"JeeAAN!"
Sophia emerged behind him like a Wraith.
"Eeeik!!" He shivered.
"What—do—you—think—you're—doing—to—my SISTER?!"
"I-I…"
"Don't—speak. Just—accept—your—punishment!"
Jan crouched, hands over his head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"Sophia, he was just comforting me!" Maria jumped in.
Sophia's head snapped toward her.
"In. His. UNDERWEAR?!"
Maria rubbed her temples. This was going to be hard to explain.
"Sophia, please, I just died! Don't make me run the streets naked again!"
"Oh! So—you—are—a—pervert—after—all."
"Eeeik!!!"
"Calm down, crispy carrot. He was just training," Aeris chimed in, her voice flat.
"Huugh...?!"
Sophia's head tilted toward Aeris—smoke coming out of her mouth as she growled.
Aeris flinched. Genuinely frightened.
Maria quickly jumped in. "Crisp—Sophia, she's telling the truth! He really was just training!"
"Yes, and again, I just died!" Jan shouted, still shielding himself.
"Just look around and you'll see," Aeris said, pointing to the side.
Sophia glanced around.
The large magical circle drawn on the floor. The book left open on the counter.
Some life returned to her eyes.
"Okay… I believe you," she finally said.
"Thank you!!"
"Not you!" Sophia barked at him. "Them. Now go put something on, you perv!"
"Okay…" Jan muttered, taking his walk of shame to the corner of the room.
"Keep your shirt off though!" Maria called after him casually. "We need to redraw the circles!"
He stopped in his tracks and then mumbled, "Yes…"
As Jan shuffled away, Sophia joined the other two.
"So what are we doing here?"
"Helping him unlock his Mana Reserve," Aeris said.
"Oh...?! How? Shouldn't that take years?!" Sophia asked, blinking.
"We've got this book," Aeris said, tapping it. "It says otherwise."
"But wouldn't that make it dangerous?"
"It is," Aeris admitted. "He's already died once, as you already know… but I think if you guys help, we can pull it off."
"How?!"
"It's simple," Maria said, pointing as she explained.
"The master needs to do three things: stop the Mana from overflowing, guide it through the stations in the circle, and then help feed it back to the user. Got it?"
"Oh! I don't really get it, but all I need to do is push against his mana, right?"
"Yup." Maria smiled.
"I'm surprised, noodle-legs. I didn't think you'd figure it out that fast."
"Why wouldn't I? Wasn't it obvious to you, Leaf Brain?"
"What did you call me?!" Aeris flared up instantly.
"Now, now, calm down, Your Leafiness." Sophia intervened with a wicked smirk.
"Say that again and I'll make sure you get really Crispy, Carrot!"
"Why don't you try your luck?"
"Not in the guild!" Maria stopped them. "We're here to help him, remember?"
She nodded toward Jan, who had just returned, scratching his head.
"I'm ready," he said with a nervous grin. "I'm really sorry to ask, but… who's willing to do the drawing again?"
"Me!" Maria said quickly, already walking toward him.
The two got to work immediately, while Aeris and Sophia stood watching from the side.
"Are you okay with that?" Aeris asked, grinning knowingly.
"W-With what exactly?!"
"That makes you the only one who hasn't drawn on Jan." She smiled slyly.
"…"
"I'll help!" Sophia suddenly declared, stepping up and joining Maria—leaving Aeris behind.
Aeris covered her mouth with one hand, chuckling.
"You're too easy to figure out."
Soon, everything was ready.
With the drawing complete, Jan sat cross-legged in the center of the circle, and the three girls assumed their positions around him.
Just like Maria had explained—this task was too much for one person.
Maybe a higher-level mage could've managed it alone. But for any of the three girls individually, it was impossible.
It was a hard truth to swallow, but on paper, Jan's stats were higher than any of theirs.
Still, with the three of them working together, the problem could be solved.
Sophia was now responsible for stopping his Mana.
She wasn't a mage, so she couldn't guide it—that was Maria's job—but she had enough Mana to match Jan's and keep it from overflowing.
That leaves Aeris, who would focus solely on feeding the Mana back into him.
"Are you guys ready?!" Jan asked.
"You're the one who should be getting ready," Maria said.
"Yeah," Aeris added. "I'll make sure we reach phase five this time, so don't you dare screw it up."
"I'll crash your Mana if I must, so don't worry!" Sophia declared.
Jan smiled bitterly. "Okay then. Let's go."
"Alright!"
*Knock—*
Once again, Aeris traced the final line of the circle, then struck its edge with her staff.
*Badum—* *Badum—*
With the flashing of the circle, the room fell silent. Jan closed his eyes.
'Alright... I just need to find it again.'
Deep inside his mind, it appeared again.
But this time, he knew better.
'It's not just light. It's bigger than it looks. It reminded me of Aeris's magic attack... but it's not that either. It doesn't just burn—it consumes.'
'Maybe that's what they mean when they say the essence is your life force.'
*Badum—* *Badum—* *Badum—* *Badum—*
'I can feel it more clearly now.'
