Tsk, how are you so slow…? "Are you really this incompetent, or is it an elaborate act to waste my time?" my master snapped.
I stared at her, deadpan. I want to go home.
"You can't even focus on four circuits at once, and you want to become Duke?" she pressed.
I never wanted to though… not once.
"Focus better. Imagine the core at the center of your body… try merging any of the four circuits to it."
"Yes, Master," I replied, as politely as I could while my brain screamed I swear I'm trying! "But the third circuit keeps getting interrupted every time."
"Tsk, even your father — the muscle head — learned faster. Try one more time."
This granny… I gritted my teeth and went again.
Two circuits merged into the imaginary core easily enough, mana flowing smoothly. Then came the third circuit — stable at first — but the second I tried bringing it closer to the others, it turned into a wild beast. Heat flared in my gut, the circuit shattered, and pain rippled through me like I'd swallowed molten metal.
I bit back a groan. This time, though, she didn't scold me. She actually looked thoughtful.
"There is no flaw in the third circuit you created… why is it breaking?"
Oh, so now you notice?
She stepped closer, eyes narrowed. "Do it again."
"Of course, Master," I said aloud.
Alright, time for another gut-wrenching pain. Let's go.
I formed the two circuits again, steady and strong. Then, carefully, the third.
"Bring it closer," she ordered.
The moment I did, the mana in the third circuit went berserk, as if offended by its siblings' existence. The circuit hit its limit, snapped, and this time I coughed up blood.
She caught me before I stumbled to floor. "Hmm…" Her eyes scanned me critically. "You had a load of crap in place of mana."
Granny, that language doesn't suit the whole 'divine Elvian elder' vibe you've got going.
She immediately went to the bag she'd brought with her — the same one she'd placed on the windowsill earlier — and without a word, told me, "Sit still."
And I did. I didn't dare to not follow. You don't mess with someone who can fry your insides with a thought.
She pulled out a brush, dipped it into some faintly glowing ink, and started drawing lines on the floor, all radiating from where I sat like the sun's rays.
"What's this?" I asked, leaning forward.
"This," she said without looking up, "is how my mana circuits look."
Beautiful. That was the first word in my head. Not just beautiful — intricate. The kind of complexity that makes you think you're staring at art rather than anatomy.
Her circuits weren't just loops and lines; they had layers — three of them, embedded around each other so seamlessly that I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.
"Where's the core?" I asked. No core meant nowhere for the circuits to merge.
She finally glanced up and smiled, that slightly mischievous, 'you're about to regret asking' kind of smile.
"You are the core."
Yeah… I feel like I'm going to get screwed.
Then she pulled out a rolled carpet and spread it before me.
Ah, here comes another secret magic ingredient, I thought.
"What's the blanket for?" I asked.
"How else would I sit?" she replied, matter-of-fact.
Where do you think I'm sitting, huh? The floor.
Then she said, "Hugo."
Wow. First time she's ever spoken my name. It was almost weird enough to make me feel special. Almost.
"You know," she continued, "that no matter how much mana one possesses, they can only use the amount that passes through a unit area of cross section per unit time, right?"
"Yes," I replied. "Which is why those who can circulate mana faster can access more of it."
She nodded. "Exactly. And the circulation speed of mana for humans or elves primarily depends on the viscosity. The purer the mana, the lower the viscosity, and therefore the faster the flow — with the same amount of effort."
I nodded back, mentally making a note.
"That's why circuit formation is important," she continued, her tone slipping into the kind of lecture that makes you feel like an idiot for not already knowing this.
"By forming multiple circuits, one can access mana from multiple cross-sections. Of course, it's only possible if the source of all the circuits is the same — and that's why we form a core to act as the source. Mana from individual circuits can only be accessed from one circuit at a time since they don't share a common source. But if they're merged with the core… then you can access mana from all the merged circuits at once."
"I understand," I replied, though my brain was still buffering from the mana diagrams she'd drawn earlier.
Her voice dropped slightly. "But the third circuit you've been forming… is being rejected by the core."
I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'd really like to know why that's happening before I try and puke blood again."
The old woman hummed thoughtfully before saying, "It's just my speculation… but the mana in the third circuit is different from the mana the other two supply to the core."
And then, like a little lightbulb powered by dread, something clicked in my head.
The orbs.
Those weird mana orbs I'd absorbed back in the dungeon.
I remembered the erratic feeling they gave off before they were pulled into me. It was the same jagged, unpredictable nature I was sensing from this third circuit.
I lifted my head. "Master… I absorbed foreign mana in the dungeon."
....
Why the stare..?
Her eyes widened, but instead of speaking, she slowly shook her head, as if rejecting a thought so absurd it didn't deserve to exist.
"Good joke, disciple. But don't try that again."
"I'm not joking," I said, keeping my tone sharp. "The mana was actually spherical when it came out of dead mana beasts."
Her composure cracked. She froze. Then, as if the weight of her own thoughts crushed her, she clasped her head in both hands.
"…No," she whispered. "That's impossible."
"What is?" I pressed.
She looked up at me, and in that instant, I felt the air in the room tighten. "There is only one being in the entire recorded history of all fourteen dimensions who could absorb and incorporate foreign mana into their own core."
Her voice lowered, almost reverent, almost fearful.
"The God of Light—Caelumis. The only wielder of Dual Cradles… a feat that should be beyond any mortal. If what you're saying is true…"
Her gaze locked on me like she was trying to see through flesh and bone to whatever I truly was.