“……”
“……”
Between the two people facing each other, only a cold wind blows.
The end of the attitude facing the ground looked as if they were bowing their heads.
“People usually have mana naturally accumulated in their bodies. They absorb the mana spread in the atmosphere.”
Lianna began to explain in a low voice.
“It doesn’t accumulate infinitely just because you don’t use it. The amount of mana the body can accept is predetermined. If it exceeds that, it naturally gets expelled.”
Breathing, sweat, excrement, sleep, etc.
The body prevents excessive mana in various ways.
If there’s too much mana, conditions like ‘Mana Saturation,’ where the body swells, or ‘Mana Stones,’ where crystalline formations of mana appear in organs, can occur.
Mentally, ‘Mana Madness’ can also manifest.
“The storage capacity is overwhelmingly insufficient. To be honest—.”
Lianna hesitated for a moment.
She seemed unsure how to explain, stumbling over her words.
“Maybe less than a dog… no, less than a wolf. No, maybe even less than that.”
“……”
“I’m not sure about trees. But definitely more than flowers. That’s for sure.”
“Were you trying to comfort me by saying it’s more than flowers?”
Lianna pursed her lips.
Isaac, who knew her well, realized her last words were meant to comfort.
But to others, it might have sounded like mockery.
“Well, aura isn’t everything, right?”
Silbern, who was listening nearby, awkwardly tried to comfort him.
In reality, not being able to use aura wasn’t a significant disadvantage.
The Grand Master didn’t use aura at all.
“I haven’t used aura much either. Father rarely uses it too.”
In the case of Caldias, they were somewhat skeptical about aura.
However, this wasn’t because they couldn’t handle it, but because they developed spear techniques assuming ordinary soldiers.
Very few ordinary soldiers could handle aura.
“I agree. Being able to handle aura doesn’t necessarily mean you’re strong.”
Lianna added to Silbern’s opinion. It meant that while there are levels, handling aura doesn’t automatically make one an outstanding warrior.
“But it’s still necessary.”
Isaac needed aura.
Especially after sparring with Sharen’s intense training, this thought became even more solidified.
“……”
“……”
While Isaac was deep in thought, the two women also seemed to be pondering as if it were their own problem.
From afar, a bell rang.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Three times.
“It seems there’s an attack on the front wall.”
Silbern, with her spear on her shoulder, immediately started running, and the two followed.
The attack on the front wall continued until lunch.
But the situation was resolved when Silbern’s spear pierced the named beast, a troll.
The battle that started early in the morning finally ended after lunch.
Isaac was now back inside the castle, visiting the infirmary.
“Th-thank y— Ugh!”
“Be careful. You still have thorns stuck in your body. Don’t talk.”
Isaac helped a soldier pierced by the troll’s thorns.
Since he had dodged the thorns that hit the soldier, Isaac felt responsible and brought him to the infirmary.
“Ugh, since this morning…”
A mage with dark circles under his eyes busily moved around the infirmary, checking on the soldiers.
You might have expected to see healing magic, but all he did was use a large pair of tongs to pull out the thorns and stop the bleeding.
Watching this, the mage smiled weakly and clinked the tongs together.
“When I first came here, I brought tweezers, but now I’ve thrown them all away. For pulling out thorns as big as a person’s arm, tongs are the best. I got them from the kitchen.”
“I’m Isaac.”
“Oh, I didn’t introduce myself.”
The mage rubbed his hands on his robe.
“I’m Vivian. A mage from the Magic Tower.”
“You don’t seem to just handle magic.”
Isaac muttered, looking around at the other soldiers being treated.
It seemed his basic medical knowledge was exceptional, more so than healing magic.
“Haha, healing magic is expensive. Unless it’s a critical patient, I treat them directly. To use healing magic, you need this kind of knowledge too.”
Despite his exhausted appearance, he seemed quite friendly.
His tired look might just mean that being dispatched to Malidan was that tough.
“Can I ask you something?”
Perfect timing.
It seemed like he could get advice from an expert about the mana issues he’d been pondering since dawn.
“Well, if you go to the dining hall now, there’s only soup without any substance.”
Vivian chuckled, rambling.
“What do you want to know?”
“I have a naturally low mana storage capacity.”
Vivian’s smile slowly faded.
His previously harmless eyes now seemed sharp and intelligent.
“I want to increase it. Is there any way?”
“Hmm.”
Vivian nodded slowly, walked to the window, and pointed with a smile.
“Jump out.”
“……”
“Be reborn. There’s no other way. Do you know where mana is stored, Isaac?”
Like a theatrical performance.
Vivian’s voice grew louder as he stepped closer to Isaac, perhaps excited.
“The heart. The heart. My god, have you ever seen someone change their heart and live? I haven’t. Never heard of it either.”
“……”
“That’s why it’s called the core. ‘Mana Core.’ And that’s why mages are rare.”
Vivian’s face was filled with pride as he smiled.
His hand on his chest seemed to guard a precious treasure.
“It’s determined at birth.”
‘I heard mages have a sense of superiority.’
The hierarchy of mages is applied differently.
The Magic Tower operates independently, not affiliated with any kingdom.
Their hierarchy is simple.
Mages and non-mages.
To them, nobles or royals are just lower-class people who can’t use magic.
“There are many elixirs in the world. As you know, Isaac, Helmunth’s Roselixir is one of them.”
His tone tried to be polite, but his actions and atmosphere already betrayed that.
