Chapter 186

As I left the room, leaving the beautiful girl disguised as Delia behind, I had to suppress the temptation to swing back and see the mystery hidden behind the impressively-complicated magical disguise. It was out of character for me to leave such a mystery unattended despite the opportunity, but, ultimately, the time it took for me to discover her extraordinary disguise and changing skills stopped me.

They clearly had abilities that I was not privy to, so, any attempt to break through the veil of mystery was simply an unnecessary risk.

Instead, I returned to the room they had created for me for some more experimentation, curious whether I could create storage that could enhance Tantric mana’s ability to somehow destroy Divine Spark’s nature, to the point of weaponization. Although, with the number of magical observation methods they had integrated into the room, it was going to be a true challenge.

Such a waste, I thought even as I stepped into the laboratory. I had an impressive number of priceless equipment and materials to work with, yet I had to limit my research significantly because I was afraid of a surprise detection ward they might have placed. “What a pity,” I murmured as I washed my face, the cold water giving me the jolt I needed to focus for a day filled with hard work, experimentation, and careful espionage.

The presence of constant observation was not doubtful. Even without any hidden motive, the room was like a treasury, only less defended. I could hardly blame them for trying to protect it, or their attempt to maximize the benefit they were getting from me.

It was time to work. First, I grabbed several alloy samples, and flooded them with mana, establishing some simple strengthening enchantments on them.

[-25 Mana]

Then, I flared my mana again, triggering the device that rested in the center of the room. A rotating magical field appeared in the center of the room, a chaotic field that promised only pain for anyone that dared to step inside. The alloys floated on the surface of the device, slowly corroding and disintegrating.

It was a simple and boring experiment. I was trying to understand how certain enchantments worked on different alloys. The process was dull, because after the first set had finally disintegrated, I grabbed another set of alloys, enchanted them, and threw them to the device to be destroyed slowly. All the while, I was working on a scroll, rolled open in front of me, a quill on my hand as I took detailed notes, filling the rest of the paper with the calculations, my mind filled with numbers and formulas.

The only trick, the formulas that were keeping my mind busy weren’t the ones I was writing on the scroll in front of me.

The formulas and calculations on the paper certainly looked impressive, the kind that would challenge a magical expert with an Intelligence of twenty. Yet, for me, it was barely more than doing the sums.

The same didn’t apply to the notes I was keeping on my mind.

From a distance, it looked like I was testing the performance of the alloys under different strengthening enchantments, but in reality, some of those enchantments were cast using ordinary mana, while others had a different mixture of Tantric mana mixed into their structure. Never overwhelmingly, as I wanted to avoid the attention of any observer, but just enough to see if using Tantric mana was making any difference.

It was vital to test after my latest discovery about Tantric’s impact on different applications. I didn’t want to be ambushed by another miraculous feature.

I cycled through the different enchantments, materials, and spells to test, my mind filled with endless calculations as I tried to understand the impact of Tantric. However, after three hours of detailed experimentation, I was yet to discover anything other than Tantric was bad for casting enchantments, lacking the rigidity to carry the weight of the magical effect I desired to inject.

[+7 Craft]

When I heard a knock on the door, almost four hours after I started experimenting, I was yet to discover anything wondrous. Welcoming a break, I waved my hand and the door opened, allowing the guest to step inside.

A blonde woman, dressed in leather armor, with an exquisite sword that radiated magic on her waist. I recognized her instantly, as she was one of the handmaidens that had been accompanying the princess, but this time, she wasn’t wearing a dress but armor.

Well, at least at the surface. Without checking, it was hard to guess whether she was another disguised member sent to talk with me.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you,” she spoke, though unlike her words, her voice was sharp with a challenge. I suppressed a sudden flash of sadness as her tone reminded me of Aviada, my unlucky lover who found herself on a dangerous journey.

“I was just finishing an experiment, no worries,” I said, turning to her with a big, salacious smile, once again the reputation as a lecher creating an excellent cover. “How can I help one of the precious handmaidens of the princess? Is there an emergency, or would I have the fortune to accompany you for leisure activity?”

Her sharp frustration at being flirted with was amusing, even if I suspected it was more acting than her actual feelings.

Precision: 40 Perception: 42

Agility: 40 Manipulation: 45

Speed: 39 Intelligence: 49

Endurance: 39 Wisdom: 51

HP: 6528 / 6528 Mana: 8000 / 8000 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Master Arcana [100/100]

Master Subterfuge [100/100]

Master Craft [84/100]

Expert Speech [75/75]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share

Empowerment (0/1)

Teleportation

COMPANIONS

[Cornelia - Level 22/26]

[Helga - Level 22/26]