Just as his hair was as red as a burning flame, so was his temper. Somehow he was docile and easy to calm down, other times he blew up in frustration and anger. Nonetheless, I couldn’t be angry with him, he was my proudest achievement, and still is, long after he left.
“We’re going to attempt the removal of the parasite,” Kai stated plainly and scanned Lilith’s body. Léandro sat down next to him, his expression as flabbergasted as it was excited.
“What do you mean, how?”
Kai shook his head and let out a sigh as he placed his finger over the red dots. “I don’t know yet. Mana is something I don’t fully understand and usual means of removing illnesses wouldn’t work.” He explained as he tried to understand the construction of the red dots better.
“Mana isn’t a simple thing to understand,” Zeliph interjected as he similarly studied Lilith. “It’s a form of energy, just like heat and strength, and we bend it to our wills using the inner organs we evolved. However other forms of energy don’t have such raw power and are harder to use. Similarly, mana can only interact with mana, and the product of the converted mana into magic can interact with everything else.”
He almost said everything in one single breath. Kai nodded, gaining a deeper understanding of mana and the laws governing this world. Though he didn’t have the time to inquire further, what Zeliph said jogged his memory. “If mana can only interact with mana, then we must use it to get rid of the dots and eventually, the parasite. Although…” He observed just how many dots covered Lilith on the skin that was visible alone, and shivered at the thought of how many there were.
“You’d need a good amount of control for that… I’m afraid very few can do that.” Léandro added as his eyes switched between Kai and Lilith. “I think you’re the only one here who can do such a task.”
Kai nodded, though he wasn’t very happy about that. “I have no choice, then. I said I would help and do my best. I’ll keep my word.” He fastened his cloak and took off the blanket completely. Her slender legs were covered in dots, just as her hands were, and the sight filled Kai with a terrible dread.
He grabbed her hand and gently inserted mana into her vein, then exercised caution as he guided the worm-like thread toward the closest red dot. It slithered and made contact with it. In that moment Kai felt and saw the entire network that connected the red dots to the core. This is?! The problem revealed itself to be much bigger than he had thought. It wasn’t just countless on-the-surface red dots that fed the parasite. They were everywhere. On the mana veins, in the veins and flesh of Lilith’s body, surrounding her organs and covering them as they multiplied indefinitely.
This is insane… what are they trying to do? Do they want to take control of her body? That’s… just who created such an evil technique? However this way… doesn’t seem that bad. This development gave Kai an idea. An idea that could be as dangerous as it might be fruitful.
Controlling his shock, Kai tried to encircle the bottom part of the red dot and do what they were doing with Lilith’s body. He fed it the mana he had, however, unlike the natural mana, he still had control over his. The red dot’s color changed as it absorbed the little amount of mana Kai allowed it to. It went from the red to a more transparent blue, until Kai took over it entirely.
After he did so, he waited to see if the parasite would react to the change, but even after a minute that didn’t seem to be the case. In that case, let me see just how much damage I can do.
He acted with caution and used the thin thread that connected the former red dot and followed it. It passed by several organs, red dots, and areas before heading into the Mana Core, straight to the parasite. Kai didn’t dare venture further and immediately cut the mana link he created, afraid that the parasite might catch on to something. The red dot that he took over disappeared and faded under the group’s shocked gaze.
Kai gasped for air as he returned to himself, and let go of Lilith’s hand.
“Amazing…”
“Not amazing,” Kai interjected through heavy breaths. “It takes too much effort and… they’re everywhere. Not just on the surface, there’s hundreds of thousands of them in her body.”
The group stood in silence for a moment, with Zeliph scratching his chin. “Do you think… you can do it?” He asked slowly and carefully with apprehension. “Would you be able to save her?”
A few minutes of silence passed. Kai looked at a corner, deep in thought. My current mana reserves would be barely enough to remove the dots on her skin. That was my original plan, but now… I need more. Much more.
He shook his head with a sigh, “I can… but not right now. Not as I am. I think I need to break through first, then it will be easier.”
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“What do you mean?” Léandro said, turning to him.
“The plant. I need it, and probably many more like it.”
Zelpih, Léandro, and the two fat men gave Kai a weird look, one he didn’t expect. Nevertheless, he knew that there wasn’t any point in hiding his technique from them. “I can drain plants of their mana and use it for myself. That is why I wanted the Blood Flowing Stalk.”
At that moment, something clicked in Léandro’s head, and he took out the sealed box as fast as he could. “You mean you can speed up the time it takes for your core to grow?”
Scoffing at the remark, Kai took the box. “Speed up, yeah you can say so.” He paused and opened it. “I’d rather say that I developed this method because traditional means failed me.”
“What is your current core progress?” Zeliph asked without any hesitation.
