The quiet corridors of the Academy welcomed them with the muted glow of magical lamps, their light spreading evenly across the stone walls. Alex and Lilith's footsteps echoed softly, fading into the silence of the night. Beyond the tall windows, the lights of the city flickered, while the Academy itself seemed to be slowly drifting into sleep, leaving its corridors almost empty.
For some time, they walked in silence, simply moving side by side without rushing to disturb the peace between them. But at some point, Alex tilted his head slightly and spoke.
"Say... do you happen to know why the directors are gathering us tomorrow..." He paused for a moment before smiling faintly. "Or rather, later today?"
Lilith glanced at him briefly, and a faint, almost playful smile appeared on her lips.
"I do," she replied calmly. "Is it really that difficult for you to wait a few hours and find out for yourself?" she added, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Alex shrugged lightly.
"It isn't," he replied just as calmly. "It's just that if there's an opportunity to get the answer now, why not take it?"
Lilith quietly scoffed, as though that was exactly the answer she had expected. She remained silent for several seconds before sighing and finally giving in.
"Fine. I'll tell you."
She cast him a quick glance.
"But during the day, you'll have to pretend to be surprised. As if you're hearing it for the first time. I promised Mom I wouldn't tell anyone."
Alex's smile widened slightly.
"Deal. I'll put on the most convincing performance of surprise you've ever seen."
Lilith nodded faintly before continuing in a more serious tone.
"The directors are planning to shift the focus of our training from teamwork to individual preparation."
She spoke evenly, but it was clear that she had already spent a considerable amount of time thinking about it herself.
"Over the past year... well, a little more than that," she said, shrugging slightly, "we've already learned how to work together. The sparring sessions helped us understand each other's fighting styles so that during raids, some of us could cover the weaknesses of others. Besides, we're all at least level sixty-five now. The problem is that continuing to level up through A-rank dungeons will take far too much time. And for S-rank..." She paused slightly. "We're not ready yet."
She took a short pause, as though emphasizing the importance of her next words.
"So for the next six months... maybe a little longer, each of the directors will train their own student separately. To prepare us for S-rank dungeons."
When she finished, she looked at Alex again.
"What do you think of that idea?" she asked. "As our commander."
Alex remained silent for several more steps, clearly considering what he had just heard. His expression was focused, without his usual light irony.
"It makes sense," he finally replied.
He tilted his head slightly, as though continuing his thought.
"But I'm not sure six months will be enough. The difference between A-rank and S-rank is too great. Even the ordinary monsters there can be on the level of A-rank bosses. And there are hundreds of them. As for S-rank bosses..." He paused. "They're five, maybe even ten times stronger than anything we've faced so far."
Lilith listened attentively without interrupting him.
"I can't even imagine," Alex added more quietly, "what kind of training it would take to prepare for something like that in just six months."
He shrugged slightly.
"A year, I could believe. But six months..." A faint smile appeared on his face. "Still, the directors know better. And if they see that we're not ready..." He paused briefly. "They definitely won't send us to certain death."
Lilith remained silent for a few more seconds before narrowing her eyes slightly.
"And where exactly do you know so much about S-rank dungeons?"
Alex calmly turned his gaze toward her.
"The same place you do. Books. Stories from other adventurers."
Lilith didn't look away.
"It's just..." She spoke a little more slowly. "When you were talking about them, it felt like you weren't repeating words from books."
"It sounded like you were speaking from personal experience."
A faint, ironic smile appeared on Alex's face.
"And where exactly would I have gotten that experience?" he asked calmly. "At level sixty-seven, they wouldn't even let me inside."
Lilith watched him for another moment before shrugging slightly.
"I was just saying how it sounded. Don't overthink it." She paused briefly before changing the subject. "By the way... what were you doing in the training room all day?"
Alex answered without hesitation, as though he didn't consider it anything unusual.
"Trying to combine blood magic and darkness magic."
Lilith nodded faintly.
"I see," she said in an almost indifferent tone before adding, "And how's it going?"
Alex briefly stopped looking ahead and turned his attention toward her, clearly not expecting such a reaction.