“Enhancing physical abilities is deeply related to mana density. But that doesn’t increase mana capacity.”
It seemed that touching on what mages consider absolute truths bothered Vivian.
“It’s unfortunate. But some things are determined at birth.”
Vivian bowed his head and smiled.
“That’s why people go crazy for geniuses. They have something you can never have.”
“…”
“How did that answer go?”
“Sort of.”
Isaac nodded, his expression unchanged from before asking.
His face, still deep in thought, showed no sign of considering giving up as an option.
“…It doesn’t seem like an answer, though.”
To Vivian, that seemed quite unpleasant.
She had spent time earnestly explaining and persuading, yet it seemed like nothing had changed from before the explanation.
“Listen carefully. There’s a thesis in the Magic Tower called ‘The Correlation Between Upbringing and Mana Storage Capacity’—”
“If you had low mana, you would’ve given up on being a mage, right?”
“Now you’re interrupting me… Of course. It’s a matter of talent. Why challenge the impossible? You should just give up.”
It’s a realm where those without talent can’t even set foot.
“But there are people who can’t do that.”
This was something Isaac could say, having never given up wielding a sword even after injuring his leg.
“You and I don’t seem to be on the same page.”
Perhaps thinking the conversation was pointless, Vivian pouted and turned her attention back to the soldiers.
Watching her back, Isaac scratched his cheek awkwardly.
‘I think I get along better with someone like Jonathan than her.’
Jonathan, who admired Arandel and became a knight of Helmunth, abandoning even his instincts.
Looking at him, Isaac felt they were similar.
Seeing no further conversation, Isaac left the infirmary.
“Ah, here you are.”
Silbern, who had been outstanding today, was standing in the hallway.
“…Weren’t you going to eat?”
“I was going to eat with you. Ta-da!”
She held out a basket filled with neatly packed sandwich ingredients.
“If we go to the Dining Hall now, it’ll be round two. It’s easier to eat separately.”
“When did you prepare this?”
It didn’t seem like she had prepared it today. It looked like she had packed it since yesterday, but Silbern wasn’t the type to prepare things herself.
“Ahem, what does it matter?”
‘Anna must’ve done it.’
Well, it’s not that important.
“Let’s go. I’ve got something special prepared too.”
She rummaged through the basket and pulled out a large piece of smoked meat wrapped in green leaves.
It was still warm, emitting a smoky aroma.
“Impressive, right? Ever heard of northern troll meat? It’s tough if you eat it raw, but smoked the northern way, it’s something else.”
“Pfft.”
“Hey, why are you laughing? You can’t get this just anywhere.”
She nudged him with her shoulder and pulled him along, laughing.
“Let’s go, let’s go. Let’s find a less windy spot and eat some sandwiches.”
‘I shouldn’t think this, but…’
If she had a tail, you’d think she was a puppy. It would’ve been wagging behind her.
Clunk.*
“Ah.”
Just then, Vivian came out of the infirmary.
She glanced their way, perhaps heading to lunch, gave a small nod, and headed to the Dining Hall.
Silbern glanced between them, and after confirming Vivian was gone, she asked.
“Did something happen? She’s usually quite friendly with people.”
“Hmm…”
After briefly explaining that he might’ve touched a nerve, Silbern nodded with a complicated expression.
“I’ve never heard of anyone increasing their mana capacity either.”
Isaac was the same.
Even in the future, ten years later, no such person existed.
Glancing at Isaac’s troubled expression, Silbern cautiously asked.
“Are you going to give up?”
“Huh?”
“On aura. Are you going to give up?”
“No?”
When Isaac retorted as if it were obvious, Silbern’s lips twitched upward.
“Why? You can’t do it. With your current mana, it’s tough.”
“It’s always been like that.”
With a bitter smile, Isaac followed Silbern.
“Impossible, futile, delusional. I’ve heard it so much that I’m numb to it. And—”
The truth Vivian had spilled hadn’t left even a scratch on Isaac’s resolve.
“I’ve never experienced meaningless effort yet.”
Scratching his cheek, Isaac added.
In fact, the knowledge he had built up during his silent sword days was now the foundation of his current self.
He was still laying the groundwork, but Isaac was definitely moving forward.
“Brat.”
Seeing this, Silbern patted his back and laughed.
“Anyway, is it worth it? Huh? You should pray to the goddess every night.”
“Why?”
“Who knows? The goddess might suddenly be moved by your prayers and give you an ‘incredibly, incredibly, incredibly amazing gift’!”
Silbern exaggeratedly raised both hands.
The two, now outside, continued their nonsensical conversation.
“Incredibly, incredibly, incredibly? Why add one more?”
“Because it’s that incredibly, incredibly, incredibly amazing.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Enough! Let’s just find a place to eat! A sandwich with smoked troll meat is incredibly, incredibly, incredibly delicious.”
Perhaps feeling good after today’s success, Isaac glanced around hesitantly.
“But are we really eating just the two of us?”
“Feeling awkward? We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Well, yeah?”
“Don’t worry about weird stuff, you married man.”
What’s this?
He had clearly used being a married man as a shield to politely reject Silbern’s advances.
But instead, it felt like Silbern was using his married status to approach him more freely.
“What’s wrong, married man? If you want, call your wife and let’s eat together.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Isaac’s sharp reply.
“I knew you’d say that.”
Silbern’s teasing whisper was carried away by the northern wind, sadly not reaching Isaac.
