Chapter 117
“Before the tower.”
A bead of sweat bathed her brow as Kalysto struggled to keep her attention on the delicate circuit of mana that now surrounded her heart.
The sweat on her back clung to the beige T-shirt she was wearing, along with pants and a pair of dirty socks that protected her from the cold, while the pair of boots that had been given to all the heroes lay on the side of her improvised attempt at a bed.
A wave of pain engulfed her as the mana she still had scattered throughout her body began to struggle against the mana she had already begun to refine, and was now part of the precious new circuit. As she tried to stabilize her mana, a coughing fit forced her to break her concentration, causing the mana to dissipate and affect her internal organs, again.
She coughed again, and this time a spot of blood escaped from her lips staining in red her trembling hands.
Although some impurities were supposed to leave her body in the form of sweat and perhaps blood, she had been expelling too much to consider it safe. And that she had been working on it for weeks.
Four windows appeared in front of her and Kalysto grimaced as she realized she had forgotten to turn battle mode back on in her system.
[The passive skill Pain Resistance has been activated.]
[The passive skill Mental Defense has been activated.]
She activated it again as Galatea had taught her, then closed the windows that had opened. The trembling of her hands began to subside as all traces of pain disappeared from her body.
I must not hurry. She reminded herself as she took out a bottle of holy water and took three long gulps.
Caranthir had scolded her more than once for that, warning her how delicate the process was and how focused she had to stay all the time to keep the mana from fluctuating and starting to attack her organs.
But unlike him, she had two powerful weapons: her Mental Defense skill and a good collection of holy water.
That and a collection of mana crystals that she could increase again with another deal with Hanna at any time, along with her skill to absorb them. So unlike him, she didn’t have to waste entire days or weeks absorbing mana from the environment using specific breathing techniques.
It doesn’t matter if I get hurt in the process, what matters is that I get the result I want. And in this way, she spent the next two hours. It wasn’t until she reached the third that she finally got it.
And for the first time, since she had received the two systems, the notification messages Kalysto received were very different.
The blue one read:
[Congratulations! The user has created her first mana circle!]
While the violet made her remember one of the few useful things she had found in one of the three journals written by Caranthir’s teacher that she had read so far:
[Warning! The user has created a mana circle containing only 1,000 MP.]
So, it is true that one can create a mana circle that possesses more than a thousand mana points. She thought, filled with excitement at the prospect of doing something that went far beyond what Milo had explained to them.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
The problem was that she had not yet been able to find which other book or journal of Caranthir’s teacher was the explanation for it.
Content with her new discovery, she closed the notification windows that had appeared to her left and opened her inventory, taking out a small vial of holy water which she quickly drank and put back as soon as she emptied it.
It was at that moment that she heard something she wasn’t supposed to, not when she herself had made sure to use her ‘Sleep Well’ skill on her two tent mates.
Sandra was awake and had seen her using her system.
“What the heck were you doing? What was that thing you made disappear into thin air?” She questioned her, but by the look on her face and the way the blonde’s eyes drifted to the exit of the tent, Kalysto knew she was already planning on going to rat her out to Milo.
The two watched each other in silence for a second before Sandra tossed the sheets aside, quickly getting up and heading for the exit. But before the second fire mage within the group of heroes could touch the rough, thick tarp that protected them from the inclement cold outside and the night breeze, Kalysto had already knocked her to the ground.
The sound of Sandra’s head hitting a stone reached her ears and Kalysto panicked that she had accidentally killed her.
Mana detection! Sleep well! Sleep well! She thought immediately, watching Sandra’s heart beat normally inside her body as she saw the consequences the hit was having inside the fire mage’s head. As soon as she realized that the annoying teenager was still alive, she calmed down a bit, although she was worried about the consequences of the swelling that was brewing.
If I cure her and someone sees the golden glow of my skill I’ll be in trouble. She thought with annoyance. I’ll take her to the infirmary, Darla or some water mage had better take care of her.
And just as she put Sandra’s arm over the back of her neck, lifted her up and took a step towards the exit, the fabric that gave access to her tent was pushed aside and Ans’ silhouette blocked the exit. In her mid-thirties and fully dressed in black from head to toe, Ans looked imposing beneath her dark cloak and with black leather armor covering her chest. A pair of knives were strapped with thick leather straps against her toned thighs and a light sword hung from the thick belt full of small knick-knacks that were securely strapped around her waist.
Kalysto swallowed hard as the woman's cold, dark gaze passed from Sandra and stopped on her.
“What happened here?” Ans grunted as she scanned the interior with attention, observing Rita sound asleep in the background.
“I’m not quite sure. I think..." she mumbled, trying to buy time while she thought of something, “after what we saw in that town and what happened yesterday, she’s been having nightmares and mumbling strange things in her sleep. I didn’t pay attention to her at first, but I thought I heard a scream, and when I woke up, she was on the floor. I thought of taking her to the infirmary for treatment, I think she hit her head,” she added, pointing to the blood dripping down Sandra’s head,“ however, by the frown and distrust that shone in the woman knight’s gaze, she knew she didn’t believe her.
“Hand her over to me. I’ll take her,” she said. Kalysto nodded and did as she was told, but as soon as she approached the warrior, she grabbed her wrist tightly instead of Sandra’s. “I don’t think you’re telling me the whole story. I think you are not telling me the whole truth, and I know very well how to make your kind sing,” she growled under her breath, unsheathing her sword with her other hand.
Kalysto immediately let go of Sandra, who fell to the ground like a dead weight and dodged the sword strike Ans sent against her neck.
A smile full of sadistic satisfaction was drawn on the warrior’s face.
“I suspected you weren’t showing your full potential, but I never thought it would be this much.” her fierce gaze almost seemed to gleam inside the dimly lit tent, like that of a predator that has found its next prey.
Kalysto's heart skipped a beat, unable to understand the reason for the woman's sudden hostility.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about," Kalysto growled, realizing too late that she had used all her agility to evade the blow.
“You even got a circle of mana when there was none of it in your body this morning! How could you do it so fast? Who taught you?” She questioned as she pulled out another dagger that she had hidden in the back of her belt, well hidden inside her clothing and continued attacking with both weapons at high speed. ”Who do you work for? She continued questioning her as she tried to deliver one attack, followed immediately by another, without giving the younger woman time to respond to her continuous attacks. “Have you been in contact with spies from another kingdom all this time?”
“Do you even listen to the kind of nonsense you’re talking?” Kalysto argued, dodging another blow, and almost tripping over Sandra’s unconscious body. “I come from Earth! How could I be a spy of another kingdom?” She tried to make her see reason, but one second she had managed to get away from that crazy woman, and the next Ans had transformed into shadows, disappearing for a few seconds and reappearing right in front of her.
“Maybe because of that strange mark you have on your wrist?” She whispered against Kalysto’s lips before burying a poisoned dagger against the abdomen of the surprised young woman.