"I..." He raised an eyebrow slightly in confusion. "I thought you'd at least be a little surprised."
A faint smile appeared on Lilith's lips.
"Just so you know," she replied calmly, "surprising me is going to be difficult at this point. You're the first non-demon my mother has agreed to even try teaching darkness magic to in a very long time."
"And you're the first non-demon who's actually succeeded."
"After something like that..." Her smile widened slightly. "You'll have to try very hard to surprise me a second time."
She turned her gaze forward and continued in a more measured tone.
"Besides, any mage who possesses more than one element eventually thinks about combining them. Usually, though, we're talking about elemental magic. I've never heard of anyone doing something similar with racial magic."
"Although, to be honest, I never really looked for information about it."
Alex quietly exhaled.
"I see..."
He fell silent for a moment before adding somewhat uncertainly.
"As for my progress..." He paused briefly. "There isn't any."
Lilith immediately turned her gaze toward him.
"And how much time have you spent on it?"
"About a month. But I've only been working on it intensively for the last three weeks. Before that, I was busy with other things."
Lilith nodded briefly.
"Then you actually would have surprised me if you'd managed to achieve something in that amount of time." She smiled faintly. "You've already done one thing I once considered impossible. And you did it far too quickly."
A hint of irony appeared in her voice.
"So at least somewhere, you should be allowed to experience some difficulties."
Alex quietly clicked his tongue.
"I have plenty of difficulties, believe me. I was hoping I'd at least get lucky here."
"For the second time."
Lilith thought for a moment before asking:
"Are you even sure it's possible?"
"Yes. There's an example of a half-vampire, half-angel who managed to combine blood magic and light magic. That means blood and darkness should be able to combine too."
"Maybe it only worked in her case because she was a half-blood from the very beginning."
Alex immediately shook his head.
"I doubt it. If that were the deciding factor… they wouldn't have even suggested this idea to me. I don't think they would give me a task that was impossible to accomplish."
Lilith looked at him attentively.
"So… Miss Elizabeth and my mother were the ones who suggested that you try combining them?"
"It doesn't really matter who exactly suggested it." Alex gave a slight shrug. "What matters is that it's possible. At least… judging by what I've been told."
Lilith didn't back down.
"Did you ask your aunt or my mother for advice?"
"I did." The boy sighed, and weariness appeared in his voice. "And I received the exact same answer from both of them. I lack an understanding of the nature of mana. Or rather… a fundamental understanding of it. When I work with blood or darkness separately, my knowledge is enough. But in this situation, I'm catastrophically lacking it. I reread a whole pile of books from the library. Every hint I found, I immediately tried to put into practice. And I still haven't achieved a single thing."
For several steps, silence settled between them. Alex sighed again, though this time differently. The weariness disappeared from his voice, replaced by a faint sense of relief.
"Although there is some good news." He smiled briefly. "If there won't be any team training sessions or raids for the next six months, I'll have more free time. And I won't have to train at night while sacrificing sleep. I'll definitely get at least some results during that time."
Lilith smiled warmly.
"I believe in you."
Alex returned the same gentle smile.
"Thank you."
They were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't even notice when they reached the door to her room. Lilith stopped and turned toward him, looking directly into his eyes.
"Thank you for walking me back. And… for this conversation."
Alex smiled warmly.
"No, I should be thanking you. Otherwise, I would've been walking back to my room in complete silence. Good night."
"You too," Lilith replied quietly.
At that very moment, a magic circle flared beneath Alex's feet. In an instant, his silhouette vanished, leaving the corridor quiet and empty once again.
"The day arrived faster than I would have liked. I clearly remember all of us standing in Raphael's office, listening to the directors. Honestly, I didn't hear anything new. Everything they announced, I already knew from Lilith. Shifting the focus toward individual training, preparing for S-rank dungeons, the approximate time frame—six months or perhaps a little longer. None of us objected, and that was expected. Everyone understood that sooner or later, it would come to this. Teamwork only makes sense when every member of that team is strong enough on their own."
"From that day onward, team training and raids were effectively over. At least for the next six months. As a kind of 'bonus,' we were given two weeks of rest before the beginning of the new stage, and it was interesting to see how differently each of us decided to use that time."
