Since bringing Almandine along could enhance the efficiency of his hobby, Bahyun’s trips to purify polluted wastelands had leveled up from solo activity to a duo endeavors.
With her hands in his palm, mana resonated harmonically from the place where their palms connected, seeping into the land under their footsteps as they glided over the polluted area. Each time they walked together, Bahyun’s runes gained improvements. The inspiration from their joint efforts resulted in purifying runes that worked faster and yielded better results.
It was night with a full moon when it happened. They stood on a wasteland that had abruptly emerged in a forest. According to records, it occurred when a dark beast’s portal opened here during its invasion. The creature wreaked havoc in the forest for almost half of a month before being terminated by Mages. However, it was too late to save the forest, and the one verdant land now resembled a cake with a portion dug away from the middle, leave an unsightly, ugly hole.
Since it didn’t affect any humans, it wasn’t a priority on the purification list among Mages, which is why Bahyun chose it.
As the rune began to take effect, the moon was nearing the horizon, and the sky would soon brighten within three to four hours. Bahyun couldn’t resist yawning, swinging his hand that held Almandine’s like a child’s.
“Great! Another land saved; now let’s go home.” Bahyun said with a light-hearted tone, but his mood took a sharp turn when he saw Almandine’s unusually blushed face under the bright moon, “What’s wrong? Fever?”
Could a magic circuit had a fever?
Almandine’s usually crystal-clear eyes now appeared blurred, and she seemed rather wooden as Bahyun place his hand on her forehead to test her temperature. After a long moment, she replied with a confused “huh?”
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“It really is a fever…” Bahyun panicked. He knew how to treat a normal person with a fever, but what could he do if a body made by a compilation of magic circuits was affected? Check for any short circuits?
Bahyun hurriedly brought Almandine home and hovered anxiously in her room for a while before deciding to check her with his mana.
He had known Almandine was some sort of AI made by a magic circuit complex when he first heard the story of her creation, but that didn’t mean he knew much beyond that. He felt it would be impolite to check her circuit, akin to looking under a lady’s dress, although he couldn’t quite explain why he made that connection in his mind.
Despite his lack of knowledge about how her circuit was connected, he was impressed by its fine craftsmanship and marvel at the miracle of her existence as a purely magical creation. If her master hadn’t been so stubborn and foolish, using its genius intellect to conquer the human world, it would surely have become a legend in the dark realm. Even humans, who had long studied mana technology, were unable to create something like her. She was truly magnificent!
“Could you describe how you feel now? Do you feel any pain or discomfort in any body parts?” Bahyun asked, beginning his investigation from her forehead. However, he doubted his decision almost immediately. Her head was complexly designed by her master to be comparable with a human brain. Perhaps he should start with her fingers instead of her forehead, but he was too disturbed to think rationally.
Almandine curled up slowly, her hand pressed hard on her chest right on the heart’s location as if trying to endure something unbearable. “It’s full…I feel, overflown…like I’m going to burst into pieces…”
Full? Overflown? By what? Bahyun didn’t understand her description, but he noticed her hand pressing on her chest. He reached out and pressed on the same spot, activating his detection magic. However, he was met with a strong force that repelled him. Shock coursed through his inner organs, and blood started to trickle from the corner of his lips as he was forced backward, collapsing on the floor three meters away from her when his back hit the wall.
The unknown force carried a hint of corrosion, reminiscent of the energy that polluted the human world when the dark beast invaded through their portals.