Chapter 98: Second Heart (1)

Chapter 98: Second Heart (1)

Elizabeth, who was tending to the area below Ronan’s clavicle, suddenly stopped her hand. She asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Um, Ronan...”

“What is it?”

“...Did you originally have a Core?”

“Huh?”

Ronan furrowed his brows. He wondered what nonsense she was talking about instead of applying the potion well.

A Core? Even for those not cursed by an abomination, it took decades to create a Mana Core. Ronan raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t have anything like that.”

“Really? Then what is this...?”

Elizabeth extended her hand to the same spot once again. There was definitely something inside Ronan, beating with a different rhythm than his heart, vividly conveying the movement of mana.

‘It’s different from the regular Cores I’ve seen. I wonder...?’

She paused, contemplating.

However, it felt different from the Cores she had seen so far. The way he manipulated mana seemed similar to a Core, but the way mana accumulated felt closer to a Circle.

Moreover, unless she had seen wrong, Ronan’s Core wasn’t integrated with his heart but was separated. It felt like he had two beating hearts, which she had never seen before. This puzzled her as she pondered with furrowed brows.

“It’s hot.”

“Oh! I’m sorry!”

Elizabeth quickly withdrew her hand. She had forgotten about applying the potion due to her intense focus.

She hastily applied the potion to the remaining burns. With every stroke, the contours and elasticity of Ronan’s muscles were transferred to her fingertips, making her face tingle. It was a sensation she couldn’t get used to.

‘It’s solid!’

Before long, the treatment was over. Ronan’s wounds had completely healed in just five minutes since the potion was applied.

Not a trace of the burns, or the minor cuts and bruises he had from earlier, remained. Ronan, now fully healed, chuckled.

‘The smell of money is making my head spin. I should consult with Marya about this.’

Even in a well-equipped forge, such an item would be hard to find. Once the production process was streamlined, and the right market was found, he would undoubtedly make a substantial amount of gold coins. Ronan, dressed again, looked at Elizabeth and smiled.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I survived.”

“Hmm, it was nothing.”

“You applied it very meticulously. I thought noble ladies would be reluctant to do this, but you surprised me.”

“Well, it’s a noble’s duty to help commoners in trouble...!”

As Elizabeth spoke, she couldn’t meet Ronan’s eyes. Her ears, peeking out from her lavender hair, turned bright red. Clearing her throat, she continued,

“Um, Ronan, something is strange.”

“Strange?”

“As I mentioned earlier, you have a Core near your heart... I think you should get it checked out.”

Elizabeth shared what she had discovered: there seemed to be a growth, almost like a tumor, near Ronan’s heart, and it was even pulsating.

‘Of course, that shxxty piece of toilet paper...!’

Ronan’s eyes widened. Suddenly, he recalled the strange sensation he had felt inside his chest right after grabbing Vijra. He placed a hand over his heart and muttered.

“Am... I going to die now?”

“Um, probably not. It’s just really unique, so when you get back to Philleon...”

“You’ve been waiting for a long time.”

Elizabeth was interrupted as a familiar voice came from behind. Ronan turned to see Aun Philara approaching, wearing a robe that was partly burnt from the recent battle.

Eyrie and Tower Master Lorehon stood on either side of him. Eyrie, now back in her human form, held a bundle of books in her hands. Ronan extended his hand.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Sorry for being late. There was so much to handle.”

“No need to apologize. I know you went through a lot.”

“Compared to you, it was like a walk in the park.”

Ronan shook his head. Aun Philara, who fought the huge fire all night, looked haggard and looked as if he would collapse at the slightest breeze. Even ten of his bodies would have been insufficient. Aun Philara spoke.

“I don’t even know where to begin. First, accept my respects.”

Out of the blue, Aun Philara knelt down on one knee and lowered his head. Ronan’s face stiffened. Elizabeth gasped in surprise.

Aun Philara’s appearance was fragile, as if he could collapse at any moment. But Ronan knew that he had given his all in the fight. Aun Philara spoke,

“I don’t know where to start, but first, please accept my bow.”

Aun Philara suddenly knelt, bowing his head. Ronan’s face stiffened, and Elizabeth was shocked, exclaiming,

“Tower Master, what are you doing?”

“Thanks to all of you, we can welcome a new dawn.”

Eyrie appeared equally taken aback, suggesting that this action had not been discussed beforehand. Tower Master Lorehon, on the other hand, kept a slight smile and stroked his beard, looking undisturbed by the situation. Ronan grumbled with a frustrated tone, eager to get him to stand up.

“Damn it, get up! What’s a Tower Mage doing acting like a fool?”

The people around them stared. Even the mages who had been busy repairing the damage froze in bewilderment and looked at the Tower Master who was bowing to the young man and woman.

After a long silence, Aun Philara finally rose to his feet. He met Ronan’s gaze and spoke.

“I’m not sure where to start. First, I want to thank you for saving the Dawn Magic Tower.”

“...A stubborn old man, you are.”

“In any case, I’d like to express my gratitude once again. I couldn’t properly greet you on the sea, sinceI was so anxious...”

Ronan chuckled at their almost-sisterly interaction. It was hard to imagine that they were the beloved offspring of two rival noble houses, Acalusia and de Gracia.