"Rogan almost immediately went home to help his father with the 'Ray of Hope.' That was completely in character for him. Lilith and Eliria remained at the Academy, but their 'rest' looked completely different. Eliria practically lived in the library now, disappearing among the books for days at a time, as though she were trying to find answers to every question in the world. Lilith, on the other hand, focused on student council matters—she simply had more time for them now."
"Celia decided to take advantage of the opportunity and went away with her parents. Caelis chose a different path—the mountains, silence, and solitude. A place where he could put his thoughts in order."
"And Lianel… honestly, I wasn't even surprised. As far as I know, he immediately began pressuring Raphael, asking him to start training without any pause at all. And, most interestingly, it worked. Raphael gave in, and now they're training at his estate. I wouldn't have expected anything else from Lianel."
"As for me… I decided to return home. And not for two weeks, but for a much longer period. When I thought about it, there wasn't much work left for me at the Academy. There were no classes, and I had been excused from them anyway. Elizabeth had taken responsibility for Aria's education, and I was genuinely grateful to her for that. The only thing that still held any value for me within the Academy's walls was the library, but if necessary, I could always return there using teleportation magic. Home, on the other hand, offered me exactly what I lacked most right now—silence, peace, and the opportunity to focus completely."
"The perfect conditions to continue what I had started. Combining blood and darkness magic. Now I had the time. The only question was… whether I had enough understanding."
"As soon as I returned home, I had a clear plan—not to waste any time and to return to training immediately. It felt as though every extra hour without practice only pushed the result further away from me. But… things ended up going a little differently."
"When my parents and the maids saw the state I was in, their reaction was immediate and, worst of all, unanimous. The exhaustion was so obvious that even I wouldn't have been able to deny it. In the end, I was simply forbidden from doing any training for the following week. And honestly, I might have tried to argue… but not once Alpha became involved. To my surprise, she was the one who pushed the hardest—so much so that she even volunteered to become my personal maid for that period in order to 'monitor my actions.' After that, any attempt to argue became pointless. I understood perfectly well that arguing would be a waste of time, so all I could do was agree."
"And, strangely enough, it was one of the best decisions I'd made in months. Returning home alone already gave me a sense of peace that I had been openly lacking, and combined with the care of those close to me, it turned into a complete rest—both physical and emotional. That week passed through simple, almost ordinary things: walks through the city, trips to the shops, visits to the 'Ray of Hope,' and simply cooking dinner together with the maids for the entire family. Strangely enough, all those little things worked better than any healing potion. Of course, somewhere in the back of my mind, there was always the thought that this time could have been used 'productively,' that I was wasting it… but this time, I allowed myself to push that thought aside and simply enjoy the moment."
"When that week ended, I returned to training—but with a different approach. I gathered every book on blood and darkness magic that I could find in the Academy library and brought them home with me. After that, for twelve full days, I literally immersed myself in theory. My daily routine became absurdly simple: wake up, breakfast, shower, reading and analysis, dinner, sleep—and then repeat. Anything that seemed even remotely useful—any thought, hint, or unusual phrasing—I immediately wrote down. By the end of that period, I had completely filled two notebooks, one hundred pages each."
"When I finished, the books were returned to the library, and the second stage began—practice. Every day, I went out into the backyard, sat in the shade beneath the old oak tree, placed my notes beside me, and once again tried to combine two things that stubbornly refused to become one. Another two weeks passed like that. The same scenario. The same result. No obvious progress. And the more I tried, the stronger the feeling became that I was missing something—some important detail, something obvious yet impossible to grasp. Elizabeth and Krul's words about my lack of understanding of the nature of mana kept resurfacing in my mind, but the problem was that not a single book gave a clear answer as to what exactly that meant. Only hints. Phrases that confused me more than they helped."
"And yet, I didn't stop. I kept searching, trying, making mistakes, and starting over again. And then, one day, when everything was once again following the usual pattern, a guest appeared on the doorstep of our estate… someone I had never expected to see."
