Ch #21
"Matters of the Heart"
The library sprawled luxuriously, its vast shelves creating a labyrinthine spectacle along the walls. A silent cacophony of millions of books and tomes surrounded Kai, echoing the wealth of knowledge housed within. In the midst of this profound silence, a peculiar sound shattered Kai's muse—a dragging noise reverberated through the ancient shelves of tomes.
Aria strode into view, determination etched across her face, pulling what seemed to be a lady wrapped in a futon across the polished library floor. "Sorry to keep you waiting. This is my friend Clio."
"Hello, pleasure to meet you...?" Kai observed the lady, Clio, wearing pajamas and ensconced in a futon, holding a fairly large book in her hand. She yawned as she allowed Aria to drag her along, grasping both the futon and the book firmly, as if unwilling to part with either.
"Big brother, what is that?" Lumi asked, her surprise evident at the peculiar attire of the lady.
Before Kai could respond, Aria explained, "Little Lumi, this is what one calls a slouch."
"See this?" she pointed at the futon and the book, "A slouch wraps itself into a caterpillar with this and plops onto the bed all day, reading and sleeping without a care."
"Hey, I'm not a slouch!" The futon lady exclaimed while yawning, throwing the futon off. "You're the one who barged into my place and dragged me all the way here, you muscle brain!"
"At least I have a brain, unlike someone who spent the last week drowned in a book," Aria retorted.
"It was a very interesting book!" Clio gritted her teeth in frustration. "You're the one who stays in that godforsaken forest, fighting all the time!"
"Ahem," Kai intervened, sensing the banter between the girls. "I'm the one on a timer here; maybe we should focus on that?"
Aria withdrew from their argument, composing herself. "Yes... Clio, this is... a friend, Kai. He's a newly awakened. This here is Lumi; she's a lovely kid." Aria gestured toward them. "And this is my friend Clio, the head librarian and mage."
Clio, with a clap, chimed in, "Hey there! Welcome to my humble abode."
The library seemed an unfit place for sleep or living. Kai didn't know why one would call it their house. "Tch, it's not yours; the guild lent this place to your sorry ass," Aria teased.
"To keep it organized and act as the librarian, mind you," Clio retorted with a huff. It was evident that the two of them were good friends. Aria rolled her eyes at Clio's response. "Not that you do that well either."
"Yeah, yeah. Who cares?" Clio, unfazed by Aria's jabs, turned her attention to Kai and Lumi. "Now tell me why you're here. You're not part of the guild, as far as I can tell."
Kai pondered how to articulate his problem. The issue with his core and mana channels was complex. He hesitated, unsure whether to trust her.
"We need your help," Aria chimed in, sensing Kai's hesitation. She gently nudged his shoulders, adding, "Kai here has a little bit of a situation, and we need a way to fix or delay the problem."
"I've known her for years, Kai. There's no better person to trust with secrets than her," she whispered, maintaining a reassuring smile. With Clio waiting patiently, Kai proceeded to explain everything he had shared with Aria.
"So, let me get this straight... The tower told? Showed? Put information into your head? About you imploding because your core's mana absorption capacity is too great for your body?" Clio inquired, perplexed by what Kai was saying.
"Yeah, pretty much." Kai didn't know if he would take his own word for it as well.
She looked at Aria as if asking if she believed it as well. Seeing Aria nod, she pondered how it could happen. "This kind of problem is rare but not impossible."
Clio widened her eyes, "Ah, You have a variant core! That's how your record describes it as well, doesn't it..."
Kai's mind was in turmoil, "How do?.."
"Come on, dear, Variant cores aren't that rare. They're like a boon and a curse." Clio smiled. "Now what does your records say?"
> /***
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> Core: Bronze (Heart core)
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> Status: Variant (1st Seal )
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> Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
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> A heart turned into a core. Molded under the pressure of a sea of mana, it has gained the ability to hold condensed mana. The tower has placed 3 seals upon the core to protect its bearer and prove himself worthy of it.
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> Time till 1st seal breaks: 8 hrs 91 days.
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> ***/
"It's a curse, alright." Kai hesitated; his core was too unusual, and he didn't know why. "It says my core is merged with my heart," Kai replied, looking up his records.
Aria raised an eye hearing the description of his core. "An organ substituting as a core? Or is it a complete merging? Do we have anything on variant cores?"
Clio got up, heading over to the shelves. "Over the decades, the guild has categorized hundreds of variant cores." Looking through the catalogues, she picked up a few massive tomes. "Maybe we'll find answers here..."
She dropped the tomes onto the table, the sound of them slamming onto the wood reverberating through the library. Kai, picking one up from the pile, read the title out, "Cores and their Variants, Vol-1?"
"What we're looking for is somewhere inside these." Clio pointed at the pile. "Now chop chop, get to reading." She picked up a tome and sat down, opening it.
Aria's eyes twitched looking at the sheer size of the books. "I'll go guard the door; you guys call me when you're done."
Clio grabbed her before she could run.
