Episode 6 – Deal with the devil (1/2)
”How long is your range of vision?” In other words - how far away did he need to be to escape her sight?
”It depends on my state ofextra attention or when I’, it narron to about half a mile radius”
If Kiel had been drinking so, he would have spat it out at this point
”You can see mana in your sleep?! With your eyes closed?!”
”I don't see mana with my eyes, I see it with my Mind In its essence, it is an enhancedmana when you are asleep, neither do I If there was a sudden burst of s while you are asleep either If there were a sudden loud noise, you'd wake up Saes around me, it ake me up as well And since it is a sense, I can't shut it off Whether my eyes are open or closed makes no difference Whether I like it or not, I can always see everything around me”
Kiel stared at her eht didn't look as te her with information that she didn't wantin the middle of a noisy crowd of people all the tis, and she had no way to shut it off Every power comes with a price
”If your power does not originate from your eyes, then why do they look… ?” Heto find an appropriate word to describe them
”So ic with ical” She winked ”Being able to see mana isn't the only reason why ht”
Kiel raised an eyebrow Being able to see ht? Could there be even more benefits?
”Can you identify things based on their unique mana footprint?”
”I can see the color of sonize theh precision to distinguish between people whose mana is too si able to see rawable to see spells It is much easier to identify a spell pattern than a color”
O able to identify spells based on their pattern? Of course! How had he not seen it before? It was in front of him the whole time! Elaru Wayvin was a Tracker!
Trackers were ical creatures, artifacts or even rare plants It was an attractive job that was very well paid, which would explain why Elaru had the funds for purchasing an Oath of Truth No wonder she had excellent observation and deduction skills, they were developed by years of tracking!
”You are a Tracker!” Kiel exclailee
Elaru raised her eyebrows ”I suppose I do spend a lot of ti down artifacts”
Now it all made sense With her skill, she could find artifacts that no one was able to find before her, such as the Soul Crystal! And because of it, if anyone could find so which could help his condition, it would be her!
Kiel felt an intense wave of self-satisfaction wash over him Finally, he unraveled thequite like when you finally find a solution to a puzzle!
However, Elaru did not give him time to bask in his achievement
”We better hurry before the contract expires You can ask et down to business” Her expression changed into her own version of a poker face Kiel responded by putting on his own solemn and unreadable expression
Elaru flicked her wrist in a useless gesture Kiel could tell that she cast a sound barrier around the what she was about to reveal After ensuring no one but him could hear her, she put up her red striped scarf over her lips to prevent lip reading
”Kiel, what I am about to tell you is sensitive information that must be kept a complete secret No one must know about this” He heard her voice loud and clear even though the scarf covered her mouth
Kiel nodded in response He could keep a secret After all, he had been keeping his lack of mana a secret from the whole world his entire life And that took e Though, ould she trust hi hi the information would be more appropriate Perhaps because she was sure that he would have no benefit fro it?
Elaru took her left glove off And afterward, sheher marked skin Kiel's eyes quickly scanned her ars, before he glanced back at her face Why was she showing hi special about them?
”These ht look like ordinary tattoos, but they are neither tattoos nor ordinary They are a manifestation of an ancient oath branded into the essence ofAnd to activate it, like every other contract, a trigger spell needs to be performed”
Kiel's eyes returned to her s and this time, he stared at them with more attention Even so, no s didn't appear any s of any other elibu All elibu were born with distinct s on different parts of their body It was a kind of a birthmark
Were her s of every elibu an oath? He voiced his question – she flashed a satisfied sht question
”You never wondered why elibu are born with marked bodies?”
Honestly, Kiel had never put ht into it
”Well, now you know that they aren't just for show Elibu are the vessel for the spell, and the trigger is you - an argel er spell, performed by your littered as she was telling him this
In this world, there exist four types ofpure ic If the ic, based on the mana type
However, Aetherneal ic was different It could not be cast bypure ic since the only ones able to cast it were Gods theic Aetherneal ic” because it seeic Or rather, rasp its rules, as if it was unbound by the laws of reality
”You want s and becoht on what she was proposing fast
”That's right!” Elaru alht that he was quick to process the information (And didn't seem to consider her crazy) ”However, you won't be the only one signing it”
Kiel frowned Signing the Aetherneal bond is beneficial? Suddenly, he remembered Elaru's promise of pure mana His eyes narrowed in suspicion
”How come I've never heard of this? I've heard tales of the Aetherneal Gifts such as Aethernea of Sight However, I've never heard an explanation behind the elibu s Why isn't it a known fact?”
”In the chaos of the Great Mage Wars that decimated the population of Halnea, not er spell All scrolls and carvings describing the trigger had either been lost or sealed after the war Not er, so the purpose of the otten with time”
”Then how did you get ahold of such knowledge?”
”One noble fae and they are currentlythe power of the Aetherneal bond co it for their own purposes”
Kiel had a pretty good idea of what fa about There was one family that stood above all others - only one family whoseartifacts
Everything made sense now Why she warned him not to share this information? Why no one was left alive that knows it? If that fa it would be a death sentence
She didn't need to have hi not to disclose this information, because if he refused to do so, it would be suicide She trusted his intelligence, she knew that he would understand what it meant to know of this While he doesn't share the infore, and he would be safe
Is that why she was careful to not disclose her presence? Because that family was after her?
”Are they aware that you possess this knowledge?” If they were after her, than associating with her could put hier as well
”Thankfully, no And I intend to keep it that way” Elaru gave hi him not to reveal this information to anyone if he valued his life