Alpha silently led Alex to the living room before opening the door for him. The boy stepped inside and froze for a moment. Derek was sitting calmly in an armchair beside a small table. He looked as he usually did—black trousers, a dark shirt, and the same restrained, cold appearance. He slowly raised a cup to his lips and took a sip of tea that Beta had apparently served him only moments earlier.
Alpha gave a slight bow and, without saying a word, left the living room, leaving the two of them alone. Alex took several steps forward without taking his eyes off his guest.
"Hey. Long time no see," he said calmly.
Derek placed his cup onto the saucer on the table, then looked at Alex and rose to his feet.
"That's true," Derek replied in the same even tone.
They shook hands. Afterward, Derek returned to his seat while Alex sat down across from him.
"You could've at least warned me," Alex remarked with a hint of irony in his voice. "I would've prepared myself a little better."
Derek gave a slight shake of his head.
"There was no need. I won't be staying long." He picked up his cup and took another sip. "Too much work has fallen on me lately. Free time is… a problem."
Alex smiled faintly.
"I understand. So what brought you here?"
Derek didn't waste any time. He opened his inventory and, a moment later, pulled out a rolled-up scroll, placing it on the table in front of Alex.
"What you asked for," the young man said indifferently. "Permission to enter S-rank dungeons. Not all of them, though—only those belonging to the Blue Raven Guild." He leaned back slightly in his chair. "There's a map inside. It will show you all the available dungeons. Pick whichever one is closest to you."
A sincere, almost childlike look of surprise appeared on Alex's face, and he didn't even try to hide it. He picked up the scroll, unrolled it, and looked over the neatly written text of the authorization. When he opened it further, however, a map appeared before him, covered with dozens of markings scattered across the continent.
Most of them were located in Morven, though there were isolated ones in other cities as well. Alex's gaze stopped at the very end of the document. On the seal. And the inscription:
"Authorization granted by the Guildmaster of the Blue Raven Guild—Kael Daskreit."
Alex slowly raised his eyes toward Derek, who was calmly sipping his tea as though nothing unusual had happened. He carefully rolled the scroll back up.
"I… don't even know how to react to this."
"A simple 'thank you' will be enough."
Alex smiled faintly.
"Thank you. Seriously." He leaned forward slightly. "But what made you change your mind? Last time, you were completely against it."
Derek placed his cup on the table and looked at him more seriously this time.
"I'm still against it. Sending a single vampire into an S-rank dungeon… sounds insane. Yes, you demonstrated your strength in the fight against Kael and his people. But in my opinion, that isn't enough. Inside a dungeon, you could simply be overwhelmed by numbers."
Derek sighed heavily and looked away for a moment.
"But… someone put in a good word for you. A demon who is helping me a great deal right now. I couldn't refuse. If the two of you are both that confident in your abilities… I hope this document serves you well."
Alex remained silent for several seconds before asking:
"And who exactly is this?"
Derek answered immediately, clearly expecting the question.
"Let's make a deal. I won't ask where you got darkness magic from. And you won't ask about this demon."
Alex thought about it for a moment before giving a slight nod.
"Fair enough. And by the way… congratulations. On becoming a full-fledged Guildmaster."
"Thank you. Though managing an entire guild turned out to be harder than I expected." A faint trace of exhaustion appeared in his voice. "Good thing they gave me several assistants. Otherwise, I would've lost my mind already." He took one final sip of tea before setting the cup down. "Well, it was good seeing you, but I should get going." He stood up. "Work isn't going to do itself."
Alex stood as well, gripping the scroll in his hand.
"Thanks again. And please pass along my gratitude… to this mysterious demon."
A faint, barely noticeable smile appeared on Derek's face.
"I will."
They shook hands once more. In the very next moment, a magic circle flared beneath Derek's feet. Light filled the living room for a second, and then he was gone.
Alex stared at the scroll in his hands for several more seconds before thoughtfully humming.
"Looks like… I've got myself a mysterious admirer."
He glanced to the side as though replaying his conversation with Derek in his mind.
"Any ideas who it could be?"
Almost immediately, Siren's calm yet thoughtful voice echoed through his mind.
