Chapter 80 - The Birth of a Magical Body

Jonas was paying attention to his surroundings, and nothing justified the noise reaching his ears. He used his mana sense with all his power, afraid that a high-level creature had passed unnoticed by him.

Experience and status in magic enhanced one's senses to extremes. Jonas could notice condensation on the leaves of trees hundreds of meters from his current location, yet what caught his attention was Bryn's body.

His bones chattered in many different locations, his mind had completely shut down, and his body fell into a fettus position. This event was much more extreme than Jonas expected.

"Bryn!!!" he screamed, afraid his kick caused it. He grabbed his medallion as his body teleported next to Bryn. Holding the young faun's head, he carved Bryn's head and horns.

"What is going on?!" he said out loud, looking down to see if his medallion had responded.

Miles away, in XXX, Sylas and Freya walked around a villa. The construction in the center of the property was made of white stones that reflect the sun around the fields. Light brown wood and a pitch dark metal were responsible for the house's detailing. Though the house's visuals were simple and minimalist, the combination of colors and the quality of the materials gave the villa a noble feeling.

From above, the gardens are formed by deep purple trees with dark trunks and white and black flowers. A purple crow is drawn around the property when mixed with the pebble pathways. Each day, Sylas and Freya walked around a different area from the gardens; there were small ponds, fountains, rest areas, and solariums under the purple trees. They had never seen anything as beautiful as this place.

"I'm dreaming, Sy?" Freya questioned as she grabbed a flower from the nearby plants. Its sweet smell caused her face to blush a little as her ear moved slightly, surprised by the aroma.

"I still can't believe it, but I don't think so."

"Mr. Gabriel has no reason to treat us this well, but it doesn't feel like a dream, Freya." Sylas said as he thought about the days since the general commander had rescued the two from the mines. Sylas has felt the utmost respect from an officer and human for the first time. Lord Aric was fair for the most part, but he had never treated them that well. His mind passed by the roof over their heads, the private room inside the mansion, the prepared food, and the potions to improve their being. Most of his weight had recovered; Freya was the same.

As the two walked around the property, Gabriel sat on the balcony, looking at the city from afar. The sunny day carried a few clouds, the type of day that inspired people to go out and enjoy nature at its best. The smell from the garden reminded Gabriel of the village, not that the flowers or aromas were the same, simply because there was no pollution from the city.

As his mind traveled toward Yurei Village, his medallion interrupted his thoughts.

"Jona…" Gabriel tried to speak.

"Sir, Bryn's body is destroying itself!"

Gabriel rose to his feet, slamming one of his hands on the table. His hand grabbed the medallion.

"If you have magical potions, use them, Jonas. That is an order!" Despite the dire situation, Gabriel didn't flinch in the slightest.

Damn it, I can't lose him! The vow! Thought Gabriel, waiting for Jonas's answer.

At the forest, Jonas pulled elixirs out of his spacial ring one after the other. Most were green, a few were blue, and one single red bottle came out. His eyes glowed as he glazed Bryn with the bottles beside him.

"Ok, kid, both body and core are suffering. Body first," said Jonas, popping open the green potion and pouring it all over Bryn's lying body. Inspecting Bryn, he could tell that the potion was absorbed by the phenomenon happening in his body, causing the bones to heal faster. No sign of the potion was left over Bryn's skin when the bones formed. As Jonas breathed in research, muscles, and tendons started to tear each other without reason.

"What is happening!" Jonas helped the muscles using another green bottle, giving them strength to fight the force and tearing them for a second. This time, the potion's effect lasted even less than the previous one, not being able to stop the process and only slowing its effects.

"Jonas, report!" Gabriel's voice hit the void.

Is it his core? Jonas thought as a blue potion opened by his left hand and poured into Bryn's mouth. Some of the potion drooled out over his chin and chest. Jonas could feel the liquids going to Bryn's stomach; as it reached near the core, the body processed it, pulling the condensed mana from the stomach into the core.

The spike in mana was visible to Jonas's magical eye; what followed was beyond his dreams. The excess mana started pouring all over Bryn's body by his core, and his body parts' destruction increased faster.

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Afraid of the situation, he dropped both healing potions he still had with him.

"Gabriel, I can't stop it! Mana potions worsened the situation, and healing potions simply slowed the destruction force!" The ferocity of the event was enough to destabilize Jonas. The kid before him was not his favorite person, but he realized he had grown fond of the young faun.

Gabriel pulled his hair from his scalp on the balcony, sitting back down.

Could it be? It should happen like this! He thought.

"Jonas, I want you to pour all mana potions and full elixirs you still have."

"WHAT! I JUST TOLD YOU THE MANA POTION WORSEN THE SITUATION!!"

"Jonas, that is an order!"

Biting his lips, Jonas wouldn't dare go against Gabriel in critical moments. Despite not aligning with his commander, Jonas trusted him above everything and everyone else. The remaining mana potions and the red elixir caps popped as he poured them into Bryn's body.

As if going down the drain, as soon as the mana potions hit the stomach, the core started absorbing their energy. One potion, then another, and as the last drop of the entire red elixir hit Bryn's thong, his body started shaking.

