Chapter 99: Second Heart (2)
Chapter 99: Second Heart (2)
“What the fxxk…?”
Whitish mana was coiled around the blade of Lamancha. Inside the shimmering currents resembling white mist, a sparkle very familiar to him was emerging.
Shhhinee!
Ronan’s mind turned completely blank at the sight of it being completely identical to the mana of Nebula Clazier.
“…I guess it’s finally my time to die.”
Ronan let out a bitter laugh. He had thought he had slept enough in his room on the airship, but it seemed he was wrong. As he relaxed his focus, the light of the core faded away.
‘That can’t be possible.’
Ronan closed his eyes. Then, he infused mana into Lamancha once again. He felt the mana extracted from the lump flow into the hilt of the sword.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. After waiting, Ronan carefully raised his eyelids.
Pshh!
A blinding flash pierced his retina.
“Fxxk.”
The previously dark core was now flashing so brightly that it could be used as a source of light at a party or something. It was the same no matter how many times he tried. Ronan, who had been standing still for a long time, took a step back.
‘This is bad.’
He didn’t know why this was happening, but he needed to find out.
After several attempts and errors, Ronan headed to the Gallerion Hall, the main building of the martial arts department. Jhordin was absent, perhaps in class,.and he didn’t know how to get to Sekreet’s office.
But if anyone in the department knew something, it would be Navirose, the Swordmaster. When he opened the door to the First Arena, he was greeted with a strange scene.
“If everyone is here, let’s start… hmmm?”
The students who should have been sparring had gathered and were sitting in a circle with their weapons lowered. In front of the students, Navirose stood in front of a massive mobile chalkboard, drawing something with chalk.
It resembled a monkey pierced through the chest with a cannonball, but it was difficult to discern exactly what she was drawing. As their eyes met, she nodded to Ronan.
“It’s been a while. Ronan, did you have a good time at the Dawn Tower?”
“I thought so until just a moment ago.”
Ronan let out a sigh, looking somewhat embarrassed. Judging by Navirose’s question, it seemed she wasn’t aware of what had happened at the Dawn Magic Tower.
Among the seated students was Adeshan as well. When she noticed Ronan, she waved enthusiastically.
“Welcome. I was about to start the class on cores and auras, you came at the right time. Come on, sit down.”
“Cores… the timing is terrible.”
Ronan, who had walked over hesitantly, took a seat beside Adeshan. It seemed that awakening the Shadow Mana had improved her complexion significantly since the last time. Seeing the dark shadows cast over Ronan’s face, Adeshan asked with concern.
“Long time no see Ronan. Your expression doesn’t look so good. What’s wrong?”
“I’m finished, Sunbae.”
“Huh…?”
“I’ve become a fool, no different from those fanatical bald zealots.”
“Bald zealots?”
Adeshan tilted her head in confusion at the unfamiliar words. Roan sighed once again. It was a deep sigh, as if he were exhaling his frustration and then swallowing it back. Navirose then resumed her lecture.
“Alright. I’m sure you all already know about cores, but let’s go over it one more time. Ronan, why don’t you answer? What happens when you pour water into a container made of straw?”
“…It’ll leak, right?”
“That’s right. That’s exactly what an uncored heart is like. A heart made of straw. It can circulate mana, but it’s not suitable for anything beyond that.”
Adeshan started taking notes as Navirose continued to explain the importance of cores. Ronan noticed that, apart from him and Adeshan, all the other students seemed to have already formed their cores.
Navirose continued to draw and explain the theory of cores diligently. Roan found the theoretical class surprisingly engaging, even though he had initially thought he would only excel in practical applications.
“Creating a core ultimately means changing the material of your heart. At the very least, you need to reach a level equivalent to wood or metal, only then can you truly store mana in your heart and utilize it as a power source. Now, take a look at this knight.”
“…Knight?”
Ignoring the abysmal drawing skills, Roan was shocked to realize that the subject of Navirose’s drawing, the monkey that had been hit by a cannonball in the chest, was, in fact, a knight operating a core. She explained the core’s operation while pointing out different parts of the monkey-knight’s body.
“There are various methods to create a core. The one I recommend is training while consistently stimulating the heart with mana. It’s the most basic and side-effect-free method.”
In essence, the basic principle of creating a core was through consistent training that would modify the ‘original’ heart. Navirose emphasized the importance of the core repeatedly, as it was an essential step in the process of developing one’s Aura.
The only way to develop an individual’s unique mana, Aura, was to accumulate the absorbed external mana in the core or circle and wait for it to change. It wasn’t long before Navirose continued speaking.
“There’s nothing that’s given without effort. Dedicate yourself to training, think of it as turning each straw into steel with diligence.”
Once the theoretical part of the lesson was over, Navirose immediately transitioned to practical training. The students, except for Ronan and Adeshan, were instructed to practice using their cores actively during their sparring sessions.
Only the two people who did not yet have a core had to swing their swords at the puppets in a remote corner. Navirose assured them not to be too upset.