"None. Since returning to the past, you have barely interacted with any demons outside the Academy. So… there aren't exactly many candidates to choose from."
Alex gave a small nod to himself.
"That's what I thought."
Siren remained silent for several seconds before unexpectedly adding:
"To be honest, I didn't expect you to react to this so calmly."
"What do you mean?" Alex raised an eyebrow slightly.
"I thought you would start interrogating Derek," she explained. "Or at least try to get more information out of him."
Alex merely shrugged.
"Derek trusts this demon. That means I have no reason to worry. Whoever this 'mysterious admirer' might be… he helped me obtain something that even Elizabeth couldn't give me. So all I can do is be grateful."
After saying that, he opened his inventory and stored the scroll away. However, in the very next moment, a faint shadow of heaviness crossed his face.
"It's just a shame…" he said more quietly, "that I won't be able to make use of this gift anytime soon."
Siren's surprised voice immediately echoed through his mind.
"Wow."
"What?"
"I was certain you would immediately rush into a whole series of raids." Genuine surprise could be heard in her voice.
Alex gave a quiet hum before asking with a hint of amusement:
"And whose words were those about how I should focus on one thing instead of tearing myself apart between a dozen different tasks?"
Siren fell silent for a moment before answering more quietly.
"Mine…" A faint trace of irony appeared in her voice. "I've just gotten used to the fact that you often do everything your own way. And only on very rare occasions do you actually listen to what I say."
Alex let out a theatrical sigh.
"Siren, stop making me sound like some stubborn ram."
At that exact moment, the door to the living room quietly opened. Alpha entered the room carrying a small tray with a teapot, from which the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed tea spread through the air. She took several steps forward before looking around the living room with slight confusion.
"Huh...?" she said quietly.
Her gaze moved toward the empty seat where Derek had been sitting only a few minutes earlier.
"I just finished brewing a fresh pot of tea..." she said with slight disappointment. "But it looks like the young master doesn't need it anymore."
Alex smiled and walked over to her, carefully taking the tray from her hands.
"Why wouldn't I need it?"
He placed the tray on the table and looked at her warmly.
"Derek and I were sitting together for barely two minutes. I didn't even have time to properly rest from my training. So I'd gladly sit here for a little longer and have a cup of tea with you. If you don't mind, of course."
Alpha's face immediately lit up.
"I don't mind!" she answered at once, sounding genuinely excited. Quickly walking over to the table, she took the seat across from him, clearly pleased by this turn of events.
Alex silently picked up the teapot and calmly poured Alpha a cup of tea before handing it to her. The girl quietly thanked him and carefully accepted it with both hands. Alex then poured himself some tea, sat down in the armchair across from her, and took an unhurried sip, enjoying the pleasant warmth of the drink.
For several seconds, silence filled the living room, accompanied only by the soft crackling of the fireplace and the aroma of fragrant tea.
"So where did everyone disappear to?" Alex finally asked.
Alpha immediately looked up.
"Gabriel, Emma, Beta, Delta, and Epsilon went to a D-rank dungeon. The rest of the girls went into the city to do some shopping."
Alex nodded silently before looking at her thoughtfully over the rim of his cup for several seconds.
"And how are you feeling?"
"Fine..." Alpha looked noticeably confused by the question before tilting her head slightly. "Why do you ask?"
"You never miss an opportunity to go to a dungeon. Even one with such a low rank." He calmly took another sip of tea. "That's why I was surprised you stayed home to watch over the estate."
Alpha smiled quietly, as though only now understanding what he meant.
"Oh, that's what this is about..." She gently shook her head. "Then you don't need to worry. I really am fine." Her smile became a little warmer. "And I didn't stay here so much to watch over the estate... as to watch over you."
A warm, slightly helpless smile appeared on Alex's face. He rested one arm on the soft armrest of his chair and leaned his head against his fist.
"You know, I haven't been a little child for quite some time. I don't need someone constantly looking after me." He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Alpha. "Besides, you've already had the chance to see what I'm capable of. Even if uninvited guests appeared on the doorstep, I could handle things myself."
The moment he finished speaking, a heavy sigh echoed in his mind.
