Chapter 188: Inexhaustible Continuity

Linkle was a witch known for her knowledge of the most obscure of alchemy, curses, and magical items, yet even she was struggling to figure out the mechanism behind the mana-oozing ring.

It seemed to be trapped in an eternal cycle of converting atmospheric mana into mana that could be used by humans and other species, however, not exactly keen on putting her finger inside it, she couldn't quite conclude whether it actually worked the way she was thinking.

"Arcane for sure, but..." Leaning closer and closer with a magnifying glass pointed at its minute cogs and coil, she stared at the mechanisms lying underneath a transparent film. "It has some sort of, what the hell do they call it again? Tech...technology, yeah that's right. I don't know what those coils do exactly."

Letting go of the magnifying glass, Linkle closed her strained eyes for a moment before opening them back up and looking at the duo standing in front of her.

"So nothing?" Raven asked, visibly disappointed.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself after that insult, she slipped the ring closer to the mage. Smiling to herself, she leaned closer to him over the counter and whispered in jest.

"Go ahead try it and find out yourself if it burns your mana pores or enhances them to be in a state of inexhaustible continuity," leaning back away, she turned her head to the priestess as well. "If you guys think you can do a better job, go ahead and burn the magic out of your bodies forever!"

Needless to say, none of them even wanted to risk the possibility, even if the potential reward could be an infinite source of mana. After all, much like how an excess of blood can cause countless diseases, an overflow of mana through their bodies could do the very same. experience-MVLeMpYr

"Well, no takers?" Content with herself, Linkle grabbed the ring off her work desk with a wide smirk plastered on her face. "Only undeads and possibly those automatons that you speak of can use this ring, any amount of organic matter with a functioning metabolism will be thrown off in a jiffy because of this thing."

"What is it?" Mino asked, walking towards the table and leaning in like the other two.

Giving her a quick glance, Linkle opened the jar's lid. In a moment's time, the light inside the place was consumed by the dark orb. But as the witch placed the lid back on, the light returned as if it had never left.

"This orb can consume any and all light inside a closed space," Linkle explained, a cheeky smirk riding on her lips.

"Like my mother?" Reminded of her mother's ability to consume light inside her scales, Maine was pulled out of her lustful hysteria and could finally feel something other than the need to be fucked. Slowly slithering closer to the orb, her eyes were wide open with shock. A mix of joy and dread spiraled inside her.

In that orb, she saw herself and her mother, and to free it meant to free herself and even bring her back, but then–before she could touch the jar, Raven grabbed her by the arm.

Shocked by his touch, she looked at him with fear, however, instead of his usual disgust towards the Lamias, Raven seemed somewhat somber. He knew what was running through Maine's head. The loss of a parent, he saw it in her eyes and now Maine could see the same hurt reflected in Raven's eyes.

"She's dead, that orb's not her, it's better to accept it than let it haunt you forever," for whatever reason those words came out of his mouth, even Raven didn't know, but regardless, he felt like she needed to hear them at least once since Libyan's death.

'Fine...I've been too harsh with her.' Trying not to be too tough on her just because of her race, Raven shook away those thoughts and instead decided to focus on the task at hand.

"I also have a handful of more teleportation rings before you go," Linkle informed.

"Perfect," Raven replied right after.