As phase two began, his Mana started flowing outward.
Maria and Aeris both glanced at Sophia, who immediately stepped forward.
She thrust her sword into the magical circle. Her Mana seeped into the pattern, intercepting Jan's and stopping it from overflowing.
Maria raised her staff and Jan's Mana began to flow in a single, clean stream toward the first station in the ritual circle.
The three girls exchanged smiles.
Everything was going according to plan.
Except for Jan.
'I can't find it.'
His eyelids twitched. His focus began to slip.
From his previous attempt, he knew that closing the distance on his own was nearly impossible. Every time he tried, he ended up further away.
It was like a maze—one wrong step, and you ended up in a dead-end tunnel.
To navigate it, he needed a path.
Last time, that path was determined by the thread of light—his guide.
But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't see it.
'Where the hell is it?! I'm wasting a lot of time!'
Sensing his tension, Aeris spoke.
"Jan, we're in phase two. We still have time—so stay focused."
'She's right. I need to concentrate...'
'Last time, I didn't find it right away either... or maybe—maybe it wasn't even there at first?'
'Indeed… I found it after Aeris spoke to me.'
'She was talking about pushing my Mana back...'
'If that's the case, then the thread of light was my Mana returning to my essence?'
'...Wait.'
'If there's a thread that leads it back... shouldn't there be one that leads out?!'
[Congratulations, your skill has improved: Meditation Lv.2]
From the darkness, countless threads emerged. They filled the space around Jan—each one stretching endlessly beyond sight, branching off into dozens of smaller paths.
His vision became chaotic.
'Eeik… It's too overwhelming!'
Jan's eyes twitched. A headache began to throb behind them.
He looked around frantically—until he spotted it.
'That's the one!'
A single thread stood out from the chaos—thicker, more defined—flowing behind him, away from his essence.
'I just need one thread. I need to clear my mind…'
Gradually, the rest began to fade until the swirling tangle dissolved, leaving only the thread he had chosen.
'Good.'
*Badum—* *Badum—* *Badum—* *Badum—*
"Jan, we're in phase three!" Aeris's voice echoed from afar. "But don't worry—we're in control. You still have time!"
'Perfect. I can use this time to get closer.'
The journey was long—even tiring.
He wasn't physically marching toward it, but the movement was wearing him down, exhausting him mentally.
Closing the distance between himself and his essence wasn't just about following the thread—it was about fighting back the chaos he had just managed to veil.
The moment he lost focus, the other threads would start creeping in again. Holding them back took everything he had.
Little by little, darkness began to encroach once more, dimming the thread and clouding his mind.
'I need to get stronger…'
He kept reminding himself,
'In two months, he'll be here…'
He kept thinking of him.
Of that wicked smile.
That sick, grating laugh.
"Kehehehehe!!"
Jan's inner eye darted left and right, frantic.
His vision blurred. The darkness thickened—suffocating.
And then he saw him.
That smile.
The same twisted grin that haunted his dreams the previous night.
His heart thundered in his ears. His breath quickened, and his eyes twitched with fear.
The thread of light completely vanished. The entire world began to tremble.
But Saveth stood there—untouched, unbothered.
"You're weak."
His lips barely moved, but the words echoed inside Jan's mind.
A woman's soft laughter followed—quiet, mocking.
"See?" Saveth tilted his head back. "Even she knows it."
Jan turned.
Erza stood behind him.
"You're weak," she said.
Jan's eyes widened.
"You're clueless."
"Your kind is disgusting."
"Go back to your world. You're a mistake."
Sophia, Aeris, and Maria stepped into view—their eyes filled with silent, cold disgust.
"Jan!"
A voice pierced through.
Jan turned—
*Squelch—*
A hand pierced through his chest.
He looked down, gasping.
Slowly, he raised his eyes.
Saveth.
Behind him stood Rollo, the one who called him—silent, unmoving.
A flicker of emotion passed through his gaze.
'He's disappointed.'
"He is," Saveth hissed. "You're a mistake. You should've never been brought here. And you have the gall to call yourself a hero?"
"I-I don't!"
"But you let them call you that! You took their kindness! You walked through this town like you belonged!"
"I…"
"You're no hero!"
"You treat these people's pain like it's just another story in a book!"
"You want to get stronger? You're lying!"
"If you had the chance, you'd run—you'd leave them all to rot!"
"A hero who doesn't even understand the world he's meant to save!"
His voice rose like a verdict being delivered.
Then it fell. Cold. Quiet.
"I hear you're trying to find your essence."
*Crnch—*
"Let me show it to you."
*Splash—*
Blood erupted from Jan's mouth, splattering the ground.
"What the hell is happening?!"
Sophia's voice cracked. Panic surged across her face as she turned to Maria.
Her sister did not answer. She stared at Jan—frozen, wide-eyed, equally desperate for an answer.
"I said, what the fuck is happening?!" Sophia shouted again, snapping toward Aeris.
"I don't know!" Aeris screamed. "This didn't happen before!"