"Master."
Selene knocked on the door in front of her, ignoring the pain erupting in her knuckles.
"Come in" Came the muffled voice of a woman from the inside.
Melissa pushed the door open for Selene, and she limped inside, looking around the room.
It had been a while since she had came into her master's office.
The chamber looked more like a mini library than an office. Towering bookshelves covered the wall, and stacks of paper and leather bound journals were piled up in the corners. In the middle of the room, right in front of an ornate window was a small desk, and her master, Cyr Valen, was sat in front of it, scribbling on a paper with her quill.
When Selene entered, her master looked up, her deep black eyes studying her battered body for a moment.
She put the quill aside, and gestured for Selene to sit.
"It seems that you have found what you were looking for."
Selene nodded.
"It was a dangerous gamble, but the information ended up being correct."
Her master gave her a long look, then placed both of hands on the table and leaned in, looking Selene directly in the eyes.
Selene was slightly taken aback, she was more or less ready to immediately get scolded after coming back.
Instead, her master looked calm, interested even.
"So, did you find anything of importance."
Selene hesitated for a moment, then she held her hand out to Cyr, who held it by the by the palm.
Selene could've just told her master about her findings. But regarding how grave the issues was now that she knew what the problem was with her mana core, she had ended up deciding that it would be way easier for her to just show her.
Her master closed her eyes and focused, peering into the flow of mana in Selene's body, and through it, the origin of her power, into the mana core.
She held her hand for a long moment, and at some point her brow had slightly furrowed together, her expression twisting into something akin to frustration.
And then suddenly, she let go of her hand and stood up, and beelined straight towards a particular bookshelf. She ran her eyes through the neatly arranged books, and when her eyes landed on a particularly worn out leatherbound book, she flicked her hand. And the book floated from where it was and softly landed in Cyr's hands.
Cyr walked back and dropped the book on the table with a thud. Then promptly flipped through a few pages and pointed to a particular section.
"This" She said, her fingers tracing a certain sentence. "This is all the information we currently have on it."
Selene looked at the sentence.
"Regarding fractured mana cores that haven't healed properly, it is generally believed that a mage with such condition have no way of pursuing mana arts any further. However, according to an ancient text, it is said that there exists ways to stimulate the mana core in a way that one could fracture it in a controlled manner and fix it using a healing spell..."
Selene, exhaled, her eyes slightly quaking.
After years of searching and searching, she had finally took another step.
She had... finally managed to figure out what had stunted her growth as a mage.
She had succeeded in her mission!
She felt a strange emotion welling up in her chest. It felt more like gratitude and relief, but there was also a small knot forming in her heart, making her feel like she was suffocating.
She looked up at her master.
"Do you still believe that my choice was wrong?" Her voice was low, more of an accusation than a question, confronting her master who had stood against her.
Her master gave her a warm smile, the lines of her aged face curving in a perfect manner as her lips lifted up. She shook her head, and sat back down on her chair.
"I am sorry child. It seems that my judgement of you was too harsh."
Selene nodded, feeling a little proud.
She remembered how her master had called her deranged for wanting to go after folktales, and how it had taken months of convincing her to even be able to step out of the house without her.
But in the end, it had all been worth it.
Selene had always been a prodigy in matters related mana and its applications. Having hailed as a promising apprentice in her youth. Her parents had rejoiced at the fact that house Verdigris had finally given birth to another mage who could stand at the top.
It had all ended in disappointment.
Because after the age of 16, she had ended up crippled.