Chapter 26 - Growth Fueled By Boredom

As what he could only feel were hours that passed, he got up to stretch his legs that had long fallen asleep in his time of reading. He was on the cusp of figuring out how to use the first spell he had chosen to learn--but needed a small break before he wanted to test it out.

"I'm parched--there has to be beverages in here or something right? Do elves need to drink?" Ren muttered to himself as he began to wander the library.

It felt less like the libraries that he knew on Earth and more along the lines of a church, or something regal for that matter. The exuberant display of wealth in the design of the building felt like something only a wealthy king would take interest in building. Each bookshelf was over three meters tall, making the highest portions of the shelf unreachable for him.

After ten minutes of aimless wandering, he found himself in an empty section of the vast chamber, surrounded by halls of bookshelves with the center of the area containing an unassuming desk with a golden bell atop.

"Urr, I don't know what this will do, but I guess it's worth a shot…" Ren hovered his hand over the bell.

As he pressed his palm against the bell, the audible ding rang through the surrounding area.

"Nothing, huh?" He sighed and raised his hand before catching a glimpse of something now on the table.

A glass of water was now set on the table beside the bell. He paused for a moment, looking side to side before picking it up. It was chilled perfectly to what he had wanted--without any caution of what other possibilities the liquid could be, he gulped it down.

"Ahhh…" His parched throat felt as if it had been revived.

--Don't tell me, does this bell bring me anything I desire? That sounds...dangerous. Ren looked at the bell with a hint of caution finally.

A million possibilities drove through his head, some that he would never speak to another soul--he decided it was better to leave this bell alone, at least until he had more information. Now, with a properly hydrated body and confidence, he prepared himself to cast his first spell.

--"Improvidence Bind", that's the name of the spell. It was listed amongst the novice rank spells for dark magic users, so I should be fine.

He planted his feet firmly against the ground before closing his eyes, letting in a long intake of air before slowly releasing it. Letting the darkness that came without the sense of sight overcome the entirety of what he saw, he began to focus the flow of mana through his body.

"Improvidence Bind--!" He invoked the spell with a commanding tone.

As he opened his eyes, the darkness conjured itself into a singular sphere of energy above the palm of his hand. The power radiating from it vibrated against his skin, finding himself almost frozen in awe and fear of holding something so unnatural to him.

"It worked--well, that was the hardest part. Now let's see if the spell actually functions--!" He gritted his teeth before tossing the sphere of darkness.

However--the effects of conjuring said magic was made apparent. A sharp jolt of pain shot from the tips of his fingers to his shoulder. His fingers, forearm, and bicep all began to seize into a deathly cramp, losing control of his arm in its entirety.

"Ghh…!" He winced, watching as sparks crackled from the dark orb hovering in front of his palm.

It felt as if every strand, every fiber of muscle was being torn apart inside his arm. His body temperature dropped to a chilling cold then soared to a feverish heat. He grabbed his compromised arm, attempting to regain control of it as he felt his mana pour out of his body like water through a broken faucet.

"How...do I stop this--?" He asked himself in a gasp.

The skin on the palm of his hand began to crack and peel away, leaving room for blood to begin leaving his body, spilling onto the once clean floor below.

Just as it left his hand, the sphere lost its shape before exploding in front of him in a brilliant array of purple light, knocking him back as he slid across the smooth floor.

"Ghh…!" He let out a pained grunt as his back slammed into the corner of a bookshelf.

The function of "Improvidence Bind" definitely wasn't to explode and definitely not directly in front of him. Although it didn't seem to cause any injury, except for the less than gracious crash that resulted.

"Well...let's chalk that up to a "last resort"," Ren slowly stood up, rubbing his aching back.

The inevitable feeling of drowsiness crept upon him as he let out a subsequent yawn.

--Crap. Using mana for the first time probably drained me dry. He felt the strength in his limbs fade as he lumbered forward.

He let himself succumb to the natural tiredness of his mortal body, dragging his feet until he reached the bell once more. Even though he told himself to wait--his drowsy mind argued otherwise as he pressed the bell once more, conjuring a turquoise sleeping bag, lined with a fluffy blanket. With that last usage of the mysterious bell, he noticed a significant drain in his already low stamina.

--If I had to guess...this thing uses my mana as a sort of payment for whatever I desire from it. Ren theorized, feeling his eyelids grow heavy.

"Magic is pretty great, huh?" He whispered to himself as he got settled in the sleeping bag, zipping himself up.

It would be impossible to wait out his time in the library without a good nap. The constant worry of what was happening paired with the boredom that accompanied loneliness made it a dreadful wait. In the boundless chamber, surrounded by only books and his only lonely existence--he fell to slumber.