I was puzzled about what Anya told me. What did she mean?
"My father had me learn a magic gathering spell that allows the person performing this to use all the surrounding magic and pure mana to integrate into the body of the user. It allows helping the user to get stronger in a short duration of time. I am a half-dragon so I can easily do it. Since father gave his mark to you, then you can practice it."
Blue interjected from our conversation in my mind.
"That kind of ritual indeed exist before in the past. It was a shortcut to getting stronger but many people don't want to do it because of the danger it also possesses."
"Danger?"
"Let me give you an example, if you pour water in a glass, what will happen?"
"The water settles inside the glass until it gets full," I immediately answered.
"Mm, good. Now, what will happen if you continue to pour water to the glass despite it full of water already?"
"The water will overflow, obviously," I answered.
"Alright, then imagine that glass holding the water is your body and the mana in the air is the water. If you continue to receive the mana even though you are full, there is a huge chance for you to overflow, which means it leads to death. If you are lucky enough, you will remain alive. But most of the time, only the strongest will be able to qualify for this. Anya is a halfling while you are pure human; you are more in the risk of death, while Anya will not be affected."
"That dangerous?!"
"Yes. And I suggest you decline this method."
After our conversation with Blue, I looked at Anya and shook my head.
"I don't think I wanted that shortcut. It is far too dangerous for me since I am a mere human and even if I have the mark of your father, that doesn't mean I can practice the method your father taught you to. Is there any method left besides this?"
This time, Anya shook her head.
"Unfortunately, father only taught me that. Other than that, nothing else."
I was disappointed at first but then, the mimic started speaking.
"Magicians get stronger by increasing their mana and magic power right? Then I think I have something for you then. The problem is that you have to manually get it yourself. I don't have it with me."
"An item that can increase my whole mana and magic power? That sounded a bit of a scam…" I said.
"No. This is something that only people with the approval of the dragon can access and use to it. It will be a perfect asset for you who wanted to get stronger. I may not be a dragon, but I have lived for 30 years with my father, I am old enough to give my consent to you."
I almost cursed from what I heard. 30 years?! And here I thought I was older than her! She was much older than me! To think I am treating her as a kid! She is a legal loli! Ahem, I am sidetracked, and I think I have to think of a good way to treat her like an adult. I don't want to be disrespectful to my elders.
"I know what you are thinking. Stop that, I may be half-human but my aging process is similar to a dragon. I might be old but I am still a kid at heart. I am just matured enough for the years I lived in so feel free to keep on treating me like a kid."
"Alright then. So, what is this other method you are talking about?"
"My father once told me of this location where the buried treasure to increase your magic power was buried. I heard from Father that he tends to go there and try to take it for himself but it didn't work. He said he will ask me to go there in the future once I am mature enough to take it but he never managed to send me there."
This time, Maple who is just listening chimed in.
"Are you talking about the Sealed Cavern of the Deepest Realm?"
Anya was surprised and turned around to look at Maple. "You know the place?"
"Yeah. It is one of the caverns I accidentally discovered last year when I participated in the annual training here. But it is a sealed cavern and I can't even figure out how to open the sealed cavern door. It was like it is sealed shut."
"I see, so that was what Father was talking about."
"Your father said something about it?"
"Yes. The cavern door was there and he tried any kind of magic to destroy it but to no avail. He then noticed that it needs the person who wants to access the place to solve the encryption on the door. Unfortunately, he has no idea what the encryption was written from so he decided to find out what it was."
"Is there some sort of thing that is going to be beneficial to me in there?"
"Yes. From what my father detected, he discovered a seed there that can increase your mana and magic power forever. He has heard the seed before in mythical legends. According to him, this seed is the tree of Yggdrassil that was lost in the past. It was meant to be an extra seed in case the Yggdrassil tree gets cut down. However, the said seed did not become the next seed for the tree after the old tree bore another seed which has a bigger vitality and power than the former seed. So when the latter seed appeared, the former disappeared and was sealed so that there won't be any evil people trying to grab it for evil purposes. It is said that the seed will be the very source of power if cultivated properly."
"If that is the case, isn't that a useless trip then? I mean, I have no knack in solving things like that. Demons are here and if we don't hide and escape, we would either die or become something for them," I said.
"This is worth a chance. If you can easily learn spells, then maybe you have the ability to crack down spells without you noticing. Maybe you can open that door."
Blue also chimed in. "This might be a good chance Kazuma. I heard of this lost seed and this might be the solution to your innately low mana. I suggest you try to get it."
"You think I am a puzzle wiz? I am not someone who can easily solve puzzles that you are saying!"
"You tend to forget about me. I am the great spirit of the black phone. If you have trouble, I will help you with it! I am, after all, a perfect existence!"