Alex immediately asked Sirena mentally:
"What?"
The response came in an entirely calm voice:
"You were right. You're not a stubborn ram. But sometimes you're as dense as a donkey."
Alex was about to argue mentally, but at that moment Alpha spoke again. The tone of her voice made him immediately turn his attention back to her.
"I know what you're capable of," she said seriously.
The smile had completely disappeared from her face. Only sincerity remained in her eyes, mixed with concern.
"And I didn't stay here to protect you from uninvited guests."
She tightened her grip around the cup slightly.
"I stayed here so that, if necessary... I could protect you from yourself."
Alex silently looked at her. Alpha let out a quiet breath and continued:
"The day before you returned home, Elizabeth came to see us. She told us about how badly you had been exhausting yourself at the Academy and how worried she was about you." Alpha lowered her eyes toward the tea in her cup. "Because she was constantly busy, she didn't have the opportunity to keep an eye on you or even have a proper conversation with you. So she asked us not to let you out of our sight while you were home."
A faint, guilty smile appeared on Alpha's lips.
"To be honest... at first, we didn't take her words too seriously. Gabriel even asked her several times whether she was exaggerating. And Elizabeth simply kept saying that we'd understand once we saw you."
Alpha slowly shook her head.
"And she was right. Though... in my opinion, she even underestimated just how badly you had exhausted yourself. That's why I volunteered to become your personal maid during that first week," Alpha added more quietly. "I literally followed you around like a shadow so you wouldn't have even a second to train. And now I'm simply making sure you don't start overworking yourself again. And even if you don't like being watched this closely..." Alpha hesitated for a moment but still finished her sentence. "Then I'm sorry."
After that, she raised her eyes toward him, her gaze stubborn but warm.
"But I'm still going to keep doing it."
Alex listened to Alpha silently the entire time, without interrupting her once. His expression remained calm, while his gaze was attentive and warm. Only after she finished speaking did he slowly lean back in his chair and quietly exhale.
"You don't need to worry about me that much anymore," he said calmly.
There was no joke in his voice, nor any attempt to brush aside her words. Only sincere warmth.
"The time when I exhausted myself without rest is over. And I have no intention of returning to that kind of insane pace. I promise you won't see me in the condition I was in when I arrived at the estate a month ago ever again."
Alpha's expression visibly softened. She looked at him warmly and replied quietly:
"I really hope so."
After that, she picked up her cup again and took several small sips of tea. A pleasant silence filled the living room for a few seconds before Alpha thoughtfully tilted her head.
"And how is your training going?"
Alex let out a heavy breath, and a faint look of disappointment appeared on his face.
"It isn't. The results... are nonexistent." His gaze briefly shifted to the side. "Blood and darkness are extremely reluctant to interact with each other. And even when it feels like I can move on to the stage where I merge the two types of mana... enough time passes, and I start losing control over the darkness." He lightly rubbed his temple with his fingers. "And the more I focus on stabilizing the darkness, the more control I lose over the blood."
A brief, tired smile appeared on his lips.
"And in the end, everything falls apart, and I have to start all over again."
Alpha listened carefully without interrupting. Her gaze remained focused, as though she were trying to catch every small detail in his explanation.
"So..." she said thoughtfully, "your main problem is that it's difficult for you to maintain control over both blood and darkness at the same time?"
Alex immediately nodded.
"Exactly." He leaned slightly forward, resting his elbow on the armrest. "I have to constantly make sure I don't accidentally force the two types of mana to collide, because the result would be... unpleasant."
Alpha tensed slightly, watching him carefully.
"At the moment blood and darkness come into contact, something called 'mana friction' appears between them," Alex continued. "It's very similar to a thin thread of mana." He slowly ran his finger along the edge of his cup. "And that's exactly the moment when you have to be extremely careful. You need to very slowly and carefully weave the two streams into one."
A faint look of irritation crossed his face.
"Some books said that mana adapts on its own and begins intertwining naturally, and that the mage only needs to maintain both streams." He quietly clicked his tongue. "That's complete nonsense. I honestly don't understand how that information ended up in books. The mage is the one who has to guide the mana. Slowly. Carefully. Constantly controlling the process. The smallest mistake can cost you everything."