“Medium Core One Star Mage… Forty-three percent refined.” Kai said, regret hidden in his voice. After they left the city, he had no time to gather mana plants and absorb them. The main reason is that Yasa always wanted to be on the move. Another reason was that there simply weren’t enough plants he could get. The plants I used before have diminishing returns and any new ones I found weren’t that much better. Such a pain…
“I’m going outside to absorb this and I will have to think about the next course of action after seeing the results.” He informed them as the curtains to the tent parted open. Onyx stood up with a lazy yawn and followed him, though they stopped around a dozen or so meters away.
Kai took out the plant and placed it in front of him, then encased it in mana. Closing his eyes, he put to use the amalgamation of a technique Barhm created. After using it a couple dozen times, Kai’s mastery of it has reached a high level. Though he couldn’t say for sure he would be able to filter out as much of the impurities as before.
Minutes trickled by and the Blood Flowing Stalk became nothing more than a shivered dreg. It crumbled into pieces as Kai let go of it and absorbed the mana it provided. His eyes opened and shone with a soft light. Fifty-percent. This plant truly lives up to its name. I expected a lot more, though… Well, I only managed to purify about thirty percent of the mana…Kai sighed and guessed that to a normal Mage that plant would yield more than it did him.
He dragged his feet back inside the tent. The group’s expectation gazes fell upon him, yet he shook his head. “I miscalculated. I would need a lot more Blood Flowing Stalks if I want to break through.”
Léandro lowered his head. His lips parted open, but he didn’t say anything. The ocean blue of his eyes looked at Kai with a yet hopeful gaze. But what could he do? It wasn’t like there was an infinite supply of Blood Flowing Stalks lying around.
Or maybe there are?! His head snapped to Léandro and asked with a half-excited tone. “Do you know how many contests have been held so far?”
“To win the plant? I think… maybe… five. Including ours.”
“And how long does he plan on staying?”
“I heard he’s going to be staying here for a while,” Zeliph interjected and said in a soft voice.
Kai nodded and turned toward the exit, looking back at Léandro. “Let’s go, I have an idea.”
The blonde-haired boy jumped to his feet and took a last glance at his entourage before following Kai outside. They were joined by Onyx soon thereafter.
“What are you going to do?”
“WE,” Kai emphasized, “are going get more Blood Flowing Stalks.”
“Huh? But how?” Léandro asked, yet he answered his own question soon after voicing it. “We aren’t going to”
“Yes,” Kai cut him off and hurried his pace. “We’re going to rob that sleazy guy and take all the plants he has.”
“Rob? But-” Léandro wanted to protest, but Kai didn’t allow him. Grabbing his hand, he enchanted his feet with mana and rushed toward the city.
“You want Lilith to be saved, I want to level up. Good enough.”
“Still… robbing someone?”
“Robbing a dishonest businessman,” Kai explained as they advanced. “Some of the matches were rigged and I bet he won more money than he knows what to do with.”
“Rigged? What-”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed. You’re smarter than that.”
“But still-”
“Léandro,” Kai’s imposing, yet still friendly tone rang out in the boy’s years. “That man’s plants or Lilith’s life, which do you choose?”
After hearing that, Léandro shut his mouth and followed Kai, more dragged around than walking. Onyx followed at a leisurely pace. It didn’t take long for them to reach the city gate. The guards already knew them, so they allowed passage without hassle. As soon as they were out of sight, Kai snuck through the shadows, making himself as invisible as possible.
That didn’t work much for Léandro, though. Fortunately for them most of the people weren’t roaming the streets that late at night. Kai made his way to the large plaza, where the arena still stood, albeit more broken than at the start of the day. The man’s stall remained in front of it, though it was closed and shut.
Onyx, do you smell anyone? Kai inquired to his friend, who in turn took rapid whiffs of the air.
No. He replied simply, which gave Kai the go-ahead to rush toward the stall, sword in hand. Léandro didn’t have any time to process the events as he found himself dragged toward the wooden storage and transaction area.
Kai slashed at whatever lock the man put in place with a mana-infused sword and opened the door as fast as he could. The lock and chain clinked to the ground, echoing in the empty area. He looked inside and saw the same dozens upon dozens of boxes lying on the floor, in stacks. No sign of the gold though, not that he cared for it. The man probably made a nice profit from him choosing the plant instead of the coins.
“Help me take everything.” He said in a whisper as fast as he could. I won’t have enough space in both rings for all of them. I don’t know if I can store stuff in my necklace. I hope this ‘majesty’ has enough space in his fancy ring.
Léandro hesitated for a moment but followed Kai inside and grabbed whatever he could. Neither of them checked if it was what they were looking for, nor did they care. At that moment, as their hearts raced and adrenaline spiked, all they could think about was getting the hell out of there as soon as possible.
The stall cleared in a matter of minutes, with only a few hard-to-see boxes remaining to litter the floor. “Alright, this is enough.”
However, just as they prepared to leave, Onyx’s voice rang in Kai’s mind. Hwmans! Strwong! Flwee!
The boy’s head snapped toward the entrance, but it was too late as the angry voice of a man roared in their ears.
“What the fuck are you two thieves doing here?!”
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Are they good thieves?
