Chapter 166: [Day 131] – “The 1st-stage” (1/2)
∼ Day 131 ∼
As I weaved the mana with an iron grasp, my mind quelling any opposition the mana might've had to turn unstable or fluctuating as per its natural state, I barely even noticed the smirk that had crept itself upon my face.
Before me, stood a legion of blood puppets, multiple times more than I had been capable of doing mere hours ago. Although they were nothing more than E-ranked puppets, I could now summon hundreds upon hundreds of them. And if I were to summon the strongest of constructs, I was capable of commanding more than half a dozen D+ ranked blood puppets.
Instead of trying to delicately manipulate and adhere to the mana's chaotic whims to run amok, the source of almost all mage's struggles when summoning it to their own agendas -- I dominated it.
No longer was I at the mercy of the mana's ways, but it at mine.
Of course, I was no omnipotent being that had unrestricted power to control all of the volatile mana saturating the world, but maybe... just maybe... one day I could be.
But this different perspective and way of doing things had wholly changed the fundamental way I performed magic. And it was much, much more powerful.
Working in tandem, Dominion Mastery, Blood Lord, and Spell Formation, they had taken my magic to a whole new level, and armed with the most recent revelation of my perspective I had undergone, I had finally found the key component of what my abilities and powers had been lacking.
”I was beginning to think that you'd never get it through that thick skull of yours.” A flat but distinctly feminine voice said to my side.
”With how you handled me over the last week, it shows,” I chuckled, glancing towards Lana. ”If I didn't know better, that might've actually been what you were trying to do; both figuratively and literally...”
Lana didn't respond, looking at the hundreds of blood puppets standing patiently in rows from under that dark cowl of hers. I've still yet to see her face but since she went to such clear lengths to have it remain unseen, I wasn't going to question her.
”Hey, could you help me try something?” I asked suddenly after a short silence.
Turning her head to look at me with a passive stare, she waited for me to continue.
”Try to fight and destroy one of the puppets,” I said, before pausing. ”Uh- but not too quickly.”
Although I could not see her face under the cowl of darkness, I could almost feel her brow quirk up in question.
”Just do it, I want to try something that I'm not entirely sure will work,” I added.
Not giving me any other distinct answer, she merely walked towards the nearest blood puppet I called forth. Lana drew one of her daggers from the scabbard on her hip, watching as the blood puppet lunged for her upon my mental instruction.
Like I asked, she dealt with the construct easily but with a modicum of deliberation at each slash. As the blood puppet accrued damage, leaking the mana that held together with its corporeal form, I focused intently with the will of my mind.
At first, I began becoming disheartened as my efforts went unrewarded. However, as I kept sending the blood puppets at her, one after the other, something... happened.
Instead of the mana dispersing into the air, some actually returned.
Pausing as she watched the faint streams of mana pass through the air and coalesce on me, her posture told me all I needed to know about what she thought of this little trick.
”You're recalling the remnant mana of the golems instead of letting it dissipate.” She stated as a matter of fact.
I smiled, feeling the warming sensation of my mana returning to filtrate into my body and core.
”Yeah. Before I had thought the mana that dissipated whenever my constructs took damage or were destroyed was spent mana, but I realized that much of mana was still unused and potent which simply spilled out as a collateral result. ” I nodded with a pleasant sigh. ”With this, I shouldn't be wasting mana as much as I had in the past, although it does require some effort to forcefully clamp down on the remnant mana trying to escape.”
Recalling the many hundreds of blood puppets, or rather what remained of them after Lana's help, I straightened my posture and locked gazes with her.
”We'll be leaving very soon,” I said, pausing as I was a little unsure how to convey what I wanted to say. ”I... I just wanted to thank you for teaching me and for everything you've done for us. Without Lady Menethil and you; Bob, Mia, and especially I, would still be running around like headless chickens... and for that, I want to thank you.”
For a short silence, she didn't respond, merely looking at me with an almost curious gaze from under that cowl.
”You're were a good student, I enjoyed myself.” She said finally, her tone ever flat. ”It was a healthy break from the monotony of being Executrix.”
Stunned, I hadn't been expected such words, if any, coming from the mouth of Lana seeing as all of the conversations we had exchanged during the week of training had barely been more than the absolutely necessary to communicate. Taciturn and straight to the point.
Nevertheless, I took it in stride, glad to see that the woman was still indeed capable of emotion, although anything but her words told otherwise to that fact.
As the day went on, Mia getting as much tutoring done as she possibly could during these last days in the Menethil household, I went back to the room. There were another few things I had to take care of, but one of them had weighed on my mind with indecision.
Sitting on the edge of the large bed, I looked down at the wooden box on my lap.
The relic.