Chapter 61

“An unfamiliar ceiling.”

“It’s a ceiling you shouldn’t be familiar with.”

A voice I heard as soon as I regained consciousness.

I tried to sit up, but for some reason, my body felt fixed and wouldn’t move.

“I expected this, Maker.”

“Is that you, Astra?”

“Yes.”

Her voice, oddly lowered, as if holding something back.

Her tone made me break into a slight cold sweat.

“Could you maybe undo this?”

“No.”

*Rustle.*

“Astra is right, Maker.”

“That voice… Doctor, is it?”

Following Astra’s firm words, the Doctor’s voice chimed in.

He came over to me briefly, checking my condition.

“Maker, you’re currently suffering from Mana Exhaustion.”

Mana Exhaustion.

A state that occurs when ability users overuse their abilities.

To put it simply, it’s like muscle soreness for ability users.

‘It’s a common occurrence among ability users, so once a bit of mana is restored, it should be fine to move.’

As I thought this and tried to lift my head…

*Thud.*

Astra used her psychokinesis to fix my body in place, making it impossible to move.

“…Isn’t this a bit of an overreaction to Mana Exhaustion?”

“Overreaction? You’ve been pushing yourself hard on missions lately, so I’m just making sure you rest properly.”

“Your intentions are good, but isn’t this a bit too forceful?”

I did plan to rest for a while, but being forced like this feels a bit much.

“There’s no major issue, but your energy is also depleted. It would be best to rest fully for today.”

As I expressed my dissatisfaction, the Doctor chimed in, seemingly covering for Astra.

‘Is it really that bad?’

I checked my internal state.

The inside of my body, once filled with mana, was now completely empty.

The pathways for mana were cracked like dry earth without moisture.

‘Hmm.’

If you asked if it was serious or not, it definitely was serious.

I guess it’s best to just follow the Doctor’s advice.

“I’ll stay still, so could you release the psychokinesis, Astra?”

“……”

Despite my words, Astra didn’t release her psychokinesis.

…Honestly, being immobilized like this makes me want to move just out of discomfort.

I continued speaking to Astra in a slightly hurt tone.

“Am I really that untrustworthy?”

“……”

“This is a bit disappointing, Astra.”

What haven’t I done for you all?

I’ve completed every mission assigned, and since I took charge of the terror operations, the rate of organization members being caught by heroes has decreased.

Not to mention, I even personally searched for materials and smuggled important items for the Chief!

‘I’m not sacrificing myself like some other kids, and I’ve been taking care of myself well.’

Just once. Only once did I push myself too hard in research.

And even that was just Mana Exhaustion.

Isn’t this a situation where Astra is overreacting?

“Sigh… Fine. I guess I was a bit hasty this time.”

As I made a face reflecting my thoughts, she let out a sigh, seemingly unable to resist, and withdrew her ability.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

As I carefully sat up, I saw Astra with a displeased expression and the Doctor checking my pulse.

“I’ll prescribe some medicine. I recommend staying in the infirmary for today and being discharged tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, you say?”

“Yes. I heard your missions are over, so you’ll be on a break for a while.”

Well, that’s true…

But I planned to work until today and then rest…

I looked at the Doctor, who had a ‘what’s the problem?’ expression.

‘…Ah, whatever. I’ll just consider it an early rest day.’

Though I suddenly found myself in the infirmary, I quickly adapted and relaxed my body onto the bed.

“See, why did you push yourself so hard?”

“I did it for the Chief, so cut me some slack.”

“I heard everything from the Doctor.”

You tried to replicate the Mystic Trace we obtained last time, and that’s how this mess happened.

Astra glared at me with a slightly sulky tone.

“Do you really not trust us that much? Did you think we couldn’t even protect a small branch, so you had to push yourself like that?”

So that’s why she’s upset.

I finally realized why Astra was feeling hurt.

‘Does she think I don’t trust Eclipse?’

It could be a blow to her pride, or frustration over me not communicating.

Perhaps Astra already sees me as a trustworthy comrade, and she’s upset because I don’t seem to feel the same.

In any case, her anger was mixed with these emotions.

Then I should clear up the misunderstanding first.

“It’s not that I don’t trust Eclipse or you, Astra.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s all fine… but you could’ve at least reported it once.”

“I apologize for not reporting it earlier. I thought it was too trivial to bother you with.”

“How is replicating the material for the Chief’s life-saving treatment a trivial matter?”