For a moment, silence once again settled over the living room.
"And the longer I try to weave the mana together, the more control and attention I have to devote to that process," Alex continued more quietly. "Because of that, I have less and less concentration left to maintain the darkness and blood separately."
He let out a heavy breath and smiled with faint irony.
"So, fundamentally, my problem is exactly what you said—it's difficult for me to maintain control over both blood and darkness at the same time. But on top of that, I also have to control the process of weaving the two types of mana together."
When Alex finished speaking, silence briefly settled over the living room. The young man raised his cup to his lips and took several sips of tea, moistening his dry throat after such a long explanation. The warm drink pleasantly spread through his body, easing some of the exhaustion that had accumulated throughout the day.
Alpha, meanwhile, had remained silent the entire time, thoughtfully staring somewhere to the side. It was clear that she was still going over his words in her mind, trying to understand something or connect the pieces. Eventually, she slowly raised her gaze toward him.
"I've often watched your training," she said quietly. "And I've seen exactly how you try to combine blood and darkness."
She hesitated slightly, as though still unsure whether she should voice her thoughts.
"And... if you still haven't achieved any results... maybe you should change your approach to the process itself?"
Alex immediately raised an interested eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Alpha gently tightened her grip around the cup.
"To be honest... I've been thinking about this idea for several days now. And I simply can't get it out of my head."
Alex leaned slightly forward.
"Alpha, please don't keep me in suspense." A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Go ahead and share your brilliant idea already."
Alpha quietly exhaled before finally speaking.
"Maybe... you should try combining blood and darkness inside your body first."
Alex froze for a moment.
Noticing his reaction, Alpha continued with slightly more confidence.
"I think you've noticed that mana is easier to control while it's still inside the mage. Once it leaves the body, it requires much greater control. And even if you can't fully combine the two types of mana... perhaps you could at least make blood and darkness become accustomed to each other."
Alex practically absorbed every word she said. He slowly leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and fell into thought. His gaze became unfocused—it was clear that the thoughts in his mind had begun racing at incredible speed.
"There's some logic to that..." he said thoughtfully.
Then he immediately added:
"But there are complications."
Alpha silently continued listening.
"Darkness mana only moves through specific channels," Alex began explaining. "They extend from the core throughout the entire body. And outside those channels, darkness cannot manifest."
He tilted his head slightly to the side, gathering his thoughts.
"Blood, on the other hand, flows through veins, arteries, and capillaries. Thanks to the mana that has been present in my body since birth, I'm able to control it."
His fingers thoughtfully tapped against the armrest.
"The problem is that inside my body, blood and darkness simply... have nowhere to meet."
He fell silent for a moment.
"Unless... I tried directing the blood as close to the darkness channels as possible..."
He immediately shook his head.
"But even then, there's no guarantee anything would happen. Something very bad could happen instead."
Alpha visibly tensed but didn't interrupt him.
"If I make a mistake, the blood could damage a darkness channel. There could be a mana leak..." He quietly clicked his tongue. "And contact between darkness and blood inside my body could very well cause an explosion."
A memory of his first failed attempt clearly flashed through the young man's mind.
"Something similar to what happened when I first tried to forcibly combine them."
His voice became quieter.
"And that could... quite possibly be fatal."
After saying that, he fell silent, continuing to weigh all the possibilities in his mind. Alpha patiently waited without trying to rush him.
Eventually, a thoughtful smile slowly appeared on the young man's lips.
"But..." He looked at Alpha. "You've given me a genuinely interesting idea."
That familiar spark of interest appeared in his eyes once again.
"I'm still going to try doing it the way you suggested."
A sincere look of surprise at himself appeared on his face.
"The strangest thing is that this idea never even occurred to me. Now I'm curious myself to see what comes of it."
A warm, relieved smile appeared on Alpha's face.
"I'm glad I was able to help you, even if only a little. But please, be very, very careful."
Alex smiled softly in response.
"I promise."
After that, they almost simultaneously raised their cups and took another sip of tea, once again sinking into the calm silence of the living room.