‘Maybe I can use this opportunity to get closer to them.’

In preparation for the end times, they needed all the help they could get. He coincidentally took the same airship, Western Wing, that he rode when he came to Dawn Tower.

The captain recognized Ronan and seated him in a first-class compartment suitable for nobility. However, he insisted that he couldn’t charge him the fare and made a big fuss about it, so Ronan had no choice.

This time, there were no fireballs flying his way. Transformed into a firebird, Aun Philara escorted them until they were out of the airspace of the Dawn Tower.

*****

Ronan arrived in Philleon around noon the next day. Thanks to a good night’s rest, he wasn’t particularly tired.

He could comfortably write the club activity report and submit it. Ronan felt a sense of joy as he realized that his writing skills were improving as he wrote.

-Piii~

Marpez, the Dreambird, was happily grooming himself, while Varen was anything but happy in his office at the Philleon Academy. Seated across from each other at the table where they had often conversed, they were discussing the recent club activity.

After carefully reviewing the report, Varen, with a sigh of relief, looked at Ronan.

“Okay, Ronan, so, you were at the center of the incident that occurred at the Dawn Magic Tower.”

“Well, that’s right.”

“You accidentally entered the Forbidden Library, nearly getting devoured by the Vijra of Destruction, and escaped dramatically, and also got involved in high class fire magic like Hell Prominence... is that correct?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Ronan nodded confidently. He started explaining his adventure in detail. It was a gripping story, filled with vivid descriptions, but Varen was too far gone to notice.

“Yes, isn’t the actual thing more ordinary than you’d think? When I think about all the trouble I went through to catch it, it really...”

As he began narrating the story of how he captured the Vijra, vividly describing the intense experience, Varen’s mind drifted off.

Crash!

His teacup fell from his hand and shattered. It seemed as though his consciousness was slipping away. Varen leaned forward, his trembling hand supported by the table.

“Uh, uhhh...”

“What, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

Varen barely managed to stand and steadied himself by gripping the table. Roan, looking concerned, approached him. When Varen saw the book in Roan’s hand, he jumped up from his seat.

“Ugh! Get that away from me!”

“Hey, why are you yelling? You’re going to scare people.”

“Uhh-uh w-what on earth did you do to report back such a thing after going there for research? I mean... I...!”

“By the way, your potion worked like a charm, Varen, even if the effect was a bit overwhelming.”

“Don’t change the subject! I absolutely need to do something about this now, please sit down!”

Varen was almost crying. He seemed to be in quite a bit of mental distress. While speaking passionately about the safety of students and the school, he sat down, covering his face with both palms.

“Keuheugh, kuugh... You should be more careful... What if something had really gone wrong?”

“Good grief, are you so weak-hearted? With your size, it’s embarrassing,”

Varen didn’t respond to his words. Only muffled sobs were heard under the beard. Roan knew this state would likely last for at least an hour.

‘I guess there’s no helping it.’

Ronan had prepared a gift in advance and left the room. Varen recovered after two hours, and an old, discolored book was placed on the table in his absence.

“...Hmm?”

It was a very old and yellowed book. The cover of the book had a clear title: ‘Basic Herbalism’. Below it was written the name of the author.

“Sarante... Lematyon?”

From the family name, it was clear that the author was an elf. Varen wiped his eyes and opened the book.

“This... is...!”

His eyes widened with each page he turned. The yellowed pages contained detailed instructions on how to use and grow herbs that he could not even imagine.

*****

‘It’s great, I definitely put this to good use. It’s a good book.’

After leaving Varen’s office, Ronan headed straight to the club building. The Vijra of Destruction, which once terrorized the entire Empire, was now rolled up and placed in the back pocket of his pants.

‘Those smart guys might be able to figure something out.’

Ronan was planning to throw Vijra to Aslle or Ophelia. He read it all the way on the airship, but all he could find was a list of things he couldn’t understand at all.

‘Now that I think about it... I should also ask about this thing in my chest.’

Ronan recalled what Elizabeth had said and furrowed his brow. If it was Navirose or Jhordin, they might know something.

In reality, he was still haunted by the anxiety that this lump might simply be part of a terrible disease. The thing that was the origin of its birth was such a terrible entity.

‘...Wait a minute. If this is a Core, it means it can extract mana, right?’

Suddenly, curiosity struck Ronan. Depending on whether mana would manifest or not, there would be a mix of jubilation and frustration, but it was better to get it over with first. He should confirm right now.

He summoned Lamancha and stood with determination.

Sssshhh... A strange breathing sound came from his lips as he attempted to invoke mana. Ronan could distinctly feel something new taking root within his chest.

‘Alright.’

He attempted to draw mana from the lump he felt in his chest, rather than from his existing heart. His heightened sensitivity made it relatively easy.

Before long, a whitish mana began to ascend, riding the steel of Lamancha. Ronan narrowed his eyes and cursed.

“What the fxxk...?”

Whitish mana was coiled around the blade of Lamancha. Inside the shimmering currents resembling white mist, a sparkle very familiar to him was emerging.

Shhhinee!

Ronan’s mind turned completely blank at the sight of it being completely identical to the mana of Nebula Clazier.