“It was just a precaution. But it wasn’t because I thought other organizations would steal the Mystic Trace.”

If Eclipse was determined, we could protect a mere branch from other villain organizations or heroes.

The real issue is the number of attempts.

Using the branches of the World Tree or other materials we might find later, can we create a complete Elixir before the materials run out?

‘In the original story, for dramatic effect, they miraculously created the Elixir with the last bit of materials…’

But in reality, there’s no guarantee that such a situation would happen.

If luck isn’t on our side, we could end up using all the materials and still fail to create the Elixir, leading to a disastrous situation.

“So, it was just practice. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“What misunderstanding?”

I was about to answer her question but hesitated.

…This might be a bit of an overreaction.

Should I do it? Or just let it go?

“……”

When in doubt, just go for it.

I grabbed Astra’s wrist and gave her a playful smile.

“Although I joined as an executive later than others, I already consider you all trustworthy comrades.”

“……”

“I just wanted to clarify that there’s no misunderstanding about me not trusting Eclipse.”

I gently stroked her wrist, tickling her slightly, and smiled.

Our eyes met, and her face gradually started to flush.

“..Ah, okay..! Okay, so let go of my hand..!”

Even though I just held her hand, her reaction was so intense.

It was like the reaction of a virgin who had never held a man’s hand except for her father.

Her reaction sparked a mischievous impulse in me, and with a look of innocence, I began to stimulate her hand more.

“Anyway, has the misunderstanding been cleared up?”

“Y,yes. It’s cleared up, so..!”

“Won’t you be angry anymore?”

I interlaced our fingers, slipping into the gaps, and gently stroked each joint of her bones.

“Ah, ah..”

Astra’s face grew even redder from my touch.

“Ugh.. I, I’m leaving!!!”

Astra, now as red as she could possibly be, reached her limit and forcibly untangled our hands with her psychokinesis before running away.

“Tsk. She’s gone.”

I waved my hand regretfully, and the Doctor looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“If you keep doing that, you might get stabbed someday, you know?”

“I’m prepared for that, so don’t worry.”

And if I do get stabbed, the Doctor can just stitch me up, right?

At my words, the Doctor sternly lectured me, saying even joking about such things was unacceptable, until Gayeon and Riru arrived.

***

‘Kiiing..! Kiiing..! Don’t die, Oppa..!! Don’t die..!!’

Riru, with a face on the verge of tears, licked my face.

‘Stupid dog. No one dies from Mana Exhaustion.’

Gayeon scolded Riru, calling her an idiot, but visibly relaxed upon seeing me healthy.

‘Oppa, are you okay? I heard you were sick, so I came.’

And Narin, who came to see me with her face buried.

“Sigh…”

After the storm of visitors passed, I finally had some time to gather my thoughts.

‘How did it come to this?’

A failure in creation.

Honestly, with my current mana capacity, I thought such things wouldn’t happen anymore.

And usually, even if I fail to create something, only the mana used for summoning would be lost.

But this time, just practicing creating one item caused such severe Mana Exhaustion.

‘Is it because of the Mystic Trace..?’

Usually, such high mana consumption only happens in two cases.

Either my understanding of the object is at an abysmal level.

Or, the mana required to create the object is incredibly high.

‘Even with 30% knowledge, I could usually force creation by overloading mana.’

Even if it’s inefficient, with my current mana capacity, I could usually manage.

But seeing this result, unless the Doctor made a mistake in research, it means the initial mana required for creation was insufficient.

‘…So, as of now, my understanding, mana capacity, and mana recovery are all insufficient?’

Either fully understand the Mystic Trace to reduce mana consumption and increase efficiency.

Or increase my overall mana capacity.

Or, if not that, increase my mana recovery rate to balance the mana loss and gain.

“Hmm.”

What should I do?

The first option depends on when the Doctor finishes his research. Waiting is fine, but even if mana consumption is reduced, it might still be similar to my total mana capacity.

The second option is the simplest and the way I’ve easily increased my capacity so far.

Just take one potion. But the problem is, after all the potions I’ve taken, it’s hard to see effects from ordinary ones now.

Lastly, the third option is more complicated than the second but has the most obvious effect.

And I already know something that could fulfill this method.

‘Yeah, the third option is the best.’

Artifacts.

I need to find those items, improved versions of the Mystic Trace, with unique effects.

But first, I’ll rest a bit.

---