The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 380

The Hallamanium Site.

The final arrangement my master had prepared for me.

True to its name, the Hallamanium ‘Site’ exists in the real world, not in a virtual space.

Because it’s a real place, I was able to bring Soonchan and Adela along.

“……What is this?”

Soonchan blinked, looking around blankly.

“……Is this a crystal cave?”

Adela observed her surroundings with a cold expression.

“This is our destination. The Hallamanium Site.”

“Here?”

Adela still looked around with a wary expression.

It’s a completely new space for her, so she can’t easily relax her guard.

“Huh? This is a training ground? Where?”

Soonchan is still looking around the cave in surprise.

The cave walls are semi-transparent and glowing.

Like Adela said earlier, they resemble crystals.

“I agree. This structure doesn’t seem suitable for training.”

Adela carefully placed her hand on the cave wall.

“……!”

At that moment, Adela’s eyes widened.

It seems she noticed the structure of this cave.

“The ores filling the cave… are they all mana stones?”

“This is a mana stone? I don’t feel any mana.”

Soonchan’s eyes widened as he scanned the inside of the cave.

“It looks like ordinary minerals to me.”

He still has an expression that says he doesn’t feel anything.

Well, it’s natural to have that kind of reaction.

“They are mana stones.”

Those crystal-like ores are all mana stones.

“Luminous mana stones. They are artificial mana stones that can be used semi-permanently.”

“Semi-permanent…? Does that mean they won’t be destroyed even if all the mana is used up?”

“That’s right.”

Mana stones are a kind of disposable battery.

Once all the mana that makes up the mana stone is used up, that’s it.

With the loss of mana, the mana stone shatters.

“Luminous mana stones can be recharged and reused even after all the mana is used up.”

But luminous mana stones are different.

If ordinary mana stones are disposable batteries, luminous mana stones are rechargeable batteries.

Unlike ordinary mana stones, even if all the mana is used up, their structure is not destroyed.

“That’s an amazing mana stone. How can they be processed to have such properties?”

Adela looked at the mana stone with an intrigued expression.

“……Rechargeable mana stone or whatever, I don’t feel any mana at all.”

Soonchan frowned and glared at the luminous mana stone.

Is he thinking that if he looks at it like that, he’ll see the mana?

“Ah! Maybe it’s not charged yet? If that’s why I can’t feel the mana, then it’s a different story…”

“That’s not it. It’s fully charged.”

“……Really?”

Soonchan frowned.

“But why can’t I feel anything?”

Soonchan frowned and looked at Adela.

“Adela, you can feel the mana, right?”

“No.”

Adela shook her head.

“I’m the same. I don’t feel anything either.”

“……Huh? Really?”

“Yes.”

“But how did you realize it was a mana stone?”

“My mana moved when I touched the ore.”

Mana doesn’t move when you touch ordinary minerals.

Only mana stones react to mana.

In the first place, the definition of a mana stone is a mineral that reacts to ‘mana’.

“Mana moved…? I don’t even know that.”

“It was a very slight movement, so you might not have felt it.”

“Ah. If you say it was a slight movement…”

Soonchan shrugged.

‘If Adela barely sensed it, it’s natural that I didn’t feel it.’

That was the expression and gesture he made.

“But…”

Adela took her hand off the luminous mana stone and looked at me.

“What is the purpose of this mana stone?”

She had the expression of a detective starting to deduce.

“You said that the Hallamanium Site was built for training purposes, so it’s definitely a training mana stone. But I can’t imagine how to use it. How can we train with this…”

I had mentioned a long time ago that the Hallamanium Site was a training facility.

Since it’s a special mana stone located in a training facility, it was a reasonable approach to assume it was for training.

“Curious?”

“Yes.”

But that’s all she can deduce.

No matter how skilled Adela is, it’s impossible to figure out how to use the luminous mana stone in its current state.

“Then, seeing is believing. Shall we activate it for a moment?”

“Yes.”

A gleam flashed in Adela’s eyes.

An expression of uncontrollable interest.

“Okay, then. I’ll activate it for a moment. If it’s just a quick activation, it won’t be that dangerous.”

“……Dangerous?”

“No. It’s okay to just get a taste. Just wait a moment. I’ll activate it now.”

I placed my hand on one side of the cave and poured mana into it.

‘The property of luminous mana stones is absorption.’

Luminous mana stones have the property of absorbing mana.

That’s why they can have a ‘rechargeable’ structure.

‘However, this absorption property is reversed in response to a specific mana.’

Luminous mana stones have two faces.

Like Jekyll and Hyde.

‘Now, it’s time to show the second face.’

My mana flowed into the luminous mana stone.

Mana with a very special wavelength.

This wavelength is the trigger that reverses the luminous mana stone.

‘The second property of luminous mana stones is emission.’

At this moment, the luminous mana stone, which had the property of infinitely ‘absorbing’ mana, reverses and changes to the property of infinitely ’emitting’ mana.

Thump-!

The cave shook.

The luminous mana stones covering the entire cave simultaneously released mana, creating a mana field.

“……Kyaaak!”

Adela screamed and collapsed to the ground.

She clutched her head and writhed in pain.

“Uwaaaak!”

Soonchan reacted no differently from Adela.

He lost his balance and fell, twisting his whole body as if in pain.

Both of them looked like they could pass out at any moment.

‘Re-reverse to the absorption property.’

Looking at them, I poured mana into the cave again.

Using that mana as a trigger, the property of the luminous mana stone was reversed once again, changing to the property of infinitely ‘absorbing’.

“……Ugh.”

“Huff, huff…”

Adela held her head and groaned.