“Don’t be too disheartened. You two are special cases. Think of it as investing time to make a big container.”
“I understand. But, Instructor, I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“Is there any chance that two different types of mana can manifest from a single core?”
“No.”
Her assertion was sharp and definite. Ronan bit his lip and asked again.
“Absolutely not? Not even under extraordinary circumstances?”
“Precisely, there is no known case of it. Unless you have two hearts, it’s impossible.”
Ronan closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Clearly, this was not a normal situation.
“Well, Jhordin… but what is this?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I think… my core has formed.”
“What?”
Navirose’s eyes widened. Even if her estranged daughter had announced that she was pregnant, she probably wouldn’t have been this surprised. Instead of answering, Ronan grabbed the hilt of his sword. The mana extracted from the tumor dyed the core within his sword a brilliant white.
“This is…!”
“But, it isn’t coming from my heart. Am I going to be sold to the zoo now?”
“The nature of the mana has completely changed. What on earth happened?”
“That’s right. By the way, do you see anything sparkling?”
“Sparkling?”
“It’s nothing.”
Ronan heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it seemed that he was the only one who could distinguish Nebula Clazier. With her hand on his chest, Navirose muttered with an intrigued tone.
“…Indeed. It seems something that functions as a power source has taken up space next to the heart.”
“You mean a core? It’s a bit eerie, honestly.”
“You’ll see once you try. If there is any sign of something going wrong, I will help you, so give it a try.”
Navirose pointed her chin toward the puppet. Ronan reluctantly tightened his grip on the hilt. It sounded reckless, but he knew firsthand that sometimes there was no answer until you confronted it.
‘Alright, damn it. I knew it.’
Lamancha disappeared from his sight for a moment. Then, with a swift motion, the puppet fell into pieces.
“That’s fast!”
Adeshan exclaimed. Even with her vision enhanced with the shadow mana, it was difficult to keep up with his speed.
However, Ronan and Navirose maintained a composed expression. The speed and range were not significantly different from what they were when he used to absorb mana to cut.
“Just from this I can’t tell for sure. Try to unleash your sword energy this time.”
“I guess so.”
Swaaah!
A peculiar sound escaped between Ronan’s lips. This time, it was a sword energy. He concentrated, wielding his blade, and a crescent-shaped sword energy shot towards the puppet, hitting its neck and exploding. Dust and particles flew out in all directions.
“Damn it.”
Ronan frowned. As expected, there was no significant difference in terms of power or range. Ronan, feeling something strange in his body, opened his eyes wide.
“Huh, uh… what’s happening…?”
“Your complexion doesn’t look good. Are you okay?”
“Wait a minute… Ugh, something is strange…”
Even without moving, Rohan felt breathless, his chest tightened. It seemed like he expended more energy than usual when using his sword energy. Suddenly, his legs gave away, and he slumped to the ground, looking quite pale. Alarmed by his condition, Adeshan shouted,
“Ro-Ronan…! Wait! I’ll get some water.”
Adeshan hurried to the office, and the radiance of the sword energy disappeared. Out of curiosity, Ronan changed his mana back to his original heart, and his breathing slowly normalized, while strength returned to his legs.
“What in the world is this…?”
“Is this operating separately from your usual core? Interesting.”
Ronan muttered a curse under his breath. At the moment, he couldn’t find any differences from his cursed heart, if anything, it felt worse. Not sharing the mana path with his original heart was a relief, but it seemed to result in nothing more than a slight increase in available mana, and only for some extravagant use at a banquet. His frustration grew as he gradually lost his patience.
‘Damn, is this all there is? Just a flashy display? Making it harder for no reason?’
“For now, I’ll go check on the other students. Try it out alone where it’s safe.”
Nabirose turned away, having monitored Ronan. It was a genuine class period, and she couldn’t afford to pay attention to just him.
Ronan, gasping for breath, stood up. He couldn’t accept what had happened to him.
‘There must be something more to this.’
The origin of the core was probably tied to the influence of Vijra. This core originated from a being with tremendous power, whether good or evil, but this could not have been the end.
He approached a high-grade puppet, once reserved for knights of Gracia, and took a stance. These high-grade combat puppets were much sturdier than regular practice puppets.
Most of his training had been focused on sparring with Shullifen and physical training, so trying to strike this puppet was a new experience for him. Looking at the armor of the puppet, he raised an eyebrow, recognizing the Gracia emblem on it. Probably provided as a support from the Gracia Family.
A strange sensation welled up in him, and it reminded him of that time a few months ago.
‘He’s just like that guy… Was it Nolan?’
The high-grade combat puppet before him bore a striking resemblance to Sir Dolan Concesto, who was a knight of Gracia, and indeed, the same person who sneaked into his room in the middle of the night attempted to assassinate him as a Nebula Clazier’s spy. A memory of Dolan’s unique method for manifesting aura crossed Ronan’s mind.
‘Come to think of it, his way of manifesting aura was quite unique.’