"Oh no, you don't. We're in the guild... No one would dare attack you here." Kai watched in amusement at their shenanigans.
Soon, Aria gave up struggling, sitting down alongside them. "Now come read, and help us find a clue." Clio teased.
**break**
Skimming through hundreds of pages of the massive tomb was giving Kai a headache. They'd been looking for a clue forthe past few hours. Lumi had at some point fallen asleep on the book while reading. Clio had thrown a fit seeing her drool on the books.
"Why did I have to bring you to this godforsaken place?" Aria complained. Her yawns were getting infectious.
"Because I'm the only friend you have, duh," Clio retorted. Their banter had dialed down after going through a few tombs. Likely too tired mentally to care, Kai thought.
Kai was reading a tomb titled 'Famous cores and their bearers.' The title, while misleading, was not entirely incorrect. It should have been titled useless cores and their bearers. The cores detailed here were all subpar or incredibly niche, according to Clio.
"Cores merged with organs... Liver core, stomach core, brain core, Mostly useless and dysfunctional" were these organs or cores? Kai didn't know if the tower or records made comedy, but a Kidney core would be entirely true if someone had nephrolithiasis.
"I found something!" Kai shouted, drawing the attention of the others. "Here... heart core, only one recorded functioning core wielded by... the Enchantress of the west?"
Kai read on, astonished at the descriptions, "It says she wielded an unusual core able to store very little amounts of mana, but her spells were too powerful, outclassing everyone in her rank..."
Clio grabbed the tome out of his hands, her brows furrowed reading the section Kai had pointed to. She seemed perplexed. "What is it?"
"This... must be wrong. The enchantress of the west had a gold core; it's been recorded by the guild as such." Taking out another tome from the pile, she opened a page. "See here? Gold core."
Kai crossed his arms, "So, what do we do now? The only book that has something about a heart core is wrong according to the guild..."
"Maybe it's not wrong?" Aria inquired. She didn't want to spend another hour reading through books and such. Her eyes were already heavy, and he felt quite muddle-headed.
"Even if it isn't, we've hit a dead end," Clio replied out of the blue. "The core isn't the problem, I suppose. Since you said the tower wants you to rebuild your body, it probably means that your body is unsuitable for this core."
Kai mulled over what Clio was saying. "The tower said the simplest way was to become a kindled." Thinking of it that way, maybe she was right...? "Should we look for a way to delay it long enough for me to become a Kindled?"
Clio brooded at how one would go about this. "We should be able to delay it by fortifying your mana channels." She pointed at her palm, drawing a circle on it. "The mana channels are what transport mana to and from your core. A stronger channel should withstand more pressure."
"My core is sealed... currently running at a tenth of the capacity. The seal breaks in three months. That's why I have three months left to handle it." Kai explained.
He did not mention it was only the first seal. According to the tower, the current output was a tenth of what would be after the first seal broke. And there were three of them.
"Even if it can't take the entire burden after the seal breaks, it should be able to take just enough if we strengthen them by 6 or 7 times..." Clio assured. She probably thought the tower's process would be better and more efficient.
"There should be a book on it somewhere here." Leaving the table, she ventured into the labyrinth of bookshelves again. "Let's see, practicing mana techniques, rare herbs, forced mana expansion..." Finding her way through with ease, she picked out books on the related topics.
Kai followed her around along with Aria. A thought occurred to him suddenly. "It won't work... I don't have mana channels."
Clio looked at him strangely walking along picking out books. "Come now, the tower can't awaken your mana without creating mana channels."
Kai paused. He hadn't told them about his cascading systems. "Well, the tower did create them, just that it also fused them with my blood vessels."
"Wha.." Clio stumbled, dropping the tombs. "Fused them with your vessels?" She looked at Kai speechlessly. "What are you?! Seriously?"
Awkward silence. "Yeah, and that's where the problem is, I suppose." Kai looked at them with a stiff face.
Aria spoke, breaking the ice, "The vessels are larger than mana channels..." She pulled up Clio, helping her pick up the books. "But are also not strong enough to hold lots of mana and blood simultaneously."
Kai sighed, scratching his head. "So, how are we going to reinforce my vessels? Work out?" His situation seemed to throw a wrench in everything they came up with.
Aria shook her head, "That's the thinking of fitness freaks, but it doesn't work. Exercise won't make your system able to handle more mana."
Kai turned to Clio, "Maybe there's something along the lines of how variant mana channels like that of variant cores?"
Clio gave an exasperated look, "Not everything is like a core, Kai. The tower custom makes the mana channels." Observing the confusion on his face, she sighed. "It means that the mana channels are made on the basis of the body and core. Mostly everyone has a similar core, thus similar mana channels. Variants have different mana channels as required for them to function."
"So, we have nothing?" Aria asked, her brows furrowed. It appeared she understood squat from Clio's explanation, just like him.
"I might have something," Clio whispered, leaving, and going deep into the library.
"What's up with her?" Kai asked. Clio seemed entirely rushed.