Yesterday, the chief had informed him about the unusual migration of the crabs and the danger it posed to the village.
Zephyr rushed to create the new core after finding out about it.
'For God's sake, give me a break. This is just day two of transmigration.'
Zephyr complained inwardly as he connected the dots in his mind, realizing the missing person case had something to do with the northern islands.
'From the looks of it, I may face danger sooner than I expected.'
Zephyr's finger tips twitched, showing his nervousness.
Like everyone, he didn't want to lose an arm or a leg, much less his life.
"Sigh!"
He took in a deep breath after the sigh and looked at the chief sweating next to him. Although he had a thousand complaints to make, he begrudgingly decided to suppress all of them and said.
"Chief, bring me a piece of paper, a sharp knife, a cup of fresh water, and an object the missing person used. Clothing would work, but a more intimate item that they held dearly would work even better." Zephyr said and looked out the window.
The mist had thinned a little as the sunlight warmed the air. He could see the wide beach and the expansive ocean.
"Take your time. I will rest and recover my mana for a while. And…light the storm lamps in the village. A fierce storm is approaching."
Zephyr added and walked to a corner of the room before sitting on an old chair. Promptly after that, he closed his eyes to meditate.
The fishermen inside the village hall, along with the chief, quietly walked out of the room.
They followed Zephyr's instructions and went to fetch the required items.
Meanwhile, Zephyr closed his eyes and dove into his mindscape.
There, he could see his cores rotating in space.
Zephyr wasted no time as he activated the engraved mana gathering runes on the core.
Just a few minutes ago, he had used the mana in one of his cores to activate the weather-sensing magic tool in the lighthouse. Now, he must recover all the mana to cast the search magic.
—-
Soon, a few minutes passed by. The mana gathering runes on both his cores worked in tandem, allowing Zephyr to gather mana much faster than expected. Though it required his full focus, he was still thrilled by how fast his mana was recovering.
Six runes were indeed faster than three. And there seems to be a synergy forming, making the six runes even more effective than it was supposed to be.
So, without wasting a second, Zephyr gathered more and more mana in Mindscape.
With his absolute mana control trait, he stabilized the extra mana outside his core, forming dense clouds.
Using the free time he had, he was hoping to create one more core.
However, before he could do so, the door to the village hall opened as the chief returned.
Zephyr stopped his meditation and opened his eyes.
He could see the items he asked for in the chief's hands. He was tightly clutching it as life depended on it.
'Well, someone's life indeed depended on it.'
Zephyr stood up and stretched his stiff body.
The chief walked closer to him after hesitating for a second.
"Sir, we brought the item you asked for." The chief showed the paper and knife, held his hand while motioning to the younger man standing next to him to bring a fishing rod and a cup of water.
Zephyr nodded, seeing that.
Then he walked over and grasped the cup of water in the younger man's hand.
The crystal clear water was just what he needed.
Not waiting a second, he drank it all with a satisfied smirk, confusing everyone in the room.
They thought the water must be something needed to cast the spell.
But it was not.
However, before they could dwell on it, Zephyr motioned for the knife and paper to be brought to him.
Then he walked to stand next to the cartography table.
The paper was rough and coarse, but it was good enough to do what he wanted.
Zephyr prayed in his mind for a moment and placed the paper on the table. Then he lifted the knife and slashed it over his forearm, draining the blood into the cup he had just used.
Zephyr winced as the pain traveled through his nervous system.
At the same time, everyone else, startled by his ruthless and decisive action, took a step forward.
"Sir Zephyr…" The chief called out in panic.
He wanted to stop Zephyr.
He couldn't comprehend what Zephyr was doing.
"What?" Zephyr turned his head back and asked, a little annoyance lacing his voice.
"Um…you are…injured." The chief fumbled his words.
"I know. I did it." Zephyr suppressed his pain, answering with his usual nonchalance.
"Why?"
"Why!" Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you want me to help you find your missing friend?"
"But…"
Before the chief could say anything, Zephyr pressed on his hand and drained a couple of milliliters of blood onto the cup.
"No, buts. You asked me to help you find the person, and I am doing it. There is no going back."
Zephyr said coldly.
Though his voice was cold and detached, the men in the room felt an unspeakable warmth overcome them.
After all, action spoke louder than words.
Although Zephyr was like all other mages they had seen—cold, calm, composed, and calculating, they finally realized he was also different.
While he showed his anti-social shell outwards, he was truly willing to help them when they needed him the most, even if it meant injuring himself.
Although they didn't understand why exactly he cut himself to drain blood, they knew he was doing it for them.
Just that fact alone warmed their hearts.
No other mage in his position would have done the same. All of them knew that.
After all, they were peasants of this land. There were not even free men. To save a peasant's life that was worth even less than that of a cattle, would a mage risk an injury?
The obvious answer was no.
And yet, Zephyr went beyond all expectations to help them.
The chief and everyone else who watched him drain blood onto the cup didn't know what to say. So, they stood silently, watching him patiently.
Meanwhile, Zephyr complained in his mind about the pain, not understanding the impact his action caused.
Even if he knew it, he would have made fun of the villagers in his mind, calling them overthinkers, saying that other mages wouldn't have to do what he did to cast the spell.
After all, Zephyr's core was tiny. So, he couldn't draw the runes for the search spell on his core. That was the reason why he was trying to draw the runes on paper. And the best and only mana conductive material he could find to draw the rune externally was his blood.
He really didn't have a kink of hurting himself. It was just the necessity that pushed him to do what he did.
So, the villagers were just overthinking. It was not his boundless kindness on display. But just his basic commitment to do anything the best he could.