Soonchan lay on the ground, breathing heavily.

“What, what was that just now…? What… happened?”

Both of them were sweating profusely all over their bodies.

“How is it?”

The two slowly raised their heads and looked at me.

“I just activated the luminous mana stone for a moment. Can you handle it?”

“Handle… it? Do you think this looks like someone who can handle it?”

Soonchan frowned.

“What was that just now…? That’s not a level of mana that a person can handle.”

Soonchan tried to get up, but fell again.

His legs were trembling like a newborn calf, as if he couldn’t properly put strength into them.

“What, what’s wrong with my body…”

“Your muscles and nerves are shocked. Just stay still.”

“My physical functions are paralyzed by the mana density? That’s impossible…”

Overwhelmed by the mana density, his physical functions were impaired.

Of course, his mana wouldn’t move either.

If there’s a problem with his muscles and nerves, there’s no way there wouldn’t be a problem with his mana circle [the core of a mage’s power].

“Adela, you stay still too. If you try to overdo it, it’ll get worse.”

“Ugh… Yes.”

Adela relaxed her body and nodded slightly.

She must have concluded that it was impossible to get up.

“Successor, we’ve arri… Huh?”

At that moment, Mimir appeared.

Elena and Aslan also appeared behind her.

“Are you all ready?”

The three of them had gone to Danteora separately, saying they had something to prepare.

The fact that they’ve appeared now means that all the preparations are complete.

“Oh? Oh. That’s all done, but…”

Mimir looked at Adela and Soonchan in turn, then turned her gaze to me.

“……Successor. Did you activate the luminous mana stone?”

“Yeah. For about a second. I thought it would be good to give them a little experience beforehand.”

“……Haa.”

Mimir sighed loudly, as if to show me.

“I told you to wait. But why…”

“There’s a saying that it’s better to get hit first. I just wanted to give them a taste, just to give them some experience.”

“This is not just a taste… You’ve given them the main dish and dessert.”

Mimir put her hand on her forehead and shook her head.

“Adela, are you okay?”

Elena asked Adela with a worried expression.

“Just lie down, lift your chin, and focus on breathing.”

Aslan was also making a worried expression for once.

“Um…”

“Successor. You’re probably wondering why we’re making such a fuss, right?”

“……”

I was caught off guard.

Mimir sighed again, as if the ground was sinking.

“Successor. Now that you’ve activated the luminous mana stone. How was it?”

“How was it? I didn’t feel anything. I activated it at the minimum output. How much could I feel?”

“……I knew you were thinking that.”

Mimir shook her head.

Her eyes looking at me are strange.

It’s like a kindergarten teacher looking at a troublemaker.

It’s a look that’s both blaming and affectionate, really like a kindergarten teacher.

“Successor. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but the luminous mana stone doesn’t have a function to control the amount of mana emitted.”

“……Huh?”

I was speechless for a moment.

“You can’t… control the amount of mana emitted?”

“Yeah. It’s impossible.”

“……Why?”

In the book about the ‘Hallamanium Site’ that was prepared in Danteora’s library, there was this sentence:

[When you first enter the Hallamanium Site, the luminous mana stone cave will welcome the successor.]

[It will be quite a difficult trial.]

Even my master described it as a ‘difficult trial’.

That’s why I thought I could control the amount of mana emitted by the luminous mana stone.

Besides, the mana contained in the luminous mana stone was by no means enough to be called a ‘difficult trial’.

So, I naturally thought that there was a higher level, that this was just a taste.

……But, it’s impossible to control the amount of mana emitted?

“Then, is this amount of mana emitted… the minimum output and the maximum output?”

“That’s right.”

“……This?”

Is this all there is?

Is this all there is to the trial that my master warned me was a ‘difficult trial’?

“It can’t be this easy…”

My head hurts.

It feels like I’ve been told that what I thought was common sense is actually nonsense.

“Successor. If we leave it like this, you’ll misunderstand forever, so I’ll tell you straight.”

Mimir looked at me with serious eyes.

“Enduring that mana density just now is a difficult trial. The amount of mana emitted by all the luminous mana stones here is easily beyond the lethal dose.”

“……”

My head aches again.

It feels like I’m experiencing cognitive dissonance [a state of mental discomfort caused by conflicting beliefs].

Something doesn’t match between my thoughts and Mimir’s words.

“Even if I think about it again, it wasn’t at a level that could be called a lethal dose…”

Just a slightly vast amount of mana.

Nothing more, nothing less.

“It’s even more absurd to say that I was mistaken. There’s no way I couldn’t properly grasp the amount of mana.”

My mana sensing ability is arguably the best in the world.

That I couldn’t properly grasp the mana density?

That’s impossible.

“You were mistaken, Successor.”

Mimir stated again.

A confident expression that didn’t show even a hint of doubt.

“That’s because you’re not properly aware of your current physical condition.”

“……My physical condition?”

“Yes.”

Mimir continued.

“Right now, not only your circle but also your body has become quite similar to mana in nature.”

“……My body’s nature has changed? Why?”

“Because the dragon’s mana you absorbed has begun to be fully digested.”

“Ah.”

The process of absorbing the dragon’s mana is almost complete.

Now, all that’s left is to refine the absorbed mana into my own.

As Mimir said, it’s in the process of being digested.

“Because your body has become closer to mana, there has been a change in the way you perceive external mana density.”

It was a mistake caused by a change in perception.

Just as a person who lived on a planet with 1G as the base feels the gravity of 4G differently from a person who lived on a planet with 3G as the base.

“Right now, your body has transcended the human category… it’s something of a different form.”