I hope you're not lying..."
'...like he did.'
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(Chapter Ended)