"Jonas, what is happening?!"

Looking at the shaking body, Jonas suddenly realized that the tearing was still constant, be it in the muscles or the tendons, but as the mana increased all over Bryn's body, so did the regeneration. As the muscles stopped tearing each other, Bryn's veins and arteries had their turn. The process wasn't as gruesome as the muscles; they tore apart and reformed.

"Gabriel, what is this?! The kid's body, it is remolding!"

Gabriel dropped his medallion. Speechless, he looked at the sun above his head.

I'm sure he isn't a legendary beast; what in the heavens?

"Jonas, protect him. We'll speak again soon."

Jonas looked at the body in front of him. It glowed white with tiny flickers of different colors all over. The closer he paid attention, the more astonishing the situation became. The veins and arteries reformed larger in diameter, and new vessels were created to improve the capillarity all over his body.

"Gabriel, It is not remolding exactly. It is as if mana was reforging it, removing imperfections!" Jonas sent through the medallion, but nothing came back.

Gabriel went to the primary bedroom at the villa, knocking at its door. The man had his palm over it as if patting a buddy or dog. Arched back, pointy ears broke his white hair that dropped over his shoulder, covering part of his scared back. The scars on his back crossed from one side to the other. The wrinkles in his skin combined with the scar pattern to create gruesome skin on his back. On his face, a cloth covered his eyes, going all around his head.

Upon hearing the door opening, the man turned and aligned his left ear toward it.

"You may come in." He said in a low tone as a thin layer of pink mana covered his body, transforming into a majestic purple robe with golden details.

As Gabriel entered the bedroom, he saw the man facing the desk with a low head, "How long has it been?" he asked.

"Far too long, old friend." the blinded man answered, moving his right hand over the table's surface.

"I need your guidance."

The man turned his face to Gabriel; his eyes were now covered by the same material from his robe, where his eyes should have been, and the golden crow shinned.

"How could a simple merchant help a General Commander?" he asked in the middle of giggles as he approached Gabriel.

Gabriel looked up to face the golden crow with his eyes.

"What do you know about legendary beasts and magical bodies?"

"It won't be cheap." The man answered.

After hearing the man's words, Gabriel said, "I'm willing to pay with gold or a favor."

The man started walking out of his room, and as he passed Gabriel, smiling, he whispered, "You are too serious, Gabriel. I'm happy to help."

Both left walked to an old wooden door that any regular person would imagine to be a small closet. As the white-haired man opened it, a four-story library appeared behind it.

"Come, well, talk inside." He said.

Both entered the area and as the door closed, they lost any connection with the outside.

Back at the mountains, Jonas could not perceive anything happening to Bryn's body, simply considering that Bryn was sleeping after everything that happened. He noticed that the mana reserves inside Bryn's core were slowly rising, even if just by a hair's width a minute.

"Rest, young man," he said, creating a bed under Bryn and using magic to remodel the area around them, forming the camp around the kids' resting bodies.

The minutes became hours, and the hours became days. Jonas stayed next to Bryn's body for five days without changes. During that time, Gabriel didn't respond a single time he tried contact. Lysander had told him that Michelle had hunted a few magical beasts alone and that he wanted to speak with both Jonas and Gabriel as soon as possible about her future.

The party had also increased their level and battle prowess, and they could now defeat two magical beasts at a time or even divide the group to hunt them. Partly because of their leveling but primarily because of experience and teamwork.

Jonas's medallion finally ranged.

"..." Jonas said nothing, waiting for the other side to start the conversation.

"How is he?"

"Resting for the last five days without moving or waking up."

"Is his core depleting?"

"His core? No, its mana reserves are slowly rising. He should have a full core in about two days."

"Good! Allow him to finish his rest, then keep increasing the training regime."

"Good? What is going on, Gabriel?"

"I'm with Vaelin; we'll be there soon."

Once again, time passed in a flash; the remaining time for Bryn's core to fill was even faster than Jonas expected. Whenever the core had reached three-quarters, the reserves of mana filled faster and faster,

Jonas was next to the bed as the core neared its completion.

The very second Bryn's core filled up, he grunted as a hog. His eyes were still closed, and his head turned to the side as one of his hands reached for his forehead and eyes.

"What happened?"

Jonas appraised Bryn, but his status, titles, and blessings remained unchanged. As nothing changed, he calmed himself.

"You slept for eight days…"

Hearing Jonas, he tried sitting up in shock but didn't have the energy to do so.

"It still feels like I'm the most tired I have ever been…" Laying there, Bryn opened his eyes, looking at his hands, the ceiling of the house, and Jonas's face.

Suddenly, a sequence of bells rang inside Bryn's mind.

He knew what they meant, but afraid to demonstrate his excitement to Jonas, he asked.

"Mr. Jonas, my body is craving food. Would it be too much to ask for something?"

The man smiled at the child, and his simple desires removed any doubt that the young faun was out of danger.

"Don't worry, we'll have a proper meal," he said, leaving the tent and walking outside.

Bryn smiled, and as the man crossed the door.

My body, what happened?